Eavesdropping your way to good dialogue...

It's important to be nosey curious when you're a writer. Otherwise, how would you know anything about how others think, talk, treat people and generally live their lives? Being interested in the human condition is surely a pre-requisite for a writer, right?

I'm not advocating snooping through people's emails or phones or rifling through their underwear drawers (that would be creepy and wrong on so many levels and could end in quickly severed friendships or even divorce courts) but eavesdropping on a conversation between two teenagers on the bus home will probably give you a lot of valuable insight into how teenagers think and talk these days - not so different from when I was a teenager not that long ago (ahem) but if you want to make your dialogue real, then an eavesdropper you must become.

There are several ways you can do this with stealth.

• Put earphones in but don't play any music. Even really quietly. You will get distracted and start singing along in your head (or aloud which will really blow your cover. Stealth, remember).
• Pretend to read a book but remember to turn the pages sometimes.
• Even better, read a kindle. Nobody will know you're getting nowhere with 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
• Pretend to be reading emails on your phone. As with the music, don't actually read them. Just stare intently at your phone and occasionally swipe your finger across the screen.
• Most importantly, get your poker face on. Smirking when one of your conversationalists says something amusing will be a dead giveaway.

Another good way to get into the heads of people is to read blogs (seriously. This isn't just a plug for blogs at all. I promise). I've recently been picking my way through some of the blogs that bloggers I regularly read, regularly read. This is all in the name of research of course. It is definitely NOT a displacement activity. No way, ho-say. 

These are the ones I really liked; some are writing blogs, some are food blogs and one of them is the website of a very talented sculptor.

• http://www.bossybetty.com/
• http://creepyquerygirl.blogspot.com.au/
• http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com.au/
•  http://a-musedwriter.blogspot.com.au/
• http://www.julie-cohen.com/blog/
• http://michaeltoa.blogspot.com.au/
• http://beautiful-if-oblique.com/

Reading blogs also helps you get an idea of style and voice. The most successful blogs are the ones which consistently engage you by making you want to cook that recipe RIGHT NOW or laugh out loud or nod your head in agreement. Sometimes they're blogs that are written by people who just make you crazy jealous of their creativity but whatever they make you feel, they are written in a such a way that makes you come back for more and that, my friends, is good 'voice'.

Farewell England, G'day Perth!

Oof. I've been technically living in Perth, Western Australia for 3 days now. I say technically because, really, it still feels like a holiday. The Chardmeister is constantly around, we're in a teeny tiny studio apartment (which means we're trapped in the cold kitchen all night as Lady M is sleeping in the front room/bedroom. No whinging from the new Poms, our choice to save money on short let accommodation...), we have a hire car and we're living out of suitcases. So, yeah, holiday mode.

The plane journey was, unsurprisingly, tough. Lady M decided sleep was for losers on the first (read: longer) leg. Thank God we were on the upper deck where less people were disturbed by much crying and protestations from her. She's lucky she changed her mind on the sleep/loser issue on the second (much shorter but I shouldn't be complaining, she may have decided to keep not sleeping) flight from Singapore to Perth. Sleep deprivation, PMS and hunger does not a happy mummy make. Still, I did manage to watch the new Underworld movie (not so great although Kate Beckinsale looks amazing as usual) and get some dozing in with Lady M laid across me in a most uncomfortable fashion. Hence dozing and not sleeping. Boo.

We arrived in Perth to be picked up by Steve from Wangara Car hire - highly recommended, he is very friendly and accommodating and the car hire is very reasonable - and taken to our first temporary Perth home. Boiled eggs and soldiers and a shower later and we were all in bed and asleep by 8.30pm.

Sadly, the weather has not been great - much rain and actually quite cold but, you know, it is the start of winter here! We've been back and forth to the local shopping centre in search of phones and internet dongles and FINALLY managed to get connected. Hurrah. Poor Lady M has been bored out of her 19 month old mind but now we are connected to the world again, things will be different. Tomorrow is tourist day!

A few things about Australia:

• It's not as expensive as everyone makes out. Sure, some things are crazy expensive like greetings card - $5 - 7 for something nice - but, on the whole, pretty much like for like. 
• People are super friendly and eager to help out. Bank staff actually behave like real human beings who are able to empathise with you. It's nice. 
• If you don't like to cook, you're a bit stuffed. No long aisles of ready meals here. 
• Australian TV isn't as bad as everyone makes out either. There's a lot of American TV on the programming schedules, much like the UK. The Good Wife and The Mentalist are on right now and, yes they are behind us but that just means I can catch up stuff like Dexter, True Blood and Grey's Anatomy when they're airing here. Hurrah. 
• Libraries are amazing here! Not that they aren't at home, but everything you hire out over here is FREE! That means DVDs, CDs, even magazines! So cool.
• Fashion isn't twenty years behind Europe or the States. The boys are all sporting ridiculously swept forwards hair styles and skinny jeans and the girls have massively back combed 'dos and pastel nails, just like the UK then.

The worst thing I can say about being in Australia is that I keep getting blog feeds with the most amazing summery recipes - I'm talking mostly about you and your strawberries and cream biscuits, Smitten Kitchen. Thank God I also follow foodie blogs like the kitchen maid and The Stone Soup which are currently showcasing all things chocolaty and anti-cancery respectively.

Of course, I can't really cook anything much at the moment due to a lack of kitchen equipment and, more importantly, store cupboard ingredients. Big boo. BUT, when I get into long term rented accommodation watch out oven (and waistlines) as I will be delving into the archives of all my favourite food blogs to catch up on all the cooking and baking I haven't been doing for two months!