As I was washing my hands in the school bathroom the other day, I overheard this conversation between the two kindergarteners in the nearby stalls. This was a co-ed bathroom for the kids. I've changed the names to protect the innocent.
Adam: Sofie, are you there?
Sofie: Yes.
Adam: Do you know that some people drink vomit?
Sofie: Ack! Really?
Adam: Yes.
Sofie: Do you?
Adam: No. Well, I have.
Sofie: Really? Was it bad?
Adam: Not as bad as drinking blood.
Sofie: Yeah, my blood doesn't taste very good.
Adam: Yeah.
So this is a real conversation that trumps just about every fictional conversation I've ever read for a great opening, surprise twists and a universally accessible subject matter. Can you capture the these qualities in a fictional conversation and not have it sound stilted or artificial? That, I figure, is one of the great quests of the writer.
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