Tell me about your childhood ...

One of the strangest situations I ever found myself in at work was when I was hired as a consultant by an art firm. Gradually one by one each of the Directors and the other consultants opened up to me - and I mean, really opened up. Way too much information. Divorces, sexual peccadilloes, depression, suicidal tendencies - the works. I was very British about it, calm, sympathetic. It finally clicked when one of them ended a half hour off-loading of their problems with 'Wow, that feels great. Guess you must get this all the time with your past work ..?' I looked quizzical. 'You know, with your psychology degree.' Everything fell into place. When they hired me, one of them must have misread my CV - my first degree was in Philosophy, not psychology.

It was a good lesson in not jumping to conclusions about people. The photo above is not some corner of a student's digs as you may think, but Sigmund Freud's consulting room. Writers are I think by nature curious about pretty much everything - including psychology, so perhaps I asked just enough of the right questions to fuel their illusion, and I'm certainly good at listening. I miss living in London for that - if you can blend into the background in a cafe or on the top deck of the bus it is amazing the things you hear. One of my favourite lines overheard waiting at a bus stop on the King's Road was: 'We buried Daddy under the Braeburn - the apples just went 'phhht' (the woman screwed her face up bitterly). 'Now Mummy, she's under the Coxes and they are so sweet' She thought for a moment. 'Rather as my parents were in life.' That little exchange made it into book two almost unchanged.

TODAY'S PROMPT: I'm listening ... as Frasier used to say. Keeping your eyes and ears open is one of the most valuable skills you can learn as an artist, writer or parent for that matter. We are surrounded by so much noise and distraction it is easy to miss what is important - when was the last time you experienced real silence, and listened to yourself? (I obviously spent too long standing next to speakers at concerts because these days even when it is perfectly silent there is white noise). Make a conscious effort to really see the people around you and listen to what they are saying. Take nothing for granted, don't be blinded by first impressions - and keep that notebook handy for when a great line drops into your lap.