We’ve all written a piece that we thought was truly excellent, and really showed our characters’ true colours. They said the right thing, reacted accordingly, and—in my case—slipped out of the bar just before a fight starts.

But what they say isn’t really normal conversation that normal people make. Their reactions might be a little overdone in a social setting. And maybe—just maybe—someone is watching. What are they thinking?

That is your challenge, folks. Take a piece of perfect characterization, an important meeting, or a profound conversation, and tell it from a watcher’s point of view. Take a conversation that you might find interesting to watch, and tell it from there.

You have a month.