External forces

The easiest way to spice up what I'm writing is to pull from the world around me.

That sounds grand, like I'm writing about world conflict and environmental catastrophes. But I keep it to smaller scale (for now). I need a last name -- who is someone I just met, or read about? Take that name. What's a great line a friend said off-handedly the other day, or that I overheard? Make a character say it. Situational beats. The soul of a song I just listened to. Friend's lives that become back stories. I borrow and re-craft. Thank you, by the way.