The best encounter reports are specific about everything except the culprit. A chair scraped back at 12:16. Somebody set down a cup. The room listened to itself for a moment. We publish these little domestic mysteries for their texture as much as their conclusions.
What belongs in a field note
Keep the place, sequence, and your interpretation separate. Write down what happened before the sound, what you heard, and what the room did afterwards. A useful description leaves room for another reader to reach a different conclusion.
Start with a recording
Some stories begin with a view. Ours tend to begin with a noise and a very brief disagreement about who made it. We collect the details that survive: the open window, the sleeping dog, the person who suddenly remembered an appointment.
Listen to the sample collection and compare the notes. The labels concern the sounds; the stories concern the people who heard them.