Gloves Off: Richie

Try Random Words as Chaos

Today a Treat. An Absolutely Charming Story. Let’s Take a Look at How to Make Pour-Over Coffee While Your Toddler Destroys Your House by Richie

As always, please click the title and give the story a read for its best effect. Let’s give Richie some room to breathe. And the pay-off is elegant as hell, enjoy. Lots to work with here.

How to Make Pour-Over Coffee While Your Toddler Destroys Your House

When Ted, your colleague at the firm, tried to convince you to switch to pour-over coffee, you were skeptical. With a toddler at home, you barely had time to make a pot of drip coffee. You’d never have time for pour-over.

“Brewing pour-over coffee, although time-consuming, is like embarking on a tranquil journey each morning,” Ted said, raking the sand of the mini Zen garden on his desk. “It’s a way to ease into your mindspace.”

My Feedback: Ted is so obnoxious, and I applaud that. And the sand garden is such a fragile, perfect set-up for writing. How might you use that garden later? Is there some way to write “Fuck You” in the sand? Can you show Ted or the narrator using the sand for some unlikely purpose?

The sand does suggest the Burning Man desert playa. But can you underscore that set-up more? If you do create and build upon a growing Burning Man fantasy, that loose sand is a great start. The sand bridges to the sand goggles, those bridge to a building series of details, all of those can build to your existing climax.

Now, how can you physically depict “skeptical as hell”? Any time you can use a gesture to imply something emotional or psychological, try it. For example, “…pour-over coffee, you gave him the side-eye.” What other gesture would communicate doubt? This sounds stupid, but it helps to keep a mirror on your writing desk. Like in the famous Norman Rockwell picture, you can test expressions or gestures in the mirror until you get what you need.

Think “skeptical” and look in the mirror. What do you see?