Complication: Sipping Versus Sleeping
Development:
1. Coffee at Midnight
2. Varied Clientele Profile
3. Routine or Choice?
Resolution: Understanding Night Owls
As a practiced and avid people-watcher, staking out Biggby’s coffee shop between midnight and 2 A.M. is not only a great excuse to sip on much-needed caffeine, but also a prime opportunity to spy on the patrons—some zombie-like and others all riled up. Why are they perusing the library and café area at a time when most people opt to be snuggled between their sheets? Is it a choice? Do some prefer the late night and early morning hours, or is it a matter of necessity?
Preferences aside, I plan to analyze the flow of traffic in and out of Biggby’s, the ways in which patrons interact with one another, the ways they interact with Biggby’s employees, and the presence of study groups (both organized and informal). Additionally, I will take note of how these night owls are dispersed throughout the grades and whether the meetings seem more social or work-related in nature.
If there is not enough of a sketch, I plan to observe Biggby’s during the hours of noon and 2 P.M., as something of a counterpoint. Are there any glaring differences? Similarities?
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to make this piece work, you'll need strong characters. I think you'll find them. Keep it simple, maybe find three people who exemplify the three times of day and weave them throughout the day. What are the 2 a.m. coffee drinkers doing at 10 a.m. when the morning coffee drinkers are drinking coffee?
ReplyDeleteYou could use the Elenor Rigby technique. Marin still plays that song for her Narrative Journalism class, right?
i once tried to write a piece where i looked at what four different people were doing at 2 a.m.
the late night convience store worker closing up, fighting off drunks looking for more
the drunk, walking home from the bar or stumbling around some house party basement
the coffee drinker, hunched over a laptop, book, pen&pad, board game, at a coffee shop, smoke whirling, or talking big talk about big things
the sleeper. this one would be easy. someone sleeping. maybe their dreams. who knows.
never got around to it but i did do a lot of late night coffee drinking, bar hopping and sleeping for research.