I just like to sit and smell the flowers

This week, I turned once again to the Plot-O-Matik for inspiration. Here's what I got when I spun the figurative wheel:

CHARACTER
homeless Nigerian illegal immigrant with a pet hedgehog

SETTING
conservatory with a hot tub and free-flying tropical birds

PROBLEM
hair in places there shouldn't be hair

DETAIL
the Underworld undoubtedly lay beneath it all

Obviously, I didn't use all of those elements exactly as given to me, but that's not the point. All I needed was a little kick-start--some lines, if you will, within which to color.

I should also note that I often need to spin the wheel a few times to get some things that really connect with me personally. It's like everyone says: ideas are easy; execution is hard. If I don't feel like I have something interesting to say about a premise, I'm not motivated to pursue it.

Perhaps atypically, "Nigerian" made me think not of email scams or con jobs but of my friend Jeff's recent talk at Ignite (UK North). I'm sure my recent viewing of The Visitor was also a strong influence.

D and I have visited the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and it's a beautiful little microcosm. Perhaps not quite as magical as I've depicted in my story, but some of those orchids are downright freaky.

Last but not least, thanks to Stephen for this week's story title. I hope he doesn't mind that I changed the spelling of one word, thus altering the meaning of the phrase. (I did actually have a whole paragraph in the first draft about how Chiwetel hates to waste water, but I had to cut it--and about 1,000 other words--to make my limit.)