Although “At the Laundromat” is a picture book, many adults would benefit reading it too. This slender volume is a short course in Laundromat 101 or laundromat basics.
Hint 1: Empty Your Pockets
One of the first things I do when I clean the machines in the laundromat is to check inside them. Since all of the washing machines are front loaders, this means turning the drums so anything left behind falls down making them easy to find.
This doesn’t always work as carpenters of DIY builders sometimes leave nails and screws in their pockets. These get caught in the holes in the drum and must be pulled out.
More commonly pocket contents such as keys, rings, earrings, money, lighters fall down. Then there are the socks. The machines really do eat your missing socks, but only because you didn’t look for them.
Writing Character Motivations
When I look at these various lost items, I reflect about what their loss can mean. Most items are things the owner would find annoying, but not a problem. What about house keys? Car keys? Engagement rings? The week’s budget money?
Would the character panic? How did the character drive home without their car keys? Maybe the character never locks the front door so losing the front door key isn’t important? Perhaps the character makes enough money so losing shat to others is a lot of money isn’t to them.
It’s so easy writing to write as though every character reacts the way we do. For a good writer, that is not true. Every character has their own motivation, their own reaction to events in the novel.
This is one of the big challenges in writing. The author must set aside their own reactions and become, in a small measure, the character so their reactions and actions ring true. They are not clones, but independent characters.
Laundromat 101 Hints
First, check your pockets before tossing those clothes into the washer. Second, turn the drum after you take the clothes out. That last goes for the dryer too. You never know what might show up.