Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field. — President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Know-it-alls. We’ve all met them and truth be told we’ve all been them at one time or another. Things can look simple when there’s no effort required on our part. A good know-it-all character can bring the complexity of seemingly simple tasks and careers into sharp focus.
Pick a task or job you know well, one that popular stereotypes might portray as simple or easy, and sketch out a know-it-all’s experience learning about the complexity of the task firsthand.
Alternately, write in detail about your own know-it-all comeuppance experience. What did you think was “cake” that turned out to be more than you bargained on?
What does your character think they know-it-all about? What are the blindspots they are missing? How do those blindspots complicate reaching their goal?