Show, in a scene, someone who spoke well and listened badly.
Who is the most fun to talk with?
Everyone gets the same subject. What differs is the follow-up: one question for children, two for teens, three for adults. Only the children's wording is simplified.
Skip it and start at the second. The opening writes itself once the rest exists.
Delete every line anyone could have written. What is left is yours.
Pick one. A single idea taken all the way beats ten touched lightly.
If it still flows without them, the flow was already there.
'Thing' hides the real word. Name it.
'Three years' always beats 'a long time'.