Oh yeah, I tried this last summer after my kitchen was smelling like rotten coffee every time I opened the bin. I spread about 2 cups of wet grounds on a baking sheet at 200 degrees for like 20 minutes, and it made a huge difference. The smell went away almost completely, and they mixed into the dirt way easier without getting clumpy or moldy. I also found that the dried grounds don't attract fruit flies or gnats like the wet ones did, which was a bonus. Totally worth the extra step in my opinion, just don't forget them in there or you'll burn the house down lol.

Take a picture of the paper schedule with your phone next time.

Oh, I've been there. That's frustrating. But I do want to gently correct something - you said "a single book" by Octavia Butler, but the guy said he couldn't finish "a single book" by her, so he probably tried more than one. Maybe he read the first few pages of a couple of them and gave up. I've seen that happen with folks who just aren't ready for certain authors yet. Kindred is such a powerful book, though, and it's not like she's hiding the themes - the time travel plot literally forces the main character to confront race and history head on. If someone can't handle that, they're probably looking for something lighter, which is fine, but calling her "overrated" because she writes about her actual lived experience seems unfair.

That 2 hour difference is interesting - did you notice a difference in moisture retention between the two wraps once you sliced into it?

Oh man, I get this completely. Your friend's story about a rainy Tuesday sounds way more interesting than something that follows a checklist. I tried the 3-act thing once for a novel draft and it made me hate writing for months. Everything felt like I was forcing characters into corners just to hit some beat at the right time. The whole thing came out flat and I ended up deleting most of it. Structure can be a good starting point but when it becomes the boss of you, it sucks the life out of everything. Have you tried just writing a messy first draft without thinking about acts at all?