WordPlay Now!
Bonus Writing Prompt
This is WordPlay—so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another?
Years ago, in a personal growth seminar, we attendees participated in a powerful role-playing exercise called "Lifeboat." We were told we were on a sinking ship, and that there was only one lifeboat. We each had to, one at a time, try to convince the other people on the ship that we should be one of the people who made it on to the lifeboat.
Years later, when I started writing and teaching memoir, I realized that our most valued experiences, our best laughter/tear/astonishment-producing stories reside in the sinking ship that is us. Because, as much as we might want to live forever, at some point—hopefully far, far in the future, we are going down. And unless we put our
stories "into a lifeboat" (in other words, write them down and share them with at least one other person), they are going down with us.
STEP ONE: Your mission, in this prompt, is to make a list of your best "lifeboat moments." What events, what moments have been so important in your life that you don't want them to be forgotten? Set a timer for ten minutes, and begin a list. Even if nothing comes at first, stick with this until the timer goes off. If it helps, start with the people you have loved the most. What are your favorite memories of being together? What are you most proud of having accomplished?
STEP TWO: When the timer rings, pick one item off your list and set the timer for ten minutes again. Then, beginning with the words, "I remember . . ." capture your experience in writing anyway you can. Don't stop writing until the timer goes off—you can come back to "I remember . . ." as often as you need to to keep your hand in motion.
STEP THREE: Now, read your writing, and then type it up. What would you like to add, take out, or change? Polish your piece until you're "happy enough" with it. It doesn't have to be perfect.
DON'T STOP HERE!
Keep your list of "lifeboat moments" in a safe, convenient place, and keep adding to it as you think of more moments and experiences that deserve to be preserved.
And keep repeating steps two and three as needed.
Attached is one of my best "lifeboat moments." Yes, to answer the inevitable question,this really happened. Just this way. I believe it is my proof that I was meant to come to live in North
Carolina all those years ago! It's one of the stories that will be a part of my upcoming memoir, How She Fed Us.