9. Big and Small Problems
Writers make a living describing problems and their possible solutions, which may or may not work. Without conflict, there is no story.
This section focuses on adversity, from the minor irritant to the disaster. As you work through these challenges, think critically and be ready to describe your feelings and sensibilities. There’s nothing like a big problem to get your heart racing and your words flying across the page.
Now get started writing!
190. Solution
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Describe a time when you found a great solution for a tricky problem. First describe the problem and any possible solutions you thought might work. Then describe the solution and how it worked.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein
191. Disturbed
Suggested time: 30–45 minutes
Some feel that you need to be disturbed to write well. An Alex Gregory cartoon in the New Yorker was captioned “Dear Mom and Dad: Thanks for the happy childhood. You’ve destroyed any chance I had of becoming a writer.”
Do you think you need to have had a lousy childhood or a major disturbance to be a good writer? Take a stance on this subject, and support your opinion with specific examples.
192. A Lie
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Are you any good at lying? Have you ever told a lie that got you in trouble? Or were you incredulous that someone believed your big lie? Describe the situation and any consequences of the lie.
193. Foot in Mouth
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write about a time when you said something really stupid and regretted it. Were you able to recover from your gaffe, or did you wish you could just vanish from the scene of the blunder?
194. Blackout
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Have you ever experienced a blackout? What happened? How did you spend your time? What were you doing when the lights came back on? Describe your situation.
Did you know?
More tornadoes touch down in the United States (about 1000 a year) than in any other country.1
195. In Case of Fire
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
A wildfire is raging toward your community, and the police are on your street shouting with bullhorns. You must evacuate! What five personal belongings will you grab before leaving your home? (Assume that your family and pets are safe.)
Problems are not stop signs; they are guidelines. – Robert Schuller
196. Down the Drain
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Have you ever felt like someone pulled the plug and everything went down the drain? Describe what happened.
197. Late
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Have you ever been late and caused a problem? Or do you have a friend who is always late? Write about being late.
198. Barbie and Ken Break Up
Suggested time: 15–25 minutes
Early in 2004, Mattel announced that it was time for Barbie and Ken to spend some time apart. After 43 years, the plastic couple split up.
Here’s your scenario: Barbie and Ken are on a double date with Midge (Barbie’s best friend) and G.I. Joe (Ken’s best friend). It’s the day before they decide to call it quits.
• The setting is a bar with a dance floor. Choose another setting if you like.
• What are they saying?
• What are they wearing?
• What is the action?
• Describe the setting.
199. Different
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write about a time when you felt you did not fit in. What made you feel different? Was there a trend you couldn’t follow, or a group that didn’t accept you? Did you wish you could change so you didn’t feel like a misfit, or did you like being different?
Did you know?
In the 1860s, a painted house was a sign of affluence. Most Americans could not afford to paint their houses; instead, they used cedar clapboard siding.2
200. Knots
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Think about a time when you confronted a particularly knotty problem. What made it so complicated? How did this problem affect you? Did you resolve the issue?
201. Big Baby
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Have you ever acted like a big baby? What happened, and why were you behaving so badly? Describe the circumstances.
202. Precious Jewel
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
— Shakespeare, As You Like It
Describe a particularly tough time that you’ve had, and tell what good came of it.
Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. – Arthur Conan Doyle
203. Too Much
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Have you ever taken on a huge project that in hindsight was too much? Maybe you decided to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica or a similar set of books?
Describe your huge project and how you tackled it. When did you discover its scope was much larger than you originally thought? Did you stick with the project or abandon it? What did you find most troublesome? How did you feel, afterwards, about the way you managed the project? Did you learn anything?
204. Cure the Common Cold
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
A common joke is that it takes ten days to rid a cold with medication and a week and a half without medication.
Describe how you take care of yourself when you have a cold. Do you stay home and sip soup, or do you tough it out and pretend you’re not sick?
205. Danger
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write about any activity that you have taken part in that felt dangerous. Describe why it seemed dangerous. Was it fun? Do you still take part in that activity? Does someone urge you to stop? If you have stopped the activity, explain why.
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses. – Nelson Mandela
206. Tough Sale
Suggested time: 30–60 minutes
Write an ad for something that is obviously difficult to sell. Describe the item in a way that convinces the reader that its purchase will have a miraculous, magical, or restorative effect and that buying it will be a life-changing event.
A good ad should do the following:
1. Get attention
2. Arouse interest
3. Create a desire
4. Demand action (Buy now before the limited supply sells out!)
207. Troubles Song
Suggested time: 1–3 hours
Write a song about your troubles.
Did you know?
The lyrics of Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” were originally a poem named “Defense of Fort McHenry.” It wasn’t until 1931 that it became the national anthem of the United States.3
208. Over and Over
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write about something you’ve done again and again and again.
209. Lessons Learned
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Describe a difficult scenario you’ve lived through, listing all the lessons you learned during the ordeal.
210. Survival Tips
Suggested time: 30–90 minutes
This challenge works best as collaboration, but you can also do it on your own. Write a short blog that offers advice for someone new to your workplace, your college, or an association you belong to.
Include a brief introduction that describes your task and any general advice your team agrees upon. Using bullet points for brevity, write down six or seven strategies or tips. Then write a one-sentence conclusion. Do not use the words “in conclusion”; write the last sentence so that the reader knows and feels it’s the ending.
211. Protest!
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
A frequent quote from Shakespeare is “The lady doth protest too much” (Hamlet, Act III Scene II).
Describe a time when you or someone you know protested in a big way. Was it too much, or just right for the cause?
212. Mountain out of a Molehill
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Mark Twain said, “I have been through some terrible things in life, some of which actually happened.” When is the last time you believed you were in dire circumstances, only to find out the problem was negligible? Describe the experience.
213. Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Do you remember a time when you were in the wrong place at the wrong time? Tell the story.