14. Living with Your Tribe
Challenges in this section ask you to reflect on your tribe, which in this context includes family as well as any social groups or communities you belong to. Within your family, who feels like a kindred spirit and who seems a friendly foe? What rules, spoken or unspoken, have been imposed on you? Who do you spend time with and time flies? Who do you spend time with where an hour seems like a decade?
As you’re considering how you get along with various groups of people and reflecting on their stories, let that well of memories overflow with sounds, textures, tastes, smells, and visions.
Now get started writing!
285. Roots
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Do you have a family tree that goes back for more than ten generations? Is there a horse thief or a humanitarian in the tree? Or do you know very little about your ancestors?
Describe what you know or don’t know about your family roots.
Did you know?
When he died in 1992, at age 96, Samuel S. Mast had 824 living descendants. He held the record for the most living descendants: 11 children, 97 grandchildren, 634 great-grandchildren, and 82 great-great grandchildren.1
286. Family Rules
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
What spoken and unspoken rules did your parents uphold? Did you and your siblings always abide by these rules? Talk about the rules, describe why you think your parents believed in them, and recount what the consequences for breaking them were. Did anyone get into big or little trouble?
287. 1000 Cranes or Mitzvahs
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
A Japanese wedding tradition is to give the new couple 1000 paper cranes to wish them 1000 years of happiness and prosperity. According to Japanese legend, if you fold 1000 paper cranes, you will be granted one wish. For that reason, the cranes are bestowed upon those who are ill, having a baby, or injured in any way. You can read the true story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr, about a young girl who was exposed to radiation after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
For what purpose would you fold 1000 cranes?
If you don’t like folding paper, consider 1000 mitzvahs. A mitzvah is a small act of loving kindness. Author Linda Cohen performed 1000 mitzvahs in one year to honor her father, who had recently died. You can find out more about 1000 mitzvahs by watching her TEDx Talk, “The 1000 Mitzvah Project,” and visiting her website, 1000Mitzvahs.org.
Describe what purpose would motivate you to either fold 1000 paper cranes or enact 1000 mitzvahs.
288. Aunt Jessica’s Apple Pie
Suggested time: 30–60 minutes
For this challenge, you first need to procure a favorite family recipe. Then you will write the recipe in a standard format that you might find in a better cookbook.
Your recipe should include the following:
• A clear title
• An image of the finished dish
• An introduction, with an anecdote about the recipe
• A list of ingredients
• Oven temperature, if applicable
• Preparation steps (dice, slice, mix, and so on)
Make sure you use active voice. If you need more information on how to write instructions, see www.Write4Web.com.
289. Family Story
Suggested time: 1–3 hours
For this challenge you will create a podcast of a family story.
1. Plan the audio story.
Think of a family story that can be told in three minutes. Decide whether you will tell the story yourself or have another family member tell it. Will you use additional sound effects or music? Develop a storyboard for the podcast.
2. Record the audio story.
Using your storyboard, produce the podcast.
You can find more information about how to produce a podcast, including a template for the storyboard, on www.Write4Web.com.
If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance. – George Bernard Shaw
290. Family Fights
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write about family fights. Who starts them, who feels they’ve won, and how long do they last? Do your siblings or cousins fight dirty? Use a metaphor to help describe the fights. Are they polite disagreements, like wispy clouds bumping together on a sunny day? Or are they knock-down, drag-out tornadoes?
Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. – George Burns
291. Mom’s Favorite Flower
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Describe your mother’s favorite flower in detail, recalling its color, texture, and scent. Did she grow the flower in her garden or did it arrive from the florist? Did she arrange it in a special vase, or float it in a crystal bowl? Include any special occasions you remember with your mother’s flower on display.
292. My Generation
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
List the top three words that describe your generation. Then write two paragraphs about why you chose those words.
293. Comparing My Generation
Suggested time: 1–2 hours
Write about how your generation compares and contrasts with the generation before yours and the generation after yours. Make sure you provide plenty of specific examples and details, rather than generalities.
294. Never Discussed
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
What topics are off-limits for your family? Write about any important discussions your family members avoid and what effect this has on them.
295. Do Not Touch
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write about any items or rooms that were off-limits in your parents’ home. Did your mom have fancy dishes that you weren’t allowed to use? Were there chairs you weren’t allowed to sit in or boxes you weren’t allowed to explore?
296. Helmets
Suggested time: 1–3 hours
California mandates that bikers wear helmets, but not all states do. Write an argument for or against a law that says you must wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. Tell why you believe that the opposing view has some valid points, but also explain why your view is better. Support your position with specific examples.
If you don’t want to write about helmets, choose any similar mandate, such as those about wearing seatbelts, not texting while driving, or obeying speed limits.
297. Sibling Rivalry
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Did you have any big or sneaky fights with your siblings? If you grew up an only child, did you miss having siblings? Describe your experience.
298. Amusing Sign
Suggested time: 15–30 minutes
Make up a sign for your neighbors, classmates, or colleagues that you think would be funny to put in your neighborhood, your backyard, or another place you frequent.
399. Clubs and Associations
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
What professional or social organizations have you joined or would you like to join? Describe the advantages or disadvantages of joining these associations.
300. Family Vacations
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Describe an event that happened during a family vacation. Include why the event occurred and who was involved.
301. Birth Order
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Are you the first kid, the last kid, or a middle child? State your birth order and describe how your position in your family has affected you.
302. Awkward Family Portrait
Suggested time: 45–90 minutes
Before you start this challenge, look at several of the awkward family photos on www.AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com.
Look through your own family photos and find one that would be worthy of putting on the website. Write the story that the photo tells.
303. Grandparents
Suggested time: 20–45 minutes
Write about your grandparents. Write their story and also the story of how you interacted with them. Did they give you any advice? Did you spend much time with them? What was their house like? Make sure you include smells and sounds that you remember from their household, as well as how it looked.
304. Write a Letter to Granny
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Write a letter to your grandmother. If writing a letter to your grandmother doesn’t resonate with you, try writing a letter to any older relative in your family—an aunt or an uncle.
After you write the letter, make a note of the following:
• Your choice of topics
• Your tone
• The language you used
• Your feelings and moods
• The pace of the letter
• Whether you wrote fast or slow
• The length of the letter
305. Text a Buddy
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Send a text message to someone you’re buddies with who is about your age. Record all the same writing details listed in the previous challenge, “Write a Letter to Granny.”
306. My Father Taught Me
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Explain an important lesson you learned from your dad, whether or not he meant to teach it to you.
307. My Mother Taught Me
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Explain an important lesson you learned from your mother.
When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway. – Erma Bombeck
308. Code of Conduct
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
What were some of the hidden rules or codes that your family observed? Did your family have a motto? Explain the principles and describe how they affected you.
309. Meet Your Ancestor
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
Is there a family member, living or dead, who you never got to talk to but would like to? Tell who you’d like to meet and what you’d like to say to this person.
310. You’re Fired!
Suggested time: 10–15 minutes
“I want to fire my therapist because...” Finish the sentence, and keep writing about why you’d fire your real or imaginary therapist.
311. Family Photo Story
Suggested time: 45–120 minutes
Tell a story—with words and one photo—about an adventure you have had with your family. The objective is to tell your story seamlessly, integrating the image with your words. The image should carry some of the weight of the narrative. In other words, the photo tells part of the story, and without it the story would not be complete.
313. Q & A Story
Suggested time: 45–90 minutes
For this challenge you will interview a family member and then write a short biographical story about that person.
First, choose someone to interview. Then write down 15 questions you would like to ask during the interview.
Organize your questions. It’s best to start the interview with memory questions, which can often help the subject relax and reminisce. Ask open-ended questions to prompt more than a yes or no response. Examples:
• How did you choose your current field of work (or path of study)?
• Who influenced you the most?
• What is your favorite artistic venue?
• Why did you choose your school or workplace?
• When did you first discover your talents?
Make an appointment with your family member for a convenient time and place. During the interview, make sure your subject is comfortable and can easily hear you. Ask your questions and take good notes. While you’re interviewing, you might also think of good follow-up questions; stay flexible.
Finally, write the story using a question-and-answer style. Make sure you introduce your family member and provide a conclusion.
312. Interview
Suggested time: 1–3 hours
For this challenge you will record an interview with a family member and create a three-minute biographical audio story.
1. Plan the audio story
First, decide who you will interview and what questions you want to ask or stories you want to record.
Decide if you will record yourself prompting the interview or just record the person answering your questions.
Develop a storyboard for the podcast, writing down any questions you will ask and any music or sound effects you might use.
2. Record the audio story
Using your storyboard, produce the podcast.
You can find more information about how to produce a podcast, including a template for the storyboard, on www.Write4Web.com.
314. Unofficial Places
Suggested time: 45–90 minutes
Consider all of the unofficial meeting spots at your workplace or campus.
1. Draw a picture of your workplace or campus. Color in all the unofficial places where people gather to smoke, eat, gossip, or play games. Give each of these places a name, such as “smokers’ lounge” or “water cooler.”
2. Do you have any stories about events or conversations in these areas? Write a narrative about something that happened in an unofficial place. Describe the sounds, textures, smells, and sights.