Hurricane Sandy and Your Writing

First I’d like to apologize for the delay in posting this week’s lesson. I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the northeast and have had intermittent connectivity. I originally had another post prepared, but as with any significant event this writer has been influenced.



Where do we get our ideas for stories? Look around you every day, read your newspapers, watch your news channels. You will find a wealth of story ideas for both human interest articles (non-fiction) and for fiction and novels. Every event, big or small, local or something far away, you’ve heard about is great fodder for your writing.


Play a game of “what if” as you read about an individual’s experience. As Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy hit my area, dwellers who had ignored evacuation orders were forced to the second floors and rooftops and had to be rescued by rowboat or even helicopter. They were brought to a shelter with only what they wore, a beloved pet in their arms, and often nothing else. They needed comfort and safety, a warm place to sleep, food, and compassion. No one was thinking about finding resources for tomorrow, they were just happy to have survived today.


What if that had been you? What things would have gone through your mind? Put yourself in the evacuees position, what would you have grabbed as you were being rescued?


Think about the rescuers and the shelter volunteers. What do you think was going through the rescuers mind as he or she was reaching out to pluck the individual from a rooftop? How do you think the shelter personnel felt after greeting dozens of displaced residents?


Don’t just read the newspaper article, put yourself into the story. How would YOU react? What would you have done differently that what was reported? Now play a little more of “what if” – perhaps the homeowner had a houseguest before the waters rose. What if this guest shouldn’t have been there? What if this guest was a long lost lover and this was the first attempt at getting back together? Maybe the occupants of the house were trying to cover up a crime and didn’t have the time to hide evidence?


Throw any possibility into the mix and you have the makings of a story. The best stories are based on real life and a bit of imagination.



Writing Exercise: Choose a current newspaper article and re-write it from a first-person perspective just as if it were happening to you. Use a second article and re-write it from the perspective of “the perp” if it is about a crime, or any other layer not highlighted in the original story.


Writing Prompt: If you were being rescued from your home with just a few minutes’ notice, list the items you could fit into your arms that you would want to take with you. What is the significance of any three of these items.