Getting Started

The why and how you should write about what happened during and after Helene

Oct 29, 2024

First the why

Writing is a practice that helps people heal. I know this from my own life and from the many folks I have worked with as a writing teacher. When we find the words that explain what happened to us we gain the footholds we need to find a way forward. I have called this process miracle and magic, but there is also an entire sociological field dedicated to understanding how storytelling works within, on and among us, so maybe it’s science? Maybe it’s all of that.

What I know for sure is that writing about what was hard, what hurt, what was insanely frustrating, what wrecked us, what we lost, what we never saw coming and yet survived, the kind of writing that I’d like to help you do…

it will not fix everything, but it will heal some things.

Now the how

Each week for 6 weeks I will send you 3-4 writing prompts. You’ll receive them on Sundays in your email inbox and/or through the Substack app, if you have it.

Do all the prompts at once or spread them out over the week.

Let me gently remind you that prompts are a place to begin writing but they are not where you have to end up. Whatever is sparked for you in the moment, write that. These aren’t assignments and there’s no grade for getting it “right” or getting it done. There’s no red pen waiting to mark up your words, so there is no way you can do it wrong. The prompts are invitations to get your stories out of your head and onto a page.

Write wherever you’re most likely to do that: In a notebook. In a new notebook because the mess of Helene deserves its own space. In a document on your computer. On an app on your phone. As a series of social media posts. On the back of an envelope, the one nearest you as you sit and read your email. In some combination of these about which you promise yourself you won’t be precious or persnickety, because the goal is simply to write it down.

Write a lot or write a few words. Draw instead. Spend five minutes or thirty.

Along with prompts, I will also send poems and passages from authors I turn to when life gets really messy. Why? Because beautiful words carry with them the love and wisdom of the ones who wrote them. You who have survived Helene deserve all the love and wisdom that is on offer these days, so receive them as a gift.

And then what

What are you going to do with all this writing?

You don’t have to do anything with it. You can let it sit exactly where you first wrote it and know that the act of writing itself was part of your healing and that that is enough. Or you can share what you write and see how your words connect with others.

Here are some ideas for that:

Share some of your writing in the comments here if you have the Substack app or log in to Substack online.
Share your writing on your blog, in a Facebook or Instagram post, as a TikTok(???), in letters to someone, in an email, as polished writing that you’ll submit to some formal publication.
Gather with some other local folks and write together! Use the prompts to guide your time and share—right then and there—what you’re writing. (If this is something that interests you and you need help facilitating it, send me a message and let’s talk about really making it happen!)

Who I am

Y’all, I don’t take pictures that are just of me often BUT here’s a selfie from a recent surgeon’s appointment because I wanted to celebrate getting to that point!

I’m Lauren and I live south of Black Mountain a little ways with my husband, our kids and our menagerie of creatures. I taught high school English for about a decade, then shifted my career after going back to school for a Master of Divinity degree. Now I teach writing at workshops and retreats and I’m a writing coach, editor, and social media manager for a collection of authors around the country.

I help folks tell their stories, whatever those might be. I also tell some of my own in various places, one of them being the Substack attached to this one, The Previvor Archives, where I’ve been making sense of some wildly unexpected health stuff over the last couple of years. In the wake of the hurricane, I am writing about my experience of the storm and its aftermath there too.

You can also find me in person at Sassafras on Sutton, the book and toy store in Black Mountain, where I get to talk about stories and make coffee a couple of days a week. Come see me there! We’re open again, and it’s a sweet spot.

Does this cost anything?

Nope, it doesn’t.

In those first days after Helene I was the beneficiary of gifts I didn’t pay for. There was the guy who fixed our generator so it ran one more day. There were veterinarians who housed our cats for us for free when we fled. At the time all I could think was that my professional training and life skills were rather useless in a disaster zone. Who needs to process their feelings when the water isn’t potable and the power won’t come on?!?!?! BUT you might need to do that NOW!! And like the folks who helped me, I don’t need anything from you in return.

If that makes you feel weird OR if you just insist:

Share this with folks who also need it.
When/if you post your writing, include a note that tells your readers that my work helped you create that and point them my way.
Ask me to come help your group or organization do some writing in person, online or as a written curriculum and pay me for that work.

Throw some money in my Tip Jar. As a barista at Sassafras I earn tips and they aren’t required or even expected, but they always make my day. At this link you can send a one-time payment through Stripe, the same money-processing system that Substack uses to collect paid subscriptions. It’s secure and comes directly to me.

Thank you for being here. It takes courage to name the awful stuff, but there’s beauty on the other side of your bravery, I promise.

Quick Links to all Weeks

AND this After the Flood series is now available in book form!

13 Exercises + a Whole Bunch of Key Moment Prompts

What you may really need to do is walk away from screens of all kinds to write, and NOW you can take these prompts and exercises with you wherever you go. Gathered into a paperback booklet, After the Flood is now in print! I have a limited number of copies that are available RIGHT NOW, but the really exciting piece is that I’m partnering with an Asheville printing company in the weeks to come to have even more, TOTALLY LOCAL copies ready for you in January!

Want one now? Want to order some for others? They’re $12 each. I’m happy to arrange local pick-up or ship them to you (if you’ll cover shipping). Send me a message or leave a comment and we’ll sort out the details!