May 2024 Writer’s Workshop - Asking for Help

May 2024 -  Theme:  Mayday. Mayday is a word that is internationally recognized as signifying distress. When this word is uttered or heard, it indicates a request for help. 

This month’s theme is related to a character asking for help. The help can be with something small or large, but the character has to admit they need help and reach out to someone for aid. 

Writer’s Workshops are best in three parts: the mini-lesson, the discussion or work time, and the sharing.

Our mini lesson in this theme is to think of and share examples from stories we have read in which the character has asked for or needed help. Some characters are reluctant, others will seek help in any possible way.

So examples to get the discussion started:

Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - This has an example in two forms, and in many ways is a distinction without a difference. Harry was seeking help from his best friends, Ron and Heromine to solve his problem of how to breath underwater. He utilized them fully. However, when they weren’t enough he wasn’t willing to widen his sphere and ask his roommate Neville, who had the solution he sought.

Hollis in Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hidebrant - This character was in need of help from her daughter. This help was not in the form of an actual duty but in the form of clarity and emotional support. She refused to ask for this help, but rather wallowed in it. This was actually a major arch of the book, and created some strong points of conflict. Hollis was willing to ask for help from strangers, but not those closest to her.

Lily in It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover - In this novel Lily is torn between asking for help and hiding her needs because of shame. She needs help to move through that she is dealing with, but is not able to ask for the help on her own behalf.

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Alternate themes, for those not inspired by this particular prompt include Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and Jewish Heritage Month. 

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Example: 

  There are some days that are less frustrating than others, and knowing that he was in possession of items his tormentors missed made Liam remember that today was one of the good days. Now, though, he was working through what to do with each of these items. He knew he goal: getting his stolen copy of The Giver back. He knew what he had: a laptop, an e-reader, a silver-wrapped box, and a wallet. How to get from what he had to where he wanted to be, though, Liam had no idea. 

Writing out ideas had always been how Liam thought, so he was writing things now. To most who looked at this paper it would seem like just a random bunching of words, partially because Liam didn’t want the page to fall into the wrong hands and partially because Liam’s mind was jumping all over the place right now and he didn’t know where he was working towards. No matter how many ways he thought about it, and the limited knowledge he had about the others he was targeting, no ideas came to him. No good ideas, anyway. 

The bell rang, signaling lunch. Liam gathered his items and started heading towards history class - the period of the day during which he had the entire group of bullies watching him from desks behind him. He was continuing to work through his ideas in his head and wasn’t watching much of where he was going when he bumped into Annie. She dropped a few of the items in her hands, books, papers, a few pens. Liam immediately bent down to begin helping her. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he had knocked the items from her hands on purpose. He had seen her being bullied by the female version of Liam’s tormentors, and he didn’t want Annie to think he was one of them. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled as he quickly gathered her items. Annie too was working quickly, trying to get the items in her hands before anyone else could ‘help’ them. 

Luckily, timing was on their side and Annie was standing up with all her items before anyone had the time to exploit the opportunity of her items being strewn around and her focus being on the floor. Annie looked up at Liam. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, part of her looked like she was annoyed, but there was also something like gratitude in her eyes. She didn’t say so, though, and they both started in opposite directions, going where they needed to be. 

Liam was sitting at his desk in history thinking about his items, and his run in with Annie. Annie and he were similar in the way they were treated, but Liam knew very little about her beyond that. He barely paid attention to the history class today, staying focused on what to do. He couldn’t help feeling now that Annie might be part of the solution. Not only did he think she would potentially have ideas, having a partner in any project usually made it easier. 

When the bell rang he was focused on gathering his things and didn’t feel someone come up behind him. He stumbled as the chair behind him was knocked into the back of his knees as he was picking up his things. He heard laughter as whomever did it walked away. It didn’t sound like they were targeting for any reason other than he was Liam. They didn’t seem to know that he was in possession of their items. They didn’t expect him to ever stand up to them. That was good, Liam thought. He could use that. 

He was outside during lunch, sitting under a tree at a table by himself when he heard footsteps walking towards him. He sighed, knowing that anyone approaching him was not a good thing, whether it was a tormentor or a teacher who was going to ask him to do something extra. Looking up, though, the footsteps were Annie’s. Liam started, visibly surprised by her approach. She didn’t say hello when she stopped in front of him, just started with, “I hear things. It seems to me that you could use some help.”

It was my instinct to continue on my own, to not let anyone know what I was going through. I had trust issues, I knew that. I especially didn’t trust my peers who all too often attacked and humiliated me. But I also knew this would make my life, I mean my plan, easier. I knew, though, I needed to be the one to ask, and to do so clearly. So, I did. “Annie, would you like to help me wreck their pretty little perfection?” I think I surprised her with how I phrased it. But her smirk was all the answer I needed. 

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While this has similar characters and basis as other examples, writers shouldn’t feel the need to do something similar. Something completely different and new is welcome, or even a revised version of writings brought in past meetings are welcome.