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A RULE YOU FOLLOWED WITHOUT QUESTION

WABB LAB – MEMOIRS – DAY  6

Every system runs on rules.
Some are written down.
Most are not.

The exercise

Write about a rule you followed at the time without questioning it.

It could be:

  • a family rule
  • a school rule
  • a workplace rule
  • a social rule
  • something “everyone knew”

Choose one rule.
Stay with it.

What to write

Write about a time that someone broke the rule and what happened next.

You might include:

  • describe the person(s) who enforced it
  • how people behaved because of it
  • how you learned it existed
  • what happened when the rule was broken

You don’t need to explain whether the rule was good or bad. Just show how it affected the situation.

Tip: Chop this exercise into three parts. Start with how things ‘always’ were, then describe someone breaking the rule and one, two or three things that happened after that as a middle part, end with the new ‘status quo’.

Parameters

  • Stay in the time when the rule still felt normal
  • No hindsight commentary

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