What if your brain was up for auction?

This writing activity was inspired by Dido's song, Life for Rent. The song's chorus goes:

    If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
    Well I deserve nothing more than I get
    'Cause nothing that I have is truly mine

[ Complete lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dido/lifeforrent.html ]

*If the link above doesn't work, try going to Google and searching for "life for rent dido lyrics" (without the quotes). You'll find plenty of sites that have the lyrics.

Read the chorus a few more times before continuing with this article. It'll get you in the mood :o)

One...
Two...
Three...

Done? Let's forge on.

It's pretty straightforward imagery -- Life is likened to a commodity, one that's for rent, and that premise (or metaphor) is supported by the last line: thus, saying that if one's life is for rent (and one doesn't learn how to buy things), then nothing he (she) has is really his (hers).

When we break it down, it's cause and effect, or an if...then relationship. One thing causes something to happen. Or this is the reason that thing happened. If you do this, then that is the result. You get the drift :o)

Now, here's what you're going to do. You'll play the "if-then" game. The resulting "if-then" fragments will be the basis of your creative pieces today. You can take them anywhere you want them to go. Consider this simple writing activity the sparkplug that inspired the lift-off, the conductor's baton that got the orchestra playing, the little grenade pin that slipped... Ok, I'm sure you get the drift ;o)


First, pick a number between 1 and 10:

1. eyes
2. vocal chord
3. brain
4. thumbs
5. skin
6. toenails
7. heart
8. lungs
9. legs
10. ears

Got a number picked? Good! Now, apply any or all of these to the body part that you picked:

- lease, auction, bargain/sale, barter, evaluation, adoption

You'll come up with something like these:

- If my brain was up for adoption...
- If my brain was up for auction...
- If I were to barter my brain...
- If I were to lease my brain...
- If anyone could get my brain at bargain price...

Next, add the second part -- the "then". What happens? To you? To the body part? To Donald Trump? To life on earth? Come up with not just one reason; come up with many! Preposterous reasons, serious reasons, wacky reasons, out-of-this-world reasons.

If your brain was up for auction,

- What would happen to you?
- What would happen to the person who'll own it?
- What would happen to the people who may or may not value
    the things (memories) in your brain?
- What would happen to your memories?
- What would happen if none of the bidders met your
    minimum price or reserve?

Too weird for you? OK, then give this one a go. Pick a number from 1 to 10:

1. loyalty
2. honesty
3. summer
4. weekends
5. name
6. ambition
7. career
8. love
9. job
10. bachelorhood

Again, apply any or all of these to whatever you picked:

- lease, auction, bargain/sale, barter, evaluation, adoption

And you'll come up with:

- If my loyalty was up for sale...
- If I were to barter my loyalty...
- If my loyalty is up for evaluation...
- If I were to have my loyalty adopted...
- If I could lease my loyalty...
- If my loyalty was up for auction...

You know what to do next ;o)

That's it. Have fun auctioning off those body parts! :o)


Copyright (c) 2004 Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ
Shery created WriteSparks! - a software that generates over 10
*million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks! Lite
for fr*e - http://writesparks.com