The Unsinkable Hour
Somewhere on the Titanic, an ordinary passenger notices the engines have stopped. Write the next hour through their eyes, before anyone quite believes what is happening.
The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of 14–15 April 1912 and sank on her maiden voyage. There were not enough lifeboats for those aboard, and more than 1,500 people died.
Field notes
Did you know
- The ship carried lifeboats for only about half the people on board.
- The band famously kept playing as the ship went down.
- Wireless operators on nearby ships were key to who was rescued — and who wasn't.
Key phrases
the list of the deck · wireless · the cold that has no bottom · steerage
Chase this down
Look up: the Titanic's lifeboat shortage; the role of wireless (Marconi) operators.
Craft tip
Disbelief is more human than panic. Write the mind refusing the evidence in front of it.
Try this
Tell it entirely through overheard fragments of other people's conversations.