Murky Clarity

The End of Summer (Winner, Writer's Cramp 28.8.2009)

 

The End of Summer

by Fadzlishah Johanabas
(865 Words)

 

Prompt: Write a story or poem entitled, “The End of Summer.”

 

* * * * *

 

She stayed only for the last week of summer, but when she left, she took my heart with her forever.

 

Family Man (Writer's Cramp Entry, 26.8.2009)

 

Family Man

by Fadzlishah Johanabas

(845 words)

 

Prompt: Write a story or poem about an employee that just got fired. It can be from the employee or the employer perspective.

 

* * * * *

 

Vinod sat in his car and thought about dying. Simple, he thought. Much simpler than what he had to face.

 

The engine of his nine-year-old Toyota chugged and spluttered, rocking the whole metal frame even though the car was crouched idle. He barely felt the air conditioning, and it was at its maximum strength. His wife Shanti kept on nagging him to buy a new car, something like their neighbor’s Proton Persona, sleek and sporty, and Malaysian-made. Vinod wasn’t against local products, but he had his eyes on a Mercedes Benz for the longest time. His uncle Shanker drove one, a white E200. How the rest of the family envied the old man for being able to afford the money-drain. But not Vinod. He was closer to his eccentric, single uncle more than he did his parents. Uncle Shanker always let him drive around in his car while he sat at the passenger seat, smoking his cigar.

 

Vinod shook his head to banish the idle thought. He would never be able to afford a Mercedes Benz, and after what happened today, he couldn’t afford a Persona even if he traded in this hunk of scrap metal. He thought about his wife. She would be in the kitchen right now, hands white with flour as she kneaded dough to make chapatti for dinner. Seeing her in the kitchen was always a welcome sight. Her waist had grown much thicker than when he first met her thirty years ago, and there were wrinkles on her face and white in her hair, but she was still the light of his life. And he could not bear to enter the house, to face her bearing the bad news. He couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on her face.

 

Writing.com

Hmm...again, I have to thank Tita for introducing me to Writing.com. So far I've entered 4 short stories to be considered for the daily prompts, and I've won 3 of them. Of course, there aren't that many entries, but some of them are good. Somehow, if I had won every time I entered, I would suspect the quality of judging and writing, and I would doubt my own writing.

 

Writing short stories less than 1000 words is hard work. Because of the limitation. I find it difficult to use elaborate descriptions to create setting and mood, and to have character development and story movement as well. I try not to use narrative summaries, and use immediate scenes instead (remember the previous tutorials?), but it's bloody hard with 1000 words or less. Would have been more comfortable if the limit is about 2500 words. But the good thing is, I now have 4 brand new stories written within 1 week, not recycled ones, and all of which can be developed more. I also have my eyes set on a few open competitions, namely Happy Ending Love Stories (at least 4000 words), Classic-Character driven Short Story (maximum 10000 words), and Newbie Short Story Competition (can't remember the details). Maybe I'll recycle some of my older stories, maybe I'll write new ones.

 

Wish me luck. I'll be posting the 4 short stories here. Comments and criticisms are appreciated.

Need help

So. I'm in-between cases, I'm sleepy, cranky, and also hungry. But sleepy trumps all, so I just want to finish this case and crawl onto the bed and under the blanket. Not that I'm complaining, but hey, I did say I'm cranky. Anyway, I have over 60 viewers for the short stories posted on http://www.writing.com. Heart-warming and encouraging comments to boot. Feel like upgrading to a paid account so I can post more stories (my current portfolio is limited to 10). Which brings about the real reason for this post.

 

There is a quarterly competition for short stories less than 10,000 words (trust me, 10k words is so doable) where characterization is judged. Sorta like a typical literary fiction. We are to create a resonating character, whom people still think about long after they finish reading the story. I'm not sure if my characterization has reached that level, but there's no harm in trying.

 

This is the catch: I need some prompts, some ideas from life. Tita knows how I roll with this. I hear a glimpse of people's lives, and I turn it into a short story. So I'd appreciate ideas from all of you. I promise to let you be the first to read it (after Tita and I edit the story, of course). So how about it? You game?

Sweet Taste of First Victory

Oh wow. I was hoping, I was hoping, but I was too afraid to have expectations. Before that, a quick recap. Been busy procrastinating. Playing online games again. EVE-Online, to be exact, a game about spaceships and space exploration. And I had a tiring call on Sunday, and when I came back on Monday, I...well...kinda went dead(er). Slept from evening to the next morning. Problem was, I didn't take off my contact lenses from when I put them on, on Sunday morning. We're talking about daily contact lenses here. Naturally, my eyes were red and swollen. Could barely open my left eye. And I misplaced my spectacles somewhere, having not worn them for a long time (skin condition, later story). Spent the whole day almost blind. Yep, without my spectacles or my contact lenses, everything is just a blur to me (short-sightedness, -7 both eyes). Had to squint mere inches from the 'puter screen to make out what I was doing. At any rate, Tita mailed me a website for writers, http://www.writing.com. It's a hub for aspiring writers to display their works, and to share comments and constructive criticisms. A platform for exposure, of sorts. She also linked me a daily competition on the website, where they give a prompt and writers submit stories less than 1000 words or poems 40 lines or less. When I checked the site after midnight yesterday, the prompt was to end the story or poem with "In the end, there were no regrets." I wrote a storm. In less than an hour, I came up with a story (what else, jiwang la), and disturbed Tita at 02:30 with a mail asking her to check it out for editing. I know. Totally wrong of me. Lucky she wasn't asleep. Other than some minor hitches, she gave it a green light to be submitted. So. I submitted. Immediately after I did, I received a mail congratulating me for becoming a Registered Author. Hear that, me, author. Anyway, I waited. And waited. And kept on refreshing the pages. And waited. And read the other entries. There were a couple more short stories and three or four poems. Fine, I can hear your derisive laugh. With so little entries, it's not a competition. Well, bugger off. I watched The Matrix to kill time. Man, I miss watching the trilogy. And when it was done, sometime after midnight, I refreshed the competition page. 2 winners, and mine is one of them. Yay! I've even gotten 2 criticisms to boot. Life is good. So this is what it feels like to win a writing competition. Sure, it's 1000 Writing.com Gift Points (GP). I don't even know what the points are for. I can sleep almost blind but happy. Now the next prompt is a story about a conversation overheard in a bus. Hmm.... PS: Do tell me if you can't access the short story. I'll post it here.

Labels: Road to Forever, Special Event

Stuck

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Labels: Road to Forever