Tag: #amcreating

Short Story – For the love of the game. Part 1.

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Hello,

I hope you are well.

I started this short story during lockdown and finished it 6 months ago. It’s just shy of 2000 words long, so I’m going to post it in three parts.

It centres around a mid-thirties man named Richard. He is becoming slightly obsessed with the anniversary of a plane crash that happened in a park near him almost fifty years before. As he tries to get his friends interested, it becomes clear that he is using this to ignore some more pressing matters.

I’d appreciate your thoughts, and I’d be happy to return the favour. Apologies for grammar and punctuation errors this is a 3rd draft (I think)

Part One – Sunday the 12th December to Wednesday 15th December 2021

*

Sunday 12th December.

“Two football teams, playing on a Sunday morning at North Park almost fifty years ago, were tragically killed when a plane crashed into them. But, with each anniversary, it’s said that a dense fog covers the pitch, and from within you can hear them playing that fateful match. The fiftieth anniversary is next Sunday.”

“From within?” she said.

“Yeah. I thought it added something,” he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes.

“Could you close the window? I hate the sound of cars from the main road.”  

“I quite like it,” he said before closing the window.

“You told me this already, Richard. I’m late to meet Lucas.”

“Stay a little longer. Please? We’ve spoken about the crash for months. You were interested….”

“I’m not interested now. Lucas thinks honouring something you’ve no link to is stupid.”

Richard stood up from his settee.

“And what do you think, Lucy?”

He waited for the answer as she looked at her phone, stood up as it buzzed a few times, and wrote a reply. 

“I don’t care. It’s stupid. You have no link to it, so why are you wasting your time, Dick.”

Richard walked to and opened his front door. Lucy’s eyes bulged before she regained her composure.

“We’ve been friends for years. In all that time, you’ve called me Dick once. And I told you then I didn’t like it, so you stopped. I don’t know who you are, Lucy,” Richard said as tears glossed over his eyes. 

“I have to go,” she said.

Lucy walked by Richard and out of the door.

“I’ll miss you,” he said.

She stopped halfway up the driveway for a moment before walking away.

*

Monday 13th December.

Richard strained to push the covers off him as he sat on the edge of his bed. He stretched his arms before taking a deep breath.

“The whole day to myself. Hmm… the sun does rise later,” he said looking out of his window through the blinds. The night sky was total, and stars were looking back at him. He checked his watch.

“I thought I dreamt that,” he said.

As he realised the whole day had disappeared, his bottom lip quivered. The tears began to flow as he got back under the covers.

*

Wednesday 15th December.

“Falling from the sky and crashing into and killing all twenty-two players contesting the season’s final game. No fans were in attendance due to an incident the week before. The managers and staff managed to get clear,” Richard said.

His friends smiled or raised an eyebrow over their video call. Richard clenched his fist out of sight.

“Look, mate, you’re better off without her. We’re glad you’re up and about,” a friend said.

Richard tried to get them interested but instead just listened to them. His fist unclenched as he began to join in. In no time, the call ended.

Richard smiled and went up to bed.

*

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Inspiration in Pictures.

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Hello everyone,

Hope you’re well.

During this pandemic, I have felt many different emotions, as I’m sure you all have during this strange and challenging time. I have found that having a routine set around my working-from-home life has helped me to manage these feelings and keep things in perspective. My wonderful fiancé also helps along with my family and friends, who I am more grateful for than ever. My routine is to go for a walk in the morning before work and go for a walk after work. Not ground-breaking I know, but extremely helpful all the same. Each walk allows me to prepare for the day ahead or wind down from it. I have immensely enjoyed my morning walks. During the colder months of December and January, I have got to know the streets, parks, and short cuts near me a lot more. These surroundings have formed the basis for my latest two WIP’s. The idea for each WIP has come from the following pictures I have taken whilst taking a morning stroll:

These pictures were taken after taking a second look at each scene, and an idea popped into my head.

The picture on the left, just beyond the farthest set of trees, is a football (soccer) pitch. In the current situation, no football has been played on there for a while. However, as I studied the picture at home, I wondered, could a football match be taking place behind the white fog? And what would the story be behind that? That wondering brought about one of the current WIP’s. The story of a set of footballers, all just having a late-night kick about, who tragically died when a plane crashed into them some fifty years previous. Every anniversary of this tragedy, they play a game of football behind the fog. But this year, it will be different. They will have a spectator this time in the shape of a man who has become very curious about the fog. And a man in need of a distraction. 

In the picture on the right, I captured this scene because I thought I caught a glimpse of something moving inside the fog, right down the street and beyond the last house that can be seen. I then wondered, what could be hidden in the fog? And what would the thing be doing? This became my second WIP. A man, taking his morning walk, spots a colossal monster inside the thick, white fog. The next time the fog returns a week later, he tries to confront the beast. Only, the beast has other ideas.

I have finished writing both stories, and it has helped me get back into a rhythm and a new routine for my writing. My writing frequency has been all over the place during the pandemic, so I’m happy that I can get some kind of normality back into my writing.

This leads me to ask:

Have you ever taken a picture and written a full story off the back of it? Or, has the picture filled in a plot hole in a story that had held you back from progressing? I would be keen to hear your stories on this. 

Stay safe and have a nice day!