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[Writing Contest] - THE ARENA
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Thanksphew - close call there - 5 v 4
like your writing by the way - definitely could have gone either way
It was a very astute observation by echo beach that it read like an introduction, because it is actually an abbreviated version of a story I think I could turn into a full novel with more effort and better writing. A work in progress, for sure0 -
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Are yiz going to stick to the 600 word limit? It's part of the craic of the arena, IMO, the panicky paring out of paragraphs and sentences.
I'm not a fan of the 600 word limit. I just want to read good stories - I think so long as you don't go mad (hitting 1000 words) you should just try and write the best short story you can in the 24hrs.
When I was writing arena stories I sometimes felt I lost a little something in the editing down to try and fit the word limit.
Of course the rules are set so if people want to enforce them then there's not much point in me complaining.
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I'm not a fan of the 600 word limit. I just want to read good stories - I think so long as you don't go mad (hitting 1000 words) you should just try and write the best short story you can in the 24hrs.
When I was writing arena stories I sometimes felt I lost a little something in the editing down to try and fit the word limit.
Of course the rules are set so if people want to enforce them then there's not much point in me complaining.
Most writing competitions have word limits. It's a good skill to master, IMO. The arena was always supposed to be quick fire short short stories so anyone could feel like they could have a go without needing to commit too much of the 24 hours to writing/editing.
The VOATs are longer (normally).0 -
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tbh i find it hard to tell a story in under 5k
i agree with hcass - sometimes editing down stuff for the arena is painful coz you feel you're cutting out those really nice lines with the really nice nuances etc... (actually hcass over the w/e I went back and read some of your earlier stories....like the young fella meeting the girlfriend's parents ....WOW.... absolutely brilliant....I loved it, love your writing, it's sooooo good. I hope you're published and stuff, coz you deserve to be...ok nuff compliments)
but hey if 600 words is part of the game - then this time round I'm going for absolute max of 600 words...(jaysus, three good sentences and I'll be finished!!)
sorry for the delay fudgy btw - crashed me motor into a wall today and ended up in all sortsa ****e with various authoritorial figures.....great fun.....wasn't even my fault - bloody dog ran out in front of me and I tried to avoid it....nearly ended up hitting a kid instead...and of course his mum is all up in arms and stuff and I'm in the **** and the bloke who's dog is running about without a lead or nothin is outta the picture in a shot....
anyway, few glasses of wine now and i've calmed down a bit - still - v unnerving....
right - 600 words - escape - here we go.....
Made. My. Day. 0 -
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Just thought Id put mine up now since Im finished
Ok, let’s see. Toast; check. Tea; check. Jam, butter, orange juice? Check. All ready. The breakfast lies on a small table, waiting to be delivered to mum.
So why am I still in the kitchen? I give the table a long hard stare and a lightbulb goes off.
Scrambled eggs! I knew I was forgetting something. I take two eggs from the fridge, crack them open and stir it in the pot until it’s done. I tip it onto a plate and set it beside the tea.
I still don’t want to go up.
I just don’t know what to expect. Will she be angry, upset, completely indifferent?
I try to think positive, that she will be mum again, that she will recognize me and not mistake me for her friend or even her own mum. Christ, it’s so unfair. Why her?
Down the hall. Up the stairs. I push the door to her room with my hips, and set the table down over her. I brace myself for her to shout, to cry, to say nothing and ignore the whole world like it deserves it. But she doesn’t do any of those things. Instead, she speaks.
“Thanks a million, pet. Did you sleep well?”
For a moment I am too shocked to reply. I nod, trying to shake away the pointless hope rising up in me like a balloon. “Yes, I slept just fine, mum,” I say, propping up her pillows.
She slams her tea on the table, some of it spilling over. I wince and reach for a tissue but she hits out with her hand. I am too afraid to look at her face. I know what it will be. A mask of hatred, of disgust. Of the pain of being constantly confused. I lift my head and see her features contort into a display of ... of hurt.
“I’m not your mum, and your not my daughter! My daughter is in school right now, I don’t know who you are.”
I feel it like a hammer to my heart. My own mother. I feel the stinging of tears threatening to flood the house, but I hold them back, along with the desire to lash out at her. I clench my fists, digging my nails hard into my palms to replace my hurt with pain, something easier to deal with.
“I am your daughter, mum-”
“I AM NOT YOUR MUM! And stop looking at me like that! Get out before I ring the guards! OUT!” The poison in her voice is enough to push me over the edge into not caring. I give up. Enough is enough. If she wants me out, then she’ll get what she ****ing wants, because I’m done. I walk out of the room, leaving her muttering, “Not my daughter not my daughter no way not my daughter,” to herself.
I storm out of the room, down the stairs and out the door. I am done with her. I cant do it anymore. Even being in this house is too painful. My old home. So full of memories. But my mother lies in a tangle of them, not knowing which is true, which is old.
I look up at the sky then. Bright blue with the sun burning there like a torch. I find it hard to believe that something can be so beautiful yet so terrifying. How it has its blue beauty and how endless it seems, like it could go on forever. Thats how I feel now. Like I was a locked up sky, in there with her. But my chains have been broken and now I am free to do what I want. I am escaping out into this endless stretch of possibilities, out into new hope. I am leaping into the mouth of the terrifying beauty of the sky. New beginnings.
I am free.0 -
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