Sunday, June 24, 2018

Two very short stories.

Hey everyone. Here's some super short short stories. Both of them add up to around 300 words each I believe and I created them for a zine I want to publish. Maybe I'll do a blog post series of what I'm learning about zines and how I am doing with creating them. I created one for a prototype and didn't do very well with it but I am wanting to try and perfect it until I feel that I can maybe sell some of them. However, that is all future plans and I will write blog posts about them when the passion for zines comes bck into my life. For now, here's an example of my stories that would go into a zine:

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She didn't know where she was. All she knew was that she was lying flat on her back and her wrists and ankles were strapped to the bed tightly. When she tried to open her eyes the whiteness and brightness of the room hurt her eyes. She tried to keep herself calm. Panicking would not help her in this situation. A loud bang echoed through the room and she heard two male voices.
'She's looking well considering.'
'Considering?'
'Considering that this drug has never been tested on humans before.'
'I thought you said it had a trial run?'
'A cover up story. We tested it on one rodent and it immediately combusted.'
'And you thought it safe to test it on this human?'
'We have no option. Time is running out for Earth. This woman is our only hope for survival.'
'You never did tell us what's happening on Earth.'

-

Zara knew that there was something up with Earth. No one was telling her what was happening and now that her best friend has disappeared. There have been rumours about her best friend being taken in by the government for examinations but Zara didn't believe everything she was told. However, her parents wouldn't let her find her best friend.
'It's too dangerous.'
That made Zara want to look into her friends' missing case even more. It wasn't until a week later that Zara picked up on any clues on her friends' case. She was online when the breaking news reports started flooding in. It was stating that a group of girls, including her friend (Zara saw pictures of the victims and her friend was among them), were reported missing under mysterious circumstances via government officials. It was these articles that spurred Zara onto finding other people who had missing relatives because of the government. When she found these people her passion to find her best friend increased. Don't worry Thea, I'll find you.

---

I hope you enjoyed these two short stories. I won't be posting anything next week since I'll be away on holiday and working on my novel for Camp NaNoWriMo. I may do Camp NaNoWriMo updates every week in July to let you know how I'm doing.

Have a great writing day,

Rachel. x 

Sunday, June 17, 2018

The Stillness of Time

I can feel the severe pain coursing through my joints as I sit on a cold, hard steel chair

I glance around to ignore the pain and see my Mum looking straight ahead I don't know why she's not communicating with me maybe it's because she already knows why we're here and doesn't want me to panic

too late for that now I'm on the verge of having a breakdown I should be able to control my panic attack like I did lst night

it's so hard to disguise the feeling of panic rising in my throat I don't want to make a scene in the middle of the surgery I want to just be able to get through this appointment and get out of here

as I contemplate on trying to remain calm I hear some noisy kids coming around the corner of the hallway to the waiting room great more noise

I try and ignore the loud screeches and voices and focus on my hands while I try and control the panic in my throat that is threatening to cover my whole body the sound of my name 'Miss Williams' coming from the nurse who magically appears at the corner of my vision fills me with relief as I get up quickly from the chair to escape the now chaotically loud waiting room

the office is light and airy the room is a pale blue it seemed that all hospital rooms had to be that colour or a sickly green and I can hear rushing cars outside letting me know that the morning traffic was well underway

now what can I do for you Miss Williams

the nurse looks at me expectantly and I feel myself become more nervous under her stern gaze and turn to face my Mum

my Mum doesn't respond to the question and I realise she's wanting me to answer I'm so used to not having to talk with the Doctor much

I think I may have a consultant who is doing the treatment that you need that I can refer you to him if you want me to

Ilook to my Mum again and thankfully this time she decides to help me out my head is whirring with all the dates that I have booked and my head starts to ache with all the information I don't feel relief from the situation until yes that would be great wouldn't it Lyra

yes that would be great really I definitely need this treatment and if this is the best consultant for the job then I'm sure nothing will go wrong

from the chuckling sound coming from the Doctor I can tell I've been caught out with my not listening to the conversation I just can't help it when my Mum and the Doctor are talking about things I don't understand or care about my mind just wanders

well I can't promise anything but he is one of the best consultants for this kind of treatment and I wouldn't have recommended him if I hadn't of thought so

I nod in a robotic fashion and can feel my muscles tense around my mouth as I offer him a fake smile and say

well I'm just glad something can be done about this pain it's starting to distract me from my University life and I hate it when my health is keeping me from doing anything

the Doctor nods and his head starts to become a blur with how tired my eyes feel

education is something that we take seriously here at the surgery and if we can we will make sure we can fit this treatment around your study it will be hard though because of all the government cuts so we are limited with what we can do but we'll try everything we can

I nod and my neck seems not to be working properly if I can't get out of this room I feel as if my body will seize up if I don't get out

thanks again for everything

is there anything more I can do for you today

just as a recap so I know you know all of this but I'll refer you Lyra to this consultant and you can book an appointment with him nearer the time

my joints are groaning and my mind feels as if it's groaning along with it with how slow this appointment is taking

thank you

when the door opens back into the real world the noise of the people shocks my sense slightly

well that went more smoothly than I thought it would do what do you think about it all Lyra

why can't people just leave me alone in peace for a few seconds everyone seems to want to know my take on things

I think it's great Mum I can't wait to meet this consultant he must be good if the Doctor thinks so highly of him

getting out of the building was something of a relief that building always seemed to get too stuffy and the sunshine was forgiving and warmed my body up

you know I want the utmost happiness for you don't Lyra

Lyra you do know that don't you

yes I know Mum I'm fine I just want this appointment over and done with

I know I know darling and we'll get through this but you have to get through this semester and you'll be pain free this summer

I know it's just that I want a summer you know and this operation won't allow me to have one

look I understand that you're frustrated about this situation but you've been through this before and I'm sure you'll do absolutely fine in this situation

the shake of my head makes me realise that I probably sound like a whiny bitch if I said all of this out loud and I resolve to make sure that no one hears of my self-deprecating thoughts other than myself I didn't need anyone else other than myself at exactly how weak I am I don't care if I'm putting on a face to people it's just what I do it's how I survive with this condition in this world

This short story is from an anthology called Beyond the Walls 2018 and was created by the students of York St John University and published via Valley Press. If you want to purchase a copy to support the other young authors that I share this anthology with please pick up a copy here:http://www.valleypressuk.com/book/102/beyond_the_walls__new_writing_from_york_st_john_university

Have a great creative day, 

Rachel x 

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Hello there!

Hello there! Welcome to my new blog! I already have a blog which I will link here which is where I review books. This blog will be used to post all of my creative writing pieces which includes short stories and possibly extracts of the novel that I am working on. I will possibly create blog posts on writing updates on how I am doing with my writing and how my novel is doing. I hope you join me in my writing journey. I'll post something every week - whether it's a piece of writing or a discussion post on my writing in general. Hope you enjoy them either way.

Thanks for reading and hope you create something great!,

Rachel Colley x