FictionWorkshop

Aftermath Wallflower: Only a month has passed. One month since the local news told us that odd chemicals had been found in the sewers. Or since Tommy’s preschool called, saying that the only part of him they could find was his left hand. One month since the monsters first attacked. My parents were killed last week. They were at a casino, getting supplies, when three monsters came in. They walk on two legs. They run like mad. They sliced up mom and dad and ate wildly. I found their left hands on my bed the next morning. JT : Today’s the month-a-iversary. I think. I don’t know what to believe now. I used to think DC was the

Dinner with Dave By Connorchap Sunday, October 10, 2004, 9:40 P.M. Besides the clacking sounds of metal on stone that could be heard faintly from the other room, and the dull bass hum occupying the empty air, the musty sitting area was currently rather silent. A few boxes couldn’t really have been said to clutter up the corner of the room, though they tried very hard for at least a modicum of disorderly arrangement. A sofa and a recliner sat in only vague need of cleaning near the left center of the room, and then the right side of the room bore host to a none-too-scratched coffee table. The ring of stain on it’s surface was only

Staging in Regards to Writing Setting up your scene, whether it be for a novel, short story or a script is an important aspect of writing a believable and understandable story. Staging is sort of like the layout of your world. It is imperative that the reader understand where setting(s) is, where the character(s) is coming from, going to, directions, names of places, and where people/things/places are in relation to one another. Good staging: Below I have provided an example of a written excerpt with good staging. Example: Sally stood in the middle of the mall, wondering where the food court was. Looking at the mall map towering before h

"I want to die." Kathy told John.       "Why would you want that, Grandma? They're having meatloaf today!" The intern informed her, "You could at least wait until after lunch."       The old woman smiled, closing her eyes. "You're a good boy, Johnny."       "Thanks, Kathy." John waved at her and then stepped out of the room into the hallway.       The hospital appeared to be deserted. Of course, that wasn't unusual. Ever since people had found out about the murders taken place there, they'd been going to the next town. The same went for most of the doctors, too. But John didn't mind! For one, his pay had almost trippled since everyone

The wind was cold on her skin. Artic blasts of ice melted onto her skin. The full moon sky just shined on her like a second body. Stars sparkled on her, filling her with a new energy of life. “Hannah! Jesus Christ, get your ass down here!” The jarring voice of her mother forced Hannah awake. She glanced over at the luminous numbers on her digital clock. 7:15 a.m. Fuck. She should have been awake an hour ago. Shuffling towards the mirror, she peered blurrily into the glass. A girl with straight, dull black hair and grey eyes looked confused back at her. That wasn’t the only thing staring back at her in the mirror. “

 Six days ago, the act of Murder single-handedly turned the people of Endola to panic and despair. Although Endola was a peaceful world as a whole, the act of murder was not uncommon and was considered a heinous crime. Had the victim been anyone but a High Priestess, more specifically L`Luen of the West, the people of Endola might not have cared much. L`Luen's life aided in maintaining the world's energy balance and without the Great Oracle, Endola would surely sink into a chaotic imbalance and then substantially weaken. It was unclear exactly who the wretched killer was, but rumors spoke of a dark creature with bladed fingers and searing,

 The skies were cloudless, a pristine azure blue; only the beauty of the sapphire waves could compare. The clement breeze wrapped the small merchant sloop in tropical salt air. Lillie stood on deck, immersed in the beauty of the vast, expansive ocean. She watched little, grey dolphins play before the ship’s bow and wished she could stay at sea, in this serene moment forever.       The wind rustled through her long, silky blonde hair, reminding her how much she loved the freedom of the open ocean. She wished to express the same liberty by removing her corset, but knew it was not proper. Maybe if she had been something other than a rich

Chapter One The light of the full moon reflected in the water, as a girl meandered along, following the creek.  Her mind was streaming with ideas and thoughts; she was in such disbelief of what had just happened. She knew the farmer would be in a horrid state when he found out she was missing. She tossed the thought aside and kept walking. She didn’t know where she was going, but knew anywhere was better than her old home with the farmer. Sydney could definitely say her life was not a picnic in the park. There was only a handful of her kind left. Humans just weren’t popular to come by anymore, and anyone who did see one snatched t

The sun struggled to make its way up the cloudy sky, trying to light the desolated outskirts of the snow-covered city. Its light filtered through the wooden rafters of the ceiling of the old train station, long abandoned. The building just stood there in the middle of nowhere, ruinous, its dirty greyish walls reflecting the cold light. But, despite its dead external appearance, it was full of life inside… if it deserved being called ‘life’. A bunch of kids of all ages slept there, hidden under pieces of ripped cardboard or newspapers, lying among rubbish and rusty railways. As sunlight reached their faces, they stirred, and mo

I could hear his distinctive footsteps ascend up the staircase. I hid in the safety of my bedroom wardrobe, praying he wouldn’t find me. Each creak grew louder. His footsteps getting closer. The tiny chink of light issuing from the gap between the doors, now blocked by a tall, towering figure. My body numbed, my mouth dried, the cold sweat trickled down my frozen cheek, the shivers shook down my spine. He found me.     “RYAN! Why haven’t you done the dishes yet?” he shrieked. His iron grip pierced the skin on my scrawny arm as I was thrown out of the wardrobe, smacking hard against the concrete wall. His hand of steel sw

The security guard watched as the last of the guests left the museum. As he watched, he saw a woman with dark brown hair running toward the exit. Her hair flowed elegantly behind her as she ran. She slid across the floor, and tumbled, falling before him.       He reached down to help her up, and she used him to stand. He looked in her eyes, a dark auburn, much like her hair. She stood slightly shorter than him, perhaps five foot seven.       "Thank you,' she whispered the words.       She walked toward the door, and out of his sight.       He watched the rest of the visitors then made his nightly rounds through the museum. As he near

Prologue "Eden!  Eden!"  He shook him by the shoulders, eyes filling with tears as Eden's head lolled to the side.  Running his fingers along the other man's bruised and battered cheek, tears fell from Chase's eyes.  "Please...you have to wake up...please..."           This wasn't happening.  It couldn't be.  Eden wasn't dead, he wasn't holding his bloody corpse in his arms.  No.  "Eden!"  Chase's voice grew high with fear, a sudden panic filling him.  "You can hear me, right?!  Right?!"

Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women. Twenty-Three   At last war would be decided on! Today was Okonkwo’s day. All the men of Umuofia met in the marketplace to wage war on the white missionaries. If it meant killing their brothers as well, so be it. If their brothers had joined the white men then were they truly the sons of Umuofia any longer?   As the men chanted and roared for blood, a messenger came to stop the unruly behaviour of the men.

He reached out and tried to grab Seyd's hand as he slipped farther and farther down the cliff, "Seyd!"       The silver-haired man tried to scramble up the cliff, but it was obvious he wouldn't make it. He eventually found a hold and stayed there, "Asher," His silver eyes gazed into the other's copper ones, "Don't worry, you'll find me again."       "No, Seyd--"       "You'll find me, Asher." He let go.       Asher stood at the edge of the great dessert land of Soriki, ruled by the scorpion lord Soren. He observed the miles and miles of sand. "Seyd... Please be here."      At the beginning of time, the great mother earth and father

In the year ____ an unmanned probe was sent to Jupiter’s moon Europa to determine whether or not the deep sea oceans supported life. Though successful, the probe was lost, as unexplainable interference cut it off, depriving it from power and all communications. No-one knew what happened.         Over the next 100 years, many more missions, manned and unmanned were sent by Earth as it built its fledgling interstellar empire. Earth had just reached its first new stars, its first new worlds, but still it could not penetrate the region that had claimed all previous missions. Then in the year 21__, a scientist staying at an ice mining faci