Idea Down

I have sadly fallen out of another competition. I know the competition was fierce because the feedback I received was hugely positive.

I'll share the story at the bottom but I've hit on another idea that I think is affecting how I write. I have a head full of ideas some days. As much as possible, I try to write down at least the core of the idea before I lose it. It's happened too many times to risk.

A few months back I had a story pop into my head fully formed. I didn’t have my backpack with me and so had no notebook. Once the panic settled I grabbed my phone and tried to take notes but the idea was completely gone. I felt angry and foolish and spent two days beating myself up for being badly prepared and letting my panic get the best of me.

Fast forward a few months and I found my job (including the commute*), family and trying to make time for my health was eating up all my time. I barely had time to read, let alone write. When I went to the Facebook writing group to ask how people find the time the very first comment I got was:

People make time for stuff they care about. It's really as simple as that.

I came for advice and instead I got judgement. I'm not ashamed to say I cried.

This is the main reason I enter competitions. With a topic or genre to focus on and a deadline to meet, I find I have to focus. More importantly, if the competition connects with the ideas in my head, I have an excellent trigger to get them on the page.

I'm hoping this will be practice that gets me into better writing habits. As for reading, I have had to force myself to make some time. It isn't easy! But I need it.

Anyway, to the story. Hope you enjoy it.

One Small Step

“Amelia, is it working?”

“I said ‘wait’, Mark. You know? Let time pass?”

A tingling sensation crawled up her neck. The world was tinged violet, then it faded.

“Damn!” Amelia grabbed some tools, adjusting the connections between the controls panel and the cage just behind. She daisy-chained more alternators to the existing set. Then she whispered a private prayer and flicked the switch.

That tingle, the violet light and the cage was empty. Not just empty but filled with a void, intense cold emanated from it forming a circle of frost.

“Bloody hell!”

Trust Mark to ruin the moment, she thought as she put on protective clothes.

“As soon as I step in, push the blue button.”

“You’re going in there? Amelia, anything could happen.”

“That broken message came from me. I know it did. I’m going to find out what it means. I’m only going three days into the future. After five minutes, push the blue button again.”

She stepped into the frigid air, waiting for Mark to build up the courage.

Amelia crouched as a wave of nausea hit her.

She was still in the cage, the familiar laboratory tiles just outside.

“Shit. Mark, could you…”

The circle of tiles lay in an open space. All around her an empty world stretched as far as the eye could see. A violently severed hand lay on the edge of the tile circle. Mark.

This shouldn’t have happened. Can’t happen. She needed power. She had to send word...

* In case you're wondering why I don't read and write while commuting, I get terrible motion sickness when I try. I need to be able to watch the world go by.