My short story

[robvalue]

One day I came across a secret room. A man is sitting in the dark. He is desperately clinging to a blanket. The door is wide open, but still he sits there.

I turn on the light. The man screws his eyes up really tight. I tell him the door is right in front of him, just open your eyes and you will see. Just look!

He won't look. He won't open his eyes and see. He has been told his eyes will deceive him. He continues to sit in the dark, less than a meter away from freedom.

I sometimes watch from a distance, worried I'll be spotted. Every day people walk into the room to abuse him in all sorts of horrible ways, but they tell the man they love him really. It's been going on so long, he's made himself believe it. He says they have promised him all these wonderful things, as long as he stays in the room. Whenever he asks for his reward, they always tell him to be patient.

I reach out to pull him through the doorway, but he gnashes and snarls, scratches me. I then see he is actually shackled to the floor. I find the key on a nearby hook. It's not even hidden, and it's within his reach.

I offer him the key. He won't take it. He says I'm trying to trick him, that this room is where he belongs, and there is nothing else. I try to reach over and unlock the shackles myself, but he twists and turns and I just can't get to it.

Every day I come back, with a new idea of how I might get him to just open his eyes and see what's right in front of him. Then he can take the key, unlock the shackles and take those few steps into reality.

Every day, when I go to see him, he has turned the light off again. He has put the key back on the hook.

[Alex K]

Let me guess, the room and the shackles are not an allegory for atheism, and the key is not Jesus :-)
But that's precisely what our dear Christians would read into it if you let them...

[robvalue]

I'm sure they will I will leave it up to everyone to decide what they think it means, if anything.

That's actually the first story I have ever written, I suddently got inspired! I didn't think I could do it.

(I know that wasn't exactly impressive, but it's more than I ever thought I could do. Creativity has always been the thing I struggle with the most.)

[Alex K]

I'm sure they will I will leave it up to everyone to decide what they think it means, if anything.

That's actually the first story I have ever written, I suddently got inspired! I didn't think I could do it.

(I know that wasn't exactly impressive, but it's more than I ever thought I could do. Creativity has always been the thing I struggle with the most.)

There's an odd barrier for writing such things which I feel. I myself have written extensively on academic subjects for years, including in book form, and that's complete normality for me, but I have ideas for two novel- or thriller-like things which I long wanted to try and flesh out. However, there's this barrier to really sit down and write fiction, which is that I constantly feel that I have to somehow justify doing something this silly, plus the doubts and embarrassment that something I conjure up just like that would not be something anyone would want to read. I think it's partly because in my education in school I was mostly told to read the masters, and producing ones own creative text just for the heck of it was discouraged as necessarily inferior.
Maybe our published authors of fiction here can weigh in what their experience was. As for yourself, keep writing writing writing.

[robvalue]

Thank you. I know what you mean. Whenever I get a slight idea, I can never seem to think of enough substance to write a story from it and I tell myself it would be rubbish.

I quite shocked myself writing this, so maybe short stories are the place to start. And maybe putting my feelings into the story, rather than just trying to completely make something up, will produce something.

I have written a lot of stuff too, but it's been in the form of guides on gameFAQ (I'm robvalue there too). Not really the same thing hehe. That's great that you have written academic books and such, I'm sure they would be fascinating judging from your insight on the forum.

[Alex K]

I think generally, to write something good, there needs to be something in you that you feel needs to be said - that can be just a feeling or an emotional thing that you want to communicate, or a whole story. Without that, there's the danger that it will fall flat. I really liked the book "how to write a damn good novel" by J. Frey, with a bit of luck you find it somewhere for free.

Not really the same thing hehe. That's great that you have written academic books and such, I'm sure they would be fascinating judging from your insight on the forum.

Let's hope. I absolutely dread the Amazon reviews when it comes out next year

[robvalue]

I think you are right, and that's where I've been going wrong. Thanks for the recommendation as well!

I read Stephen King's "guide" to writing, but found it would never work for me. And it explained why almost all his novels follow the same format which I don't particularly like, even when I like the book as a whole.

[Alex K]

I think you are right, and that's where I've been going wrong. Thanks for the recommendation as well!

I read Stephen King's "guide" to writing, but found it would never work for me. And it explained why almost all his novels follow the same format which I don't particularly like, even when I like the book as a whole.

Interesting, I've never read anything by King, I was always more of a Crichton person.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Just as the Eagles sang, "So oftentimes it happens / that we live our lives in chains / and never even know we have the key."

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I think you are right, and that's where I've been going wrong. Thanks for the recommendation as well!

I read Stephen King's "guide" to writing, but found it would never work for me. And it explained why almost all his novels follow the same format which I don't particularly like, even when I like the book as a whole.

I liked much of what he had to write in there, especially the parts about simplicity, concision, and character depth. Of course, those were the three biggest weaknesses in my writing at that time -- I was overly complex, overly anxious to demonstrate English mastery, and unable to quickly sketch a character, and then fill him in as he grew through the story.