A Madman's Day Planner

So if you read yesterday’s post, you understand I am writing this post in some sort of scheduled time frame. This is true. I gave myself exactly thirty minutes later in the day to write a quick and simple blog post. My day looks relatively fun in the fact I have the day off work. That being said there are a million things that I need to accomplish today if today is to be successful. So here is how I’ve planned my day.

  • 6:30 AM – Get out of bed, help my partner walk dogs.
  • 7:00 AM – Feed dogs.
  • 7:30 AM – Play with dogs to settle them.
  • 8:00 AM – Hang out laundry.
  • 8:30 AM – Stack and put on dishwasher.
  • 9:00 AM – Write: Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse.
  • 10:00 AM – Tidy Lounge Room.
  • 10:30 AM – Tidy Kitchen.
  • 11:00 AM – Write: Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse.
  • 12:00 PM – Lunch & Free Play! Yay!
  • 1:00 PM – Tidy Bedroom.
  • 1:30 PM – Tidy & Clean Bathroom.
  • 2:00 PM – Write: Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse.
  • 3:00 PM – Write New Blog Post.
  • 3:30 PM – Vacuum House.
  • 4:00 PM – Take dogs out for play time.
  • 5:00 PM – Cook & Eat dinner.
  • 6:00 PM – Feed Pups.
  • 6:30 PM – Puppy playtime and free time.
  • 9:00 PM – Shower.
  • 9:30 PM – Puppies to bed.
  • 10:00 PM – Bed.

The hardest part of all of that today is trying to get in bed by ten. Now that doesn’t mean asleep, just in bed winding down. But as you can see there are some relatively vague tasks I could put a lot more description into, but because everything has a deadline, it means I work faster to accomplish things quicker. Also I schedule myself minimal free time so that I work harder to gain MORE free time. That is why you are getting this planning post, I was going to write one later (and still might) but instead because hanging out the laundry took less time and the dishwasher was mostly stacked, I’m ahead of the game so I bumped it up!

My plan is to add an additional three thousand words to my story today and see if that brings me to a satisfied conclusion. Although after reading the last little bit, there is a very possible chance book one may get cut down to around ninety one or two thousand words and that right now I may be writing the first pages of book two. If that is the case, the pacing makes a lot more sense as an intro instead of a conclusion. 

The idea though is if today goes awesomely, then the time just before bed will be spent planning the next day (and also some free time). This worked exceptionally well in the beginning… not sure why I ever stopped in all honesty. I think it may have had something to do with holidays and travelling. Anyway, wish me luck and I’ll update you later at some point!

Good luck in your own efforts!!! It’s us versus the tasks!

Sacrificing the Procrastination Goat for Favour from the Productivity Gods

I’ve been strongly considering finding a writing nook where the internet does not exist. Something similar to a cave, or dungeon. Ever considered committing a crime and requesting to be placed into solitary confinement? No. Me either.

My eternal struggle is summed up in the cleverly written duo of blog posts entitled Why Procrastinators Procrastinate. That guy nails it, and the line I always laugh to myself about is the monkey’s thoughts, “Why would we ever use a computer for work when the internet is sitting right there waiting to be played with? He thinks humans are insane.” I chuckle… then sigh, and check my email for the four million, seven hundred and fifty four thousand, two hundred and eleventh time. Guess what? No new emails.

For people who say music helps them to work… I say, poppycock. The moment a song rips into my conscious thought, my train of thought derails from the productivity rails it was on and plummets into an incredible explosion of searching for the next song that will get me back on track. Maybe it does work for some, but not me. Some songs inspire me, which helps… but as much as I love Bad Religion, it just doesn’t fit in with writing about Magicians. Not sure why, maybe that’s a good short story concept. Punk wizards in a post-apocalyptic world using their musical magic to conquer the silence cult of doomsday. Writes itself really.

What were we talking about? Oh yeah! Procrastination. Whoops, isn’t that ironic. Don’t ya think?

Anyway before I bust out into Alanis Morissette (for those of you who are old enough to remember her) I’m going to challenge myself and return to a process I did a long time ago that was fully integrated into time management. I used to set a time block for writing and within that block I had to write more than a thousand words (easily achievable). However I also had given chores times as well and essentially had busted down my top goals and how I was going to work towards them. This requires a ton of planning (something every procrastinator loves to do) and then the commitment from myself and those around me. Also, it helped to make no excuses about being too tired to do a task. You just do it. I’m going to spend the rest of this week, planning my next week. I demand satisfaction and that will not be achieved until I am finished my story.

Let’s do this. Wish me luck!

Happy Anniversary… Three Years.

Strangely, the notification that I started this blog three years ago has made me consider why I even started this blog in the first place.

I suppose you can’t help but glance back a few times when moving forward.

This blog originally started as a place to showcase my writing. My plans were to post my every idea and piece of work on this very page. As some of you have seen, I have posted a few things, but since I gained all my followers I have felt the need to produce, but without actually producing. Sitting in this chair now, I even have a screen open with my book in it… it is begging me to finish it. I could go type some words, but I have exactly no focus. This is why I am still not actually published. Of late I’ve been more obsessed with the idea of collecting fantastic editions of classics and compilations than the effort of finishing my book.

My problem is I allow things to get into the way. Anything. Everything. I don’t just need someone to support me while I try and write my novel, I need someone to push me. I need that person who forces the time into my life. I need that time to be sacred. Consistent. Wether it’s in the wee hours of the morning, or the depths of the evening… I need it. Crave it. Must have it. But that hour must also be a time when I am alert, well rested and energised. In my current state I have the attention span of a gnat, which is said to be roughly .1 of a second. Sounds about right. Between paragraphs I have seen a raven poop over my neighbour’s house, a bug fly directly into the window, looked up the actual length of a gnat’s attention span (I was curious) and checked facebook because I have a conversation going where we occasionally get back to each other.

The thing I would love to see is just how the “successful” author organises their ideas and stories. I mean, writing one book was hard enough… but imagine JK Rowling writing seven! Middle Earth’s series of five! The countless trilogies and ongoing insanities. I feel like Tolkien had hundreds of notes, while for my book I had nothing. My story evolved as follows.

Boy joins magician in hunt for evil magicians before the rise of the forbidden arts destroys the world.

Then the next step was I broke it down into five plot points or critical events.

  1. Boy meets Magician, inducted into order.
  2. Forbidden Arts introduced, traumatic event.
  3. Magician descends into madness, breaks from order.
  4. Boy helps order to recruit for oncoming battle.
  5. Battle and Aftermath.

Sounds almost like Harry Potter there huh? Those five points can probable be applies to any number of books.

Then after that, my writing followed the direction of the plot, but the characters drove the story. My target was to hit one hundred thousand words so I said around every twenty thousand words the characters should have progressed enough that one of the points was happening. And it did for the most part. The recruiting took a bit longer and the battle and aftermath turned out to be the final ten thousand, but I never once had a note or anything. This most likely means my book is like a wet paper bag and you could poke holes through it with a limp noodle. I am proud of my foreshadowing and setup of some events along with their execution, but the overall product isn’t sold on me. No matter how many times I reread it and edit it, I find it’s not good enough…

Hopefully, that doesn’t happen to my kids someday. If it does, and they read this… know that I am sorry, I can’t help it. High standards!

Lastly… Happy Three Years to me and my blog… to many more words and many new friends along the way! Thanks for reading and please keep in touch!

What Was I Doing? Oh… Yeah…

January first, twenty fourteen. One man. Many missions.

Accomplished?

Not even close.

As of last week of twenty thirteen, I virtually dropped off the face of the Earth in regards to writing. With two puppies, social commitments, work descending into the depths of chaos (Christmas in retail anyone?) and a severe lack of sleep… my accomplishments broke down into: Ate three times (not just meals) today, managed to get to the washroom before it became a pants issue and slept more than five hours. For anyone who has never had a pet, get your stuff in order first. Don’t know what I mean? You will.

As for the pups they’ve grown quite a bit. Last weekend was their first exceptionally long car ride during which they were quite well behaved. Also we took them to the beach. If you ever want to see the cutest thing ever, watch a miniature dachshund swim. Their tiny legs in the water look even shorter, so they look like they’re hovering! Cuteness aside, pets have been a trying experience as our day has begun ending later and starting earlier. I am by no means a morning person, and getting up at six thirty is rough. It was rough when I was doing it to write (which I love) but now I am doing it for exercise (a necessary evil). I miss sleeping in on my days off and feeling well rested. But… I have always wanted a dachshund.

At work stats are improving, the store looks great, the atmosphere has changed and everything is much more positive. This is great, but also means I’ve been busier, I’m exhausted when I get home and spend more time than I should there. I love the job and the company though, so that’s a definite plus. I just hope to get my own store soon so I can have my own atmosphere and my own rules. This store is still doing some things I wouldn’t tolerate if it were my store, but as I am one of three managers, consistency is a hard fought battle.

Lately I’ve also become obsessed with collectors editions of books. From the beautifully silk covered and bound books I got a few months back to the Barnes & Noble Signature Collection, I’ve been hunting for great prices and fantastic editions of my faves. A few of my latest purchases have arrived (The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft’s Complete Fiction) and I was not disappointed. Also, it has been fantastic to revisit the deep one infested town of Innsmouth and once again be an accomplice to the murder of poor Fortunato (Or Unfortunato… heh). I am also awaiting so many others, one in particular being the Count of Monte Cristo, one of my all time favourites. These books are beautifully decorated and high quality, which is a relief considering I ordered them blindly from the US.

Hmm… there was something else as well… drawing? No. Music? Hmm, no, not that either. Ah yes… writing.

With the above details into my life as it has been since the turn of the year, do you think I have accomplished that which I wanted to? Not a chance. I think if I wanted to complete it any time soon I would have to either put a beanbag chair in the back of my van and leave early for work or somehow convince my dogs to calm down while I write like a madman. The other issue is when I do finally get time to work on it (such as today) I have a million and one chores (clothes, dishes, cleaning, dogs, food, should probably shave…) that kill the day. Yes, I hear what you’re thinking. Why are you writing this blog post then? Go write your story! Don’t worry, that voice is in my head too. But this is easier to write with the smidgen of attention span I have left, and in between the chores. I will work on it in a bit, when I am more awake.

Anyone else find their life just gets in the way? Social commitments? Work? Sleep? Share in my pain and let me know how you ladies and gents are going out there!

Ramblings On A Thursday

Hello, my name is Timothy John Edwards. I have a writing problem.

As in, I haven’t done much today.

Or… in the past few days.

Okay… so maybe I have a procrastination problem!

I have exactly nine minutes before I feed the dogs and then I’ll have some time to work on my story after that. Such is my life as of late! Having pets has been a dramatic change of pace for me, I suppose I figured a smart guy like me would find this easy and these pups would be completely trained in a few days. The reality is, I’m trained and they (while being quite well behaved for two puppies just over two months old) are toying with me. We’ve been putting their collars on to get them used to it (for future walks) but it has been much harder on my body actually than anything else. I feel older than I am, but also I have a strong allergy to dogs that my body is currently trying to build an immunity to. My chest constantly feels heavy and my eyes are beyond itchy. My energy levels have dropped and I can sleep at any point in time. Would I change it? Hell no, I love these pups.

But because of these allergies my focus has been destroyed as of late. I am the kind of person who can put their mind to just about anything and achieve it. However between work and home I have been achieving next to nothing. But my mind is working overtime on the few stories in my head. Let’s give you a creative update!

My idea for one story has now evolved into four books originating from the main story idea. The main story was to be about a trio of characters all linked by destiny to come together and fight a common enemy. Now, I have the concept of a novel for each of the three to solidify their importance and build the backstory to enrich the main story idea of the three of them anyway. A Quadrilogy? There goes my writing life for the next year easily. In the individual stories there will be some similarities and cross overs as I explore the whole threads of fate concept between them.

Jefferson has been patient and I am roughly seven thousand or so words away from hitting the one hundred thousand. It will probably run just over that as they deal with the epic aftermath and sort through the fragments of what their lives used to be. Mwa. Ha. Ha. Probably within the final five thousand if I can get the pups settled fast enough.

My mind keeps revisiting a story concept set in a post apocalyptic world where the angels guarding hell are forced to retreat back to the realm of men. Together the two races are left to fend off the demonic hordes as Heaven wants no part in the matter. The concept stems from my idea that perhaps heaven and hell aren’t as we expect them to be and perhaps Lucifer is actually still the Lord’s General and lead fighter against the demons of hell in an eternal struggle. As Lucifer takes any who are not worthy of heaven into battle, he needs the vicious and the murderous alike to keep the demons at bay. When Lucifer and his forces are beaten back to the realm of men, Gabriel strips him of his rank for failing his duty, leaving him immortal but no longer an angel. This leads Lucifer to help lead the remainder of his army and the lands of men in their battle for survival as Heaven on high watches idly by.

And not bad for ten minutes, but have to run and feed the pups and get into Jefferson before I head to work! Take care ladies and gents and hopefully you’re done your christmas shopping or are enjoying the holidays either way!

An Update From Beyond The Screen

Holy crap, it’s almost halfway through December! Time flies when you suddenly have more hours at work and you have a dynamic duo of puppies who are extremely well behaved (until they decide otherwise). Needless to say I’ve been getting into a routine with the little guys but writing has very obviously taken a backseat for the moment as my routine currently goes: Puppies, Sleep, Eat, Shower. Either way, for those of you who were enjoying the daily posts I will get back into that habit as soon as my puppies stop turning pee pads into confetti… but for now the updates will be sporadic although I am more on top of my emails now as I have been trying (Read: Struggling) to keep up with those!

So, where am I in regards to completing my story?

Absolutely no closer! I have considered bringing my story to work to write on my break but as any retail manager knows, that’s near impossible. I get paged to the counter and around the shop a million and one times a day. Just at work alone I do over the daily goal of ten thousand steps. When I wake up my routine is take the puppies out to pee, breakfast for pups, out for poop (Pups only!), then if I have time breakfast, brush teeth and head to work. All excuses, I know, but until I get this new routine down I will be focussing on getting these pups trained properly. We’re not supposed to have them as our Strata setup didn’t approve them, however we’re going to make sure they’re the best behaved they can be. The final chapters of the story are coming together and I already know the last paragraph and its phrasing. However in a movie (because of the visual effects) it could be much more subtle!

How are the pups?

Puppy Lounge
Thor and Loki, sound sleep together… after a hard day of trying to destroy each other.

 

Loki
Life is hard for Loki the Destroyer.
Thor Lounge
Thor the Conquerer napping after sitting on Loki for awhile.
Guilty as charged!
Thor’s guilty face. Still damn cute.
I'm sorry
Loki’s “I’m sorry I just bit you” face.

Needless to say, I am absolutely taken by these two cute as hell fluffballs, despite their ability to get into trouble and absolutely tear apart their pee pads. It’s hard to stay strong when little Thor whines when we leave him alone. Luckily for us, they’re never truly alone as they do have each other and they do cuddle up (as well as try and murder each other). They’re both cuddly (on their own terms) and Thor likes to ensure Loki stays in line. Frequently if I am correcting Loki’s behaviour he also comes in and nips at his smaller counterpart. This is different to their play time nips… but then again, maybe I’m reading it differently. I’m sure the little sausage dog is laughing and saying “Haha, sucker… you got caught!”

It has definitely been a big adjustment for me not only routine wise but health wise as well. I haven’t had any time to really get bored and snack throughout the day which is great, but on the flip side my allergies are taking their toll on my energy levels throughout the day as their dander fights with my immune system. Do I regret getting them? Hell no. Just look at Loki’s eyes… just little balls of love. They’re actually quite well behaved for only having them for a week! It is rough at times as their little cries just tug on the heart strings unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. These are my first pets ever and I’m so glad I finally got my dachshund. It’s been years in waiting and it’s so worth it!

How is work?

Retail is definitely not the dream, but I love it. Christmas is the one time of year that challenges my passion for helping people as occasionally the customers can ask for more than I can offer. Not only that but with the holiday stress on everyone, customers can get rude (so can staff, don’t get me wrong) and make easy situations harder than they need to be. I’ve also been told that I am most definitely stuck in my current role until at the very least September next year. This is good because I can push to ensure the team is up to scratch for then but also I will be the one in charge of many decisions and planning the opening of the new store next September. It’s going to be another month of working my rump off, but that’s fine. It’ll be a great experience and I still have to learn the program for rosters as well as get deep into our Telco and Finance sections. I’ve got a bit to learn before I get my own shop anyway, I’m just really excited to help build a team and a culture where people want to be at work and love being there! This is how successful stores run! I’ve done it before with EB Games and HMV, so I’m excited to get my own shop again and get that vibe back into my life!

And such is life!

All in all, things are going really well, as soon as I work writing into this new schedule I’ll be on my way to virtually the right life! Lately I’ve been reading mostly Puppy Training books (Cesar The Dog Whisperer actually works!) and the new tunes I’ve been listening to include Jake Bugg’s Shangri La as well as KO and his various songs (Two faves Capable and Moving Mountains). Every once in awhile its good to get into some new tunes! I love that I get free streaming music through work! Although the last album I bought was Bad Religion’s Christmas Album!

So, lastly I want to wish you all happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate, no matter where you are, I want you guys to just enjoy the time with family and friends. This is one of the first years where I’m content. People asked me what I wanted and the only thing that jumped to mind was more time to write and still get everything else in. Despite not owning a next generation console, I’m not even interested in them at the moment. There’s simply nothing out until next year and by then they should be available in shops. Either way, how are things going with you ladies and gents? Where’s your writing at? Anything new in your life? Did you finish your NaNo project yet? So many questions! Take care and until next time!

 

TJ Edwards or: How I Learned To Stop Procrastinating And Edit My Novel

I reread the conclusion to my novel Jefferson and the Magician’s Curse today. This is a big deal because I have now fully finished rereading the entire thing. Do you know what I noticed?

The ending was good… But it could be so much more…

What do I mean? Well, I had an ending. I edited from eighty five thousand words up to the ninety thousand word mark. Then I had an epiphany as I read through the last pages of my story.

This was all too easy, the end? Too nice. Let’s crush some souls.

I’d like to think that at the end of my story, the reader will see the signs. They’ll see them and beg, BEG the protagonist not to do it.

But then… he does.

It is perfect and completes the ultimate circle. Besides the fact I have to rewrite the final ten thousand or so words of my novel, it works on many different levels and fits in perfectly. Much like finding the diamond puzzle piece that makes it all combine together… I feel… I feel…

Liberated!

Don’t ask! It feels so good to have crushed the ending I had with this new, Ending Version Two, Superior. This does put me a bit behind now though. I thought, edit some words… finish it today. Editing fifteen thousand words is easy once you get going. Just do it, I told myself. Then suddenly without warning, this comes through and despite the ending of the story already being written, I decided to rewrite it. I still want my book to be over one hundred thousand words. But now, it feels whole. Now it has things like foreshadowing, suspense, drama, action (which have been spit shined and polished) and now it has this moment. The moment the whole book has been building up to and is executed so perfectly it makes my mouth twist into an insane sort of grin smile. I think this might be called winning.

So now that I have to rewrite the final ten thousand words, I’ve set myself a deadline of the end of December. This is a near impossible target as in retail I work many hours, and then followed up by everyone wanting to see us over the holidays I think I may have to start overlapping mundane tasks (Brushing teeth and Showering, Eating and Writing) or get up earlier and go to bed earlier (which is hard when social events run until nine to eleven at night). If anyone can figure out how to write while they sleep… there is money already in the bank for you.

But the reason I decided to smash into it today was because I reread some of Ray Bradbury’s “Zen in the Art of Writing”. Mr Bradbury has so much energy and passion that immediately after reading any portion of it, you leap up and run to your computer to write. It is most disappointing that this man is gone as he will never know how much he influenced me from his small pocket sized book of writing suggestions. If you are a writer, go find this book and give it a read. I’d love to discuss it and when I eventually get published, he will definitely get a mention.

Also, procrastination is so easy. Pick up the challenge of eliminating all of these distractions we have at our fingertips and focus on what matters most to you. I put my phone away, used an app to limit my access to the internet and told myself to get to ninety thousand and read the rest. Now, things have changed… the story is going to rock and once I end the novel, it is then on to my partner to read. I just hope she enjoys it as much as I do!

Anyway get out there and write. Also, what is everyone writing right this second? Fantasy Novel? Story of a boy and a girl? I’d love to hear from you!

NaNoWriMo Ends, Christmas Begins.

From the frying pan and into the fire. From bad to worse. From craziness to insanity. From NaNoWriMo and into Christmas. All of these sentences mean the exact same thing when you work retail. Have you been wondering where I have been recently? I have been working myself really hard to prepare for christmas, and for puppies (Which arrive this saturday. Which… OMG I’M SO EXCITED, FACE MELTING CUTENESS! YAY!). I’ve never had a pet, so I don’t even know how these little buggers are going to take to our house. We are very much hoping they’ll take to each other and become the best of friends. But… I have worked retail for the past (Oh Man…) decade.

Christmas in retail is like being stuck in a building crammed with people and someone pulling the fire alarm. There are so many people and so few staff that trying to get to everyone is near impossible. Not only that, but I’m not sure when or how people came to the conclusion they’re entitled to everything, but they definitely do. My product was defective, and now I want a new one AND a fifty percent discount. Oh ha ha… oh wait, that guy was serious. Christmas brings out the crazy in people. Also, people make it very clear that “This is a christmas gift, so I need it before then.” I’ll be honest for all of you out there, no matter if you need it next week, or next year… the exact same process is in effect for both situations and you will get it ASAP in both scenarios. I promise!

So I know some people who did really well this year at NaNoWriMo (Congrats from me to Becka, BTW Check out that NaNo Cake!) Also Lorie and a few others!) I also know many who didn’t do so well… one notable one especially: Me! I had set the target of the end of November to be completely done my edit. I can give you a million reasons why I didn’t accomplish my goals, but not one as to how I tried to. I failed because I didn’t try to. I admit my defeat and move past it. No sense dwelling on it. But I am now aiming to have it done by the end of the month.

Of course as I mentioned earlier, I work retail. The hardest part about that at Christmas is I always want to do really well for budgets and the team morale. This involves me and some (Read: Many) extra hours at work. Arrive early, leave late, rock it for the entire day and revel in my own incredible productivity. Then I come home and glance at the couch before passing out on, near or around it. Horizontal is the new vertical, and I love it. So comfy. Anyway it seems I need to start waking up before work to get back into the habit I made to write.

Anyway congrats to all those who managed to hit fifty thousand words, and congrats to those who made those fifty thousand words matter! I will be back ASAP with more progress! Talk to you all soon!

I'm Not Dead! (Yet…)

Sorry about the sudden break, it has been an unanticipated one. I’ll post something more substantial when I get a second but between work and social commitments, my only spare time (Less than six hours) is for sleeping. Which is actually frustrating me because I enjoy writing and want to do more of it.

Tonight’s post is mostly being typed through extremely squinted eyes and as a questions.

The question of the day is where the heck are you on your own personal writing?! I’m talking about your nano novel, your screen play, your poetry anthology. Anything, let me know and I’ll post it in my next post! Anyway I’ll get back to you as my eyes barely stay open to write this,

Running a store, and selling through christmas is a big thing… so lets hope I don’t screw it up! Talk to you soon!

TJ

Fragments of Stories: Past, Present and Future.

Writing being the crazy whimsical pastime that it is, inspiration can suddenly flood in at any moment, drowning you with scenes, lines and concepts which are of the utmost importance. For me, these moments occur regularly and randomly. Sometimes they are about the same story. Other times they are mere flashes that string together as if my brain were assembling a movie trailer (complete with soundtrack). Some of you out there may understand… many of you most likely are phoning the people with the lovely white jackets on my behalf. Whatever the case may be, tonight I am going to take you on another journey, but this time into my flashes of inspiration.

So sometimes, I talk to myself. I’ve mentioned this before, so this should come as no surprise (depending on when you’ve joined… if you’re new, Hi! I’m TJ, and I talk to myself! Now you’re up to speed…). These conversations can lead to insanely inspiring scenes of awesome moments. Sometimes just a line itself begs to be written down and never forgotten. Tonight’s post is brought to you by a journey for water, in the middle of the night. Everything is completely unrelated to that… now, enjoy the fragments of my ideas and wonder how I piece together stories from these.

***

“I’ll never forget you.”

“Try.”

A knight clad in demonic armour forces a two storey pair of doors closed and drops the security bar into place. With a single bloodied hand, he leans against the door. I won’t forget you. A clattering of footsteps enter the room behind him and snap him from his daydream.

“Well. If it isn’t the fallen paladin… God abandoned you to the depths of hell did he?” A man sneers with a laugh. The other men chuckle as they enter the room.

“I wouldn’t know anything about God.” The demon knight narrows his eyes as he glances over his shoulder. Fifteen. He thinks to himself. Fifteen I can handle.

***

A ball of flame descended from the heavens and rained fire and ash down upon the kingdom of the Magi. Being the last of the fire Magi, Lorell ran desperately through the streets as he screamed, “Petra! Petra!” Finally he spotted her as she ran from a burning building.

Without a second thought, Lorell embraced her and patted out the flames with his bare hands. “Petra… oh thank the gods you’re alright.” As he held her tight, he could feel his body tingle. “We have to get out of here!” He yelled as the roaring inferno in the sky rumbled toward the kingdom. “It’s going to-” Suddenly, Petra went limp in his arms. “Petra?! Petra!!!” Lorell watched as her skin began to blister and burn. “No! There’s no time!” He clutched her close and pulled his cape around her. The sky grew bright and the earth shook ferociously. Then in an instant, all was seemingly over.

Lorell opened his eyes and stared into the pile of ash in his hands. He couldn’t recognise her any more, but he knew who and what it was he was holding. Standing straight up, the ashes drifted away into the breeze… Lorell looked lifelessly at the scorched earth around him. Organics turned to ash, bricks melted, metals ran tiny streams in the road. His immunity to fire had paid off. But it certainly didn’t feel like it.

***

As the police arrived, the train driver was sitting on the side of the road, still visibly shaken.

“Is that him?” Asked a broad shouldered detective, staring down a small man in a blue police uniform.

The smaller man leapt to attention as he realised who he was talking to. “Yes, Detective. That’s him.”

Walking up to the driver, the Detective sat down next to him. “Coffee?” He asked politely. The driver replied by shaking his head. The Detective smiled. “Good thing too, I only brought one of these. Want to tell me about it?”

“He-he fell, no jumped! He jumped from the overpass!” The driver exclaimed. People had been waiting for this moment, and the area went silent.

“Whoa slow down bud…” The Detective’s silver tongue calming the man a tiny bit. “He jumped in front of you?”

“Yes! I couldn’t have stopped, or missed!” The driver was nearly shouting, the attention of all around were beginning to stare.

The detective scratched his chin. “Well then, where’s the body?”

“Uhh detective?” A small bald police officer asked in hushed tones, in hopes that he wouldn’t be too much of an interruption. “You may want to see this.”

As the pair stared at the front of the train, the detective shook his head. “Call it in.” He said calmly.

The young officer peered up at his mentor. “Are you-“

“Yes,” The detective interrupted. “It’s not every day you see something like this.”

The detective watched as the younger officer walked away and then turned back to the front of the train. He stared at the perfect outline of a human like figure, dented into the front of the train. “Incredible… just incredible.”

***

As the small army of rebels began to retreat, the king pushed his men into pursuing them and killing them all to the last man. “Leave none alive! Not even the children and livestock!” He yelled, cackling in his glory. “But bring me their heads on pikes, so that I may revel in their agony and defeat every morning before dawn, and each night after dusk!”

As the king rose to inspect his newly acquired lands, his right hand knight Zero, removed his helmet. With astonishment, the king recognised him as the rebel leader. “You, how long have you…”

“Long enough to understand war. Understand people. Understand you.” The rebel said as the others also removed their helms. “You lead your men into the valley where my archers will kill them to the last man. Your people deserve better. They deserve a real king.”

“A real king? There have been no heirs in a thousand years!” The king scoffed. “You’d have more chance finding unicorn horns!”

“Yet here I stand… a testament to the love between the elves and humans, once. I come to unite the races and lead them into battle. A war is brewing…” The rebel sighed. “I am the final son of Balthazaar, prince of elves and Merida, queen of men. I am a man with the gift of eternal life.”

***

“Why, hello my boy! What’s your name?”

The boy shocked from his wonder, turned to see a round man in an ill fitting black suit twirling the tip of his fiery red moustache.

“Jefferson, Sir.” Instinctively the boy hung his head as he was taught to, out of respect for his betters.

“Chin up, Jefferson, you won’t see a thing staring at the ground!” The man tipped the boy’s chin up with his finger. “Only ten dollars to see the greatest show in the world!”

Sadness washes over Jefferson as he turned his pockets inside out. A small smooth pebble falls to the ground and both watch it roll to the man’s foot.

“A fine specimen! May I?” Looking to Jefferson’s innocent face for permission, the man smiles warmly. Jefferson shrugs with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. The man stoops to pick up the tiny pebble and polishes it on his shirt. “Thank you very much! A bit of spit and polish…” With a quick spit and some more rubbing from his shirt, the man produces a gemstone. “Perfect! This is worth roughly thirty dollars my boy!” He produces a twenty dollar bill from the breast of his jacket. “I assume you’d still love to see the show, so this should suffice as payment.” With a bow and a smile, the man vanished into the crowd.

***

His brother’s lifeless eyes stared deep into his soul, judging him through and through. I’ve done the right thing… haven’t I? As he met his empty gaze, the swordsman withdrew the blade from the stomach of his victim. After all the searching, after all the hunting… he had finally managed to kill the last of the Templars.

***

Those are just a few images and moments from my mind tonight. Now I am tired, and I’m pretty sure I open at work tomorrow… so I must be off! I have so many more fragments so I’ll keep you posted to also see what piques your interest! Hope you’ve enjoyed and I’ve got a question! How do you manage your ideas? Write them all down separately? Convert them into the current story idea? Or leave them alone until you’re ready? Let me know and I’ll talk to you soon!