Sorry if this is too late, but I have just found myself with a bit of time and was able to pump something out. I'll post it here anyway, and if it doesn't count, that's fine.
Don't Forget the Rice
Jacob had had an idea for his story. It was for a little writing contest that he and a few friends took part in, based on a cosy gaming forum. There were only a few regular particpants, and Jacob always tried to be one of them. The story he had in mind was a bit different from usual. Jacob had to admit that he was a bit of a one-trick pony when it came to writing. His stories always tended to be sort of urban-legend, creepypasta type fare. There always had to be some gimmick or twist. He wasn't really able to just tell a nice story. But this story was going to be different. It was going to be a tear-jerker, goddammit. He was going to make the rest of his fellow writing-buddies cry.
The story would go something like this: There was a young teenage boy called Simon who was extremely bright and popular, but his younger brother David was involved in an accident and received a traumatic brain injury, leaving him completely disabled. The boys' father had already left years ago and their mother was a drug addict, and not a high-functioning one at that. So, Simon's life immediately changed. He had to sacrifice his popularity and social life in favour of looking-after his brother. This frustrated him at first, and he resented his brother.
One day, he was invited to a party at Greg's house and he and his mum had agreed she would look after David so he could go out. He had made himself look his best and was extra excited because Jenny was going to be there, and he really wanted to dance with her. But he waited and waited and his mother didn't come home. She was off getting high somewhere. So, it was up to Simon to stay at home and feed and bathe his brother... again.
At first, he was just depressed, but he sort of knew it was going to play out like this. But then, as he was spooning a glutinous mash of food into David's mouth, he saw Jenny walking past the window, holding hands with Greg. He lost control and struck his defenceless brother across the face. But David didn't react. He couldn't. Simon looked into his brother's eyes and hugged him, breaking down in shuddering tears. In that moment he realises that his brother is more important to him than anyone in the world and he will do whatever necessary to keep him safe, even if that means sacrificing his social life.
Something like that.
Jacob was looking forward to fleshing the story out and seeing where it took him. Should David die, or is that too much? What about the mother and her addiction? How might that be resolved? Is it a bit "incel" of Simon to get angry just because he couldn't bone his crush? Jacob spent a fair bit of his waking time thinking about his story and he knew that with a little focus and a little time he might even be able to make it good. And he might even be able to jerk some tears out of his fellow writing buddies.
But focus and time were two things, Jacob lacked the most. His wife was pregnant with their second child and Jacob was forced to put his silly story on the backburner while he kept on top of all the housework and kept their elder son entertained. He didn't wish to moan. He wasn't an asshole. At least he hoped very much that he would not come across as such, but it just seemed to our poor hero that every time he thought he might have a moment to write his story, there was another chore or duty to be done.
As the deadline for the writing contest passed, Jacob wondered if he would ever have a chance to write his story again. Let alone all the other books and big writing projects he had on his laptop, in various stages of "barely begun."
One day, while his son was watching something on TV and his wife was napping, and it seemed that all the laundry and dishes were done, Jacob decided to open his laptop and try to bash something out, despite the deadline having passed already. But no sooner had he clicked on the "Word" icon, than he heard his son. "Hey, daddy. How about we make paper aeroplanes?"
"Not now buddy," said Jacob at first, and obligingly his son didn't ask again and carried on watching the screen.
Jacob also found himself watching his own screen, staring at the blank page. Something was keeping him from typing. He tried to focus, but nothing came to him. Instead, he closed his laptop, took out a couple of pieces of paper and said, "Go on then, turn the TV off. Let's make paper aeroplanes."
And so it was that Jacob never did finish that story. Some say that that blank Word doc titled "Document1" is still somewhere on a hard drive somewhere, long lost to mother nature.
He did, however, manage to write a story, even if it wasn't the story he had hoped to write. One day, before work, he received a phone call saying he wasn't needed until much later in the day. So, he suddenly found himself alone in the house, already pretty tidy, no distractions, and no other chores [except rice, don't forget to cook the rice]. So, he decided he would try to enter something, even though the deadline had long passed. And what he wrote was a story about a guy who really wanted to write a story but couldn't because he kept having to sacrifice his writing time for his family, and he used that story to frame a basic outline of the story that he had originally wanted to write.
Kind of silly really.
Don't Forget the Rice
Jacob had had an idea for his story. It was for a little writing contest that he and a few friends took part in, based on a cosy gaming forum. There were only a few regular particpants, and Jacob always tried to be one of them. The story he had in mind was a bit different from usual. Jacob had to admit that he was a bit of a one-trick pony when it came to writing. His stories always tended to be sort of urban-legend, creepypasta type fare. There always had to be some gimmick or twist. He wasn't really able to just tell a nice story. But this story was going to be different. It was going to be a tear-jerker, goddammit. He was going to make the rest of his fellow writing-buddies cry.
* * *
The story would go something like this: There was a young teenage boy called Simon who was extremely bright and popular, but his younger brother David was involved in an accident and received a traumatic brain injury, leaving him completely disabled. The boys' father had already left years ago and their mother was a drug addict, and not a high-functioning one at that. So, Simon's life immediately changed. He had to sacrifice his popularity and social life in favour of looking-after his brother. This frustrated him at first, and he resented his brother.
One day, he was invited to a party at Greg's house and he and his mum had agreed she would look after David so he could go out. He had made himself look his best and was extra excited because Jenny was going to be there, and he really wanted to dance with her. But he waited and waited and his mother didn't come home. She was off getting high somewhere. So, it was up to Simon to stay at home and feed and bathe his brother... again.
At first, he was just depressed, but he sort of knew it was going to play out like this. But then, as he was spooning a glutinous mash of food into David's mouth, he saw Jenny walking past the window, holding hands with Greg. He lost control and struck his defenceless brother across the face. But David didn't react. He couldn't. Simon looked into his brother's eyes and hugged him, breaking down in shuddering tears. In that moment he realises that his brother is more important to him than anyone in the world and he will do whatever necessary to keep him safe, even if that means sacrificing his social life.
* * *
Something like that.
Jacob was looking forward to fleshing the story out and seeing where it took him. Should David die, or is that too much? What about the mother and her addiction? How might that be resolved? Is it a bit "incel" of Simon to get angry just because he couldn't bone his crush? Jacob spent a fair bit of his waking time thinking about his story and he knew that with a little focus and a little time he might even be able to make it good. And he might even be able to jerk some tears out of his fellow writing buddies.
But focus and time were two things, Jacob lacked the most. His wife was pregnant with their second child and Jacob was forced to put his silly story on the backburner while he kept on top of all the housework and kept their elder son entertained. He didn't wish to moan. He wasn't an asshole. At least he hoped very much that he would not come across as such, but it just seemed to our poor hero that every time he thought he might have a moment to write his story, there was another chore or duty to be done.
As the deadline for the writing contest passed, Jacob wondered if he would ever have a chance to write his story again. Let alone all the other books and big writing projects he had on his laptop, in various stages of "barely begun."
One day, while his son was watching something on TV and his wife was napping, and it seemed that all the laundry and dishes were done, Jacob decided to open his laptop and try to bash something out, despite the deadline having passed already. But no sooner had he clicked on the "Word" icon, than he heard his son. "Hey, daddy. How about we make paper aeroplanes?"
"Not now buddy," said Jacob at first, and obligingly his son didn't ask again and carried on watching the screen.
Jacob also found himself watching his own screen, staring at the blank page. Something was keeping him from typing. He tried to focus, but nothing came to him. Instead, he closed his laptop, took out a couple of pieces of paper and said, "Go on then, turn the TV off. Let's make paper aeroplanes."
And so it was that Jacob never did finish that story. Some say that that blank Word doc titled "Document1" is still somewhere on a hard drive somewhere, long lost to mother nature.
He did, however, manage to write a story, even if it wasn't the story he had hoped to write. One day, before work, he received a phone call saying he wasn't needed until much later in the day. So, he suddenly found himself alone in the house, already pretty tidy, no distractions, and no other chores [except rice, don't forget to cook the rice]. So, he decided he would try to enter something, even though the deadline had long passed. And what he wrote was a story about a guy who really wanted to write a story but couldn't because he kept having to sacrifice his writing time for his family, and he used that story to frame a basic outline of the story that he had originally wanted to write.
Kind of silly really.
