Not Ready to Die

Flash fiction – August 27, 2010 – This is “Not Ready to Die” – a very, very short flash fiction story I wrote during a writing practice session.

By Linda Jo Martin

She closed her eyes and looked inside. That aperture, a mystic gateway, remained open, so she peered through at the brightly lit green grassy hillside. She blinked, but none of this went away. It was clear as day, verdant as springtime.

She waited for someone — some helper to guide her in, but nobody appeared. There was simply that question in her heart that continuously asked, “Are you willing to give up the world and all that is therein, for this?”

That question, whenever she brought it to consciousness, shocked her into fear mode. “My people will miss me if I go away,” she protested. “I know this must be co-dependent, but I can’t help but worry about them.”

“Then you are not ready to cross my threshold,” the voice said. “Go away.”

[This was my practice writing for today…]

I got involved with practice writing by reading this book:

A Writer’s Book of Days is an amazing collection of essays and writing prompts, one for each day of the year.

Judy Reeves, the woman who wrote this book, is a writing teacher, playwright, editor and author. I’ve admired her work for a long time, ever since this book was originally published in 1999. I joined an online group, way back then, that worked together on each day’s writing prompt. Everyone wrote something to the prompt, then posted it to the group site. It was amazing to see how everyone had different ideas and ways of writing.

These prompts can be used for flash fiction, poems, articles, or anything you are inspired to write. I’m considering using the prompts for drawing in my sketchbook. I should do that. A daily writing practice session is a good use of half-an-hour and sets a creative tone for the rest of the day.

The book has more than just writing prompts. It is divided into 12 months, and there is a monthly writing essay, and lots of other writing essays throughout the book. The book inspires, informs, and guides writers as they practice creating their own literary art.

I’ve written amazing things thanks to this book, and hope you will too.

One thing I like about writing practice is that it is short, meaning it requires only a few minutes each day. However the writing produced has lots of potential. I might write something that will remain flash fiction, or I might write the seed for a novel, or a poem. Sometimes I’ve written stories inhabited by characters from my novels, as I struggle to understand them better.