Clarity of Night 2010 Writing Contest

In the Graveyard
(my entry to the contest, see details below)


Good, I made it before the gate closes. The graveyard is such a wonderful place at twilight. The view over the town and the Bay is exceptionally spectacular tonight. The fiery sunset behind the mountains is breathtaking, and reminds me of the unimportance of my own being and dramas. However, this place also confronts me with my deepest fears.

A large bird flies above me. Is he looking for prey, or is he like me just enjoying the quiet evening?

Am I the prey or the hunter? I thought I escaped you, but still you hunt me as if you were alive. Stay under your stone, and don’t bother me!

Why didn’t we stay friends, play in the fields, and dream together about a future of getting away and exploring the world? I loved you, and I trusted you.

Why did you turn against me, forcing me to kill you? You did this to yourself, you bitch! You didn’t let me love you as you promised me!

I taught you, now you know that you didn’t suffer enough. Don’t you worry, I’ll live.

Debra is just wonderful. Soon she’ll keep you company, and then you are not alone anymore.

What a wonderful evening, reconciling with my little girl. Time to go home.

“Are you leaving, we are closing!”

Thank you officer, have a great night, (and a gruesome morning)!

About the Clarity of Night contest

The Clarity of Night blog owner Jason Evans is sponsoring the Silhouette Short Fiction Contest for short fiction inspired by a picture that he provides. The picture depicts a bird (raven, craw, eagle, ?) flying at twilight through branches of wood.

I am not new to writing itself, but until now, I have mostly written scientific publications, which are completely different animals. With the exception of a number of weird poems in German, written in times of depression and despair a long time ago, my contribution (also pasted below) to the contest is my first serious effort on writing creatively.

Here are a few things that I learned from this exercise:

1. It is good to have a concept of a story before starting to write
2. Don't be surprised if the concept changes drastically as the writing goes on, because it develops on its own, and doesn't necessary go where it is supposed to go
3. Don't give in to the temptation to add cheap effects (I should have omitted the last few words).
4. This is fun!

I didn't make it to the top group, but it is a good start, and I learned from the comments and especially from Jason's criticism.