Creative Writing Flashcards
1)
Scene Setting implying nostalgia:
- I had not been back here in almost 12 years, but the (snow still smelled) the same.
- The log cabin stood strong as ever.
- I ran my fingers over the (freezing) logs that made up the wall, counting one-two-three-four as I had when I was a girl, although I remembered 26…
Dialogue (Introduce partner)
-“You’ve got the key right?” “Of course”
Enter Cabin:
- Somehow it was even (colder) inside the cabin than out, (although mercifully free of snow.)
- The chill hovered over every surface like frigid clouds…and the tone floors mirroring the grey sky outside.
- trying not to remember the countless times ‘d come here as a child
Mems (mention sibling):
- The memories came back uninvited
- Running through the door with Kim, screaming as the cold bit us…sitting on the rug, starring at burning embers
- How close had we been to losing our hands to frostbite we wondered? Surely it was only minutes away. had mum and dad remembered…
Lets do a reality thing:
- “God its (freezing) in here,” (Jake) said…“Come on lets build a fire”
- Slip back inside, Had Kim been back here? no (signs), none of the tiny marks she scratched into the nearest surface whenever her hands weren’t busy. That had always gotten her into so much trouble at school.
The Fight:
- It was odd being here without her. The (frozen walls and misted windows) had been ours, our place. Sitting on the couch we lie on together all by myself.
- I had no choice, I told myself. It was her fault. If she wanted to talk to me in the last 5 years I was just a phone call away, Stubbornness was a family trait.
Finding Toy:
- Investigate lump, there was (Lucy)
- I picked her up in reverent, cautious fners, afraid her tiny seams might come apart.
- description
- I remembered
2)
The flashback:
-“Wheres Lucy?” Tears were streaming down Kim’s face, freezing strands of hair to her cheeks. “We can’t leave without Lucy?”
-“She isn’t here love,” mum frustrated and restrained “You must have dropped here on the mountain”
-“I told you not to take her out of the cabin” dad chastised.
-“We can’t leave without lucy” “maybe you’ll find her n the car” “Shes not in the car!”
-“Can you deal with her?” mum said to me, eyes wide with frustration, i knew better to fight back against that look.
-“Kimmy” “do you know where dolls live in the wild” “All kinds of places….but especially in mountains. They like hiding in caves and riding ski lifts at night when no-one can see them. Lucy’s off having fun with them i bet.”
“But I need her, I want her to stay with me!”
“She wouldn’t have left if you needed her…Dolls are clever like that. She only left because she knows you have me.”
Back to reality 2.0/the fights:
-I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t the crying kind, I never had been and i wasn’t going to start today. We were both so damn stubborn-arguments were war, taking days to find peace, and god when we were teenagers, it took weeks. Now apparently, it took years.
Revelation:
- Lucy stared up at me with glassy eyes reminded me of a time so much simpler than today.
- maybe it wasnt the times that were complicated, maybe it was us. What if i needed was to search this place which had been so pure and easy to find a little simplicity and a little less stubbornness.
Fin:
backdoor swung open “Hey wanna help me ___”
“Just a minute, I have something important to do”
My fingers were still nearly to numb to open my pockets. With some effort I pulled out my phone and dialled Kim’s number.
complete
Somehow I in the last ten years I thought things would’ve changed. I was sure the old cabin would’ve collapsed under the weight of its own decrepit frame or been battered down by constant exposure to the elements; yet here it stood, just as tall as it was so many years ago. I ran my hand along its outer wall, counting each splintered log as I did as a boy. Twenty-three, I remembered the result before I’d begun.
“You’ve got the key, right babe?” May asked, parting a sea of leaf litter as she dragged an esky towards the front door.
“Of course,” my eyes shot up, returning from a world of my own. I turned the warm bronze in my pocket as I trotted to catch her.
Somehow it was even more humid inside than out. Moisture hovered over every surface like thick clouds, making each shallow breath cling to the sides of my throat. I ran a finger over a dusty countertop revealing its true slate blue colour and tried to stop the countless childhood memories from flooding back.
They returned uninvited, although tinted with the rosy hue of nostalgia. Bursting through the threshold with Zack, collapsing on the living room rug, pestering dad to unload the bottles of cordial. How much longer could we have walked before we collapsed and were eaten by the birds and the worms? Minutes, we’d thought, at most. We laughed as we drained our cups and scampered to the kitchen for another.
“Come on then,” May appeared at my side and jerked me from my reverie. “Let’s get unpacked so we can kick back with a drink, I’m parched.”
“Yeah, that’s a good,” I added dreamily, suddenly more concerned with memories than my sandpaper throat.
As May moved into the kitchen I hauled an overstuffed suitcase down into a bedroom, an equally dilapidated affair complete with sunken wooden bedframe and a mosaic of cobwebs splintering the light through the window. After a half-hearted attempt of shoving garments into a closet I fell backwards onto the mattress hearing the springs squeak under the strain.
Had Zack been back here since? There weren’t any of his telltale signs- No burnt rings on the countertops from his culinary catastrophes or little indents he subconsciously scratched into any surface he got his hands on. That had always gotten him into so much trouble with Mum.
It felt strange being here without him. This had always been our place; despite our moans whenever the annual trip was brought up at the dinner table we always put aside our differences to make the best of it, together. But now I’d brought May instead of him, sitting on the bed we used to sleep top and tail in all by myself.
It wasn’t my fault, I told myself, it was his. If he wanted to talk to me at any point in the last five years, I was just a phone call away. I guess stubbornness is a family trait.
I absentmindedly swung my feet under the bed and jumped to life as I felt the light tap of fuzz against my calf. As my heartbeat slowed curiosity got the better of me and I reached a hand into the dark recess, my fingers clenching around the furry culprit. It was Ted. I held him up in reverent fingers, scared that his loose seams could fall apart at any moment. His thick brown fur had grown remained only in faded grey patches, beady glass eyes staring up at me. And I remembered.
-
“I’m not leaving without Ted!” Zack’s squeal came with a thrashing of limbs, a strand of golden hair clung to his tear stained cheek.
“He isn’t here sweetie,” said Mum, a smile plastered on her face but her eyes burned with frustration.
“Must’ve dropped it on the track, no way we’re finding th-” Dad started matter-of-factly.
“He’s probably in the car,” Mum interrupted with fine-turned intuition.
“He’s not in the car!” Zack’s tantrum bringing more pink to his cheeks than the long treks ever had.
“Can you deal with this? Please,” Mum whispered into my ear as a gentle but firm hand landed on my shoulder, I knew better that to fight back against that.
“Hey Zaccy, do you know where teddy bear’s live in the wild?” He shook his head, eyes never leaving the floor.
“All over the place; up mountains and in the desert, even on the moon. But they like the bush best of all, they love to hide in the trees and make snow angels in the leaf litter when nobody’s looking. Ted’s probably off playing with them.”
“But he’s MY friend, I need him to stay with me,” Zack sniffled.
“He wouldn’t have left if you needed him, bears are smart like that. He only left because he knows you have me.”
-
I wasn’t going to cry, Zack would’ve just made fun of me for that. God we were stubborn. Every little bickering argument would stretch on for days on end. Then when we were teenagers, angrier at the world than we were at each other, they would take weeks to resolve. Now apparently they took years. Ted looked up at me with his eyes shimmering with sunlight, reminding me of a simpler time.
But maybe it wasn’t the times that had grown complicated, maybe it was us. Maybe it just took a place as pure and simple as this to remind me that things didn’t have to be as convoluted as they now always seemed it be.
“Hey, come through. I made you a drink.” May called, her sweet tone echoed down the halls.
“Just a minute,” I replied, as my sweaty fingers fumbled at my pocket. With some difficulty I pulled out my phone and dialled Zack’s number.
