Tag: inspiration

author, Short Story, Writing

Gone: A Short Story

emilieturner95

He wasn’t coming back. I knew he wasn’t, but I wanted him too. I was desperate for him to
come back, back to my arms, back to me…

My love was gone, pulled away from me. He had been conscripted to go fight in the war;
there was no way out of it. He was yanked out of my arms and sent off to battle; I knew he
wasn’t coming back. I had a feeling in my heart. Of course, no one believed me. They all
thought that I was crazy; they all thought that he would be back.

“The war will be over in no time honey.” That was what they all said, or something along
those lines. Mothers, wives, daughters… we were all worried for their safety, but it seemed
like I was the only one that truly believed the war was not going to end quickly. It seemed
like I was the only one who believed that the war would take many lives and ruin many
others.

I carried on doing my chores for the day, I had to clean the house up a little. It was all I could
do to distract myself from the loneliness. I heard a knock at the door, distracting me from my current task. I hurried to the door and opened it; eyes wide as I realized an army officer was standing in front of me.

He took his hat off and nodded at me. “Mrs Mathers?” he asked.

I nodded. “That’s me. Who are you?”

“I am Colonel Elliot, and this is Lieutenant Colonel Fredricks.”

The other man nodded his head as he was introduced. I could see he looked uncomfortable and my heart sank. “You’re both from the army?”

The Colonel nodded and cleared his throat. “When I met Lieutenant Jarred Mathers, I knew he was a fine soldier. He was strong, capable, and always looked out for his teammates. It’s with great regret that I must inform you that he has died in the line of duty.”

My eyes clouded over with unshed tears. My love was dead. I would never be able to hold
him in my arms, kiss him and keep him near. The one thing I feared more than anything in
the world had come true. He was gone, and he wasn’t coming back.

The Colonel clasped my shoulder and I gripped his hand, not fully believing what he had just said. My husband was gone. The love of my life was gone.

They stayed for quite a while longer, leaving when I was able to fully comprehend the news. The Colonel passed me a letter before he left – it had fallen into his hands rather than going through traditional post.

I made sure they both left safely and quietly closed the door behind them before slowly
moving to the living room. I picked up the envelope and stared at it, my lip quivering. It was the last letter he had sent me.

I finally worked up the courage to open it. I peeled off the white envelope and stared at the
paper now in my hands. I took a deep breath and started reading, tears splashing onto the
paper as I held it. He was being medically discharged soon. He was going to be home with me. He was excited to be with me while we had children and lived our lives together, outside of the fear of war.

I dropped the letter on the ground and let out a pained sob. My heart felt like it had just been
ripped out. He was so excited to come home. He was meant to be home in a few weeks, but
he is gone instead. I clutched the letter with one hand and my stomach with the other as my tears continued flowing.

He was never going to be able to meet his son.

author, holidays, mental health, writing

Getaways Rejuvenate Your Mind and Soul

emilieturner95

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”

Ibn Battuta

I have always loved holidays and travel. I love being able to explore places and get away from my day to day routine.

Unfortunately, travel in our current COVID pandemic is an issue. With countries and even states shut down, it’s hard to get away and travel.

I am so grateful that my country has opened up in-state travel, as I was recently able to take a little holiday away from the mundane daily life.

My husband and I went on a trip to a city a few hours away from us and we spend a few days resting and relaxing. We were able to explore a little and do some fun activities, as most tourism destinations have opened up again (only for people within the country of course).

I found it really beneficial having this holiday. It helped me to calm my mind and allow my normal inspiration to flow once again.

It is so incredibly beneficial for your mental health to take breaks and take time to relax. I found it so helpful to wind down for a few days and rejuvenate my mind and soul.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

Jawaharial Nehru

My creativity has jumped again and I’m able to write more and the ideas are flowing once again! It is incredibly helpful to spend some time away and be able to relax like we were able to.

It’s hard getting back into the daily grind, but I am finding it a lot easier to work and study and write again after my few days away.

I definitely can not wait until the next holiday!

“Adventure is worthwhile.”

Aesop
Uncategorized

Inspiring Book Covers

emilieturner95

“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”

Nelson Mandela

I have done a lot of reading during this pandemic, and I’ve been re-reading books I love and investing in new books I have come to love. The pandemic has been rough for my anxiety, but reading has helped keep me calm and focused.

I love looking at beautiful book covers and seeing how they related to the book. Not only this, but these covers give me inspiration for my own writing and my own novels.

I recently bought Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass and boy did I get engulfed in the series. Not only this, but the book cover I got for this novel (and the rest in the series) influenced my novel and inspired me to change my character’s attire.

The main character in these novels is a female assassin, and her character and the attire depicted in the cover art helped inspire me to shift things in my own main character. Her attire was something that heavily influenced me. The darker colours, the cloak and the leather inspired my clothing choices for my main character.

It helps to see cover art like this, and different clothing options, to put things into perspective for your own character. You want their clothing to be practical and make sense, and in my case, be badass.

I love being able to draw inspiration from cover art like Throne of Glass and be able to use this to move forward with my characters and how they would look within their world.

“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”

Farraj Gray
Uncategorized

Behind The Scenes – Back In Action

emilieturner95

“When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up.”

Les Brown

Bring on the writing inspiration! I’m back baby, and I’m so happy that I am! I’m still struggling a bit with my motivation, and editing my novel is definitely not what I’m doing at the moment, but I’m still back! I’ve started working on a new novel and I’m stretching my creative muscles once again.

I think most people are on the same page as me at the moment – struggling with the COVID-19 crisis and just trying to get through each day. I’ve decided to stop worrying so much about it and start making the most of the time I have inside.

I’ve set up a bit of a schedule now. I make sure I get up around the same time each day, even if I’m not doing anything, I make sure to do some exercise every morning and eat a healthy breakfast (as tempting as waffles are, I can’t eat them everyday {not even in a pandemic}).

It’s good to have that routine in the morning – it gets me ready for the day and helps me remember that losing my old routine isn’t the worst thing in the world.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”

Zig Ziglar

I always try to write a bit each day again. I went a solid month without writing a single thing, and honestly it was the worst month. I hated not writing and my creative brain was screaming at me by the end of the month. I’ve worked up to being able to write everyday again, and I’m glad I’m back at that point.

I’ll keep writing and pushing forward. COVID-19 will not stop me or my creativity. Anxiety may be high, but I have the ability to write and push my creativity onto paper despite the fear and anxiety around.