Tag Archives: Fiction

Fiction

That World

Note: I wrote this very short story in a rush–a few hours in a single day. Vocal.media had a short-story challenge with a grand prize of $20,000. I figured ‘why not?’ and submitted this. The prompt was:  “Write a short creative fiction piece, no longer than 2,000 words, about a post-apocalyptic dystopia. . . . The only requirement is that your story must include a heart-shaped locket.” (DL, Sept. 12, 2021)

“Careful, Nour,” he said to her as she picked her way along the beach. Eyes scanning the ground in front of her, she dutifully acknowledged her father’s warning. “Yes, Baba.”

The day was hot. High sun showered her head with heat, barely kept at bay by the bright hijab wrapped meticulously around her black hair. The light was dazzling off the white sand. She kept her gaze low, a shading hand at her brow to save herself a headache later. They didn’t have long before Dhuhr, the early midday prayer, and Baba was seldom late.

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Movies & TV

Why You Should go See Avatar as Soon as Possible

Note: I wrote this Facebook Note in the first flush of excitement and awe after having seen James Cameron’s Avatar, which I still regard as one of my top two or three favorite movies ever. It quite effectively captures the passionate certainty that used to define my Christian worldview and the way I read the world through that lens. I think the analysis of the various kinds of fiction and why they’re written is still accurate, but I myself have much less certainty about my own worldview. I’m still as opinionated though. (DL, Sept. 7, 2021)

*This note is unfinished, but I’m posting it now because you can see where my thoughts trend. I may or may not get to finish it.*

Avatar is the best movie I’ve ever seen.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s the best movie that’s ever been made.

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Fiction

Sir Thomas Somersby

Note: This piece was written for my sophomore (or just possibly freshman) English class. It’s the work of a young person and is both derivative and sentimental. Tolkien is a strong influence on it (the horn); even stronger is Jane Porter’s The Scottish Chiefs, a book I loved as a young teen with its picture of selfless knighthood. Arthurian legend is obviously an influence as well. Wholly absent is any Internet influence (compare this post-Internet piece from two years later), while obviously present is the earnest Christian faith in which I was reared. (DL, Sept. 19, 2021)

Thomas Somersby was the third son of Lord Peter Somersby, a minor baron with few vassals, and fewer knights. His eldest brother stood to inherit the family property and his second brother was preparing for the priesthood, so at the age of eight Thomas began training for the knighthood.

At fifteen, he was made a page, and sent to the castle of his uncle, Lord Roundhall for further training. At their parting, Lord Peter gave his son a horn and said to him, “Thomas, I give to you the horn of the house of Somersby. I have chosen, as did my fathers before me, the son I felt most worthy of this honor. Wind it only in mortal danger, and never part with it for it is a thing of legend.” On his eighteenth birthday, he received his silver spurs and become the squire of Sir Darren Foebane. Six months later, in a skirmish with Saxon invaders, Thomas Somersby received his baptism of fire.

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