Achievements (1)
Stories (55/0)
Eustace Holder’s Paranormal Detective Agency
“You want me to interrogate the owl?” Eustace sighed at Jason’s question. “Unless you have some heretofore unrevealed magical ability to converse with fauna, then I highly doubt you’ll be capable of performing such an action.” Most things Eustace said came off as pompous due to his posh English accent, but this time it sounded particularly pompous, even for him.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Fiction
Barter
As Mara descended the stairs into darkness, she felt nothing. She had felt nothing for a long time. The night Lord Erebus had attacked her village, killing her parents and kidnapping her sister, Wina, she had sworn an oath to herself. She would not rest until she held her sister in her arms again.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Fiction
Discovering How My Brain Works So I Can Get Some Rest
I’ve suffered from burnout for years, to the point where I once crashed into a tractor-trailer because my mind had become too frazzled to notice it. But to find out how to treat my burnout and get some much needed rest there’s one thing I need to do first: Get tested for autism.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Psyche
The Man Who Died First
On December 10, 1826—195 years ago today—a young boy named John Torrington was baptized in Manchester. We don’t know his birthdate. He may have been born in 1826, along with his sister, Esther, who was baptized the same day as him. Or he may have been born in 1825, as some records suggest. He came from a working-class family, one where not everyone could read or write, and there are few records of him at all. His father was William, a coach man, and his mother was Sarah, whose maiden name, Shaw, became John’s middle name. He was an ordinary boy, one of many who were baptized that day. His name sits at the bottom of the page of the parish baptism registry, easily missed, easily forgotten.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in FYI
What I Learned from Writing a Story a Day for a Month
Sometimes writers feel the need to challenge themselves. Maybe we’re in a rut and want to try writing out of our comfort zone. Maybe we want to finish that novel we keep putting off. Or maybe we just feel like seeing if we can do something new. I recently challenged myself to write a flash fiction story a day for the entire month of October, and I learned a lot about what I’m capable of as a writer.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Motivation
Halloween
The neighborhood is decorated in pumpkins and skeletons. Spiderwebs stretch across porches and over bushes. Everything is in orange, purple, green, and black. There’s a chill in the air, a light breeze tossing the fallen leaves about. The sun is setting, and children are walking down the sidewalk, dressed in a mix of homemade and store-bought costumes.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Fiction
Carving Pumpkins
I cut into the pumpkin’s flesh, taking off the top. I scoop out the seeds and guts. This part always creeped me out as a kid. It felt like what I imagined intestines would feel like. My brother would take a bite of the innards, pretending to be a zombie. My mom liked to collect the seeds to make snacks.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Fiction
And the Dead Shall Rise, Maybe Around Noonish
When it was first reported that the dead had begun to rise, all I could think of were the zombie movies I’d seen. Mindless, rabid monsters seeking human flesh. Few of the living ever survived as the rest of the world fell to the ravenous undead.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Fiction
The Blank Page
There’s nothing writers fear more than the blank page. At least that’s what I’ve always heard. I wouldn’t say it’s all that accurate. Sure, the blank page sucks. Its bare whiteness taunting, devoid of information, sucking out creativity by its utter emptiness. But there are far worse things than not knowing what to write.
By Lauren Triola2 years ago in Fiction