For this weeks Flash! Friday we had to incorporate the character of a writer into a story about the following prompt:

Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon. Studio promotional still photo 1936, public domain.
Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon. Studio promotional still photo 1936, public domain.

Writers Block

Another dead end. The lifeless grey wall taunts me, blocking my path with unwavering conviction. I know from experience there is no pushing through it. I was sure I was on the right path this time. Where did I go wrong? How far back do I need to go?

I pick up my lamp, my guiding light. It flickers with uncertainty. I carefully backtrack, step by step, line by line. Please don’t let this lead back to the beginning. I’m not sure I can start over again.

I reach a fork. The other path is unexplored, a blank canvas of purest white. Could this be the way to my ending? I carefully scratch my mark upon it, making it my own. My fingers tingle with a sense of fearful excitement, of venturing into the familiar and yet unknown.

I’ve heard that others map out the maze before they set off, that they already know the fastest path to their destination. I’m not that kind of person.

Maybe I don’t want to reach the end. I’m not ready to face the bright lights of the outside world. Here I can hide in the shadows, tucked away where no-one can find me. I’m safe in this labyrinth of my own creation.