Remind me to tell you this is a fiction... It's been quite long I have written one though... I just thought I should share this one to welcome myself back into the world of fictions. Read :

And as the knife tore through his flesh, I could read the pain off his face as I pushed even harder. I lit an impish smile on his eyes . Besides he got exactly what he deserved for messing with my wife...
It all started with whirls of the cold night wind hitting upon our broken door. It was broken, so it was easy enough for him to gain an unwanted entrance into our home which lies half destroyed at the outskirts of Yobe state . He looked really horrible wearing a spiky satanic hair... I would have controlled my wife. But before I could whisper a single call for silence, she really raised a loud scream into the rather empty neighborhood . Then, he found us.

And he approached flaunting his muscles and twisting his left hand which held a sharp looking knife. He quickly ordered me to bring the money. For a moment, I wondered if he witchingly got the information about the money that was meant for our relocation from the terror infested home. Yet, I summoned a bit of religious courage "Or else what? ", I roared spitting at his horrible face. My wife screamed again. Perhaps that gave him the brilliant idea of getting an hostage. He pulled her by her veil and roared back at me "Or else, I take out our lady! ".

At that fateful instant, I could almost go on my kneels to summon his forgiveness.Well, I didn’t... I only begged for mercy. Afterall, my wife's life was worth a billion times than the money. So I walked childishly to our wardrobe, pulled out the bag and threw it at his feet. He sure looked satisfied... But I wasn't. He let my wife go anyways.

Immediately, a fluid of more courage ran through my veins. I rushed towards him with a punch aimed for knockout. But it failed ; perhaps it even made him stronger. He returned an aim of his knife at my chest, I dodged towards the wall... and the fight continued.

I could still hear my wife screaming herself out. But I just had to concentrate; I had a thief to handle ; plus my life was at stake. He pushed the knife towards me again. Although I pushed back with all the strength left in me, I could still notice he was winning. The struggle continued anyways, until a big spoon came to my rescue. It hit him from behind off his stance and before I realized what had happened, the knife was inside of the thief. All thanks to the big spoon in the hands of my darling wife. I am still wondering where the courage came from...

About :

Are you a student with ambitions to become a
writer? Or perhaps you’re more advanced in
age yet still dream about sharing your writing
passion with others.
Whatever your story, this opportunity could be
your big break.
We’re looking for a talented writer to support
through the New Writer Scholarship 2015

Organizers : Build Your Own Blog

Guidelines :

Who can participate?
Anyone at least 16 years of age.
Your submitted work (Short story/Poem/
Blog post/Any written material you are proud
of) cannot be published earlier as part of a
printed book (a “book” is defined as having
an ISBN), and your submission has not been
submitted to any other printed material that
may publish this same work).
If you piece has been posted on a blog/
website, you must include a page URL where
the piece can be found online.
The work must be in English (Your country
of residence can be anywhere.)
Only single individuals can apply.
Submissions from a team of two or more
will not be accepted.
* You can submit your work to other future
competitions/scholarships once the winner is
announced. We don’t have any right over your
submitted work, nor will we publish it without
your consent.
Your work can be written specifically for this
scholarship or can already exist – it doesn’t
matter! The important thing is that you have a
desire to share your masterpiece with others.
*Please note that we reserve the right to
disqualify participants that engage in unlawful or
fraudulent behavior.

Click here to enter
Deadline : November, 29, 2015

Organizers : Eriata Food

About :Putting food and poetry in the same
context x-rays the cohesive bond existing
between the body and the soul. Having
ascertained the inestimable benefits of
food and poetry to humanity’s
sustenance, ‘Poets in Nigeria’ calls for
submission of poems projecting the fusion
of culinary and poetic brilliance on the
screen of societal good.

Theme : These Words Are Edible

Guidelines :
– All poems must be food-related and
food-inspired.

– Poems should be coherent and
appealing to the senses.

– Effective use of imagery counts.

– Submissions are neither limited to
country nor race.

– Maximum of 2 poems with limitless
word count.

– Entries must be original intellectual
property of the entrants.

– Submissions should be accompanied by
brief biography and contact information
comprising full name, email address and
phone number (in the body of the email.)


*All submissions should be forwarded to
eriatafoodpoetrycontest@gmail.com and
tagged: “Eriata Oribhabor Food Poetry
Contest 2015”

Prizes :
First Prize: ₦40,000, a plaque and books

Second Prize: ₦20,000, a plaque and
books

Third Prize: ₦10,000, a plaque and books

READ AND KINDLY SHARE :

There you are,
at a river crossroad between darkness and salvation
Guilting and rinsing off the stench of your previous sins.
You'll now wear a new garment
Wrap your hair in truce with modesty
And move on towards salvation...

At fifty five;
You should indeed wipe away the memory
of those thoughtless men,
who stole from your oily pride,
Ransacked your jewels
And slaughter your defenseless children
Thus, for twenty four moments, you were on black
It remained even after several sevens had gone by....

Look, your skin may be darkly shaded
But you may choose bright colors for your independence

Is it white?
That peace and unity shall grasp the air
And the savage sects shall drop their guns,
smile at your frightened children
in admiration of what you wear
It's love with no stains of blood
Behold, a virtuous belle of an African ball...

Should it be matched with green here and there?
That the labour of your heroes past
Wouldn't be void of impact.
Teach the little ones the ways of the cutlass;
Not of the sword
So, they would till the soil,
and watch tiny leaves grow into trees and shrubs
Harvest them into the mouth of their future...
Yes! You can ;
You are a giant!

Alaafia, udo, Zaman Lafiya ;
I said it in your three tongues
So you must obey
Even the most endowed should sit and pray
That not even a streak of darkness should walk into your life again
Except it is the night ;
But then, it should bring along the moon
And promise a blissful tommorow

Well, I can opine that it is a naturally normal phenomenon to envy the goodness in other people's work. But it is quite irrational to let them intimidate your own talent. Although, in my mind, telling you this really seem like pot calling kettle black Once upon a time, I used to be a victim of superb write-ups. But I am perfectly over it now. In fact, since I found a cure, I usually spend my time searching for best and well written works online ... not to just envy, but to enjoy and get engaged. And it's working perfectly for me! OK.. Here is a gist on how I transformed getting intimidated into getting inspired...

1. First I accepted that creativity does not lie in my head alone. This confirms that there are so many writers out there, whose creativity hold no restraint.
2. But, I never seize to remind myself that I can be the best of them all.
3. However, I cannot be the best if I only give and not take. You should not keep writing and sharing your write ups without getting a timeout to go harvest some for yourself.
4. I envy and enjoy nice works. In fact, I share comments like... "wow".." you are good " and the likes.
5. From these , I get a whole lot of my inspirations . So far I try not to get intimidated, nice write ups usually do good to my mind as a writer. I pick ideas, refine and try to produce an even better works.
Trust me, it works perfectly! Moreover, getting all intimidated could kill your talent and grow discouraging thoughts in you, am I wrong?