A Bell On The Doorstep Christmas had always been a difficult time for Chris. His family was way beyond what you would call "intense." Everything was a competition with them. Who could get the best gifts? Who put up the most lights? Who could go fastest down the hill? It all put Chris in a funk. After years of fierce Christmas competition, Chris had grown resentful of the season. Often he would lock himself in his bedroom for hours just to get away from the arguments and competitions. Finally, after putting up with it for sixteen years, Chris had had enough. "What is wrong with all of you!" Chris said as the family argued around the dinner table. "Why do you all argue and compete so much! I'm sick of it! I'm going to my room!" Chris stormed off to his room, leaving his family to their stupid arguments and silly competitions. Chris sat down on his bed, trying to clear his head. He let out a few ragged breaths. I just want my family to get along for once. He thought. Several hours later, half an hour till midnight, long after everyone else had fallen asleep, Chris heard a soft knock at the front door. Curious as to who would stop by so late at night, Chris walked downstairs. He opened the door and looked around, trying to find whoever had knocked. But there was nobody there. Chris finally looked down to see something sitting right on top of the welcome mat. Curious, Chris picked up the object and inspected it. It was a little silver bell with a few little stars punched into it. The word Believe was written across it. Attached with a bright red ribbon was a golden colored piece of paper. Written on the piece of paper were the words Believe in the Spirit of Christmas. Round Trip. 5c. "Huh," Chris said, bringing the bell inside. "Wierd." Chris took the bell with him back up to his room and sat it on his nightstand. Picking up the book he'd been reading, Chris seemed to forget about the strange little bell. Nearly half an hour passed. The clock on Chris's wall ticked slowly to midnight. A strange bluish light filled his room. Caught off guard by the sudden brightness, Chris looked up from his book. He searched around for the source of the light before finding it. The silver bell was glowing. Believe "What the-" Chris cried out. He did a double-take, checking that what he saw was real. Indeed, the silver bell was glowing a soft yet bright blue. Chris reached out to touch it. As he did, he heard a faint voice echoing in his head. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "Believe, pay the ticket," The voice whispered. "Believe, pay the ticket." For a moment, Chris was utterly confused. Then, he remembered that the golden-colored ticket had said five cents on it. Chris jumped up, ran to the little pile of change he always kept in his room and grabbed a nickel. Running back to the bell, Chris searched for some way to give the nickel to the mysterious voice. Chris picked up the bell and examined it further. He found that the bell had a gentle warmth to it. A small slit the size of a nickel had appeared on one side. Carefully, Chris inserted the nickel into the slot. Suddenly, the bell grew brighter, nearly blinding Chris. He dropped it on the floor, frightened. The bell started to bounce around the room, flying up and down and all over the place. It knocked things off of his wall, things flew everywhere. The little bell smashed into his reading lamp, breaking the lightbulb and sending the room into darkness save the glow coming from the bell. Finally, the bell calmed down and hovered in midair just in front of Chris. A little frightened but still curious, Chris reached out once again to touch the silver bell. As he did, the bell let out one last bright flash. Blinking the light spots out of his eyes, Chris looked at the bell bewildered. Then, he heard the same voice once again. The Spirit Of Christmas "Hello." Came the small voice. "I am The Spirit Of Chrismas." Chris looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Where are you?" Chris wondered aloud. "Right here silly." the voice said. "I'm floating right in front of you." "Wait... so you're the bell?" Chris asked. "I just take the form of a bell." The Spirit said. "I'm not really a bell. I'm The Spirit Of Christmas." "What are you then?" Chris wondered. "I am the physical manifestation of Christmas. All of the happy memories, family bonding, and love of the season." The Spirit explained. "Why are you here?" Chris asked. "To get your help." The Spirit said. "I used to be very alive and well, but in recent years, people have lost sight of the true meaning and spirit of Christmas." "And how could I help you?" Chris asked. "By letting me show you the true meaning of Christmas, and then going and spreading real Christmas spirit!" The Spirit said. "Okay then," Chris said. "Show me the true meaning of Christmas." "Grab on to me and I will." The Spirit said. Chris reached out to grab The Spirit Of Christmas. As his hand touched the silver bell, his room began to warp and change around him. The whole room swirled and twisted. And then, just like that, they were somewhere else entirely. Happy Memories Chris looked around to see that they were in his living room. His family was gathered around, cheerfully opening presents and chatting. Except, everyone looked younger. His parents had a few less gray hairs, and all of his siblings looked at least ten years younger. He even spotted his younger self, no older than three or four. "What on earth?" Chris asked. Nobody looked up to the sound of Chris's voice. "Welcome to your last happy memory of Christmas." The Spirit said. "Why can't they hear us?" Chris asked. "Because this is nothing but your memory. We can move through it, but they won't realize we are here." "Weird," Chris said. "But this can't be my memory. I can't remember a single Christmas where we were all this happy." "You may not realize it, but this was buried deep within your subconscious." The Spirit said. "But this must have been like, thirteen years ago," Chris said. "Yes." The Spirit said. "As you can see, everyone is really happy here in your memory. That is why you've felt so wrong about Christmas. Because you remember how it used to be, how it should be." "I just don't get how I could fix this," Chris said. "There's no way my family could ever have a Christmas like this again." "Do not worry." The Spirit said. "You will know what to do when the time is right. Now, grab me once again." Not even thinking, Chris grabbed The Spirit Of Christmas, and the room warped around him once more. As quickly as it started, the room settled down again and changed into yet another scene. Family Bonding Strangely enough, the next place Chris found himself was on the beach. Waves crashed down on the shore, and a happy family played in the sand. "Uh, did something go wrong?" Chris asked. "No, we are right where we need to be." The Spirit said. "But this has nothing to do with Christmas," Chris said. "It has everything to do with the spirit of Christmas," The Spirit said. "Take a closer look at that family." As Chris peered at the family, he realized it was his family a couple of years ago. He could see his siblings and him messing around. They buried his younger brother in the sand as the boy squealed in delight. Chris had fond memories of this vacation. But it had happened nowhere near Christmas. "I can see that's my family, and sure, this was a nice vacation, but it had nothing to do with Christmas. It was the middle of July." Chris said to The Spirit. "Ah, but the principle of this memory has everything to do with Christmas." The Spirit said. "On this particular trip, your family bonded more than ever. Being able to escape the city and relax together brought you all together. Family bonding is a very important part of Christmas." Chris thought for a moment. It made sense. Shouldn't Christmas be the time when you grow closer to your family? "Alright Spirit, I see what you're saying," Chris said. "Now what?" "Now, we go to our last experience." The Spirit said. "Grab on." The world once again shifted and warped around them, until the pair landed somewhere different entirely. Kindness Chris and The Spirit Of Christmas stood in the hallways of Chris's school. Kids walked through the halls chatting about their weekends. Chris searched for himself, knowing that was what The Spirit wanted him to see. Finally, he saw himself. A girl hurried down the hall just in front of Past Chris before slamming into a larger girl. The pile of books she was carrying flew from her arms, scattering everywhere. "Watch where you're going, nerd." the larger girl sneered. Chris watched on as his past self ran up to the scene. "Hey, cut it out." Past Chris said to the larger girl. "What are you going to do, make me?" the larger girl said. Past Chris straightened up to his full height. "Listen, I don't want anything bad to happen here. Now, if you just walk away, nobody gets in trouble. But if you try anything, there are plenty of people around here that would make sure you got in trouble." Hesitation flashed in the larger girl's eyes. "Psh, whatever." She said as she walked off into the crowd. Past Chris bent down to help the girl pick up her books. "Hey, you alright?" Chris asked. "Y-yeah." the girl stammered. "T-thank you for what you did." "Of course." Past Chris said. "I can't stand people like that, who just think they can pick on others just because they're bigger than everyone else." "W-well, that was very brave of you." the girl said. "Eh, it was nothing," Past Chris said. "I don't think I got your name." "C-chelsie." she stammered. "Nice to meet you Chelsie, I'm Chris." Past Chris said. As the two of them continued talking, Chris turned to The Spirit Of Christmas. "Okay, so what is the lesson here?" "Kindness." The Spirit said. "You were so kind to that girl that you didn't even know. Kindness is at the core of Christmas. It is the season of giving and love." Deep in Chris's heart, he knew what The Spirit was saying was true. He could feel it with every fiber of his being. "So now what?" Chris asked. "Now, you show your family the true meaning of Christmas. Let's get you home." The Spirit said. This time, when Chris touched the silver bell, his world went completely black. The True Meaning Of Christmas Chris woke up, stretching out in his bed. Man, what a strange dream. He thought. I must have fallen asleep while I was reading. As Chris considered everything he'd seen, he heard a loud knocking on his bedroom door.
"Chris, Chris! Wake up! It's Christmas!!" His little brother shouted. Chris leaped up, ran to the door, and hurried down the stairs to the living room. His family was already gathered around the Christmas tree, ready to rip into their presents. "Hey honey, I'm sorry about last night." Chris's mom said. "I know we can get a little intense sometimes. Are you alright?" "Mom, Dad, everyone, I have something I want to say," Chris said. "Last night, I realized the true meaning of Christmas." "Oh did you now?" Chris's dad chuckled. "Please, impart your wisdom on us son." "Our family is really competitive." Chris started out. Everyone murmured in agreement. "But Christmas should not be about who gives the best gift, or who put on the most ornaments. The true meaning of Christmas resides in happy memories, family bonding, and kindness. And I think our family has done a miserable job of following in the true meaning of Christmas." As Chris finished speaking, his family sat shocked for a moment. Then, his mother pulled him into a hug. Tears streamed down her face. "You're right Chris." She said. "We've let the real meaning of Christmas get away from us for far too long. From now on, no more Christmas competitions. No more who's better than who. Just our family, making memories." "Thank you, mom," Chris said. And so, that Christmas things changed in Chris's family. Everyone was equally grateful for their gifts, and they had a delightful day. When Chris went back up to his room, he sat down on his bed. What a wonderful Christmas. He thought. I am so glad I had that weird dream last night. As he sat down pondering, he looked up at his nightstand. There sat the little silver bell and the ticket. What if it hadn't been a dream after all? Chris picked up the bell and ticket and examined them. On the back of the ticket, there were nine new words. Don't forget to pass on The Spirit Of Christmas.
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We've all been there. You finally have the motivation to write. You don't care, it could be a short story, a novella, or a full blown epic fantasy. However, you just can't seem to come up with an idea. It happens to the best of us. Today, I'm going to provide you with a variety of ideas to spark stories that you will love to write. Lets begin! First of all, where do ideas come from? Ideas can come from anywhere. They could come from the lamp across the street late at night, they could come from a family dispute over the holidays. Inspiration could strike everywhere. Which is why you should always keep a note keeping system with you. Whether it's just your phone using Google Keep, or a physical notebook, the best way to find inspirational story ideas is to be at the ready when they come to you. Especially keep a notepad by your bed so you can catch those sleep-induced ideas. But I need an idea RIGHT NOW! Okay, okay, I get it. You want to get an idea and get writing right away. Below are some helpful strategies for the genesis of stories. I hope they are useful. However, remember it would be best if you find your own strategy to come up with ideas, one specific to you.
Use story prompts. There are a lot of fun story prompts out there. I personally follow several Instagram accounts that regularly post prompt ideas. You never know when writing something off of a prompt could lead to something wholly your own!
I hope this was helpful! If you found this article helpful in any way, please consider following me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. For some of my short stories be sure to check out my short stories HERE, and my recent Writetober 2019 challenge HERE. If you want to support me and read my debut novel, The Castaway Hero, it is available on Amazon HERE and Barnes and Noble HERE. Until next time, keep on writing!
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Welcome to The Writers Block!AuthorKen Mears is a new 17 year old author, here to share his wisdom, advice, and experiences with you, the reader! Archives
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