Creative writing

Short Story competition 2021

ACL Short Story competition 2021: ‘awakening’

We asked you to submit a short story, no more than 500 words, to win some fabulous prizes in our writing competition... and they did not disappoint! This year, the theme of the competition was ‘Awakening’. After reading over 70 amazing tales, we have selected the ACL Choice winner (chosen by our Creative Writing Tutors), Awaken.app, a truly captivating story! We will reveal the Author’s Choice winner (chosen by local Essex Author Sarah Armstrong) and People’s Choice winner (chosen by our community) on our social media and website very soon. www.aclessex.com

ACL’s Choice Winner Awaken.app

Written by Gemma Gargrave

“Pop your finger against the pad to get you signed in.. that’s it. You have admin functionality but we would always recommend contacting our team if you want to make any big changes to your account.”

“Of course. How do we wake her up?”

“Go on the app home screen. See the black circle, top left? Give it a tap and it should turn white. The cog is where you go to make alterations. You can only access that when the base is offline.”

“The base?”

“Your daughter.”

“Tia.” “Yes, Tia. Anyway, that’s me all done. There are lots of tutorials and tips for getting the most out of the system. All that sort of stuff is accessible via the brain icon.”

“Right. Thank you so much for your help.”

“My pleasure. If you get a moment to review the service online it will be much appreciated.”

Frank saw the installer out. Shelley’s finger hovered over the black circle until she heard the door click shut. She tapped.

The sleep functionality was everything Shelley and Frank could have hoped for.

For the first time in four years, they were all actually sleeping through the night. Tia was well-rested and calm.

A little too calm.

Shelley clicked on the brain and typed “fun” and “playful” into the search bar.

“What do you think, Frank?”

“I don’t know, do you really want to change who she is?”

“Of course not. You’re not here with her all day though, you don’t see how bored she looks. I’m not talking about a drastic change, just helping her along.”

“I guess. But just a little bit, yeah?.”

She tapped the cog and made her selections. In six clicks it was done.

Turning up the fun was tiring, but that was fine. Shelley just gave Tia more sleep-time during the day. It was during one such sleep that Shelley saw a video of her neighbour’s kid reading a book. I wonder…

When Tia woke up, Shelley handed her “The Cat in the Hat”. Ten books later and Shelley couldn’t believe how easy parenting could be. Until Frank came home. “I just helped her on her way! Isn’t she clever?”

“I don’t know, is she?” Frank’s face crumpled a little as he looked over at his daughter.

The conversation grew more heated. Tia began to cry, louder and louder until her wails drowned out her parents’ voices.

“Just be quiet, both of you!” Shelley screamed, reaching for the app and switching Tia to sleep without even realising. The silence made the thud seem louder. She was even silent when her head hit the table edge. Silent still, when her father rushed over to cradle her body. Silent despite her mother’s screams at the silent stream of blood escaping her skull.

An ear-splitting screech came from the phone. “Base disabled, unit offline. Dialling technical support.”

“George speaking. Can I help?”

“My daughter!” Shelley screamed down the line. “What have I done?”

Illustration Competition

Submit your artwork inspired by our winning story!

We were delighted by the number of stories we received as part of our Short Story competition this year. We hope you’ve all had a chance to read these fantastic stories and we would like to thank our community for sharing their talent with us.

We are now launching our Illustration Competition 2021! We want you to submit your artwork which has been inspired by our ACL Choice winning story. It could be a piece of art directly illustrating the story or you could think out the box and create a piece which has been inspired by what you have read. The artwork will be judged by a panel of creative tutors as well as he authors of the winning stories! There are a range of prizes to be won.

How to submit your artwork Visit our website, complete the entry form and attach an image of your artwork. You can submit an entry as an individual or as a group effort with your family or friends. We’re looking forward to seeing your entry!

Entries must be submitted by 23rd August 2021

The wonder of writing

Finding the joy in writing

Each of us is born with a unique way of looking at the world and making sense of what we see. Writing enables us to explore this, to awaken an identity and discover a creative voice. It is a way to understand our thoughts and ideas, become more focused and resilient, and even to create new worlds to explore.

Many of us feel that we have too many pressures and time constraints in our lives, and so are drawn to more passive ways of exploring our creativity, through other people’s creative thinking - eg. TV, books, music, film and games. This is isn’t a bad thing at all, it can stimulate a positive frame of mind and motivate us to seek happiness.

However, it is healthy to devote a portion of our time to delve into our own creative thinking, even if we put pen to paper to just acknowledge our thoughts. If you don’t do this already, why not try it? It could help you gain a deeper appreciation of the people and world around you and relieve some of those pressures that could be holding you back. Writing is a powerful way to find answers to difficult questions. It allows us to become more self-aware, helping us make better decisions and deal with difficult situations and feelings. Throughout our lives we are taught to focus on the future, to keep moving forward and keep achieving.

It is good to slow down and take a breath occasionally and appreciate where we are right now. Writing allows us to do this, it gives us a safe place to reflect on our experiences, to gain a fuller perspective on life and to have our say about the world we live in.

Sharing ideas and learning with others can be extremely beneficial. It could help you connect with others, open your mind to new ideas and give you the support network you need.

try our Creative Learning and English classes. visit: aclessex.com email: lifelong.learning@essex.gov.uk call: 03330 600 111