Goodbye Cruel World

This weeks' story is another old one, Goodbye Cruel World. [5169 words]

I wrote this during the same period as Old Dog, New Tricks, where I was trying to learn how to write by getting down to it. As I said previously, I set myself rules for each story, but for this one I honestly can't remember the rule... It was a long time ago (10 years!) but I have a feeling it was to not mention the main character's name or mention the name of the setting. I know that doesn't sound very challenging but back then I didn't have any experience and I discovered it gave it a fable-like quality by making it non-descript or vague- it could be anyone or from any time.

The idea came from the 'Second Iraq War', or when they bombed Baghdad in 2003. I watched it all live on TV and remembered clearly the 10-minute strategic bombing of the city as seen from the media balcony of the hotel. Then the next morning that crazy Iraqi propaganda minister would claim they'd hit schools and hospitals and the american (Colin Powell) would disagree. They showed aerial video of the city and you could see cars driving up and down the motorway and city streets and that had a big effect on me; people were still living there and going to work whilst bombs were falling!

I had two ideas for stories; this one, about someone running away from a city being destroyed around him and his normal, western life falling to pieces, and another one about someone carrying on as if nothing was happening. I wrote this, the short one and was very happy with it, and still am today.

The other idea I expanded on and when I quit Wetherspoons (yay!) I had three weeks off with no obligations and decided to work on it- I had the idea of writing a detective novel where the character has to solve a crime in a city being bombed; what's the point if their all gonna die anyway? that was my main theme. I wrote five chapters in five days, 20,000 words, and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, like a lot of my work that's as far as I ever got. Maybe one day I'll return to it, of all my unfinished projects that one was my favourite.

The title is also my favourite title of all my stories. I gave it to both projects since they're connected and it just seemed so fitting- I love the dark connotation of the phrase as a suicide cliche, a classic futile expression of turning your back on something, but meaning the world, ie not just your life but your whole world being destroyed.

Any feedback is always welcome,

B A Jones 24/03/2014