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    Short Attention Span Fiction Volume One
    Short Attention Span Fiction Volume One
    Short Attention Span Fiction Volume One
    Ebook116 pages3 hours

    Short Attention Span Fiction Volume One

    By James Dillingham

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    About this ebook

    Included are 50 very short stories; most are a page in length. Several different genre's are included ranging from dark to humorous, drama to sci-fi. All of the stories were initiated by a prompt - the author was given a word or setting and challenged to write a story that would include the prompt. Prompts are included with each story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames Dillingham
    Release dateFeb 15, 2010
    ISBN9781452400556
    Short Attention Span Fiction Volume One
    Author

    James Dillingham

    By day, I am a management consultant specializing in shift work operations. By night, I write.

    Read more from James Dillingham

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      Book preview

      Short Attention Span Fiction Volume One - James Dillingham

      Introduction

      If you are like me, you love to read but often find yourself with less time to do so than you would like. The stories contained in this book are designed for just such a situation. There are fifty stories here that are only about one page long (300 words or less).

      I have included two longer stories (about 5 pages long) just in case you have a little extra time to spend.

      I have found that my stories are more creative when someone gives me a prompt. A prompt is basically a writing challenge. For example, someone may say, Write a story with a brick, a duck and a thunderstorm. The trick then becomes to write a complete story using 300 words or less that includes the prompts in a seamless manner. They should be woven into the story in a non-intrusive yet necessary way. For example, using the above prompts, it wouldn’t be fair to write, Brad walked out into the thunderstorm and saw a duck carrying a brick. That is a bit like someone saying, Use ‘bucket’ in a sentence, and I reply I looked up ‘bucket’ in the dictionary.

      Just for fun, I have included the prompts for each story. They can be found just after each story title.

      I hope you enjoy my stories. If you have any comments (good or bad), I would love to hear from you. My email is Jim@shift-work.com. I have two other eBooks that are currently available for Kindle only. To find them, you can search for my name on Amazon .com. They are titled Nano Flash Fiction Volumes One and Two. I also maintain a portfolio on Writing.com where all of my stories can be read free of charge. Simple go to the website and search for Hyperiongate.

      If you feel that you got value for your money, please tell a friend. If you don’t feel that way, please tell me.

      All storied contained in this book are copyright protected under my penname, Hyperiongate.

      Coming the summer of 2010!

      ARTIFACT MAN

      By James Dillingham

      In the desert east of Reno, a badly burned man is found near a strange object. The man is rushed to the hospital while the object, which soon becomes known as the Artifact, is secured by the military.

      The man and the Artifact begin to exhibit abilities and characteristics that defy explanation.

      Once he is healed, the man goes out into the world. His mission, unknown even to himself, is to usher in the next level of consciousness for mankind. It is time for us to evolve. As his influence grows, governments and religions alike, begin to see him as a threat.

      Meanwhile, physicists are beginning to believe that the Artifact is a Rosetta Stone. Could it hold the secret to the Theory of Everything or is it a quantum version of Pandora’s Box?

      If you would like to be notified when this book is released, please send a note to Jim@shift-work.com

      Contents

      The Musician

      War's End

      Channel Blocker

      Precious Cargo

      God's Snowball

      William Tell-ish

      Command Decision

      Pirate Secrets

      Choices

      Library of Souls

      Dubious Upgrade

      Townies

      Too Lucid

      The Captain's Coup

      Leftovers

      REM Warfare

      The Warning

      The Life of Cronkite

      Predators

      Spooky People

      Do Not Enter

      Halloween Dare

      Defragmented Memories

      The Temporalnaut

      The Siege

      Behind the Scene

      The Craft of Automobile Maintenance

      Small Town Knowledge

      Hot Pursuit

      Final Observations

      The Director

      Born of Frustration

      Survivor

      Return Trip

      Undercover Finale

      Simple Pleasures

      What Women Want (or so I heard)

      Coupled

      Wigglers

      Quiet Memory

      The Pursued

      Higher Calling

      The Hunted

      Savioress

      Path to Manhood

      According to Plan

      Narcissus at the Beach

      Opportunity Knocks

      Soul-Mates – longer story

      Indigo Girl – longer story

      The Musician

      By James Dillingham

      The prompts: This story must contain the words: beard, silk, trumpet

      The musician swayed to the imagined background orchestra as he stood on the steps of the long empty government building. At the appropriate time, he raised his trumpet and began to play.

      The skillfully fingered instrument soliloquized to an audience of abandoned cars and cracked pavement. The tune was a sad, wavering and drawn-out affair; appropriate for the welcoming of a dawn colored red by the paintbrush of Armageddon.

      He paused, allowing the instrument to hang down at his side. The rising sun struggled against an atmosphere of ash to push back the night. Slowly, the darkness receded down the walls of the building to be replaced by an appropriate bloodish hue.

      The musician stroked his tangled beard thoughtfully. It felt gritty from the dust that was everywhere.

      Looking down at his arms, he saw the inevitable blisters. Radiation poisoning was not a pretty sight.

      He knew it wouldn’t be long. All that remained was to plan his exit.

      Should he sit and cry? Maybe he should take his life and be done with it.

      He turned to the building behind him as if there might be answers inside. Many wise people had passed through those doors. Right up to the end, we’d looked to them for the answers. Right up to the end of all endings.

      He chuckled to himself. Alas, there was no one to share the irony of looking for wisdom amongst those whose best ideas had brought about such a complete demise.

      His chuckle grew to a laugh.

      It was decided. With a flourish, the musician pulled a silk scarf out of his pocket. He wrapped it gypsy-like around his head. Then, with a jump and clicking of his heels, he happily marched down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue playing When the Saints Come Marching In.

      War's End

      By James Dillingham

      The prompts: This story must contain the words: igloo, aurora and midnight

      Queen Aurora stood before the group of top generals. Her hands were on her hips as she looked out over the attentive audience. In full battle dress, she was an imposing figure.

      The Yeti wars have gone on long enough.

      As one, the seasoned soldiers gasped.

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