It’s January (hello 2016), so I went through my social media feeds and grabbed all the MicroStories I’d tweeted during the month of December (long ago in ye olde 2015.)
As a reminder, these represent story-essences composed using no more than 129 characters (so I could tweet them with the hashtag #MicroStory.)
Usually, I only tweet Science Fiction and Fantasy #MicroStories. December was pretty much no exception. (Except for a handful of very-micro stories that I wrote.)
For really great #MicroStory action, please follow @MicroSFF, the Twitter account that inspired me to participate in this minimalist writing exercise. That feed puts out great science fiction and fantasy MicroStories all the time.
(I want to make it clear that @MicroSFF is *not* a Twitter account of mine. Their flash-fiction tweets are excellent. Mine are okay.)
With peace between the kingdoms secure, the rulers could focus on a long ignored problem: the aging stockpile of wizards.
#MicroStory
Sleep enchantments, endless crystal cave mazes, being turned into a tree –
“Retiring” a senile wizard had to be done delicately.
#MicroStory
I used my sling to hurl an eye over the tall temple wall, but it fell uselessly into a fountain.
I was going to need more eyes.
#MicroStory
The whales sang in the cool depths, each song a memory of a far-off place.
Above, Phobos sped by.
#MicroStory
The president skimmed the report. “Should we be worried?”
“The chances of anything coming from Earth are a million to one.”
#MicroStory
The cities of the once submerged Old Coast were again accessible.
Something had been making architectural changes.
#MicroStory
WW IV continued to be fought, but in remote wildernesses.
The cyborgs on all 3 sides agreed that people should rebuild in peace.
#MicroStory
The waiting list for a young, healthy heart could be years, but 2nd hand cyber hearts were available every few days.
#MicroStory
We’d decorate the pine tree with used ammo casings and empty cans.
The adults would sing something about someone named Santa.
#MicroStory
Feeling sluggish all morning, I realized that I’d used 99% of my monthly data plan.
Could I get to the hospital before the coma?
#MicroStory
They say a wizard had opened doorways in the dry hills, releasing rivers of fresh water.
But other things came with the water.
#MicroStory
If the captain had his way, he’d just use the trained octopi for crew. They were smart, good in zero-g, and rarely got drunk.
#MicroStory
The Dyson sphere was unbelievably huge.
So large, it contained planets orbiting in the darkness around another Dyson sphere.
#MicroStory
Give a man a fish: they eat for a day.
Teach a man to fish: they eat for a lifetime.
Unless someone has fenced off the lake.
#MicroStory
No robot believed in luck.
But just in case – the captain told the crew they’d be stopping off at Earth for a replacement human.
#MicroStory
Special Six Word Micro Micro Story!
I’ve been competing weekly (weakly?) in the Six Word Story Challenge found at the Sometimes Stellar Storyteller blog. One of the challenges in December was to write a six-word story based on the word BELIEVE.
I submitted this:
She said things.
I didn’t question.
I won! So I was allowed to once again use the 1st place winner image (shown above.)
(I came in 3rd place during the week of Christmas… I won’t be displaying the 3rd place logo, because no need to be braggy… the word to use as a reference was JOYOUS, and my entry was:
*spins*
*wags tail*
THEY CAME BACK!
It was inspired by my dog Peanut.)
Thanks everyone who has read and enjoyed my small stories. I tweet flash-fiction at irregular intervals on my Twitter account, @patman23. At more regular intervals, I tweet about having to walk my dogs at 5 a.m. in the increasingly chill weather. To think that I’m giving this all away for free!
Image belongs to my dad. That’s his feet in the foreground, that’s my feet in the background. I will provide no other context.
I make no claims to Dad’s photo, but some claims to the text. So there.
© Patrick Sponaugle 2016 Some Rights Reserved
I Can't Possibly Be Wrong All the Time 