SHORT STORIES
Tales from The Deep
What would you be like if you never gave in to apathy, social pressure, or convenient lies? What would your life be like if you always did what you thought was best? "Tales from The Deep" is a series of short stories that explores human psychological potential. Discover the secrets of The Deep, a mysterious network of individuals who are controlled by nothing but their personalities, objectives, and convictions.
The Stories
Prologue: "The Brand" [825 words]
Episode 1: "The Date" [3,097 words]
Episode 2: "The Elder" [2,913 words]
Episode 3: "The Bridge" [1,238 words]
Episode 4: "The Bread Aisle" [1,013 words]
Episode 5: "The Bad Day" [1,353 words]
The Novella
William is a disciple of The Deep, training himself psychologically and spiritually. Is he ready for the impossible test? He applied, but he’s nervous. Join William on his quest to become a member of The Deep.
Day 0 - Wednesday [1,092 words]
Day 1 - Thursday [1,907 words]
Day 2 - Friday [2,292 words]
Day 3 - Saturday [2,705 words]
Day 4 - Sunday [1,580 words]
Day 5 - Monday [620 words]
Day 6 - Tuesday [1,914 words]
Day 7 - Wednesday [906 words]
Related Articles
"Believe Something. Be Something." [586 words]
"Bigness" [550 words]
"A Culture of One" [1,402 words]
Write Night Stories
Every month, my writing group gathers to write flash fiction based on wild prompts and within tight time limits. I explain some of our challenges on my blog. Here is a sampling of my Write Night fabrications, edited for your reading enjoyment. The prompts and time limits are listed under each title. What would you come up with?
Prompt: Someone finds a hidden door
Time: 35 minutes
Prompt: A random sentence from a book that you must incorporate into your story (Sliding from the dragon’s back, Jenny knew at once that Zyerne was dead.)
Time: 30 minutes
Prompt: Rewrite a fairytale (Rapunzel) in a different genre (sci-fi)
Time: 30 minutes
Prompt: Randomly draw a problem (natural disaster) and conflict type (man vs. nature)
Time: 15 minutes
Prompt: Randomly draw a genre (alien romance), setting (Wild West saloon), and problem (huge fart on the way)
Time: 30 minutes
The Memoirs of Dalton Attwater [2,100 words]
Originally written for Storyteller Magazine, The Memoirs of Dalton Attwater was a finalist in the October short story contest. It remains one of Isaac's personal favorites.
Synopsis: Peter has written many a memoir. Mystery awaits him, however, when he's hired by a somber, elderly man living on a derelict estate.
Anomaly [1,485 words]
Emma Mahoney is an anomaly. She doesn't interact with the physical world like everyone else does. But why? Step into Emma's strange life and daring search for answers.
Learn about the origin of the story and the genre of magic realism.
The Captain’s Dilemma [855 words]
Get your fill of action, tech, and outer space in this ten-minute read.
Excerpt: Then he heard the saw. Sparks sprayed from the ceiling in the next room, or, at least, it was the ceiling from his current perspective. That was exactly where he’d expected the pirates to board. Six months ago, he had been one of them. He betrayed the pirate syndicate, and now they were here for his head.
Discover the main character's backstory and tips for writing flash fiction in the author's notes.
The Ball of Eras Past [490 words]
The Ball of Eras Past is a flash fiction story written for a contest. It had to be under 500 words long and include the prompt word "revived".
Librocubicularist [550 words]
For the Word Improv Challenge, I had to write a story that included the following six words: (1) effervescent, (2) egregious, (3) conundrum, (4) evocative, (5) puerile, and (6) librocubicularist. I had to trim the story down for the contest, but you can enjoy the original version here.
Dimensions of Conversation [1,700 words]
Dimensions of Conversation first appeared in Storyteller Magazine, Volume II Issue 3. This highly experimental story represents an everyday conversation in three imaginary scenes: a game of cards, spell-slinging battle, and Wild West showdown.