Deviating from all the great videogame, computer and technology talk that Armchair Arcade is known for for just a little bit longer and inspired by Matt's excellent and recently posted short story, "Jumpman", as well as Wired magazine's similarly recent and clever idea to have famous writers write short stories made up of just a little more than half a dozen words, I thought it would be neat if we could do sort of the same thing here, except this time make the rules be that you need to tell your short story in a single paragraph. While I am a fan of the short story, I must admit that the last time I wrote anything resembling a short story was back in 1994, with my works, "Words" and "Go West Young Man (or Doomsday 24)", and only then for a college class. Great experiences, but it's high time that I did some "fun" writing like that again other than technology-related or essays. So before I whine again about not having time and getting to this after the "book is finished", I figured I could take a few minutes to come up with a truly short short story or two.

I'll post my first one paragraph short story as a comment to this blog post soon. It would be great if you all could do the same. Bonus points for making it videogame or computer related, particularly classic, but really, anything goes. Have fun and be sure to participate, even if you think you're not a very good writer, as the key word is FUN!

Justin sat in the darkest corner of the darkest bar in the space station, shrunk into the shadows like a wet rat in a lightning storm. He was wary for a reason. If anyone guessed who he was or his purpose, his presence here would end his past. He needed answers. He needed courage. But he was scared as hell and fresh out of pencils.

Greetings, Armchair Arcaders and all of our beloved readers! I have some great news: Within a few weeks you're going to see something at Armchair Arcade that you've never seen before--a science fiction short story! Don't adjust your resolution, you read it right: in addition to all of the great news and feature articles about classic and modern gaming you've come to expect from your favorite website, we're bringing you the most exciting short stories you've ever read--or my name isn't Matt Barton! The first story in the queue is "Jumpman," a bold tale about a reluctant space-faring young man who finds himself embroiled in a mystery of universal (or should I say, multi-dimensional) proportions. You'll be clawing at your keyboard in anticipation of what will happen next in this amazing story! And wait until you get to the surprise ending--nothing can possibly prepare you for it! If you have any interest whatsoever in science fiction or just flat out good story-telling, don't miss it.

Don't be the chump that hears about Jumpman secondhand--stay tuned to this website, and grab it the nanosecond it hits the net!