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    Short Stories About Writing
    Short Stories About Writing
    Short Stories About Writing
    Ebook72 pages1 hour

    Short Stories About Writing

    By Dwayne Phillips

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    About this ebook

    Six short stories about writing and writers from Dwayne Phillips. This anthology includes: Will Write for Food, Predator and Prey, The Patron of the Arts, The Old Book, Too Much Too Much Not Enough, and Two Walls and a Roof.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDwayne Phillips
    Release dateApr 4, 2011
    ISBN9781458027566
    Short Stories About Writing
    Author

    Dwayne Phillips

    A systems and computer engineer since 1980. A short story fiction writer.

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      Book preview

      Short Stories About Writing - Dwayne Phillips

      SHORT STORIES ABOUT WRITING

      by

      Dwayne Phillips

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      * * * * *

      PUBLISHED BY:

      Dwayne Phillips on Smashwords

      Short Stories About Writing

      Copyright © 2011 by Dwayne Phillips

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      * * * * *

      SHORT STORIES ABOUT WRITING

      * * * * *

      CONTENTS

      Will Write for Food

      Predator and Prey

      The Patron of the Arts

      The Old Book

      Too Much, Too Much, Just Enough

      Two Walls and a Roof

      * * * * *

      Will Write for Food

      By Dwayne Phillips

      Joseph rolled out of bed onto the floor. It's Tuesday, he mumbled above the scuffing of his knees on the worn throw rug next to the couch he used as a bed. No, it's Wednesday.

      The switch to Wednesday came as Joseph realized his alarm clock had woke him at 5:45 a.m. There was only one reason to wake at this time. Chick-Fil-A opened at 6:30 and the high school boys would be there fumbling with their papers that Mrs. Stewart had assigned them. She made them write week to week and their papers were due on Wednesdays.

      High school, okay, where are my high school morning clothes?

      Joseph crawled about in a circle. The pants were on the first folding chair, so Joseph grabbed a pair of old, baggy, and too long jeans. The next folding chair held shirts, and Joseph grabbed a blue sweatshirt to match the colors of South Hills High.

      How stupid could this be? thought Joseph. Still dressing in school colors at my age.

      Five more minutes of crawling from chair to chair had Joseph fully clothed. Five minutes in the bathroom and he was presentable in public, at least presentable for the weekly high school crowd at Chick-Fil-A.

      Joseph climbed the stairs up into Mrs. Rodriguez's house. He had a private entrance to his walk out basement room, but he hated to use it as it forced him to walk around the house. Besides, Mrs. Rodriguez liked to see him alive and breathing each morning. They rarely spoke, but she worried about her sole tenant. He worried a bit about her as well. She was 90 years old, and if she died he knew that her lone son would boot Joseph out and sell the house.

      Joseph walked out the front door, down the street, and around the corner. Two more blocks and he was at the Chick-Fil-A at 6:30, just as they unlocked the doors. He took his usual seat in the back corner of the dining room. He sat in the corner with the tables, not the one with the booths. Tables worked much better.

      The first high school Harry arrived in less than five minutes. Two more trailed in after another two minutes. They all had the same intent. Mrs. Stewart expected them to email in their weekly assignment before noon today. They had given it some effort the night before, but knew that they wouldn't pass without some proof reading and suggestions.

      Hey, can you help me? asked the first.

      Sure, you know the drill, answered Joseph.

      The teenager set a Styrofoam cup of coffee on the table in front of Joseph along with three Half-and-Half creamers, two packets of sugar, and a stir stick. He then opened his laptop computer in front of Joseph with his weekly essay opened in MS Word.

      Joseph started glancing through the essay while he poured the accessories into the coffee and stirred it.

      Here, mentioned Joseph. Try this instead.

      Joseph typed a few words into the middle of the essay while pointing at them. The first teen nodded a bit, mumbled a few okays, and pushed his hands onto the keyboard. Three minutes was all this boy needed. Joseph recognized him by face and writing style. He wrote fairly well for a football player trying to pass and stay eligible.

      Maybe one day, thought Joseph, no, forget it. This one only wants to stay eligible. Nothing will come of this.

      Once finished, this large boy pushed aside to a nearby table to edit his essay and eat a chicken biscuit. Another took his place next to Joseph.

      Can you help me? asked the second boy.

      You have any tots? asked Joseph.

      Oh, yeah, sure, answered the boy as he pushed a box of potatoes in front of Joseph. Need any ketchup?

      Joseph waved off that offer. He ate the tater tots one by one as he scrolled through this boy's essay on his laptop. The potatoes were filling and went well with the coffee.

      Joseph sat here in the corner of Chick-Fil-A for half an hour going through half a dozen high school essays. In return, he had two cups of coffee, a cup of orange juice, two chicken biscuits, and one box of tater tots. It was an average Wednesday morning.

      His stomach filled for now, Joseph took his half hour walk back to his basement. He set his alarm for noon, fell onto the couch, and slept until it woke him for the second time this day.

      Joseph looked at his appointments on his iPhone and smiled. Lunch at Ryan's at 1:30, perfect.

      Joseph stood this time and made his little circle of clothing on folding chairs. This was a business appointment with a local banker, so he put on his one pair of slacks and a blue long sleeve shirt with buttons.

      Ryan's steakhouse was two miles

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