It’s time to launch a 50-word challenge, where each week writers create 50-word stories and poems, and attempt to capture a complete idea, a moment in time, an event, revelation or experience. These stories span every genre from science fiction and fantasy to crime, horror, romance, historic fiction and literary works. Some stories are heart-wrenching, others uplifting. Some create a sense of wonder, others send shivers up our spines.
In short, these people amaze me!
In this post, I will provide links to the full collection from last week, share some highlights of the week, and launch a new prompt.
A brief promo for a charity contest
I’d like to share with you a new contest I’ve started. If it goes well, I will continue it going forward. The contest is a fund-raiser to support @tarc, an animal rescue organization in Appalachia run by @rhondak. Please check out the first contest post.
I think this is super fun! I’ve created a digitally-altered image with Deep Dream Generator, which turned leaves, branches and twigs into birds, fish and animals. To enter the contest, all you need to do is to come up with a great description of the animals you see in the picture. The winner earns 1 SBD and the rest goes to TARC. (Future contests will likely involve writing captions for animal pictures and other games.)
Okay, let's survey the week in #fiftywords!
(Image credit: Original image by pixel2013, Pixabay)
Last week's 50-word stories
I’d like to welcome our newest contributors, @alexandered, @whitelite, @happyhairdays, @riottales and @liverussian! Thanks for joining the Fifty Worders!
Last week's prompt was “sea.”
Here is the complete list of stories inspired by the “sea” prompt:
- Twisted words upon the tide, by @girlbeforemirror
- Dragon egg: Part 3, by @therosepatch
- The world at war, by @ablaze
- The plank, by @anixio
- Atlantis Lost, by @anikekirsten
- Salt water, by @happyhairdays
- The Cursed Jewel, by @cizzo
- Cloudgazing, by @isa93
- ...and found, by @negativer
- Sea Shore, by @vdux
- Her Secrets, by @whitelite
- Set Sail, by @theironfelix
- A Rival, by @liverussian
- Relax, by @riottales
- Cloudgazing, by @isa93
- Last Act, by @alexandered
- Calming Aura by @esttyb
- Theme: Sea, by @pyrowngs
- Endless, by @luiskrupas
- Sea by @foxyspirit
- The Return, by @calluna
- Hero, by @deirdyweirdy
- Cloudgazing, by @isa93
- By The Night, by @bagpuss
- Inferno, by @carn
- The confrontation, by @jayna
- Storm at sea, by @jayna
If I missed yours, please let me know and I will add it! I always try my best to list them all, but I do occasionally miss one.
Highlights of the week
This part of the weekly post is really tough, as there are always many gems to choose from. Each week I have the challenging task of selecting just a few to showcase. Here are my picks:
The Cursed Jewel, by @cizzo
The author tells a heart-breaking, decades-long story in just 50 words:
Young George sailed the seas to find the jewel—a sure way to win Gertrude’s heart.
Years passed by.
At last, the island. A cave. A beast slayed. The jewel his prize.
In the gems reflection he now saw an old man and cast the cursed stone into the sea.
Her Secrets, by @whitelite
A story of the wily, capricious sea from a 50-words newcomer:
Her countless untold mysteries, beneath the mercurial blanket of blue...
Her seductive allure has tempted many to uncover them, under all manner of guises. They come from far and wide brave and ignorant alike.
She reveals little to nothing of her secrets; as she racks up her tally even further...
Set Sail!, by @theironfelix
A salty tale, from our swashbuckling mate, @theironfelix:
Hoist the skull ‘n’ bones!
Brandish yer swords right now
for th’ Seven Seas’ desires!
Today we set sail ‘ere!
Hast no fear me matey,
Davy Jones always be close!
Raise yer pint o’ rum,
Swashbucklas o’ these fine seas
‘N’ dæmons o’ th’ Crowns!
Set sail, ‘n’ plunder Royalty!
The Return, by @calluna
This author supplied a poem and a 50-word story this week, and both were notable! I chose to share the poem because of its lovely imagery.
The salty caress of flecked foam
Whipped up by engulfing wind
The softened edges of well-worn stone
Bubbling swells of churning tides
A whisper in the crash of waves
Of comfort waiting in the cold
In her destructive might she saves
Her current will carry you home
(p.s. I added one teensy grammatical edit to this one, in italics.)
Cloudgazing, by @isa93
The author shares a view of the sea from an angel’s perspective.
"That one looks like a bear! That's like a train! Those ones, frogs!"
Charlie stood up from his cloud-made bed and stretched from feet to wings. He glanced downward one last time before going for breakfast.
They were pretty, the foam shapes that formed at the surface of the sea.
Wonderful work, everyone!
This week's 50-word story prompt
The prompt for this week is “run.” I know you’ll enjoy the many possible angles of this one, Fifty Worders!
Guidelines
Please review carefully. Images must follow the Proper use of images guidelines below.
- Write a story in 50 words. (It's especially cool if you can hit 50 words exactly!)
- Use the #fiftywords tag, and post the link in the comments of this post.
- Be sure to read and upvote the work of the other participants. It's all about community!
- Use only artwork that you have the right to use, and attribute it properly. See the following guidelines.
Proper use of images
Proper use of images means one of the following:
- The image is public domain, or under creative commons licensing rules.
- It is your own image.
- If it is not one of the above, you must have actual permission.
Be sure to properly attribute the image’s source or mention that the image is yours. And if it's not public domain, under creative commons license, or your own image, be sure to state that you have permission.
I have two resources for you, from my friends at @thewritersblock:
And speaking of @thewritersblock, if you would like editing help for your stories before posting them, follow #thewritersblock tag to find them on Discord.
Deadline for this week: Saturday, June 23rd.
The 50-word story clan
I'm mentioning you here if have participated in the #fiftywords short story challenge in the past. Please let me know if you would like your tag removed in this or future posts. (Note that I do trim the list. Those who have not participated for a long time or are not active on Steemit will eventually drop from the mentions.)
@ablaze, @adigitalife, @aggroed, @agmoore, @ahmadmanga, @akdx, @aksounder, @alexandered, @alheath, @anikekirsten, @anixio
@bagpuss, @beginningtoend, @botefarm @brandonsadventur, @bryarose23
@caleblailmusik, @carn, @cheekah, @cizzo, @clacrax, @creatr
@damianjayclay, @deirdyweirdy, @desmoniac, @diebitch, @dirge, @divineinyang, @donnest
@eaglespirit, @elementm, @emwalker, @enjar, @eroticabian, @esttyb, @evgsk
@feebie, @felt.buzz, @ficciones, @foxfiction, @foxyspirit
@galactichunter, @girlbeforemirror, @godwine
@hope-k
@iamthegray, @intheory, @isa93
@jadams2k18, @janine-ariane, @jakeybrown, @jayna, @jonknight, @josecarrasquero
@kaelci, @kally, @kimberlylane, @kingernie, @ktfabler
@ldacey-laforge, @lightoj, @lucylin, @luiskrupaz
@Mammasitta, @marie-jay, @mark-dahl, @mgaft1, @mineopoly, @miniature-tiger, @mizdais, @momzillanc, @mydivathings
@naquoya, @navaneeth, @negativer, @niallon11
@paintingangels, @phillyc, @pixiehunter, @poeticnest, @preparedwombat, @prydefoltz, @puppetmaster1111, @purpledaisy57, @pyrowngs
@ravencorinn, @rodrigocabrera
@sharoonyasir, @spalatino, @sue-stevenson, @sukhasanasister
@tanglebranch, @thatlovechild, @theblackcrow, @theironfelix, @therosepatch, @tiatu, @tuwore, @tygertyger
@vaitelavicius, @vivek-g
@wa2qr, @wales, @whitelite, @wordsalmighty, @wylde
@zen-art
About the 50-word challenge
This weekly 50-word challenge starts off each Sunday with a one-word prompt. Participants use the prompt to create a micro-fiction story in just 50 words. For more info and inspiration: check out the recent post about this project, Fifty-word challenge: FAQs, ideas, motivation and showcase.
Tips for a successful 50-word story:
- Spend some time thinking about what comes to mind from the story prompt.
- Choose the central idea you want to convey, and write the story draft.
- Edit your story. Tighten the wording. Fix grammar and punctuation. (I personally find that I can almost always choose stronger, more impactful words than the first ones I put down on the page.)
Note: If you draft your story in Word or Google docs, they have built-in word count tools.
Thanks so much for reading! If you haven’t yet written a story in 50 words, try it. It's a really amazing challenge to see what can unfold in a mere 50 words!
Hello friends!
Here is my entry for this week!
Best regards
Great imagery you have in yours!
With thanks for your fine work keeping this going, here's mine
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@deirdyweirdy/pig-tales-a-story-in-fifty-words
Ha! Love this one. Somewhat harsh humor, but it's all ok in the name of bacon.
How did I know this would push all your buttons, Neg? ;)
Awesome job, truly awesome... :O
Aw shucks, that's really sweet of you to say. Cheers!
Hi @jayna, here is my 50 words on the subject!
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@whitelite/run
Good job! This little story moves really fast!
Thank-you. I was hoping to achieve a sense of urgency...
Hi Jayna, his is this week's offering... :)
https://steemit.com/writing/@happyhairdays/river
Nicely done! Love how you took the prompt.
Thank-you, I'm fortunate at times to stumble on the 'correct' idea.
I've had another nibble at this - before the curtain drops on this one :))
https://steemit.com/writing/@happyhairdays/start
Always great to work out a second story in a week. They're so fun to do :)
Thank-you, they remind me of the morning paper puzzle, I would push out one each day if I could, Hha! Fun indeed!
Oooooh, I should be able to come up with Dragon Egg part 4 with "run"! Hahaha.
Yay! This prompt does have many possibilities!
Here you go! https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@therosepatch/dragoneggpart4a50wordstory-h7np8qzbby
Yay! A dragon egg story!
@foxyspirit talked me up with such fervor that I was a bit nervous to make an attempt! lol This challenge was more difficult than I originally thought it would be and I had an absolutely amazing time crafting the words to fit the quota! Her is my humble submission:
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@papacrusher/red-river-runs-my-first-attempt-at-the-fiftywords-challenge
Awesome that you wrote one up! Going to read now :D
Thank you for your kind words.
You're most welcome Papacrusher!
I'm back ... nice to be back in the fifty word fold ...https://steemit.com/fiction/@prydefoltz/closed-in-a-50-word-story-for-jayna
Welcome back to the fifty word dark side. Dark, like your story. Nice work!
Welcome back to the
Fifty word dark side. Dark, like
Your story. Nice work!
- negativer
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
My entry is here 👇 👇
This is a sweet way to take the prompt. Lovely.
These simple and awesome prompts really are sparking some great stories @jayna
Here is my entry for this week: https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@cizzo/run-like-hell-50-word-story
Great sci-fi here! Well done.
I got mine in already! I am ahead of the game :D That does not happen often lol. Thank you for doing this again. You are awesome to keep it going.
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@foxyspirit/escape-50-word-story
You are fast indeed! There are benefits to being a front-runner. Then everyone who comes after sees your post. Those who post later in the week have a different advantage. Their post can be upvoted from the summary post with several days left before payout. I have no idea which is better! Okay, off to read your story....
I don't know either. Right away that word sparked a thought and I went with it. I think just writing something and sharing it with people is great ^_^
Me too. And going with the idea as it comes to you is also good! Too many times I’ve thought I would write something down later and then discovered later that it’s gone.
Here is my entry. Now to read through the others!
Nicely done, Trubble! Is this the same Mara as your fantasy from Writers' Workout?
It might well be...
Wow, really entertaining story - way beyond my imagination...
emerges from shadows
I did a thing. I don't know why, but I did.
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@caleblailmusik/rachel-fifty-word-short
It was a good thing. It was good.
Thank you? I feel strangely affirmed with this one :P
You did indeed do a thing! Welcome back!!
I feel welcomed! :D
Hello, sweet Jayna,
Here is my offering for this week:
And—as ever —Thank You, dear!
😄😇😄
Another excellent and creative and wild entry from you, @creatr.
My entry for this week breaks from mythology and fast-forwards to history, haha. Maybe I'll do mythology again next week. This one just screamed for some history.
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@anikekirsten/war-of-the-third-worlds-micro-flash-fiction
Very well done piece of historical fiction!
Thanks, Neg!
My entry https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@tinkerrose/50-word-story-run
Good work on the poem! I love the cadence of the syllables.
Thank You, I'm happy you like it, that's my first try.
Well this is my first ever post on steemit so hopefully I did everything right lol. Thanks for the fun challenge! Here's my entry:
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@blueteddy/run-50-words
Welcome to steemit! Good choice to have a 50 word story as your first post!
Cool prompt - here's mine:
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@foxfiction/run-fiftywords
Excellent nuggets of imagery and mood in this one. A good story here!
Here's my entry for this week's prompt
https://steemit.com/story/@lightoj/fiftywords-short-story-challenge-tragedy
Good work on creating a balance between anger and laughter!
Thank you!
Here’s mine:
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@preparedwombat/it-s-hard-to-find-good-help-these-days
Ha, this is a fun one. Good stuff!
Mam!! Here's my story, simple but interesting as I think
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@saun/the-perfect-kill-fiftywords-entry-for-contest-joyda-8c81b420ef9d7
Nice job here, good job on putting together a full story!
Been a while since I’ve joined in on one of these. Have an amazing week everyone!
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@enjar/fiftywords-looming-shadows-run
Welcome back to #fiftywords! Enjoyed your story, both dark and yet comical with the game as reference.
Here’s my entry
This was so thrilling! Welcome to #fiftywords challenge!
Thanks!
Thanks as always for the prompt @jayna. Here is my little micro nugget story :o)
https://steemit.com/fitywords/@ablaze/disguised-at-the-border-a-fifty-words-story
Still love how you took it, Ablaze!
Jayna isn't available for a while due to account issues, but she'll be back soon.
Really interesting prompt.This is the first time I am participating.A bit nervous but here goes nothing:
https://steemit.com/esteem/@khadija14/50-word-flashfiction-challenge-a-teenager-s-dilemma
A tough situation delivered well. A pleasant read. Welcome to #fiftywords!
Here be my submission for this week.
Also made a full poem of my fifty word "Set Sail" as seen here.
The different voices you use for your submissions are such fun. And your full poem of last week's 50-worder is so, for lack of a better word, piratey! Sand it in my head, accent and all.
Haha, thanks for the compliments once more and for reading such. No kidding, have fun trying to shake that accent from yer head now.
My entry on this week's prompt goes
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@olakunle10/true-blood-runs
Enjoyed the way you took the prompt for your poem. Welcome to the #fiftywords challenge!
Adding my tale here:
Don't Run.
Still giggling after a couple of days. Great story!
I wrote one!
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@vdux/the-competitor
Great story, and excellent extension of the prompt word!
Here's my entry:
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@pyrowngs/fifty-word-story-challenge-running-mascara
I loved the different direction yours went. It's about running, but not. :)
I might be addicted. I have entered again :)
https://steemit.com/writing/@bagpuss/fifty-words-challenge-my-forest
Haha. Welcome to the addiction!
A fairy's light is dimming: *Whenever a person says, "I do not believe in fairies!" Somewhere there is a fairy that falls down dead!' (Tinkerbelle: from the movie Hook)
here's mine https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@anonymummy/dream-runner-by-anonymummyfifty-word-challenge
@anonymummy, your post is hidden now, due to plagiarism issues. Please let me know if you were able to see my comments to you. Otherwise, I can provide additional information.
Thankyou for letting me know I kind of noticed a friend has brought to my attention why it is plagiarism (because we are earning off of our posts) which slipped my mind somehow I have rectified the issue and I won’t do it again
@jayna lots of people have their own littlesignature they put at the end of their posts like yours how do I get one?
I used this tool to create mine: https://giphy.com/create/gifmaker.
Dream runner repost Warning- more than fiftywords https://steemit.com/steemit/@anonymummy/dream-runner-re-blog can’t part with a syllable and will do better next time also in post is a story about a lesson I learned about plagiarism because I was soo caught up in creating the blog I forgot we earn off of them! It also states how I rectified the situation and am re blogging because my post was hidden due to plagiarism you may notice some spelling is wrong and some grammar left out but this is for effect
Hey gentleman! You upvote me ,could you do me another favor? In, my work is n't there so many error? Please reply...
It will help me to improve myself...
You used the wrong present tense for smile the correct tense would be smile usually anything with “ed added to it is a past tense creation . For example past, present, future- smiled, smiling/smile, smile. Smile is in that case tricky as it can be used for present and future tense reference. Like going to smile asked to smile and glued a smile on his face the reason is is because a smile is also by itself a single object description. I like your use of the word evicted it’s not tellable if that was a mistake or a creative alternative to the common English phrase removed/took there are also alternatives like snatched and stole for forceably taken. Other than that you for got to put a capital letter here and there. But that is all! You did really well! I’m learning Spanish myself and after a while you do start to observe a language pattern and freelancing and guessing is a great way to encourage learning development. And is fun. You did good.
Thank you Gentleman ! Your help and my efforts will make me better. It had been a long time that I didn't practiced in English.
I will soon recapitulate all those stuff!
I will definitely participate, but mam please reply what's will be topic.
Great! The prompt is in the post. I would tell you, but that would suggest that it’s not important to read the post, which is not true. The post includes the prompt, tips, and most importantly, the challenge guidelines. It also includes links to the works of other 50-word story authors, which are very inspiring. So... I’m sorry, but you need to read the post. 😊
Woot. I made it in the highlights §! Some real nice entries this week.
Yes, as usual, there were so many good stories. It's so hard to choose. I love your salty story.
Haha, thanks :^D
Happy writing everyone:)
Does this mean we'll be seeing a 50-word post from you soon, @prydefoltz? :-)
Oh, I think soz:):):):)
Let's do this...it's quite fun and interesting. Bless up
Please, what link did you mean in the guideline number 2?
That just means you should post your story on your own blog. Then copy the link from your story, write a comment on this post, and add your link to the comment.
Thank you...much understood
Hey great job all the winners! This is a great contest, can't wait to write the next prompt.
Loved your post,will definitely try the challenge this time!!!
We've not seen winners for the week @jayna...whats up
Hi @olakunle10. Thank you for asking! I am working to restore my account. Meanwhile I am posting as @jaynas-minime. (You can read my update here.)
I had hoped I could recover by now, but it has been nearly a week with no answer. So I will be posting a wrap-up for last week and a new prompt in a bit, from this account.
By the way, we don’t have “winners” with this challenge. I just pick a few good stories to highlight. 😊
Fifty Worders, if you’re looking for the next challenge, it’s here: https://steemit.com/fiction/@jaynas-minime/fifty-word-challenge-the-week-in-review-and-new-prompt.