It's time for another 50-word story challenge! And I do mean "challenge." Guys, I had so much fun running the Fifty-word short story contest that completed yesterday. It was amazing. The participation and quality of the entries blew me away.

I'd like to continue stoking the fire of the #fiftywords story format, at least until @miniature-tiger is ready to resume!

(Image credit: Original image by pixel2013, Pixabay)

I did some thinking in the process of running the contest. I'm going back to the "challenge" version of this project, as run by @miniature-tiger. This will make it manageable. I loved running a contest, but tracking all of the entries in light of the contest rules and judging a winner took several full days of effort. I'd like to run this weekly, but two days a week of contest management is not sustainable with my current schedule.

What I will do, however, is support all great entries with upvotes. I will also resteem one or two of the best entries that have clearly been written with care. (And psst! If the challenge is really well supported by the #fiftywords community, I may not be able to resist throwing a little SBD at the most well-crafted pieces.)

So, let's do this!

The 50-word story prompt: spring

This week's story prompt is "spring." Have you noticed I love a prompt that has multiple meanings?

Guidelines

Here they are:

• 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.

Okay, I'll admit I'm much more fond of guidelines than rules. The one rule I want to underscore, however, is the proper use of images. This means one of the following: it is your image, or you have actual permission, or the image is public domain, or under creative commons licensing rules.

I have two resources for you, from my friends at #thewritersblock:

• Image licensing, by @rhondak
• Creative Commons Resource Library, by @therosepatch

Deadline: Saturday, March 17th

Have fun!

The 50-word story clan

I'm mentioning you here if have participated in the #fiftywords short story challenge from @miniature-tiger or the one I just ran to continue the tradition. Please let me know if you would like your tag removed in this or future posts.

@ablaze, @adigitalife, @agmoore, @aksounder, @alheath, @andyartland, @anixio, @anjkara, @awhsarada
@bentheredonethat, @bhop42moro, @bitsendpieces, @botefarm @brandonsadventur, @bryarose23
@caleblailmusik, @carlosparejo, @charlesmackenzie, @cizzo, @creatr, @curtwriter
@damianjayclay, @deirdyweirdy, @dinavice, @dirge, @divineinyang
@eaglespirit, @ebitularmbert, @elementm, @enjar, @evgsk
@feebie, @felt.buzz, @fireawaymarmot, @fitinfun, @freewheel
@godwine, @gonzo
@hope-k
@iamthegray, @ilt-yodith, @isa93, @isufbakaj
@jadams2k18, @janine-ariane, @jakeybrown, @jayna, @joyyrush
@kainos-success, @kamalkennedy, @kingernie, @ktfabler
@ldacey-laforge, @lonestarpoet, @loraine, @lucylin
@Mammasitta, @marie-jay, @mark-dahl, @maxiemoses-eu, @metzli, @mikesthoughts, @mineopoly, @miniature-tiger, @momzillanc
@naquoya, @naso, @navaneeth, @negativer, @niallon11, @nicolexu1337
@onewithearth
@paintingangels, @pixiehunter, @poeticnest, @preparedwombat, @prydefoltz
@purpledaisy57, @pyrowngs
@saoirseronan, @sciencevienna, @skoolielove, @spalatino, @stayoutofherz, @sukhasanasister, @superjongky
@thatlovechild, @theblackcrow, @therosepatch, @tiatu, @tibra, @tin-tin, @tony-duke, @tygertyger
@udayakumarage, @upen-srv
@vaitelavicius, @vivek-g
@whitewizard, @wilfredn, @wordsalmighty, @wylde
@yomibolo
@zen-art

Thank you so much for participating!

p.s. Did you know there are a number of micro-fiction contests going on? Check out the 232-word contest by @felt.buzz, or look for other contests using the #fiftywords tag.