Fifty word story round-up and new prompt

in steempress •  6 years ago  (edited)

Hello and welcome to a new week for the 50-word challenge. This post provides links to the full collection of 50-word stories from last week and highlights a few goodies. You will also find the new prompt for this week.

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(Image credit: Original image by pixel2013, Pixabay)

Last week's 50-word stories


I’d like to welcome our newest contributors, @joyyrush, @jasminearch, @thinknzombie, @bex-dk, @jluvs2fly, and @gaming-stuff. Thanks for joining the Fifty Worders!

Last week's prompt was “tear.”

Here is the complete list of stories inspired by the “tear” prompt:

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 somehow.

Highlights of the week


Each week I highlight a few of the stories from the previous week that are well-written, well-edited and compelling. It's excruciating every time because there are so many! Here are just a few picks from last week.

A Silent Tear Drop, by @pyemoney


The author examines how even in an extreme moment, childhood lessons about tears are at play.

Rod’s heart pounded rapidly as he counted to ten. He couldn’t breathe.

His emotions swelled inside … mind spinning out-of-control.

Shaking and sweating, Rod remembered his mother saying, “Son, big boys don’t cry.”

Suddenly, a silent tear rolled down his face to the sound of prison doors slamming behind him.

The Offer, by @bex-dk

To sign or not to sign? That is the question. Be sure to read about the author's editing process, as she walks through how she went from idea through several stages of editing--a valuable process for refining and perfecting any story.

Sign this contract and they could go home--no more shitty apartments.

Play the dutiful wife in public. The kids get the benefits of his position and wealth. She gets compensated for smiling through the insults.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. A cardboard life.

Hands shaking, she ripped it to shreds.

Bully Tears, by @cizzo


A bully finally gets his due.

Ian flings his balled fist against the kid’s jaw. A sickening crunch of cartilage and bone. He tightens his fingers and swings again.

He stands over the kid that has taunted him for years. Tears roll down the bully’s face mixing with blood from a broken nose.

No more bullshit.

Tears, by @thinknzombie


The author takes us into a reality we can only imagine.

The rift drew closer to the station. A colossal tear in space-time, looming behind the final escape pod.

Inside, Jeffrey waved happily. Unaware, but so perfect.

She shuddered. “You fucking look after him, Tom.”

He nodded, buckling himself in.

With a final look at her baby, she sealed the hatch.

Torn, by @jasminearch

When the best day turns into the worst one....

Funny how small mishaps could become omens. Annie poked a finger through the tear in her voluminous wedding dress. As unexpected as her best friend's last-minute confession, but there it was.

Looping the heavy train over one arm, she walked away from the church.

Mum was right. Men are pigs.

Why the tears?? by @ablaze

Things are not as they seem.

Tears meandered slowly down her face like glacial meltwater.

Was it something he said?

She wouldn't look up, her head bowed low in quiet reverie.

Her gaze transfixed now and focused.

It ached every fibre of his six foot frame to see her this way.

She put down the onion...

This week's 50-word story prompt


The prompt for this week is “break.” There are so many possible directions for this one, Fifty Worders. I look forward to seeing where you take it.

Guidelines


Please review carefully. Images must follow the Proper use of images guidelines below.

  1. Write a story in 50 words. (It's especially cool if you can hit 50 words exactly!)
  2. Use the #fiftywords tag, and **post the link in the comments of this post**.
  3. Be sure to read and upvote the work of the other participants. It's all about community!
  4. 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:
  1. The image is public domain, or under creative commons licensing rules.
  2. It is your own image.
  3. 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, July 14th.

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, @anonymummy

@bagpuss, @beginningtoend, @bex-dk, @blueteddy, @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, @gaming-stuff, @girlbeforemirror

@happyhairdays

@iamthegray, @isa93

@jadams2k18, @janine-ariane, @jakeybrown, @jasminearch, @jayna, @jluvs2fly, @jonknight, @josecarrasquero, @joyyrush

@kaelci, @kally, @khadija14, @kimberlylane, @ktfabler

@ldacey-laforge, @lightoj, @liverussian, @lucylin, @luiskrupaz

@Mammasitta, @marie-jay, @mark-dahl, @mgaft1, @mineopoly, @miniature-tiger, @mizdais, @momzillanc, @mydivathings

@navaneeth, @negativer, @niallon11

@olakunle10

@paintingangels, @papacrusher, @phillyc, @pixiehunter, @poeticnest, @preparedwombat, @prydefoltz, @puppetmaster1111, @purpledaisy57, @pyrowngs

@ravencorinn, @riottales, @rodrigocabrera, @roxy-cat

@sharoonyasir, @spalatino, @sue-stevenson, @sukhasanasister

@tanglebranch, @thatlovechild, @theblackcrow, @theironfelix, @therosepatch, @thinknzombie, @tiatu, @tinkerrose, @tuwore, @tygertyger

@vaitelavicius, @vdux, @vivek-g

@wa2qr, @wales, @whitelite, @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.

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!

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://jaynalocke.com/2018/07/09/fifty-word-story-round-up-and-new-prompt/

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That is priceless, @preparedwombat!

Nice story! Maybe another chapter? I'm curious about that box...what's in it? 🙂

Great to have you back here, @therosepatch!

Glad to be giving this another go, here is my entry - I struggled so much to chose, but the first story is the one I am entering.

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

Just wanted to mention here so others see this: you cleverly wrote three different 50-word stories in one post. I think if you are inspired by the prompt, and want to write more than one story, this is a fine way to do it. Others have submitted multiple stories separately, and that is fine too.

Here is my entry;
https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@olakunle10/sunrise-a-50-word-short-story
I just hope it's not too late.

Nope, not too late!

Welcome back! Rubs hands together. Yay, another addict!

haha guilty as charged!

There was never any doubt...

"The Utter Joy of Surfing"

Jayna, enjoy!

😄😇😄

@creatr

Utter joy is right on the money!!! Nothing quite like it..

:)

Here's mine Jayna. Things have settled down a little with life and I'm back to the 50 word club!

https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@aksounder/lost-to-the-sea-fifty-word-short

Great to see you again in #fiftywords, @aksounder!

It's been a while, but I'm back! Not going to stay away from #fiftywords ever again. The Lesson has been learnt with my submission.

Oh, I'm so glad you're back, @anikekirsten!

Here is my entry. Looking forward to reading the other submissions!

Great to see you here, @alheath! I missed your stories.

Thanks a million for the mention @jayna, especially amongst a such great bunch of writers. I really enjoy taking part every week. Here is my entry for this week, nice and early again :o) https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@ablaze/despair-a-fiftywords-story

It just takes one to get the ball rolling! 😊

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

I am just thrilled, @jayna that you liked my story. Such a great group of writers in this challenge. Thank you for the opportunity to share.

Yes. Nice work!

Oh, my, Jayna...

There really is just one and only one direction to take this...

Thinking! ;) (i.e., Steeming...)

😄😇😄

@creatr

Ha ha! We shall see what we shall see!

Almost forgot to add mine here, but phew. Remembered just in time. This week's piece is called Broken

I knew I didn't finish something up. Anyway, here be my submission: breakin' down for this contest.

Looking forward to reading it!

Another great prompt full of possibilities! Here is my submission:

https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@papacrusher/50wordfreewrite-theunholyride-s711poyzu3

Thanks for your entry, @papacrusher! I will be catching up on reading all stories over the next few days, as my voting power is low at the moment.

This is my entry this week: Patched Smaller.


You can read the story below, but I hope you check the link above. I worked hard on the cover image this time.

Patched Smaller

He wiped away his tears and stared down, as if collecting the pieces of his broken heart.

With every piece he reclaimed, another was left behind.
Not able to return.

A smaller heart, with less room to let people in.
He knew however, they couldn't dam his river of love.

[The End]

Very nice, @ahmadmanga. I will visit the actual post as soon as my voting power regenerates.

Welcome back, @jadams2k18!

Im good to be back

Welcome back, @eroticabian!

Thank you so much. Now that the freewritehouse contest is over, I have a bit more breathing room for posting other things!

Hi @purpledaisy57! It has been a while. Glad you circled back!

The link to my story is listed below:

https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@pyemoney/break-time

I love all the different interpretations of “break” I’m seeing in these stories. Yours is quite clever!

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

Thank you @jayna. As a retired human resources manager, unfortunately I have many termination stories. Yes, the different interpretations have been interesting to read.

Hello @jayna
This is my participation in this challenge with the post
https://steemit.com/esteem/@felixgarciap/a-hectic-week-8484dbbf40782est

Regards

I’m so glad you decided to continue with a second 50-word story!

For me it is a joy to participate in this challenge. Best regards

Ah, another early bird!

Thanks. :)

I joined in again. These are great for getting me writing again and I'm so loving the editing practice also. It's turning my brain back on and getting it back into gear.
https://steemit.com/fiction/@bex-dk/firebreakafiftywordstory-0c4spxtq85

Great to hear. I'm glad it's challenging you! I also love the editing practice. I've never happy with them until every single word feels just right.

Hey cool another prompt! Here's my story:

https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@vdux/union-rules-in-50-words

Cheers!

Here's another entry jealousy

You went to town this round!

Here's my take. Cheers.

Hi Dirge! Glad to see you back here! It has been a while.

Here is what I have ^_^

https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@foxyspirit/again-i-break

On to reading the other stories ^_^

Very intriguing!

Glad I returned to writing these, hopefully I'll come with a good story for break... One with unexpected ending like @ablaze piece... by the way I like how @bex-dk wrote her process, it's more interesting than the story.

I’m glad you’re back!

short story time Liar

Hi @jayna and 50-words clan,

This is my entry for this week round. I hope you'll like it. 🙂

https://steemit.com/fiftywords/@roxy-cat/fifty-words-challenge-or-or-futile-efforts-296f81e43628a

Do you count the title as part of the 50 words?

Nope! Justcount the words in the story itself.

omg been soo busy I nearly missed this! This shall inspire a lot.

Here is my first submission: my first micro-flash fiction attempt.
Unconscious

I just scribbled up fpur micro flash fiction stories. What is with me?

ooh a poem this time broken