Can you tell a story in fifty words?
Way back at MarsCon 2023, the Three Moms of the Apocalypse challenged their fellow congoers to write a story in fifty words—no more, no less. They handed out image prompts to anyone who wanted to take up the gauntlet.
The enthusiastic reaction to this resulted in a series of Postcard Stories featuring the very best fifty-word submissions.
In the tradition of Fredric Brown (the most brilliant short story writer in existence), we wanted to continue the fun of fifty-word stories by offering you a prompt:
Traditionally, hyphenated words count as one word, like “forty-two.” But “Spamonating-giga-sprocket-transmogrifier” is still four stinkin’ words.
Working a short bit of flash fiction can help develop concise storytelling, and focuses on essential elements of story like plot, character, and setting. Exercise your skills in succinctness, clarity, and creativity!
Submit your fifty-word story in the comments below. Comment, encourage, challenge each other!
How silly were we? The thought of making it across the strait intrigued us all and somehow, we thought we were different. Yet, there is the beast, right behind us, ensuring that we pay dearly for trying this shortcut.
“I am sorry my love, I should have listened to you.”
We lured the sea serpent in. It was huge. It was also dumb. It went after us in the small boat. We had friends though.
The King Andy’s Revenge swooped in with its harpoons. They killed the serpent. The butchering started immediately afterward. The wives and kids would eat tonight.