Welcome to the 50-word short story challenge! In this weekly challenge, Fifty Worders write micro-fiction stories in just 50 words. I encourage you to read their wonderful work. And then I hope you will give it a try.

This post includes a mini fiction writing workshop to help new and seasoned 50-word short story writers alike.

It also includes a review of last week's 50-word stories, a few story highlights, and a new challenge prompt.

But first....

FUN stuff!

I discovered something exciting today. A Steemian who goes by @see-it-feel-it is running a contest to reward quality content. She has a list of nominees, and you can vote on people from the list whose work you enjoy. The winners will become "SteemAngels" and will be rewarded with SBD.

And guess what! Several of them are regular Fifty Worders! (Including me!) So, please take a moment to go to the @see-it-feel-it's nomination post and vote for your five favorites.

Here are the members of the list who participate in the 50-word challenge:

@agmoore, @ahmadmanga, @enjar, @erh.germany, @dirge, @eaglespirit, @fromage, @jayna, @kimberlylane, @theironfelix, @tygertyger

But... oh dear. We can only pick five. There are also others on the list whose content I really enjoy too, like @brumest, @anomadsoul and @vermillionfox. No idea how I will choose! But I wanted you to know about the opportunity.

Fiftywords banner

(Image credit: Original image by rawpixel, Pixabay)

Mini writing workshop

Today's workshop is about what makes a story a story. As you might expect the content of these workshops is intended to support you in your development as a writer, if improving your writing craft is your goal. If you're just here for the fun of it, that is fine too!

What makes a story a story?

I have to share a little story (ironically) about this very thing. I read someone's comment on another post this week and was a bit startled. The person wrote:

"I don't normally do the traditional conflict/resolution curve in my work, because I find it boring and stiff, and not really competitive as a modern art form."

Um, what? After I collected my wits, I responded:

"That’s interesting. Can you explain? I guess I have to say that to me the conflict/resolution paradigm is timeless. It defies any trappings amongst fads and trendy thinking because it mirrors the human condition. We see or experience strife or sadness or loss or relationship complexity and we become emotionally present, interested, and keenly observant of the outcome. #mytwocents"

He never responded. But I digress.

The thing that makes a story a story is the telling of events that involve conflict and resolution. Yes, there's more to it than that. We need characters that are meaningful, intriguing and believable. We need a setting and a place. But for a story to be successful, the central conflict of the story must build in suspense or intensity in some way (the story arc) before that final resolution.

So, let's look at an example of a storyline without conflict and resolution:

The duck swam around the pond and ate some lovely grubs. The other ducks were very friendly and shared their grubs and played nicely. It was a great day.

This is cute, but nothing really happens to make us (the readers) care about this duck. He has no issues. None of the other ducks try to take all the grubs. No hunter comes along with a gun over his shoulder thinking about duck soup. The duck story is (to quote the aforementioned commenter) "boring and stiff."

So, we need conflict. It helps us readers to become emotionally involved, and if we are emotionally involved, we care about the outcome. If we care about the outcome, we will keep reading. Why? Because we want to know what the story resolution will be. Is the duck alright? Did he get enough grubs? Did he escape the hunter?

Now, you and I know that it's very difficult to write a complete story in 50 words. And in fact, most of the pieces we write here are not technically stories; they are vignettes. And that's okay. That's why we have this challenge! It gives us something to shoot for each week, and if you really spend some time crafting your piece, it's a great exercise in tight writing.

In the accompanying information in her 50-word submission this week, A Taste of Childhood, @bex-dk explains the key differences between vignettes and stories. Be sure to give it a read!

Okay, let's survey the 50-word stories from last week.

Last week's story collection

I’d like to welcome our newest contributors, @gaby-crb, @andersonrivas and @rensoul17. Thanks for joining the Fifty Worders!

Here is the complete list of stories inspired by last week's “chocolate” prompt:

Chocolate, by @gaby-crb
The Job Interview Did Not Go Well, by @preparedwombat
Forbidden, by @ablaze
The Dream Fulfilled, by @purpledaisy57
Fatal Affair, by @erh.germany
A new love story! by @felixgarciap
Chocolat, by @rensoul17
Melted Away, by @ahmadmanga
Wasteful, by @poetrybyjeremy
Mystery Solved! by @emergehealthier
Puppy Eyes, by @creatr
Stepping Out, by @pyemoney
Chocolate, by @vdux
Cocoa, by @theironfelix
Chicken Chocolate, by @hlezama
Be reborn, by @marciabon
The Homecoming, by @steemitdiversify
We eat this cake in remembrance of you ~adifferent9/11, by @intothewild
Sweet Temptation, by @alheath
A Hot Mess, by @negativer
A Taste of Childhood, by @bex-dk
Chocolate in Family, by @andersonrivas
Chocolate for the soul, by @yeceniacarolina
Sebastian's world, by @aresbon
Chocolate Dreams, by @roxy-cat
Selena in Sepia, 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

Each week I highlight a few well-crafted stories from the previous week's collection as inspiration for us all. Enjoy this sampling from all the wonderful contributions from last week.

We eat this cake in remembrance of you ~adifferent9/11, by @intothewild

In this piece, the author remembers someone who has passed on.

A Bird of Paradise had sprung from the ashes. It was the only visible life form where the plane had crashed.
A sign from him, that life will go on.

9/11 means more to us, now, than ever.

We celebrate him with this chocolate cake. Our last meal shared together.

A Taste of Childhood, by @bex-dk

As I mentioned in the writing workshop portion of this post, @bex-dk provided a nice description of the difference between a story and a vignette in her 50-word post, which was the inspiration for this week's workshop theme.

While her story is technically a vignette (as many our "stories" are), I loved how deeply it touches on memory, and what a beautifully sensory piece it is.

When I broke the skin on the chocolate pudding, my mouth watered. A tiny taste sucked from the upside-down spoon set my heels kicking the chair. I was a little kid again, sitting on the tall orange stool by the stove, getting to scrape the pot when Mom finished cooking.

Chocolate Dreams, by @roxy-cat

This is a beautiful story of hardship, and it demonstrates how children under these circumstances often look beyond their own immediate needs and discomforts.

"I would like you to eat the porridge. It is late."
"Mom..."

"No, dear. You must finish the breakfast."

"But it has no taste..."

"I'm sorry, son. This is all we have."

"One day, mom... One day I will have chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And you will too."

Sweet Temptation, by @alheath

This author beautifully captures the rivalry of siblings.

Florence smiled. “I made brownies. Your favourite.”
Lily shook her head. “Not hungry.”

“Sure?” Florence set down the plate. Lily sniffed and rich chocolate filled her nose.

Alfie looked up, smiling. “Can I have it?”

“Mine, greedyguts.” Lily snatched the plate. “To eat later.”

He got everything else. Not this.

A Hot Mess, by @negativer

I will preface this story only by saying that we have a few 50-worders who have mastered the plot twist, and @negativer is one of them.

Finally. Evie’s mom put down the chocolate bar. Evie stared at it. It called, beckoning from the kitchen counter.
Mom wouldn’t mind if she had a bite. She stood on tiptoes, grabbing it.

Five bites later it was gone.

Her mother returned from the bathroom. “Hey, who took my Ex-Lax?”

The Job Interview Did Not Go Well, by @preparedwombat

And this story, which also has a fun twist, just makes me smile.

“That guy shows up, without an appointment, to apply to be our Chief Chocolatier and he didn’t even bring a résumé?”
“Yeah. And then he went off the rails talking about all kinds of candies we don’t even make.”

“He left his card, God knows why.”

“Willy Wonka.”

Excellent work, everyone!

This week's 50-word story prompt

The prompt for this week is “chase." Deadline for this week: Saturday, September 22nd, with a grace period until the new prompt is published.

I look forward to reading your stories, Fifty Worders!

Guidelines

Please review and follow the guidelines for proper use of images.

Note that

Write a story in 50 words. (Try to 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, it's a great place to hang out and rub elbows with other writers. Check them out on Discord.

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, @aleli, @alexandered, @alheath, @andersonrivas, @anikekirsten, @anixio, @anonymummy, @anutu, @aresbon