Welcome to the 50-word challenge, a weekly opportunity to tell a story in just 50 words. In this post I will provide links to the full collection from last week, and highlight a few particularly awesome stories. And then I'll launch a new prompt.

My week was crazy. Normally I try to post a short story or blog post along with my #fiftywords piece, but this last week I was in San Diego for a conference, which kept me going all day from 6:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. each night.

However, one fun thing that happened was that I wrote my 50-word story early in the week, then @negativer wrote a sequel, and I wrote another story to follow his. Here’s the serial drama (so far):
Part 1: Lost, by @jayna
Part 2: Searchlight, by @negativer
Part 3: Light in the woods, by @jayna

So in other words, you can get creative with your #fiftywords posts. Write a series, if you like. A few people have done that. Or tag-team with another Fifty Worder. (And in case I haven't mentioned it recently, there is no limit on how many stories you can write. We have had people write two or three for one prompt.)

Okay, let's survey the week in #fiftywords!

(Image credit: Original image by pixel2013, Pixabay)

Last week's 50-word stories

First, a hearty welcome to new members, @vdux and @alexandered!

Last week's prompt was “light.”

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

• Thunder, by @carn
• Doom, by @mizdais
• Step into the light, by @cizzo
• Facing the Storm, by @alheath
• A Curious Lass, by @alexandered
• A Story in Fifty Words, by @alexandered
• Fading Youth, by @alexandered
• Break away, by @jadams2k18
• Prometheus, by @anikekirsten
• Abominable Abomination, by @botefarm Note: Could be considered NSFW
• The Light, by @ablaze
• The Crash, by @desmoniac
• Genesis, by @creatr
• Oh bright star, by @theironfelix
• Electricity, by @esttyb
• Standing on a beach with a gun in my hand, by @luiskrupaz
• Helios, by @anixio
• Heavy, Man, by @jonknight
• Swept by Eternity, by @kaelci
• I am the Light, by @lightoj
• Light, by @pyrowngs
• Lost, by @jayna
• Searchlight, by @negativer
• Light in the woods, 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 somehow.

Highlights of the week

This part of the weekly post is getting harder and harder to do, because you guys are getting better and better at writing fantastic stories in 50 words! Usually I try to pick 3 to 5 great stories. Last week and this week I’ve selected 6, and there were many more that deserve kudos.

Here are just six of the stories that I thought were particularly awesome:

Thunder, by @carn

This story is accompanied by a rather startling image of a nuclear blast.

Light flashed through the window.
The child slid under the covers, anticipating what came next.
Thunder crashed.
The girl jumped out of bed and ran to her mother.
The mother hugged her daughter tight as they stared at the pillar of smoke rising into the air and obscuring the sunrise.

Facing the Storm, by @alheath

The author delivers a dark thriller in a mere 50 words.

Harry watched as the windows rattled. Thunder and lightning crashed as the rain beat down. Aside from the flashes, it was pitch black outside.
But the next flash of light made Harry jump back.
A face was at the window. It leered at Harry with a crooked smile.

Swept by Eternity, by @kaelci

A most captivating poem….

Deep in dreams
Nourished by water, cleansed by streams
Time no longer holds meaning.

The light on my face darkens
Clouds drift across the sun... or is it the moon?
A sky I can no longer admire.

Swept by eternity
The heavens are mine no longer
Deep in dreams, forever.

Prometheus, by @anikekirsten

Anike revisits the story of the mythological Prometheus.

Darkness crept from all corners, engulfing the world. For centuries we roamed the wastelands—trying to stay alive. Hope for our children was a dream. A nightmare. They died in our arms, before their time. Until the day a ball of fire fell from the sky.
Then there was light.

Break away, by @jadams2k18

That moment when a newborn baby experiences life’s first loss….

The beats of your heart became a melodic rhythm, they lulled me every day and every night, I wrapped myself protected inside you, nine months being two we were one. The light showed me a new beginning, no more darkness; I broke into tears when we separated from each other.

Genesis, by @creatr

This poem speaks for itself.

Heaven, done.
Earth: begun.
Stars? None.
No sun.

Empty, shapeless
Darkness deep.
God observing
From his keep.
Occult shadow,
Naught to see.
Nary glimmer,
Sky or sea.
Deepest blackness,
Jet, obscure.
Crucial lack
Without a cure?

Breath, on water hovering,
Palpably uncovering,
One Word,
Day discovering.

"Light!"

Let it be.

Amazing job, everyone!

This week's 50-word story prompt

The prompt for this week is “sea.” Let’s see what you come up with, Fifty Worders!

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:

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

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 16th.

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 am starting to reduce 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, @alheath, @anikekirsten, @anixio
@beginningtoend, @botefarm @brandonsadventur, @bryarose23
@caleblailmusik, @carn, @cheekah, @cizzo, @clacrax, @creatr
@damianjayclay, @deirdyweirdy, @desmoniac, @diebitch, @dirge, @divineinyang, @donnest, @douglasbalmain
@eaglespirit, @elementm, @emwalker, @enjar, @eroticabian, @esttyb, @evgsk
@feebie, @felt.buzz, @ficciones, @fitinfun, @foxfiction, @foxyspirit
@galactichunter, @girlbeforemirror, @godwine
@hope-k
@iamthegray, @ilt-yodith, @intheory, @isa93, @isufbakaj
@jadams2k18, @janine-ariane, @jakeybrown, @jayna, @jonknight, @josecarrasquero
@kaelci, @kally, @kimberlylane, @kingernie, @ktfabler
@ldacey-laforge, @lightoj, @lucylin, @luiskrupaz
@Mammasitta, @marie-jay, @mark-dahl, @mgaft1, @mikesthoughts, @mineopoly, @miniature-tiger, @mizdais, @momzillanc, @mydivathings
@naquoya, @naso, @navaneeth, @negativer, @niallon11
@onewithearth
@paintingangels, @phillyc, @photovitamin, @pixiehunter, @poeticnest, @preparedwombat, @prydefoltz, @puppetmaster1111, @purpledaisy57, @pyrowngs
@ravencorinn, @rodrigocabrera
@sciencevienna, @sharoonyasir, @spalatino, @sue-stevenson, @sukhasanasister
@tanglebranch, @thatlovechild, @theblackcrow, @theironfelix, @therosepatch, @tiatu, @tony-duke, @tuwore, @tygertyger
@vaitelavicius, @vivek-g
@wa2qr, @wales, @whitewizard, @wordsalmighty, @wylde
@yimiipsa
@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.

This is a continuation of the #fiftywords challenge started by @miniature-tiger who has been developing a seafaring strategy game called Archipelago for the Utopian.io open source community. Visit the linked post for the latest update.

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!