50-word Stories | Writing My Life

August 16, 2011
by rbs 4 Comments

… 50-word fiction by young, guest authors …

Last July I met Marlena Henry, a teacher in Granite School District, at a professional development class I taught. You have her to blame for introducing me to 50-word fiction. I decided I should honor her by posting some of her 9th-grade students’ works. Be prepared to be WoWeD!

In the Way

His footsteps were loud against the platform. “I have done nothing!” He cried as the noose wrapped tightly around his neck. The desperate cries of the condemned.

As the podium gave way, two people smiled. The first his brother, now destined to inherit the crown. Another his sister, with only one more in her way.

Here are a couple of fun ones:

Morning

The rebel awakened, finding himself in his room. He knew that today would be the day. Death was on his doorstep. Doomsday was calling to him. His very existence was pointless unless he could avoid this condemnation. The door opened, and his warden approached.

“You’re late for school, Son.

Note: Sadly, the third student example, “The Fool Who Invented Kissing,” was not an original piece of writing. Yes, it was plagiarized! Dang! Teachers try so hard to curb this kind of behavior, and it is so disappointing. I have contacted the teacher, Marlena. The student is not in her class anymore, but she can still find him.

My apologies to the writer who truly authored this fun piece.

August 12, 2011
by rbs 5 Comments

… 50-word NON-fiction: BETTER Than Fiction

He attended clown college, and she won All-American honors in gymnastics.

He twisted skinny balloons into flowers and giraffes.

She traded the uneven bars for a wheelchair – after the accident.

They met then married. Never easy, they make it work.

Two people who help each other laugh – even after 20-plus years.

August 11, 2011
by rbs Leave a comment

… 50-word fiction: Las Vegas 2015…

Sixty-plus huddled in the boxcar; children, too tired and hungry to ask, “Are we there yet?”

Their parents prayed.

The train finally slowed to a crawl, and the families jumped off. All lumbered east towards abandoned houses silhouetted against the rising desert sun.

Shelter and ancient artesian wells fueled their hopes.

Las Vegas means "The Meadow"

August 9, 2011
by rbs Leave a comment

… 50-word freaky fiction: Possession

“Sid must have hit a dead zone,” I thought after the dropped call. Waiting a minute, I punched in “7” when a string of “z’s” suddenly zoomed across the screen. I pushed the “home” icon, but the z’s changed to “y’s” until a sentence stuttered its message.

“Y-y-y-o-u-r c-c-c-c-a-l-l-e-r i-s-s-s d-d-d-d-e-a-d!”

August 5, 2011
by rbs 4 Comments

… 50-word fiction: 1959 …

Nothing could hide it. Not her perfect page-boy or her expensive dresses. My friend said the roof of her mouth was missing. That’s why she drooled all over herself. That’s why we couldn’t understand anything she said.

Not that she talked to us.

But we didn’t talk to her either.

August 1, 2011
by rbs 2 Comments

… 50-word fiction ~ EVERYday for 31 days …

Note: Because I have absolutely NO challenges in my life, and because I have little to do, I decided to bring on some craziness as I am SO sane and all. To jazz up my days, my writing, and my attempt to stave off Alzheimers, I registered with NaBloPoMo AGAIN. How could I not? The theme is FICTION!

To place time constraints on this project, I decided to play around with 50-word Fiction/Stories. I may scrimp on the word-count, but hopefully not on creativity. Let me know what you think. About the stories; NOT my mental condition.