50 Word Mini-Stories; A Creative Writing Exercise - A Greensleeves Page
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I would love to write for a living, but maybe 50 word stories is all I'm good for. At the end of the hubpage is a poll. If you like any of these entries, please let me know by ticking the relevant box; other comments - positive or negative - can follow!
Anyway, if you don't like the essays, at least at 50 words long you won't have wasted much of your day by reading them!
THE IDEA BEHIND THESE LITTLE STORIES
Many years ago the Daily Telegraph newspaper in the UK ran a writing competition. The idea was to write a story or essay in exactly 50 words - not one more, not one less. It's not easy to do, but it's an interesting exercise for any budding writer to try out, as it concentrates the mind on succinctness and clarity of writing - no room for meandering waffle! Readers of other publications have since tried their hand at similar writing formats, including the British Mensa magazine where one of my efforts (the Alien story) was published in 2010.
Anyway, in this hubpage I publish a few of my 50 word essays - count the words if you like (some leeway was allowed over hyphenated words!) Some are semi-serious comments on human nature, others are lighthearted, and one is just an attempt to get as many Beatles song titles as possible into a story!
STRANGERS HOME AND ABROAD
“What shall we do on holiday?” Charlie asked Marge. “Trekking with Sherpas? Camping with the Berbers?”
“Kayaking with Inuits?” suggested Marge.
Charlie and Marge loved cultural adventure; meeting strangers, making friends.
“The house will be empty. Better tell the next door neighbour,” warned Charlie. “I wonder what his name is?”
THE GAMBLER’S SIN
Satan came in Gambler Wilson's dreams.
"Let's play High Card Wins."
"The stakes?”
“Untold riches if you win; your soul if you lose.”
Wilson considered, agreed, and drew an Ace.
Satan drew a Jack.
“I win!” said Wilson.
Satan smiled. “But playing with the Devil is unforgiveable. So you lose.”
A DEADLY ENCOUNTER WITH A SHOWER UNIT HEAD
To myopic eyes the shower unit head resembled a cobra, poised to strike.
Mistakenly he hit the cold tap - in January. The shower spat icy venom. Shrieking, he leapt with mongoose agility. One hand snaked towards the tap and turned rapidly.
In a second it was over.
He was safe.
LOVE
With love, my mother gave birth and nurtured me.
With love, my girlfriend stared into my eyes, squealing ‘Yes!’ to my proposal.
With love, my children laughed and squeezed my hand and needed me so much.
With love, my friends mourned my passing.
What love! The measure of my success.
A TRUE AND GENUINE FOOTBALL (SOCCER) FAN
The fan really wanted to see a great game. But it was dull. One nil. His team’s striker dived in the box to claim an undeserved penalty. His goalkeeper sneakily handled outside the box. A midfielder broke an opponent’s leg. But the fan’s team won, so he went home happy.
WHAT’S AN ALIEN?
An aggressive alien creature visited our planet.
It was ugly, with a big nose, pinkish hairy skin, and feet that smelled. It was frightened of us for no reason. It resented our differences. It laid claim to our planet.
This strange alien was an Earth Human. It called me ‘alien’.
THE FAITHFUL COMPANION
“Daft old woman” he cursed at the graveside, “squandering all that money on a stupid dog, instead of leaving it to her loved ones who could’ve used it.”
He left quickly when the rain fell.
The dog stayed by her grave until weak with hunger, pining for his lost mistress.
TRUE INTELLIGENCE?
An intelligent man spent his life studying, learning everything about everything.
A stupid man spent his life giving love, learning nothing.
The intelligent man died rich and famous - alone.
The stupid man died surrounded by friends.
The intelligent man knew nothing that mattered.
The stupid man knew all that mattered.
AN OLD FASHIONED LONG DISTANCE ROMANCE
I awoke to a grey morning. My heart was heavy, my soul lifeless.
My lover writes each month. Today the letter finally arrived, so colour flooded my day. Emotions stirred my heart. Sparks revitalised my soul. I came alive.
A month now to fade to grey until my next awakening.
FUN WITH THE BEATLES (17 SONG TITLES IN 50 WORDS)
“Hey Jude. Yesterday, your girl Michelle said she’s leaving home.
"Tell me why?"
“I’ve got a feeling it’s because you kissed another girl - Julia - the night before”.
“We can work it out”.
“Well, she loves you, and all you need is love. Get back with her.”
“I will”.
The end.
FIFTY WORDS ?!?
What a task I’ve set myself! Fifty words! Now, twenty six different letters in one sentence - that’s an easy thing to do; ‘the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’. But fifty words - no more, no less - that’s not so easy. I can’t do it! I give up! Sorry!
COMPUTER DATING
Maurice loved his computer and loved internet dating. Very thorough and logical, he spent months scoring every respondent out of one thousand, cross-referencing virtues and failings; writing hundreds of emails, analysing their replies. Sadly, he never had time to go out and meet anyone, so he married his computer instead.
PLEASE VOTE FOR THE BEST STORY - THANKS
Pop a tick in the appropriate box.
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COMPILATIONS OF 50 WORD MINI-STORIES
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PLEASE ADD COMMENTS IF YOU WILL. THANKS, ALUNLoading...
This is a good idea for a hub pages contest. I think it would be a helpful exercise for all of us too.
Many thanks TeddyAldo for that really nice comment.
I see you've only just joined HubPages. My best wishes and hopes that you enjoy writing on the site.
I really enjoyed Love. Great original work. Really moved me.
Thank you very much sofs for visiting and for giving a really nice comment like that. Cheers.
Great Hub..glad I found it on the featured hubs... I love your stories and voted on them.. Have a great day ..God Bless:)
Millionaire Tips. Thank you so much for including a link and plaudits to this page, in your hub. I am grateful.
I wanted to let you know that I really liked this hub, and am including it in my hub which lists my favorite hubs I've read this week.
Thank you Millionaire Tips!Your visit and comments are appreciated!
These are all great! As you can tell by the poll, they are equally popular.
I LIKE IT DERDRIU!
A much happier, more satisfactory ending to their overseas vacation! It made me laugh.
And to be able to have written such a good revised sequel in what must have been less than an hour, suggests maybe you should try your hand at more of these 50 word stories.
:-)
Alun: I feel shame-faced for giving Charlie and Marge such a dark ending. I fear that I am influenced by having watched a series of old Alfred Hitchcock films, such as "Vertigo" and "Strangers on a Train" (the original with Robert Walker Sr. and Farley Granger). So long live revisionism:
As their house came into view Charlie and Marge gasped.
Their garden, no longer a blight, was blooming with flowers and vegetables.
Opening the front door, they were greeted with delicious aromas from the kitchen.
A hearty fire crackled in the fireplace.
A note from their housesitter said, “Welcome home.”
Respectfully,
Derdriu
Yes Derdriu - very very good! :-)
I did count the words in your sequel to my story because I had an idea of what you might be doing and yes, there are 50 words, so I have to say very good and funny. I like it! Not sure I would wish such an ending for Charlie and Marge's holidday though - I prefer happy endings to holidays!
Many thanks. Alun.
Alun: Here is what may have happened next in "Strangers Home and Abroad": Charlie and Marge returned from holiday. They found the basement of their house flooded to the top of the stairs. All the toilets were overflowing. Their big-screen TVs were missing. There had been a fire in the study. The pantry was bare. Their long-gone neighbor's note read, "Always check references."
Thank you for sharing your unique mini-storytelling skills, voted up, etc.,
Derdriu
Thanks for visiting 2uesday, and for voting in the poll. Some of the stories were easier than others to write; the biggest problem of course, is when you write something you're really proud of - and then you find it's about ten words too long! There were two or three stories I wrote which never got published because it simply proved too difficult to cut any more words out, without the whole piece losing its meaning or its impact.
Nice idea for a HubPage, I have written fifty word stories in the past and it is not as easy as it looks. Going to look at them again before I vote.
sorry that there was option to click for only one favourite I did like the gambler's sin,true intelligence and the faithful companion.Well written It must be hard to get all your thoughts in 50 words.
Thanks for your nice comments Marie; very sweet!
This is great! I've never tried this, but I imagine it's pretty difficult - I tend to be kind of wordy! I'm going to give it a go though. I voted in the poll for True Intelligence? but also really enjoyed The Gambler's Sin, Fun With the Beatles and An Old Fashioned Long Distance Relationship.
Thanks avid gardener for your comments; it was nice to read them.
I actually had a few favorites but you can only vote for one. I like the alien,true intelligence, and computer dating. I thought they were all quite good actually. It doesn't take long to get to the point!
Thanks to both Pandoras Box and ahorseback for your kind comments. It's really nice to read them. Thanks.
Greensleeves , love the hub , I like the way you write !
My fave is Strangers Home and Abroad, but the Deadly Encounter was a very close second. What a great writing exercise. You came up with some insightful mini-stories.
Greensleeves Hubs Hub Author 2 weeks ago
Thanks starstream for that, and apologies for not responding much sooner. I agree very much that word exercises like this do make for good literary competitions