Fifty Words

Take that, you nefarious ne'er-do-wells

2005-08-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Blogger has another new feature: Word verification for comments. It's a way to stop automated systems from leaving comment spam. I don't get a lot of comment spam here, but I do occasionally have to delete a comment that touts some financial stock that's about to explode. It happens often enough that I've decided to turn on word verification for Gienna Writes.

What this means is that if you leave a comment you will have to type in a series of computer-generated letters before your comment will be posted. It's not as complicated as it sounds, I promise. Click here for a brief explanation of how it works.

[via Blogger Buzz]

Fifty Words: Spring Break

2005-04-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone who participated in Fifty Words these past seven weeks. Some wonderful writing came out of this experiment and there was also lots of support, encouragement, and feedback. Although there were weeks when only a few people submitted entries, I know that lots more people visited the site. As of this morning, the hit count stands at 1,588. Not bad.

I'm not giving up on Fifty Words. But I am going to take a break so that I can work on new writing prompts and concentrate on finding a job -- those Google ads just aren't paying the bills. I'll post updates and announce the start of the next session here and at Gienna Writes.

In the meantime, get your dose of creative writing by visiting the sites of those who participated in the first Fifty Words session:

Freewriting
Between the Covers
Being Jennifer Garrett
Delightfully Mundane
Bumps and Bruises of a Virgin
Inked
Mixed-Up Reasonings on an Up-Side Down World
Reaching Infinity
Bad Metaphor
Warm Stone
Rowan's Ramblings
Tales From the Ridge
Behind Glass
Blogging Ned
Trace Talks
Poignant Blurs

I hope I didn't forget anyone! Please feel free to continue talking and sharing your writing via the comments section.

See you all soon,

Gienna

Fifty Words: Open Season

2005-04-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

This Week's Writing Prompt: This week you can submit any writing that fits one of the previous challenges: Monkey Mind; Figuratively Speaking; Tall Tale; Early Memories; Spring has Sprung; or last week's incredibly popular One Small Thing.

Basically, it's open season at Fifty Words.

Submissions: Submit your entry by email or by leaving a comment on this post. Include a short title, your name or pen name, your fifty words and a link to the rest of your entry ... If you do not have a web site, or do not want to post your writing on your own site, you may submit up to 200 words (by email only) and I'll post your entry here in its entirety. Check the FAQ for more information. Suggestions, comments and questions are always welcome. You do not need a user name to comment -- just choose "anonymous" or "other" on the comments page.

Sister America

2005-04-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

by Sarah Beth

I am proud to be an American, and I still love our country, but she is like a desperately ill sister, and sometimes, I just can't watch.The illness that creeps through her body is dementia, a chemical imbalance inherited from generations of mysticism and brutality. Carried like a recessive gene through the years, she has grown weary even of herself.

Click here to read more of "Sister America."

I'm (Not) Falling To Pieces

2005-04-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

by Alicia Bourassa

I always wind up static in a room, with a blank heart and nothing to fill it but you. Who wobbled away. I always keep all my pieces contained in one me. One me with one piece of you. I never know anything all your other selves and wonder where…

Click here to read more of "I'm (Not) Falling To Pieces."

Little Green Trumpet

2005-04-06T04:58:00.000-07:00

by AB

I may have jumped in surprise or I may not have reacted at all, but I remember that it tickled. My little puff of air caused the blade of grass to vibrate, tickling my lips and letting out a little trumpet sound.

Click here to read more of "Little Green Trumpet."

A Letter to Spring

2005-04-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

by Tracey

Dear Spring,
I see you! You keep on peeking around the corner of Winter's skirts, and then quickly hiding again. Don't be like that! I can't speak for everyone here, but I truly have missed you.

Click here to read the rest of "A Letter to Spring."

Fifty Words: One Small Thing

2005-04-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

A blade of grass, a baby's foot, a lover's eye. A seashell, a marble, a grain of sand, a drop of water, a little pill box (shown larger than actual size).

This Week's Writing Prompt: This week's challenge is to describe one small thing using as much detail as you can. Try using sensory language. What does your chosen item look like, feel like, taste like, smell like, sound like?

Submissions: Submit your entry by email or by leaving a comment on this post. Include a short title, your name or pen name, your fifty words and a link to the rest of your entry ... If you do not have a web site, or do not want to post your writing on your own site, you may submit up to 200 words (by email only) and I'll post your entry here in its entirety. Check the FAQ for more information. Suggestions, comments and questions are always welcome. You do not need a user name to comment -- just choose "anonymous" or "other" on the comments page.

Fifty Words: Spring Has Sprung

2005-03-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

We're still in the beta phase here at Fifty Words, and I'm still trying to figure out what works best for everyone. Last week I tried allowing submissions via the comments section and it worked fine. So let's continue doing that. This week I'm going to try a much more general, open-ended prompt.

This week's writing prompt:
This week's challenge is to write about spring.

Submissions:
You may submit your entry by email or by leaving a comment on this post. Include a short title, your name or pen name, your fifty words and a link to the rest of your entry. If you do not have a web site, or do not want to post your writing on your own site, you may submit up to 200 words (by email only) and I’ll post your entry here in its entirety. Check the FAQ for more information.

Suggestions, comments and questions are always welcome. You do not need a user name to comment -- just choose "anonymous" or "other" on the comments page.

Winter Hangover

2005-03-26T02:05:00.000-08:00

by AB

When the world turns white, all the plant life die and the sun goes away, I think we should take that as a sign to stay inside. Once Spring comes around again, we can wake up, climb out from under a pile of blankets, unhinge our jaws and have a feast.

Click here to read more of "Winter Hangover."

There's Somebody Else In Here

2005-03-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

by Alicia Bourassa

I rolled through that winter like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger, rounder and rounder. Even the foods I ate were round: bags and bags of oranges, and bologna with ketchup, every morning during Sally Jessy when the Oscar Meyer commercial came on. When I saw those fresh-scrubbed little kids...

Click here to read the rest of "There's Somebody Else In Here."

Wholly to be a Fool

2005-03-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

by Jen

While spring is in the world, I am feeling the need for change, for something new and green and different. I want to clean my car, clean my house, clear my mind. I want to fly away, see something I've never seen before.

Click here to read more of "Wholly to be a Fool."

Spring Marches On

2005-03-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

by Ned

It's a new season and I wanted to try something new. I decided to write a nice little poem about spring days and warmth and the promise of the changing season. But somehow, I am just too "Ned" and everything turned out all wrong. For instance, the sun shone brilliantly...

Click here to read the rest of "Spring Marches On."

Fifty Words: Early Memories

2005-03-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

Tapping into your earliest childhood memories is one of the most powerful things you can do as a writer. There must be something important there. Something worth taking a closer look at. Otherwise, why would you remember them all these years later? There is something undeniably magical about those early memories.

That's why they are such a great source for stories.

This week's writing prompt:
This week’s challenge is to write two to three pages about one or more of your earliest memories. Write in as much detail as you can, and use your imagination to fill in any gaps in your memory. Try to push your writing past the usual two or three sentence memory that you’ve been telling your whole life and come up with a little vignette about your childhood. Experiment with point of view: try writing in the third person as if the story were about someone else.

Posting (NEW!)
I’ve really enjoyed reading the responses to the weekly writing prompts. I hope you have, too. I’m still experimenting with the mechanics of the site, trying not only to make it look nice but to make it easy to use.

To that end, I was thinking that more people might participate if it were easier to submit entries. So, this week I'm going to allow submissions via the comments section. Same rules as the email submission: Include a short title, your name or pen name, your fifty words and a link to the rest of your entry. I will still publish these entries as individual posts on the main page.

You can also email your entry to me at giennawrites(at)gmail(dot)com.

If you do not have a web site, or do not want to post your writing on your own site, you may submit up to 200 words (by email only) and I’ll post your entry here in its entirety.

Check the FAQ for more information.

If you have any comments or suggestions about either the prompts or the way the site works, please feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment. By the way, I hadn’t realized that the blog was set not to allow anonymous comments. I’ve fixed that, and now anyone can comment. You do not need a Blogger account to participate.

The Lawnmower

2005-03-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

by Alicia Bourassa

Norfolk, Virginia, 1974

She needed to do something, noise wasn't working. A solution bubbled in her brain, words formed a vague cloud, but couldn't find an opening. Exasperated, her mom went back into the kitchen, leaving her with her nose pressed against the cloudy, scratched glass. She was too late.

Click here to read more of "The Lawnmower."

Death By Laughter

2005-03-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

by AB

The next thing she knew, big brother hefted her up piggy back style and was trying to carry her home. His 9 year old wiry frame struggled under her weight and she clung to him with a kung fu death grip. She was screaming in pain, he was screaming for mom.

Click here to read the rest of "Death By Laughter."

Favorite

2005-03-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

I was a favorite, my other sister told me. Papa used to bring me with him when we visited relatives or when he went to work. I don’t really know why it was I. Perhaps because I am his first offspring that was why I was brought along almost always.

Click here to read more of "Favorite."

Would I Lie To You?

2005-03-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

I’ve been watching the movie “Big Fish” and the stories that the father tells are really wonderful. You wouldn’t necessarily want to listen to them for two hours straight, mind you. But in small doses they are very entertaining.

Have you ever tried to tell a tall tale? Well I have. And you wouldn’t believe what happened to me when I did. The best part is, it’s all true.

This week's writing prompt:
This week’s Fifty Words challenge is a fun one: Tell me a lie. Make it believeable. Or not. But make it creative, make it interesting, and make it funny, if you can.

Just don’t make it two hours long, OK?

(If you need more structure than that, you can set the timer or set a page goal for yourself.)

Posting:
Email your entry to me at giennawrites(at)gmail(dot)com. Include a short title, your name or pen name, your fifty words and a link to the rest of your entry.

If you do not have a web site, or do not want to post your writing on your own site, you may submit up to 200 words and I’ll post your entry here in its entirety.

Check the FAQ for more information.

Recommended Reading:

Inventing the Truth : The Art and Craft of Memoir, by William Zinsser.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.

Big Fish DVD and soundtrack.

The Piper-Man and Me

2005-03-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

by Ecks Ridgehead

Well I weren't born as you'm was, no, more played to life I was, by the great tall piper-man who run 'long the sky in the gap between night and day. You keep him in mind, love, and don't lose mind it was him, yea, who make these rocks we'm set on, and it was him't starty the long, long fatfish river twisting down to the sea.

Click here to read more of The Piper-Man and Me.

Ah! I'm a Sim!

2005-03-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

by RowanLaFolle

So, I think I've been playing too much Sims2 - I seem to have become a Sim. It now takes me 15 minutes to walk from the living room to the bathroom and an hour and a half to eat breakfast. I dream in black and white icons. When I decide ...

Click here to read the rest of "Ah! I'm a Sim!"

The Big Grumpy Ham

2005-03-10T04:40:00.000-08:00

by StuckHereWithNoTV

He physically embodied the ultimate computer programmer: pale, spindly fingers that could type 300 words a minute, horn-rimmed glasses with lenses the size of saucers, and a pair of permanently bloodshot eyes--a proud battle scar from a 48 hour marathon that resulted in cracking the programming industry's toughest algorithms.

Click here to read more of "The Big Grumpy Ham."

Yes. I’m Bored.

2005-03-10T04:34:00.000-08:00

by Robert

One friggin customer all day. You’d be bored too. But ...

Click here to read the rest of "Yes. I'm Bored."

Kids These Days

2005-03-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

OK, fine: I'll go first. But I'm warning you, I'm setting the bar VERY LOW.

by Gienna

Katie and I were walking the dog on the beach the other afternoon. It was cold and windy, and on the way back we started walking faster and faster as the sun set and the cold seeped through our clothes. Suddenly I remembered ...

Click here to read the rest of "Kids These Days."

Figuratively Speaking

2005-03-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

This post contains the current challenge ... just follow the link to read the entire post, including the writing prompt and directions.

When I was a teacher, my eighth-grade students often had trouble when it came time to learn about metaphors and similes and other types of figurative language. Confusion crumpled their usually smooth, blank paper faces. “How can a flower be a smile?” they said. “A flower doesn’t even have teeth!”

So I told them that’s why it’s called figurative language. You have to figure it out. And after a while they did figure it out, and they would write very sweet and clunky similes and metaphors that were totally, utterly meaningless.

There’s more to writing similes and metaphors than picking two dissimilar objects and linking them together with or without words such as “like.” Figurative language can do so much more than just pretty up your writing. The best figurative language is rich with meaning. It adds illumination and depth and helps the reader understand something without your having to hit them over the head with it.

To illustrate the point, I read Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street with my students, which is full of masterful metaphors and similes. In one of my favorites, the narrator describes her mother’s hair: “My mother’s hair … is the warm smell of bread before you bake it.” It is a beautiful metaphor that is loaded with meaning. To me, it speaks of nourishment and nurturing and warmth and safety. Of hearth and home and love and other delicious things.

This week's writing prompt:

For this week's challenge, you may write on any topic, in any form. Just try to include one or more meaningful similes and/or metaphors (or other kinds of figurative language) to your writing.

Posting:

Email your entry to me at giennawrites(at)gmail(dot)com. Include a short title, your name or pen name, your fifty words and a link to the rest of your entry.

If you do not have a web site, or do not want to post your writing on your own site, you may submit up to 200 words and I’ll post your entry here in its entirety.

Check the FAQ for more information.

Walking a Fine Line

2005-03-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

by Robert

One day a coed walked into the classroom some fifteen minutes late and had to walk right in front of the professor. He stopped what he was saying and just watched her for a second before saying, “I’ll bet you’re about as nervous right now as a whore in church.”

Click here to read more of "Walking a Fine Line."