Fifties by the Fire — a fifty-word, prompt-based writing exercise. Feel free to share your response below, or read and comment to join the fun.
Prompt: Write a fifty-word story (fiction, CNF, or poetry) about a quiet observation.
Here are the other guidelines:
Make sure your piece is exactly fifty words. Feel free to use Word Counter or your preferred word processor.
Write a title with the genre in the first line.
The title does not factor into the word count.
Good luck and have fun. Happy writing!
Special thanks to John Lightle for providing “Reelfoot Egret” for our writing prompt.
Below is my contribution.
Animal Wisdom, fiction
Dylan is tumbling down a mountainside and can’t latch onto anything during his fall.
Instead of hitting the bottle after work, he ventures into the forest, off the trail.
Then he sees it: an egret in the shallows. It’s still, contemplative—serene.
“What do you know, my friend?” Dylan whispers.
A QUIET OBSERVATION, free verse
Days are confounded now, nights troubled by doubt. But I do know this --
Until the nature of god is revealed to me, and the purpose of existence is known,
Until my contribution is proved, and my dust flies finally into the Universe,
Your arms around me, my sweetheart, will suffice.
Secret Shot
The forest was quiet but watching the egret stand so still in the water that I could see his reflection was like having a private moment with God. Nothing moved as I sat in quiet observation. I was actually afraid to raise the camera phone for a picture, Yet…this.