Fifties by the Fire — a fifty-word, prompt-based writing challenge. Feel free to share your response below, or read and comment to join in on the fun.
Prompt: Write a fifty-word story (fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry) that follows one of these three ideas. Your “fifty”. . .
is written in the first-person point-of-view (I).
is written in the second person point-of-view (you).
uses the phrase “You and I”.
Here are the other guidelines:
Make sure your piece is exactly fifty words. Feel free to use Word Counter or the word processor you use.
Write a title with the genre in the first line. (Example: Birdsong, Fiction)
The title does not factor into the word count.
Good luck and have fun. Happy writing!
Special thanks to John Lightle for providing “You and I” for our writing prompt.
John Lightle is a Texas writer, poet, and photographer who spends many hours sitting on his woodpile contemplating. When away from his frame shop, he schleps his artwork among area art shows. The job takes him across the countryside, occasionally overseas, photographing the quiet resolve found within the golden hours.
I love your 50s story so much. It just suits my sensibility. I gravitate toward romance and always prefer the vague, the opportunity to fill in the blank spaces. A perfect 50s example!
Out in the farthest pasture, minding the drowsy cows, I take off all my clothing, and fold it neat. I lie in a grassy bed to call forth a daydream. I am a lily of the field today, an open blossom, bathed in the gift of sunlight from the All-providing.
I wrote something. Not my usual style. Suggestive perhaps. Salacious, probably. You and I might differ on its appropriateness. It’s edgy. If it’s risqué then it’s more implied than blatant. Different but that’s okay. How will it be received? We will find out together. Publish and be damned, I say.
Your nose in a book as I pretend not to notice your glances my way. Morning five of me sitting here as you’re over there starting the same story over again. Maybe today we start our own. “Hi, my name is ...”
There are so many excellent details in this story, Leanna! I love how the speaker/narrator notices the other individual starting the same story over again. What a great line! Thanks so much for sharing.
I watched you coax people to knock over glass bottles. You sang, chattered, taught, performed, the Fair’s blue-ribbon raconteur. I said, “You’re really good at this. Did you major in Communication?” You got shy; murmured, “I started a long time ago. Maybe I’ll go back. Yeah, maybe I’ll go back.”
you, I, we, our, yours, me, mine, us! Aside from the poignant message, the English teacher in me gives you a perfect ten for the correct use of pronouns in this lovely piece. Especially the use of "us alone" vs "we alone." Tricky! You nailed it.
You get two gold stars on the chart from this teacher. I would love to offer our substackers help with LIE and LAY. But since I don't recall anybody asking me, I will keep my mouth shut. ha ha ha
Sometimes we WANT to use irregular grammar for effect - for sound or meter, eg "She took off her clothing and folded it neat. Rather than "neatly". But unless it is intentional, it is not so good. Punctation is hard for me too. Sometimes I just ... ahem... leave it out.
You and I. We run together. Splitting the dark night into ribbons of quicksilver, moonlight filling in the channels we cut through the black. Are we beautiful? Our muzzles dripping blood and saliva, teeth glinting like knives. From our destruction comes growth. We are dreadful equilibrium, you and I.
Thank you Sharron, to meet the word count requirement I had to edit the flow and was worried that perhaps it wouldn't hit right, I am grateful you let me know it still did! 💌
I originally thought that the 50-word format was just a gimmick. But, no! It has really taught me to pare back to the essence of what I am trying to say. To pull out all the weeds in my longer pieces and make my prose leaner. AND it is a lot of fun.
great to hear. If I can be of any help with promptsthat worked well, poems ,short short stories, or reading recommendations,especially antiracisms, let me know.
Thank you, Ernie! I’d love that. If you have any prompts that worked well, I’d be grateful to have a look at them. Maybe down the line I’ll ask for some short story/poetry lists, as well.
In the beginning, I was the termite on the Tree of Knowledge. I know this when my son poses question after question. Yesterday, caught in the rain, horse chestnuts dropping on our heads.
In the distance, our trusty woodswoman responds with two fiery arrows from her little red bow.
Couldn’t agree more with you, Peter. And wonderful! I hope you like some of my stories. “Carnival Dreams” and “House Hunting” are a couple of my recent ones I really enjoyed writing (not that I don’t enjoy writing them all!).
that's ok. Let me know how your classroom's going. And if you need any short short stories/poems and what the content is. It's one of the things I excel at, and I have some examples
Ernie, so far so good on the classroom front. Thanks for asking. I co-teach two sections of math, one English, and then I also have two small sections of Academic Support. I’m mostly in a support role, but I do a lot of 1:1 type work and small group. I have an eclectic and fun group of students!
I goofed. His name is John warner and he had many interesting comments on books, schools, the current attacks on us sane literate folks by that fascistic DeSatanc Santos cabron.
Ah, understood. Thanks for sharing, Ernie. I’ll have to check out his work. And my apologies for never getting back to you on Sep 6. I must have missed your comment somehow!
Tongue Tied, Fiction
Benny butchers the opening and stumbles through the next few sentences. He begins to sweat.
“You still there?” she asks.
“I’m here. I guess what I’m trying to say is—I’ve been thinking a lot, lately. . . thinking about you and I.”
He can hear her smile. “Me too.”
I love phone call dialogue!!! 💜
Ah, thanks Meg! Same here. It’s so much fun to write. 🙂
I love your 50s story so much. It just suits my sensibility. I gravitate toward romance and always prefer the vague, the opportunity to fill in the blank spaces. A perfect 50s example!
I really appreciate the kind words, Sharron. Thank you! (That story is for the “Benny” in all of us. 😄)
Yes, Benny lives in me, that's for sure.
Super-cute! Lovely stuff
Thank you!
Lily of the Field, prose poem
Out in the farthest pasture, minding the drowsy cows, I take off all my clothing, and fold it neat. I lie in a grassy bed to call forth a daydream. I am a lily of the field today, an open blossom, bathed in the gift of sunlight from the All-providing.
Delightfully poetic
It really is. Stunning work, Sharron!
Decisions, Decisions (non-fiction)
I wrote something. Not my usual style. Suggestive perhaps. Salacious, probably. You and I might differ on its appropriateness. It’s edgy. If it’s risqué then it’s more implied than blatant. Different but that’s okay. How will it be received? We will find out together. Publish and be damned, I say.
I’m with you, Barrie. Let it fly...publish away! Love the encouraging tone of this piece.
Ah, thank you so much ... it is out there, naughtily peeking out of Notes!
On The Left (Fiction)
Your finger traced the letters of the glittering new plaque on your favourite bench. It simply read ‘In Loving Memory of You and I’.
“An epitaph we can all relate to,” you said.
With a deep sigh, you brushed away the leaves and took your regular place on the left.
This left me a little misty-eyed. You caught me off guard! Lovely story, Stephen.
Trying to get you back for doing the same to me 😎
Justin's the worst! He makes everyone cry! 🙂
Hahaha! Pretty soon we’ll start calling this Crying by the Fire. What a sad scene that would be! 😭
You should do a Fifties prompt that just says, "Make us cry." 😂
I’m dead! 🤣 “This one’s all about the tears, folks.”
Haha! Well, you got me! 🤣
yep, you poked the emotions of memories..
quite lovely and visual
ONE, Poetry
...
Simply said.
Difficult to understand… with our puny brains.
I believe somebody’s got it figured out though.
Let’s call him Jack.
Jack wants us to have FAITH.
To believe…
We are ONE,
You and I.
ONE with parts, like a body, a house, a car, or a tree.
Simply vexing.
Sharing a Life
You and I live side by side
In a great big house on wheels.
We don’t need much,
So we sold most stuff,
And the new stuff was bought with deals.
Our place is tiny, that’s for sure
But it works for us
With love so true!
Sounds like a beautiful life to me! 💙
Thanks, Justin. 😉
Powerful visuals here, Alixandra. I especially like the line “...fades to a drying mirage”. That will stick with me. Thank you for sharing!
The Story of Us (fiction)
You and I on opposite sides of the bench.
Your nose in a book as I pretend not to notice your glances my way. Morning five of me sitting here as you’re over there starting the same story over again. Maybe today we start our own. “Hi, my name is ...”
There are so many excellent details in this story, Leanna! I love how the speaker/narrator notices the other individual starting the same story over again. What a great line! Thanks so much for sharing.
Second Person Hallucination (Fiction)
You’re worthless. She’ll never love you. And you shouldn’t take those pills.
You’re disgusting and ugly. She hates you. She’s told the doctors to poison you. So don’t take those pills.
You took the pills, didn’t you? What will you do now you can’t hear me? Oh. Kiss her. Hmmph.
Love the grit and sharp edges in this one. Thanks for sharing it, Jon!
Raw Talent, Creative Nonfiction
I watched you coax people to knock over glass bottles. You sang, chattered, taught, performed, the Fair’s blue-ribbon raconteur. I said, “You’re really good at this. Did you major in Communication?” You got shy; murmured, “I started a long time ago. Maybe I’ll go back. Yeah, maybe I’ll go back.”
Excellent, Tara! Carneys are such interesting individuals. They certainly know how to tell stories and perform!
You and I, poetry
You and I can change the world if we could just get out of our own way.
With You and Yours and Me and Mine the world will open up to find
That what's wrong has come from Us Alone and We Alone can make it right.
You and I.
Beautiful from start to finish, James!
Thank you, Justin!
you, I, we, our, yours, me, mine, us! Aside from the poignant message, the English teacher in me gives you a perfect ten for the correct use of pronouns in this lovely piece. Especially the use of "us alone" vs "we alone." Tricky! You nailed it.
Mrs. Francis from elementary school would be proud. My mother, as well. : )
Thanks, Sharron!
You get two gold stars on the chart from this teacher. I would love to offer our substackers help with LIE and LAY. But since I don't recall anybody asking me, I will keep my mouth shut. ha ha ha
Those are tricky, for sure. Those and punctuation with quotation marks always trip me up. : )
Sometimes we WANT to use irregular grammar for effect - for sound or meter, eg "She took off her clothing and folded it neat. Rather than "neatly". But unless it is intentional, it is not so good. Punctation is hard for me too. Sometimes I just ... ahem... leave it out.
EVP, Fiction
Sylvia turned on the voice recorder. 'It's just you and I." She glanced around the dark room. "I'm listening."
Where had I heard that before? Oh, yeah, from every ghost hunter. Yet when I spoke, they ran. Will she be different? One way to find out.
The recorder crackled, "Hello."
Love this! It gets me excited for Halloween. 👻 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the prompt. =D
Equilibrium, fiction
You and I. We run together. Splitting the dark night into ribbons of quicksilver, moonlight filling in the channels we cut through the black. Are we beautiful? Our muzzles dripping blood and saliva, teeth glinting like knives. From our destruction comes growth. We are dreadful equilibrium, you and I.
What an evocative story with some sinister lines. Loved it!
Thank you!! I’m glad I came across your prompt!
Nicely visual! Especially the blood-dripping and the glinting knives. Yikes.
Thank you! What a fun prompt!
~I See You~
I see you
From across the room
A room full of people
I don't see them
I see only you
I can't stand to be near you
When forbidden to touch
I only want you
Holding me
Kissing me
Releasing me
Until I open my eyes and
I see you
I dig it, Shire! Isn’t the fifty-word form a fun challenge? Thanks for sharing your work. 😀
Thank you Justin, it was a wonderful prompt and editing to 50 was the hardest part, had the opposite of writers block as the words kept coming! 🤗
It’s a great problem to have! That’s the trickiest (and perhaps most helpful) part of the exercise: paring down a story or poem to its barest bits!
Thanks again.
This relationship sounds a little dangerous, Shire. Whew! But you know, in a good way.
Thank you Sharron, to meet the word count requirement I had to edit the flow and was worried that perhaps it wouldn't hit right, I am grateful you let me know it still did! 💌
I originally thought that the 50-word format was just a gimmick. But, no! It has really taught me to pare back to the essence of what I am trying to say. To pull out all the weeds in my longer pieces and make my prose leaner. AND it is a lot of fun.
Everything, Short Story Excerpt
It lifted your spirit to feel his gaze on you. Warmed you from the inside out. There were words you wanted to say but couldn’t.
They were selfish.
But they were everything.
I wanted you. I loved you. For that I’ll never be sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This is a beautiful excerpt, Meg! I remember the story. Thank you for sharing! 🙏
Thank YOU for hosting. 🙂
One of my favorite stories of yours, Meg -- the long version and this shorter piece.
sharing lit and writing ideas is part of what live and give the eagles a taste for breakfast/
great to hear. If I can be of any help with promptsthat worked well, poems ,short short stories, or reading recommendations,especially antiracisms, let me know.
Thank you, Ernie! I’d love that. If you have any prompts that worked well, I’d be grateful to have a look at them. Maybe down the line I’ll ask for some short story/poetry lists, as well.
I really appreciate the help!
"The Quest" A Fable (Prose Poem)
In the beginning, I was the termite on the Tree of Knowledge. I know this when my son poses question after question. Yesterday, caught in the rain, horse chestnuts dropping on our heads.
In the distance, our trusty woodswoman responds with two fiery arrows from her little red bow.
Really neat story, Peter. Thanks for sharing. I can see an entire world being created before my eyes!
Thanks, Justin. I'm a believer that, in writing, less is more, unless you're Dickens. I plan to spend time on your site this afternoon.
Couldn’t agree more with you, Peter. And wonderful! I hope you like some of my stories. “Carnival Dreams” and “House Hunting” are a couple of my recent ones I really enjoyed writing (not that I don’t enjoy writing them all!).
that's ok. Let me know how your classroom's going. And if you need any short short stories/poems and what the content is. It's one of the things I excel at, and I have some examples
Ernie, so far so good on the classroom front. Thanks for asking. I co-teach two sections of math, one English, and then I also have two small sections of Academic Support. I’m mostly in a support role, but I do a lot of 1:1 type work and small group. I have an eclectic and fun group of students!
I goofed. His name is John warner and he had many interesting comments on books, schools, the current attacks on us sane literate folks by that fascistic DeSatanc Santos cabron.
Ah, understood. Thanks for sharing, Ernie. I’ll have to check out his work. And my apologies for never getting back to you on Sep 6. I must have missed your comment somehow!
eventide || not quite haiku
i run to you in moonlight
silently
the wind takes away my words
A perfect follow-up poem to Honeygloom’s story posted above. Thanks for this, Amie!
Even though I totally disregarded the 50-word req!
Haha! No worries whatsoever. 😄
Amie needs 2 minutes in the penalty box for missing the 50-word req.
🤣🤣
SOUNS GOOD!
sorry- I got the name wrong. it is JOHN WARNER. If you dont pay his feel you are not in any way allowed to comment. How unamerican is THIS?