I have a book called “The World’s Shortest Stories,” and it consists of stories no longer than 55 words. I was telling a friend about it and she said, “You should do that on the blog. Every now and then, a 55-word story.” So yesterday, I sat down to write a story in 55 words.
First of all, it’s harder than it sounds. Just to put it in context, the first paragraph of this post is 55 words. That’s not much space to tell a whole story. Second of all, the story I wrote was 50 words, because I think that sounds cooler. J’s 50-word (exactly) stories. Cool, right? And even if you hate it, it’s 50 words. Breathe in, and you’re done before you exhale.
Okay, so here’s my first ever 50-word story just for you.
Coming Apart
Sweet Bradley. He couldn’t get past it. He’d tried. “I’m sorry,” he told her, and she knew he meant it.
Attempting a smile, her jaw came loose, and though she caught it before it hit the ground, Bradley had turned away. Few things are harder to watch than Zombie heartache.
Okay, so, it’s true. A tragic zombie unrequited love story is a bit of a departure for me, but I thought it best to be daring since I only had 50 words. Feel free to respond, maybe with your own 50-word story, or you can tell me how you feel about zombies. I have a fourteen year old son. Zombies are a regular topic of conversation around here.
——————————————————————————–
And now for something completely different… In contrast to this post, I’ll be spending the day attempting to write 10,000 words as part of the 10k for writers. I’ll be taking breaks every couple of hours to stretch my limbs,eat snacks, check back with you. If you don’t have any zombie words for me, I’d love words of encouragement. I’ve never written anything close to 10,000 words in a day before. I anticipate sweat and tears, colorful, explicit language that never makes it to the page… and, maybe, just maybe, a personal triumph.
“You go girl” messages are encouraged!
10,000 words: wow! “Go Girl!”
50 sounds better to me. But it is tough! Here’s my little story:
“Losing the Baby Fat”
Scale reads, 138, six pounds to go. I love my baby boy, but hate these muffin tops!
Time to diet. And cardio; hitting the treadmill like Fergie. Being toned feels great!
Darkness comes. Tired from work; mothering. Wine: one glass. Okay, two. “Babes, can you go get us some gelato?”
Well, I’ll give you a “you go girl” for the 10,000 challenge. I can’t even imagine doing that … but now I’m probably going to have to try it.
If I come up with something zombie, I’ll be back. (Never tried a 50 words story either.)
Nice challenges today.
JUDY!!! I’d give you HUGE props for the first 1,100 of your 10k words being swear words.
Man, that would vent some frustrations.
You writing about zombies almost KILLED me…….
I’ll be back with a 50 word story. But I don’t know if that’s a promise or a threat….
Hugs you and says :
YOU *%##@!^##(ing) GO girl…
:0)
Very nice, love the zombie idea :) I don’t know anyone who has written about zombie love before. It’s a very good idea, maybe I’ll try it too sometime (although my comments are usually almost 50 words, so it’s really gonna be a challenge).
Mark, Nice job! It sounds like a subject with which you might be personally familiar. Been sent out for gelato lately? ;-)
Linda, I’ll let you know how the 10k thing goes. I’ve been struggling with some writers block, and this is me forcing myself to write through it. Think happy thoughts!
Karen, If anyone could write a dazzling 50-word story, it’s you. You #&*#@ go girl, too!
Estrella, 10k will be harder than 50, no doubt. I guess I better stop playing with you guys and get busy, huh? After yoga. And a quick ab workout. And coffee. And toast. (Did I mention I’m nervous?)
Go Judy, go Judy, it’s your word day, it’s your word day!! (sung like the birthday version)
I am so excited for you, I don’t think I will be able to get anything done today until I hear that you made it across the finish line, where I am standing with big yellow and green pom-poms from our song-girl days, screaming “Here she comes, someone get her some water, maybe some pasta, scratch that, where is the friggin’ cheesecake, can’t you see she is exhausted and near death!!”
*wow, how the hell can I write a 50 word story when that sentence was 70 words?*
I will be waiting to hear the outcome, although I expect that you will come through with flying colors :^)
Also, blaming you for not getting anything done today sounds like the right way to approach my lack of motivation – I need to use all of my energy to cheer you on, nothing else matters today, just helping a fellow writer out, because isn’t that what it’s all about people?
Cold, he ate it cold! It would take superhero strength just to do that, let alone the impossible actions that would inevitably follow. I won’t do it. I have resolve. I can win this fight. I’ll be strong to the finish. Besides, who wants big forearms?
“Billy, eat your spinach.”
kid
good like in the 10k – i know you can do it!
zombies – i’ve got nothing so perhaps some research is in order and if i find anything interesting i’ll let you know.
Hey Estrella I laughed when you said you’d never seen a zombie romance before. My friend Daniel Powell almost killed me with a short story about zombie love that he had published recently. He did not WARN me not to be eating first.
If you want to see it put your cookies and coffee down and go here: http://everydayweirdness.com/e/20090710/
And Hey, you know what occurred to me? Judy’s going to be REALLY busy writing 10thousand words….wonder what direction we can take the comment thread in her distracted state?
mmwahhahhahha!
J? maybe you should enlist a substitute teacher to watch us while you write….
Judy you amaze me. And you friends crack me up.
Karen–you are bad–hijacking Judy’s blog while she works on her 10k words.
Break time!
Christie, You are the best! (Happy birthday!) Big, grateful hugs!
Kid, Good story. Let me count your words… Perfect! You are a man of many talents!
Peggi, You mean your munchkin doesn’t tell you all you need to know about zombies? That is suspicious…
Karen, Maybe after I’m done slogging my way through 10,000 words, I’ll reward myself with a good zombie love story. Thanks!
Everyone: A quick calculation of my first hour and a half-ish and I figure I’ll hit 10k words in. ummm… 14 more hours. (Do you think maybe the spandex tights and the superhero cape are restricting my creative juices?)
Judy..maybe go back to just the leg warmers. But definitely leave the cape. THE CAPE IS STYLIN’! (you are wearing your tiara right?)
My Fifty word story.
Creeping stealthily, trying to slow her rapid heart beat, the shutter snapped in quick succession.
She couldn’t believe that her lifelong dream had come true.
Tom Hanks was sleeping on her couch.
The scissors weighed heavy in her hands. She wondered if he’d miss just a few strands of hair.
And Terre? J put an alarm on the moderation page so it goes off if anybody uses the word nantucket….she’s SUCH a party pooper…. :0)
Terre, I do have excellent bloggy friends, of which you are one!
Karen, You rock the 50-word genre, baby!
Karen, great story you linked to, now that I’m reading all sort of zombie stories, I love all the different approaches ;)
And your 50-word story is very nice, like it a lot :)
Judy, thanks! And break a leg (or would that be fingers in this case?) :) Kisses!
I like this stuff —- good use of my work time to be sure! OK, lets try one….
His back pressed to the wall like a shadow.
Don’t stop. Don’t think. Only react. The mantra echoed in his thoughts.
The effort of silence becomes painful. A whisper is allowed, “Target in sight”.
A flash of light floods the room. Gone now.
Back in bed, Bobby savors Mission Cheesecake.
Guess I will try for something about zombies another day.
Bobby shameless pandering to the j. You KNOW she’s a sucker for cheesecake.
You’re just trying to get sparkly bonus points.
Terre and I aren’t giving you any of ours. :0)
P.S. I liked the story
PPS @Estrella thanks! and Thanks!
@ Judy don’t break ANYTHING…just strain your thinking and typing muscles….go judy go…
“Pandering? I am shocked, shocked to find out pandering is going on in here!”
Bobby, pandering or not, you can write me cheesecake stories anytime! I loved that!
Update: I was much more productive in that sitting but I’m still not even to 4000 words yet! Yikes!
No 50 word story from me, I’m just happy to have a front row seat in this comedy club.
Yes the blog was alive and well in my semi-absence. I got to 5,747 words and I am out of gas. I feel like I just ran a marathon. It’s not 10,000, but it’s more than I’ve ever produced in a day, and if I’d written all day with the abandon of the last half, I’d have gotten much closer.
Next time!
Thanks for cheering me on, you guys! Group hug!
Judy, I am so proud of you and in my opinion, you are definitely a winner!!
I can’t even imagine writing that many words in one day. Sit back, relax with a glass of wine and bask in the glory of such an amazing accomplishment :^)
I will definitely have to tell you all about the bd – kinda been celebrating this whole week!
Love ya,
Christie
You rock Judy holy cow!!!!! 5,747 words. Did I say HOLY COW!!!
does a little happy dance for you.
:0)
Congrats, Judy. I am duly impressed!!!
Judy – I was so in the mood for a tragic zombie unrequited love story tonight. Who did you know?
You guys are so wonderful. I love how everyone is focused on the accomplishment and not the deficit between my number and the goal. You remind me to do the same. Thanks!
Lake, I had a sense… but then, seriously, who doesn’t need a good tragic zombie unrequited love story now and then. (With just a few more words, I could have had a guitar in the story and it would have been perfect.) ;-)
First off I can barely write 500 words much less over 5k. Congrats. You are awesome. (You can tell me when you tire of me telling you that. I will hang up my pom-poms on request.)
OMG. Your funny lovely readers have inspired me . . . them and that poem (We Have Come To Be Dance) which kind of reminds me of zombies.
Here is my 50 word story:
She walks shyly into class. Afraid of what people she might see. Unsure about dancing barefoot. She removes her shoes. The music starts, sparking a fire in her soul. She dances with pure joy. She IS Joy. She walks out with a sexy sway of her hips, shy no more.
Terre, I love that! Especially given the poem which you know I also loved. Hats off to your 50-word prowess. (And, I’m sort of hoping you never feel an urge to put away the pom poms.)
Yeah, I mentioned that poem because I wanted more sparkly bonus points. I love anything sparkly. I didn’t care about the points until Karen said they were sparkly! Oooooo!
ahem…
“You GO girl.” no.. that doesn’t sound right.
“YOU!!! Go!! girl?” Dang it.. one more.
“HEY!” Doh! got it wrong in the first word.
“You go girl.” Ahhh. finally. I can go to bed now.
John! Finally! Now I can go to bed, too. (Thank you!)
Evening, Judy,
Nice work on cresting 5,000 words. Can’t say I’ve ever been that high on the mountain in a day!
Karen, always generous in her friendship, directed me to another great website!
Best of luck to you Judy in your writing. I’ll pop by from time to time…
Best,
Daniel
Well, thank you, Daniel Powell! I just read The Scheme (thanks to Karen), and loved it. So then I checked out your blog, and spent more time than I was supposed to (because my dog heard the word “walk” fifteen minutes ago and it turns her into a spaz). But your blog is cool (loved the Allana post). I’ll pop by from time to time, too. Mutual popping.
(a bit late… still catching up from vacation.)
a 50 word story challenge – how fun! and your surprise zombie love story is great!
here’s my first attempt at a 50 word story:
“I’m done!”
“Already?! Let me read it… This doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s fifty words.”
“It’s supposed to be a fifty word *story*.”
“Oh. Well, that’s going to take a bit longer, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“What should I write about?”
“Write what you know.”
“I think I already did that.”
and here’s my 2nd attempt:
Pencils sharpened, eraser at the ready.
Watercolors, charcoal, oils, pastels, ink on standby.
Clean, white sheet of paper stares me down.
Under pressure, my muse is silent and my critic screams.
Bell rings – class is over. Paper and mind still blank.
Why isn’t my mind ever blank during meditation instead?
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