Welcome to the Micro-fiction Contest! In this weekly challenge, participants write short stories of 250 words or less, and the winning entry earns 2 SBD. If you’re familiar with the #fiftywords contest, this is the next generation. You now have an additional 200 words to work with. We collaborate with the #freewrite community and @FreeWriteHouse. Please see the partner post to this one – Monday prompt: Test. A thank you to @mariannewest for helping to spread the word!
Contest entrants, be sure to review the rules below and include the weekly prompt word in your story. The word this week is “test.”
In the rest of this post you will find:
- An intro to the micro-fiction contest
- Last week’s winner
- The contest rules
About the micro-fiction contest
Micro-fiction short stories are fun to write, and they stretch your skills. The challenge is to write a complete story within a tight word limit. If you’re just trying it out for the first time, welcome! Here are a few FAQs:
- Why participate? Because it’s an interesting challenge, and a really great way to hone your fiction writing and editing skills. Oh, and it gives you something to post weekly.
- What makes a great micro-fiction story? As we all know, critique of the arts is subjective. That said, I have a few metrics for choosing the best entry:
- Is the story well-written and edited? (A compelling story line, and no spelling or punctuation errors.)
- Does it have the elements of a story? For example, a true story must have a conflict of some kind. It could be a conflict between people, an inner conflict or deep desire of a character, or a big challenge such as an oncoming storm. And there must be a resolution to the conflict. For example, the character might walk away from the conflict or breathe a sigh of relief. (Need an example? My latest one is here: Landscape in Motion.)
- Is the story satisfying to read? Remember you are writing for readers. The story must have interesting character(s) and story elements.
- What else do I need to know?
- See the rules below. There are just a few of them, especially around use of images, and there are some great image resources for you.
- Note also that the deadline isn’t as firm as a lot of contests. It’s always on a Saturday, but as long as your entry comes in before the next prompt post comes out (usually late Sunday or early Monday), it’s fine.
Writing resources
If you are not sure how to write a compelling story, see my weekly mini writing workshop (tagged #writingworkshop). The latest post is “What should you write about?” and it includes links to all of the workshop posts. You can also have someone else read your story and help with your storyline, grammar and punctuation. There are multiple Steem writing communities to help you:
- @thewritersblock (now Steemhouse Community)
- Inkubator
- #isleofwrite
- @FreeWriteHouse
Last week’s winning entry
Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s contest: @emergehealthier, @wakeupkitty, @blueeyes8960, @tristancarax, @theironfelix, @chrisbarth, @simonpennon, @maparari, @cloudblade, @joeylim, @stever82, and @deirdyweirdy.
Guys, the stories based on the “beacon” prompt were outstanding. I’m not sure I’ve ever had this much trouble choosing a winning entry!
But after a painful decision-making process, I’ve chosen Sirenum scopuli, by @tristancarax.
Story summary (no spoilers): A ship mate tells the tale of his ship’s ambush by sirens, with an amazing twist at the end. Please read the story and give the author some love on his story post. You can also see the original #freewrite post where he drafted the story.
Nice work, @tristancarax! Your reward is on the way. Thank you again to all participants. Your work is always a joy to read!
New micro-fiction short story prompt and rules
The new prompt for this coming week is “test.” I look forward to seeing what you come up with! The deadline is Saturday, February 23rd, with a grace period until the new contest post is up.
Contest rules
- Write a micro-fiction story in 250 words or less and post it to your blog, then provide a link to the story in the comments. Please do not post your story in the comments!
- Use only artwork that you have the right to use, and attribute it properly. See “Use of images” below.
- Use the #microfiction tag. If you would like to write your story to exactly 50 words or 100 words, feel free to use the #fiftywords or #100words tag, as appropriate. And finally, #flashfiction is a great tag as well.
You can use any posting tool, e.g. Steemit, Busy, Partiko, or Steampeak. Just please publish it on its own, not combined with any other contest.
Note that you are not required to upvote or resteem this post, nor are you required to support other participants. Entries will be judged on merit only. But active community participation and support of your fellow writers is, of course, highly encouraged.
Use of images
You are welcome to illustrate your story with an image, as long as you have the right to use it. One of the following must be true:
- The image is public domain, or under creative commons licensing. See the resource links below.
- It is your own image.
- If it is not one of the above, you must have actual permission.
Be sure to properly attribute the image’s source or mention that the image is yours.
Here are some creative commons and public domain image resources:
Good luck micro-fiction writers!
Invitation to current and past participants
If you are active on Steem and have participated in past #fiftywords and #microfiction challenges. I invite you to jump in and be a part of this weekly micro-fiction contest. If you prefer not to be tagged in my weekly post, please let me know! @ablaze, @adncabrera, @ahmadmanga, @anixio, @barski, @bimjer, @blueeyes8960, @blueteddy, @bex-dk, @bimjer, @botefarm, @caleblailmusik, @calluna, @cheekah, @cizzo, @cloudblade, @creatr, @darthgexe, @deemarshall, @deirdyweirdy, @diebitch, @dirge, @dranuvar, @ducksaplenty, @eaglespirit, @elbrujo, @emergehealthier, @enjar, @felixgarciap, @gaby-crb, @galatichunter @gmatthe2, @goastrighter, @hlezama, @imaluv54, @iamjadeline, @intothewild, @jadams2k18, @jasminearch, @joeylim, @jonknight, @kaelci, @letalis-laetitia, @manoldonchev, @maparari, @marie-jay, @marlyncabrera, @marvyinnovation, @michaias, @missladybug, @negativer, @niallon11, @nmcdougal94, @nocturnus, @oscarina, @poetrybyjeremy, @purpledaisy57, @preparedwombat, @pyemoney, @pyrowngs, @raj808, @razel, @rokhani, @roxy-cat, @shanedustin, @simonpennon, @theironfelix, @thinknzombie, @tristancarax, @tygertyger, @vdux, @wakeupkitty, @wales, @wems, @wordymouth 