Hello #fiftywords friends. It was another great week of flash fiction gems. This post shares the highlights of the week and provides a new prompt for the week ahead.

What is the 50-word challenge?

This is a weekly challenge that starts with a one-word prompt. Participants use the prompt to write a flash fiction (aka "micro fiction") story in just 50 words.

We are continuing the #fiftywords story challenge launched by @miniature-tiger who has been developing a seafaring strategy game called Archipelago for the Utopian.io open source community. Check out the linked post for the latest update.

(Image credit: Original image by pixel2013, Pixabay)

Last week's 50-word stories

We all had fun with last week's prompt, which was lens. The submitted stories touched on photography lenses, telescopes, eyes, monocles and the more metaphorical idea of lens, as in the way we view our world.

Here is the complete list of last week's mini-masterpieces:

• Perfection, by @tuwore
• Hopeless, by @eroticabian
• Fields of Madness part 3, by @kaelci
• Goggles, by @foxfiction
• Eye Spy, by @deirdyweirdy
• A Photographer’s Dilemma, by @thatlovechild
• Beauty, by @cheekah
• A Walk in the Woods, by @preparedwombat
• Focus, by @kimberlylane
• Everlasting Fight, by @anixio
• I Am All That IS, by @galactichunter
• A Perfect World, by @botefarm
• Lens, by @ablaze
• In Love with No One by @luiskrupaz
• A Lens for His Camera, by @iamthegray
• Lens, by @clacrax
• Something New, by @elementm
• Elsie’s View, by @jayna

Wonderful work. Thank you, everyone, for your great contributions!

Note of the week on community

As always, I’m so impressed by the engagement in this challenge. These are micro stories, so you know you can read them in just a few minutes, which I think is why so many people are supporting and commenting on these posts. I think it’s wonderful.

If you haven’t done so, please be sure to visit each of these stories. (Quick! Some of them are heading for payout.)

I will highlight three stories that were especially great with regard to the interest and conversation they generated:

• Goggles, by @foxfiction
• Eye Spy, by @deirdyweirdy
• A Perfect World, by @botefarm

The #fiftywords shining star(s) of the week

This is where I ask myself why I decided to take this on. The answer, actually, is that @miniature-tiger got busy with an open source project, and I wanted a weekly prompt and interaction with the community of #fiftywords writers! But this part of the weekly challenge does give me fits. There are many great stories. I highlight a few each week.

I selected this week’s top picks because they are so intensely powerful. They show the magnitude that can be captured with the macro lens of a 50-word story. And interestingly enough, they are three very different “takes” (pardon the pun) on a moment in time in the life a photographer.

• Beauty, by @cheekah, in which a photographer’s heart melts while photographing a mother and child
• Perfection, by @tuwore, in which a heartless photographer captures the collapse of a runner
• A Photographer’s Dilemma, by @thatlovechild, in which a photographer has no choice but to photograph concentration camp victims

I am amazed by what these writers managed to capture in 50 words. Well done!

This week's 50-word story prompt

The prompt for this week is “space.” I look forward to seeing what your imaginations produce in the week ahead, #fiftywords friends!

Guidelines

Please review carefully. Images must not be pulled from any Internet site.

1. Write a story in 50 words. (It's especially cool if you can hit 50 words exactly!)
2. Use the #fiftywords tag, and post the link in the comments of this post.
3. Be sure to read and upvote the work of the other participants. It's all about community!
4. Use only artwork that you have the right to use, and attribute it properly. See the “Proper use of images” topic below.

Proper use of images

Proper use of images means one of the following:

1. It is your image.
2. The image is public domain, or under creative commons licensing rules.
3. If it is not one of the above, you have actual permission.

Be sure to mention that the image is yours, or attribute its source. And if it's not public domain or creative license, be sure to state that you have permission.

I have two resources for you, from my friends at @thewritersblock:

• Image licensing, by @rhondak
• Creative Commons Resource Library, by @therosepatch

And speaking of #thewritersblock, if you would like editing help for your stories before posting them, follow the tag to find them on Discord. (Note that it's very helpful in getting a "top pick" mention if you have edited your story for grammar and punctuation.)

Deadline for this week: Saturday, April 29th

The 50-word story clan

I'm mentioning you here if have participated in the #fiftywords short story challenge in the past. Please let me know if you would like your tag removed in this or future posts. (And psst, I am starting to reduce the list. Those who have not participated for a long time or are not active on Steemit will eventually drop from the mentions.)

@ablaze, @adigitalife, @agmoore, @ahmadmanga, @aksounder, @alheath, @andyartland, @anixio, @anjkara, @awhsarada
@beginningtoend, @bentheredonethat, @bhop42moro, @bitsendpieces, @botefarm @brandonsadventur, @bryarose23
@caleblailmusik, @carn, @cheekah, @cizzo, @clacrax, @creatr, @curtwriter
@damianjayclay, @deirdyweirdy, @diebitch, @dirge, @divineinyang, @douglasbalmain
@eaglespirit, @ebitularmbert, @elementm, @emwalker, @enjar, @eroticabian, @evgsk
@feebie, @felt.buzz, @fireawaymarmot, @fitinfun, @foxfiction
@galactichunter, @godwine
@hope-k
@iamthegray, @ilt-yodith, @isa93, @isufbakaj
@jadams2k18, @janine-ariane, @jakeybrown, @jayna, @josecarrasquero
@kaelci, @kainos-success, @kamalkennedy, @kimberlylane, @kingernie, @ktfabler
@ldacey-laforge, @lonestarpoet, @loraine, @lucylin, @luiskrupaz
@Mammasitta, @marie-jay, @mark-dahl, @metzli, @mikesthoughts, @mineopoly, @miniature-tiger, @momzillanc, @mydivathings
@naquoya, @naso, @navaneeth, @negativer, @niallon11
@onewithearth
@paintingangels, @photovitamin, @pixiehunter, @poeticnest, @preparedwombat, @prydefoltz, @purpledaisy57, @pyrowngs
@rodgriocabrera
@saoirseronan, @sciencevienna, @sharoonyasir, @skoolielove, @spalatino, @stayoutofherz, @steemitdiversify, @sukhasanasister, @superjongky
@tanglebranch, @thatlovechild, @theblackcrow, @therosepatch, @tiatu, @tibra, @tin-tin, @tony-duke, @tuwore, @tygertyger
@udayakumarage, @upen-srv
@vaitelavicius, @vivek-g
@whitewizard, @wilfredn, @wordsalmighty, @wylde
@yimiipsa, @yomibolo
@zen-art

Thank you to all participants!