Hi Fifty Worders! This post is coming out over a day later than usual. Thanks for your patience.

As most of you know by now, I had a mishap this past week with my Steemit passwords and am trying to recover my @jayna account. Life throws a curveball sometimes! For now I’m @jaynas-minime.

Okay, so let’s get to the post of the week. In this post, I will provide links to the full collection of 50-word stories from last week and share some highlights of the week. And then I'll launch a new prompt.

Fun fact: Last week's prompt had the most participation of any 50-word story prompt so far. The number of participants each week typically is between 20 and 25. Last week it was 31!

(Image credit: Original image by pixel2013, Pixabay)

Last week's 50-word stories

I’d like to welcome to our newest contributors, @blueteddy, @khadija14, @olakunle10, @vdux, @papacrusher, @tinkerrose and @anonymummy. Thanks for joining the Fifty Worders!

Last week's prompt was “run.”

Here is the complete list of stories inspired by the “run” prompt:

• Run Like Hell, by @cizzo
• Running Mascara, by @pyrowngs
• Escape, by @foxyspirit
• Wild and free, by @creatr
• The Competitor, by @vdux
• Run, by @blueteddy
• Don’t Run, by @negativer
• Chasing visions, by @alheath
• Run, by @whitelite
• Closed In, by @prydefoltz
• The Power of Love, by @botefarm
• The Cycle, by @anixio
• Looming Shadows, by @enjar
• River, by @happyhairdays
• War of the Third Worlds, by @anikekirsten
• The Creature, by @riottales
• Disguised at the border, by @ablaze
• Pig tales, by @deirdyweirdy
• A Teenager’s Dilemma, by @khadija14
• It’s Hard to Find Good Help These Days, by @preparedwombat
• Runnin’, by @theironfelix
• Red River Runs, by @papacrusher
• Rachel, by @caleblailmusik
• Tragedy, by @lightoj
• Dragon Egg Part 4, @therosepatch
• Run, by @foxfiction
• Run, by @tinkerrose
• My Forest, by @bagpuss
• True Blood Runs, by @olakunle10
• The perfect killer, by @saun
• Dream runner, by @autonomummy

If I missed yours, please let me know and I will add it! I always try my best to list them all, but I do occasionally miss one somehow.

Highlights of the week

Each week I choose just a few of the awesome highlights of the week, which is always really difficult because the stories are all so amazing! But here goes -- a few picks from last week.

Run, by @blueteddy

Please be sure to welcome @blueteddy to Steemit. This lovely 50-word story was her first post!

Her hesitation broke. Bare feet struck blades of grass in a rhythm as old as the earth flying by beneath her. Auburn hair whipped the sky in defiance of the gravity that had ever dared tame it. Her rekindled spirit consumed her fear leaving only an intense hunger for freedom.

A Teenager’s Dilemma, by @khadija14

New Fifty Worder, @khadija14, provides a very poignant view into the experience of someone with depression.

Depression crept in; a practiced thief indeed.
Sneaking in through the cracks of inkling dark, it kept her running round in circles before cornering her.
Still oblivious, she stumbled, bound by the murky night.
Unawareness was grave. Crumbling amongst the jigsaw of realization and despair, the rat-race stole her life.

War of the Third Worlds, by @anikekirsten

This story is a must-read, as it includes not only a wonderful, well-told 50-word story, but also some very interesting history on South Africa.

Blood runs through the soil as Jacob lowers, steadying his rifle on the ground. Grains fly into the air with each breath. Rooinekke race up the adjacent hill toward his brothers on the other side. Enemy in cross-hairs. Contracting his finger, he pauses.

This isn’t the way to defeat hate.

Chasing Visions, by @alheath

What does Rob see?

“RUN!” Rob's voice was hoarse. Beads of sweat rolled down his face. His eyes were bulging.
“Look! The goblin! It's getting away!”
Crickets echoed through the forest. Trees were swaying in the breeze.
This confirmed Mara's fears. Something had happened to Rob.
There was no goblin there.

Don’t run, by @negativer

@negativer captures a terrible moment for an up-and-coming professional.

My first presentation to the board. My career hinged on this, but I was confident.
I strode to the podium.
All eyes on me, but they stared at my legs. I glanced down past the hem of my skirt.
The longest pantyhose run in the world gaped back at me.

Wild and Free, by @creatr

You must go to this one to see the lovely wild horse pictures!

Canter fast as the wind
Gallop down through the dale
Trot beyond a far hill
With the herd at your tail.

Roaming wild and free
Like the child in me
Pace alongside still waters
Pause beneath a green tree

Harness, saddle, and bit,
Left behind;
With abandon, run!
Liberty find.

River, by @happyhairdays

The author tells a lovely story of a river's lifecycle.

Bubbling up as a little spring in the sky; growing as she goes. For fun she leaps off cliffs, in her white dress. She meanders as new backdrops pop up. As her thousand mile journey nears its end; she is weary as she makes her final run to the sea.

Excellent work, everyone!

This week's 50-word story prompt

The prompt for this week is “fence.” I look forward to reading your stories, Fifty Worders!

Guidelines

Please review carefully. Images must follow the Proper use of images guidelines below.

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 following guidelines.

Proper use of images

Proper use of images means one of the following:

1. The image is public domain, or under creative commons licensing rules.
2. It is your own image.
3. 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. And if it's not public domain, under creative commons license, or your own image, 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 #thewritersblock tag to find them on Discord.

Deadline for this week: Saturday, June 30th.

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. (Note that I do trim 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, @aggroed, @agmoore, @ahmadmanga, @akdx, @aksounder, @alexandered, @alheath, @anikekirsten, @anixio, @anonymummy
@bagpuss, @beginningtoend, @blueteddy, @botefarm @brandonsadventur, @bryarose23
@caleblailmusik, @carn, @cheekah, @cizzo, @clacrax, @creatr
@damianjayclay, @deirdyweirdy, @desmoniac, @diebitch, @dirge, @divineinyang, @donnest
@eaglespirit, @elementm, @emwalker, @enjar, @eroticabian, @esttyb, @evgsk
@feebie, @felt.buzz, @ficciones, @foxfiction, @foxyspirit
@galactichunter, @girlbeforemirror, @godwine
@happyhairdays, @hope-k
@iamthegray, @intheory, @isa93
@jadams2k18, @janine-ariane, @jakeybrown, @jayna, @jonknight, @josecarrasquero
@kaelci, @kally, @khadija14, @kimberlylane, @kingernie, @ktfabler
@ldacey-laforge, @lightoj, @liverussian, @lucylin, @luiskrupaz
@Mammasitta, @marie-jay, @mark-dahl, @mgaft1, @mineopoly, @miniature-tiger, @mizdais, @momzillanc, @mydivathings
@navaneeth, @negativer, @niallon11
@olakunle10
@paintingangels, @papacrusher, @phillyc, @pixiehunter, @poeticnest, @preparedwombat, @prydefoltz, @puppetmaster1111, @purpledaisy57, @pyrowngs
@ravencorinn, @riottales, @rodrigocabrera
@sharoonyasir, @spalatino, @sue-stevenson, @sukhasanasister
@tanglebranch, @thatlovechild, @theblackcrow, @theironfelix, @therosepatch, @tiatu, @tinkerrose, @tuwore, @tygertyger
@vaitelavicius, @vdux, @vivek-g
@wa2qr, @wales, @whitelite, @wordsalmighty, @wylde
@zen-art

About the 50-word challenge

This weekly 50-word challenge starts off each Sunday with a one-word prompt. Participants use the prompt to create a micro-fiction story in just 50 words. For more info and inspiration: check out the recent post about this project, Fifty-word challenge: FAQs, ideas, motivation and showcase.

Thanks so much for reading! If you haven’t yet written a story in 50 words, try it. It's a really amazing challenge to see what can unfold in a mere 50 words!