This week’s winning story is Dream by Azarin Sadegh!
Category Archives: News
NEWS: Top Stories
I’m excited to announce a new Top Stories feature for 50WS that I think both the site’s readers and writers will really enjoy. Here’s how it’s going to work.
Story of the Week
Each week, on Saturday, I will announce my selection for the best story posted that week. That story will be tagged as a Story of the Week, so that readers can quickly navigate back to find all of the best stories if they want to explore the archives that way.
I will be selecting the best stories myself, based on my own criteria. The story with the highest average reader rating won’t always be picked!
Story of the Month
Early each month, I will announce my selection for the best story posted in the previous month. Only stories picked as a Story of the Week will be eligible for Story of the Month.
The author of the Story of the Month will receive a prize of $10, to be sent via email transfer or PayPal.
As with the Story of the Week, I will be selecting the winning story based on my own assessment, not just on average reader rating. But the ratings may influence my decision, so vote away!
Story of the Year
Each year, in January, a Story of the Year will be selected out of the pool of winners of Story of the Month. There will be a further prize for Story of the Year, but I haven’t settled on all the details yet.
NEWS: Spring Stories Prize Draw
Congratulations to the winner of the Spring Stories prize draw, Ted Knoblach!
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest and shared the word about it.
Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!
NEWS: “Spring Stories” Contest
In many parts of the northern hemisphere it’s probably been spring for a few weeks, but here in Edmonton it’s just starting to feel like winter is truly over.
Let’s celebrate with a spring-themed 50WS contest and give away some gift cards for Amazon!
The Spring Stories contest will be open to your entries from April 14, 2014, until May 2, 2014. All submitted stories must be related to the spring season in some way. They can be funny, sad, artistic, adventurous… It’s up to you!
PRIZES
The best submitted stories will be posted to the site during the week of May 5 to 9, 2014, at the rate of two stories per day.
Grand Prize
The best story from all of the entries will be posted as the second story of the day on Friday, May 9. The author of this story will receive a $15 Amazon gift card!
Draw Prize
A draw will also be held for a $10 Amazon gift card.
There will be two ways to enter the draw. First, everyone who submits a story will automatically receive one entry into the draw. Second, another entry into the draw can be earned by either a) sharing a link to this contest announcement using the #50WordSpringStories hashtag on Twitter, b) retweeting the contest announcement tweet from @50WordStories, or c) sharing the contest announcement post on Facebook.
The winner of the grand prize will not be eligible for the draw. The draw prize winner will be selected using a random number generator, and will be announced on the day the grand prize-winning story is posted.
MORE RULES
- To be eligible for this contest, stories must be received between April 14, 2014, and May 2, 2014.
- Stories must be related to the theme of “spring”. Stories not related to this theme will not be considered for a prize, but may be considered for later publication on the site.
- Submit your entry or entries to tim@fiftywordstories.com. (Limit two story submissions per writer. Please send each story in a separate email. Story should be pasted into the body of the email.)
- The subject line of your email must start with “SPRING STORIES ENTRY” and include the title of the story.
- Stories must be exactly 50 words long, not counting title and author biography.
- Any stories received for the contest but not published during the week of May 5 to 9, 2014, will still be held eligible for later publication on the site. Entry into the contest does not guarantee publication on the site.
- All stories must follow all guidelines specified on the Submissions page. Please read this page before sending in your entry.
I look forward to seeing all of your entries! Let’s make this the best 50WS contest yet.
NEWS: Story Ratings
One of you wonderful writers recently pointed out to me that the star rating plugin the site has been using for years, GD Star Rating, has become well known in the WordPress community as a resource hog. You may know that 50WS has struggled lately with getting flagged by our host as wasting server resources, resulting in downtime while I tried to improve the site’s performance.
It looks like GD Star Rating was probably the culprit all along. So I’m switching the site to a new ratings plugin that will hopefully prevent any future issues.
The downside of the switch is that there’s no automated way to import the old ratings right now. I’m confident that I’ll be able to find a way to get the old ratings converted to the new plugin, but it may take me some time.
So in the meantime, we’re going to be starting fresh on all of the story ratings! Eventually the old ratings should return, but for now I hope you enjoy the blank slate.
Thanks for your patience!
POLL: How Often Should 50WS Post Stories Going Forward?
As we head into a new year of 50WS, I’m exploring some different options for ways to improve the site. For a long time we’ve been sharing one story per day, every weekday, but I’m open to other arrangements. We spent a few weeks posting two stories every weekday, and that seemed to go over well. There are other options, too.
I’d love to hear what you, as readers, would prefer. Please vote on the poll below, and leave comments to tell me what you think!
[poll id=”3″]
Thanks for an awesome 2013, everyone, and here’s to an even better 2014!
NEWS: November Contest: “Prehistory”
ROAR!!
Get ready for an event of Jurassic proportions! I’m excited to announce the Prehistoric Prose contest.
This contest will be open to your entries from November 3, 2013, until November 23, 2013. The theme for the contest is: prehistory. That means all submitted stories must have something to do with dinosaurs, sabretooth tigers, cavemen, or a similar theme from that era.
Prizes
Contest winners will be chosen by Tim Sevenhuysen, 50WS editor. The five best stories received will be posted to the site from November 25 to 29.
The author of the best story, which will be posted on November 29, will receive a print copy of their choice of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One or Volume Two.
The authors of the four runner-up stories, posted from November 25 to 28, will each receive an ebook copy of their choice of Volume One or Volume Two.
Contest Rules
- To be eligible for this contest, stories must be received between November 3 and 23, 2013.
- Stories must be related to the theme of “prehistoric”. Stories not related to this theme will not be considered for a prize, but may be considered for later publication on the site.
- Submit your entry or entries to tim@fiftywordstories.com. (Limit two story submissions per writer. Please send each story in a separate email. Story should be pasted into the body of the email.)
- The subject line of your email must start with “PREHISTORY ENTRY” and include the title of the story.
- Stories must be exactly 50 words long, not counting title and author biography.
- Any stories received for the contest but not published during the week of November 25 to 29, 2013, will still be held eligible for later publication on the site. Entry into the contest does not guarantee publication on the site.
- All stories must follow all guidelines specified on the Submissions page. Please read this page before sending in your entry.
I’m super excited to read a ton of stories about dinosaurs and cavemen and all sorts of cool prehistoric stuff! Let your imaginations run wild…
NEWS: Summer Stories Draw Prizes
I apologize for the delay on the Summer Stories draw prizes, but I’ve managed to run the random number generator and identify the three winners!
Congratulations to:
Connell Regner
Doug Robbins
Krystyna Fedosejevs
The three of you have won 30%-off Store coupons! They will be landing in your email inboxes shortly.
NEWS: “Summer Stories” Contest – Prizes Galore!
In the past month or two, I’ve been receiving more and more submissions. My inbox is so full I don’t know how I’m ever going to catch up to everything that’s been sent in! So, what’s the best way to deal with the situation? Invite a bunch more submissions, of course, and offer free books and discounts!
The Summer Stories contest will be open to your entries from July 21, 2013, until August 10, 2013. The theme for the contest is: camping or picnic. All submitted stories must be related to one or both of these themes. Beyond that, the world is your oyster! (Or, given the theme, perhaps the world is your anthill?)
Prizes:
In total, there are nine prize packages available, including free books and ebooks and big Store discounts.
Selected stories will be published to the site at the rate of two per day during the week of August 12 to 16, 2013, with prize-winning stories being published on August 14, 15, and 16, as described below.
Grand Prizes
There will be two grand prizes, one for each story category. The two grand prize-winning stories will be published to the site on Friday, August 16, 2013.
- Grand Prize (Artistic): The author of the best “artistic” story will receive a print copy of their choice of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One or Volume Two, plus a one-time use coupon for 50% off their next order from the TimSevenhuysen.com Store.
- Grand Prize (Amusing): The author of the best “amusing” story will receive a print copy of their choice of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One or Volume Two, plus a one-time use coupon for 50% off their next order from the TimSevenhuysen.com Store.
Runner-Up Prizes
There will be four runner-up prizes, two for each story category. The runner-up prize-winning stories will be published to the site on August 14 and August 15, 2013.
- Runner-Up Prizes (4): The authors of the second- and third-best “artistic” and “amusing” stories will each receive an ebook copy of their choice of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One or Volume Two, plus a one-time use coupon for 50% off their next order from the TimSevenhuysen.com Store.
Draw Prizes
An additional three prize packages will be awarded to three authors who will be picked randomly from all entrants. Winners of a grand prize or runner-up prize will not be eligible for the draw. The draw prize winners will be selected using a random number generator, and will be announced on the day the grand prize-winning stories are posted.
- Draw Prizes: The three draw prize winners will each receive a one-time use coupon for 30% off their next order from the TimSevenhuysen.com Store.
Contest Rules:
- To be eligible for this contest, stories must be received between July 21, 2013, and August 10, 2013.
- Stories must be related to the theme of either “camping” or “picnic”. Stories not related to one of these themes will not be considered for a prize, but may be considered for later publication on the site.
- Submit your entry or entries to tim@fiftywordstories.com. (Limit two story submissions per writer. Please send each story in a separate email. Story should be pasted into the body of the email.)
- The subject line of your email must start with “SUMMER STORIES ENTRY” and include the title of the story.
- Stories must be exactly 50 words long, not counting title and author biography.
- Any stories received for the contest but not published during the week of August 12 to 16, 2013, will still be held eligible for later publication on the site. Entry into the contest does not guarantee publication on the site.
- “Artistic” stories will be those that would be primarily categorized under the “Artistic” or “Touching” tags when published. “Amusing” stories are those that would be primarily categorized under the “Amusing”, “Puns and Wordplay”, or “Odd” categories when published. The editor reserves the right to assign each submission to a category at his sole discretion.
- All stories must follow all guidelines specified on the Submissions page. Please read this page before sending in your entry.
I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with. We have some very talented regular submitters that I’m sure I’ll hear from, and I know there are some equally talented readers out there who maybe just need some encouragement to throw their hat in the ring. Well, there’s no better time than now! Get writing!
NEWS: Christmas Break
Sorry for the radio silence this week, everyone. It’s been hard to spare a moment of my vacation time to think about the site. But we’ll be back to regularly scheduled updates next week (hopefully)!