That's the spirit. :-) Nice entries, all. There used to be a contest for Brians (also known as Mini Sagas), but I cannot seem to find it anywhere on the web. But I did find this reference to it: "...these are 50 word essays - not 49 or 51 words, they must be exactly 50 words. This takes the idea of short stories a stage further. This was the brainwave of Brian Aldiss, the well-known science fiction writer... The rules are simple, the stories must be exactly 50 words long and the title must be no more than 15 words long. (I did not know that about the title - now I can start using them!) The stories are judged by a panel and the best stories are published. ... This competition runs every two years. Consequently, there is plenty of time for you to practice before submitting your own story next time." From http://www.booksunderreview.com/Arts/Literature/Short_Stories/Short_Stories_35.html If anyone should stumble across the contest, if it is still extant, please post a link to it. Also of interest, an article on 10 Reasons to Write Flash Fiction at http://www.kporterfield.com/writes/Creative_Writes_40.html to help explain why anyone would even want to do this sort of thing. Besides, as noted in the other posts, it's fun. jon

 
~jon
My Blog - Mad Utopia Writing in a new era.