#50 Precious Words - The Cousins' Visit
To celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, Vivian Kirkfield created a challenge, "based on Bennet Cerf’s challenge to Seuss to write a children’s book using only 50 words" - #50 Precious Words.
Here are the rules:
#50 PRECIOUS WORDS WRITING CHALLENGE GUIDELINES
Write a story appropriate for kids ages 12 or under, using only 50 words…they can all be different words, or you can use some of them over and over…just as long as the total word count of the story is 50 or less.
It can be prose, rhyme, free verse, silly or serious…whatever works for you.
Title is not included in the word count.
No illustration notes please.
Please post your story in the comment section. If you have your own blog and want to post your story there also, please do. And let us know your post link. I ask for the link so that people will visit each other and find new friends in the kid lit community. Please make sure you put your name in the post. If you have any trouble at all posting the story, please email me and I will be happy to do it for you: viviankirkfield@gmail.com.
Deadline for posting the story in the comments is Tuesday, March 6, at 11:59pm.
Winners will be announced in a special blog post on Sunday, March 11.
Winners? Of course, there will be winners…and prizes, too.
Although one of Vivian's assistants, it was just so hard not to join in on the fun (Shh - just don't tell them they're not eligible for prizes). So, here it goes. My attempt(s) at complete stories in 50 words or less:
Note: Last September, I learned about a poetry form called an abecedarian poem, where each successive word is the next letter in the alphabet. (Check out Today's Little Ditty for this and other poetry). I slightly modified the form, by adding a beginning and an ending line.
The Cousins' Visit (49 words)
When she heard her cousins were visiting,
Abigail practiced badminton, croquet, darts,
eight-ball, fencing, golf, hang gliding, iaido,
judo, kendo, lacrosse, mountain biking,
Nordic skiing, orienteering, paddleboarding,
quoits, rowing, scuba diving, tennis, ultimate frisbee,
volleyball, weightlifting, xare, yoga, and ziplining.
Finally, she was ready for their four-day movie marathon.
That was so much fun! Another one insisted on playing too.
A Balanced Diet (42 words)
When mom said he needed a balanced diet,
Anton added bananas, coconuts, dates,
elderberries, figs, grapes, huckleberries,
incaberries, jackfruit, kiwi, lemons, mangos,
nectarines, oranges, pears, quince, raisins,
strawberries, tomatoes, ugli fruit, vanilla,
watermelon, ximenia fruit, and zucchini
to his waffles and pancakes.
And one last one, I promise. :-)
On the Count of Three (45 words)
ONE, TWO, THREE
"I might fall. . ."
ONE, TWO, THREE
"I might miss . . ."
ONE, TWO, THREE
"I can't do it . . ."
ONE, TWO, THREE
"It's too far . . ."
ONE, TWO, THREE
"No way, I'll get hurt . . ."
ONE, TWO, THREE
"It's too deep. . ."
OH, COME ON! ONE. . .TWO . . .THREE
JUMP
SPLASH!
"I did it! ...... A perfect cannonball!
