Micro Fiction Challenge: Break of Poop
Posted by David Duhr in 
Let’s do some writing and win some prizes, shall we?
I sure hope your 2016 writing resolution is getting its butt kicked by you (passive voice!). Mine is not. Work is piling up, there’s TV to watch, the dog keeps barking in my face. And my novel collects dusty, dusty dust.
I am back in the writing rut I thought I’d wrestled myself out of.
If you’re in the same jam, let’s see if we can’t help you bust out of it by writing some short fiction. I mean, like, short, short, short fiction. Might I even call it micro fiction?
That’s right, WriteByNighters! Back by popular demand … the Micro Fiction Challenge! Which you already know, because obviously you’ve seen the title before reading this far. Sad trombone.
For those unfamiliar with this long-dormant game, I throw out a weird word or term I’ve stumbled across, and your task is to write a short story, in twenty-five words or fewer, that includes the word/term.
The weird term for this edition of the Micro Fiction Challenge is “break of poop.” Which, as you can see from the shot I took of the Merriam-Webster page, means “The end of the poop towards the waist.”
?!
I think this is a nautical term. But do with it what you will.
Be funny, be creative, be bold. No holds barred. Use a pseudonym if you’re shy. Click “Notify” to follow the competition. Multiple entries allowed.
And yes! There’s a prize! A hot-off-the-presses hardcover copy of Yann Martel’s new novel, The High Mountains of Portugal. Mailed straight to your door.
The winner is chosen by a panel made up of me. Make me laugh. Make me cry.
Actually, if you can make me cry by using “break of poop” in a story with only twenty-two other words, I’ll give you every book we own. And I’ll deliver them to your door myself. And we’ll become BFFs forever. That’s right: best friends forever forever.
Happy poop-breaking, friends! Have at it.
“I’ve been working from the break of dusk ’til the break of poop,” he said.
“The what?!” she said.
“I’m pooped,” he said.
(You have my address; send the book whenever)
I don’t have your address. You have my address. Which is scary. Thanks for pooping! I mean playing.
i don’t have anything special to add. i just want to notate how much i love the idea of breaking the poop.
Geez, you’re not even going to try to play?! What, is it a problem of balance?
(Teaser!)
Boss-man poked his head into my office. “That’s your third break of poop today. One more, I dock your pay.”
“Stop rhyming, idiot,” I replied.
Thanks for playing, Jess. I love any dialogue that ends with one character calling another “idiot.” Especially when the other character is the boss-man.
The monster’s tail rose from stormy waves to smash the break of poop, splitting aft from mizzen and my love from all hope of reunion.
Heartbreaker, Raymundo. Well played.
“Break the poop or we’ll lose the election.”
“I think we are losing anyway.”
“Never say never– just break it!”
“Ok, it’s broken. Now what?”
Thanks for playing, Resa! It’s so topical I can almost taste it.
The wave broke over the break of poop, cascading toward the end of the poop toward the waist. “Shit,” he said. “There goes the poop.”
Using not only the term but also the definition. Well well done, sir. And quite foreboding. What will happen next?!
He said, “I’ve been up since the break of … the break of … poop, what’s the word?”
“Dawn,” said Dawn. “You always forget my name.”
“Poop!”
Thanks, Allen. Very clever. In contention.
This is a tough one! How long do we have to enter? Everyone already
Made the joke that came to my mind first. I want that
Book though! And I want to write a poopie story.
Hi Betty. I suppose I should have listed a deadline. The contest will end when the next post goes up, which should be early Tuesday morning. So you still have a few days to get your poopie story written and submitted!
“Here!” The captain called
to his three-legged dog.
Daisy ran then slipped and
slid off the break of poop,
never to be seen again.
Thanks for playing, Wendy! As the owner of a four-legged dog named Daisy, this one hits me where it hurts. Why did the captain call for his dog across a slippery deck? What was he thinking?! I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.
“we’re breaking up,” she said.
“of poop,” he said.
“a clean break.”
“of poop.”
“that’s exactly why.”
“of poop.”
“stop saying ‘of poop.'”
“of poop.”
Hi Marlene. Thanks for entering and for making me chuckle. Is this a new tic of his or was he like this from the beginning? If the latter, it makes me wonder why she got together with him in the first place. (of poop)
Interesting. I boiled forty spaghetti strands, tied the cooked noodles together and then sucked them all up. Next morning, not a single break of poop.
This is sick and wonderful. Thank you.
One more day to send in a second entry, gang! Contest ends tomorrow morning.
What measure of valiant heart to deliver victorious word: eight leagues be Pheidippides from Marathon; pooped out, he fell, death became his break of poop.
[…] Here to find the Micro Fiction Challenge results? They’re in the comments section of the post. […]
Thanks to all who entered. This is unprecedented (I think), but I’m calling two winners. One made me laugh due to its unique use of “break of poop,” and the other was just a good, super-quick story using the term in its nautical sense. The winners are … Bill and Raymundo! (Stories pasted below) Bill and Raymundo, drop me a line at david[at]writebynight.net to claim your prize. We have several books available, so if you want something other than the Yann Martel, I’ll pass along a list. Dibs to whoever gets to me first. Bill: “Interesting. I boiled forty spaghetti… Read more »
[…] This month’s Micro Fiction Challenge (“poetaster“) has a great chance of being less scatalogical than last month’s (“break of poop“). […]
[…] (Seems an appropriate choice, coming just a few short weeks after we took a (too-) deep look at break of poop.) […]
[…] fiction contest in quite some time, and we haven’t had a popular one since February. “Break of poop,” of course. What, it’s got to be gross to be worthy of your […]