50 Words

Gimme!

Thrifty Words ThemeChallenge #25: Temptation

This is the 25th Thrifty Words theme challenge. I feel like we should celebrate. Preferably with chocolate and booze! Lots of chocolate. Lots of booze. Or, you know, a bunch of 50-word stories could work, too.

“That sounds tempting but, no.”

I used to say this a lot when I was in my 20s. Usually to men who were trying to pick me up in bars or at the library. Men stopped trying to pick me up some time ago. I can’t remember the last time I said no to temptation of any kind.

Somewhere in my thirties, the phrase changed to, “Hmmmm. Tempting.” And whether or not I would give in depended on my mood at the moment as well as whatever was on offer. I’ll admit. I usually gave in.

Twenty years on and I’ve stopped pretending to even think about it. I just take or do the tempting thing.

I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.

— Mae West

For me, temptation is the strong urge to do something stupid. I see the chocolate. I eat the chocolate. Diabetes be damned. I smell the wine. I drink the wine. Who cares if it's not yet 7:00 a.m.? I haven’t been in the position to be offered illicit drugs for years, but I think I still stand on shaky ground even with that. Someone says, “Hey! Let’s jump out of a plane!” and I sell my favorite painting to get the money to do it.

Some people can’t pass a one-armed bandit without getting out all of their change. Others refuse to concede elections because they are tempted by power. Some spend all their money on strippers or hookers. Yet others go broke betting on which beer will win a football game. Some people are tempted by sales and flashy advertising. They can’t seem to stop spending money on things they don’t need.

For some people, temptation equals the inclination to sin. I suppose that would depend on your religion and your definition of sin. As an atheist, I don’t believe in sin, original or otherwise, so I can’t really speak to this topic without sounding hypocritical even to myself.

This week, I’d like you to think about things that tempt you. Sex? Booze? Gambling? Power? Give me the answer in exactly 50 words and I’ll reward you by putting you in the roundup.

Temptation: 50 Words Go!

The submission guidelines

Remember, in order to be considered for the challenge, you need to write exactly fifty words (contractions such as ‘you’ll’ and ‘y’all’ count as one, as do articles ‘a’ and ‘the’ ‘and all 23 auxiliary verbs ‘am’ ‘is’ ‘are’ etc. Hyphenated words count as one word.)

Please use the kicker 50 WORDS and ‘Thrifty Words Challenge #25: Temptation’ as your subtitle and submit by 12 pm EST / 5 pm GMT on Friday, 19 February. All stories submitted by the deadline will be released the following morning at 6 am EST / 11 am GMT.

A reminder: we will only publish one story per author to the roundup. If you submit more than one story, it is most likely that the first story submitted will be chosen for the roundup. You may submit 50 Word stories outside of the theme challenge anytime. They will be published in the Thrifty Words section but not included in the theme challenge roundup.

If you would like your 50 Word stories pushed like inner-city heroin, please leave your social media handles at the bottom of your piece. Feel free to follow us on Twitter @TheBadInfluenc7. Follow the editors of Thrifty Words Theme Challenge, Jonica Bradley and Marla Bishop on Twitter here @lynn_jonica and @tulipchickuk.