There is only a brief time left to enter this year's 55 Fiction contest 

Briefs are better than boxers, depending on whom you talk to. And if you’re talking to us, we like things brief. We admire brevity as a character trait. As in: Keep it short. 

Don’t question it. Just get to writing. You only have until June 6 to enter this year’s annual New Times 55 Fiction contest.

Here’s a brief look at some of the rules:

1. No more than 55 words. It’s in the title of the contest. Don’t forget it.

2. Hyphenated words count as individual words, except for words like “re-open” where both parts are not words on their own.

3. The title does not count toward the 55 total, but it should not exceed seven words.

4. Contractions are single words (i.e. “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve”).

5. Initials are one word, and acronyms are one word.

6. Numerals count as a single word, but if written out, they fall under rule No. 2 (e.g. 67 funky monkeys counts as three words; sixty-seven funky monkeys counts as four).

7. Punctuation doesn’t count, so feel free to use all the semicolons you want but only if they’re correctly used!

Not so great with words? We’re looking for artists to illustrate this year’s winning stories. To be considered, choose one to three stories from last year’s 55 Fiction to create example illustrations of, and mail/drop-off artwork or email pdf’s.

The deadline for entry is June 6 by 5 p.m. You can send them via mail to 55 Fiction, 1010 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. You can send them digitally via [email protected]. Winners will be published in New Times on Thursday, July 7.