Discussing the Writing Challenges -- November and December 2010

Status
Not open for further replies.
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Isn't Reiver's story about the monoliths collapsing Jupiter into a small, short lived star? (Clarke's 2001, I think, though it might be two thousand and something else. It's been a long time since I read any of them).

I just made the assumption "protocombustion" from "compression" (the density is nearly high enough for hydrogen fusion) and the planet's atmosphere writhing as it was compressed by its own gravity…

It seemed so straightforward I didn't look for hidden meanings.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

In like Flint! Or, at least, before anyone else thinks of the same thing and writes a better version!
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

I think that may have been the sequel, Chris: 2010 (based on Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two).
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Ursa major said:
I think that may have been the sequel, Chris: 2010 (based on Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two).
Click to expand...

You are undoubtedly correct. When I root around in my poor muddled memory I find the entire tetrology and the films all filed together in one lump. So the ruddy great diamond was in the third volume?

Which doesn't change the fact that that was the explanation that sprung immediately to mind. Lovely idea, but the existence of the 'Superjupiter' planets suggests that a gas giant is not as close to the critical point of becoming a star as he assumed.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Oooooohhhhh DISGUISE!!! :D

I'm sure I'll come up with something nice for this one - at least I'll try, and probably think it's nice myself. ...why so happy? It just so happens that the male main character in my current work in progress is far from as nice as he seems, and his task at hand is far from as innocent... ...and now that I'm on holiday and would have all the time in the world to write, I seem to have come to a standstill in it. This month's challenge is just the thing I need to get my head and fingers working again! :D

Edit: The point being of course that "Disguise" immediately made me think about my favourite Duke. :D
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

chrispenycate said:
Which doesn't change the fact that that was the explanation that sprung immediately to mind. Lovely idea, but the existence of the 'Superjupiter' planets suggests that a gas giant is not as close to the critical point of becoming a star as he assumed.
Click to expand...

IIRC, the smallest true stars form at around 80 Jupiter masses. In-between is 'brown dwarf' (deuterium-fusing) territory, above 13 Jupiter masses.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

MGIR: Great story! I doubt anyone will do it better.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Disguise? I'm stuck already. My brain hurts.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

MGIR - brilliant story to start us off. You've set the bar very high already

I have to wonder if you've been secretly penning loads of 75 word stories, to have been able to leap in so quickly on day 1?;)
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Two good'ns now already!! I'm going to try a different tactic this month and have just written three possibles. But now I know why I never wrote more than one for the previous months. I'm too flipping indecisive!! Think I might just write some more while I'm at it, then procrastinate other them all for the rest of the month until I'm almost out of time and then have to enter one or none at all.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

StormFeather said:
I have to wonder if you've been secretly penning loads of 75 word stories, to have been able to leap in so quickly on day 1?;)
Click to expand...

I was hanging around the house waiting for a doctor's appointment, so I set myself a 20 minute deadline to see if I could come up with something.

Happily, I did, and after the appointment I came back, gave it a bit of spit and polish and a title, and posted it.

Thanks for the positive responses guys! My girlfriend came home and said "I read your story. I don't get it. is it about a walrus?" and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I ended up craughing, which as we all know is terrible for the sinuses.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Sorry for posting so late, I've been away from my PC for a few days. (legoland with my nephew and Kings of Leon concert with my missus) :)
Well done HB, great story, truly impressive, I loved the Kafka-esque or even Kafka-parody of it. I actually voted for someone else, but you were on my short list.

I haven't had a chance to check out the new 'July' thread, as I've just read through 5 pages of this one, but here is (one of) the story(ies) that I didn't post last month, mainly because my GF said it had been done, and then after I had posted I realised this one wasn't actually sci-fi ;)

One of Life's constants

The doorbell rings
'Mr Afonso? I'm Derrick Greybeard from the inland revenue'
Gulp! Stay calm, don't sweat. 'You'd better come in.'
He sat down amongst the piles of mess and opened his briefcase
'Tea Mr Greybeard?'
'Yes please, white no sugar.'
I hadn't opened the fridge in months, it hummed but I wasn't sure it was on. there were some forgotten beer bottles and something that was once milk
'Can I offer you some yogurt?'

:)
I suppose I could have made it sci-fi by having Mr Greybeard work at the offworld revenue, or making it a space-doorbell ;)
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Nice, Moonbat!

I have a question about this month's challenge, if that's ok? Or the challenges in general really, I guess. I hadn't worried about the sci-fi/fantasy aspect of it before now but suddenly I'm confused (confusion creeps up on me sometimes)... So fantasy is anything with magic, or fantastical creatures, or angels, demons... That sort of thing? And sci-fi is space, robots, aliens etc? So... anthropomorphic animals... is that fantasy?
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

I'm trying to do something serious this month, with no mention of unmentionables at all.

But in trying to write something serious, the problem I come up against is MGIR's epic June entry. Although I didn't vote for it (though it was on my shortlist) I'm coming to appreciate its quality more and more, and every serious 75-word fantasy piece I try just seems weak in comparison.

Oh, and you'd think I'd have the sense, given completely free rein, to write a decent story and then pick a theme that fitted it ...



Edit: Mouse, I think fantasy is anything that couldn't happen in normally accepted reality. So animals behaving like humans and speaking in English counts, I think.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Mouse said:
Nice, Moonbat!

I have a question about this month's challenge, if that's ok? Or the challenges in general really, I guess. I hadn't worried about the sci-fi/fantasy aspect of it before now but suddenly I'm confused (confusion creeps up on me sometimes)... So fantasy is anything with magic, or fantastical creatures, or angels, demons... That sort of thing? And sci-fi is space, robots, aliens etc? So... anthropomorphic animals... is that fantasy?
Click to expand...

Mouse, you will notice that somewhere along the dusty trails of this thread I've posted a similar kind of question noting that in some sense anything that is fiction could be counted as Fantasy. The answer that developed seemed to be that the declaration of what is Fantasy is in the final analysis left up to the person reading it. Science Fiction nearly comes under the same heading because things like alternate history, shape shifters, weird societies and the like are all part of the grand pantheon.

SOOOO.... if you were to write a story about anthropomorphic animals (which is as I understand it, your stock in trade.) I would judge it to be Fantasy, and I would wager most everyone else would as well. Now if you should have them designed (say like genetically engineered fire breathing dragons to burn away danger from above ;)) you could call it Science Fiction.
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

I have a question about what constitutes a word. Microsoft Word counts hyphenated combinations as a single word, but are we supposed to count them as two? And Word also counts an ellipsis as a word, but I assume we shouldn't count that at all, is that right?
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Ah ok, thanks guys.

Parson, I haven't written animal stories for a long time, but I used to do it all the time and nothing else. Spooky...

I'm up to five now this month, and they're progressively getting stupider and stupider. So much for trying to be clever!
 
re: Discussing the Writing Challenges -- June & July

Re word count, as I recall someone (?Moonbat?) had combined words in the piece for the April contest (eg like HareBrain or UnderwearFixated) which counted as one word not two, so I don't see why hyphenated words shouldn't count as one also, provided the hyphenatening wasn't an egregious attempt to circumvent the rules.

As for ellipses, I'd agree they're punctuation and shouldn't be counted.



mgir -- does your girlfriend think walruses have tails? It's surely that well-known political animal The Elephant In The Room...
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Ursa major Tie-breaker Poll -- 300 Word Writing Challenge No 55 -- READ FIRST POST! Writing Challenges 0
The Judge DISCUSSION THREAD -- November 2024 -- 75 Word Writing Challenge Writing Challenges 59
ryubysss a Reddit post discussing three threads of fantasy literature SFF Lounge 32
Toby Frost People on a forum discussing a disturbing TV programme Book Search 19
GOLLUM Gaiman Discussing Lovecraft Neil Gaiman 1

Similar threads


Back
Top