Writing Challenge Discussion — MARCH 2011

[Perpetual Man]

Despite being distracted by some other things.... here's my updated comments... I might be slightly off my game as I'm concentrating on far too many things at once (Well it's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)


No One - As a comic fan this one was going to make me smile no matter what, and catching the none permanent nature of superhero confrontations was just about spot on.

Heck Tate - A very twisted tale, and a nice twist on the theme. In some ways and a thread of dark humour, I did not know whether to laugh out loud, or be repulsed.

Parson - A wonderful little piece, historical as well as artistic. I thought for a moment I knew who it was about, but I no longer think so. Cannot wait to find out just who it is, so I can learn a little more. Anything that also educates as well as entertains is always worthwhile.

Hare Brain - A good solid piece about an Earth deity, a vengeful one at that. Perhaps offering a lesson that we really should have learned by now. Well written and constructed, a good solid story.

Aun Doorback - A very interesting first entry. This might be one of those (like all of the stories) where I am missing something! But I liked the construction of it and some of the imagery and the pervading sense of justice...

Ursa Major - If ever there was someone who was going to write a 75 word wonder that would tie a brain in knots, then it was going to be Ursa. I had to read it a couple of times just to follow the path through the words, but it's well worth it.

Hilarious Joke - A rather dark and grim piece from someone named Hilarious Joke, but it catches the feelings very well, linked nicely with the theme. Made a little worse by the fact that it is a true (or at least truish)

Chris - It's a dinosaur!!! Okay, on second reading it doesn't really fit, a Dragon seems a lot more likely, but the imagery, volcanoes and all that.... really loved the tale, another cracker I think.

goldenapples - talk about misdirection, I didn't know where this was going until I'd finished and then it was raised eyebrow time. Some nice metaphors in there and a quirky humour in places. An excellent entry, as are they all.

 

[nixie]

Pep, I don't think I've thanked you for your summaries on the entries. They are brilliant, you always find something positive to say.

Every time I think I've found Parson's heroine, its wrong. Can someone put me out my misery.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Pep, I don't think I've thanked you for your summaries on the entries. They are brilliant, you always find something positive to say.

Every time I think I've found Parson's heroine, its wrong. Can someone put me out my misery.

Thanks Nixie, when I first decided to try and do a comment for everyone, each month, the one rule I set myself was that they had to be positive. The fact that everything is so good makes that little task so much easier!

And I agree completely about Parsons heroine....

 

[No One]

Pep, I don't think I've thanked you for your summaries on the entries. They are brilliant, you always find something positive to say.

Hear hear. I enjoy reading these little summaries. And a thank you to PM for the kind words.

 

[alchemist]

Agree on the thanks to PMan. It's a difficult task you've set yourself, but a great job you've done.
However, I have a slight bone to pick. I spent 20 mins one evening, reading about Dostoevsky, to try and get a story on him. By the time I had finished, you had already written a story about him. 20 minutes reading about ten characters with similar-sounding names, all in vain.

*shakes Gulag-withered fist*
Damn you, Perpetuov. Damn you.

(Okay, I learned something)

 

[Parson]

Pep, I don't think I've thanked you for your summaries on the entries. They are brilliant, you always find something positive to say.

Every time I think I've found Parson's heroine, its wrong. Can someone put me out my misery.

I could do that, but you would have to ask, and before you ask, you need to be sure you really wouldn't want to discover it on your own.


P.M. > Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Heck Tate]

I know who it is but I'm not telling

 

[Perpetual Man]

Agree on the thanks to PMan. It's a difficult task you've set yourself, but a great job you've done.
However, I have a slight bone to pick. I spent 20 mins one evening, reading about Dostoevsky, to try and get a story on him. By the time I had finished, you had already written a story about him. 20 minutes reading about ten characters with similar-sounding names, all in vain.

*shakes Gulag-withered fist*
Damn you, Perpetuov. Damn you.

(Okay, I learned something)

Perpetuov> I like that one ....

Sorry Alchemist, as a punishment (or a reward) for this crime I have committed I'll put THE book in my too read pile again...

 

[HareBrain]

Cul's posted, so it must be the 23rd. I seem to have lost a week. Has the Pope changed the calendar again?

 

[Ursa major]

Thanks for those comments, PM.

 

[goldenapples]

talk about misdirection, I didn't know where this was going until I'd finished and then it was raised eyebrow time. Some nice metaphors in there and a quirky humour in places. An excellent entry, as are they all.

That's cheering, and I gained a friend today.

 

[nixie]

Cul's posted, so it must be the 23rd. I seem to have lost a week. Has the Pope changed the calendar again?

And I thought it was only me who had lost a week

 

[Perpetual Man]

Maybe Cul got confused by the Olympic countdown clock...

 

[Ursa major]

Apart from TEIN, perhaps we shoud all be glad that an Omega clock has stopped....



And talking of time standing still.... I ought to have thanked Teresa for her kind comment on my story. Better late thanks than no thanks, I hope.

 

[Culhwch]

We've had another entry this month that is toeing the line in terms of what is acceptable regarding graphically depicted violence. It's not enough to be removed completely, but the moderating team would like to ask that everyone who is considering posting in the competition consider that this is a family-friendly forum. It's worthwhile to keep in mind the guidelines laid out in the Critiques forum - they really do apply across all of these writing boards:

3) Please remember when posting excerpts here that SFF Chronicles is a family-friendly site. Consider carefully before posting excerpts that contain sexual or excessively violent imagery. If you are unsure whether or not something crosses the line, please PM a moderator with your excerpt before posting.

 

[Ursa major]

Is this another example of different (almost opposite) meanings of the same phrase in different cultures (like tabling something at a meeting: either putting it on the table (UK) or removing it (US))?

In the UK, toeing the line means behaving as one is expected to do. Cul's usage - which is logical when one considers it in pictorial terms - suggests a toe touching the line of acceptability, threatening to go over, which is a very different concept.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Is this another example of different (almost opposite) meanings of the same phrase in different cultures (like tabling something at a meeting: either putting it on the table (UK) or removing it (US))?

In the UK, toeing the line means behaving as one is expected to do.

It's the same in the US. Well, more like doing what one is ordered to do. It may mean something different in AU. But I understood what Culhwch was saying.

He means that the chalk line that is the boundary of what is appropriate here is looking pretty scuffed right now.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Teresa:
He means that the chalk line that is the boundary of what is appropriate here is looking pretty scuffed right now

.

Notwithstanding the seriousness of the topic, I couldn't help laughing out load at that Teresa.

(note the cunning 'none' use of smileys)

Having just read Teresa's response below, I re-read this post.

Laughing out load is a frightening concept, although I'm sure such things do happen.; especially given the age of some of our posters.

Obviously Laughing out Loud is a little less dramatic although perhaps load would justify the use of a smiley.

 

[Culhwch]

It could just be that I quickly threw that together in thirty seconds here at work and mixed my metaphors... Glad you all got the gist, though.

 

[Ursa major]

As the original has something to do with sailing and stuff, which most of us won't understand or have come across, your version made perfect sense in context. I just thought this might be another phrase where we know what we're saying, and others know what they're reading and the two don't match, as in the example I gave. It's best to know where one may encounter problems ("momentarily" being another problematic word in this respect).



(Your avatar suggests that you're currently emulating Hawk-Eye, Teresa.)