Writing Challenge Discussion — MARCH 2011

[The Judge]

Well, thank you for the congratulations, cornelius, but with two whole days left and umpteen posters left to vote on all the other very good stories, I'm not counting any chickens yet.

More importantly, why won't you be entering future challenges?

 

[cornelius]

I'll be having a crucial month for my current job. And... well, I won't say what else. Rumour has it they're slapping you silly for what I would say

 

[No One]

Mmm... Paul Gross...

Just because...

We're gonna ride forever!

 

[TheDustyZebra]

As usual, my shortlist is inaptly (or ineptly?) named, but I managed to make a reasonable shorter list out of it, and eventually came up with a vote as well.

Talysia -- Sentenced to Life
alchemist -- Family
SleepyDormouse -- The Last Biscuit
Gary Compton -- Wilson the Spider
HoopyFrood -- Heaven's Winged Hound
digs -- Thief
cornelius -- Cinder City vs Carson Rime
No One -- The Injustice League
HareBrain -- GAIA 3000
Aun Doorback -- Karma
Bob S. Sr -- No Good Deed
Culhwch -- Paid in Full
crys -- The People's Charter
mosaix -- Haunted
The Judge -- Nemesis ... and the Death of Matthew Hopkins
J-WO -- Diary of a citizen who can still hold a pen

And the vote goes to ... mosaix! A story that reminds me of mine, but this one had the advantage of being comprehensible to all.

 

[mosaix]

Thanks for that TDZ. And thanks everyone else for the mentions and shortlists.

 

[Culhwch]

I don't have a shortlist this month. I had good intentions of making one, but they kinda fell by the wayside. So many good entries and all. Anyways, my vote went to TJ. Fantastic little tale.

And thanks to those who mentioned my story - TE, Mouse, TDZ and anyone else I may have missed. I think I'll need to go back to my last minute entries - no votes this month was my reward for entering early!

 

[digs]

There were quite a few stories this month that grew on me with each reread. I managed to narrow my shortlist down to:

SF
alchemist
Hoopy
No One
Ursa
TJ
J-WO

Of those there were a few that were in it right until the end, but eventually I went with one that stuck with me ever since I first read it, and that one belonged to Ursa.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

I'll be having a crucial month for my current job. And... well, I won't say what else. Rumour has it they're slapping you silly for what I would say

Case No: 382 - Chrons versus Cornellius.

Offense: - Permitting, expressing knowledge of and failure to report, self deprecating thoughts.

Verdict: Guilty.

Sentence: A damn good slapping: to be carried out immediately.


SLAP

 

[Chel]

My "short"list:

StormFeather
TacticalLoco
Mouse
Alchemist
SleepyDormouse
TE
Gary Compton
HoopyFrood
TDZ
Digs
HareBrain
Ursa
Cul
TJ
J-WO


It's been very difficult to decide between StormFeather, Mouse, Alchemist, TE, TDZ, Cul and TJ. Fantastic stories, all of them!

I'm going to vote for TheDustyZebra, though, for putting in writing what so many of us more or less secretly wish was the punishment for molesting children.

 

[Precise Calibre]

After some time in the late night/early morning, I've run down the stories once again, sorted them, examined them, selected leading competitors and finally selected a choice for my vote.

My short list consisted of:

Onebigpotato – Twisted and sad. I liked the tone, oddly enough.

Paranoid Marvin – I love how this one ties together a bunch of references for a story which surprisingly few people might "get" nowadays.

Alchemist – Heart-rending, all that it needs to be.

Cornelius – Very clever – I loved the word-play

Mygoditsraining – I like most things sniper-themed, especially with a hint of betrayal and vengeance

TheJudge – I've always been fascinated by folklore, religion and the conflict between. The trials of witches hold a particular interest for me.

Teresa Edgerton – A huge fan of stories of tyranny, rebellion and the endless cycle therein.

---
My vote goes to Paranoid Marvin - It had just the right mix of tone, personality and theme to get my attention.
---

Note about my story if anyone is interested:

Josef Mengele, a German "doctor" under the Third Reich in WWII was responsible for the torture, mutilation and inhumane experimentation of thousands of concentration camp inmates at Auschwitz. His particular interest was in genetic "defects" such as dwarfism, twins and other such anomalies. He was known as the "Angel of Death" in the camp because he was responsible for selecting who would and would not be killed upon arrival at Auschwitz.

After the war was over, Mengele, who never expressed remose for what he had done, was never caught and never tried for his heinous war crimes. He fled to Brazil where he continued to evade capture and lived until 1979~ He lived under various aliases including "Rudolph Weiss".

Sometimes justice falls short...

 

[cornelius]

Thanks for the mention, DustyZebra and Precise Calibre. Oh, and I thought you were talking about him, Precise Calibre.

TEIN: you didn't even allow to defend myself! I've got a line-up of plausible elements in my defense, but I'll wait until that handprint fades

 

[nixie]

37 votes cast so far this month, fingers crossed we may make a record number of votes this month.

C, I'll let you off entering next month if you are really busy but after that I'll hound you until you enter.

 

[The Procrastinator]

My "short list", ha:

Perpetual Man
Onebigpotato
Mouse
paranoid marvin
Lucky_Lola
HoopyFrood
pyan
digs
HareBrain
Ursa Major
mosaix
The Judge

And I could've put more in there but that would just be laughable, given the title. Choosing one out of that lot was even harder and required much non-thought (not as easy as it sounds - I put my subconscious to work quite a bit in my line of work and I've gotten pretty good at it). Mind you I don't normally have to resort to those tactics for this kind of decision which just goes to show the amount of talent this forum is dredging up each month!

Enough about that, my vote has gone to Hoopy!

Congratulations to all on a job well done and on making the choice harder every time.

 

[Ursa major]

Many thanks for the vote, digs. And thanks also for the mentions, Chel and The Procrastinator.

I've got a line-up of plausible elements in my defense....

plausible a. (Of argument, statement, etc.) specious, seemingly reasonable or probable; (of person) persuasive but deceptive.

(This is the sole definition of the word, plausible, in my Concise OED. Given this, a slap was inevitable.)

 

[cornelius]

Many thanks for the vote, digs. And thanks also for the mentions, Chel and The Procrastinator.






plausible a. (Of argument, statement, etc.) specious, seemingly reasonable or probable; (of person) persuasive but deceptive.

(This is the sole definition of the word, plausible, in my Concise OED. Given this, a slap was inevitable.)

Well I guess they are seemingly reasonable. English is my third language, so... there's that

 

[The Judge]

I'll be having a crucial month for my current job.

Hmm... sounds plausible...

C, I'll let you off entering next month if you are really busy but after that I'll hound you until you enter.

Ditto.

And... well, I won't say what else. Rumour has it they're slapping you silly for what I would say

You're lucky TEiN slapped you first! Self-denigration in these threads is not allowed. You've completed 3 Challenges, which means you've been successful 3 times. Which goes for everyone else here. (Well, not the "3" bit, obviously.) And the only way to improve a skill is to practise it, so even if you think your work isn't perfect, the answer is not to stop taking part, but to take part every single time. Which also goes for everyone else. (And when I think that your stories get votes and mentions and you're writing in your third language... well, my slapping hand gets itchy even if TEiN has already administered the punishment!)


And now the lecture's over, thanks for the vote, Cul! Thanks, also, for the mentions TDZ, digs, Chel, Precise Calibre and TP. Chuffed is now an understatement.


I got the Mengele connection, PC. Very chilling. I didn't get Parson's heroine, of whom, I'm ashamed to say, I'd never heard. And although I googled Teresa's title, I'm no wiser concerning the exact story to which she is referring -- any further clues on that one?

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Just to say, I've voted for TJ, since that somehow made a rather profound impact on me. I rather like such irony, and the fact that it was based off real history was also an added bonus.

 

[Bob Senior]

Howdy,
I need to ask a question, if allowed in this section. I do not read but instead watch movies. I watched two movies last night, both about writers, both writers had mental problems. (they were nuts). Remembering some of the 100,000 plus movies I have seen, it seems that most story lines about writers depict them as people with severe mental problems. My question------am I getting myself into something here? I'm not falling asleep in two minuites like I used to.
Bob S.

 

[The Judge]

Thanks, Karn! I remember from another month that you said you liked the irony of one of my stories. *contemplates a succession of ironical pieces...*


Bob S -- I think limiting yourself to one 75 word story a month will keep you on the right side of psychosis. On the other hand...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Writers lead rather dull lives, Bob Senior, and those who don't have mental problems don't provide much fodder for scriptwriters.

And although I googled Teresa's title, I'm no wiser concerning the exact story to which she is referring -- any further clues on that one?

You have to Google it with all the accents. Then it's somewhere around the 45th verse.

And there are different translations.