DISCUSSION -- The 75 word Challenge, April 2011

[Chaoticheart]

(And sorry, TJ, but no Macbeth or Julius Caesar. Or jokes.)

No joke? It may just be my twisted sensibilities, but I found the ending quite amusing (I even chuckled!).

 

[Ursa major]

Okay, not my usual sort of joke (which requires, in response, a balance of chuckling and groaning).



So thanks for chuckling.

 

[alchemist]

Brilliant story Ursa! One deserving of a wider audience too (although maybe not too wide, if you get my drift).

 

[Parson]

Ursa I have two words: Salman Rushdie.

And a Biblical quote: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay sayth the Lord." (Rom. 12:19)

Brilliant! Great story.

 

[Ursa major]

Salman Rushdie? The famous published author...? The one-time husband of Padma Lakshmi**...?


And thanks.






** - Apart from anything else, she's a vegetarian who eats bacon cheeseburgers. What's not to like?

 

[The Judge]

Well, I've finally posted after dithering all day. I decided to stick with tradition for the first story of the new [Challenge] year and go with the classics.

And with only a few hours to go, we're at an incredible 58 entries! Can we get to the 60? Perhaps we should get someone to make an announcement at EasterCon!

 

[Parson]

Your honor,

You must have a near encyclopedic knowledge of mythology. I had no clue as to who or what Eurydice was.

The story was an eloquent capsulization of the myth. A contender I think.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Everyone should have a copy of the inimitable Ovid for an excellent source for all mythological Greek/(Roman) transformations.

Although I remember learning a lot of Greek myths at school in year four and there were definitely my favourite things to find out about. And performing as Demeter in a slightly flowery bed sheet in our own re-enactment of the stealing of Persephone!

Very nice retelling of the myth by Judge. I consider using them now and then but you always do it so much better!

 

[The Judge]

Thank you, Parson. I'm glad to have added to your Classical Myth education yet again!

Hoopy, I love the story of Persephone! I trust you wove corn stalks into your hair as Demeter, and grieved mightily when your daughter ate those wretched pomegranate seeds. (I always thought that was unfair -- if she'd hunkered down to a real meal, an annual 6 month sentence might have been understandable, but pomegranate seeds...)

 

[HoopyFrood]

No corn stalks, alas, just the flowery bed sheet (nicely made into a passable dress thing by my mum, I believe). And was very distraught, I searched the entire stage for her!

If I were Perserphone, Hades would have found me positively shovelling entire pomegranates into my mouth. I just can't resist them...

 

[Arkose]

So many good choices, but here is my long short list in no particular order.

Stop Being Dandy by Mouse: I like how you left the what the dwarf did to the imagination. One of those stories when you read 75 words but it feels like you had much more. Who can't like seeing a princess corpse fingers being nibbled on?

Cold-Hearted Love by Boneman: A good story, and can't help but feel for the little guy. Well, maybe not, we can't have robots taking over the world and taking our women might be the first step.

Cosmos by Precise Calibre: I find this story to be really elegant. The idea was good.

The Princess' choice. by Cornelius: I like the twist on what the princess wants. I am curious how the creature reacted to the kiss. I thought of a similar story but you did it so much better.

Reunion by RoninJedi84: A very beautiful, well written, story.

Tonight Will Be A Memory Too by HoopyFrood: Another great robot deletion story. Maybe I like this one more since its between two robots and not a robot stealing my wife.

Unveiled by Chaoticheart: A good story, seems more religious, but nonetheless a good story.

Paradise Lust by Ursa Major: Never thought I would see such a story. I have to praise the well written and originality of your story. hmm...still surprised...

Needed to be mentioned!
Love Conquers All by Mosaix: A really good story and well written but I couldn't tell what was Paranormal about it. Excuse my arrogance if it actually does fit into the category, I don't normally read Paranormal Romances.

 

[mosaix]

Love Conquers All by Mosaix: A really good story and well written but I couldn't tell what was Paranormal about it. Excuse my arrogance if it actually does fit into the category, I don't normally read Paranormal Romances.

Doesn't

"Their minds intermingled, became one."

sound just slightly paranormal?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

And you can find the poll via the link below:

Poll

 

[Precise Calibre]

This has been a tough month for me to work through, and I find myself drawn primarily to themes about being left behind after someone has died. My short list consisted of -

Digs - In Ordinary Things

Boneman - Cold-Hearted Love

Aun Doorback - To dream of Asenath

Paranoid Marvin - A Ballad of Love Unrequited

TheEndIsNigh - Two by Two

In the end it was a toss-up between Digs and TEIN - I had to go with Digs, though; his was just a tad more poignant to my poor heartstrings.

Good work to everyone this month, it's been fun. Also I'd like to personally thank Perp for his hard work of commenting on everyone's work. It's great to give everyone some time in the sun.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Whoa! You've managed to sneak in the first vote while Karn has yet to cast his. This may mean pistols at dawn -- if the two of you can agree on when dawn is. You may have to reach a compromise somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.

TJ and Hoopy -- The pomegranate seeds always seemed like a very poor bargain to me, too. Something along the lines of Rossetti's Goblin Market, where there is a veritable glut of fruit, is more in line with my idea of a fair deal.

But then, Goblins are known for their generosity, while those Greek Gods were a stingy lot.

 

[Chel]

So many so vastly different stories!

My first shortlist has no less than 11 entries, and that was me going over them all with a nitpicky, heavy hand, which excluded a few otherwise brilliant ones.

Paranoid Marvin - A Ballad of Love Unrequited This made me shiver. Cruelty told in a heartbreakingly beautiful way.
HareBrain - I Married Cthulhu Knowing a bit about the Cthulhu mythos, this story made me chuckle, especially the last sentence. Oh, and ... "tentacular"? Brilliant.
Boneman - Cold-Hearted Love A story which makes one ponder about the future.
No One - Ghost in the Machine After reading this one, I've started being kinder to my computer.
Brev - Angels never lie Your idea works so well with only 75 words, but it's practically begging for more. What happens next?
TheDustyZebra - Two Sides to Every Tale Going from almost exaggerated romance to tragedy to culture shock with an alien language to add spice. Wow.
cornelius - The Princess' choice So much romance here. I do hope they will be happy ever after!
The Spurring Platty - Haunted by Beauty Almost stalkery passion turning into bloodchilling fear.
mosaix - Love Conquers All A touching story with a happy ending. Easy to read and understand.
StormFeather - Star-Clad Lovers No doubt the biggest romance story ever told!
The Judge - The Song of Orpheus A beautiful execution of a classic, which made me remember the original story.

My final five are Paranoid Marvin, Brev, TDZ, Cornelius and TJ.

After a great deal of thinking, my vote goes to Paranoid Marvin.

 

[Talysia]

Another great month, and another difficult time whittling my shortlist down. I loved the challenge this month's contest provided: I'd never written anything in this genre before, so it was good to give my brain a workout. I enjoyed reading all of the entries, but these ten stood out for me:

Mouse - Stop Being Dandy
digs - In Ordinary Things
Teresa Edgerton - The Exile
onebigpotato - Unfashionable Innocence
Culhwch - Beastly
nixie - Sweetheart's Cove
HoopyFrood - Tonight Will Be A Memory Too
StormFeather - Star-Clad Lovers
BookStop - Forever, it seems, is a really long time
Hilarious Joke - Let me tell you how I have run

In the end, I brought my list down to three, and really did find it tricky to choose between them - StormFeather, BookStop, and Cul, but my vote this month goes to StormFeather, by a very narrow margin.

 

[MstrTal]

Well I voted.

There where many great stories; however I pretty much knew had my choices narrowed down to those whose words evoked some strong reaction when I closed my eyes. I felt with this genre/theme that it was the best route to go with voting.

I can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

[Brev]

Brev - Angels never lie Your idea works so well with only 75 words, but it's practically begging for more. What happens next?

Thanks for the mention Chel, glad you liked it. As to the end well '..happy ever after..?' So I'll let you decide.

Back to work on my own shortlist....

 

[High Eight]

Well, I voted. Very difficult choice, though.

Next time, Perhaps I'll have the nerve to enter the 300-word challenge as well.......