Re: Discussion AUGUST 75 Word Writing Challenge
In a mad dash my final comments.
Moonbat – A grim observation of dysfunctional sibling rivalry. There was something almost inevitable about the conclusion to the story, but seeing the way it was going did not make it any less terrible (in the way it was meant to be). Horror provided from the broken heart of a mother.
Ursa – This was another I seemed to work out where it was going before the end. But I loved the way Ursa put it together. Sometimes working out the way something is going to end can only be enhanced by the words used in the execution. Just the feeling of that tingling from the carpet was as good as a shiver.
Chel – Children at play seem to be playing a strong part in the stories this month, but they are a different and all so good. Chel’s is no exception, made solid by the last line. I read so much into this one that it gave me a much bigger story than what was presented – it really triggered my imagination.
Sid Hawkins – A first entry and a great one, it sent a shiver up my spine as I reached the end. Not so much the situation, but rather the feel of the escalating need to crush/kill bigger each time. I also felt there might have been a slight echo of the butterfly effect in there, cleverly inverted.
TheTomG – There is so much unexplained here, left open to your imagination, that it gives a great sense of uneasiness on top of the story itself. Who the character is, why he is being to forced to play, what the consequences are – apart from not being nice. Very unsettling.
MstrTal – I thought at first that this was going to be a tale of someone trapped in an old fridge – which it was to a degree. In itself that would be horrific enough , but the hint that there might have been something else in there was just the icing on the cake.
TJ – I was not quite sure what to make of TJ’s this month. It seemed almost cyclical in nature, although it really wasn’t, a blurring of reality and fiction? The landlord is mucking with her mind? And so much more. And that is what I really liked about it, the fact that you could draw so much from it, different every time. It made it even more... chilling.
RJMCorbet – I’d like to say that this one was particularly disturbing, but it was just like a night out in The Horse and Groom when I was a little (alright a lot) younger. A really good story that was a fitting capstone to this month’s competition. What looks like a rather saucy end to an evening, turns into something a lot darker. But then some people might enjoy that.
Now the real horror story starts as I try to choose a favourite.
