Discussion -- 300 Word Challenge #3

[chrispenycate]

Well, I could put up the blacklist, but it contains some very important and influential names; I certainly hope they're just awaiting the last possible read-through, the final countdown…

Perhaps tomorrow before my head goes up on the battlements for lese magesty .

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

I second that emotion!! I've had challenges with votes and mentions and challenges with no votes and no mentions, and I always think other people's stories are better than mine, so whilst I'm genuinely pleased to get the votes and mentions, taking part has improved my own writing. (Except that sentence...) Editing a few hundred words down to 75 (as has been mentioned here) is incredibly hard work but we learn so much from it. My 300 worder started out at 437 words, so I had to lose a third - when I apply that to my (verbiose) wip, I find it so much easier to do. And the discipline of the monthly challenge stifles the procrastinator in me...

All very true, but now my project hardly covers three pages. It used to be 70000 words

 

[Phoenixthewriter]

All very true, but now my project hardly covers three pages. It used to be 70000 words

I don't even see how this is possible.... lol.

 

[Ökuþórr]

Finally voted.
My votes are for Highlander, Moonbat, chrispenycate.

 

[chrispenycate]

Thank you very much _ your name has been struck off the list of shame (which contains four mods – almost half the total – as the final voting day draws nigh).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Alright, so the moment you've all been waiting for has arrived. I reveal... my short list! And winners! Please, please, no applause necessary.

As always, virtually all the stories were very good. But, alas, some must lose so others can win. The short-listed entries (listed in order of posting) are:

Karn Maeshalanadae - Angel, Please Watch Over Me
Glen - The Graveyard
Phoenixthewriter - Firestone
Perpetual Man - Diadne (The Castaway Angel)
Moonbat - We are not a-mused
The Judge - ... tears
Devil's Advocate - When Angels Deserve to Die
Culhwch - Revenant

Reducing the above to Top 5 leaves us with:

Glen - The Graveyard
Phoenixthewriter - Firestone
The Judge - ... tears
Devil's Advocate - When Angels Deserve to Die
Culhwch - Revenant

Trying to get closer to the final votes, so we have to slash one contender:

Glen - The Graveyard
Phoenixthewriter - Firestone
Devil's Advocate - When Angels Deserve to Die
Culhwch - Revenant

And the final votes go to:

Glen - The Graveyard
Phoenixthewriter - Firestone
Culhwch - Revenant

Well done, guys. Excellent stories. Commiserations, DA. Close, but not close enough. Better luck next time.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Commiserations, DA. Close, but not close enough. Better luck next time.

Oh, man! Every time. Darn it! So close...


Oh, well. Thanks for the mention, though. Much appreciated.

 

[Moonbat]

You do make me chuckle DA. Thanks for the shortlisting.


And thanks very muchy for the vote Okuporr. Hmm with all those extra bits on your name I bet it isn't pronounced Oh-Ko-Poor (how does one pronounce it O?)

 

[Ursa major]

If it's any help, Moonbat, there's no p in that name. The Þ is a thorn, which is, in Old English (amongst other languages), pronounced as an unvoiced th, as in through. (It may also have been pronounced like the voiced th - as in the - but the modern use of that letter, in Icelandic, uses a different letter for that, the edh or eth.

I only wish English differentiated between the two types of th, by using th only for the unvoiced and dh for the voiced (because d is, near enough, the voiced form of t).

 

[Highlander]

Thanks very much Őkuþórr for the vote (That's about as close as I can get to your name ) Very much appreciated. Never thought I would get as many votes!


I note from your discussion on the name that the "þ" was a "thorn", am old Nordic rune.

 

[Culhwch]

Thanks for the vote, DA! Wow, it's a close race this month. Nothing like last month's blowout! And I have yet to vote - will do so tonight, I promise...

 

[Ökuþórr]

Thank you very much _ your name has been struck off the list of shame (which contains four mods – almost half the total – as the final voting day draws nigh).

No problem.
And thanks for striking my name off the shame list.

You do make me chuckle DA. Thanks for the shortlisting.


And thanks very muchy for the vote Okuporr. Hmm with all those extra bits on your name I bet it isn't pronounced Oh-Ko-Poor (how does one pronounce it O?)

No problem.

As Ursa says, the Þ is a thorn. I pronounce it (in my username anyway) as the th in through. The whole name is pronounced (most likely incorrectly or just badly) by me ur-koo-th-or. It means Thor the Charioteer. I snurched it from the back of the Prose Edda.
Hope that is at least some help.

If it's any help, Moonbat, there's no p in that name. The Þ is a thorn, which is, in Old English (amongst other languages), pronounced as an unvoiced th, as in through. (It may also have been pronounced like the voiced th - as in the - but the modern use of that letter, in Icelandic, uses a different letter for that, the edh or eth.

I only wish English differentiated between the two types of th, by using th only for the unvoiced and dh for the voiced (because d is, near enough, the voiced form of t).

I most always pronounce it as th in through. ð is the one I pronounce as th in the.

Thanks very much Őkuþórr for the vote (That's about as close as I can get to your name ) Very much appreciated. Never thought I would get as many votes!


I note from your discussion on the name that the "þ" was a "thorn", am old Nordic rune.

No problem.
Its close enough. I probably should have gone with something a little less fiddly.

It can be said Oku-Thor. In fact that version was in the book, I just had to go with the confusing one.

(Had to delete a couple of the smilies from your posts since I'm limited to only five images. Hope that's OK)

 

[Boneman]

I'm so glad I've voted already - with it this close, it's entirely feasible that the last voter could actually have the responsibility of choosing the winner, entirely on their own.

I'm not sure I'd like to be the one to do that... (I see General Zod here, telling Superman's Dad that he alone will condemn them to the phantom Zone for all eternity, by his vote.)

 

[HareBrain]

it's entirely feasible that the last voter could actually have the responsibility of choosing the winner, entirely on their own.

Responsibility? You mean ... power.
Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

etc.

Good point though. I won't look at the scores again until I've voted, for fear of being influenced by the chance to force a five-way tie-break.

 

[chrispenycate]

Quietly sneaks in with the list of those who submitted, but have not yet made their decisions known

HareBrain, Hoopy Frood, Paranoid Marvin, Rain, Teresa Edgerton, The Judge and Ursa major.

See why it's scary putting that up?

 

[HareBrain]

My votes are in.

Here is my shortlist:

Springs1971
Aun Doorback
Hex
Parson
Moonbat
Boneman
The Judge
Teresa
Mosaix

Votes went to Hex, Parson and Mosaix, but it was very difficult, with Boneman and Moonbat in particular only just losing out. Parson's was my favourite -- I love that kind of stuff anyway, and "millions of minions" only sealed the deal. And how nice that I wasn't the only one to use "cement".

 

[Jo Zebedee]

An honourable mention on the last day; I thought my excitement for the month was done, so thankyou Hare. Delighted I am.

 

[mosaix]

Many thanks, HareBrain.

Edit: And Hoopy.

 

[Starbeast]

Hey, thanks for the vote, Starbeast. Much appreciated. Clearly, your taste is questionable.

Seriously though, thank you.

Since I couldn't vote for mine, I voted for yours.

Anyway, I found your tale very interesting to me, your tale was my first pick. It was tough at first to sift through so many talaneted authors, I would have listed almost everyone as honorable mentions, seriously.

Here are my honourable mentions and *votes*

Phoenisthewriter
Paranoid Marvin
Starbeast
Quokka
*Boneman*
*TDZ*
The Judge
*Teresa Edgerton*

Thanks for the mention, if I had one more vote to cast, I would have picked yours for the outstanding sci-fi approach.

Excellent job dude!

 

[The Judge]

OK, I've left it as late as ever. The short-short list:

Abernovo -- A Grimm Kind of Prison
Culhwch -- Revenant
Glen -- The Graveyard
Quokka -- CARVED REDEMPTION
Springs1971 -- FINDING MACNEiCE
Teresa -- Forever After
The Spurring Platty -- One Dastardly Plan

After the usual agonising and analysing, I went for Teresa, Cul and Platty (the lure of the "butt cable" wouldn't be denied...)

Thanks for the Honourable Mentions -- I was worried my story wasn't immediately comprehensible, so I'm glad it figured on some lists -- and mega thanks to Karn for the vote!