Discussion 75 Word Challenge -- MARCH

[nixie]

Thanks for the mention Glen

 

[TheDustyZebra]

There is a place called Mother Shipton's Cave (there is a website) and this is where the idea for the story came from.

I should have recognized that! I think my brother lives close to you, and that cave is one of the things they posted pictures of, after they moved there! He's in Harrogate, and works on a military base somewhere around there.

 

[James Coote]

Some of the stories I really enjoyed, but I didn't consider them for voting because I thought they weren't quite spot on with the uncanny theme and realism part of the genre

Can't complain too much though as my own story was 'meh'

I liked the stories by:

hex
memorytale
aaron stone
High Eight
Hare Brain

with Phyrebrat getting my vote

 

[Ursa major]

Thanks for the mentions, choccoweeble and Glen.

 

[Aaron Stone]

Thanks for the mention James!!

 

[Aaron Stone]

Initial shortlist:

crystal haven
Teresa Edgerton
Alchemist
TacticalLoco
mosaix
TDZ
phyrebrat
The Judge

 

[Starbeast]

This is my short listBowler1
nixie
Starbeast**
AlcubierreWarp*
Luiglin*
Moonbat*
Harebrain
Darkpoet

Can't wait til next month's challenge

Wowie Zowie! I wander away for a couple of days and I return to discover I have a vote.

Thank you Juelz4sure. You made my millennium.

Hmm, now to make a short list, then vote. Tough task.

 

[juelz4sure]

Wowie Zowie! I wander away for a couple of days and I return to discover I have a vote.

Thank you Juelz4sure. You made my millennium.

Hmm, now to make a short list, then vote. Tough task.

Just imagine what would happen you you were gone for a week lol

 

[nixie]

After a lot of deliberation I finally went for Pyan.

 

[mosaix]

Thanks for the mention, Aaron.

 

[Aaron Stone]

Final three:

The Judge
Alchemist
Teresa Edgerton

Now for the nail-biting and agonizing and, finally, deciding...it's gonna be a long night...

 

[High Eight]

Some of the stories I really enjoyed, but I didn't consider them for voting because I thought they weren't quite spot on with the uncanny theme and realism part of the genre

Can't complain too much though as my own story was 'meh'

I liked the stories by:

hex
memorytale
aaron stone
High Eight
Hare Brain

with Phyrebrat getting my vote

Thanks for the mention, James!

 

[High Eight]

OK, Time for my vote. Shortlist:

Bowler1 - it just tickled me.
AnyaKimlin - Nice use of history and folklore. Now we need a 'Nessie meets Led Zeppelin' sequel (Jimmy Page being a later owner of Boleskine House.)
Hex - Spooky!
Nixie - For putting a Celtic god in the most mundane of settings (That was the Dagda, wasn't it?)
Stormcrow - Beautiful little story. I'd love to read a novel set in this world.
Aaron Stone - Creeps up on you, this one. Funny and spooky at the same time.
Luiglin - I think I've been to that pub!

And my vote goes to..............

Stormcrow

 

[slindeman]

Thanks for the mentions and shortlists Abernovo, choccoweeble, Glen, and Olive Skye.

My Honorable Mentions:
Hex
Alchemist
HoopyFrood
High Eight
Ursa Major

Shorlist:
Bob S Sr.
r_j_dando
Phoenixthewriter
Culhwch

My vote went to Phyrebrat. It especially made me wonder what potentially dangerous things the young boy might unwittingly unleash with his set of Legos.

 

[Hex]

Thank you for the mentions, James, High Eight and slinderman. And the vote (!), piousflea.

I voted for slinderman's brilliant story 'Weeping Wall' which somehow conjured up spanish magic realism (with everything being overblown and... sticky), managed to tell the story from a slightly unexpected viewpoint AND had a superb conclusion, all in 75 words.

 

[Perpetual Man]

A quick dash in with the final round of comments...


Harebrain - There was a sense of the truly strange here. What really worked though was that with all the bizarre happening it is presented as common place, which sells the story perfectly, the mundane conclusion, just completes the story with style - with everything that happens, the most notable thing is the lack of snoring it really makes the uncanny feeling work.

Phyrebrat – There is something really magical here. The casual nature in which the storyteller accepts the wonderful things being built in Lego, is excellent in itself, but the hope and wonder of what he might do next really give the tale a gleam that transcends a straightforward tale of magic building.

Moonbat – Not only was this a cracker of a story, but I thought that the opening line was a real winner as well, there was something the way it just rolled around the mind that made it extra special. The actual payoff was clever too, it seemed as though the creator of the potion was going to get the other to do what he wanted before he even gave him the potion... if there ever was one.

James Coote – It’s clever sometime how magic can be interpreted, how something that might be chance could also be mystical in nature, and you can never be sure which is which, and that is caught perfectly here. Did the stone fall by blind luck or was it something more arcane?

Highlander – It is tempting to say that there is something intently psychological in this story, two sides of the same coin, evil and good, it has an epic feel to it, and I loved the alternate spelling of Majik which gave it a foreign feel. The end was spot, the face beneath the mask, one’s own.

Luiglin – Taken as a whole this is one of those stories that could be easily made into something longer, but in the short form it is strong, with a great concept – good to see different views of what is going on presented (liked the landlord’s the best!), but what really caught me was the opening line, poetic and beautiful.

The Spurring Platypus – There is an oblique nature to this one, but an awful lot to think about – showing once more just how much can be squeezed into 75 words. The best bit for me was the end, where first the deer speaks and then the arrow. There is so much loaded in the first question, then the second command – does the arrow mean put it away as shooting the deer to feed the family, or if he looses the arrow will the consequences be that he i caught and can no longer provide?

Parson – Ahh the monthly story hinting at smut, but from Parson? It’s a great tale, made me smirk and wince. In order to feed his somewhat dubious fantasies, our main character is not above stealing. Unfortunately the old saying haste makes waste is more than fitting here. Spectacular just desserts.

Cul – If this does not put a shiver downs your spine then nothing will. The idea has been seen before, but there is something almost glittery in the way it is told that really makes it magical throughout, making the end so much more powerful. Never have three words grounded a story so quickly.

TJ – There is always a price to pay for the use of magic, and this story quite perfectly demonstrates that. Using magic to get on with your career, to improve other people’s perceptions of you might be a mystical world equivalent of plastic surgery without the possible consequences – but then it all catches up with you in the end (Especially if you can’t pay!)

Ursa – A great title for the piece, and a well told story to follow. You can almost feel the oppression that our protagonist feels in riding the elevator and worse being trapped, and the relief from the song playing. What really makes it work is the thought that even in the end his beloved is watching over him. Now that is magic.

 

[Aaron Stone]

Thanks for the shortlisting, High Eight!!

 

[chrispenycate]

Fifty nine again; equalling the record, but no free bus pass.
I said I'd try and get the chart straightened out – worked last time (kisses lucky USB key) perhaps it will again this.

All right, I know – spreadsheet and I will try and go and vote…

 

[Ursa major]

Thanks for the mention, slindeman.


And thanks for your kind words, Perp.

 

[johnnyjet]

My third time voting and again a very difficult decision. The quality again was very high and it took me a while to narrow down my favorites. But here it goes:

MY SHORT LIST:

1. Like mother, like son * crystal haven
2. Mrs. Johnson * Teresa Edgerton
3. Crier's Lake * Karn Maeshalanadae
4. Wooden Hearts * Bob S. Sr.
5. Fluffy Bunny * David Evil Overlord
6. The House On The Edge Of The Forest * alchemist
7. And I Will Try To Fix You * HoopyFrood
8. Bob * MemoryTale
9. Clunko the World’s Greatest Clown * Starbeast
10. The Show! * TacticalLoco
11. Down There in the Dark * High Eight
12. The Weeping Wall * slindeman
13. Legoboy * Phyrebrat
14. The Dancers * Luiglin
15. Make-Believe Wings * Culhwch


MY TOP FIVE:

1. Wooden Hearts * Bob S. Sr.
2. Bob * MemoryTale
3. Down There in the Dark * High Eight
4. Legoboy * Phyrebrat
5. Make-Believe Wings * Culhwch


AND FINALLY, AFTER MUCH RUMINATION, MY FAVORITE:

Wooden Hearts * Bob S. Sr.