DISCUSSION THREAD -- August 75 Word Challenge

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Thanks SL, the way things are going that might turn out to be my only contribution this month.. (the comments that is)
 
I hope you haven't been chopping your fingers off again, Perp. ;)

Seriously, we'll survive. Your reviews are wonderful, but you have a life that comes first.
Take care.
 
springs said:
And delightful. :)
Click to expand...

An' tank ya very mooch, miss Jo.

What I'm proud of in this one is including the word "ungulates" in a poem for children; all part of my "How to you expect them to get a wider vocabulary if you don't stretch them" movement. I've liked that word, and searched for a possible place for it, for years. :D
 
Admittedly, I expected to struggle with this one but, to my great surprise, inspiration whalloped me round the side of the head pretty much straight away, much to my relief.

So, there we go, I'm posted. I'm sure I'll read it back in a day or two and wonder what on earth I was thinking, but oh, well, such is life. :rolleyes:
 
DEO – A lovely, different take of one of the classic childhood stories. Anyone who has read, seen or sung along to the Ugly Duckling will know the tale, but they will not get the end of this one. I can just imagine the ‘duckling’ looking up at the Griffons flying overhead, not knowing what his magnificent destiny is. Well told and great execution.

kshRox – I’m not going to mention the story to much on this tale rather the beautiful coming together of words to produce a beautiful opening paragraph. It was just wonderful description that was just beautiful. That does not mean to say that the rest was anything less, but that opening paragraph just struck me as soon as I read it.

r j – As I read the first line here i felt something sinister in the way the words came together, without knowing quite why. A great piece of writing considering the ending. That foreboding seems to pass as we see our protagonist pluck up the courage to tale to his love; her rejection is perfectly cold and disdainful. Her fate? Well it ties in nicely with the first line, an excellent resolution.

stormcrow – A good solid poem filled with magic and melancholy. It is easy to forget the other characters in fairy tale worlds, the witches who are depicted as ugly old crones might just want love too. Unfortunately their reputation might work against them, no matter how they use their magic beauty is only skin deep or mystical illusion deep. Great double use of Woodcutters Arms.

Reiver33 – Either I’m missing something from this one or it is a clever entry that plays around with the be careful what you wish for idea that can often be at the heart of some fairy tales. A besieged city, a woman wish for death to her foes, but without considering the words offered brings back her love, but not in the way she intended.

Kylara – As always it is great to see things from another perspective. It’s often the case that we see the knight ride out to save the life of an ensnared princess, to face down the mighty dragon. But just who knows what it is that the dragon is thinking. Here we get the answer to the question, and perhaps there will be a little sympathy in future for the ‘terrible beast.’

allmywires – a great story that really twists things around. Almost psychological in nature as we see someone pining for the love of a beautiful woman who is just beyond his grasp, but it is the punch at the end that the observer is looking at the illustrations within the pages of a book that really makes the story shine.

PM – Well, any doubts that PM should be made the Poet Laureate of the Chrons have gone. Although we often have other poems, he seems to be able to turn them in month after month and they are always of the highest quality. And this, this was not even his first choice of entry. Just whipped it out eh? The actual story is priceless a woman rescued by her prince charming find he is not to her taste and would rather succumb to the poison once more. Brilliant.
 
Perp Man - Thanks for your review; much appreciated!:) I thought I'd go with a ditty for a change.

There could well be a tankard of Old Crow waiting for you at The Arms!
 
A dragon!? What! I must read everything with dragons in...it is my lifetimes ambition... :D
 
Perp, thanks for the encouraging words.

I'm fairly new to this site and hope I can contribute back because so many have gone out of their way to provide me so much constructive criticism and supportive encouragement.
 
Thank you for the review Perp (although it's a 'her' rather than a 'his'...I hope I wasn't too obscure with the references...!) Glad the last line worked well!

Not as keen on this month's entry though, definitely not my strongest to date. Roll on September... ;-)
 
Thank you, Perp for the review as ever on the mark.

You did warn me these 75 word challenges would be addictive. Here I am on holidays having a quick check in!
 
Hex – There is something about glass and how fragile it can be, how a perfectly sculptured thing, say a slipper is so delicate and all it would take is one moment, a slip and it is gone. And that is the case here a whole tale turned on its head with a simple action. A great idea, well told and executed.

Grimbear – How can you do anything but grin at this chuckle worthy tale? There is often a deeper truth behind the stories and fables of old, and although this is not the truth of history, it is perhaps the truth of reality. Once the magic of a fledgling relation ship is ever, then that veneer of having to be perfect slips away and instead we have the reality. The snoring, the farting the slobbiness. In some ways it makes Prince Charming that much more real...

TDZ – The third in a row of stories that draws strongly on the classic fairy tales> What I really enjoyed about this one was the way it looked from the other side of the story, seeing it from a perspective that would not normally be considered. And it is so obvious that the mirror loved the queen that you wonder why it does not appear like that in the original story. The last line is just genius.

MT – And if there was a strong fairy tale in the previous story, there is a humorous approach with reality in this one. Despite appearing so short it made me chuckle a couple of times, and in itself that is brilliant. I particularly loved the line about Milk Tray, and the mundane presentation of that last line is just spot on brilliant.

Lilmizflashythang – For a while this story perplexed me, and I wondered if I was missing the point, but the more I read it, the cleverer it became until in the end I don’t know whether it is time for me to get down on my knees and proclaim “I am not worthy!” The cleverness in the final part of the quest, in kissing the beast of burden, and choosing his own beast, which is in fact a princess is wonderful. Was that the trick all along, he just needed to prove himself, or is there another princess waiting for the kiss to come?

Starbeast – and another magnificent entry. So the three little pigs are now the romantic desires of one big bad wolf. But they are not interested. Instead we have the last one who does some pretty nasty things to the poor old wolf. Even when he is not being malicious he ends up hamming it up in the worst possible way. That last line elevates the story from good to superb, bring a laugh and a touch with the modern world, that is unfortunately believable.

Johnnyjet – Once again it seems that one of the things examined in some of the stories are the consequences of unrequited love, and it’s frightening just how terrible some of them are. What could have been a gentle and loving relationship is turned into something terrible and vengeful; which, is probably the case sometimes in the real world too.

Chris – A story with a warning. With all things there is a balance and if part of that balance is removed it leads down roads that we do not want to consider, burying our heads in the sand, even if what we are told is happening right outside our windows. This seems to be the warning that we are being given here, and as always it is intelligent, well written and hey... any poem that includes the word ungulates – and rhymes it is superlative in my book.

Scott – A classic with a twist. The writing is spot on, giving us the magical feel of the original story in the opening lines, setting you up for what you know is to come, only it never happens, instead we have a scene that for me was not laugh out loud funny but sticks in your head for ages after, making you smirk everything you think about it.

Flugel Meister – Sometimes there are bitter truths in even the most magical of worlds, and that is what we are presented with here. In a world where magic and mystic beings thrive it is heartbreaking to think, that love, that comes in so many forms might be cruelly dashed. A creature that is as wonderful and beautiful as we are led to believe here may still fail when it comes to her size. It is a bittersweet and sad tale, that is magical and sad, beautiful and tragic.

Nixie – How beautiful. A simple idea, but one that like many simple ideas is touched with brilliance like the rising sun. The two celestial bodies forever chasing each other are a perfect platform for a tragic love story that can never end, and yet like the most magical of stories we are given the most magical thing of all, the suns belief that one day... and that thing is hope.

Mosaix – if there is one thing I’m going to learn from the tales this month is that the big bad wolf might not be as big and bad as he seems. It’s a great amusing tale, the misunderstandings at the core of it enough to raise a smile. But it did make me wonder if here the wolf was trying to cover his tracks, giving the impression of innocence after the fact. A great idea never the less, as is anything that can both make you smile and think.


Pleased to say that I've got three stories down at last, but can't decide which one to go with (they all need a bit of editing) I had two favourites, then read them to Mrs Perp. who chose the one I had all but rejected... sigh.
 
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