DISCUSSION THREAD -- September 75 Word Challenge

[MemoryTale]

A brilliant theme this month, well done Perp! And if you have any ideas about not commenting, be aware I have puppy dog eyes, and I'm not afraid to use them!

Loved T.Es and AJBs, but they're all great so far in their own way.

 

[Abernovo]

I like it, MemoryTale. I think I've met that guy!

And a great entry by a newcomer, AJB.

 

[Starbeast]

Wow, the second day of this month and already we're beginning a second page of funny sci-fi dinosaur stories. I had a feeling there were going to be entries submitted before I checked here on Sunday night.

Looks like it's going to be another tough competition.

Congratulations Glen for being the first to post.

See Springs, you didn't need to worry.

StilLearning, ouch.

 

[Stephen4444]

As a new writer, I worry all the time about looking ignorant on this forum. I finally put aside my trepidations and made my first contribution to a contest.

I apologize ahead of time for my “attempt.” Oh well… everyone needs to learn sometime. Hopefully the more I write, the better I will get.

All the entries so far are great! There is a lot of talent on this site. I hope to read more…


Thanks.

 

[Starbeast]

Nice to meet you Stephen4444. Good entry.

Everyone's pretty cool here, no worries. Have fun exploring the site.

 

[Stephen4444]

Thanks, Starbeast

Nice to meet you Stephen4444. Good entry.

Everyone's pretty cool here, no worries. Have fun exploring the site.

 

[Alex The G and T]

As a new writer, I worry all the time about looking ignorant on this forum. I finally put aside my trepidations and made my first contribution to a contest.

I apologize ahead of time for my “attempt.” Oh well… everyone needs to learn sometime. Hopefully the more I write, the better I will get.

All the entries so far are great! There is a lot of talent on this site. I hope to read more…


Thanks.

I write "vignettes" for my own entertainment. 75 words is actually quite comfortable for me.

If I give myself a chuckle I'm happy.

Any public posting which garners the least notice from family or friends, is a bonus; not a personal requirement.

My first 75 word challenge I actually got a vote and a notice or two.

A couple of more months ensued where the muse didn't strike me... no entry... this month I got nothing but the much appreciated Perp review.

This is a friendly game. Enjoy yourself for your own sake.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Oh, capricious Muse! Inspiration struck like an asteroid the size of Manhattan. Unfortunately, the story refuses to fit into 75 words or less. Looks like it'll be a story written up for submission to a mag, and it's back to the drawing board for me.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Grrrr! Not entirely happy, me and the Muse are gonna have words. But here it comes.

 

[Bowler1]

There dinosaurs of all sorts, Bowler, including: literary/romantic (brontësaurus**), the well-educated ones (diplomasaurus), the ones resistant to heavy blows (hankylosaurus), and the ones that were originally mis-dated to the Silurian age and which policed the others (Diplodocus).







** Note that the brontosaurus is not a real dinosaur, but a mis-indentified apatosaurus.

I've been on google, I'm having problems finding these dinosaurs, what periods are they from?

If you want to fight it out, Springs - bring your ray guns to the tea room and we'll duke it out. Hurmp, telling me I can't use ray guns, I luv 'em.

 

[Perpetual Man]

And off we go.

Glen – An excellent story that rather than making me laugh out loud, made me smile slightly. But every time I re-read it I start chuckling, louder and longer each time. I think it is the image of the Velociraptors behaving as though they are at the heart of the British Empire. Brilliant, but there is a little more going on, something quite clever, who knows just what the elimination of one butterfly my bring? The human race perhaps?

TE – There are other forms of humorous reactions, and if laughter is one the slap to the head and a groan is another. This story manages both. The description of the energy saving beastie is stupendous, and the solution to the power crisis had me grinning from ear to ear. The final line though was worthy of a groan of the highest order. Quite brilliant.

Aber – I think my favourite part of this one was the last line, I could almost hear the voice of the returned dinosaur as it most humbly apologised, as though it had spilt water. The idea itself, of some of the reptiles being saved by aliens and coming back was a good one too. Greta way to bring the dinosaurs into the story.

Springs – And then a jaunt to the past where the dinosaurs are ripped off (or perhaps just oversold) by aliens. We get to see ray-guns and the bumbling attempts of the mighty creatures as they attempt to save themselves. And fail. The dialogue is fun, and I’m not sure if I got it right, but dinosaurs trying to count to ten when their claws lend themselves to lesser numbers was a stroke of genius.

C A Mitchell – And we have the second groan inducing chuckle of an entry. Some pungent toilet humour, that sees our characters doing their best to get one over on the hierarchy. It felt quite real, the conversation, but the pay off is in the last line. I don’t know it’s just a huge groan as you try not to laugh. Brilliant.

Not a bad story yet (And that includes the ones I have yet to comment on).

I've managed to get two jotted down, but unfortunately neither of them are funny.

Whoever set this challenge should be made extinct.

Ursa could have used his inventive dinosaur names and had a cracking entry out of it...

Hmmm, no shopping trolleys yet...

 

[Abernovo]

Thanks for the lovely review (yet again), Perp.

 

[Perpetual Man]

My pleasure as always.

All this good writing makes it a lot easier

 

[Jo Zebedee]

TY, Perp, you always make stuff sound too good. (yes, he's a little numerically challenged. )

 

[crystal haven]

I'm really struggling to write a story for this challenge, but I'm enjoying reading them. And perhaps an idea just might turn up.

 

[Ursa major]

Ursa could have used his inventive dinosaur names and had a cracking entry out of it...

Of the six dinosaurs mentioned, the diplodocus, apatosaurs and (now-non-existant) bronotosaurus are real-world creatures; the other three have appeared on the Chrons before with similar explanations:

brontësaurus
diplomasaurus
hankylosaurus
​

With my 75-word challenge entries, I want to be as original as I can, so I didn't want to reuse the above.

​

 

[paranoid marvin]

Well, I've tried and failed to make a humorous poem. As my prose is usually not that great, I've gone for something a little different. How funny it is only time will tell!

 

[StilLearning]

Paranoid Marvin: I like it. And I'll consider buying one, although I'm not sure how the dog will react, and getting it neutered will not be an errand for the faint of heart...

 

[Scott R. Forshaw]

Hmm, humour on demand is pretty tough to achieve. I've managed the SF, thrown in a dinosaur for good measure, but I think I may have fallen short on the humorous aspect. I guess I'll have to wait and see what others make of it, before I find out.

All the stories have been great, so far, and I'm looking forward to reading more. Keep up the good work, guys and gals.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Of the six dinosaurs mentioned, the diplodocus, apatosaurs and (now-non-existant) bronotosaurus are real-world creatures;

Did the brontosaurus have an paradoxical accident with a time machine, and thus achieve transcendent non-existence?