DISCUSSION THREAD -- October 75 Word Challenge

[Ursa major]

I scraped in with an hour to go. I've no idea if my story is like any of the others: I'll be reading them for the first time when it comes to voting.

 

[Ursa major]

Here's the link to the Poll:

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/538361-poll-october-75-word-challenge-read-first-post.html
​

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Seeing as how I missed out on voting last month-somehow slipped my mind-I'll have to go through and read them soon...

 

[Bowler1]

Mentions of which there are a few.

Abernovo
Alchemist
Parson – you can be as odd as you like, you got my vote. Great punch line.
Tacticailoco
Stormcrow
Mosaix
Aun, 2nd place sadly, I was torn between you and Parson.

Lots of others but these days I’m trying to keep the list down. I enjoyed the challenge this month, the open genre was a nice twist.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

My shortlist

Reiver33, i loved the scope of this, and how it zoomed from expansive to a single person's voice

Big J the first three stanzas were lovely

Billafan, nice original take

Grinnel, the sci fi in this made me smile

Hopewrites, i had a nice smile at the last line

Boneman, and i groaned at this one

But my vote went to johnnyjet, i have no doubt i am that poor parent...

 

[Perpetual Man]

James – I really liked this one, probably because it was so different. The world and sky seen through primitive eyes just worked so well, a totally different perspective that made it fresh. The imagination and use of words really worked well, making it all the more effective.

Cul – There was the feeling here of someone getting in too deep, not realising just what it is they are involved with. Somehow enjoying the life of a cult while not really believing or perhaps knowing what the ultimate aim is and how they plan to carry on. A warning or a truth?

Aun – And the coming of the Beast... In many ways chilling, probably because of the first line and the last. As a man, an atheist descends into mental decay thanks to what he is involved with the fact that he seems to focus/on something with a religious aspect makes it all the more... real.

TSP – Ouch. And a guilty chuckle. This seems like the mischief of kids ramped up to 11 on the dial. It captures their innocence, their devious nature and the simple way they can be outwitted in the most horrific of circumstances. But... it is done with style and panache so when poor young Arthur follows Ian out the airlock, you can’t help but snigger. Well I did.

BM – Groan. Another amusing one that works just as well, and in many ways it is believable. You can just see it happening, someone reading something in a blind panic, acting on it immediately – because they were so worked up and missing the correction. The punchline was spot on and priceless.

Tisiphone – One with a lot more depth. It’s hard for me to work out just which way I want to go with it, both paths work equally as well which for me is the sign of an excellent tale. Is it a soldier who dreams of escape from the war, or someone who travels back in time? Loved it.

TJ – Another cracking tale, albeit a really dark one. A figure in a trusted position does bad things to those who do not deserve it, overlaid with a religion that dictates the dead become the stars, making the conclusion grim, dark and very fitting.

Ursa – My interpretation of this is that it would be seem to be a retelling of the creation, showing a truth that was otherwise missed. In a bid to destroy a ‘bad’ species, our protagonist accidentally bring a new beginning on a new world. Would you Adam and Eve it?

 

[Perpetual Man]

It's not often I can do this without a few days contemplation but here's my short list:

Ratsy
Aber
Luiglin
Al
Clipped Wolf
Scott
BigJ
SciFrac
Parson
Lenny
JohnnyJet
MB
Hope
Stormcrow
Eric
TDZ
James
BM
Tisiphone

(Not so short list really, but all excellent among excellence)

But the winner without a doubt for me was Nixie.

I've just realised I had an unexpected stealth vote, so many thanks to billhafan

 

[TacticalLoco]

Thanks PM for another great review, that's twice you have used the word 'epic' in discribing my enties. I take it as a huge compliment. Can't comment on 'more going on' at this point.

Thanks for the mentions by:
Starbeast,
Bowler1


My short list...
David Evil Overlord
Parson
Glen
Eric Ward

But my vote went to James because his story was just so well written. Nice job sir!

P.S. I got my 300 worder up as well.

 

[Juliana]

Now comes the hardest bit - choosing which story to vote for! I've been reading them all as they went up, but now I have to read everything again slowly... So many great ideas!!

 

[johnnyjet]

Again, so many great, well-written stories & poems. My long list was pretty long, over half the entries. So I'll just skip to the short list. It took some time to whittle this down.

My Short List:
1. Sprawling – Kylara
2. Our Winter Star – springs
3. Consternation Draco – chrispenycate
4. Reap the Stars – Juliana
5. No One Said Giving Birth Was Easy - David Evil Overlord
6. One Red Button – Grinnel
7. Wrong One – TacticalLoco
8. Moon, Sun, Horizon – stormcrow
9. Origin of Parish Byelaw 428 – HareBrain
10. To the Stars - rohb.vogue
11. Crematentiary – Phyrebrat
12. Last Transcript of the USS Dante - Aun Doorback
13. Turning Your Back On Childhood - The Spurring Platty
14. Sic itur ad astra - The Judge
15. What Botticelli Got Wrong - Ursa major

My top five: Kylara, springs, David Evil Overlord, TacticalLoco & Aun Doorback.

And, finally, my favorite:
No One Said Giving Birth Was Easy - David Evil Overlord

Congratulations to all. Well done!

 

[Parson]

Goodness! I'm pleased. The voting has hardly started and I have 2 short list mentions.
Thanks to Perpetual Man and TacticalLoco and then really ringing my chimes! Bowler1 gave me his vote. Thanks all!!! Much appreciated.

 

[Starbeast]

Complete 75 Review​

Some powerful drama by Kylara, Springs, Reiver33, Ratsy, Bowler, Scott R. Forshaw, Silvermoon, Perpertual Man, Rohb. Vogue and Mosaix, very intense.

A touching messages from Abernovo and Clippedwolf, very good.

Great fantasy by Luglin and BigJ, very cool.

Funny writing by Alchemist (and great rhyme) , StilLearning, Lenny, Highlander, Glen and Hopewrites nice work.

Interesting rhymes by SciFrac, Parson, Moonbat and Paranoid Marvin, well written.

Unique tales by Matle, Billhafan, Chrispenycate, Karn Maeshalanadae, Juliana, David Evil Overlord, KshRox, Grinnel, Johnnyjet, TacticalLoco, Southern Sword, Nixie Stormcrow, EricWard, HareBrain, Crystal Haven, Hex, Phyrebrat, FeedMeTV, Tecdavid, StarmFeather, TheDustyZebra, Robjwhite, James Coote, Culhwch, Aun Doorback, The Spurring Platty, Boneman, Tisiphone, The Judge and Ursa Major, good stuff.

As for my own tale, I wrote it for myself.

Now I cast my vote.

 

[Bowler1]

Your welcome, Parson, and thank you Starbeast.

 

[Phyrebrat]

These months do speed by.

Thank you for the review Perp, your efforts are always appreciated and invariably a delight.

In the face of (yet again) so many good entries, I am just going to post my super-shortlist.

Johnnyjet – Toyscape. For being a nice dark story with a believable premise of why kids do Bad Things. I get frustrated by the amount of times the evil kid trope is used (in literature or TV/Film) with no forethought or real motivation. This story balances that equation in a lovely way with its great motivation of why the children do something unspeakable.

EricWard – Start of the Middle. The dialogue is so authentic. That is what clinched it for me. It makes the whole ‘big-dealness’ of what Faisal and Aliya are up to seem so pedestrian, and gives me the impression that these characters are acting on a whim, and possibly capricious.

Boneman - Typo. Such a 'Doh!' moment. You must still be riffing off last month's genre of humour. How can you manage 2 funny stories? This really made me laugh. My ex was a CPO on a sub in the Falklands. This reminds me of a funny-but-terrifying story he told me of a message he wired to Whitehall when he had his fingers over the wrong homekeys as the Etendard's flew over to attack!

Aun Doorback – Last Transcript of the USS Dante. The void of space would scare me witless anyway, but then to introduce Satan is truly horrific. The structure and capitalisaton demonstrate the character’s descent into madness/Hell/terror* and the bleakness puts me in mind of Samuel Beckett (despite the Judeo-Christian reference), and I love me some Beckett, so…this month I loved me some Aun Doorback, too!

*delete as applicable


However, there is one story that is so wonderful that it just knocked me out when I read it. Not only is it a wonderful premise/story, but the style is actually beautiful. I realise that after reading it I had a mental picture of the parish, the night, the weather and Bezier even though these things are not explicitly described. The line ‘He couldn’t fly, but he could fall…’ is a little bit of perfect that had me dumbfounded with awe (Seriously. There’s something so perfect and lyrical about that line)!

Therefore, my vote went to Harebrain’s The Origin of Parish Byelaw 428. I also send bad vibes and wilful hexes out of an insane jealousy


pH

 

[Boneman]

I must go to London more often - I come back and find mentions, short-listings and a super short listing!! Thank you all so very much! And Perps's excellent review while changing nappies - thanks again.

All I have to do now is choose my winner... be back later. Much later.

 

[Mouse]

I voted FeedMeTV. Boneman's a close second.

 

[Boneman]

Thanks mouse!! Keep rolling that aargh's...

 

[Mouse]

Cheeky.

 

[alchemist]

Mentions

Scott R Forshaw
Grinnel
Johnnyjet
Boneman
TheDustyZebra
The Spurring Platty
The Judge
Anybody else whose username begins with The

Votegetter

HareBrain

(and thanks to Bowler1 and Scott for the mentions)

 

[Scott R. Forshaw]

My short list:


springs

alchemist

BigJ

Parson

HareBrain

mosaix

Culhwch

The Judge




My vote goes to: The Judge.



And a big thanks, of course, to Perp and alc for the short listings.