Discussion thread -- 75 WORD WRITING CHALLENGE January 2013

[Boneman]

Ignore him, Luiglin. He knows perfectly well it's one vote, but he tries it on every month! It's like Pavlov and his dogs. Only with more saliva.

No... wait... wait... there was one month when I didn't ask... I'm sure I can find it... somewhere...

BM – Well... some literary pretentions here, for a moment I had to check the name and make sure it was not Jane Austin posting The idea of stories changing, being updated for the modern age is not a new one, unfortunately, but the way it is presented here give a feeling of a coldness, a perfect representation of everything that is lost as we become more machine than human.

QUOTE]

Thanks Perp! How the heck you find time with your changed lifestyle, I'll never know. I have no recollection of posting this one, so I must have been channelling Jane...

 

[Warren_Paul]

Thanks Perp! How the heck you find time with your changed lifestyle, I'll never know.

I thought it would be easier with an extra pair of hands for the typing?

 

[Culhwch]

Entries are closed, and the poll is up here:

Poll - January 75 Word Challenge

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Had a fun hour or so reading these, what twisted little tales, a lot of fun for sci fi lovers

I shortlisted:

Alc for a lovely capture of cyberpunk feel - well, not lovely....
Glen, cos who doesn't love a flashheart hero ... Woooof!
Lucky lola the management consultant in me loved the slaughtering of a corporate agenda.

I short-short listed

Taly, i loved the spider, and thought it was so real
Tdz, made my blood chill, just a little. A perfect little.

My short- short- short, i had to read five times each and toss a coin list

Abernovo, perfect cyber punk, lovely use of changes, and nice close pov.
Mosaix, i love edge of madness stuff and this was carried out beautifully...

And in the end, just cos i thought it nailed the genre and theme so well, but it was sooo hard, i went for Abernovo.

 

[Starbeast]

That last entries are in, time to finish the reviews.


Boneman - You got me with the zinger at the end. Very cool man.

Parson - Computer reality, excellent concept, I didn't expect this little tale.

Ursa Major - A spooky Artificial Intelligence story, I like it.

The Judge - Fantastic. You got me shaking my head and singing your tale.

HareBrain - Whoa, another story that made me chuckle, well done.


Now comes the tough part, choosing ONE story. This is going to take some time.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Thanks, springs! The very first shortlist of the month, what an honor!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Boneman -- seems to be a light comic tale, but reveals a deeper satiric look at the fragility of literature. Excellent subtle title.

Parson -- all too believable account of the seductions of the electronic universe and our false selves.

Ursa Major -- a very mysterious narrator whose exact nature is a fascinating puzzle.

The Judge -- fits the theme perfectly with a jazzy, modernistic poem and appropriate typography

Harebrain -- an unexpected and droll look at the less glamorous side of technology.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

This was extremely difficult for me to choose.

After a lot of thought, I had to go with "Computer Age" by nixie, because it was so mysterious and haunting.

 

[Warren_Paul]

After much deliberation, I went with the story that stuck with me all the way through the month.

My vote went to Alchemist. The story has such a good cyberpunk feel to it and the last bit of dialogue by the cybernetic woman stuck in my mind.

 

[Hex]

I voted for mosaix's beautiful/ terrifying/ desperately sad story, but it was a close thing with TJ's craziness.

 

[mosaix]

Thanks for the short- short- short- list, Springs, and thanks for the vote, Hex.

 

[Boneman]

Thanks starbeast, for the review! And Victoria Silverwolf also - you know your Jane Austin...

 

[Bowler1]

It’s a big list of members who I liked this month, cyberpunk suited many people by the looks of things. These reflect my taste only, and I’m as weird as Parson so don’t get upset if you’re not on the list – it might even be a good thing!

Karn
Hex, very funny.
River33
Springs, you were in the running for my vote.
Juliana
Aun, on form as ever.
Warren Paul
Starbeast, another one I considered voting for.
DOE, another possible vote.
Glen, another one that could have had a vote.
Digs
Johnnyjet, nice and dark.
Mosaix, who does get my vote.
StilLearning, I had to re-read before I got it, well done.
TDZ
Culwich

It was hard for me this month, good entries just kept on coming. I like to keep my list short but I’ve clearly failed miserably this month. Many others that I liked, I’ve been very well entertained this month, thank you everyone.

 

[Glen]

Glen, cos who doesn't love a flashheart hero ... Woooof!

Lol. Thx Springs.

 

[Luiglin]

Top 3 for me ...

mosaix - psychedelic smarties
Culhwch - spam sandwich hell
Harebrain - cyberpants ... patent the idea now!

Vote goes to Teresa Edgerton - great funny twist and as a player of games like Warcraft it made me chuckle ... nice1

 

[Glen]

Glen, another one that could have had a vote.

Thanks Bowler!

 

[Glen]

Great stories. I enjoyed reading all of those. My favourites were:

• reiver33 - I like the authentic tone of this one. Changes presumably to come from reading The Book?
• Abernovo - Another good voice. Great characterisation.
• Talysia - Reminiscent of the Ministry of Truth. Long term changes.
• Aun Doorbank - Hard core. Hilarious.
• Victoria Silverwolf - Brilliant. I don't understand it, but brilliant all the same. Has my vote
• Luiglin - Good to see a postiive story.

 

[Talysia]

Many thanks for the mentions, Springs and Glen - you've made my morning.

I've got a shortlist of about 10 at the moment, and I'm going to have a look through again this afternoon to try and narrow it down.

 

[Warren_Paul]

Thanks for the mention, Bowler.

 

[Abernovo]

Thanks for the mention, Glen.

And a stunned thank you for the vote, springs.