Discussion thread -- 75 WORD WRITING CHALLENGE February 2013

[Starbeast]

Here it is the last day to post, and the stories are flooding in a the last moment. It's quite exciting I think, so many wanting to jump in and be a part of the "LIFE" anthology. Jeepers. I step away for a day and I figured this would happen, but I love reading these tales of imagination for fun, I enjoy the many styles of the writing craft.

Well I best get my Robe of Reviews on. Ok, my robe is on, and I opened another window to have ambient music for background atmosphere...eh.

Hold on.

Looks like I'll have to come back later, company just arrived unexpectedly.

 

[Ursa major]

Phew! That was cutting it a bit fine, even for me.


My own fault for deciding -- during NCIS 6:13 "Broken Bird" on Channel Five, with another NCIS episode and Howard Goodall's The Story of Music still to come -- that what was really needed was a poem that rhymed and scanned. (And, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, I don't particularly like poetry, even that written by poets who knew what they were doing.)

 

[Culhwch]

Gah. I think I should have left mine unposted...

 

[Lenny]

And here's me thinking: "I wonder, if we averaged the entry times of everyone over all competitions, whether Cul or Ursa would turn out to be the member who always posts latest".

And then: "Hey, Cul is on my shortlist."

Anyway, even as a student who consistently did his assignments during all-nighters in the hours before a deadline, you two amaze me by how late you leave entering!

 

[Ursa major]

Some of first have to create a fiction whereby we get some inspiration before the deadline. That's what takes all the time.

But at least there's no word limit in that first-fiction; or an expectation that it'll have any content at all.


Anyway, the challenge is closed. The poll will be up soon.

 

[Ursa major]

Entries are closed, and the poll is up here:

Poll - February 75 Word Challenge
​

 

[ratsy]

Wow, a lot of last minute posts. I look forward to reading them all. 51, thats a good number of posts I think.

 

[Lenny]

I find that the problem with an open genre like "Science Fiction or Fantasy" is that everyone here is in their element, which makes shortlists kind of long.

Shortlist, shorter list, winner, in order of posting.

Karn Maeshalanadae
Hex
chrispenycate
J Riff
AlcubierreWarp
paranoid marvin
Culhwch


I'd also like to give honourable mentions to: kromanjon, The Spurring Platty, alchemist, Glitch, mosaix, and Bob S. Sr.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

And the shortlist for story writing in the 75 word category is:

For the best use of a chrons in joke - Ratsy
For breathing new life into an old tale - Hex
For best real world analogy - Alchemist
For most urghh birth scene - Prizzley

And the shorter list

For most shudders down the spine - Culhwch
For getting so much story into 75 word - Reiver

And the winner is for best use of ethics and original storyline

Juliana!

Hands small golden polar bear statue over. Now, don't do a Gwynnie.

Ps thanks for the vote, Karn!

 

[Talysia]

Picking a winner this time was rather difficult! My shortlist isn't very short, so I'll list the honourable mentions first, and then give my top three.

hopewrites
Kylara
The Spurring Platty
Parson
Juliana
reiver 33
mosaix

And without further ado, my top three: Victoria Silverwolf, Glitch, and Culhwch, with my vote going to Cul. Great stories, everyone!

 

[Juliana]

Thank you Talysia for the shortlisting and springs, thank you for the vote!! Exciting stuff to wake up to! *sticks bear in pocket for extra safe-keeping*

Off to read all the lovely new entries...

 

[Abernovo]

My long list had hopewrites, Talysia, The Spurring Platty, Hex, Juliana, Lenny, stormcrow, Victoria Silverwolf, alchemist, AnyaKimlin, mosaix, Bob S Sr, Eric Ward, and Culhwch.

With difficulty, I narrowed that down to a short list of
hope
TSP
Anya
Eric

Any of those four could have won my vote. However, as there can be only one, it went to AnyaKimlin. I loved her combination of fish culture with human to create a merfolk worldview in 75 words.

 

[Starbeast]

I'm back. TA-DA! OK, let's do this!


Glitch - I found your tale cool and funny. The creation of a dangerous weapon, HUMANS! Yes, we're definately great at killing anything, be it animals, plants or even each other, and most of all we make our own destructive weapons to kill more efficiently.

Mosaix - Life abounds everywhere and in everything. You made it sound so beautiful and thought provoking at the same time, magnificent.

Bob S. Sr - YES! (This is a treat for me) It's the awesome return of Paw & Son, back together in another fine story. In this chapter, they come across ol' angry Deke, who can not die. Spooky, I love it.

Perpetual Man - A powerful immortal being who despises God, decides to create his own life forms. A very intense tale, I can almost feel the firery heat of hate from this mighty titan. Cosmically cool.

EricWard - Whoa, a gargantuan speach from such a tiny being. Now that's inspiring, because it's the little guys in this world who shout out loud and want to be heard. Excellent!

Prizzley - Saving money one way, can sometimes turn out to be costly in the end. I found this story very entertaining and funny, with a great final line. Great stuff!

TheDustyZebra - Fantastic sci-fi drama, I pictured the grandfather staying behind, it grabbed me by the heart. Oh my, you're making me feel misty, well done.

The Judge - A marvelous sci-fi tale about traveling back through time to find the one who will keep the bloodlines going.

Phyrebrat - This tale sounds like a great prologue for an awesome movie that I would definately pay to see in the theater. Very cool!

Paranoid Marvin - You've used your poetic magical talent once again to dazzle with another amazing entry for the challenge. I even love the title.

Ursa major - Whoa, you've also posted a mighty poem. Which is very well written, and I really enjoyed delivery of the final lines. Way-to-go!

Culhwch - And you were worried you didn't have a worthy story, on the contrary, you have a great tale! Now that's, justice! I love it.

 

[Juliana]

Thank you for the long list, Aber!

 

[Parson]

Talysia: thanks for the short listing. I was thrilled to be mentioned this early (or any time for that matter) in the voting!

 

[Talysia]

Thank you for the shortlisting, Abernovo.

 

[Glen]

thanks all. my favourites:

Kylara - A.I. - Great suggestion of life finding its own way, with a comic ending. Best story and use of theme/genre for me so it gets my vote.
The Spurring Platty - Creatiolution - Again, life finds a way.
johnnyjet - Life is Like a Box of Chocolates - Haha. Surely this is going to happen some day soon. There are ads everywhere else. And this story also has a film reference...really this theme is crying out for a story with a film reference.
J Riff - AMOEBA BOMB - fantastic image of a hideous, stand-up comic ambomination. Boom Tish.
reiver33 - But Not As We Know It - Notable for the line "You’re a fictional character in a cancelled television series". Aren't we all sometimes.
Victoria Silverwolf - A TOUCH OF GREEN - Proper sci-fi

 

[AnyaKimlin]

ooh I gotta a vote - thanks Aber.

 

[Kylara]

Thanks for the shortlisting Talysia!

And thanks for the votes Glen and kromanjon! 2 votes already! WOOOO!

 

[prizzley]

Thank you, Starbeast.