Discussion thread -- 75 WORD WRITING CHALLENGE February 2013

[Juliana]

Thanks for the commentary, Victoria.

 

[Talysia]

Indeed, thank you very much for the comments, Victoria.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Thanks for the comments Starbeast, Perpetual Man, and Victoria Silverwolf.

And, Perp, look after yourself.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Ty for the comments, victoria. Poor Perp, hope you are better soon.

 

[hopewrites]

Thanks Victoria

Perp glad to hear its not perpetual after all, hope you mend swiftly and all in your home are well soon. I dont know that my mother would have survived if someone had quarantined us when we were little, so extra sympathies to your Mrs. P as well.

 

[Abernovo]

Thank you, Victoria.

Perp, I hope you and the Perpetual Family recover fully soon.

 

[Parson]

Victoria -- Thank you for your comment. Perp I think I know exactly how you are doing. I fought an alleged flu for a week and could barely do my running for 3 weeks.* It gave me a whole new view of how guarded health effects everything we do and often take for granted.

*Those weeks have jeopardized my yearly goal of 1100 miles. (I made last year's goal of 1020 but it took a lot of consistency from week to week.)

 

[ratsy]

Thanks for the comments Victoria.

Like Parson, I had the flu last month and it took 3 weeks to get to 90%. The same thing, by the time I got back to the gym I was the most sore I had been in a long time.

Perp hope you are feeling better

 

[Bowler1]

Thank you, Victoria.

 

[Kylara]

Thanks Victoria making my struggling brain feel better!

(Currently working on a ballad for my application (why on earth did I choose to do a ballad!?) about a giant oak tree through the ages (WITH DINOSAURS! ) and I still have another 5 verses to do le sigh)

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Thanks Victoria making my struggling brain feel better!

(Currently working on a ballad for my application (why on earth did I choose to do a ballad!?) about a giant oak tree through the ages (WITH DINOSAURS! ) and I still have another 5 verses to do le sigh)

I immediately got the image of an oak tree cursing as a T-rex did to the poor defenceless tree what dogs do to trees in this era.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Lenny - Is there any more iconic image of a life span than that of an hour glass, sands running away as a lifetime passes. But imagine then that this could be real, and that those who worked with them were doing their best to slow that passage to make lives longer? A great idea, and really loved the single line of the third paragraph.

StilLearning - There is much that can make a man rage against his god(s), vast injustices that can drive a man to do crazy things. But when it seems that God is not listening just how far could someone go in order to circumvent his will. Changing the world under the force of subatomic entities, eradicating it, or rewriting it into a kinder image, will this new creator hear the cries when his people call? Or is this what God wanted all along?

Glisterspeck - I found this one to be both endearing and touching, with just the right amount of undercurrent to give it an emotional core. Two girls trying to escape the life they have known, one with patience, one without. How long it takes Sophie to find the key that opens the door one does not know, and I wonder whether she ever really did. But what matters is, that one way or another, she made it to the other side and all that she could have dreamed for is waiting.

Reiver33 - One of my favourite TV shows of all time was the inspiration for this brilliant piece. And hear the voice of Crews is as true as it was in the show. It does not matter what is thrown at the fruit munching detective his Zen shines through. So not only do we have a great story, featuring a great show, but the very title of that show does not even need to be spoken.

AlcubierreWarp - And if the previous piece was inspired by a television show can this be anything less? But it is the starting point, something that begins as little more than a diagnostic program - to save life - grows into something a lot more complex, could it actually be that a simple tool, by overuse and familiarity could become life?


Many thanks for all the good wishes. I'm a lot better now, and if there can be said to be an upside to any illness then it is the fact that it not eating for the better part of 7 days, I've lost quite a bit of weight that needed to go anyway.

In short I had flu proper, which left me with a severe respiratory tract infection, and while be examined for that, the doctor discover a slight anomaly on my left lung. It's probably just some nasty gunk left over from the infection, but what ho, now a series of tests for that.

Of course while this was going on Mrs. Perp came down with the Flu, and hers worsened and symptoms changed until she was diagnosed as having the Norwalk Virus, not particularly threatening, unless to a child, but highly infectious, which means she cannot go near the kids.

So still recovering from my little infirmity I've got to look after the kids too. How do you explain to a 10 month old that they can't go near mummy?

 

[Tecdavid]

Mine won't deserve a vote regardless of whether anyone likes it, surely. Parodying someone else's song is bloody lazy, but it sure was fun. I don't know why, but that song is just what popped into my head when I read "Life".

 

[Tecdavid]

Hope, I really liked your poem. It's easy to lose the sense of rhythm when reading poetry, but yours was consistent, and so it was easy to follow. What's more, the verses themselves were beautiful.

Karn, the cereal gag was genius. I had a feeling this theme would attract a lot of sombre, heavy-going entries, so it was pleasantly surprising to read something funny.

Glen, yours got me thinking. Made me feel depressed in a way i felt I should be, actually.

JohnnyJet, the chocolates' dialogue made me laugh. Then actually imagining a sentient box of chocolates made me laugh again!

Alcubierre, yours was pretty creepy. Actually getting across the terror of suddenly-gained sentience, then portraying the fact that sentience is being lost, was effective for me.

Talysia, I love the god and goddess you invented for yours. As a matter of fact, they'd make wonderful characters in some world's mythology, so keep them in mind!

 

[Lenny]

Lenny - This is quite a unique tale. Gathering for the ritual, creating the hour glass to keep track of time, and the further advancement of knowledge. Strange and surreal, truely a one of a kind story. Remarkable.

Lenny -- very unusual

Lenny - Is there any more iconic image of a life span than that of an hour glass, sands running away as a lifetime passes. But imagine then that this could be real, and that those who worked with them were doing their best to slow that passage to make lives longer? A great idea, and really loved the single line of the third paragraph.

Thanks for the comments! I do hope that mine is the good type of "unusual".

Having just come from diagnosing myself in the Improving our Stories thread with an addiction to subtlety, here is proof that I'm making problems for myself. Typical. As people have said in other threads, it's remarkable to see interpretations of your story that you didn't consider.

I'm sure I've seen others make remarks like this in previous discussion threads before the voting commenced, so I'm hoping that it's not against the rules for me to say that whilst parts of the story look to have been interpreted as I intended, the bulk of it is still a mystery. I'm no longer convinced, though, that it will be picked up on - I have most probably fallen into the trap of writing it assuming that people will know exactly what I was thinking, and I think I cut too much to bring it within the word count for the links to be made.

I fear the wrath of the mods, and their powers to snuff out life, so I shall say no more.

---

Reading the entries, I'm currently torn between Karn's (reminds me of a classic film!) and Alcubierre's (which, if I understand correctly, makes me think of these entities in a different light - I'll be more patient and nicer to them in the future).

As always, it's another interesting set of entries! And as always, it's incredible to be given a window into other people's thought processes - few things are as wonderful as an individual's interpretation of a theme.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

J. Hollick -- a spare, realistic depiction of an extraordinary event which might happen at any time

alchemist -- a most surprising conclusion

Tecdavid -- an amusing song parody

 

[hopewrites]

thanks Tecdavid, cadence is one of my favorite parts of poetry, I'm glad you like mine.

 

[Starbeast]

Starbeast -- unexpected and amusing

Thank you Victoria Silverwolf

Many thanks for all the good wishes. I'm a lot better now, and if there can be said to be an upside to any illness then it is the fact that it not eating for the better part of 7 days, I've lost quite a bit of weight that needed to go anyway.

I'm happy to hear you're alright. Great to have you back with us again.

Thanks for the comments! I do hope that mine is the good type of "unusual".

You're welcome Lenny.



Stormcrow - Scanning the cosmos can be wonderous, beautiful and surprising. I love it in real life when something is discovered in outer space that can't be identified and is moving through the universe. Being the comic book fan that I am, I loved that last line.

Victoria Silverwolf - I sometimes image other intelligent beings from elsewhere in the universe exploring space, or conducting scientific reaserch. In this tale the outworlders experiment with what we humans are familiar with. A very cool tale indeed.

J.Hollick - Space exploration can be very costly for us tax payers of Earth, yet we all hope our funding pays off. This story is a very excellent example of how it may happen. Suddenly, one day, out of the blue, we discover life beyond our planet. What a day that would be.

Alchemist - Ah, you caught me off guard with your story, the zinger at the end zapped me like a ray gun set for stun. In the deep areas of my mind, I think about what very small life forms are like. In your tale, not unlike us humans, and that's what I like about this entry.

Tecdavid - Another rare moment in the posts, where a tale is written as a song, marvelous. This is how it all comes about for the planet Earth, humans have their choices, their opportunities, their triumphs and failures, then, it's over.

 

[Kylara]

I immediately got the image of an oak tree cursing as a T-rex did to the poor defenceless tree what dogs do to trees in this era.

Haha if only DEO! Nowhere near as fun...'finished' it this morning though and sent it to a poetical friend to have a look. The dinos ended up getting wiped out by a meteor which was a shame, I was kind of hoping they would feature for more than one verse!

Next 75er they shall make a return methinks, DINOS FOREVER!

 

[Talysia]

Thanks for the comments, Tecdavid, and I'll definitely be keeping those character in mind. I've written them down in a notebook, in case the perfect situation for them pops up in any future writing projects.