Discussion thread -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE June 2013

[Juliana]

Thank you very much for the shortlisting, johnnyjet and stormcrow!

 

[MPorter]

I gave my vote to Sleepydormouse. I'm a sucker for myth building and I fell in love with the effortless whimsy of the piece.

Cheers!

~Mike

 

[Perpetual Man]

wow! thanks johnnyjet for shortlisting me! made my day that has.

I went with Perpetual Man for my vote. I really liked the pace, structure and tone of the poem. I also really liked Boneman and moonbat's. So many good ones to choose between.

Just to give credit where credit is due SleepyDormouse, you meant Paranoid Marvin not me as it was he who had the pace and structure, and indeed was a poem. (This is what happens when the two PM's post next to each other )

He did get the vote, deservedly, damn fine poet is our PM. (To save trouble with the similar initials I go with Perp.)

 

[AMB]

Thanks Venusian Broon and Stormcrow for the shortlistings.

 

[SleepyDormouse]

I gave my vote to Sleepydormouse. I'm a sucker for myth building and I fell in love with the effortless whimsy of the piece.

Oh, thank you!

Just to give credit where credit is due SleepyDormouse, you meant Paranoid Marvin not me as it was he who had the pace and structure, and indeed was a poem. (This is what happens when the two PM's post next to each other )

He did get the vote, deservedly, damn fine poet is our PM. (To save trouble with the similar initials I go with Perp.)

Ooops! Sorry to you both. I'll try pay closer attention to names in future..

 

[ratsy]

It took a while to sort out, but the four vying for my vote eventually dwindled down to:

AMB, Ratsy, Perpetual Man and Parson.

Very difficult to decide which one, but after much contemplation and re-reading, Ratsy got it by a nose. Packed with a lot of layers, really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much Venusian! I really appreciate it. Glad you like it.

 

[RoninJedi84]

Just went through all the stories and my shortlist includes about 2/3 of them! Going to try to whittle that down some. Good luck, I think.

Thanks very much to Luiglin for the vote. I really appreciate your compliment and I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

 

[Starbeast]

Top 3 for me.

Starbeast - always like a bit of Cthulhu
Moonbat - nice comic last line
Ursa Major - forget ray guns we need more mad scientists

Vote goes to RoninJedi84

Wow! You made my night Luiglin. I made your Top 3. Thank you!

Thanks for the review, Perp, and also Victoria and Starbeast as well!

You're welcome Culhwch.

Thanks for the insights Perp & Starbeast.

You're welcome AnyaKimlin.

Thanks for the mention, Luiglin. And thanks for the mini reviews, Victoria and Starbeast.

You're mighty welcomed Ursa Major.

thankyou for the reviews victoria and starbeast! you guys are always so kind.. you make my day!

You are very welcomed Jastius.

Short List
___________________________________________________​

Victoria Silverwolf - Alchemist - Ratsy - Bowler1 - Luiglin - Mosaix - Karn Maeshalanadae - Glen - Venusian Broon - TheDustyZebra - MemoryTale - Tywin - Lenny - Chrispenycate - TacticalLoco - Paranoid Marvin - Johnnyjet - Crystal Haven - BetaWolf - Parson - The Spurring Platty - Boneman - PhillipAEllis - Moonbat - AnyaKimlin - Culhwch - AJB - Phyrebrat - The Judge - Ursa major - Jastius​

 

[Starbeast]

I just did a double-take when I noticed I got a vote! Thanks PhillipAEllis, you made my night!

 

[RoninJedi84]

Okay, after another run through and some note-taking, I whittled my shortlist down to 11, so bear with me.


BigJ – Started this month on a good note. I love how these beings are preparing to wipe out an entire planet, and they’re just running through all their options like it’s just another day at the office.

Victoria Silverwolf – I connected with this one because it sounds like a tale my 8 year old daughter would spin. Loved the inclusion of waving at the Devil, and laughed out loud at the last line. Very nice.

Cathy M. – Nice spin on a classic epic monster. Leaves me wondering if the humans grow fewer because of the elements, or because of the beasts, and conjures some truly nasty mental pictures.

like_the_morningstar – The realization of what our protagonists are discussing just punched me in the heart. Short and bittersweet. Nicely done.

MemoryTale – Another one that got a laugh out of me. Classic tale of setting out to prove someone wrong, only to disastrously prove them right.

Tywin – This one is in the exact same category as MemoryTale’s. Tough to choose between the two.

Writersblock – A sobering piece which the title sums up perfectly. I won’t deny that it tugged my heart strings a bit.

TacticalLoco – I don’t know if you if was your intention, but I took this as a morality tale with a humorous twist. The phrase “if you don’t use it, you lose it” played in my mind as our lazy wizard grew tired of conventional methods, and created an exotic one which promptly ended (or lost - if you will) everything.

Johnnyjet – This one brought back memories of The Twighlight Zone. I think that says it all.

Boneman – This one left me with a sense of awe as I realized the intentional destruction of one race was meant to lead to the salvation of another. Fantastic.

CrumpleHornedSnorkak – This struck me as a simple yet powerful tale of one man (I assume) who accepts his approaching death and chooses to meet it fighting. Well done.


I'll skip my short-short list of six and just give the top three:

Victoria Silverwolf
MemoryTale (I'll be honest, I had to flip a coin to decide between this one and Tywin)
Boneman

In the end, I had to give it to Boneman.

Awesome entries all around this month! I know it gets said a lot, but I really had a hard time getting down to a winner this month. Nicely done, everybody!

 

[Tywin]

Thanks for the short(ish) list Ronin!

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Thanks for the shortlistings, johnnyjet and stormcrow

 

[jastius]

Thankyou Starbeast for putting me on your list.. happy happy happy

 

[Boneman]

Many thanks to Stormcrow and Starbeast for the shortlist and SleepyDoormouse for the close third - glad you all liked it. I always feel somewhat surprised, when I see the stories that are included alongside mine, because they're all so damn good! Voting, schmoting, still struggling with my shortlist.

RoninJedi!!! Another vote, and a great way to sum it up as well - if ever Starbeast, Perp and Victoria are all away on holiday, I reckon you could step in... Thank you so much for starting my day on a real high, very much appreciated.

ps: notices a curious thing: my story was entitled STarlight, STarbright, and I'm getting shortlists and mentions from Stormcrow, and Starbeast, and close third from Sleepydoormouse. (starts work on next month's title which will be twenty-six words long...)

 

[Moonbat]

We here at the Chronicles apologise whole heartedly to the residents of Slough and their wonderful city,

I apologise for nothing. I grew up near Slough and worked there for a few years (I used to walk past the Mars factory twice a day). I stand by my story.

Firstly thanks to Springs, Luiglin, Starbeast and Johnnyjet for the mentions/shortlistings.

Thanks also to Starbeast, Victoria Silverwolf, Mr Orange and Perp for the reviews, all were flattering.

Ok, here is my shortlist, runners up and winner.


AMB – Coastal Erosion
Revier33 – The final Chorus
Mosaix – Restaurant at the end of theEarth
Glen – the ends of the earth
Alex Mason – Extra credit
TDZ – Pop and the question
Tywin – the leap
sleepydoormouse – the needle worker
paranoid marvin – alone
Parson – the miserable evangelist
JordanSc5 – Adam and Eve

Another great month, well done to all who entered and lets make this month a close race

 

[crystal haven]

Thank you very much for the vote, Stormcrow. I'm really pleased you liked it.

And thank you for the mention on your short list, Starbeast.

 

[Starbeast]

Thankyou Starbeast for putting me on your list.. happy happy happy

You're welcome Jastius. I enjoyed your sci-fi vampire story. I was also glad you made it in time to post. You were among the mighty fine tales on the last page of the challenge thread.

Many thanks to Stormcrow and Starbeast for the shortlist and SleepyDoormouse for the close third - glad you all liked it. I always feel somewhat surprised, when I see the stories that are included alongside mine, because they're all so damn good!

ps: notices a curious thing: my story was entitled STarlight, STarbright, and I'm getting shortlists and mentions from Stormcrow, and Starbeast, and close third from Sleepydoormouse. (starts work on next month's title which will be twenty-six words long...)

You're welcome Boneman, good stuff. My Short List is actually a combination of my Honorable Mentions, and my very small Runner's Up List (which you were a part of).

Firstly thanks to Springs, Luiglin, Starbeast and Johnnyjet for the mentions/shortlistings.

Thanks also to Starbeast, Victoria Silverwolf, Mr Orange and Perp for the reviews, all were flattering.

You're doublely welcomed Moonbat. I didn't know Slough was the name of a real place, but that makes your story even more special. If I was from Slough, I would find your story, very complimentary.

Thank you very much for the vote, Stormcrow. I'm really pleased you liked it.

And thank you for the mention on your short list, Starbeast.

You are very welcomed Crystal Haven, nice work.

 

[ratsy]

SB, thanks for the mention. Much appreciated

 

[Brev]

I've got my strict head on this month, and had to discount several good stories which for me didn't match the theme.

Runners up:
AMB - Well set up for a great last line.

paranoid marvin - I'm always a fan. Great flow, you make it look easy.

crystal haven. - An epic tale in a few words. Loved the switch at the end.


Vote: TheDustyZebra - Swoggled Hoopersnack indeed! You send us on a heroic quest to the EndS of the Earth and back, then hit us with a killer last line.

 

[jastius]

You're welcome Jastius. I enjoyed your sci-fi vampire story. I was also glad you made it in time to post. You were among the mighty fine tales on the last page of the challenge thread.
.

thankyou starbeast! almost didn't make it ...was stuck in the neighbours garden for four hours doing yardwork for a pensioner when i finished it was something like fifteen minutes before threadlock... (good thing she didn't have more weeds.. )