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

[AMB]

Thanks Moonbat and Brev for the runner up listings.

 

[Boneman]

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.. )

How many did you smoke??

 

[stormcrow]

Wassat? A vote snuck in? For Me? Thanks Aber - I'm delighted you liked it!

 

[Parson]

StarBeast -- Thanks for the short listing. I'm always thrilled when others see some merit in what I wrote.

 

[Boneman]

This is harder than writing the Challenge, and I'm afraid there's nothing for it, but to give the whole list. It would be unfair to try to whittle it down, just for the sake of it, and with so many fantastic entries, I feel it's only right and proper that those I liked should get a mention. Three categories: Great stories, so more than an honourable mention, more missed-out-on-the -shortlist-by-a-whisker, Shortlist, and *Finalists*:

Big J
Springs
*Alchemist*
Stormcrow
*Ratsy*
Mosaix
Venusian Broom
Juliana
Memory Tale
Tywin
Lenny
SleepyDoormouse
Johnnyjet
MPorter
*Parson*
The Spurring Platty
Jordan SC5
Moonbat
AJB
Ursa Major

Any of the finalists could have won, (three votes this month would have been great doncha think?) but after a lot of agonising, I went with Ratsy, whose story encompassed the title so well, and made me smile everytime I read it.

Well done to everyone who entered - 'twas an excellent challenge as usual, and the voting just gets harder, every time.

 

[ratsy]

OK, so I have reread all of the stories and here is my shortlist. Loads of good ones. This theme brought out some really cool ideas.

Stormcrow - Daughter of Creation - cool descriptive prose, tip my hat to you
RoninJedi84 - A Promise Kept - epic story in 75 words or less...nice
TDZ - Pop the Question - Hilarious, love it
Sleepydormouse - The Needle Worker - I like the feel, painted a cool picture
TacticalLoco - The end is Near - Lazy wizard, self destruction...good lesson
Parson - A Miserable Evangelist - Methinks Trolls may prefer the fire
Boneman - Starlight, Starbright - a really cool idea, really got me
JordanSC5 - Adam and Eve- well done, great last line, hope he has wine.
Phyrbrat - The Lament of Vinson Massif - beautiful and touching

And for me the winner is..........BONEMAN

All well done but as soon as I read it I loved it


Edit: I see now that Boneman just voted for me minutes before I posted...I was in the middle of writing my post and his Vote in no way affected my vote since I didn't see it until after.

 

[Boneman]

And for me the winner is..........BONEMAN

All well done but as soon as I read it I loved it


Edit: I see now that Boneman just voted for me minutes before I posted...I was in the middle of writing my post and his Vote in no way affected my vote since I didn't see it until after.

Thanks Ratsy, and I'm glad I didn't see that you'd voted for me before I cast mine, either!! I voted for what I thought was the best story and only saw your post afterwards. All I can say is: great minds think alike... but differently... somehow.

 

[stormcrow]

Thanks for the listings both Boneman & ratsy (thanks for your comment too)

Both - I love it when that sort of synchronicity of thought happens!

(sorry to cut in - rude of me!)

 

[ratsy]

Thank you as well. It has been many moons since I have gathered more than 1 vote in this, so I am more than happy

 

[Parson]

Boneman -- Thanks for the "Finalist" list. I'm much pleased!

Ratsy -- Thanks for the Short list. My story is being better received that I had imagined.

-----------------

This was difficult! As usual, a lot of fine stories. But unlike usual I wasn't sure that many of them really were on theme. It seemed like "Ends of the Earth" was understood to be "the end of the earth." For myself I had a hard time with that jump. I see the phrase "ends of the earth" to be a word picture for something far and unknown, while "the end of the earth" to me is more of a literal time. --- Perhaps I'm weird, but that really made voting for a lot of stories difficult for me.

AMB — Coastal Erosion: A fine play on the phrase the ends of the earth.

Ratsy — Where the Stars go to Drink – An ending I never saw coming. But a hard place to concentrate on your ale.

Mosaix — The Restaurant at the Ends of the World – Is this a poem? Some weird ball story? I don’t know, but I liked it. The last line was a classic.

Tiwyn — The Leap — Dark, very dark. A comment on the difference between worthy leadership and leadership as position.

Chrispenycate — And Middle-Earth ends – An autobiographical verse about the ending of an age at an age.

The Spurring Platty — (Book) Ends of the Earth — A subtle jab but well landed.

Phillip A. Ellis — The Wanderer of the Ways of all the World’s Confession — A lyrical look at myth and experience.

AJB — Boundless – A reversal I did not see coming.

The Judge — To Strive. To Seek. To Find? – The question at the end leaves all the questions and gives none of the answers.


The Winner: The Spurring Platty who managed to show us how our descent from reading is bringing us a time when we may not be able to discern reality at all.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Phyrebrat – An interesting tale that effectively takes us to the other side of the end of the world; it is the world building that strikes me the most – the idea that Antarctica is one of the last refuges in a dying world, and that it is beautiful really appealed to me, however the fact that the loved ones are there waiting is both unsettling and comforting.

TJ – Is this the last desperate gambit to save the world. A nice double use of the theme travelling to the end of the Earth in order to save the world. But there is a nebulous undertone, perhaps the feeling that what is being attempted might fail, that the quest might all have been for nothing, or maybe, even worse the sought for angels are not going to be the help that is hoped for. Or worse.

Ursa – Curiosity killed the cat, or so the saying goes. It seems that sometimes when people get what they wish for, it changes them. When the wonder of being given the ability to travel to alternate Earth's is revealed it comes with a dark side. It is rather disheartening to find in this case that the protagonist becomes callous, revelling in the opportunity and not caring about the cost.

Jastius – I could see so many different way of looking at the story that it makes it hard to try and comment on it. It could be a science fiction epic, or a horror, a gripping tale of survival, or a romance, and so many other things, so the fact that the story is cohesive and is just that, a story, is a credit to the writers skill.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

A vote, yay! Thanks, Brev!

Thanks as well for shortlistings, Bowler, Starbeast, Moonbat and Ratsy -- boy, now there's a collection of people who know silly when they see it!

 

[CrumpleHornedSnorkak]

I really don't know who to vote for... arrrggghh...

 

[SleepyDormouse]

I'm really chuffed to see my little piece was liked enough to get more mentions. Thank you Moonbat (runner-up, thats great) Boneman and Ratsy.

 

[RoninJedi84]

Thanks for the short(ish) list Ronin!

You're very welcome. I hate having to coin-flip, but it happens quite a bit during these challenges. Last month I had to call my wife and just say, "Pick a number between 1 and 10." Her answer of even/odd decided my vote.

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.

You're welcome! Reviews really aren't my forte', but the entries this month were so hard to choose, I figured my short-ish list deserved a hair more than a list of names. In the end, I just couldn't shake the "Wow" feeling your story brought on, so I had to give it the vote.

Awesome job this month to you and everyone else!

 

[BetaWolf]

Thank you for the vote, Starbeast.

 

[jastius]

thank you for the review perpetual man!

"the fact that the story is cohesive and is just that, a story, is a credit to the writers skill."

*wug*(skills-wot are those? gawrsh.. its like he's talking likes i knows wat to do or sumwat... nah.. couldn't be)

"I could see so many different way of looking at the story that it makes it hard to try and comment on it."
sorry to be confusing there. had a different- (simpler) thing but the file wouldn't open and had to make some hard decisions...
thank you again for your always lovely reviews; you are as always so very kind.

 

[Mr Orange]

well having read and re-read the stories three stayed in my mind and kept me going back....

victoria silverwolf: anitpodes
ratsy: where the stars go to drink
moonbat: the last place on earth

but the one that gets my vote is the one that i couldn't get out of my head and left me wanting to read much more than the 75 words that were on offer, and that was moonbat... i shall now go and vote... and book my train to slough...

 

[johnnyjet]

Thanks for the short-listings Starbeast, RoninJedi84 and Boneman, and for the nice commentary Ronin. Always an honor to get a mention among such worthy talents.

 

[Bowler1]

A vote, yay! Thanks, Brev!

Thanks as well for shortlistings, Bowler, Starbeast, Moonbat and Ratsy -- boy, now there's a collection of people who know silly when they see it!

Your welcome - I think!

When I'm confused I shoot RAY GUNS, so I'm off down the shooting range. Needless to say, I get confused a lot!