DISCUSSION -- March 2014 75 Word Writing Challenge

[hopewrites]

Oh Bob! That's charming



the last moment-ers will be trickling in now... then voting

 

[Bowler1]

Bowler normlly looks after the Runners and Riders commentary, with Ray-guns for those who misbehave...

I like to think of it as mild encouragement to join in and have fun, with minor burns and scorch marks as proof of everyone's willingness to take part.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Well, it's a small price to pay!!!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

bedlamite -- The author creates an exotic and brooding mood in this stoic meditation.

mosaix -- A deceptively matter-of-fact tone is used to strengthen the irony of this clever tale.

kiffinyjean -- Through the eyes of an ordinary person, we witness a unique mixture of the extraordinary and the mundane.

Benst -- A new myth is created in this remarkably original story.

Moonbat -- Through the use of personal details, this allegorical fable touches the reader's heart.

Bob Senior -- A fearsome figure is made to gain our empathy in this wry folktale.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

; by the time I hit 50 (I really hope to one day), those people will be approaching 100.

Way to make us feel really old, there.

Sooo, there IS a downside to the voting here!! I think the torture I am really dreading is getting down from, say, 350 words to 300...I still anguish over the last 2-3 words I cut from my 75 word piece! (Well, 'anguish' is too strong of a word, but I do wish I could add 1 more word back in! )

Yes, I think most people agree that it's actually harder to write 300 than 75. Once you're used to 75, four times that amount seems so decadent that you will almost certainly go overboard in hedonistic joy, and then have to work your way back down from 1000.

You'll discover, when voting time comes, that the mentions are usually the greater part of the enjoyment. Since we never (maybe once?) get as many votes as we have stories, an oddity that escapes all reasoning, and there are generally a couple of frontrunners, most people end up with no votes at all -- so the shortlists and honorable mentions are the icing and the cherry on top.

 

[Starbeast]

I believe it will be one in the past, yes.

Heh heh. I'll be in the TARDIS, if anyone is looking for me.

Ah-hah, I posted in February's thread by mistake, giant dork!!!

Just re-post here Cat's. Anyone can make a mistake. I've had plenty of typos myself. More than I can remember.

Death/Fantasy
(part seven)​

Kiffinyjean - Firstly, nice to meet you. And second, you've made a delightful story, showing that Death is not a bad guy, because he can be helpful and pleasent to be around. Wonderful.

Benst - The tale you've carved from bones was very detailed and atmospheric. You left me wanting more. I felt like I was reading a prologue from a very dark and monster-filled novel. Awesome.

Moonbat - A superb title set me up for a drama that flowed smoothly and touched my heart with emotional intensity. Very well crafted indeed. Oh, the last lines, made my eyes glassy. Good stuff.

Bob Senior - Just about everyone fears the coming of Death, but when the Reaper arrives to one individual in particular, it is a meeting with a friend. This is definately a fun story to enjoy. Nicely done sir.




I'd like to say, that it's great to see so many SFFC members (both new, and old) join us here.

 

[Perpetual Man]

There is movement in the corner of the room and shadows coalesce, like curtains moving in a breeze a something shapeless is given form. It is dark, bowed over, supporting itself on a staff.. No not a staff a scythe, with a blade as black as midnight, with an edge made of starlight. With hands of yellowing bone, the hooded figure creaks and cracks across the room, the face under the hood all grim sockets and rictus teeth. HULLOOO. SO GLAD TO SEE YOU, I AM A FELLOW GUEST, a voice like tombstones cracking, I’M SURE I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO A FEW MORE OF THESE FINE PEOPLE. I KNOW EVERYONE YOU SEE, I MEET YOU ALL. SOONER OR LATER.

HERE WE HAVE BIGJ HE LIKES TO BELIEVE THAT THE AFTER WORLD IS A PLACE THAT ONE MUST BUY INTO. IT IS A GOOD IDEA. THERE IS SOMETHING INORDINATELY INTRIGUING IN THE IDEA THAT THE PLACE IN THE UNDERWORLD IS NOT FOR ALL... HOW GOOD A POKER PLAYER ARE YOU? Laughter, the sound of coffins creaking. An eloquent gesture,

AND THIS WOULD BE GLEN A VERY INTERESTING IDEA, SOMEONE WHO MAY WELL HAVE ESCAPED DEATH, BUT PERHAPS WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE. WHAT A MONOTONOUS LIFE. UNCHANGING, WITH NOTHING GOING ON BORING. I CAN THINK OF NOTHING MORE TERRIFYING. A long drawn out sigh, and it turn to introduce another, the bones clicking arthritically.

HOW CUTE, A SLEEPYDORMOUSE, TO BEGIN WITH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL IDEA. THERE IS MORE TO DEATH THAN PEOPLE PASSING AWAY. SEASONS DIE AND PEOPLE MARVEL AT THE BEAUTY. BUT THERE IS A STING IN THE TALE AS SOMETHING MIRACULOUS DRIFTS AWAY AT THE SAME TIME. SO SAD. Light glints of the cheekbone and for a moment it looks like a tear, but it is just light.

NOW FOR JASTIUS, OH FOR THE HANDMAIDENS OF DEATH. THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM, THEY MADE THE JOB EASIER. BUT SOMETIMES IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AS STRAIGHT FORWARD AS ONE HOPED. PEOPLE CAN ONLY COME WHEN THEY ARE READY. Taps a finger on an arm, making a sound like a deathwatch beetle.

WELL, CRYSTAL HAVEN HERE, SHOWS US SOMETHING THAT REALLY SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE HIDDEN AWAY FOR A REASON. GOOD REASON. IF DISCOVERED LEAVE WELL ALONE, OR YOU MAY WELL GET A VISITOR YOU WERE NOT EXPECTING AND CERTAINLY DID NOT WANT.

YOUNG ALEX HERE IS IN A LOT OF TROUBLE. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN LEAFING THROUGH MY DIARY. AND USING IT FOR HIS OWN NEFARIOUS ENDS. OH IT MIGHT BE TRUE ENOUGH. IT WAS A FEW YEARS AGO. I DON’T TALK ABOUT IT.

And like a scurrying rat the shape sinks back into the shadows. There is the whisper like a guillotine falling and it is gone.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Thanks for the note, DustyZebra! I hope everyone will forgive a moment of hubris (misplaced, foolish hubris), but I was so excited by the idea of entering a story in a writing contest, and when I posted my story that first day of the contest I thought "Wow, I might even get a vote!", and after reading so many terrific stories, I am thinking "OMG, I hope maybe I get one mention!" I can see that a mention would be very dear here. But I am truly excited to see the voting trends, and learn which stories will be fighting it out to make the Hall of Fame!!

Hey Starbeast! I am kind of a dork though...I can't tell you how many times I get lost here, and can't find the thread I am looking for...one I posted in just a few days before. Oh well, I shall learn! Okay, as usual I think I am writing too much, so greetings all, and farewel for now! CC

 

[jastius]

oooh! what a lovely review perp/mort/didi/shadow-rises... thankyou thankyou thankyou!!! you always get to the beating heart of the story.... especially now.. ..


(and cats cradle, to find a thread you have previously posted in go to the control bar at the top of the page and hit user cp button and it will bring up your pm's and subscribed threads (threads you have read or posted in) you can also look up a particular reply in the statistics button on your own page. then it will show the number of posts you have made .. click and a one line precis of your posts will appear and you can scroll down to the one in question and click it and it will take you to the thread. )

 

[Alex The G and T]

Thanks, Perp, very nice. SQUEEK SQUEEK

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Thanks for the note, DustyZebra! I hope everyone will forgive a moment of hubris (misplaced, foolish hubris), but I was so excited by the idea of entering a story in a writing contest, and when I posted my story that first day of the contest I thought "Wow, I might even get a vote!",

I think we all think that, most of the time! Oddly enough, it's usually the ones you didn't think that about that do the best.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Sometimes I think we should do a radio show together. We're good at stretching our brains for the masses. You're a Man of many colorful guises Perp.

That would be something I would pay to see... errr hear, and would probably be a lot of fun. Many thanks SB

 

[Perpetual Man]

Ah, there you are I thought you may well have wandered off by now, and we would not want that, not with the party beginning to draw to a close. Look, even more guests are still arriving, there’s a bit of life in the old dog yet. Allow old Mort to make another round of introductions.

Brev - A rather callous view of death, and I’m sure not one that I would want to be associated with, not that there is any reason I would be, you understand? But it is a clever and understandable one. If one were to be collecting the dead for a reason, why would they want to take someone who brought so many to it’s door?

Catullus - Oh, the patience of death against the stubbornness of humanity. The story shows a truth, that death is always present. It might appear as though it is waiting, it might seem that it only arrives at the end, but it is always there. It just is. And although there are those that might believe they have escaped it, ultimately it will come.

Bedlamite - This is an interesting take on things. It pulls to my heart some to see life compared to a song. It is a good comparison I believe. Highs and lows, a beginning and end. Glorious. Oh such a wonderful idea. It makes me want to tickle the old ivories and see who stumbles first.

mosaix - An excellent setup, one of suspense, well crafted in such a short tale. Any one of the potentials could fall in a number of ways. But no, there is an epic twist, death comes to Death. It brings to mind what the jolly old fellow Lovecraft had to say: “That is not dead which can eternal lie, yet with stranger eons, even death may die.” Just not yet.

kiffinyjean - Say what you will about death, but it is inordinately clean. It is never capricious or cruel. It ends suffering and brings peace, this story is an excellent metaphor for that catching the heart of what it is to live and die, the existential nature of an anthropomorphic representation of... Well it might just be a story about Death taking a wife and that he enjoys to clean dishes.

BenSt - Interesting. A different angle taken, where death is an ambience in the air, still taking part but not present. Cleverly death must have once taken the god, but as is the case with deities might release its grasp, but will be called more heavily into service when the god returns.

MB - A simple tale, that is as much about loss as it is death. This is something that needed to be considered. Although death itself is really just something that happens, there is the human angle, the effect that it can have on those left behind. Grieving is very much part of the human condition, and death is the greatest instigator.

Bob - Oh what a wonderful piece of frippery. Death has a friend. What a truly delightful concept. A good starting point for deep thought to. I am sure there are many who would claim to be a friend to death. But is it a friend back? I would not like to say. But I enjoyed the story. It made me smile.

Well I fear the evening is drawing to a close. But I do believe there is time for a few more guests, so please hold on, just for a little longer...

 

[Starbeast]

Hey Starbeast! I am kind of a dork though...I can't tell you how many times I get lost here, and can't find the thread I am looking for...one I posted in just a few days before. Oh well, I shall learn! Okay, as usual I think I am writing too much, so greetings all, and farewel for now! CC

Hey Cat's. If you're not sure about anything, or if you're looking for a something, just ask one of us. We'd be happy to help you.

BTW, no one can ever write enough. I asked Ray Bradbury about the method to successful writing. And he told me, "Write everyday."

That would be something I would pay to see... errr hear, and would probably be a lot of fun. Many thanks SB

Anytime Man.

Death/Fantasy
(part eight)​

Phyrebrat - Wow. You wrote a terrifically gloomy story that's been dredged from the pit of darkness. About an artist with a troubled soul, that is channeled by Death to create a nightmare work of art. Very cool.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The deadline is fast approaching. Only a few more hours for people to get in their stories, but it's already an incredible month, both in quality and quantity, and possibly the most stories we've seen in any given month during the last year. (And even better if the brinkmanship crowd manage to posts theirs before the deadline.)

 

[mosaix]

There's an outside chance we may hit 60.

 

[BenSt]

BenSt - Interesting. A different angle taken, where death is an ambience in the air, still taking part but not present. Cleverly death must have once taken the god, but as is the case with deities might release its grasp, but will be called more heavily into service when the god returns.

Thankyou for your review, most appreciated

 

[Ursa major]

The Challenge has been closed to new entries.


You can vote here:

Poll - March 75-Word Challenge​

 

[BenSt]

My first time voting and I already made a faux pas... I accidentally voted for myself! Please discount that vote!

 

[mosaix]

My first time voting and I already made a faux pas... I accidentally voted for myself! Please discount that vote!

I'm sure if you PM a Mod they can remove it.

Teresa, Chris or Ursa should be able to fix it.