DISCUSSION -- March 2014 75 Word Writing Challenge

[TacticalLoco]

Quick thank you to all the excellent reviewers. You make me sound like I know what I'm doing.

And welcome indeed to all the newcomers this month. Fine stories all around.

 

[Bowler1]

I think we're going to have more than 50 posts this month - I'm nailing up my colours here and crossing all my fingers and toes. All the new members that have been drawn in must surely do the trick.

 

[Perpetual Man]

And there is my addition in the attempt to beat 50...

 

[Bowler1]

And there is my addition in the attempt to beat 50...

The "Former Comma Giver" (a happy typo) and now the "Full Stop Giver", but not just yet mate.

Yay... 40.

 

[Starbeast]

Thank for your comments Starbeast!

I must say, yours raised a smile! I liked the parallel to the symbolic 'threefold death' which we see in so many mythic traditions...

You're welcome Stormcrow. And thank you for your review. You made my night.

Thanks Starbeast for your comments

You're welcome Aun Doorback.

Thanks for the reviews, everyone...

You got it, Karn.

Thanks to Victoria, Perpetual Man and Starbeast for your reviews. It is so good to receive some early feedback on our entries. Much appreciated

You're very welcome Remedy.

Thanks for the review, Starbeast

You're welcome David Evil Overlord.

Thanks Starbeast for the feedback, I am glad it made sense

Heh heh. You're welcome Azzagorn.

Thanks for the kind words starbeast

Absolutely Mr Orange.

Thanks for the nice reviews, Perpetual Man & Starbeast!

I see there are several new folks submitting their works. Welcome to the Challenges, Khayos, Quellist, Cat's Cradle, holland, Wazkal, ethelredtheunredey & SirSamuelVimes! Good to have you here.

You're welcome Johnnyjet. And it is great to have new people join the challenge.

And thanks again!

Anytime Alchemist.

Thanks for the review Starbeast.

You're welcome Ratsy.

Thanks Victoria, Perp, and Starbeast for the comments!

You're very welcome The Spurring Platty.

Quick thank you to all the excellent reviewers. You make me sound like I know what I'm doing.

Heh heh. You're doing fine TacticalLoco. Keep em' flying.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Oh, very nice, hopewrites! And I love the poem, lonewolfwanderer. And what a beautiful story, SleepyDormouse! One of my favorites.

 

[hopewrites]

Thanks CC

 

[SleepyDormouse]

Thank you Cat's Cradle.

Now I've submitted I can have a good read of the entries, seems to be quite a few this month!

 

[Starbeast]

Death/Fantasy
(part three)​

Tisiphone - Exceptional story you've written for this challange. I get an overwhelming dose of dread in this one, and I can feel a boney hand squeezing my heart. Excruciatingly good.

Hopewrites - Interesting concept you've chosen. The circle of life repeating itself into cryptozoological creatures, showing that death isn't the end, but is always a new beginning. Wonderful.

TitaniumTi - This is a cool little piece of action that is like a film clip from a very envolving story. You left me wanting to read more, and I want it to keep going on and on. Good stuff.

Parson - Once again you've captured a very well written dark tale. I enjoyed this fanciful idea about keeping the Grim Reaper at bay with an ancient book of magic. Spooky good entertainment.

TheDustyZebra - A dying person's anger and defiance are the forces that stand tall against the Specter of Death. Mu-ha ha ha ha ha. You shook your fist and showed no fear with this story.

Boneman - "Momma, just killed a man, life has just begun, and now I've gone and thrown it all away.." Talk about sticking the fork into yourself. Mu-ha ha ha ha ha. Nicely executed sir.

Ethelredtheunredey - Firstly, nice to meet you. And second, I like this narrated story about a father who played with the powers of darkness to reanimate the dead, and tell fortunes. Well done.

AJB - A bitter sweet tale of a love, with the beloved individual remaining in a state of limbo until a solution can remedy the situation. You tug at my heart strings with this person who is at the edge of death. Good stuff.

Lonewolfwanderer - First off, nice to meet you. And second, I enjoyed your tremendous poetic story about a dying person's final thoughts. Darkly good reflections that were excellently rhymed.

Chrispenycate - Eleoquent as always, and you continue to draw my attention to your use of detail describing the characters and atmosphere. The Four Horseman never looked so cool, until now.

SirSamuelVimes - Firstly, nice to meet you. And second, I like your concept about the legacy of a sword. The weapon has been passed to another generation who feels compelled to end it's history. Good stuff.

Perpetual Man - Death narrates this tale, and tells it to you straight, without any pleasentness about. Heh heh. He has a job to do, and he does it well, live and let die. Marvelous.

BigJ - An outstanding piece of hellish work you've constructed. I highly enjoyed the terrific conversation, and game of chance. Practice your poker skills folks, because it may come in handy in the end. Heh heh.

Glen - This would make a great episode for the tv shows, The Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. You left me wanting more, but I do thrill at the idea of your character being stuck in a weird limbo. Fantastic sir.

SleepyDormouse - A sad, but sweetened offering about the death of everyone's favorite season, summer. You created such a beautiful nightmarish piece of art. (sigh) A wonderful treat.

 

[SirSamuelVimes]

SirSamuelVimes - Firstly, nice to meet you. And second, I like your concept about the legacy of a sword. The weapon has been passed to another generation who feels compelled to end it's history. Good stuff.

Nice to meet you as well, and thanks for the review!

 

[Parson]

Starbeast Thanks for the kind words. I could see her reading the book in my mind.

 

[Starbeast]

Nice to meet you as well, and thanks for the review!

You're welcome SirSamuelVines.

Starbeast Thanks for the kind words. I could see her reading the book in my mind.

You're welcome Parson. That's one of the best ways to write about something, visualize it clearly in your mind as if it were real.

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

Thank you Starbeast for the comments, and nice to meet you too

 

[Boneman]

Death/Fantasy

(part three)​

Boneman - "Momma, just killed a man, life has just begun, and now I've gone and thrown it all away.." Talk about sticking the fork into yourself. Mu-ha ha ha ha ha. Nicely executed sir.

Thanks, starbeast, always a pleasure to receive your words of wisdom, which invariably make our stories sound better than they often are! And to pay you back:

Starbeast - A nice look at the food chain (!) and the need for darkness to hide in safely, while death blazes forth in the light. A clever twist on our expectations of where death usually abides.

 

[TitaniumTi]

Thanks for the review, Starbeast.

Your entry is the best trilogy I've read for a long time.

 

[SleepyDormouse]

Starbeast, thanks for the review!

 

[chrispenycate]

Originally Posted by David Evil Overlord 
Unless you're going for a job voicing cartoons...

True. But I need money for the trip to California, cash for a place to stay and food, for who knows how long. Plus money to get back if I'm sent away.

I'm sure there will be a studio in Chicago thad does animation voiceovers. But it's not that easy.
Firstly, it's not just a question of producing a silly voice; you have to be able to generate a complete range of emotions in that silly voice. And create your own silly voices to command, which are recognisably different from any that are around now. (unless you're called for a commercial where duplicating an existing voice is the aim. Remarkably difficult; you sound very close in your own ears, but listen to the two versions superimposed). I like to work with several actors clustered around one mic – I find the result more alive, more open, than working one at a time – and having one inexperienced performer slows the work for all the others.

And lip sync. talents are appreciated. Sure, most animation is done over prerecorded voices (unless you're dubbing foreign language versions, which is almost a different profession, and it really helps if you are fluent in the original language), but just occasionally – well, just about every animated feature I've worked on, and that's quite a few – someone decides a change in dialogue after the picture's produced. Which involves attempting to make the lip movements match for different texts, while maintaining the rhythm natural.

But the chief problem is that practically all actors and actresses enjoy doing animation work; those in live theatre, in TV, in cinema, all. It's creative, it can be done during gaps in other work, not preventing you performing on stage in the evening, but above all it's fun. So there's lots of competition, and they've all got CVs better furnished than you.

Chrispenycate - Eleoquent as always, and you continue to draw my attention to your use of detail describing the characters and atmosphere. The Four Horseman never looked so cool, until now.

Horsepeople of the apocalypse, an it please you sir. And thank you for your mention.

And there is my addition in the attempt to beat 50…

Keep some energy in reserve, folks – next month is the fifth anniversary of the seventy-five word challenge, and the fourth of the three hundred worder. That's when we need to try and shatter the seventy-five entry record.

 

[Starbeast]

Thank you Starbeast for the comments, and nice to meet you too

You're welcome Lonewolfwanderer.

Thanks, starbeast, always a pleasure to receive your words of wisdom, which invariably make our stories sound better than they often are! And to pay you back:

Starbeast - A nice look at the food chain (!) and the need for darkness to hide in safely, while death blazes forth in the light. A clever twist on our expectations of where death usually abides.

Oh wow, thanks a bunch Boneman. You made my day shine bight with your words and review.

Thanks for the review, Starbeast.

Your entry is the best trilogy I've read for a long time.

You're welcome TitaniumTi. And thanks for the comment. You also made my day.

Starbeast, thanks for the review!

You're very welcome SleepyDormouse.

I'm sure there will be a studio in Chicago thad does animation voiceovers. But it's not that easy.

Firstly, you have to be able to generate a complete range of emotions in that voice. And create your own voices to command, which are recognisably different from any that are around now. (unless you're called for a commercial where duplicating an existing voice is the aim.

Remarkably difficult; you sound very close in your own ears, but listen to the two versions superimposed). I like to work with several actors clustered around one mic – I find the result more alive, more open, than working one at a time – and having one inexperienced performer slows the work for all the others.

And lip sync. talents are appreciated. Sure, most animation is done over prerecorded voices (unless you're dubbing foreign language versions, which is almost a different profession, and it really helps if you are fluent in the original language), but just occasionally – well, just about every animated feature I've worked on, and that's quite a few – someone decides a change in dialogue after the picture's produced. Which involves attempting to make the lip movements match for different texts, while maintaining the rhythm natural.

But the chief problem is that practically all actors and actresses enjoy doing animation work; those in live theatre, in TV, in cinema, all. It's creative, it can be done during gaps in other work, not preventing you performing on stage in the evening, but above all it's fun. So there's lots of competition, and they've all got CVs better furnished than you.

Thank you very much for the info Chrispenycate.

 

[hopewrites]

*Gryphon Hope hugs StarBeast*
Thanks for the review, I worried about the word shortage in it, but it didnt seem to need more.

 

[Starbeast]

You're very welcome Hopewrites. Keep em' flying!