DISCUSSION -- December 2014 75 Word Writing Challenge

[Droflet]

Anyone else find writing noir to be, ah, challenging. Anyhoo ...
Honorable mentions:
Mouse JohnnyJet Reiver CC TJ Mr Orange Sancho BigJ Perp.

For hitting the noir button out of the park the gold goes to Teresa.

 

[holland]

Shortlist:
Santa’s Helper
Sleigh Belle
RED HOT
Up on the Housetop

Vote:
The Saint Nick Sidekick

 

[Boneman]

Thanks Victoria and Starbeast for the reviews. Not sure the 'Ted' reference would be understood...

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Thanks for the mention, Holland.

My shortlist:

Juliana
Teresa
Mosaix for a cracking last line
Karn
Mr Orange (very clever)
DG Jones - nice take

But my vote went to Teresa - I loved it from first read.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

*Not sure if this has been noticed, but it looks as though Telford's vote for Teresa isn't included in her tally.*

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Loved the noir theme this month! Well done Phyrebrat!

Lots of fun stories this month, congratulations everyone! And now, listings and a vote:

Shortlist: Robert Mackay, willwallace, Juliana, Remedy, Alex, Starbeast, Kerry, johnnyjet

Shorter list: springs, Glen, The Judge, Jastius, Ursa

Still shorter list (finalists):
Teresa: For me your use of language captured the noir spirit perfectly. This sounded as though it could have come from the script of a Hollywood film of the 40s. Wonderful
Mr. Orange: A remarkably clever take on the theme, and the song. I smiled all the way through your entry.
Victoria: I will borrow a description from you, and say that this story was heartrending. There was so much back-story so beautifully implied here.

Shortest List (the vote): this was exceptionally hard; I went with the one that affected me most from first read to last: Victoria. You can see from my own entry this month that I enjoy a Christmas tale told with a fair bit of sadness. There's a whole world of personal history alluded to in this story. Wonderful entry, Victoria!

As always, best of luck to everyone in the voting! And Merry Christmas!

 

[Ursa major]

Thanks for the shorter-listing, CC.

And thanks for the mini-review, Starbeast.

 

[Droflet]

Thanks CC. I had a senior moment.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

You're welcome, telford! I'm just starting to have senior moments of my own! Thank you also, telford, for the mention!

You're welcome, Ursa!

And I forgot to thank Victoria for the vote, and kind words. A mention and a vote...Christmas is starting off very well, indeed!

 

[Ashleyne]

Thanks for putting me on your shortlist, Victoria

 

[Sancho]

Shortlist:
Vote:
The Saint Nick Sidekick

Big Thanks for the vote Holland
Thanks also to Victoria & Telford for the shortlisting.

It's taking me longer than I thought to read through all the excellent entries. I am only half-way through and already have 10 on my shortlist!
Hope to get my vote in before my relatives descend...

 

[willwallace]

Anyone else find writing noir to be, ah, challenging. Anyhoo ...

I think my entry was the opposite of noir, so yes, I do.

Thanks to Cat's cradle, for the short list. Still have to reread all the entries and start deliberations

 

[Talysia]

Great entries this month, as usual, and I've loved reading through them. I've whittled them down and come up with a shortlist, three runners up, and a winner, so without further ado...

Shortlist: Juliana, The Judge, Mouse, A. Fare Wells and Mr. Orange.
Runners up: Teresa Edgerton, Chrispenycate and Karn.

And my winner is...: DG Jones.

Congratulations everyone!

 

[willwallace]

I reread the stories, and reread them twice,
Then, just for good measure, reread them thrice.

Some were real naughty, some kinda nice,
But how to decide? A roll of the dice?

I liked Ashleyne. B. Watts, and Remedy too,
While Cat's Cradle and Victoria were another brilliant two.

My shortlist still has a couple more,
Both Sancho and DG Jones came to the fore.

Now I'm down to my final three,
But who to pick? Woe is me!

Karn Maeshalandae made me both laugh and cry,
But why did Nick have to die?

And telford! Oh, that naughty story!
Making Santa out to be quite hoary.

Mr Orange's poem really hit it for me,
That's why he made my final three.

But as Highlander says,"There can only be one",
So, for my single vote, telford has won.

 

[Parson]

Will Wallace: You most certainly take the prize for the most original post regarding your choices. I loved it.

 

[A. Fare Wells]

Thanks for the listings, Ms. Silverwolf and Talysia.

Shortlist --
Will Wallace's "Elementary"
Teresa Edgarton's "One Way Ticket to Paradise"
Starbeast's "A Visit from an Injured Santa"
Mr. Orange's "Dept. Store Stakeout"

Bronze -- Bob Senior's "Joy of Caring"
Silver -- Winterlight's "Humble Joe"
Gold -- Remedy's "Hunting Frost" as it captured the noir theme best for me which worked well with the legend of Jack Frost.

Good luck all and drink some spiced cider for me! Merry Christmas!

 

[Anne Martin]

I was torn this time around - I really wanted two votes! I thought two stories in particular caught the theme and genre the best: Teresa's and BigJ's. In the end I'm a sucker for Angels, so my vote went to Teresa. Well done!

Oh...and thanks for the shortlisting Victoria!

 

[Tywin]

Willwallace: are you trying to slip a second 75 word entry in on the sly?

 

[willwallace]

Willwallace: are you trying to slip a second 75 word entry in on the sly?

I was driving back from getting breakfast this morning, and trying to think of how to word my choices. For no discernible reason, the first couple lines just came into my head, and there was no stopping it after that. Glad that you and the others like it.

 

[Droflet]

I can finally take some solace, from the vote from willwallace. But wait a mo, the ho ho ho, made will my brand new bro. Cough. Thanks for the early birthday present, mate.