DISCUSSION -- February 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

[Jo Zebedee]

http://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/551315/#post-1883927

Have at it! Ducks!

 

[Cascade]

The genre is intriguing. My first thought was "for 75 words you can have magic or you can have realism but I'll be darned if you can have both.")

 

[Mr Orange]

!!!!!!!

That's all I have to say about that!

Looks around for some carnival folk to throw at springs

 

[mosaix]

Stunned, just stunned.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

IOh dear. Fears I've just joined Chrispy in the never-vote-again-for corner.
It could have been worse. Honest.

Magical realism is a genre, espoused by the likes of Marquez, Allende, zafon, Robertson Davies. It accepts an element of magic within the confines of reality.

We didn't collectively cover ourselves in glory with it last time ...(Me included.)

 

[Ursa major]

Well challenges are meant to be challenging....

(And can I have the Kipling cake back, though only if it hasn't been eaten, obviously.)

 

[TheDustyZebra]

It must have been -- she said "nobody sent cake" in the other thread. That means the evidence is gone.

 

[The Storyteller]

Sounds like a good one! I have trouble with the 75 worders, but I'll have to give this one a try.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Magical realism is a genre where myth and magic intrude on everyday reality. The characters just accept the magical element without question. That, is, they may or may not be disconcerted by events -- for instance, if a mythical creature like a dragon or a griffon ate up all the cats and other small pets in the neighborhood, people would be appalled, or if a character learned to fly, he might be delighted -- but not because whatever it is shouldn't exist in our mundane world.

The story is not about a fantastical medieval realm where such things are possible. It is grounded by mundane details. It is our world, and the settings tend to be contemporary, or at least not too distant in time.

Here is what wikipedia has to say about magical realism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism

 

[Juliana]

Well, this should be interesting. Nice to give the old writing muscles a good workout. A 10k marathon sort of workout, but hey!




I'll be sore later, though. *commences warm-up stretches*

 

[jastius]

Gets out the latin magical realism classic video "Like Water for Chocolate" and watches taking notes..

(Who am I kidding? This rewrite of the story of king Lear set in turn of the century mexico, replete with recipes romance and revolutionaries is a treat in itself. a perfectly prepared recipe for a dream waking in motion picture format..)

Yay springs!.

You wanted this for your secret Santa that you had to back out of didn't you? Now you'll get dozens.

 

[Culhwch]

Magical realism is a genre, espoused by the likes of Marquez, Allende, zafon, Robertson Davies. It accepts an element of magic within the confines of reality.

We didn't collectively cover ourselves in glory with it last time ...(Me included.)

Everyone take heart - last time we had magical realism, I won, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Anything can happen!

 

[Mr Orange]

right so after all my exclamation above, i've gone and written and submitted a story for this here challenge. no idea if it fits the theme or genre, but it's meant i have been in a mental conga line all afternoon, so that's a plus...

and i've got the first story up so i can confidently say that mine is the best story in the challenge...

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Nice start! Still the best one in the challenge.

I should really have remembered I am awful at magical realism....

 

[Mr Orange]

Nice start! Still the best one in the challenge.

I should really have remembered I am awful at magical realism....

alas, now i've been joined by two other good stories...

 

[Bowler1]

I'll have to swot up with Teresa's link, but a few ideas are bubbling and boiling in the cauldron of my mind.

 

[alchemist]

An excellent combination of genre and theme. Despite not knowing what MR was, I came second last time, and also wrote one of my best ever stories (which got published) when I got the genre in Sekrit Santa. And I have an idea.

 

[HareBrain]

last time we had magical realism, I won, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing

Despite not knowing what MR was, I came second last time

I sense a pattern here. Last time, I had a clear idea what it was, and I got no votes.

 

[alchemist]

I sense a pattern here. Last time, I had a clear idea what it was, and I got no votes.

I did borrow a Salman Rushdie book from the library to learn about it*



*not saying you should/don't blame me/other magical realism authors are available/bizarre innit? (delete as applicable)

 

[Anne Martin]

Magical realism is actually my principal genre. The trouble will be to do it in 75 words - not 750, 7500 or 75,000. I've got an idea, which I've been running with all day today, and am inclined to write a 7500 word version as well as 75.

@alchemist, I would say that Rushdie's Midnight's Children is probably the pinnacle of the genre, although my favorite is The Moor's Last Sigh. Also, you could read the first couple of chapters of Satanic Verses and get a good idea of what magical realism is. If Rushdie is too heavy for you, try Allende The House of the Spirits.