DISCUSSION -- February 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

[Luiglin]

Top three for me.

DG Jones - great 'We're all moths here' line

Johnnyjet - spot on sentiment

Michael Coulton - forget a goldfish in a bag I want a pixie

And the vote goes to Michael ... who wouldn't want a pixie, especially a big one to beat up your elder siblings

Thanks for the vote Kerry and the mentions ... if I made one person smile then it did its job

edit ... Bowler I'd love to but these knees are only good for moaning about these days

 

[Parson]

PARSON - Ides of Feb, is fab here. Nice touch with the title.

It sort of hit me as the beginning. Thanks.

Crystal Haven -- Thanks so for the long listing. I was beginning to think this was going to be a zero month for me.

 

[Perpetual Man]

A quick round of thank yous, to SB and D G Jones for taking the time to do the mini reviews, the kind words are always greatly appreciated.

And a skip and jump to Crystal for the mention, I'll add a hop to that as I thank the aforementioned D G Jones for the vote. I struggled this month, so getting a mention or two and a vote make it all worth while.

SB - telford made me laugh out loud too when I first story. It rather struck a nerve too... but I'm not going to go into any details here....

 

[Bowler1]

Bowler I'd love to but these knees are only good for moaning about these days

We are getting old. I have to admit, I didn't think anyone would have gone for my off the wall post this month, but instead I have a happy Mr Orange, which will more than do for me.

Big fish, little fish, box box box....

 

[Starbeast]

Nice stuff Starbeast!

You're welcome Springs. I had such a difficult time trying to "shorten" my Short List, then I thought, why not comment on what I liked about each story.

and thank you for the mini review SB. much appreciated

Absolutely Mr Orange. Let's start a congo line and march through the threads, then we'll all feast.

I hope positively, not negatively.
:0)

Just call me "Lumpy". Well done Glen.

Many thanks to Moonbat, Springs and Mr Orange for the generous mentions. Telford seizes chest and hits the floor. Two more votes? Wow. Many, many thanks to Perp and Beasty.

Holy cow, my best month ever. I guess I really pulled that out of my ... ah, never mind.

No need to get up my friend. Enjoy the praise, you earned them Telford. I'll go clean the rabbit in the washing machine.

Thanks for the mini-review, Starbeast.

You're welcome Ursa Major. I thought everyone did a fine job of writing this month, so I complemented them all.

I got home from my first ski trip on Monday. Found I didn't have the time to write reviews while we were in Sweden - knackered every night and sore from crashing (we turned to drink). Great trip though I still hurt!

Firstly, thanks to Starbeast for those concise gems of reviews! Well done.

You're welcome Remedy. Wow, Sweden. That's awesome. What does "knackered", mean?

Thanks kindly for the review SB.

You got Tywin. Keep em' flying.

Thank you Perp and Remedy for the listings.

And thanks Starbeast for the 3 word review! I dug that

You're immensely welcome Rasty. Stay awesome.

It sort of hit me as the beginning. Thanks.

You're mighty welcome Parson. I always enjoy seeing a clever title.

A quick round of thank yous, to SB and D G Jones for taking the time to do the mini reviews, the kind words are always greatly appreciated.

SB - telford made me laugh out loud too when I first story. It rather struck a nerve too... but I'm not going to go into any details here....

You're very welcome Perpetual Man. I enjoy your reviews too.

And as for Telford, he caught me completely by surprise. You never know what he might pull out next.

Such a great festive month. Let's get some Bourbon Chicken, then we'll hurl beads at the other members

 

[Hex]

So many brilliant entries this month. I had no idea how to choose so I picked the ones that really appealed to me (the ones that made me laugh or cry or where the language really sang) and shortlisted from those, and then I winnowed it down to the two I thought were most like magical realism (I'm still a bit shaky on what that is, but both Victoria and crystal haven seemed to me to have nailed it).

So the list, the * short list, the ** finalist, and *** my vote.


* Cascade -- Masquerade: I love the way you write, and this entry sings in my head. "...make ready to drop their languid cargo on these gaudy streets" is wonderful. Not sure I said that loudly enough: wonderful!

DG Jones -- The Angel And The Devil: Not sure I understood it completely, but the writing is great and the story is intriguing. I loved the repeat of the "We're all .. here."

* holland -- Don't fall asleep on the Night of the Living... So clever. Brilliantly set up so that the ending was chilling as well as funny. I especially loved the coffee that tasted like whisky.

** Victoria Silverwolf -- The Disguise: Beautifully written (of course) and clever and elegant.

Locksmith -- Magic lantern: A wonderful last line. Makes me shiver whenever I read it. And the writing is fabulous, too.

*** Crystal haven -- Committee meeting: brilliant. I love intense (and realistic) conversation about something so weird, and the end was so unexpected and normal and funny it blew me away.

StilLearning -- Unnatural Death report: What can I say? It made me laugh.

* Culhwch -- Masquerade: Sigh. Like the other C Masquerade, this entry sings. It's beautiful.

* Moonbat -- They all have floats round here: Fantastic, Moonbat. I love the idea of Cthulhu at a carnival and the dialogue was hysterical.

TDZ -- A Bargain at Twice the Price: So beautiful and sad. I'm still a bit damp-feeling around the eyes.

 

[crystal haven]

I'm over the moon. Another vote! Thank you so much, Hex.

 

[Juliana]

I really loved the theme/genre this month, and there were so many great entries it took me forever to cut my list down to something reasonable.

My top ten, including my almost (very, very close!) and *vote*:

Mr. Orange
*Kerrybuchanan*
willwallace
Teresa Edgerton
Tywin
telford
Fishbowl Helmet
mosaix
Phyrebrat
TDZ

Thank you very much Remedy for the vote and lovely comment, and also a big thanks to Cascade, Kerry, Moonbat and DG for listing me.
SB, thank you for your mini-review too!

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

Yey! I caught the bouquet! Thank you, Juliana xxx

 

[holland]

Thanks for short-listing, Hex, glad you liked it

Also, thank you SB for the review!

 

[willwallace]

Thanks for the top ten listing, Juliana.

 

[Starbeast]

I really loved the theme/genre this month, and there were so many great entries it took me forever to cut my list down to something reasonable.

SB, thank you for your mini-review too!

You're welcome Juliana. Another amazing month.

Thanks for short-listing, Hex, glad you liked it

Also, thank you SB for the review!

You're very welcome Holland.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

crystal haven -- The unexpected anthropomorphic twist to this story is sure to delight the surprised reader.

mosaix -- This clever tale of crime and punishment is full of ironic wit.

Phyrebrat -- The author creates a new folk myth in this subtle and evocative story.

StilLearning -- This dark comedy portrays ancient evil though modern eyes.

martin321 -- A strange and surreal juxtaposition of events and moods fills this unique story.

Azzagorn -- With tongue firmly in cheek, the author deals with a magical problem that suggests something in our own mundane reality.

Culhwch -- A touch of poetry adds to the impact of this delicately chilling tale.

Darkchrome -- What might be thought of as a boon is shown to be a curse in this striking tale.

Moonbat -- The author has fun with literary horrors in this bit of drollery.

Perpetual Man -- By making use of real events the author creates an allegory of hope rising out of dark circumstances.

Parson -- In the tradition of C. S. Lewis, the author uses satire and irony to make a serious moral point.

BigJ -- This playful tale amuses the reader by presenting an unusual point of view.

The Judge -- The use of alliteration adds a lighthearted touch to this darkly humorous story.

jastius -- The author mixes folklore and literature to create something new and original.

TheDustyZebra -- With striking use of images, the author finds hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Ursa major -- Multiple subtle uses of wordplay make this clever story worth rereading.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Lack of time forces me to list only my vote: "Boto" by Juliana, simply because it is a fine story.

 

[Anne Martin]

Thanks for the mention Remedy!

 

[Juliana]

Thank you very much Victoria.

 

[johnnyjet]

Thanks for the short listings, Bowler1, Moonbat, and Luiglin. I really appreciate it!

Getting caught up now on the entries so that I can get my vote in under the wire.

 

[Droflet]

Many grateful thanks to willwallace, CrystalHaven and Juliana for the lovely mentions. Hey, wait a mo, a stealth vote from Azzagorn. Has the world gone mad? Many thanks for the temporary insanity, Azza.

 

[Ursa major]

Thanks for the mini-review, Victoria.

 

[crystal haven]

Thank you for the review, Victoria.

 

[Dan Jones]

Thanks for the shortlisting Luiglin!