DISCUSSION -- February 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

[Phyrebrat]

Something about this theme and genre really brought out some killer resolves or last lines. I saw the to-ing and fro-ing of what constituted Magical Realism (the only reference I had to go by myself, was Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which didn't help much) and so made my own judgements but that didn't involve ruling any story out.

Thanks to:
DG Jones, Remedy, Juliana (almost! - Kerrybuchanan, are you a light sleeper) crystal haven, Mr Orange, Kerrybuchanan, telford, Cascade, Moonbat & Cat's Cradle for the listings!

Delectable thanks to delightful Parson for the vote!

And of course to Victoria and Starbeast for their great work reviewing our offerings; (SB, 'Excellently eerie!' I'll take that, thanks! )


My Favourites, Favourite-of-the-Favourites*, and Favouritest** (vote)

DG Jones*
holland
Juliana
Anne Martin*
Victoria Silverwolf*
Kerrybuchanan
Locksmith **
Johnnyjet*
Winterlight
ratsy*
reiver33 *
Chrispy*
Moonbat*
TDZ*

pH

 

[Anne Martin]

Thanks for the shortlisting pH!

 

[ratsy]

Thanks for the Favourite-of-the-Favourites listing Phyre!

I kept my list small with my top 3

Remedy - 17:00
WillWallace - Beads
Johnnyjet - The Parade of Spirits

My vote went to..............................................................................................................................................

Remedy for a cool tale of my life! haha

 

[holland]

Thanks for the listing, pH

 

[Dan Jones]

Thanks for the shortlisting Ph!

Thanks to Starbeast too for his reviews

 

[willwallace]

Made ratsy's top 3, very honored

 

[ratsy]

@willwallace yeah, I thought it was clever and funny. Well done.

For anyone in the voting mood, hop over to the workshop and vote for your favorite 100 word challenge story!

 

[Juliana]

Thanks for the mention, Phyre.

 

[WinterLight]

I'm really pleased with the response this month, thanks so much for the mentions and votes, especially as I didn't know if it was supposed to be realism that seemed magical or magic that seems like reality!

Here are my favourites
@TheDustyZebra - A sweet tale
@Moonbat - love this whacky deadpan commentary
@Darkchrome - excellent take on the theme this month
@Culhwch - dark undertones!
@martin321 - Really liked the settting
@Victoria Silverwolf - each month I really enjoy your imaginations
@Luiglin - as mentioned this cracked me up on the bus, people were looking at me concerningly

I was torn between two for the vote so decided to sleep on it, my runner up was
@crystal haven - for a refined execution

My winner was
@Cascade - just the last line held so much power, transforming the Harlequin into this empowered magical being even if it was just in the dudes mind - fantastic!

 

[Starbeast]

Something about this theme and genre really brought out some killer resolves or last lines. I saw the to-ing and fro-ing of what constituted Magical Realism (the only reference I had to go by myself, was Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which didn't help much) and so made my own judgements but that didn't involve ruling any story out.

And of course to Victoria and Starbeast for their great work reviewing our offerings; (SB, 'Excellently eerie!' I'll take that, thanks! )

You're welcome Phyrebrat. I agree about this month's stories, there is a fun vibe, and nice creepiness to everyone's offering.

Thanks for the shortlisting Ph!

Thanks to Starbeast too for his reviews

You're very welcome DG Jones.

@willwallace yeah, I thought it was clever and funny. Well done.

For anyone in the voting mood, hop over to the workshop and vote for your favorite 100 word challenge story!

I was browsing the other day and came across it. I chose my favorites and voted. Another interesting challenge I may have to join.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Starbeast! Thanks, dude, for the marvelous mini-review! The entirety of your post was a glorious read, my friend!

 

[Starbeast]

@Cat's Cradle You're mighty welcome. Thanks Cat's. You made my day bro.

 

[Tywin]

Here's my short/long/middlish-length list. Lots of great stories out there this month, but these ones stuck with me for one reason or another:

The Disguise – Victoria. I love the words you use to paint your picture here. Deliciously intricate, just like the ‘people’ they are describing.

This is our Day – Cat’s Cradle. This seemed like you must have went over the word limit. How’d you fit that entire story in there? I would have found myself at 500 words just trying to tell half of that. The word counter must be broke or something.

Magic in All of Us – JL Borstrap. I loved the conflict you created here. It gave me a glimpse of a far larger world and made me want to read more.

Werewolf Queen of New Orleans - SB. Love the gumshoe.

An Unfair Cop – Mosaix. I think you nailed the genre and theme perfectly here.

A Bargain at Twice the Price – TDZ. Very sweet.

They all have floats around here – Moonbat. The tone of this one made it for me.

At the end of the day my VOTE went to JL Borstrap. His little 75-word tidbit there made me want to read more. I feel like a full-length novel that started with those 75 words would be something I'd read right through. Dangle that out there in the beginning and then tease us readers by not letting us see a successful spark of readers for another 400 pages or so.

And before I forget - Thanks Juliana for the listing.

 

[crystal haven]

Thank you WinterLight for the runner up vote.

 

[Bowler1]

The rabbit is back in the running with five votes, way to go. I like to see a neck and neck race and close run competition.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

Oooh, exciting. I loved both stories.

 

[Starbeast]

Here's my short/long/middlish-length list. Lots of great stories out there this month, but these ones stuck with me for one reason or another:

The Disguise – Victoria. I love the words you use to paint your picture here. Deliciously intricate, just like the ‘people’ they are describing.

This is our Day – Cat’s Cradle. This seemed like you must have went over the word limit. How’d you fit that entire story in there? I would have found myself at 500 words just trying to tell half of that. The word counter must be broke or something.

Magic in All of Us – JL Borstrap. I loved the conflict you created here. It gave me a glimpse of a far larger world and made me want to read more.

Werewolf Queen of New Orleans - SB. Love the gumshoe.

An Unfair Cop – Mosaix. I think you nailed the genre and theme perfectly here.

A Bargain at Twice the Price – TDZ. Very sweet.

They all have floats around here – Moonbat. The tone of this one made it for me.

Thank you Tywin for the listing (amongst awesome writers), and the mini review. You made my day shine bright.

The rabbit is back in the running with five votes, way to go. I like to see a neck and neck race and close run competition.

Bowler1!!! Quick, get your blaster. There's a rabbit loose in the Chrons. AHHH!!! He's beating up on me. ACK!!! He hit me in the face with a coconut custard cream pie. Bowler1, blast him!!! (ZAP) AHHH!!! My eyebrows!

 

[Darkchrome]

On Tuesday, I said I would read/vote ‘tomorrow’. Not a lot of realism there, magic or otherwise...

Remedy and Winterlight, thank you both very much for the listings and comments

Plus more reviews too! Thank you as always, Victoria – and Starbeast for the pocket-sized summary (a reviewlet?).

So, my expertise in this genre starts and ends with having read One Hundred Years of Solitude and Midnight’s Children some years ago, hence my list/vote won’t be taking much of that into consideration! I really liked so many of the stories this time. As I think I said in another challenge, the sense of other-worldly weirdness that fairs, carnivals, Mardi Gras etc. offer fascinates me, and it has been hard to leave things out.
In the end, I’ve gone with a shortlist (well, shorter than it was) of the ones that stuck with me for some reason.

DG Jones – The Angel and the Devil. Love the ‘We’re all moths/devils’ repeat.
Michael Coulson – All That Dust. Could picture this easily, just through the dialogue.
telford– Two Dollar Special. Made me smile and go ‘eeww’ at the same time- neat trick.
Crystal Haven – Committee Meeting. Clever end, loved the door!
Perpetual Man – 2005. My only experience of post-Katrina was watching Treme, but this represented what I imagine that rebirth was like.
The Judge – Grave Mistake at the Mardi Gras. For the stunning alliteration and imagery.
For me, these next three captured that slightly creepy sideshow magic perfectly:
phyrebrat – Penny’s Last Gleaming
Locksmith – Magic Lantern
Teresa Edgerton – A Wicked Pack (with the added bonus of 21stC humour!)

**Vote:
Bowler1 – The Pied Piper Plays Old School House – as someone who blames Castlemorton 1992 for my unlikely addiction to ‘repetitive beats’, I really got this one

 

[Starbeast]

Remedy and Winterlight, thank you both very much for the listings and comments

Plus more reviews too! Thank you as always, Victoria – and Starbeast for the pocket-sized summary (a reviewlet?).

**Vote:
Bowler1 – The Pied Piper Plays Old School House – as someone who blames Castlemorton 1992 for my unlikely addiction to ‘repetitive beats’, I really got this one

You're very welcome Darkchrome. I had fun....AHHH!!! The rabbit is scootching on my carpet!!! Somebody stop that pesky bunny!!!

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Since I haven't been posting much, I have some catching up to do:

Thank you to CC, Perp, Moonbat, D G Jones, Kerrybuchanan, Parson, Juliana, and Darkchrome for the honorable mentions and the listings (short and long). Thank you very much crystal haven, for the vote! Thank you Starbeast for the mini-review.