Discussion thread -- November 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

[Parson]

Well to my abundant surprise I find that I can write something completely absurd about a path not traveled. Now I wonder if anyone can see what lies behind my story.

(PM me if you have a guess.)

 

[Droflet]

Yeah, Beasty, have a crack at it. You'll come up with something absurdly brilliant, I'm sure. You always do. BTW, Parson's just posted.

 

[Dan Jones]

I love these stories so far, a real mixture of the funny, insane and scary, just what the absurd should be.

And I'm stuck. Can't I just submit my story from last month again?

 

[Droflet]

Yep, DG, go ahead.

 

[Mr Orange]

come on @Starbeast you can do it! i'm sure you have something absurd floating around in your big ol' melon!

thanks for the review @Tim James . I see @TitaniumTi beat me to it, but i thought i'd review the reviewers (as i certainly don't have time to do everyone!):

@Victoria Silverwolf : a story that suits the genre as perfectly as sweet suits salty popcorn, cats match cowboy suits or lumberjacks suit petshops selling dead Norwegian Blues

@Tim James : what could be more absurd than a story about not writing a story which then ends up being the story that wasn't being written? i'm confused. absurdly brilliant.

 

[Bowler1]

Tim did a review, even after his entry said he wouldn't and Parson posted, even when he said he wouldn't. With these clearly absurd statements being banded about I think we'll see a Beasty post any moment now.

Me personally, absurdist seemed to be Starbeast's forte. But maybe his holding back because... no, that would be absurd!

 

[Perpetual Man]

Thanks to both TT and Mr Orange for their reciprocal reviews, both are greatly appreciated and made me chuckle.

Bowler has pointed out the absurdity of my story crossing into reality and I find it absurd that he has not threatened anyone with a RAY GUN yet.

ANd in keeping with the theme there is something about my reviews this month that takes them beyond the normal craziness. There is no reason for this. It just seemed absurd. A big round of applause to anyone who spots what it is.

 

[Phyrebrat]

I have three written; absurdity is where I live (along with fabulism and surreality).

Will have a look at them in a couple weeks and post if I don't have a crisis of absurdity.

pH

 

[Luiglin]

ANd in keeping with the theme there is something about my reviews this month that takes them beyond the normal craziness. There is no reason for this. It just seemed absurd. A big round of applause to anyone who spots what it is.

You're typing them with your toes?

 

[Parson]

Tim did a review, even after his entry said he wouldn't and Parson posted, even when he said he wouldn't. With these clearly absurd statements being banded about I think we'll see a Beasty post any moment now.

This is what I actually said:

Oh my! this sounds sooooo, not my kettle of fish!!

But I am genuinely surprised that I could write something would be generally considered absurd. ----- As a pastor I do say a lot of things that some people consider absurd <sigh!>. In this case my muse woke up at about 11:00 pm last night and I had an entry ready by about 11:30. By midnight I was in bed for my standard 6 hour nap.

 

[Perpetual Man]

You're typing them with your toes?

If I was they'd make more sense.

 

[TitaniumTi]

Victoria - Acessurealism

My apologies for the oversight.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

A. Fare Wells -- Afterlively

Tim James -- Cirkill

Prason -- Carnivalorous

 

[Perpetual Man]

Thanks Victoria, love it!

 

[Parson]

Thanks Victoria! Well said indeed.

 

[Starbeast]

Absurdist fiction is a genre of fictional narrative (traditionally, literary fiction), most often in the form of a novel, play, poem, or film, that focuses on the experiences of characters in situations where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life, most often represented by ultimately meaningless actions and events that call into question the certainty of existential concepts such as truth or value.[1] Common elements in absurdist fiction include satire, dark humour, incongruity, the abasement of reason, and controversy regarding the philosophical condition of being "nothing."[2] Works of absurdist fiction often explore agnostic or nihilistic topics.

Calm down, Beastley one. If you need some grounding, so to speak, in absurdity; go review some of the back pages in the playrooms. say, the question game, the limericks and more likely the "last Post" sort of thing. I know you've got plenty of absurdity in you, Beast. You CanDo It!

Yeah, Beasty, have a crack at it. You'll come up with something absurdly brilliant, I'm sure. You always do. BTW, Parson's just posted.

come on @Starbeast you can do it! i'm sure you have something absurd floating around in your big ol' melon!.

Thanks guys for having faith in me. And complementing me for being good at writing "absurd" things. But, writing "absurdist fiction" is different. According to the definition, it mentions narrating characters that can't find a purpose in life, combined with humor (usually) and then add, a path not taken.

Sounds to me like a person, who feels like they're worthless, and they can't make decisions what to do in life, and, make it funny?

 

[TitaniumTi]

I do hope you enter, SB; your stories are always good value.

This is a different take on absurdism (the subject of absurdist fiction):
http://www.philosophy-index.com/existentialism/absurd.php

Conflict between the protagonist's goals and an uncaring universe -- that sounds like the very foundations of comedy, to me.

Edited to add: This challenge is about story-telling, not philosophy. Entertain me, and I won't be picky about the finer details of genre definition... particularly as I don't really understand the definition.

 

[Luiglin]

Conflict between the protagonist's goals and an uncaring universe -- that sounds like the very foundations of comedy, to me.

That's not absurdist... that's life

 

[Bowler1]

Bowler has pointed out the absurdity of my story crossing into reality and I find it absurd that he has not threatened anyone with a RAY GUN yet.

Bowler1 walks on to the thread with RAYS GUNS ready, smiles and winks, and walks off again!

 

[Phyrebrat]

Whilst some people may be lenient on theme or genre, I find it's best to make an effort to try and hit them - that's the challenge, right?

For me, Starbeast's definition is the empirical one and it's important to realise the difference between comedy and absurd fiction as many people think because it's absurd it has to be funny. It may be more helpful to think of it in terms of surreality, bleakness, nihilism and dark humour. I only say this because absurdist work is one of my most favourite, and so for all the times I've had to address (cough, 'struggle') with grim dark, steampunk, cyberpunk or SFF, I'm going to be extra hard on those that don't do their research

Could you tell I was a teacher if I hadn't said so?

If you need some inspiration, search online for some of Samuel Beckett's work, particularly Endgame, Waiting for Godot, Quad and Not I. Kafka & I also think, Ogden Nash, wrote some absurdist stuff.

pH