Discussion Thread -- December 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

[Gonk the Insane]

Thanks, Victoria. I seem to be a few weeks behind the rest of the world and my Christmas spirit hasn't quite arrived yet. Probably delayed in the post

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Alex the G and T -- While capturing perfectly the Victorian style in this pastiche of scientific romances, the author offers a clever new twist on a classic theme.

 

[Alex The G and T]

Thank you, Victoria. You're so kind.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Good story, Alex, and with a terrific ending! CC

 

[mosaix]

Just posted my entry. Early for me but woke with a good idea this morning and it all seemed to fall into place when I got it down on paper.

Hope that doesn't mean I've rushed it...

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

mosaix -- This elegant and charming comedy of manners has just the right touch of teasing eroticism to entice the reader.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

hopewrites -- This rollicking comedy not only seamlessly blends fact with fiction, but comes to a truly astonishing conclusion.

 

[Parson]

I think the "Unexpected" part of this thread is that it is largely a Christmas thread.

 

[Luiglin]

I think the "Unexpected" part of this thread is that it is largely a Christmas thread.

I always find the Christmas comes on me quite unexpected.

 

[mosaix]

I always find the Christmas comes on me quite unexpected.

It's the same day every year, Luiglin.

 

[Luiglin]

Ah Monday, such a hated day... I love it. Minion, pass the laptop, it's time to peruse.

Never the Last Christmas by one Tim James - Personally, I've always found elves to be revolting from the stick thin, snooty, shining ones to the short, jolly, ruddy cheeked ones. From this tale, all I'm wishing for now is a red snowed Christmas... hopefully with no survivors.

The Golem's Christmas Miracle by one Gonk the Insane - Golems are funny constructs... well at least if you give them the right jokes. Other than that, they can be unthinking, unmerciful killers. Which, to be honest, can be just as funny.

Time Travails by one Alex the G and T - A time paradox, I like these. Only yesterday I was talking to my past future self about avoiding eating the fish on the day before tomorrow. My advice? Send the child/yourself back up the chimney. Good bit of honest work will see him/you right.

His Every Need... by one Mosaix - I need to go and lie down in a darkened room. Before I do though, does she have a sister?

End of the Thunderstone experiments by one hopewrites - Damn, are these idiots still doing the rounds? They couldn't scare a goose, wouldn't cure anyone of hiccups and are about as efficient as a chocolate tea spoon. They need a hammer shoving where the lightning don't shine.

 

[Luiglin]

It's the same day every year, Luiglin.

So are various birthdays and they still leap out of the proverbial bushes at me.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

DG Jones -- With great wit, the author blends past and present, while paying tribute to an important moment in popular culture.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Judderman -- This madcap adventure makes use of great imagination to bedazzle the reader.

 

[Judderman]

Thanks Victoria. That is a bedazzling review.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Glen -- With the wit and elegance of the famous Cole Porter song "Anything Goes," this tale takes a look at the present through the eyes of the past; a fine example of future shock.

johnnyjet -- This enchanting childhood fantasy takes the reader back to the days when all objects seemed magical.

 

[Judderman]

There are some great little stories in there. I notice a lot of people write every sentence or most sentences on a new line even if there is no speech. They are not usually new paragraphs so is this just to make it easier to read?

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

There are some great little stories in there. I notice a lot of people write every sentence or most sentences on a new line even if there is no speech. They are not usually new paragraphs so is this just to make it easier to read?

A matter of taste, I suppose, with such a small number of words. I prefer to use paragraph breaks in about the same way as a full length story. (When there's a new speaker of dialogue, etc.) This often means I have a one paragraph story, of course.

 

[Alex The G and T]

There are some great little stories in there. I notice a lot of people write every sentence or most sentences on a new line even if there is no speech. They are not usually new paragraphs so is this just to make it easier to read?

I find, and I've noticed in other entries, that with such a limited number of words, visual cues to pacing and expression can be important.

Some use changes in font size and color, as well.

A picture is worth the 76th word, as it were.

 

[HareBrain]

There are some great little stories in there. I notice a lot of people write every sentence or most sentences on a new line even if there is no speech. They are not usually new paragraphs so is this just to make it easier to read?

It is to some extent a matter of taste, but in order to pack a whole story into 75 words, you have to make each sentence really count. If a single sentence then does the job of a whole paragraph in a novel, it makes sense to separate it. But I don't think it's a good idea to always do so -- it can create unwarranted emphasis, and that can make it feel like the writer is hamming it up.