Discussion thread -- July 2016 75-word Writing Challenge

[Vaz]

That's my predicament. Go full grim horror, or just have a laugh with the genre and go light hearted....

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

hopewrites -- This merry romp shows us how we can mistake an echo for something more meaningful.

 

[hopewrites]

All my grim-dark imagination is locked up in my nightmare closet. I tried for dark-cute-pseudo-comedy... Was glad I slept on it, made some edits, and posted.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Well, remember horror isn't about gore and torture-porn; that's just one genre. Funnily enough, Em (the erstwhile Mouse) really made me laugh yesterday when she told me there was a genre called Horroritca... can you imagine? What a dreadful, dreadful thought.

Arthur Machen, M R James, are classified as modern horror writers and they certainly have no gore. And look at Lovecraft; he barely has the nerve to describe the monsters and Old Ones, instead preferring 'indescribable terror' as his exposition.

Go for chill rather than gore if you're worried

pH

 

[Shyrka]

As promised.

Silencing, @Ashleyne. B. Watts – A dark tale of the lengths one sibling must go to to hide the true magnitude of their crime.

Echolocation, @Victoria Silverwolf – With shades of the Just So stories, this delightful fable tells us how the bat’s loquaciousness helped it find its niche in the world.

Umbra, @Luiglin – A story that speaks to our primal fears. Our shadow is always with us, a constant companion, but are they friend or foe?

The Cave, @Azzagorn – Eager for shelter, a desperate traveller enters a seemingly-empty cave only to discover that the reply that comes back is not an echo but a harbinger of something far more disturbing.

Back and there, @ThomasG – A mysterious signal from a distant world turns out to be stragely familiar.

Say What? @Droflet – A lone survivor, trapped in a labyrinthine mansion, discovers it is not an echo he is running from, but something far worse.

A Tinny Ear, @Wruter – Miners employing an unusual form of prospecting fall afoul of a bad case of tin-nitus.

Lineage of the Devil, @Cathbad – Like father like son in this tale of a dynasty of demonic murders. Clearly the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Noise, Noise, Noise… @Calliopenjo – This disturbing tale details a world where any action can lead to cacophonous reverberations that can drive one to the brink of madness.

Travellers, @Coast – A traveller discovers that the hated, parrot-like companion whose constant repetition has driven him to distraction may be the one thing that saves his life.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Ihe -- This stately and elegant poem provides an example of how echoes from the past can be honored in the present.

 

[Luiglin]

So much horror. I had to go lighter.

As my usual pun filled creations fail to hit the spot I decided to try the opposite.

 

[Phyrebrat]

I always think your Dark Lord has quite a large fanbase

pH

 

[Luiglin]

I always think your Dark Lord has quite a large fanbase

pH

He bought them all with fake promises of gold, jewels, dark elven shieldmaidens/swordmasters and goblins to kick when peeved.

Problem is that all people got was chocolate coins, fruit gums, cardboard cutouts and goblins to kick when peeved.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Chocolate is not a compromise...

pH

 

[ratsy]

Well, I went for the full creep story this month. Nothing like an odd theme to get me in the horror mood, and early in the month too!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Vaz -- An echo from the past can bring a tragedy to life, as in this emotionally powerful story of the future.

ratsy -- This dark psychological chiller shows us how easy it is to confuse the echoes within and without.

 

[Mr Orange]

Wow, who'd a' thunk echoes would be such a dark topic...

Some good stories there. I have nada.

 

[Shyrka]

Wow, who'd a' thunk echoes would be such a dark topic...

Some good stories there. I have nada.

It's early days yet, I'm sure you'll come up with something.

I had a few ideas knocking around but I must admit I kept gravitating toward the darker end of the spectrum in my search for something with a bit of power.

 

[Shyrka]

Building a Myth-es, @hopewrites – This story details an intriguing exchange between an explorer and an unknown entity that appears to be able to see the future. Whether for good or ill, we are left to wonder.

Echoes, 4067 A.D. @Ihe – Using the unusual device of a historical lyrical piece, this entry explores a dark past where a great battle draws unexpected attention from the bowels of the earth.

Whispers of the Past, @Vaz – Making clever use of the time-dilating effects of faster-than-light travel, this tale teaches us that, in the vastness of space, true horror lives on forever.

To Me Alone, @ratsy – A chilling tale of a disturbed mind and the equally-disturbing voice it heeds. Whether of supernatural or merely psychological origins, the result is equally unnerving.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Cascade -- An echo in a lonely place can reflect one's own sorrow, as shown in this moving account of mourning.

 

[Pwaa]

I finally got around to entering one of these. I wanted to go down a lighter note, but then that came out instead...

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Old_Man_Steve2016 -- The thoughts which echo inside our heads can be our worst enemy, as this psychological suspense story reveals.

LittleStar -- This gentle and subtle tale of loss and memory reminds us that echoes are sometimes all we have.

Pwaa -- An echo may be all we know about an unknown threat, as this tense science fiction story demonstrates.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Dave -- This awe-inspiring vision of exploration and the undiscovered shows the reader how a single clue may be an echo of the unknown.

 

[Droflet]

Thanks to Victoria and Skyrka for the great reviews.