Discussion Thread -- November 2016 75-word writing challenge

[farntfar]

Wow. A mention already. Thanks Drof.
I must read the last ones and decide on my vote. It's gonna be tough to choose.

 

[Steven Sorrels]

So, sleepy me made a whoopsie and voted for myself, having missed the whole "don't vote for yourself" rule.

However, if someone decides that they were going to vote for me, to equalize it you could vote for who I wanted to vote for, which was Backup by @Ihe .

 

[Glen]

Some stories missing maps or dystopias? Or are they figurative maps and dystopias I didn’t pick up?

My favourites:

• Victoria Silverwolf - clean up in aisle blue
• Cat’s Cradle - “No, no, no - you go to fourteen now.”
• Shyrka - there is no escape
• Astrozon - future archeology
• Vaz - compliance is bliss
• David Evil Overlord - lol reprise of Brontosaurus
• Wruter - it could have been IT…
• Peter V - “scales fell from his eyes”
• Hugh - Merry Pranksters
• Venusian Broon - the lines been cut
• Lost - wait till they try folding it back up
• Tricanthos - a dangerous line to tread
• Culhwch - helping hand
• Starbeast - Fracking hell

 

[Ursa major]

Many thanks for the vote, Cathbad.

 

[Shyrka]

Everlasting Peace, @juelz4sure – In a grim, western-style saloon, officers of the ‘law’ take the last precious thing that a tortured soul has left.

Pub with no Beer II: SlabQuest, @Glen – More tales of the apocalypse from ‘Down Under’ - a man’s desperate quest for chilled refreshment will take him to distant, dangerous places. And we’re not talking about the outhouse.

Sympathetic connection, @chrispenycate – Music terminology, police states and apocalyptic visions all feature in this rhyme that explores the artificial creation of division.

Last Chance, @Dave Barsby – Saving the world from the dying act of a scientist intent on the destruction of the human race will require retrieving secrets from beyond the grave.

Forbidden Knowledge, @Ursa major – A prisoner fears an unpleasant fate only to discover their gaoler is just as eager to escape as they are.

 

[Shyrka]

Thank you Cathbad and Glen for the lovely mentions. I'll try to get all my remaining reviews done shortly but some of you pesky folk have a nasty habit of waiting to the last minute to post so I end up with a huge backlog rather than spacing them out nicely for me. Tsk.

 

[Old_Man_Steve2016]

It was a tough theme to write for, and an even tougher theme to vote for!
Y'all never make it easy for me, do you???

 

[Shyrka]

So Far From Home, @Mad Alice – Despite an intimate knowledge of her form, no amount of power can bring life to the lost love of this story’s subject.

Myth, @Anushka Mokosh – The illicit secrets of an ancient world, its very existence denied by the state, are hauntingly familiar.

The True Cost of Oil, @Starbeast – A stark warning of the cost of incautious environmental exploitation.

Devil You Know, @HareBrain – Offered the chance to escape from a nightmarish vision of the future, the subject of this morally-ambiguous tale opts to stick with the world they know rather than pay the price of freedom.

 

[nixie]

Favourites , Cul, Mosaix, the Judge vote Hopewrites.

 

[Ihe]

So, sleepy me made a whoopsie and voted for myself, having missed the whole "don't vote for yourself" rule.

However, if someone decides that they were going to vote for me, to equalize it you could vote for who I wanted to vote for, which was Backup by @Ihe .

TA muchly. It counts even without the virtual proof.

 

[Steven Sorrels]

TA muchly. It counts even without the virtual proof.

Just trying to keep everything aboveboard, as it were.

 

[Glen]

Thanks @Shyrka , your review was funnier than the story! :0)

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Glen, thank you for the vote!

Forgive my butting in, but in regard to Steven's vote...haven't we had a situation before where a vote had to be removed by a Mod? And would this then allow Steven to vote for Ihe, as he'd intended? (And then there's still till close of voting on the 28th for Steven to hopefully get that vote back, from another member who enjoyed his story. ) Just a thought, but it'd be nice to see Ihe's vote up.

Now, lists...more stories entered means more stories listed, for me. So hard to choose this month, and so many worthy stories. But we have to cull, so:

Shortlist:
Luiglin, Shyrka, AstroZon, DEO, Ihe, hopewrites, HazelRah, Parson, VinceK, Starbeast, HareBrain, TDZ

Honorables:
Mith, AstroZon, Mad Alice, The Judge

Finalists:
Vitoria Silverwolf, Vaz, Hex, Culwch (loved all of these)

Vote: Vaz. Killer last line. I haven't read dystopian in many years, but the atmosphere here seemed exactly right, as I recall it. Well done, Vaz!

 

[Steven Sorrels]

@Cat's Cradle From what I understand, it has something to do with the program that runs the polls and threads that doesn't allow for a vote to be overturned or removed. As I understand it.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Ah, I see Steven, thanks. Well, I'm sure a vote for Ihe has been tallied on the mod's all-knowing abacus, in their lounge.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Thanks Droflet and Cathbad and Glen and Cat'sCradle for the shortlistings.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Starbeast -- A powerful account of humanity's failure to consider the consequences of its actions.

HareBrain -- A compelling portrait of how courage is required to do the right thing.

ratsy -- An intimate vision of the way in which memories of the past may be one's only consolation.

The Judge -- A heartfelt tale of selflessness and sacrifice.

TheDustyZebra -- An ironic demonstration of the way in which the strategies of the past can defeat the evils of the present.

The Big Peat -- An imaginative fantasy which offers the promise of hope from an unexpected source.

_________________________________________________________________________________________


I had to go with the stories that were the most original and which made the most meaningful use of the theme. With that it mind, my runners-up are Venusian Broon and Bowler1.

My vote goes to Wruter, whose story strikes very close to home.

 

[VinceK]

Thanks to @Cathbad and @Cat's Cradle for the mention.

 

[Parson]

@Cat's Cradle --- Thanks for the mention.

 

[Ihe]

Faves: Luiglin, Cat's Cradle, Shyrka, LittleStar, Mad Alice, HareBrain, The Judge.

Vote goes to: ratsy.