DISCUSSION -- March 2018 -- 75 Word Story Challenge

[paranoid marvin]

I'm in... just. I find Steampunk so hard to write, although it's a fascinating subject.

 

[Ursa major]

I got mine in with a twenty or so minutes to spare...

...give or take suddenly thinking of a better title with only two minutes to go....

 

[Ursa major]

And the Challenge is closed for entries. The poll will be along soon.

 

[Ursa major]

And here it is:

Voting is now open at the link below:

POLL -- March 2018 75-Word Challenge -- READ FIRST POST!
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[TheDustyZebra]

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

TheDustyZebra -- This witty adventure points out the importance of the social niceties.

AnyaKimlin -- This optimistic character study shows us the virtue of self-reliance.

The Judge -- This comic story reveals how vital it is to have clear perception.

Teresa Edgerton -- This historical epic demonstrates the relentless march of the years.

paranoid marvin -- This futuristic chantey paints a vivid picture of the risks of navigation.

Ursa major -- This dark comedy tells the reader of the necessity of accuracy.

ASleepyGiraffe -- This exciting tale portrays the hazards of venture.

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This was a very tough challenge. Inevitably, there were similarities among the various entries. With that in mind, I looked for an original approach. My vote goes to "Steam Punked" by Parson, a very witty variation on an urban myth. Coming in a very, very close second was "The First Automaton on the Earth" by Luiglin, an elegant tribute to a literary classic.

 

[Parson]

Thanks Victoria! your vote means a lot to me.

@AnyaKimlin .... Transmission Slip .... Even on a grand adventure if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

@The Judge .... All at sea .... Seeing should not always be believing.

@Teresa Edgerton .... Homecoming .... Be careful what you wish for, you might get it and it is likely more than you imagined.

@paranoid marvin .... Dead Ahead .... Even on a Steam Space Ship science is necessary for a safe landing.

@Ursa major .... Interstellar Travel? .... Misunderstanding goes before a disastrous trip home.

@ASleepyGiraffe .... THE BRONZE LEGION .... In the end if you look you will find, but it might not be exactly what you've expected.

 

[Cathbad]

Not sure what platform you’re writing on, but if you have access to Scrivener, its word count is excellent and far superior to Word.

pH

I use Word, but always hand-count. Only time Word has been "wrong" (so far) has been hyphenated words I already knew would count as two.

 

[Bob Senior]

Thanks to , Parson and Victoria for reviews.
I voted as fast as I could not wanting to get beat up but mostly because I wanted someone else to know the feeling of having 100% of the votes however briefly.
Actually voted for my favorite story Transmission Slip.

On another note, LOOK UP ! The Chinese space station is about to return to earth !

 

[Phyrebrat]

Scrivener knows about hyphenated words which is why I mentioned it.

I’ve been using it since Noah and it’s correctly counted thus far.

pH

 

[Danny McG]

I still plan to vote in this, even though I'm not entered - setting an example

My vote went to Pedro del Mar - can't explain exactly why , something about his story just appealed to me.

 

[nixie]

Favourites Cat's Cradle, Mr Orange
Vote TDZ, loved the last line.

 

[Ursa major]

Scrivener knows about hyphenated words which is why I mentioned it.

But the more relvent question is: Are the rules that Scrivever follows always going to be 100% in line with the decisions the mods make?

Now it may be that Scrivener always counts a hyphenated word as two words -- the rule I use with my own entries (because I write them so late that there isn't time to check with the other mods) -- and so gives the safest word count. But doing this may also be reducing the number of words available to that user, as there is a long list of words -- and situations -- where mods will count a hyphenated word as one word.


So, Scrivener may find all the hyphenated words, and may even highlight them, but it's always best to check with the mods if you are in any doubt about whether a particular hyphenated word counts as one or two words.

 

[Phyrebrat]

But the more relvent question is: Are the rules that Scrivever follows always going to be 100% in line with the decisions the mods make?

Now it may be that Scrivener always counts a hyphenated word as two words -- the rule I use with my own entries (because I write them so late that there isn't time to check with the other mods) -- and so gives the safest word count. But doing this may also be reducing the number of words available to that user, as there is a long list of words -- and situations -- where mods will count a hyphenated word as one word.


So, Scrivener may find all the hyphenated words, and may even highlight them, but it's always best to check with the mods if you are in any doubt about whether a particular hyphenated word counts as one or two words.

Yep, which is what the mods are for . The Judge and Harebrain can testify to this ... I’m frequently pestering them as to whether certain hyphenated words are real or phyrebrat inventions.

pH

 

[mosaix]

Yep, which is what the mods are for . The Judge and Harebrain can testify to this ... I’m frequently pestering them as to whether certain hyphenated words are real or phyrebrat inventions.

pH

And me.

 

[Stable]

My vote went to @AnyaKimlin for Transmission Slip

Honourable mentions to:
@Victoria Silverwolf
@Cat's Cradle
@The Judge (extra points for use of pulchritude - wonderful word)
@Ursa major

 

[Shyrka]

77 words !
Miscounted

It's so easy to do. I'm amazed it hasn't happened to me yet. Post it here after the vote maybe?

 

[Parson]

This was the first time we did not meet the "magic 42" stories. For the years this challenge has been going on we have always had at least 42 stories. But at least a couple of times we had 42 on the nose. So, although it might be a bit disappointing, this challenge had 40 stories which I think is still a wonderful response. I remember the first challenge and we hoped to get maybe a dozen or so. Well, that proved quite false and that first challenge has led to a 300 word challenge, a 100 word challenge, plus a few others which I believe showed up because of the success of this one.

This month we had some people struggle with the genre, but we did get a lot of interesting and original stories. Good job everyone. Remember this challenge is about creating as good a story as you can in 75 words in a particular genre with a particular theme, so in my book everyone is a winner.

Stories of Distinction:
@Joshua Jones .... Pretty When You Smile -- Social Commentary Prize

@chrispenycate .... Glasshouse in the Sky -- Originality Prize

@Jo Zebedee .... Flying too Close -- Poetry Prize.... It seemed as though we had more poetry than usual and I loved this a lot.

@Graymalkin .... The Birthday Present -- The Humor Prize ....This month there were a lot of stories which were pretty funny. This was the best of those for me.

@Shyrka .... A Captain's Duty -- The Prized Vote .... This story hit me right in heart. So I voted for it.

 

[Danny McG]

It's so easy to do. I'm amazed it hasn't happened to me yet. Post it here after the vote maybe?

Can't!
I took a sulk and deleted it
Lousy stinking 2 word extra story

 

[nixie]

Can't!
I took a sulk and deleted it
Lousy stinking 2 word extra story

We can post a copy in here once voting is closed.