DISCUSSION -- JULY 2018 300-word Writing Challenge (#30)

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Vaz -- This moody fantasy tellingly depicts the burden of heroism.

M. Robert Gibson -- This eerie tale demonstrates how we often fear what is hidden inside ourselves.

Onyx -- This convincing science fiction story reveals a surprising result of the blending of art, science, and business.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

johnnyjet -- The author creates an imaginative fantasy of manners with a great deal of psychological insight.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Starbeast -- This rollicking comedy performs the difficult feat of juggling many disparate elements at once.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I'm in. Something very different for me, just felt I needed to do something a little lightheard (I hope).

Not expecting too much from it, but it raises at least one snigger, then job done.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Perpetual Man -- This merry romp through romantic misadventures is sure to raise a wry smile.

 

[SPoots]

@Victoria Silverwolf may I just take a moment to say I am endlessly impressed and grateful for you writing these little summations. It’s a nice little confirmation that someone is reading and appreciating our work

 

[Vaz]

Thanks for the reviews, Victoria.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

RJM Corbet -- This mystical monologue creates a haunting mood.

 

[RJM Corbet]

RJM Corbet -- This mystical monologue creates a haunting mood.

Thank you

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

LittleStar -- This thoughtful fantasy considers the emotional impact of the road not taken.

 

[Peter V]

Well I finally but the bullet. I have had the kernel of two stories for nearly three weeks but just wasn't happy with either really. In the end I went with the one I liked least but was unanimously the preferred choice of all five Beta readers. Shows what I know!

 

[Danny McG]

I've this minute completed reading through all the entries so far.
Burning with envy at the creavity shown, you clever so-and-so's.

Also I've now got a feeling that I'll be trying to find an excuse to keep the light on all night tonight!

 

[Phyrebrat]

I’ve missed 75 word entries but I think I have a 100% entry record for the 300s since I joined.

This morning I still had no idea other than perhaps a character and location, but nothing in the way of story. So the one I just posted is my first ever posting the same day as writing.

So much for my pious boasting about writing them and sitting on them for 3 weeks.



pH

 

[Shyrka]

Well I was cutting it pretty damn fine too tonight. I was away earlier in the month and hadn't managed to get anything together. I had resigned myself to missing out but somehow the stars have aligned and a few snatched fragments of time have managed to corral my entry into something I don't hate. I'm looking forward to reading the other entries now - I usually try to avoid doing so until mine is in to prevent any cross-contamination!

 

[Phyrebrat]

Well I was cutting it pretty damn fine too tonight. I was away earlier in the month and hadn't managed to get anything together. I had resigned myself to missing out but somehow the stars have aligned and a few snatched fragments of time have managed to corral my entry into something I don't hate. I'm looking forward to reading the other entries now - I usually try to avoid doing so until mine is in to prevent any cross-contamination!

Yes. I hate the fact that I work well under pressure. It’s so stressful. Actual anxiety!!

pH

 

[The Judge]

I'm in, but sheesh, posting at 11pm on the last day is cutting it a little too fine for my taste. *wipes sweat from brow*

I had no ideas of any kind all month, and was getting desperate this afternoon. Then at about 5.30pm when I was sorting out some newspapers from last week by way of displacement activity I read an article about the Thai boys who were rescued from the caves which started pinging some synapses in the inspiration-centre of my brain. Then I found another article, about changes coming to the Gurkhas, and the two slid together. And then a long-ago post that I made in the Staff Room came back to me, and with it a wonderful name pyan coined, and voila!

Actually, it wasn't voila at all, not even viola. That lot gave me the setting and the beginnings of a story, but it still took hours to work out what the actual plot was and, even more time-consuming, how to tell it after several false starts. I'm now exhausted!

 

[Ursa major]

The challenge has closed and the voting is now open.

To cast your THREE votes, use the link below.

​

Please vote for your top THREE choices; note that all three votes must be cast AT THE SAME TIME to count.​

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Peter V -- The way in which ancient myths are mixed with the modern world in this story makes it seem very real.

Phyrebrat -- This moody and mysterious tale manages to capture an entire lifetime in a short space.

Shyrka -- The genre of high fantasy is used to show how heroism can emerge from the ordinary.

The Judge -- This story offers a new mythos, psychological depth, and insight into important questions of right and wrong.

Ursa major -- With tongue firmly in cheek, the author offers a playful look at various themes in science fiction, while engaging in clever word play.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

VOTES:

Cory Swanson for the narrator's voice.

Stable for the sense of magic realism.

The Judge for the creation of an entire world.

 

[Stable]

My shortlist:
HoopyFrood - O. unilateralis
Cory Swanson - Gruv in an Elevator, Gruvving it up while I'm Gruvving down.
Victoria Silverwolf - The Masquerade
Spoots - Describing a Nightmare
The Judge - Orison - To The Lady of Six Aspects
Ursa Major - Roadster to the Rescue

My votes were inflicted on:
Rafellin - Going Down
LittleStar - My Dorian Gray
Shyrka - Hair Apparent

And thank you Victoria!

 

[SPoots]

My votes:

Judge
LittleStar
Cat’s Cradle

Very difficult to make my choices this time.