DISCUSSION THREAD- January 2019- 75 Word Writing Challenge

[Heijan Xavier]

Shortlist:

Square Up to Satan, @dannymcg
Mandragora Cries, @M. Robert Gibson
Root Day, @Vince W
My Place, @Jo Zebedee
Delirium, @Teresa Edgerton
Giving Roots of Kinship, @TheDustyZebra
As They Like It? @Ursa major
Tree of Life, @Vaz

Finalists:

Police Action, @Daysman - I found the cute little temporal plays in this one quite beguiling.
And the Neighbours Are Quite Nice… @mosaix - Speaking of beguiling, the to-and-fro in this story is perfectly-pitched. Almost soporific.
Roots of Freedom, @Heijan Xavier - I found the mystery and melancholy in this entry fascinating.

Vote:

The Hanging Tree, @Culhwch - I loved the creepy, Sleepy Hollow-esque vibe of this old-school ghost story.

Thank you for the thoughtful reflections on my piece. I didn’t consider @Culhwch ‘s piece because, as haunting as it is, it is sadly all too non-fictional.

 

[Vaz]

@elvet sorry for forgetting. I have now officially given your story my vote.

v

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Thank you for the shortlist @johnnyjet much appreciated

 

[Ivy Moser]

As will probably be the case for the foreseeable future, work is such that it keeps me away from Chrons much more than I would like, this month was particularly so. Combined with man-flu made it look as though I might actually miss writing a story.

I had two ideas, and in the need for a bit of levity, went with the one that was lighter in tone. I did not expect much in response, so have been delighted with the mentions received. Thanks to you all.

But then I noticed a vote, Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss Old fat furry cat-puss, thank you.

As where I'm voting, I have the unusual problem of having three stories appeal to me equally.

D.A. Xiaolin Spires
Ivy Moser
TDZ

Thanks for causing me a headache

You are welcome? If it makes you feel any better, I have my own headache--this was a tough choice! Thank you for liking "Enough"!

 

[Ivy Moser]

This month was harder than last month!!!!

Thank you to Victoria Silverwolf and Parson and Artoriarius for all the amazing reviews--so much work goes into those, so thank you for taking the time to really read and note about every single entry!

Thank you to Hugh, jonnyjet, elvet, M. Robert Gibson, and Perpetual Man for the long and short listing--thank you for liking my entry I enjoyed your stories as well!

I loved so many of these stories, and also enjoyed:

Glacial Embrace @DA Xiaolin Spires
Planted @elvet
Last Contact @ Victoria Silverwolf
Entanglement @Tisiphone
And the Neighbors Are Quite Nice @mosaix
How the Trees Grow @nixie
Flowers and Weeds @HazelRah
Harvester @David Evil Overlord
Modelling Love in the Age of Big Data @CTRandall
My Place, For Padraic Fiacc @Jo Zebedee

And it came down to a choice between:
the wonderfully humorous A Successful Experiment @Artoriarius
the lovely Autumn Light @LittleStar...

GAH! They are so different, how to choose?

Given the theme that I wrote about, I guess it stands to reason that I would vote for a story where the trees win...although I love Autumn Light too, but I'm going to choose:

A Successful Experiment @Artoriarius

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I voted for Cul’s but also loved Teresa’s very much and smiled at Luiglin’s.

Lots of mentions - thank you! And a vote from Teresa has my month made x

 

[HazelRah]

Special mentions to Culhwch, Littlestar and D3athw4lker

And although CTRandall came very close to getting the vote, in the end i had to give it to Artoriarius... because it’s the sort of stupid thing that might well just happen

 

[Ursa major]

Not being rooted to the spot, for once, the Ursa jury has managed to get its vote in early (early for them, anyway) this month. And here it is....


The following are in posting order within the categories:


Honourable Mentions:

• And The Neighbours Are Quite Nice... by mosaix
• The Beanstalk Feeds by Pedro Del Mar
• Ancestry Commandeered by johnnyjet
• Modelling Love in the Age of Big Data by CTRandall

Runners Up:

• Planted by elvet
• The Hanging Tree by Culhwch
• Gardener's Dilemma by Hugh

Winner:

• A Successful Experiment by Artoriarius

​

 

[Ursa major]

The poll has now closed and we have a tie.

A tie-breaker poll will be along in a moment.

 

[Ursa major]

The tie-breaker poll is up. It will be open until 23:59 GMT on January the 30th 2019:

Tiebreaker Poll -- June 2018 Writing Challenge​

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[Teresa Edgerton]

Wow, that came very close to being a three-way tie! With so many excellent stories it was an honor that so many people mentioned my story. Thank you Victoria, johnnyjet, Little Star, Daysman, Parson, Vaz, Cat's Cradle, Shyrka, and Jo.

And a very big thank you to those who voted for it: Vince W., Hugh, David Evil Overlord, Abernovo, Pedro Del Mar, and Karn's Return.

Now on to the tie-breaker and more days of suspense.

 

[chrispenycate]

I did sort of promise - here's the one I prepared earlier, but failed to convince my computer about:

Geneaology

DNA scrawls twisted maps
Over seas and continents,
Showing centuries' elapse
Origin's incompetence.

From equatorial, our routes
Achieving arcticivity
Absorb neanderthal offshoots
In reproductional proclivity.

Cytoplasm re-enacts
Uncovers transmigration's traces
But only womankindly facts
Its double helicoid unlaces

Mankind explodes, then recontracts,
Nomadic genes o'ercoming limits.
Tundra, swamp, steppe, man overacts
Swinging between the opposites.

And as geography is captured
Protean, in protein shell
Behold inconstant life enraptured
As we adapt and change as well.

 

[Culhwch]

Wow, votes! It feels like such a long time since I've gotten any, and to get three - totally unexpected! Many thanks to @Jo Zebedee, @Shyrka, and @Artoriarius, and thanks also to those who mentioned or listed my story!

I voted for Teresa in the tiebreaker because she was amongst my finalists first time through, but both are deserving stories. Good luck both!

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Since I'd already voted for Artoriarius once, I did it again. Hopefully I can get my shortlist up tomorrow night -- sorry for the delay.

 

[Shyrka]

I plumped for @Teresa Edgerton this time, since hers was on my shortlist previously. Big thanks to everyone who mentioned or voted for me this month. Four votes was waaay more than I expected to get - I was really running behind this month and tried to get the 75-worder out of the way quickly to focus on the 300, so I wasn't holding out much hope for it.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I voted for @Teresa Edgerton this time.

 

[Hugh]

Many congratulations @Teresa Edgerton and @Artoriarius .
I have voted for Teresa again, though as time goes on I've admired Artoriarius' more and more.
I showed both stories to my wife who laughed out loud at Artoriarius' , but she is not registered on Chrons.

And many thanks to those who listed my story: @Artoriarius , @scarpelius , @M. Robert Gibson , @Daysman and @Ursa major . A rich number of listings indeed, a real unexpected bonus.

Regarding my story, I've had an occasional interest in Yggdrasil for some years: there is actually very little to go on in the sources, so I was very pleased to come up with a reason (though, as ever, I doubt this is original) why Yggdrasil has roots in three worlds.

 

[Artoriarius]

Well, this is not what I was expecting when I logged onto Chrons this morning - and a pleasant surprise it is, too. I'm actually at a loss for words right now.

My thanks to everyone who voted for me in the first poll: mosaix, Ursa major, TheDustyZebra, HazelRah, Peter V, and Ivy Moser; and thanks to everyone voting in the second!

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I enjoyed both stories, but as Artoriarius was one of my finalists, I voted for him in the tie-breaker. Good luck in the voting, Teresa and Artoriarious!

 

[LittleStar]

Thanks to everyone who mentioned my entry, and huge thanks to the wonderful people to vote for it
It was ecxiting being in pole position for a few days, but too much stress seeing Teresa nipping at my heels the whole way, and Artoriarius storming through at the end. Well done to both

As it turns out these two stories were neck and neck for my second place in the original vote. So this is the worst kind of tiebreaker But needs must, and I’ve plumped for Artoriarius this time.