Discussion Thread -- APRIL 2020 -- 300-Worder Writing Challenge (#37)

[Guttersnipe]

Mais oui!

Merci @Guttersnipe !! The revolution has started!

Chargé !

BG

Je vous en prie.

 

[Bren G]

I spent a long time laboring over this list. I was very hard to say the least, and believe it is more appropriate to call it my 'Long-List' not Short-list. I I believe my votes could have easily changed depending on the day I cast them. But alas, I had to pick three (in bold).

@Menolly - Butterflies in the Attic - A sweet tale that defies the conventional fairy tale tropes

@Peeling - Timepeice - a highly original and well scripted tale,that keeps you hanging on until the very end.

@Jo Zebedee - LUCY- another well written story that taunts with nervous tension, and who’s ending doesn't fail to deliver.

@Guttersnipe - One Dark St. Agnes' Eve - A macabre tale that speaks to what happens when you play with fire.

@Peter V - Betrayal, vindication and love - with a 'twist' fill this story of a family under one roof

@dannymcg - You can't always get - a story that assures one gets what you deserve. A well-crafted twisted tale of comeuppance

@Luiglin - Killing it - great dialogue, mysterious and clever. Major points for an utterly surprising ending and a 'killer' last line.

@BigJ - In the Eye of the Beholder - Used the Mirror in an artful way that was incredibly unique. Great use of mystery and emotion.

@Teresa Edgerton - The Face in the Mirror - very well written, mysterious and delivers the goods without complication.

Cheers!

BG

 

[BT Jones]

Thank you for the stealth vote @Guttersnipe .

Seconded @Guttersnipe, thanks!

 

[Ursa major]

Many, many thanks for the stealth vote, Peter V.

 

[Rafellin]

Interesting crop this quarter, but only two enchanted me - Menolly and Teresa Edgerton.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Shortlist
The Man Who Promptly Forgot What He Looked Like the Moment He Walked Away from the Mirror - @johnnyjet
Shadows - @AMB
A Tale of Two Sisters - @Peter V
When Can You Start? - @mosaix
MIRROR MIRROR - @Culhwch
The Narcissus Trap - @Perpetual Man
The Truth of Magic - @Celine_Brace
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely - @Parson
The Face in the Mirror - @Teresa Edgerton

Honourable mention
Detective Magazine #21 - @Starbeast

Votes
The Chartwell Experiment - @Daysman
Killing It - @Luiglin
One Night at the Museum - @Mr Orange

 

[scarpelius]

Last month was a busy month for me and I couldn't focus enough to get into 300 contest.

@Cat's Cradle
Pleasantly surprised you wrote a story with Bucharest in title.
Small observation though:
the name Prevcú does not exist in our language. There might be variations of the name but we do not use u with accent on it.
It does sound a bit Slavic but I asked and it does not exist in Serbian or other surrounding countries.
Other than that, very nice story

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Thanks, @scarpelius!

I hope it isn't offensive to you that the name isn't authentic. I always completely wing the names I use in these Challenge stories, and I tried to come up with something that sounded as though it could possibly be a name from that region of Europe.

But to be honest, my main concern in coming up with fictional names is that there aren't real people with the same name, as it would seem rude to me to use a real name in such a silly story. After I 'invented' Prevcú, I popped the name into Google's search engine with quotes around it, and found it was a word that did not exist anywhere on the internet. So, satisfied that I had come up with a name that could offend no one, I used it in the Challenge. But darn, it turns out it did catch someone's notice. Again, hope it wasn't offensive. Glad you enjoyed the story, though! CC

 

[scarpelius]

Now that you explained, I understand the logic behind the name.
But Romania is a enclave of Latin origin, surrounded by Slavic and Huns. It is a bit funny to see Americans, making this mistake over and over (I've seen a lot of movies doing that, most recently NCIS Los Angeles created a Romanian ascendance for Callen, born from a Russian KGB father and gipsy CIA mother, and portrait Callen family as Russian mobsters).
If you are to make a language comparison, we are close related to Italian and because of that a lot of Romanians work in Italy and brought back, when they returned for Easter holiday, the gift of Covid-19.
P.S. I'm not offended, but since the forum allows me to fix this, I felt the urge to do it
P.P.S. Incidentally, one of our greatest painters is called Nicolae Grigorescu and the most known of his paintings is "Carul cu boi" (The oxen cart)

 

[Luiglin]

Now that you explained, I understand the logic behind the name.
But Romania is a enclave of Latin origin, surrounded by Slavic and Huns. It is a bit funny to see Americans, making this mistake over and over (I've seen a lot of movies doing that, most recently NCIS Los Angeles created a Romanian ascendance for Callen, born from a Russian KGB father and gipsy CIA mother, and portrait Callen family as Russian mobsters).
If you are to make a language comparison, we are close related to Italian and because of that a lot of Romanians work in Italy and brought back, when they returned for Easter holiday, the gift of Covid-19.
P.S. I'm not offended, but since the forum allows me to fix this, I felt the urge to do it
P.P.S. Incidentally, one of our greatest painters is called Nicolae Grigorescu and the most known of his paintings is "Carul cu boi" (The oxen cart)

Interesting how writers come up with names. Depending on what I'm writing I often use Google maps. For my Dark Lord tales I base the standard fantasy races in my own mind of coming from certain countries. To get similar names that readers could potentially identify with I browse Google maps for interesting village and town names. From these, I mix and match to come up with something new but hopefully with the same feel.

 

[Danny McG]

I'm disheartened to observe that ten people, including myself, are still 'blankies' in this challenge - come on people, stop teasing and cast a vote for me.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I'm disheartened to observe that ten people, including myself, are still 'blankies' in this challenge - come on people, stop teasing and cast a vote for me.

Well.... Perhaps.

 

[Ursa major]

Many, many thanks for the stealth vote, Luiglin.

 

[Peter V]

AMB
karn

I'm disheartened to observe that ten people, including myself, are still 'blankies' in this challenge - come on people, stop teasing and cast a vote for me.

I took a risk with a dark tale. Not that it tends to make much difference to my generally mediocre outcome but my blanks do tend to be reserved for such efforts.

 

[Astro Pen]

I'm disheartened to observe that ten people, including myself, are still 'blankies' in this challenge - come on people, stop teasing and cast a vote for me.

It is an unfortunate reality that there are 38 entries. In order to have a winner there must be 37 losers.
Competitions are basically engines of disappointment.
So why do I persist as an apparent mule at the races?
To be part of it.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

I'm disheartened to observe that ten people, including myself, are still 'blankies' in this challenge - come on people, stop teasing and cast a vote for me.

Hear, hear. From a fellow blankie

That said, I don't want any sympathy votes, I only wants votes from people who think my entry is one the greatest things ever written in the English language, or indeed any language, and will go on to change the course of human history forever

(Oh go on then, I'll take a sympathy vote)

 

[Elckerlyc]

... I only wants votes from people who think my entry is one the greatest things ever written in the English language, or indeed any language ...

Not possible. My entry is the greatest. (and only 1 person so far who recognized it as such.)

 

[Celine_Brace]

Shortlist
The Man Who Promptly Forgot What He Looked Like the Moment He Walked Away from the Mirror - @johnnyjet
Shadows - @AMB
A Tale of Two Sisters - @Peter V
When Can You Start? - @mosaix
MIRROR MIRROR - @Culhwch
The Narcissus Trap - @Perpetual Man
The Truth of Magic - @Celine_Brace
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely - @Parson
The Face in the Mirror - @Teresa Edgerton

Honourable mention
Detective Magazine #21 - @Starbeast

Votes
The Chartwell Experiment - @Daysman
Killing It - @Luiglin
One Night at the Museum - @Mr Orange

Thanks for the mention! I have to agree with a lot of your shortlist! There were so many good ones!

 

[Celine_Brace]

Thank you @Luiglin and @Karn's Return for the votes. I literally got up and danced around the house for joy! I think some people here know I'm brand new to sharing my work with people so these stories feel like a big risk for me and I am so grateful you saw something worth a vote in it. Thank you!!!

Now, my honorable mentions: (So hard!)
A Reflection of the Monster - @Abernovo - (Loved the creepy and the tension)
Retrospective - @Astro Pen - (I am always interested in a Romanov story - always!)
New Us - @Rafellin - (I appreciated the language and the second person perspective.)
Scenes Form a Bucharest Museum - @Cat's Cradle - (I like the concept of this story.)
Spectra - @Victoria Silverwolf - (Loved the ending - I think this was a big struggle for most. A lot of the endings felt rushed to me, but I thought your ending really served the story well.)
LUCY - @Jo Zebedee (Love the creep-factor!)

My votes:
Timepiece - @Peeling - This story was my favorite one. Almost all of us played with the concept of time and reflection, but I thought yours did it in the most unique way. I really enjoyed your story.
The Face in the Mirror - @Teresa Edgerton - Haunting! Well done.
Mirror Mirror - @Culhwch - A twist on a favorite. Well done.

 

[Astro Pen]

Retrospective - @Astro Pen - (I am always interested in a Romanov story - always!)

Thank you for the honorable mention Celine. The Anastasia selfie is true by the way. I did research
Here it is:-