DISCUSSION THREAD JULY 2020 75-WORD WRITING CHALLENGE

[Ursa major]

With unalloyed joy, I present the full results of the Ursa jury (who've selected the entries in which their authors really showed their metal), with the stories in posting order within the categories:


Honourable Mentions:

• What’s in a word by Luiglin
• Lady in red by dannymcg
• This Is How You Do a Science Fair Volcano by MikeAnderson
• How to annoy the Wife. by Ambrose

Runners Up:

• Science, Magic, Discover - The Full Monty by Perpetual Man
• An Introduction by TheEndIsNigh
• Phosphorus Argon Tantalum Yttrium - Oxygen Nitrogen by M. Robert Gibson

Winner:

• Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Four Elements by The Judge

​

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I read all the stories, went and voted, and then discovered that I had broken a tie between my two favorites, nudging TJ ahead of holland!

(Err... that was before Ursa came along. I'm slow.)

 

[Joshua Jones]

As ever some stories I didn't understand, though I did get Victoria's doomed city and I managed 14+2 for Ursa!

Anyway, my short list:

Ashleyne -- Out Of Their Elements​

Cat's Cradle -- Holy Mass​

Elckerlyc -- On A Lazy Sunday Afternoon​

holland -- Table 22...​

Joshua Jones -- The Fault In Our Star​

M Robert Gibson -- PArTY - ON​

TheEndIsNigh -- An Introduction​

It wasn't easy to choose a winner from those stories, which were all so very different, but in the end I went with Ashleyne's elemental reality show, which I'm sure will be taken up by someone somewhere, with CC's scathing view of the element of power coming a close second..

Goodness. This is the best I've done in a long while -- as ever, I can rely on Holmes! So great earth, fire and water thanks for the lovely mentions/shortlistings BTJones, Hugh, elvet, johnnyjet, MRG, Starbeast and Daysman, and giant balloon airy element thanks for the wonderful votes nixie, Chris P, Vince and CC! Oh, and a stealth vote from Joshua! Thank you!!

Yay! I got a short listing this month! Thanks @The Judge!

As noted, my vote went to TJ. I wasn't sure if I would have the time to do a shortlist, but I wanted to make sure I got my vote in.

My shortlist:
@Victoria Silverwolf
@Margaret Note Spelling
@Guttersnipe
@Elckerlyc
@Luiglin
@TheEndIsNigh
@Ashleyne
@Stable
@Marvin
@CarBear
@mosaix
@Parson
@scarpelius
@holland - CLOSE third.
@M. Robert Gibson
@paranoid marvin
@AMB
@Ursa major
@David Evil Overlord - CLOSE second.

Great work everyone!

 

[Ursa major]

The poll has now closed and we have a winner:

Congratulations, The Judge!​

​

 

[Joshua Jones]

Congratulations @The Judge! An excellent story with a great moment of wit.

Commiserations to @holland, who came in second with an excellent, non-traditional story structure.

Thanks to all who posted stories!

 

[Bren G]

Am late posting this (I voted yesterday), but first - congratulations @The Judge for your well deserved win!


This was the narrowest grouping I have had the pleasure to read. Here we go...

Short List
Science, Magic, Discover - The Full Monty - @Perpetual Man
A Meeting of Minds by @Provincial
Age's End - @Justin Swanton
An Introduction - @TheEndIsNigh
What maketh a man? - @Hugh
Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Four Elements - @The Judge
This Is How You Do a Science Fair Volcano! @MikeAnderson
The Fault in Our Star. - @Joshua Jones
The MUSE A.I. in 2042 - @Parson

Honourable Mentions :
A Journey - @Marvin - It transported me away and despite the stark image of the landscape was filled with positivity.
Death on Venus - @Victoria Silverwolf - A story so creative that I was sure when I saw it first, that it would be hard to beat. Alas, you only get one vote

My vote went to :

Elemental Acceptance - Astro Pen. Lovely prose with a message of hope and overcoming life's challenges.

 

[Joshua Jones]

Am late posting this (I voted yesterday), but first - congratulations @The Judge for your well deserved win!


This was the narrowest grouping I have had the pleasure to read. Here we go...

Short List
Science, Magic, Discover - The Full Monty - @Perpetual Man
A Meeting of Minds by @Provincial
Age's End - @Justin Swanton
An Introduction - @TheEndIsNigh
What maketh a man? - @Hugh
Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Four Elements - @The Judge
This Is How You Do a Science Fair Volcano! @MikeAnderson
The Fault in Our Star. - @Joshua Jones
The MUSE A.I. in 2042 - @Parson

Honourable Mentions :
A Journey - @Marvin - It transported me away and despite the stark image of the landscape was filled with positivity.
Death on Venus - @Victoria Silverwolf - A story so creative that I was sure when I saw it first, that it would be hard to beat. Alas, you only get one vote

My vote went to :

Elemental Acceptance - Astro Pen. Lovely prose with a message of hope and overcoming life's challenges.

Thanks for the mention Bren!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Many congratulations to the victors!

 

[Parson]

Congratulations Your Honor aka @The Judge! I know, I know, "It was element-ary my dear Parson."

And Congrats on a sterling run by @holland.

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I was pleased by my many short listings. Sincere thanks for every one of them.

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Usually I think of a person's muse as inspiration, but this time I started to wonder what a "muse" (think imp) might sound like if it could respond. And of course I had to make it SF.

 

[Margaret Note Spelling]

Congratulations, The Judge! A dramatic finish!

 

[Danny McG]

Well done The Judge

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Congratulations, Judge!

 

[Hugh]

Many Congratulations to The Judge!

A finely timed run to the finishing post.

 

[nixie]

Congratulations TJ.

 

[Daysman]

Congrats @The Judge !

 

[mosaix]

Congratulations TJ!

 

[The Judge]

Thank you everyone! And most particularly elemental and dashing-around-London thanks to Bren G for the lovely shortlisting and to Ursa and TDZ for the glorious votes!

Oh my, that was unexpected. I fully thought either holland would romp away or I'd be facing yet another tie-break, and we know how those always end for me. But Holmes won the day for me again! (And if anyone was wondering how Buck Palace could possibly be drowned so far from the Thames, the culprit was the lake in St James's Park, but the original 108 word story required some drastic cutting.)


I do hope some of the more obscure tales will now be explained, as I certainly couldn't fathom a few. But I'm sure Victoria's clues led to Paris, and with Ursa's hidden elements I got 14 -iums plus the 2 non-iums which weren't disguised -- how many did I miss?

 

[Ursa major]

Yes, our own... er... Einsteins, MRG and TJ, were were indeed correct: there were 14 deliberate** iums (including the one where another letter was absent) -- plus the two elements whose names were spelt out -- and those fourteen were as follows, in (name) alphabetical order, here hidden from direct view in case anyone wants to find them for themselves:

barium, Beryllium, CAEsium, Chromium, curium, gallium, holmium, lithium, Magnesium, Technetium, Thorium, Thulium, Titanium, Uranium.​

** - I haven't spotted any accidental ones (yet).

 

[Hugh]

My story of Anubis and Maat may well be among the more obscure stories, but I was pleased with it: I write these stories for my personal enjoyment and if anyone else likes them that's a real bonus. Many many thanks here to @Astro Pen @elvet and @Bren G for your listings, and again to those I have already thanked.

I have an occasional interest in Egyptian religion and the "Weighing of the Heart" took a central role in this for some two or even three thousand years with a few tweaks over the centuries, so it must have been hugely significant for many in those times. Essentially, you were led to the Judgement Hall by Anubis where he weighed your heart against the Feather of Maat, goddess of truth. If your heart was heavier than the feather it got eaten by Ammit, the monster waiting just below the scales, but if lighter or equal in weight you made it to heaven, the Field of Reeds.
(I've always thought it rather a tall order to meet those criteria).
There were said to be nine parts of one's being that come into play once one dies, and of these the ka and the ba are easily the best known.

I was very pleased to have breathed some life into this for myself in all of 75 words.

 

[The Judge]

I got that one! I love how the idea of the scales/weighing balance has come down to us through the millenia as being the ideal for judgement and justice -- picture to the left included. (Though I didn't know the words ka and ba, and for some reason I thought it was the soul that was weighed, not the heart.)