DISCUSSION THREAD JULY 2020 75-WORD WRITING CHALLENGE

[Perpetual Man]

Unfortunately, the way my mind works I will be calling you Professional Perp, or The Prof, before the week is out, and will be supremely confident that I have it right... sorry sorry sorry...

No, no Professional Perp sounds perfect.

 

[Perpetual Man]

@Perpetual Man You'll always be Perp to me. Generally because you seem quite suspect.

Ha! And you'll always be AMB to me because... because uhhh, it's your name

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

PP:

Your plastic mac will be post when the cheque arrives. It's kind of like Pay Perp.

 

[BT Jones]

What a quirky, largely comic mix it was this month. I expected far more density and wizardy and was pleasantly surprised by the wit on show. And
@johnnyjet surely wins the award for shortest 75-word entry at 8 words?!?!

Choice picks below, shortlist in bold. But I just had to go with @Astro Pen. In a comic, gag-heavy field, yours stood out as a thing of pure, compelling beauty!

@Margaret Note Spelling – Delightfully quirky
@Perpetual Man – A Christmas cracker joke of a story, but I did laugh
@Guttersnipe – Wonderfully visual
@Elckerlyc – A marvellous little skit, rich in vivid imagery
@Luiglin – A cracker of a punchline, as always (although – shame on me – I had to look up what pachyderms were!!)
@dannymcg – The king of R-rated, pythonesque black comedy (and this month’s challenge is increasingly resembling a comedy sketch show!)
@Justin Swanton – A nice, uplifting, moralistic tale.
@TheEndIsNigh – I heard this in the voice of the narrator to the Hitchickers Guide against a space backdrop.
@Ashleyne – An amusing insight into what the inhabitants of fantasy land watch on a lazy Thursday night.
@fostersaccount – Wow, what a dark debut!
@MikeAnderson – I definitely chuckled at this one.
@Sblackwood – Enticingly bizarre… and welcome to SFFC!
@mosaix – Amusingly vulgur.
@Trollheart – Ha ha. And the 2nd elephant-related story of the month!
@Parson – Absurdly funny!
@holland – Loved the concept, and impressed you managed to get a table into the piece.
@Astro Pen – Simply glorious
@M. Robert Gibson – Loved it, very similar to the bar elemental idea I was going to run with. Glad I didn’t as yours was much better!
@paranoid marvin – <rushes to talkback to try and find explanation and not feel stupid…. Fails.> Didn’t get it, but I was hooked on the tale nonetheless.
@Vince W – Totally pictured this one. Loved it.
@elvet – I visualised Galaxy Quest when I read this one.
@The Judge – Oh my goodness. My eyes rolled, but I couldn’t stop smiling.
@Maya13 – Wow, wicked!
@AMB – Another tiny tale that paints a whole world vividly.
@David Evil Overlord – Clever ploy, telling us what voice to read it in. I could just see dear Sir David’s face turning round to see the fireball!

 

[Hugh]

My vote went to @Land Under Wave for a tender story that stood out from the others.

This leaves the poll unusually open after eighteen votes: six stories have two votes, six have one vote, and there's still plenty of time for others to catch up or overtake.

Others on the shortlist:
@Perpetual Man for the Dee-Python thriller
@holland : arresting
@Astro Pen : a welcome contrast

And these caught my eye too:
@CarBear
@mosaix
@Parson
@paranoid marvin
@The Judge
@Maya13

I note that elephants outscored flatulence by three stories to two. I draw no conclusions from this.

Finally, many many thanks to @LittleStar for your much appreciated stealth vote.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

OK, what's a stealth vote?

Is it some way of getting more than one.

The public one and the secret under the counter vote?

 

[David Evil Overlord]

It's when someone votes for your story, but doesn't post about it here, so you only find out when you check the poll.

 

[Hugh]

OK, what's a stealth vote?

Is it some way of getting more than one.

The public one and the secret under the counter vote?

Essentially, it's a ninja vote. it arrives with no warning when you least expect it.

 

[Ursa major]

Essentially, it's a ninja vote. it arrives with no warning when you least expect it.

So it's like a vote from the Spanish Inquisition.

 

[Luiglin]

So it's like a vote from the Spanish Inquisition.

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition... not even the Spanish Inquisition.

 

[Hugh]

Some say there are similarities, but for me a stealth vote is something to be cherished and appreciated.

 

[Astro Pen]

Shortlist
@Hugh Because I am a sucker for Egyptoplogy
@chrispenycate I Visualised a school turning out Simon Templars and Emma Peels (Which dates me, I know.)
@Marvin I just thought of the beautiful post drought blooming of Namaqualand
@Daysman Because I need to know! The missing element, a link of DNA perhaps? disrupting the pattern and seeding chaos. Something Ballardian about it.

Vote to @Daysman

 

[chrispenycate]

My short list was:- Astro Pen, dannymcg, Land Under Wave, MikeAnderson, The Judge and Victoria Silverwolf.Finally went Her Honour's nasty play on words.

As each time, many thanks to Victoris and Parson for your reviews. Much appreciated.

 

[elvet]

Thank you to @nixie and @BT Jones for the mentions.
Long List:
@Perpetual Man A good use of a different element.
@Luiglin Loved the twist.
@Hugh A beautifully told story of our basic element
@M. Robert Gibson I want an invite!
@David Evil Overlord For setting the scene and narration perfectly.
@Ursa major For the wordplay
Short List:
@TheEndIsNigh For cheering on Carbon
@Stable Reminded me a bit of Princess Bride.
@The Judge Loved the pun
Vote goes to @holland for painting a bleaker and hopefully inaccurate future for Carbon. Well done. Loved the chart format to tell a succinct tale.

 

[Land Under Wave]

Thank you so much for your votes, @Hugh and @Provincial ! It means a lot to me....

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

It's when someone votes for your story, but doesn't post about it here, so you only find out when you check the poll.

Oh, guilty.

 

[Vince W]

Thank you, @BT Jones, for the mention.

Tough month with some great entries. My shortlist includes @Perpetual Man, @Elckerlyc, @dannymcg, @M. Robert Gibson and @Mad Alice, but @The Judge took my vote with his Sherlock Holmes pastiche.

 

[johnnyjet]

Lots of great entries. Difficult to narrow down. However, my Long List, Short List, and ***Favorite***:

Death on Venus: A Solve - It - Yourself Mystery - Victoria Silverwolf
Fairypower - Margaret Note Spelling
Beginner's Piece - Land Under Wave
A Meeting of Minds – Provincial
OUT OF THEIR ELEMENTS – Ashleyne
Worlds Saddest Painter – fostersaccount
This is How You Do a Science Fare Volcano! – MikeAnderson
The MUSE A.I. of 2042 – Parson
Table 22. Prevalence of life forms by primary chemical elements they are based on – holland
Phosphorus Argon Tantalum Yttrium - Oxygen Nitrogen - M. Robert Gibson
Dry Ground - Vince W
The Trouble With Twibbles – elvet
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Four Elements - The Judge
The End of the Mendeleev Table - Maya13
*** A Place for Burning - Mad Alice ***
I… Um… Think It’s Heading for Atomic War…. - Ursa major

 

[Peter V]

After finally getting round to looking at the entries, what struck me was how many amusing ones there were.

And several based around elephants... so I picked my favourite of said elephantine offerings.

 

[CarBear]

Thanks to @CarBear for the stealth vote. Lifted my spirits.

It affected me, beautifully written!