Discussion Thread -- OCTOBER 2020 -- 300 Word Writing Challenge (#39)

[Phyrebrat]

I miss Perp ... nice to read a long post from you and really hope things start to feel better soon. You’re ace.

pH

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I miss Perp ... nice to read a long post from you and really hope things start to feel better soon. You’re ace.

pH

This. Love you, Perp xx

 

[Luiglin]

This. Love you, Perp xx

I don't, your tales are always better than mine

Edit: why isn't there a playground 'Ner ner nah ner ner' emoji?

 

[mosaix]

Sometimes I find it a bit daunting reading through 40-odd 300 word entries, especially as there are always a few that I don't understand. After reading twenty or so I find my eyes starting to glaze over. My advice is to try and grab the reader in the first sentence or two. Make the reader sit up and want to read on.

Maybe pose a question that the reader can only answer by reading on. Maybe set up an unusual scene that needs explaining.

If the writer hasn't got the reader interested by the start of the second or third sentence then it's going to be difficult to get a vote.

Regarding the ones that I don't understand. Sometimes, and this has been discussed before, editing down to the word limit cuts out so much that the only meaning left is in the writer's head. Get someone else to read the entry before submitting it.

However, I distinctly remember not understanding an entry from @Victoria Silverwolf until I read it again and again - because it was so well written - and the subtlety of the story finally dawned on me.

 

[bedyak]

Two reasons.

Firstly, when we started the 300s we weren't sure if it might cause problems for the 75 worder, ie people would be fatigued doing both, so a 10 day gap allowed members to get the 75 worder out of the way before posting in the 300s. In point of fact we'd probably have been OK, but we wanted to err on the side of caution.

Secondly, the Challenges aren't merely bits of fun, they're also learning exercises for those of us who want to take our writing to a professional level. We'd found with the 75s that there were (and still are) a lot of members who post in haste and repent at leisure, and/or post and don't think about the pieces to any great extent, so leaving all kinds of errors in their work. We wanted to impress upon the would-be-professionals that all work needs to be revised and edited if it's to made the best it can be, so those who rush to post are forced to wait and, we hope, they use the time to make such revisions/edits.

Very Sage!

 

[bedyak]

Surely we need some sort of reference to the picture in the story? even if it is just to say, think I'll have a bath?

It is so much more fun when it is just for inspiration in my opinion. In this case it led to some train stories, which for me are always fun to read. I personally try and link elements of the picture into my story just as a personal challenge, but when I am reading through the entries I love to experience all the different interpretations. So these bears you speak of are they ferried to their destination by a spider perhaps?