DISCUSSION THREAD -- JULY 2021 75 Word Writing Challenge

[Ursa major]

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The challenge closed some time ago, and the poll is now open at the link below:

POLL -- July 2021 75-Word Challenge -- READ FIRST POST!​

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

M. Robert Gibson: Almost anything can be the object of obsession.

Perpetual Man: We never know exactly how we will be valued.

Elckerlyc: Sometimes you have to be very patient with future possibilities.

The Judge: Despite what they say, fiction is often stranger than reality.

Moonbat: Our perceptions determine our opinions.

Ursa major: Trust, but verify.

 

[sule]

Shortlist:
Love Hurts by Bren G
Cupid on a Bad Day by Guttersnipe
Far From the Tree by Peter V
The Serial Monogamist or How You'll Find Your Story's Main Character In 2120 by The Judge

Vote:
The Searcher by johnnyjet

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Vote to Luiglin.

 

[Peter V]

A lot of good entries but narrowed my final three down to Bren G, Daysman and mosaix - who brings home the bacon.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

My vote went to @nixie .

My shortlist is too long at the moment.

 

[BT Jones]

Shortlist:
@Astro Pen
@paranoid marvin
@Peter V
@G.T.
@johnnyjet
@chrispenycate
@M. Robert Gibson
@Elckerlyc
@Moonbat

Podium:
@Daysman - A very smart story, slickly told.
@The Judge - A very clever idea.

Winner:
@Luiglin - Your lovely story really echoed my own feelings about the characters we create.

 

[Provincial]

My vote went to @Victoria Silverwolf but my shortlist contained some real gems, it’s been a really fruitful and entertaining competition.

 

[Provincial]

My vote went to @Victoria Silverwolf but my shortlist contained some real gems, it’s been a really fruitful and entertaining competition.

Here they are, all the details that nobody asked for:

The Winner:
@Victoria Silverwolf - It’s complicated - a wonderful, deftly executed bit of genuinely speculative fiction which points up the shared experiences of intelligent life everywhere (“four can live as cheaply as one”).

Honourable mentions:
@farntfar - A name to be proud of - a funny, good humoured shaggy dog story (Kilroy was here).
@Fiberglass Cyborg - Prince Voriku - a subtly phrased and entertaining example of the ‘humans as victims’ thread which a few stories followed.
@Parson - Love letters - a really charming story, full of hope.
@Perpetual Man - Fingerlickin’ good - a sharply written and amusing tale with a twist (another ‘humans as victims’ tale.)
@Ursa major - A different sort of relationship - an extremely satisfying, funny and clever story of interspecies politics which really hit the spot (and another ‘humans as victims’ tale.)

 

[Astro Pen]

Vote to @Wayne Mack
One for the moral philosophers.

Close second to @Cat's Cradle

Near misses
@Daysman
@Hugh

 

[paranoid marvin]

Thanks for the shortlisting BT Jones.

Hugh - really enjoyed your story. Fiberglass Cyborg - this was an excellent entry and almost got my vote, but then I read M.Robert Gibson's story which won hands down for me.

 

[Hugh]

Wonderful! Many thanks @paranoid marvin and @Astro Pen

It's a curious business. I don't expect votes at all but I still get excited at voting time, particularly in the early stages in case somehow my entry has picked up a following wind. What I find bizarre is that I'll look at the voting panel and notice that the entry just above or beneath my own has got a vote while mine resolutely remains on zero. My instinctive reaction (this has happened in several different months now) is to say to myself something like "Wow! Close One!" as if it's been completely random, like a dart thrown at a dartboard, and I've only just missed out. It's only a few seconds down the line that I appreciate that the entry above or below my own may have been considered a better story.

 

[Lawrence Twiddy]

Top Pick's:

• @Bren G - Love hurts
• @Astro Pen - Star Struck
• @Peter V - Far from the tree
• @Ashleyne - Oh how we sailed
• @Dan Jones - The land of the blind
• @JS Wiig - For the Love of Evil
• @BT Jones - Apathetic Adolescent
• @Abernovo - Found
• @Moonbat - Rose Tinted Google-Glasses

Winner:

• @Luiglin - Once upon a time…

Normally there are a few stories I re-read before my final vote just as it is always so close and each story is very good for different reasons. But this time round "Once upon a time..." for me was a clear favourite and my easiest vote yet. The story really resonated a truth, a truth relatable to any writer, especially one who writes character driven pieces like myself.

 

[JS Wiig]

@Lawrence Twiddy thanks for the mention!

 

[Mon0Zer0]

Shortlist

Peter V - Far from the tree
Ursa Major - A different sort of relationship
Moonbat - Rose tinted google glasses
Fibreglass Cyborg - Prince Voriku

Vote goes to The Judge - the serial monogamist

 

[Wayne Mack]

My vote goes to:
I’ll Help You Tomorrow @Cat's Cradle

My short list:
For the Love of Evil @JS Wiig
Kajar and the Romantic Interlude @M. Robert Gibson
Far From the Tree @Peter V
Cupid on a Bad Day @Guttersnipe

 

[Phyrebrat]

My favourites, shortlist* and vote.

Astropen

Cc

Daysman*

Ashleyne *

Dan *

BT Jones *

Nixie*

Aber*

Perp*

TJ *

 

[Hugh]

@Luiglin got my vote. The Dark Lord and Minion never interested me, but this entry stood out from all others this month.

Runner Up: @PigMonkey for a great take on an old story. Is nothing sacred?

Others that caught my attention:
@farntfar : very funny, even before I got to K'el-Roy.
@nixie : something eerily real about this. I hope you've managed to find a safe place.
@chrispenycate : wonderful version of the Bay City Rollers.
@chongjasmine : surprisingly sweet story.
@Octo-tater : purely for reminding me of the R. Crumb epic.

 

[Abernovo]

Thank you, @Lawrence Twiddy, and @Phyrebrat for the mentions.

 

[Parson]

@The Judge .... The Serial Monogamist .... Her Honor makes me think serial monogamy is closely related to cereal. Sooner or later the box is empty.

@Moonbat .... Rose Tinted Google-Glasses .... Moony tales a tale of terror when rose tinted glasses actually work and hide all the truth.

@Ursa major .... A Different Sort of Relationship .... Ursa reminds us that all is fair in love, and war, and where food is concerned.

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@Provincial I much appreciate the mention!