DISCUSSION THREAD -- JANUARY 2022 -- 75 Word Writing Challenge

I am humbled to have received so much attention, so thank you for the mentions, short listings, honourables, runner ups, and oh so closes to johnnyjet, WSDuffy, Christine Wheelwright, nixie, Parson, Guttersnipe and Elckerlyc and a damn you cruel hand of fate thank you to mosaix for flipping me tails :cry:

and thank you hugely @ Victoria Silverwolf, @ M. Robert Gibson, @ AnRoinnUltra, @ atsouthorn and @ Artoriarius for your votes.

Now I really need to read the second half of the entries and get down to the business of voting myself.
 
My vote went to @Peter V - I thought it would be one of the top stories as soon as I read it and, after reading the other stories, nothing nudged it from the top spot in my mind. Very good indeed. Alas the muse did not strike me this month, so didn't enter; but hopefully I'll be back for February. At least I managed to enter the 300 so it wasn't a complete wipeout.

Honourable mentions go to @Cat's Cradle, @Venusian Broon, and @Christine Wheelwright. Well done folks.
 
After reading all of the entries at least twice, much as it may be to my detriment, I have to give my vote to @ Cat's Cradle for such a well realised set up for a killer last line.

I could have listed many more but these were my other favourites:

@ Aknot This amused me. Strange choices for President seems to be a theme in the US. To be honest old Ronnie set the bar quite high compared to some :rolleyes:
@ AnRoinnUltra made me chuckle, not least with the names.
@ Christine Wheelwright I seem to be enjoying the amusing and tongue in cheek entries this month
@ Victoria Silverwolf As always Victoria's writing is evocative and impossible to ignore
@ paranoid marvin very original and actually made me wonder if perhaps this might be a solution to energy shortages :unsure:
@ M. Robert Gibson another great set up for a good last line
@ mosaix I enjoyed this paradoxical love story
@ BT Jones another amusing twist
@ reiver33 I liked this take on connection because it was a rare horrific touch in a sea of amusement this month. I also really have a thing for the word gestalt :giggle:
@ Parson Honestly, I did a double check to confirm this really did come from Parson! :ROFLMAO:
@ Luiglin sobering reality to this reflective tale (something similar may have cost two of six wives their heads). And of course the timing with the 300 was excellent
@ Elckerlyc very good take on the famous cat paradox
@ The Judge speculative fiction blurs with reality, it just struck a chord with those cold cases that can be solved 40 years later due to technological advancements
@ Ursa major I always have a towel on standby!

Well done all.

Peter
 
First I want to send my thanks to Parson, Victoria Silverwolf and worldofmutes for the fine reviews of all the entries.

A lot of good stories this month, and here are my lists:

Shortlist:
Daysman, BT Jones, The Judge

Semi-Finalists:
Victoria Silverwolf, paranoid marvin, mosaix

Finalists:
Peter V's charming Little Match(maker) Girl,
Christine Wheelwright's very funny Connection

It was very close, and I'd have happily voted for either, but by a hair I preferred Peter V's story. I don't write stories with happy endings often, and this one made me smile, and seemed just right. Well done, Peter V, well done all!

On a personal note, I want send huge thanks to johnnyjet, AnRoinnUltra, sule, Dan Jones for the lovely listings.

Also, I'm very grateful to mosaix, paranoid marvin, Peter V, Guttersnipe, WSDuffy and Christone Wheelwright for the votes. :)

Special shout out to @Luiglin who I see used the 75 worder's theme of 'connections' to, in a unique way, crossover into other realms (I'll let him do the reveal, should he decide to).

Okay - well, it's close. Nice to be in the hunt. Best of luck Peter V, the rest of the way, and best of luck all, in the voting. @mosaix, thanks for tossing that coin just right, ;), CC
 
Cat's Cradle said:
Okay - well, it's close. Nice to be in the hunt. Best of luck Peter V, the rest of the way,
Click to expand...
Thank you for the vote and the sentiment CC. It is indeed nice and for me, already far in excess of expectations, especially given the strength of other stories (and one in particular). Best of luck to you sir!

Thanks also to @ Dan Jones for the vote and kind comments.
 
A good crop of connections this month, in all the myriad senses of the word. My shortlist:

Bren G -- *Supernova* -- the brightest of connections bringing messages to those who listen​
Cat's Cradle -- Therapy -- a brief connection for a tortured being​
Elckerlyc -- Felix -- Schrödinger's connection​
Luiglin -- Different sides... -- connections all the way​
M. Robert Gibson -- Kajar and the Six Degrees of Separation -- connectivity is a double-edged sword​
Peter V -- Little Match(maker) Girl -- a connection giving love a helping hand​
reiver33 -- gestalt -- unsought connections bring deadly dangers​
​
And after a good bit of thought, my vote goes to Bren G for the sheer loveliness of the poetry and the message, with Peter's matchmaking girl a close second, as I love a happy ending!

Connected cousinly thanks for the kind mentions/shortlistings johnnyjet, sule, Hugh, Peter and CC, and many interconnected centimorgan thanks for the lovely vote, Ian!
 
Thankyou to CC, Elckerlyc and Peter V for the shortlistings, and... a vote! Thanks Stuart Suffel!:D

I also just realised that I missed Starbeast from my shortlistings. That really was a wild and wacky entry and would have made a great episode of a cartoon. The only question is which one? Ren and Stimpy perhaps, or CatDog? Either way, very inventive and only pipped at the post by CC
 
@Peter V gets it with a wonderfully crafted 75 words.
I know that Finchley Road decision well, though I met my first wife at the City end of the journey, not at the interchange :)
 
Astro Pen said:
@Peter V gets it with a wonderfully crafted 75 words.
I know that Finchley Road decision well, though I met my first wife at the City end of the journey, not at the interchange :)
Click to expand...
Thank you Astro Pen.

Last month on a journey to Wembley Park, I decided to stay on the Jubilee when half the carriage jumped across - had the Metropolitan Line train pulled in at the same time, I may well have joined them but it was cold and a little damp so I stayed put. It struck me, when looking for inspiration, as the ideal location to base a tale of human connection around a train connection. Where possible when I write fiction based in real places, I try to be factually accurate and you have made my day actually knowing exactly where the story is set and understanding that same choice my protagonist was faced with.
 
I've been busy most of this month, so missed entering (always assuming I had anything worth putting in, of course), and almost missed voting. Where did this month go?

Very quickly, my two runner-up were @Guttersnipe, with the intriguing Not Yet Your Time, and @Christine Wheelwright, with the punning of Connection.

The clear winner, for me, was @Peter V, and the Little Match(maker) Girl. Somewhere in my shrivelled heart is a hopelessly romantic soft spot, which continually loves this type of story. It made me smile.
 
The Judge said:
A good crop of connections this month, in all the myriad senses of the word. My shortlist:

Bren G -- *Supernova* -- the brightest of connections bringing messages to those who listen​
Cat's Cradle -- Therapy -- a brief connection for a tortured being​
Elckerlyc -- Felix -- Schrödinger's connection​
Luiglin -- Different sides... -- connections all the way​
M. Robert Gibson -- Kajar and the Six Degrees of Separation -- connectivity is a double-edged sword​
Peter V -- Little Match(maker) Girl -- a connection giving love a helping hand​
reiver33 -- gestalt -- unsought connections bring deadly dangers​
​
And after a good bit of thought, my vote goes to Bren G for the sheer loveliness of the poetry and the message, with Peter's matchmaking girl a close second, as I love a happy ending!

Connected cousinly thanks for the kind mentions/shortlistings johnnyjet, sule, Hugh, Peter and CC, and many interconnected centimorgan thanks for the lovely vote, Ian!
Click to expand...
Thank you @The Judge for the kind vote. I had someone close to me pass recently and I wrote it for them. It's been hard but writing has been helpful. Was so nice that it caused a glimmer of joy with you.
 
Bravo @Peter V that was well done indeed!

-----

My story was inspired by my two 9 year old twin granddaughters who have not an once of shame in their repertoire. All day long they were making jokes about the bodily elimination functions. I woke (dreaming again) with the name Jonny Longturd on my mind. It was all downhill from there. A story can hardly imagine I wrote. But there you have it.
 
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