Discussion Thread - July 2022 75 Word Writing Challenge

Congrats to our reigning champion Christine Wheelwright for the genre/theme selections - they inspired a lot of very good stories.

Good times reading through all of the entries just now. Here are my lists:

Shortlist:
Peter V, Aknot, Hugh, Astro Pen, BT Jones, leorising

There were five stories I thought I could have voted for this month. I thought these five were all terrific, and I had a hard time picking one for my vote. Sometimes when this happens, I find myself leaning toward the story that I wish I had written. And I will reveal which one that is after the next list; I tried to write a few thoughts on each of these entries, and it brings me new respect for the fine job Victoria and Parson do each month, with their reviews:

Finalists :

Victoria Silverwolf, View Through a Window - a story about a classic Gothic outsider, an excellent subject for this theme. Great descriptions, you could feel the protagonist’s desperate needs. A beautifully written, and effective, entry.

Christine Wheelwright, Outside? - so much depth, and sadness and alienation to be contained in 75 words. As Victoria noted, this seems an examination of perception. Finely done.

Daysman, Order for Mr Palmer - I’ve been reading a lot of time travel stories the last two years, so this was a very *ahem* timely entry. Super-clever and a lot of fun. Love this.

Phyrebrat, Ugly Snowball - Well, we keep searching for love and connection, and the universe can seem a very lonely place. Very fine writing, and a truly moving story.

The Judge, The Eternal Scapegoat - A thought-provoking piece… amazing depth of feeling and meaning for 75 words. A story as universal, sad, and eternal as the history of our species. Really well done.

The story whose style most resonated with me was Daysman's clever time travel entry. I loved all five of my finalists, and it was a very close thing, my choosing.

I want to thank nixie, AnRoinnUltra, johnnyjet, Astro Pen, sule, Hugh, Peter V and Phyrebrat for listing my entry. :) It's always so nice when a story receives a positive response.

And I'm very grateful to Christine Wheelwright, TheIntellgiencePolice and Elckerlyc for the lovely votes (and thank you so much to Christine, TheIntelligencePolice and AnRoinnUltra for the very kind comments on my story).

Well, there are so many stories still in contention. Best of luck, all, in the voting the rest of the way, CC
 
My outside faves and this month's cert:
@THX1138
@Victoria Silverwolf
@Iwroteathing
@Peter V (vote)
@BT Jones
@Phyrebrat
@The Judge

Many thanks to @mosaix , @Cat's Cradle , @Stable , and @sule for your votes, and to @Aknot , @Christine Wheelwright , @BT Jones , @Peter V , and @Phyrebrat for your listings, and to all for your kind comments, and to @Victoria Silverwolf and @Parson for your keen-eyed assessments of the field.

Nah, the horse racing analogy makes no sense…

Anyhow, have a fun Friday!

D
 
my close calls:
grade 1:
nicely written but i have no Idea what about:
@Daysman This story left me with plesent lingering smell of coffie
@nixie for capturing a soul of a curious cat within the style of your story

my allmosts:
Nicely written and about something i can understand/relate to:
@TheIntelligencePolice for hidding the meaning, as a guest in the party… I am getting the masquarade vibes
@The Judge Sad, lingering, delightful, true to the bones…


Vote:
@Peter V for making me smile using story i can clearly visualise yet there are no descriptions, and for puttning an unusual spin on the cliche.

PS.
People i would vote if not for…:
@Astro Pen IMHO if this was a story about losing oneself, within routine of day to day life it would be a really grat story. Just switching last sentence…
 
Great thanks to @Peter V for the vote!

---------

Off to read and vote, but with 3 grandkids under 10 here who knows how long I have.

Shortlisted:

Circling towards a Drain by @Cat's Cradle because it showed how an outsider might stick its toe inside the door of acceptance.

I’m Marrying a Monster From Outer Space by @Peter V because, well because, it's so understandable until it's so creepy.

Outside? by @Christine Wheelwright because it made me feel the pathos about being "outside."

Outside Influence by @Bren G because it was an old idea done in a really surprising way.

Therefore by their fruits you will know them by @BT Jones because it made the ultimate insider into an outsider while being true to the human condition.

The Eternal Scapegoat by @The Judge because it carries such a truth about how our warped species deals with those who are outsiders. (Watch out Harper Lee.)

Voted for The Eternal Scapegoat because it just hit the right note for me.
 
Some interesting stories this month, and with an Open genre it was good to see some very different takes on the theme.

My shortlist:
​
BigJ -- The Enduring Hardship of Social Class...​
Cat's Cradle -- Circling Towards a Drain​
Christine Wheelwright -- Outside?​
Hugh -- Life Choices​
leorising -- The Outsider​
Phyrebrat -- Ugly Snowball​
reiver33 -- Rebound​
Victoria Silverwolf -- View Through a Window​

I had a hard job choosing, as each story brought something different to the idea of being an outsider, but the sheer misplaced pathetic optimism of the last line of BigJ's story won him my vote.

Many non-outsider thanks for the mentions/listings Christine, Stable, Ian, nixie, BTJ, johnnyjet, sule, Hugh, TIP, Peter, CC, Daysman and VRIass (phew!) and tremendous different-but-wonderful thanks for the stupendous votes Victoria, Aknot, Phyrebrat and Parson! And for the stealth votes Chris P and reiver!
 
I'm on holiday, deliberately minimising my internet consumption, so I won't be doing a full long & short list - however @johnnyjet @Guttersnipe @BT Jones @VRlass @Luiglin all came damn close to getting my vote - but in the end @AnRoinnUltra just pipped them. Thank you very much Chrons for my monthly flash fiction anthology, the quality was as high as ever, and it was much enjoyed!
 
Well, isn't that a turnip for the books!

Thank you, all! I thought Parson might like my story but I wasn't expecting many others to mention it, so I was rather taken aback when I looked here last night and saw a number of shortlistings, and then to find the votes was really surprising -- I was convinced, though, that someone would get the necessary to force a tie-break, with the usual result for me. So I'm inordinately pleased today.

Commiserations to Peter V, who I am sure will look lovely in the bridesmaid's lilac taffeta!

Now to think of something fiendish for August.
 
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