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

[The Judge]

Looking at the stories that are now in the tie (amusing, but also ludicrous), it seems I think I took the topic too serious.

You and me both!

I'm not sure if my story needs explaining, but I have sought for an alternative explanation why Hitler overreached himself with fighting on 2 fronts. My answer is Hitler visiting a questionable oracle with a question on how to move forward.

As you'd been so precise with the date, I actually wondered if the meeting there was a genuine one!

(A very good story, by the way, and only just missed out on a vote from me.)

 

[Hugh]

I'd be interested to know how many people saw / didn't see the Titanic connection. I toyed with including the year but finally decided to give the reader a bit of work to do. It's always a fine dividing line between either intriguing the reader or leaving them baffled. I'm comforted with the fact that for seven of you, at least, I seem to have got the balance right. On the other hand, every time I saw a comment along the lines of 'I didn't understand some of the stories' I thought 'there goes another vote'.

I got it OK, though I did need to pause to work it out.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

As I shortlisted @AnRoinnUltra I voted for that story

As for my own effort Meanwhile, over at the Temporal Criminal Police Organization
I'm not sure the big question was obvious, which is - What if someone went back in time and killed <insert dictator/despot/tyrant here>?
So, if they were killed before they came to power (like this Maxomp Judvar) and started doing all the naughty things that made them notorious, then people in the future will not have heard of them, and whoever killed them has, in fact, killed an innocent person.
Therefore Temporpol (a bit like Interpol but with a time jurisdiction ) rules state that the tyrant must be killed after coming to power, but before all the naughtiness starts.

Anyway, thanks for the mentions everyone

 

[Starbeast]

I've been away for awhile having fun with family.

Ginormous THANK YOU @Luiglin & @Heijan Xavier for the votes! Plus a mighty thanks for mentions.

I crept in to Vote and returned to Vote again.

A monstrous WELL DONE to everyone!

 

[Phyrebrat]

If you’ve seen Jesus Christ Superstar you’ll get some of my references. Namely the signet rings and the scripture-thinking hack line.

 

[Elckerlyc]

As you'd been so precise with the date, I actually wondered if the meeting there was a genuine one!

There may have been, in secret!
If the Delphi Oracle survived the ages, they have kept it well hidden! Accessible only by the happy few (very sensible; they don't want to be overrun by the masses who demand to know when and where they should buy their lottery tickets.)

 

[Elckerlyc]

Thank you mightily @johnnyjet for your (somewhat lonely) vote!
Thanks also for the mentions by @Heijan Xavier and @The Judge (as runner-up) and @Cat's Cradle's shortlisting. Also @HareBrain (sort of, after some nudging.)
And a penalty for @BT Jones who failed to mention mine is his loooooooooooooooong shortlist.

 

[Parson]

I'd be interested to know how many people saw / didn't see the Titanic connection.

I did catch the Titanic connection.

My own story I felt was one of the best I've ever written for the 75 word challenge, and no votes, but a few precious short listings. Showing that a person's own feelings about a story are not a good measure of how well a small group of voters might appreciate the story.

I started by trying to think of a single event that might change reality a lot, but still be insignificant enough to escape notice by everyone. I've always loved archeology and especially Biblical archelogy. And after some thinking I came upon the idea of a fragment that would be highly significant but whose author would have no drum to beat in the situation, or better who would want to go opposite of the evidence which the fragment provided. I felt I succeeded there very well. I had a logical reason for the letter that produced the important fragment. I was probably stimulated because I was reading a detective story A Cross to Bear which had "detectives" on the hunt for a lost Dead Sea Scroll, which was first assumed to be a forgery, but now thought to be the real deal. So, I put this story in the success category not because it garnered votes, but because I was quite satisfied with it.

I voted for @Pyan in the tie breaker poll. Both were humorous takes on the theme.

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

I'm not sure if my story needs explaining

For what it's worth your story worked for me. It was one of four I had earmarked for the vote. I was reading them chronologically so when I hit Kristallnacht it reshuffled the pack -not too scientific but part of my selection is if I can remember the tale later in the day, and yours stayed

 

[JS Wiig]

If nothing else I learned when (and when not) to capitalize “sir”. Of course I did it wrong…

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I did get Titanic right away, mosaix, that was well done.
TJ, I understood most of your story; I didn't get all of the background, but I knew about the mirrors being covered, and guessed what was happening overall. Terrific background info for a fine entry.
As always, it's nice hearing what inspired some of our entries.

I enjoyed, and listed, both of our tie-breaker stories. I favor Pyan's just a bit over AnRoinnUltra's. Good luck both of you - looks to be a nail-biter, CC

 

[paranoid marvin]

Well done to both AnRoinnUltra and Pyan for two excellent stories. As I originally shortlisted one (AnRoinnUltra) and voted for the other (Pyan), I'm going to stick with my original decision.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

Both good stories. I voted for @Pyan in the original poll so sticking with that.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I think the tie-breaker is going to end with a tie...

 

[therapist]

Has that happened before?

 

[Pyan]

Has that happened before?

Hasn’t happened yet! But if I get one more vote (hint, hint!)…

 

[paranoid marvin]

In the event of a tie, do we get a dance off?

 

[The Judge]

Has that happened before?

We've had three tied tie-breaks in the 75s, but not for a while:

• Hex and TheDustyZebra in November 2012
• David Evil Overlord and me in May 2013
• Cat's Cradle and TheDustyZebra in April 2014

(What happens then is the two winners agree a joint theme and genre. Less exciting than a dance-off; less excruciating than penalty shoot-outs.)

 

[BT Jones]

Many thanks for the mentions / shortlists @Vince W, @THX1138, @BT Jones, @Phyrebrat and @Hugh.

A special thanks to @nixie and @Venusian Broon for the votes.

My story was based on the 'not' sinking of the Titanic due to the timely intervention of a drunken crew member. I made two mistakes with the story. First, I posted the wrong version. The last line read:

How could such a thing be allowed to happen? Unforeseen course changes can cause collisions and put ships and their passengers’ lives in peril...

It should have read:

Unforeseen course changes can cause collisions and put ships and their passengers’ lives in peril. Who knows what might have happened?

Giving better emphasis to the 'question' element of the challenge. Unfortunately, by the time I realized I had run out of editing time.

The second mistake was not coming up with a better title. I tried for ages to come up with something relating to ice and maybe alcohol but failed miserably.

I'd be interested to know how many people saw / didn't see the Titanic connection. I toyed with including the year but finally decided to give the reader a bit of work to do. It's always a fine dividing line between either intriguing the reader or leaving them baffled. I'm comforted with the fact that for seven of you, at least, I seem to have got the balance right. On the other hand, every time I saw a comment along the lines of 'I didn't understand some of the stories' I thought 'there goes another vote'.

Yeah, I got the Titanic connection, too. As for a title? "I'll have mine (not) on the rocks?"

 

[Ursa major]

​

The poll has now closed and we have a winner:

Congratulations, AnRoinnUltra!​

​