DISCUSSION THREAD -- AUGUST 2023 -- 75 Word Writing Challenge

[Lacedaemonian]

75 words is a serious limit. What I could have achieved with just three more words. .

 

[Hugh]

I voted for @Victoria Silverwolf 's "Wash On Monday, Iron On Tuesday". Something about the surreal ending enabled my spirit to soar.

Excellent runners up (in no order): @Christine Wheelwright and @genelewis

Others that caught my eye one way or another:
@therapist
@Rjalex
@Teresa Edgerton
@johnnyjet
@THX1138
@reiver33
@Ursa major

I was very impressed with the stories this month.

 

[Starbeast]

It took days for me to decide on a single vote. Hopefully I'll post my list of choices tomorrow.

 

[THX1138]

Thanks for the mention @Hugh !

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I had a hard time making up my mind this month. With each time I read through the stories I found new things to appreciate and my (originally) short list became longer.

The final list:

Victoria
Lacedaemonian
emrosenagel
johnnyjet
Astro Pen
J S Wiig
M. Robert Gibson
Big J

Ultimately, after much dithering, I voted for johnnyjet.

 

[StilLearning]

Thumping headache tonight, will make sure I get a vote in tomorrow - tough call this month.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Thumping headache tonight, will make sure I get a vote in tomorrow - tough call this month.

Sorry to hear it. If you like I can use your vote…

 

[Astro Pen]

Longlist
@reiver33
@Victoria Silverwolf
@Elckerlyc
@Rjalex

Shortlist
@therapist
@mosaix

If I had two votes, as we often say here.

You know, I lost two younger people recently, within nine days of each other. My defacto stepdaughter and my sister.
I was all set to give it to @therapist early on, a beautiful piece.
However I had just been going through the family albums, those frozen moments in time, and so --
vote to @mosaix ,

 

[THX1138]

Condolences @Astro Pen. Twice over.

 

[Daysman]

Confused epigram with idiom this month.

Meh.

Luckily, no one noticed as we're all running around nekid, threading the needle of diplomacy, and offing ill fitting tyrants at the drop of a hat. Bundles of fun!

My thrift store seven, inc. vote:

@THX1138
@Cat's Cradle
@M. Robert Gibson (vote)
@Starbeast
@BigJ
@Christine Wheelwright
@chrispenycate

Thanks to @THX1138 for the mention, and to @Parson and @Victoria Silverwolf for your fashion statements.

D

 

[MatthewKusza]

@genelewis Great twist. Reminds us to never assume anything about anyone just by looks or station.
@Bowler1 Enjoyed! Fun and cheeky.
@Cat's Cradle Exquisite. Aspire to write as well as you do with few words. Also, kind of scared me a little, not going to lie, how easily she made him redundant.
@Guttersnipe Great idea personifying the clothes.
@M. Robert Gibson Made me laugh. Delightful. You got my vote.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I'll add thank yous to Daysman and MatthewKusza for the lovely listings!
And a huge thanks to genelewis for the vote!

Aspire to write as well as you do with few words.

Wow, thank you! So kind. And I'll add a word of praise for these Challenges, when it comes to writing/editing... there's an occasional debate here as to whether or not the Challenges really contribute to the evolution of the skills of an aspiring writer. And I swear they do... I had no idea what I was doing when I started 9+ years ago, and now it comes naturally to pare down rough drafts of my entries to use as few words as possible to still include as many ideas/details as possible. I see something similar with many other entrants, too. Great exercise, these Challenges, and a great way to share time with good people, too.

Well, enough of me. Thanks again for the votes/listings, and a vote is coming in a few hours, CC

 

[Cat's Cradle]

My condolences, @Astro Pen, for your family's losses.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Semi-naked
The mechanical parable of Flumberdinck Unterwhackle - @AnRoinnUltra
'Civilians, however, Must Remain Bareheaded' {from Dictate 722,973b} - @Elckerlyc
Rocket Stage - @Astro Pen
Meeting of Prof Foster and Dr Zart - @Starbeast
Hazing in The Earth Diplomatic Service - @Christine Wheelwright

Fully clothed
Careful What You Wish For - @Bren G

 

[Ursa major]

Sounds, @M. Robert Gibson, as if you think my story was bear....

​

 

[THX1138]

And thank you too for the mention, @Daysman !

 

[emrosenagel]

My vote: The Cloak of Insignificance by @johnnyjet. Ya get what ya pay for, right?

My shortlist: Heavy is the Head by @Yozh, Love, Clone, Tailor (used as verbs) by @Cat's Cradle, Bruce's Jersey by @therapist, and Putting the F into Effigy by @The Judge.

Thanks for the mentions @THX1138, @johnnyjet, and @Teresa Edgerton (and anyone I might've missed)! I knew this wasn't my month to shine since I didn't let my story rest a few days before posting (I got way too excited about alien insects in shorty-shorts), but I glad you enjoyed it!

Well done everyone!

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

What I could have achieved with just three more words.

I often feel that way. I suspect everyone does.
______

Thank you to johnnyjet, Lace, and Hugh for the mentions. And to nixie for the stealth vote!

I was just happy to be able to think of a story and participate this month, after such a long time, so the mentions and vote were extra special.

 

[Bowler1]

It's a two horse race to the finish.

 

[The Judge]

Lots of clothes and lots of humour this month. My shortlist:

BrenG -- Careful What You Wish For​

Cat's Cradle -- Love, Clone, Tailor​

Elckerlyc -- 'Civilians, however, Must Remain Bareheaded'​

enrosenagel -- Fast Fashion Feeds​

genelewis -- Fool Me Twice​

mosaix -- Moments in Time​

StilLearning -- The Emperor's new... circumstances...​

Teresa Edgerton -- Midnight Chimes​

therapist -- Bruce's Jersey​

For my vote I nearly had to toss a coin between BrenG's all-too-true tale of misplaced love and social prejudice and StilLearning's SF take on a unclothed emperor -- in the end I went for StilLearning's as it was such a clever twist on an old tale.


As for mine, no Dolls (or husbands...) were injured in the making of my story, and Passionate Silk-Clad Lasting Thanks for the lovely mentions/shortlistings Phyrebrat, Parson, Christine, Bowler and emrosenagel!