Discussion thread -- 75 WORD WRITING CHALLENGE February 2013

[The Spurring Platty]

Too true.

And thanks for the short-listing.

It was quite a trek, but I saw what you did there.

 

[stormcrow]

Thanks for the HM Starbeast!! Thought I was going to draw a total blank with my astronomical probing!

Crikey! I'm not used to cutting it this fine to vote. I've enjoyed reading every entry, once again. Good luck to all.

Here's my short-as-I-can make-it list:

Bowler1 - I'd love to see this as a screen-short!
ratsy - Such a clever idea; I think you did really well to make that work!
Hex - Very nice: you know my GP?
Glen - I loved Trainspotting & thought your take on the "Choose..." monologue was very very neat!
Lenny - Very atmospheric - I really liked "...the hiss of time".
Victoria Silverwolf - Great stuff. I like how this plays with familiar reality.

My vote, though, goes to AnyaKimlin. That's a new door opened in my mind!

 

[paranoid marvin]

Thanks Lenny, Ursa, Johnnyjet, Victria, ratsy, hopewrites for the shortlistings, and thankyou also to Perp and SB for the kind words AND shortlistings. Some great entries, but Alcubierre's insight into the birth of Voyager's good doctor wins the day.

 

[ratsy]

ratsy - Such a clever idea; I think you did really well to make that work!

Thank you so much. I wrote another story then got this crazy idea. No votes but a few mentions at least! Glad some of you appreciated it.

 

[Culhwch]

There were some good entries this month, narrowing it down was difficult. As usual, I guess - I shouldn't really expect anything different. I got it down to a final three of Taly, Hex and TJ, with my vote going to Hex.

I was shocked to find more votes this morning, and even more shocked to find myself (temporarily, I'm sure) in the lead! So many, many thanks to BigJ, mosaix, Mouse and TEIN! And also thanks for those mentions and listings in this thread, as well!

 

[AlcubierreWarp]

Thanks Lenny, Ursa, Johnnyjet, Victria, ratsy, hopewrites for the shortlistings, and thankyou also to Perp and SB for the kind words AND shortlistings. Some great entries, but Alcubierre's insight into the birth of Voyager's good doctor wins the day.

Woooohooooo! Another vote! Thanks Paranoid Marvin!

 

[Ursa major]

The poll has now closed, and we have a winner:

Congratulations to Cul!​

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Having been 'away' from the tribulations of the challenges in recent months, I was cheered to hell and back for the listing from :-

ratsy, Starbeast and Parson

(Apologies to any I missed)

However, when I saw the vote from Ursa, you could have beaten me stupid (not far to go now) with a baseball bat and I would still have been over the moon.

Thanks Ursa.

 

[stormcrow]

Congratulations Culhwch!

Can't wait to see what gauntlett you throw down!

 

[Lenny]

Eeee, this was my best month in terms of mentions for over two years (though I'll admit to this being only my fifth entry since then). Thanks for the mention Aber, ratsy, Alcubierre, crystal, TSP, and stormcrow!

I think next month, we should all try posting and then saying we should have left it unposted - it appears to be a working strategy. Congrats, Cul!

 

[Ursa major]

However, when I saw the vote from Ursa, you could have beaten me stupid (not far to go now) with a baseball bat and I would still have been over the moon.

Thanks Ursa.

You're welcome, TEIN.


As it happens, you got two votes, although only mine has a name attached to it.

We had an emergency contact from Bob S Sr, who is probably more familiar with the task of wielding a baseball bat than I am, saying that he was having trouble logging in, but still wanted his vote (for you) to be included in the poll. Given his message got to us with only a couple of hours to go before the poll closed, and the circumstances were very unusual, we decided to accede to his request.

(Note, however, that if we find that he has also voted in the Eastleigh byelection, we'll have to take steps....)

 

[TheDustyZebra]

(Note, however, that if we find that he has also voted in the Eastleigh byelection, we'll have to take steps....)

Do you have to know who the prime minister of England is, to vote in that?

 

[Ursa major]

Do you have to know who the prime minister of England is, to vote in that?

Of course!

But that's only because there'll be no change in who is the PM until after the result is announced.

 

[Culhwch]

Thanks, all! Still shocked - the votes were so tight at the end there, I was sure there'd be a tie-breaker (for me to lose) at the very least! Commiserations to Victoria, who had a fine story (it only just missed out on my top three).

Not only was I not sure if I should've even posted the story, I only barely remembered to post in the last ten or so minutes before closing. I'm happy to start a new trend, Lenny, though I don't know how well the system will cope if we all try and post at five minutes to closing time!

 

[ratsy]

Congrats Cul!

 

[Juliana]

Congratulations Cul!

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Hey hey, good on you, Cul.


Now...to await His Highness' royal decision...

 

[hopewrites]

Best of all, a tie for hopewrites' first place??? that is a great shock, along with the runner uppery I received from Starbeast. Thank you both very much, I knew my entry wasn't up to much this month but being a bit Obs/compulsive I didn't want to miss a month, and I am glad I made the effort

I've often found that simple ideas work better in these challenges than complex ones. For me, at least, its because I can never cram my synopsis down to 75 words on the bigger ideas let alone get the story coherent. What worked for me was the simple straightforwardness of your idea. I absolutely loved the name of the ship, and that the longer I sat and thought about it the more it seemed like something that could be true, we just dont know it. I also felt there was a commentary on humanity in there which really made it impossible for me not to love it.

Thanks for the shortlist / mentions
...Hopewrites...

Quite welcome. Yours was the other I felt could have been true. I enjoyed that its inherent cynicism was delightfully couched in humor. Few people really do that in a way I truly enjoy, but you are one of them.

Thanks ... hopewrites for the shortlistings,

very welcome. your verses are always a delight to read, you must have an acute sense of rythem. I've never seen you shift out of any meter you set yourself. couple that with your delightful sense of humor and delightful use of language. I like reading your entries out loud, as they play very well off the tonuge and feel pleasing to recite.
on top of that the image of someone "long of limb and short of death" was just too good to pass up.

I had a hard time narrowing down to twenty

hopewrites - Spring Born

*gets all sunshinery* why thanks! happy to be on your list.

also Congratulations Cul!! am I confusing you with someone else or do you always pick fun topic/genre combinations

 

[Culhwch]

Gotta be someone else, surely! Otherwise you're putting too much pressure on me!

 

[hopewrites]

naw, if I wanted to pressure you I'd challenge you to challenge us with something that would make everybody feel good.