Discussion -- March 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

[Juliana]

Thank you very much for the vote David! And willwallace, thanks for the listing.

 

[Parson]

I am so pleased that so many of you enjoyed reading about "The End of the World." May I suggest reading "Revelation?"

Bowler 1 & KJerrybuchanan: Thanks so much for the Short listing. It is so nice to know that there are people who enjoy my twisted sense of humor.

Moonbat: Thanks for the long listing. It's always great to be mentioned.

Telford: Honorable mentions are wonderful. Thanks so much.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Phyre – What’s in the box!?! What’s in the box!?! It is quite often the case that although you really want to know you are better off not knowing. Until you open the damn thing whatever is in there might not be the thing you are dreading… there is always a chance that it might be a cat. But whether that cat is dead or alive is at the heart of the proposition. And what if the wrong person opens the box? A whole new conundrum opens up. And what if they ring a bell? Or is that a different animal entirely?

David Doherty-Jebb – All things come to an end, as unfortunate as it might seem. I mean these fast food chains, they are a constant stream of customers and ‘meals.’ Burgers and fries and whatever other mass produced goodies they can dispense through tiny little windows might seem they are going to go on forever, but there must be a point where there are no more, where those windows close and the signs reads out of stock. Of course it’s a lot worse if one group eats the lot while everyone else starves – especially if they steal the end of the alphabet as well.

Xenosia – IT’s never over until the fat lady sings, or so the old saying goes. Umm, now I’m wondering is that politically correct? I mean you know how things are these days, a saying like that might be seen as derivative and offensive. And I’m worrying over what I am writing rather than the comments… umm, a story that really puts the opera straight back into space opera and teaches a valuable lesson about jumping the gun. Crew respect your captain!

Bob – Friends. They are a very important thing. I mean on top of all the things they are good for being able to be open and honest and telling the truth has to be one of the best. So when someone writes a bit of tripe they can be told honestly that it is not good. Unlike the story here that made me smile, loved the bucket list line that was pure brilliance.

BigJ – Ooooh matron! Is it just me or is there a hint of something a little bit risqué here? You know I figure that there have not been enough of the innuendo laden stories this month. I thought they’d be lining up out the door, but then I guess I do not know the writership around here as much as I thought. Not that I want to say that I imagine you all as a bunch of degener… I think I’d better shut up now. Loved the payoff here, not sure that Mrs Arkansas did, probably did. Ever. Apparently.

TJ – Dear BBC, I am contacting you with a brave and unique idea…Oh, excuse me. Let us consider the sad state of fandom. There has always been those grim looks between opposing franchises and it seem that it has infected the characters themselves. All trying to outdo one another whether their ever epic storylines. Here we see it taken to the next level, shows merging with totally different types of show giving a whole new meaning to space opera. Now where was I, yes… merging two popular shows together, shows from totally different genres…

TDZ – A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was, has been noted a need for towels. Don’t panic this is not another paragraph extolling the virtue of cotton bathroom linen, although had they been carried around it would be easier to mop up any messes. A mash of realities, colliding in a high noon of a shootout setting straight a controversy that should have defined a character. Oh, and the Wookie’s joke – hilarious!

MB – Sometimes, no matter how impolite, the thought crosses the mind of this humble comment writer to ask of the creative force that produced the story: “Just what the hell were you smoking man?” This was an explosion of the imagination on a supernova scale, splattering words like stellar mass across the page, ideas like gaseous fragments, a multi-hued spectrum of creativity. And snails.

Cul – These evil lords of chaos and destruction, they do love boasting about how they are going to kill the good guys, and there is nothing, nothing at all like a good monologue extolling the virtues of every nasty thing they are going to, or even want to. Sooner or later someone is going to have the idea of stabbing one in the back while they rabbit on and on and on. Don’t matter how good at fighting you are, someone gets you before you start it’s over.

And so it is.

 

[Cascade]

I have tried to be more disciplined with my listings, but there is so much quality to choose from.

Here are my Short List, Runners Up and Vote*.

Spaceborn
Undelivered male
Running out of Time
Tentaclefest 'tastrophe
Don't Save the Cat *
Making the Best of a Bad Job
Never Get Caught in a Monologue You Could Have Avoided

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Thanks, DG Jones and Perp, for the lovely reviews, and DGJ also for the shortlisting!

 

[Moonbat]

Ahem, I'll have you know Perp that I am high on a mixture of pride and sleep deprivation.

 

[Bowler1]

It is so nice to know that there are people who enjoy my twisted sense of humor.

I suspect there is a whole forum full of twisted individuals on here that enjoy your funny bone Parson buddy. There are all sorts of characters on here, some of them a bit weird if I'm honest... but not me. (Resting a hand on my low slung RAY GUN filled holster). There are some very odd characters on here with some very odd fixations (keeping an eagle eye out for Hex, who seems to have eluded me for now, not that I'm in anyway fixated on finding her!). Your stick with me lad and keep well away from the weirdo's on here (A sudden shift in my posture, gun hand ready, but no Hex... not this time), you don't want to be hanging around with that lot.

 

[Parson]

(Parson slowly moves toward the door not wanting to make any fast moves. A Smiley Face with a RAY-GUN is nothing to mess with.)

I'm sure you'll be able to find anyone you want with that big iron on your hip. Although, Hex has been known to deal in magic which is imperceptible and unblastable.

Hmm, about those odd characters which inhabit this forum, maybe you should look over that way. I hear some of them want to see what a RAY-GUN can do up close and personal.

(Parson is out the door.)

 

[Perpetual Man]

Ahem, I'll have you know Perp that I am high on a mixture of pride and sleep deprivation.

Also known as fatherhood eh?

 

[Cat's Cradle]

OK, so I'm a newbie, but for what it's worth my vote goes to Haste Makes Waste by Juliana It gave me Hitchhiker's with a dash of Farscape

Yay, Juliana! I see that David's vote hasn't shown up yet for Juliana--I wonder if David noticed the voting thread? Perhaps he thought votes were cast here in the discussion thread. I'll send a PM to check up on things.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Good job, CC -- that's certainly happened before. It's good to have somebody on top of such things.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Thanks Dusty! I know from personal experience that the procedures for the challenges can be a bit daunting at first. I sent David a PM, so I bet things'll be sorted out soon. Every vote counts!
David's first challenge story has already been shortlisted, so that's very cool!

 

[Dan Jones]

And so it is.

Don't you just hate it when you realise the challenge is over and you've left yourself with 10 stories to review?

Of course, it makes it a lot easier when the stories in question are as guffawesome as this lot

 

[Droflet]

Thank you so much for the mention, willwallace.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Don't you just hate it when you realise the challenge is over and you've left yourself with 10 stories to review?

Of course, it makes it a lot easier when the stories in question are as guffawesome as this lot

I'm tempted to say there was a good reason this month for me being so far behind, but I seem to be doing it every month so...

But yes, it's that mad rush that comes through in the last few hours (the fact that I did not realise the challenge had ended did not help either!)

 

[Luiglin]

What you both need to do is hire an infinite number of monkeys. The only issue you'd get though is how to make sure that they write critiques and not the complete works of Shakespeare.

 

[Perpetual Man]

What you both need to do is hire an infinite number of monkeys. The only issue you'd get though is how to make sure that they write critiques and not the complete works of Shakespeare.

You mean mine are not the complete works of Shakespeare?

 

[Moonbat]

I'd be really impressed to see you guys give us pre-reviews, you'll have to go through all the past entries and figure out what we might write and then review it before its been posted. Consider that your challenge for next month

 

[Perpetual Man]

I'd be really impressed to see you guys give us pre-reviews, you'll have to go through all the past entries and figure out what we might write and then review it before its been posted. Consider that your challenge for next month

Well if Paranoid Marvin was still doing the challenges I could probably do it:

PM - An excellent poem that is both well constructed and entertaining, with excellent rhyming and a rhythm that is easy to hold. Catches the theme perfectly and is astounding at the manner in which it seems to be effortlessly put together. Made me laugh.

 

[Dan Jones]

What you both need to do is hire an infinite number of monkeys. The only issue you'd get though is how to make sure that they write critiques and not the complete works of Shakespeare.

If the monkeys were infinite then they would at some point give a perfectly witty and clever review for all entries past and present.

The complete works of Shakespeare would just be a bonus. And they're more than 75 words, so we wouldn't be interested in them.