Discussion Thread -- OCTOBER 2020 -- 300 Word Writing Challenge (#39)

[Ashleyne]

I saw a picture of the sea and wanted to go on a swashbuckling adventure.

 

[Parson]

@Wayne Mack .... My Mommy’s a Mermaid .... It is said that still waters run deep, which we now know is a threat because who knows what evil lies in the depths of the sea or a human mind.

@Rafellin .... Clearance .... An example is powerful and sometimes that kind of power is expressed in a deadly heroism. On these things the fates of empires and galaxies are built.

@Astro Pen .... Last Frame .... There is a circle of Hell not yet defined but completely horrific in the simplicity of its torture.

@Ashleyne .... CAP’N PATCHBEARD’S NON-EXISTANT SHIP .... In the future the old saying will lose none of us insight: "And a child shall lead them."

 

[paranoid marvin]

Well (I think) this is my first attempt at a 300 worder. And no, I didn't fancy trying to create a poem that long! (at least not this time). It was such a great picture/photo that I felt I had to try something.

 

[BT Jones]

My first attempt has blown out to 400 words and I don't want to hammer it down so I'm back to the drawing board.

Same here, Wags. But its not back to the drawing board... I'm taking my 400 worder to the gym!

 

[Parson]

@paranoid marvin ....A Sailor's Story .... Sometimes a calm sea is the calm after the storm, sometimes a good report is just less horrific than it might have been.

 

[JJewel]

Finally getting some time tonight to begin mine, and after reading everyone else`s submission mine is so far away from the rest thank goodness.

Always prefer to be the black sheep.

 

[scarpelius]

I like the way you are thinking...

 

[Provincial]

I just posted the previously-touted offering “Boaty McBoatface and the Legend of the Blue Lagoon“, but made the mistake of reading a couple of the early submissions first...

I was sooooo pleased with myself. That’s the last time I write something to fit in with a title - the photo has inspired some really high quality fiction, which my doggerel can’t vie with. I feel like I‘ve really missed out on a wonderful opportunity.

On the other hand, I did try hard with the sea shanty, so I‘ll give myself a C for effort, and ignore the fact that ‘effort’ starts with an E.

 

[JJewel]

I like the way you are thinking...

Brilliant, that made me laugh!

 

[JJewel]

I just posted the previously-touted offering “Boaty McBoatface and the Legend of the Blue Lagoon“, but made the mistake of reading a couple of the early submissions first...

I was sooooo pleased with myself. That’s the last time I write something to fit in with a title - the photo has inspired some really high quality fiction, which my doggerel can’t vie with. I feel like I‘ve really missed out on a wonderful opportunity.

On the other hand, I did try hard with the sea shanty, so I‘ll give myself a C for effort, and ignore the fact that ‘effort’ starts with an E.

Do what you do best, for the 75 worder I normally do poetry and everyone else writes this deep social commentary, go figure

 

[Parson]

@Guttersnipe .... And Not a Drop to Drink .... Sometimes as bad as you think something is, the truth is worse than that.

@BT Jones .... 10 Degrees .... Tranquility is like peace. It is ephemeral at best, an illusion at worst.

@Matchu .... Honeymoon Horror .... Violence is not licence and it's genesis may well be somewhere outside of logic.

@Provincial .... Boaty McBoatface and the Legend of the Blue Lagoon (or, why villains shouldn’t monologue) .... After the violence ripples will soon smooth away what's left might look like peace.

 

[Parson]

@Danny McG .... Ocean night haiku .... There is great power in precise descriptions. Danny shows us that he remembers that it is the empty wagon that makes the most noise; and his wagon is decidedly not empty.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Well, that's me in. I love these 300 worders. I had soo much extra story that I had to cut, so I just kept what seemed coolest. Great photo, @Mister_Oy.

Good stories so far, everyone! I'm so glad to be done writing though, for now. Looking forward to reading and voting in November, CC

 

[Capricorn42]

Am I the only person who thought of himself lounging in one of those huge marble bath tubs?

 

[Parson]

@Bren G .... First Contact .... The problem with believing that there is magic is that it makes you responsible for some of the magic.

@Cat's Cradle .... The Panacea or the Grey .... Choices are important and sometimes the obvious choice is not so obvious as we reflect on it.
Powerful story Cat!

@Capricorn42 .... The Importance of Commas .... The real problem with language is that we can never be totally sure that two people agree on context, and when they don't the results can be very ugly.

 

[MikeAnderson]

I saw a picture of the sea and wanted to go on a swashbuckling adventure.

I tried that with some pirates from Somalia...

Yeah, those kids aren't the "yo ho ho" types. They play rough.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Thank you, @Parson! And thanks for the reviews, as always.

 

[Marvin]

So I’m looking at the pic and no immediate idea pops up. Granted I’m not the most creative person, with boundless ideas.
The question is, do others who suffer this (I hope I’m not alone) force it and go hunting for an idea. Or is it best to leave it if nothing occurs?
To me the end result always seems better when an idea comes naturally. Thoughts?

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I've been entering the 300 worders for 6.5 years; I've found that when nothing pops immediately into my imagination when I first see a Challenge photo, the only way I ever come up with a story I am happy with is to just walk away from the Challenge. Forget the photo, forget thinking about writing, and go about my daily business. My subconscious then works on things, and one day (maybe in a few days, maybe a week or more later) a story just pops into my mind, mostly realized.
There have been a few times over the years when this hasn't worked, and then I've just written something to take part with everyone; I've never been happy with these entries. I know no two people write the exact same way, though. I hope a story comes to you soon, Marvin. I'm interested in what others might say about this. Best of luck, CC

 

[The Judge]

You're not alone, Marvin! It's very rare that I get an immediate idea for the Challenges that I can actually use -- that is I might get an idea, but I just can't get a story out of it -- and most times it's only on the last day for posting, when I'm desperately cudgeling my brains as midnight GMT gets ever closer, that something crops up. Sometimes it comes from running riffs around words or concepts, sometimes I get the Judicial Helpmeet to look at the image or think about the designated theme and genre and see what thoughts he has and see if they spark any ideas. I've never yet missed a 300 worder, but I have missed the 75s when absolutely nothing has come to me and I just couldn't face forcing something that didn't want to come.

I'd like to think it's the easy stories which read best, but I've won with at least one story that didn't start to come to me until 5pm on the last day when I was literally pacing up and down the house and getting frantic, so no, for me the result doesn't depend on when and how the idea comes.