November / December 100 Word Anonymous Challenge Discussion

[Provincial]

I thought I might do things a bit different this time. There doesn't seem to be much interest in guessing the authors. Would it be more fun if I posted the participant list earlier, BEFORE the poll ended? That would allow more time to think about who might have written what, and with corrections, allow for some logical deductions.

I haven’t been with Chron very long so I don’t know people‘s writing styles well enough to spot anyone’s work, and a list of names won’t help me. But I could try and pair up the stories written by the same author, even if I couldn’t name them, so knowing how many people wrote how many stories would be nice for me...

 

[mosaix]

I haven’t been with Chron very long so I don’t know people‘s writing styles well enough to spot anyone’s work, and a list of names won’t help me. But I could try and pair up the stories written by the same author, even if I couldn’t name them, so knowing how many people wrote how many stories would be nice for me...

It might take a bit of time and probably not really worth it but you could go back through a few of the past challenges to see if you can see any kind of pattern.

Personally, I'm hopeless at guessing. I suspect that other people are like me and my style changes according to the genre and theme - that's my excuse, anyway.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Would it be more fun if I posted the participant list earlier, BEFORE the poll ended? That would allow more time to think about who might have written what, and with corrections, allow for some logical deductions.

Yes. It'll give me time to draw up my spreadsheet so I can scientifically correctly identify the author of each entry - just like I always do

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

On guessing...
I don't know if I should be giving away my trade secrets, but here's a couple of tips to help narrow the choices
- People can't vote for themselves
- People are unlikely to shortlist themselves (Of course, now I've pointed that out someone will be along on a minute and do just that)
- Once the guessing starts, hope that someone gets all guesses wrong so those pairings can be crossed off

 

[elvet]

Since I did not get a glaring 'No' about posting the authors, here they are with a few clues:
3 authors wrote 3 stories
4 authors wrote 2 stories

List of authors (+ 1 red herring):
Bren G.
B.T. Jones
Capricorn42
Chrispenycate
Danny Mcg
Daysman
Don Coyote
elvet
Guttersnipe
Hugh
Ian Fortytwo
Mosaix
M. Robert Gibson
Provincial
Victoria Silverwolf
Wayne Mack

 

[Danny McG]

I think I'm the red herring

 

[Provincial]

I think I'm the red herring

You’re not sure? Doesn’t sound very convincing!

 

[Peter V]

Lot of good entries here & two or three were in contention for the vote. I have opted for revenge.

Going to hazzard a guess that it was written by mosaix

 

[elvet]

Lot of good entries here & two or three were in contention for the vote. I have opted for revenge.

Going to hazzard a guess that it was written by mosaix

Mosaix is not the author.

 

[BT Jones]

Well, I won't try and guess ALL the authors, seeing as there's an extremely high probability that I was one of them (or was I?), given that it was my suggestion of topic. What would I do? Guess that someone else wrote the entry that I wrote, and that I (perhaps) wrote theirs?

My guesses:
A Spectre is Haunting Arizona - @M. Robert Gibson
A Familiar Tune - @Victoria Silverwolf
Problems at The Mechanical Men Corporation / Bread & Circuses - @mosaix
Years of Hurt - @Danny McG
Battleship - @Ian Fortytwo
Today's World... Tomorrow - @Provincial

Okay, I'll admit it. I was the red herring. I sent out the party invites, then sat in the loft, peering down at the confused guests through the ducted air-conditioning vents.

 

[elvet]

Well, I won't try and guess ALL the authors, seeing as there's an extremely high probability that I was one of them (or was I?), given that it was my suggestion of topic. What would I do? Guess that someone else wrote the entry that I wrote, and that I (perhaps) wrote theirs?

That's the way to do it!
You have 2 correct.

 

[BT Jones]

That's the way to do it!
You have 2 correct.

Judging by the wow, I'll take it that one of those 'correct's was @Danny McG! (cue Scooby-Doo style explanation of the meticulous manner in which I worked it out - i.e., I'm pretty sure only Danny or @Luiglin (or myself) would have written about football. I reckon the other 'correct' might be one of @mosaix. Bread & Circuses was my first pick, before I noticed a similar all-dialogue style with the 'Mechanical Men'.

 

[Danny McG]

Judging by the wow, I'll take it that one of those 'correct's was @Danny McG! (cue Scooby-Doo style explanation of the meticulous manner in which I worked it out - i.e., I'm pretty sure only Danny or @Luiglin (or myself) would have written about football. I reckon the other 'correct' might be one of @mosaix. Bread & Circuses was my first pick, before I noticed a similar all-dialogue style with the 'Mechanical Men'.

I'm not really the red herring

 

[elvet]

Judging by the wow, I'll take it that one of those 'correct's was @Danny McG! (cue Scooby-Doo style explanation of the meticulous manner in which I worked it out - i.e., I'm pretty sure only Danny or @Luiglin (or myself) would have written about football. I reckon the other 'correct' might be one of @mosaix. Bread & Circuses was my first pick, before I noticed a similar all-dialogue style with the 'Mechanical Men'.

If you ever played the cold/hot game--you are very very warm with those guesses.

 

[Provincial]

That's the way to do it!
You have 2 correct.

Or you could work out who the red herring is and give them the credit for your 100 word magnum opus. That should be easy...

 

[Provincial]

If you ever played the cold/hot game--you are very very warm with those guesses.

Is that nearness meant geographically, alphabetically, spiritually, or mendaciously??? Should I be playing Pin The Tail On The Donkey with the names, and if so, am I the donkey? Or is it a game of Mastermind (the puzzle game, not the TV programme) where it isn’t very helpful to know how many names you got right but in the wrong place?

 

[Provincial]

Okay, I'll admit it. I was the red herring. I sent out the party invites, then sat in the loft, peering down at the confused guests through the ducted air-conditioning vents.

As a child I was convinced that the air conditioning ducts were where ‘they’ kept all the budgies. It’s a bit random, I know, but rather more puzzling is why I didn’t try to break into the ducts and free them all. I must have been exposed to some really noisy ventilation as a baby - one of the hazards of urban living I guess.

 

[elvet]

Is that nearness meant geographically, alphabetically, spiritually, or mendaciously??? Should I be playing Pin The Tail On The Donkey with the names, and if so, am I the donkey? Or is it a game of Mastermind (the puzzle game, not the TV programme) where it isn’t very helpful to know how many names you got right but in the wrong place?

It was literal. Can you not feel the heat?
Of the three possibilities mentioned, two are correct.

As a child I was convinced that the air conditioning ducts were where ‘they’ kept all the budgies. It’s a bit random, I know, but rather more puzzling is why I didn’t try to break into the ducts and free them all. I must have been exposed to some really noisy ventilation as a baby - one of the hazards of urban living I guess.

I would have been frantic trying to release those poor birds.

 

[elvet]

I don’t know if this is permitted, so apologies if I have broken any rules, but can I ask anyone who has a spare moment to go to the Anonymous 100 Word challenge, read the entries, and then vote please? There were 25 entries but only about 10 contributors, and at the moment only 12 people have voted (which might well be everyone who has taken part). It seems a shame for all that work to pass unnoticed. It would really be appreciated if some voting feedback was received from the rest of Chron, if possible.

Thank you for posting this. I usually cross post a message, but you beat me to it.
This does bring up a good point. With the multiple submissions, should we consider increasing the votes to 2 per person? Or three, as in the 300 Word Challenge?
Thoughts?

 

[Provincial]

I voted for “Problems at the mechanical men corporation“. It is definitely an alternative future, there are lots of hauntology movies on the same theme , and it makes me laugh every time I read it.

Runners up were:
Battleship
Go on, guess!
So Close



Now for my guesses: I opted for the ‘spiritual’ nearness explanation and dug out the ouija board to identify the authors.

Daysman is the red herring.

Ianfortytwo wrote:
A spectre is haunting Arizona
The Red Rift
The Border


Danny McG wrote:
Jetpack
The Ritual
Go Forth and Multiply

Don Coyote wrote:
Visit Great Britain 2050!
Bread and Circuses
Mother of Invention

Victoria Silverwolf wrote:
Voices of a past war
So close

Guttersnipe wrote:
Waterfall
Peace Bonus

Hugh wrote:
Revenge
His Father’s Castle

elvet wrote:
A familiar tune
Years of hurt

Bren G wrote:
Rough Justice
Problems at the Mechanical Men Corporation

BT Jones wrote:
Battleship

Mosaix wrote:
Where did I park my flying car?

Chrispenycate wrote:
The haunting of the holy land

Capricorn 42 wrote:
Go on - guess!

M. Robert Gibson wrote:
Senatus Populusque Romanus

Wayne Mack wrote:
Today’s world - tomorrow!



I am hoping to get them all wrong, but more than that I am hoping to have listed each author and story only once. That would be a real achievement!