Discussion Thread -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- January 2014

[Starbeast]

*steals Starbeasts toast*
I also enjoyed the way you and spring twisted humor from your dire-stories.

Thank you Hope. I like the creepiness of your story.

Now...gimme that toasted tart! (chases after her)

They smash and crash their way through the room, knocking over everything. Hope scrambles up a tall display case and dangles the tart just out of Starbeast's reach, as he jumps up and down trying to get it. Flustrated, he tips the glass display cabinet over, it falls and breaks, screaming, she lands on her feet, then Hope races off with Starbeast in hot pursuit.

More damage is heard from the next room, then the next room, and the next room.

 

[hopewrites]

True story. (But he caught me in the end and i had to share)

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Juliana -- Although set in a fantastic world, this sharply portrayed tale of trust and betrayal shows us our all too human failings through a cynical lens.

Starbeast -- Playful wit and a very light touch makes this delicately bawdy flight of fancy sparkle like bubbling wine.

springs -- In this grim account of violence and revenge, a hint of very black comedy adds to the power of the telling.

Bowler1 -- By contrasting two classic works of fantasy, the author creates something new and unexpected.

hopewrites -- The characters portrayed in this imaginative story of a world far different from our ownare brought to life through a touch of humanity.

Mirannan -- Literary allusions abound in this clever variation on a timeless theme.

 

[Starbeast]

True story. (But he caught me in the end and i had to share)

Yeah, even though the tart was half crushed, with dust and fur in it.

Starbeast -- Playful wit and a very light touch makes this delicately bawdy flight of fancy sparkle like bubbling wine.

Thank you Victoria for your wonderful review.

Cold/Dark Fantasy​

Juliana - Nicely craved tale that envolves trust. Diabolically delightful and highly defined in it's raw pure form of deceit. Grimly good stuff.

Starbeast - I looked at the theme and genre, then looked outside at the falling snow, then glanced at my avatar. Nuff said.

Springs - A fierce story of vigilantism, topped off with a bit of sweetness from the author in the final line. Excellent balance of drama, intensity and humor.

Bowler1 - The infamous night stalking blood drinker highlights this marvelous tale set in Middle Earth. Fiendish fun and a great location for a vampire.

Hopewrites - Monstrous man-eating wyvern struggle to survive a coming Ice Age. Chillingly cool creature story. Nice to have you here Hope.

Mirannan - Demonically wonderful tale that spells trouble for those who deal with the devil. Mu-ha ha ha ha ha. Stick a fork in em'!

Victoria Silverwolf - Superb story of astonishing dramatic imagary. I could imagine the woman falling in slow motion, like a movie scene. Bitterly cold, and awesome.

 

[hopewrites]

Good to be back SB, thanks for your insightful words.
Victoria, thank you as well. Im delighted the imagery that was so fresh and vivid in my mind has translated well through the restraining word count.

I remembered how fun these were, but had forgotten just how few 75 words can feel.

 

[Juliana]

Thank you very much for your lovely reviews, Victoria and SB.

 

[Mirannan]

Victoria - Thanks. But insert gesture from Bill and Ted (I am not worthy!) here. Your story is beautiful in the same way as an Arctic glacier.

Starbeast - Again, thanks. Yours? Abounds with innuendo. I like it!

 

[Boneman]

That's mine posted, now to think about the 300 worder. They do seem to come round quickly, don't they?

 

[Perpetual Man]

Boneman, please stay behind after class. Posting the story just after I had written the comments and was about to post them is just.... unacceptable.

Anyhoo...

Victoria - Some beautiful description in the opening few lines, that really draw an image in the mind’s eye and leave it etched there. A fall into cold and ice might seem to be the act of death and desperation, but in some cases it might actually be a place of armth, a place called home.

Reiver - A dark and frosty tale of death and grim compacts from the past. A neat idea, well presented, it would have been easy to tell the tale with the bride under the weight of a curse, but the fact that she (coldly) embraces her husbands fate makes it all the more chilling.

TitaniumTi - pulled off one of my favourite tricks in these challenge's - giving us something that kicks off all dark, capturing a sense of foreboding, but turning it on it’s head by the end and feeding the reader a ridiculous image that is priceless and worthy opf a big smile.

Mosaix - a great alternative take on a moment of history. Scott’s battle to reach the Antarctic is a dark story in it’s own right, but here is given a fantastical twist. There is a great image in the expedition crossing the frozen wastes with mammoths part of the train. I’m not so sure whether it will end any better than the reality, but it is an epic adventure all the same.

BM - A grim warning that even the most perfect of plans can be undone, and that gods are as fallible as mortals when it comes to the diabolic workings of the nefarious undead. There are some wonderful images included in this entry, some quite grim and well portrayed in the limited word story. Another one, that although short had the feel of an epic.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Figured I needed to get something up, so, there it is.


Take it with a spoonful of sugar, peeps.



Actually, the thing is, I decided to play one of my strong suits and use a bit of Greek mythology, at least, as far as the monsters went. Personally, I feel the Furies are an often over-looked set of beings who can really tie into dark genres pretty well.

 

[Bowler1]

Thank you Victoria and SB, for your reviews.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Thank you Victoria and SB, for your reviews.

Seconded.

 

[Starbeast]

Good to be back SB, thanks for your insightful words.

I remembered how fun these were, but had forgotten just how few 75 words can feel.

You're welcome Hope. 75 words can be tough at times. I had to chop off about twenty words for mine. And you're right, it is fun.

Thank you very much for your lovely reviews, Victoria and SB.

You are very welcome Juliana. Congrats for posting first.

Starbeast - Again, thanks. Yours? Abounds with innuendo. I like it!

You're welcome Mirannan. Yeah, I got spicy.

That's mine posted, now to think about the 300 worder. They do seem to come round quickly, don't they?

Time does go by quicky. I like letting my imagination fly with the 300 too. However, I (and the rest of us) go to the limits with the 75.

See you there Boneman.

Cold/Dark Fantasy
(part two)​

Reiver33 - An insidiously wicked story of a terrifing Black Widow. And like the spider, she sets up a husband, only to crush his life underfoot. Icy cool.

TitaniumTi - You lead the reader in one direction, then spin us 180' into another. Fantastic mix of creepiness and tasty elements. Nice to meet you.

Mosaix - Now this is an unexpected tale that took me by surprise. Scott of the Antarctic in a bitterly cold and unique fantasy story. Good stuff.

Boneman - Yes, another grand offering of a evil being that is causing choas in peaceful lands. Your darkened supernatural character chills the blood. Frightening.

Karn Maeshalanadae - Whoa. This is a shocking predicament for a convicted man. The idea of facing the tortures of horror creatures makes this disturbingly outstanding.

BigJ - Excellent, a hero's tale. The author dazzles us with a frigid female temptress and her army of slain dead warriors. I want to find out what happens next. Nicely done sir.

 

[TitaniumTi]

I am currently unable to convince myself that cold is a bad thing.

Thank you for the reviews, Perpetual Man and Starbeast.

 

[hopewrites]

I am currently unable to convince myself that cold is a bad thing.

I live in a poorly circulated house, in the basement of a poorly circulated house. in the backest corner of the basement of a poorly circulated house. If I were to close my door, my room would never get above 65F
I have poor circulation. I have poor circulation and an inability to make or retain body fat. I have poor circulation, no insulation and a ravenous metabolism which makes 70F feel cold enough to need a turtle neck, 75F chill enough for a sweater, 80F almost comfortable. My feet are chronically blue or purple with cold. Even in the height of desert summer. My only comfort is 120-130F showers. I might drop them as far as 100 in the summer, out of courtesy for the rest of the house.

No circulation.
No insulation.

I am a tropical beast trapped in a cold, temperate, hole.

Feel free to use me as inspiration, if you cannot pity my poor cold bones.

 

[Boneman]

Sorry, Perp... I knew you were about to post, and thought I'd give you a break, so you could do it tomorrow. Many thanks for your excellent review.

And starbeast, you're very quick off the mark - thanks so much for the great words.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

reiver33 -- By showing us the emotions of immortal beings fated to repeat an endless cycle, the author reminds us that we are all bound to the wheel of destiny.

TitaniumTi -- An ancient creature is brought into the modern world, allowing the reader to see the ordinary through new eyes.

mosaix -- In this sweeping tour de force of the imagination, history is brought to life by reflecting it in an enchanted mirror.

Boneman -- The reader's blood runs cold in this dark and gruesome myth of timeless evil.

Karn Maeshalanadae -- Sinister beings who haunted the nightmares of early civilization are given new life by contrasting them with an ordinary person of today.

BigJ -- An entire epic of heroic fantasy is boiled down to a single dramatic scene, setting the reader's imagination on fire.

 

[Parson]

I am currently unable to convince myself that cold is a bad thing.

Thank you for the reviews, Perpetual Man and Starbeast.

Monday the high is going to be -6 Fahrenheit with a 20 -30 MPH wind. Cold is a very bad thing!! Give me 110 any day.

 

[TitaniumTi]

I also prefer 110F. Despite my flippancy, I do appreciate my good fortune in living in a place where people rarely die of either heat or cold.

 

[hopewrites]

Parson. I wont be comming to dinner.
-6 sheesh. We've been in the mid to high 20's

Ti I'm glad to see you found some inspiration ether way.