Discussion Thread -- September 2018 75-word Writing Challenge

Came back to vote. Voting was once again difficult. We had a lot of derivative stories. If you didn't know James Bond you missed a lot of them.

Short list:

@Cat's Cradle .... "On a Whim (Stupid, Stupid Guns) -- An original story with a cautionary ending.

@Shyrka .... "Spy Shots" -- A story with a wonderful twist that reminds spies to use all of their assets.

@Stable .... "The Viper" -- An excellent double twist spy thriller.

Runner Up
@Victoria Silverwolf .... "All's Fair" -- A Fantasy, a spy story, and a love triangle..... All in 75 Words?!!!

Voted for:
@Ragandar .... "Directive 401: Insubordinate Agents Will Be Shot. -- A great story with a truly moral punch for an ending.
 
Parson said:
Came back to vote. Voting was once again difficult. We had a lot of derivative stories. If you didn't know James Bond you missed a lot of them.
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Why do I get the feeling that I've been told off? In defence, by necessity any satire has to be derivative otherwise it wouldn't work.
 
An interesting mixture this month.

shortlist:

Luiglin. Rarely do you fail to put a smile on my face.
Cathbad. Daddy's shot placement clearly no accident!
Cat's Cradle. Chilling callousness.
Johnnyjet. International spy rings in the real world!
nixie. Reminds me of work... the youngsters like to remind me how old I am but boy do they need me when I'm not around.
Victoria Silverwolf. Possibly the most unusual of the entries this month and confirms my suspicions that Mata Hari got a rough deal.
D3athw4lker. I grew up with the Famous Five (ok not literally, I mean I grew up reading Enid Blyton). I loved the Comic Strip Presents take on them but now I can see them in a new light :)
Shyrka. Sometimes people get what they deserve.
mosaix. Sadly a true end for many, so why not the most famous of spies?
Stable. Nice twist and an equally deadly shot.
 
RJM Corbet said:
Selection based on stories that not only fit the theme but which stand alone as stories:

@johnnyjet The Spy Who Caught A Cold
@Plucky Novice A View to the Kitchen
@Cat's Cradle On a Whim (Stupid, Stupid Guns)

Vote going to @Peter V
Sleeper
Very neat writing
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Thank you for the vote and kind words...though it's not showing on the poll.

Am I looking needy?

:LOL:
 
If I have voted for Victoria (which should be the case) it's for the story itself, not the substitution-encoded reviews I laboriously decyphered. My shortlist also featured Cat's Cradle, Cathbad and Dannymcg.

But we can't have one entry nobody's slaved over the review, so:-

Victoria Silverwolf YJOV OQYRUVRXYOBQ DRYIRRQ SFYJ WQM TRARQM MRSBQVYUWYRV JBI TOYYTR YJR MOHOQR WUOVYBXUWXF XWURV WDBGY YJR PRRTOQAV WQM IRTPWGR BP OYV SRURTF JGSWQ YBZRQV.
 
My Short List and Favorite:

On a Whim (Stupid, Stupid Guns) - Cat's Cradle
They Seek Him Here … - dannymcq
All's Fair - Victoria Silverwolf
Cutting Room Floor - chrispenycate
A View to a Kitchen - Plucky Novice
The Viper - Stable
Exit, Pursued by a Bear - The Judge
Licence Expired - paranoid marvin
 
Luiglin said:
Why do I get the feeling that I've been told off? In defence, by necessity any satire has to be derivative otherwise it wouldn't work.
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I did not intend to "tell off" anyone. I was just stating facts. ---- But in honesty I did consciously prefer stories that did not depend on other stories for context.
 
Parson said:
I did not intend to "tell off" anyone. I was just stating facts. ---- But in honesty I did consciously prefer stories that did not depend on other stories for context.
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I'm the same as you, Parson; this discussion has come up a few times before. I think there are some of us who enter for fun, some who enter to improve, and some who enter to win. I don't want to speak for Luiglin, but for me, the challenges are always about improving my writing. The strictures placed on us in terms of word count therefore are crucial to the task; if I write about something that has already been written either as a book/TV/Film then I am writing fanfic as far as I am concerned, but more importantly (in light of it being a contest) I have an implicit advantage because a cultural 'thing' has been used that will be common coin for a lot of people. This in effect can flesh out your story which to my mind gives an unfair advantage.

So, whilst I enjoy all the entries, and often shortlist 'fanfic' I find it hard to vote for them when others have evoked a story in as many words without using the common coin of cultural icons etc.

pH
 
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@Parson apologies that came over harsher than I intended. Mine was intended satire on two sides which does require knowledge of the target but I do see what you mean.
 
Aren't reference and allusion cousins to synonym, metaphor and simile? They're useful if you recognise them. Do historical and mythical references, religious figures, folk tales, fables, parables, current affairs, anything considered fashionable (dependent on the reader's background and exposure) any kind of cultural, artistic and scientific labels, confer unfair disadvantage? I humbly submit nay m'lud. Not on your Little Nellie. Material is immaterial in my view. Surely the label 'competition' isn't entirely accurate in the context of this site. Winners are created by other people. *sound of empty bottle rolling down alley 'ish onee a paper moon'*
 
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