DISCUSSION THREAD March 2020 75-Word Challenge

Congratulations @Daysman a fine story indeed!

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And sincere thanks to @Teresa Edgerton for the mention.

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My story was taken from real life. As a child I heard this story one time when my parents took me along to the Salvation Mission in Sioux Falls SD. Little did I realize back then that I would preach in the one in Sioux City as an adult 3 decades later. The story was a testimony of one of the residents at the mission.
 
And sincere thanks to @Teresa Edgerton for the mention.

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My story was taken from real life. As a child I heard this story one time when my parents took me along to the Salvation Mission in Sioux Falls SD. Little did I realize back then that I would preach in the one in Sioux City as an adult 3 decades later. The story was a testimony of one of the residents at the mission.

Your story actually inspired mine. As I was reading it the first time, the last line of mine popped into my head, and from that grew my story (backwards as it happened, which was a first for me).
 
Congrats to Daysman.


Thanks Chrispy and Littlestar for the shortlists.

I think I've had this message here for a day and not realised I hadn't sent. I think I'm going senile.
 
Ack, sorry I missed the vote. I was playing catch up all month on this challenge and thought I had more time! Congratulations @Daysman on a worthy win.
 
Many congratulations on a very strong win, after what looked like a neck-and-neck race, but then turned into a breakaway victory in the home stretch.

No disrespect to Daysman, but I wonder whether a number of people that can't decide on who to vote for maybe just see which way the wind blows and go with a populist vote. Certainly if I had hummed and harred a while, something as simple as that could have swayed me. I definitely debated extensively on the merits of my shortlist of 4. It would be interesting to see statistics on when the votes actually came in (although someone would have to produce them first)!
 
But often the final race is between two or even three who have several posts a piece. Or sometimes someone takes a big lead at the beginning and keeps it throughout . . . or loses it almost at the last minute.

Really, the whole thing is unpredictable, and trying to figure out a winning strategy by going over the results of only a few months—or even many months—is highly unlikely to work. For a few months winners may be the humorous stories submitted in the first day or two, and then next time something profound in tone, and posted on the final day, garners a dozen votes. The following winner is dark and grim, submitted mid-challenge, and the winner after that is a sentimental piece entered days earlier the next month. Sometimes people vote for a story because it has a clever title (sometimes even more clever than the story), and sometimes they will vote for an entry because it references their favorite childhood toy.

But in the end, it works out that the people who win the most often are those who consistently produce the best stories (TJ, HareBrain, TDZ, Culhwch, mosaix, etc.), although even they have months when they don't get a single vote.
 
But often the final race is between two or even three who have several posts a piece. Or sometimes someone takes a big lead at the beginning and keeps it throughout . . . or loses it almost at the last minute.

Really, the whole thing is unpredictable, and trying to figure out a winning strategy by going over the results of only a few months—or even many months—is highly unlikely to work. For a few months winners may be the humorous stories submitted in the first day or two, and then next time something profound in tone, and posted on the final day, garners a dozen votes. The following winner is dark and grim, submitted mid-challenge, and the winner after that is a sentimental piece entered days earlier the next month. Sometimes people vote for a story because it has a clever title (sometimes even more clever than the story), and sometimes they will vote for an entry because it references their favorite childhood toy.

But in the end, it works out that the people who win the most often are those who consistently produce the best stories (TJ, HareBrain, TDZ, Culhwch, mosaix, etc.), although even they have months when they don't get a single vote.

I always miss the call for the underlying subconscious theme for the month. I post funny when it's grim, grim when it's sentimental and sentimental when it's funny.

Hence, it taking over 9 years for me to get a win and even then the forum conspired against me :LOL:

I'm awful at reading textual body language.
 
No disrespect to Daysman, but I wonder whether a number of people that can't decide on who to vote for maybe just see which way the wind blows and go with a populist vote. Certainly if I had hummed and harred a while, something as simple as that could have swayed me. I definitely debated extensively on the merits of my shortlist of 4. It would be interesting to see statistics on when the votes actually came in (although someone would have to produce them first)!
I tend to go the other way. If I have a couple I’m finding impossible to separate, and one is going to be a clear winner and the other has no votes. I will cheer someone up with what might be a cherished vote. Knowing that a single vote for me is like a win itself. Understand, this is not a pity vote, it is a well earned vote!

Happily on this outing, I backed the winner, and from memory was one of the first to do so. Loved that story @Daysman

Well done to all.
Now on to the anniversary challenge which I’m determined to have a crack at.
 
But often the final race is between two or even three who have several posts a piece. Or sometimes someone takes a big lead at the beginning and keeps it throughout . . . or loses it almost at the last minute.

Really, the whole thing is unpredictable, and trying to figure out a winning strategy by going over the results of only a few months—or even many months—is highly unlikely to work. For a few months winners may be the humorous stories submitted in the first day or two, and then next time something profound in tone, and posted on the final day, garners a dozen votes. The following winner is dark and grim, submitted mid-challenge, and the winner after that is a sentimental piece entered days earlier the next month. Sometimes people vote for a story because it has a clever title (sometimes even more clever than the story), and sometimes they will vote for an entry because it references their favorite childhood toy.

But in the end, it works out that the people who win the most often are those who consistently produce the best stories (TJ, HareBrain, TDZ, Culhwch, mosaix, etc.), although even they have months when they don't get a single vote.

I did just actually look back at the last few from before I joined, and you are of course spot on. I guess it's good that there so much diversity across the board (content AND opinion). It will also be interesting to see what trends are found in April's entries. I jotted down a couple of ideas, and one of them was immediately guilty of having a thematic tie to the current coronavirus crisis, whether intentional or not. Suddenly, what I thought had been a good idea instantly became something I didn't want to touch for potential insensitivity - again, whether intended or not. I suspect we may see a lot more stories of hope and humanity, less about cynicism.
 
Suddenly, what I thought had been a good idea instantly became something I didn't want to touch for potential insensitivity - again, whether intended or not.

I doubt seriously that any story would be considered too controversial that dealt with the present virus. In fact thinking about it, I'm hard put to come up with any story, which was clearly a story, would be too controversial. Maybe certain words could put it beyond the pale.
 
I doubt seriously that any story would be considered too controversial that dealt with the present virus. In fact thinking about it, I'm hard put to come up with any story, which was clearly a story, would be too controversial. Maybe certain words could put it beyond the pale.
I guess it's all about interpretation. We live in probably the most socially sensitive era of mankind, and one person might find a story to be sage, timely and poignant, whilst another might think it insensitive and poorly timed.

Either way, this month feels like one I won't rush an entry into and I'll probably gauge the tone of other entries first.
 

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