Discussion Thread -- JULY 2020 -- 300-Worder Writing Challenge (#38)

[Ursa major]

This quarter's 300 Worder is up!


This 300-word Challenge thread, just like its predecessors, is closed until the 10th of the month, to allow for a pause with reflection and polishing for those who are otherwise too tempted to post in haste and may regret at leisure. But though you can't post any story till the 10th, there's no embargo on talking about the Challenge.

Also as ever, the image is there to provide inspiration. There's no obligation whatsoever -- nada -- to reference it, let alone "explain" it. If it inspires you, that's more than enough.


So do what you must to get your muse up and running!

 

[Joshua Jones]

Great image; thanks K2 for supplying it!

I don't have a story yet... but I do have a feeling. Might yet turn into an idea...

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Great photo, @-K2-, with wonderful atmosphere. I'm percolating!!

 

[Phyrebrat]

Oooooohh.

 

[Starbeast]

@-K2- Wonderful photo.

@Ursa major I wanted to click a "Like" in the post area (opening on the 10th). but saw a bunch of Mini-Ursas peering around corners in my home. I smiled at them and said, "Just kidding."

 

[Rafellin]

Writing any story I can inveigle out of the storymaking engine in my head... Is still guaranteed to fall short of the sheer beauty of that photo.

Then again, what's new? Game on.

 

[BT Jones]

I'm not normally a fan of "contre-jour" photos, but it must be said @-K2-, yours is astonishingly vivid - all the more so for being black and white.

 

[Ursa major]

The Challenge is now open.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Well there's mine.
I post early mainly because the stories won't leave me alone if I don't. I even ended up making two edits after I posted (I think I'm an editor at heart). But now the hour's almost done, and I'll be able to rest easy again, soon.

Looking forward to reading all the stories, CC

 

[Trollheart]

I knew what I was going to write as soon as I saw the picture. Sure, it's kind of one of my other stories re-purposed, but there's no law against plagiarising yourself, is there?

Incidentally, I agree: excellent photo K2. Kind of like you see on a lot of those Ambient Black Metal album covers.

 

[BT Jones]

I've said it before, but the 300-worders feel like such a luxury. There's me tapping away and then groaning to myself at how I've surely blown over the limit already (in a manner of speaking) only to find I've still got 127 words left!! Of course, then it gets away from you and you end up on 298 words with still two lines to go and find yourself wishing for 400 words!!!

 

[Guttersnipe]

It's just not the same without the summaries.

 

[Ashleyne]

It's been a while since I entered a 300 Worder. I took one look at the picture and my muse knocked ten bells out of me.

 

[Joshua Jones]

It's been a while since I entered a 300 Worder. I took one look at the picture and my muse knocked ten bells out of me.

Me too, except a look at the picture gave me a feeling... and then my muse fled to a beach community somewhere and sent me a postcard with a Mai Tai in one hand and obscene gesture on the other... I blackmailed her into giving me one story for the 75 worder, but we will see about the 300...

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Rafellin: What most distinguishes this subtle psychological study is the way it effortlessly blends far-ranging science fiction with an intimate human tragedy. The contrast between the very large and the very small, both of great importance, is telling.

Trollheart: This surreal allegory of life and death captivates the reader with a series of compelling sensory images, as it reaches its dramatic conclusion. An allusion to a great work of art adds to its appeal.

BT Jones: A sweeping vision of the far future comes to life in a very short story with enough speculative content to fill an entire novel. By treating an event of immense impact with a calm tone, the author manages to make it seem entirely real.

Guttersnipe: An original premise that seems all too believable leads to an insight into the human heart in this moving tale. The lesson it teaches is a hard one, but necessary.

Cat's Cradle: In a unique way, this story takes an aspect of modern technological society and extrapolates it into a metaphor of the way in which our minds perceive themselves. An introspective fantasy with the flavor of near future science fiction becomes a powerful allegory of anticipation and self-doubt.

Provincial: What seems at first glance to be an entirely realistic account of an ordinary event becomes a profound portrait of universal relevance. The fact that readers perceive the story's depth as through a glass, darkly, adds to its intriguing mystery.

MikeAnderson: Elements of hard science fiction combine with human emotion to create an unusually appealing tale. The author proves to have both the clear vision of a true SF author, and the warm heart of a romantic.

Ashleyne: The reader thinks of the works of the great artists of surrealism while experiencing the strange world of this imaginative story. Like a Dali or Magritte, the author clearly knows that the best way to treat the unreal is with the exacting detail and compulsive accuracy of one who reports on the real.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Please, please have mercy on me for my story's grammatical errors! I was a bit too hasty in posting it.

 

[BT Jones]

@Victoria Silverwolf, I feel astonishingly flattered, thank you so much, but I feel a great debt is due to the inspirational image. @-K2-'s picture has unleashed a veritable tsunami of inspiration from SFFers. Everything I've read so far is shortlist material. I feel genuinely honored to be among such talented company.

 

[Trollheart]

Victoria, I am knocked flat! I know the high high esteem in which everyone holds you here, and it seems rightly so, and for you to say such nice and complimentary things about my little story is, well, I hate using the word but here we go: awesome. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read, and comment, on my tiny little drop in the massive ocean of talent and creativity that's constantly flowing here. I really appreciate it.
(Also, I'm glad you got it: I was afraid some people would not understand the references).

 

[BT Jones]

@Trollheart. As a Floyd fan myself, I feel music - particularly iconic, progressive music - is an endless source of literary inspiration. Two of the chapter titles in my first novel are titled "Sheep" and "Into the Valley of Steel" and are very much fulled by the music I was channeling when I wrote them (and you can probably guess the mood and theme of them on those names alone)!

 

[Trollheart]

That's great BT. I expected Floyd fans would get it, and I think both Syd and Wish You Were Here are iconic enough for people who aren't into them to make the connection, but I did wonder about those who would say "Pink who?" and they might not get it. Of course, it's not for publication or anything (welllll.....) but I was a little apprehensive that some people here might not get it. Not that it bothered me they wouldn't vote for it, that's not the case at all. I'm not all that worried about that. I'm new here and don't expect anyone to vote for me. But when you create something it's gratifying to have readers understand it. You don't want to have to be explaining it, which kind of ruins it.

As for Pink Floyd, yeah. I'm no real fan of the first two albums, and The Endless RIver was, to me, a sad way to end things, but I'm a major fan of everything else. Yes, even Division Bell and Momentary Lapse of Reason!