Discussion -- October 2011 Challenge

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Yes, they have to be full stories in and of themselves, not outlines.

[nixie]

The amount of horror I've read and watched over the years, you would think I could come up with something. Maybe I should eat a plateful of cheese before bed.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Or if the cheese itself isn't enough ...

"an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato".

That might do it.

[Ursa major]

I'm not sure nixie wants to wait until Christmas Eve for her inspiration.


(She'd be too late for December's challenge by then.)

[The Judge]

And we don't want something that is more of gravy than the grave...

[Perpetual Man]

Stuck between two at the moment, a full out horror, and something a little different and as always can't make up me mind about it.

Must be really indecisive this month though, because I think this is the latest I've gone without posting in ages.

[Culhwch]

Hey Perp, perhaps you and I got ensnared in something like one of those crazy body-swapping comedies. If so, you should be due to be hit by inspiration a few hours prior to deadline. But don't worry, you'll manage to get something down!

Originally Posted by Hex

Gah. I was almost-completely sure who I was going to vote for this month (I know, I know -- hence 'almost completely' but I didn't see how anyone was going to beat Cul's story) and then HareBrain muddies the waters. Now I'll have to think

This is high praise indeed - even if you don't wind up voting for me, it made my day to read it!

[Perpetual Man]

Originally Posted by Culhwch

Hey Perp, perhaps you and I got ensnared in something like one of those crazy body-swapping comedies. If so, you should be due to be hit by inspiration a few hours prior to deadline. But don't worry, you'll manage to get something down!

I hope not - knowing what I'm like I'll get hit by inspiration, get the thing jotted down. Fall asleep and wake up thinking, what a magnificent idea that's bound to garner a few vo.... AAAAGH! I didn't post it, what a nightmare!!!

and onto the next batch of comments:

Chel - Something quite unsettling about this one. There was a genuine feeling of claustrophobia of being trapped in something he could not control, but what made it even more interesting was the fact that it was being controlled by someone on the outside of the dream. What an interesting and entertaining interpretation of the same.

pyan - I really liked the idea of this one, that someone's life could be so boring and monotonous that they would be prepared to take on and almost anticipate the dreams with excitement, knowing that there was more of a thrill in them to the mundane could ever produce. Excellent entry.

Highlander - one of the things that has come across really well with this challenge, is a reminder that nightmares do not have to be dreams, they can also be horrific situations that lend themselves to the term. This tale really encapsulates that, there can be very little less horrifying and not only being trapped beneath a pile of bodies with a horrendous state getting closer and closer, not only those bodies being comrades that being friends too. Another excellent entry.

hopewrites - in some ways this entry is very similar to pyan’s, but at the same time it takes the idea in another direction which is one of the wonders of the 75 word challenge. Here the nightmare is life itself and the escape is not waiting at least not in a physical sense, rather it is the understanding that no matter how bad the situation is you can always walk away and start again. An excellent first story.

Parson-this is one of the stories that I was waiting to read after so many comments have been made about it. I had a vague idea that something similar but would not dreamed of writing it after seeing this one. The nail is firmly hit on the head and Parson really catches that uncomfortable, and quench need when you just cannot wait any longer. The payoff itself is uncomfortable, true to life and somehow amusing at the same time probably because it is so real.

Talysia - a rather interesting attempt, is a great idea at its core a malignant being that feeds off the negative energy of nightmares, that it itself inserts into the minds of its sleeping victims. The fact that it prefers the essence of the creative types is almost certainly going to resonate with most of the people reading the short stories. I would not say it put a shiver down my spine but it certainly gave me a peak of thrill while I was reading the story.

HareBrain - a well executed and written story that might have been slightly influenced by films like Inception, but most certainly has a life of its own in its own right, especially the ultimate payoff. It felt to me like a dark humour, and genuine nightmarish situation where you get the feeling one after another so called rescuers go into the mind of the sleeper only to be dragged in and trapped themselves in an endless iteration of failed rescues. Another superb entry.

Varangian - a rather simple and straightforward idea, but as always it is these kind of ideas which hit the mark. There is nothing here of dreams or living nightmares, instead we literally have a creature that could have stepped from a twisted dream. It leaves a solid and strong image in the mind and gives a different interpretation of the theme, fresh and dramatic.

[Highlander]

Perp Man
Thanks for your positive comments! - really appreciated!

Yes, reality can sometimes be a nightmare just as much as any horrific dream.

[Talysia]

Thanks for the comments, PM.

[nixie]

I think I've got an idea, although not sure if it will count as sci fi

[nixie]

Posted before I changed my mind.

[hopewrites]

@ nixie: oh i like it.

thanks Prepetual Man, after i posted it i realized it was too autobiographical to be fantasy. and the one change i did make didnt really lend enough mystery to make the reader think something that wasnt true.

[HareBrain]

Originally Posted by Perpetual Man

HareBrain - a well executed and written story that might have been slightly influenced by films like Inception, but most certainly has a life of its own in its own right, especially the ultimate payoff. It felt to me like a dark humour, and genuine nightmarish situation where you get the feeling one after another so called rescuers go into the mind of the sleeper only to be dragged in and trapped themselves in an endless iteration of failed rescues. Another superb entry.

Thanks, Perp. I actually know almost nothing about the film Inception -- the idea for my entry was taken from my current WIP -- and was horrified to realise a day after posting why my title sounded vaguely familiar!

[pyan]

Thanks for the comments, Perp and TJ...