Discussion - December 2011 - 75 Word Challenge

[mosaix]

I've got a feeling that this is going to take some time...

[TheDustyZebra]

I hope this doesn't take me as long as the VSNAP! I'll be late, if so....

Note to self, add Moonbat to the list that chrispy is on, of people never to vote for under any circumstance, just in case....

[hopewrites]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Aaaah right. I was thinking steamypunk... as in some sort of anti-establishment erotica. With guitars.

i love guitars!!

maybe a new guitar for a toy set in a steamy grimy shop. did any of you see that depressing Pixar short about the unicycle that had a dream?

[Hex]

Oooh steampunk.

Ah and there's a first story. Talk about setting the standard high :|

[Perpetual Man]

Oooh I think I like this, got the bare bones of an idea already...

[Mith]

I saw the theme, got an instant idea and posted before changing my mind! *fingers crossed*

[Moonbat]

So much for a challenge, 6 entries already!!

I knew I should have gone for a Lovecraftian genre.

[Ursa major]

So we'd have to think of toys in the context of the Great Oiled Ones...?








(Amazingly enough, the word string, Great Oiled Ones, cannot yet be found using Google. If asked, I'd have said that there must be an... er... adult version of the Mythos using it.)

[HareBrain]

I'm impressed by Reiver's and Hex's. Quite how Reiver managed to pack so much setting, plot and backstory into 75 words is beyond me. Maybe I should try doing more writing at 4:30 in the morning.

[PolarityMan]

Moonbat, you clearly have one warped mind! Great choice.

[AnyaKimlin]

I missed a word out I swear it was there lol

[Hex]

Originally Posted by HareBrain

I'm impressed by Reiver's and Hex's. Quite how Reiver managed to pack so much setting, plot and backstory into 75 words is beyond me. Maybe I should try doing more writing at 4:30 in the morning.

I have to say I was dubious about posting after reiver's entry and then once I'd written the thing was just as depressed to be posting after yours. I loved your story -- so elegant and civilised (only not) -- and the title was genius.

I agree about reiver's -- how on earth does anyone get that much story into 75 words without it even seeming like he needed more? It's not fair.

Ahh Mith. I like it! The way of the modern world. Who knew santa was so heartless?

Edited to say: Anya -- I hate it when that happens. I always notice once the edit window has passed. At least your missing word doesn't change the meaning!

[Perpetual Man]

Reiver33 – It made m laugh too. A great opening entry to this month’s challenge. You can almost feel the contempt at what has been built, see the graceful toy instead of some intimidating guard forgetting that this is what any would be wrong doers would see at the same time. Deceptive appearances and all that can sometimes be so much more effective than muscle.

HareBrain – There is a delightful, manipulative and childish cruelty in this story. Second one out of the barrel and another cracker. I can almost see the old seadog, with his toy boat, armed and ready, using it as leverage to get the mother to do his will. There is something delightfully nasty in it, well constructed and presented.

Hex – Another startlingly good entry. There is some very good imagery in the presentation, the hidden legacy of the toymaker, the huge Ursa being the last will and testament of a toymaker. Just what else he made that seems to have drawn the soldiers to his warehouse is a matter of delightful speculation, part of what appeals so much in this tale.

Southron Sword – A very interesting one this, reminding me in some ways of the original Toy Story, which is no bad thing. Toys used for more than just play things is probably not uncommon, but seeing them from the toys perspective is always a great device, especially when those toys don’t seem to be happy to lie back and take it.

AnyaKimlin – There is a warmth to this one, that works so well. In just a few words I began to feel a sympathy for these children, and there is a sense of wonder in what they see. I’d like to believe that there was a genuine magic in the toys they saw, rather than just a distraction that took away their woes. Lovely little tale.

Mith – I had a vague idea of using Santa and his reindeer, and having read this one I’m glad I didn’t, because how could it compare to this? Near perfect telling, giving all the information needed, but not really paying off until the end. Well written and perfect timing and the revelation that old “Ho Ho Ho” might be a delight to kids the world over, but when it comes to his reindeer, it’s venison time.

Odangutan – Well Ursa guests in a previous story and now we have mouse, although I’m not sure she would like her apparent fate here! As a whole the story works very well, it took me a moment to realise the protagonist is/was a mouse, which works to the benefit of the tale; while the opening line is so deliciously sinister it radiates a chill. Another excellent tale.

For a month that initially had a lot of apprehension, the stories seem to be coming in fast and furious, and they are all excellent. Different from one another, while catching the theme perfectly. I’m mightily impressed. (I also have to say that in that odd way of synchronicities, two of the stories back to back, followed some of the ideas I was thinking along – totally different at the same time.) Very entertaining.

[nixie]

Mmm, well I know what steam punk is after asking Teresa a few years back but I think I'll struggle this month.

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

I think TE should be able to do fairly well with it, once she gets an entry. She's already experienced in writing steampunk, at least.


I'm trying to come up with an idea myself. I think I could get into the steampunk part, to be honest, but the theme is locking my gears in place....