Oct '10 Flash Fiction Contest

MrBF1V3 said:
Actually for my job it's just fine, I'm just not allowed to use my own lap top on their wifi--snobs.

B5
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Ditto, and good job too or I'd never get any writing done ;)

Think I'm going to have to sit the FF out this month, nothing's really coming to mind and I'm busy with the main project at the moment.
 
ugh...

I was going to focus all of my energy on the short story contest, but two days ago a new idea came to me... and I spent all of my work day yesterday thinking about this idea, sort of writing it in my head. I got home last night and wrote over 1100 words. Now i'm faced with a dilemma:

I was going to make this my flash fiction entry, but I just don't think there's any way I can compress it into 950 words. I'm not sure I would want to cut anything out anyway.

But this story, with a bit of tweaking, could fit into the horror short story contest in replace of the story i've been working on since the end of august.

I'm very annoyed with myself. Do I try and write both stories and enter both contests? Or do I toss out a story that's been a month and a half in the making and replace it with one that I feel is a far superior story, that's only been two days in the making? I'm not sure what I want to do.
 
norm said:
I was going to make this my flash fiction entry, but I just don't think there's any way I can compress it into 950 words. I'm not sure I would want to cut anything out anyway.
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Try giving it to someone else and tell them to cut it down. You might not agree with what they do, but it might give you some ideas.
 
JunkMonkey said:
Try giving it to someone else and tell them to cut it down. You might not agree with what they do, but it might give you some ideas.
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I sort of went in the opposite direction yesterday by adding another thousand words, and the story still has holes to be filled. I think i'll do what tmso suggested. I thought my previous WIP was decent until this new idea came to me, now the old story seems like crap in comparison. I only feel interested in finishing the new story now.
 
Hi everyone

Here is my entry:

Fight or Flee

After reading a few of the others I think I need to start pushing myself a bit more, as my stories tend to fall on the 'safe' side of speculative fiction. Some of the other entries are marvelous in their imagination.

Thanks everyone
 
Looks like I'm not going to be able to get anything together for this one. My wife's grandfather passed away last weekend and between that and our one year anniversary, this month has just vanished on me.
 
DailyRich said:
Looks like I'm not going to be able to get anything together for this one. My wife's grandfather passed away last weekend and between that and our one year anniversary, this month has just vanished on me.
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Somebody's putting WAY too much importance on an anniversary. DR, I can help you if you need to re-prioritize your life.

Sympathies for y'alls loss.
 
Under Construction.

My story is under construction. I had some ideas tonight but haven't time to revise. Well, if I didn't want to sleep, I would have time, but... It's out there in stories, not sure if anyone wants to consider it an official entry if I don't make the revisions. If you see this thread with a link to the story, then I'm calling it done.

Anyway.

--Brian.

AUG! IT ATE MY SECOND DRAFT@#$#@!

Ok. Call it good enough. I had some better stuff between Francis and Tiberius but the site ate it. Here's the link.


Oct - 22. Dang. Here I thought there were like six stories total. Turns out I missed five others on the second page of the thread. I've got some reading / rating to do still. I guess there's time.
 
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DailyRich said:
Looks like I'm not going to be able to get anything together for this one. My wife's grandfather passed away last weekend and between that and our one year anniversary, this month has just vanished on me.
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Hey Rich, sorry to hear about your loss.

Enjoy your family and we'll be expecting a winner from ya next month.

Cheers
 
Not going to make this one I'm afraid. That's three months in a row. Going to have to get it together for November.
Cheers all and may the best story prevail.
 
Been giving it a lot of thought. Here's the thing: MrBF1V3 has every right to define the rules of the game. Posting an exception to his rules fits in with my own arrogance but not with the rules. I am therefore disqualified and my story is withdrawn from the competition.
I'm gonna leave it up there though. The point of the story was not original with me but one I think needs to be repeated as often as possible. What we have grown accustomed to on our home world is not necessarily the norm. There are other possibilities. Asimov once wrote an essay on what a silicon-based life form might look like. It would not look like a the carbon-based forms we know.
We have this major flaw in our DNA; we cannot seem to abide the other. It doesn't matter what constitutes the other: race, religion, sex, family affiliation, political affiliation. All that matters is that the other is always ugly to us.
That needs to change before we meet the truly alien.
 
HE I accepted your exception and was neither upset nor surprised by it. I choose to treat it like another flaw--not using punctuation, not addressing the subjedct at hand, etc. I added the lower limit in this competition because I hear enough "I can't write or edit a story down to..." In fact you can. (You being generic.) I've had stories published in a market that requires 100 words or less. (Considered that lower limit, chose against it.) It's not easy, but it can be done.

I would not require you to withdraw, in fact, I would rather you left your story in the mix, but you make the decision. I've put in my two cents.

B5
 
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