I'll say a little bit about "Blight". I had a hard deciding whether to name it "Light" or "Blight". It is a story about the futility of the spoken "word" to connect with what is really going on with people in church. The irony is that the most mature theology of the group (little Sammy's) is from a kid who is autistic and who is relating to an inanimate object (ceiling fan). So therein was my struggle. Sammy is "light" on some level, but he is in an environment of "blight."
Thanks for reading and considering.
Edgar's Night Class was more for my benefit than yours. But I'll say a little more and keep it to under 1500 words. It was a revenge tale that blended the theme of opposites on many levels. The past vs the present. The intellect vs the instinctive, technology vs cunning, Cadillac vs John Deere. Arrogance vs simplicity. Edgar keeps returning to childhood images of terror and relates them to his need for closure with this one character from his past. In many ways he deprives his victim of a trace to his past by removing the GPS system. I think Edgar will still be haunted by his past and perception of himself as a "double-wide" person.
The post that was quoted here has been removedIt does not surprise me at all that BDN wrote Midnight Special. It all makes sense now, in that special BDN Man of International Mystery Kind of Way.
I'm surprised by Nordlys entry. It was more emotional than I thought was her style. I tried to pin down her entry. I could not, unless it was Percival's Sandwich but still, no. That's really excellent.
Well done everybody. It was not easy to pick three! I really want to know who the other writers are.
Originally posted by pawnhandlerYeah, I just didn't get that, which is reflected in my criticism. It is quite hard to be both subtle and clear.
Congrats to everyone!! I realized too late that Dealer's Choice was too subtle for the audience, but I ran out of word count before I could be blunt about there being a body in the freezer (thus the food on the counter and Aaron's obsession with the freezer). Oh, well.
Thanks to those who commented on and/or voted for my entries:
Slime was written from scratch for the competition. I think the lack of originality (flushable content!) in the premise was a point well made by critics. It didn't make the top four but it must have come quite close.
Unleashed was (highly) edited from a scene from an unfinished novel (doesn't everyone have one?). I was surprised how well it did, and also at the uncannily astute comments that some have made. In short: A violent incident has robbed our hero of his entire family, an event that plunges him into an almost catatonic state. The mental transformation that occurs in the piece becomes, in part, his way of dealing with his loss. Initially it enables him to regain control of his life, but ultimately launches him on a disastrous and pathological course.
It was good fun. Thanks to catfoodtim for organising.
Originally posted by pawnhandlerI got all that.
Congrats to everyone!! I realized too late that Dealer's Choice was too subtle for the audience, but I ran out of word count before I could be blunt about there being a body in the freezer (thus the food on the counter and Aaron's obsession with the freezer). Oh, well.
Although I had to read it twice.
I voted for it #1.
I thought it was the most intriguing piece written.
I guess I will have to go back and re-read the top 3. I didn't think that much of them the first time through except for bits and pieces.
Not surprised that one was written by Nordlys as I said in my blind comments it very much reminded me of "A Beautiful Mind"
Originally posted by pawnhandlerI thought you did a great job. I liked the tale and have reread it several times.
Congrats to everyone!! I realized too late that Dealer's Choice was too subtle for the audience, but I ran out of word count before I could be blunt about there being a body in the freezer (thus the food on the counter and Aaron's obsession with the freezer). Oh, well.
Originally posted by GatecrasherYou mean I voted for both of your entries? Weird.
Slime was written from scratch for the competition. I think the lack of originality (flushable content!) in the premise was a point well made by critics. It didn't make the top four but it must have come quite close.
Unleashed was (highly) edited from a scene from an unfinished novel (doesn't everyone have one?). I was surprised how well it did, and also at the uncannily astute comments that some have made.
Slime finished in 5th place with 13 points.
Regards
#1 fan
Congratulations Bosse de Nage. I had no idea which entry was yours. I'll have a reread and discuss it with you further.
Congratulations Noodles! The first three times I read your entry I had no idea that it was yours. As I said to you in private, your writing has improved a lot! Well done.
Congratulations Gatecrasher, aka the second South African in the top three! My vote reflects my opinion of your work in this round.
Thank you to all the other participants for making this round so weird and wonderful. This definitely goes down as one of the more interesting prose competitions we've had.
I wrote Burnt Toast, and, I didn't mention it in the prose, but it's entirely factual. The incident where I was driving happened around 8 years ago and I still think about what I should have done, so for me it was a bit of a cathartic branding of this event somewhere outside of my mind. I'm still confused by it. I included "Ren"'s spelunking as he is sort of like the impulsive Fortinbras to my impotent Hamlet.
Congrats to the winners! Great job everyone.
Mine was "The Interview". I didn't expect everyone to pick up on the Abraham Lincoln reference, but he just sort of worked with the idea I had running around in my head (originally, I'd planned on using John Lennon). Lincoln supposedly had a dream about his own assassination right before it happened.
There are references throughout to Lincoln and the events that surrounded his assassination, but the reader wasn't intended to pick up on them until the very end when his wife Mary stirred him to remind them of their evening at the theater.
The parts where Lincoln spoke were actual quotes from Lincoln. I think if I'd reworded them a bit, it might have flowed better.
The last part where he closes the bedroom door "leaving a part of himself behind for posterity" refers to the Lincoln bedroom in the White House which is said to be haunted by Lincoln's ghost.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Thanks to the judges for putting this together. It was a lot of fun.