RHP Prose Competition 2020 - stories and voting thread

@torunn said
A Reason to Live - 'The Scarlet Letter' comes to mind.

Precisely Torunn. A great correlation.

I'd written in my notes: "The Lord of the Rings" meets the "Scarlet Letter". Or more specifically, "Strider runs off with Hester Prynne".

@moonbus said
@Ponderable

I would like to suggest 1,000 words next time. Several authors' stories would have benefitted from more detail, more background, to fill them out.

Of course, there can still be a micro-fiction contest with fewer words, for the very terse.

Many moons ago, my Professor was very insistent upon the process of thesis and story-line refinement.

The emphasis on "rendering to essence" is especially important when it comes to limitations on the quantity of words allowed in an essay.

I think an increase to 1000 words would be beneficial to the writers, although, not necessarily to the readers.

@moonbus said
My story, Dogma, was inspired by two things.

1. A painting by Robert Indermaur, who lived in Chur, Switzerland (I once lived there, which is how I came to know of his work). A reproduction of the painting is posted at:

http://www.crumplezone.de/indermaur.htm

2. A Start Trek episode titled "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky." It tells the story of a c ...[text shortened]... owever incoherent and inchoate.

Given 200 more words, I might have fixed this lacuna in my story.

Thank you. I really enjoyed Dogma. I thought it was the best written story. I felt your prose had a natural rhythm and flow and found it very kafkaesque.

I liked the painting - reminded me of the many faced gods in game of thrones. The artist reminded me of an artist/architect Wenzel Hablik.

@wolfe63 said
Many moons ago, my Professor was very insistent upon the process of thesis and story-line refinement.

The emphasis on "rendering to essence" is especially important when it comes to limitations on the quantity of words allowed in an essay.

I think an increase to 1000 words would be beneficial to the writers, although, not necessarily to the readers.

My writing mentor (my father, incidentally, a technical writer of software manuals) taught me the following three rules of prose:

1. Eliminate redundancy.

2. Eliminate redundancy.

3. Eliminate redundancy.

@moonbus said
My writing mentor (my father, incidentally, a technical writer of software manuals) taught me the following three rules of prose:

1. Eliminate redundancy.

2. Eliminate redundancy.

3. Eliminate redundancy.

😀
Now that's some fatherly advice worth repeating.

@wolfe63 said
😀
Now that's some fatherly advice worth repeating.

No. Only once.

@neilarini

Thank you for your comments.

@Ponderable

Can you tell us how many votes were cast in the final round, and how many separated the final four entries ?

@moonbus said
@Ponderable

Can you tell us how many votes were cast in the final round, and how many separated the final four entries ?

Actually you can see for yourself:



20 votes 30% or 6 votes to each of the joint winners and 4 each to the two stories having been first palced in the first round.