Thank you very much for voting:
Bosse de Nage,
cashthetrash,
wucky,
royalchicken,
reader1107,
rbmorris,
sonhouse
(rbmorris, I took only your top three.)
Here's the current table of scores:
5: To My Readers (5 points)
4: Ophidian Unconquered (12 points)
3: The Winning Entry (14 points)
2: The Floating Girl (19 points)
1: A Walk On White Lake (20 points)
(voting closes on 1 April)
1. The Winning Entry (not the best prose, but very pretentious)
2. A Walk on White Lake
3. The Floating Girl (I guess the pretentiousness in this one is along the lines of "ah, those simple-minded people have such an easy life, but I am a much deeper person". I liked how pretentiousness was disguised in self-hatred here.)
1. Ophidian Unconquered
2. To my readers
3. The winning entry
Pretentious [...] 2: intended to attract notice and impress others;
- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
The way the falcon attempts to impress and seduce the viper (through dancing) is one way of being pretentious. I think it was incredibly well written (a refreshing way of using the word pretentious) and I enjoyed it tremendously. Thanks to whomever wrote that. 🙂
Originally posted by stockenI think you're misunderstanding the point of the competition. The theme does not specifically imply that the writer is to tell a story wherein pretension may be attributed to a certain subject or action. The theme implies more that the writers should themselves attempt to be pretentious. I think that you are taking a synonym of pretentious, i.e. ostentatious, and assuming the latter's meaning applies also to the former.
1. Ophidian Unconquered
2. To my readers
3. The winning entry
Pretentious [...] 2: intended to attract notice and impress others;
- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
The way the falcon attempts to impress and seduce the viper (through dancing) is one way of being pretentious. I think it was incredibly well written (a refreshing way of using the word pretentious) and I enjoyed it tremendously. Thanks to whomever wrote that. 🙂
To be pretentious is to create a false appearance of great importance or worth.
Originally posted by hopscotch"Ophidian Unconquered" was hilariously, mind-numbingly pretentous. Whoever wrote that, is either very funny, very annoying, or some combination of the two. 😉 Regardless, he/she is a very talented writer.
I think you're misunderstanding the point of the competition. The theme does not specifically imply that the writer is to tell a story wherein pretension may be attributed to a certain subject or action. The theme implies more that the writers should themselves attempt to be pretentious. I think that you are taking a synonym of pretentious, i.e. [i] ...[text shortened]... the former.
To be pretentious is to create a false appearance of great importance or worth.
I was looking for a pretentious writing style. The narrator didn't necessarily have to be a braggart, like in "The Winning Entry". Nothing against "The Winning Entry". All were well-written. I just thought the subtle pretension of "Ophidian Unconquered", far outshined all the others. Personally, I think pretentious behaviour is funniest when the person acting that way, seems totally unaware of it.
Anyway, that's my take. I'm better than all of you.
I just want to say that there is not one composition in this composite that deserves to be at the bottom of any list. Every entry was well written and showed different styles. Every one of these authors did a wonderful job and should be applauded. Even though by nature I am a critical person. I have a hard time being critical in this case. And of all critics, I am proud to be at the top of the list. All were an extraordinarily enjoyable read and I urn for more. 😏
Originally posted by cashthetrashThat'll urn you.
I just want to say that there is not one composition in this composite that deserves to be at the bottom of any list. Every entry was well written and showed different styles. Every one of these authors did a wonderful job and should be applauded. Even though by nature I am a critical person. I have a hard time being critical in this case. And of all cr ...[text shortened]... to be at the top of the list. All were an extraordinarily enjoyable read and I urn for more. 😏
Originally posted by hopscotchHmm. In that case, I have clearly misunderstood the point of the competition, too. And in my eyes, the only entry which fits your description is "The Winning Entry".
I think you're misunderstanding the point of the competition. The theme does not specifically imply that the writer is to tell a story wherein pretension may be attributed to a certain subject or action. The theme implies more that the writers should themselves attempt to be pretentious.
Originally posted by NordlysIn my opinion all of the entries are pretentious, some moreso than others, maybe, but that is not for one such as myself to judge.
Hmm. In that case, I have clearly misunderstood the point of the competition, too. And in my eyes, the only entry which fits your description is "The Winning Entry".
edit: elaboration:
To be pretentious is to create a false appearance of great importance or worth.
To write pretentiously is to create a false appearance of great importance or worth of one's writing.
Originally posted by hopscotchAh. So the writers shouldn't attempt to create a false appearance of great importance or worth of themselves (as you first suggested), but of their writing. I still don't entirely understand what that means or how it would apply to the entries, though. 😳
In my opinion all of the entries are pretentious, some moreso than others, maybe, but that is not for one such as myself to judge.
edit: elaboration:
To be pretentious is to create a false appearance of great importance or worth.
To write pretentiously is to create a false appearance of great importance or worth of one's writing.
Originally posted by hopscotchWell, I looked it up again. Pretentious and ostentatious are synonyms, as you suggest. Meaning, they are interchangeable. I could have used either one of them and say the exact same thing (although one word may be more appropriate than the other based on context).
I think that you are taking a synonym of pretentious, i.e. ostentatious, and assuming the latter's meaning applies also to the former.
According to a friend of mine (who is by no means an authority on the subject, but definitely more adept at english than me) pretentious can be used to describe someone who's trying to draw attention by acting in a noticable manner in order to make an impression on someone else for whatever reason (to seem important or otherwise). Is that a wrong definition of the word?
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So, the idea was not to write a piece where a character within the text appear pretentious, but for the author him/herself to appear that way?
The way I see it, they could have written just about anything that had fancy words in it, forcing an alien goof like me to start flipping pages in my dictionaries. You don't suppose you could make the "theme" more clear next time?