Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 5, 2014 - 9:48pm
Fiona Schwartz is Fucking Pissed by Doug Black
41% (7 votes)
Before the Pearl by Jonathan Riley
59% (10 votes)
Total votes: 17

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 6, 2014 - 3:41am

Well done, JR, well done. You're right, that one will be fun to expand. Very cool concept.

One thing we haven't mentioned, do we set a deadline for voting?

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 6, 2014 - 7:21am

The poll is locked in for one week.

PROMPT

T

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 6, 2014 - 5:25am

I can't figure out how to post pics in here. For anyone who reads, the prompt was a nasty-ass drained indoor pool with about a foot of brownish-black water and a wheelchair in the deep end. Plus graffetti on the walls.

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 6, 2014 - 8:46am

Just FYI, guys:  it might be a good idea to repost these files in .doc format.  There are still some cave-people out there who have trouble with the .docx files.

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 6, 2014 - 9:02am

Man, I totally want to dish on what I thought of those two marvelous stories, but I'll wait till the voting is in.  Regardless, way cool, the both of you.  There is some very good writing there, and I'm glad I didn't go to battle with either one of you.

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 6, 2014 - 9:05am

Thanks, Utah. Looking forward to your battle.

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 6, 2014 - 9:07am

Thanks, Utah. On both accounts. Can't wait to read your battle as well. I've switched them out for .doc instead of .docx Hope that appeases the cave dwellers. 

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 6, 2014 - 9:13am

Somebody look at that tally with a different set of eyes.  A moment ago the count was 4-3, and now it's 4-2.  Am I seeing that right, or just going nuts?

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 6, 2014 - 9:18am

Clarification:  I have the super-hero ability of being able to see the actual votes, and I can verify there are seven votes on this poll at the moment.

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 6, 2014 - 9:20am

Weird. I only see a 4-2 count. But I have the poor man's memborship right now. 

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 6, 2014 - 9:28am

After I voted there was a 7 count.  I'll send a message to Kirk and see if he can straighten it out.

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 6, 2014 - 10:35am

SRead's picture
SRead from Colorado is reading Stories June 6, 2014 - 1:06pm

Great stories, you two! Damn. Well done!

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin June 6, 2014 - 1:10pm

Nice stories guys, great prompt Sarah.

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 6, 2014 - 1:40pm

Thanks ladies!

R.Moon's picture
R.Moon from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's Digest June 6, 2014 - 6:16pm

Great stories guys. Funny thing though, I had a serious hankering for a Whopper after I finished reading.

justwords's picture
justwords from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby June 6, 2014 - 6:38pm

Good work, guys! 

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 7, 2014 - 5:32am

Bump

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 7, 2014 - 8:20am

Thanks for reading voting and commenting, Sarah,Em,Moon, and JW. Man this is an exciting match! Keep the reading/voting coming. The Poll's open through Thursday night. Still over 5 days left.

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 7, 2014 - 10:17am

FYI, the vote tally issue is now corrected and accurate.

Kirk...wherever you are, thanks.

Dino Parenti's picture
Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On June 7, 2014 - 10:58am

Love these both! Great work, gents!

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 7, 2014 - 12:12pm

Thanks Dino

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin June 7, 2014 - 1:43pm

Close battle!

Sound's picture
Sound from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt June 7, 2014 - 2:50pm

Fantastic stories, guys. Loved both. 

leah_beth's picture
leah_beth from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once. June 7, 2014 - 7:12pm

Well done fellas!! I voted!!

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 7, 2014 - 8:40pm

thanks sound and leah. bump!

R.Moon's picture
R.Moon from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's Digest June 8, 2014 - 10:12am

Bump

Strange Photon's picture
Strange Photon from Fort Wayne, IN is reading Laurie Anderson lyrics June 8, 2014 - 5:52pm

Bump up the jams, bump it up, or I'll slice your eyelids off.

Sound's picture
Sound from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt June 9, 2014 - 7:05am

bump

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 9, 2014 - 12:12pm

Bump up the volume

R.Moon's picture
R.Moon from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's Digest June 9, 2014 - 7:26pm

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 9, 2014 - 7:40pm

The bump pics might just be the funnest part of this...

justwords's picture
justwords from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby June 9, 2014 - 8:12pm

Bump!

@SP: I love it when you get rough!

@R. Moon: are you holding the pointer?

I really love this community of crazy writers!

Strange Photon's picture
Strange Photon from Fort Wayne, IN is reading Laurie Anderson lyrics June 10, 2014 - 5:59am

We so craycray!!!

Oh, and I will bump yo shit straight up, mofos!

SamaLamaWama's picture
SamaLamaWama from Dallas is reading Something Wicked This Way Comes June 10, 2014 - 9:34am

Awesome stories guys!

Thuggish's picture
Thuggish from Vegas is reading Day of the Jackal June 10, 2014 - 9:43am

i believe this will also be of use to the cavedwellers who doth shun docx files

 

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3

 

 

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 10, 2014 - 10:46am

Thanks Dino Sound Leah and SamaLama and anyone else who read and voted. About 2 and a half days left until the poll closes. Get your votes in. It's a close one.

R.Moon's picture
R.Moon from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's Digest June 10, 2014 - 7:36pm

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin June 11, 2014 - 7:58am

Grigori Black's picture
Grigori Black from US is reading Radium Girls by Amanda Gowin June 11, 2014 - 9:24pm

Bump.

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin June 12, 2014 - 8:07am

                        P

                  M

            U

      B

 

justwords's picture
justwords from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby June 12, 2014 - 8:59pm

Happy Father's Day bump to all you Dads!

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 13, 2014 - 4:20am

So, this one's about to wrap up, and here's a recap:

First, JR seemed surprised and a bit overwhelmed at my challenge.

Second, JR gets sick during the writing phase.

Third, he beats me soundly!

I'd hate to see what he can do heatlhy and with no surprise challenge involved! Well done, JR!

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland June 13, 2014 - 6:38am

Okay guys. Poll is officially closed. Files have been removed and the authors' names are by the titles.

I want to thank Doug for Chalenging me and Sarah for issuing an amazing prompt. I dig my story and can't wait to dig in further. 

I think Dougs story was cool as hell and really well written. Definitely more pollished and complete than mine. Actually 3 votes is a pretty tight race. Besides my 3 way against Sound and Voodooem its the closest match I've been in on either side of the win/lose collumn. I was sweating the whole time. Never felt safe. And for the first couple days I trailed by about 3. Anyway. Thanks to all who read and voted. Fun battle. I'm gearing up for WAR!!!

 

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin June 13, 2014 - 7:22am

Close fights are the best!

Congrats JR :)

 

justwords's picture
justwords from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby June 13, 2014 - 11:45am

I thought you both wrote great stories -- I really enjoyed them!

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry June 13, 2014 - 11:48am

Congratulations to both you guys.  I really liked both stories.  Doug, I loved the voice you used in yours, as well as obvious polish and technical proficiency.  You wrote a helluva clean piece of work in a week.  You're a really awesome writer and I look forward to reading more of your work.

Jonathan, your piece was really trippy.  There's a lot of room to grow with that one.  The piece wasn't as cleaned up as Doug's, and that did initially throw me.  Typically, I'll vote for the cleaner of the stories by default.  However, your story really blew me away with a couple characters I liked, and with a premise the fulfilled a lot of potential and promised a lot more, and so it got my vote.  So, good job.  I'd love to see what this one turns into.

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 13, 2014 - 5:12pm

Thanks Utah!

R.Moon's picture
R.Moon from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's Digest June 14, 2014 - 7:15am

Great stories guys! Enjoyed reading both of them. I'll say though, Doug your story reminded of something Gillian Flynn might write. There was a dark, ominous feeling that was steady throughout the piece. Nicely done.

Jonathan, what I really liked about yours was the voice of the story. Great conversational tone. It was real, consistent, and very well done. Great job!

There were a lot of things I liked about both of the stories, but for the sake of brevity, those are the things that stuck out most to me.

Excellent job, fellas!

Matt A.'s picture
Matt A. June 14, 2014 - 11:38am

Thanks Moon!