avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters January 9, 2013 - 10:31am
Far From Home
3% (1 vote)
Observational Harm
7% (2 votes)
If you Squint Your Eyes
0% (0 votes)
The Paredrea
24% (7 votes)
Sandcastles
3% (1 vote)
Blarney
7% (2 votes)
Concrete Dawn
3% (1 vote)
The Runner
0% (0 votes)
The Glass Road
3% (1 vote)
Rum to Whiskey
21% (6 votes)
Baseline
3% (1 vote)
Abattoir Baby
0% (0 votes)
The Getaway Mile
0% (0 votes)
The Fix-It Man
7% (2 votes)
This is the End
0% (0 votes)
Stairs
17% (5 votes)
Total votes: 29

Bekanator's picture
Bekanator from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay Hunter January 9, 2013 - 12:54pm

There were four stories that I really liked this round. One really kept me awake thinking all last night. One wasn't up my usual reading alley, but it was quirky and made me laugh. One brought me back to my childhood a bit. One just really hit home with me.

I picked the one that hit home, because that's kind of how I tend to vote.

So that's me talking about the stories. I'd love to go into more detail but because I'm in this round and anonymity and all, well...

lspieller's picture
lspieller from Los Angeles January 9, 2013 - 2:28pm

you better give us the goods when the vote is over, then!

Emma C's picture
Class Facilitator
Emma C from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah Dawson January 9, 2013 - 4:08pm

I loved several of these for wildly different reasons. Two were absolute gold for me: concept, execution,, dialogue, characters, all so good. One had a stronger ending and that earned my vote in the end. I can't wait to shout out my favourites when this is done. LOVE the amount of speculative work this round!

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like January 9, 2013 - 7:09pm

Went along with the crowd on this one. Some gUd stuff this round.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz January 9, 2013 - 7:57pm

You know - I have no clue what "speculative fiction" means so I had to wikipedia it. I don't know a lot of things. 

Emma C's picture
Class Facilitator
Emma C from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah Dawson January 9, 2013 - 8:35pm

Don't feel bad, I only learned the term in the last few years as a writer in that genre. Shorthand for sci-fi/fantasy/horror and their ilk. You know, crinets and gryphons and Phoenix and the like.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz January 9, 2013 - 8:49pm

Double post edit

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz January 9, 2013 - 8:48pm

When you start spelling gryphon for griffin you're next level.

Emma C's picture
Class Facilitator
Emma C from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah Dawson January 9, 2013 - 9:04pm

Oh, I'm next level. I carry a bag of dice in my handbag.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

*not a joke, I really do carry a d4, d6, d8, d20 and percentile dice with me at all times

 
Ian's picture
Ian from Texas is reading Low Down Death Right Easy by J. David Osborne January 9, 2013 - 10:34pm

Damn... I had a very difficult time choosing between The Paradrae, Rum to Whiskey, The Fix-It Man, and Stairs. Great work this round.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz January 9, 2013 - 10:41pm

Each time I click on this thread I read Observational Harm as Observational Ham and all I can think is how I want to try some Observational Ham. I imagine it's a step below Holiday Ham but better than your run-of-the-mill Emergency Ham. 

Matt's picture
Matt from New Zealand is reading This is how you lose her by Junot Diaz January 10, 2013 - 1:52am

Rum to Whiskey is great. I wish I'd written it.

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin January 10, 2013 - 2:39am

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters January 10, 2013 - 6:08am

"Each time I click on this thread I read Observational Harm as Observational Ham"

When I received that story I honestly thought it was called Observational Ham and I was really curious.

leah_beth's picture
leah_beth from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once. January 10, 2013 - 12:48pm

Voted. Best round yet, in my opinion. There are some REALLY good writers here.

Emma C's picture
Class Facilitator
Emma C from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah Dawson January 10, 2013 - 9:22pm

Ham

TomMartinArt's picture
TomMartinArt from Amherst, MA January 11, 2013 - 9:16am

Bumps n' stuff.

lspieller's picture
lspieller from Los Angeles January 11, 2013 - 9:48am

bump

Richard's picture
Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies January 11, 2013 - 2:03pm

this thread is great, it's keeping me laughing.

Renfield's picture
Renfield from Hell is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 11, 2013 - 2:42pm

I liked all these stories quite a bit. Fewer of them though I felt really worked as flash stories, instead of just kind of truncated versions of good stories. That's the trouble with having to stick to the flash format. I think my top three were that Stairs, Fix-it Man, and Far From Home. I voted Fix-it Man already, but you know what, I'll let it stand that I thought Far From Home was the best flash piece in this batch. Wasn't a whole lot to the flesh of the story, but it was cohesive and had some resolution and some tight writing, which is what flash is supposed to show off. Well actually, all three had all those as well. I don't know. I pick one of these.

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 11, 2013 - 3:22pm

Such great stories this round! I'm right there with you, Ian. I'm struggling here!
 

LOVE the amount of speculative work this round!

 

Agreed! And I do believe I learned the term here, probably from you, La Emme. Your profession of dice love reminds me of how badly I'd lose my shit when people touched my d20 while playing D&D. Goddamn, I hated that! Their grime made my die roll badly. 

Gordon Highland's picture
Gordon Highland from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore January 11, 2013 - 3:46pm

"Rum to Whiskey" for the win. I liked several of them, though not as many as usual this round.

I agree, flash works best when it doesn't try to tell a complete story, but just a "biopsy" as I like to call it, of something larger. That said, once I make my way to The Pit, I'm sure I'll struggle to not just shorten traditional stories (and I'm sure I voted for plenty of those). Plus, if you're mainly here to generate more material for later, it's understandable to take that approach.

Oh, and I'd vote for Em's pic embed up there if'n I could.

Emma C's picture
Class Facilitator
Emma C from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah Dawson January 11, 2013 - 3:54pm

Wonderwoman- I once stole my DM's lucky d20 because it loved to roll natural 20's. I subsequently lost my own lucky d20, and to this day his lucky d20 (a grey one with white numbers) is cursed and rolls nothing over a 2. He was also a total crybaby so he had it coming; I'm not evil. At least, not chaotic evil. Zing!

 
Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 11, 2013 - 5:54pm

Emme, whenever anyone would touch my d20 I'd have a fit & then put it in my mouth. For some odd reason I believed it would clense the unluck from it somehow. We also have some fantastic d6s that are a strange yellow color that we refer to as "the banana dice." They roll so well for when you're rolling up a character! 

Sigh. I really want to play now. 

TomorrowHill's picture
TomorrowHill from Newfoundland, Canada is reading your mind. You like Castlevania, don't you? January 11, 2013 - 6:03pm

I voted for "Rum to Whiskey." A great use of the prompt, awesome concept, and a real lyrical quality to the writing. I'm curious to see who wrote it.

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 11, 2013 - 6:23pm

I'm curious about Rum to Whiskey, too! That was one of my favorites along with Stairs and The Paredrea. Squint Your Eyes also hit home with me since my hometown in RI was hit really bad along the beach when Sandy came through. Lots of tough choices this time. 

TomMartinArt's picture
TomMartinArt from Amherst, MA January 11, 2013 - 7:58pm

Dino Parenti's picture
Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On January 11, 2013 - 10:10pm

Congrats, Otis! And I would like to thank the one kind soul who voted for The Glass Road. 

Dino Parenti's picture
Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On January 11, 2013 - 10:12pm

.

Cures and Remedies's picture
Cures and Remedies from Canada is reading Transubstantiate - Richard Thomas January 11, 2013 - 10:14pm

Big thanks to whoever voted for 'Concrete Dawn'

Emma C's picture
Class Facilitator
Emma C from Los Angeles is reading Black Spire by Delilah Dawson January 11, 2013 - 10:33pm

The Paredrae was top-notch, Otis. Bra-fucking-Vo! If only I could cartwheel my brain with the same elegance. 

Thanks so much for the votes on Rum to Whiskey, you four, and those who chose it in the match. It's amazing something so off-the-cuff and personal resonated so well with you. 

xo

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland January 11, 2013 - 10:35pm

I'm an advocate of everyone commenting on the storries that just closed. I'm only bumping the new ones to get all the unimportant un-war-related threads out of the way. Carry on. Fantastic Round to you all. Honestley don't think our round can top it. Can't wait to find out. Good luck to everyone!

Bekanator's picture
Bekanator from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay Hunter January 12, 2013 - 1:44am

Stairs freaked the shit out of me. My husband worked late the night I read it, so when I went to bed it was just me in the dark thinking about it, trying to comfort myself that the kid ended up decending into another dimension where there's happiness and unicorns and stuff. I mean, fuck, the unknown is so fucking scary. I was telling some of my friends about it on my birthday and they all wanted to read it. So good on you, Tom.

Observational Harm is really not my cup of tea, but it was the story that Martin slaved over. I never know what to expect from Martin and I was still surprised that he could come up with such an interesting concept in such a short amount of time. My favourite part was the ending, where he kind of made a little reference to his own situation in WAR. Great stuff. You've been a great opponent, Martin, and it was fun chatting it up while our battle was going down.

Sandcastles had a bit of humour that I really liked. It brought me back to being a kid again. Not that anybody ever crashed any of my castles, but it was the line about the kids carving out the moat that really brought me back, because when you're a kid that's really the only thing you succeed when you imagine building up a sand castle. Seriously, they're fucking impossible. But rocks? Well...that was the part that made me laugh, was picturing this dude breaking these sandcastles and then breaking his ankle. Bryan, you never stop making me smile.

Rum to Whiskey was the story I ended up voting for. I'm not that old yet. I haven't even really lived the whole young twenty-something life, but when you get older you kind of see how responsibilities pile on and life just becomes this day to day thing as opposed to a chance to sow your wild oats, if you will. It just gripped me in its own way, and I do have to say, Emme, that I've been just super stunned with every one of your WAR stories thus far.

LASTLY, I just want to thank the anonymous voter who picked Far From Home as their favourite story of the round, and to Renfield for the kind comments (and I guess to everyone else for voted for it in my matchup with Martin). Flash is still new to me, so it's nice to know that I'm picking up the format to some extent. 

I'll try not to let you all down in round five, except for Renee, who I must now crush.

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland January 12, 2013 - 1:57am

No more anonymoty. I know I didn't spell that right. Bekka, I voted for Far From Home. The individual match was rough. And the total vote was even harder because I loved many. I was suprised that Martin wrote Observational Harm, while I loved it, it felt like a 10000 word story packed into 1000 words. I loved the world he built and the story he told. I almost wished there were a precurser to the essay to let us know it was an essay, either way, Great story.

I voted for Far From Home, because in my oppinion it was a snapshot of a down to earth yet down on his luck travler, the tone and setting were pitch perfect, I was there and I was him and I met that couple and I pet there dog, and I wanted to be there and I wanted to be home at the same time and I think for a snippet of a story you just grabbed me and I felt it and I didn't want to leave and I didn't want to be there and it was perfect.

wickedvoodoo's picture
wickedvoodoo from Mansfield, England is reading stuff. January 12, 2013 - 2:29am

My top three

- Stairs (this was excellent)

-Far From Home

-Rum To Whiskey

So Tom, Bekka, and Emme - rock the fuck on, warriors!

 

Far From Home is very good. Bekka knows a mean sentence when she see one.

Many thanks to the people that picked Observational Harm, and to Bekka and Jonathan for the kind words. Indeed, my effort came out of a panicked last-minute push. I expected to get destroyed, especially after I read Far From Home, which is in my top three for the round.

So I am more than happy with the result of our duel and delighted it got a couple of voters here. Y'all have convinced me this one is worth keeping and working on some more. Love ya.

The Paredrea was very strange. That one could be fleshed out into a very good short story.

Sandcastles was pure Howie. I knew that was his, like a goddamned idiot ;-)

Rum To Whiskey and This Is The End both had great voices, and are great examples of flash. Those two will find homes, I am sure.

I know Richard was ill and had a tough time with this round. The Fix-It man is all the more impressive for knowing that.

And then STAIRS! - Goddamn, Tom, that is a mean piece of flash. I loved it. Stole my vote here with ease, and is the best result of the WAR flash rounds so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

wickedvoodoo's picture
wickedvoodoo from Mansfield, England is reading stuff. January 12, 2013 - 2:30am

My top three

- Stairs (this was excellent)

-Far From Home

-Rum To Whiskey

So Tom, Bekka, and Emme - rock the fuck on, warriors!

 

Far From Home is very good. Bekka knows a mean sentence when she see one.

Many thanks to the people that picked Observational Harm, and to Bekka and Jonathan for the kind words. Indeed, my effort came out of a panicked last-minute push. I expected to get destroyed, especially after I read Far From Home, which is in my top three for the round.

So I am more than happy with the result of our duel and delighted it got a couple of voters here. Y'all have convinced me this one is worth keeping and working on some more. Love ya.

The Paredrea was very strange. That one could be fleshed out into a very good short story.

Sandcastles was pure Howie. I knew that was his, like a goddamned idiot ;-) Comiserations on the one vote loss there, buddy. Tough call.

Rum To Whiskey and This Is The End both had great voices, and are great examples of flash. Those two will find homes, I am sure.

I know Richard was ill and had a tough time with this round. The Fix-It man is all the more impressive for knowing that.

And then STAIRS! - Goddamn, Tom, that is a mean piece of flash. I loved it. Stole my vote here with ease, and is the best result of the WAR flash rounds so far.

 

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner January 12, 2013 - 4:14am

Thanks whoever voted for Baseline! 

TomMartinArt's picture
TomMartinArt from Amherst, MA January 12, 2013 - 6:24am

thanks people, notably Beka and wicked! the stairs in STAIRS were based on a recurring dream i had when i was between 4 and 10. i've always found it to be a really pleasantly eerie private thought. eerie's just about my favorite thing, and i constantly mourn that horror movies don't chase eerie more often.

THE PAREDREA got my vote, loved it. Not that it could be said that i understood what was going on in the end. i didn't spot whatever linked his memory problem to the issues at hand. or if anything did.

A hearty go-to-hell to my laptop keyboard for not capitalizing much. i hate you, laptop keyboard.

Richard's picture
Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies January 12, 2013 - 4:27pm

thanks, voodoo. yeah, i felt it wasn't my best, but i almost didn't turn anything in. was scrambling up until an hour before deadline. i think i STARTED at 4 pm cst. got lucky. it's a weird little story, not sure if it "worked" as well as i would like it to. thanks for the TWO votes for it, btw. makes me feel like it wasn't a total failure.

Liana's picture
Liana from Romania and Texas is reading Naked Lunch January 12, 2013 - 10:12pm

Matt Attack, that was me!

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like January 12, 2013 - 10:34pm

As hinted, I voted for Otis. I thought Stairs and Sandcastles were both standouts.

Renfield's picture
Renfield from Hell is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 12, 2013 - 10:45pm

thanks, voodoo. yeah, i felt it wasn't my best, but i almost didn't turn anything in. was scrambling up until an hour before deadline. i think i STARTED at 4 pm cst. got lucky. it's a weird little story, not sure if it "worked" as well as i would like it to. thanks for the TWO votes for it, btw. makes me feel like it wasn't a total failure.

This happened to me last round. I had planned out this cool intricate character story and stupidly thought I'd have the whole last day to power through a draft. Got some nasty flu the night before and ended up starting the draft at 6 pm. Had to nick 2/3 of plot lines I'd planned. Have something I'm excited to redraft, none the less. But hey, setting aside the flash constriction and just going on pure story, Fix-it Man was still my favorite, so, Richard on a bad day is still gonna be good fiction.

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 13, 2013 - 7:35am

Tom, I want to hear more about those stairs. How does that hillbilly sleep at night? GAH.

TomMartinArt's picture
TomMartinArt from Amherst, MA January 13, 2013 - 9:04am

Melissa- i saw the prompt and my first thought was to do something in the vein of The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill. i kinda abandoned that, but i knew i wanted a hillbilly in there.

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 13, 2013 - 9:11am

JORDY!!!!

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz January 13, 2013 - 11:20am

Fewer of them though I felt really worked as flash stories, instead of just kind of truncated versions of good stories. That's the trouble with having to stick to the flash format.

I thought my story suffered badly from this and I'm completely unsatisfied with how the ending turned out. I'm sure it doesn't convey what I wanted to. I'm surpised by the response, to be honest. I thought Bill's story had a lot more heart whereas my story may have an interesting concept and some mystery, but feels undeveloped and unresolved. But the point of WAR is to write and I most certainly will be fleshing this out.

If anyone cares to indulge me, what did you get out of the ending, if anything at all? I have a definitive ending/feel in mind, but couldn't execute it the way I would have liked with 1200 words.

The Stairs was my favorite. I wished I'd written it. I love the story within the story. Well done, Tom.

Rum To Whiskey had a resonance with me, being a guy who worked in the corporate world and still likes to blow it out on a friday & saturday night. I still rule. Whatever.

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 13, 2013 - 12:09pm

Otis, it seemed to me that Blackwell was dissatisfied with the answer DuBois gave him about dying with the answers and living only to chase questions being the same thing. So, Blackwell scratched his interview from DuBois's memory and let him continue to chase his questions instead of giving him the answers he sought. Almost like Blackwell reset Lucas's trip to Virginia Beach because he was too close to the answer. 

Eh. Maybe I'm way off, but that's what I took away from it. Like Stairs, I'd love to hear more of the story behind The Paredrae. The whole concept was facinating to me and I loved the mystery of it all. 

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland January 13, 2013 - 12:14pm

I felt the same way as wonder woman, Otis.

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts January 13, 2013 - 12:18pm

HUZZAH. I'm not crazy or anything. 

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz January 13, 2013 - 12:18pm

Actually, yeah. That is what I had in mind.