Theme - "Impossible Thing"

Simply have your story include something that would normally be impossible, whether act, item, or whatever, within the confines of the world it operates in. This thing doesn't have to be successful or real, it could turn out to fake, but needs to be included. You can also build your story around some normal item being impossible and how the world would turn out as a result, like a world without ice cream... or whatever.

Word Limit: 1200.

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, 9/3 by 11:59 PM Pacific.

Voting begins Thursday, 9/4, and goes until Saturday, 9/6 at 11:59 PM Pacific

Submission Guidelines:

- All submissions must be written during the time of the challenge. We don't want a snippet of your doctoral thesis from 1996 being used here.
- One entry per poster. You can submit and then edit if you'd like, but finalizing before submitting is encouraged.
- Spelling and Grammatical errors can be used to great effect when the story, characters, and setting demand it. However, proofreading and spell-checking your writing will probably result in a more positive attitude towards it when people are voting.
- Using the topic as the title of your piece is discouraged. These challenges get a large number of submissions and if entries share the same title, it's difficult for the readers to separate them out come voting time.
- Any writing style is welcome, but remember that most people are probably going to vote for the well written short story over an elementary acrostic poem.
- There are many ways to interpret the theme for this assignment, we are all writers or wannabe writers, so keep that in mind when writing and critiquing others' works.
- Thousands of people read GAF, so if you don't want some masterpiece of yours to be stolen and seen in Hollywood a year from now, don't post it on here.
- Finally, there is a handy word count checker at www.wordcounttool.com. Nobody wants to be a word count nazi, but please keep your submission under the limit.

Voting Guidelines:

- Anyone can vote, even those that do not submit a piece during the thread.
- Three votes per voter. Please denote in your voting your 1st (3 pts), 2nd (2 pts), and 3rd (1 pt) place votes.
- Please read all submissions before voting, it is only fair to those who put in the effort.
- You must vote in order to be eligible to win the challenge. Critiques/comments are encouraged but not required.
- When the voting period ends, votes will be tallied and the winner will get a collective pat on the back and will be in charge of picking a new topic to write about and pick the word length.
- In the event of a tie, the story with the highest number of first place votes will be declared the winner. If they are still tied after this first tiebreaker, the previous challenge winner will decide any further tie-breaking measures (2nd Place votes, Joint Topic Choice, etc.)

Previous Challenges:

#1 - "The Things Unseen" (Winner: beelzebozo)
#2 - "An Unlikely Pair" (Winner: Aaron)
#3 - "weightless, breathless" (Winner: Azih)
#4 - "On the way" (Winner: DumbNameD)
#5 - "The End" (Winner: Cyan)
#6 - "Playing with Fire" (Winner: Aaron)
#7 - "Something Brutal" (Winner: Ronito)
#8 - "Parasite and Host" (Winner: Aaron)
#9 - "The Seasons" (Winner: ivysaur12)
#10 - "Anniversary" (Winner: Memles
#11 - "Comedy" (Winner: Scribble)
#12 - "The Trilogy" (Winner: Aaron)

What? Th-that's impossible!

It's on.

So not much interest in this challenge? Or is it just bad timing?

Impossible? Nothing's.

Hmmm. I have enough ideas that I could probably do this, but more than likely not well.

OK, I've got an idea, which I'll try to get done by today or tomorrow.

going to try and have something ready for this, but if nothing else, i'm back in for the next.

great job keeping it going, guys. you've inspired me to write again.

crowphoenix said:

Hmmm. I have enough ideas that I could probably do this, but more than likely not well.

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'Not well' is always better than not at all. If you write it and then refine it I'm sure it'll come out better than you expect. And if not, you'll learn from it, and your next try will be all the better for it.

My story is actually done, but I'm not too happy with it. So I'm going to let it sit and give it a big bad edit in a few days. Hopefully, it'll start working after that.

WHAT?!! Doesn't voting usually end on Wednesdays for the prior challenge? I was going to read/vote today....oh crap...it's the writing that ends on Wednesdays isn't it? Crap. Sorry guys.

beelzebozo said:

going to try and have something ready for this, but if nothing else, i'm back in for the next.

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Please do. I like your writing style a lot.

Aaron said:

'Not well' is always better than not at all. If you write it and then refine it I'm sure it'll come out better than you expect. And if not, you'll learn from it, and your next try will be all the better for it.

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This is always the case with me (Not thinking I'll be able to execute my idea well) but when there's a complete story, ready to post in these threads, it makes me feel pretty good.

ronito said:

WHAT?!! Doesn't voting usually end on Wednesdays for the prior challenge? I was going to read/vote today....oh crap...it's the writing that ends on Wednesdays isn't it? Crap. Sorry guys.

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It's no problem, just write something for this challenge (If you're done with moving and all that).

beelzebozo said:

going to try and have something ready for this, but if nothing else, i'm back in for the next.

great job keeping it going, guys. you've inspired me to write again.

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Sweet! Welcome back, man.

ronito said:

WHAT?!! Doesn't voting usually end on Wednesdays for the prior challenge? I was going to read/vote today....oh crap...it's the writing that ends on Wednesdays isn't it? Crap. Sorry guys.

Click to expand...

Feel free to read them anyway, there aren't exactly very many.

And I don't think another vote would've changed the results anyway. Although it is always nice to know what people thought.

Aaron said:

So not much interest in this challenge? Or is it just bad timing?

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I think these threads just need the occasional judicious bump.

Aaron said:

'Not well' is always better than not at all. If you write it and then refine it I'm sure it'll come out better than you expect. And if not, you'll learn from it, and your next try will be all the better for it.

My story is actually done, but I'm not too happy with it. So I'm going to let it sit and give it a big bad edit in a few days. Hopefully, it'll start working after that.

Click to expand...

My issues with writing make me seem pathetic. I wrote every day for about two years, then started doubting myself and everything I wrote. I kinda freaked out a bit and haven't really written since, and every time I try, I just end up depressed.

Pathetic, I know. I keep looking for a way to get back into it. But I've got no one to blame but myself. I keep hoping one of these topics will give me that spark. The first one did, but I just sat on it, and I really like this one.

crowphoenix said:

My issues with writing make me seem pathetic. I wrote every day for about two years, then started doubting myself and everything I wrote. I kinda freaked out a bit and haven't really written since, and every time I try, I just end up depressed.

Pathetic, I know. I keep looking for a way to get back into it. But I've got no one to blame but myself. I keep hoping one of these topics will give me that spark. The first one did, but I just sat on it, and I really like this one.

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!

I would have thought that the writing every day for two years would help you overcome that self-doubt. That's how the writing advice goes, anyway. Just goes to show how different everyone is.

Why do you write, in the first place?

Originally, it was because I had an over active imagination and enjoyed playing with characters and crafting little plots. This is something I still do, but it seems to be dwindling as of late (lack of use and inspiration, I guess). Then, it was because I enjoyed writing, but somewhere along the way, I suppose, I got arrogant and wanted to be better than I was. Being a naturally pessimistic and doubting person (I believe it's my OCD telling me this), I felt like I had never improved, which meant I sucked.

There was also a piece on religion I wrote that had a friend freak out on me, which shook me a little bit, but I can't blame that.

crowphoenix said:

I felt like I had never improved, which meant I sucked.

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One of the nice things about these challenges is that you'll get feedback on your writing. I suspect you've improved far more than you think you have, if you wrote for two years.

Just keep in mind that the critiques here can be a bit blunt. I'm sure people could tone it down by special request, though.

Finally got my idea, broke it down into parts/acts, have the characters in place.. now to put the pen on paper and see what happens.

Friction B Gone
word count: 1200

The burned breadsticks tasted terrible, but Ralf didn't miss a single bite. Not when the old lady promised a secret wizard's recipe for good health. Three charms hung around his neck; one to drive away demons, one to bless all he touched, and one purely for luck. His coat was a mess of patches promoting good fortune, while the goggles around his neck had belonged to his grandfather. Only his rough boots and heavy toolkit were purely practical.

Early morning sunlight seeped into all the cracks of the vast stone city of Carinne. The first hints of smoke escaped into the clear air as machines were switched on by their waking owners. Ralf made his living by applying grease and bending worn gears back into shape, but now he passed among the brilliantly colored booths that filled up an abandoned alleyway.

There were amulets, crystals, powders, tinctures, and other esoteric items all claimed as property of the great wizards of old. Though the one booth that caught his eyes was grey and hastily thrown together, just like its old vendor; thin and gangly with jutting elbows resting on his table. The only other object present was a stack of tarnished paint cans.

"This isn't a place for vagrants to rest," Ralf pointed out.

"This is where folks come to sell things, and I've got something to sell," the elderly gent protested with a wave to the minimal display.

"Old paint cans?" Ralf asked dubiously.

"My product is what's inside those cans," the old man snapped sternly as he grabbed hold of one, upsetting the display to cause it to roll over the counter. "Within this can isn't instant happiness as these charlatans promise, but something useful. A spray that renders the properties of friction inert! Even the very force of gravity is lightened by one simple application!"

"Bapas," Ralf mocked, using the name of unsolvable puzzles given to children to keep them quiet. False promises.

"It's no wizard's box. I made this, and offer a full refund if not completely satisfied," the old man grumbled with crossed arms.

"You made it?" Ralf repeated in surprise as he caught one of these cans before it rolled off the table. There wasn't a single person in that bazaar who would dare make such a claim. It was always 'found in a secret wizard's cave' or 'made from a wizard's recipe.' Never the bold truth. "So how much for a can?"

*

"Wizards, ha! Never was such a thing," Ralf's grandmother declared the moment he walked in the door of their shop, finding her wielding a blow torch and already hard at work at their latest design. "It's a lot of make believe to sell trinkets and goad people into these blasted challenges."

The three wheels alone were more than four times Ralf's insignificant height, with one spike and thick rubbery extensions to maintain a good grip, and small chassis hung suspended between. All crammed into a crumbling, cavernous warehouse.

Wizard challenges were posted each month, based on some impossible feat of these magicians in ancient times. When they had run through the old legends, they started 'discovering' new ones, with the latest being of the Great Dorvak scaling the treacherous mountain that bore his name.

"Success will mean a company sponsorship. Does it matter if the legends are false or not?" Ralf offered his usual argument, though half-heartedly as he continued to stare at the old paint can. "Are we still getting gear grinding on the back wheel?"

"Unless you worked a miracle on it," his grandmother replied as she paused in her work, wiping the sweat from her wrinkled brow. "I warned you about putting too much stress there."

"I believe in miracles," Ralf muttered to himself as he finished off the last of his breadsticks and approached the problematic gearwork with can in hand.

*

Noon came bright and clear as a ring of assorted contraptions surrounded the base of Mount Dorvak. Some were massive with towering legs, while others were barely larger than the man staring up at this looming chunk of rock. Ralf glanced up through his grandfather's goggles from his strapped in seat, but saw little except the haze of the orange sun.

"Assembled crafters, workers of wood and metal, here you have come to recapture the glory of the ancients," announced a dignified man through a large funnel that caused his voice to ring throughout the valley. "The wizards may be gone, but they have left us a grand legacy to follow, and dare what others deem as impossible. Now go!"

Engines roared and smoke billowed as twenty eccentric machines lurched forward, ascending up the gradual slope that would eventually become an almost vertical incline. Ralf felt his stomach lurch while his two massive front wheels surged forward. Too quick as they started spitting out stones in the region of his face instead of carving out their own handholds.

Near frictionless and almost weightless as promised. Ralf had thrown caution to the wind last night and sprayed out some of the old man's miracle cure more for good luck and anything else.

Now his machine was out of control.

A sizable chunk of soft rock struck his leather helmet, breaking to pieces on impact. It crumpled easily in his glove, causing Ralf to clutch it close as he frantically released his straps just as the mountain was growing steeper. He was forced to cling one-handed to the shuddering skeletal frame as he drew close to the spinning gears, still shining with the old man's spray. Hurling a handful of gravel into the works managed to slow it down a bit, though the jolt nearly sent Ralf back to the starting line.

Once again strapped to his shaking seat, the young man kissed all three of his charms. The burst of speed had put him ahead of the others, and the back wheel wasn't digging into the earth anymore thanks to the old man's miracle.

Despite his precarious position a mile from the ground, Ralf leaned back and relaxed, until his pleasant ride was disturbed by a grind of abused gears. The harsh heat of the sun had evaporated the effect of the spray, and now the third wheel strained under the sudden friction. With his competitors closing in, Ralf had no choice but to unstrap himself again with the can tucked under his armpit as he crawled to the rear.

The wind was cold while his vehicle lumbered and jolted like an untamed beast. With his heart in his throat, Ralf reached the gear section and applied a generous dose of the silver spray, only to sneeze as some was blown back into his face. The can slipped from his grasp and the vehicle nearly slipped out from under him, but somehow he held on.

Enough to be the first to reach the narrow summit, barely wide enough to occupy his massive machine. Having lost his belief in the wizards in the success of his invention, Ralf expected nothing there but bare rock. Yet awaiting his arrival was a small pile of tarnished paint cans. One he raised up to the light.

"There are wizards still."

Goddammit, I really wish I had better planning skills I usually devote my time to something I've been working on (in terms of writing), so these challenges are always tempting (get those cerebral juices going, you know?), but I never see the ideas through

Like, right now, when I read the theme, I got an idea...but I don't think I'll make it...

Just sit down and write it, damn it! Though I can talk.

dragonlife29 said:

Goddammit, I really wish I had better planning skills I usually devote my time to something I've been working on (in terms of writing), so these challenges are always tempting (get those cerebral juices going, you know?), but I never see the ideas through

Like, right now, when I read the theme, I got an idea...but I don't think I'll make it...

Click to expand...

Dude, just write it. It seems like about 50% of my submissions for these challenges don't turn out the way I planned. But that ratio will improve over time simply through the extra practice.

That's the whole point! So just sit down and write through it, even if it isn't turning out the way you wanted.

70% of the way through. I'm enjoying this one more than any theme so far. I don't expect to come close to winning but I'm having a lot of fun with it and that's what matters.

Cyan said:

One of the nice things about these challenges is that you'll get feedback on your writing. I suspect you've improved far more than you think you have, if you wrote for two years.

Just keep in mind that the critiques here can be a bit blunt. I'm sure people could tone it down by special request, though.

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:lol Stop making me freak out! Just kidding. If I ever wanted to be a writer of any salt, taking the knocks is how is something I have to relearn. Now, to stop second guessing myself and try this.

ronito said:

70% of the way through. I'm enjoying this one more than any theme so far. I don't expect to come close to winning but I'm having a lot of fun with it and that's what matters.

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(To good a combo not to use it) I'm invariably going to vote for ronito anyway.

Im only 60 words in but I'm all jacked up about the story. I'm sure in the end it'll resemble a cookie cutter A&E special but for the time being it's steeped in awesome potential.

Man, I got nothin for this one. Can't think of anything. I'm sure I'll come up with something by Wednesday, but... nope, not yet.

Time's running out. Get those entries in soon. Don't wait until the last minute.

Good gosh I've never been so over the word limit before. I was originally 1000 words over, now just 400 more to cut and I'm done. But which 400? I'm running out of cuttable words. Argh!

I can't think of a good idea :lol

I finally thought of a decent idea about half an hour ago. We'll see how it turns out.

328 words. Come on there must be 328 words I can cut out of this.

ronito said:

328 words. Come on there must be 328 words I can cut out of this.

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I don't know, that might turn out to be... impossible?

Hmm, needs about 75 words cut. And some editing, definitely. But it turned out ok.

At this point I'd be happy to see any other story posted other than my own, no matter the word count.

Ugh, because I do the late shift, it's hard to post my story as I don't have net access anymore (I live in UK, so the deadline is 8:00am for me). Going to try and get this posted at the net cafe before then.

damn. would have loved to participate somehow but i guess time is nearly up?

Toma said:

damn. would have loved to participate somehow but i guess time is nearly up?

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If you've got an idea you've got plenty of time left. And I think I finally have an idea. Now, I just hope I can remember it in 12 hours.

Nature can sometimes be pretty off.
681 words

I stood up. The last night was a bit of a drag. My brother continued talking about how he unbelievably fell in love with some golden haired girl and told me everything I ever DIDNT want to know about a girl he likes. About how he first thought whether they would really fit together because he likes different colours than her. She loves to wear golden and pink stuff whereas he is more the red and blue "type".Strong colours and such things. Seriously imagine hearing that stuff through the whole night. She loves fruits, oh he really stressed that point. The next time he sees her he would buy a whole bunch of peaches and they would just sit there and ate for hours enjoying the peaches while viewing the sunset in the distance. Bah.
I mean.. whats the point in fruits anyway? They can can be eaten. Oh well. Awesome. Thats what god invented animals for. Pfft... fruits. I have nothing against nature itself though, I simply like to see a bit of beauty in what nature is producing when you cant even eat it properly.At least it should be something which looks pretty. Nature can sometimes be pretty off. *sighs*
Anyway.. I need to get to work. I am dead tired but atleast I dont have to hear my brother that way. He has the same job as me but normally we dont work together so that shouldnt be a problem. I should kick him, or if necessary stomp him on the head before I leave though. Guess he wouldnt wake up otherwise and I dont really want to pay for his food, hobbies and gifts for his new "girlfriend". Which would likely happen if he loses his job.
So I need to be sure that he really wakes up. Standard procedure. I shake his bed, he mumbles that he would stand up in a few minutes and thanks me for waking him up.I walk over to the bathroom, filling a bucket with ice-cold water. I shouted from the bath to his room:"No problem, thats what brothers are there for, right?" He confirmed that with an almost unnoticable nodding of his head and turned around another time in bed, right before 20 litres of ice-cold water hit his body. Needless to say I had my stuff for work and my blue overall already in my hand and was very well prepared for running out of the house. I chuckled after I regained my breath when I knew that he couldnt catch up with me anymore because he is not the fittest guy in the world, so to say. - That was my last thought before I walked off for a glory day of dirty work.
When I was back at home I expected my brother to be here and greet me with water or any other form of revenge. But he wasnt there. I laid off my overall and went to the kitchen, ate some lasagna while it was getting later and later and began looking around the house where he might be.Or whether he was sleeping.
On my search I found a letter he left right at the door. It said that while he was waiting here for me with some kind of "punishment" (He didnt mention which kind) for what I did on today's morning he got a call that his girlfriend had some serious trouble with some guy stalking her. So he would jump and run as fast as he could to her house and asked me to follow him as soon as I would arrive at home. I took my overall and left the house with his letter in my hand, describing the way to her house.
when i left the region I personally knew because I lived there I thought of his girlfriend and her obsession with fruits again. Why? Well I dont know... but that seemed as strange to me as all these walking mushrooms and flying turtles all around the place look impossibly stupid. *yuck*
Nature can sometimes be pretty off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sry if that was a thread unworthy entry >_> I will try to improve myself.

Aaron said:

At this point I'd be happy to see any other story posted other than my own, no matter the word count.

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Translation: quit making excuses and post your stories already, you lazy bums!

All right, will do... as soon as I get a chance to edit!

I feel bad. Like I've forgotten to do my homework, or something.

Josie singled out a small wire, attached miniature jumpers to it and pushed a button at her belt. Though there was no sound she knew her job was done the silent distress alarm from the First National Bank above her was sending its signal to the police station miles away.

"Done." Josie said into the small mic in her sleeve.


In a room overlooking the First National Bank Josie's voice spoke through a man's earpiece. In a few minutes the parking lot of the FNB would be teeming with cop cars and even now they would be calling Barato, the CEO of the bank. Per protocol Barato would go to the vault to check it and verify all was in order.

The vault was an M320 the latest in Vaultech's line. With biometric scanners and state of the art sensors Valutech dubbed the M320 as "unrobbable".

IVI, Vaultech's competitor did not appreciate the claim. So IVI's owner Robert Tucker contacted Arino Malfax. Arino offered "security consultantation" or ,more appropriately, corporate espionage. Companies stole from each other more than all the criminals in jail combined and Arino's crew was very good at it. Arino had a small crew. Josie, his mole, her sister Shanon the baitchick, and Sal a technician.

Arino was to rob an M320 and break its reputation. Tucker said Arino's crew could split whatever they stole as their fee. Arino argued that they should get a $10 million fee on top of the take, IVI certainly had enough money in their own unrobbable vault in their basement (vault makers were too smart to trust banks). The two men argued for weeks, finally Arino relented.

"He's leaving." Another voice came in over Arino's earpiece.

"Ok Sal, you know what to do." Arino replied into his sleeve.

Soon the FNB parking lot was littered with police. Josie entered the room.

"I got the call info" Josie said as she entered. "It was a woman that called Barato, her name was Irene."

"There he is." Shannon interupted as a black Mercedes joined the squad cars.

"Sal," Arino said to his sleeve, "Our guest just arrived."

"Don't worry." Sal replied, "I'll be out in time."

As expected, Barato and the cops went into the bank and noticed nothing wrong. A few minutes of inspection and they determined it was a false alarm. Sal was done well before Barato would return. Josie went to meet up with Sal while Shannon and Arino changed into police uniforms.

An hour passed.

"Ok, go." Arino said.

Shannon picked up the phone.

"Mr. Barato, I'm sorry to bother you again this is Irene." Shannon said. "Yes, sir I'm sorry, but it is the alarm. Its gone off again..."

Minutes later two fake police officers drove their fake police car over to the FNB. Barato arrived shortly after.

"We apologize for the small number of officers Mr. Barato but seeing as how this is just verifying a faulty alarm.." Arino trailed off.

Barato grumbled and opened the front door. There was the M320, locked and formidable. Once they were inside Barato locked the door behind them.

"Mr. Barato, we're not cops. We're here to get the money out of your vault." Arino said casually

Barato laughed. "That isn't any vault. It's"

"The M320. It's unrobbable." Arino cut him off.

"Well how are you going to rob it?" Barato asked.

"Easy, we're not going to rob it. You are."

"I wont cooperate."

"Oh I think you will." Shannon said stepping forward with a smile.

"You can't seduce me." Barato said.

"Get over yourself." Shannon said stepping forward. She stopped a few paces away from Barato and pulled a phone from her breast pocket and showed it to him.

"Do you know what you're looking at?" She said holding the phone close to Barato's face.

"That's.... my safe at home and who are those two people?"

Josie and Sal were waving in front of Barato's safe, Sal pulled out a set of files.

"These files, you'll know them." Shannon said.

"Oh no..." Barato took a step back.

"Yes," Arino stepped forward, "You've been embezzling your client's money. Even some less than respectable parties. All the proof is in those files. Imagine if that got out. Jail would be the safest place for you."

"What...do you want?" Barato said taking aother step back.

"It's very simple. See here?" Shannon said slowly pulling out a set of papers from her other breast pocket, "A ticket to Brazil. You go in and take out $10 million from your vault get in your car and drive home. Once there you give us the money and you can take the money from your safe, which is around $5 million minus a $1 million fee for our silence and you can go on your way. The flight leaves in two hours so you have to move fast."

"And if I don't cooperate?"

Arino set his hands on Barato's shoulders, "We deciminate this information to everyone who will listen, and according to the client list, some of these clients wouldn't be people you want to make angry."

"Time runs short. Make up your mind." Shannon said.


"Sir you need to come down here" The voice on the phone said.

"Fine." Tucker said and hung up. He never went down to the company vaults, but today he didn't mind. First National Bank's M320 had been robbed by it's own keeper. He loved the message that sent out, technology can't get around greed. Tucker had to appreciate Arino's style.

Tucker hummed in the elevator as he went down to the vaults. The humming stopped as the doors opened. The vault was opened and there was red paint covering everything in the vault. A security guard came up to him.

"What happened?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know sir, but we found this." The guard said and handed Tucker a cellphone that had a note attached that read:

"Tucker, hit redial"

Tucker picked up the cellphone and did as the note indicated.


"Tucker! I trust you've found the ten million from the M320 in your vaults." a man's voice greeted from the phone.

"Arino!!" Tucker breathed, "There's red paint all over my money!"

"Yeah they typically slip those in when you rob from a bank. You work with vaults you know this." Arino replied, "We figure you wouldn't mind if we traded the ten million from your vaults for M320's."

Tucker was in silent shock.

"And we decided that since we were in the vault anyway we'd take another ten million for our fee as well. I'm sure you'll make more than that on this week's sales alone." Arino's voice piped.

"How did..our vault was...it's not possible..." Tucker stammered.

"I have to say it was tempting to take off with more." Arino said, " A theif's got to have his honor though. Oh and if you decided to call the cops good luck explaining why FNB's bills are in your vault. Bye!"

Tucker dropped the phone.Around him the red paint glopped down the walls of his vault. A vault that was supposed to be unrobbable.

While I had the most fun with this challenge it was also the most heartbreaking. The finished draft was more than 1000 words longer than it is now, the characters were better developed and the action much better plotted. Sadly I couldn't bring it all in under the limit so you get the rough outline of what was a much bigger thing. I might go back and build on it later. But I've really gotta learn to pick smaller ideas.

ronito said:

While I had the most fun with this challenge it was also the most heartbreaking. The finished draft was more than 1000 words longer than it is now, the characters were better developed and the action much better plotted. Sadly I couldn't bring it all in under the limit so you get the rough outline of what was a much bigger thing. I might go back and build on it later. But I've really gotta learn to pick smaller ideas.

Click to expand...

If you want, you can always set up the full version somewhere and post a link to it here. You've already provided a version that's within the limit, so I don't think anyone is going to complain if you offer up two versions.

I'm posting.. but it won't be until late tonight. I've only written half of it. I should be able to cruise through the remaining 600 words without a hitch.

Not satisfied with what I'm writing at all. Ugh.

crowphoenix said:

Not satisfied with what I'm writing at all. Ugh.

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dito.

I think it sounded funnier when I still had the idea in my head.

Don't be afraid to post anyway. People should comment and provide helpful advice.

That idea was leading nowhere. I'll see if I can come up with something else and bang it out tonight.

Sounds like we're going to have a lot of last minute posts. And we'll probably hear from DumbNameD at the last minute too.

I guess last-minuting was a lot harder with the 3000 worder last week.

Aaron said:

If you want, you can always set up the full version somewhere and post a link to it here. You've already provided a version that's within the limit, so I don't think anyone is going to complain if you offer up two versions.

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That's a good idea, but I have a much bigger project that I'm going to want to get a lot of feedback on, and I'll save the favors until then.