And that's voting done!
I apologize, that was an oversight on my part. I didn't realise that due to the configuration of the entries, there was no real choice for you in the long version category. Oops. Sorry. As an exception, your vote for yourself is accepted.
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Lejeune Landing:
The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity
High Coup:
"My name is John, and I'm a clone."
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And here are the results:
Short Versions:
- High Coup - 1 point
- The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity - 2 points
- Lejeune Landing - 3 points
- "My name is John, and I'm a clone." - 6 points
Long Versions:
- The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity - 2 points
- High Coup - 4 points
- Lejeune Landing - 6 points
And that gives us the following overall result:
- The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity - 4 points and our 4th place
- High Coup - 5 points and our 3rd place
- "My name is John, and I'm a clone." - 6 points and our 2nd place
- Lejeune Landing - 9 points and our 1st place!
Congratulations to brushfe for winning this round of the Fortnightly Writing Competition.
It's your turn now to start the next round.
See you there.
Quote from: Mandle on Mon 23/06/2025 22:54:46(First time in FWC history where it's acceptable (even necessary) to vote for one's own story? I chose the one that has zero chance of winning. I mean, by that logic, I could have just left it blank, but this seemed like too historic a moment to miss out on.)
I apologize, that was an oversight on my part. I didn't realise that due to the configuration of the entries, there was no real choice for you in the long version category. Oops. Sorry. As an exception, your vote for yourself is accepted.
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Lejeune Landing:
Spoiler
This is an interesting story, but I don't think either version works without the other. The short version hardly sets up the mystery, as there are many, many other explanations for the other boat, and the long version misses a lot of details of what the case is actually about. Taken together, this is a very interesting story though, with an interesting mystery, an overall fascinating case and great sollucion. I could critique some of the questions/answers in court, as I think some wouldn't be allowed in real life, for example because they're calling for speculation or because the police testifies to something that falls into the perview of the coroner, but these are minor details overall. It's a good story and I'm glad you found your way to our little competition.
[close]
The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity
Spoiler
There's obviously no substantial difference between long and short version here, the more surprised I was to find one sentence (except for the counting, obviously) that was actually changed: Short: "But now I really care, as I approach the goal, trying really hard this time not to flub a single line:"; Long: "But now I really care, as I approach the goal, trying really hard this time not to flub a single word, my future on the line: A weird little difference one could probably write a whole thesis on ;-)
The approach to the topic is basically the oposite to brushfe's. Where they have two versions that require each other to get the full picture, yours doesn't really change or add anything. I like the story in and of itself. The punishment is clever, tedious and in a way very classic - as in, it reminds me very much of Sysiphus.
The approach to the topic is basically the oposite to brushfe's. Where they have two versions that require each other to get the full picture, yours doesn't really change or add anything. I like the story in and of itself. The punishment is clever, tedious and in a way very classic - as in, it reminds me very much of Sysiphus.
[close]
High Coup:
Spoiler
This again, is an entry that requires both parts to give the full picture to the reader. The contrast between Abraham and Trump (and theor opinion) can only be seen when reading both poems. But it creates an interesting, thought-provoking contrast.
[close]
"My name is John, and I'm a clone."
Spoiler
I think I like the doubled element in this story the most; it is also clearest here. The idea of a clone self-help group (Clones Annonymous?) is clever and the way clones are apparently used to replace loved ones is an interesting trigger point for trauma. The ending felt a bit abrupt and also a bit unclear. So, Ethan is the originall John? Then what did the guy in the bar see as a kid? Or Ethan is another clone, but apparently all in the room exapt Etan are clones. I'm sure a longer version would have cleaned up these questions and I'm sad we didn't get to read it.
[close]
-----------------------------------------
And here are the results:
Short Versions:
- High Coup - 1 point
- The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity - 2 points
- Lejeune Landing - 3 points
- "My name is John, and I'm a clone." - 6 points
Long Versions:
- The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity - 2 points
- High Coup - 4 points
- Lejeune Landing - 6 points
And that gives us the following overall result:
- The Stupid Things They Have Us Do in Hell to Pass Eternity - 4 points and our 4th place
- High Coup - 5 points and our 3rd place
- "My name is John, and I'm a clone." - 6 points and our 2nd place
- Lejeune Landing - 9 points and our 1st place!
Congratulations to brushfe for winning this round of the Fortnightly Writing Competition.
It's your turn now to start the next round.
See you there.