# Doper Writers - presenting the SDMB 'Weekend Flash Fiction' Contest, May 14 - 16, 2010! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291 "2010-05-04T16:02:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/101 "2010-05-16T23:59:36Z")
> [@Hrududu](#): > > At this stage I just want it gone and to never see it again. But seriously, that was a lot of fun. Heh, I’m with you there. I had what I thought was a neat idea at about midnight last night (or this morning, I guess), and started pounding it out. By the end I was sure it was stupid and I was heartily sick of the whole thing. But I forced myself to keep going without trying to stop and revise (or cut, or stab, or set on fire) anything along the way, and consequently just managed to stumble drunkenly across the finish line. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/102 "2010-05-17T00:09:54Z")
> [@Hrududu](#): > > Assuming nothing went wrong with my email or attachment. Which I bet it totally did. Oh God. Heh. Shortly after I sent mine off, I discovered a typo, one not caught by spellcheck because it’s a real word too. Now I’m curious if people will realize that there’s an extra letter and know what I meant, or just think “I wonder what she meant by that, but hell, I can’t figure out half the rest anyway…”😃 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/103 "2010-05-17T00:14:49Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Just take what you have and throw in a bizarre twist ending! Like O. Henry’s lion? [SCTV link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNC-_uTvCfY). ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/104 "2010-05-17T00:23:16Z")
Ok submitted. _wince_ ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/105 "2010-05-17T00:26:15Z")
Oh, dear, I should have mentioned much earlier - please include your SDMB user name somewhere in your submission. I’ve figured out most of them, but I still have two who are mysteries… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/106 "2010-05-17T00:46:24Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Oh, dear, I should have mentioned much earlier - please include your SDMB user name somewhere in your submission. I’ve figured out most of them, but I still have two who are mysteries… Heh - thanks for the reminder! I just sent in your 3rd anonymous submission…email coming. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/107 "2010-05-17T01:01:23Z")
I wrote mine in one draft, in little dribs and drabs. My wife’s out of town this weekend so I’ve had fulltime puppy and kid care. And I just noticed a typo … a homophone that spell check didn’t catch. It was lots of fun though. I’m about halfway through reading the submissions. It’s amazing how many different directions people went. ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/108 "2010-05-17T01:03:56Z")
I just sent in my submission… I hope it arrives, too! I think I pressed send at about 8:55 your time - it’s 3 in the morning here and I have a window open on my PC giving EDT. And it’s an OpenOffice doc… hope that’s all right:( ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/109 "2010-05-17T01:05:31Z")
I wrote mine in one draft, starting about 3 hours ago… I have a hard time internalising deadlines when said lines are on the other side of the world! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/110 "2010-05-17T01:39:48Z")
All right, all submissions have been posted and the poll is established in the Anthology thread. We have until next Sunday to vote. I took the editorial liberty of adding titles to the untitled submissions. I hope that is all right with the authors. I also included two stories whose usernames I didn’t know. Even just glancing casually through these stories, there is some fantastic work here. You should all be very proud of yourselves. And now, I have some very pleasurable reading ahead of me… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/111 "2010-05-17T01:51:33Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Heh. Shortly after I sent mine off, I discovered a typo… Heck, I just noticed a spelling error in my title! Argh! The only excuse I can offer is that I was in a hurry to send it; I was out of the house a few minutes after sending it, and I had no time for spellcheck. Oh well. It was a good challenge, and I’m looking forward to reading the entries. Good luck to all! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/112 "2010-05-17T01:54:16Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Heck, I just noticed a spelling error in my title! Argh! The only excuse I can offer is that I was in a hurry to send it; I was out of the house a few minutes after sending it, and I had no time for spellcheck. > > Oh well. It was a good challenge, and I’m looking forward to reading the entries. Good luck to all! And I noticed the spelling error in your title about ten minutes after the f&^%ng edit window was closed. As your editor, I accept full responsibility. I shall go iron my fingers for twenty minutes… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/113 "2010-05-17T02:59:33Z")
So, **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** …how do you fix the fact that both people who’ve voted picked two stories instead of one? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/114 "2010-05-17T03:17:09Z")
I sent mine in about ten minutes before the deadline. My muse must’ve been taking the weekend off. I’m not happy with it, but we’ll see how the voting goes. Thanks, **Ministre** , for setting this up. It was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/115 "2010-05-17T04:34:38Z")
> [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](#): > > Ok ok fine. 😛 Damn reasonable and encouraging people… Glad you caved in, **Cookies**. 😉 You were definitely being harder on yourself than was warranted – that story was really sweet and touching, and you didn’t even need to have a lion come in and eat everybody. I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/116 "2010-05-17T09:13:29Z")
Thanks. I haven’t had a chance to read anyone elses yet, and I don’t want to spoil anyone as to who wrote what 😉 but I will say that my flash stuff often ends up seeming very different from what I usually read, so I have a hard time gauging my own stuff sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Hrududu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Hrududu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrududu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/117 "2010-05-17T10:13:03Z")
Just finished reading everyone’s stuff. The quality is very high there. I had voted before I realised that I could choose more than one option. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/118 "2010-05-17T11:55:51Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So, **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** …how do you fix the fact that both people who’ve voted picked two stories instead of one? It’s okay; I’ve deliberately set it up as a multiple choice poll. This is based on how the voting for the Poetry Sweatshops has gone - readers seem to be more comfortable if they don’t have to pick only one poem out of the Anthology. (Rather than pick only one poem, readers would simply not vote.) Bringing it down to your favourite 3 or 4 has the effect of increasing the overall number of voters, and the pattern still shows which one has the greatest number of admirers. Admittedly, this system would break down if everyone voted for all 20, but that hasn’t happened so far… ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/119 "2010-05-17T12:55:15Z")
I shamefacedly admit that I got distracted this weekend. Had a good couple of killer opening paragraphs on Friday, then I saw my bf and got all distracted and . . . .well, better luck next time. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291/120 "2010-05-17T15:53:24Z")
Another link to the [Anthology Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563348). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-writers-presenting-the-sdmb-weekend-flash-fiction-contest-may-14-16-2010/538291.md?page=5)