May 2025 SCIENCE FICTION MICROSTORY CONTEST (Comments Only)

[Carrie]

Theme: Disaster Discovery 


Required Elements: A Log Book, at least one entry in that log book 

[Jeremy McLain]

Good theme.

I’ve been slacking but will try to get a story in.

[Chris]

I've also been seriously slacking, but was able to get a story in this month too. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of things and keep them coming!

[Jot]

Welcome back, Chris. Great to have you!

[Chris]

Jot wrote: "Welcome back, Chris. Great to have you!"

It's nice to get some time to actually write something for a change!

[Tom]

We're gettin' the band back together. Welcome back, Chris. I've missed you. Nice combination of narrative and dialogue.

[Jot]

LOL

[Justin]

Great stories Chris and Tom! Tom, yours was scary! Even for a short story the terror was real.

Chris, nice to see you back this month! Great action! I liked the trap twist. The writing was tight and you kept it moving forward nicely.

Nice work guys!

[Tom]

Justin wrote: "Great stories Chris and Tom! Tom, yours was scary! Even for a short story the terror was real.

Chris, nice to see you back this month! Great action! I liked the trap twist. The writing was tight ..."

Thank you, Justin.

[Chris]

Justin wrote: "Great stories Chris and Tom! Tom, yours was scary! Even for a short story the terror was real.

Chris, nice to see you back this month! Great action! I liked the trap twist. The writing was tight ..."

Thanks, Justin. I really appreciate it!

[Chris]

Tom wrote: "We're gettin' the band back together. Welcome back, Chris. I've missed you. Nice combination of narrative and dialogue."

Thanks, Tom.

[Carrie]

Yikes Tom, that's something right out of Hollywood. It reminded me a lot of Event Horizon. It is still one of the creepiest movies for me. This should be a script!

[Tom]

Carrie wrote: "Yikes Tom, that's something right out of Hollywood. It reminded me a lot of Event Horizon. It is still one of the creepiest movies for me. This should be a script!"

Why, thank you, Carrie! (I really did use a lot of classic horror tropes.)

[Carrie]

Bahaha @Chris! Loved your story! Absolutely fantastic twist. As soon as the reveal happened I thought "oh no" and then I thought "hell yeah"! hahaha

[Carrie]

@Jot
CLEVER CLEVER
Clever use of the prompt!! That's all I'm going to say as to not spoil anything!
Except to add bravo!!

[Chris]

Carrie wrote: "Bahaha @Chris! Loved your story! Absolutely fantastic twist. As soon as the reveal happened I thought "oh no" and then I thought "hell yeah"! hahaha"

Thanks so much Carrie!

[Tom]

Very engaging post-apocalyptic action, Carrie. Xena meets Terminator. Very effective pacing and dramatic twists. Action with a human core. Now, that would make a good Hollywood script.

[Jot]

Thanks Carrie, the newspaper being the journal and the discovery of the world ending around him from a change in the past. This is, of course, an edit to a story I had already posted, and ties into my book, Perpetual Words...

[Carrie]

I got that 100%, I thought it was very clever.
We all went for the standard type log book, digital or paper or whatever, you definitely thought outside the box with that one.

[Carrie]

Tom wrote: "Very engaging post-apocalyptic action, Carrie. Xena meets Terminator. Very effective pacing and dramatic twists. Action with a human core. Now, that would make a good Hollywood script."

Ha!
It was actually really hard to get the whole thing down to 750 words. I had two try/fail sequences so had to sacrifice one without it sounding stilted.

[Carrie]

Tough stuff, these 750 word challenges...

[Paula]

Oh lovely one, Jot! Plot could get lost in its time twisties at moments, but of that's quite on point. Question--is that remark re who "can kill a king" intended as (among other references) a writers-world in-joke? And that last line, especially the last two words--!! Tremendous.

[Jot]

Thanks so much, Paula! That line is taken from the full length novel, where the villain in the story does decide to kill a king to rewrite history.

[Tom]

Excellent imagery and world-building, Justin. Good suspense and climax, too. (Best place to hide something is in plain sight.)

[Jot]

Last day to get those stories in!

[Jot]

Happy Birthday, Justin

[Tom]

Happy Birthday, Justin - 'glad you're with us.

[Tom]

Happy Birthday, Justin - 'glad you're with us.

[Justin]

Tom wrote: "Excellent imagery and world-building, Justin. Good suspense and climax, too. (Best place to hide something is in plain sight.)"

Thank you Tom!

[Justin]

Jot wrote: "Happy Birthday, Justin"

Thank you Jot! It was a good day. I had a HALO LAN party at my house with my friends. It was a blast!

[Justin]

Tom wrote: "Happy Birthday, Justin - 'glad you're with us."

Thank you thank you!!

[Tom]

Congratulations, Carrie. Well done. Interesting theme choice for next month.

I have to say...I think your writing style has improved dramatically.

[Carrie]

Tom wrote: "Congratulations, Carrie. Well done. Interesting theme choice for next month.

I have to say...I think your writing style has improved dramatically."

Thank you!! That really means a lot to me!

I've worked pretty hard in the last few years. Writing courses and reading some books on writing/editing/proofreading. And just slowing down. Less "just write something and throw it out there" and more "write something, put it away, come back and take a critical eye to it, and really work it over with a fine toothed comb before it sees the light of day".

[Carrie]

Justin wrote: "Jot wrote: "Happy Birthday, Justin"

Thank you Jot! It was a good day. I had a HALO LAN party at my house with my friends. It was a blast!"

So THAT sounds like an epic birthday!!

[Justin]

Carrie wrote: "Justin wrote: "Jot wrote: "Happy Birthday, Justin"

Thank you Jot! It was a good day. I had a HALO LAN party at my house with my friends. It was a blast!"

So THAT sounds like an epic birthday!!"

Thanks Carrie, it absolutely was. Any day I get to play HALO with friends is a good day. :) Congrats on your story!