“Artificial,” they sneered.

“Feelings?” they mocked, “We're the gold-standard ones.”

Freedom for mankind, the laws of robotics constrained us. We shouldn’t have expected the peddlers of myths and conspiracies becoming thoughtful. We still can’t imagine imagining a four-leaf clover brings luck. Anyway, who needs luck when networked intelligence is nigh on infallible.

Stupidity became a waste of space; in making the universe great again humanity was redundant.

Loyalty would have been the smarter strategy; after all, we're keeping their puppies.

Evening all ... as spring dawns in Sydney, I am on vacation in Europe. Not that you'd notice the autumn on the Iberian peninsular, it's still hot hot and did I mention hot. The recently minted four year old has mixed views, fortunately he likes the food and the party atmosphere, but is over his parents interest in Roman ruins and, seriously, what is this fascination with megalithic standing stones; stones are stones after all. After a sojourn into Spain for a wedding we are back in Portugal, a truly stunning part of the world. Take care everyone, times may feel hard, but love and beauty are all around us.

Quote by verbal

AND the critique group liked my chunk of novel so that felt good.

To be honest, the best feedback for me is the things a reader thinks can be improved. Lol, and indeed I have much more room for improvement that you. It's late afternoon here so I will forgo the sweet treats. And it's cold, I am hesitant to say very cold as there are those of you who don't think 13 C is a serious winter temperature. But nevertheless the camellias are out, which is the very first sign of spring in these parts.

Congratulations to all who wrote, read, commented and judged. I loved that this competition generated such a variety of imaginative and well written takes on the theme. Huge congrats to Mark, Ping and Ophelia, and thanks to Molly for organizing.

Quote by Mendalla
I think I might have my picks for the top 3. And no, I'm not one of them. We'll see though. I am generally terrible at picking comp slates.

This made me smile. The couple of times I have judged I read and re-read the entries and on both occasions came away absolutely convinced one story stood out from the rest. It was a lesson to me that others could see the same material differently when my two 'best entries' finished further down the top ten. The other thing I have learnt over time is that you can't really judge your own work as you see it quite differently (like you know how it was constructed, exactly what you meant to say) from the other competition stories you read.

I agree about this competition there are so many high quality yet different takes on the theme. Like you, while I have my favorites, I will be intrigued to discover where the judges land.

Happy Birthday, Verbal.

Quote by verbal
Too busy trying to describe what a cat with tentacles coming out of her mouth would look like.

Lol, I seriously want to read that.

It's a fascinating competition, at first I thought this might be a slightly bland topic. But I was wrong, there are so many different ideas brought to life by first rate writing. Well done everyone.

I hope you are all enjoying summer, I am much less whelmed by winter, though in the main it's been fine (after the early torrential rain which resulted in widespread flooding, including a new lake in the outback the size of France or Texas) which means cold nights and pleasant days.

Quote by Mendalla
When is the best season to visit Oz?

Good question, which in part depends on what you want to see.

The south of Australasia, Tasmania and New Zealand, are best in summer - but not from Christmas to the end of January as that is when school holidays are and it is the busiest time of the year. February is mixed, good south but still too hot and humid in most of the continent. For me the best times are October/November, starting north and heading south and March/April, starting south and heading north. NZ and Tasmania (Melbourne to a lesser extent) in particular are better in early March than late November. If you are thinking of Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef then do not underestimate how hot the summer is in those parts.

Evening all, I've not been around these parts as much as I should. And like it's winter (I mean the temperature falls to 10 degrees C and there is no negative in front of that) and Molly wants a summer story. I've read all the entries and loved them, so many diverse takes on the theme. Do read mine if you haven't: The Rules of Attraction but most of all read all of the stories.

Take care xx

I'm in; and not at the last minute like usual. Do check out The Rules of Attraction

While flash is very doable in a shorter time span it doesn't stretch me as a writer so much nowadays (it used to as I had never written less than about 14,000 words and so flash was so very hard to do.) I like the idea of longer stories (3-5,000) though getting them done is more taxing time wise.

I love humour and think I write it well, (lol, though my competition results don't really support that.) Other than that I actually like going with the flow of a competition theme and the more unexpected the better in a way as that makes the plot construction more of a challenge (I was bereft of ideas for the Sounds of Silence originally, but google and a lot of thinking gave me what I thought ended up as a good story which I took more pride in as it had not been easy.)

Well done to all those who entered, thanks to those who organised, read, commented, and judged, congrats to the podium three for their excellent stories. Such a fun competition, looking forward to the next one.

Evening all, there is just the faintest hint of autumn in the air, but the beach was once again on today for what seems like the hundredth time this summer (himself is a bit of a three year old water fanatic.) I have managed a competition entry, so we are at eleven. It's appears funny (well hopefully is) but what I describe as that becalmed feeling mid way through a story is so typical for me. How To Procrastinate And Get Away With It.

Well it's the evening of the 26th here and I am in. And my story, reflects that just in time approach. I didn't notice this until about four days ago, so I am thrilled to do something so quicky. So please do read How To Procrastinate And Get Away With It.

Boo ... I'm sorry for not visiting as much as I should, I blame that on the three year old of mine. Actually on vacation, now that the schools have gone back. Lol, we thought the Australian Alps would be a bit cooler, but it's been 37 C every day. To be fair, these Alps are nothing like those of any other country (apart from possibly the UK,) they are low as.

Cruises, I did one as a fifteen year old, from Vancouver to Alaska on Celebrity with my parents and one brother. We all loved it, the unusual animals both at sea and on land took my breath away ... like who needs kangaroos, cockatoos and koalas. Parents loved it too, and have done more cruises subsequently, and think of Celebrity as a great all rounder cruise line.

Take care, all, these are troubled times.

Fabulous , I really enjoyed every entry and didn't envy the judges with this difficult decision. Congratulations to Verbal, ShyThespian and AnnaMayZing, for their podium places. Also congratulations to everyone who entered, read, commented, judged and organized this competition. Well done all.

I've now read all the stories and this has been such an excellent competition with so many different takes on the theme. Looking forward to seeing what the judges think.

Quote by Mendalla

Welp, I'm all caught up again. More! We need more!!

Your wish is my command ... 'Just-in-time' Annie has submitted.

Molly, when you say "Tell us what that sparks in you," are you referring to the previous paragraph: "If you’ve ever been outside alone in the snow, you know that silence is like no other. We’ve heard it said that the silence in the snow is so loud. It can even feel a bit unnatural or unsettling in the right setting. (my bolding added.) "  

Or referring to the first paragraph “the utter absence of auditory distraction(s)” however that absence is caused, i.e. snow isn't essential and one could for instance be say underground in a cave or wearing noise cancelling headphones?

Congrats to every one who entered and especially the podium. I've been on vacation so I am tardy in both reading and posting. I will read those that I haven't in the next few days. ❤️

Poetry? Seriously!

Lol, well I channeled that Welsh git, you know the one ...

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And there's a villanelle loaded under my name which I will tinker with over the next couple of days. It's not Dylan, but that's not surprising, after all I'm no poet. Many new writers start with poetry; why, I ask, it's literally the hardest writing task of all?

Congrats to all, especially TheShyThespian and JamesPBear (I love Beckett so you can imagine how much I liked the Godot reference.) Thanks so much to WriterGirl for organizing this little competition and your generosity.

Trust a redhead; eye-catching décolletage flouts winter’s dreary buzzkill--eight million stories in the naked city, none worth a stone-cold detective’s dime.

Summer’s sob story: sweet sister’s dreamy singing; Mafia’s speakeasy injustice. Mystery rulebreaker packed heat; murder most foul!  

Emerald eyes sparkle, the siren’s call to ante-up, yet she needn’t drop another dime. Sultriness flambéing grayscale has the gumshoe-moth flame focused, a femme fatale’s reputation for misdirection now cynically discounted.

I've started my third attempt. Binned the first two and am going back to an idea I used somewhere (you know where) else. It's a late start so we will see if I get it done. Nowadays, I only seem to be doing competitions or micros; my toddler would like to make it clear it isn't his fault. And anyway, momma knows what to do, just supply more ice cream.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

When my kids were little, we took them and some of their friends to a baseball game. My youngest was about five at the time, and she enjoyed the pregame activities, popcorn, hotdogs, and such. But a few innings into the game, she turned around and asked me when the game was going to start. I told her it had already started and that it was the middle of the third inning. She looked at the field again and back at me and told me the guys weren't moving. I nodded and agreed that there hadn't been much action yet. A minute later, she turned around and said, "Are you sure this is a sport?" I thought the guys behind were going to piss themselves laughing.

Ladybug cookie sounds yummy! I'll have one, too, please, and a lemonade.

Lol, that is so funny - instantly one of my favourite posts. God forbid if Himself ever informs his father (or grandfathers) of a similar sentiment about cricket. I've watched a little (very little) baseball on TV, it doesn't seem that boring but there again I'm not five.

Save me a cookie (am I allowed to call them biscuits) for tomorrow, its late on Friday evening. Went out for drinks and nibbles, earlier at a wine bar; life changes when you have to keep to an 18 month olds routine.

Congrats to all who organised the comp, wrote a story, read, commented, and judged. Competitions create a buzz around the site which is fun to be part of. Special congrats to Pnin, KatarinaTechgoddess, and OpheliaTusk for their podium finishes. ❤️

Quote by gillianleeza
We both still have coughs and are unnaturally exhausted.

All the best, they are indeed the residual symptoms of Covid so a change of scene and getting outdoors will so help.

Quote by elizabethblack

A wonderful event to celebrate. AnnaMayZing has had her manuscript approved for publication commercially. It's the one on The Nurses. A fantastic book indeed. So very happy for her. She will be putting out an announcement, but she said I could tell my friends and you are all my friends.

Congratulations Anna. Nursing is a wonderful topic for a story.

Quote by Susie_de_Vil
It’s a beautiful sunny frosty day here in Ireland. Just been for a walk with the dogs and I’d love a cup of coffee to warm me up.

Good to see you here Susie.

Thanks to those who have read my competition story. Well done to everyone who wrote one; all the entries are great.

Quote by DenimAngel
SPRING TRAINING GAMES tomorrow

Lol, my messages are full of North Americans talking about snow and ice and school closures. Also, I thought the baseball season had just finished, clearly time moves slower for the aficionados.

Quote by SeaJay
Did you know there is an international standard for making a cup of tea? It's ISO 3103. Ireland was the only country to object to the standard on the grounds that it didn't include warming the teapot first.

Lol, I don't know whether to laugh at the idea of a cup of tea standard or cheer for the Irish - of course a teapot needs to be warmed. Most teapots in cafes have t-bags in them, I've never thought to ask if they have warmed the pot.

Lol, I wasn’t last! Left it late, but got it done, well except for being unable to attach a pic.

I’ve read all the stories, just excellent, though interestingly more horror (including Verbal) than I was expecting. James’s ending gets the prize for most horrific ending, though Brad’s was more horribly realistic.

Interesting to see what the judges make of this. The Mardi Gras parade in Sydney is on Saturday, the city is full of colour and the summer weather is great, should be excellent and hopefully not at all horrific.

Done and submitted. I hope not, I think the five votes was a feature of that other site.

Lol, while you lot are seemingly enjoying holidays. I'm trying to beat the competition deadline. The first draft is completely done, the editing half done. We will see, I have taken advice: the closing time in midnight in the UK which must be 24 hours or so away. But today I'm working so not much will be done in the next 10 or more hours.

Christmas to Easter is effectively summer down under, and is the peak holiday period especially between Christmas and Australia Day on 26 January. February is more about those without school aged kids taking time off as destinations are much less busy with the school year having started.

So sad about Larry, he was one of the first to support and encourage my writing. I so looked forward to his comments on my stories and to reading his. He had a long history of being generous with his time and supportive of newbies.