Friday, February 22, 2013

Trifextra: Week Fifty-Six

Welcome back, Trifectans!  This past week was a busy one, with scores of Trifectans linking up their responses to exhaust.  It was a tricky word, and we are impressed by the number of you who successfully responded to it.  Lots of you, however, used the word exhausted instead of exhaust.  We understand the temptation, but for this writing challenge, you need to use the word exactly as it's given to you.  Please take a look over our instructions to make sure you've followed them before linking your post.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

First place this week goes to Whimsygizmo who gave us Armageddon.  It's short, and it's lovely.
We must ex
-haust this thing
to its final sting,
hold its last
lashed ashes in our trembled
hands. Someday we’ll stand
before this scorched earth
and its lost sky,
breathe our own
leaving.
Second and third place tell somewhat similar tales.  I have to admit: science fiction is not my favorite genre.  That being said, there's no denying the talent of these two writers and the strength of these two pieces.  Coming in second place is H.L. Pauff with Permanent Mutation.  Third place goes to Chris White who gave us The Birds.  Be sure to check them out if you haven't already.  Congratulations to all three of our winners and a big thanks to everyone who linked up!

Head on over to our Featured Trifectan tab to learn more about this weekend's selected Trifectan(s).  Drop a little love in the comment section if you have a minute.

This weekend we are playing another type of word game with you.  Below are photos from the 33rd page of one of our very favorite books, Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge.  What we want you to do is to scour the page (click to enlarge), choose 33 words, and reshape those words into a piece of your own.  Your piece does not have to tell an entire story.  We just want to see what you can do with this particular word bank.  Punctuation is up to you.  Use whatever you need, whether or not it appears in the photos.



Hope you have fun with the challenge and have a great weekend!

24 comments:

  1. Freaking awesome winners yes \>__</
    A word hunt oh joy :D

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  2. What an awesome prompt!

    Congrats to the winners, especially Miss De. :)

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  3. I am so sad that I didn't get to read as many as I wanted to this week. Congrats to the winners!

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  4. Can you clarify the rules for the weekend prompt? Choose exactly 33 words, adding as many others as we like? Choose at least 33 words? Use only 33 words total for the entire poem? Or are the rules relaxed this week?

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    1. Sorry if they weren't clear. The idea was that you would choose only 33 words and then use only those words to wind up with a 33 word piece. Punctuation was where we were being flexible. Hope that helps.

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  5. Morgan (Snapshots) - I can't comment on your blog but LOVED your submission for this week.

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    1. Thank you ... It made my brain hurt a bit! Such a great challenge!

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  6. Congratulations to all the very deserving winners! Wish I had more time in my week to read through every single post.

    Love this weekend's challenge - very cool idea!

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  7. This is still not entirely clear: I chose my 33 words, but to make them comprehensible and to get a proper flow, certain joining words are necessary, the occasional tense change would make more sense. But I always end up with more than 33 words. I don't usually read others' contributions until after I've written my own, but this time I will have to! I could make a terrific 333 word story out of them, but 33? A cut too far.

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    1. Sorry it's not clear. We want you to give us a 33-word submission. All 33 of those words need to come from the two photos up above. I think it's a very challenging exercise, but I don't think it's impossible. Perhaps I should try it myself before I go running my yapper. :-)

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    2. It was challenging, but as can be seen by a bunch of great enties, very possible. My fchallenge was that,the limit of available words pushed me toward a story I wasn't exactly intending to write. That said, it was fun.

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  8. That was fun - except for hunting in vain for some of the words I wanted and having to re-shape with substitutes! I have a tale of 'Suspense'!

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  9. Oh, and the countdown isn't counting down, or doesn't that count? :)

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  10. Congrats to the winners for their great entries:-)

    What an amazing challenge with the prompt from Trifecta.I see already there are 29 entries on board.Before I even attempt to bell the cat-err,enter this challenge,I need one clarification (don't want to make a silly mistake like last time).Do all the 33 words need to come from continued sentences or can be selected at random from the given page(s)?Thanks in advance:-)

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    1. Hi there! Use the words at random, please. A few in succession lifted directly from the source is fine, but try to make it feel different from what's already been published. Thanks!!

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    2. Oh cool,thank you so much for the prompt response Trifecta:-)Now off to oil the creaking wheels of my brain(or what is left of it) & try to get them rolling,see you ;later.Toodles :D

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  11. Wonderful contributions, all. Please forgive me if I seem a little disconnected or sporadic in interactions with each of you for the next little bit. I'm buried somewhere under a dissertation proposal, but know that I am most appreciative of this creative outlet. Strangely, you all may be responsible for helping me to maintain my sanity (which is an odd thought, considering some of the characters created here! ha ha!) Grace & peace, -j

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  12. Thank you so much. What an honor.

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  13. Congrat's winners! Okay, I hope you'll leave my submission up, even though I didn't stop at 33 words; I used 33 words from p. 33. It is after all horror Saturday...I was forced to stretch out a pinch :)

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  14. Under the wire!!! Thought I wouldn't get it in. Wicked prompt! Now I'll really have to read Olive Kitteridge.
    And congrats to Friday's victors! They were awesome.

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    1. Just finished reading it Kymm - Been meaning to for years. Excellent read.

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  15. I like a challenge, but I can't be arsed submitting properly. Besides, zombies are overdone. For those who like the undead, here's my piece FOR FREE:

    Pink entrails hung around his ribs and clanking bones. It would devour her.
    She had the rifle near her head - It ripped.
    Pink spray . . . the remnants of his mind across the pine needles.

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