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Short Story Round 3 - Titles and Synopses

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Topic: Short Story Round 3 - Titles and Synopses
Posted By: taaaylor
Subject: Short Story Round 3 - Titles and Synopses
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:33am
I can't wait to read everyone's stories!

I'm in group 7 - drama / biweekly / an educator

Our Gentle Sin

Aslan is a Kadyrovite, a member of Chechnya’s secret police responsible for ridding the country of its filth: traitors and homosexuals, especially. But when Aslan’s dark secret follows him home from a summer vacation, he has to choose between his love and his life.

So excited to read all your stories soon!


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SSC 2021 winner



Replies:
Posted By: regannoelle
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:35am
Group 7: Drama / Biweekly / An Educator 

Souvenirs

Lipstick stains, stock photos, secret dates — this is the art of quiet love.




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Posted By: taaaylor
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:41am
Originally posted by regannoelle regannoelle wrote:

Group 7: Drama / Biweekly / An Educator 

Souvenirs

Lipstick stains, stock photos, secret dates — this is the art of quiet love.



Ooo I always love reading your stories! I'm looking forward to seeing this one :) Good luck with the judges, groupmate! 


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Posted By: td333777
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:50am
Group 2: Suspense/bulletproof/a rancher


Pep Talk

Officer Travis Flint is handcuffed, bleeding, and has less than ten minutes to live.  A voice from his past might be the only thing standing between a slim chance at life and a very certain, very violent death.




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FF '17 - 1st, SSC '18 - 2nd, FF '20 - 7th


Posted By: NERdling
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:52am
Group 6 - Romantic Comedy - A blacklist - A bounty hunter 

Soul Searching

Benji Alastair has been tasked with tracking down people who fail to register with the Soul Mate division 
and get their Soul Trackers installed. It's an easy job until Sloan Copeland is his assignment.


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Posted By: manifestlynot
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:12am
Group 9 - Horror/formal attire/a miner



Debridement

  

 

Data miners scour batches of raw data to uncover patterns about what engages an audience. What they find is not for the faint of heart.



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Rhyming R1: https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic51185_post541412.html#541412" rel="nofollow - Lionheart (Hist fic)


Posted By: Mumser
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:22am

Group 9: Horror / Formal Attire / Miner

Diablo De Plata

Nicholas is desperate for a unique new venue for his opera and the underground cavern in the Diablo De Plata mine sounds perfect. But it’s not easy to get in, or out.




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Posted By: Mumser
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:23am
Originally posted by manifestlynot manifestlynot wrote:

Group 9 - Horror/formal attire/a miner



Debridement

  

 

Data miners scour batches of raw data to uncover patterns about what engages an audience. What they find is not for the faint of heart.


Aak, I hope I can handle reading this!!



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https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic57914_post624663.html#624663" rel="nofollow - R1SSC The Bellegartin Quest (Fairy Tale)


Posted By: dias
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:57am
Group 1 - Ghost story/superficial/hotelier

THE CASE NOTES OF MISS DOROTHY DARLING

Case #139: Unexplained Incidents at Ravenglass Hall Hotel.
Notes from Mr. Ernest Abernathy’s investigation, typed by Miss
Dorothy Darling.

I know, it's not really a synopsis  Confused


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Posted By: Meggles
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 3:24am
Group 3: Comedy/Immortality/a statistician

There’ve been two genres in SSC that made me give up in past years- political satire and comedy. This year I’ve gotten BOTH. This one was the hardest I’ve ever fought to get a story out, and I don’t hate it (aside from the title).

Hot Dog Pizza

 

Jeremy Rossi has spent his life running his family’s pizza restaurant, and he’s not about to let some small-town fool ruin his family’s good name.




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FF 2021: https://forums.nycmidnight.com/r1-g13-the-lucky-ones_topic42245.html" rel="nofollow - C1


Posted By: Snarkmaiden
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 3:45am
Group 3: comedy / immortality / a statistician

West Ham, Penguins, and the Heat Death of the Universe

When jaded statistician Jimmy Jones wins the Life Lottery, he discovers that forever is a long, long, long, long, long time.

(I don't have 100% confidence that the NYCM judges are going to get this one!)


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Posted By: theinquisitor
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 4:00am
Group 4 - sci-fi - immature - a reptile owner

How Long Will You Need Me?

A reptile collector falls under the spell of a strange new animal


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Posted By: Draiglas
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 4:05am
Group 8 - Hist Fic - a last bastion - an artisan

(Just to flag that for various reasons, I'm not posting this one up on the forums so enjoy the synopsis, of which only 7 words were actually written by me!)

Title: R. v R

Synopsis (erm. Slight trigger warning. This has a sexist proposition in it and references sexual violence):

“But the husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.”
A trainee lawyer helps defend the indefensible.




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Others


Posted By: LadyArkham
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 4:55am
Group 1 - superficial - a hotelier

“Ghost Services”

Colin’s manning the front desk and wishes certain persons took “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” more to heart.


This round, my fantastic beta readers made such a huge difference. I really think that the collaboration with other writers is the most valuable part of the competition.




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Posted By: nickofnight
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 4:57am

Group 8, Hist Fic: Little Acts of Rebellion

As the Taliban’s stranglehold on Afghanistan tightens, a little boy—who holds many secrets—dreams of standing up to them.  






Posted By: AubreyZahn
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 6:47am
All of these sound amazing, I can’t wait to read them! I always get so little work done on the Wednesday after an NYCM weekend...

Mine was group 1: ghost story, superficial, a hotelier.

Chance Encounter at the Jewel of the Desert

Jason returns to his deceased mother’s hotel for a final task, but a meeting with a mysterious trespasser threatens to derail his plan.



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FF Challenge #3 - https://forums.nycmidnight.com/r3-g13-minotaur-thriller_topic55881.html" rel="nofollow - Minotaur


Posted By: joshaxel
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 9:30am
Great to see some group mates!

Originally posted by dias dias wrote:

Group 1 - Ghost story/superficial/hotelier

THE CASE NOTES OF MISS DOROTHY DARLING


Originally posted by LadyArkham LadyArkham wrote:

Group 1 - superficial - a hotelier

Colin’s manning the front desk and wishes certain persons took “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” more to heart.


Hard to say whether I've written a ghost story with this one, among other challenges that it sounds like everyone confronted in our lovely 48 hour writing spell. Here's mine:

The Single-Stemmed Peony

 

Synopsis: A pregnant woman, running from an agreement she no longer wishes to fulfill, checks into a hotel, and is confronted with the choices she has made.



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Posted By: Chasen
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 9:41am
Group 9: Horror, formal attire, miner

A Gift of Faeth

When the owner of a mining company kills the black cat that has been living peacefully among the workers, the workers see her repeated resurrection and mischief-making as a sign.  But is she a demon or a miracle; a curse or a warning?




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Posted By: LadyArkham
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 9:41am
Originally posted by joshaxel joshaxel wrote:

Great to see some group mates!


Hard to say whether I've written a ghost story with this one, among other challenges that it sounds like everyone confronted in our lovely 48 hour writing spell. Here's mine:

The Single-Stemmed Peony

 

Synopsis: A pregnant woman, running from an agreement she no longer wishes to fulfill, checks into a hotel, and is confronted with the choices she has made.



Yay, groupmates! There's at least four of us on the forums, which I'm super excited about.

Ooh, is your MC a surrogate? I can't wait to read.





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Posted By: joshaxel
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 9:52am
Your comment proves that it was unnecessary for me to title my story "The Surrogate" (something I considered as I completely rewrote draft one). WinkLOL If the story does half the work the synopsis does, maybe it will make sense?

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Posted By: manifestlynot
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 10:06am
Originally posted by Chasen Chasen wrote:

Group 9: Horror, formal attire, miner

A Gift of Faeth

When the owner of a mining company kills the black cat that has been living peacefully among the workers, the workers see her repeated resurrection and mischief-making as a sign.  But is she a demon or a miracle; a curse or a warning?



Ooooooooh I like it!


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Rhyming R1: https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic51185_post541412.html#541412" rel="nofollow - Lionheart (Hist fic)


Posted By: ideallyowlish
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 10:44am
GROUP 2: Suspense / Bullet-proof / A Rancher


WE'LL THAW IT OUT ONE DAY
___

Forgotten for fifteen years, a leg of venison vanishes from the family chest freezer. A divorcée confronts her ex-husband about it, but why the wire... and why the bullet-proof vest?




Posted By: AubreyZahn
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:07pm
Originally posted by ideallyowlish ideallyowlish wrote:

GROUP 2: Suspense / Bullet-proof / A Rancher


WE'LL THAW IT OUT ONE DAY
___

Forgotten for fifteen years, a leg of venison vanishes from the family chest freezer. A divorcée confronts her ex-husband about it, but why the wire... and why the bullet-proof vest?



Yo just so you know, Shadow of the Waxwing is one of my favorite short stories ever. Like, not amateur stories, stories period. So I'm hella stoked to read this one.


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FF Challenge #3 - https://forums.nycmidnight.com/r3-g13-minotaur-thriller_topic55881.html" rel="nofollow - Minotaur


Posted By: AubreyZahn
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:12pm
Originally posted by joshaxel joshaxel wrote:

Great to see some group mates!

Originally posted by dias dias wrote:

Group 1 - Ghost story/superficial/hotelier

THE CASE NOTES OF MISS DOROTHY DARLING


Originally posted by LadyArkham LadyArkham wrote:

Group 1 - superficial - a hotelier

Colin’s manning the front desk and wishes certain persons took “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” more to heart.


Hard to say whether I've written a ghost story with this one, among other challenges that it sounds like everyone confronted in our lovely 48 hour writing spell. Here's mine:

The Single-Stemmed Peony

 

Synopsis: A pregnant woman, running from an agreement she no longer wishes to fulfill, checks into a hotel, and is confronted with the choices she has made.



So many from Group 1 represented already!


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FF Challenge #3 - https://forums.nycmidnight.com/r3-g13-minotaur-thriller_topic55881.html" rel="nofollow - Minotaur


Posted By: ideallyowlish
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 12:35pm
Originally posted by AubreyZahn AubreyZahn wrote:

Originally posted by ideallyowlish ideallyowlish wrote:

GROUP 2: Suspense / Bullet-proof / A Rancher


WE'LL THAW IT OUT ONE DAY
___

Forgotten for fifteen years, a leg of venison vanishes from the family chest freezer. A divorcée confronts her ex-husband about it, but why the wire... and why the bullet-proof vest?



Yo just so you know, Shadow of the Waxwing is one of my favorite short stories ever. Like, not amateur stories, stories period. So I'm hella stoked to read this one.

I don't even know what to say, wow, thank you! I've gone bright red haha. This one's not quite so formally experimental (a pretentiousness that always seems to bite me in the ass in Round 3!) but I hope you like it anyhow Smile


Posted By: Pineapplepizza
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:05pm
I also had great beta readers! What a coincidence.


Posted By: Talia
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:14pm

I was in group 2: suspense, rancher, bulletproof.

After looking through this post, there's some absolutely killer titles and loglines! I'm looking forward to getting to read the full stories in a few days ❤️



Between Their Eyes

Brief Synopsis: Unfortunate circumstances force a rancher and her husband to kill off their entire herd of cattle. But is their plan to get through the process as bulletproof as they hope?



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SSC (Mystery)
https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic57853_post623575.html#623575" rel="nofollow - What My World Spins Around


Posted By: EdithLockwood
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:35pm
Group 3: comedy - immortality - a statistician. 

This is the second time I got comedy! Cry

Title: Where All the Brownies are Edge Pieces

Synopsis: Gunther’s mathematical formula sorts souls in the afterlife. When a heavenly soul seems a little suspicious, it’s up to the plucky statistician to solve the problem.



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Posted By: SumFemina
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 1:42pm
Originally posted by ideallyowlish ideallyowlish wrote:

GROUP 2: Suspense / Bullet-proof / A Rancher


WE'LL THAW IT OUT ONE DAY
___

Forgotten for fifteen years, a leg of venison vanishes from the family chest freezer. A divorcée confronts her ex-husband about it, but why the wire... and why the bullet-proof vest?



Wow! I want to read this just as much as I hate that you're in my group :)


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Posted By: Steven Kay
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 2:32pm
Group 10 - mystery / a loophole / a huckster

First time writing mystery and definitely experienced several "I have no idea what I'm doing" moments! Good luck all.

Clause Fifty-Two

Tribune reporter Miss Dale is investigating the controversial Clause Fifty-Two, but when she stumbles upon the murder of one of the city’s most notorious business moguls, she is forced to quickly work out who is her friend and who her enemy.


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Posted By: rachell
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 2:51pm
Group 3: Humor, statistician, immortality

First time with comedy. I think I dreaded this genre almost as much as political satire. Almost. 

"Please Answer in the Form of a Question"

SYNOPSIS: Susan thinks she has the secret to eternal life. But will a week taking care of her sick brother’s baby teach her that quantity isn’t better than quality?


Posted By: EWhite
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 3:06pm

Group 2: Suspense / Bulletproof / a Rancher

I'm still not entirely sure if what I wrote was indeed of the Suspense genre, but we'll see.


The Weight of Whispers


Rumors follow Thomas after he inherits his late brother's ranch, casting a shadow he can't seem to shake.



Posted By: Clare1564
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 3:29pm
Group 2:
Suspense, Rancher, Bulletproof

There Is No Planet B

 

North Dakotan rancher Bobby Joe Masterson is on vacation in London and can’t wait to get back home. An early morning stroll leads him to an Extinction Rebellion protest, which may just change everything.




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Posted By: Hoganzo
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 4:16pm
Hope everyone's feeling refreshed after a stressful weekend!

I was in Group 4: Sci-fi – Immature – A reptile owner 
I'm not a massive reader of the genre, but let's see what happens!

Ornamental Humans

To combat overpopulation, a shadowy bioengineering corporation was tasked with manipulating the DNA of every second newborn to hinder their growth and stop them from reaching sexual maturity. But after the global elite exploited the selection process, these Forever Children became their slaves.



Had a bit of a stress halfway through Sunday when I suddenly started panicking that my definition of "reptile" might not be acceptable, but it's in the Collins English dictionary, so I'm just trying to put any worry out of my mind. Whatever will be, will be and all that.

Best of luck to everyone!


Posted By: SumFemina
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 4:20pm
Group 2: Suspense, bulletproof, a rancher

The Last Cow

Faced with an inhumane commission, Safe Space Inc. owners Roan and Paul decide to mete out their own form of justice.



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https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic58489_post631823.html#631823" rel="nofollow - Screenplay: The Perfect Downward Dog


Posted By: dias
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 5:06pm
Originally posted by AubreyZahn AubreyZahn wrote:

Originally posted by joshaxel joshaxel wrote:

Great to see some group mates!

Originally posted by dias dias wrote:

Group 1 - Ghost story/superficial/hotelier

THE CASE NOTES OF MISS DOROTHY DARLING


Originally posted by LadyArkham LadyArkham wrote:

Group 1 - superficial - a hotelier

Colin’s manning the front desk and wishes certain persons took “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” more to heart.


Hard to say whether I've written a ghost story with this one, among other challenges that it sounds like everyone confronted in our lovely 48 hour writing spell. Here's mine:

The Single-Stemmed Peony

 

Synopsis: A pregnant woman, running from an agreement she no longer wishes to fulfill, checks into a hotel, and is confronted with the choices she has made.



So many from Group 1 represented already!

This is great to see! Looking forward to reading all your stories!


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All my stories are https://tinyurl.com/3uvvk4s2" rel="nofollow - here!


Posted By: argrenier
Date Posted: 24 May 2021 at 5:35pm

Group 5: Action Adventure/ A blunder / A physician 

TITLE:  The Mitten

BRIEF SYNOPSIS:  A doctor undertakes a dangerous mission to get medical supplies to a community shut off by winter.



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