September 22, 2011

Second Campaigner Challenge

It's time for Rachael Harrie's Second Campaigner Challenge! You gotta love her sense of humor - wait until you see the words she gave us that must appear in this post. I looked every one of them up on Wikipedia. This is a clear lesson in vocabulary - or little-used words, I'm not sure. You can read and vote for your favorite entry here. I'm number 34.

The Challenge is:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

• include the word "imago" in the title

• include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

I MET THE CHALLENGE AND THE EXTRA OPTIONS!

AND SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE THIS POST IN ORDER TO GO LOOK UP THE WORDS, I POSTED THE MEANINGS BELOW:

Imago: Insect in its sexually mature adult stage after metamorphosis.
Miasma: Noxious atmosphere.
Lacuna: A gap or space.
Oscitate: Gape or Yawn.
Synchronicity: Events that happen together by chance.

AND HERE IS MY POST.
Imago of a Lost World

AirShip America Log, September 22, 2075.
24:00 hours.
Reached Mariposa. Declared international martial law upon discovering mixed human/alien race in apparent distress. Subsisting mostly in an area called Lacuna, below ground, the unsustainable miasma being above ground. They are barely surviving. The race is surely facing extinction. Entire planet is beginning to oscitate in large areas and increasing daily.

I tapped the pen against my lips. I hadn’t quite figured out what to do with an entire race from a defunct planet.

“What are you planning?” asked First Lieutenant Carmenski. Clearly uneasy, she wanted to begin doing something. Anything.

“They must be evacuated, obviously,” I said, annoyed. I don’t like being rushed into any decision, especially one as important as this.

“But how?” she pushed. Our ship will only carry five hundred more.”

She sat next to me, commanding my attention. “Don’t you think it strange the AASA sent us here? I don’t believe in synchronicity. I think it’s all smoke and mirrors. They knew what they were sending us into.”

“Perhaps,” I said. But I secretly agreed. We landed on a dying planet. The American Aeronautical Space Administration surely knew about it. And sent us all to certain death.

72 comments:

J.A. Bennett said...

Love the picture and great use of the words!

A.E. Martin said...

The words really fit in with the sci-fi feeling of your piece and I like how you used lacuna differently. It sounds like the start of a very interesting story.

Angela Brown said...

I love your sci-fi take on this challenge. You wove the challenge vocabulary intricately through. Awesome job!

Lady Gwen said...

J.A., thanks - it was a difficult task.

A.E., my first sci-fi piece - had lots of fun writing it!

Lady Gwen said...

Angela, thanks. I absolutely loved your take on the challenge!

Sheri L. Swift said...

Wow, very nice! Love the photo you chose to bring out the Sci-Fi even more! ; )

K.T. Hanna said...

This is great. Love the Sci-Fi element. Love the ending especially. The words are woven in beautifully. Loved it.

Lady Gwen said...

Sheri, it was a fun photo!

K.T., thanks, once I got my head about the meanings of the words, it was fun figuring out how to use them:)

Jeigh, Google all the way!

Jeigh said...

Nice! And thanks for posting the definitions, because two of them didn't show up in my dictionary app :)

Sonia Lal said...

The first science fiction story I've seen so far and it's great. Like the way you use the words.

Lady Gwen said...

Sonia, it's awesome, I'm seeing so much variety. Thank you.

Alynza Smith said...

I love how you started out with the airship log! Very cool piece. Great job!

David Powers King said...

Lovely piece of Sci-fi! I could tell your characters had a connection. Opening it up with a log made it all the more unique. I'd read on.

Great job, Gwen! :)

Tara Tyler said...

great work w/the prompts! and i love sci fi!

Lady Gwen said...

Tara, my first at sci-fi - it was pretty fun. Thanks!

Lady Gwen said...

Alynza, Thank you - it took me a while to think this up, LOL!

David, thank you! My first sci-fi piece:)

elizabethanne said...

Great take on the words -- I really liked your sci-fi approach, and starting with the log was, as David said, an excellent idea.

Sarah Pearson said...

Nice piece, excellent use of the words, at least two of which I've never heard of!

Kelley said...

NEAT. lol. I like it. I thought this one was really hard, but I'm seeing such great things come from it :)

Lady Gwen said...

Sarah, I didn't know the words either. And when I looked them up, I didn't know how I could possible use them!

Kelly, I love the variety, too!

Lady Gwen said...

Elizabethanne, thank you kindly:)

bridgetstraub.com said...

I like "its all smoke and mirrors" I forgot to use mirrors, darn. Mine is #29

Lady Gwen said...

Bridget, thank you! Took me a while to think that one up!

Jen said...

I love how you got Lacuna in as a proper noun! Good thinking! And I had to look up the words as well! Mine is #3.

Maeve Frazier said...

I love the sci-fi take. I love how you layed it out. I could definitely read more!

Christine Rains said...

That was awesome! I love how you used the words in it and the mystery of this dying world. It's good solid sci-fi and I want more.

Melodie Wright said...

Great creativity. I liked how you put this in the future despite the Victorian words. Well done!

Crystal said...

WOW! Great job, Gwen! That was just really well put-together, and a really clever use of the words. :-)

Cheryl said...

Excellent, and you managed to get most of the words in that first paragraph. Neatly done.

Joshua said...

Nicely done. Love the sci-fi angle.

LadyJai said...

Love the scifi feel, especially the log at the beginning. Kind of put me back in a star trek mindset. :) Great job!

Angie Cothran said...

I love the sci-fi twist, and your creative use of words :)

Stacy S. Jensen said...

Wonderful and thanks for including the definitions - very kind.

Cortney said...

This was great, it really painted the scene for me! I'm with LadyJai, it put me in a Star Trek mindset also.

Lady Gwen said...

Jen, yep, I named the lacuna, Lacuna!

Maeve, thanks - my first sci-fi

Christine, thank you kindly:)

Melodie, are they Victorian words? LOL!

Crystal, thanks. Where's your entry?!

Lady Gwen said...

Cheryl, I probably should have spread the words out a bit!

Joshua, my first sci-fi - thanks!

Angie, ditto! My first sci-fi - pretty fun!

Anonymous said...

Wow Sister what a challenge. Fantastic Job!!

Lady Gwen said...

Lady Jai (love your name!), yeah, I was kind of thinking Star Trek "ish".

Stacy, thanks and you're welcome. I had to keep reminding myself what the words meant.

Cortney, reminded me of S.T., too! Strange the things we think of, LOL!

rddenton said...

Holy shit, Gwen. This rocks.

The very first part blew me away. You really stretched out into the 200 words as if they were a super-comfortable recliner -- you knew how to use every letter to your advantage. I loved the log and then the shift into the regular narrative!

This was great. I absolutely can't wait to read more!

F.E. Sewell said...

What a creative, original take on the challenge! I absolutely love your piece. Very, very well done!

Zan Marie said...

Cool, Gwen! That's a great use of the words and I'd read a longer story for this set up.

P.S. Following you now. ; )

Lady Gwen said...

RD, thank you so much for your awesome response!

F.E., my first sci-fi - thank you!

Zan, thank you for your kind words!

Lady Gwen said...

Anonymous, I can always count on my sister, lol!

Miranda Hardy said...

This is great. I enjoyed it very much. A lot of thought into it and it came out wonderful.

Sandwiched Writer said...

Love the incorporation of the airship log! Great idea!! Also am a new follower!

Sandwiched Writer said...

Ah, wait, can I follow sans Facebook? (I'm rebelling against the FB Machine.)

Joyce Lansky said...

Powerful.

Joyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/

Jamie McHenry said...

Hey, a Sci-Fi entry. Nice job. I like it.

niiganab said...

Yes! Great writing.

Carrie Butler said...

Fantastic use of the words, Gwen! You did a great job! I think I would read anything you write. :)

Kurt Hartwig said...

I will also pile on to the appreciation-of-word-use bandwagon. Nice work!

Medeia Sharif said...

This is the first sci-fi piece I've read, and it's amazing.

Have a great weekend.

Christy Farmer said...

Gwen, I love the log at the beginning of this. Very cool! I would love to see these characters survive, I really would;)

Dawn M. Hamsher said...

Ooh, a doomed mission. I really enjoyed this! Great use of dialog.

The Write Soil

Mine is #50.

Steph Schmidt said...

I never thought about using a scifi slant, perfect for the challenge words! Great job on casting suspicion on the AASA (I'm guessing future NASA?)

GKJeyasingham said...

Quite refreshing to see a sci-fi take on the challenge. And you used "Lacuna" particularly well. Good job!

thepatientdreamer said...

That was brilliant, loved how you incorporated the log in the beginning. Loved it.

Lady Gwen said...

Miranda, Thanks!

Sandwiched, Thank you and thanks for following.

Joyce, Thank you so much.

Jamie, thank you, my first sci-fi!

Lady Gwen said...

Thanks, Niiganab:)

High praise, Carrie - thank you *blushes*

Kurt, thanks!

Medeia, thank you very much!

Christy, I'm flattered!

Dawn, yes, doomed! Thank you:)

Lady Gwen said...

Steph, yes - strange words deserve sci-fi! Thank you:)

GK, Lacuna was probably one of the easier words to use. Thank you:)

Patient, thanks - the log seems to be a hit:)

Joanna said...

This flows well and the challenge words don't feel misplaced or awkward at all. Best Sci Fi piece I have read so far (got through about 80 so far, phew!).

MC Rogerson said...

How are they going to get out of this one? Makes me want to read more!

Lady Gwen said...

Joanna, thank you for your kind words. It means a lot!

MC, I don't know how they'll get out of it, lol, but they will - I like happy endings! Thank you.

Sher A. Hart said...

Ooh, I love SF. But no, I don't want them to die! And then I read the comments and saw it, a way out. I'm a happy ending junkie too. Well, except for flies. So glad you enjoyed mine too.

Angela Orlowski-Peart said...

Such a creative sci-fi take on the 2nd challenge! I admire how gracefully you used all the required words. I'm off to vote of your entry :-)

Lady Gwen said...

Sher, lol - yeah, except for flies!

Angela, thank you so much!!! Yay! You're voting for me:)

raelynbarclay said...

Brilliant. Love your use of the words and am definitely hooked.

Lady Gwen said...

Raelyn, that you so much for your kind words!:)

Cheryl Reif said...

Oooh, interesting! One of the only sci-fi pieces I've read and *very* nicely done. I like your idea of beginning with the mission log--it allowed you to communicate a great deal of context without it feeling like and info dump.

Stobby said...

Creative and intriguing. Good job. Vote from me ;)

Stobby

Karen deBlieck said...

Very good take on the challenge. Your sci-fi piece read very smoothly. Thanks for the read.

#189

Gwen Gardner said...

Cheryl, the mission log has been a hit! Thanks for stopping by and commenting:)

Stobby (love the name), thanks for stopping by and "liking" me!

Karen, thanks for stopping by - I'll come by and read your entry, too!