Re: Discussion thread -- Three Hundred Word Writing Challenge #3
Hoopy – I was not wholly sure how to interpret this one by Hoops, it was oblique enough to give a couple of different interpretations, to me at least, and I think that is why I liked it so much. Was it playing with our time-sense, so that the eternity that is suggested at the start might actually only be minutes to the human view of time, or was it something more supernatural, someone being reborn into different forms, each time getting closer to the revenge they seek, locked in a void waiting rebirth. It’s more likely to be the latter, but as is quite often the case it is the end of the story that really makes it. A wry smile, and a great little piece of writing.
Chris – I think the thing that struck me first with Chris’s story was the imagery he used. The description of a village – people and animals transformed to stone is one that really stood out to me, filling my mind with a powerful image that was truly sealed with the mention of a stone robin. The story itself had an innate beauty to it, a mournful echo of loss and helplessness; someone powerful enough to facedown death outwitted by a form that was neither life or dissolution. A prisoner of stone, mute testament to the capriciousness of ancient gods. (and a lizard lady with snakes on her head).
Ökuþórr – I really did not know what to make of this one when I started to read it, but as the story unfolded it just got – I don’t know – amazing I guess. It is another example of the quality and diversity of the challenge entries. There is a certain epic feel to, the overthrow of society by the descending angels, revealed not to be benevolent as has been written, but vicious, powerful and malevolent more than happy to inflict attempted genocide an entire race. But then the almost pathetic fight back added more to the story, a man’s attempt to do what damage he could, seemed to round the story off nicely, but it was concluded even more strongly – the idea that the statues could have been the good ones, imprisoned in stone... great story.
Alchemist – I’d seen what other people had written about this one before I read it, so my curiosity was piqued. Damn it, Alchemist you made another adult cry, but enough about Mrs Perp. Even I was touched. What a great interpretation, the opening moments of a parent’s loss were almost tangible and a worthy piece of writing in their own right. But the end of the story really underlined it, very well handled and worded perfectly. Two heart punches in one piece, jaw dropping nearly. Excellent. Can’t say much more than that can I?
Parson – I was very interested to see how our resident Parson would handle the story this time round and I was not disappointed. A splendid tale, with a strong moral centre and a great story wrapped around it. As is often the case with our challenges certain lines really spring out at me, making the whole story a thing of beauty and that certainly happened here. I just loved the construction of the last line. It seemed an almost perfect capstone to another excellent tale.
