Discussion -- 300 Word Challenge #6

[crystal haven]

Thank you Alchemist and TheDustyZebra, for the inclusion on your lists.

 

[StilLearning]

Thank you The Judge!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

thanks, TJ.

 

[Starbeast]

Since we only have the 300 Challenge four times a year, I'd like to give my personal reviews to those who I have editted from my "short list" and placed on my "long list". I'm always amazed with what we each come up with, just by looking at an image, and we all see something very different.

LONG LIST
______________________________________________________​

I, Brian - An excellent drama, sad, but engaging.
Lilmizflashythang - I liked you monster tale, it was enjoyable to read.
DthenB - Very intense!
Teresa Edgerton - Great ghost story.
Grimbear - Reads like poem, nice job.
Denise Tanaka - Quite an unexpected ending, very cool.
Grizzgreen711 - Your story leaves me with wanting more, yet I shudder to know what will happen next.
Kylara - Perfectly titled, a cruel fate indeed.
StilLearning - What a great idea, a runner on the Moon. Very original.
Phoenixthewriter - Spooky and creepy, well done.
R J Dando - I realy like that last paragraph, fantastic tale.
Ursa Major - Very good sci-fi drama.
Jimness - An Ice Age story, awesome!
TheDustyZebra - Wow, time travel with race horse thieves, you took me by surprise, terrific.
The Judge - It would be cool to look back into the past, nice tale.​

The Spurring Platty - Surviving against hostile occupation, ecellent work.

 

[Lilmizflashythang]

Well, a long listing is better than no listing. Thanks Starbeast.

 

[r_j_dando]

Thank you Starbeast, glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Phyrebrat]

My Longlist:

Teresa Edgerton - What The Thunder Said.
Paranoid Marvin - Sweet Revenge (something terribly creepy about it. Makes me think of the witches house in Hansel and Gretel which was awesome yet terrifying as a kid. And as an adult, sponge cake scares me. Yuk.)
Johnnyjet - Ghosts and Aliens
Flugel Meister - Stereotypes
Hex - The Dream Factory (lovely bittersweetness)
Luiglin - Rust
Denise Tanaka - Doubt (Wonderful imagery. Can anyone beat a sky like faded blue jeans this month? I doubt it... )
Stillearning - The Ghost of the Valley (love a good Moon yarn and this one had a nice balance of high strangeness and humour)
TDZ - Sound and Fury
TJ - And did those feet...? (for once there is a beacon of optimism in the Chrons)

My Top Three:
Stillearning
Hex
Flugel Meister

Congratulations to everyone on everyone's short and long lists. And thank you to Reiver33 for my vote along with all those kind enough to mention my effort in their longlists

pH

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Thanks Starbeast and Phyrebrat!

 

[Denise Tanaka]

Thanks for the mention, Starbeast: "Quite an unexpected ending, very cool." My first draft was twice as long and I had to cut out a lot that probably would have given away the ending much earlier.

And thanks also, Phyrebrat. Sometimes the metaphors work, and sometimes they don't.

 

[Brev]

Thanks to Denise Tanaka, jimness and TheDustyZebra for the votes.

 

[StilLearning]

Thank you Phyrebat, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for the long listing and review Starbeast WRT how we all see something different in a picture; I first looked at it without my glasses, and saw yellow and grey, like it was prematurely aged. Exposure to strong UV light seemed to fit the bill. So I suppose I was looking at the photograph, rather than the scene it depicted.

 

[Boneman]

So... after incredible stories comes the incredible task of whittling them down to vote for them. Taken me a long time, as usual, but here are the votes from the remainium jury:


Semi -Finalists:
Ratsy
Kylara
JohnnyJet (please continue this story...!)
The Dusty Zebra
Kiffinyjean (although I couldn't see a really good connection between the picture and your story, sorry)

Finalists:
David Evil Overlord
Stevietee
Hex
Grimbear
Alchemist
AtilLearning

Medals:
David Evil Overlord
Hex
Alchemist

Damn, those Gaelic writers are good...

Many thanks for all the mentions for my own event!! The crowd really helped...

 

[Hex]

I'm back!!! Did you miss me? I missed you.

Thank you very much for the votes and the mentions (I promise I will thank people properly when I get myself sorted out*)

I've now read through all the stories and -- eeeep. There are so many good ones I have no idea how I'll manage to reduce my shortlist to three.

More consideration (and possibly coffee) needed.

* which could be a little while.

 

[Hex]

Sorry to double post. Now I'm back, I can't shut up (clearly).

So... the first time I read the stories there were a couple I loved:

springs' because it made me cry (and cry), and the personal details made the people so real (Esther's hair, and the way the hunger gripped him -- wonderful).

Brev's because I really, really didn't see the end coming. The ambiguity of Corbin not needing to go any further -- set up so beautifully with his fear and discomfort so it seems like the narrator's generosity. I loved the language too -- the 'jaded light' -- I mean, is that genius or what?

The other stories were brilliant, but I never stopped loving those two. As Teresa said, there were so many great stories this month, it came down to personal preference. I had several particular favourites, written by (I'm keeping this as short as possible, so I don't mention everyone) -- stevietee, Grimbear, Glen, alchemist (made me cry too), StilLearning, crystal haven, Mouse and Boneman (totally heartbreaking and brilliant).

I dithered for ages between them and in the end, I voted for Mouse because Julie is the best character I've encountered in a story for ages and she wouldn't get out of my head.

Thank you very very much for the votes, Abernovo, alchemist, allmywires, Boneman, chrispy, crystal, DEO, Grimbear, HareBrain, jonnyjet, Kylara, Lilmizflashythang, nixie, Phyrebrat, r j dando, Scott, springs, Teresa and TDZ. You should have heard the squeals of delight (or maybe not -- they were loud and untuneful).

Thanks very much to everyone who mentioned The Dream Factory too.

I must go and pack now!

eeep -- and thank you so much for the lovely review, Perp.

 

[Mouse]

Hex! You are awesome.

 

[Brev]

Sorry to double post. Now I'm back, I can't shut up (clearly).

So... the first time I read the stories there were a couple I loved:

springs' because it made me cry (and cry), and the personal details made the people so real (Esther's hair, and the way the hunger gripped him -- wonderful).

Brev's because I really, really didn't see the end coming. The ambiguity of Corbin not needing to go any further -- set up so beautifully with his fear and discomfort so it seems like the narrator's generosity. I loved the language too -- the 'jaded light' -- I mean, is that genius or what?

Wow, thank you, that means a lot. And welcome back.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I'm back!!! Did you miss me? I missed you.

You went somewhere?

springs' because it made me cry (and cry), and the personal details made the people so real (Esther's hair, and the way the hunger gripped him -- wonderful).


ty, ty, ty, doing the vote dance...
.

Um, my reply is in your quote, cos I'm rubbish at quoting, but anyway, ty, ty, ty. Again.

 

[ratsy]

Boneman, thanks for the semi-finalism...yeah i am creating words now

 

[alchemist]

Another vote! Woo hoo, thanks Boneman. And thanks for the listing, Hex.

Hex! You are awesome.

Yes, she's very annoying like that, isn't she?

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Thanks for the votes, JoanDrake and Boneman.

My zombies march ever onward...lurch ever onward.