DISCUSSION THREAD -- 300 Word Writing Challenge #48 (January 2023)

Thanks so much, Christine Wheelwright and sule for the listings, and wow! to johnnyjet and Rafellin for the votes, thank you, CC
 
Wow, what an incredible spurt at the end there. I guess a lot of people where holding back.
I thought I had my top three nailed on until that last barrage. So hard to pick.

Honorable Mentions

Shortlist:

  • @JS Wiig - This charmer got me straight of the bat
  • @Parson - An excellent morality play
  • @Christine Wheelwright - A classic post-apocalyptic sci-fi story brilliantly told that evoked The Time Machine.
  • @Jo Zebedee - A quiet and truly unsettling little horror tale
  • @Phyrebrat - Honestly, one of the most beautiful pieces I have read in a long while. But I did have to read it twice to try and follow it fully.
In the end, I think I have to stick with my original three, @JS Wiig, @Parson, and @Christine Wheelwright, because I read them earlier and they stayed with me more. I'm sometimes blown away by things in the moment (films included) that turn out to be a bit more ephemeral after a time, and because I only read Jo's and Phyrebrat's literally 10 minutes ago, I have to temper my rash judgement to throw my votes at simply the most recent thing I experienced.
 
Found it a tough month to vote. There were nine that I think could/ should have got the vote. I tried making up criteria to judge them but in the end I just fell back on what I liked -so a fairly arbitrary pick.

Voted for:

Rahab by @johnnyjet – probably my favourite, just because it seemed a very well rounded SF tale with a nice sting of a comment on human nature in the tail/ tale.

Hasty by @Rafellin – great worldbuilding (think that's the word), as usual.

The Adventure at the Flying Carpet Factory by @Guttersnipe – great storytelling, not sure I fully got the twist but it got the vote anyway for the magic carpet ride.

Favourites:

Most/ all of the stories this time could be in the list: There is a spirit here that won't be broken by @Luiglin for the great storytelling style. As you have it done to the least of these by @Parson – Kurt Vonnegut said (or so I've been told) that the reader should be able to finish the story should cockroaches come along and chew the final pages, which was the case with 'As you...', and I think that made the story. The Menace of Closure by @Phyrebrat – some of this went over my head (ended up Googling the flight tracker for BA78) but the writing style is at a very high standard in my opinion. A Tale of Love and laundry by @Yozh – great stuff, and some universal anthropomorphism in the mix. Brilliant! by @mosaix – made me laugh

Special mention for Annual General Meeting of the Evil Cybernetic Corporation by @paranoid marvin -reminded me of The Comic Strip Presents 'Mr Jolly lives next door', class dialogue as always.

Thanks to the reviewers and mods for keeping the show on the road, and thanks all for all the stories (y)
 
I had some tough choices this time. After several rereads, I finally voted for:
Annual General Meeting of the Evil Cybernetic Corporation @paranoid marvin​
Brilliant! @mosaix​
The Shirt On Your Back @The Judge​

On my short list and almost just as deserving were:
A Tale of Love and Laundry @Yozh​
A Smile More than Memory @Cat's Cradle​
“As You Have Done It to the Least of These” @Parson​
The Flying Machines @Christine Wheelwright​
 
Time to vote:

Shortlisted -- Because

Hasty by @Rafellin because it is so filled with innovate creatures and yet tells an interesting creature.
The Hunt by @Victoria Silverwolf because I wanted to read a lot more of this story.
Rahab by @johnnyjet because it had the best last line in this month's contest and the wonderfully subtle but perfectly right on title.
Washing Cycles by @BT Jones because it is a really good Horatio Alger story.
The Shirt On Your Back by @The Judge because it takes real talent to make fine comfortable clothes creepy.
THE JENNIES by @Jo Zebedee because it is a near perfect horror story.
The Menace of Closure by @Phyrebrat because it a thing of beauteous words and phrases.
Recombinant by @Swank because I so want to think that empathy is contagious.

Okay, wow. That was hard. I found that so many of the stories had things hidden in them that I hadn't quite grabbed onto reading them before. I think this was a very high end group of stories, even if it was a bit of a small one.

Votes:
The Hunt by @Victoria Silverwolf --- I was convinced I was going to vote for this story from the first time I read it.
Rahab by @johnnyjet --- The last line of the story stopped me cold each time I read it, and I'm not sure I have the answer for it. It does remind me of the story of Babel where in Genesis 11:6-7 it says: 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
The Shirt On Your Back by @The Judge --- This story just makes my skin crawl.

If I had 4 votes. THE JENNIES by @Jo Zebedee
 
Parson said:
Shortlisted -- Because

Hasty by Rafellin because it is so filled with innovate creatures and yet tells an interesting creature.
Click to expand...
Okay, I'm hoping one of those creature mentions should be feature, or something like that. :)
 
Fave coffee shop in Stourbridge (y)
Nice steaming coffee (y)
Raspberry croissant (y)

Time for a chill from the week and have a read.
 
As always, I am astounded by the quality of the stories. And will we every have another Challenge were laundries feature so much?:ROFLMAO:

My 3 for shortlisting are:

Phyrebat with a style of writing that is (as always) so pleasant on the eye.

Jo Zebedee for an intriguing tale (I wonder if your 'Jennies' are based on the mythical Jenny Greenteeth?)

mosaix for a scene that would make for a very funny sketch

My 3 for votes are:

Ursa for an unusually pun-free entry which is very well written and keeps you guessing until the end

AnRoinnUltra I really enjoyed the format you chose and the story complemented it nicely

PM for a tale that was interesting and creative in it's own right, but would also make for a good foundation for an expanded story
 
And the coffee shop chill out provided votes for...

@Rafellin - in 300 words gave glimpses of a bigger world
@BT Jones - there's money in them there smalls
@paranoid marvin - humour after my own heart

and head scratching closeness to...

@mosaix - ah, the old time machine back at ya... I think... possibly...
@Jo Zebedee - myths are there for a reason, to teach us not to forget
 
Rafellin said:
Okay, I'm hoping one of those creature mentions should be feature, or something like that. :)
Click to expand...
tells an interesting Story ---- Parson grumbles to himself. "I'm supposed to proof read before posting! Now wake up!!"
 
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