Discussion Thread - 300-word Writing Challenge #52 (January 2024)

[Phyrebrat]

Shortlist and votes
Cul
CC*
Lacedaemonian
Starbeast
BrenG
Elkerleyc
Swank*
Ursa

The asterisks are for the two stories battling for my vote; I tend to like Swank and CC’s entries every contest but they were just pipped by the others.

 

[The Judge]

As usual, one or two stories I simply didn't understand, despite multiple readings, so apologies there. Rather less usual, for a 300 Worder anyway, I felt some stories didn't actually hit the genre, but I enjoyed a couple of them so much I've squeezed them onto my shortlist, which is a little longer than normal as a result, but it meant I didn't feel I could vote for them.

And that shortlist is:

Bren G -- A Labour of Love​

Cat's Cradle -- The Tithing of Grains​

Christine Wheelwright -- The Taxidermist​

cyprus7 -- Rhyme and Reason​

Elckerlyc -- Mice-en-scène​

johnnyjet -- All in a Mouse's Night​

Luiglin -- Is the light on?​

Provincial -- The Fish Can​

Yozh -- No Pets Allowed​

My first two votes were easy, going to Luiglin's sweet tale of deathbed revelation and johnnyjet's story of a house computer who finds grateful occupants. For the third, I was torn between Elckerlyc's tale of life-saving mice and CC's story of a starving man's self-sacrifice and compassion, and after some cogitation, CC just squeaked in by a whisker.


As for my piece, Many Intricately Carved Overmantel Mice Thanks for the lovely mentions Provincial, Parson, Starbeast and Elckerlyc, and Myriads of Limewood Snout-twitching Mice Thanks for the stupendous votes Stable, Peter, Christine, Pyan, johnnyjet, ZroSkeerd and CC. Oh, and More Playful Mice Thanks for the ninja votes nixie, mosaix, elvet and emrosenagel!

 

[emrosenagel]

My votes: Hoffeldon Mouse and the Importance of Good Manners by @AnRoinnUltra, Is the Light On? by @Luiglin and Mousehole @The Judge

My shortlist: Fancy Mice by @donrmontgomery, Dear Pen Pal by @THX1138, All in a Mouse's Night by @johnnyjet, The Taxidermist by @Christine Wheelwright and Small Honour by @Stable

Thanks very much for the votes @Lacedaemonian, @chrispenycate and @Elckerlyc ! And thank you for the mentions @Starbeast and @M. Robert Gibson !

I had a tough time deciding which ones to vote for, since there were so many great stories! Well done, everyone

 

[Lacedaemonian]

Cheers for the shortlist @Phyrebrat

 

[THX1138]

Thanks for the votes @JS Wiig @Yozh @ZroSkeerd!
And many thanks for the short listings @Starbeast @Rafellin @emrosenagel!

Yep, that was quite the story from me this time around I do admit.

 

[Ursa major]

​

The poll has closed and we have a winner:

Congratulations, Christine Wheelwright!​

​

 

[AltLifeAStory]

Congrats Christine! And everyone else.

 

[Yozh]

Congratulations, @Christine Wheelwright! Very well done.

Thank you to everyone for your entertaining stories.

Thanks to @chrispenycate @Parson @Stable and @Bren G for the votes this month, and thanks @The Judge @Starbeast @Cat's Cradle @Christine Wheelwright and @johnnyjet for the mentions

 

[THX1138]

Congratulations @Christine Wheelwright!

And a well deserved 2nd to @The Judge and 3ed to @johnnyjet !

Very close between the three of you.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

Thanks to everyone who voted for me and for the mentions. That was a close one!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Congratulations on winning the 75 word and the 300 word in a row! Fine job!

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

Congratulations on winning the 75 word and the 300 word in a row! Fine job!

Oh yes, I never thought of that. Is that what the Brits call a league and cup double?

 

[Rafellin]

Congrats to @Christine Wheelwright - a thoroughly deserved win.

Huge thanks (once again) to @AnRoinnUltra for a vote.

Thanks also to @Peter V @johnnyjet @Starbeast for the honourable mentions.

Catch you in the spring, quarterly compo folks. Don't do anything I wouldn't in the mean time.

 

[Stable]

Congratulations Christine! Getting the double is quite an achievement.

Thanks @Starbeast for the mention and @Culhwch for the vote.

 

[Elckerlyc]

Congratulations @Christine Wheelwright! Won by a nose-length.
Commiserations for @johnnyjet and @The Judge who were so close...

---

Hugh thanks to @AltLifeAStory, @Astro Pen, @Parson, @M. Robert Gibson, @cyprus7, @Phyrebrat, @chrispenycate, @Starbeast and @Ursa major who voted for my story and @Yozh , @johnnyjet , @Peter V , @AnRoinnUltra and @The Judge for the mentions.

 

[mosaix]

Congratulations @Christine Wheelwright!

 

[The Judge]

Congratulations, Christine! (Again!!)


I'm very grateful to everyone who liked my piece -- and Many Carved Pomegranate and Mouse thanks for the late ninja vote, Ursa!


If anyone was confused by comments in my post when I announced my story

Unusually for me, I had an idea several days ago, courtesy of a Lord Peter Wimsey story....

In the story, it's noted that the Wimsey coat of arms involves mice, and I have an image of Harriet Vane looking at an overmantel where there are mice, though I'm not now sure whether that was actually in the novel or something I've invented myself with memories of Marguerite St Just seeing the scarlet pimpernel flower in the portraits etc of Percy Blakeney in the films!

... the setting got junked... leaving only the overmantel behind -- Grinling Gibbons crossed with Robert Thompson

For those who haven't come across him, Grinling Gibbons was an English/Dutch wood carver in the late 17th/early 18th centuries famous for his highly detailed and realistic work eg

Petworth House in West Sussex has an entire room with examples of wood carving of this kind, much of it by Gibbons and his employees -- there's a short talk here which might be of interest Grinling Gibbons: The Carved Room at Petworth House | HENI Talks

Gibbons' signature on his carvings was a peapod. A much later English designer in wood who is perhaps less well known is Robert Thompson who used a mouse as his signature on furniture and church furnishings to the extent that the work is known as Mouseman furniture:

This carving is one of several in St Peter's Church in Birstall, West Yorkshire -- the motif apparently arose from a conversation about being as poor as a church mouse, which I also thought was too good a phrase not to use when I merged the Gibbons' technique with the Thompson mice for my story.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Congratulations, Christine Wheelwright! And a So Close to The Judge and johnnyjet. Terrific stories, all.

Thank you, Phyrebrat for the listing. I'm very pleased you enjoy my entries. And a huge thanks to TJ for the vote.

See you all back in the 300 in April, CC

 

[nixie]

Congratulations @Christine Wheelwright

 

[Astro Pen]

Congtats to @Christine Wheelwright You are definitely on a roll here.

and thanks to @elvet and @Rafellin for the votes on my little children's story.
and @Christine Wheelwright @Starbeast and @Elckerlyc for the short lists.