DISCUSSION -- October 2017 300-Word Writing Challenge (#27)

[Cathbad]

A big thank you to my second stealth-voter!

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I just noticed a vote...thank you, mosaix! And many thanks to you, Starbeast, for the listing!!

 

[Danny McG]

I know we got three votes apiece but it's amazing, when looking at the poll, to see how many people are actually voting this time round.

Well done you mods for drawing attention to this in recent weeks and raising awareness; here's hoping it keeps up

 

[Ihe]

Thanks @Calliopenjo for the stealth vote. I mirror @dannymcg's feelings on the matter. I also got four votes. FOUR! First time ever, in any challenge. What a glorious day it is.

 

[Perpetual Man]

For whoever voted for me.... I want to hug you.

Well there's no need to go quite that far, but you are welcome.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

And a huge thank-you from me, @Perpetual Man, for the stealth vote.

 

[Perpetual Man]

And a huge thank-you from me, @Perpetual Man, for the stealth vote.

In, vote, out like a ninja (turtle)

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Thank you to everyone who mentioned my story, and a big thank you to nixie and Cathbad who voted for it.

***

And here are my long list, short list, and votes

Hoverdasher
Starbeast
johnnyjet
Vaz
Bashfull
Ashleyne
Cathbad
TheDustyZebra
Luiglin
Rafellin
Phyrebrat

 

[Vaz]

I have a big list of favoirites I am still whittling down, but here are my vote winners for this month. Awesome work everyone who entered.

Votes

Teresa
Spoots
Peter V

I shall post my fave list tomorrow, hope that is ok.

v

 

[SPoots]

I have a big list of favoirites I am still whittling down, but here are my vote winners for this month. Awesome work everyone who entered.

Votes

Teresa
Spoots
Peter V

I shall post my fave list tomorrow, hope that is ok.

v

Thanks so much for the vote! I think that puts me a 6 now which is incredibly encouraging.

 

[Joshua Jones]

Thanks also to @Phyrebrat and @Shyrka for the mentions and a huge thanks to @Ashleyne for the vote! The promised cake is on the way...

 

[Peter V]

Thank you Cathbad, Talysia, Cats Cradle, Spoots and Shyrka for the mentions and shortlisting.

And thank you Titanium Ti, Vaz and Bashfull for the votes. In such esteemed company it is humbling.

 

[johnnyjet]

Up to 2 votes and 4 mentions! Thanks, Peter V, Starbeast, Phyrebrat, and Teresa for the listings and dannymcq & Perpetual Man for the stealth votes.

 

[Danny McG]

Five.
Oh boy oh boy.
Five.
*sitting with jawbreaker grin.*.
Five.
Five.
Five.

 

[Danny McG]

Five.
Oh boy oh boy.
Five.
*sitting with jawbreaker grin.*.
Five.
Five.
Five.

Thanks to you all.
Hope you lot who haven't voted yet are noticing this, you'll find it very easy, just scroll down to me and click 'vote'

 

[The Judge]

Lots of excellent stories this quarter, though I have to add my usual gripe that a few of them missed the genre in my view. I appreciate "speculative" might include horror, for instance, but I'd still want to see something otherworldly there. A pity as a couple of the not-quite-genre stories would have reached my shortlist, at the very least, if not for that lack of an SFF or otherwise speculative element.

Anyhow, even with that way of culling the stories, my shortlist is still longer than usual:

Ashleyne -- Grandmother's Garden
Bashfull -- [untitled]
Dan Jones -- Convalescence?
Kerrybuchanan -- A Long Way Home
Luiglin -- I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Phyrebrat -- Bag Lady
Shyrka -- Unseen & Unsung
SPoots -- Changeling
Teresa Edgerton -- Tidying-Up
TheDustyZebra -- The Quick and the Dead
Vaz -- The Rogue of Roses and The Goddess
Victoria Silverwolf -- The Veil
Wruter -- Pas Ce Soir​

My first two votes were relatively easy, as I'd put metaphorical stars by Luiglin's gentle reverie and Vaz's fragrant romance at the first reading and subsequent readings only increased my pleasure in the stories. Choosing the third, well that was more difficult and required a great deal of walking around, sitting down and re-reading, walking around again and changing my mind. I could easily find arguments for each and every one to have the last vote, and though I didn't quite get to the stage of tossing a coin, it was a close-run thing. Finally I plumped for Dan's nightmarish haunting.


Well, I'm a bit surprised my story proved in any way popular, especially as my other half didn't think much of it, though his reaction might have been coloured by the fact that all the actual railway stuff and background detail he gave me for the setting had to be edited out for the sake of word count -- he didn't see why plot had to take precedence over all the really interesting bits about the trains... Anyhow, many perfectly-formed model thanks for the mentions/longlistings/shortlistings Peter, Kerry, SPoots, johnnyjet, LittleStar, Phyrebrat and Shyrka and neatly-trimmed rose-basketed thanks for the lovely acknowledged votes Talysia, Ihe (thanks for the compliment!), CC (thank you, too, for the lovely words!), Chris p and Joshua, and the just as lovely but surprising stealth votes nixie, ratsy, TDZ and Lex!

 

[Ursa major]

The poll has now closed and we have a winner:

Congratulations, Victoria Silverwolf!​

​

 

[mosaix]

Congratulations, Victoria!

 

[Ursa major]

Oh, and here are the full results of the Ursa jury, with the stories in posting order within the categories:


Honourable Mentions:

• Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by TitaniumTi
• The Demon of Whitecastle by Joshua Jones
• Tidying-Up by Teresa Edgerton

Runners Up:

• Mary's Boy Child by dannymcg
• The Veil by Victoria Silverwolf
• A LONG WAY HOME by Kerrybuchanan

Winners:

• Dial 'M' for... by mosaix
• Convalescence by Dan Jones
• Model Citizens by The Judge

 

[Danny McG]

Well done Victoria with the veil.

Also major thanks to all who voted/listed/mentioned my story - I'm really amazed considering the large number of high quality entries there was.