Results: Inside the Animal's Mind [an unofficial challenge]

THE RESULTS ARE IN! Welcome, finally, to the results for my May 2024 unofficial challenge "Inside the Animal's Mind"!

You can view the original post here:

Before we get into it, I just want to say thank you to everyone who participated! There were a whole 26 entries! That's insane! I couldn't believe the attention it got, and I am so grateful to all of you for making it such an amazing experience!

Since this is my first challenge (and therefore my first results post), I'll give a bit of a rundown of the layout. I'll first mention the prompt and the challenge rules, for anyone who is just tuning in. Then, I'll dive into the Top 3 (the 1st place prizewinner and 2 runners up) accompanied with my rationales. Then, I'll insert the complete list of entries with hyperlinks!

Now that that's out of the way, let's get into it!

THE CHALLENGE

The Prompt

Write a story on the inside of an animal's mind/told from the perspective of an animal.

Everyone took such different and creative takes on the challenge, and I love how much variety there was! I wanted to keep it fairly open ended, to give you as much creative freedom as possible, and it was so incredible to see where you all went with it! There are some really amazing entries on here. You guys rock!

Some notes/reminders:

For the challenge, as stated in the original post, the prize will be awarded to the 1st place winner only. The 1st place prize is that I will subscribe (if I haven't already) and read, like, and comment on five of your works that I have not already read! (I would love to be able to tip, but for now, it is not quite an option. I really appreciate all you entering despite the lack of a monetary prize!!)

I allow for multiple entries by the same author in my challenges (as well as previously published work), but this is just a reminder that if you did submit more than one entry, only one can be featured in the Top 3. However, I will choose the higher ranking entry. For example, if you entered two submissions and I ranked them as 2nd and 3rd place, I would include the 2nd place entry in the Top 3.

So! Now, for the results!

THE TOP THREE

(In reverse order, because I have to build the suspense!)

3RD PLACE: "The Darkest Widow" by Lamar Wiggins

In third place, we have Lamar Wiggin’s “The Darkest Widow.” Lamar crafted an incredible tale from the perspective of a black widow, with astounding militarized diction, placing the widow as an intelligent combatant, awaiting the strike in a war on humans. A great win, selected for its language and intensity! Congratulations, Lamar!

2ND PLACE: "Wisdom Over Ivory" by Paul Stewart

An incredible retelling of exploitation for ivory from a wise elephant. There are massive implications here that can be explored, suggesting a greater social commentary about mankind in general. Paul’s writing is exquisite, and the selection of the intelligent elephant as a testimony to the flaws and deceptions of mankind is astounding. A well-deserved second place! Congratulations, Paul!

1ST PLACE: "This Kindred Tornado" by Mackenzie Davis

For 1st place (and for the prize), “This Kindred Tornado” takes the win! Mackenzie’s writing encapsulates and entraps. The imagery and personification of nature throughout this work is poetic and brilliant! It is poetry within prose. It is a tale of a war horse, stuck in a river. The intentional repetition and the way that the elements are humanized in the mind of the horse is brilliantly done, wrapping the reader in a fierce grip. Absolutely amazing! This piece was originally written for and achieved Runner-Up in the “Painted Prose Challenge” and I am surprised it didn’t go farther than that! Congratulations, Mackenzie!

Note to Mackenzie Davis: I have subscribed to you, and I will be reading, liking, and commenting on five of your works in the next few days! Congratulations on your win and thank you so much for entering!

A NOTE FROM BELLE

Congratulations to everyone in the Top 3! I wanted to, again, say thank you (everyone) for all of your hard work and brain power. It has been a great pleasure to read all of your entries, and an absolute pleasure to host!

I also want to congratulate everyone whose entries made Top Story on Vocal! I loved seeing your submissions on the Top Stories page! Warms my heart!

Other Challenges:

I wanted to remind you that I post unofficial microfiction challenges on a regular basis! I post them generally on the 1st and 15th of every month. They stay open for a month to gather entries, then I post the results a week after the deadline!

I currently have two other ongoing challenges, including:

"Text Thoughts [an unofficial challenge]," which closes on June 15th, and the prompt is to:

Write a story that is entirely made of a text conversation(s).

And "The Conviction [an unofficial challenge]," which closes on June 30th, and the prompt is to:

Write a story that includes, at some point, the sentence "I did what I had to do."

You can also view all of my open and closed challenges in my pillar post, linked below!

THE ENTRIES

Here is a complete list of all 26 entries, in the order that they came in. Again, thank you all so much. I invite you all to go and read the other entries, to like and comment, and share love for your fellow contestants! Thank you, all!

• Rachel Deeming "Dreams of the Savannah"
• Rachel Deeming "Waiting for the Ice"
• Mark Gagnon "SSSSnake"
• Hannah Moore "Strutting"
• Rachel Deeming "Whale Song"
• Mark Gagnon "Secret Squirrel"
• Mark Gagnon "Dead! Who Me?"
• Angie the Archivist "Her Majesty Mia and her minions"
• Mark Gagnon "The Real Snoop"
• Christy Munson "She loves me"
• Shirley Belk "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
• Mackenzie Davis "This Kindred Tornado"
• Lisa VanGalen "Can I Tell You Something?"
• Paul Stewart "Wisdom Over Ivory"
• Andrea Corwin "Silently, I Watch"
• Rick Henry Christopher "The King"
• Lamar Wiggins "The Darkest Widow"
• Novel Allen "Inside the female animal mind"
• Novel Allen "The rabid wolf"
• angela hepworth "The Caged Bat Sings"
• Andrea Corwin "Ivan"
• Andrea Corwin "Big Friendly, BF7"
• Cathy holmes "I Told My Cat about Vocal's Off Leash Challenge for Dogs, and She's Pissed!"
• Cathy holmes "Home"
• Anna "The storm"
• Catsidhe "I Just Want A Friend"