explore | Grilled Cheese

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 15, 2026, 7:31 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'pass' - I chose this dialogue about my MC's personal struggles with her gender image. My MC is just grappling with her butch identity and the expectations of male centered womanhood, and what being happy with herself means outside of peer pressure. #WriteSky

The WIP Snip word of the day is 'pass' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - "I mean, I wasn't lying," I answered, leaning back against the tree and looking up into its young branches. "I know everyone's thinking it. Hell, I've heard 'em say it. I could turn into the perfect Vogue cover doll and something about me would still tell them I'm not quite right. It's just tiring, is all."

"I get that," she nodded, scanning her own gaze across the pool space around us. "When the doorway into femininity is narrow, not a lot of people pass through in the end."

"See," I grumbled, raking my hands through my hair. "I don't know if that's even what I want. To be acknowledged as feminine, I mean. The times I was…" My voice faded, eyelids heavy. Each word that came out felt thicker than the last. The alcohol was finally in my system and I couldn't seem to shut up. "I just want to be respected."

"I respect you," she smiled, crouching down at my level. "I think a lot of us do. Try not to judge the sea for one shit fish," she laughed, shoving me playfully.

"Thanks, Amanda," I smiled, leaning my head over onto her shoulder in a half hug.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 5:52 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day was 'territory' - I honestly had only one option here and that's alright. It's a moment of sweet adoration between a friendship that had an incredible (if not frighteningly close) bond. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'territory' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - As the morning jostled the small working class town to life, Bekah led me through the thick greenery until it opened up to a long tunnel of white gravel. It was an abandoned rail line that connected throughout the region and dead ended somewhere in either direction. These ghost lines carved paths throughout the south, often left behind with no intent to remediate them. It seemed that this one was Bekah’s territory.

“My uncle takes these old rail ties and makes knives and stuff out of them,” Bekah explained as she tossed me one of the rusty spikes. “You ever blacksmithed before?”

I couldn’t help myself, a guffaw of disbelief escaping me. I smiled nervously as I turned the spike over in my hands and told her, obviously, no. The idea of it seemed exciting and flashy, bursting with sensory curiosity. The idea of her wielding a mallet and hot steel made me wonder what else she did that I hadn’t considered. I wanted to get to know her, hoping I played it cool long enough to be folded into her orbit.

@rosieforest.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 5:48 AM

Too sleepy for a fun graphic but here is my contribution to today’s #WIPSnip!

I did have the word “territory” but only once and it was from a scene I cannot spoil 🫶 subbed with “property”!

From These Murky Hells, available now

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity 💙📚🪐

Now, it’s clear. He surrounded himself with his heirs, alienating his wife. We had always been his property, spares to keep on hand in case something should happen to him.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 5:43 PM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'blue'. Since the word is so common in its usage as a descriptor, I thought I'd go with a little more creative reference from my excerpt. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip word of the day is 'blue' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - Outside, the night air finally felt cool against my hot skin. I said a silent prayer, hoping no wandering hand tried their door while I was gone. Eyes wrenched shut in fear and guilt, I pushed off the door and began walking fast towards Petty's. The risk was dangerous enough. That time of morning, blue collar boys were raring around corners in their lift kit trucks, hoping to scrape a few seconds off their commutes. There was no shoulder on the road winding through the bases of the Appalachian hills. Listening to the early morning, I couldn't hear a soul. Something wasn't right. Not just with Bekah. Things were too quiet, even for the rural valley. No birds, no roosters, no crickets: just the cold, unforgiving quiet of the grave. God, I prayed, that better not be an omen.

@cjmann3.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 5:24 PM

In Chantara, the old blood remembers the sea.

It shows in the flesh.

Today’s #WIPSnip is from QUEEN FOR A DAY, a finished fantasy novel.

#BookSky #DarkFantasy #MythicFantasy #QueerFantasy

As carefully as her trembling arms allowed, Cobeah straightened Disaya’s body upon the soaked stone floor. Golden braids, loosened in their struggle, spread across the finger-deep water like kelp caught in a tidal surge. Even in bloodied death, she was the most beautiful woman Cobeah had ever seen. Her snow-pale face still seemed to hold its own light.

Half-submerged, and with the striking cerulean cast of her skin, Disaya appeared more a Nereid or Naiad than mortal. The blood of those watery beings still marked Chantaran flesh in faint, indelible blue, blooming across skin and gathering at the tips of fingers and ears like remnants of distant tidewater. Long ago, they had guided Chantarans from the abyss left in the wake of the primordials and into the moonlit grace of the Goddesses above.

@thirdmonti.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 12:29 PM

#WIPSnip 13 10 2026

‘Blue’

From “To Save The Sun”
Part X: A Short Ride In A Fast Machine

—“We’ll get there, eventually; there’s no need to rush, iikka.”

“No, I suppose not… but this all still feels surreal to me, I don’t want to let go just yet because if I do it may all turn out to be a dream.” The tears streamed down my face. I was not expecting this sentiment to escape me, but I was feeling it deep inside. I was so afraid of being abandoned. I was home, but my home had been a void with the Kais for so long, and in person for not enough time. I feared losing the connection, as irrational a sentiment as that was.

Kaitani took my hand, saying “we crossed the universe, and the stars to bring you home; we are not abandoning you, ever, ikka.”

-“But, just as you are now home, we also have homes to get back to. The people you’d like to meet, who you will meet, need us to return too.” Flyboy was right.

——-“I promise we’ll make it happen.”

The Kais stayed for a little while longer until Flyboy’s communication device beeped. It was the admiral summoning them to return.

“I love you all,” I said, hugging each of them before letting them board the land vehicle to take them back to their shuttle. They all reciprocated the sentiment before boarding.

Less than an hour later I heard Blue in my thoughts. The shuttle had made it safely to space.

——-See, still with you. He smiled, as did I.

@cjmann3.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 6:28 PM

Admiral Calder knows the pulse of a ship and that dry land has none. He would rather face squalls and storms at sea than answer a new queen’s summons at the palace.

From QUEEN FOR A DAY, a finished fantasy novel.

#WIPSnip #BookSky #QueerFantasy #DarkFantasy #MythicFantasy #WriteSky

Chapter 6
Eighteenth Ring
(Noontime - The Day After Queen Disaya’s Death)

Calder detested dry land. It lacked rhythm and held no sense of flow. Yes, it offered vistas that could steal a man’s breath: cliffs and forests and sky enough to make poets of sailors, yet it remained resolute. Unmoving. A beautiful kind of wrong.

Nothing compared to the ocean’s rocking, the familiar argument between hull and wave. Nothing beat the feel of waterlogged timbers beneath his bare feet at sea, boards breathing up through his soles as if the ship itself had a pulse.

Like countless seafarers before him, Admiral Calder had always been enamored with the stars glittering overhead, indifferent beacons to those upon land who kept their gaze transfixed on one foot in front of the other. Now here he was, dragged ashore and summoned to meet with the queen no less. As much as he admired Cobeah, enough to feel a private pride in her rise, he wanted nothing more than to turn around and chase salt wind back to open water.

Even sailors, who’ve weathered the worst the world can imagine, know there’s no good reason to remain upon the shore.

@rosieforest.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 4:59 PM

A #WIPsnip prompt MADE for These Murky Hells

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
💙📚🪐

They held me tight, their pulse throbbing against my skin, blood running
beneath in their veins. My gums ached, throat burned, but I forced it down.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 5:45 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'pulse' - and this one is a heart pounding escape from a monstrous creature that seemingly stole Bekah away in the dead of night. Mild content warning for extreme emotional distress.
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'pulse' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - content warning for stalking and severe panic - "Please! Please!" I shrieked, a voice escaping me that I hadn't heard since I was little. Pure fear. "Help me!"

Just when I thought the creature would reach out and snap at me, the door from behind me vanished as I slammed into the cold linoleum tile of Petty's lobby. The wind punched out of my chest from the impact, my hyperventilating turning to dry, short gasps. Breathing burned worse than when I'd taken a fat rip off Bekah's pipe. I doubled over, scrambling inside and pressing my hands against the door to keep that thing out. I couldn't even see who let me in.

The morning shift cook wrapped her warm, heavy arms around my shoulders and shushed me. She brushed my hair from my face and chided Tatum for his attitude. I could barely hear a word, my own pulse deafening me completely. Outside, the beast circled briefly before scampering away back into the dark.

"Tatum, just call the goddamn police," the cook huffed. "It's okay now, sugar. You're safe. What happened? What's goin' on?"

"Bekah," I managed, stammering violently as the shock began to darken my vision. "S-something took Bekah."

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 6:30 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'cousin' and here's an abundance of them (mainly because I haven't figured out her name yet). #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'cousin' and here's an abundance of its usage (mainly because I haven't named this cousin yet) - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' - At last, I met Bekah and her little cousin at the top of the stairs. Eyes still wld as ever, the cousin raced down the steps first. I sighed and tried to muster the courage. I hated family dinners. It was just an excuse for the old to trap their kids at the table and talk over them, holding them hostage for an outdated definition of manners. Don’t get me wrong, I could rub elbows with anyone and find a commonality, even if I truly hated the person. My preference to avoid them was not a skill issue.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 8:47 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'fuzzy' - had to pivot here since I haven't used that word yet so I went with 'wool' to capture the essence. Meeting the family of friends is always a little awkward, but what do you do when the strangeness feels uncanny? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'fuzzy' but that word hasn't come up in my draft yet so I chose 'wool' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word 'wool' - The silence that blanketed the room felt oppressively suffocating like a wool coat worn too deep into spring. As I tried to avoid eye contact, I kept catching the gaze of lingering family from around the table. Slowly, I started to realize that it wasn’t just the cousin that was boring holes into me. The entire table was. I swallowed nervously, my chest tight with concern. Had I done something wrong? Was there something on my face? No… Bekah was staring, too.

@princessace.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 3:13 AM

Very much still a WIP but nearly there on second spooky one-shot. I have a series of ideas around my OC pairings maybe a little too much like their costumes; this one with Suna as a mermaid and Sean & Mac as pirates 🧜‍♀️☠️ I just had to share this exchange, it made me laugh. #WriteSky #WIPSnip #snippet

“You shut up.” Sean grabbed the taller man’s collar, forcing him to lean in closer.
Suna giggled and they froze, turning back to her. The warmth of her amusement burst over their faces, along with their own embarrassment, as they straightened up quickly.
“I heard a mermaid’s kiss can save you from drowning.” Sean almost groaned at Mac’s cheesy flirting. But Suna kept smiling at them. As long as she kept smiling, he’d support anything Mac blurted.
“Is that so? Are you drowning?” Suna teased.
“I really think we might be,” Sean replied.
“I will jump in this lake right now,” Mac said at the same time.
Suna laughed. She laughed a bright, sharp series of laughs that broadened her whole face.

@jasinfayble.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 1:59 PM

In Last of the First bk1 First Conjugation Miriam and Jakob attempt to sneak into her apartment slash office for her backup go-bag so they can evade the police and clan of demons as they effort to prove themselves innocent.
#WIPSnip #amquerying #Romance #Paranormal #demon #intrigue #WritingCommunity

Jakob’s jowls clenched tight. “Your place is being watched.” His head retreated from the alleyway of the business center along the road from Miriam’s apartment.
“Yeah, two cars, one unmarked. I expect they’ll raid my office soon. Need to get going before church lets out and they get their warrant.” Miriam scowled at the police vehicles in front of the structure.
“No, look.” Jakob pointed at the closer alley alongside the apartment building.
She pulled his finger down and out of her line of vision. “What? The junky? This isn’t FBI shit.”
Jakob chuckled and leaned against the brick wall. “No, it’s worse. A Defiler.”
Miriam exhaled and puckered her sweet lips. “This again? I forgot to brush up on my crazy demon terminology. What’re you trying to say?” She glared at his smug beauty.
He peeked again. The junky sifted through a trashcan in between glances along the alley and streets on each end. “Defiler, born human but cursed from willing evil.”
“What?” A fishhook caught her lip.
“Yeah, he’s a Child of Cthon for sure.” Jakob glanced at her judgmental overtones. “What! This is real, you’ve seen it! Look!” He backhanded his palm and pointed toward the alley and the creature who wallowed there against a dumpster. “That thing is evil and dangerous. Most Defilers are weaker than even Lemure,” he tsked as he stared at the distant creature making rounds along the alley before Jakob made eye contact with Miriam, “but if they join a Sebitti . . .” The Incubus stopped the explanation to allow it to sink in.
Sink in it did not. “What?”
“What the fuck Miriam, are you even listening? They’re dangerous, they focus their evil on the code of the Sebitti.” She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. He sulked and

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 8:52 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'raid' - tragically, not a word I've used in my current WIP. Decided to pivot to 'onslaught.' Minor content warning to implied homophobic bullying and isolation. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip word of the day is 'raid' but I haven't used that word yet in my draft for my WIP 'The Canary.' Instead, I chose 'onslaught' - minor content warnings to implied homophobic bullying and isolation - “A lot of girls don’t hang out with me because people assume anyone hanging out with someone gay *has to* be gay,” I sighed, vision distant as I thought of how many people recoiled from my kindness because they refused to be associated with the fat nerdy dyke. “The gay best friend thing is more for gay guys and girls, you know?”

Letting out a great sigh and face falling into introspection, Bekah thought about the loaded question. She leaned her head back, her long neck arching beautifully as she kicked the idea around in her thoughts.

“Not really,” she said at last. “At the end of the day, they’d be wrong and who cares if idiots are wrong?”

As much as I loved the sentiment, it felt shallow. Obviously, that was true on the surface, but it wouldn’t stop mistreatment. I just hoped she had the spine to defend herself from the constant onslaught of assumptions. Words were empty when compared to actions in the South. It didn’t matter what you said, it’s what you did or presented that gets around. At least she had the devoted years-long love of Logan to bat away the gossip.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 8:10 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'lizard' but I had to get flexible and go with 'snake' here. Mild content warning for brief mention of animal euthanasia.

Katie seems convinced Bekah's got a dog hiding in her house, especially with hearing them and smelling them everywhere around her house.

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'lizard' but I've not yet used this word so I had to get really flexible with 'snake' - the following is an excerpt frommm my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word 'snake' - mild content warning for mention of animal euthanasia - As I leaned an inch closer, the sound of a huffing muzzle filled my ear. My eyes widened with disbelief, watching the four thin black lines beneath the door scamper away. Just then, the door pulled wide open. Bekah stood at the top of the steps, head tilted in confusion. She was looking down at me, a strange sight for sure. I was pressed to the steps like a snake, hands bracing the ground as if I was sleuthing around the room. Her smile downturned in amusement, matching her arched brow.

"You… good?" She asked, chuckling as I shot up and nervously smiled at her.

"Yeah," I laughed, stiffly. There was no point in explaining myself. "Sorry. I… thought I heard a dog."

"Dog?" She asked, clearly confused. "No. We *had* one. Had to put her down when I was a kid, though. Rabies."

@caucasiansuasion.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 5:05 PM

#LitHodgePodge 7
I strive for a lyrical tone in my narrative voice, as if the old Bard whose path I followed from the pages of my Player's Handbook were telling the tale... At any rate, here's a #WIPSnip from the first chapter of 'Glinter' to hopefully make you feel a bit of what my MC's experience.

An ocean; shimmering, hard as diamond.
She dives from the Zhóu’s fragile hollow ten thousand kilometers above, a drop of black ink from the spindle’s starwise nib stretched in sublime vertigo; scales coruscate in gravitational ecstasy from sheer density, and nothing ever made her feel so infinitely alive than this crush of the dead sun below.
The Lóng form uncoiled as it dropped from the station’s orbit, tidal shear pulling hard on the snout as the full thousand meters of degenerative iron-dusted dragon plunged deep within the blazing furnace of Calvera’s magnetosphere. Those golden hours when the pulsar’s beam swept away spaceward were the only times to gather strange matter.
Captain Ijje watched from the bridge as the Mò Lóng Bù began; rippling microvibrations head to tail, no two scales remaining in static contact for more than a millisecond. Her silhouette blurred like an ink-wash painting brought to life, all smoke and dark silk at swim amid the sargasso of a neutron star.
“She’s dancing well today,” he said quietly.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 5:28 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'comparison' - this comes from an earlier chapter where my MC Katie is at an open mic night, lovingly encouraged/pressured by Bekah and Whitney who want to see her shine. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'comparison' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - Nervously eyeing the setting sunset, I realized we'd be performing soon. The baristas inside were giving their opening welcome to the patrons and giving a sneak peak on some of the types of artists performing that night. Most of them were college students looking to build an audience for their music. We were the youngest performers. There was no need to sit inside and listen to all of them. It wasn't that I didn't respect them, it's that I would trap myself in a Gordian prison of comparison until I could no longer function. I had to neutralize any competing forces and focus on executing the piece well.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 6:10 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'rice' but I haven't used that word yet so I went with 'oat' to keep the grain theme.
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip word of the day is 'rice' but I haven't used that word once in my WIP so I chose 'oat' to keep with the grain theme - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word 'oat' - We pulled up to Whitney's house in the suburbs, a quaint powder blue cottage. She lived in an idyllic spot, the home cradled by towering tree canopies above. It was easily a quick walk to school. There was no pressure to rush. It was a relief I had no idea I was yearning so deeply for.

Halfway up the steps, a wafting scent of bananas and oat floated from the open windows like a cartoon. As we walked inside, I caught the melody of warm jazz flowing through the speakers. Whitney's place was modern and clean. The bookshelf was filled with tasteful nonfiction and CDs tucked among a modest record collection. It seemed like Whitney's single father was not suffering from his separation, but thriving in it.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 11:09 PM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'wall' - sometimes the walls in my characters lives are literal, but this is a time when it's a metaphor. Ambitions run high when you're a teen, but it's hard to make someone you care about chase their visions for them. Sometimes, it's easier to let them go. #WriteSky

The WIP Snip word of the day is 'wall' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - Bekah snorted, shaking her head with a dry smile. She leaned back against the brick wall of the shed behind us and let out a heavy sigh. Legs straight out in front of her Bekah's eyes stared ahead in the distance. She shoved her hands in her pockets and lost herself in the thoughts before her. I knew the subject of life after school was a sore spot, but it couldn't be avoided forever.

"I'm probably not going to school," she finally replied, her voice cold and distant. "No money for it. Besides… I don't think it's for me."

"Bekah, come on. There's scholarships. You're one of the smartest people I know. I *know* they'll put you through. What happened to wanting to be a vet?"

Another huff. Bekah rolled her eyes with a groan. It made my heart ache, but I couldn't force her to chase her dreams. I'd run boundless through the highs and lows with her, but she had to want it for herself most of all.

@persephone666.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:30 PM

#WipSnip of this random fantasy/dark fantasy thing I started writing to give myself a break

#BookSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky

Text:

The gateway led into a blackened hallway, the sconces along the stone walls becoming fewer and farther in between the longer I went. A trap. I've walked into a trap.
Just when I turned a voice echoed from all sides,
"Come to me. Come to me."
"I don't think I want to." I said back.
"I have what you seek. I have news of your wife." It was then I realized the voice was coming from inside my own head. I didn't care about that though. The mere mention of Akira had me bolting into the darkness.
From the side I spotted light, the closer I got the more I could make out a bedroom door.
"Hurry." The voice pleaded.
I burst into the room, the door slamming against the wall. Whatever I expected to find, it was certainly not a brightly colored room, and a woman lying face down on the ground as if she'd just collapsed