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@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

@elizabeth-snow.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 7:11 PM

#WIPSnip Motivation:
-“I can’t leave the book.”
-“Then bring it with us.”
-“I can’t.”
-Devlin chewed his lips as they looked at each other, Ki’in waiting for him to ask another question. Or to understand. “Can I?”
-They nodded slowly. Once.

“I never feel safe,” Ki’in said quietly, almost turning sideways in his chair to look away. “I never have.”

Devlin blinked and leaned forward. “Not once?”

They sniffed and shook their head. “When I’m with you, when you’re—everything, I can almost forget. I can almost—I can imagine what it might feel like. I think.” They frowned. “I don’t actually do much thinking. It feels, and I remember feeling, and then I can imagine.” They sighed and scrubbed their hands through their hair. “I’m sorry. I know that isn’t what—you can’t—it isn’t about you.”

“I know.” He didn’t know what it was about, except that it was about the scars, somehow, and the book, and the way he did magic like no one else but hid away in a bookshop, and how he was so much older than he looked. “Come away with me, to the coast, for a few days. You need to rest.”

They looked up at him with a deep sadness he was suddenly afraid to understand. “I can’t leave the book.”

“Then bring it with us.”

“I can’t.”

Devlin chewed his lips as they looked at each other, Ki’in waiting for him to ask another question. Or to understand. “Can I?”

They nodded slowly. Once.

@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 5:47 PM

Here's a #WIPSnip...

For Captive of the Crimson Countess.

Agatha did not survive the night. Nobody confirmed her death. But Agatha didn’t return the next morning. And when Blair asked after her, nobody would discuss it. Some of the women pretended not to know who Blair meant. Others told her to change the subject.

Blair raged in her heart. She knew that the countess would have fed, and killed, one of the women whether Blair had joined in or not. Maybe Blair had prevented the countess for killing more women. Maybe not. Blair didn’t know. But another captive had died, and Blair had failed to protect her.

@selene-heidlman.story-circle.link Oct 5, 2026, 5:09 PM

Ooh, a #WIPSnip game!

Hm... I think this does a solid job of showing some of Cindy's personality without telling? It certainly goes a long way with Nolan and Greg.

(From the rough draft for Moth to a Candle)

"Hey, Mr. Lewis? Um, line 42 doesn't add up."

Greg looked over, then checked his math on a nearby calculator. Sure enough, he'd missed a number several lines earlier.

"Ah, you really are my guardian angel. Thank you!" He replied, grasping my hand with both of his. I felt like a child by comparison, and his warm, sweaty palms left me feeling clammy and gross. Nolan slipped up behind Greg and whacked him on the back in a way that might have been a little rough for a playful pat, and Greg promptly freed my hands.

"Easy there, Greg. 'Harassment takes many forms' and all." Nolan said, reciting from one of those awful corporate training videos. I slipped back out of Greg's workspace as Nolan glared daggers into Greg, who smiled back in spectacularly creepy fashion.

Well, boys will be boys, I told myself, and finished gathering my things to leave. It was pouring by the time I reached the bike racks, and I grumbled a little as I unlocked my bike.

@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 3:20 PM

Okay let’s play a #WIPSnip game!

Find a snippet from your current WIP, preferably written this week, that shows your MC’s motivation without stating it outright. Where you show us rather than tell us!

@mathancampbell.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 1:13 AM

In today's #WIPSnip, Ricarin & company have just delivered a group of settlers to the border town of Locnai, when the leader of the town council - an old friend - asks them to stay and help defend it. Doing so risks all their lives - and is outside the contracts they've signed.

Before she could interject, Ricarin did. “Let’s hear him out, Darin. What do you need, Kester? Speak plainly - we’re all friends here.”
“Well, a typical Sealgairean raiding party would be four or five warriors. That we could handle easily enough. But the Glic say there’s a full warband crossing the pass. Their scout didn’t get a good look, but maybe as many as ten. I don’t know that we can survive that.”
Lias was confused. “Only five or ten? With the new settlers, there are almost three hundred people here!”
Kester shook his head. “Have you ever seen Sealgairean? Their armor makes them very hard to kill, and they’re far bigger and stronger than any Human. Experienced warriors can hold their own, but we have precious few of those here. It could be they just steal sheep and go but…” He sighed. “I know this is a big thing to ask, but I need - we, all of us need - you to stay a few more days. We can pay you well for the delay, and you might not even need to fight.”
“And if they do come?”
“Then your swords might be the difference between everyone here living or dying. These are good people. They’re better off thanks to the training you’ve given the new folks, but I’m still whipping the Militia into shape and they aren’t warriors yet.” He clearly hated to beg but had no choice. “We need your help.”

After saying goodnight to Kester, they all retreated to the newly-built tavern and found a corner to talk.
When they were all gathered together, Darin started them off.
“Alright folks, if this was a normal decision it’d be up to the four of us who own a stake in the company to make it.” He nodded to Scatha and Lias. “But this isn’t a normal decision and the contracts you all signed to join us weren’t for this kind of risk, so we’ll vote on it. Any objections?”

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 7:54 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'contract' - this snippet is especially fun because it starts to illuminate a secondary MC in my world, Detective Megan Leanne Deer. She's a butch Southern officer who may be much more important than my readers may realize. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'contract' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP 'The Canary' featuring the word of the day - Passing off the mic with expert fluidity, Detective Deer stepped back as the vice principal focused our attention. He explained how if our parents had additional questions about the security measures that they could reach out to the Wrightsville school board or police department. He rambled on about how select grade students could apply for their work and after hours curfew exemption at the guidance counselor's office and where to report any suspicious activity. Mostly the fine print on the open air social contract.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 3, 2026, 7:29 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'petal' - had to get a little creative with this one since I'm not often referencing flowers in my WIP. Went with 'bouquet' instead!

An early moment in the story where my MC realizes the motive behind a friendship could be deeper than she realized. #WriteSky

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'petal' - since I have not yet used this word I chose 'bouquet' - the following is an excerpt from my WIP The Canary featuring 'bouquet' - The girls started talking about their ideas for how to spend the day and the rest of the weekend. Bekah reached over to the bag with her gifts, pulling out some chocolates and energy drinks she liked. Inside one of the bags was a cheap but lovely grocery store bouquet. She closed her eyes and took in the scent, savoring the sweet floral smell. When she opened her eyes, they were dead locked onto me.

@mcwrites27.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 6:30 AM

The #WIPSnip Word of the Day is 'dent' - anger is a powerful storm in a person's heart and sometimes tenderness is the only cure.

The WIP Snip Word of the Day is 'dent' - the following is an excerpt from my novel WIP Canary featuring the word of the day - My eyes flicked to Bekah and saw a look of barely contained anger, her jaw tight. The grip on her beer was enough to turn her fingertips white and dent the metal. The corner of her eye twitched but she chewed the words lingering in her mouth in silence. At her side, her hand balled into a shaking fist. I didn't know what was hurting in her, but I acted without thinking just hoping to distract her. I reached down and grabbed her hand, squeezing hard.

@islanderscaper.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 3:57 PM

#WIPSnip 10/01: 'injured' for 'injury'

WIP: WrestlingBrands

I knew immediately this was going to be the one that came up when i search my drafts for this word. 😅

#writingcommunity #writesky #ttrpg #ttrpgdesign #wip

Wrestling is a dangerous business. No matter how carefully planned a match is or how many
times you’ve practiced a move, something can always go wrong. You won’t be surprised when it
happens, but your character could end up getting seriously injured and needing to be removed
from active play. If this happens, you can create and introduce a new character to play, you can
continue as a supporting character that has already been introduced, or you can keep playing
without a character, asking and answering questions and participating in the games that call for
an audience

@nightoffallengods.com Oct 1, 2026, 12:45 PM

#WIPSnip

Injury -> Injured

Tala, already frustrated by getting the runaround trying to get to an authority figure with some very important information, becomes aware of her partner being injured via magic necklace and promptly loses interest in anything else.

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity

She wanted to scratch someone's eyes out. Or scream. Both would suit her just fine. Instead she said as calmly she could,
"What about Gate Captain Aman? Is he here?"
"Oh, aye." Bett's voice brightened while Malla nodded her own encouragement. "He's up in his office, we'll take you to him."
"Good, there's something he really needs to hear..."
The feeling of several people standing on her chest, each one driving a shard of ice into her heart, stopped Tala in her tracks.
Her vision blacked around the edges, she struggled to breathe, and could not hear anything past the ringing in her ears. The pressure drove her down to her knees, then onto one hand as her other grasped at her chest. After an eternity she managed to choke out a breath, and another. The world seemed to be rocking back and forth, like a ship on choppy waters.
"... -y Tala? Lady Tala!" Mella crouched next to her, shaking her shoulders, panic painted across her face. It occurred to Tala then that she was screaming in between her choppy breaths. "Lady Tala, what's wrong?!"
Her mouth shut with a click of her teeth, fell to the side to sit on the ground. She clawed at her shirt, ripping it open hard enough that several buttons went flying off in various directions. Bett covered his eyes and turned around, but she paid him no mind. She snatched at the necklace hanging down her chest, the one Reka had given her after they'd told each other they loved the other. Solonathrax had told them it would tell them if the other was ever in trouble...
And it was cracked.

Directly down the center of the gem there was a crack. The white mist beyond didn't leak out, but it felt like it should have.
She stared at the pendant for a second that lasted an age, and then slowly the top and bottom began to knit back together.
She didn't know what that meant, but the crack and the pain could only mean one thing.
Reka was in danger.
That thought shut out everything else. Reka, hundreds of miles away, was in danger. Probably grievously injured if the pain she'd felt was anything to go by. Weeks away by horseback even if she rode a hundred of them to death. Days by wyvern flight.
She needed to know more, what was happening right now.
She didn't have the power to see across that distance, but she knew someone who did.
Tala leapt to her feet, bowling over Mella still crouched over her. Other Guardsmen and Women had come out of the barracks, drawn by her screaming, and formed a loose semi circle around them. She shoved past all of them without a word, ears pinned back and teeth bared. She didn't remember letting her nails out, but if any of them were fool enough to get in her way now, a scratch was a light price to pay.
Once she escaped the press of bodies, she ignored Bett and Mella calling her name and sprinted faster than she had ever run in her life towards Henet's apartment.