Very pleased to have gotten to the quarter-finals (Elite Eight) in the Verdant Owl Writing Battle! A fantastic duel at the end: a close loss (3-2) to an excellent story, which went on to win the genre two rounds later! @writingbattle.bsky.social

A language scavenger hunts its prey on a dying Earth. Gorgeous story from @indigorue.bsky.social.

Making the most of objects in your stories: "If you show me a pen, I won’t care too much about it.... But if you tell me that the pen is the one you used to sign your divorce papers, or your mother’s death certificate, it’s the saddest pen in the world." lithub.com/a-pawnshop-o... #writing #writers

Surprised and delighted to have come first in my House in this Writing Battle! Of course, all bets are off once Final Showdown starts... Still, this is the first time I've made it to Showdown in an Owl battle, so I'm taking it as a win no matter what happens next!

"I have never encountered a rule for fiction I believed in, ... apart from 'Don't use a gothic font to make your work feel spooky.'" --from Elizabeth McCracken's "Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction" [Photo: Jez Timms on Unsplash] #writing #amwriting #writers

What's the "best" MS Word suggestion you've received? Mine: Original sentence: "She looked into Hannah's face." MS Word's suggested revision for conciseness: "She investigated Hannah's face." Touching mother-daughter moment --> murder mystery. Thanks, Microsoft! #writing #amwriting #writers

Just finished watching Beef season 2 and enjoyed it, (although it's very different from season 1). However, I had no idea that the two leads were acting with earbuds in the whole time (requiring extensive VFX to remove them)!

ARCs are out for the "Women of the Weird West" anthology! I have a drabble in this, but there are so many more fabulous stories and poems in here. Head to NetGalley to become an advance reader!

I'm so bad at remembering to close my document after sending it for review... ""the little “gotcha” moment where you arrived in the doc to find me waiting there for you like the killer in Scream." To all my beta readers, I'm sorry!

Thrilled to be the top pick of the guest judge in this category with my first attempt at this genre! :) Thank you @elisescott.bsky.social for the kind words! And thanks to @notquitewrite.com for pushing me out of my (writing) comfort zone. ;)

Nominated for the Best Live Action Short Oscar, "Jane Austen's Period Drama" is a fun, light-hearted short that isn't a "period drama". It's a drama about periods. :) They've done a great job of recreating the look and feel of those beloved Austen adaptations! www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxpj...

Answering the call to wield the em dash for humanity's sake.

Join Hiro and Juan on their road trip to Winter Ball camp. You won't regret spending the time with these two fabulous characters as they get to know each other on their way down to Tempe.

Excited to have my drabble "A Fox In Sheep's Clothing" included in this anthology! Can't wait to discover all the other Women of the Weird West!

Canadians travelling to the US advised to not fucking do that

One baffled, frustrated Cupid and a lot of killer lines. Love this drabble from @ashdoeswords.bsky.social!

Thrilled to be included in the "Women of the Weird West" anthology coming from @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social and edited by @kcgrifant.bsky.social! Weird West is such a fun genre, looking forward to reading everyone's stories!

The awesome @eliodray.bsky.social in his interview after winning Elegant Literature! Learn how his winning story had its origins in erotica. :) www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgF-...

You can't argue with facts.

Delighted that @ratbaglit.bsky.social has given my dating app drabble a home for their Cupid Misfires call. With the barest mention of Cupid in the story, I'm lucky Ratty appreciates a greasy spoon breakfast!

My story "Everbright, Ever Faithful" is on Chris Fulwell's delightful podcast "One More Short Story". It's the first time I've had a story narrated, and @spjames.bsky.social did an amazing job! <3 rss.com/podcasts/one... [Story first published in @goblins-galaxies.bsky.social issue #1!]

The world could use a few more Cupid Misfires like this one...

"as nervous as a long-tailed cat between two rocking chairs" Love when an image leaps off the page. [from "Us Against You", by Fredrik Backman]

Gingerly tiptoeing into reading horror this year. The list below has some intriguing suggestions for new books. Any other recommendations for a newbie horror reader (besides Stephen King and Shirley Jackson)? I think I'd prefer creepy/psychological vibes to gore. #booksky

"'I’ve always wanted to write, but life got in the way.' ... You raised children. Built a career. Cared for your family. Lived through decades of joy, loss, change, and complexity. That’s not lost time. That’s material." aprildavila.com/writing-as-a... #writesky #writingcommunity

TIL of Lady Su Hui, a 4th-century (!) poet in China, and her most famous work, the mindboggling “Star Gauge”. Going beyond a reversible poem, she created a 29x29 grid, which can be read vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Forwards and backwards. cameronsbradley.substack.com/p/su-huis-ep...

For something short and sweet (and don't we all need that these days), check out "Joan's Stone on Loan" by @lyss-b.bsky.social for an "impactful" meet-cute. :)

Is it your year to finally write that novel? [Is it mine? Hmmm...] Thoughts from @elizmccrack.bsky.social on tackling this (extracted from her book A Long Game: How to Write Fiction, which I'm looking forward to reading!). www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int... #writesky #writingcommunity

Fabulous new story from @annewilkins.bsky.social. True love can take many forms...

I tracked my reading for the first time in 2025: surprised to have read 60 books over the year. [As well as countless short stories from online mags, writing contests, and beta-swapping.] These were my faves from scifi, general/literary, and fantasy (published between 2004 and 2025)! #booksky

Fabulous, heartwrenching story (especially speaking as a little sister myself) by @mmschreier.bsky.social out in Flash Fiction Online now.

Thanks to Literary Hub for their service to readers in creating their annual Best of the "Best Books of 2025" list. The top 2 books (by Kiran Desai and Arundhati Roy) made 21 Best Of lists! #booksky lithub.com/the-ultimate...

This creepy Christmas story from @annewilkins.bsky.social is the perfect antidote to all that schmaltzy holiday music in the malls. It's the perfect length for a quick walk on the dark side ... before going back to your wrapping and hot chocolate.

Grateful to Iceland for the word "gluggaveður", weather best appreciated from behind a window. [Enjoying watching the snow fall and happy I'm not travelling anywhere today!]

For everyone in the submission trenches, highly recommend @neonandsmoke.bsky.social's lovely blog post. "In the end, acceptance is a small alchemy—part quality, part alignment, and part luck. Rejection doesn’t erase resonance." www.neonandsmoke.com/post/editor-... #writesky #writingcommunity

Writing rituals, anyone? Victor Hugo "had his valet lock away his clothes so he literally couldn’t leave home. He wrote naked in a big shawl so he’d have no choice but to stay put". www.networkisa.org/screenwritin... Think I'll stick with my writing playlist. #writesky #writingcommunity

Intrigued by this idea of writing tiny chapters to start, like an extension of the Snowflake method of outlining. As a flash and short fiction writer, maybe this is what I need to get started on that simmering novel... aprildavila.com/why-writing-... #writesky #writingcommunity

The Guardian's list of best mystery/thrillers of 2025. Adding The Winter Warriors to my to-read list: a historical thriller set in WWII Finland that's sadly topical these days. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

Awww, the cutest non-cover ever! Looking forward to seeing what the other nine are, @elisescott.bsky.social!

Read this awhile ago, but it came up in a discussion yesterday, so sharing! Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) on the proliferation of cool bad guys: "maybe what the world needs now are some good old fashioned, greatest generation types who give more than they take." nofilmschool.com/vince-gillig...

Great substack from Rebecca Makkai for writers on what we can learn from movies and what we shouldn't! [Agreed on her #1 don't: way too many "eyes" in fiction these days!] rebeccamakkai.substack.com/p/youre-writ... @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social

Excited to see this gorgeous story out in the world! Congrats @beingcam.bsky.social

Had a great idea for a contest this morning! Spent an hour on it before checking the deadline. It was three days ago... Is it too late to go back to bed?

Thanks to @goblins-galaxies.bsky.social for giving my cranky helmet protagonist a home!

Excited to be in issue #1 of Goblins & Galaxies! And thrilled for my first cover credit! 🤩

[Wow, I should definitely have opened a Bluesky account a long time ago!] Thank you so much for the kind words, @writelikeashark.bsky.social ! (blush)

Thanks so much to the lovely folks at TL;DR Press! This is my first Pushcart nomination and so excited to be on the list with my friends Sam and @mizuki-yama.bsky.social !