Hello everyone!

We’re staring into darkness this week. Places unknown, unexplored, unkind to the anatomy of those who live in the light, gape wide before us. So, prepare your armored submersibles and your eerily green low-light cameras, because…

This week’s prompt is:

Abyssal Depths

RULES AND GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED! (just a small thing)
Make sure you scroll down and read them if you haven’t! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

Alright, a lot of what I’ve had to say about this so far has suggested that we’re diving into an oceanic abyss, which for some of you may be the case, but it need not be the only path you take. In fact, your abyss need not even be a physical phenomenon. There are abysses of all kinds. There are abysses of the mind, great dark places within our psyche that we leave untouched for fear of what lurks within. There’s the abyss of space, yawning between our home and the other celestial bodies. There’s the abyss of time, where things become lost in the darkness of forgotten years.

If it can be conceptualized as a spacious and intimidating darkness, it can fit here.

The trick is that we aren’t just thinking about abysses at large; this week we’re plumbing them. Whatever abyss you choose, this is an exploration of what lies at its bottom, within its darkest corners. Abyssal depths.

So, I hope you’re ready, because you’ll be guiding us through a place we aren’t meant to go this week. Whether or not we return safely… well, that’s on you.

Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read six stories during each stream, three of which come from the public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected from among the top ten most-liked of each post, so be sure to share your submissions on social media and with your friends!

• English only.
• Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
• One submission per participant.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
• Submissions close at 4:00pm CST each Friday.
• No more than 350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
• Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name).
• Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
• Write something brand new (no re-submitting past entries or stories written for other purposes).
• Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
• No fan fiction without explicit permission from the source’s owner, and no spoilers for the source material.
• Please format your submission as “Submission Title” by Author Name and be sure to separate paragraphs. (Example Submission)
• Original art may be included in your submission, but is not guaranteed to be shown on stream. Only .jpeg format images shared via a direct link will be accepted. (Example Submission) (Information on “Direct Links”)
• No additional formatting (such as italics or bold text) will be applied to the text of submissions. Symbols or instruction indicating such formatting may render your submission ineligible.
• You must like and leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible, and your reviews must be at least 50 words long. If you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post. The two submissions you like need not be the same as the submissions you review, although they can be.
• Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or are guaranteed.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.

Hello everyone!

Where I am, it’s winter. Yes, pretty white fluffies from the sky and excuses to do the warm things. Chocolate abounds. Dazzling light globes. Festivalities. But also! Abysmally short days, mornings I wish not to face, a dry cold which leeches into the bones and stays there, illness in every throat, the long spiral into seasonal depression.

It can be a difficult time of year.

Fortunately, it looks like I’m in for a reminder that things do in fact get better, because…

This week’s prompt is:

Yet the Sun Rises

RULES AND GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED!
Make sure you scroll down and read them if you haven’t! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

As you dive into this, keep in mind that this prompt, like most, is much broader than it may at first seem. Really, the only two parts of this prompt to honor are: 1. Literally anything which a “sunrise” could represent, including hope, joy, love, etc., and 2. Something for your “sunrise” to exist in spite of.

So by and large, these are going to be stories about something sunrise-worthy arising in an unexpected place. Important distinction, though: this is YET the sun rises, not The Sun Rose Anyway. So rather than writing a lazarus story about someone dead coming back to life, maybe consider a story of acceptance, where death isn’t defeated, yet the characters are able to find happiness anyway.

Now go forth, all of you, and bring me a sunrise in this season of darkness!

Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read six stories during each stream, three of which come from the public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected from among the top ten most-liked of each post, so be sure to share your submissions on social media and with your friends!

• English only.
• Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
• One submission per participant.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
• Submissions close at 4:00pm CST each Friday.
• No more than 350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
• Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name).
• Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
• Write something brand new (no re-submitting past entries or stories written for other purposes).
• Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
• No fan fiction without explicit permission from the source’s owner, and no spoilers for the source material.
• Please format your submission as “Submission Title” by Author Name and be sure to separate paragraphs. (Example Submission)
• Original art may be included in your submission, but is not guaranteed to be shown on stream. Only .jpeg format images shared via a direct link will be accepted. (Example Submission) (Information on “Direct Links”)
• You must like and leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible, and your reviews must be at least 50 words long. If you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post. The two submissions you like need not be the same as the submissions you review, although they can be.
• Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or are guaranteed.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.

Hello everyone!

I was unfortunately incapacitated for the stream before the Holidays, so our most recent stream had to make up for the time we lost rather than doing something jubilant and merry and different for the season.

But you can rest assured knowing I’ve got y’all in my heart, because…

This week’s prompt is:

ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

Loving, Eldritch Parents
Critters
The Shadows are Watching
They’re inside Me
They All Came Back
Where Have All the Stars Gone?
Swarming Hive
The Harvest
Something’s in The Fields
The Lengthening Night
Before the Deep Sleep
A Kindness
Things Owed
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!
Stuffed
The Sky Blinked
A Cosmic Machine
Were the Angels Wrong?
The Forest will Change You
An Unfortunate Side Effect

RULES AND GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED!
Make sure you scroll down and read them if you haven’t! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

Be sure to mention which prompt you chose in parenthesis at the beginning of your submission!

Normally this is where I’d go on a tirade about all the amazing ways to approach the prompt, but not this time. This time, that’s all on you.

Shock us. Change our perspectives. Show us a vision we’ve never seen before. Pluck at the strings of our collective heart. Whatever your creative little soul pines to build with these bricks, built it, and share.

I have faith in all of you.

OH, AND ONE LITTLE CAVEAT: for one session and one session only, you may re-submit stories you’ve submitted here before, so long as they’ve never been read on stream. Happy holidays to all of you who’ve been longing to give a story a second shot at faaaame.

Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read six stories during each stream, three of which come from the public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected from among the top ten most-liked of each post, so be sure to share your submissions on social media and with your friends!

• English only.
• Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
• One submission per participant.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
• Submissions close at 4:00pm CST each Friday.
• No more than 350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
• Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name).
• Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
• Write something brand new (no re-submitting past entries or stories written for other reasons). FOR THIS ONE SESSION, YOU MAY RE-SUBMIT PAST ENTRIES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN READ ON STREAM. You may still only submit stories written for the writing group.
• Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
• No fan fiction without explicit permission from the source’s owner, and no spoilers for the source material.
• Please format your submission as “Submission Title” by Author Name and be sure to separate paragraphs. (Example Submission)
• Original art may be included in your submission, but is not guaranteed to be shown on stream. Only .jpeg format images shared via a direct link will be accepted. (Example Submission) (Information on “Direct Links”)
• You must like and leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible, and your reviews must be at least 50 words long. If you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post. The two submissions you like need not be the same as the submissions you review, although they can be.
• Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or are guaranteed.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.

Hello everyone!

This week for the writing group, we’re taking a step back from the metaphysical, the weird, the reality-warping. This time, it seems we’ll be spending some time looking inward. And we’ll be doing it through a very interesting lens, because…

This week’s prompt is:

The Forest Will Change You

RULES AND GUIDELINES AT THE BOTTOM OF POST
Read them to participate! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

There’s something kind of resonant about this one. Maybe it’s the way forests are often used to represent bewilderment, confusion, disorientation. People go into the wood and get lost. Sometimes it’s because they stray from the beaten path, sometimes the fae are playing cruel tricks. Sometimes, for the unluckiest travelers, the beast has caught their scent.

Whatever the case, it’s hard to ignore the ominous side of forests in fiction. They’re places of uncertainty and concealment, places where it’s easy not to find your way back. Kind of sounds like a lot of things we face in life. Could be the forest of grief, the forest of love, the forest of ambition. Whatever the case, you wander in find that you can’t quite wander back out.

But that’s all highly metaphorical. As always, you can take the literal route as well. Maybe the forest will *literally* change something about you. Maybe your soul can get caught in the branches if you’re not careful, or maybe the tree sap gets into your blood and does strange things to your flesh.

The important thing here is that this prompt comes in three implicit pieces: an equilibrium (the journey starts), a transition (the journey through the wood), and a change (the journey ends). You don’t necessarily have to do it that way, but those look to be the essential components. Hit all three, and I think you start to hit the soul of this idea.

But as always, those are only signposts. If you’ve ever read a fairy tale, you know half their purpose is to be disobeyed.

I look forward to what strange paths you all choose to follow through the leaves.

Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read six stories during each stream, three of which come from this public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected from among the top ten most-liked of each post, so be sure to share your submissions on social media and with your friends!

• English only.
• Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
• One submission per participant.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
• Submissions close at 4:00pm CST each Friday.
• No more than 350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
• Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name).
• Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
• Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
• Please format your submission as “Submission Title” by Author Name and be sure to separate paragraphs. (Example Submission)
• You must leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible, and your reviews must be at least 50 words long (if you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post).
• Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or credits will be provided.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.

Hello everyone!

If you enjoyed the reality-warping nature of last week’s submissiosn, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. We’ve got something for you this week that’ll make you rethink not only our reality, but the stuff just beyond it as well.

So get your religious texts and low-key perspectives about the divine ready, because…

This week’s prompt is:

Were the Angels Wrong?

RULES AND GUIDELINES AT THE BOTTOM OF POST
Read them to participate! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

Despite the comment about religious texts up there, I want to stress the fact that this doesn’t need to be a religious prompt, and it certainly doesn’t need to be judeo-christian. Think of “angels” more as the gatekeepers of the divine or the large-scale supernatural—the messengers between us and whatever exists in the cosmos (or perhaps within our minds) that represents “God”.

So yes, while this could be an exploration of what would happen if some con-artist cosmic entity duped a bunch of serifs into doing its bidding for several thousand years, it could also be the A.I. guardians of an important server making a grave error, or a pair of guardian spirits failing to realize that their efforts to help a mortal actually translate as something very close to a classic haunting for their poor, terrified ward.

Wings or no, I’m excited to see how all of your demi-divine beings failed. This should be a fun one.

Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read six stories during each stream, three of which come from this public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected from among the top ten most-liked of each post, so be sure to share your submissions on social media and with your friends!

• English only.
• Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
• One submission per participant.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
• Submissions close at 4:00pm CST each Friday.
• No more than 350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
• Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name).
• Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
• Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
• Please format your submission as “Submission Title” by Author Name and be sure to separate paragraphs. (Example Submission)
• You must leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible, and your reviews must be at least 50 words long (if you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post).
• Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or credits will be provided.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.

Hello everyone!

We are now officially well and through the time of warmth and feasts. We’ll make up for it pretty soon with more winter festivities, but in the meant time we’ve got to find other ways to keep our mind off the cold.

Right now, we’re doing that by turning an eye toward the obscure, because…

This week’s prompt is:

The Sky Blinked

RULES AND GUIDELINES AT THE BOTTOM OF POST
Read them to participate! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

Strange one, no? Conjures images of gargantuan creatures swimming through the sky, glitches in reality where all the clouds go missing for one elusive moment, realities in which the dome of the “sky” is simply the inside curve of some god’s great blue eyeball.

These are the strange spaces that this prompt drew my curious, hapless mind into. Of course, it doesn’t have to be where yours goes.

Maybe you don’t see an anomaly here. Maybe you see a way to articulate the mundane. The Sky could represent the horizon of one’s Icarian ambitions, and when it blinks, that could be a moment of wavering uncertainty. It could be the vastness of one’s love for another, the blink a moment of doubt. It could be something vaguely religious, to do with the heavens and all the things which inhabit them.

As with most prompts, it could be just about anything. So long as you’re fascinated by it and we can, in some vague fashion, see the remnants of the themes nestled in there, we will be pleased to read your work.

Go on then. It’s time to see what all of you can do with total power over the firmament.

Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read six stories during each stream, three of which come from this public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected from among the top ten most-liked of each post, so be sure to share your submissions on social media and with your friends!

• English only.
• Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
• One submission per participant.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
• No more than 350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
• Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name).
• Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
• Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
• Please format your submission as “Submission Title” by Author Name and be sure to separate paragraphs. (Example Submission)
• You must leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible, and your reviews must be at least 50 words long (if you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post).
• Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or credits will be provided.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.