@jaredchenwynn.bsky.social
Well, I personally think I need to be less serious and have more fun with writing at times. I'm resolved I'm going to do some more flash fiction over the summer, and without structure or rules or an end game.
May 11, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Well, I personally think I need to be less serious and have more fun with writing at times. I'm resolved I'm going to do some more flash fiction over the summer, and without structure or rules or an end game.
I know, right? It blew me away one time, but then I realized that's what all those essays in high school were as well, the five-paragraph thesis and supporting argument thing was just an outline. (Albeit an easier one to write and follow...)
May 11, 2025 at 4:46 AM
I know, right? It blew me away one time, but then I realized that's what all those essays in high school were as well, the five-paragraph thesis and supporting argument thing was just an outline. (Albeit an easier one to write and follow...)
Yeah that's my biggest weakness with shorts. Either I write flash fiction or I structure it, because if I don't, it'll turn into a novel. Or a novella, which is damned hard to get published!
May 11, 2025 at 4:44 AM
Yeah that's my biggest weakness with shorts. Either I write flash fiction or I structure it, because if I don't, it'll turn into a novel. Or a novella, which is damned hard to get published!
I started a short story today. Used an exercise to come up with a basic outline, now I'm going to change the setting and crime and time and make it sci-fi!
May 11, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I started a short story today. Used an exercise to come up with a basic outline, now I'm going to change the setting and crime and time and make it sci-fi!
The outline practically writes itself! BTW, I don’t post these exercises to teach; rather to help. And I help myself by doing them as well. If you try this one, you’re more than welcome to share the results here. Let’s all encourage each other! Here’s my attempt at #WritetheObituary:
May 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The outline practically writes itself! BTW, I don’t post these exercises to teach; rather to help. And I help myself by doing them as well. If you try this one, you’re more than welcome to share the results here. Let’s all encourage each other! Here’s my attempt at #WritetheObituary:
There are 3 steps to this exercise:
1. Come up with a character. A name is enough to start with.
2. Write a couple paragraphs (or more; I sometimes write a whole eulogy) about how they died. Make that death as interesting as you can!
3. Now work backward to explain the events which led to their end.
1. Come up with a character. A name is enough to start with.
2. Write a couple paragraphs (or more; I sometimes write a whole eulogy) about how they died. Make that death as interesting as you can!
3. Now work backward to explain the events which led to their end.
May 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
There are 3 steps to this exercise:
1. Come up with a character. A name is enough to start with.
2. Write a couple paragraphs (or more; I sometimes write a whole eulogy) about how they died. Make that death as interesting as you can!
3. Now work backward to explain the events which led to their end.
1. Come up with a character. A name is enough to start with.
2. Write a couple paragraphs (or more; I sometimes write a whole eulogy) about how they died. Make that death as interesting as you can!
3. Now work backward to explain the events which led to their end.
Truth is, there are as many ways to write a story as there are stories to write. But I’ve come across some exercises that have really helped me stop staring at the blank screen and start writing. The one I’d like to share with you today is called Write the Obituary, and it’s as simple as it sounds.
May 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Truth is, there are as many ways to write a story as there are stories to write. But I’ve come across some exercises that have really helped me stop staring at the blank screen and start writing. The one I’d like to share with you today is called Write the Obituary, and it’s as simple as it sounds.
Yeah, I had a short published late last year after using thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com to find magazines to pitch. It's an old-looking site with a lot of functionality I didn't explore, I just clicked the search option in the menu at the top and assembled a list.
The Submission Grinder
thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com
May 5, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Yeah, I had a short published late last year after using thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com to find magazines to pitch. It's an old-looking site with a lot of functionality I didn't explore, I just clicked the search option in the menu at the top and assembled a list.
Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one benefitting from them!
May 5, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one benefitting from them!
On that note, I’m going to change the name of the feed path. I’ll post again once that’s up and republished. Feel free to follow the new feed, pop in and say hi any time, and hit me up with specific requests. Till then, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and write on!
May 5, 2025 at 1:07 AM
On that note, I’m going to change the name of the feed path. I’ll post again once that’s up and republished. Feel free to follow the new feed, pop in and say hi any time, and hit me up with specific requests. Till then, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and write on!
I wasn’t on bluesky before #CampRevPit, and I hadn’t planned on using it much after this. But I think I’ll come back on Fridays or Saturdays to post a new weekly writing exercise. I do these exercises myself because they help my writing, and I share them in case others find them helpful.
May 5, 2025 at 1:07 AM
I wasn’t on bluesky before #CampRevPit, and I hadn’t planned on using it much after this. But I think I’ll come back on Fridays or Saturdays to post a new weekly writing exercise. I do these exercises myself because they help my writing, and I share them in case others find them helpful.
Create a cryptid whose behavior or territory forces your protagonist to change a habit. (For example, it hunts only certain types of people, or appears only when someone breaks a vow.)
Describe the cryptid's look and behavior, then write a scene where the character learns this the hard way.
Describe the cryptid's look and behavior, then write a scene where the character learns this the hard way.
May 4, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Create a cryptid whose behavior or territory forces your protagonist to change a habit. (For example, it hunts only certain types of people, or appears only when someone breaks a vow.)
Describe the cryptid's look and behavior, then write a scene where the character learns this the hard way.
Describe the cryptid's look and behavior, then write a scene where the character learns this the hard way.
Write two short witness reports of the same cryptid sighting — one from someone who saw it negatively (e.g. as an ill omen, or as a threat/danger), and one from someone who saw it positively (e.g. as a sign, or maybe as a savior). Focus on what details each person emphasizes or omits.
May 4, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Write two short witness reports of the same cryptid sighting — one from someone who saw it negatively (e.g. as an ill omen, or as a threat/danger), and one from someone who saw it positively (e.g. as a sign, or maybe as a savior). Focus on what details each person emphasizes or omits.
LOL I actually almost made one of the daily writing prompts about cryptids. But then I decided not everyone has cryptids in their stories, so I focused more on character and dialogue and action. That said, here’re a couple you might enjoy, one for existing cryptids, one for creating new ones:
May 4, 2025 at 11:37 PM
LOL I actually almost made one of the daily writing prompts about cryptids. But then I decided not everyone has cryptids in their stories, so I focused more on character and dialogue and action. That said, here’re a couple you might enjoy, one for existing cryptids, one for creating new ones:
...to "throw" me. It impressed the crap out of everyone. But in that same workshop, she made an interesting remark: she said that, in a fast fight when you can't be precise, remember that the best/easiest-to-hit pressure point on the human body is the nose. Your Mia character reminds me of that.
May 4, 2025 at 6:39 PM
...to "throw" me. It impressed the crap out of everyone. But in that same workshop, she made an interesting remark: she said that, in a fast fight when you can't be precise, remember that the best/easiest-to-hit pressure point on the human body is the nose. Your Mia character reminds me of that.
What she did was, she gripped my face, pinching a pressure point under my jaw with her ring finger and another under my cheek bone with her thumb. The pain was so intense, I jumped. She got under me, swiveled her hips like a hip throw while shot putting my face. She used the momentum of my jump...
May 4, 2025 at 6:39 PM
What she did was, she gripped my face, pinching a pressure point under my jaw with her ring finger and another under my cheek bone with her thumb. The pain was so intense, I jumped. She got under me, swiveled her hips like a hip throw while shot putting my face. She used the momentum of my jump...
True story: I once attended a jujitsu pressure point workshop taught by a 4'10" 90lbs grandma. I was the biggest in the room (and an old friend), so she used me for demonstrations. On one of those, she picked me up by my face and threw me across the room. Or at least, that's what it looked like.
May 4, 2025 at 6:39 PM
True story: I once attended a jujitsu pressure point workshop taught by a 4'10" 90lbs grandma. I was the biggest in the room (and an old friend), so she used me for demonstrations. On one of those, she picked me up by my face and threw me across the room. Or at least, that's what it looked like.
Eh, I don't know that it's unfortunate. Some do, some don't. The upside is, it's easier to get a short published, and that looks good when pitching a novel. But it isn't for everyone.
May 4, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Eh, I don't know that it's unfortunate. Some do, some don't. The upside is, it's easier to get a short published, and that looks good when pitching a novel. But it isn't for everyone.
So, this exercise is called Fight Like You Live. There are two steps:
1. Devise a technique based on the character’s backstory or job, then
2. Write a short scene to test it out!
Here’s my attempt:
1. Devise a technique based on the character’s backstory or job, then
2. Write a short scene to test it out!
Here’s my attempt:
May 4, 2025 at 1:00 AM
So, this exercise is called Fight Like You Live. There are two steps:
1. Devise a technique based on the character’s backstory or job, then
2. Write a short scene to test it out!
Here’s my attempt:
1. Devise a technique based on the character’s backstory or job, then
2. Write a short scene to test it out!
Here’s my attempt: