WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag March 27 - royal Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner.

The #WIPSnips word for March 27th is "royal"

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

This is brilliant. Pass it on.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has been formally nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. Hide the ketchup.

“I have your number. You put it in my phone at the bar while you guys were playing Do, Marry, Kill. It’s in there as ‘Princess Bitch’ actually, perhaps your drunken alter-ego? Apparently you would do me, marry Anne, and kill Kevin so you guys can keep Allie all to yourselves.” Okay that definitely sounded like me. “And I will call you. I’m going to call you tonight about the party and, if you don’t come, I will call you again and again until you agree to hang out with me. Besides, you’re Anne’s best friend. I don’t think never seeing each other again is an option. Just gonna have to accept me in your life.” God he was fucking cute when he was coy.

Today’s #wipsnips word is “option” #writingcommunity #writingprompts #writesky #writersky #amwriting

Thiel shot him a disdainful glance. “If this is their idea of courting favor, it’s amateurish. Deference isn’t optional—it’s the baseline cost of participating in a functioning hierarchy.” Dr. Cutter, who gave no fucks about courting anyone's favor, gave an impatient flick of her hand, signaling them to approach.

#WIPSnips

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag March 26 - option Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner.

The #WIPSnips word for March 26th is "option"

#WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

Custom built feeding station for a disabled kitty: #AGoodPlace

Source: www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/s...

An orange tabby cat lying on a floor with sunlight creating a charging icon pattern on its back. Transcribed Text: Bro is fully charged 😂

Wednesday

Lani lived in a world that was entirely different from the one in which he’d grown up. Luke was thrilled to walk through it at her side, although, sometimes, she unintentionally embarrassed him. When he reached for the coffee creamer at a restaurant, she gently explained to him that creamer wasn’t the same as milk; it was an artificial product made from oil and sugar. In the Ikeda family’s refrigerator was a block of New Zealand butter on a ceramic plate, unlike the Blue Bonnet margarine in a plastic butter dish in his parents’ fridge. He’d also learned from her that the individually-wrapped cheese slices he’d grown up eating weren’t cheese at all.

Luke grew up in a family that was only one generation from a Kalihi chicken farm and two generations from the sugar plantations. He has a lot to learn from his more cultured Hawaii girlfriend. #WIPsnips #gentle #writesky #literaryfiction

Seeming to agree, the first guard moved slowly, keeping his eyes locked on Sana. He cut the bonds holding her as quickly as he could, always watching. He moved away without turning, backing away carefully. As he backed away, he ripped Bert’s eating knife from his belt and pocketed it. Bert moved in and looked Sana in the eyes. “Hey, Sana.” No response. “Sana, I’m going to carry you now, okay?” he asked. “Better me than them, I’ll be gentle,” he added quietly. She mumbled something he took as an assent. Placing his hands under her carefully, he tried to hold her in a gentlemanly way, but it was hard with how much skin she had exposed. He hoped she’d understand he was trying to help. He lifted her, surprised at how little she weighed. She had proved how tough she was, but it seemed her imprisonment, escape and recapture had taken more of a toll on her than he could tell at a glance. “Who...” Sana muttered, but quieted. He carried her carefully through the wooden gate and walked toward the only corner that had a bit of shade still. “Move,” he said simply to the man sitting there. He tried to say it as deeply as he could and did not smile. The man glanced up at him, clearly noticing Bert’s height and seeing the wounded woman in his arms. Bert could see the man considering what to do, but he eventually shrugged and moved on. Bert placed Sana in the shade, sitting beside her and keeping his head up. He wanted it to be clear that she was not to be trifled with. Several eyes met his, but most looked defeated and looked away quickly. That was good, because Bert felt much more scared and much less confident than he was showing. This was not going to be easy.

More from Sana and Bert

He ain't wrong.

When the ships doctor is more concerned for his brandy than your wounds 🤣
Black Hearts and Thieves

#WIPSnips "gentle"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“ It was just a silly argument. You shouldn’t have let that ruin the show for you, if you truly enjoyed it.” “It wasn’t just that…” Stacy says as she slinks away, moving her chair back. “Did I do something else?” I ask. “You should know, we stopped talking because of it,” Stacy says in a gentle, insecure pitch. “Well, tell me what it was? ‘Cause it seems like you're making a big deal over nothing if you're the only one to remember,” I say, annoyed by this game. If she has such an issue with something I did 11 years ago she should just say it and get over it. “You doxxed me,” She says, hugging herself

Got another one from my current WIP Self Righteous FANatic.

Ebook screenshot from Flight of the Fates, book one, Fight or Flight: "There were dreams on top of that of course, but that’s not the same as hope. Hope’s something you can actually get, a dream’s something you’ve already got but you can’t touch. I could dream of owning a griffin or finding out I was secretly royalty. Or Faekyn. It didn’t really matter what you dreamed, dreams were safe, but you couldn’t let yourself hold to them. Couldn’t think them hopes. Maybe that was exactly what she meant, though. “I- I think you’ve got a point there Miss, that I didn’t get ‘til just now.” I dipped my chin. “Sorry about that.” “Don’t be,” she replied softly, words almost overtaken by the gentle sizzling of the soldering iron, her eyes entirely devoted to her task - or averted from me, it seemed. Focused on her work, yes, but more importantly not focused on me. “I’m not the only one with points.”"

#WIPSnips "Gentle" from FotF#1, Fight or Flight

AL and Molly have a bit of a philosophical discussion about hope, leading to this conclusion. I like having a back-and-forth so much more than one-sided relationships between people!

"Stalker." He looked toward the voice, then forgot what he was doing. God stood next to him. Ellen Shockley. His enigmatic pain in the ass. And, as it turned out, his benefactor, even if a grudging one. She watched him, her eyes big, searching, her lips slightly parted. She looked out of place in that dark, moribund tent, her whole being absent the ground-in soot, the smears of ash, the red eyes, and chapped lips. Her black flight suit had somehow escaped even the regular gentle snowfall of ash from the charcoaled sky. It was as if she'd teleported from a sunny, untroubled otherworld to the few square feet of hell Mac occupied. Mac wasn't one for metaphors, but he imagined her a transfigured creature among grubby mortals. God. He looked away from her at nothing. He blinked, considered the last few seconds, and looked back to her. Yes, she was really there.

Dougie Mac is down. He needs a shoulder to lean on. He gets God* instead. (*It's just a stupid pilot's callsign)
#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity

"He's not THAT smart." Heh.

Moving into the living room, where the windows were open to the breeze, I heard the ladies through the screens. “I talked to Hannah. She says he’s not completely useless.” Marilyn’s voice. My feet slowed. “They.” That was Ellen. Gentle and respectful, but firm. “Fine. They say.” Marilyn sounded amused. Now Ellen sounded a touch defensive. “He’s smarter than you think.” A chuckle. “He asks the right questions.” Possibly the greatest physicist in history didn’t sound happy. “And if he figures out more?” Ellen made a faint scoff. “He’s not that smart.” My lips pursed.

#WIPSnips 25: gentle

Jim overhears people talking about him.

He does not come to the right conclusions about it.

#SciFi #ScienceFiction #TimeTravel

The text reads: At the sally port, Rex and Shady’s electric blue auto-nav lit up and rolled from the waiting area to their exit. It popped open the near-side door. / Pam climbed in and sat gratefully. “This is such a lovely luxury.” She spoke both to Balchu and through the link. Sleepy, wordless satisfaction echoed back from Shady. / Balchu settled in next to her. The door closed, the auto-nav announced its Becenti Tower destination, and then they rolled out into the misty night. He touched her shoulder. She looked up, questioning, and he pulled her into a gentle embrace. / She wrapped her free arm around him for a long, warm hug, then pressed her forehead against his chest and released a heartfelt sigh. / They rode for a while without speaking, then Balchu kissed her hair, which was all he could reach from that angle. / “Want to talk, or just ride quietly?” / “I don’t even know.” Pam let go of him and leaned back against the upholstery. Partly for Balchu and partly to take another run at making sense of the case so far, she outlined facts they’d established. / He listened without interrupting. -- From WIP “Bones for the Children,” Ch. 18, ©2026 by Jan S. Gephardt. Background photo licensed via 123rf.

I hope you’ll enjoy this sample of my newest #WIP XK9 #novel, “Bones for the Children.” #amwriting #sciencefiction 🪐📚💙 #mystery 🔎 #dog 🐕 #books 📚 #WIPSnips #BookSky📚💙
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Dude got a point.

Behind him, servomotors whirred softly and wooden legs creaked as they adjusted. Then—without warning—pressure settled onto his shoulders. JD flinched and looked up to find velvet-padded pinchers working into his upper traps. “Please remain still. Engaging Tactile Reassurance Subroutine 7: Gentle Appalachian Comfort.” JD stiffened like a man caught with his pants down at Cracker Barrel. “Hey now! I didn’t ask for—” The pressure on his shoulders was precise—skilled, gentle, yet unnervingly firm. Like the hands of a chiropractor who’d read too much Henry Kissinger: calculated, manipulative, and one nudge away from staging a micro-coup. Her cushions pressed into his back as the pinchers probed with just enough give to uncover the tension buried beneath layers of Catholic guilt and suburban trauma.

#WIPSnips

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag March 25 - gentle Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner.

The #WIPSnips word for March 25th is "gentle"

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Fournier’s eyes narrowed, her voice flat as black ice. “You’ll be swearing soon enough—then begging, then pleading—if you don’t give up your co-conspirators.” She leaned closer, lips twisted in a snarl, eyes boring into him like a bayonet. “Give me what I want, Vance.” JD flushed, mistaking menace for smolder. “Uh—no, ma’am,” he stammered, offering a crooked smile. “I’m married. Wife…God-ordained…legally binding.” Fournier pulled back and shot her constables a look that screamed, can you believe this guy? JD, stuck in sexual-tension mode, missed it entirely—but he knew better than to cross that line with the enemy. Besides, he had the mistress situation locked down. Or he would—if he could understand Vic’s sudden distance.

#WIPSnips

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag March 24 - offer Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner.

The #WIPSnips words for March 24th is "offer"

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Vice President JD Vance sat in the White House Library’s reading nook, CNN droning as usual, in a neglected corner most people avoided. Washington’s portrait loomed above the fireplace, eyes fixed and accusing, flanked by two dust-caked flags Trump had never bothered to hump. Beneath them, shelves of books—survivors of the last round of burnings—sat untouched. Staff gave the place a wide berth. It had some nice furniture, but JD did his best not to think about that.

#WIPSnips

Already text

It is so important in a long-term rivalry to make special time for object of your detestation. Grand gestures like trying to kill him are all very well, but it's the petty day-to-day BS that lets him know how much you truly loathe him.

#writesky #fantasy #booksky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Monah has a nightmare after her mother passes, but it shifts to Evlin's rooms at the castle as she's seen them through the enchanted mirror.
#writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters

#SendBarronFirst #IranWar‌

Ebook screenshot from Flight of the Fates, book one, Fight or Flight: "He didn’t sound angry. If anything, he sounded condescending, like he was explaining something to a toddler. Like a lecturer talking to a student. “You might think they don’t treat me well, and you’re not wrong, but you, Al? You might as well be a bilge rat. You’ve got to stop thinking you’re smarter and better than me just ‘cause you’re older.” He opened up the hatch down to the coaldeck and grabbed me by the upper arm. “You’re not. I like you though, really, and I wish you’d wisen up yourself so I didn’t have to do it for you. If that’s what I’ve got to do though, Al, that’s fine. Leading by example clearly ain’t working so I guess I’ve got to take a more active role in your tutoring.” “Tutelage,” I corrected, but he carried on as if I hadn’t said anything. “One of these days, Al, you’ll wake up and realize that power’s the only thing that’s important. The only thing that’ll help you, ever.” He sighed heavily, his hand tightening on my arm. “I just hope you realize it before it’s too late for you. Scrimp and save all you want, but without power?” He leaned in, a cruel grin on his face. “You’re nothing.” Then, he gave me a sharp shove, all but throwing me down the stairs to the coaldeck. My feet slipped and scrambled off of the steps and I fell right to the bottom, the thump of my body momentarily drowning out the fresh wave of laughter and applause from up above."

#WIPSnips "Wake" from FotF#1, Fight or Flight

A former friend wants AL to wake up to the "truth" of what really matters. AL *does* come to a realization or two due to this, eventually, but not the ones this person wants.

In Seattle, there were opium dens all over the waterfront area and up in Chinatown. The city was awash with opium smuggled aboard freighters from China. Sailors and socialites alike frequented establishments in basements and back rooms, staggering out in the morning, their eyes glassy and their jaws slack. I was not going to smoke opium. But I needed something. The pain kept me awake all night and washing dishes was agony. A pharmacy near the hotel sold me laudanum in a tiny cobalt blue vial for a penny. A pint of beer cost more than that. The pharmacist advised me to take it at bedtime. “One drop in each nostril and no more,” he’d said, “unless you don’t want to wake up again in the morning.” Laudanum was safer, but it was still opium.

This is from the novel I'm querying, not my WIP. #FrankMatsura injured himself slipping on a wet floor. #WIPsnips #wake #writesky #literaryfiction

The text reads: A group of humans approached from beyond the port side of a silo next to the tenement where she and Pam had captured the blowgunner. No, not a “group.” More like an entourage. / A burly, middle-aged man with hairy arms and a bald head strode at the front of the group. The swagger in his step and the scowl on his face did not align with the deference and avoidance of a normal Five-Ten denizen toward the police. Half a dozen tattooed toughs—Whisper Syndicate “Saoirse blades,” almost certainly—flanked and followed him. At least that many more trailed in their wake, but they fanned out to take up positions overlooking the scene from cover. / “Holy shit.” The sharp, acidic astonishment in Delia’s scent overrode all the others, but she kept her voice low. “That’s Turlach O’Boyle himself.” – From Chapter 14, Bones for the Children, WIP ©2026 by Jan S. Gephardt. The Blue Building ©2024 by John Barlow.

Here’s today’s #WIPSnips from my newest #WIP XK9 #novel, “Bones for the Children.” #amwriting #sciencefiction 🪐📚💙 #mystery 🔎 #dog 🐕 #books 📚