The Flash Fiction Challenge — nycmidnight The Flash Fiction Challenge is an annual creative writing competition that challenges writers around the world to create short stories based on genre, location, and object assignments in 48 hours.

Join me in the @nycmidnight.bsky.social Flash Fiction Challenge on May 30th! Learn more at nycmidnight.com/ffc

Haven't had much time or energy to write lately, but I managed 1,500 words tonight in a new short story tentatively called "The Man Who Never Was."

It's loosely inspired by a true story that I recently learned about. I'm taking many liberties and adding in my own twists and having fun writing it.

Welcome to the official BlueSky account of the Pitman, NJ democrats! We're glad you're here!

Episode Two: Field of Dreams | Mind the Gap If You Film It, Paul Will Watch. Eventually.

The boys are staying in the 80s, screening the 1989 baseball nostalgia classic Field of Dreams. They’re all huge baseball fans, but it’s Paul’s first viewing. Join us as we work through an Iowa cornfield and maybe some Phillies-related trauma.

shows.acast.com/mindthegap/e...

Expecting any day now that Trump will announce the United States is annexing Odessa to make it the Riviera of the Black Sea.

I've already suggested to my wife that she begin the process of changing her name back to her maiden name. I'll be damned if anybody takes away her right to vote because of an outdated and stupid patriarchal tradition of taking a husband's last name after marriage. Over my dead body, Trump.

Do. Not. Comply. Join the resistance. We don't have cookies, but we're working on it.

Google, I know I just wrote and you haven't had a chance to reply about the whole misnaming the Gulf of Mexico thing, but it's also come to my attention that you've removed: Black History, Women's History, Pride, Indigenous Peoples, and other culturally significant months?

Trump claimed that DOGE has uncovered billions in “fraud, waste, and abuse.” However, no evidence has been provided, and all public fraud claims from both Elon Musk and Trump have been debunked as false.

Dear Google, the President of the United States can't rename the Gulf of Mexico. He does not have that authority and neither do you. Stop caving into the whims of a tyrant madman and change my Google Map back immediately.

“Elon Musk. You know, you can take the boy out of apartheid but you can’t take apartheid out of the boy. He’s out here doing Nazi salutes." -AOC.

PLEASE SHARE 🧪‼️

Since CDC websites and datasets are being taken down by the Administration…

The ENTIRE archive of ALL CDC datasets uploaded BEFORE January 28th, 2025 can be found here: archive.org/details/2025...

FAA Chief Quit on Jan. 20 After Elon Musk Told Him to Resign Michael Whitaker had only been in the role for a year but the SpaceX chief accused him of “harassment.”

I missed this entirely:

The FAA Administrator criticized Space X’s safety record and threatened fines.

Musk demanded he resign.

He did.

On January 20th.

www.thedailybeast.com/faa-chief-mi...

➡️ January 20: FAA director fired
➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen
➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded
➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees
➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years

Making America Great Again!

When I was 25 I was sad I had not written The Great American Novel. At 55, I realize there's no Great American Novel, there are merely the stories I'm the best person to tell. Don't worry about how others see greatness. Work on being the best version of who you are and what you can do in the world.

Time Corridor: Whisper Project Time Corridor: Whisper Project [DeBrosse, Tiffany S., Oravic, D.W., DeBrosse, T.S., Marshall, J.D., Rentzel, Jenna, Shaw, Michael, James, Jason R., Tiger-Williams, Jacquelyn, Knauss, Kara, Shaw, Michael] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Time Corridor: Whisper Project

Pitman Writers' Guild's first anthology, Time Corridor: Whisper Project, is available! My story, "Play It Again," is a time-looping mystery with a protagonist who is really good at dying. Every time he does, he finds himself back on the same bar stool where he started. Get your copy: bit.ly/4aUrXCF

Brilliant.

Got my first ever tattoo the other day. At first, I was pretty upset about the spelling mistake. But the more I thought about it, the more it occurred to me that it's really perfect.

Tell me how you can possibly claim to #BacktheBlue and also support Donald Trump and the January 6 insurrectionists who openly assaulted police officers while rampaging the Capitol?

Donald Trump has pardoned approximately 1,500 rioters who sacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and commuted an additional 6 sentences, calling those who tried to violently overthrow the government "hostages." As he's done since January 6, he's branding traitors and seditionists as patriots.

I haven't been able to write at all so far in 2025, but that changed a little bit today. I did some editing/ new writing on a short story for an anthology that should release later this year. Still not finished, but I made some progress!

I'm excited to announce my new URL is live. Check out: www.stories-to-die-for.com. it's just a redirect to www.michaelshawauthor.com but will help me develop my brand a bit.

holy shiiiiit, this list is fucking bonkers good

(and as always thanks to @emilyhughes.bsky.social for being horror's mighty avatar and also if you have not checked out her HORROR FOR WEENIES book, you gotta get on that ASAFP)

What's your writing ritual? When and where do you write? Do you set a specific time aside during the day, write whenever you get a chance, or a combination of both? I want to prioritize my writing but life so often gets in the way. What works for you?

Happy Small Business Saturday! I'd love for you to consider purchasing one of the TWO books I've contributed to this year. These anthologies make great gifts for the short story lover in your life!

Death Knell VI at: bookshop.org/p/books/deat...

Time Corridor: Whisper Project at: a.co/d/esNEcMZ

Added two more today that I'll probably never play. Oh, and four yesterday, I think. I'm not proud.

PITMAN WRITERS' GUILD Home of the Pitman Writers' Guild.

Day 3 of the Pitman Writers' Guild Writing Retreat is underway! Excited to put words on paper today!

If you like writing-any kind of writing-and you live in or within driving distance of Pitman, NJ, why not join us in 2025?

Learn more: www.pitmanwrites.com. Applications due Dec. 1!

PITMAN WRITERS' GUILD Home of the Pitman Writers' Guild.

Day two of the Pitman Writers' Guild 4th Annual Writing Retreat in the books. A productive day of writing, editing, fellowship, and imagining. Love spending time with this exceptional and eclectic group of writers. They make me a better creator and communicator. They're family. www.pitmanwrites.com

My annual writing retreat with fellow members of Pitman Writers' Guild is coming in just a few days. I have no idea what I'm going to be working on, but I'm so excited for some dedicated writing time at the beautiful Pendle Hill Quaker Retreat & Conference Center in Wallingford, PA.