Wednesday Write-in #11

Welcome to the Wednesday Write-in!

CAKE.shortandsweet runs a write-in every week to writers to practise their skills, and get chatting to each other about their work. Everyone is welcome to join in, and the more people you tell, the more everyone will get out of it.

By the way, we’ll issue a bonus point this week for the spookiest story, if people are feeling inspired by Halloween!

 

Prompts

caffeine  :: poverty  ::  stalk  ::  scalded  ::  blown

Guidelines

There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some brief guidelines:

• You can use the prompts as inspiration or try to work them into your story somehow. Use as many as you want.
• When your story is done, post it online (your blog/twitter/in a comment here), tag with #wednesdaywritein and comment with a link so we can read it. You can write as many stories as you like.
• Please take the time to read and comment on as many other stories as you can.

Featured Story

We’ll feature our favourite story on the blog with a review of it and links to the author’s blog/twitter/facebook if relevant.

Posts will generally go up at 9am(ish) on Wednesday – stories are due by 10am Thursday (UK) to be considered for the featured story. You can keep posting your work after this, it just won’t be featured.

The winner will also be eligible to publish on our special CAKE.shortandsweet genre through Ether Books.

Rewards

We’ll keep track of who takes part in the write-ins, and you earn points for different things.

• Take part in a write-in = 1 point.
• Comment on other people’s stories = 1 point.
• Share/reblog this post = 1 point.

When you reach ten points the editing team will give detailed feedback on a story of your choice. This only counts for separate sessions—so if you write five stories for one write-in, that counts as one, and if you share on both facebook and twitter, that’s one.

 

Please look for us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the write-ins, or click the follow button to get blog updates!

Don’t forget to read our Previous Issues and check out the Submissions page if you’d like to be a CAKE.author!

 

Any questions? Otherwise, have fun writing!

Wednesday Write-in #10

Welcome to the Wednesday Write-in!

CAKE.shortandsweet runs a write-in every week to writers to practise their skills, and get chatting to each other about their work. Everyone is welcome to join in, and the more people you tell, the more everyone will get out of it.

 

Prompts

paperback  ::  bounce  ::  crushing  ::  liquor  ::  root

Guidelines

There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some brief guidelines:

• You can use the prompts as inspiration or try to work them into your story somehow. Use as many as you want.
• When your story is done, post it online (your blog/twitter/in a comment here), tag with #wednesdaywritein and comment with a link so we can read it. You can write as many stories as you like.
• Please take the time to read and comment on as many other stories as you can.

Featured Story

We’ll feature our favourite story on the blog with a review of it and links to the author’s blog/twitter/facebook if relevant.

Posts will generally go up at 9am(ish) on Wednesday – stories are due by 10am Thursday (UK) to be considered for the featured story. You can keep posting your work after this, it just won’t be featured.

The winner will also be eligible to publish on our special CAKE.shortandsweet genre through Ether Books.

Rewards

We’ll keep track of who takes part in the write-ins, and you earn points for different things.

• Take part in a write-in = 1 point.
• Comment on other people’s stories = 1 point.
• Share/reblog this post = 1 point.

When you reach ten points the editing team will give detailed feedback on a story of your choice. This only counts for separate sessions—so if you write five stories for one write-in, that counts as one, and if you share on both facebook and twitter, that’s one.

 

Please look for us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the write-ins, or click the follow button to get blog updates!

Don’t forget to read our Previous Issues and check out the Submissions page if you’d like to be a CAKE.author!

 

Any questions? Otherwise, have fun writing!

Wednesday Write-in #9

Welcome to the Wednesday Write-in!

CAKE.shortandsweet runs a write-in every week to writers to practise their skills, and get chatting to each other about their work. Everyone is welcome to join in, and the more people you tell, the more everyone will get out of it.

 

Prompts

sand  ::  frames  ::  contract  ::  smell of chlorine  :: mothballs

Guidelines

There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some brief guidelines:

• You can use the prompts as inspiration or try to work them into your story somehow. Use as many as you want.
• When your story is done, post it online (your blog/twitter/in a comment here), tag with #wednesdaywritein and comment with a link so we can read it. You can write as many stories as you like.
• Please take the time to read and comment on as many other stories as you can.

Featured Story

We’ll feature our favourite story on the blog with a review of it and links to the author’s blog/twitter/facebook if relevant.

Posts will generally go up at 9am(ish) on Wednesday – stories are due by 10am Thursday (UK) to be considered for the featured story. You can keep posting your work after this, it just won’t be featured.

The winner will also be eligible to publish on our special CAKE.shortandsweet genre through Ether Books.

Rewards

We’ll keep track of who takes part in the write-ins, and you earn points for different things.

• Take part in a write-in = 1 point.
• Comment on other people’s stories = 1 point.
• Share/reblog this post = 1 point.

When you reach ten points the editing team will give detailed feedback on a story of your choice. This only counts for separate sessions—so if you write five stories for one write-in, that counts as one, and if you share on both facebook and twitter, that’s one.

 

Please look for us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the write-ins, or click the follow button to get blog updates!

Don’t forget to read our Previous Issues and check out the Submissions page if you’d like to be a CAKE.author!

 

Any questions? Otherwise, have fun writing!

Featured Writer Week 8

We loved this piece by brassduke, as a fantastic example of the unusual and unexpected things you can do with a prompt. Brassduke blasts us into outer space with a pragmatic futuristic story that oozes with sinister implications, and only makes us long for more. Enjoy!

Brassduke's Blog

This is my Cake Wednesday write-in #8 attempt.

Glazed/ A sticky situation.

It’s safer than cryogenics, that’s the public opinion. You are submerged in a sugary type mixture. It’s translucent rather than transparent. Some describe it to be like falling asleep in a bath of sugar icing. The solution gets everywhere. Your ears, mouth, nose. Every crevice ends up filled.

It has been the most popular stasis method for interstellar travel since the deep unfreeze on the Algon Transport Seven. Since then you have struggled to find a business class cryo passenger on a commercial transport vehicle. Most companies refuse to pay the increased insurance premiums applicable. At least that is what Liza in procurement had told me. “I’m sorry but the cryo is too expensive now. As your trip is only a level four we don’t stretch to it. We’ll need to send you glazed.”

Three months travel. With a job…

View original post 243 more words

Wednesday Write-in #8

Welcome to the Wednesday Write-in!

CAKE.shortandsweet runs a write-in every week to writers to practise their skills, and get chatting to each other about their work. Everyone is welcome to join in, and the more people you tell, the more everyone will get out of it.

Starting this week, the featured author will be able to publish their story on Ether Books under our own category!

Given the number of people entering from outside the UK we’re also going to start posting earlier, from 12am Wednesday morning.

 

Prompts

glaze  ::  benefits  ::  lollipop  ::  hardwood  ::  grip

Guidelines

There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some brief guidelines:

• You can use the prompts as inspiration or try to work them into your story somehow. Use as many as you want.
• When your story is done, post it online (your blog/twitter/in a comment here), tag with #wednesdaywritein and comment with a link so we can read it. You can write as many stories as you like.
• Please take the time to read and comment on as many other stories as you can.

Featured Story

We’ll feature our favourite story on the blog with a review of it and links to the author’s blog/twitter/facebook if relevant.

Posts will generally go up at 12am(ish) on Wednesday – stories are due by 10am Thursday (UK) to be considered for the featured story. You can keep posting your work after this, it just won’t be featured.

NOTE: From this week, the featured writer will also be eligible to publish their story through Ether Books under our special CAKE.shortandsweet category.

Rewards

We’ll keep track of who takes part in the write-ins, and you earn points for different things.

• Take part in a write-in = 1 point.
• Comment on other people’s stories = 1 point.
• Share/reblog this post = 1 point.

When you reach ten points the editing team will give detailed feedback on a story of your choice. This only counts for separate sessions—so if you write five stories for one write-in, that counts as one, and if you share on both facebook and twitter, that’s one.

 

Please look for us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the write-ins, or click the follow button to get blog updates!

Don’t forget to read our Previous Issues and check out the Submissions page if you’d like to be a CAKE.author!

 

Any questions? Otherwise, have fun writing!

Collaboration with Ether Books

We’ve been chatting to the lovely people over at Ether Books about possibly setting up a special CAKE.shortandsweet genre for our writers to publish their stories in.

Ether Books is a new mobile social reading platform, connecting Writers and Readers around the world. Ether publishes “made for mobile” Quick Reads straight to Smart Phones, the fastest growing digital reading device on the planet. Discover talented new and bestselling writers right from your pocket.

Ether is currently available on apple devices but is shortly being released for Android too.

We are hoping that all the authors we’ve already published will be able to put up their work on Ether for people to download, and of course the stories we publish in future issues.

If you have any questions please let us know, and we’ll update you as soon as we know more details about when and how you can submit your work!

Featured writer week 7

This week’s featured writer/story is Hurling by Emmaleene Leahy

‘She grew up in a place where hurling was religion. Children started school with a hurl in their hand. She’d cycle to training every evening whatever the weather with her hurl across the handlebars of her bike.’

Emmaleene really captures the brutality and excitement bound up in the sport, but more than that she paints a picture of growing up and leaving things behind. This piece rolls in nostalgia, but it’s not sepia-toned and gentle, it’s blood-stained and fierce.

Please take a moment to read Hurling and leave Emmaleene some feedback.

Read the other entries here:

Week 1 :: Week 2 :: Week 3 :: Week 4 :: Week 5 :: Week 6 :: Week 7

Wednesday Write-in #7

Welcome to the Wednesday Write-in!

CAKE.shortandsweet runs a write-in every week to writers to practise their skills, and get chatting to each other about their work. Everyone is welcome to join in, and the more people you tell, the more everyone will get out of it.

 

Prompts

amber  ::  dark chocolate  ::  heather  ::  dry wood  ::  damage

Guidelines

There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some brief guidelines:

• You can use the prompts as inspiration or try to work them into your story somehow. Use as many as you want.
• When your story is done, post it online (your blog/twitter/in a comment here), tag with #wednesdaywritein and comment with a link so we can read it. You can write as many stories as you like.
• Please take the time to read and comment on as many other stories as you can.

Featured Story

We’ll feature our favourite story on the blog with a review of it and links to the author’s blog/twitter/facebook if relevant.

Posts will generally go up at 9am(ish) on Wednesday – stories are due by 10am Thursday (UK) to be considered for the featured story. You can keep posting your work after this, it just won’t be featured.

Rewards

We’ll keep track of who takes part in the write-ins, and you earn points for different things.

• Take part in a write-in = 1 point.
• Comment on other people’s stories = 1 point.
• Share/reblog this post = 1 point.

When you reach ten points the editing team will give detailed feedback on a story of your choice. This only counts for separate sessions—so if you write five stories for one write-in, that counts as one, and if you share on both facebook and twitter, that’s one.

Please look for us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the write-ins, or click the follow button to get blog updates!

 

Don’t forget to read our Previous Issues and check out the Submissions page if you’d like to be a CAKE.author!

 

Any questions? Otherwise, have fun writing!

Busy week

1. Wednesday Write-in returns at 8am this week, don’t miss it! The level of writing talent is improving week on week, and it was fantastic to see some new faces last week. Please keep telling your friends about us, we’re really enjoying the community that’s building up here.

2. We’ve just finished some query letters to new venues around Manchester, so watch this space. Hopefully you’ll see the monthly issues touching down in some new venues soon.

3. The fifth issue should be out next week, featuring some brand new writers with a really diverse mix of stories.

4. We’re currently making plans for Short Story Week in November and will hopefully announce them soon! If anyone is available to help out with an event in Manchester between the 12th and 18th of November, please let us know!