Tessera

Ross McDermott

@beyondtheonions.bsky.social

I write ✍ Author TUSK: A Beringia Story - https://a.co/d/eJgOYf1 pre-historic/fiction The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt - https://a.co/d/fx8xng3 western Weathervane - a.co/d/3iPzhvE western/horror Sunsetter - https://a.co/d/05SwSc5j western/horror

1960 Posts1050 Follower 542 Folgt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 6d ago

#2wordprompt #ruin #should #ThingsToWriteAbout #feather #vss365 #arrive #scifi #dystopian #writing #prose

He gazed upon the AfterWorld.
The #ruins cut a jagged line across the horizon. Crumbling towers, now ancient tombs, sat as crooked, jagged teeth; remnants of the urban sprawl that once plagued the land.
From the ridge he watched a feather #arrive level in his eyes, rising in the warmth of an updraft to drift towards the scene. He viewed his destination, wondering, as he #should, why he, like the #feather, was so drawn to return whence he came.

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Jason H. Abbott@jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · 6d ago

Write. Create. Be inspired. The #2WordPrompt for 31-JUL-26 is: Ruin & Should #Prompt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 6d ago

#WIPSnips #twist #writing #amwriting #horror #fiction #vsshorror #wip Possession (working title) *"Tap tap tap... Tap tap tap tap." (warning: offensive language/ elements of horror) 😱

“Why don’t you fuck off Deidra?” A man’s voice bellowed. The rage bouncing off the walls of her bedroom. It was a large man’s voice, rumbling and roaring, reverberating through and causing the entire house to tremble. This was no man’s voice; this was something else. “You disgusting trench-whore cunt!”
“Please leave me alone. Please leave me alone. Please leave me alone.” Deidra said it fast, like a protective incantation, her eyes squeezed tight as she hid beneath the twist of covers.
The room felt crowded and the temperature dropped. She could feel the cold nipping at her exposed feet, like someone had opened a door to a winter’s late-night chill. She peeked from beneath the covers and saw the empty room – but she could feel them, invisible beings standing around her bed looking down at her. She closed her eyes not wanting to see, but the faces came to life in her mind: some smiling, heads tilted; some just staring slack-jawed, black eyes; and some silent yet snarling, spit flying from the mouths, mouths filled with pointed, yellow teeth – white worms wiggling behind them.
‘Dead – but not dead – never alive. We want life. Why…why…forgotten.’ The voices chorused and whined, protesting and blaming.
Deidra felt the hate – it punched her hard on the back. Her feet were grasped by large, strong hands and she was yanked from beneath the covers and onto the floor. She rolled and turtled, her back hitting the wheels of her computer chair. She looked up and around. The room loomed empty.
Tap tap tap…Tap tap tap tap. The sound was low but she heard it, coming from just above the headboard of her bed. Downstairs, a floorboard creaked, just once.

by Ross McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 6d ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 31st is "twist" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 31 - twist
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

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 6d ago

#poem #poetry coiling cool in grass, black cobra of corruption hissing, hooded eyes, rise to sway in sweet seduction; sedative in the silence hypnotic mind abduction a sudden lunge a press, a plunge a venom's slow conduction the rasp of breath's obstruction ...and so the serpent slays the world.

Amanda Turek💎Writing Rushak @acturek.bsky.social · 7d ago

#fantasy #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WIPSnips #relax Cerel is ready to rumble. - Brother’s Keeper, my fantasy WIP about two brothers bound by a misunderstood power

Theris nodded. They waited beside the
entrance, looking through the holly into the darkness. Weatherlin, still unable to use a bow, drew his sword. The others kept arrows nocked. They stood like stones, patient as the stillness the wilderness had laid
upon their hearts. The night was black and the silence swooped over it, the ice-clad wing of some great flying beast blacker still. And in Cerel's heart, glimmers of anticipation thawed his dread. The barest
breeze whispered through the holly screen into their shelter, smelling of snow, dusting his nose with the finest of frozen mists. And he danced inside himself. He wanted the fight.

He scanned the space outside for any sign of movement or shadow, for any fleeting speck that did not belong. He let his eyes RELAX and his vision blur for a moment. And it drew shapes from the snow.
Four Kudrum, clad in stealthy white, approached the holly screen.
Brother's Keeper
A.C. Turek

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 7d ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 30th is "relax" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 30 - relax.
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

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 7d ago

#2wordprompt #kingdom #reveal #gross #yuk #vss #writing 🤢 - sp/ck - repost

He peeled back the edge of the scab to reveal the fresh, new skin beneath.
"Ow!"
The boy commiserated in his pain, his eyes stared down at the kingdom revealed hiding in his crusted wound; an ecosystem of skin cells, fluids and bacteria, all working to repair the scrape.
He raised his arm and licked the pus.
"Eww!"

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Jason H. Abbott@jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · 7d ago

Write. Create. Be inspired. The #2WordPrompt for 30-JUL-26 is: Reveal & Kingdom #Prompt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 7d ago

#vss365 #brake #poem #poetry #writing #life #struggles #bus #tour #stop_requested

How many wheels go round and round,
"all the live-long day?"
We all ride this bus.
We ride it for free.
If we want to get off,
it is then we must pay.

Standing room only,
crowded yet lonely,
desperately ringing the bell.
Pumping the brakes,
as we all eat our cakes
just a busload of crazies;
on a bus tour through hell.

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 7d ago

#WIPSnips #relax #writing #amwriting #horror #fiction #wip #vsshorror #haunting Possession (working title) *A face in the glass... 😱

Deidra looked at Dusty but in the corner of her eye she caught a subtle movement in the living room window – not reflected, but just outside the glass. She turned her head to look directly and saw nothing.
Upstairs, in her bedroom, a floorboard creaked, just once.
She looked at the ceiling.
‘This is ridiculous,’ she thought.
Again, came the movement outside the window captured in the corner of her eye. She squeaked a quiet scream short and sharp. She moved to the window and flung open the sheers; blackness and her own blurry image stared back.
“Okay Deidra.” She tried to relax, suddenly realizing she was holding her breath. “Enough of this.”
The sound of her own voice was unsettling and echoed in her brain. She hurried to the floor lamp – a tall black stick with a funnel shade on top – and turned the switch. The living room was bathed in a soft, warm light. Deidra sighed a little. She never got the heebie-jeebies, at least not to this level, only once, she recalled, as a teen at a sleep-over where the themes of the night were the Ouija Board and the movie The Exorcist.
‘Brilliant combination,’ she thought, starting to calm down.
She turned back to close the sheers and a face in the glass suddenly appeared. Long and pale, the face had pooling, black eyes and a black, gaping mouth – soundless yet screaming, a ghostly, floating head – gone before Deidra even started to scream. She scrambled backward from the window, stumbling and falling to her back. Dusty howled and scampered into the kitchen, her nails scraping the laminate as she plunged under the dinette table.

excerpt from my wip Possessions (working title)- horror, fiction
by Ross McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 7d ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 30th is "relax" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

flush the wall of wax a click, a buzz, the sound comes back oil bubbles breaking down the wall retaining blocking sound once again restored and once again the city roars cicadas sing as overlords the noise regained astounds! #writing #poem #poetry #myprompt #earwax #cleaning

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnips #century #writing #amwriting #dystyopian #scifi #wip Spiral Eyes (working title) *the legends of the lunar war and creation of the DiNAs, as recalled by Mariner.

Though that war had lasted near a century, in the end, it is said, we fell to the force of the Arbitrarians almost immediately, when their mother ship had emerged from the destruction, from the depths of a hole on the dark side of the moon, Finigan’s Crater.

Too late to realize, we succumbed to the slavery inflicted upon us “stupid humans,” all but for a few who dug deep beneath the earth and became “The Ree Zistaunce.”

Rumours of these “big brains,” filled the chitter and the chatter of our enslaved existence, desperate for hope. Some said they dwelled in ancient volcanoes, where they gathered as “in-jun-ears” and began their creations, the DiNAs that now lay in tubes in the darkness of the cave.

Mariner recalled the legends of the DiNAs and the whispers of their making, but like most, he had held little truths to fanciful fairy tales of genetics, double-helix magic, and these mages who conjured these mythical Titans, whispered to be the ones who could bring about the fall of the Arbitrarians.

excerpt from my wip Spiral Eyes - working title
#dystopian #scifi #fiction
by Ross McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · last wk.

The #WIPSnips word for July 29th is "century" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 29 - century
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

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

ugly ducks cry foul voices squawking fears of swans standing on high ground. #2wordprompt #voice #ugly #haiku #poem #poetry #writing

Jason H. Abbott@jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · last wk.

Write. Create. Be inspired. The #2WordPrompt for 29-JUL-26 is: Voice & Ugly #Prompt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#vss365 #writing #poem #poetry #waves 🌊 The mist slowly lifted as it crept across the sand where waves whisper secrets of pristine #coasts; of virgin lands. Rolling aqua-green deep breaths within in their swell they break as frothy white-wash Such tales! The seas can tell.

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#2wordprompt #writing #poem #poetry #prevent #wine #tea #chai ~ The tea ~

The flora breathes
The Emperor ponders ever green
Camillia sheds her robes
they fall on flames left low
to prevent the boil
the cauldron toils.
Leaflets fall to simmer slow.
The ruler of heaven, he parts his lips
and sips
the tea;
swirls
the chai.
Long before a crown of thorns
made ruby wine of water.

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Jason H. Abbott@jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · last wk.

Write. Create. Be inspired. The #2WordPrompt for 28-JUL-26 is: Wine & Prevent #Prompt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnips #assist (help) #writing #amwriting #vsshorror #fiction #wip Possession (working title) *Deidra reaches out for assistance - calls the Forest City Ghost Guy.

She did not go downstairs when she woke up. She stayed in her room. She couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Mickey’s hands and spiraling again into what was certainly madness.
‘Has to be madness – couldn’t have been real.’
Her alarm clock had read 3:15 p.m. Her computer said it was August 23. Time was a fuzzy thing for Deidra. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it had been almost a week since that weird little man had brought Dusty to her door, and apparently something else.
She had sat legs crisscrossed on her computer chair and typed in “paranormal help ghosts,” into the search bar. Several results popped up on her screen, research societies, spiritualists, tarot card readers, psychics. The YouTube link immediately caught her eye:
Forest City Ghost Guy. Got ghosts? Get the guy.
Hesitant but desperate, she dialed the number.
The phone was ringing. Deidra looked across her room at the mirrored doors of her closet. She was there. She smiled. That was still Deidra sitting in that chair ‘calling some ghost guy to exorcize her…?’ She hung up. ‘What the fuck am I thinking.’ She chuckled out loud while looking at her reflection. For a moment it seemed, her reflection had scowled.
‘No.’
She dialed the number again. He answered first ring.
“Hello. Forest City Ghost Guy. How can I help you?”
Deidra watched herself in the mirror. “Ah… Hi. I’m not sure what I want to tell you.”

excerpt from my wip Possessions - working title - horror/fiction
by Ross McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · last wk.

The #WIPSnips word for July 28th is "assist" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 28 - assist
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

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

wrote and posted this yesterday... and low and behold the #prompt, #descend, descends today.... so I'll share it again with the #vss365 crowd. ⏬

Ross McDermott@beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#poem #poetry #darkpoem #writing #amwriting #noprompt #emoetry

flowers fade and crumble as husks to scatter;
snowflakes of the dead litter the dusty ground
not a sound...
silence broken by a lonely wind
the only wind that rises now
to howl... a banshee's call
not a song...
a lamentation of souls lost to bitter frost
that falls when dark descends
and footfalls carry forward to a rapid descent
not a fall...
a dive into the void, a joyless chasm of spiteful mirth
where guffaws are stones to trip on
and precious tears fall to stain the earth
not the world it was...
cause and effect, the effect and its cause
seen only through eyes that bleed, eyes that plead
not for long...
the letting can't go on - even blood taps run dry, as do the eyes, void of tears -- all spent -- none left to cry.

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

What's in a name? #football? ✔️ soccer? ❌ One means something, the other does not. So what's in a name? It seems quite a lot. 🦶=⚽ #ThingsToWriteAbout #writing #thoughts #sports #names #rhymetime #debate

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#vss365 #descend #poem #poetry #writing #vsshorror #darkpoetry

The trumpet sounds of their descent
an angel, the fifth, the horn proclaimed
Beneath we watch and shrug
as life before us flashes
each tableau a single scene
at twenty-four frames per second.

In the darkness of this breathing cinema
blackened ferns spawn and spew
Invasive spores find purchase
in the stagnant mind-scripts
of living agony.

And still they descend,
to find their perch among the bones
in the barren tree of woes.
"And the fifth angel sounded..."

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#poem #poetry #darkpoem #writing #amwriting #noprompt #emoetry

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

summits fly the flags wispy tails stream banners white snow plumes paint the spires. #vss365 #summit #haiku #poem #poetry #mountains #nature #crestwinds

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#ThingstoWriteAbout #splash #poem #rhymetime #writing Boys dash to the tree, two best friends - they huddle, to watch the rain make plitter-plops that #splash in rainbow puddles. ; Men rush to battle; Two foes intent on harm Their war cries roar as thunder The plitter-plops have lost their charm.

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#2wordprompt #poem #writing The #store front was a fake The windows were just painted screens depicting naked mannequins frozen faces in mid-screams Behind this ruse, the scene confused #split-leveled halls of mirrored glass reflecting all the empty shelves of futures void and looted pasts.

Jason H. Abbott@jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · last wk.

Write. Create. Be inspired. The #2WordPrompt for 27-JUL-26 is: Split & Store #Prompt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnips #writing #western #horror #fiction - excerpt from the #novel Sunsetter: continuing the tale of an ancient evil in the wilds of the west (available now - ebook and pb) *Francis sees the pending conflict and attempts to #defuse (vibe) the situation. #books #booksky

Turning back towards the stables I hurry my approach to the man who was now being subjected to the visible wrath of the Scotsman. Though whatever McTavish was saying to the man was but a whisper, the look on Maddie’s face and the Scotsman’s wagging finger told me all I needed to know… and then I came in ear-shot.
“Look. I told you three times now. I ain’t got no three stalls in the stable I can give you less you pay in advance. In case you haven’t noticed we’re a might bit busy round here and there’ll be company horses looking for space, of which I am a part of, the company that is. Regardless. What space remains will be for paying customers, not the miserable mules of some two-bit, petticoat-pensioner and his…”
“What seems to be the problem, sir.” Thankfully, my words cut off the man’s tirade as I could see the shape of the shotgun beneath Maddie’s poncho. He turned and looked at me with the same disdain with which he had been treating my friends but before he could start off on me, I carried on with my salutation.
“Perhaps I can help. I’m Frank. These folks are with me. We’d like three stables, fresh straw, and our horses rubbed, brushed and blessed with full bellies, for at least the next three days. I heard you mention payment?”
“I did. Now, for the fourth time.”
“Well, I do have a Triple C Credit voucher, as you can see here.”

excerpt from the novel Sunsetter
by Ross McDermott

snippet of the cover for the novel Sunsetter
cover design by Emma McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · last wk.

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips! The word for July 27th is "defuse" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 27 - defuse
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

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · last wk.

#vss365 #poem #rhymetime #poetry #writing We watched his gaze travel, up the ridgeline trail the #summit loomed achievable in his mind he could not fail His decision to #ascend was a prideful one at that for he never came back down and we only found his hat.

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

#vss365 #shift #poem #poetry #writing #amwriting

To drift among them
unseen by eyes
… so strange.
Do I dangle on the edge?
So it seems - swinging on the fabric’s fray
the loosened threads of yesterday,
unwoven and unwound.

I linger on peripherals
just a fleeting apparition
No more than a shift of shadow dangling in the corner;
off to the side of their unseeing eyes.

But I am not that hanging man
dangling on a silken thread
… I am that thread
A loosened stitch of yesterdays
unwoven and unwound.
Frayed.

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

#ThingstoWriteAbout #miniatures #rhymetime #writing #witchy 🧙‍♀️ - excerpt from my #narrative #poem Les Enfants du Bois (The Children of Wood)

She tasks them.
Hunched and black by fire light, she grins and chants soft whispers.
Their deeds, a dark tableau, swim amidst the rising flames.
She sees them and she knows them.
She beckons them by name:
Alderic, Francious, Gwyneth and Rohan,
and of course the gypsy twins, Seleena and Savan.

Bausch, she rolls and sways, as she guides them through the squall, to where they’ll find the objects of her scorn.
Around her float the strangest things, twisted twigs tied tight with strings, #miniatures, demented things,
for her they dance, for them she sings.

A glow. A glow. From down below a glow.
It climbs the hills to lick the cave and lets the old crone know,
Les Enfant du Bois have now commenced the show.
Back to the fire, back to inspire.
Off to the next they go.

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

#2wordprompt #flipper #rush #writing #vss #diner #breakfast

"Best pancakes north of the 42nd," Japlin scraped the grill and inspected his spatula. The wooden handle was cracked, the metal, like him, was fatigued with age.

Nancy went to the diner's door and turned the sign to 'OPEN.'
"Here comes the morning #rush," she called over her shoulder. "Best be gettin' a grip on your tired, old #flipper and start flippin'."

~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~

Jason H. Abbott@jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · 2w ago

Write. Create. Be inspired. The #2WordPrompt for 24-JUL-26 is: Flipper & Rush #Prompt

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

#WIPSnips #cacophony #writing #western #fiction #civilwar #memory excerpt from the #novel The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt *Rosco recalls a brutal battle during the civil war * #history... please note, depictions of battle and language used in the time period may disturb some readers.*

“‘Chaaaarge!!! Double time, double time!’
The cry wrang out. We broke ranks and the sound of feet pounding the sand to my right and left filled my ears. Men before me stumbled and fell over the bodies that had fallen before them. Rifle fire rung out from the walls of the fort and the cannons continued their relentless volleys, raining balls of iron and deadly cannisters upon us.”
I paused then, the brim of my worn-out Union hat, though frayed and tattered, darkening my eyes before the flames, eyes which I now raised to look at my companion with solemn recall.
“The coloured troops didn’t scream.” My eyes stared hard at McTavish, glistening tears in my recollection.
“They died and suffered silently, not that their sounds would have been heard amidst the cacophony of battle. In moments, the beach had become an abattoir. The carnage was fresh and seemed to be moving, writhing beneath the continuous concussions of the Confederate’s barrage.”

excerpt from the novel The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt
by Ross McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2w ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 24th is "cacophony" My partner was watching an e-sports thing, and the announcer kept saying "cacophony of chaos" so I just had to put this word on this week. My partner was not amused because it was driving him crazy. 😂 #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 24 - cacophony
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

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

giant jigsaw puzzle-piece only one. last one. It doesn’t fit anywhere. #ThingstoWriteAbout #jigsaw #poem #poetry 🤪

Things to Write About.@thingstowriteabout.bsky.social · 2w ago

Today’s July 23rd prompt is #jigsaw #thingstowriteabout

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 2w ago

July 23rd – dash Kyria has a bold, and perhaps ill-advised, plan to free someone from the prison tower to join the rebels. I’m sure this will go off without a hitch! #DawnsBlood #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

She reached for the small locket around her throat, though she could barely see it in the moonlight. Smiling sadly, she ran her finger over the intricately carved portraits of a handsome man and woman, who smiled back at her, as they always did.
Her mother and father would have been furious with her, if they could have seen her now. Still, she hoped that they would have understood why she had to do this. Maybe they would have even been proud of her.
Snapping the locket shut, Kyria tucked it back under her shirt and pulled her cloak tighter, then she took a deep breath and began picking her way down the hill toward the tower.
The guards were a problem, but not an insurmountable one. They had prepared her for this; drilling the patrol routes and habits into her head until they were second nature. She could get in unseen; she was certain of that. But getting out again undetected was another matter. It all came down to how things went once she got inside.
Pausing at a small stand of bushes, Kyria waited as a guard ambled by, rubbing his hands to warm them, and humming softly to himself. Once he passed, she seized her opportunity and dashed for the tower door.

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2w ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 23rd is "dash" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 23 - dash
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.
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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

#vss365 #road (vibe) #poem 🐺 Walking with the wolf - man! caught a glimpse of that bad moon smouldering red in morning eyes. So what do we do? We howl - and run with it! for the night is always wide and vast, black as the ribbons of tar bending with the contours of this shadowed realm we roam.

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2w ago

#WIPSnips #dash #writing #western #literary #fiction excerpt from the #novel The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt *Prosecutor Percy Rawlings questions his star witness, Neville Bonner, during the trial of Rosco Pitt. #books

“Behind me, I heard the sound of breaking glass. I knew… I knew what this scoundrel was going to do next and I saw the church letting out and the men approaching me on the street and I tried to warn them off but I was too late. The bastard,” Neville pointed at the defendant, his eyes burning hot with accusation, “that low-down murderous scum, he opened up on them. He raked the street with that gun and I made a dash behind the mercantile but those men on the street were caught unawares and I watched him – that man right there – Rosco Pitt – cut them down to pieces with that Gatling gun.”
Percy let the silence linger. He moved towards the jury until he was standing directly before them and leaned in close, his wide-eyes feigning shock. Slowly, with emphatic stress, he repeated Neville’s four words: “’cut – them – down – to – pieces’… I have no further questions, your Honour.”
“Thank you Mr. Rawlins,” Judge Henry said, turning to Neville. “If you could continue to make yourself available Mr. Bonner,” the judge nodded.
“The court will call a brief recess prior to the start of the cross examination,” he announced, pulling out a pocket watch from beneath his black robes. “We will break for lunch. A 30-minute recess – court will reconvene at 1 p.m.” The gavel came down.
“All rise.”

excerpt from The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt
by Ross McDermott

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2w ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 23rd is "dash" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts