A Midsummer Tale 2024

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A Midsummer Tale is a summer-themed narrative writing contest open to non-genre fiction and creative nonfiction.

The theme of the 2024 A Midsummer Tale writing contest is: Summer Olympics.

Possible takes on this theme include, but are not limited to, stories involving a child’s dreams of being an Olympic champion; an athlete training in an Olympic sport; a former Olympic athlete; an Olympics broadcast as a backdrop for a concurrent story; the host city during an Olympics as the setting for a story; Olympics merchandise or swag or an Olympic medal as a key element in a story; and stories from the perspective of anyone involved in producing an Olympics, from executives and builders to food vendors and security to coaches and broadcasters. Take your story in any direction you like as long as it involves a past, present or future Summer Olympics in some way.

Your story must be set during the hot summer months and the theme must play an integral role in the story.

Deadline for entries is June 21, 2024.

Toasted Cheese 24:1

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The March 2024 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Richard Dinges, Jr., Liz Dolan, James Croal Jackson, Connie Johnson, Theresa Stitt, and J.S. Watts.

TC 24:1 also includes the 24th Annual Dead of Winter Writing Contest winning stories by Steve Burford & Vivienne Moles.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews Perestroika: Eye for an Eye; Tooth for a Tooth by João Cerqueira.

The cover image is by Mark Bonica on Flickr, with additional photos by photographers around the world, all of whom have generously made their work available for use under Creative Commons licenses. Please click through and check out their photostreams.

Congratulations to all. Happy reading!

2024 Savage Mystery Writing Results

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Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Savage Mystery Writing Contest!

First Place:  “The Most Important Lie” by Robert Hanover
Second Place: “Mr. Ridgely’s Hobby” by Jay Bechtol
Third Place: “Vanishing Kin” by Bruno Lowagie

The winning entries will appear in the upcoming issue of Toasted Cheese.

We’d like to thank everyone who entered. There were a lot of interesting ways digital media manipulation played a role in the story. I hope everyone had as much fun writing the stories as I had reading them.

Amanda (The Bellman) Marlowe

The Savage 48-hour Writing Contest is back in September with our science fiction/fantasy edition.

The 2024 A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest (open to creative nonfiction and non-genre fiction) is currently open for entries.

April 2024
Daily Writing Prompts

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A Pen In Each Hand

  1. Write a story in honor of an April fool.
  2. Use these five words: sassy, counsel, flower, spurious, amusement
  3. Write about trying to amuse a lazy cat.
  4. Write about a misunderstanding.
  5. Describe the sun coming out after a storm.
  6. Use these five words: paint, steward, refrigerator, verdict, bite
  7. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: owe, sailor, twitch, relaxation, bait.
    2. Use the phrase, “I think they have a nest there.”
    3. Write about a conspiracy theory.
  8. Use these five words: share, space, plot, puzzled, efficacious
  9. Write about interrupting an activity to answer the door.
  10. Use these five words: mew, welter, antibacterial, steady, cluck
  11. Write about reading about a friend in a news story.
  12. Start your story at sunset on a beach.
  13. Write about the spring thaw after a long winter.
  14. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: analysis, laborer, fan, realism, plaster.
    2. Use the phrase, “That’s not the way I remember it.”
    3. Write about taking notes at a meeting.
  15. Reinterpret a memory.
  16. Use these five words: shaky, armored, rearward, dialectic, peewit
  17. Write about an autocorrect mistake.
  18. Use these five words: order, cheer, rabbits, kick, ear
  19. Write about accidentally telling a secret.
  20. Write about a conflict that can’t be easily simplified into right and wrong.
  21. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: sweat, brilliance, property, scream, depressed.
    2. Use the phrase, “I’ve gotten out of the habit.”
    3. Write about creative cooking.
  22. Start with this line: Do you want something to eat?
  23. Write about missing a rehearsal.
  24. Write about a plane forced to return to its starting point.
  25. Write a stream of consciousness.
  26. Start your story with an unfriending.
  27. Write about completing a task in pieces.
  28. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following 5 words: projection, disgrace, joy, national, hallway.
    2. Use the phrase, “I knew it wasn’t him.”
    3. Write about starting a difficult conversation.
  29. Write about a celebration that went overboard.
  30. Start with this line: People change.

March 2024
Daily Writing Prompts

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A Pen In Each Hand

  1. Use the phrase, “Oh. I thought it was Wednesday.”
  2. Start with this line: I don’t believe lying is kind.
  3. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: fabricate, gate, departure, rotten, agreement.
    2. Fill in the blank: “I need to come up with _________.”
    3. Write about a problem that’s getting worse.
  4. Start your story with a character setting a boundary.
  5. Write about overheated equipment.
  6. Use these five words: business, mum, overglaze, overriding, dodge
  7. Write about a helper who messes things up.
  8. Start your story with an expert testifying in a court case.
  9. Write about a computer crash.
  10. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: student, grind, average, private, spill.
    2. Fill in the blank: “_________ is what I’m here to do.”
    3. Write about parting.
  11. Write about a sudden change in the weather.
  12. Use these five words: dissipate, elaborate, forearm, oration, straight
  13. Write about fasting when other people are eating.
  14. Use these five words: sturgeon, grown, herd, gander, crab
  15. Write about an Ides of March celebration.
  16. Use these five words: genealogy, antiquate, sharpen, musculoskeletal, flaw
  17. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: proof, straight, drain, maximum, bind.
    2. Fill in the blank: “I’m not looking forward to _________.”
    3. Write about looking at a picture.
  18. Start your story with a brainstorming session.
  19. Write about a kid visiting a construction site.
  20. Use these five words: inform, zoo, muddled, trite, habitual
  21. Write about a fat-finger mistake.
  22. Start your story on the first night of an adventure.
  23. Write about a confusing set of instructions.
  24. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: budge, toll, city, thrust, earthquake.
    2. Fill in the blank: “It was built for _________.”
    3. Write about doing several jobs at once.
  25. Write about grass stains in unexpected places.
  26. Write about a boring autobiography.
  27. Write about repurposing equipment.
  28. Use these five words: power, advantage, journal, pull, family
  29. Write a creative caption for a picture.
  30. Start your story with a dispute over the use of a euphemism.
  31. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: dog, access, outline, interest, experience.
    2. Use the phrase, “Whatever you need.”
    3. Write about an accident in the kitchen.

The 2024 Savage Mystery Writing Contest is CLOSED

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The 2024 48-hour Savage Mystery Writing Contest is now open.

Entries must be received by 5 PM Eastern Time, Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Write a mystery involving a digitally manipulated image or video.

Word range: between 1900–2200 words.

  • Send entries to: savagemystery24@toasted-cheese.com
  • Your subject line must read: Savage Mystery Contest Entry
  • Paste your story directly into your email. No attachments please.

For complete rules:

February 2024
Daily Writing Prompts

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A Pen In Each Hand

  1. Write about an off-by-one error.
  2. Use these five words: silicon, runic, nullification, brilliancy, piglet
  3. Write about a new friendship.
  4. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: candle, romantic, offend, proposal, applied.
    2. Use the phrase, “About five inches (or 12 cm).”
    3. Write about figuring out what happened.
  5. Write about the first day of school.
  6. Start your story in the midst of an argument at a family gathering.
  7. Write about a blank that’s not filled in.
  8. Write about a character discovering a red flag.
  9. Coin a new word and use it in a story.
  10. Write about mastering a skill.
  11. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: production, mutual, belief, value, canvas.
    2. Use the phrase, “I should use it more often.”
    3. Write about an event that has become an institution.
  12. Write about a house meeting.
  13. Write about meeting an animal in the dark.
  14. Start with this line: That’s a nice jacket.
  15. Write about using the wrong name for someone.
  16. Write about an unexpected result.
  17. Write about the first day off in a long while.
  18. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: action, handicap, deserve, beard, plaster.
    2. Use the phrase, “I should probably …”
    3. Write about waiting for a delivery.
  19. Write about a nightmare that comes true.
  20. Start your story in the middle of an argument about belief vs. reality.
  21. Write about a scheduling conflict.
  22. Use these five words: ruin, toy, remind, deer, cemetery
  23. Write an apology.
  24. Start with this line: Good morning.
  25. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: pension, dry, score, applied, queue.
    2. Use the phrase, “Were you part of …?”
    3. Write about a bad dream.
  26. Start your story at an airport during a busy holiday travel day.
  27. Write about a train passing in the night.
  28. Write about your biggest fear as a teenager.
  29. Write about an obscure set of rules.

Dead of Winter 2023 winners

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Thank you for your patience with our delayed announcement of the winning stories in  our 2023 “Dead of Winter” short fiction contest, which are:

  • First place: “Jul” by Steve Burford
  • Second place: “Dark Revenge” by Vivienne Moles

These stories will appear in TCLJ 24.1, our Spring issue.

Our next contest is “The Savage Mystery Writing Contest,” which is a 48-hour contest for mystery stories.

Dead of Winter 2024 opens October 1; Toasted Cheese’s contest info is here.

January 2024
Daily Writing Prompts

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A Pen In Each Hand

  1. Write about waiting for the dawn.
  2. Use these five words: reflect, shocking, substantial, light, enthusiastic
  3. Use the phrase, “How did this ever work?”
  4. Write about changing your opinion.
  5. Write about accidentally setting a fire.
  6. Start your story during the production of a live television episode.
  7. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: publication, concession, sofa, orbit, wrong.
    2. Use the phrase, “What would you do with that if you had it?.”
    3. Write about dealing with disappointment.
  8. Start with this line: I thought I was a goner.
  9. Write about recovering from a busy week.
  10. Start your story with a character navigating a situation in which they don’t speak the language.
  11. Write a conversation with your character.
  12. Start with this line: What’s in the box?
  13. Write about a significant birthday.
  14. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: dare, poor, coincidence, quality, strange.
    2. Fill in the blank: “That is why we_________.”
    3. Write about a computer system failure.
  15. Write about distractions from school work.
  16. Start your story with a scent triggering a memory.
  17. Write about shouting at the television.
  18. Start with this line: You already won.
  19. Write about trying to catch up with late work.
  20. Start your story at sunrise on a chilly autumn morning.
  21. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: desire, fling, weakness, cabinet, frighten.
    2. Use the phrase, “I haven’t done that in a long time.”
    3. Write about stage fright.
  22. Write about working from home.
  23. Write about forgetting the day of the week.
  24. Start your story with a dog barking.
  25. Write about a flaw in plans.
  26. Start your story with your protagonist staying up all night.
  27. Use the phrase, “last person standing.”
  28. Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
    1. Use the following five words: attachment, provision, identification, broken, jest.
    2. Use the phrase, “not particularly useful.”
    3. Write about memories of a storm.
  29. Write about plan C.
  30. Set your story in a matriarchal society.
  31. Write about someone who doesn’t talk.