It's a new year, but WiP is back with more contests! We have at least 14 planned genre/prompt reaction episodes this year, and we're starting off with Writer's Playground!

To honor traditions, but also keep things fresh, we're playing around with some new guest combinations. We're starting the year off with a bang: three guests at once! We're bringing back the original duo: Trey Dowell and MM Schreier! But we're also reuniting with the person who first introduced us to Writer's Playground: former winner Ryan Fleming! This was Ryan's first time "meeting" Maggie and Trey, and--some mild fan-girling aside--everything went really well!

We hope you enjoy the episode, and best of luck with Writer's Playground's 12th Challenge!

**SPONSOR INFO**

This episode's sponsor: Ryan Fleming!

Check out his winning story--The Tragedy of Montague Bellot--on Writer's Playground "Storytime" podcast. (Thanks for the shout, Ryan)

Also, more of his work will soon be available in one of our friends at Not Quite Write's "daredevil" episodes. So keep an eye out!

~~Also wanted to drop a link on her for anyone looking to preorder Jon's book: Carseat Conversations: The Secret Life of a Dad

**PATREON INFO**

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 6 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

Trey Dowell is back on Writing in Progress, and we're asking him questions from the Writing Battle forum to learn from his experience reading literally hundreds of stories as a professional judge this year.

**SPONSOR INFO**

This episode's sponser: Ryan Fleming!

Check out his winning story--The Tragedy of Montague Bellot--on Writer's Playground "Storytime" podcast. (Thanks for the shout, Ryan)

Also, more of his work will soon be available in one of our friends at Not Quite Write's "daredevil" episodes. So keep an eye out!

**PATREON INFO**

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 6 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

We got the band back together! Charlie and Maggie return to WiP (& Writing Battle) as we discuss the genres for the upcoming short story competition. Join us for all of the fun, excitement, insight, and predictions. 

*SPOILER ALERT* (that’s not actually a spoiler alert at all) Charlie peeks at his cards early and Maggie presses all the buttons... some things never change…

If you’re looking for the links to Maggie’s Intrepidus Ink craft essays, you can find them here (Character Voice: It’s not just what they say), here (Metaphor Magic: How to get the reader to accept the absurd), and here (Breaking the Rules: Doing it with intention and style).

**SPONSOR INFO**

Rat Bag Lit is the world’s first lit mag run by rats. 

Okay, the writers running Rat Bag Lit aren’t really rats, but we are human authors experienced in writing, reading, critiquing, and editing short fiction. Each of us knows the pain of submitting our work and receiving a seemingly endless flow of rejections in return. So we thought: why not make this fun?

Rat Bag Lit is a brand-new paying publication for short fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Rat Bag Lit seeks to publish work that crosses genre and blurs the lines between literary and genre. Weird little stories that keep us up at night, stories that make us laugh, and poetry reflecting the strangest dreams that pop out of your odd little noggin. Bold ideas, tight prose, snappy dialogue, speculative elements. 

Rat Bag Lit is looking for unique fiction that twists common tropes into something we haven't seen and, hell, maybe something we'll wish we hadn't. That strange little story that you hold close to your heart but has been rejected a billion times, but you keep sending it out because you believe in it, damnit? Yeah. Send us that one. We’ll publish all the weird that fits.

We open on the first of each month for themed drabbles (100 word stories) and unthemed micros. We expect to open for flash and short stories again in November. We do our best to respond to all submissions within 60 days, if not much sooner.

We’ll have a new selection of short fiction online each month. Our first print edition will be available in early 2026, which will feature flash, poetry, and short stories.

Check out our website at www.ratbaglit.com for more details and our full submission guidelines.

**PATREON INFO**

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

It's Writing Battle time again, and with Spooky Season upon us, it's fitting that we get to talk about the first-ever FEAR pro-judged competition! Justin & Jon are joined by longtime friends of the pod, Ryan Fleming and Autumn Bettinger as we discuss the possible genres (Horror, Mystery, Dystopia, and Thriller/Suspense) and reveal/react to our prompts. Our hearts will pound as we decide whether or not to push the button!

~~Episode Sponser~~

This episode's sponsor is Annie, once again! And she's using the spotlight this time to highlight The Booby Prize, an exciting new competition in support of a great cause: conservation of the Blue-Footed Booby.

However, it starts very soon!

WB raven, Steve Dixon is the founder. He’s recruited some fellow writing collaborators as judges and has a professional judge for the final decision.

The Booby Prize is a new and exciting quarterly global flash fiction contest with a first prize of £500. Simply, write a 500-word flash fiction story in just 48 hours using three prompts from a provided list.

Have you got what it takes?

theboobyprize.co.uk

Steve’s personal author page can be found at poemsbysteve.co.uk and his IG is @poemsbysteve

The contest is October 17th, so don't delay!

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

We're bringing them back...It's time for the WiPpys! We're happy to share some joy and kudos with our fellow Battle Ravens and reflect on some of our favorite stories from the Summer Nanofiction Writing Battle.

Justin and Jon each award a WiPpy in the following categories:

Hook

Ending

Plot

Voice

Humor

Theme

Setting

Character

and in the following genres:

Under the Bed

Coming of Age

Kindness of Strangers

Road Trip

*Full Disclosure* I had high hopes of editing up this quite a bit more--including splicing in more full-reads of the stories we got permission to share. Guys... I just couldn't swing it. This season of life is crazy busy and I'm happy/proud I can get this episode out at all, even if it's far from perfect or what I envisioned originally. I really hope you all still enjoy it.

A big thanks to this week's episode sponsor, Autumn Bettinger!!  You should totally sign up for one of her classes. More info below:

Microfiction via Westword: https://buytickets.at/westword/1834873
Nature-based Sensory Detail via Fishtrap: https://fishtrap.org/writing-workshops/

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

It's time for another Writing Battle! We've got 250 words on the agenda this time around, and show-regulars Ryan Fleming and Autumn Bettinger rejoin Writing in Progress to analyze the genres and react to our prompt draws. Our characters and objects must remain a secret, as we could end up judging each other! This episode was filled with lots of laughs, and we hope you enjoy listening!

The sponsor for this epsiode is Annie, and she has once again decided to use her promotional time to plug a fellow author. Jon Casper is the author we discuss, spcifically his sci-fi novel, Tantalus Awaits.

If you'd like to find our more about Jon, please visit his web site: https://joncasper.net/

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

Justin and Jon welcome a new guest to the podcast this week! Former episode sponsor, Amber Byers from Tadpole Press, joined us for a delightful interview spotlighting the following topics:

-crafting an entire story in just 100 words

-Building a supportive community

-Finding your own path

This interview is unique compared to many our guests, because Amber is on the opposite side of the Writer/Publisher relationship, so her perspective might be new and useful to many of our listeners, and allowed us to explore a few timely topics such as AI submissions in writing contests.

You can get to know Tadpole Press (and their writing contests!) from their welcome page, linked here.

Our episode sponsor this week is, once again, Ryan Fleming! You can connect with Ryan on Instagram at ryan.david.fleming. He's a great friend to have in your corner, and recently helped me with a panicked 10-minutes-to-deadline beta read!

If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know:

You can join here. 

The tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

Our friends are back! Charlie and Maggie return to Writing in Progress as we reveal and react to Writer's Playground's 11th set of prompts. Not only did we enjoy some (read: a lot) banter and laughs for nearly an hour and a half... but in the most recent Writer's Playground challenge, MM placed 3rd and Charlie received an honorable mention, so they're insight is especially valuable. We try to learn from the best!

Full disclosure (Justin here): I had the intention of releasing this episode while the competition was ongoing. However, enough life things got in the way... it became clear I would only have time to write a story *OR* edit/publish/post this episode last week. After DNFing the last challenge, I was determined to get something turned in this time, and trust me... I just barely did. So that's why this episode is releasing the day *after* the conclusion of the comp. We hope you enjoy it all the same, and maybe it can help the long wait for results to go just a tiny bit faster. :)

Reminder to anyone who may be involved in the judging process for Writer's Playground: we do workshop a few specific ideas in this episode, so please don't listen until after the conclusion of the judging period.

Finally, we need to plug our Patreon, we'd be so honored to have you as a member of our community. You can join here. Remember the tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

Justin and Jon are back and we're interviewing a new guest!

Ben Daggers is an accomplished magician / escape room designer. He's even appeared on the hit show "Penn and Teller: Fool Us!". Having lived in several different countries throughout his life, he is fluent in five languages. We discussed how these unique fields of expertise influence him as a writer.

We also talk about his humorous pieces that have a little less cultural depth, like his infamous Writing Battle piece, "Possibly, Fossibly".

Although it was entertaining to talk about Ben's more light-hearted pieces, we also learned a great deal from him as an accomplished and more serious writer, as he's been an NYC Midnight finalist in six different competitions, and has been published five times in just the last few weeks!

This week's episode sponsor is Annie, and she's choosing to share her spotlight with fellow Battle Raven, Victor Cabinta. She's specifically promoting his self-published book, Superstring. A link to see more (and purchase) the book is here.

Finally, we need to plug our Patreon. We'd be so honored to have you as a member of our community. You can join here. Remember the tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

Justin & Jon are back! And even better... on summer vacation! Our goal is to bring you a new episode once a week over break, & we're starting off strong. We've done episodes about generating stories: live outlines, various competitions, even "how-to" episodes for elements of a story... but we haven't talked much about what comes after you've finished. In a recent survey on our Patreon, our WiPpersnappers indicated that their most wanted episode was one detailing the details of submitting stories to presses. Ask & ye shall receive.

We teachers assigned each other homework: submit 5 stories for publication this week. As is representative of our current status as functioning human beings: Jon completed 11 submissions and Justin managed 3.

Some of this episode might seem rudimentary to many of the oft-published veterans in our audience, but to anyone still a novice in that area, this may prove to be one of our most valuable episodes! Important links are below, so read on... but first, our sponsor!

We are grateful to Tadpole Press for sponsoring this week's episode of Writing in Progress. They specifically wanted to share with our audience that submissions are open for their 100 word writing contest, ending November 30th. Entries must be 100 words or less (including title!), can be previously published, you're allowed multiple entries (but must pay the $15 fee each time), first prize wins $1,000 USD, open to all writers. You can submit (and find further guidelines) here!

Important links mentioned:

The submission grinder can be found here. <- Pretty old school, but searchable and thorough

Chill Subs searchable database can be found here. <-This one requires you create a profile. Although Justin discovered this function live during the episode, he has since made a profile and it is now his favorite submission resource.

If you'd rather just browse a ranked list from Chill Subs, you can find their Fish List here. <-Not searchable, but a very useful list that doesn't require a profile to access.

Finally, we need to plug our Patreon, we'd be so honored to have you as a member of our community. You can join here. Remember the tiers/perks are as follows:

Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month)

-Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website

-1 entry into giveaways

-Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters

WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month)

-Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month.

-5 entries into giveaways

-Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!)

Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month)

-Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.)

-Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts.

-20 entries into giveaways.

We released a bonus episode, exclusive to the patreon, just last week on May 15th. On it, we gave away 3 books to members of our communities. The one caveat: they had to choose a book written or contributed to by a guest of our pod. So far, MM Schreier's "Bruised, Resilient" and Trey Dowell's "The Protectors" have been claimed!