Challenge
Hold Music
Hold Music A story about the space between needing help and receiving it. The call connected at 8:04 in the morning. Margaret already knew what would happen — she had been doing this for eleven months — but she had learned to make herself believe, at the start of each call, that today would be different. It was the only way to make herself dial.
By Monique Williams5 days ago in Writers
Show Me Your Prose!. Content Warning.
I’ve caught the unofficial challenge bug again, and I have a lot of devious ideas (like my Cthulu’s Challenge: poetry in pig latin, but I’ll probably save that one for next Christmas or some other time when the sweetness gets a bit too cloying for my tastes.
By Harper Lewis5 days ago in Writers
Winner Announcement: The Cat And The Machine
First and foremost, I apologize for the amount of time it took me to judge these entries. I could make a million excuses for why it took me so long, but as my father always said (slightly more crudely), "Nobody gives a darn about excuses." Therefore, I'll save you the trouble of explanation and simply move forward to what you do give a darn about, the entries into my latest contest, The Cat And The Machine.
By Laura Pruett5 days ago in Writers
This Writing Trend Is Making Teenagers Rich in the US
A quiet revolution is happening across the United States. It’s not in Silicon Valley boardrooms or Wall Street trading floors. It’s happening in bedrooms, dorm rooms, and coffee shops, where teenagers are typing on laptops and smartphones and earning money that many adults only dream about.
By Sathish Kumar 5 days ago in Writers
The Protection-of-Innocence Reciprocity Doctrine. AI-Generated.
Core Moral Premise The highest duty of any legitimate social order is the protection of innocent life. Innocent life has absolute moral primacy. Any system that systematically insulates predators, tolerates predatory asymmetry, rewards hypocrisy, or allows aggressors to retain insulation has inverted its purpose and forfeited legitimacy. Truth, justice, reciprocity, humility, mercy, forgiveness, and vertical accountability are structural necessities rather than optional virtues. Vertical accountability means recognition of and submission to a moral law higher than oneself. Authority must flow toward those who most consistently demonstrate sustained competence in moral and epistemic discipline. This competence is shown through observable conduct and trajectory over time, not through doctrinal label, tribal identity, credential alone, or self-profession.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast8 days ago in Writers
The Last Memory: Chapter 5
Chapter Five Trenton walked down the stairs, feeling the air cool down around her as she got to the bottom. The basement was dark and there was only one light bulb on the ceiling to brighten everything up. Trenton scouted the room for the dryer, finding it in the far corner of the room. She opened the door, pulled the clothes out, and set them on top of the dryer.
By Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue8 days ago in Writers
If I Were Rich
My first thoughts about what I would do if I were incredibly wealthy were the obvious ones—the same things most people imagine when they allow themselves to daydream. I would pay off my house. I would buy houses for the people I love, easing their stress and giving them security. I would donate to charities that matter deeply to me, like animal shelters and organizations that support survivors of abuse. And, of course, I would travel. Oh, the places I would go—Greece, Thailand, Japan. Even places closer to home, like Tennessee for the music or Alaska to stand beneath the Northern Lights and feel small in the best possible way.
By Tina D. Lopez8 days ago in Writers
What USCIS Case Status Updates Don’t Tell You About PERM Timelines, I-140 Processing, and Filing Address Delays
The Lie We All Believe About “Stuck” Cases Each morning before the first sip of coffee cools, a researcher opens the USCIS case status page. The screen reads the same words it displayed yesterday: “Case Was Received.” Weeks pass. Months pass. Nothing changes.
By CEO A&S Developers8 days ago in Writers
Unofficial Challenge: What would you do if you were rich?. Top Story - February 2026.
I love the kind of work I get to do in my career, but as I job search and browse apartments again due to another understaffed and unsustainable work environment that I did not intend to get into, my daydreams of better days consistently lean into the same question: What would I do if I didn't have to worry about my basic needs being met?
By Kay Husnick10 days ago in Writers
