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Nicole Winchester 📚

@nicolewinchester.bsky.social

390 followers 1.1K following 680 posts

Writer and reader of horror, fantasy, spec fic, drama, humor... a little of everything. 🚫AI WRITING CAN F OFF. PEOPLE, NOT ALGORITHMS. ✊ Find some of my stories at winchesterfiction.com Enjoy other things at nicolewinchester.substack.com

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · Jul 13

#bluepit📖 #Q #A #F

The Messenger
American Gods x Left Behind (if it was written by an atheist)

🪽Angels and demons
🌎End-of-the-world stakes
👩‍🦰Middle aged FMC
✝️Religious trauma
🔮Witchcraft
❤️‍🩹Melancholic slow burn relationship
😈THE DEVIL IS INSANE
🌳Supernatural trees. Lots. and Lots. of trees. 🌳🌳🌳

Four pictures, two of angels, one of Washington Monument, one of inside a diner. Caption in middle reads "No one noticed two men materialize at an empty table in a tiny restaurant in Washington D.C."

Four pictures. One of violinist playing, one of tea reading, one of a tarot card, one of clouds. Caption reads "She almost gasped as she pulled the next card. Judgement. The card of resurrected life and purpose. An angel blowing his horn, waking the dead from their graves. Upright."

Four pictures, one of a man's hand on a bed, one of a country road, one of a green tent, one of a pasture. Caption reads, "What got into you all of a sudden?" she asked. "I don't know." He closed his eyes. "I think... perhaps I was tired of not living. Tired of crying, looking down instead of up."

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 3h

American Buddha: Jim's sister, Carla, has been housing and supporting her brother for most of her adult life and she's frankly sick of it.

The Messenger: Gabriel's brother Michael is one of the driving antagonists of the story, concerned only with his role as a warrior and God's servant.

Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @cometkins.bsky.social · 5h

Does your MC have any siblings? Are they part of the story? What are they like? #WritingPrompt

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 3h

#wipsnips #writingcommunity #writingprompts #writesky
Mike, Jim's ex's boyfriend, gets the present for Jim's son that he couldn't afford himself.

Jim’s spirits fell a little. Of course, he knew someone would pull through and get it. It just seemed improbable that someone would pay more than the thing cost just for the insane expedited shipping fee.
“Wow!” yelled Dylan. “Thank you, Mike!”
Jim could tell from the look on Mike’s face that he hadn’t actually gotten it. Lucia had absolutely bought it—probably with Mike’s money, though—and then stuck Mike’s name on it. Jim’s mom used to do the same thing with his presents to other people when he was a kid.
“You’re welcome, Dyl,” said Mike obediently, after getting a meaningful look from Lucia.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 14h

500 words a day has been my goal. Didn't reach it, but it keeping a daily wordcount diary helped me keep track of when I was slipping and reminded me to write.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 17h

But I did succeed in writing a query letter for American Buddha when I finally finish and start querying it, so there's that.

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 17h

I always seem get writer's block in two places: when I start a new chapter and when I have to block out the climax of the chapter. Those seem like the two most important parts, and it takes so much more effort to push through them. #amwriting #amediting #writersky #writingcommunity

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 18h

#pretendpanel #writingcommunity #writers #authors #writingprompts I just hope people can understand what I was getting at, without me being there to explain it. The Messenger captures a zeitgeist of this particular moment in time. I want them to have something to pick at and know my inner brain.

Hiria Dunning @hiriadunning.bsky.social · 1d

#pretendpanel, I'm at a retreat over the next few days so I am incorrigibly absent! However, tell me...

October 10th: Writing and reading are kinds of necromancy. How do you hope your writing will hold/reflect your ghost after you're gone?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.bsky.social
October 10th: Writing and reading are kinds of necromancy. How do you hope your writing will hold/reflect your ghost after you're gone?
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 1d

Think of all the manuscripts we DID lose, and will never know about...

a man in a blue tank top is holding his chest and making a face .

ALT: a man in a blue tank top is holding his chest and making a face .

media.tenor.com

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 1d

I just entered #RevPit #10Queries. Enter now for a chance to win free feedback on your query and 1st 5 pages.

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 1d

The Messenger: An angel and a self-proclaimed witch have to rely on each other to live through the end of the world.

American Buddha: Jim Erlenmeyer has spent his life with mental illness and self loathing, until a psychotic break leads him down path he's certain will cure him... or kill him.

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 1d

Live young, die fast?

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Reposted by Nicole Winchester 📚

Three👁️ Eyed👁️ Devil👁️ @anarcish.bsky.social · 1d

Portland was honestly made for this moment. We’re gonna help defeat fascism by putting a bird on it.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 2d

That moment of self doubt when you're not sure if you need to delete half of your chapter or not uugh...
#writingcommunity #writesky #authorsky

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 2d

#wipsnips #writesky #writingprompts #writingcommunity
I'll have to get creative with "battery" and use the verb form - violent physical contact. Jim's not in a good headspace here. He lost his job and can't afford anything for his son's birthday.

TW: self harm

Jim backed out of the driveway, drove out of the neighborhood, pulled over into the edge of someone else’s yard, and dug into a case of beer. The warm liquid fizzed over onto his pants and seat when he opened a can. He chugged until he had to pause for breath. Even though he knew it was useless, Jim searched for the hoodie blind box combo again on his phone. He’d been wrong about the price. It was actually one hundred and twenty dollars, plus a small fortune in shipping to get it to Texas in time for Dylan’s birthday party.
Jim put his phone and beer down and slapped himself as hard as he could across the face.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 2d

How your email actually finds me

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 2d

(or free with kindle unlimited)

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 2d

It's finally here! 🎉 My short story "Unicorn Farm" and great stories from other authors is out in the Autumn 2025 edition of The Colored Lens! 14.99 paperback and 4.99 on kindle! 🦄 #writingsky #shortstory #authorsky #fantasy #booksky
www.amazon.com/dp/B0FTL7GQV...

The Colored Lens: Autumn 2025

Amazon.com: The Colored Lens: Autumn 2025 eBook : Brinegar, Rachael, Newkirk, David, Hoyt, Ellie, McIntosh, Parker, Klass, Judy, Vance, Michael, Clairval, Gio, Morrey, Josh, Apsley, JS, Docherty, Stuart: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 3d

Nah I'm still exhausted

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 4d

#wipsnips #writingcommunity #writingprompts #writesky
Sorry for "missing" yesterday's post! In this snip, Jim cares for his sick rat that he named Retsu.

He’d have to be so much more careful. There was still a week before Dylan’s birthday and he had no backup plan for a present. He couldn’t show his face in Malcolm’s again even to buy one of those stupid Venus fly traps. Everything would work out, if he could only keep Retsu alive and safe and hidden until then.
As he watched the rat nibble on the crust, he noticed Retsu was making the tiniest wheezing noise. Its nose was covered in dried snot.
“God damn it,” he whispered. He couldn’t give his kid a sick rat. A sick rat that he’d grabbed out of a freaking dumpster.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 4d

Ai could do incredible things in the medical sector, like predict diseases years in advance.

Instead it's being used to make people believe any crazy thing they see without thinking.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 6d

Guuh I meant "Jim is IN trouble at work" I swear I can write the English guyz

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 6d

#wipsnips #writingcommunity #writingprompts
Jim is at trouble at work...

Kevin, Jim’s manager, sat behind his bare, metal desk and scrolled through something on his computer screen. He kept his wraparound sunglasses on in the fluorescent lit room. His huge hand dwarfed the mouse, like he was trying to squash a bug every time he used the scroll button. Kevin wasn’t the type of guy that belonged behind a desk, but he did belong at a hardware store. He looked weird to Jim when he wasn’t prowling the floor in his red apron lined with pins, limping slightly on his prosthetic leg, the real one having been blown to smithereens in Afghanistan.

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 6d

#awesomecharacters #writesky #writingcommunity I would definitely go with Miranda from The Messenger. She basically leads herself and Gabriel through the wilderness and knows the basics of living rough, just enough to survive. Both my male MCs are useless in this scenario lol.

Charlie Delta (has been a ghost this whole time! 👻) @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 6d

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

You are shipwrecked on a desert island. You can choose one of your characters to have with you.

Who are you choosing, and what skills do they bring to the table?

Do you think the two of you are getting home?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 7d

OMG I would read this for the title alone

Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 7d

#wipsnips #writesky #writingcommunity #writingprompts
Didn't have "hunt" so I went with "stalk." Jim unwittingly freaks out Ben, his new therapist.

Jim shrugged. “It is a phobia though, isn’t it? The way you reacted? It’s about as obvious as the fact that you got a divorce.”
Ben froze in the middle of clicking his pen. He slowly lowered his notebook. “Jim, I know it’s not unheard of for patients to do in-depth searches about their therapists, but I’d like for us to be honest with each other up front.”
“What? I didn’t Google-stalk you or anything. I said it was obvious.” He gestured around the room. Ben still looked confused. “You said you moved out, specifically looking for a one bedroom house. None of your furniture matches. And I’ve never, ever met a therapist who hasn’t been married, even though some of them take off their wedding rings. As if that’s going to hide anything. And you were fine with having a session on Valentine’s Day.”

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Nicole Winchester 📚 @nicolewinchester.bsky.social · 8d

#writingq #writingcommunity Jim wants a brain that functions correctly. He wants to not pass his fucked up genes down to his son. He's spent his life fighting off his demons that nobody else can see and just wants it to stop.

Susan Savage Lee @susansavagelee.bsky.social · 9d

If your MC could have anything, what would it be? Ginger wishes that her dad was alive again and, maybe, just maybe, that wish will come true 😎 #writingq #WritingCommunity