Erika Tracy

My yearly plea, daylight savings time should take effect at 4pm on Friday and the day called “early happy hour day” and become a beloved national holiday.

A good plan. I heartily endorse this plan.

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "beam"

The future for EVs in America looks grim. But the auto industry isn’t giving up | CNN Business Just a couple of years ago, America’s auto industry had visions of an all-electric future. It has since abandoned that talk after the Trump administration eliminated the federal government’s incentive...

Just a random article from October 2025 I feel like sharing for some reason or other.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/b...

It's more like pushing something to the back burner and letting it stew than switching off. Some stuff just needs to let the herbs work into the flavor for a while, so I try to time the work cycle so that the real-life stuff overlaps the cooking time.

If I'm lucky and the characters cooperate!

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "pursue"

This turned out to be hard to snip without including a spoiler. We're in the same scene as a few days ago when Jarek was singing lullabies to a baby in the woods.

I think I look more for a satisfying ending than a happy one. The characters and circumstances have to wrap up neatly, and so sometimes that means somebody dies instead of that everyone lives happily ever after. Sometimes it's a character I'm quite fond of; sometimes they richly deserve to be offed.

Oppose Markwayne Mullin's Nomination for DHS Secretary - Unfit Text SIGN PWUPCV to 50409 to send this to your officials.

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Text ‘sign PWUPCV’ to 50409

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#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "destroy"

Despite there being destruction all over the place, it was surprisingly difficult to find this word in my piles of files.

SEIZE JOY FROM THE JAWS OF PAIN. DO YOU NEED TO CLEAN YOUR GLASSES?

I've been meaning to get my hands on a copy of Meaning Of Liff for years, and never have.

“Aagragaah,” said Detritus, mournfully. “Don’t mind me, just don’t spit it on my boot,” said Vimes. “It mean–” Detritus waved a huge hand, “like… dem things, what only comes in…” he paused and looked at his fingers, while his lips moved “…fours. Aargragaah. It mean lit’rally der time when you see dem little pebbles and you jus’ know dere’s gonna be a great big landslide on toppa you and it already too late to run. Dat moment, dat’s aagragaah.” Vimes’s own lips moved. “Forebodings?” “Dat’s der bunny.” “Where does the word come from?” Detritus shrugged. “Maybe it named after der soun’ you make just as a t’ousand ton of rock hit you.” – Aagragaah | Terry Pratchett, Jingo

Detritus, as usual, had the right of it.

So *is* anyone writing this? Because I would dearly love to write this as a short story (though I've been surprised before by long stories), but not if someone else already called dibs.

"Shelter in place, but also GTFO."

I suppose by now I shouldn't be surprised.

Making monster chow!

One of the more satisfying parts of writing.

one of my favorite things about Southern California is is how I can, whenever I’m real stressed, go out to the tide pools and find a sea slug almost as long as my forearm to look at

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "most"

The colony's first winter. Charl is an older fellow, and favors old-fashioned cave-dwelling. On the journey over he was the ship's cook, so he and Jarek, the butcher's daughter, became friends.

Particularly weird when there are, like, actually half a dozen candidates.

If anyone needs my permission to walk away from Platner and back Mills or Costello instead, here it is. Go forth. Dump that guy. Have a chocolate.

#Marchistics

I've been slow and steady on the untitled WIP for about a year and have a rough sketch pretty much done. Quite a lot of the conflict is over scarcity and a lack of supply chains.

#MarchWorldbuilders

There is a walnut tree from a nut planted in the middle of the battle, accidentally, that defined the border of the colonists' territory and the Elves'. The main character of (probably) Book 2 considers its branches a good hangout.

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "face"

The colonists encounter their first Elf on the new continent. (Highlight lost for some reason, but "face" is in there twice.)

If you're trans and in ANY place that restricts your ability to use the restroom appropriate for your gender, this website can help: refugerestrooms.org
Meanwhile, the ACLU is still working out how it's going to handle the situation in KS. Stay safe, folx. 💙

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "walk"

First draft, near the end of what is likely to be Book 1. Jarek is walking into the forest with a baby that is not hers.

There probably are not lions in this forest.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The It's My Book They'll Walk If I Tell Them Too (ANIMATED) YouTube video by Tom Cardy

Today's WIPSnip word is "walk" and I'm afraid I'm already ruined for life.

youtu.be/I3g6mFI4Fug?...

Hello Friends! Welcome to #MSWL Day 2026! 🎉

This is our second ever #MSWL Day on Bluesky. We’re happy you’re here!

You can, as of TODAY, search Bluesky and ManuscriptWishList.com posts at once: manuscriptwishlist.com/smart-search. All posts are verified by a human who works in publishing. ☕

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "thing"

Consecutive snips!

Jarek has other things to think about than whether her town is being watched from above. Those who do think about this have very little they can do about it.

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity "highlight"

The Elves have dark green skin, dress in clothing that blends into the local tree barks, and have magic that makes them even harder to see on top of that. If you see Elves, they damn well want you to.

That doesn't mean you'll know why.

In the criminal justice system, snowball-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Snowball Unit. These are their stories.

🚓

SOLIDARITY WITH TRANS KANSANS