April 2022
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on April 30, 2022 by TC Editors

Write about going to class without your homework.
Start your story in the middle of an argument.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: ignore, strain, slippery, hover, drawer.
2. Fill in the blank, “You can’t teach an old dog _____.”
3. Write about changing one’s mind.
Start with this line: Remember how I told you…
Write about an inconvenient dizzy spell.
Write about a superhero.
Write about slicing fruit together.
Start with this line: That’s game-changing.
Write about a car being towed away.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: resident, choose, broadcast, kill, toast.
2. Use the phrase, “Wait and see.”
3. Write about trying to stay awake.
There’s a persistent knocking at the door.
Use these five words: hat maker, introduction, octogenarian, students, selfish
Use the phrase, “And now, we wait.”
Write about impatience.
Write about the return of a seasonal fountain.
Start your story during selection of a jury.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: chew, staircase, secure. copper, contain.
2. Use the phrase, “There are several drafts.”
3. Write about an exaggeration.
Start with this line: The science is clear.
Use the phrase, “Does that raven know what we’re doing?”
Write about an occupational hazard.
Use the phrase, “Has it been a month already?”
Start your story your first memory.
Write about returning after a 2-year absence.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: bag, coast, activity, node, objective.
2. Use the phrase, “That’s unlikely.”
3. Write about a bittersweet experience.
Write about a windy day.
Start your story during a social media outage.
Use the phrase, “That looks right.”
Start with this line: What do you think?
Write about missing a deadline.
Write about a word you hate.

2022 Savage Mystery Writing Results

Posted on April 30, 2022 by TC Editors

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Savage Mystery Writing Contest!

First Place: “The Wonderland House” by Robin Hillard
Second Place: “Plums” by Janet Innes
Third Place: “The Case of the Missing Princess” by Sue Seabury

Honorable Mention: “The Merest Glimpse” by Eric Williams.

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

We’d like to thank everyone who entered. Antique dollhouses hold so many creative mysteries. 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 2022 A Midsummer Tale Narrative Writing Contest is currently open for entries.

A Midsummer Tale 2022

Posted on April 1, 2022 by TC Editors

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

The theme of the 2022 A Midsummer Tale writing contest is: The End. This year your challenge is to write about a personal ending that ties into a concurrent cataclysmic event and together feel like the end of the world for your protagonist.

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, 2022.

March 2022
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on March 31, 2022 by TC Editors

Use “Once a season, whether we need it or not.”
Start with this line: It’s pretty scary.
Write about an all-day meeting.
Start your story during a break-up.
Write about wondering where you got an idea.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: modest, embrace, quarter, auditor, afford.
2. Fill in the blank, “Now subtract ______.”
3. Write about the pitter-patter of little feet.
Write about waiting for a storm.
Start with this line: I wanted to be there for you.
Write about finding something under a rock.
Start with this line: Here are some suggestions.
Write about people watching at a railroad crossing.
Start your story during a virtual class or workshop.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five reporter, eavesdrop, chapter, conviction, celebration.
2. Fill in the blank, “I don’t need to do that any more.”
3. Write about an obsolete skill.
Use these five words: overdue, exit, homelessness, protests, embryos
Start next to an ice-covered pond on a warm day.
Start your story at the beach.
Write wordless dialog.
Use these five words: roof, summer, humanity, freak, crash
Write about a vacant restaurant.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five compartment, challenge, gene, horse, greeting.
2. Fill in the blank, “Am I the only one left?”
3. Write about birdwatching.
Use the phrase, “All else being equal”
Write about eavesdropping.
Write about getting up very early.
Start your story in a restaurant closed for a private event.
Start with “Tell me a story.”
Use these five words: banana, clear, credits, game, wars
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: assume, blackmail, registration, consideration, personal.
2. Fill in the blank, “I remember when this was empty space.”
3. Write about watching a fire.
Write about sneaking in contraband.
Write about meeting a friend for coffee.
Start your story in an artist’s studio.
Write about leaving a task unfinished.

The 2022 Savage Mystery Writing Contest is CLOSED

Posted on March 18, 2022 by TC Editors

The 2022 48-hour Savage Mystery Writing Contest is now open.

Entries must be received by 5 PM Eastern Time, Sunday, March 20, 2022.

Write a mystery story that features an antique dollhouse.

Word range: Between 2400 and 2600 words.

Send entries to: savagemystery22@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:

Toasted Cheese 22:1

Featured

Posted on March 1, 2022 by TC Editors

The March 2022 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Carla Scarano D’Antonio & Diane Webster; fiction by Aishani Biswas, Jim Ray Daniels & Joshua Shapiro; and creative nonfiction by Mark Liebenow & Layla Sabourian.

TC 22:1 also includes the 2021 Dead of Winter Horror Writing Contest winning stories by Jason Porterfield, Gail A. Webber, Bunny McFadden & DJ Tyrer.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews Where the Stork Flies by Linda Wisniewski and Garrett Ray Harriman reviews Sneezing Coyotes by Salvatore Marici.

The cover image is by Ruth Hartnup 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!

February 2022
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on February 28, 2022 by TC Editors

Start with “Twas the night before Groundhog’s…”
Start your story while stranded without cell service.
Write about something that falls between categories.
Use these five words: bridge, serenade, detectives, sensitivity, blackbird
Write about a group project.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: real, copper, grimace, opponent, swear.
2. Use the phrase, “Maybe if I don’t watch it.”
3. Write about equipment failure.
Write about a multi-colored graphic.
Use these five words: peacemaking, finesse, unpack, battles, blue
Write about falling off a bicycle.
Start your story while watching a scary movie.
Write about a lone goose on a frozen pond.
Use these five words: museum, brilliance, radar, elephants, sailing
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: joke, wander, exhibition, injection, headline.
2. Use the phrase, “I ate that for lunch.”
3. Write about an unexpected color.
Start your story during a costume party.
Use the phrase, “I’m not late, yet.”
Start with this line: He has no regrets.
Write about canceling a party.
Use these five words: bee, nutty, straightening, uncut, tuna
Write about children’s team sports.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: consumer, necklace, justice, obscure, promise.
2. Use the phrase, “Tell me a story.”
3. Write about overlooking an important detail.
Use “The 21st is not a Thursday.”
Start your story on a ferry.
Write about improvising for a missing chess piece.
Use these five words: agencies, teams, shoulder, cocktail, textiles
Write about a folder stuffed full of papers.
Write about negative space.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: pile, chocolate, decisive, dedicate, disorder.
2. Use the phrase, “Isn’t that a mouthful?”
3. Write about a different solution to a problem.
Use these five words: lawmaker, heroes, plans, godsend, renaissance

Dead of Winter 2021 Winners

Posted on February 1, 2022 by TC Editors

The winning stories for our 21st annual Dead of Winter horror fiction contest are:

1st: “Fitting Room #3” by Jason Porterfield
2nd: “Rules” by Gail A. Webber
3rd (tie): “Cutting Your Own” by Bunny McFadden
3rd (tie): “Broken Bridge” by DJ Tyrer

The first, second, and both third place stories will appear in TCLJ 22.1, our Spring issue.

Our next contest is The Savage Mystery Writing Contest, which opens Friday, March 18 and ends Sunday, March 20. Please remember to follow theme, genre, and word count parameters on all contests. There is no registration, entry fee, or geographic restriction for this or any TC contest. Toasted Cheese’s contest info is here.

January 2022
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on January 31, 2022 by TC Editors

Write about promises kept only approximately.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: roll, green, pigeon, storage, fling.
2. Use the phrase, “We appreciate…”
3. Write about a favorite childhood toy.
Write about a support person in a work group.
Start with this line: My dad doesn’t approve of him.
Write about a hospital stay
Write about quitting a competition.
Write about weather very different from today’s.
Write about a big discovery.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: concrete, performer, soil, mild, father.
2. Use the phrase, “with raisins in it.”
3. Write about not knowing the day of the week.
Start your story in a science lab.
Write about a wrong-number phone call.
Use these five words: bullied, farm, diverse, born, hell
Write about a big round-number birthday.
Write about a maverick.
Write about a welcome-home from a pet.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: punish, sausage, range, grace, network.
2. Use the phrase, “What is it thinking?”
3. Write about a hurry-up-and-wait situation.
Write about a chosen family relationship.
Use these five words: inferiority, grisly, icons, raven, references
Write about working toward a dream.
Start your story in a dystopia.
Write about learning to do something complicated.
Write about a frightening question.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: merchant, hall, goalkeeper, depart, slippery.
2. Use the phrase, “supposedly ancient.”
3. Write about the final issue of a magazine.
Write about a red flag.
Write about deciding not to buy something that’s wanted.
Start your story at a protest of old-growth logging.
Write a shaggy-dog story.
Start your story on a Sunday afternoon.
Write about an unsung hero.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: harvest, bulletin, gutter, braid, acute.
2. Use the phrase, “everyone I don’t like.”
3. Write about an odd posture or position.
Write about malfunctioning equipment.

December 2021
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on December 31, 2021 by TC Editors

Write in a dialect not your own.
Set your story in a medical research laboratory
Write about a book club.
Start with this line: We will fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: confession, pony, welcome, distant, elect.
2. Use the phrase, “Is that the beer talking?”
3. Write about walking away from something familiar.
Write about a violation of policy
Write about being at sea in a storm.
Write about a betrayal
Write about the Little People.
Start with this line: She’s jealous of people who live in California.
Write about waiting for the mail to come.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: detector, variety, directory, light, corn.
2. Use the phrase, “justify the expense.”
3. Write about an expected surprise.
Write about using an old calendar.
Write about a video conference call incident
Write about waiting in the cold.
Start with this line: I may not have all of the facts but…
Use the phrase, “What I should have done.”
Write about baking a pie
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: district, cottage, relation, steel, genuine.
2. Fill in the blank, “Cheap _____ is not worth the money.”
3. Write about intentionally violating rules.
Write about a meteor shower
Write about something that can only happen on the solstice.
Write about an artist’s process
Write about a small child jumping up and down.
Use these five words: veterans, additional, range, gamble, dynamic
Write about staying up after midnight.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: death, parade, time, potential, public.
2. Use the phrase, “Can you hear it?”
3. Write about doing something other people thought impossible.
Write about turning down dessert.
Use these five words: perfectionism, unworthy, Emmy, B-roll, aesthetic
Write about trying to resume after interruption.
Start with this line: We are raffling off two tickets.
Summarize last year’s writing. What can you do differently next year?

Toasted Cheese

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