June 2021
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on June 30, 2021 by TC Editors

Write about poison.
Set your story in a traffic jam
Write about getting the cold shoulder.
Use these five words: calling, double, lifetime, policy, treason
Write about being disappointed after a major accomplishment.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
Write about a favorite place to sit.
Set your story at a funeral
Write about tasting something special.
Use these five words: watch, crow, parity, coffee, justice
Write about staying up very late to finish a book.
Start with this line: He said he meant it as a compliment.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: inappropriate, arrange, projection, plead, update.
2. Use the phrase, “It looks the same to me.”
3. Write about craving a stimulant.
Start with this line: Two lucky winners will receive…
Write about waiting for quitting time.
Write about a character wearing robes
Write about a misremembered quotation.
Start with this line: The stakes just got higher.
Write about discovering a surprising shared interest.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: ceremony, scheme, prey, charm, hesitate.
2. Use the phrase, “Repeat after me.”
3. Write about uncooked food.
Use the phrase, “Was I daydreaming?”
Use these five words: fastidiously, patience, director, zero, imminent
Write about unconventional clothes.
Use these five words: imaginative, intersect, genius, false, analysis
Use the phrase, “It’s just six months til Christmas.”
Write about a complicated threat
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: paralyzed, claim, formation, positive, fail.
2. Fill in the blank: “Not enough room in the _______.”
3. Write about being unable to hear.
Start with this line: Where are they now?
Use this phrase: “Why isn’t it red?”
Set your story in a wildfire

Toasted Cheese 21:2

Featured

Posted on June 1, 2021 by TC Editors

The June 2021 issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Kathleen Bryson & Marchell Dyon; flash by Carla Scarano D’Antonio, Laura Gavin & Terri Mullholland; fiction by Sarah Clayville, Linda Griffin, Caleb Martin-Rosenthal, Laura Mazzenga & DRC Wright; and creative nonfiction by Kimberly Cullen & David Sapp.

TC 21:2 also includes the 2021 Savage Mystery Writing Contest winning stories by Cara Brezina, Morgan-McKay Hoppmann & Jay Bechtol.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews Celeste Blue by Lou Nell Gerard and Triggers by Alexa Recio de Fitch.

The cover image is by A. Currell 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!

May 2021
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on May 31, 2021 by TC Editors

Use the phrase, “Mayday! Mayday!”
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: trait, earthquake, wire, laborer, suburb.
2. Use the phrase, “Wait, don’t do that.”
3. Write about trying not to laugh.
Write about a late-season storm.
Use these five words: married, tomorrow, founder, gala, surprise
Write about making up a holiday.
Start with this line: Please drive with caution.
Use “What day is it?”
Use these five words: ceremony, personal, legacy, lobster, swans
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: hardship, sour, provincial, miss, banner.
2. Use the phrase, “Is it morning again already?”
3. Write about doing habitual things in the wrong order.
Start with this line: It wasn’t something we focused on.
Write about using sign language in a noisy bar.
Start with this line: You should’ve cut him when you had the chance.
Write about a cat’s hunting habits.
Use these five words: superheroes, millions, human, poet, baseball
Use the phrase “And here it is mid-May already.”
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: recommend, class, abnormal, gravity, city.
2. Use the phrase, “scratching people off the list.”
3. Write about hoping not to encounter anybody you know.
Write about recreating a very old recipe.
Set your story at a movie premiere
Make up a child’s bedtime story.
Set your story in an airport
Write about a lesson learned during the pandemic.
Set your story at a protest
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: bind, corruption, distinct, deficit, passion.
2. Use the phrase, “There was a time when I believed…”
3. Write about putting on fancy clothes.
Write about receiving a diploma
Write about the limits of a can-do attitude.
Write about a musical collaboration
Start with “Why am I here?”
Use these five words: meet-cute, scrapbooking, arrest, envelope, neglected
Use “That’s not fair!”
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: institution, pest, lecture, nursery, pie.
2. Use the phrase, “It’s almost time to go.”
3. Write about troubleshooting.
Discuss the phrase “once upon a time.”

April 2021
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on April 30, 2021 by TC Editors

Write about why April fools get their own day.
Write about winning
Write about an animal mascot.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: jump, extension, waterfall, pile, monopoly.
2. Use the phrase, “Can we afford that?”
3. Write about an auction.
Write about figuring out a weird calendar.
Use these five words: groups, masks, doctor, refused, office
Write about an unlucky number.
Start with this line: This rhetoric is inciting violence.
Write about introducing old and new partners.
Write about an intense class
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: defeat, growth, ask, highlight, grace.
2. Use the phrase, “I don’t know what’s in it.”
3. Write about interruptions.
Write about a shooting
Write about struggling to read fine print.
Set your story under the surface of the ocean
Write about a last-minute reprieve.
Write about an important vote
Write about a lazy Saturday spent with a friend.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: claim, velvet, acquit, argument, loose.
2. Use the phrase, “It’s better not to ask.”
3. Write about a moth drawn to a flame.
Write about a formal tea ceremony.
Start with this line: Do you think he will leave peacefully?
Write about tedious repetition.
Use these five words: discovery, collaboration, hug, plant, voice
Write about confusion over an acronym.
Use these five words: staffing, rock, recipients, counted, author
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: chord, chain, exercise, smart, album.
2. Use the phrase, “Here’s the plan.”
3. Write about waiting for dinnertime.
Write about dancing in the rain
Write about a recurring nightmare.
Start with this line: What are you most looking forward to?
Write about the last of its kind.
Use these five words: outlandish, shattering, accident, syndrome, modicum

2021 Savage Mystery Writing Results

Posted on April 30, 2021 by TC Editors

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Savage Mystery Writing Contest!

First Place: “Off Your Block” by Cara Brezina
Second Place: “Mystery at the Museum by Morgan-McKay Hoppmann
Third Place: “Memories from Franklin County, Missouri” by Jay Bechtol

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

We’d like to thank everyone who entered. The unexpected uprooting of trees revealed a variety of mysteries. I hope you had as much fun writing the stories as I had reading them.

Amanda (The Bellman) Marlowe

A Midsummer Tale 2021

Posted on April 1, 2021 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 2021 A Midsummer Tale writing contest is: Coming of Age. A coming-of-age story focuses on the main character’s growth from adolescence to young adulthood. This could be your personal story or it could be a fictional one.

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, 2021.

March 2021
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on March 31, 2021 by TC Editors

Start with the names of three colors.
Use these five words: forgotten, identities, weird, attribute, completed
Write about a failing battery.
Set your story in a casino
Write about taking all day to do a simple task.
Write about your writing routine
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: dive, court, neighbor, collar, organize.
2. Use the phrase, “Is that a cactus?”
3. Write about an arithmetic mistake.
Start with this line: I shouldn’t be laughing.
Use the phrase, “Tell me a story.”
Write about unwelcome paparazzi photos
Write about a failed software update.
Use these five words: hopeful, detour, roadblock, active, loudly
Write about being afraid to go out.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: glare, clerk, feign, conclusion, aloof.
2. Use the phrase, “It’s not a good place.”
3. Write about remorse or regret.
Write about being stuck with an uncertain welcome.
Start with this line: I don’t make the rules.
Give your character an unusual name.
Start with this line: The only thing that would horrify me is…
Use “I used to know how to do this.”
Set your story on a fishing boat
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: disorder, performer, waste, tropical, grief.
2. Use the phrase, “What are you feeling?”
3. Write about picky food preferences.
Start with this line: What a trip down memory lane.
Write about an apprentice.
Set your story in a dream
Write about a summer hockey league.
Set your story at a yoga class
Write about a childhood embarrassment.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: medium, hard, unpleasant, care, orgy.
2. Use the phrase, “mended feelings.”
3. Write about an uncanny feeling.
Write about a bad case of the Mondays.
Write about making a big move
Write about pushing up against limits.

The 2021 Savage Mystery Writing Contest is CLOSED

Posted on March 19, 2021 by TC Editors

The 2021 Savage Mystery Writing Contest (formerly Spring Three Cheers and a Tiger) is now open.

Entries must be received by 5 PM Eastern Time, Sunday, March 21, 2021.

Write a mystery story that features something that is revealed when a tree is uprooted in a storm.

Word count: Between 2900 and 3100 words.

Send entries to: savagemystery21@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 21:1

Posted on March 1, 2021 by TC Editors

The March issue of Toasted Cheese features poetry by Mandy Haggith, Jenny Hockey, W. Joseph O’Connell, Liam Tait & DJ Tyrer; flash by Gigi Papoulias, Clara Schwarz & Shelbi Tedeschi; and fiction by Mari Carlson, Joey Dickerson, Samyuktha Iyer & Allison Meldrum.

TC 21:1 also includes the 20th Annual Dead of Winter Horror Writing Contest winning stories by Karen Sheard, H.B. Bendt & Matt Boyle.

At Candle-Ends, Shelley Carpenter reviews Hinterland by L.M. Brown and The Reflection in a Glass Eye by Simon Perchik.

The cover image is by Jonathan Ooi 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 2021
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on February 28, 2021 by TC Editors

Write about a wild speculation.
Start with this line: I’ve always been there.
Write about trying to revive an extinct holiday.
Set your story at a city council meeting
Write about waiting for a computer to update.
Start with this line: Are we allowed to go to bed yet?
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: vehicle, promote, perforate, green, friend.
2. Use the phrase, “add that to the list.”
3. Write about something that’s undercooked.
Set your story in a room with a fireplace
Write about watching events without being able to do anything.
Use these five words: books, school, talked, rushing, quality
Use the phrase, “That wasn’t there 5 minutes ago.”
Use these five words: scientists, freelancers, erupted, figures, question
Describe a sunrise or sunset.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: fame, hesitate, sign, character, referee.
2. Use the phrase, “Is your heat on?”
3. Write about vigorous exercise.
Use the phrase, “Didn’t I just do that?”
Use these five words: bidding, positive, donuts, tycoon, wealthy
Use the phrase, “I’ll check that right now.”
Start with this line: She can’t say anything that will upset her boss.
Use the phrase, “Tell us that story again.”
Use these five words: parole, snowfall, riot, teachers, red carpet
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: mean, overall, circumstance, progressive, grind.
2. Use the phrase, “You never listen.”
3. Write about putting something in the wrong place.
Start with this line: Here’s what you need to know.
Write about treachery.
Use these five words: carriage, kneecap, garlic, terminated, uneasy
Write about kids playing on a statue.
Start with this line: The next scheduled departure is at 5pm.
Write about being “randomly” selected.
Join us for a live Writing Chat every Sunday!
1. Use the following five words: salon, twin, stroke, organ, breeze.
2. Use the phrase, “How can that exist in the same world as this?”
3. Write about a sad memory.

Toasted Cheese

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Author Archives: TC Editors