We got the band back together! Charlie and Maggie return to WiP (& Writing Battle) as we discuss the genres for the upcoming short story competition. Join us for all of the fun, excitement, insight, and predictions. *SPOILER ALERT* (that’s not actually a spoiler alert at all) Charlie peeks at his cards early and Maggie presses all the buttons... some things never change… If you’re looking for the links to Maggie’s Intrepidus Ink craft essays, you can find them here (Character Voice: It’s not just what they say), here (Metaphor Magic: How to get the reader to accept the absurd), and here (Breaking the Rules: Doing it with intention and style). **SPONSOR INFO** Rat Bag Lit is the world’s first lit mag run by rats. Okay, the writers running Rat Bag Lit aren’t really rats, but we are human authors experienced in writing, reading, critiquing, and editing short fiction. Each of us knows the pain of submitting our work and receiving a seemingly endless flow of rejections in return. So we thought: why not make this fun? Rat Bag Lit is a brand-new paying publication for short fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Rat Bag Lit seeks to publish work that crosses genre and blurs the lines between literary and genre. Weird little stories that keep us up at night, stories that make us laugh, and poetry reflecting the strangest dreams that pop out of your odd little noggin. Bold ideas, tight prose, snappy dialogue, speculative elements. Rat Bag Lit is looking for unique fiction that twists common tropes into something we haven't seen and, hell, maybe something we'll wish we hadn't. That strange little story that you hold close to your heart but has been rejected a billion times, but you keep sending it out because you believe in it, damnit? Yeah. Send us that one. We’ll publish all the weird that fits. We open on the first of each month for themed drabbles (100 word stories) and unthemed micros. We expect to open for flash and short stories again in November. We do our best to respond to all submissions within 60 days, if not much sooner. We’ll have a new selection of short fiction online each month. Our first print edition will be available in early 2026, which will feature flash, poetry, and short stories. Check out our website at www.ratbaglit.com for more details and our full submission guidelines. **PATREON INFO** If you would like to join our WiPpersnapper Patreon community, here's everything you need to know: You can join at https://www.patreon.com/WritinginProgressPodcast The tiers/perks are as follows: Good Samaritan ($1 USD/month) -Access to posts/surveys/updates on the Patreon Website -1 entry into giveaways -Good Karma for supporting small-time podcasters WiPpersnapper ($5 USD/month) -Access to bonus audio episodes, exclusive to the Patreon. (Currently 4 available). We aim to record about one 20 minute bonus episode per month. -5 entries into giveaways -Name shouted out at the end of all public episodes (if you'd like!) Episode Sponsor ($20 USD/month) -Whatever topic/service that is desired will be discussed and promoted at the start of an upcoming episode. (Books, Websites, Contests, Services, Social Media, Publications, Websites, etc.) -Appropriate links and descriptions will be included in episode descriptions and social media posts. -20 entries into giveaways.
