Creative Writing: Of Golden Light and Dappled Grays

I went for a walk today under golden light and dappled grays. Everyone said it would be a beautiful day, and I could feel that. The sky was cloudless, and the grove of trees around the neighborhood diffused the sunlight. It is the one thing I loved the most about the neighborhood I lived in. Always calm and muted. Even with the tranquility, we had lots of visitors. Visitors who always seemed sad, like they were missing someone. The neighborhood was odd. These visitors would show up at the […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/06/03/creative-writing-of-golden-light-and-dappled-grays/

June 2026 Bake-Off Challenge Now Live

Live With Pride A 28-day collaborative drabble cycle within Tiny Tales Bakery --- Welcome to This Month's Challenge June's challenge invites participants to explore themes of identity, belonging, self-expression, community, and authenticity. Pride means different things to different people. For some, it is celebration. For others, it is reflection, discovery, resilience, family, friendship, or simply the act of living openly and honestly. Interpret the ingredients in whatever way […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/06/02/june-2026-bake-off-challenge-now-live/

#publisher #writingexercises #writingfiction #WritingGames #writinginspiration

The Risen

It started like any other night, especially when the veil was thin. Our small seaside village welcomed the spirits of those who were lost at sea in the past year. Our priestess, pale-skinned and ethereal-looking, adorned in the colors of the deep ocean, had already started preparing for this night’s work. I watched in amazement. My lifelong aspiration was to train as a priestess, welcoming the deceased and guiding them to the realms beyond. I wouldn’t be of age for training for at least […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/28/the-risen/

A Post Apocalyptic Siren’s Song

A soft humming rode the wind—strange, yet familiar. The tune teased his memory, as if it had followed him since childhood. He had never seen a person—or any creature—linked to the sound. For years, he dismissed it as a sound from the old power lines, long abandoned in this changed world. But today, the humming was different. There was a proper voice associated with it, if only he could find where that voice was coming from. He moved like a shadow through ruins he’d never dared to […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/27/a-post-apocalyptic-sirens-song/

Creative Writing: … and Stormy Night

“If only they would tell the truth,” the lost girl mused. Katie watched as the teens in the group wandered into the woods. “If these children knew my story, they would never come out here.” Only a few would be returning, and they wouldn’t be returning whole. She knew this from the moment she issued the challenge over a hundred years ago. She was killed right here, in the woods, at the very spot where she used to tell the story and where the challenge always began. This firepit […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/creative-writing-and-stormy-night/

Creative Writing: The Darkened…

The night, dark and stormy as always, felt cliché. And the first person who could find the totem left behind would be the winner of this strange game. They decided to play a game based on the stories they told as kids as a joke. The ones that made you think twice before sleeping in the dark of your bedroom. The spooky stories that were certain to give you a slight fright. But this little game was not based on any old story. It had its origins in an actual event that occurred nearby, in the […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/24/creative-writing-the-darkened/

Drabble: Witch’s Moon

Once upon a moonlit night, when shadows followed close, I took a wander around my home. Sheltered under the bright full moon’s light, I saw as the world slumbered on. As I traveled owls flew by on whispered wings. And from time to time, a caterwaul, as hunting cats crossed paths. I am but a small sprite, not one to shy away from my curiosity.  My favorite place is this lovely farm, the orchard with apples ready for cider. I will try to sneak one or two home after tonight’s celebrations […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/23/drabble-witchs-moon/

Creative Writing: Wishling

This was written back in 2005/2006, long before I wanted to really focus on writing. The artwork associated with this started with a simple 3d render in Daz Studio 3 (that really dates this project) and was recreated in Daz Studio 4. Both versions of the artwork are included, with the original character design render at the beginning, and the finalized version at the end. Please do leave constructive criticism, I know the writing is quite juvenile, but it was literally twenty years ago. - […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/22/creative-writing-wishling/

Mapping My Writing Life: A Look Inside the Creative Atlas System

Today I want to share a look at the writing systems I’ve been building, and how they all work together under what I call my Creative Atlas System. On the surface, it might look like I’m juggling a lot of projects at once. In practice, it’s a structured way of rotating between different types of creative work depending on focus, energy, and curiosity for the day. Instead of staying locked into a single project, I move through different modes of writing—some days for deep novel work, […]

https://ceriashwardauthor.wordpress.com/2026/05/19/mapping-my-writing-life-a-look-inside-the-creative-atlas-system/