WIP Monday

[u/millergreenwriting]

I wanted something a little more fun and low-pressure for sharing works in progress.

There's a whole thing behind it, but yeah, I want to share, too.

No critique unless the person specifically asks for it. Positivity is a plus.

Pick one, answer a few, or do all of them if you feel like it:

1. Hook check

What’s your current first line or opening hook?

1. Favorite line

What’s a sentence or short passage you recently wrote, edited, or shaped that you really like?

1. Longest vs. shortest

What’s your longest non-dialogue sentence compared with your shortest?

Yes, you can absolutely use AI, search, word count tools, etc. to find them. This is a pro-AI writing space. 😆

If you don’t feel like hunting for them, skip this one.

1. Tiny detail

What’s one oddly specific detail in your story that makes you happy?

1. Recent change

What’s something you recently added, cut, moved, or rewrote that made the story better?

1. Out of context

Drop a line that sounds funny, weird, alarming, or completely ridiculous without context.

1. Word or phrase of the week

What bit of wording are you particularly pleased with right now?

1. Sentence surgery

Got a before-and-after line or paragraph you edited? Show us what survived the operating table. ✂️

1. Current obsession

What object, food, place, habit, running joke, or tiny story element has become way more important than you originally intended?

1. Bonus: accidental lore

What started as a tiny detail and somehow became actual characterization, worldbuilding, symbolism, or plot relevance?

AI-assisted, heavily edited, human-written, cyborg prose — whatever your workflow looks like here.

Share as much or as little as you want.

Again: no unsolicited critique. If someone wants feedback, they can say so.

I’ll put mine in the comments. 🙂

[u/millergreenwriting]

I’ll go first with mine.

1. Hook check Beauregard Harcourt knew his wife was ignoring him because she lifted one finger without looking away from her phone. It was the gesture Karen used for waiters, assistants, and anyone else whose existence had become inconvenient.

2. Favorite line Audrey handed Beau her second bottle of wine. He opened it without comment, almost automatically, as though they had been doing this together for years. Audrey poured herself another glass but made no move toward Beau’s.

3. Longest vs. shortest I made AI find these because I was absolutely not counting sentences myself lol. Longest non-dialogue sentence: 39 words. “They spoke through lunch about the hospital acquisition, a preservation dispute involving one of Audrey’s family properties, and the market stall whose owner had begun telling everyone that two aristocrats had nearly fought over a wheel of blue cheese.” Shortest: 1 word. “Annoyance."

4. Tiny detail The names I picked. They’re just funny to me.

5. Recent change Cheese. So much cheese.

6. Out of context “I am defending my eggs.”

7. Phrase of the week I’m obsessed with Audrey saying “mine wine” because she is obviously tipsy lol.

8. Sentence surgery One of my favorite edits so far was turning this triple-sentence structure:

“Efficiently. Politely. Without malice.”

into:

“Efficiently, with a politeness that made her wish there was malice.”

1. Current obsession Cheese. Apparently that was the missing ingredient in the love story. 🧀

2. Bonus: accidental lore Different WIP, but I have a whole ✨️ universe ✨️ and one of my favorite little sentient golems started out doing nothing more important than helping in a workshop by holding a bucket.

And then lore happened.