[metaphorfordeath]

Places You Can Read My Work

Updated June 12th, 2026

"Anti-Psychotic" -- 4k words. A person living with schizophrenia reckons with the realization that their delusions may have more basis in reality than they thought. Originally appears in Diet Milk Magazine F/W II.

"Dream Home" -- 1k words. Not a house that is haunted, but a house that haunts you. Narrated version available through the Creepy podcast Patreon.

"The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" -- 5k words. A lonely, isolated alcoholic begins obsessively fantasizing about her two coworkers at their rural country music radio station. [Note: this story is Not Safe For Work] Appears in issue 4 of God's Cruel Joke.

"Watch Where You're Going" -- 3.5k words. Two trans people talk about life while one of them finishes her shift at the local video store. Appears in issue 6 of Olit Magazine.

"Maintenance Email Transcripts Sept-Oct 2022" -- 2k words. A person living in Boston seeks mold remediation for her apartment with increasing desperation. Appears as an online feature from God's Cruel Joke.

"From the Journals of Dr. Arthur Sweetly" -- 6k words. A Victorian surgeon with an interest in Spiritualism documents his dubious experiments as he seeks to prove the rumored distance communication method of sympathetic writing. Appears in issue 4 of Reader Beware.

"Newshawk's Crawl" -- 5k words. A turn-of-the-century newspaper writer goes to extreme lengths to get his story, but there are some places you just can't come back from. Appears in issue 1106 of Bewildering Stories.

"Butterfly Stitch" -- 4k words. Following a conviction for providing illegal abortions, a disgraced transsexual surgeon turns to backalley work offering gender affirming surgeries for those with nowhere else to go. Appears in Speculative Erotics, issue 5 of God's Cruel Joke.

NEW! "Nearest and Dearest" -- 4k words. Things haven't been the same for Emma since her fall, but at least she has her daughter Jane to take care of her now. There's nothing quite like the love a daughter has for her mother, the way Jane loves Emma. Nothing in the world. Appears as an online feature with God's Cruel Joke.

[flopstat]

i think abt anne rice’s answer to “what are your work habits for a novel?” probably every single day

[flopstat]

[makingqueerhistory]

With the Queer Writers' Collective we support and build solidarity with other queer writers!

[metaphorfordeath]

My story "Nearest and Dearest" is now available to read as an online feature with God's Cruel Joke. Things haven't been the same for Emma since her fall, but at least she has her daughter Jane to take care of her now. There's nothing quite like the love a daughter has for her mother, the way Jane loves Emma. Nothing in the world.

3.3k, content warning for emotional incest and grotesque implications. Read the story for free right here:

Thanks once again to Lee for featuring another one of my nasty little stories in his excellent publication. You can read this along with my other stories Butterfly Stitch, Maintenance Email Transcripts, and The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA for free at GCJ, but if you can afford it I highly recommend buying an issue or two.

[synonymsfordismember]

My new feel-bad story "Dead Wife" is out now with the webzine Horrific Scribes!

Two childhood friends resurrect Nora, the narrator's wife, after a brutal car accident, but balk when she comes back livelier than before. Content warnings for domestic abuse, animal death, explicit sexuality and gore.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for this story, but be sure to check out the wide variety of excellent horror stories hosted here as well! I'm so excited to share this story; it was a potential hard sell and an experiment in form for me, and I'm so pleased how it came out.

[librarycards]

My event with Danez Smith celebrating Differential Diagnosis is up on YouTube! Please feel free to watch and share, there's an extensive Q&A at the end for those interested in ~craft~ :)

[eroscestlavie]

I haven’t published anything in ages, but I have a new prose poem up in a new litmag and I’m actually very happy and excited to see it live in the world! It’s a long, weird, spec-fic flavored prose poem. Do give it a read and tell me if you dig it. https://destapled.com/poetry

Destapled is an online literary journal, published bi-annually by Two Staple Press. We feature poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction fro

[maryoliveoil]

Nikki Giovanni (7 June 1943 - 9 December 2024)

[metaphorfordeath]

I'm absolutely thrilled to share that my story "Butterfly Stitch" is out today in God's Cruel Joke Issue 5: Speculative Erotics. Following a conviction for providing illegal abortions, a disgraced transsexual surgeon turns to backalley work offering gender affirming surgeries to those with nowhere else to go.

Thank you once again to Lee Pearson for his tireless work on what has become my favorite transgressive literary magazine on the web, and for making space for fucked up art in a culture that sorely needs it. This issue is available to download for free at the link above, but I strongly encourage anyone who can afford it to buy a copy and help support this awesome magazine.

[metaphorfordeath]

Places You Can Read My Work

Updated September 2nd, 2025

"Anti-Psychotic" -- A person living with schizophrenia reckons with the realization that their delusions may have more basis in reality than they thought. Originally appears in Diet Milk Magazine F/W II.

"Dream Home" -- Not a house that is haunted, but a house that haunts you. Narrated version available through the Creepy podcast Patreon.

"The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" -- A lonely, isolated alcoholic begins obsessively fantasizing about her two coworkers at their rural country music radio station. [Note: this story is Not Safe For Work] Appears in issue 4 of God's Cruel Joke.

"Watch Where You're Going" -- Two trans people talk about life while one of them finishes her shift at the local video store. Appears in issue 6 of Olit Magazine.

"Maintenance Email Transcripts Sept-Oct 2022" -- A person living in Boston seeks mold remediation for her apartment with increasing desperation. Appears as an online feature from God's Cruel Joke.

"From the Journals of Dr. Arthur Sweetly" -- A Victorian surgeon with an interest in Spiritualism documents his dubious experiments as he seeks to prove the rumored distance communication method of sympathetic writing. Appears in issue 4 of Reader Beware.

"Newshawk's Crawl" -- A turn-of-the-century newspaper writer goes to extreme lengths to get his story, but there are some places you just can't come back from. Appears in issue 1106 of Bewildering Stories.

Thank you very much for reading, and stay tuned for more.

[metaphorfordeath]

My latest story "Newshawk's Crawl" is now available to read for free in Bewildering Stories. Marlin Fletcher is committed to his work, and he'll go to any lengths to get the story he wants--but there are some things you just can't come back from. Content warning for claustrophobia.

Thanks to Don Webb and the staff at BwS for giving this piece a home, I'm thrilled to finally see it in print.

[micahulrichdraws]

NOW LIVE - “Glory” & “In My Head” Small Art Prints are now discounted for a limited time. You can check ‘em out in my web shop my bio)! ❤️

[metaphorfordeath]

Got the proof of my story coming out in God's Cruel Joke later this year and it looks gorgeous, so excited to finally share this one with everyone

[metamorphesque]

Franz Kafka, from a letter to Oskar Pollak [tr. Winston (1977)]

[luna-azzurra]

What to Give a Sh*t About While Brainstorming Your Book

(A.K.A. Before You Even Touch That Shiny Blank Page)

↳ What You’re Actually Obsessed With Stop trying to write what’s trendy. What do you spiral about at 2 a.m.? What ideas make you grin like a gremlin and mutter, “Ohhh, that’s juicy”? That’s your story. Chase that weird, niche, can’t-let-it-go stuff. Your obsession will be the fuel that drags you through chapter 27 when everything sucks and you kind of want to fake your own death.

↳ Your Story’s “Why the Hell Should Anyone Care?” Not in a mean way. But genuinely—why should a stranger give up sleep to read this? What itch does it scratch? What feeling does it deliver? Figure that out early and let it guide you like a tiny emotional compass. If you can’t answer it yet, cool. But keep poking at it until you can.

↳ A Character With Big, Messy Feelings Don’t start with a plot. Start with a person. A disaster with a wound and a want. Someone who wants something so badly it makes them do unwise things. Get to know them like a nosy therapist. Let them tell you what kind of story they want to be in.

↳ Conflict That Isn’t Just Vibes Mood boards are fun. But conflict is what makes a story move. Make sure you’ve got some stakes, emotional, relational, existential, literal. If your idea doesn’t have anything to push against, it’s not a story yet. It’s an inspiration board.

↳ A Rough Emotional Shape Not an outline. Not yet. Just… the feeling. Where does it start (lonely)? Where does it go (rage)? Where does it end (hopeful)? Think of your book like a rollercoaster. You need the high points, low points, and those slow creaky climbs that make people scream. If it’s all flat? Snoozefest.

↳ The One Vibe You Want to Nail Every great book has a thing. An atmosphere. A flavor. Your job during brainstorming is to catch the scent of it. Is it spooky and tender? Funny and tragic? Cozy but secretly brutal? Whatever it is, write it down. Tattoo it on your brain. Let it infect every scene.

↳ Something You’re Scared to Write About You don’t have to go here. But if something in your gut says, “Oh god, I could never write about that”… maybe poke it. Maybe there’s gold in there. Maybe the story wants to heal something. You don’t have to bleed for your art—but if it makes you uncomfortable in a thrilling way? That’s your fire.

[mossyshadows]

richard siken new afterword to crush 20th anniversary edition. will text ID it later i just wanted to yoink this from twitter his formatting was ass

[snakebites-and-ink]

I've already said that my number one piece of writing advice is to read.

But my number two piece of advice is this: be deliberate.

Honestly this would fix so many pieces of bad writing advice. Don't forbid people from doing something, tell them to be conscious and deliberate about it. This could help stop people from falling into common mistakes without limiting their creativity. Black and white imperatives may stop a few annoying beginner habits, but ultimately they will restrict artistic expression.

Instead of "don't use epithets": "Know the effect epithets have and be deliberate about using them." Because yes, beginners often misuse them, but they can be useful when a character's name isn't known or when you want to reduce them to a particular trait they have.

Instead of "don't use 'said'" or "just use 'said'": "Be deliberate about your use of dialogue tags." Because sometimes you'll want "said" which fades into the background nicely, but sometimes you will need a more descriptive alternative to convey what a character is doing.

Instead of "don't use passive voice": "Be deliberate about when you use passive voice." Because using it when it's not needed can detract from your writing, but sometimes it can be useful to change the emphasis of a sentence or to portray a particular state of mind.

Instead of blindly following or ignorantly neglecting the rules of writing, familiarize yourself with them and their consequences so you can choose when and if breaking them would serve what you're trying to get across.

Your writing is yours. Take control of it.

It probably sounds like I'm preaching to the choir here because most of my mutuals are already great writers. But I'm hoping this will make it to the right people.

[caba-111]

I like this advice. "you can do what you want, just do it with intention" applies to a lot of things.