Writing horror fiction, making music, building weird things. Oh, and baseball. And open source. Also, I've lived in a haunted house for 23 years, which is fun.https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mvqzqvwprc25Have had trouble writing the last two nights. Dealing with work, bills, rabid baby mice, demonic felines. You know how it is.18 Sep 2026 01:36 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvqzqvwprc25https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mvodrm5lok2tThe Mets make the Orioles look like such a good baseball team. Can we just play them for the rest of the season?16 Sep 2026 23:57 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvodrm5lok2thttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mvifzml6e223Finished another chapter last night. Small victories these days.14 Sep 2026 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvifzml6e223https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mv47tzs2js2oA bottle of cognac. And if the liquor inside stays at the level it is currently at, it means the man is not coming back. #HorrorWriterschat [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Sep 2026 18:59 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv47tzs2js2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mv46ws6pws2o“Wasn’t so much the wasps swarming around it as the spiders nesting inside it.” “So, what did you do?” “Put it in Andy’s room. He’s good like that.” “Wait, who’s Andy?” “My kid brother.” “You don’t have a brother, Jake.” “Then who’s that eating the spiders?” #Horrrorwriterschat [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Sep 2026 18:43 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv46ws6pws2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mv45xqxw522oEnsembles are the ultimate safe and familiar second family, aren’t they? And from a horror point of view, the great thing about an ensemble cast is that it provides more opportunities for more terrible things to happen to more people. Fun. #Horrorwriterschat [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Sep 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv45xqxw522ohttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mv455ddglk2oShelly, from Maryland. Currently writing an historical serial killer novel set in 1891 Baltimore. And you best stay away from my Millennium Falcon. #Horrorwriterschat [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Sep 2026 18:11 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv455ddglk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muwjxdchgc2aMade it to the halfway point in the new book last night. Six weeks worth of writing. About 50,000 words. 07 Sep 2026 12:44 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwjxdchgc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muuaq2fgis22That moment when you realize that the book you are writing is going to be part one of a trilogy.06 Sep 2026 14:54 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muuaq2fgis22https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muswquhscs2mThere was Shane. There were many sorrows. There was much laughter. Nice night out at Current Space. Congrats, @troublegnome.bsky.social06 Sep 2026 02:22 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muswquhscs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mupumwbjhk2nSaw The Wailin' Jennys last night at the Birchmere. And I can safely say that I had never heard their music before.04 Sep 2026 21:06 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mupumwbjhk2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mukma5hktk22The scene where his wife finds Stan in the bathtub. That scene has haunted me for, what, 40 years? Thx, @stephenking.bsky.social. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Sep 2026 18:53 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mukma5hktk22https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muklgbunpk22I like the horror inherent in people taking things literally. I have a story about two kids and the maxim about “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.” When they can’t fit in each other’s shoes, they saw their feet off and reattach them to one another’s legs. As you do. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Sep 2026 18:38 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muklgbunpk22https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mukkheozp222I have this real fear in the back of my mind that I am doing great damage to myself mentally by putting myself through the trauma of what my characters are going through during the process of writing their stories. This is also why I rarely write in first person. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Sep 2026 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mukkheozp222https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mukjnidbnk22I’m Shelly. Deep in the midst of writing a novel concerning a serial killer on the loose in 1891 Baltimore. Scariest recent thing was yesterday, actually. Came home to find an unhinged neighbor setting gasoline canisters on fire. Whole neighborhood, thick with black smoke. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Sep 2026 18:07 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mukjnidbnk22https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muj7hwuubs2545,000 words dead-smack center of the manuscript. That looks to me like we're moving on a 90k word novel. Though I've never been good at math.02 Sep 2026 05:32 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muj7hwuubs25https://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muis2qwwi22zAnd once again, I am listening to the Orioles game while writing. And people wonder why some of my characters sound like radio announcers.02 Sep 2026 01:32 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muis2qwwi22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3muil4gakdc2bSpent all day jumping and throwing myself at walls. Pretending I was Colton Cowser. 🐮01 Sep 2026 23:27 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3muil4gakdc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mue2jucmk22eChapter 18 of the new thing is in the bag.31 Aug 2026 04:20 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mue2jucmk22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mudbzmga2s2pThere is something tragic in the plight of a steamed clam. It’s as though they fight and then finally just give up. And that shell cracks open a little bit as the clam’s soul escapes. Clams have souls, right?30 Aug 2026 21:02 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mudbzmga2s2phttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mudbp3rapk2pListening to the Orioles on the radio while making a Maryland-style Bouillabaisse. Saffron and Old Bay. As it should be.30 Aug 2026 20:56 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mudbp3rapk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mubapgcm6k2sBack at it. Been dealing with moving my office the last three or four days. But done with that. And I was lucky enough that the last person left a chandelier.30 Aug 2026 01:33 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mubapgcm6k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtyz7ttvzk2iMonsters exist as the purest form of freedom. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Aug 2026 18:57 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyz7ttvzk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtyy2vv3x22iIt was the killer. And he was holding a ring of keys. And they were rattling. Literally. Like, so much for my similes. They say you can’t have nice metaphors anymore. And this is why. I told him this, and he plunged a key into my face. Like a fork into a crusty pot pie. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Aug 2026 18:37 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyy2vv3x22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtyxbjw6t22iMore than anything, the monsters in my work represent a kind of misunderstanding. They are often vulnerable and scarred. But they don’t necessarily act out for the sake of revenge. It’s more that they are resigned to being misunderstood. Which results in terrible things. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Aug 2026 18:22 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyxbjw6t22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtywnvtqgk2iShelly, from Maryland. Mostly ensemble horror. Currently working on a novel set in 1891 Baltimore. The monster that most frightened me was a decapitated horse’s head that spoke and would follow me around as a child. Some kids have imaginary friends. I had a decapitated horse. #HorrorWritersChat [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Aug 2026 18:11 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtywnvtqgk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtyqyqwzxs2iAnd Clue.26 Aug 2026 16:30 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyqyqwzxs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtsk557bxs2yComing to terms with the fact that it will take longer to write the current book than it has to write the previous ones. Knocked out 1,500 words today, but took hours longer than warranted on account of doing research. If you get the idea to write historical fiction, do yourself a favor. Don’t.24 Aug 2026 05:11 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtsk557bxs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtpo2h3k6s2wOrioles Magic23 Aug 2026 01:43 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtpo2h3k6s2whttps://bsky.app/profile/shellyblakeplock.com/post/3mtkugiagl22mUnexpectedly finished a chapter this evening. Been difficult to manage my time the last several days. Getting back on track is a great comfort.21 Aug 2026 03:54 +0000at://did:plc:x4f5xqkfxb2ipdawk7g4dq25/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtkugiagl22m