Chuck is the author of the published novels: Blackbirds, Mockingbird, Under the Empyrean Sky, Blue Blazes, Double Dead, Bait Dog, Dinocalypse Now, Beyond Dinocalypse and Gods & Monsters: Unclean Spirits. He also the author of the soon-to-be-published novels: The Cormorant, Blightborn (Heartland Book #2), Heartland Book #3, Dinocalypse Forever, Frack You, and The Hellsblood Bride. Also coming soon is his compilation book of writing advice from this very blog: The Kick-Ass Writer, coming from Writers Digest.
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is an alum of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, showed at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producers Ted Hope and Anne Carey. Together they co-wrote the digital transmedia drama Collapsus, which was nominated for an International Digital Emmy and a Games 4 Change award.
Chuck has contributed over two million words to the game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP). He was a frequent contributor to The Escapist, writing about games and pop culture.
Much of his writing advice has been collected in various writing- and storytelling-related e-books.
He currently lives in the forests of Pennsyltucky with wife, two dogs, and tiny human.
He is likely drunk and untrustworthy. This blog is NSFW and probably NSFL.
You may reach him at terribleminds [at] gmail [dot] com.
Related
Mark W Kappe
July 7, 2017 at 1:38 PM //
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
Shiloh A. Ohmes
July 7, 2017 at 10:56 PM //
Blue Alice: https://crazyinkslinger.wordpress.com/2017/07/07/blue-alice/
“Blue Alice will always be in the corner of the pub, draining mugs of rum and ale, telling stories of past glory to anyone who will buy another round.”
Enkin Anthem
July 11, 2017 at 7:53 AM //
Love this take. Reminds me of “Other People” by Gaiman, just not quite so dark.
Shiloh A. Ohmes
July 11, 2017 at 11:26 AM //
Thank you for reading! I haven’t read that Gaiman story, I’ll definitely have to check it out.
Enkin Anthem
July 11, 2017 at 11:54 AM //
Found it online:
http://fuckyeahgaiman.tumblr.com/post/1463212256/a-story-from-fragile-things-short-fictions-and
🙂
Kevin Wallace
July 11, 2017 at 11:40 AM //
I’m always suspicious of a story told in second person, and the payoff is huge when I realize at the end that, of course, the story had to be told that way.
This was satisfying and really well done. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Thanks for sharing it.
Bonnee
July 8, 2017 at 7:39 AM //
The opening line of this that came up in my blog feed was too good to scroll past without reading the whole thing. An interesting prompt–I will be back with a link for sharing.
Bonnee
July 9, 2017 at 3:22 AM //
My feeble attempt: http://thebloggingofanaspiringwriter.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/writing-prompt-there-is-no-exit.html
Larissa Hammond
July 8, 2017 at 11:42 AM //
Here is my submission:
http://larissahammond.com/2017/07/08/chuck-wendigs-flash-fiction-challenge-there-is-no-exit/
Sleep well, my pretties.
Kevin Wallace
July 11, 2017 at 12:59 PM //
It’s gripping, and horrifying. The most terrifying line in the whole thing, though, is “Based on true events.”
I hope the girl is better off now. I’m glad she got out, and that she got to have her story told. Thanks.
Larissa Hammond
July 11, 2017 at 1:01 PM //
Thanks. This really means a lot to me. And she is. She is me. <3
Anna Nyms
July 11, 2017 at 5:09 PM //
Wow, what a story.
Larissa Hammond
July 11, 2017 at 6:49 PM //
Thank you. <3
Louis Shalako
July 8, 2017 at 12:47 PM //
I wish I could remember more of my dreams. But being trapped in some rambling building, and trying to find my way out, is a common theme. Another one is clinging onto something at great height and wondering what all these other people are doing here…
Mozette
July 8, 2017 at 11:32 PM //
https://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/hotel-california.html
enjoy!
lpstribling
July 9, 2017 at 11:28 PM //
Here you go, Chucklets, my short story, “No Way Out.” It’s password protected. The happy word is: NoWayOut. Enjoy.
lpstribling
July 9, 2017 at 11:53 PM //
Actually, from above the name has changed to Two at the Door (www.lpstribling.com). Thanks.
Danielle
July 10, 2017 at 11:31 PM //
My first time posting. This was fun. https://writingupsidedown.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/the-door/
Kevin Wallace
July 11, 2017 at 12:00 PM //
This is really good – it reads like a prologue, and I want to dig into the rest of the story. Left me wanting in the right ways. Thanks for sharing it.
Danielle
July 11, 2017 at 8:10 PM //
Thank you, Kevin! I definitely felt like this was the beginning to something larger while I was writing it.
Anna Nyms
July 11, 2017 at 5:01 PM //
I really enjoyed the story too. I would read a longer version of it.
Danielle
July 11, 2017 at 8:08 PM //
Thank you, Anna!
aimeethere
July 13, 2017 at 10:17 PM //
I loved this! You have such a strong voice.
Danielle
July 15, 2017 at 8:14 AM //
Thank you!
Enkin Anthem
July 11, 2017 at 9:58 AM //
A situation with no escape can only be a nightmare, can’t it?
https://enkinanthem.wordpress.com/2017/07/11/no-exit/
Kevin Wallace
July 11, 2017 at 11:55 AM //
I came expecting a nightmare, and was sorely disappointed.
That was sweet and brave and maybe even a little chaotic. It’s amazing how differently people can interpret the same four words.
Kevin Wallace
July 11, 2017 at 10:28 AM //
Mine is entitled creatively, “There Is No Exit”.
http://blog.kevinja.com/there-is-no-exit/
“She awoke.
Maybe it was an awakening, or maybe she was always there. She couldn’t remember.”
Danielle
July 12, 2017 at 7:31 PM //
Great story. Definitely hooked me. Reminded me a little of WestWorld. What’s real and what’s not real. Thanks for sharing.
Kevin Wallace
July 14, 2017 at 10:50 AM //
Thank you, Danielle! I hadn’t put together that connection (and I *really* need to see Westworld), but I can definitely see it.
David Ralph Lewis
July 14, 2017 at 4:59 AM //
Awesome, really enjoyed the blurring of the two worlds.
Kevin Wallace
July 14, 2017 at 10:51 AM //
Thanks a lot, David. I had fun with that part.
Anna Nyms
July 11, 2017 at 4:45 PM //
Here’s my attempt. One thousand words more or less. Mine’s also title “There is No Exit” as well.
“There is no exit, no way out, enjoy what time you have left.”
Anna Nyms
July 11, 2017 at 5:03 PM //
Here’s the link I left out.
https://annanyms.wordpress.com/2017/07/11/there-is-no-exit/
aimeethere
July 13, 2017 at 11:47 PM //
This was so beautifully sad.
Anna Nyms
July 11, 2017 at 4:47 PM //
Oops left out the link, here it is:
https://annanyms.wordpress.com/2017/07/11/there-is-no-exit/
Danielle
July 12, 2017 at 7:28 PM //
This was great! I was hooked for the beginning. Thanks for sharing.
LC
July 12, 2017 at 8:13 AM //
Here’s my attempt. https://thewritingsoflc.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/flash-fiction-there-is-no-exit/ –The phone rings and mom runs downstairs to get it. Pretty early, must be family. I wait for her to call me, instead she comes upstairs and looks a little pale.–
Danielle
July 12, 2017 at 7:34 PM //
Wow! (I wish I had more words.)
Vicente L Ruiz
July 12, 2017 at 12:56 PM //
Here’s my story. It’s a dialogue between a father and a son, only they’re a bit special.
I decided to keep the title.
Here’s “There Is No Exit.”
https://medium.com/@VicenteLRuiz/there-is-no-exit-f876608fc128
Danielle
July 12, 2017 at 7:41 PM //
Enjoyed your story!
Eva Therese
July 12, 2017 at 1:58 PM //
Well, this went dark… https://evathereseebert.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/there-is-no-exit/
mdflyn
July 12, 2017 at 3:54 PM //
Bloody Fine Print – An overworked succubus seeks a vacation, only to find out that she signed up for more than she bargained for. http://www.mdflyn.com/bloody-fine-print-original-flash-fiction/
Jenn Burroughs
July 12, 2017 at 6:09 PM //
Kind of a YA thing:
Just Desserts
http://cheeseandglory.com/2017/07/12/flash-fiction-just-dessert/
Danielle
July 15, 2017 at 1:01 PM //
I hope you decide to expand the story!
Sam Brady
July 12, 2017 at 10:24 PM //
I took it on the road. Exactly 1,000 words. Please to enjoy!
https://sambrady.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/chuck-wendig-e/
Kevin Wallace
July 13, 2017 at 9:13 AM //
The pacing was awesome. You hand them a ticking time bomb at the start, and the momentum propelled me right through to the end. Well done.
V. Medina
July 13, 2017 at 4:25 AM //
First time joining in, I hope no one minds a new face! I wrote a thing to try and get me back into the swing of writing and this is what came out. https://howsweetthewords.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/flash-fiction-there-is-no-exist/
Kevin Wallace
July 13, 2017 at 9:11 AM //
Welcome!
Wow, two second-person stories this week. This one felt to me like a teaser trailer, like for a game (my inner narrator read it in his announcer voice). The draw was there.
Bianca
July 13, 2017 at 11:25 AM //
My attempt 🙂
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W8mb8Er_NKW3a_h1HWvfMSu3RFBbMhPCd97P_IxNenE/edit?usp=sharing
“There is no exit, but here I am. I escape without escaping. I am free in the inch they could not reach. I am a bird in a cage all my own.”
Pizzafishjedi2
July 13, 2017 at 10:54 PM //
Great story! Very creative.
The Writer
July 13, 2017 at 2:32 PM //
Hey guys, here’s my offering. It’s a little late…but better than never. Enjoy!
https://atcrump.com/2017/07/13/same-drugs/
StarNinja
July 13, 2017 at 2:52 PM //
Here is a story about Exits and the not exiting thereof in superhero form. It’s part of the flash fiction series I’ve been doing here every Friday.
https://wormholelesstraveled.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/there-is-no-exit/
Enjoy!
Michelle Baillargeon
July 13, 2017 at 3:58 PM //
Hello,
I’m back to contribute after a little time away working on other projects. I’ve missed contributing and managed to come up with a story for this week. I hope you enjoy it.
https://michelle-wordplay.blogspot.com/
Pizzafishjedi2
July 13, 2017 at 10:48 PM //
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MqyUgAz2tWCxjXrAaKW10_Jade_UHg2zNaHm8sEYQfE/edit?usp=drivesdk
My story.
Gilliman
July 13, 2017 at 11:03 PM //
My first post, cranked out for no good reason upon realizing there were merely hours left before deadline. Please excuse the resulting steaming pile of half baked writing that is The Land of Block.
http://nosetokeyboard.blogspot.com/2017/07/i-was-scrolling-mister-wendigs-terrible.html
Daryl Nash
July 13, 2017 at 11:36 PM //
I’ve been watching a lot of Twin Peaks lately.
http://darylnash.com/fiction/there-is-no-exit-flash-fiction/
aimeethere
July 13, 2017 at 11:45 PM //
I wrote this in a rush tonight, and I’m afraid it feels like it. But here you go anyways! Back, Again.
https://aimeethere.wordpress.com/2017/07/14/back-again/
Incognito Scribblings
July 14, 2017 at 12:34 AM //
My first attempt (at writing any kind of prose in about 15 years).
https://incognitoscribblings.tumblr.com/post/162966349045/there-is-no-exit
Rebecca Douglass
July 14, 2017 at 1:06 AM //
Squeaking under the wire. “No Exit?”
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2017/07/flash-fiction-friday-there-is-no-exit.html
David Ralph Lewis
July 14, 2017 at 1:44 AM //
A bit late because of life, but here is my attempt: A pulpy film noir type story: http://davidralphlewis.co.uk/there-is-no-exit/
vous (@onauratoujours)
July 14, 2017 at 2:18 AM //
here’s my contribution this week! sat on it literally until tonight, wasn’t super feeling the prompt, but i tried to push something out regardless.
https://iseeyoureyesiknowyoureyes.tumblr.com/post/162969427146
Matthew Marchitto (@ThewTheSlightly)
July 14, 2017 at 2:46 AM //
This turned into something like a Saturday morning cartoon, but slathered in blood.
The Ritual of Souls:
https://www.matthewmarchitto.com/blog/2017/7/13/flash-fiction-challenge-the-ritual-of-souls
pamtanzey
July 14, 2017 at 11:54 AM //
Here’s mine, that was fun!
https://pamtanzey.wordpress.com/2017/07/14/friendly-fannys-pies-and-such/