#BibleStudy #Religion #Christianity #Atheism Just to reassure Texans... I was actively studying and being groomed for priesthood in my early to late teens. That active study is why I became an atheist by the time I was 14, and was an out atheist by 16. #TheMoreYouKnow

#booksky #flashfiction #patreon www.patreon.com/GrantAlba/po...

#booksky #StrangerThanFiction #Trump #ShitShow A few months ago I wrote a short story inspired by what I hoped was a transitory blip in reality. It's become much more than that... It's a quick, if disturbing, read and I'd love to hear your thoughts. www.patreon.com/GrantAlba/po...

Quick update. We tried to move to Mexico. Loved the people but the infrastructure was just too uneven for retirement. We've now moved to France, but it's taking a heap of time and energy. So. I'll be changing my writing approach./1

#amwriting #patreon A new short story, free to read. A subversive fantasy. It's Orcs and Elves but through a different lens. I hope you enjoy it. www.patreon.com/posts/150363...

I guess certain Hungarians will suddenly become eligible for special fasttrack visas to the US...

#amwriting #patreon The plot's great, the story compelling, the characters are real... But it's still landing flat? Yup. Been there. Here's how I get out of done that and why a different structure might work better for your themes. www.patreon.com/posts/152141...

#amwritimg Let's be honest, most aliens in SF are either people in funny suits, or they're monsters from our mythologies wrapped up in tech. They usually think exactly like us. But they're ALIEN! My latest craft essay on Patreon talks about this and my latest aliens. www.patreon.com/posts/152061...

#amwriting #patreon #FLASHFICTION I use a lot of prompted exercises to 'grow my craft' (pretentious phrasing meaning 'rite moar') An early example (THE DATE) is in the ALT text. www.patreon.com/posts/writin... What do you want to know about me? I won't bother with the stuff that's obvious...

#amwriting #patreon #craft www.patreon.com/posts/150350... On my patreon I share my approach to writing good scenes. Not how to plot, but the mechanics of making it enjoyable to read. At least how *I* do it!

#amwriting #tools I've loved scrivener and have written about 500k words with it across 4 novels and 29 short stories. But I'm moving to Linux - so investigating new tools. Novelwriter seems to be working well for me. MD to Pandoc to LaTeX to PDF or epub is great! I'll share my progress!

#AmWriting #ShortStory #FREE #Patreon My short story "Free to Run" is Free to Read on my patreon www.patreon.com/posts/free-t... There's an excerpt in the ALT text...

He's a v 0.1 LLM. Sad really

#Patreon #FREE This story was originally behind the paywall for subscribers only, but the events of the past week have made me rethink that decision. Feel free to share the post. Please preserve the link. I'd like to know if the story is getting read. www.patreon.com/posts/free-t...

#patreon I'll be releasing a patreon exclusive story to the public! Sorry for bringing the doom, but it's a bit too prescient. I hope the next 20 years do NOT work like this, but... I'll post the link to Free to Run later today.

#amwriting #booksky Just finished my short story "road weary". It ended up at just over 4k. Which was as long as it wanted to be. More "texture" would have been gilding the lily. Submitted it to "Beneath Ceaseless Skies". Wish me luck.

#amwriting #patreon Posted my latest "writing to a prompt" to Patreon: write a scene involving communication without words. Unfortunately it is a bit gruesomely violent, so the actual story is behind the paywall. Ask me nicely via DM & I'll share 4free www.patreon.com/posts/150275...

#amwriting #booksky wrote just over 2k words for a new short story today (set in my 'makers' universe). On track for 5.5-6k, so well positioned for submission (or as a valuable exclusive for Patreon?) One thing I'm noticing - this is another bleak story. Why is that, I wonder?

#amwriting #patreon Come visit my Patreon where I discuss the transformation of my first novel, Destiny, from Did Not Finish to Can't Put Down! What makes a novel keep you engrossed? With REAL EXAMPLES! (Yes - I share the bad early version that I thought was done) www.patreon.com/posts/150147...

#amwriting I just woke up to the realization that the interstitial I wrote yesterday is the perfect lead in to my AI POV scene. I love it when a complete lack of plan comes together 😁 Truthfully, though, the beats were always part of the outline... Just had to work out some of the details 😳

#amwriting Wrote the key scene I talked about yesterday to avoid a deus-ex moment. 1000 words is all it took. A nice interstitial. Yay! Logic prevails (in the novel at least) Now onto an introspective AI that thinks nothing like you, me, or the alien cognition I've already written.

#amwriting I finally realized what it was about my (1 thread of many) target scene that was making me antsy... It was that the knowledge had no Genesis... So my antagonists in that scene are now known to be X because investigation showed them all coming from Y... With no record of them on Y! /1

#amwriting Just finished another two pivotal scenes. Total of 4.8k words over the past 2 days. I've also worked out how to write a target scene from an AI's POV (and it's not simple... I refuse to do a big brained human. It's a fundamentally different cognitive model!) I now know where I'm going!

#Patreon #WeekOne Dear followers! I would truly appreciate a boost for my new Patreon. My writing asks one question - who gets to choose? Follow me on Patreon for exclusive short stories, craft essays, and work in progress. The first week had two free essays, plus exclusives for subscribers

#amwriting #booksky #patreom My latest PATREON post is LIVE AND FREE! Writing to a prompt is an excellent exercise for building craft! It forces writing to constraints. This is one prompt and the resulting (very) short story. This will a recurring series! www.patreon.com/posts/150218...

#amwriting #exclusive #patreon Just posted the first exclusive short for my Patreon Subscribers. A near future dystopia that is not the result of nuclear apocalypse or epidemic! www.patreon.com/posts/150215...

#amwriting Finished another chapter (1800 words of a fun scene sets us up for shenanigans!) My plan for the week is another 4.5k or so (the next chapter) As well as a new short in my *makers* universe. Another 5k or so. A fun week ahead!

#amwriting Newest essay is available for FREE on Patreon - as a week one bonus! Where did all those extra words go? Check back for even more writing related content! www.patreon.com/posts/150133...

I don't think most world leaders realize they could just challenge Donald Trump to a fistfight to get what they want. And in every scenario he would comically get his ass kicked.

#amwritimg Took a short 2 day hiatus from book 3 to answer the muse. A coming of age story set in my TETHYS universe. Jo's arrival at TETHYS changes her life in ways she hadn't expected.

#amwriting Coming Soon in my Patreon Short stories, essays, craft examples, and WIP chapters. The next 6 weeks are already in the pipeline so what are you waiting for www.patreon.com/posts/150424...

#amwriting #patreon I just shared the first premium post for Patreon Subscribers. Chapter One of my WIP - Infinity. Free readers get an outline of what the chapter aims to do. Subscribers can call me out if I miss the mark! www.patreon.com/posts/150289...

#amwriting #challenge #prompts #booksky Attention writers, readers, and lurkers! I've opened a prompt box on my new Patreon. Come along and submit a prompt! I will publish many of the resulting stories & my thought process for free. (sorry the pic is so boring 😢) www.patreon.com/posts/prompt...

#amwriting #ampublishing This is week one of my patreon, and there's going to be something for everyone. On the FREE tier - a short essay on worldbuilding (a follow up in a couple of weeks) On the $5 tier: An exclusive short story On the $10 tier: Chapter One of my WIP. Links are in my bio!

#amwriting Wrote a dystopia this evening. It aligns with my general themes of agency and consent and who gets to choose... But it's quite unrelentingly real and doesn't pull any punches. And no - it's not the aftermath of atomic war. It will be the first story for my subscribers on PATREON!

#amwriting My PATREON is live, and NEW POSTS will be coming every Thursday! On the paid tiers I'll share WIP, Worldbuilding, deleted scenes, PLUS exclusive to the tier short stories, as well as a chance to be a character in a future story! In the beginning, there were very few words... coming soon!

#amwriting Ooh! I'm also writing an essay for my new PATREON. Details coming soon. I want there to be some value for visitors and subscribers from day one, so starting now. Launching soon. Essays every few weeks. PATREON exclusive short stories every month. And specials for subscribers.

#amwriting Finished my important scene last night. Came in under 4k (expected 4.5 to 5). But tighter is better. It hits all the beats with no bloat. I am happy. Now for that dystopian short that's "polluting" my brain... Probably 4 to 6k. Let's see.

#amwriting Made solid progress on a complicated scene (four main actors, & a large engaged audience). Speeches, questions, and rebuttals & arguments all in the characters' voices and aligned with their personae. Fun, but detailed! 2k so far. another 1.5k of 'dialog'. texture will get me to 4.5k!

#amwriting Wrote another two good scenes last night for the novel. 3600 words. Both are solid and set up some shenanigans! One more major scene planned for today and it's probably most of a chapter by itself. Who knew it would be this much fun?

#amwriting Yaay! Finished my Poetic Orcs story. (Not really poetic and kinda dark, but...) 3600 words of subversive fantasy. Done! A good week overall. 4.5k on the Novel, 3.6k of Short Story & a whole bunch of outlining. Plus another insistent muse attack for a dystopic near future!

#amwriting Took an hour before bed last night to write the full outline and the first 1000 words of my "orcs just wanna write poetry" short. It turned out a LOT darker than I imagined when the muse attacked. Very subversive. Surely it's not allegorical 🤔😳 Another 3-4k and we'll know for sure.

#travel Had a wonderful day in Queretaro today! Three museums, lots of art, lots of walking, and finished with an Indian meal (!) and met a lovely couple from Argentina/Uruguay! Back to boring, now!

It's more infuriating for the Cheeto. He wants people to be speaking his name. He's an audio voodoo doll who makes everyone else's lived worse every time that name is used or seen. Let's silence it. Call him anything else. Annoy the fuck out of the narcissistic mysogynist. #NPOTUS

#amwriting Almost finished another scene tonight. 1650 words. Solid speech.. good interjections to drive the argument without requiring polemic. Just need to decide who the annoyed commenters are! And, as always, repair my offerings to Typios. Also another good short idea. Go away muse! Bedtime!

President Biden speaks of the nation we thought we were, the nation we wanted to be. Minnesota says we've been lying to ourselves. This has always been the America experienced by many. It is now America for most.

#amwriting And I managed to outline a subversive fantasy starring my Orcs with aspirations. You'll want to hug an orc and just give them a cuddle after you read it. I shocked myself. But that's for the weekend!

#amwriting Had a busy day today with "real" work but I'm very happy with the scene I wrote. 1500 words of pure character agency shining through and subverting everyone else by "lovely" verbal judo. It was a pleasure to write. Inspired for tomorrow (more work! plus the partner scene to today's)

#amwriting Finished my screenplay tonight (adaptation of one of my contemporary lit fic shorts) Then the muse said YAY... Try this Orcs just wanna be poets. And they're off....

Hey. I get it if you're trying to de-Amazon. I stopped shopping there a few years ago. They're big evil. But you know who's not big evil? Your favorite writers who're struggling cos people aren't buying their books anymore. It's OK to use Kindle to support your faves. I'm giving you permission.