iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 19h

#OctoberWorldbuilders The deserts of the Vastlands are pretty much like our own. The Dead Heart, on the other hand, has reptiles and birds more dinosaur-like than anything else, along with an assortment of venomous snakes, spiders, and scorpions worthy of Australia.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

#WIPSnips “‘Hey, Mister Criminal, want to do some crime? Take this very expensive little rock, catch a boat to Gramphborough, go find my father, and poison him with it.’ Suppose he just takes it and sells it to the nearest jeweler instead? What am I supposed to do, sue him for breach of contract?”

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

#OctoberWorldbuilders For their permanent structures, Hiddigahans favor sandstone and a white adobe-like rammed earth that reflects light. Their roofs are built to catch and redirect breezes into the interior.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Both of the doors had those old-fashioned glass doorknobs that were kind of diamond-shaped. The whole room might have looked kind of retro and classy during the daylight, but now it just looked spooky. If this place wasn’t haunted, some ghosts somewhere were really missing out.

3. Saturday excerpt (optional word: ghost/spirit)

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#OctoberWorldbuilders The Hiddigahans are a desert nation. Their land was a center of civilization before the climate changed and the rains moved north. Their nation is a loose coalition of clans, each one named after a constellation. The clan chiefs meet during the annual eclipse.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#OctoberWorldbuilders The hottest desert beneath the Arch is the Dead Heart, in the middle of Byrex's Land. The land is rust-red. The plants are widely-spaced and look utterly alien, like cycads and araucaria trying to evolve into cacti. The vultures—if that's what they are—have teeth.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors What are those things in the dark beyond the treeline? They're too big to be dogs… …and it looks like they've seen us… The Locksmith Trilogy

1. Introduce your story (optional: spooky and/or like a Twilight Zone episode)

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, because my WIP is basically a heist story Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, because my WIP is also set in a world of morally dubious, conspiratorial authorities The Dresden Files, because The Dresden Files

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#WIPSnips She tried to picture her face with no yüttüi at all. She mentally edited out the mess and replaced it with plain amber skin. It was tricky, but she’d met enough foreigners in Köthmau that it wasn’t impossible. And it wasn’t bad. Well-shaped cheekbones, limited acne, unbroken nose.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders The Aulmish goddess of vengeance, Seda, is called She Who Walks the Arch in Darkness. She represents the shadow of the planet eclipsing the planetary rings at night.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#WIPSnips “Since when did he ever waste money on quack medicines? Mother could never even get him to visit a real doctor, back when… wait. Has anyone found this quack? Because it sounds like he’s our prime suspect. What’s his name? What does he look like?”

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#WIPSnips “I’m so sorry.” Ya’unkta observed a moment of silence. It was one and a half seconds long. “And I… heard what happened to your mother.” Arkhöa just nodded.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders The darkest, most secret place is probably an underground grotto on the coast of New Zochei. Humans haven't even discovered the entrance yet, much less the assembly that happens there at midsummer every seven years.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders In most cultures, darkness is seen as less scary than in our world, mostly because there's less of it. Archlit nights in the temperate zones are as bright as our full moon even at midnight. Near the poles, night is truly dark—but of course there, cold is more of a concern.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders My MC lost his lover, his left arm, and the war, all in the same battle. (I've tortured MCs before, but never like this.) What gave him a reason to live was writing a musical composition based on the stanzas of music his lover used to whistle.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors I haven't gotten enough complaints to say who turned out most annoying. That said, Brandon is kind of a coward, a chronic upspeaker, and not as bright as the others—though he does have a brave moment in Book 3.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If anybody lives in Maryland and is looking for something to do next Sunday… #BookLaunch

Book Launch Party: Scary Stories at Cult Classic
Book Signing, Meet the Authors, Live Readings, Craft Beer & More

1169 Shopping Center Road, Stevensville MD
Sunday Sept. 27
1-3 PM

Tidebound Press is releasing an anthology of short horror stories at Cult Classic Brewery in Stevensville. It includes a story of mine, "Don't Be Afraid of Patty Cannon."

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#WIPSnips ...trees that weren’t producing fruits or nuts at this time of year, deer and rabbits and squirrels that all fled at their approach, a few edible plants, mushrooms that were either delicious or deadly but no one had the nerve to find out, a bluegill in one stream and a crayfish in another.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Rhadmin is an Aulm, proud of his people's nautical history. He's never plucked parasites off a giant rakefish, but he learns fast. Lonotun is Zocheian. They too have a nautical history, but they also have a ridiculous level of Army/Navy rivalry, and he used to be in the Army.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#WIPSnips He’d lost track of which soldier was carrying the signal rockets, but whoever it was paused on the ridge just long enough to fire one into the air. Far over their heads, there was a sudden bang of gunpowder followed by the red blaze of strontium.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors “But what Lock and I found out is, you can change the future. But you can’t go to the future and see the changes you make until after the point where you’ve already made them in the present. Does that make sense?”

19. Saturday excerpt (optional word: change)

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Tides in the World Beneath the Arch are actually simpler than ours—there's no moon, so there's only solar tides. The ocean is well explored and mostly safe, but the waters in the far south are pretty rough. There's an Aulmish phrase that means "danger mixed with opportunity."

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders The Inamese believe that the Sea-Father and Earth-Mother divorced years ago, but take it in turns to feed the people. Inám has a multi-year cycle of moderate rain/bad fishing and drought/good fishing, because of an oscillation in sea surface temperature.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#WIPSnips “In any case,” said Halbrex, “I think we’re all more interested in who was behind the murder.” “You think it was me?” There. Now it was out in the open. “I mean, for me, twelve thousand feth would’ve been about six months’ worth of remittance payments.” ”You didn’t have any other income?”

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders The vishál, or giant rakefish, is like a 50', filter-feeding guitarfish. Instead of eating it, the Inamese sail alongside it and catch the fish that swim out of its way. There's also a parasite they pluck off its skin—it's a delicacy and has a lustrous, valuable shell.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#WIPSnips “You can spot forgeries that fool everyone else,” he said. “Has the thought never crossed your mind that, with a little more effort, you could create forgeries that fool everyone else?”

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Gary, the smartest guy in the room even when he's outside, gets his share of regrets in Book 1. In Book 2 he makes a decision that he REALLY regrets in Book 3.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

#MD01 Andy Harris in the room where it happens, the room where it happens, the room where it happens Andy Harris went kaboom where it happens, he fumed where it happens, the room where it happens Some other joker read his old tweets back And then he blew his stack and he called it an attack…

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

#WIPSnips “Not as dumb as you might think. The world is full of mortals who call themselves savvy, clever, streetwise. And when I tell them I’m here to make mischief, they trust me all the more. They think, because I’ve given them fair warning, that I’ve let them in on the mischief, you see.”

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors After all, if there was anything wrong, they could always use the money he'd given them to pay their way back home.

15. Third sentence from page 10 (or from 2% through)

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders At one point, Rhadmin smells mintberry brandy on the breath of one of his interrogators. It soon occurs to him, however, that anyone can wash his mouth with strong-smelling booze and pretend to be drunk to get someone to let their guard down.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders During the last war, the Black Banner was cut off from its supply of rubber. They found out that steppe dandelion latex made a decent substitute. So a lot of farms devoted a field or two to growing steppe dandelions. Problem… 1/2

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Make a band edible: Imagine Dragonfruit BLTS

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Lock gets in fights several times over the course of the trilogy.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Kuvrans have a food taboo—meat, fish and dairy are never eaten raw. Just smoking and pasteurization are fine, as long as it somehow "makes friends with fire." The various Yetenseric schools disagree on what they're not supposed to eat. Zocheians never cook with rosemary.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#WIPSnips Cousin Butterfly ran forward to draw her into a hug. “Splatter! It’s so good to see you!” Arkhöa gritted her teeth and returned the hug, carefully keeping her hands away from Butterfly’s neck. *One of these days, I WILL something that will earn me a new nickname.*

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Key differences from our world: • Aio Hwung has domesticated termites and capybaras. • Khür has the nestback, a large flightless bird. Females use their wings and special back feathers to hold eggs securely on their backs until hatching, to protect them from vampire rats.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors “You’re gonna laugh,” said Gary. “Microfilm.” Locksmith didn’t laugh. “What’s microfilm?” “A really… retro way of storing old newspapers and magazines and stuff. I’ve only ever used it once, when I was doing a history report for Mr. Adler — there were some records I needed…”

9. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: laugh)

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders It's mostly the same as ours, but Zochei and Kuvra have "zizania" (domesticated wild rice) and Khür has domesticated seed and gum acacia. Inspiration for these came from some timelines on alternatehistory.com, which I could tell you about, time permitting.

alternatehistory.com

Alternate history discussion forum

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

#WIPSnips The sun and arch were both to the south. Even during the winter eclipse you couldn’t look directly at the sun, and staring at the arch for too long was bad for your mental health. It was possible no one had seen the flare.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Not exactly, but there is a change to winter everywhere except the poles and very close to the equator. During part of the winter, the sun is dimmed from passing through the arch, which makes winter even colder than it would otherwise be. They call this the winter eclipse.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors In the first book, it's Gary, just because he's smart enough to work out some of the rules. In Book 2, they meet some people who have records of people who've had more experience.

7. Who's your story's time travel expert?

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

#WIPSnips Rhadmin sighed. “Fifty-nine men died at Mirwannin No. 19. That’s a lot of murders they let my father get away with. If my mother pulled off one, I think she deserves the same courtesy.”

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Matter of fact, here and now the whole WORLD’S dead! There’s no parents here, no teachers, no other kids, no anything! It’s just me and a bunch of animals and plants that couldn’t care less, so I get to make the rules here, and if I say it’s okay to cry here it damn well is!

5. Saturday excerpt (optional word: plant/grow)

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders It's said that Aulms and Kuvrans have only two things to argue about: whose whiskeys are best and whose winters are worst. "Hey, shorty, ever wake up to snow blocking your window? On the second floor?" "Hey, pink-cheeks, you know the sound of piss freezing in midair?"

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#WIPSnips That was also why they seemed to be advancing so slowly, given the lack of effective opposition. The phrase “Never send a man where you can’t send a meal” was engraved on the letterhead of every piece of Bureau of Logistics correspondence.

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Paul Briggs @paulgbriggs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors The trilogy begins in April of an unnamed year and ends at the end of summer, give or take a hundred years.

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