Phil W. Bayles
@philwbayles.com
Writer permanently stuck in the drafting stage; connoisseur of Dad jokes. Fervent hater of GenAI in all its forms.
If found, please return to the nearest multiplex.
(He/Him)
If found, please return to the nearest multiplex.
(He/Him)
Pinned
Phil W. Bayles
@philwbayles.com
· Nov 21
O Time Thy Pyramids — SillyGoosePress
For one brief, shining moment, as I pulled my fingers away from my typewriter, I thought I had a whole soliloquy. Then I read the first two lines. To be or not to be, that is the question;...
sillygoosepress.com
My latest short story is now available to read online at @sillygoosepress.bsky.social!
It's called "O Time Thy Pyramids" and it's about writer's block and struggling to live up to The Greats.
Also orangutans.
It's called "O Time Thy Pyramids" and it's about writer's block and struggling to live up to The Greats.
Also orangutans.
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
Dun dun daaah
From the sciencefiction community on Reddit: My e-Reader Just Created the Shortest Horror Story Ever
Explore this post and more from the sciencefiction community
www.reddit.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Dun dun daaah
This arrived in the post today: a #PomeraDM250 I picked up on eBay because I decided that I needed a dedicated, distractionf-free writing device. (And yes, I'm aware of the irony of going onto Bluesky to post about my distraction-free writing device.)
January 30, 2026 at 9:55 PM
This arrived in the post today: a #PomeraDM250 I picked up on eBay because I decided that I needed a dedicated, distractionf-free writing device. (And yes, I'm aware of the irony of going onto Bluesky to post about my distraction-free writing device.)
Learning that an artist whose work you admire has turned to AI slop is a bit like hearing them admit to not washing their hands after using the toilet.
Once again, the only acceptable amount of GenAI to use in a piece of art is none at all.
Once again, the only acceptable amount of GenAI to use in a piece of art is none at all.
First trailer for Darren Aranofsky's new AI animated series 'On This Day... 1776'
• Tells short narrative stories about the Revolutionary War
• Uses Gen AI tools, including tech made by Google DeepMind
• Has SAG voice actors
• Tells short narrative stories about the Revolutionary War
• Uses Gen AI tools, including tech made by Google DeepMind
• Has SAG voice actors
January 30, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Learning that an artist whose work you admire has turned to AI slop is a bit like hearing them admit to not washing their hands after using the toilet.
Once again, the only acceptable amount of GenAI to use in a piece of art is none at all.
Once again, the only acceptable amount of GenAI to use in a piece of art is none at all.
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
OF COURSE you want to spend 12 hours a day in front of the computer, run fast, and eat steak and eggs. You're 12!
January 29, 2026 at 12:59 PM
OF COURSE you want to spend 12 hours a day in front of the computer, run fast, and eat steak and eggs. You're 12!
When I was 23 I was working in Paris, having two-hour lunches every Friday and spending my weekends drinking wine in a series of flats with a series of terribly interesting people.
Youth is truly wasted on the young.
Youth is truly wasted on the young.
January 29, 2026 at 12:41 PM
When I was 23 I was working in Paris, having two-hour lunches every Friday and spending my weekends drinking wine in a series of flats with a series of terribly interesting people.
Youth is truly wasted on the young.
Youth is truly wasted on the young.
Turns out I may have softlocked myself playing #Pathologic3 because of a mechanic that the game didn't explain properly.
Part of me loves playing a game that deliberately gives the player so much friction... And another part of me is tempted to abandon it in favour of replaying Uncharted 4 again.
Part of me loves playing a game that deliberately gives the player so much friction... And another part of me is tempted to abandon it in favour of replaying Uncharted 4 again.
January 28, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Turns out I may have softlocked myself playing #Pathologic3 because of a mechanic that the game didn't explain properly.
Part of me loves playing a game that deliberately gives the player so much friction... And another part of me is tempted to abandon it in favour of replaying Uncharted 4 again.
Part of me loves playing a game that deliberately gives the player so much friction... And another part of me is tempted to abandon it in favour of replaying Uncharted 4 again.
There's a new Boots Riley movie out this year, so 2026 isn't going to be *completely* awful.
(Seriously I am so damn excited, Sorry To Bother You is one of my favourite movies of the last 10 years so I'm here for whatever Boots Riley does next.)
(Seriously I am so damn excited, Sorry To Bother You is one of my favourite movies of the last 10 years so I'm here for whatever Boots Riley does next.)
I LOVE BOOSTERS - Official Teaser Trailer - In Theaters May 22
YouTube video by NEON
m.youtube.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:41 PM
There's a new Boots Riley movie out this year, so 2026 isn't going to be *completely* awful.
(Seriously I am so damn excited, Sorry To Bother You is one of my favourite movies of the last 10 years so I'm here for whatever Boots Riley does next.)
(Seriously I am so damn excited, Sorry To Bother You is one of my favourite movies of the last 10 years so I'm here for whatever Boots Riley does next.)
Decided to start playing #Pathologic3 and this is a pretty good summary of my feelings so far...
January 27, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Decided to start playing #Pathologic3 and this is a pretty good summary of my feelings so far...
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
The reality is that even if JKR wasn't such a cunt, Harry Potter was popular with people who care now staring down the barrell of 40. Kids have anime at their fingertips now, they don't need that twee bullshit.
January 27, 2026 at 8:39 AM
The reality is that even if JKR wasn't such a cunt, Harry Potter was popular with people who care now staring down the barrell of 40. Kids have anime at their fingertips now, they don't need that twee bullshit.
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
Fair play. Of all the reasons kids might no longer like Harry Potter, theorising it's because they don't like liberalism is the absolute funniest interpretation.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Younger generations “have fallen out of love with Harry Potter because they have fallen out of love with the worldview the series represents,” writes Louise Perry. “Which is to say that young people have fallen out of love with liberalism.”
Younger generations “have fallen out of love with Harry Potter because they have fallen out of love with the worldview the series represents,” writes Louise Perry. “Which is to say that young people have fallen out of love with liberalism.”
Opinion | Why Gen Z Doesn’t Love ‘Harry Potter’
The wizarding worldview is naïve.
nyti.ms
January 27, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Fair play. Of all the reasons kids might no longer like Harry Potter, theorising it's because they don't like liberalism is the absolute funniest interpretation.
I've been doing #morningpages for nearly a year now, and I'm always amazed at the insights they pull out of me.
January 27, 2026 at 8:41 AM
I've been doing #morningpages for nearly a year now, and I'm always amazed at the insights they pull out of me.
Had my first real conversation about death with my four-year-old today. She handled it pretty well, I think, but now I need a strong cup of tea and a hug.
January 25, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Had my first real conversation about death with my four-year-old today. She handled it pretty well, I think, but now I need a strong cup of tea and a hug.
I miss the days when weird Al just played the accordion and wrote funny parody songs.
I’m not sure how else to put this, but I am not seeking or looking at fitness content and yet for some reason I am being barraged by these weird AI ads with uncanny valley women complaining about how their dads are fat and they need to hire various shirtless men to train them.
All feels very weird?
All feels very weird?
January 24, 2026 at 2:10 PM
I miss the days when weird Al just played the accordion and wrote funny parody songs.
I made the mother of all impulse buys this afternoon. My hope is that it will go some way to helping my writing in 2026 and not just sit on my desk like the creative equivalent of an unloved treadmill...
January 23, 2026 at 7:35 PM
I made the mother of all impulse buys this afternoon. My hope is that it will go some way to helping my writing in 2026 and not just sit on my desk like the creative equivalent of an unloved treadmill...
Spent a couple of hours this evening trying to turn an old Chromebook into a dedicated word processor by installing a new operating system, and the whole thing is making me realise how woeful my knowledge of computers really is. Might as well be pixies inside it making the pixels change colours...
January 20, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Spent a couple of hours this evening trying to turn an old Chromebook into a dedicated word processor by installing a new operating system, and the whole thing is making me realise how woeful my knowledge of computers really is. Might as well be pixies inside it making the pixels change colours...
You should all give @harleyeryley.bsky.social a follow, and a read! She's a wonderful writer and a lovely human being!
Wrote my first Substack post. What fun! #Memoir related and also #chaosgoblin, apparently a Warhammer term but it's what I pretend to be when I want people to think I'm fun and spontaneous (she says, while ticking 'write Substack post' off her to-do list bingo).
open.substack.com/pub/theunfin...
open.substack.com/pub/theunfin...
January 20, 2026 at 1:18 PM
You should all give @harleyeryley.bsky.social a follow, and a read! She's a wonderful writer and a lovely human being!
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
Andor was cooking so unbelievably hard good grief
January 18, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Andor was cooking so unbelievably hard good grief
Finally watched #Hamnet last night. It didn't reduce me to a puddle of tears despite the strategic use of Max Richter, but I enjoyed it a lot.
That said, for the life of me I still can't tell you if Paul Mescal is a good actor, or just very good at playing Sad Men Who Need A Cuddle.
That said, for the life of me I still can't tell you if Paul Mescal is a good actor, or just very good at playing Sad Men Who Need A Cuddle.
January 18, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Finally watched #Hamnet last night. It didn't reduce me to a puddle of tears despite the strategic use of Max Richter, but I enjoyed it a lot.
That said, for the life of me I still can't tell you if Paul Mescal is a good actor, or just very good at playing Sad Men Who Need A Cuddle.
That said, for the life of me I still can't tell you if Paul Mescal is a good actor, or just very good at playing Sad Men Who Need A Cuddle.
It's always nice when you find a book that feels like it was written for you, and #ThereIsNoAntimemeticsDivision is so far up my street that @qntm.org and I are basically neighbours. I started reading it on the train to work this morning and I'm already halfway through.
January 16, 2026 at 9:21 PM
It's always nice when you find a book that feels like it was written for you, and #ThereIsNoAntimemeticsDivision is so far up my street that @qntm.org and I are basically neighbours. I started reading it on the train to work this morning and I'm already halfway through.
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
January 14, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Hey, that's me!
I'm very grateful to @writingeastmidlands.com for inviting me to be part of their mentoring scheme for 2026. Looking forward to meeting the other mentees and learning more about what they're working on!
I'm very grateful to @writingeastmidlands.com for inviting me to be part of their mentoring scheme for 2026. Looking forward to meeting the other mentees and learning more about what they're working on!
Meet our third mentee: Phil W. Bayles! 👏
With a background in writing both advertising copy and reviews, Phil applied to our Mentoring Scheme to work on his first novel. His short fiction has been published by Twisted Ink, 50-Word Stories and Silly Goose Press. 📚
With a background in writing both advertising copy and reviews, Phil applied to our Mentoring Scheme to work on his first novel. His short fiction has been published by Twisted Ink, 50-Word Stories and Silly Goose Press. 📚
January 14, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Hey, that's me!
I'm very grateful to @writingeastmidlands.com for inviting me to be part of their mentoring scheme for 2026. Looking forward to meeting the other mentees and learning more about what they're working on!
I'm very grateful to @writingeastmidlands.com for inviting me to be part of their mentoring scheme for 2026. Looking forward to meeting the other mentees and learning more about what they're working on!
I was lucky enough to be invited to the Nantes Workshop last year, and it was one of the best writing experiences I've ever had. No exaggeration, I wouldn't have finished my novel without it.
Plus you get to spend a week in an absolutely gorgeous French town eating your weight in pastry!
Plus you get to spend a week in an absolutely gorgeous French town eating your weight in pastry!
We're open for applications! Deadline: March 15, 2026 for our June session. Prose writers, I'm looking at you. Yes, you. Find out more here: nanteswritersworkshop.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:22 PM
I was lucky enough to be invited to the Nantes Workshop last year, and it was one of the best writing experiences I've ever had. No exaggeration, I wouldn't have finished my novel without it.
Plus you get to spend a week in an absolutely gorgeous French town eating your weight in pastry!
Plus you get to spend a week in an absolutely gorgeous French town eating your weight in pastry!
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
Introducing our next 2026 mentee: Rose Shenton! 👋🎉
Rose is a 29-year-old transwoman and King's College graduate with a BA in English Literature. Her spy thriller, 'The Performance', was shortlisted for the best unpublished thriller at the 2024 Nashville Claymore Awards.
Rose is a 29-year-old transwoman and King's College graduate with a BA in English Literature. Her spy thriller, 'The Performance', was shortlisted for the best unpublished thriller at the 2024 Nashville Claymore Awards.
January 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Introducing our next 2026 mentee: Rose Shenton! 👋🎉
Rose is a 29-year-old transwoman and King's College graduate with a BA in English Literature. Her spy thriller, 'The Performance', was shortlisted for the best unpublished thriller at the 2024 Nashville Claymore Awards.
Rose is a 29-year-old transwoman and King's College graduate with a BA in English Literature. Her spy thriller, 'The Performance', was shortlisted for the best unpublished thriller at the 2024 Nashville Claymore Awards.
Reposted by Phil W. Bayles
Our Mentoring Scheme mentees have been confirmed. Here's who we're going to be working with in 2026. 👀⬇️
First up: it's Aoife O'Connor! ✨ Aoife is a poet, producer, the founder of She Speaks, co-director of Derby Poetry Festival and vice-chair of Forward Arts Foundation board of trustees.
First up: it's Aoife O'Connor! ✨ Aoife is a poet, producer, the founder of She Speaks, co-director of Derby Poetry Festival and vice-chair of Forward Arts Foundation board of trustees.
January 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Our Mentoring Scheme mentees have been confirmed. Here's who we're going to be working with in 2026. 👀⬇️
First up: it's Aoife O'Connor! ✨ Aoife is a poet, producer, the founder of She Speaks, co-director of Derby Poetry Festival and vice-chair of Forward Arts Foundation board of trustees.
First up: it's Aoife O'Connor! ✨ Aoife is a poet, producer, the founder of She Speaks, co-director of Derby Poetry Festival and vice-chair of Forward Arts Foundation board of trustees.
I still find it hard to believe that Sam Lake and co. got away with putting the "We Sing" chapter into Alan Wake II. It feels like something that any other studio would've focus-tested into oblivion, but Remedy somehow managed to turn it up to eleven.
tell me about a time you were awed by a set piece in a video game. not a story beat, not an emotional moment or a cool mechanic, but something just There, in the world, that made your jaw drop or sent a chill up your spine
January 10, 2026 at 12:46 PM
I still find it hard to believe that Sam Lake and co. got away with putting the "We Sing" chapter into Alan Wake II. It feels like something that any other studio would've focus-tested into oblivion, but Remedy somehow managed to turn it up to eleven.