Sparrow F. Alden
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Sparrow F. Alden
@sparrowgg.bsky.social
Lover, Matriarch, StoryWeaver, Teacher, Tanister, and Everyone's Great Aunt. 💙🩶💙

https://press.signumuniversity.org/staff/l-f-s-alden/

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http://www.birchislandbooks.com/author/
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Hello, BlueSky.
I like to write stories; I like to encourage other people to write stories; I like to read stories.

I live with my wonderful wife, daughter, and dogs in the New Hampshire woods. The Elder Child and my Be'aspe live nearby.

I believe in libraries, integrity, kindness, & more stories.
Reposted by Sparrow F. Alden
December 7, 2025 at 12:12 AM
#QueerPrompts
#HelpDesk

It's an epistolary story! They do!
Yasmine gives big-sister advice, Yorica gets to debrief her complex life....
#QueerPrompts December 7: National Letter Writing Day: If your characters wrote letters to each other, what would they say?
December 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM
#WIPSnips
#RelicWorld
#WritingCommunity

All writhe or scurry or pad or fly or
walk upright
Within my never-empty, ever-growing negative space.
December 7, 2025 at 1:08 PM
#QueerWriters

My #HelpDesk week was just fine, in fact I made nice progress, three scenes left in February...

My #RelicWorld Saturday was spectacular! Went to the #Library and really spread out and made a proto spreadsheet!
December 7, 2025 at 3:27 AM
#DecemberWorldBuilders
#RelicWorld

When the Golden age ended, the humans could give sustenance to the Sathau by incorporating them as another partner in each human marriage
Howdy, #DecemberWorldbuilders! What are some symbiotic or parasitic relationships that occur in nature in your world? Feel free to interpret this one broadly and talk about a character with a parasitic personality, if you prefer😁 Don't worry, I'm not grading you on how much biology is in your world!
December 7, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Reposted by Sparrow F. Alden
Here are the Top 5 Dogs of the week!
December 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
#CharacterQuestion
#HelpDesk

Great question! What if Yorica starts to celebrate the day her sister was found?! That would be a really nice thing to celebrate.

and obviously Moonshine's birthday.
Writers and TTRPG Players, today's character question!

Does your character have a specific day that they tend to remember? (Anniversary, birthday, death etc) How do they choose to celebrate it?

#ttrpg #authors #characterdevelopment #characterquestion #writingcommunity #writersky #writingprompt
December 5, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Sparrow F. Alden
GUYS. Read the assignment and then read the essay.

She didn't complete the assignment.

She deserved the F, and frankly, it concerns me that writing this poor could possibly be acceptable from an upperclassman.
Oklahoma university instructor on leave after failing Bible-based essay on gender
A University of Oklahoma instructor has been placed on leave after a student complained about receiving a failing grade on a paper.
buff.ly
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
#AwesomeCharacters
#HelpDesk

The story takes place on a college campus and at this point all of my key characters live right there. Yorica lives with Moonshine, obviously, because Moonshine is the Bestest Little Emotional Support Dog Ever.

Campus life is temporary... but maybe not for Brenna.
Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

What is your character's living situation like?

Do they have roommates? Pets? Live with family? Alone in a mansion? On the road? On a ship? Other?

Are they happy where they are, or striving for something else?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM
#QueerPrompts
#HelpDesk

Uthyr: does a lot of open source coding (is that the right term?)
Yorica: a children's science museum or a Teen Women in STEM sort of event.
Brenna would definitely join Yorica for a Teen Women in STEM event if invited.
Moonshine: everywhere because she is a Very Good Dog
#QueerPrompts December 5: International Volunteer Day: Free Friday or where would your character(s) volunteer?
December 5, 2025 at 1:03 PM
#WIPSnips
#HelpDesk

Between the two screens, there were clearly over half a dozen text conversations running and more flashing in the notification bar.
December 5, 2025 at 12:58 PM
#DecemberWorldbuilders
#RelicWorld

Well, they're gonna have to now!!! thanks!
Good day, #DecemberWorldbuilders. Does your fictional world have any notable or unique diseases, medicine, or vaccination processes? What is healthcare like in your setting? Have your characters had to deal with a disease?
December 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
WriterSpace in five, My People! us06web.zoom.us/j/81377580761

Free: body doubling for #WritingCommunity or just lonely people who have to sit at their desks or fold socks.
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.
us06web.zoom.us
December 4, 2025 at 5:55 PM
#QueerPrompts
#HelpDesk

Moonshine = soft
Yorica = soft
Brenna = hard.
#QueerPrompts December 4: National Cookie Day: Are your characters soft, hard, or nutty? 🍪
December 4, 2025 at 1:19 PM
#WIPSnips
#HelpDesk

No city. Just town.

Gomez did a quick review of safety protocols for everyone, collected some IDs and phones from folks who didn’t want to take them downtown, and wished everyone well.
December 4, 2025 at 12:37 PM
"The HPV vaccine is very safe and highly effective at preventing cervical cancer, according to two large reviews that support routinely vaccinating adolescents against human papillomavirus."

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
The HPV vaccine is safe and cuts cervical cancer risk by 80%, 2 large reviews find
Hundreds of studies, including gold-standard clinical trials, challenge Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claim that the cancer vaccine is harmful.
www.nbcnews.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
#FantasyIndiesDecember
#RelicWorld

December 2 = Holiday = two days at the solstices and equinoces PLUS any time the two moons are in the same phase.

December 3 = snowy book rec will always be _Snow Treasure_ — kids' book, still a favorite.
December 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
#QueerPrompts
#HelpDesk

“Time for me to roll out of here, g’night,” said Brenna as she closed the little window. Theo and Yorica chimed a good night back to her.
#QueerPrompts December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities: GIF/Audio or description of disability rep in your story
December 3, 2025 at 1:17 PM
#WIPSnips
#HelpDesk

It wasn't in there, so I searched on other terms, finally searched on "charge" as in "In charge" and here's the closest I have :)

Roni led a charge out of the Help Desk office.
December 3, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Sparrow F. Alden
This is Mr. Paworotti. His favorite Christmas song is Howl-lelujah. If you'll excuse him, his solo is coming up. 13/10 (TT: therealpaworotti)
December 2, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Hoping that my peeps know Lordle by @digitaltolkien.com — like Wordle, but using only words from the Lord of the Rings corpus.

lordle.digitaltolkien.com
#tolkien
Lordle of the Rings
lordle.digitaltolkien.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:44 AM
#WIPSnips
#HelpDesk

Yorica provided context. “About fifty per cent of women in private colleges had a childhood nickname from their fathers which means something like Fatso.”
December 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM
#QueerWriters
#HelpDesk

Bless you for doing a goals day.
1 - draft February, at least partially
2 - edit January

Help Desk is a shared world anthology, so also:
3 - encourage collaborators!
#queerwriters Monday: Goals Day!

What do you hope to accomplish this week? Can be anything, big or small! Let us know so we can cheer you on!

#WritingCommunity #lgbtqwriters
December 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
#QueerWriters
#HelpDesk

Help Desk takes place on a college campus: there are snacks in every scene. I have even developed a curiosity about cooking in one of the characters just so that I can write things like "Tina was meandering around the kitchenette making garlic parmesan cheeseburger bombs"
December 1, 2025 at 3:45 PM