Paul Briggs
@paulgbriggs.bsky.social
Author of the Locksmith Trilogy, Altered Seasons: Monsoonrise, and The Dead Skunk (don't ask).
#WIPSnips Lonotun hadn't realized how good Kuvran winter gear was until he'd stolen some. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and gripped it into place. Even the dragon-winds blowing off the icecap couldn't bite through it. No wonder they're winning this war, he thought.
Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips!
The word for December 15th is “blanket”
Which is an appropriate word for today for where I live given the extreme cold we’ve got moving through. Brrrr.
#WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity
The word for December 15th is “blanket”
Which is an appropriate word for today for where I live given the extreme cold we’ve got moving through. Brrrr.
#WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity
December 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM
#WIPSnips Lonotun hadn't realized how good Kuvran winter gear was until he'd stolen some. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and gripped it into place. Even the dragon-winds blowing off the icecap couldn't bite through it. No wonder they're winning this war, he thought.
#TimeTravelAuthors 100 years forward and backward, to the day. That's what the portal was set to when it was/will be/would have been first made, and there's no one left/born yet who understands the technology well enough to change it, assuming it can be changed.
December 15, 2025 at 6:04 PM
#TimeTravelAuthors 100 years forward and backward, to the day. That's what the portal was set to when it was/will be/would have been first made, and there's no one left/born yet who understands the technology well enough to change it, assuming it can be changed.
#TimeTravelAuthors
“Well, there’s three things we did,” said Gary. “First, whenever we went away from the campfire we stopped for a few seconds to give our eyes time to adjust. Second, we stuck to the clearings instead of going too far into the woods. Third, we… fell down and hurt ourselves a lot.”
“Well, there’s three things we did,” said Gary. “First, whenever we went away from the campfire we stopped for a few seconds to give our eyes time to adjust. Second, we stuck to the clearings instead of going too far into the woods. Third, we… fell down and hurt ourselves a lot.”
December 14, 2025 at 8:47 PM
#TimeTravelAuthors
“Well, there’s three things we did,” said Gary. “First, whenever we went away from the campfire we stopped for a few seconds to give our eyes time to adjust. Second, we stuck to the clearings instead of going too far into the woods. Third, we… fell down and hurt ourselves a lot.”
“Well, there’s three things we did,” said Gary. “First, whenever we went away from the campfire we stopped for a few seconds to give our eyes time to adjust. Second, we stuck to the clearings instead of going too far into the woods. Third, we… fell down and hurt ourselves a lot.”
#WIPSnips
Attam was already trying to line up a shot on the fleeing glider when the doctor grabbed the barrel of his rifle and shoved it away.
“What are you doing, young man? This is a peaceful expedition!”
“He just dropped a flare practically on top of us!”
Attam was already trying to line up a shot on the fleeing glider when the doctor grabbed the barrel of his rifle and shoved it away.
“What are you doing, young man? This is a peaceful expedition!”
“He just dropped a flare practically on top of us!”
December 14, 2025 at 8:42 PM
#WIPSnips
Attam was already trying to line up a shot on the fleeing glider when the doctor grabbed the barrel of his rifle and shoved it away.
“What are you doing, young man? This is a peaceful expedition!”
“He just dropped a flare practically on top of us!”
Attam was already trying to line up a shot on the fleeing glider when the doctor grabbed the barrel of his rifle and shoved it away.
“What are you doing, young man? This is a peaceful expedition!”
“He just dropped a flare practically on top of us!”
#TimeTravelAuthors
9. In Lock's first solo flight in the future, he turned off the radio because it was distracting. He wasn't supposed to do that.
11. The reason for the first novel is Lock's need to keep secrets. The reason for the second two? His mom has the same need.
9. In Lock's first solo flight in the future, he turned off the radio because it was distracting. He wasn't supposed to do that.
11. The reason for the first novel is Lock's need to keep secrets. The reason for the second two? His mom has the same need.
December 11, 2025 at 7:20 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors
9. In Lock's first solo flight in the future, he turned off the radio because it was distracting. He wasn't supposed to do that.
11. The reason for the first novel is Lock's need to keep secrets. The reason for the second two? His mom has the same need.
9. In Lock's first solo flight in the future, he turned off the radio because it was distracting. He wasn't supposed to do that.
11. The reason for the first novel is Lock's need to keep secrets. The reason for the second two? His mom has the same need.
#WIPSnips “You have to understand, sir—the Sea Lions had won the national championship two years in a row, and were one victory away from the playoffs. The Ulahan Threshers, as usual, were only going to the playoffs if somebody bought them tickets. It was the last minute of the fourth quarter…”
Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips!
The word for December 8th is "fourth"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
The word for December 8th is "fourth"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 9, 2025 at 1:00 AM
#WIPSnips “You have to understand, sir—the Sea Lions had won the national championship two years in a row, and were one victory away from the playoffs. The Ulahan Threshers, as usual, were only going to the playoffs if somebody bought them tickets. It was the last minute of the fourth quarter…”
#TimeTravelAuthors Lock's mother is originally from Australia, and we can only assume, very proud of its history. She named her secondborn son "Lachlan Macquarie Smith," as if Lachlan Macquarie didn't have enough things named after him already.
December 8, 2025 at 1:30 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors Lock's mother is originally from Australia, and we can only assume, very proud of its history. She named her secondborn son "Lachlan Macquarie Smith," as if Lachlan Macquarie didn't have enough things named after him already.
#WIPSnips “Because one of my favorite pastimes, long ago, was to turn into a steppe hare, like so”—in an eyeblink, Mr. Hare seemed to shrink on himself until he disappeared, leaving empty clothes to collapse into the chair. No, not quite empty. There was a moving lump inside the tunic…
December 8, 2025 at 1:28 AM
#WIPSnips “Because one of my favorite pastimes, long ago, was to turn into a steppe hare, like so”—in an eyeblink, Mr. Hare seemed to shrink on himself until he disappeared, leaving empty clothes to collapse into the chair. No, not quite empty. There was a moving lump inside the tunic…
#TimeTravelAuthors The series begins with Gary crushing on Lock's mom and ends with him planning to devote his life to cracking the physics of time travel.
December 6, 2025 at 3:46 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors The series begins with Gary crushing on Lock's mom and ends with him planning to devote his life to cracking the physics of time travel.
#WIPSnips ”…that she doesn’t leave this room alive.”
“She won’t, Excellent Master.”
“Did I ever tell the story of how my grandfather came to this city?”
“Please tell me, Excellent Master,” said Charkun, rather than lie that he hadn’t heard it five or six times.
There went the next fifteen minutes.
“She won’t, Excellent Master.”
“Did I ever tell the story of how my grandfather came to this city?”
“Please tell me, Excellent Master,” said Charkun, rather than lie that he hadn’t heard it five or six times.
There went the next fifteen minutes.
December 4, 2025 at 8:45 PM
#WIPSnips ”…that she doesn’t leave this room alive.”
“She won’t, Excellent Master.”
“Did I ever tell the story of how my grandfather came to this city?”
“Please tell me, Excellent Master,” said Charkun, rather than lie that he hadn’t heard it five or six times.
There went the next fifteen minutes.
“She won’t, Excellent Master.”
“Did I ever tell the story of how my grandfather came to this city?”
“Please tell me, Excellent Master,” said Charkun, rather than lie that he hadn’t heard it five or six times.
There went the next fifteen minutes.
#TimeTravelAuthors The first part was the front hall, parlor and dining room, all of which were big, expensive-looking and had the same feel… like they were decorated by space aliens who’d heard of humans but never met any.
December 3, 2025 at 11:58 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors The first part was the front hall, parlor and dining room, all of which were big, expensive-looking and had the same feel… like they were decorated by space aliens who’d heard of humans but never met any.
#WIPSnips “When I get this back to the lab,” he said, corking and labeling the vial, “I expect I’ll find small percentages of sulfurous and sulfuric acid, along with traces of dissolved minerals.”
December 3, 2025 at 12:07 AM
#WIPSnips “When I get this back to the lab,” he said, corking and labeling the vial, “I expect I’ll find small percentages of sulfurous and sulfuric acid, along with traces of dissolved minerals.”
#TimeTravelAuthors
'Twas the night before morrow, and Locksmith and friends
Were groping for weaponry at the world's end.
They wished more than anything they weren't there
As barking of the dogs came through the air
And Rikki with pepper spray, and Lock with his shovel
Stood bracing for trouble…
'Twas the night before morrow, and Locksmith and friends
Were groping for weaponry at the world's end.
They wished more than anything they weren't there
As barking of the dogs came through the air
And Rikki with pepper spray, and Lock with his shovel
Stood bracing for trouble…
December 1, 2025 at 4:25 PM
#TimeTravelAuthors
'Twas the night before morrow, and Locksmith and friends
Were groping for weaponry at the world's end.
They wished more than anything they weren't there
As barking of the dogs came through the air
And Rikki with pepper spray, and Lock with his shovel
Stood bracing for trouble…
'Twas the night before morrow, and Locksmith and friends
Were groping for weaponry at the world's end.
They wished more than anything they weren't there
As barking of the dogs came through the air
And Rikki with pepper spray, and Lock with his shovel
Stood bracing for trouble…
#WIPSnips Someone—Arkhöa couldn’t remember who—once said, “The greatest cities belong to the world.” If you thought of Grand Harbor as a single city rather than a collection of smaller ones in close proximity, there was no greater city beneath the arch. Its population was two million and climbing.
Welcome to December and a new week of #WIPSnips!
The word for December 1st is "belong"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
The word for December 1st is "belong"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 1, 2025 at 4:18 PM
#WIPSnips Someone—Arkhöa couldn’t remember who—once said, “The greatest cities belong to the world.” If you thought of Grand Harbor as a single city rather than a collection of smaller ones in close proximity, there was no greater city beneath the arch. Its population was two million and climbing.
#WIPSnips
“During the war, Zochei and Khür together had the Black Banner outnumbered at sea. We sank six of their battleships, and they sank five of ours. But in that same span of time, we built two and a half battleships between us and they built eight. You see the problem.”
“During the war, Zochei and Khür together had the Black Banner outnumbered at sea. We sank six of their battleships, and they sank five of ours. But in that same span of time, we built two and a half battleships between us and they built eight. You see the problem.”
November 30, 2025 at 5:10 PM
#WIPSnips
“During the war, Zochei and Khür together had the Black Banner outnumbered at sea. We sank six of their battleships, and they sank five of ours. But in that same span of time, we built two and a half battleships between us and they built eight. You see the problem.”
“During the war, Zochei and Khür together had the Black Banner outnumbered at sea. We sank six of their battleships, and they sank five of ours. But in that same span of time, we built two and a half battleships between us and they built eight. You see the problem.”
#TimeTravelAuthors
You've found a portal to the future.
Nobody's lived there for decades.
What do you do? Who do you tell?
www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3315STN
You've found a portal to the future.
Nobody's lived there for decades.
What do you do? Who do you tell?
www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3315STN
November 30, 2025 at 4:35 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors
You've found a portal to the future.
Nobody's lived there for decades.
What do you do? Who do you tell?
www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3315STN
You've found a portal to the future.
Nobody's lived there for decades.
What do you do? Who do you tell?
www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3315STN
#TimeTravelAuthors
Book 1: About this time he realized he was doing something really stupid.
Book 2: "The fate of the world is too much to put on any one man… or any two boys."
Book 3: One thing the kidnappers hadn't noticed was that June's cell phone was in the front pocket of her pajamas.
Book 1: About this time he realized he was doing something really stupid.
Book 2: "The fate of the world is too much to put on any one man… or any two boys."
Book 3: One thing the kidnappers hadn't noticed was that June's cell phone was in the front pocket of her pajamas.
November 27, 2025 at 11:00 PM
#TimeTravelAuthors
Book 1: About this time he realized he was doing something really stupid.
Book 2: "The fate of the world is too much to put on any one man… or any two boys."
Book 3: One thing the kidnappers hadn't noticed was that June's cell phone was in the front pocket of her pajamas.
Book 1: About this time he realized he was doing something really stupid.
Book 2: "The fate of the world is too much to put on any one man… or any two boys."
Book 3: One thing the kidnappers hadn't noticed was that June's cell phone was in the front pocket of her pajamas.
#HappyThanksgiving
And be thankful you're not on Soodlersville Road.
Here's a silly song I wrote…
www.deviantart.com/lockswriter/...
And be thankful you're not on Soodlersville Road.
Here's a silly song I wrote…
www.deviantart.com/lockswriter/...
Soodlersville Road by lockswriter on DeviantArt
www.deviantart.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM
#HappyThanksgiving
And be thankful you're not on Soodlersville Road.
Here's a silly song I wrote…
www.deviantart.com/lockswriter/...
And be thankful you're not on Soodlersville Road.
Here's a silly song I wrote…
www.deviantart.com/lockswriter/...
#TimeTravelAuthors
In Book 1, Lock and Gary get in trouble while trying to shop for supplies for their next expedition.
In Book 3, there's a quick shopping trip that happens off-camera.
In Book 1, Lock and Gary get in trouble while trying to shop for supplies for their next expedition.
In Book 3, there's a quick shopping trip that happens off-camera.
November 26, 2025 at 3:11 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors
In Book 1, Lock and Gary get in trouble while trying to shop for supplies for their next expedition.
In Book 3, there's a quick shopping trip that happens off-camera.
In Book 1, Lock and Gary get in trouble while trying to shop for supplies for their next expedition.
In Book 3, there's a quick shopping trip that happens off-camera.
#TimeTravelAuthors
Book 1: Mr. Hance, who wants to be the hero who saves the world more than he wants the world to be saved.
Also, the principal really screws up.
Book 3: John Corbie, or "Johnny-boy" as they call him.
Book 1: Mr. Hance, who wants to be the hero who saves the world more than he wants the world to be saved.
Also, the principal really screws up.
Book 3: John Corbie, or "Johnny-boy" as they call him.
November 24, 2025 at 5:04 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors
Book 1: Mr. Hance, who wants to be the hero who saves the world more than he wants the world to be saved.
Also, the principal really screws up.
Book 3: John Corbie, or "Johnny-boy" as they call him.
Book 1: Mr. Hance, who wants to be the hero who saves the world more than he wants the world to be saved.
Also, the principal really screws up.
Book 3: John Corbie, or "Johnny-boy" as they call him.
#TimeTravelAuthors
Whenever I feel like I've written myself into a corner, a solution eventually sort of appears in my mind as if I'd been planning it this way the whole time.
Whenever I feel like I've written myself into a corner, a solution eventually sort of appears in my mind as if I'd been planning it this way the whole time.
November 21, 2025 at 8:41 PM
#TimeTravelAuthors
Whenever I feel like I've written myself into a corner, a solution eventually sort of appears in my mind as if I'd been planning it this way the whole time.
Whenever I feel like I've written myself into a corner, a solution eventually sort of appears in my mind as if I'd been planning it this way the whole time.
#WIPSnips “Three eagles a week, or the equivalent,” she said, “but I will refund one eagle on one condition. While I’m teaching you Wa’shyai, I’d like you to teach me your Aulmish.”
“I would be honored,” he said. “Wait. Are you saying Cerrion Aulmish is worth one third as much as… Wa’shyai?”
“Yes.”
“I would be honored,” he said. “Wait. Are you saying Cerrion Aulmish is worth one third as much as… Wa’shyai?”
“Yes.”
November 19, 2025 at 9:13 PM
#WIPSnips “Three eagles a week, or the equivalent,” she said, “but I will refund one eagle on one condition. While I’m teaching you Wa’shyai, I’d like you to teach me your Aulmish.”
“I would be honored,” he said. “Wait. Are you saying Cerrion Aulmish is worth one third as much as… Wa’shyai?”
“Yes.”
“I would be honored,” he said. “Wait. Are you saying Cerrion Aulmish is worth one third as much as… Wa’shyai?”
“Yes.”
#TimeTravelAuthors
In the real world, if there was something or someone that wanted to eat you (usually there wasn’t, thank God) you’d be locked in your room while Mom called the police or animal control or whoever. But in a place like, say, Narnia, somebody would just hand you a sword…
In the real world, if there was something or someone that wanted to eat you (usually there wasn’t, thank God) you’d be locked in your room while Mom called the police or animal control or whoever. But in a place like, say, Narnia, somebody would just hand you a sword…
November 19, 2025 at 9:11 PM
#TimeTravelAuthors
In the real world, if there was something or someone that wanted to eat you (usually there wasn’t, thank God) you’d be locked in your room while Mom called the police or animal control or whoever. But in a place like, say, Narnia, somebody would just hand you a sword…
In the real world, if there was something or someone that wanted to eat you (usually there wasn’t, thank God) you’d be locked in your room while Mom called the police or animal control or whoever. But in a place like, say, Narnia, somebody would just hand you a sword…
#WIPSnips As an explanation, it fit perfectly… except for one thing. Going over the company account books was something he did every Fireday. But if I knew it was my last day beneath the arch, that sure isn’t how I’d spend it.
Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips
The word for November 17th is "spend"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
The word for November 17th is "spend"
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 AM
#WIPSnips As an explanation, it fit perfectly… except for one thing. Going over the company account books was something he did every Fireday. But if I knew it was my last day beneath the arch, that sure isn’t how I’d spend it.
#TimeTravelAuthors A lot of research happens in Book 2. It starts with some very old, partly-decayed microfilm they find in an archive.
November 18, 2025 at 8:03 AM
#TimeTravelAuthors A lot of research happens in Book 2. It starts with some very old, partly-decayed microfilm they find in an archive.