<![CDATA[Bay French Worlds]]>https://www.bayfrench.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXP7!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff695790-e489-4175-a0c8-9c812170e5fc_500x500.pngBay French Worldshttps://www.bayfrench.comSubstackMon, 18 May 2026 04:13:16 GMT<![CDATA[Day 15. Using ChatGPT to brainstorm a novel]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-15-using-chatgpt-to-brainstormhttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-15-using-chatgpt-to-brainstormWed, 21 Dec 2022 09:50:18 GMT
man and woman walking on dirt road during night time
Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash

It’s a marathon

So we lost a week somehow around here. Things happen. It was a difficult week, with hundreds of exams to grade on a deadline and my two other blogs also needing their posts and general attention. But I finally managed to reach 17k yesterday evening. So now I’ve fallen back quite a bit; we’re at day 15, the …

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]]><![CDATA[Using ChatGPT for descriptions]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/using-chatgpt-for-descriptionshttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/using-chatgpt-for-descriptionsWed, 21 Dec 2022 03:04:20 GMT
white and purple robot toy
Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash

Let’s face it: the age of AI writing is here, and it’s time for us writers to make use of what it offers — without losing control of the creative process.

ChatGPT for writers

There is a fine line between using the AI for inspiration or research and cheating (in the sense of giving up authorship of one’s text), and this di…

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]]><![CDATA[Exploring Writing Through Dictation]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/exploring-writing-through-dictationhttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/exploring-writing-through-dictationTue, 13 Dec 2022 11:26:17 GMTUntil now, this blog has mostly dealt with my writing process of the second Ayla book, a fast-paced science-fiction novel about a crew of space pirates and their adventures. But I want to also take the opportunity and talk a little about the writing process in a more general way that might be useful to others who attempt the same.

And today, let’s talk …

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]]><![CDATA[Day 7: A Friend and a New Enemy]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-7-a-friend-and-a-new-enemyhttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-7-a-friend-and-a-new-enemyTue, 13 Dec 2022 00:14:30 GMT
man in dress shirt sitting in front of table
Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash

Day seven of writing the second Ayla book within (roughly) a month. Today I reached 12,380 words, so we’re fully on track. We’re at roughly one fifth to one quarter of the time and we have roughly the same percentage of words, if the goal is around 50k. So all is well.

There were not many surprises today. I already knew wh…

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]]><![CDATA[Day 5: Don Maksim and Erebus Two]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-5-don-maksim-and-erebus-twohttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-5-don-maksim-and-erebus-twoSat, 10 Dec 2022 11:28:49 GMTWelcome back to my project of finishing a book in about a month. Now we are at day 5, and we have reached 10k words. Find all the posts here.

gray and black typewriter pot with green leaf plants
Photo by Shelby Miller on Unsplash

Good day. Wrote 3109 words, but it took me almost the whole day. Anyway, we’re back on track. According to my spreadsheet, for the first time now I need to write fewer words per da…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 11 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-11-celeste-risinghttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-11-celeste-risingFri, 09 Dec 2022 10:45:31 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here. The first chapter is here.

The Luxor Worlds security let them pass through the perimeter. The magic of the Sound of Silence seemed to be working. Perry pressed a button on the comm, and the bridge was filled with the soft tones of violins and the voice of a woman singing …

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]]><![CDATA[Day 3: Teaser and Dogfight]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-3-teaser-and-dogfighthttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-3-teaser-and-dogfightThu, 08 Dec 2022 15:05:23 GMT
architectural photography of range hood
Photo by NASA on Unsplash

These days were a bit hectic. I started Great Adventure Tales two days ago, which, although it has no articles yet, still required a ton of work to get the hosting, the domains, the templates, the Javascript, the CSS, the menus and categories, the About pages, and a hundred of other things up and running. This cost me almost the…

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]]><![CDATA[Day 1: Getting started on the new book]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-1-getting-started-on-the-newhttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/day-1-getting-started-on-the-newTue, 06 Dec 2022 07:13:15 GMTToday I resumed writing on Ayla02, as I call it as long as I don’t have a better title. I was never good at titles. There are so splendid titles in Science Fiction, but it took me a week to come up with “Celeste Rising,” and that is pretty lame. So I hope that I’ll be able to eventually come up with something better for this one.

This here will be a sequ…

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]]><![CDATA[Growing an Author Business in a Year]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/growing-an-author-business-in-a-yearhttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/growing-an-author-business-in-a-yearTue, 06 Dec 2022 02:54:36 GMTWelcome back, after another longish break…

This Substack has had a bumpy ride so far. If you look at the dates beside the posts, there’s been a break from March to today — almost 9 months. But I wasn’t lazy. I have a full-time job, and I’m also the owner and editor of a nonfiction web magazine that publishes two long posts every week. I have a podcast an…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 10 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-10-celeste-risinghttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-10-celeste-risingFri, 02 Dec 2022 07:54:50 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here. The first chapter is here.

Photo by Noriely Fernandez on Unsplash

The caretaker looked at the man as he walked past, just a few steps away.

Thanks for reading Bay French Worlds! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

He could smell it. He could smell th…

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]]><![CDATA[How to find your way around here]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/how-to-find-your-way-around-herehttps://www.bayfrench.com/p/how-to-find-your-way-around-hereSun, 17 Jul 2022 12:44:52 GMT
Source: James Wheeler on Pexels

Hi, and I’m happy to welcome you here!

This post is just an index of some starting points that you might want to look at if you are new here.

Thanks for reading Bay French Worlds! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 9 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-9https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-9Sat, 19 Mar 2022 14:39:42 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here. The first chapter is here.

Carl looked up from his console.

“I have our expert here,” he said.

“Put her on the screen.”

The emptiness of space on the panoramic screen was replaced by the smiling face of an old lady under a white hair bun. It was like suddenly being dropped o…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 8 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-8https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-8Wed, 16 Mar 2022 14:26:33 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here. The first chapter is here.

Consciousness switched on like a warning light. Suddenly, there it was. A circle of light in a world of darkness and non-being. Something had happened. Something had called him to life.

The Guardian stirred.

Bandages cracked. Dust flew up in littl…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 7 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-7https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-7Sat, 12 Mar 2022 04:03:12 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here. The first chapter is here.

“Can you fly this thing, Perry?”

Ayla looked at the pilot, who seemed to be struggling with the unfamiliar controls.

“I’ll manage.”

The ship was a Martian design. As the conflict between Earth and the Saturn Federation had escalated over the past f…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 6 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-6https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-6Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:04:49 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here. Find the first chapter here.

Image by Parker_West from Pixabay

Pete the caretaker was looking for a quiet place to sit down and chill. He had partied with his pals the previous night, and it had been a bit later than usual when he’d finally come out of the bar. In fact, it…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 5 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-5https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-5Sat, 12 Feb 2022 14:51:40 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here.

A small torpedo shot out, seemingly from nowhere, flashed across the big screen and ended in an explosion at the side of one of the two smaller enemy ships.

Ayla could hear cursing over the speakers, alarms ringing, someone shouting orders.

“Joy,” Ayla spoke into her comm. …

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 4 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-4https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-4Wed, 09 Feb 2022 14:39:34 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here.

“Ships!” cried Perry as they all froze. “We’re surrounded!”

At this moment, half a dozen men in armour materialised at the back of the bridge, guns ready, aiming at the crew.

Lea spun around, drew her own gun while still turning, and in one fluid motion fired six flashes in…

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 3 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-3https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-3Sat, 05 Feb 2022 14:32:42 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here.

Luigi took a step inside, not quite believing his eyes. This is a bunker?

He quickly glanced at his wrist. The readouts showed a vacuum just like the one outside the bunker. Their helmet torches cut long, narrow cones of bluish light out of the darkness.

“It’s a cemetery,” …

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 2 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-2https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-2Wed, 02 Feb 2022 15:02:37 GMTYou’re reading Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Find the previous chapter here.

Ayla tapped the oxygen gauge with her fingertips. It didn’t move. It was a brass thing that Lea had found on a flea market trip somewhere on Dione, Mimas or Enceladus. A theatre prop, but it worked, most of the time. Who knew where it came from... Perhaps they could sell …

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]]><![CDATA[Chapter 1 (Celeste Rising)]]>https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-1https://www.bayfrench.com/p/chapter-1Sat, 29 Jan 2022 13:20:59 GMT

This is chapter 1 of Celeste Rising, a SciFi pirate yarn. Have fun!

They stepped out of the hatch, slowly, carefully, floating to the ground in their heavy suits, like paper aeroplanes or fairground balloons. The comet's surface was stone covered by a thick layer of dirty brown ice. Soon it would begin to melt as Celeste moved closer to the sun, flaking …

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