Mark Weaver
@markweaver.bsky.social
Author and instigator-in-chief of the scribes. Former professional archivist and records manager. Lives in the Dark Peak with more fountain pens than he realistically needs.
For more details visit scriptoriumscribes.com
For more details visit scriptoriumscribes.com
Pinned
Mark Weaver
@markweaver.bsky.social
· Oct 21
To the new arrivals on Bluesky: I mostly post about the antics of scribes of the priory of St Elno, a wholly fictional place that began life in The Bad Place and was used to take the mickey out of a certain billionaire. See also Musky the dog and references to rockets, cryptocurrencies, etc.
Somewhere between maybe a third or halfway through the additional chapters for “The Flipside Of Somewhen”. It’s odd to be writing something I’ve outlined having pantsed the first 70k words. I just hope that the join won’t show once it has been edited.
November 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Somewhere between maybe a third or halfway through the additional chapters for “The Flipside Of Somewhen”. It’s odd to be writing something I’ve outlined having pantsed the first 70k words. I just hope that the join won’t show once it has been edited.
Looking out of the Scriptorium windows today, Black Hill has become white with the hill snow that fell overnight. Alexa (scullery maid) has nipped out to the shops to get more cocoa powder as tomorrow is promising to be frosty. The scribes are lobbying for the fire to be lit.
November 19, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Looking out of the Scriptorium windows today, Black Hill has become white with the hill snow that fell overnight. Alexa (scullery maid) has nipped out to the shops to get more cocoa powder as tomorrow is promising to be frosty. The scribes are lobbying for the fire to be lit.
Finishing the final edit of the last three pages of “The Flipside Of Somewhen” and I realise that what I need to do is bin them and write 6 more chapters (length unknown) instead. This edit is not exactly going to plan. The ending is not what I thought it was.
[Expletive deleted]…
[Expletive deleted]…
November 13, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Finishing the final edit of the last three pages of “The Flipside Of Somewhen” and I realise that what I need to do is bin them and write 6 more chapters (length unknown) instead. This edit is not exactly going to plan. The ending is not what I thought it was.
[Expletive deleted]…
[Expletive deleted]…
#NaNoWriMo ? How about #NaNoWriWTFYouWantMo ? No word counts, no assumptions, no bigotry, nothing. Just write what you want, when you want. The rest can be figured out later.
October 31, 2025 at 10:43 PM
#NaNoWriMo ? How about #NaNoWriWTFYouWantMo ? No word counts, no assumptions, no bigotry, nothing. Just write what you want, when you want. The rest can be figured out later.
I’ve been dwelling on a few things of late, such as the effects of AWS going down and how increasingly reliant society is on technology - see James Burke “Connections” The Trigger Effect (1978). Then I came across this again. I can still remember the opening shot of the scientist dropping the flask.
October 31, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I’ve been dwelling on a few things of late, such as the effects of AWS going down and how increasingly reliant society is on technology - see James Burke “Connections” The Trigger Effect (1978). Then I came across this again. I can still remember the opening shot of the scientist dropping the flask.
Note to self: in future, do not use an adverb for one of the main character’s name. The style checker is having a temper tantrum.
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Note to self: in future, do not use an adverb for one of the main character’s name. The style checker is having a temper tantrum.
The scribes would like to state for the record that they do not pay a peppercorn rent for the priory. They were given the land by the monarch of the day for services rendered and built it themselves.
Any peppercorns were for making peppercorn sauce and that’s the story they’re sticking to.
Any peppercorns were for making peppercorn sauce and that’s the story they’re sticking to.
October 21, 2025 at 12:48 PM
The scribes would like to state for the record that they do not pay a peppercorn rent for the priory. They were given the land by the monarch of the day for services rendered and built it themselves.
Any peppercorns were for making peppercorn sauce and that’s the story they’re sticking to.
Any peppercorns were for making peppercorn sauce and that’s the story they’re sticking to.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes are attempting to determine the precise moment the information superhighway became the disinformation hypersewageway, as soon as their internet connection is back up and running, that is.
October 20, 2025 at 11:41 AM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes are attempting to determine the precise moment the information superhighway became the disinformation hypersewageway, as soon as their internet connection is back up and running, that is.
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.
October 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.
In the Scriptorium today, Mrs Pritchett has been making more green tomato chutney from this year’s bumper crop. The scribes are leaving jars of it by the priory gates for passers by. All donations go to a worthy cause. Cheques should be made out to CASH (Charitable Alms, Scriptorium House)
October 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
In the Scriptorium today, Mrs Pritchett has been making more green tomato chutney from this year’s bumper crop. The scribes are leaving jars of it by the priory gates for passers by. All donations go to a worthy cause. Cheques should be made out to CASH (Charitable Alms, Scriptorium House)
Well that was fun. Editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen” and what started as cutting out unnecessary detail in a paragraph turned into 500 words of new material. The writing is a lot tighter, but I’m supposed to be pruning the dratted thing.
October 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Well that was fun. Editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen” and what started as cutting out unnecessary detail in a paragraph turned into 500 words of new material. The writing is a lot tighter, but I’m supposed to be pruning the dratted thing.
In the Scriptorium today, the gas lift in one of the swivel chairs has failed. The scribe sitting with their knees round their ears has been introduced to the concept of the standing desk. This is a Heath Robinson affair comprising of a desk piled on top of a broken chair.
October 10, 2025 at 11:25 AM
In the Scriptorium today, the gas lift in one of the swivel chairs has failed. The scribe sitting with their knees round their ears has been introduced to the concept of the standing desk. This is a Heath Robinson affair comprising of a desk piled on top of a broken chair.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes are using the “by zombies” rule to weed out instances of the passive voice. The only problem is that it’s a book about zombies and the gate to the compound was forced open by zombies.
They are investigating if verb + “by dragons” will work instead.
They are investigating if verb + “by dragons” will work instead.
October 9, 2025 at 11:38 AM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes are using the “by zombies” rule to weed out instances of the passive voice. The only problem is that it’s a book about zombies and the gate to the compound was forced open by zombies.
They are investigating if verb + “by dragons” will work instead.
They are investigating if verb + “by dragons” will work instead.
In the Scriptorium today, the cauliflowers have been coddled and the scribes are back to scribing.
Translation: up to date in the garden and greenhouse so I’m back to editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen”
Translation: up to date in the garden and greenhouse so I’m back to editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen”
October 8, 2025 at 1:21 PM
In the Scriptorium today, the cauliflowers have been coddled and the scribes are back to scribing.
Translation: up to date in the garden and greenhouse so I’m back to editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen”
Translation: up to date in the garden and greenhouse so I’m back to editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen”
In the good old days (like last year), I’d be doing the last few jobs in the garden in preparation for winter. Having got a kitchen garden going, I’ve been getting the winter crops started and have never been so busy outside at this time. The writing has had to take a back seat for the time being.
October 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
In the good old days (like last year), I’d be doing the last few jobs in the garden in preparation for winter. Having got a kitchen garden going, I’ve been getting the winter crops started and have never been so busy outside at this time. The writing has had to take a back seat for the time being.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes have been sweeping the priory chimneys. It is a messy job and there are a lot of them. They now know how the Blackfriars got their name.
October 3, 2025 at 4:42 PM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes have been sweeping the priory chimneys. It is a messy job and there are a lot of them. They now know how the Blackfriars got their name.
After other stuff getting in the way, I’m now back to editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen”. The start of the third section has the word “slowly” appear in three consecutive sentences. If nothing else, this is a good example of why we edit.
For what it’s worth, all three are now gone.
For what it’s worth, all three are now gone.
September 30, 2025 at 12:55 PM
After other stuff getting in the way, I’m now back to editing “The Flipside Of Somewhen”. The start of the third section has the word “slowly” appear in three consecutive sentences. If nothing else, this is a good example of why we edit.
For what it’s worth, all three are now gone.
For what it’s worth, all three are now gone.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes received an eldritch tome, bound in black leather, with a burning eye set in a pentagram on the cover. The spine is missing, so they have no idea what the book is about, and nobody is prepared to open it to find out. It has gone to the bottom of the TBR pile.
September 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes received an eldritch tome, bound in black leather, with a burning eye set in a pentagram on the cover. The spine is missing, so they have no idea what the book is about, and nobody is prepared to open it to find out. It has gone to the bottom of the TBR pile.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes are being taunted by the smell of green tomato chutney coming from the kitchens. There will be none for supper tonight as that stuff takes weeks to mature.
September 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes are being taunted by the smell of green tomato chutney coming from the kitchens. There will be none for supper tonight as that stuff takes weeks to mature.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes have heard that this may well be the day of the Rupture, and have been making support trusses, just in case.
September 23, 2025 at 1:13 PM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes have heard that this may well be the day of the Rupture, and have been making support trusses, just in case.
Looked out of the window to see if the rapture has happened yet. Saw the milkman and a dustbin lorry go past. If everyone else has gone, at least the bins have been emptied and we’ve got fresh milk.
September 23, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Looked out of the window to see if the rapture has happened yet. Saw the milkman and a dustbin lorry go past. If everyone else has gone, at least the bins have been emptied and we’ve got fresh milk.
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes have returned from a long pilgrimage to to abbey of Vallonné La-Bas (literal translation: “hilly over there”). Expect more scriptorial shenanigans soon.
September 22, 2025 at 9:54 PM
In the Scriptorium today, the scribes have returned from a long pilgrimage to to abbey of Vallonné La-Bas (literal translation: “hilly over there”). Expect more scriptorial shenanigans soon.
Well that was cathartic. LinkedIn sent an email about it using AI to scrape content so I’ve closed my account and told them why I’ve done it. Truth be told, I haven’t used it in several years so it’s no big loss. Still felt good to walk away.
September 22, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Well that was cathartic. LinkedIn sent an email about it using AI to scrape content so I’ve closed my account and told them why I’ve done it. Truth be told, I haven’t used it in several years so it’s no big loss. Still felt good to walk away.
Today’s mood*
*no chickens were harmed in the making of this
*no chickens were harmed in the making of this
September 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Today’s mood*
*no chickens were harmed in the making of this
*no chickens were harmed in the making of this