GH Learner

I like writing #SciFi and #fantasy stories. I write for pleasure and probably never will get published.
I have simple tastes and write simple stories.
I like my garden, all animals (especially my dog), all plants, science, the ocean and Canada. I'm German but write mostly in English for practice.
TERFs, fascists, antisemites get blocked. Overgeneralizing boomer-bashers too.
© GH Learner for my content here.
twin account: [@gahlearner](https://blahaj.zone/@gahlearner )

My blog: https://ghlearner.wordpress.com/
pronouns: she/her
Scribes and Makers: https://write.as/scribesandmakers
WritingMonth: gahlearner on https://writingmonth.org/

Public Key

npub1k4992ynrwhw278psrcaq70y7x76l59ycw83u09ka5qqhf3xty7lqsx36ra

NIP-05 Address

gahlearner_at_writing.exchange@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqst2jj4zf3hth90rscpuws08j0r0d06zjv8rc78jmw6qqt5cn9j00sppamhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5q3gamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7hhrga7

Publishing to

nostr.mom

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1k4992ynrwhw278psrcaq70y7x76l59ycw83u09ka5qqhf3xty7lqsx36ra

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Last Notes

2025-08-31 11:32:03 UTC

31. Alt: Fire
I once left my cheap fitness tracker watch charge overnight--as I did often--and in the morning it wasn't there.
Did the dog eat it?
Then I found a black, sooty spot on the wall. The cushion of the chair close to where I placed the watch had a burn mark and next to it were the blackened, sooty left-overs from that watch.
The battery had exploded.
We were so lucky that nothing else caught fire.
I'm very careful with chargers these days.
#ScribesAndMakers #GL825

2025-08-22 10:30:45 UTC

22. Do you have a favorite texture? If so, can you describe it?
The warm skin of someone I love.
The fur of my pets.
Smooth surfaces.
Tree bark.
The soft hairy leaves of sage and other plants.
Silk
Mud and clay
And many more.
What I can't stand is sanded, but otherwise untreated wood and the fabric some books are bound in.
Oh, for art? Everything a bit grungy.
#ScribesAndMakers #GL825

2025-08-19 12:59:12 UTC

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Oh that one's good!

2025-08-16 00:13:54 UTC

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Thank you! It's part of a series of backstory drabbles for a SF story that needs some serious work.

2025-08-14 11:26:27 UTC

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Gosh, no. 😂 I think you have to be a native English speaker, be very talented, or live there for a long time to pick up an accent like that. I can't get rid of my German accent and have by now learned to accept it, next to everyone speaks with some accent or another.
I do recognize it when I hear it most of the time.
I've lived in Canada for four years and the only accent-related thing I picked up there was 'Eh' 😂

2025-08-13 13:11:37 UTC

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Yeah, it's a fascinating place. For me it was indeed a bit exotic, it was the firsttime I went to another country all by my lonesome, and the Kiwi dialect is something to get used to, especially for a German whose school English is very basic. 😂

2025-08-13 12:44:34 UTC

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There's nothing posh about it. It was in my first career, and I was sent to work there for several months. It was great, a wonderful country, good people. Landscape and nature are swoon-worthy. I lived and worked in Christchurch, and seeing the destruction from the earthquake many years later on TV made me cry.

2025-08-13 12:28:49 UTC

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I lived in New Zealand for a while, eons ago, and they had a dish called oysters and chips. They used the fish 'n chips batter, I think, not sure, it's been so long ago. I found them yummy, but I like oysters raw too. And clams. Not too fond of Escargot.

2025-08-13 12:03:46 UTC

A Friday Fictioneers #microfiction. A bit of a backstory for one of my unfinished projects.
#WritingCommunity
https://ghlearner.wordpress.com/2025/08/13/into-the-void-friday-fictioneers-flash-fiction/

2025-07-31 15:06:03 UTC

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Thank you. 🫂
I've learned to live with myself, I'm a blob of insecurity, always trying to fit in, never quite succeeding. These days I call it eccentric.

2025-07-31 13:55:15 UTC

31. What is your greatest strength as a writer?
That I still write despite the many deep dark holes I dig for myself because of my never-ending insecurity.
#WritersCoffeeClub #GL725

2025-07-08 11:39:25 UTC

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The FridayFictioneers are a blog challenge, mostly people who have wordpress blogs, some from blogger, and some from other sites. I don't have a writing group per se, but that group is helpful. For a while there was even constructive criticism for those who wanted it.
But it's run for so long that many people moved elsewhere, blogging isn't 'in' any more, it seems. We had around 100 participants at one time, now it's around 30.

2025-07-08 11:05:28 UTC

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Yes, very much. It has mostly to do with the lovely community at the Friday Fictioneers. We read each others stories and give feedback (at least that's the idea). I've written for that challenge for more than ten years now, with an occasional 'dry' spell, and it gave me ideas for many of my unfinished longer projects.
With other drabble challenges I tried, there hardly was any feedback at all, and that's no fun.

2025-07-08 10:52:21 UTC

8. Have you ever received feedback on a piece that completely missed the mark?
Yes. It happens occasionally when I write 100 word drabbles for a picture prompt. It isn't easy to tell a story with beginning, middle, and end in only 100 words. And sometimes things aren't clear, which is my fault since I expect people to know what I'm thinking. 😄
Concise writing is an art. If people don't understand it, the information isn't communicated well enough.
#WritersCoffeeClub #GL725

2025-07-03 11:26:33 UTC

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Great thread, Aurora. As you know, I know nothing but want to do better. That colour coding is fascinating and I'm going to look for it in the future. Bookmarked your break-down.

2025-06-27 22:14:57 UTC

Another #TTMD has just started where I live, and today we'll have @npub1puc…hekh as our featured author. I know it'll be another day with many interesting, surprising, and fun questions.
Please tag @npub1puc…hekh and use the hashtags #ScribesAndMakers and #TTMD - please type the handle directly, copying doesn't work, the link itself isn't copied, only the text.
Most of you know the routine. Most importantly: have fun!
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/757/626/628/027/812/original/30e87fe096ef50e5.png

2025-06-26 16:01:42 UTC

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Ah, absolutely. Let me get you some.
🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺

2025-06-26 15:53:26 UTC

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Bravo! Keep going. 😄

2025-06-22 10:30:22 UTC

707. Do you have any characters that you can relate to on a personal level?
All of them, I don't know how else I could write them. Not completely of course, some more, some less. I hope to not turn out a horrible monster antagonist, but all of them have reasons, motivations, I can relate to, nothing just falls from the sky.
#PennedPossibilities #GL625

2025-06-17 11:38:40 UTC

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I've looked for blank patterns, but only one was public domain. So I studied the symmetry a bit closer without diving into the math, which I wouldn't understand anyway. I think I know how it works, and with a lot of effort could make them without programs and calculations. I doodled around with it a bit, but this kind of drawing requires precision, and my style is too messy, as you can see. So I'll leave it at that for now.
No, they don't show up in my writing.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/698/476/134/526/051/original/f0db020443798e7d.png
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/698/476/153/337/606/original/005c2c67fa425c60.png

2025-06-16 18:48:47 UTC

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I need to find a few blank patterns first, then I can think of drawing something into them. There is no way I can construct such a thing myself. Crocheting is much easier. 😂

2025-06-16 11:31:45 UTC

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Oh, that looks interesting, thank you.
I know about such software, but my machine is old and doesn't have software and I'm not into sewing that much any more to buy a new one.
But the eucidean embroidery could als be done as drawing I guess, Escher like, so maybe I'll try that one of these days. I wanted to get back into drawing anyway.

2025-06-16 11:21:43 UTC

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Ooooh, that's fascinating! Do you have pictures? The ones I've seen are beautiful, I could never do that, I suck at embroidery.

2025-05-22 17:49:34 UTC

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Fabulous!
I'm one of these people who would congratulate acquaintances, neighbours or friends (but not total strangers) on new or interesting earrings, hairdo, glasses and outfit. Sometimes I get strange looks and a mumbled Thank you. But most often a delighted Thanks, you noticed! We should do that a lot more often.

2025-03-30 10:16:48 UTC

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Thank you! Ramble away, this is fascinating.
You really make cooking into a creative experience... I suppose every good chef does but I've never thought much about that aspect of cooking before. I guess having an appreciative partner helps to enjoy it to the fullest.
Two follow-up questions:
1. When do you write your cookbook? 😁
2. Do you bake (like that) too? I mean, I'm a lousy cook but when I cook I often improvise too. But never with baking.

2025-03-30 00:06:50 UTC

30. Time flies and we've reached the end of the month already. Our highlight for waving March goodbye is today's Talk To Me Day where we feature our first community member, RS @npub1rg8…m6l5
I look forward to a day of fun questions and clever answers, and to many good discussions with the community.
Thank you, RS! Ready? Here's my question:
**As a chef, do you design your own recipes from scratch or do you get or modify them from family, friends, cookbooks, or magazines?**
#TTMD #ScribesAndMakers
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/248/456/281/843/636/original/a437b5b34c3a375f.png

2025-03-20 16:09:06 UTC

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These are great examples. I knew the Banksy one, the Trump kissing another dictator theme is common,too. What really blows me away is the first one. Such a strong symbol for the crowding out of native species by introduced species.

2025-03-06 20:15:02 UTC

606. Is your MC keeping any secrets? Can you tell us more without giving away any spoilers?
Bella is indeed keeping secrets. She leaves her comfortable life behind, willing to sacrifice everything for her people, and for peace. She knows that those who love her will try to stop her, that's why she isn't telling anyone where she'll go, and what she plans to do.
#PennedPossibilities #GL325

2024-12-22 12:19:17 UTC

#WritingMonth week 3
I've finished the first read-through, which completes my goal for December.
I'm now sorting through my wild mix of notes I made during writing, I have more ideas for fleshing out that I'll include, but none of this is a project yet. Maybe I'll make one out of the sorting etc. in January, maybe together with writing part 2... we'll see.
Happy Holidays, dear fellow 'WritingMonthers'.

2024-11-03 14:17:19 UTC

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It was a great dare, and it is on Bluebell's (Bella's) mind a lot. Rosie is her friend but she's not sure if she should do it, because it will be dangerous for Rosie.
And I hear you on the hashtags. I'm shy, as I've probably pointed out ad nauseum, and I feel awkward just jumping into a discussion. The hashtags are so helpful with that. There's interaction and we can chat with peope without imposing.

2024-11-03 13:59:46 UTC

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I know, it's difficult to keep track of all these many stories. You're one of my oldest Mastodon buddies, so you had to suffer. 😁
Bella says, "I suppose telling you that I already have a confidante would be cheating? She's Calanthe, my history tutor who secretly teaches me sorcery and alchemy. She's a member of the almost forgotten society for the advancement of magic (SAM).
I may soon confide in Rosie the groom at least in part too, otherwise I can't steal my horse and get away."

2024-11-03 12:30:20 UTC

3. Let your MC choose truth or dare. etc.
I always feel awkward tagging people, and if it were up to me to ask questions, I'd want to tag you all... but since this is about you asking my character who isn't well known... I tag @npub1t97…sqwz
Bluebell isn't timid, and although she prefers the truth in general, she's been lying quite a bit lately for reasons. So, instead of truth, she choses dare.
#WordWeavers #GL1124

2024-09-15 18:54:30 UTC

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Thank you! I hope I didn't forget you in my own long list that started to confuse me.
@npub1cqh…a0wq @npub1jfu…2sf8 @npub1jmx…eggh [@johnyNocash](https://indiepocalypse.social/@johnyNocash ) @npub1c9x…6qdf @npub1hsh…fvhr @npub1vvt…px49 @npub1r95…0u9c @npub18th…4axl @npub12ft…9lty [@nillyrobot](https://mastodon.art/@nillyrobot ) @npub1dvk…p2c8 @npub1ynj…judr @npub19a4…tnl4 @npub1mc3…lwu2 @npub1dxw…6tnw @npub16gv…gnuq @npub1rjv…at8t @npub1eh7…ya7h @npub179d…gyxh @npub165n…kjw4 @npub1wap…p604 @npub1puc…hekh [@Ink_Soul](https://writing.exchange/@Ink_Soul )