write-gallagher/gi 🦋

WIP INTRODUCTION *HEADS-UP*

genre: sci-fi, (political) thriller, cosmic horror, romance, mystery, crime

themes: oppression and revolution, flimsy promises, hight but shattered ideals, danger everywhere, dreaming of a better future, forbidden love, fighting the apocalypse 

setting: dark sci-fi city with lots of different quarters and buildings 

status: drafting, beginning to write

POV: third person limited

ꕥ - synopsis:

The resistance group “C.R.O.W.” fights underground against the cruel, dictatorial government of Plutus, their country.  Like crows indeed, they operate under cover of darkness, coming and going as they please.. Their entire existence is like playing with fire. And yet they are children, outcasts to whom life means nothing. Their only goal is to return freedom to Plutus’ population. For this, they spare no risk. But then a strange gambler appears. He is a dazzling trickster who takes money out of the pockets of politicians and the rich in casinos and nightclubs.  Who he is or what he wants, nobody knows. There is only one name: Elliot.

ꕥ - the cast

Ada - one of the resistance fighters. She is the youngest and fastest of them all, but also the loneliest

Pearl - Ada’s best and perhaps only friend. Works as a singer in a night club and is the girl of Smiley Backett, one of the biggest mobsters in town

Smiley - a gangster boss. Not particularly attractive, but powerful. Helps C.R.O.W. with their missions

Carmin - another resistance fighter. Scout of C.R.O.W. and possibly in love with Ada

Elliot - the mysterious gambler. There is only that name and nothing else

ꕥ - writing excerpt

Ada ran without looking. She knew the way by heart. The only important thing was to lose the policemen who trudged along the road close behind her. “Wretched walruses,” Ada thought, smiling her bright smile into the dark, freezing air. “You’re clearly in the wrong profession!” she called over her shoulder. There was the hatch. Within seconds she had pushed it open and slipped through. She heard the policemen pass her outside. They would be busy for a few more hours, she knew. Quietly she groped through the dark corridor. From a distance she heard Pearl’s voice:

“Though the words may be wrong We’re singing it because you ask for it So we’re singing it just for you How high the moon”

She sneaked into Pearl’s dressing room, picked out a simple black satin dress and changed. Then she ran back down the corridor, but took a different turn and finally squeezed through a small, nondescript wooden door in the wall.

Directly in front of her was a pool table with a single man leaning against it, scowling at the stage where Pearl was about to start the next song. “Hi, Smiley,” Ada murmured in his ear. The man flinched. “Oh, hi Ada.” “Don’t you think you’re a little jumpy for a man of your profession?” “I’m in a bad mood,” he grumbled. Ada sat down beside him on the table. “Oh no, Smiley is grumpy,” she said teasingly. “Shut up, it’s not funny. Some kid just gave me a bad time at a poker game. He must have cheated, there’s no other way.” “Oh really? Who was he?” “I don’t know, I never saw him before.” Ada giggled and turned away. Sometimes she wondered what Pearl even saw in him. He wasn’t handsome and he wasn’t even particularly rich for a gangster boss. It was probably the adventure and the fact that Smiley did have a sense of humour and, even if you couldn’t tell, was very smart.

Pearl had finished now and came over to them. “You’re not still talking about that guy?” she asked Smiley. “Sometimes you just lose, it happens.” Smiley shook his head. “I know, but somehow he seemed peculiar to me. He didn’t, how shall I say, cheat honestly.” Pearl raised her eyebrows. “There was no way to cheat, I saw it clearly. But he did it anyway.” “Well, boy, don’t worry your head about it, someone was smarter than you for once.”

Ada had listened carefully to their conversation. It sounded very similar to what had happened to the Secretary General last week at roulette, but not in a small nightclub, but in one of the big casinos in the city centre. He had been given a one-time tip and bet two hundred grand on 17, but at the last moment the ball bounced over the edge and landed on 18. Only one other man had been involved in the game and he had bet on 18. It had been a terrible loss for the General Secretary and it had been in all the papers. But there had been no trace of the anonymous other man ever since.

ꕥ - aesthetic

elegant casinos; cubes and cards; the shimmering promise of another life; leather suits; hazy atmosphere; watch your step; red lights shining from high-tech buildings; frozen rivers; never-ending winter, but no snow

taglist under the cut (ask to be +/-)

WIP INTRO *COSMOPOLITAN*

alternate title: the land of might-have-been

genre: historical fiction, bittersweet romance with elements of drama, comedy and crime

setting: 1920s England, switching between the London demimonde and the majestic country manor of the family

status: drafting, beginning to write

themes: trauma, alcoholism, fighting for your believes, shattered idealism, disappointed love, conflicts between political views and religion, extremely macabre humour

ꕥ - synopsis:

Young aristocrat Alexander Harris returns from the First World War having left behind not only his fiancée but also some of his common sense. What he has left is alcohol and his unshakable pride, but he has lost his faith in humanity forever. 

Far from his family, he becomes the glamorous mascot of the London demimonde. At the “Cosmopolitan Café”, where everything that is in any way dishonest meets, he gets caught up in the devastating maelstrom of champagne, gambling and endless affairs, and finally even commits treason when he agrees to spy for Russia. He knows everyone’s darkest secrets and uses them when he has to, but despite his cynical exterior he is not a heartless person. On the contrary, there has hardly ever been a more tender-hearted one, but this was first smothered in the turmoil of war and then with liquor.

And yet he is a holy man, the patron saint of sinners, and somewhere, underneath all the dirt and sarcasm, is still the dreamer who wants nothing more than to travel and finally leave everything behind, because deep down he is - contrary to all assumptions - a true citizen of the world.

ꕥ - the cast

Alex - the protagonist; is a complete wreck (mentally), but laughs the louder, the worse it gets Clarence - Alex’ best friend; tries to stop him from the worst nonsense, but rarely succeeds  Ivy - Alex’ cousin. His partner in crime and also she’s a cocaine addict Daniel - used to be Alex’ lover, but the war made the flame die down. Still one of his best friends, though Travis - Alex’ older brother. Very correct (he’s going to be duke, so he has to be), but loves him very much Blume - mysterious girl Alex meets at the opera. Who is she? Where is she from? What is she doing?

ꕥ - writing excerpt:

The Cosmopolitan was strange in the morning. Dust particles danced in the rising sun shining through the high windows and the chandeliers threw tiny splashes of light in all directions. A curious milky glow covered everything. As he stood on the wide stairs leading to the exit, Alex thought he could still hear the laughter and music of the previous evening, but now everything was empty and deserted. Not even the busy waiters could be seen.

A funny feeling, he thought. Everything was quiet, the front door seemed to almost completely shield the sounds of the street. Alex let his gaze wander through the room. Back there was his regular table, where they had been sitting last night. Anger rose in him and outraged, he stepped up the stairs. He would now go and look for Clarence and have a serious talk with him. What was this brute thinking of just dumping him. Him, the great Alexander!

He fought tooth and nail against the oppressive feeling that was rising in his chest. A few days ago he had received a telegram from Daniel Gainsborough saying that he would henceforth study English History and Latin at Oxford. This news affected him more than he admitted to himself, for he realised that his old friends were scattered in all directions, and that he was the only one left without a degree and now almost without money, a foppish shadow of his former self.

At all costs he wanted to prevent his already crumbling heart from breaking completely, for he did not know what he would do then.  

ꕥ - aesthetic

shimmering pearls, silk gowns, polished shoes, tear-soaked handkerchiefs, dirty streets, the smell of secrets, sound of typewriters, patterned stockingsídark, old houses, the thrill of the stage, golden dreams and bitter nightmares, the taste of wistful memories and the call of the wide world

ꕥ - playlist

love is the sweetest thing ○ fantasia in f minor ○ der nußbaum ○ you’re as pretty as a picture ○ spring ○ kitty-valse ○ oberon: overture ○ waltz of my heart ○ the nutcracker: the christmas tree ○ the land of might-have-been 

ꕥ - writing excerpts

1

ꕥ - discord server

taglist under the cut (ask to be +/-)

Random asks about your wips

Being tagged in tag games by people you don't know yet

Strangers complimenting your work

Fellow writeblrs striking up conversations

Interaction with new writeblrs in general

If I click the sub-folder “1971” which has every chapter that takes place in 1971 (written by date) it looks like

So I have the Part# after the date, in brackets.

May 11, 1970 (P1)

December 13, 1971 (P70)

So if I need to find the 34th chapter I just type “P34” into the search function, or if I need all the parts I wrote in a certain month, I just search that month

I’ve always written my chapters on separate documents. It takes less long to load, I don’t have to scroll for 57 years, and it’s easier to keep track up (for me)

And when I post my story, I add the date into the table of contents I’ve called “Date Map”

after finishing up 3 chapters in the past couple of days (7.3k words, give or take some), I wanted to share with all of you what I’m doing now to simplify my process later.

first off, this is not specifically EDITING, but in a way it is. editing is a long process, and it’s usually aided by other people. this is a solo process that can streamline the editing process that comes later after the final draft.

evaluate the first thing I always do is evaluate my piece. I like to do this by reading through my first chapter and figuring out if it has everything I wanted to include in it, and figuring out if it sets the right mood for the rest of my story. if it doesn’t, I move onto step 2.

find my weak spot every writer has an Achilles heel. mine is usually secondary character development. I develop the hell out of my main characters, but sometimes, my supporting characters can end up a little weaker because of this. this won’t always be the case. for you, it could be world building, or not writing in detail. whatever your weakness is, catch it here so that you can be more conscious of it and weed it out of the rest of the draft.

read through the rest of my draft so far usually, I start the clean up process at 3-4 chapters or 10k words, whatever comes first, but I might have written more than expected, so I’m going to take the time to give it a once through and read what I have to pick out if there’s anything I wanna add or subtract.

add and subtract usually, I will have scenes I don’t think I gave justice to, and in that case I will add to them so that they can be more pronounced, and sometimes I’ll cut a scene all together, it really depends on how the chapter should feel in my opinion.

smooth and detail usually, once I’ve added and subtract, now it needs to be smoothed out with filler scenes and transitions. this is where you’re going to do all of the smaller touches and detailing.

finish up once I’ve finished doing all of this, I’m usually good to go, and start on writing my next couple of chapters. it might be good to do this once every few chapters, usually ever 3-4 depending on how much you’re writing, if not, pick how many words you’d like to do it after and do this process over again.

now you have a cleaner draft so that you can streamline your editing process at the end of your first draft, and you’ll be on your way to your next and/or final draft soon!

Not random at all!

Reasons For Your Characters To Hate Each Other

Bad first impression: When A and B meet, A is in a bad mood. They’re snappier than usual and make a rude remark / completely ignore B. B decides then and there that they hate A, causing A to hate B back.

Bad reputation: B has been told time and time again that A is bad news (e.g A is mean, shallow, manipulative, stuck up, etc.). When they meet A, they decide not to give A a chance and presume the worst of them.

Association: A associates B with a bad person / a bad time in their life. For example, B is friends/related to A’s worst enemy or B had something to do with a bad experience that A had. B isn’t directly responsible for anything bad in A’s life, A just associated them with bad things and therefore dislikes them.

Conflicting ideas: Even if they’re on the same side, they may both have different ideas/opinions that they’re unwilling to give up.

Misunderstanding: Very simple. A believes that B wrong them in some way or that B is

They simply don’t mesh: They feel like their personalities don’t work together. They may see the other as boring, stuck up, too loud, too quiet, stubborn or a million other things.

Let me know if you want me to expand on the list.

Aw, thank you! It’s always heartening to hear that people like the titles for my books ❤

Honestly it’s often a total accident when I come up with a decent title – When Dealing With Wolves was supposed to be a placeholder but when I announced that, a whole bunch of followers came out of the woodwork to tell me how much they liked it so I was like ‘huh, guess I should keep this then’. So I can give you some tips because I’ve hoarded many over the years, but I give them to you with the full disclaimer that I’m Not Good at following these tips myself. Also, before I start I’d just like to slip in—

A BRIEF NOTE ON PICKING TITLES

Titling things is hard sometimes. You may want to change a title several times, or you might strike gold on your first try. The biggest tip I feel I can give you is: focus on telling your story first and slap a name on it afterwards. A title is usually (if not always) intrinsically linked to the story in some way, and so it stands to reason that finding a Proper Title™ for a WIP will be difficult until it’s in a more polished form. Never be afraid to use placeholders!

SOME QUICK AND NIFTY TIPS FOR TITLES

the title is a worldbuilding reference:

NOTE: this works best for / is most commonly used in titling fantasy or SciFi works, but is in no way restricted to them. “Worldbuilding” refers to any genre, since each story you create is a storyworld in itself. 

• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson → the title is the title of a book that exists within the storyworld; a book which has a profound impact on the protagonists in different ways.

• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien → Tolkien invented hobbits for this book, and Bilbo Baggins is held up an example of what hobbits should be by dint of many peoples outside of the Shire having never seen a hobbit before

• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood → the story is about the country of Gilead, which divides women into various functions and exploits them, based on biblical passages. Handmaids are used to bear children, but they’re also forbidden from writing or reading so the title is like a tongue-in-cheek nudge toward the rules of the storyworld.

the title is pretty but actually self-explanatory:

• The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton → Evelyn Hardcastle is going to be murdered; the man who has to save her is put in seven different bodies throughout the course of a time period (I think it’s a day?) and must race to solve the murder before the time-loop is reset. In essence, Evelyn is murdered seven times. (It might also be a play on The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but I’m not sure).

• The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien → the idea that a king must return to Gondor is integral to the trilogy, but it doesn’t come to a head until this last book in which we learn that a steward holds leadership of the city until a king returns – which is exactly what happens.

I'm not sure if y'all are aware of how much of an impact you're making on peoples lifes.

Personally I struggle with a lot of things that I won't specify here, but fanfic is something I can escape to, even on the worst days.

– The format of this piece in my Resources For Writing Period Pieces series is different due to it covering only a portion of a century, which has much more documentation and recorded historical details. I’ve done this in a way that covered each decade almost separately, but put all four under the umbrella of “early 20th century”. I hope this is helpful to all of you historical fiction writers out there. The other two articles covering this century will be formatted the same way. Happy researching!

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Major Events

Below are links to extensive lists of events, categorized by individual years within the indicated decade. There you will find summaries, information, and timelines that will help you with further research.

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Notable Eras of The Time Period 

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