Alan Langford 🇨🇦🧤🧊摏
@alan@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last week

I suspect everyone has heard "it was a dark and stormy night..." as a bad opening line for a story, but until just now I had not encountered the full sentence. Now I understand how it has earned that distinction:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

[slow clap]

#WritingCommunity
Author-ized L.J.
@ljwrites@writeout.ink  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

"There’s a strong correlation between the number of books published and author income. Authors in the highest income brackets are far more prolific, with those earning over $20,000 [per month] publishing an average of 61 books. Meanwhile, authors in the lower income brackets have typically published fewer titles, with the $100 or Less group averaging 9 titles."

- Ricci Wolman, 2024 #Indie Author Survey Results: Insights into Self #Publishing for Authors https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2024-indie-author-survey-results-insights-into-self-publishing-for-authors/ #WritingCommunity
Author-ized L.J.
@ljwrites@writeout.ink  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

"There’s a strong correlation between the number of books published and author income. Authors in the highest income brackets are far more prolific, with those earning over $20,000 [per month] publishing an average of 61 books. Meanwhile, authors in the lower income brackets have typically published fewer titles, with the $100 or Less group averaging 9 titles."

- Ricci Wolman, 2024 #Indie Author Survey Results: Insights into Self #Publishing for Authors https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2024-indie-author-survey-results-insights-into-self-publishing-for-authors/ #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

This. This right here. 💯

I had to share it with my fellow writers.

From here on my blog: https://www.tumblr.com/agoodtuckering/792232980306411520?source=share

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity#PennedPossibilities#WordWeavers

Can’t agree with the last one about showing the aftermath of a death enough. It’s about so much more than the loss of the beloved character, it’s about the *grief* of the ones who survive. If I can add a few of my own thoughts: Setting is a character, too. Maybe tears don’t fall but the sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t carry the same warmth as in days gone by. Maybe the birds’ songs are quieter, thinner through the open window. Every emotion has an equivalent opposite. The idea of loving someone so much it hurts, crying until you laugh. Play with those spillover points. Especially if you can revisit previous scene and change the context. A character being given flowers and they’ve pressed them as a keepsake is tender. Revisit them after a fight or other loss and now they’re a moment in time preserved, fragile and muted, a shadow of their former beauty. Word choice matters. There isn’t much physical difference in the sensations of tingle, prickle and skitter but the connotations are very different. No part of this advice is limited to angst. Positive feelings can be just as overwhelming.
Can’t agree with the last one about showing the aftermath of a death enough. It’s about so much more than the loss of the beloved character, it’s about the *grief* of the ones who survive. If I can add a few of my own thoughts: Setting is a character, too. Maybe tears don’t fall but the sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t carry the same warmth as in days gone by. Maybe the birds’ songs are quieter, thinner through the open window. Every emotion has an equivalent opposite. The idea of loving someone so much it hurts, crying until you laugh. Play with those spillover points. Especially if you can revisit previous scene and change the context. A character being given flowers and they’ve pressed them as a keepsake is tender. Revisit them after a fight or other loss and now they’re a moment in time preserved, fragile and muted, a shadow of their former beauty. Word choice matters. There isn’t much physical difference in the sensations of tingle, prickle and skitter but the connotations are very different. No part of this advice is limited to angst. Positive feelings can be just as overwhelming.
Can’t agree with the last one about showing the aftermath of a death enough. It’s about so much more than the loss of the beloved character, it’s about the *grief* of the ones who survive. If I can add a few of my own thoughts: Setting is a character, too. Maybe tears don’t fall but the sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t carry the same warmth as in days gone by. Maybe the birds’ songs are quieter, thinner through the open window. Every emotion has an equivalent opposite. The idea of loving someone so much it hurts, crying until you laugh. Play with those spillover points. Especially if you can revisit previous scene and change the context. A character being given flowers and they’ve pressed them as a keepsake is tender. Revisit them after a fight or other loss and now they’re a moment in time preserved, fragile and muted, a shadow of their former beauty. Word choice matters. There isn’t much physical difference in the sensations of tingle, prickle and skitter but the connotations are very different. No part of this advice is limited to angst. Positive feelings can be just as overwhelming.
How to Emotionally Destroy Readers Gut-punches are about timing. You don't say “I love you” during the sunset. You say it in the middle of a burning building or right after they stab you. A single line of dialogue like “you were supposed to come back” hits harder than an entire page of poetic mourning. Don’t just break their hearts, break their sense of identity. Make them question who they are, what they stand for, and if it was ever worth it (That’s premium pain.) Let someone be forgiven… but not trusted again. That's the kind of heartbreak that lingers like smoke. Sometimes the most devastating line is the one they don’t say. Silence is a character too. Give them a moment of joy. Right before everything falls apart. Hope makes the fall hurt more. Someone saying “I forgive you” through tears? Powerful. Someone saying “I still love you but I can’t stay”? Absolutely soul-shattering. If they die, don’t describe the death. Describe the aftermath. The coat left hanging by the door. The mug still on the table. The dog waiting.
How to Emotionally Destroy Readers Gut-punches are about timing. You don't say “I love you” during the sunset. You say it in the middle of a burning building or right after they stab you. A single line of dialogue like “you were supposed to come back” hits harder than an entire page of poetic mourning. Don’t just break their hearts, break their sense of identity. Make them question who they are, what they stand for, and if it was ever worth it (That’s premium pain.) Let someone be forgiven… but not trusted again. That's the kind of heartbreak that lingers like smoke. Sometimes the most devastating line is the one they don’t say. Silence is a character too. Give them a moment of joy. Right before everything falls apart. Hope makes the fall hurt more. Someone saying “I forgive you” through tears? Powerful. Someone saying “I still love you but I can’t stay”? Absolutely soul-shattering. If they die, don’t describe the death. Describe the aftermath. The coat left hanging by the door. The mug still on the table. The dog waiting.
How to Emotionally Destroy Readers Gut-punches are about timing. You don't say “I love you” during the sunset. You say it in the middle of a burning building or right after they stab you. A single line of dialogue like “you were supposed to come back” hits harder than an entire page of poetic mourning. Don’t just break their hearts, break their sense of identity. Make them question who they are, what they stand for, and if it was ever worth it (That’s premium pain.) Let someone be forgiven… but not trusted again. That's the kind of heartbreak that lingers like smoke. Sometimes the most devastating line is the one they don’t say. Silence is a character too. Give them a moment of joy. Right before everything falls apart. Hope makes the fall hurt more. Someone saying “I forgive you” through tears? Powerful. Someone saying “I still love you but I can’t stay”? Absolutely soul-shattering. If they die, don’t describe the death. Describe the aftermath. The coat left hanging by the door. The mug still on the table. The dog waiting.
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

This. This right here. 💯

I had to share it with my fellow writers.

From here on my blog: https://www.tumblr.com/agoodtuckering/792232980306411520?source=share

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity#PennedPossibilities#WordWeavers

Can’t agree with the last one about showing the aftermath of a death enough. It’s about so much more than the loss of the beloved character, it’s about the *grief* of the ones who survive. If I can add a few of my own thoughts: Setting is a character, too. Maybe tears don’t fall but the sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t carry the same warmth as in days gone by. Maybe the birds’ songs are quieter, thinner through the open window. Every emotion has an equivalent opposite. The idea of loving someone so much it hurts, crying until you laugh. Play with those spillover points. Especially if you can revisit previous scene and change the context. A character being given flowers and they’ve pressed them as a keepsake is tender. Revisit them after a fight or other loss and now they’re a moment in time preserved, fragile and muted, a shadow of their former beauty. Word choice matters. There isn’t much physical difference in the sensations of tingle, prickle and skitter but the connotations are very different. No part of this advice is limited to angst. Positive feelings can be just as overwhelming.
Can’t agree with the last one about showing the aftermath of a death enough. It’s about so much more than the loss of the beloved character, it’s about the *grief* of the ones who survive. If I can add a few of my own thoughts: Setting is a character, too. Maybe tears don’t fall but the sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t carry the same warmth as in days gone by. Maybe the birds’ songs are quieter, thinner through the open window. Every emotion has an equivalent opposite. The idea of loving someone so much it hurts, crying until you laugh. Play with those spillover points. Especially if you can revisit previous scene and change the context. A character being given flowers and they’ve pressed them as a keepsake is tender. Revisit them after a fight or other loss and now they’re a moment in time preserved, fragile and muted, a shadow of their former beauty. Word choice matters. There isn’t much physical difference in the sensations of tingle, prickle and skitter but the connotations are very different. No part of this advice is limited to angst. Positive feelings can be just as overwhelming.
Can’t agree with the last one about showing the aftermath of a death enough. It’s about so much more than the loss of the beloved character, it’s about the *grief* of the ones who survive. If I can add a few of my own thoughts: Setting is a character, too. Maybe tears don’t fall but the sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t carry the same warmth as in days gone by. Maybe the birds’ songs are quieter, thinner through the open window. Every emotion has an equivalent opposite. The idea of loving someone so much it hurts, crying until you laugh. Play with those spillover points. Especially if you can revisit previous scene and change the context. A character being given flowers and they’ve pressed them as a keepsake is tender. Revisit them after a fight or other loss and now they’re a moment in time preserved, fragile and muted, a shadow of their former beauty. Word choice matters. There isn’t much physical difference in the sensations of tingle, prickle and skitter but the connotations are very different. No part of this advice is limited to angst. Positive feelings can be just as overwhelming.
How to Emotionally Destroy Readers Gut-punches are about timing. You don't say “I love you” during the sunset. You say it in the middle of a burning building or right after they stab you. A single line of dialogue like “you were supposed to come back” hits harder than an entire page of poetic mourning. Don’t just break their hearts, break their sense of identity. Make them question who they are, what they stand for, and if it was ever worth it (That’s premium pain.) Let someone be forgiven… but not trusted again. That's the kind of heartbreak that lingers like smoke. Sometimes the most devastating line is the one they don’t say. Silence is a character too. Give them a moment of joy. Right before everything falls apart. Hope makes the fall hurt more. Someone saying “I forgive you” through tears? Powerful. Someone saying “I still love you but I can’t stay”? Absolutely soul-shattering. If they die, don’t describe the death. Describe the aftermath. The coat left hanging by the door. The mug still on the table. The dog waiting.
How to Emotionally Destroy Readers Gut-punches are about timing. You don't say “I love you” during the sunset. You say it in the middle of a burning building or right after they stab you. A single line of dialogue like “you were supposed to come back” hits harder than an entire page of poetic mourning. Don’t just break their hearts, break their sense of identity. Make them question who they are, what they stand for, and if it was ever worth it (That’s premium pain.) Let someone be forgiven… but not trusted again. That's the kind of heartbreak that lingers like smoke. Sometimes the most devastating line is the one they don’t say. Silence is a character too. Give them a moment of joy. Right before everything falls apart. Hope makes the fall hurt more. Someone saying “I forgive you” through tears? Powerful. Someone saying “I still love you but I can’t stay”? Absolutely soul-shattering. If they die, don’t describe the death. Describe the aftermath. The coat left hanging by the door. The mug still on the table. The dog waiting.
How to Emotionally Destroy Readers Gut-punches are about timing. You don't say “I love you” during the sunset. You say it in the middle of a burning building or right after they stab you. A single line of dialogue like “you were supposed to come back” hits harder than an entire page of poetic mourning. Don’t just break their hearts, break their sense of identity. Make them question who they are, what they stand for, and if it was ever worth it (That’s premium pain.) Let someone be forgiven… but not trusted again. That's the kind of heartbreak that lingers like smoke. Sometimes the most devastating line is the one they don’t say. Silence is a character too. Give them a moment of joy. Right before everything falls apart. Hope makes the fall hurt more. Someone saying “I forgive you” through tears? Powerful. Someone saying “I still love you but I can’t stay”? Absolutely soul-shattering. If they die, don’t describe the death. Describe the aftermath. The coat left hanging by the door. The mug still on the table. The dog waiting.
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

It's finally done! I'm feeling proud. 🩶

Let's go back a bit. This was an idea that hit me one evening and it just needed to be written. It would have been far too long to post as a standalone, so I decided to break it up into chapters, as you guys know. My girlfriend, @aperfectsong, helped me with the rest. You can all thank her for a few of the plot ideas in the very beginning. Somehow, 18 chapters happened, and I love the way it came out.

Anyway, this story is finished now! Enjoy your reading.

⸻

Who else would come to Lix's aid but Randall and Bel? It's just the way things are.

(Expect deep dives into how the BBC and television news programs ran during the late 1950s, period-typical bigotry and sexism, and a good helping of emotional angst. Slow romance is the best kind.)

You can read "The Razor and the Balm" here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53738239/chapters/136035166

@youseeatortoise @strangeseawolf @DoctorMonkey2 @doctorwanderer @QuokkaMocha @Luna_Catriona @EvelynCold @NeanderthalPride @aslgms@paul @Firlefanz @therivercrow

#WritingCommunity#Writer#Author#ArchiveOfOurOwn#AO3 #TheHour
Alan Langford 🇨🇦🧤🧊摏
@alan@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 weeks ago

I was reading some author marketing advice and one suggestion was that I check out other authors in the same genre to see what they’re doing.

What I’ve learned is that author blogs in SF generally suck, if they exist at all. I don’t know if I should feel better about that — or worse.

The best one I found was a combination of reviews of other SF books and documentation of just how much being a relatively popular, self-published, award-winning author [a legitimate award, not one of the many ripoffs out there] had cost them. That’s right, cost. The P&L over several years was negative. Not one single year of profit.

I already knew this pursuit has to be a labour of love, but it’s hard to see someone who writes well and is not frivolous with their spending come out underwater by a few grand a year.

#WritingCommunity #writing
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#WordWeavers 7.26 — Do you have any fight scenes in your work? What are they like?

In a genre like cyberpunk, they're inevitable.

There are so many things to choose from. Here's one example, though, if you're curious.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#WordWeavers 7.25 — Who’s the hardest character you’ve ever written and why?

This is a /really/ good question.

My most difficult character at the moment, by far, is Noona from the series. I can't quite see her in my mind, you know? The face hasn't come to me yet. I'm trying to get a handle on her, only because she was never fleshed out (only the personality and backstory in my mind), and it's giving me some trouble. It'll come to me, though. These things just take time.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#WordWeavers 7.24 — Who’s smarter, your MC or your antagonist?

They're complete opposites. I can't compare them. They're both brilliant but in vastly different ways. Dr. Death is a scientist, a doctor, and a manipulative bastard. Alexios is the leader of a gang, is rather good at keeping the peace between said gangs, is well-trained in combat, was once a nomad on his own, and fled Dr. Death's ship centuries ago (while the rest of his people died in that man's clutches). They're so, so different, but incredibly good at what they do.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#WordWeavers 7.23 — Your MC is lost in a busy city, and GPS isn’t an option. How do they handle the situation?

In a busy city, much like where he currently lives, Alexios would start by questioning people he finds along the way. He would ask for directions, ask for any information he could use, and then eventually find his way. But here's the thing, Alexios has never been bothered by things like this. With everywhere he's lived, it's been this way. He was once lost in every city, on every continent, on every planet.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#WordWeavers 7.22 — As a writer, do you use the same level of description you prefer to read?

I read many things. I'll read stories of any kind, with any level of description. The more you read, the more you grow. For me, though, it depends on the story I'm working on. Some have a lot of description, some don't. But yes, for the most part I do offer as much description as I can in most things. There are always exceptions, but that's my usual style. I'm a rather descriptive writer, but not overly so.

#WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#PennedPossibilities 732 — Is your WIP a singular novel, a series of books, serial fiction, comics, or fanfiction? (Or something else entirely? Explain.)

Although I write a little bit of everything, The City of Opulence is the first novel in the Digital Dystopia series. It's a dark romance series set in a science fiction fantasy (and cyberpunk-inspired) universe.

I'll leave everyone with a quote that sums up this series quite well. It was said by Dr. Arcturius "Dante" Cason in the first novel.

"A better future will come. We need only work for it."

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#PennedPossibilities 732 — Is your WIP a singular novel, a series of books, serial fiction, comics, or fanfiction? (Or something else entirely? Explain.)

Although I write a little bit of everything, The City of Opulence is the first novel in the Digital Dystopia series. It's a dark romance series set in a science fiction fantasy (and cyberpunk-inspired) universe.

I'll leave everyone with a quote that sums up this series quite well. It was said by Dr. Arcturius "Dante" Cason in the first novel.

"A better future will come. We need only work for it."

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#PennedPossibilities 730 — 2nd Anniversary Edition: Share a blurb, summary, or tiny snippet explaining your WIP to everyone in the hashtag.

Happy two years, everyone! We made it! 🤍

This is actually my summary:

This is the story of one man, more machine than human, and how he survived the centuries. Something is coming, someone from his past, and it's time to prepare.

Citune is a cyberpunk-inspired world. Alexios is the leader of Destiny's Maelström, a rebel gang and crime circuit. They own various warehouses and other businesses in the city of Ethera. Before forming his gang, centuries prior, he had been a nomad on his own with nothing more than a motorbike, his belongings, and a dark past. Now his gang operates on the black market selling various antiquities, oddities, weaponry, and medical equipment for docs, all while raking in more money than any other gang involved in underground sales.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social replied  ·  activity timestamp last month
#PennedPossibilities 731 — MC POV: Tell us about the last time you felt guilty.

Alexios: Time for some honesty... I told someone that there was nothing between us. (Not naming names, but it might've been Trick.) The night before, we had sex. For context, he has a brain chip from his days as a prozzie (prostitute), and it alters the brain chemistry of possible clients, making them think and feel like they want to say yes, if you catch my drift. Said chip, which he hadn't yet removed, went haywire and randomly turned on. I was already under the influence, having been drinking. We both were. That bloody chip only worsened things. A day later, I told him it meant nothing, that it was all down to the chip. I told him it couldn't happen again. I lied. It wasn't just the chip. I suppose the inhibitions were gone, that's all. Instead, I should've just told him that I love him. Guilt doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#PennedPossibilities 730 — 2nd Anniversary Edition: Share a blurb, summary, or tiny snippet explaining your WIP to everyone in the hashtag.

Happy two years, everyone! We made it! 🤍

This is actually my summary:

This is the story of one man, more machine than human, and how he survived the centuries. Something is coming, someone from his past, and it's time to prepare.

Citune is a cyberpunk-inspired world. Alexios is the leader of Destiny's Maelström, a rebel gang and crime circuit. They own various warehouses and other businesses in the city of Ethera. Before forming his gang, centuries prior, he had been a nomad on his own with nothing more than a motorbike, his belongings, and a dark past. Now his gang operates on the black market selling various antiquities, oddities, weaponry, and medical equipment for docs, all while raking in more money than any other gang involved in underground sales.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Spooky Panda 🇺🇦
@floofpaldi@mindly.social  ·  activity timestamp last month
#PennedPossibilities 730 — 2nd Anniversary Edition: Share a blurb, summary, or tiny snippet explaining your WIP to everyone in the hashtag.

Happy two years, everyone! We made it! 🤍

This is actually my summary:

This is the story of one man, more machine than human, and how he survived the centuries. Something is coming, someone from his past, and it's time to prepare.

Citune is a cyberpunk-inspired world. Alexios is the leader of Destiny's Maelström, a rebel gang and crime circuit. They own various warehouses and other businesses in the city of Ethera. Before forming his gang, centuries prior, he had been a nomad on his own with nothing more than a motorbike, his belongings, and a dark past. Now his gang operates on the black market selling various antiquities, oddities, weaponry, and medical equipment for docs, all while raking in more money than any other gang involved in underground sales.

#LGBT#LGBTQIA#TheCityOfOpulence#DigitalDystopiaSeries#Cyberpunk#SFF#ScienceFiction#Romance#Worldbuilding#AmWriting #WritingCommunity