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Featuring everything new and experienced authors need to develop creative and technical skills. Check out writing development articles, our Word of the Day, writing prompts, anthology opportunities and more!

Entries in this blog

Invoking Nostalgia

Invoking Nostalgia Our lives, more often than not, come down to our ability to connect our current selves to our previous selves from the past. Being younger, more naive, more eager and energetic...remembering the lessons that we’ve learned, and the sometimes tragic mistakes we made that we’ve learned them from. Whenever you look at a younger photograph of yourself...you have to replay a ‘story’ in your head that will somehow cause you feel as though you and that person in the photograph are

Immersion

Immersion Something that I think about, mostly for science fiction or other genres of fiction outside of my normal fanfare, is finding out how to really pull my readers into this new world that I’ve built, often from scratch, and find a way to truly keep them immersed in it from beginning to end without having it feel like some sort of ‘trick’ or an illusion. You know how you have those really weird dreams that you don’t really recognize as dreams until you wake up, and you think, “What the

Comicality

Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Time Jumps

Time Jumps I think if I had a time machine, and went back about ten to fifteen years to meet my older self, I kind of wonder whether either one of us would really recognize one another at all. It’s a weird idea, but I don’t think we would. I certainly don’t think we’d get along. LOL! That was still the undeniable ‘work in progress’ part of me, and me now? I probably wouldn’t come off as being much fun at all. That would be crazy. The thing is, I know that a LOT has happened in my life s

How To Ruin A Series

How To Ruin A Series Let’s say that you have yourself an amazing series online that you’ve been writing for an extended period of time now, and you can’t help but to have a blast working on it. You get excited sitting down at your keyboard with your juice or your coffee or your ‘miscellaneous’ cocktail of choice, and you’re ready to dive back into that world and continue the adventures of your readers’ favorite characters, ummm...’Slappy’ and ‘Hammy’! Hehehe! How can you go wrong? It’s

Period Pieces

Period Pieces I don’t think it was until I began to really play around with the many spinoffs surrounding the “Gone From Daylight” vampire mythology (https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/world/gone-from-daylight/) that I found a true love for the challenge in writing stories that don’t all take place in the current day. It’s something that I think every author should probably try, at least once or twice, just to get a feel for the skill behind it and see if they like the idea or not. Ther

Niche Writing

Niche Writing When it comes to writing and pursuing your art, day after day, night after night...I’m always stressing how important it is to be ‘comfortable’ with your particular set of skills. The more comfortable you are with your work, the more the writing itself will sort of fade into the background. Don’t worry, that’s not a bad thing. Hehehe! It just means that your natural ability will grow out of that level of comfort to the point where nothing is forced or focused on in a literary s

Story Foundations

Story Foundations The same way that you could build the tallest skyscraper in town...you can craft the most powerful story ever written in foundation...and they will both potentially come crashing down to the ground if they’ve been built on a weak foundation. Right? I mean, these aren’t a box of Legos that we’re playing with here. People with certain levels of expertise have to be called in to look at the plans, designers, engineers...without a firm foundation, you’re basically going to be s

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Flashbacks

Flashbacks Depending on where you place them and how they are used in your writing...I’ve found that adding a flashback, or even multiple flashbacks, to your fiction can be really effective when it comes to expanding upon the story beyond the story. It’s like...putting two mirrors facing each other and creating that illusion where it looks like it just reflects itself and goes on and on forever in both directions..when it really doesn’t. But it gives your story that kind of vibe when used co

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Contemporary

Contemporary Something that I’ve learned while writing stories over an extended period of time, is that times change. People change. Sometimes in drastic ways that make older versions of my original stories seem irrelevant or maybe even confusing to some of my younger readers. And it’s not really a ‘problem’ in any major way...but it’s a bit of a stumbling block that I’ve trained myself to pay attention to in my work, a try to avoid moving forward. After reading this little writing tip, hope

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Fantasy

Fantasy Alrighty then, hehehe... This is going to be another one of those articles that I need help with from the rest of you, because even though it’s been a while since I first started my very first full blown ‘fantasy’ story, I am still doing my best to wing it and figure things out. Any help or advice that you guys could give me from your own experiences would be greatly appreciated. I still feel a bit intimidated by the series, personally, but I’m trying my best to get past that.

The Naughty Audience

The Naughty Audience Hehehe, it was the loving folks here at GayAuthors that first turned me on to the term, PWP! Meaning, quite simply...’Porn Without Plot’! Now, before anybody starts blushing and feeling guilty about anything, let me just say that I actually love the occasional stroll down the old ‘quickie’ lane from time to time. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading it, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with writing it either. So relax. We’re throwing any perceived

Genre Fatigue

Genre Fatigue ::Giggles:: Really? Are people out there trying to make that a 'thing' again? It doesn't exist, you know? No, seriously...it's a business based illusion. Its not real. The idea that you cant write and release an awesome story because the 'idea' has been done to death and nobody wants to see it anymore…? Its all bullshit. Don't ever buy into that brainwashed mode of thinking about the stuff that you write. Your story is your own. Period. If there are 150 fantasy novels

Plotting

Now, I know that there are people out there who hear me talking about planning and plotting out a story, and they might gloss over it and think that this is a simple part of the process. But it isn't. In fact, it's one of the most important parts of the writing process that there is, and it's something that we all need to really concentrate and focus on before we even begin writing all of the other elements of our story. It will tell you what you're most excited about writing, how to connect one

Story Scope

It's something that I still struggle with more often than many of you may think. More times than not, I think in terms of a 'story'...and not in terms of a 'plot'. I've talked about this before in earlier articles, but just to reiterate really quick...the plot is the beginning, middle, and end of the story that you're trying to tell. The story is what exists OUTSIDE of the plot. So that could be a million stories all building up to a culmination of the story you're writing, and then reaches out

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Soundtrack

I've always been one of the biggest movie fans that you will probably ever meet in your life! Hehehe! Just let me throw that out there before I even get started! There is something about a truly engaging, cinematic, experience that makes me squeal with delight whenever I'm lucky enough to be a part of it. It's something that I really wish that I could deliver to you all with my stories as a full experience too when I'm writing. But I'm limited in that respect, unfortunately. I can't show you guy

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Salt And Pepper

Today, I'd kind of like to talk about developing three dimensional characters for your stories in a different way. And I know that may sound a bit weird, and for some...it may sound pretty easy. But it really isn't, not on either side. That's something that I've learned over time, and I'd like to share what I've discovered with all of you since I started writing online. I think that one of the biggest mistakes that a writer can make is solely creating a character with a 'purpose', as oppose

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Story Folding

There are plenty of times when I like to just throw in a few extras with my stories when I'm writing. Sometimes, it's just for a little nod and a wink to the readers and fans of the many stories that I've written over the years. And other times, I do it to poke fun at myself. Hehehe! Because I think it's important to have a sense of humor when it comes to even my best efforts to be error-free, and to giggle at my biggest mistakes and failures. Either way, it makes for a good time, you know? It's

What Are You Feeling?

There are occasions, as all writers know, when you may find yourself walking off the path of creativity and inspiration...and you're staring directly at a brick wall. It happens. Some call it writer's block, some may doubt their skills as a writer, and sometimes...you're just plain tired. There's no way around it. It can be frustrating and it can be disheartening and it can end up tossing a lot of deadlines in the trash at the last minute, because you just can't rush that which will not be rushe

Exposition, Round 2

Ok, so you all may remember an article that I did on exposition in your fiction a few months back...but I'd like to go a little bit more in depth when it comes to finding ways to create and finesse that exposition, how it works, and why it works. Basically, it's the art of writing without writing. It's the craft of being able to paint a vivid picture in the minds of your readers to deliver a message without having to write it out for them. There are certain techniques that you can use to ac

Visually Speaking

One element of storytelling that really makes a difference when writing is the ability to immerse your readers into the world that you are trying to create. Now, that pretty much goes without saying, of course...but one thing that I’ve learned over time is that this immersion works better when there’s a balance between ‘imagination’ and ‘information’. (I hope I’m saying that right. Let me explain...) As I’ve stated in previous articles on my writing process, I always think of storytelling a

Tone

It was 1997, around this time of year, when James Cameron's big blockbuster movie, 'Titanic', was bout to hit movie screens around the world. I remember it vividly! Hehehe, mostly because my best friend and I were like, "We'll put that off until later! We're not missing 'Tomorrow Never Dies'! It's James Bond, dammit!" Anyway, as they began advertising 'Titanic'...I noticed something different about the way the commercials were doing it. This was actually a sneaky little trend for a short time in

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Fleshing it Out

Anyone who has ever read any of my personal story reviews of another author's story will almost always find a common theme popping up in my critique. Whether it's said in a positive or negative way, I am constantly pushing for people to give more and more detail in their work. (As a suggestion, of course.) Not in every single scene that they write about, but in a few choice scenes that I find myself wanting to dive deeper into as a reader. Now, that's just my opinion, and writers can take it or

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Darker Themes

There are going to be times, every now and again...when the written content of your stories may take a very dark turn, or veer off into situations that are somewhat uncomfortable for other readers to absorb as readily as they do some of your 'brighter' themes. This can be an intimidating atmosphere for you to thrive in. The gritty realities and graphic nature of the story that you want to tell may be too much for some of your readers to handle or understand. But, while there is the temptation to

Exposition

Not long ago, I wrote a short article on the concept of ″Show, Don′t Tell″, and made sure to add that both sides of the equation are needed to tell a good story. When it comes to exposition, it is the skillful use of both show and tell in unison that can give your story a smooth and natural feel, while still giving the audience the tools it needs to fully understand what′s going on. Finding a way to finesse both sides takes a little practice, but once you nail it down, it will pretty much become

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Comicality in Writing Tips - Mileau

Set the Stage

Imagine if you were watching a movie or a play for the first time. You've never heard of it before, you've never seen any advertisements about it, and you don't even know what it's going to be about. Now...imagine if you could hear the dialogue and everything that's going on...but the stage or the screen is shrouded in complete darkness for the first fifteen minutes. You can't see anything at all. You just have to sort of listen to the words and use your imagination to figure out what's going on
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