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Writing World

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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

Writing Tips - Skills

Callbacks

Callbacks As I might have mentioned in previous writing articles...I really am a fan of having my stories come full circle at some point in time. Usually, this takes place in the beginning of the story, and then at the very end. But not always. Sometimes you can create an entirely different flavor for some of your previous scenes and interactions, and even redefine the meaning that other characters and hardships that you focused somewhere (anywhere, really) within your fiction. And an effect
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Comedy

Writing Comedy You know...if you were to ask most actors what’s really the most difficult emotions to pull off on screen, you might think that it would be intense anger, or being able to cry on screen during a sad or dramatic moment...but actually, it’s laughing. All blooper reels aside and how fun it looks behind the scenes, finding a way to convincingly laugh in front of the cameras...especially while adhering to a script that you’ve read and memorized a million times, is a true skill amon
Writing Tips - Skills

Burger, No Burger

Burger, No Burger When I was in college, I got myself a job right there on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where I packaged up stuff and got it ready to be mailed out to that company’s customers as quickly as possible. It’s not like it was Amazon or anything, but they prided themselves on being rather swift with their deliveries. And I was getting paid, so I had food and groceries and stuff that I needed to survive...and it worked out. However, let me tell you younger guys out there, you don’t k
Writing Tips - Skills

Lagging

Lagging Have you ever been writing a new story, or perhaps just a new chapter...and you really want to enrich the characters, or pour some more emotion into the scene, or you feel like you could pack some more detail and dialogue and world building into what you’re doing...but you begin to wonder if maybe you’re doing too much of it? It’s something that I sort of struggle with from time to time, and my decisions on the matter sort of flip and flop back and forth depending on how I plan
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Writing Tips - Skills

A Writer’s Fuel

A Writer’s Fuel I think that many of us would probably be absolutely terrified to realize how much of our lives are constantly operating on autopilot on a daily basis. Honestly. Have you ever really thought about it? Some of these automatic actions are pretty harmless. You lock your car doors when you get out to run into the store. You hold the door open for someone with their hands full of groceries. You feel the urge to say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes, even if they’re a total stranger
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Writing Tips - Skills

The Secret To Writing Horror

The Secret To Writing Horror Something that I always found funny whenever I see people online or even my own friends and family when watching horror movies...is what it brings out of them. Hehehe! Like, be honest...how many times have you seen someone get a lucky shot in on one of the killers or slashers or monsters...and they scream, “YES!!! Now do it again! Stab them! Stab them! Stab them! Beat them! Rip their guts out! Yes!!!!” Which seems like a ‘normal’ reaction to most people in these
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Writing Tips - Skills

Vocabulary

Vocabulary I think that a truly important part of being a good and effective writer comes from having a decent and flowing vocabulary at your disposal for all occasions. Now, I have mentioned this briefly before in other articles before, but I never really went into depth about what this means and how to develop and expand it in ways that will be useful to you in some way. You see, what you want is to allow your word usage to grow and change and evolve over time...all while still sounding na
Writing Tips - Skills

The Pick Up Game

The Pick Up Game Soooo...I have to admit to being truly intimidated by a project that I’ve been working on for almost two years now...but if I don’t just dive in head first and friggin’ DO it...then I’ll never get it done. I’m well aware of the fact that I have been, and always will be, my own worst critic. There’s no side stepping that. it’s just a part of who I am. And while it can scare me out of posting and letting people see what I’ve written on most occasions...it can also be cons
Writing Tips - Skills

Art Official

Art Official There has been a great deal of talk about the idea of artificial intelligence becoming so much more advance these days, that it may be able to create and weave stories all on its own without really having any real need for authors or artists or models or photographers, etc, at all. And I will admit, I’ve seen some passages ‘written’ by computers that have been fed enough information and influences that it can look pretty convincing to anyone who isn’t experienced with reading in
Writing Tips - Skills

Author Experience

Author Experience There are many different talents and unique gifts that go into being a really great writer, and you have to eventually learn how to master them all over time. That pretty much goes without saying. You have to be able to create compelling characters, write engaging dialogue, have an understanding of plot points and strategy, add details, pay attention to themes and tone, build reader empathy so you can get your audience to invest the time and energy that it takes to make you
Writing Tips - Skills

Against The Grain

Against The Grain You know...as you get a bit older...you begin to see a bunch of ‘re-runs’ in the world. Or, at least in the world that the mysterious ‘they’ want to present to you. Hehehe, I’ve never understood the fascination, to be honest...trying to control public perception when reality is just….ummm...reality. It just seems so utterly exhausting to me. It’s like going through all of the trouble of kidnapping somebody, chaining them up in a basement with no windows, and soundproofing t
Writing Tips - Skills

Sexual Intimidation

Sexual Intimidation I do realize that there are those of you who simply love to write great stories, and whether they be with gay characters or not, they may not be overly erotic in nature. Even if it’s a romance. And that’s awesome! Keep going, and build your story up to be whatever you want it to be. I admire that and definitely enjoy a good romance myself from time to time without a bunch of naughty bits thrown in when they’re clearly not necessary for the story to work. I grew up on swee
Writing Tips - Skills

Rough Drafts

Rough Draft When I first began writing stories for Nifty, my very first gay themed stories ever, everything that you see in the Nifty Archive are all first drafts. For the first two or three years, in fact. I didn’t have a whole lot of space, didn’t have a lot of privacy, and I didn’t have a lot of time. Plus, I was working out how to write and format using HTML code for the very first time, and even though I had a pretty good idea how to structure and put a story together...to say that I ha
Writing Tips - Skills

Wordy

Wordy Whooo….now here’s a challenge that I can wrap my head around. How to write an article about being ‘too wordy’...without, in fact, being ‘too wordy’. Hehehe, wish me luck with this one, people! ::Fingers Crossed:: One repeated bit of constructive criticism that I often get when it comes to my writing has been pretty consistent. And that is...I am too wordy in all of my stories. And it’s the truth. I definitely have to concede defeat when it comes to trying to defend that despe
Writing Tips - Skills

Exposition Part III

Exposition Round III - Are we back for one more round, hehehe! Yes, folks! I believe that we are! When it comes to exposition, that is an entire book in itself. Learning what it is, how to use it, when to use it...when it’s too little, when it’s too much...it would be an absolutely exhausting effort to try to fill you guys in on all of it at the same time. And that’s just with the limited amount of experience that I have had with it, personally, over the years...most of it being stuff
Writing Tips - Skills

Read The Room

Read The Room When it comes to a writer having their own voice in their fiction, it sort of becomes a signature for fans of their work. It’s easily recognized, not just by the words being used or the particular flow of their storytelling ability...but sometimes it can be through the content alone. Writer’s bring a deeper part of themselves to the table. Their memories, their sense of humor, their feel for drama...both their attributes and their occasional flaws. It can be as easy to pick out
Writing Tips - Skills

Simplicity

Simplicity You know...as much as I really love to be challenged by the stories that I read or the movies that I watch...sometimes I can ‘feel’ the extra effort put in to make a story more than what it needed to be. And I realize that sounds a bit weird coming from me, when I’m constantly trying to inspire writers to dig deeper and fully flesh out their characters with more details that can truly captivate an audience with depth and layers...so I’m well aware of the pseudo hypocrisy of switch
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Writing Tips - Skills

Reader Rejection

Reader Rejection It will happen. Don’t try to run or hide from it, as it is as inevitable as the story itself. Hehehe! But it’s ok. Prepare for it, embrace it, and never ever let it get you down. As writers...we write. It’s what we do. It comes from the heart and it forces us, in many cases, to expose the most vulnerable parts of ourselves to any random stranger that comes along wanting a peek at who we really are on a very deep level. I wish that I could find a way to show readers how taxin
Writing Tips - Skills

Off the Rails

Off The Rails Alright...this is for our authors out there who have a whole lot of talent...talent for DAYS...but, as we all know...life sometimes gets in the way. Trust me, I know. Sometimes we get busy. Sometimes we get sick. Sometimes...every day is not a happy, happy, day and we need time to heal, grieve, or recharge. It happens. Hell, sometimes we just catch a hint of the 24 hour ‘slacker flu’ and want to play couch potato every now and then. Hehehe, I’ve definitely done it myself o
Writing Tips - Skills

Building a Team

Building A Team For this particular article, I will need some ideas and some feedback from the rest of you guys. Because I definitely know HOW to do this...but it’s not really a practice that I’ve really used myself since I’ve been writing stories online. I guess a part of me was simply too intimidated to really dive in, head first...and another part of me is just too selfish, hehehe...but I DO see the value in making this a part of the writing process and it might be helpful to all of us at
Writing Tips - Skills

Formatting

Formatting Now...this article may come off as being a bit weird to many of you, but it’s a big part of me doing what I do with my own stories, and how I do everything that I can to create an immersive experience with everything that I write. I wanted to include it in my collection of writing tips, because as long as I’m giving my secrets away, I might as well give you everything, right? Hehehe! See...to me, formatting isn’t just a matter of putting the paragraph breaks in the right plac
Writing Tips - Skills

Catering

Catering Ok...let me start this entire article off with three simple words when it comes to catering to your audience. K? DON’T...DO...IT!!! Please don’t. The temptation is going to be there, and you may even get a lot of praise and admiration for trying it out...but at the end of the day, the ONE thing that is going to separate you from a billion other writers online is going to be your personal voice. Your thoughts, your feelings, you sense of humor, your drama...you have a chanc
Writing Tips - Skills

Venting Machine

Venting Machine It'll happen at some point. Don't try to dodge it, duck it, or outrun it. You can be the nicest, most docile, most hard-working person on planet Earth...you can back out of conflicts, you can work yourself to the point of utter exhaustion trying to avoid an argument or attempt to keep the peace...but that sinister beast is going to creep up, raise its head, and find you every single time. It happens. It's never a matter of 'if'...but 'when'. And all you can do is try to find
Writing Tips - Skills

Plagiarism

Plagiarism It was a very very long time ago but I can remember the whole issue vividly, because when I really sat down and gave it some deep thought...I was kind of conflicted about the idea. And maybe I still I am to a degree where it's still pretty hard to decide whether or not I'd be willing to say 'never say never'. And that had to do with a few Diet Coke commercials on TV and a rapidly growing technology that was suddenly brought to a screeching stop just as it was becoming something un
Writing Tips - Skills

Not So Hot Potato

Hehehe, now, it's no secret that I am constantly typing my fingers to the bone on many different stories at once. And that means that I might finish a brand new chapter of one story, but it might take some time for me to cycle through a bunch of the others before I pick that story back up again. It's something that I've been really working on fixing for a long time now, and I hope that I'm getting better at it. However, I'm sure that there are some of you dedicated authors out there who hav
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