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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!

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Writing Tips

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
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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
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Heartbreak

Heartbreak Let me start off by saying that I have definitely been through it more times than I can count...and it never ts any easier for me to take. In fact, if anything...it has gotten much much worse over the years, now that I’ve matured a lot more and really have a deeper meaning of what love is and what it could be if only I could get the damn thing to work. Hehehe! Sad but true. I’ve always been a romantic. I work hard to give all that I have to give, and if my partner ever decide
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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
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Spotlight

Spotlight You guys have heard me talk about ‘spotlights’ in earlier articles, and I wanted to take an opportunity to maybe go a bit more in depth with what I mean when I say that. When you’re writing a story with multiple characters, multiple themes, or multiple tones (or perhaps a combination of the three all at once), it can be really difficult to keep everything in order and running smoothly without confusing your readers about what they should be focusing on. It’s like going to an electr
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Man Vs Self

Man Vs Self As many writers already know, and I’ve mentioned it a number of times in the past myself, almost all story conflicts can be broken down into three different categories. Man versus man, man versus society, and man versus self. Each one can be very easy to decode once you’ve read enough stories of different varieties, and have taught yourself to recognize the ‘checklist’ that exists for each labeled category. Writing gay fiction, it’s very easy to approach all three. Whether it be
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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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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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Insanity

Insanity The classic saying is that insanity is the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. And yes, I’m sure that’s a part of it. But I truly believe that there’s a lot more to concept than that. And I have to admit that I really do enjoy writing insanity in many different ways for my characters because it’s so fascinating to me to explore the mindset of someone who has become completely detached from reality. Detached to the point where reality an
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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
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The Feel

The ‘Feel’ There are a number of techniques that any author can use to create a story, build it up from scratch, and gain control over how that story reads. There are ways to ‘guide’ your audience into having them read it the way that you wrote it, and that comes with a ton of practice. But the more you learn about the art of actually doing it, the more effective your stories become in terms of delivering an experience that you can be proud of, and will stick with your audience long after it
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Character Casting

Character Casting One thing that I remember most about trying my hand at the acting business was that I went into every meeting and audition thinking that I was going to nail the role. Hehehe, I was a kid, so why not? Right? I was going to go in there, whether I got the script ahead of time so I could learn my lines by heart, or if I just went in cold. How hard could it be? So I’d feel all optimistic about my chances, and I’d make sure that I was prepared to give it my absolute best sho
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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
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The Slow Burn

The Slow Burn One of the elements of a really good story that we’ve discussed before on this board had to deal with ‘pacing’. Now, while it seems like such a thing should feel natural and almost effortless to some writers...it’s actually not that way for everybody. In fact, it’s a very delicate balance that I feel should be recognized and respected when it comes to putting a story together in a way that could be considered ‘effective’ when it comes to getting your message and your emotions a
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Cheating (Part Two)

Cheating (Part Two) Welcome back everybody! ((Hugz)) As I’m writing this, I’m hoping that I didn’t offend anyone or step on any toes as far as their writing process is concerned with Part One of this article. I’m writing these back to back, and it will be a short while before you guys get to see them, so my apologies if I sounded like I was singling out any kind of writing style or anything like that. I wasn’t, promise. These articles come mostly from stuff that I’ve found in my own writing
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Cheating (Part One)

Cheating (Part One) It can be soooo tempting sometimes! Hehehe, trust me, I know. And there have been quite a few times when I’ve done it myself, and you want to know something? I go back and look at those stories sometimes, and I really regret making some of the decisions that I did to get those stories over and done with. Was I successful in that pursuit? Well, sure. I mean, it worked. But if I mentioned a bunch of those stories or their characters by name...chances are most of you wouldn’
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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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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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Character Interaction

Character Interaction Not long ago, I was talking about my love for working with ensemble casts in my stories. It’s something that I really love to engage in as a writer, and it sort of fleshes out the world that I’m working with. I mean, even if you happen to be a fan of video games, you might remember way back when it was just your character on the screen trying to complete some kind of quest or whatever, and a horde of enemies trying to stop you. But video games have evolved since then. W
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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.
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Writing Action

Writing Action Multiple meanings, when talking about ‘action’ in the world of writing of fiction. Something to get readers to lean forward in their chairs, adjust their laptop screens or get a tighter grip on their mobile device. A heightened focus on the moment at hand. And while I’ve definitely written my fair share of chases, fight scenes, and shootouts...that’s not the only kind of action that we’re going to be talking about today. Ask yourselves the question...what is ‘action’? And
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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
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Wordless

Wordless There are many times, while I sit here at this keyboard and stare blankly off into space when I’m trying to find just the right words to express the emotions that I’m feeling in my heart at that moment...the words I need to finish the next sentence or two of the story or chapter that I’m working on at that moment...and words only seem to get in the way. It can be a really aggravating head space to be in when you’re trying to get something finished. It, actually, feels a lot like wri
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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
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Author Branding

Author Branding One of the greatest parts of being a highly creative person who shares their work with others who enjoy it is this...no one can ever ever take it from you. It can’t be taught, forced, or manipulated, by anyone else. It’s hard for most people to even understand, to be honest. How can someone create something out of nothing? No order given, no guidelines, no rules or regulations, no fixed direction on what to do or where to go. I assume that most of you reading this right now
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