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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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New Author Advice #2

Have you thought about writing your first story, but it seems a little daunting? Don't worry, every new author has been there at one point or another. Thankfully, you're part of a great community that has plenty of authors willing to share their knowledge, and/or what they wished they'd known when they first started. If you're thinking that you've heard that before, it's because you have, but that's the best intro to this feature. Back in December we first introduced the "New Author Advice" feat

Writing Tip: Using Description

First, Happy National Coming Out Day (NCOD)! First started in 1988, with the date picked as the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington, the simple theme is to come out - to those you love, those you know, as people's opinions of LGBT persons and rights is better if they know someone who is LGBT.   Now on to our tip, generously contributed by CassieQ, on Using Descriptions in writings. Enjoy!   Using Description by CassieQ   I like to use description to help set a m

Trebs

Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Publishing, Part 1

We are very appreciative of everyone here at GayAuthors that has stepped up and offered to help in some manner. One of our volunteers, K.C., did some interviews with AnytaSunday and Nephylim recently about publishing. Here is part one of his two part contribution.   Publishing Interviews by K.C.   You said you were going to do it! You swore you were going to do!   Even a few of your friends laughed at you, but you’ve finally did it, you finished that novel that’s been spinni

Metaphor & Similie

″His eyes were as blue as a half-melted crayon, his skin as soft as wet clay...with a smile that could warm my heart like leftover meatloaf in the oven. He was so beautiful.″ Hehehe, ok, so that′s not the best collection of phrases to demonstrate the use of metaphor and simile! LOL! But I write a LOT...so I need to save my best stuff for the stories themselves. But we can start here, just so you guys can get an idea of what I′m babbling about this week. Easily put, metaphors and simil

Comicality

Comicality in Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Writing Groups - Some Pros And Cons

We wouldn't be able to produce and provide all of the wonderful content here at the GA News Blog without so many great contributors. Libby Drew gives us a great tip for authors on Writing Groups. Enjoy!       Writing Groups: Some Pros and Cons   A writing group can do wonders for our motivation and keep us accountable for our production. Members cheer us on, understand how even the smallest recognition can mean the world, and know not to say things like, “Oh, you’re a writer? Do yo

Trebs

Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Getting In The Mood - Part Deuce

So, last week we brought you one part to a tip on getting in the mood. We received so many wonderful thoughts from the authors here at GayAuthors that we just couldn't fit them all into one blog entry. With that in mine, today, we bring you "Getting in the Mood: Part Deuce". Enjoy!!!   Hosted Author: Comicality   Well, I kind of do things backwards. Meaning that I let the mood dictate what I write instead of the other way around. One of the reasons that I have so many stories going at once i

Writing Tip: Quotes From The Greats!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! If you haven't already done so, don't forget to chime in on the CSR Discussion on "Wrangler Butts" by Reddirtwriter! For today's installment of the blog, I have a list of some great quotes compiled by Cia. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did! Quotes from the Greats Compiled By Cia   Writing Quotes There is probably no hell for authors in the next world -- they suffer so much from critics and publishers in this. - C. N. Bovee

Leave Room for Readers

One thing that I have always loved about writing stories is the idea that I can finally allow my mind and my emotions to exist in a world that I, alone, can actually control! Hehehe, and that probably sounds pretty narcissistic, but it's the truth. In the worlds that I create, the shy guy can get their first kiss from the prettiest boy on the block. The lovable 'friend zone' kid can get the boy of his dreams to finally see him for the perfect mate that he is. Justice is always served where neede

Writer Burnout

This week, I'd like to talk about something that I face from time to time, and it often takes a few days for me to power through it, but it can be done with a little bit of patience to balance out the frustration of not being able to sit down and write when you really want to. I'm talking about writer burn out. Don't panic, hehehe! It's not a permanent condition. But it does happen from time to time, and it's never a good feeling. But there are ways to get those rusty wheels turning ag

Writing Tip: The Essential Writer's Reference

Today you are being brought a book selection. The Essential Writer's Reference is an outstanding resource if you can get your hands on one. They do come used, and very cheap. If you would like more books for writers, both old and new, there is a thread in the writer's corner where they can be found. The Oxford Essential Writer's Reference Berkley Press, 2005. This is an excellent writer's reference that is current and more relevant to the task of creative writing than the Little, Bro

Lugh

Lugh in Writing Tips - Skills

Grammar Rodeo #9

It's been a while since we had a Grammar Rodeo from Cia, but this month that feature has returned. Let's see what Cia has to say about.... NUMBERS!   Let’s talk numbers! 01 001 1 100 0... no that’s not what I mean. LOL One of the subtle details that refines writing is how an author addresses numbers. Let’s face it, you can’t write anything at length without running into this issue because our lives are dictated by things like time and money.   Numbers in Fiction   Numbers at the begi

Writing Tip: Getting Directions

Don't let the title fool you - this isn't about how to get from here to the store, it's how to get from plot point A to plot point B. We thank Comicfan for this look at "Getting Directions"! If you have a tip you'd like to share with the community, let me know!   Getting Directions by Comicfan69   Everyone enjoys a great story. You read along following the action, learning about the characters, seeing the problem, and finally getting to the conclusion. It all seems so smo

Writing Tip: Ingy Verbs

Ingy Verbs - Where They Don't Belong by Cia   Interesting title, no? I thought it was better than if I hit you with 'Present Participle Phrases Do Not Belong at the Beginning of a Sentence' because that's just confusing right? I mean, who remembers what those grammar rules and names were for all the little bits of a sentence? *puts hand down* Soooo not me. So, if you're like me and it has been a long time since you took grammar lessons in school, I'm going to go with laymen's terms

Grammar Rodeo #10

I hope everyone has had a great month so far. It's been a while since we had a Grammar Rodeo from Cia, but it's back! Thank you, Cia for providing us with another great writing tip!   The Structure of a Sentence   Okay, so maybe this seems intuitive. After all, we all write sentences every day, right? But sometimes the visual we’re trying to get across doesn’t work because of the way the sentence has been written. A lot of the time, this can be chalked up to dangling modifiers. What ar

Writing Tip: Conflict Is Key

Sometimes it's hard to find new content to share in the GA News Blog. Lately, I've been looking back at some of the stuff that has been shared since the Blog started up again and I realized something. We have new authors joining all the time and not everyone wants to search through the News Blog and read the tips that have been shared. With that thought in mind, I decided to look at some of the past tips and bring them back to the forefront. The first one I'm once again featuring is from Libby D

Updating Stories

Hi All! Recently, site staff has been reviewing stories on GA, and we’ve come across a few things that we need your help to fix! Missing/Incomplete Story Descriptions:  A good example of missing/incomplete story descriptions can be found in many of the earlier anthologies. Many of these stories simply have a description of “2006 Summer Anthology”. Incomplete descriptions do nothing to engage readers or entice them to read your story. When updating the story description, keep in m

Writing Tip: Best/worst Part Ii - Signature Authors

Exactly a month ago, we gave you Best/Worst Part I, which consisted of Promising Authors, though one of the authors has since been promoted to Signature. There were lots of response as everyone seemed to enjoy the post. As promised, here's Part II: Signature Authors!   I asked each author what they felt was both one of their best compliments and their worst/harshest criticism. I hope you enjoy this look into how other authors handle some of their harsher criticisms.   Signature Author: Cass

Writing Tip: "write What You Know" Doesn't Mean Show Off

For those that celebrated it, I hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday. And for those that don't celebrate it, I hope you still got a good haul.   Now on to Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, Post-Festivus winter sales, and the ever important Pre-New Year's Eve creative writing exercises ("This year, I *WILL* stop gagging everytime I see the neighbor's newborn", "This year, I promise to exercise... starting next week - or, by the end of the month... well, maybe...").   And to help you with your wri

Trebs

Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

Getting Started 2021

A big, heartfelt, hug to all of you fellow writers who tuned in today, right here, at Gay Authors! Welcome to a new brand new flurry of writing articles that I hope will be useful to all of you who are already massively talented in everything that you do, but are ambitious enough to still search for an added edge wherever you can find one! And also for those of you who are looking for that little 'push' that might get you started on your first project! Honestly, I'm no expert on any of this

Writing Tip: Tips For Writing Fantasy

I wanted to do something a little bit different for the second part of Signature Week. This month, the story picked for the Signature Background was "Into the Deep" by CassieQ. If you haven't already done so, you can download your background, with or without the calendar, here. I decided to ask Cassie if she would be willing to share her views on writing fantasy, she was more than willing to write up a little something for us. Hope you enjoy it!!   Tips for Writing Fantasy by CassieQ So

eBook Publishing

I have such fond memories of working in a big music store in the heart of downtown Chicago for a number of years. Easily, the best job that I've ever had in my life! No other job has ever been more fun, more meaningful, more beneficial to me in my growth as a person. No contest. Hehehe! Just a bunch of high school and college kids with a love and passion for music and art and film, to the point where we appreciated the 'misfit' in one another and embraced as being something to be proud of, inste

Comicality

Comicality in Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: How To Find A Beta

So, a couple of weeks ago we talked about what an author should look for in a Beta Reader. I thought that today we could maybe talk about how to FIND a Beta Reader. There are many ways to go about it, but here are just a few! You could always post in your Chapter Note or Chapter End notes that you are currently looking for a beta reader! I wouldn’t personally put everything I want from a Beta Reader in there, but you could always tell your readers that if they are interested in beta reading for

Writing Tip: No Warm-Ups Required

A big "Thank You" to Libby Drew for this weeks Wednesday blog! No Warm-ups Required: Why Opening Matters   Warming up before you exercise makes good sense. You need to increase your body temperature. Stimulate blood flow to your ligaments. Mentally prepare yourself for what’s to come. Warming up for a workout is all about starting slow and building momentum.   Fiction is not exercise. Never start a story with a warm-up.   In other words, don’t open your masterpiece with an in depth

Writing Tip: So You Wanna Be An Author

For a while in the blog, we used to do "Blast from the Past" posts. All of these posts came from the old newsletter. I was struggling to figure out what to post for today, when I thought, why not check out the earlier posts of the revived blog. In looking back, I found the perfect post, and it happens to be the first "Writing Tip" that was posted when Lugh started the blog back up. I hope you find it informative.   If you want to check out the past comments on the original post, you can go c

Writing Tip: The Mystery Story

The Mystery Story - Crafting a Tale of Suspense by Comicfan       The mystery is one of those things that just can’t be jumped into. You really need to plan out a mystery before pen hits the paper, or in most cases before fingers hit the keys. There is a lot that happens in a mystery and it is important for you follow some basic ideas before you embark on such task.   First up is the mystery itself. Did someone have something stolen? Was there a murder? Is it something tha

Trebs

Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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