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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

The Next Project

I am sure that there are a lot of people out there who will be quick to tell you that writing your first story is the hardest part of becoming an author. There is so much that is unknown, unpracticed, and an anxiety that builds up before you even get started, not to mention the horror involved with actually getting to the middle or the third act of a story that you've already put some much time and effort into already...only to wonder whether or not you're doing any of this right. It can be sooo
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Writing Tips

Write What You Know

I know you guys have heard it before. It's been said time and time again to every writer who's ever taken a class, read a book, or watched a video, on writing before. They all say, 'write what you know', and it is assumed that you can't go wrong as long as you stay in that comfortable little pocket and don't stray too far away from it. It sounds like it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? At the most...you'll have to do a little research on your own to get the terminology, the facts, and the detail
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Writing Tips

Word Connotations

One of the things that I regret from years ago was my complete inability to understand the language barrier or even the casual slang that people used in their emails or comments when giving me feedback to the newest chapters of stories that I put online. Hehehe, so my apologies if I misunderstood certain phrases or expressions of personal wit and took it as an insult or a criticism. Trust me, I don't do that anymore. Weird, right??? Comsie matured? Say it ain't so, Joe! LOL! Well...not
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Writing Tips

Sexual Pacing

Oh yeah, I'm bringing out the dreaded 'S' word for this one! Hehehe, calm down...take a few breaths...and smile for me, k? I won't make it too painful for you to read. Promise. Loosen up a little bit, geez. Now...I've been writing for over 20 years in the gay erotica genre. And thanks to Myr and the folks at GayAuthors, I KNOW that a vast majority of you guys read the sexy stuff on this site! Polls don't lie! LOL! It was something that I was actually kind of curious about, as trends change
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Writing Tips

Non-Villainous Villains

There is a light that I truly believe shines within each and every single one of us as human beings. Whether we believe in it or share it with others...it's there. We know it. We feel it. However...the brightest of lights can cast the darkest of shadows, and sliding from one side of the spectrum to the other can be a very short trip, depending on the current circumstances. And when it comes to creating villains in your writing, being able to blur the line between 'good' and 'evil' can truly crea
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Writing Tips

Morally Questionable Heroes

What is a hero? I mean, when you think about it, it doesn't have to mean a streak of red and blue racing overhead as Superman gets to his next big disaster in the world. Sure, that's a part of all that, but a hero can a police officer, or a particularly smart detective...or it can just be a loving parent. Perhaps just a good friend. The hero is the one who's willing to make sacrifices for someone else in their time of need. A hero might be someone who breaks up a fight, or a preacher that gives
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Writing Tips

Work Environment

For this article, I'm probably one of the LAST people that should ever claim to be an expert on this sort of thing! LOL! My room is a hot mess! And probably always will be! But I've got a few goodies to pass along your way, if any of you are interested! Hopefully, I can drop a few gems in your lap, and it'll help in the long run! So let's travel back down the rabbit hole, shall we? The thing is, most (if not all) think of writing as merely being a cerebral experience. And in a lot of
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Writing Tips

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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Writing Tips

Writing Teen Characters

Considering the fact that almost all of my stories involve teenage characters, a great deal of my readers (perhaps more than half) are teenagers themselves. So...if any of you guys are reading this right now...hehehe, don't take any offense over anything that I say here in this article! It's not like it's anything that I wouldn't have said to you in an email or the chatroom at this point anyway. I'm just placing it here as a disclaimer so you don't get all pouty on me. Besides, I've got yo
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Writing Tips

What's With the Theatrics?

As many of you guys already know (Those who have been around for a number of years, or possibly from the very beginning) I was both an actor and a boy model back when I was in my tweens and teens. It was what I wanted to do. I had a passion for it. But the fantasy of it and the business side of that whole industry are two completely different things! So buyer, beware! if that's what you want to get into, I wish you the best...but it's not what many of you might think it is. So you really have to
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Gay Authors Reading Report for Jan 2021 to Sep 2021

This week's writing article is going to be a little different than usual.  Instead of giving you tips or insights into different aspects of writing, I'm going to give you some insights into what people are actually reading here at Gay Authors. As an engineer, I'm what is called 'data driven'.  Whenever possible, I try to use actual data and good reasoning to predict project expectations of how things are going to go.  Obviously, the best we can do is identify past trends and make reasonable
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Writing Tips

Creating Dread

Now, when I talk about creating a sense of 'dread' in your writing, whether it be drama, thriller, horror, sci-fi, or romance...I'm not always talking about something life threatening or earth shattering every single time. It's not about action. It's not about gore, or heartbreak, or terror. The concept of dread, in my opinion, is much more evident in its subtlety than in its delivery of some major occurrence or surprise twist. The most effective way to use 'dread' in your stories is as a build
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Writing Tips

That First Paragraph

"I hadn't even realized how much trouble I had gotten myself into...until I felt that first punch land directly on the side of my left cheek...sending me reeling back against the high school lockers. I really should learn to keep my mouth shut." Now, I'm going to assume what the heck is going on with those past few sentences. Hehehe! Rightfully so. What is going on? Who just got punched in the face? Who hit him? And WHY? Well, as I've said in earlier articles, the answer from me as a writer
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Writing Tips

Plot Armor

::Old Timey Radio Voice:: "Lois is trapped underground and tied up next to the bomb! Jimmy Olsen is being held captive by the gangsters from the underground syndicate! And Clark Kent can't leave the Daily Bugle in time to rescue them without giving away his secret identity!!! Can Superman possibly HOPE to save the day??? Hehehe...umm, of course he can! He's freakin' Superman! Duh! I remember being in the college dorms with my roommates and some of our friends, discussing which ch
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Writing Tips

GA Survey Results and Writing Where The Audience Is

I want to start this article by addressing the elephant in the room first.  There are a number of authors who want to write what they want to write and simply do not care whether people want to read it or not.  I'm not here to change your mind.  If that's how you approach writing, that's fine.  You do you.  The purpose of this article is give people who are interested more insight as to the audience they are posting their stories in front of. A lot of factors play out in how much a story gets re
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Who's In Charge

When trying to put the idea together of this particular article in my head, I had to be careful to steer clear of the whole idea and philosophy of 'determinism' and 'free will', hehehe...which is an entire novel's worth of intellectual discussion that would probably ehaust all of us before I even BEGIN to scratch the surface of the point that I want to make here in terms of our skills as writers, and crafting a story of our very own. Simultaneously using one side of the argument while giving the
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Writing Tips

Suspension of Disbelief

It's a part of every story that you've read. A part of every movie you've ever seen. Hell...it might even be a part of the people that you come into contact with each and every single day when you go to school or to work. There's no way around it...at least to some degree. Hehehe, can you imagine what ind of existential crisis you'd be throwing yourself into if you couldn't get yourself to believe that any of this is real? How would you function in any effective way at all? This is all
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Writing Tips

Lost in the Middle

It can be a virtual No Man's Land sometimes when you're writing. A place where you may not be sure or feel quite confident about where your next 'peak' or your next 'valley' may come in terms of telling the story that you wanted to tell. And I feel like it's times like this when you really have your skills and instincts tested in a major way...all for the sake of keeping things moving smoothly. And more importantly...moving forward. For this article, I'd like to bring up the subject of gett
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Plot Twists

I believe that one of the best ways to spice up a certain type of story, depending on what you happen to be writing at the moment...is to grab your audience and turn them upside down with an effective plot twist. As many of you have heard me say in past articles...the readers that you are doing your very best to entertain are much more savvy and experienced when it comes to reading fiction these days. This is the information age, and things keep speeding up. You're not speaking to folks with a l
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Writing Tips

Unloveable

I truly think that Mark Twain said it best... "A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory." If that's the case...I wish my memory was a lot worse than it is now, because 'a clear conscience', I'll never have. And yet, I don't see that as a bad thing. Never have, never will. The truth is...I had to grow up at some point. And, yes...I made PLENTY of mistakes! I have plenty of regrets. Lost friends, created enemies, and made a lot of bad choices for selfish reason. But...you know
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Writer Evolution

There's an old proverb out there that basically says, "Instead of waiting on your greatness...understand that it is your greatness that is waiting on you." What does that mean, exactly? Well, I've always thought of it as a way to say that you always have a much higher goal to reach for, and you simply can't get there by being 'comfortable' with whatever it is that you're doing right now. Does that mean that there's anything wrong with what you're doing right now? Of course not. Take your ti
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Writing for Audience Vs Building an Audience for Our Stories

As we work through the logistics of keeping the article pipeline fed, and it's a hungry beast, I thought I'd open a dialog about choosing what we write. For example, when I started writing for the public, I went to the root of writing FanFiction. Those who immediately scoff, remember that some really prolific authors started out that way, including Mercedes Lackey and Stephanie Meyers. In fact, Mercedes Lackey publishes a yearly anthology. For at least 10 years now, she has short stories wr
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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
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Feedback

There's an old proverb out there, and I'll have to paraphrase as I don't remember it word for word...but it says 'the Sun doesn't enjoy its own brightness. The river doesn't drink its own water. The tree doesn't eat its own fruit. And living without giving...isn't really living.' As a writer, I really do believe in that. Being able to create something out of nothing and then share it with people who really enjoy and relate to it brings me a lot of joy. That's my way of giving to my readers. And
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Writing Tips

Context

And then the pig drop kicked the goat into a meat grinder, and finally...he could rest easy, knowing that justice was served! Hahaha, WHAT??? Does that make much sense? Does it have any impact at all? I'm willing to bet that you guys are quite confused. Hehehe! As you should be. (Unless you're not...in which case, you should seek psychiatric help immediately...) Who? What? When? Where? Why? These are all questions that every writer should be prepared to answer in their projec
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