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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!

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Writing Tips - Skills

Cia's Torturing Me!

Cia’s Torturing Me!   If you’re an author, I’m sure you’ve thought that at least once, right? I swear, it’s nothing personal! GA’s posting system is complicated, and there is always a learning curve for new authors to figure out the ins and outs of posting here. I'm also the primary staff member that reviews the Stories submissions, so I am not picking on any one person if you receive more than one PM; I'm simply the staff member that reviews everything in the queue unless I am away from G
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Cia in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

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 Tips - Skills

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
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Best/worst Part I - Promising Authors

Many authors have had reviews in which they're just not sure how to respond. We've had reviews that tell us how much a reader has loved our stories and how they just can't wait for the next chapter or story to come out, but there's the other side that as an author we're not always sure how to handle. The purpose of this blog is to show how some of our promoted authors have dealt with some of their worst criticisms.   There was so much interest from our Promising and Signature Authors that I ha
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Story Cost.... More Or Less

So, I was looking through some of the blog articles that I have and was trying to decide what would be a good choice for Wacky Wednesday. It was a hard choice, to be honest, but then I came across this little gem. Since I don't want to give too much away, I'll just let you see for yourself what I found... Story Cost... More or Less by Cia   Yes, we're putting a price on stories. No more free fiction.   *snickers*   Are you getting ready to flame me? Okay, okay, we're not goin
Writing Tips - Skills

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
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Flashbacks, Friend Or Foe?

As we've mentioned before, FictionStoriesOnline.com is a "sister" site of GayAuthors.org with some great writing advice and tips. With permission, here is one that ran last year, but the advice is great and we hope you enjoy it!   Flashbacks: Friends or Foe?   I had a discussion in a chat room recently over flashbacks. Specifically, how does an author relate history in a story of another character that isn't the main POV? This was especially important, as he wasn't known to the main
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Meaningless Words With A Purpose

Not everyone knows that GayAuthors.org has a number of sister websites - also operated by CDEJR Web Services Inc for various purposes. One of those sites, fictionstoriesonline.com is the source of today's blog and we thank FSO for allowing us to use it. Meaningless Words With A Purpose   What's a meaningless word? How could one have meaning? Well, I'm talking about interjections! What is an interjection really? Well, it's a word that doesn't have any part of speech but is put in a sent
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Leaving Reviews

This is a first - normally we solicit articles or pull up things from the distant past, but for this week's blog article, I was looking around last Thursday and saw a personal blog that comicfan had written. As I read it, I went "Self - this is PERFECT." So after a little cajoling and offers of first-born puppies, I was able to steal borrow his blog to share it with all of you.   I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!   Leaving Reviews by comicfan   I noticed someone had commen
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: The Writing On The Wall

Is the proof in the pudding or do the results stand for themselves? Here is our favorite writing tip guru, Libby Drew, with "The Writing on the Wall" - how using clichés can weaken your writing. Enjoy!   The Writing on the Wall   A cliché is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect to the point of being trite or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or no
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Specificity

REMINDER: Political posts/comments are not allowed in the GA Forums including status updates and chat - thanks!   So - have you started going through withdrawals from not getting a writing tip from Libby? I really enjoy the perspective she has and the experience she shares in these tips that she does for our community. Here Libby writes on "Specificity" - Enjoy!       Specificity Of course we can say “she cooked him dinner.” But why would we, when we could say “she broiled him a Del
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Editing Isn't For The Weak

Well, we started the week out by featuring Libby Drew's story and now we're featuring an article written by Libby Drew! I think it's looking a bit like a Libby Drew week! Enjoy!   Editing Isn’t For the Weak When you love the written word and hang out online in places that cater to that love, someone will most likely, at some point, ask you to edit their story. It may be a friend. It may be a writing partner. It may be your ex. Okay, it probably won’t be your ex, although that would be f
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Adverbs

So it's Wednesday again which means it's time for another Wacky Wednesday post. What should we look at today? We have a couple of different options, but I think this week we will take a look at those pesky little adverbs. That's right, adverbs! Andy021278 wrote a piece to explain adverbs in their usual role as describing words for verbs.   Enjoy, and thank you Andy for this informative article! Adverbs   An adverb is a describing word. They are the words we see scattered about storie
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
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Story Needs Direction

We have had so many wonderful contributors to the GA News Blog. One such contributor is Libby Drew who has sent us countless articles centered around ways to improve your writing. She has had a ton of very helpful tips and today is no different. Story Needs Direction   Wait a minute, lady. My story has a quest. How much more direction could I possibly have?   Direction is not always movement. Movement does not ensure direction. Direction implies there is a question that needs to be
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: The Indefinite Article

The Indefinite Article       By       andy021278       A daft question: Do I use “A” or “An”?   Well it does seem like a daft question doesn’t it, but it’s amazing how many people still struggle with this; especially when confronted by the more obscure grammatical areas such as acronyms and abbreviations?   I’ve seen wrong uses in stories posted on line, in published works in print, in newspaper articles and even in professional publications.   The bas
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Less Is More

Libby Drew has been great in providing us with content for the GA News Blog and continues to bring us some wonderful articles on the art of writing. I hope you all enjoy this lesson that she took the time to put together for us. Less is More   That thing I say all the time, how less is more? It applies to your characters too.   Less detail makes for more believable characters.   Carlton entered the room. Six feet tall, broad-shouldered, he wore a finely tailored three-piece pinstri
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Don't Leave Your Readers Deaf And Blind

I always love it when we get a feature from Libby Drew - having someone who has been there, able relate writing tips from experience, is a valuable experience. Here she talks about using the characters various senses in your writing. Enjoy!   Don’t Leave Your Readers Deaf and Blind by Libby Drew   “Stop! You’re scaring me,” Megan said   “I’m not trying to scare you,” Steve soothed. “We need to talk.”   “Don’t come any closer!” Megan cried.   “Don’t be afraid, Megan,” Stev
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

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
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

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 Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: The Infinitive - To Split Or Not To Split

Happy 12/12/12 to everyone - and to celebrate, here is a writing tip piece by Andy021278 that we hope you find useful. Enjoy!       The Infinitive: To Split or Not to Split by Andy021278   We’ve all seen it. We’ve probably all hurled expletives over it. And more than one of us has probably fretted over it at some time or another. It’s that annoying grammar check in MS Word, and other similar word processing programs, which tells you that you’ve split an infinitive. Well
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: The Writer's Yellow Brick Road

We're always grateful to our contributors, and especially to Libby Drew for this great article on traveling with Dorothy from a first to a second draft. Enjoy!       The Writer’s Yellow Brick Road: Journey from First to Second Draft by Libby Drew       First drafts are often wordy. We make them that way because at the divine moment we’re crafting a scene, adding words is the only way to get the details across. Soliloquies abound. Descriptions clutter. Characters chatt
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Participial Phrases 101

Participial Phrases 101, Or The First Thing Your Editor Is Going To Yell At You About       By       Libby Drew   That’s not true, by the way. All editors are angels.   So… a participial phrase. What is it? According to grammaruntied.com, it’s a word group consisting of a present participle (also known as an -ing form) or past participle (also known as an -en form), plus any modifiers, objects, and complements.   If you find the English class gibberish definition c
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Feedback

Here at the blog we've talked about leaving feedback for Authors. With that in mind, I asked Hosted Author: C James if he would be willing to write something up for the blog to tell everyone why he thinks feedback is important. I hope you enjoy what he had to say and keep it in mind the next time you read a story here at GA! Feedback: Why Authors Need You   Authors differ, but most need feedback. I mean ‘need’ quite literally.   It’s not an ego thing, it is a need. The reasons vary f
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Happy Nanowrimo!

It's November - so you know what that means! Yes, it's National Beard Month!   Well, ok, but it IS National Beard month too - as many of my co-workers annually remind me (I have never nor will never take that plunge but many of them do).   But it is also National Novel Writing Month, or as it is so more familiarly known, NaNoWriMo. Started just over thirteen years ago, if you've never heard about it, check out their website or the wiki page on them. - I'm still amazed at the rapid growth of
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Trebs in Writing Tips - Skills

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