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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

Writing Tip: Grammar Rodeo #3

Who's ready for another Grammar Rodeo? This one focuses on Affect vs Effect and Ellipses vs Em Dashes. A thank you to Cia for taking the time to put these together. I hope you find them as informative as I do. Grammar Rodeo #3 Those Pesky Word Choices   Affect vs. Effect This is one of those small things that isn’t always picked out by a spellcheck, but knowing when to use affect vs. effect can be tricky for some people to remember. I have a simple mnemonic clue for authors when
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Grammar Rodeo #2

Who's ready for another Grammar Rodeo? A big thanks to Cia for providing these for the blog. They are a great learning tool and include some great tips and tricks to help authors remember what is best to use. Hopefully you'll find Grammar Rodeo #2 as informative as I did! Grammar Rodeo #2 Those Pesky Word Choices       Past vs. Passed   This one is complicated when you consider the many, many variations of past. Past can be used as an adjective, a noun, a preposition, a
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Constructive Criticism - Part 2

I hope everyone is having a great week so far. Last week we did a post on Constructive Criticism. I received so many great responses, I decided it was better to break it up and do two posts rather than the single one that I originally had planned. Today, we're looking at the final five author's answers to the question: What is constructive criticism? Enjoy!   So there you have it, the final five! Now, I have a question for all of you! Do you have a question you would like to put to all t
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Constructive Criticism - Part I

Many authors welcome criticism, providing it is constructive, but... What is constructive criticism? The definition can vary from person to person, so rather than just one author giving their definition, I thought it would be a good idea to get multiple perspectives. I put the question out to all authors site wide and got eleven great responses. With so many great responses, I've decided to do a part 1 and a part 2. Here's part 1, enjoy!   So there's the first 6, next week you'll get th
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Flash Fiction - Why And How?

I thought, this week, that we’d discuss something we host here on GA, and promote weekly on the blog. Flash fiction, namely in the guise of our prompts. Our anthologies are an extension of that as well. But we’ve never really talked about the art of creating these types of short stories—so today we will! I think there are two main questions most people have: What is flash fiction and why do people write it?   FLASH FICTION   Flash fiction can also run the gamut of ‘regular fiction’.
Cia

Cia in Writing Tips - Skills

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Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Copyright Infringment - Keeping It Legal

Every once in a while I like to take a look through the blog to see what has been used before that could be useful to some of the newer authors here on Gay Authors. Back in October 2012, Sara Alva (known then as KingdombytheSea) shared her experience with using song lyrics in her story Social Skills. Many authors use song lyrics in their stories without ever thinking of the repercussions that they may be facing if/when they decide to publish. I hope that Sara's experience helps some authors here
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tips: Overcoming The Obstacles

I don't think there's really too much that I can say to introduce the topic for today. There's obstacles everywhere we look and today Cia has written up an article that takes a look at some of the most common ones that plague authors. Not only does she name them, but she gives some great tips on how to overcome them. We'd also like to hear some of the obstacles you're faced with when writing and how you overcome them! Overcoming the Obstacles By Cia   Any good writer knows it does
Writing Tips - Skills

Writing Tip: Adverbs And Adjectives ~ Helping Or Hurting

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. I was looking through the possible posts that I had for today and I decided that it's been a while since we had a grammar lesson. Wouldn't you know it, I actually had one sitting around, just waiting for an opportunity to be showcased in the blog! So, without further ado, here's today's writing tip, courtesy of Cia. Enjoy! Adverbs and Adjectives ~ Helping or Hurting by Cia   Today I want to focus on wa
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
Cia

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
Trebs

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
Trebs

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
Trebs

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
Trebs

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
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