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Prompts Writing Prompts #136 & #137

Friday! Time to jump in and try a new prompt, with our most sincere thanks to ComicFan! Prompt 136 – Challenge Cue – The Family Caretaker You almost laugh as you read the century old book. Who knew that someone would write stories about tattoos coming to life or electric grandmothers who never die? Little did that author know how close he would come to the truth that you live with every day. You shiver as you turn to face the family caretaker, who might live forever but isn’t the sweet kindl

Trebs in Prompts

May 11, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: What To Look For... In A Beta Reader

So, you’ve written your story, and you’ve even found an editor to help point out all those pesky missed commas and misspelled words. That’s it, right? I mean, what else could you possibly need? How about, a Beta reader! A good beta/author relationship is worth its weight in gold. If you do decide to find a beta reader, be forewarned that it might take you a couple tries before you find one that you really mesh with. I personally have had countless beta readers before finding my current team

Renee Stevens in Writing Tips

May 10, 2012

Story Review Author Showcase

Two great stories - first a review of our Promising Author AFriendlyFace's Buy Me A Drink followed by a review of Author Frostina's Prison of Hope. I hope you enjoy these reviews and check out the stories - and if you are interested in a reviewing a story, let Renee Stevens or myself know! Buy Me A Drink by AFriendlyFace Reviewer: Trebs Status: Complete Word Count: 30,401 Aaron starts off as just a clinical sociology student who hangs out at the local gay bar with his roomm

Trebs in Reviews

May 9, 2012

Story Review Featured Story: Home

Home by Nephylim Reviewer: LouisHarris Status: Complete Word Count: 20,328 Nephylim has a way with real life dramas and Home strikes at the very life blood of the reason we are human. We are gifted with the emotion which becomes a setting in the work. Heartfelt and poignant, Home is a fascinating portrait of gay love and a moving exploration of the bond of love, friendship and the heart’s most complex choices. It is a richly layered drama and she never loses its grip.

Trebs in Featured Stories

May 7, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Update Weekly Wrap Up!

A week of holidays - from Beltane to Star Wars Day to the Battle of Puebla - and now, it's over. I hope yours was good. We started our GA week looking at Hosted Author Bill W's story Butterflies Fly Free, thanks to a great review by K.C.. I hadn't been aware of the story, but thanks to KC's review, I'm very intrigued. Our tips this week were a good mix with a writing oriented one about Pleonasms, learning what they are to better avoid them; and a site oriented one on the community that i

Trebs in Weekly Wrap Up

May 6, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: Editing - Getting Started

So it's time to look at something that a lot of us probably never saw! Today we're bringing you a little gem that was published in one of GA's old newsletters. Have you offered to edit for someone and receive the first chapter only to realize that you have no clue where to start? If so, this editing tip could be very beneficial to you! Even if you don't currently edit, it's still a helpful tidbit full of good advice! Editing Tips...Getting Started Volume 2: Edition 1 October 2006

Renee Stevens in Writing Tips

May 5, 2012

Prompts Writing Prompts #134 & #135

FRIDAY!!! Not only the end of the work week for many, it's also the day that we get to see new prompts that might stretch our creative muscles. As always, we thank ComicFan for these two new prompts: Prompt 134 – Creative Cue – Word list Use the following words in a story: Gravesite, balloons, pregnant woman, cold cereal, and an old book. Prompt 135 – Creative Cue – The Legacy There is a child in every generation chosen to inherit the family legacy. It is no easy task and while the rewar

Renee Stevens in Prompts

May 4, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: Life In The Fishbowl

We asked for tips - and you responded! Here is K.C.'s tip on Life in the Fishbowl! Do you have one that we can feature? If so, let Renee Stevens or myself know. Life in the Fishbowl by K.C. As I swim around Gay Authors, I see a wide range of different users here. Those who write put a great deal of time, effort and themselves into bringing amazing and entertaining stories to the GA community. Those who read have the opportunity to talk to the writers, to comment on th

May 3, 2012

Story Review Author Showcase

Looking for something new to read but not sure what to try? These reviews may be just what you're looking for. We have a review of our Promising Author Jack Frost's The Comfort of a Blanket. The Comfort of a Blanket by Jack Frost Reviewer: Cia Status: Complete Word Count: 7,217 What can I say about Jack’s writing? A fake Canadian, lol, Jack has immersed himself many times over in the culture he adopted. That holds especially true in his anthology story, The Comfort of

Trebs in Reviews

May 2, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: Pleonasm

For Tip Tuesday we are bringing you another interesting little tid bit that is brought to you by Cia. Enjoy and we'd love to hear your thoughts. Pleonasm More weird writing terminology So here's another weird word to describe a common writing mistake. A 'pleonasm' is a phrase where redundant words are used to express the meaning of the sentence. Like... a free gift. A gift is always free, because it is given to you. So obviously the use of the word 'free' is redundant but so co

Renee Stevens in Writing Tips

May 1, 2012

Story Review Featured Story ~ Butterflies Fly Free

Well, we're at the start of another week and this week we are going to look at a story written by Bill W called "Butterflies Fly Free". If you like what you read in the review, why not go check out the story and leave the author a review! Butterflies Fly Free by Bill W Reviewer: K.C. Status: Complete Word Count: 68,492 When I first stumbled across GA’S Hosted Author Bill W’s story, “Butterflied Fly Free,” I didn’t know if I would be able to continue reading it. Glancing

Renee Stevens in Featured Stories

April 30, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Update Weekly Wrap Up!

First - we're proud to announce our newest anthology is up - the "Cracks of Time" Poetry anthology. Check it out and let the authors know how you feel about their works by writing a review for them! Speaking of time cracks - these past two weeks have been a bit disjointed for the news blog. We started off on a great footing with a review by Houdinii of Luc's Angst Poetry collection. Then that evening, we all had a bit of angst over the hack of GA - thankfully, Myr was able to rush home and

Trebs in Weekly Wrap Up

April 29, 2012

Story Review Blast From The Past

For today's Blast from the Past we are bringing you an Anthology entry from 2007 written by Graeme called "When the Cat's Away." Why not take a minute and go check out this Anthology piece as well as many of the many other early Anthologies! If you are interested in reviewing a pre-2009 Anthology story, then please contact Renee or Trebs! “When the Cat’s Away” by Graeme Reviewer: K.C. Anthology: Fall 2007~ The Rainy Day In this short story, our previous Anthology Coord

Renee Stevens in Reviews

April 28, 2012

Prompts Writing Prompts #130 & #131

Even though we paused our news blog last week, the prompts continued on schedule. So *that* means - we have FOUR prompts to showcase today. As usual, ComicFan is our source of all of this wonderful promptyness... Prompt 130 – Creative Cue – The Call You have lived your whole life in the same town, however with each passing year you have felt a desire to move. Always you head in the same direction. Now you are legally an adult and the money you have saved manically for the past few years is g

Trebs in Prompts

April 27, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: Character Building

Interesting characters are usually one of the most important elements of good writing. That's why this great tip by CassieQ is a welcome addition to our GA News Blog. If you have a great tip that you'd like to share with the community, let me or Renee Stevens know. Character Building by CassieQ To be 100% honest, writing about characters was hard. Characterization is something that always seemed to flow naturally, so trying to take it apart and explain the mechanics o

April 26, 2012

Story Review Author Showcase!

What day is it today? Oh yeah, it's Wednesday, which can only mean it's time to showcase two more Authors! Today we have a review of "The House Always Wins" by Promising Author: Andr0gene as well as a review of "Blizzard" by Admin & Author: JSmith! Enjoy!!! The House Always Wins By Andr0gene Reviewer: Renee Stevens Status: Complete Word Count: 51,936 Before I became a beta reader for Andr0gene, I first read his story The House Always Wins. While I have read all of his s

Renee Stevens in Reviews

April 25, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: Brainstorming Past Your Block

Brainstorming Past Your Block Especially when writing a short story, there will often come a time in your plot when you get stuck. One of the best ways to move past a block in the action is to brainstorm what could happen. Then... pick one! Often when I'm trying to figure out the loose overall plot I will do a 'this happens, then that, then this' in a timeline fashion. Sometimes I can't figure out what I want to have happen next and that's when I start brainstorming. I'll do this on my

April 24, 2012

Story Review Featured Story: Stonegate Stables

After a brief lull, we return to our regularly scheduled daily GA News blog, with this review of Gabriel Morgan's Stonegate Stables. Stonegate Stables By Gabriel Morgan Reviewed By: Renee Stevens Status: Complete Word Count: 230,697 I first started reading ’52 Panhead by Gabriel Morgan on another site. Since it wasn’t finished yet, I went searching for any site that might have more of the story. Instead of more of that story, I found Gabriel on Gay Authors and immediat

Trebs in Featured Stories

April 23, 2012

Story Review Featured Story: Angst Poetry Collection

Poetry is one of those things I think are in the eye of the beholder. The impact a poem bestows on the reader is only as great as the answering emotion it awakens. When Houdinii offered to do a Hosted Review, I was surprised and pleased when he offered to review Luc's poetry. I thought his review was as honest as he found the poetry; I hope you will enjoy both! Poetry Collection: Angst By Luc Review by Houdinii Marzipan once told me that I, Houdinii, may be great at

Trebs in Featured Stories

April 16, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Update Weekly Wrap Up!

It is with GREAT pleasure, that I announce our newest Hosted Author - Baby Q's dad! (erm - I guess he also goes by Quonus10). I am personally a big fan of his work, especially Second Shot and The Trial of Jordan Colmar - if you haven't read his stuff yet, I encourage you to give it a try. Also, a big last minute reminder that entries for the Poetry Anthology need to be to Lugh by April 17 - that's just two days from now. So, we've had a pretty good week, starting with a review of Duncan

Trebs in Weekly Wrap Up

April 15, 2012

Writing Tip Writing Tip: The Editing Process

So - glancing over some of the past newsletters, I found this gem from Feb 2007, about editing from a writer's perspective. I hope you enjoy! Editors and Writers The Editing Process: From the Writer’s Point of View By Talon Rider Finding an editor can be a problem sometimes. You think to yourself, where can I find someone? Do I ask another author who they use? Do I post something in a forum somewhere? Has an editor made their presence known? Either one of those methods may

April 14, 2012