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  • Cia

    May CSR Feature: Deeds of Their Past by mcarss

    By Cia

    I've been featuring short stories lately, I thought I'd give you all something to sink your teeth into. Read outside in the sunshine or inside away from the torrential rain (if it's anything like it is here in Washington right now!) but come back on Monday, May 27th to share your thoughts!  Deeds of Their Past by @mcarss Length: 66,950 Description: Nathan—a man who lives life in shadow and solitude—finds himself hunted due to an old assignment. While awaiting his execution, h
    • 3 comments
    • 45 views
Health

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good: I've booked myself in on a residential writing course at Arvon in mid April. It's not because I lack inspiration, I just want to get better at what I'm doing. Plus, there hasn't been much opportunity for travel these past few years and it'll be good to get away. The next story I'm working on is set in Yorkshire, not too far from Lumb Bank where the course is being held, so I can do some research at the same time. The Bad: Bloody health again. Had an expected call from the hospital
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Health

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Blogs

Bah! This Thing's Dusty...

Jesus... I need my Swiffer duster. When was the last time I wrote in this thing? June of last year? Forget the duster; I need a car-parts cleaner. Hi! How do blogs work again?  ... Okay, just went back and read every entry of this thing. Why didn't anyone tell me I was a rambling, little snot with no sense of punctuation? Heck, all I did was complain about my job.  Who am I kiddin'? I'll still complain about my job. It's so much fun to vent! But we gotta switch things up a bi
astone2292

astone2292 in Blogs

1
writing

A New Story

At last, Hidden Secrets is ready to read. I've spent a long time editing, tweaking and getting it just right (hopefully). It's a paranormal mystery, set in a cinema. The story originated as a NaNoWriMo project, but as part of the process it has been altered and extended. Before I began, I never realised writing a mystery was such hard work. In order to keep track of all the threads, I found I had to make much more detailed notes and outlines than usual. I certainly couldn't have written just a f
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in writing

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random

Inadvertent (?) Homosexual Love Songs

There is something about Indian poetry and music and it's the fact that there are so, so many men writing about men. And it's always been this way. This is especially prominent in the Punjabi language, and now that Punjabi culture is so trendy in the rest of north India, it's becoming increasingly prominent in Hindi-language music.  If you look back at Indian poetry, in any language, men have written about their love for men, but, for the most part, they used feminine verb conjugations to r
small mercy

small mercy in random

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Writing

Winter Ghost Story

During these dark, short winter days, the possibility of ghosts rises to the surface. On a bright, warm, summer day, it's easy to put our fears aside, but on a foggy December afternoon, as the light fades, they rise out of the shadows. Our ancestors used to gather around their fires as the snow swirled outside and tell ghosts stories. Nowadays, we can just post them on the Internet. Here's my latest spooky offering: Bad Vibes - Shortly after moving in to new offices, Luke and his staff
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Writing

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Doodle

Doodle

I won’t say I’m much of an artist but drawing the characters is certainly a lot easier than writing about them lol
small mercy

small mercy in Doodle

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Writing

Resonance in Writing

"Drawing On the Power of Resonance In Writing" by David Farland is a quick read.  As I continue my tour through books on writing by other authors, I stumbled across this one.  It makes a pretty good point with several modern examples.  Such as how Fantasy novels tend to resonate on Lord of the Rings.  Pretty much all of Dungeon and Dragons and rooted there.  Avatar has echos of Dances with Wolves. Everything we do builds off the zeitgeist, so to speak.  This book is a nice look that gives y
Myr

Myr in Writing

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entry

Real Admiration

This week I read for what must have been the fiftieth time Jorge Luis Borges's "Garden of Forking Paths." Like a lot of people on this website, I am an aspiring creative type. When I'm in the heat of a project, I often revisit certain artistic touchstones. They are reminders of what can be done and even guidebooks, if one knows how to read them, on how to do them. So, knee-deep into a new project, I revisited the Borges and was again dumbstruck. The story is only a little north of four thou
Z.A.N.M.A.T.O

Z.A.N.M.A.T.O in entry

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Movies

Nobody

I have been very turned off by the lecturing nonsense that's been released from Hollywood the last few years.  The hack Millennial moron writers that have taken on scriptwriting and laid waste to subtlety and entertainment have virtually destroyed an entire industry and murdered my hobby of video collecting.  I have over 1300 DVD's and Blu-Rays.  But I've only bought 5 in 2021.  And 4 of those were 80's and 90's movies on 4K.  But I heard Nobody was both good entertainment and lacking any obviou
Myr

Myr in Movies

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Writing

The Infographic Guide to Grammar

When I posted yesterday about Write Right!, I mentioned that we would be doing a new weekly blog feature focused on Grammar.  Another book I'll be using for reference in that endeavor is the Infographic Guide to Grammar.  If you are a visual person, this book is the one for you.  It's colorful and straightforward.  It's worth keeping around if you are the type to keep reference material on hand.
Myr

Myr in Writing

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entry

Finding Love, Awkward Edition

I've decided to deflower this blog with a story, so you can get to know me a little. Perhaps some of you, especially the anxious gay youngsters still waiting for "the one," will even find it useful. It's the story of how I met the guy I suspect will end up being the love of my life. I should start off by saying that I'm awkward as hell. Some of you are no doubt thinking, "join the club," and remembering that one time your joke was greeted with silence, or that time you and a stranger had a
Z.A.N.M.A.T.O

Z.A.N.M.A.T.O in entry

1
Writing

Write Right - For Grammar Reference

It seems lately that I've been doing an endless round of blogs, emails, and posts.  When I haven't been doing that, I've been doing research.  As is my habit, I've gone way overboard on the amount of reference material and writing books I've been sinking into. (Including being a super backer on Kickstarter now, having supported my 80th Kickstarter. Almost all of them on something world building related) But that brings to one of the many writing books I've zipped through recently.  Write Ri
Myr

Myr in Writing

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Writing

The end of one story...

Well, 'Threadfall' is almost at an end. It was originally intended as a short prequel to 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' and has ended up far longer. There are a few more short stories to come in the 'Dragonriders of Pern' fanfic series and hopefully a longer third part, taking up from where 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' finished. Finishing a story is always slightly sad, but it gives the mind an opportunity to start thinking about new ideas as well. Coming soon: 'Hidden Secrets' - A murder myst
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Writing

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Book review

Book Review: Arkansas by David Leavitt

Arkansas is a collection of three novellas that show David Leavitt at his best, exploring the lives and emotions of his characters. The first story is The Term Paper Artist, which is the closest he has come to writing a sex comedy. The narrator is a disgraced novelist who is hiding at the home of his professor father. He soon becomes involved in accepting sexual favours from jock-students in return for writing English literary essays for them. Soon, word spreads, and he has several jocks an
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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General Blogs

What's been Happening? 5th September 2021

Well, it's been a few months since I've been back on Gay Authors, and I am now managing to upload much of my old content stored away on a dusty hard drive back to the site. I have been overwhelmed with the kindness of readers old and new who are reading my material. Some older members may have seen some of my old stuff return - re-edited, polished and extended, and I've also been pleased to bring some new content to my little area of the site. Writing-wise: Him in the Dust was my last title
James Matthews

James Matthews in General Blogs

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Health

Writing Updates (and a bit about health, too)

Started new treatment last week after a couple of difficult weeks when I was in and out of hospital. I don't let it disrupt my writing schedule though. Pleased to say I averaged 1,500 words a day whether inside or back home. It's weird being in hospital. You get institutionalised so fast. The food is pretty dreadful, but thankfully the hospital near me has a Marks & Spencer food hall on site, so I was able to add some taste to the unappealing stodge with such goodies as feta and beetroot sal
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Health

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Health

Schrödinger's Cat

Waiting for CT scan results is a bit like being the cat in the box. You aren't sure if it will be good or bad news, if indeed you will be pronounced alive or dead once the result comes through. Today, I got the news I - kind of - expected. Not for any particular reason except my usual cautious pessimism and the feeling things had gone too well for too long. You can tell by their tone of voice, even before they actually say anything.  The lesions in my liver are spreading and there is a need
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Health

3
Blogs

I'm Going to Do This.

Whoops! I missed my own GAnniversary last week...  If I can just spout some words, joining this website has been a freakin' blast! I found a creative outlet and it's been a ride. I found a community of wonderful people that treasure the written word as much as I do. I found a place to call home. I can't stop. This website has ducktaped my foot to the gas pedal, and there are a lot of the community members who had a hand in laying down a strip. I asked to learn to be a better writer and
astone2292

astone2292 in Blogs

8
Writing

Master Lists for Writers by Bryn Donovan

In my ongoing pursuit to bury myself in an avalanche of books, I picked up this gem.  This is like a jack-of-all-trades toolbox.  It has Character Traits, Character Names, plot ideas, action words, descriptive words, plot twist ideas, and a lot more.  It is exactly the sort of thing you'd reach for when you're stuck and you want an idea.  Or if you are horrible with names, picking a name from a list.  Or maybe you want to spice something up. Or you want a prompt.    I flagged a bunch of parts of
Myr

Myr in Writing

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Movies

Midway - (2019)

This is a good movie that suffers from the comparison problem.  It's a pretty high bar for those interested in world war II movies to leap over the original 1976 Midway.  The original had Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Michum, Robert Wagner amount others.  The ensemble cast was a who's who of Hollywood legends.  So, set that aside if you, like me, grew up with your dad watching the movie. The 2019 movie was well paced.  The cast clicked pretty good.  And Dennis Quaid and W
Myr

Myr in Movies

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Movies

Force of Nature - A "B" Action Movie

I'll have to admit I picked this movie up on a whim. Mel Gibson action movies are usually entertaining.  And Emile Hirsch has had an interesting career. It was a bad movie, if you like brain-off B flicks.  I'll have to admit this groaner though... saw Mel Gibson and my immediate comment was "He's getting too old for this shit". If you see it somewhere on a streaming service and want to kill some time, there are worse ways to do it.  I wouldn't buy it.
Myr

Myr in Movies

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Writing

Plot Gardening by Chris Fox

I am on a bit of a roll this past weekend. I managed to get through a couple of things in my backlog stack of many things.  I picked this up and it was a quick, easy read.  I'm old fashioned, surprisingly, as I still love the feel of paper and a bookshelf I can go do when the power's out, so I have this in paperback.  I also put a lot of Post-it Flags on various pages of interest.  This book talks about a topic and then shows how it is done in a handful of movies that you have probably seen
Myr

Myr in Writing

1
Business

Press Start - Another Book for Lifelong Learners

Would anybody be really surprised to learn that I am an avid reader?  I have a tendency to overindulge on different topics to not only learn, but to see other people's points of view on the same topic.  I'll skip the obvious tie to society's ills over not listening to each other's points of view. I just completed reading a book dealing with Gamification and how it relates to marketing.  The book is "Press Start - Using Gamification to Power-Up Your Marketing" by Daniel Griffin & Albert
Myr

Myr in Business

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