Now...I know that there are authors out there (or artists of every kind, to be honest) who hear the word 'guidelines' and go into a state of immediate shock, shaking their fist like, "Oh nooooo! They're gonna try to take control and limit my artistic freedom! Don't put me a box!"

Hehehe, I'm happy to say that I've never really been one of those people. That's not to say that I want to sellout or have my creative abilities to be bound and gagged in order to fit into a mold that was built by somebody else. Because I don't. But I've always seen the idea of writing a story within a certain set of guidelines as a really fun challenge for me, and I enjoy it immensely. Nothing could be more satisfying than trying to come up with an idea that fits into a structure that was put together by someone else, and actually finding a way to figure it out. It's awesome.

The best example of this would be GayAuthors Antholgies right here on this site. I truly loved getting involved with those, and hope to keep doing so in the future. This is where a bunch of story themes are submitted and voted on by the collective readers of the site, and then the most popular themes become the guidelines that all of the participating authors have to adhere to in order to be added to the anthology. But DON'T worry! Hehehe, it's not limiting at all! If anything, I think it forces me to be more creative and more clever than ever with the stories that I want to add. And I have to say that some of my favorites, and some of my readers' favorites, have come from the anthologies that I wrote for GA!

So don't be afraid of writing within certain guidelines! It can be a good thing, trust me!

Let's discuss...

What you have to do when it comes to writing with guidelines attached is truly understand the concept being presented to you, and make that your literary 'anchor'. For example, one of the anthology story themes was 'Road Trip'. Ok, got it. I want to write about a road trip. What does that entail? What happens on a road trip? How can I write a story about a road trip? What creative spins can I put on the theme without losing sight of the theme itself? I can't just have a road trip happen for a few paragraphs in the middle of my story and then have the rest of the project be about something else. The theme is a road trip. So that needs to be the main focus of the story. So I thought it over, took some notes, tried to make sure that I was sticking to the idea presented to me, and I came up with the story, "Not Enough Road". It was about two boys who were going out of town to visit their older brothers on a college campus, and this was their first time taking a long bus trip out of town without supervision. By doing this...I can still have that beautiful stranger, boy-meets-boy, idea that fits right into my particular niche of writing, and the actual 'road trip' theme remains the lion's share part of the story at the same time. Once the theme has been tackled and fleshed out in your mind...the rest of the narrative is wide open for you to create whatever you want to create. You're free to go nuts from that point forward.

One Summer anthology theme was 'Out Of This World', which could be taken a bunch of different ways, but I decided to take a slightly sci-fi, literal, approach to the idea...and I wrote, "Light Reaches Earth" for that one. A story that I can say that I'm really proud of, and have re-edited and turned into an ebook afterward because of the joy that I got out of writing it in the first place. Again, the real freedom came from finding ways to fit within the guidelines that I was given, while breaking the rules at the same time. Hehehe! I loved it. And it became one of my absolute favorite stories.

Whether you're writing something for a competition or contest, a fanfiction, or trying to get something published in a particular magazine or online website for the sake of promotion...the art of finding your freedom within the guidelines that you've been given is an excellent skill to develop and keep under your belt. Not only does it train you to focus and control your output, but it also diversifies your talents to a point where you can write almost anything that comes to mind without worrying about whether you'll be able to pull it off or not. It comes in handy. Especially for those of you who want to make a career out of this sort of thing someday.

SO...how do we accomplish this, and still feel like we have the freedom to write what's in our hearts at the same time. I think that it's simply a matter of finding your comfort zone within the boundaries that you've been given, and then pushing those boundaries further out, all while sticking to your 'anchor' and not floating away into something that has nothing to do with the guidelines you've been given.

I would break this down into five simple rules to think about before you even get started...

#1 - Theme And Concept - This is obviously the most important part of writing a story with guidelines placed upon it. What are you writing about? What's the theme? Look at it. Study it. What do you think about it? What does it mean to you? How can you concentrate your creative energy around that one idea? This can be really fun once you get your wheels spinning. Hehehe! At least for me it is. What you're trying to accomplish here is basing your writing talents on a single subject or event while still making it your own. It makes you narrow certain aspects of your writing process while expanding on others. What would other people do with this idea, and how can you do it differently? Spend some time thinking about a single situation that is theme related, and then create characters that are best suited to carry out the tasks involved with bringing this situation to life. Believe it or not, this is the easy part. Ideas are infinite at this point...you just have to choose one that you think will be the most potent and relevant to the people reading it. Something that will have a significant impact on an emotional level. That story is out there somewhere...and if you plan it just right, you get to be the one to write it down and bring it to the masses. So choose an idea that really speaks to you, and apply it to the story you've been given to write.

#2 - Word Count - Now, this is where you might begin to feel the walls closing in on your project. Not by MUCH...but a little bit. If what your writing is constrained to a suggested word count, you're going to have to adjust your thought process and control your narrative to fit within a certain space. It's like going on vacation in a lot of ways. You can't pack your entire closet full of clothes into a single suitcase. That's too much. You remember the discussion that we had on 'scope' earlier? That will come in handy here. Don't rush into an anthology or contest with a giant, century spanning, narrative that simply can't fit into a much smaller space without you cutting a lot of it out in the long run. Don't do it. You're either going to commit to a story that is way too elaborate and complex for you to finish in time, or you're going to end up with an incomplete story that will lack depth and meaning because you had to rush and cut it short. Neither one of those is a good idea. It's good to be ambitious, but don't tackle a challenge that you can't handle if you think it'll be a burden on everything else that you've got going on. As we all know...'life' tends to get in the way.

#3 - Deadlines - One thing that I am, personally, terrible at...is meeting deadlines when it comes to my creativity. My muse is a fickle master, believe me. But I will push myself and try to meet them as fast as I can. If you're writing for a publication, for instance, and they need all submissions in by June 15th...try to get your story finished a week ahead of time! That way you have time to give it a rest, then go back and look at it again to see if you can re-edit, add, or subtract, certain elements in your story to make it as awesome as you possibly can. But you've got to meet that deadline. Try as hard as you can. I don't always make it, and I've missed out on some great opportunities because of that...but when that writing bug gives me the appropriate 'sting'...everything else just seems to fall into place. So be aware of your deadlines! Mark them on your calendar. Find out how many days you have left to work on your project, and how many hours you might need to put in on each day to get it ready in time. I know that authors don't like being rushed to completion, but if you plan far enough in advance, and don't have too many outside influences working against you...then it really shouldn't be much of a rush at all. Planning is everything. Writing it out is the easy part.

#4 - Read The Room - I think it's important for every author, when writing for a collection, a publication, a contest, or anything else with guidelines included...to be able to read the room. Who is your audience? What are the other stories going to be like? Can you find past works from the source and maybe get a feel for the type of fiction that they may be looking for? Again, this isn't meant to limit you or your imagination. It's just a good idea to keep in mind that most of the time, in these situations, when you're writing for mixed company or a wide audience. It's basically a way to tell what could help your story's presentation, and what might hurt your story's presentation. If most of the audience is looking for something sweet and subtle and romantic, don't just kick in the door with some hardcore fetish porn! Hehehe, I mean, you might turn a few heads and raise a few eyebrows, but you'll be causing more harm to your story than good. And the same goes for the reverse situation. If they want something, ummmm...'hot n' ready'? Don't try to win them over with puppy dogs and rainbows, ending your story with a bashful kiss when the readers of that particular genre are waiting for them to get naked already. Teach yourself to be versatile. You should be able to operate on a self made scale of what will and won't fit into the guidelines that you've been given. That's one of the beautiful parts of using this as practice. Turn it up, tone it down, explore some different genres...figure out what works and what doesn't. You're an artist first...but coming in as a close second...you're an entertainer. So entertain. And make it count.

#5 - Test The Leash - Once you've gotten all of those other issues out of the way, and you're about ready to start writing, test the leash. Think of it like a puppy wearing a leash for the very first time. They tug at it, shake their heads, bite it...it takes some getting used to. Hehehe! Do this with your writing. How far can you take things and still stay in your pocket? What can you get away with? What's going to be your edge when it comes to matching your story up with everybody who might be writing about the same topic or within the same theme? Use your instincts and your personal voice to find as many opportunities as you can to spread out and create your own experience within the space that you've got to work with. Switch genres. Be creative with your main character. Add a plot twist. Change story formats, like go from first person to third person, or put it in a diary format, or whatever you come up with. Guidelines don't take away your freedom to be yourself as a writer. It merely focuses it and directs your ideas in a certain direction. As with all of your other stories, once you know where you're going and what your character motivations are...everything else is free game. Your ideas are as limitless as you want them to be. So why not take the challenge, you know? Show your readers what you're made of!

Now, these lessons can work for any kind of creative fiction that you decide to pursue on another platform, but I really think that the GayAuthors' Anthology projects are the best place to try your skills out among friends and a cool audience of readers who are looking for the kind of work that you can manifest and present to them in an entertaining way. There's usually a number of themes or topics for you to choose from, the deadlines are more than fair and give you enough time to work your magic without feeling pressured about it, and you've got a lot of room to interpret the ideas any way that you want. So try it out some time. You might just like it. And it truly helps to hone your skills as an author to find your strengths and weaknesses to involve yourselves in this community and match wits with your peers. It's a good feeling! It really is!

That's it for today! I'll see you guys next time with more! Take care, and I hope this helps!