As many of you guys know...I write a bunch of different stories all at once, and it really depends on on my mood, my life, my time restraints, and whatever it is that I have to say at that particular. I mean...I really wish I could bottle my emotions up for you guys and sell them to ya cheap, so you could see how much turmoil I go through from time to time, just trying to pour as much of myself into every single short story and short story that and put out there. Most of the time, it’s for the sake of entertainment...but there are also many times that I do it just to get some of these feelings off of my chest. It can be soooo emotionally draining more times than not. Hehehe!

Have you ever had too much to drink, and it just makes you severely nauseous? And like...you are absolutely MISERABLE until you finally run to the bathroom to pray at the old porcelain altar...and it SUCKS when you’re sick and losing your breakfast...but once it’s finished, it’s like...

“Omigod! I feel so much better now!”

There are a lot of times that writing feels like that for me, on an emotional level. Sometimes, I’m extremely hurt, sometimes I’m really angry, sometimes I’m feeling happy and downright goofy, and others...I’m just plain too horny to think straight! And whatever is invading my heart and mind at the time...that’s probably the next story on my list to get released. Just so you know.

The major problem with this, however, is that it can often become harder and harder to concentrate on what I’m working on, because I’m chasing behind my emotions instead of having my emotions chasing behind me to get things done. I’ll be honest...it’s something that I really try to deal with, but it’s a struggle nonetheless. Because I’m not at my best when I’m trying to force myself to feel things that I don’t feel, which means I have to force myself to write things that I don’t want to write. And this causes big ‘gaps’ between chapters. Gaps that I need to settle down and handle to the best of my ability. Especially when my fanbase has been so infinitely patient with my efforts so far. I always want to give back more than I get from my readers! I make a point of it! But here’s the problem with caps...

It doesn’t matter if your a true fan of a story or a series...people all have lives and thoughts and problems of their own. And they truly do forget about many of the details that they’ve read about and enjoyed so much. Specially if it’s in a ten chapter series or longer. Most of the time, it really isn’t a criticism of your writing ability or their investment in the characters that you’ve brought to life...sometimes it’s just a matter of the fact that it’s been a while since you’ve updated your story, and their life has been forced to go on without you. So don’t take offense, k? It’s not like they were stuck in cryo sleep or something, just waiting for your next chapter. Trillions of thoughts have gone through their heads since your last offering! Chances are, they’re going to need to go back and reread some of your previous chapters to figure out where they left off. And let’s be honest...for some people, that can be really tedious. So, if you can avoid putting them through that torture, please do.

I, on the other hand, have too few hours in the day to do the same. But that’s the whole point of these articles, anyway. Hehehe! It’s like my way of saying, “GO...and do it better than I did!”

However, there is a technique that you guys can use as writers that can somehow minimize the mundane practice of having to go back and re-read your older chapters all the time in a series, and losing steam by the time they get to the new material. And it simply comes with you knowing your characters and the theme and story in general. It’s a subtle/not subtle method of keeping your audience up to date without making a big spectacle of it or a repetitious block of exposition to do so. Close the gap. And mak you readers feel as though they’ve never left the story at all.

Naturally, there are still going to be a bunch of people who go back and read the older chapters anyway, but by using story recaps, you can take some of the monotony out of the process for them, and possibly even erase from people who just remember where the last chapter ended and want to continue on from there.

The hardest part is trying to keep it sounding like an actual ‘recap’, or like exposition, at all. That’s difficult. And if you have any tips on how to pull this out of your fiction, please let us know. Because, like I always say...even after all these years, I’m still learning too!

The recap is not like a “Last time...int this TV show” type of thing. That to me seems like it would com off as a bit cheesy over time. I know that might just be me, but, personally...like, don’t do that. Even if I have mistakenly done that in the past myself. I can definitly be held accountable for that. Hehehe, but I think you guys can do it better, if I do say so myself. The writing on sites like GayAuthors.org have gone way above and beyond than anything that I had to work with when I first started, so pardon me if I expect more from you all.

A recap is simply weaving an idea into your story that there is an actual ‘history’ between these characters and the things that they’ve been through and experienced since the story began. It’s a nod to past events, but it doesn’t feel the need to rehash or re-explain any of those events all over again. You can continue on your forward journey towards the end of your chosen plot without having to backtrack to re-explain yourself all over again. Avoid that at all costs! I read some of my older stuff, and it’s embarrassing to me, like, “WHY did I do that???” So when I remake everything for my ebooks, I do my best to get rid of the excess garbage if possible and just trust the story to say what it needs to say on its own.

However, I have a different view of it now that it’s all offered at one time and not in smaller increments. So I had to learn to stop doing what I was doing and get better from here on out.

What I do these days can be done in a sentence or two. No huge recap of the whole chapter or the story that came before that particular moment in time. I think that’s overkill even after a long period of time. I’ve learned that certain amounts of important ‘catch up’ information can be done with a single line of dialogue, or a quick memory of what had just happened before this brand new chapter began. Like...something major might have happened in the last chapter...say a break up between the main character and the love interest...and you can begin your new chapter (Even if it’s been months since your last installment) with the aftermath of that particular event. If it were me? I would start with “Pain. That’s all I could feel after having Barry suddenly break up with me out of nowhere without warning.” With that simple intro a majority of readers would be locked in and reminded of what happened at the end of the previous chapter. Perfect. And if I wanted to get them further in sync with what had happened even before that, I could add something to say, “I know he thinks that I cheated on him with another boy, and I was definitely tempted to do so...but I didn’t. I SWEAR that I didn’t! But maybe that wasn’t enough to convince him when I told him that.” Now...I just made that whole scenario up in my head just now for the sake of this article...but can you see how this recap of past events acts as a whole story all its own? I mean, this story doesn’t even exist. In fact, I could actually START a story or a series with these few sentences, and give the illusion of a whole past history between the protagonist and his love interest. But, for this exercise, we’re just going to use these tortured thoughts as a form of subtle exposition. I say subtle, because these are events that already happened in a previous chapter. Or maybe even a number of chapters ahead of time. Here’s the benefit of doing it this way...

...You have to understand that what you’re creating is a real life journey for all of these characters at once. They really do become real. They become that person that you sit with on your couch, and you’re like, “Hey...remember that time when...” Dot dot dot! Hehehe! How many people do you do with that now? How comfortable is that, to know that you have that history together. KNOW your characters, and who they are, and how they’ve been a part of the story. That way...previous recaps can become much simpler, and people might not even need them, because they know these fictional people so very well. What you are building...creating...is a fictional person with a real presence and life of its own. Use that.

You don’t have to go, “Last time on this story...so and so admitted he loved this other boy and now what’s he gonna do about it?” Instead, try the approach of having your main character, or maybe one of your side characters react to what’s going on instead. What their inner thoughts are like, whether it be acceptance, rejection, or just more confusion...explore them with your writing. What are you feeling right now...and how would your main character see from being in his position, or at his age, or in his situation? Put yourself in that place and figure it out. Perspective is everything. Use yours to make the story something special.

The thing with Recaps is that it only catches people up to previous events if it’s done with a certain level of heart. That’s the key, I think. Even if there’s been no literal passage of time in your fiction, people should be able to pick up where they left off without feeling totally lost in the process.

Stan Lee once said that “Every comic book should be written as if it’s some kid’s very first comic book.” And I agree with that idea. Anybody should be able to pick up your story and jump in and understand what’s going on. Even if it’s MUCH better enjoyed from the beginning of it all and read (or seen, now) in order. Readers don’t have to know every single detail of what happened before the new chapter that you’re posting. They just have to get a handle on what’s going on, who the characters are, and how they got to be where they are. Don’t use your recaps as exposition, k? It doesn’t have to be.

Paint the picture of a rich history between your characters instead. And people will tune in to that and recognize it as being something special.

I hope that sounds about right. I’ll be back soon with a level mind! But as many of my secrets and inner thoughts that I can share? You guys can have them all! Hehehe! It’s time for the neext generation to take my place, you know?

So take care! And I love you lots! Seezya soon!