New Members Welcome-Introduce Yourself!

[Parker Owens]

On 12/23/2023 at 6:58 AM, Perenga said:

Hi everyone, finally got around to posting in this thread. I want to tell a short story of how I started writing and how I met my husband. We went to the same gym for several years and saw each other, but never got to know each other. But one day when I decided to try steroids, I started asking everyone I knew from the gym and everyone advised me to ask Mike (My future husband). I decided to approach him. We had an awkward conversation and he recommended Primobolan for sale (I still use it by the way). That's how our communication began. Later on I started to approach him for advice. And after our first walk, I wrote my first poem about him. So I started writing about my first true love.

Welcome to GA. That story of how you first met is lovely. You’ll find many other writers, readers and friends here. 

[Parker Owens]

On 8/5/2023 at 5:17 PM, SilentandBroken said:

My name says it all but I’m 43 now and living a very different life in the real world. I’m a suicide survivor and narcissist abuse victim and rape victim at 13 by said narcissist. I cannot thank you guys for this free group enough. This is finally what I’ve been looking for. A safe place to be open but still incognito. Much love to my closeted pansexual, gay and bi folks here. Hugs and peck on the cheek.

 

-Silentandbroken

How I missed this, I don’t know, but let me extend to you a big hug of welcome. 

[Bill W]

Welcome to all of the new GA members! 

You will quickly find out that this is a very welcoming and safe community, so feel free to post in The Lounge, play the Forum Games, join a Club, or when reading a story, please leave a chapter or story comment to let the author know what you thought of his/her hours of work.  If you don't feel brave enough to leave a comment yet, at least click on one of the emojis for the same reason, or click on an emoji and leave a common too.  It's one of the quickest ways to let the author know whether you value the effort he/she has put into the story or poem and to start becoming a true member of the Gay Authors Community.   

Some of you may even wish to write a story or poem and submit it here, and I'm sure you'll get plenty olf encouragement.  If you don't feel confident enough yet, you'll find plenty of tips on writing in Writer's Circle, which you can join.  And if you click on the Writing tab at the top of the screen and then Writing Resources, you'll find even more help and suggestions.  If you want to try a quick and easy way to get into writing, start with one of the weekly prompts, Whatever you decide to do, just enjoy your time here at GA! 

Edited April 18 by Bill W

[GoldfishBW]

I joined this site to look for more good gay coming-of-age stories. For years, my favorite story has been "For the Love of Pete" by Dewey. I read it when I was much younger (late 90's or early 2000's) and it has always stuck with me. I recently reread it and it's just as good as I remember. During the reread, I noticed there was a crossover with another series called "A New Life" by TheEggman. So I recently read that series for the first time and I liked it just as much as FTLOP, if not more. A third story that I read recently and really loved was "Tripod" by Jay Gilbert. These stories are all well-written and intelligent with good characters, realistic dialogue, etc. I'm looking for more stories like these. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Until then, I'll keep poking around myself to see if I can find any gems.

I do wonder if I've actually read the entire FTLOP and "New Life" series. FTLOP has a sequel called "Brian and Pete," and I've read all the chapters that are on Nifty. I wonder if there might have been additional chapters that didn't make it to Nifty, especially since Dewey had his own web site (deweywriter.com). That site is no longer active, and I can't find it on the Internet Wayback Machine. I believe there may have been a couple of other sequels ("Brian's Destruction" and/or "The Power Within"). I can't find these anywhere. Regarding "New Life," there is a sequel called "Life Goes On" which I've read all the chapters on IOMFATS. But it doesn't end in a tidy spot, so I wonder if the author intended to write more chapters. If anyone has any information about these two series, I would love to know.

I was sad to hear that Comicality passed. "The Secret Life of Billy Chase" was another one of my favorites. I never made it all the way through, but what a fun series and definitely a talented writer.

-Brad

 

[Mancunian]

8 hours ago, GoldfishBW said:

I joined this site to look for more good gay coming-of-age stories. For years, my favorite story has been "For the Love of Pete" by Dewey. I read it when I was much younger (late 90's or early 2000's) and it has always stuck with me. I recently reread it and it's just as good as I remember. During the reread, I noticed there was a crossover with another series called "A New Life" by TheEggman. So I recently read that series for the first time and I liked it just as much as FTLOP, if not more. A third story that I read recently and really loved was "Tripod" by Jay Gilbert. These stories are all well-written and intelligent with good characters, realistic dialogue, etc. I'm looking for more stories like these. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Until then, I'll keep poking around myself to see if I can find any gems.

I do wonder if I've actually read the entire FTLOP and "New Life" series. FTLOP has a sequel called "Brian and Pete," and I've read all the chapters that are on Nifty. I wonder if there might have been additional chapters that didn't make it to Nifty, especially since Dewey had his own web site (deweywriter.com). That site is no longer active, and I can't find it on the Internet Wayback Machine. I believe there may have been a couple of other sequels ("Brian's Destruction" and/or "The Power Within"). I can't find these anywhere. Regarding "New Life," there is a sequel called "Life Goes On" which I've read all the chapters on IOMFATS. But it doesn't end in a tidy spot, so I wonder if the author intended to write more chapters. If anyone has any information about these two series, I would love to know.

I was sad to hear that Comicality passed. "The Secret Life of Billy Chase" was another one of my favorites. I never made it all the way through, but what a fun series and definitely a talented writer.

-Brad

 

Welcome to GA @GoldfishBW, I hope you have many years of happiness reading the stories available in our happy community. We will all miss @Comicality as he was a very popular member and author. We are blessed that his stories will live on here and all of the stories he published here are still available for us to read, including many of his incomplete works which are still a joy to read, his incomplete works allow us to use our imaginations to complete his stories in our minds.

@ReaderPaul is a mine of information about other sites that include stories from other good authors, I'm sure he will share his knowledge if you ask him. As for good stories to recommend on GA, the list is endless as others will confirm. As an author, I could just recommend my stories which you may enjoy but to be totally honest and fair to all authors I'll make the following suggestion. Click the stories tab at the top of the page, scroll down slightly until you see the widgets and allow your cursor to hover over them, they are a means to allow you to refine your search to category, genre/subgenre, tags etc. and will help you narrow your search to what may interest you most. Other members will happily give tips to find good stories too which will include checking out which stories have received recommendations, favourites and reviews. Whatever way you choose to search for the stories you choose to read I hope we will hear from you again and you will join in by commenting and leaving your own reviews on the stories you read.

[BendtedWreath]

Between trying to figure out why my profile kept saying 80% complete, reading random stories, following fun banners that led me to Secret Author events, reading random blogs, and figuring out how to unlock story history so I didn't have to keep track of which chapter I left off on...I actually found it challenging to find THIS forum thread.

I've already been greeted by several people already on the fly (and clicking on their names showed me how to navigate a bit [I'm looking at you, @chris191070]). However, I still have much to learn. This is a very welcoming lot, and I'm glad I followed a friend over here. 

Update: I found the FAQs on the upper tabs instead of the forum section. It's like it's been hiding from me this whole time.

Edited July 29 by BentedWreath

[Zuri]

Nonetheless: Welcome to the GA community! 🎉 May you read many captivating stories and have many a good discussion, Ben 😉

Edited July 29 by Zuri

[Mancunian]

46 minutes ago, BentedWreath said:

Between trying to figure out why my profile kept saying 80% complete, reading random stories, following fun banners that led me to Secret Author events, reading random blogs, and figuring out how to unlock story history so I didn't have to keep track of which chapter I left off on...I actually found it challenging to find THIS forum thread.

I've already been greeted by several people already on the fly (and clicking on their names showed me how to navigate a bit [I'm looking at you, @chris191070]). However, I still have much to learn. This is a very welcoming lot, and I'm glad I followed a friend over here. 

Update: I found the FAQs on the upper tabs instead of the forum section. It's like it's been hiding from me this whole time.

Welcome to GA, joining while @Cia is posting the secret author stories is a fun time to join and gives you a lot of fresh stories to read. I see you have taken author status so I'll look out for you when you post your stories, I love to read what new authors bring to the site. Remember one thing as you explore GA, there are no strangers here, only friends you haven't met yet. 👋

[BendtedWreath]

10 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

Welcome to GA, joining while @Cia is posting the secret author stories is a fun time to join and gives you a lot of fresh stories to read. I see you have taken author status so I'll look out for you when you post your stories, I love to read what new authors bring to the site. Remember one thing as you explore GA, there are no strangers here, only friends you haven't met yet. 👋

Changing that status was by far the weirdest experience I have encountered yet on this site. The @ feature? Discord and other apps have it, no problem. Likes, emojis, gifs? Easy peasy. Quoting? If you're familiar with forums, it hasn't changed. Following stories and figuring out which is the "recommend" button, not so easy (because there is apparently a home page for stories). 

Changing your status from Member to Author? 1. the FAQ gave outdated information. 2. I don't even know where I found it but there was a side menu somewhere on the right that gave a link to the status buttons. 3. Then, you have to pretend it's a purchase before the status updates. 

I think there are a couple of posts in different places about how to actually post a story, so I will look at those then whenever I have something to actually post. 🤣

Edited July 29 by BentedWreath

[Zuri]

3 minutes ago, BentedWreath said:

Changing that status was by far the weirdest experience I have encountered yet on this site. […] Changing your status from Member to Author? 1. the FAQ gave outdated information. 2. I don't even know where I found it but there was a side menu somewhere on the right that gave a link to the status buttons. 3. Then, you have to pretend it's a purchase before the status updates. 

Yeah, this happens, when one abuses one's software to do things it wasn't directly designed to fit a use case for a knocked together tool 😂 But once the status is changed and one has wrapped their head around that one can follow both the user and the author page of an author separately and stuff like this, GA becomes quite a fun and lovely experience, at least for me

Did you choose the GIF of Olivia Dunham off-the-cuff or are you a Fringe fan?

[Mancunian]

3 minutes ago, BentedWreath said:

Changing that status was by far the weirdest experience I have encountered yet on this site. The @ feature? Discord and other apps have it, no problem. Likes, emojis, gifs? Easy peasy. Quoting? If you're familiar with forums, it hasn't changed. Following stories and figuring out which is the "recommend" button, not so easy (because there is apparently a home page for stories). 

Changing your status from Member to Author? 1. the FAQ gave outdated information. 2. I don't even know where I found it but there was a side menu somewhere on the right that gave a link to the status buttons. 3. Then, you have to pretend it's a purchase before the status updates. 

I think there are a couple of posts in different places about how to actually post a story, so I will look at those then whenever I have something to actually post. 🤣

GA does have a few quirks, , but it does get easier the more you settle in. Very often the answers to questions can be found in the help forum, if you can't find the answer you're looking for just ask, help is always to hand.

[BendtedWreath]

11 minutes ago, Zuri said:

Yeah, this happens, when one abuses one's software to do things it wasn't directly designed to fit a use case for a knocked together tool 😂 But once the status is changed and one has wrapped their head around that one can follow both the user and the author page of an author separately and stuff like this, GA becomes quite a fun and lovely experience, at least for me

Did you choose the GIF of Olivia Dunham off-the-cuff or are you a Fringe fan?

I didn't realize that the author page could be separately followed as well. Thanks for that tip. And yes Fringe is entertaining. I also like weird shows like The OA, Manifest, Touch, The 3-Body Problem...my favorite shows and characters tend to be cancelled or killed.

[BendtedWreath]

15 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

GA does have a few quirks, , but it does get easier the more you settle in. Very often the answers to questions can be found in the help forum, if you can't find the answer you're looking for just ask, help is always to hand.

I'll figure it out as I go along. The problem is less asking anyone for help on something rather than figuring out what exactly I am even asking for help about. 🤣 For example, @Zuri just made me aware that a user/author can be followed, but their author page can also be separately followed.

[Zuri]

23 minutes ago, BentedWreath said:

And yes Fringe is entertaining. I also like weird shows like The OA, Manifest, Touch, The 3-Body Problem...my favorite shows and characters tend to be cancelled or killed.

Fringe is one of my favorite shows 😍 Yeah, the cancellation practice has become worse with Netflix killing most shows off because they don't want to pay more, regardless of plot, success, following, revenue, etc.

[Mancunian]

1 minute ago, BentedWreath said:

I'll figure it out as I go along. The problem is less asking anyone for help on something rather than figuring out what exactly I am even asking for help about. 🤣 For example, @Zuri just made me aware that a user/author can be followed, but their author page can also be separately followed.

One that does throw some new authors is the difference between member reputation and author reputation when they post a story or chapter and it is placed in the moderation queue. You are already gaining a member reputation by taking part in the site, when you start to post a story you will start to gain an author reputation. It is an increased author reputation that will free you from the moderation queue. You can see both when you click on an author profile page, under the author avatar you will see two numbers, the number in green is the member profile reputation score, and the number in grey is the author reputation score. The author's reputation score increases when readers react to stories and chapters, when it goes above 250 your stories will post immediately, while it remains below 250 any story or chapter will join the moderation queue to be checked by site admin before it is posted.

I hope you can get your head around that, it took me a bit of time before I understood it.

[Zuri]

7 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

One that does throw some new authors is the difference between member reputation and author reputation

And in different places, let's say one of your stories vs the forum, either one or the other number is shown next to your post. Also, it can be confusing, which number correlates with your rank.

Another confusing thing, I had to wrap my head around is the upload quota: When you are in the inbox, it says something like this in the top right corner:

Sometimes, you get an error message that your quota is used up entirely and you might wonder why, because this 6 % is a tad different from 100 %. Only when you go to "My attachments" in your profile menu in the top navigation, you see this:

Quite fun when you don't know this 😅

Edited July 29 by Zuri
Added pictures for illustration

[BendtedWreath]

2 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

One that does throw some new authors is the difference between member reputation and author reputation when they post a story or chapter and it is placed in the moderation queue. You are already gaining a member reputation by taking part in the site, when you start to post a story you will start to gain an author reputation. It is an increased author reputation that will free you from the moderation queue. You can see both when you click on an author profile page, under the author avatar you will see two numbers, the number in green is the member profile reputation score, and the number in grey is the author reputation score. The author's reputation score increases when readers react to stories and chapters, when it goes above 250 your stories will post immediately, while it remains below 250 any story or chapter will join the moderation queue to be checked by site admin before it is posted.

I hope you can get your head around that, it took me a bit of time before I understood it.

I did read about that somewhere, that there was a difference between site reputation and story reputation. However, I had no idea where those points could be even seen until you said "check the author profile." I saw yours as reference and I see both the numbers you mean (I don't even have an author profile to click on mine yet since, I imagine, nothing exists yet for me as an "author"). Thanks so much!

[Zuri]

1 hour ago, Mancunian said:

I see you have taken author status so I'll look out for you when you post your stories, I love to read what new authors bring to the site.

@BentedWreath By the way, what kind of stories do you write in terms of genres and such?

Edited July 29 by Zuri
typo

[Mancunian]

4 minutes ago, BentedWreath said:

I did read about that somewhere, that there was a difference between site reputation and story reputation. However, I had no idea where those points could be even seen until you said "check the author profile." I saw yours as reference and I see both the numbers you mean (I don't even have an author profile to click on mine yet since, I imagine, nothing exists yet for me as an "author"). Thanks so much!

Your author profile will appear automatically when you post your first story and will list all of your posted stories. Your author reputation will be visible when you receive your first reaction to a story or chapter. For most authors, it does not take long before they reach that magic 250 reputation score.

[BendtedWreath]

8 minutes ago, Zuri said:

@BentedWreath By the way, what kind of stories do you write in terms of genres and such?

I haven't written anything in full yet, but I enjoy reading and watching sci-fi, romance, comedies, drama, and fantasy. Thus far, the stories I've read here are all creative and have their own flow. Sometimes, I think it takes more skill to convey what feels like a lot within the confines of smaller stories like the Secret Author one-shots that are being posted daily. Each one so far has felt bigger than they actually are, like the characters live in a world that already exists around them...friends, families, pets, ex-husbands that passed away...I've been so impressed with what I've seen and I hope to do something similar to that (though not at their level quite yet 🤣).

[Zuri]

GA shines at bringing together people from all kinds of backgrounds and with so vastly different writing styles. There's something for everyone. Writing is such an interesting thing—that's why I enjoy both writing and editing so much (even though, I currently have a hard time with the former 😅). And one never stops learning anyway, it shows. I must say, short stories are not my strong suit, but I bet there are some authors here who excel at these.

[Mancunian]

12 minutes ago, BentedWreath said:

I haven't written anything in full yet, but I enjoy reading and watching sci-fi, romance, comedies, drama, and fantasy. Thus far, the stories I've read here are all creative and have their own flow. Sometimes, I think it takes more skill to convey what feels like a lot within the confines of smaller stories like the Secret Author one-shots that are being posted daily. Each one so far has felt bigger than they actually are, like the characters live in a world that already exists around them...friends, families, pets, ex-husbands that passed away...I've been so impressed with what I've seen and I hope to do something similar to that (though not at their level quite yet 🤣).

Don't sell yourself short, I'm sure you have a lot of good stories just waiting for you to write.

A few tips which I hope will help you. 

Check out the Writers Circle, there are many useful tips and links posted there.

Try using an app such as Grammarly (there are other similar app's) that can help with grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Enlist the help of an editor and/or a beta reader, good ones can help immensely in producing a smoother read to your stories.

I'm sure others can also pass on a few useful tips and possibly more.

Edited July 29 by Mancunian

[Zuri]

1 hour ago, Mancunian said:

A few tips which I hope will help you. […] I'm sure others can also pass on a few useful tips and possibly more.

• We have a forum to specifically ask for editors if needed (or ask me or other editors directly if you know they edit 😉)
• You can check out and subscribe to people's blogs (mine for example 😉) as well as the site blogs (like "writing tips")
• There are also some quite interesting YouTube channels about writing:
  • Hello Future Me
  • Writing with Jenna Moreci
  • more …
• There's also a club called "Critique room", however, I didn't check it out myself yet

Edited July 29 by Zuri
Add list item

[Triapze]

Hello, just joined!  I’m technically not a gay man but an asexual/aromantic man, but I do write exclusively gay stories, so… close enough, eh?  I’m rather new to writing, only just joined a few months back when a game released and spurred me into writing fanfiction of it.  I’ve been moving to original works as of late, though the long-form slow burn fanfic I’m working on is taking its sweet time, so it may be a while until I post anything here.  Thank you for having me!

[chris191070]

1 minute ago, Triapze said:

Hello, just joined!  I’m technically not a gay man but an asexual/aromantic man, but I do write exclusively gay stories, so… close enough, eh?  I’m rather new to writing, only just joined a few months back when a game released and spurred me into writing fanfiction of it.  I’ve been moving to original works as of late, though the long-form slow burn fanfic I’m working on is taking its sweet time, so it may be a while until I post anything here.  Thank you for having me!

Welcome to GA