Cia

Nope, I'm not emotional about my writing like so many authors I know where they feel the story and write the emotion they're in, or need the emotion present to write it for the characters. I plot, and write, deliberately with intent. I chose each element in the story to incite a reaction from the reader, from tears to laughter. From my plot scenes, my character's personalities and appearances, to every single word in the story ... they are all chosen for a reason-even if the reader doesn't know it. If something is unnecessary, or doesn't work, or simply has no place ... it goes. Honestly, the best qualities I think an author can have are flexibility and a certain sense of detachment. I do not feel the need to be emotional about it if I've not quite reached the idea version of my story with my first try. No one ever does, imo. Editing is vital to catch flaws before stories get to the reader. It's easier for others to see that, and give you objective feedback, than it is to do for yourself. That is why I always advocate using a team that you trust to give you the input your need, even if it's to cut, cut, cut. Every author I've worked with I've warned; I will tell them exactly what I think, down to what needs to go, ruthlessly, if necessary. I accept the same from anyone that betas, edits, or even reviews my work. I try to accept all feedback at face value. Only then will I get better as a writer.

LOL. Some creative birthday wishes! I shall not be so creative, however I do wish that you have a very lovely day!

I'm never so involved with my writing that I get emotional about cutting something if it needs to go. I attempt to remain on point to an idea throughout a story but I'm also willing to change things if they don't work from my original plan. The entire story is 'my darling', and no single element is more important than the whole being well formed.

Today we'd like to take another look at one of the site's Hosted Authors, a popular writer with a lot of skills which she brings to bear on all her writing. Please enjoy this review by Fishwings on Running Far Afield. Running Far Afield By Libby Drew Reviewer: Fishwings Status: Complete Words: 17,178 Libby Drew is a talented author; there is no doubt about that. After reading through the fast-paced, riveting “State of Mind,” I was eager to pick something else that she wrote up and so settled for “Running Far Afield.” I was more than just pleasantly surprised. “Running Far Afield” proved to be one of the best stories I have come across all year. Aaron, a high school baseball player with a detached relationship with his appearance-focused, wealthy parents, had recently moved to Ridgton. There, he meets Chris, a mysterious but charming, juvenile delinquent of sorts, who proves to be equally as skilled at baseball as Aaron. Despite an initial awkward and rocky confrontation of sorts, Chris puts aside their differences and invites Aaron to join their team. Over time, a confusing yet intriguing attraction develops between them. It isn’t long before social norms, self-discovery, and parenthood explode and threaten the friendship they have. After I read the first line of the story, “He felt untouchable,” I was already hooked. Utterly compelling would be one way to describe this story. The characters are well developed, fully fleshed out, real, breathing beings. Conversations felt natural and were a highlight of the story. The writing itself is top notch – Libby’s prose is complex and vivid, but not at all distracting. In addition, there is a graceful thematic unity tying the whole story together, and Libby even addresses several prevalent issues in today’s society with regards to social stigma. The combination of all these elements is what I thought really made this piece shine. If you are a fan of quality romance with an epic story arc and resonating characters, then “Running Far Afield” may just be the story for you. If you have already read the story, take a moment to drop Libby a review. I am sure she would love to hear from you. I hope this review might interest you in reading a new story, if you haven't come across this short story before. If you'd like to share your thoughts on a favorite story you've read on GA, please contact Renee Stevens or Cia.

It depends for me. Short stories I just go with an open document. Longer stories I'll often just add info as needed. IF I have special requirements to it like themed elements, or I know it will be a longer novel or a series, I'll do character bios and a mind map. I'll add an example of one basic bio I use for basic character info below. As for plotting ... many people think it's easy to write a story. Yet many novels use more than one plot arc, each with scenes that need to link to and influence other scenes. As you come up with the plot, or write the story, it can help keep track using a 'mind map' or bubble chart. These let you go back and forth and create main events and branch them out or link them together easily. I know I will go back and change elements from earlier in the story after having plotted the end, as ideas come to me, and it helps to have a program as fluid as my mind when it comes to organization. I have a bubble chart app for my computer that I use to create plot outlines, but you can use them from online sources as well. Check out this list on cnet for many options.

Sorry for the late post again this week; I had family visiting I haven't seen in a few months. As for GA ... lots of drama here this week! Let's take a look back, shall we? Monday was relatively quiet ... I announced our short story line up for the Can't Stop Reading Blog Book Club. We will be reading the last 3 year's Reader's Choice Award Winners. Take a look at the stories, and join us for the Discussion Day on 5/27. You can ask the authors questions (or send them in ahead of time via a pm to me for those authors to answer that can't participate that day) and share your favorite line from the story(ies) you read. Wacky Wednesday's writing tip was an article on adverbs by Andy021278. He shared some great tips on those -ly words and how to spell them. Quickly check it out, quite thoroughly! Later Wednesday we had a Urgent Site News post from site administration. Something we always hate to deal with, but does crop up from time to time ... plagiarism. We found that a member I had recently put on the WST-and promoted to Promising author-had stolen all the novels he'd posted on the site from published authors. If you want to find out more, please review the blog post written by Myr. We want everyone to be aware of the issue, and please, if you suspect an author of stealing, or see a GA author's work off-site, let us know asap. Now for a look forward! Anthology Announcements: Quarterly Anthology: Roll the Dice due June 8th! Special Premium PAID Anthology: 3 Summer Themes due June 15th! **I need more submittals!** NEW READING: In Premium This Week: Empty Corners by Comicality By our Hosted Authors this week: Legacy by Altimexis Line of Sight by Renee Stevens 9.11 by Mark Arbour One Night by Cia The Secret Life of Billy Chase 7 by Comicality Second Shot: The Senior Year by Andrew Q. Gordon Odyssey by Mark Arbour In The Arms of an Angel by Nephylim Jessie 101 by Comicality By our Promising Authors this week: The Road to the Future by JMH Pour Me Another by K.C. A Ruby By Any Other Name by Comicfan Lots to choose from to read! Please remember to rate and review. Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Patrick!!!

I don't believe we can change that either, Myk. It all sort of ties in together. I cannot delete the author's response without also deleting the review from the reader though; so that isn't as easily removed and re-done.

Got it. This is where having questions come in early will be helpful. Please remember ... not all members can access GA all the time/every day. Some can't most of the time like Jian. If you have a question for him, please let me know ahead of time so Bleu and I can get them to him so he can still participate and answer what you might want to know! Thanks!

And how many mod issues will be be faced with where reviewers flame authors and then retract the reviews or change them? That happens on a lot of other fiction sites and is the reason why we have the reviews set that way; it removes that element from coming into play and creating a very large headache for the site staff. You have 2 options to circumvent having the issues you stated Pete. 1) Write your review in word and only post it when you're satisfied it is correct and complete. or 2) If you have a major gaffe or sent a blank/incomplete review by hitting the reply button on accident I'm more than willing to help members out by deleting their review so they can start over. Just send me a pm. I won't do this for every little mistaken typo, though. Also remember, reviews are not the only way to contact an author about their stories or writing in general; it is just the most convenient when you're reading. You can post a comment in their forum topic; most authors create those. You can also pm an author directly.

I don't have anything in progress that isn't an online serial story I'm waiting on updated. I've been focused on writing for the last day so I didn't read at all yesterday. Over the weekend I re-read Moon by Laurann Dohner, and Strength of the Pack by Kendall McKenna. I'm also in the midst of a judging for an online award contest so I read Star Wishes by Miss Martine Sunday night. Otherwise ... it's mostly just GA chapters and stories by new authors in the mod queue, though I make an exception for some other authors or beta jobs.

Yes! This is exactly what I wanted! Thanks guys. For those not commenting, you can also PM me questions if you don't want to pose them yourself! The authors might not all be able to participate on that day so if you want, you can send the questions to me early and I can include them in my initial blog post. As another alternative, readers can pose 'general' questions as well.

LOL Andy, Lugh! So ... if you want to do the question for author, what would your question be Jo Ann?

For May's Can't Stop Reading Book Club I decided to go an easy way out and pick short stories I know are site favorites since we were avoiding a novel. So, for this month we will be reading the past 3 year's Reader's Choice Best Anthology award winners! We'll have 4 stories, not 3, because the 2010 winners tied. I hope you enjoy reading one, or all, of these. HELP!!!: I'd love some feedback from participants for this month's discussion day. What would you like the format to be? More reviews? Thoughts on writing these stories from the authors? Include a question(s) posed by participants shared here to ask the authors, like a custom interview? Ask each reader to pick their favorite line from each story and why for the discussion day? 2010: A Chance Encounter by Jian Sierra (tie) (Contemporary Drama) Length: 6,729 Description: Due to their personal circumstances, Bill and Nate only had a day together. But as they get to know each other, something more than physical attraction developed. What happens when the day comes to an end? 2010: The Search for Pandora by Graeme (tie) (Sci-Fi) Length: 4,843 Description: Iswirl and Herk are searching for Herk's sister and they are down to their last lead. 2011: It Was A Holy Day by Lugh (Sci-Fi) Length: 16,493 Description: Prince Anarix is finally Bound. However, much to his father’s displeasure he cannot recall who that might be. Therefore, the King has given his only son until the moon turns to locate his mate or join the priesthood and forfeit the crown. 2012: A Friend In Need by Andy021278 (Contemporary Drama) Length: 3,812 Description: Michael has been through a lot, and his best friend Gavin has been there with him through it all. Michael now needs a kidney transplant. Just how far will Gavin go for Michael? With a little over 35k to read of varying styles, authors, and genres there should be something for everyone! I hope you enjoy these stories and are prepared to come back on May 27th for the discussion day. Don't forget to comment on my question; I want to keep this book club alive, please help me do so by making it interesting for everyone involved!

I don’t give an airborne copulation through a rotating pastry what they think. Freaking priceless. That line is absolutely awesome; I've never heard it before.

<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13397771-built-4-it" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Built 4 It" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328332391m/13397771.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13397771-built-4-it">Built 4 It</a> by Daisy Harris<br/> My rating: 4 of 5 stars<br /><br /> Made 4 It was an interesting story. I hadn’t read any other story in The Love-Bot series, but this still made a lot of sense to me. I get that there might be nuances of the supporting characters from earlier stories that I missed but the general gist of the world the author created made sense.<br /><br />Ala Frankenstein … but not nearly as primitive, scientists have created a whole style of lab rat that are actually legal and called steins. The ethics of such a thing, and the lack of humanity required to bring people back to life and then experiment on them, was a disturbing theme. I found the character of the head doctor, Frith, to be particularly callous and cruel. <br /><br />What was interesting to me was the way that humans reverted so much to animalistic tendencies as steins. They would create pack structures, used touch and physical cues to communicate when speech was beyond them. The leader, Kee, was the biggest and strongest … and curiously, also the smartest of them all. Emotions rule the steins’ actions … and Kee has a serious amount of emotion for the reluctant lab assistant Ben, who hates his job. <br /><br />Throughout the story, Kee grows, Ben learns new things … and they both get something they wanted. In the end, their differences don’t seem to matter that much, even if society would condemn Kee and Ben for them. Their journey, sometimes together and sometimes apart, was good and I liked the romance but I found the philosophical questions brought on by this story almost more interesting than the story itself.<br /><br />It begs the reader to question if the potential for Kee's recovery of his 'self', based on the electrical impulses of the device in his head that brought him back, would be limited to him for some reason. If given better implants could all steins regain full intelligence? What does that mean legally? Should people be brought back from the dead and limited to a certain level of intelligence deliberately? Can they be people again with all the same rights as the conventionally living if given a chance and should they be given that chance?<br /> Could this be possible in OUR future? <br /><br /><br /> <br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5881541-alicia-nordwell">View all my reviews</a>

Well, Jay, welcome to the non-lurker side of things! I hope you enjoy all that GA has to offer.

Not gunna waste ma smart grayish stuffs on that there fix (AN: duh, totally good work that took, like obveeosly totes 4vr).I might never right no more. *snickers*

Ooh, science geekiness. This is cool! Thoughts are percolating for a story now... the best use for obscure information, that I can think of at least.

Please don't forget to nominate your favorite short stories for next month's selections or you'll end up with mine.

It’s that time again … CSR’s Discussion Day. This month we read Josh’s Blog by Carl Holiday. I hope you enjoyed the story; I can’t wait to see what thoughts readers had. Below is a review by yours truly where I shared my feelings on the story and Carl’s writing. Check out the info afterward about CSR in general too; I need your help! Yes yours! Quite the comment to be starting off a review with, right? Yet, this paragraph is in the first chapter of the story, Josh’s Blog, by Carl Holiday. I don’t often read teen fiction, because there are parts I just don’t want to get a mental image of, lol, or the authors just don’t give the characters that ‘teen truth’. In this story, I think the teen character of Josh actually epitomizes the true reality of a teenage boy, as much as I can remember from being a teenage girl at least. He’s embarrassed by his parents, he’s frank and somewhat crude and worries entirely too much about his appearance. He shows that same character trait all through the story, like a lot of his personal comments during his visit in the old folks rehab center of Shady Maples. Carl’s writing is pretty smooth, and he definitely has the characters down pat. I think, partly because of the format of this story, a series of blogs, that I wasn’t quite as able to connect with the supporting characters or feel the scene. I’m probably more of a traditionalist and like immersing myself in an actual narrative/dialogue style plot rather than this monologue style. Still, the story is creative … in ways I can’t even begin to go into. I’m sure many of the other CSR participants will highlight the many facets of the story, so suffice it to say we have some drama (in a teenage story, NO WAY!) and some comedy, and a whole lot of really good writing! Check it out for yourself, if you haven’t had a chance yet, but be aware if you read on to check out the comments that there will probably be spoilers ahead! So, I’m always asking for more input from you guys. I’d love to see what sort of features you’d like to have in the CSR Book club. We get a lot of review discussions through the comments, but I’d like to see if there are things you guys would like. Should I do questionnaires for you to consider when writing up your posts? Coffee or muffin recipes to share for my fav book discussion times so you guys can enjoy them to? Change up the club format somehow? I want CSR to be popular, so that means you guys have a lot of input and say in what we do. Use it! For May, I did get some feedback requesting a change previously I’m going to do for this month. Instead of featuring a novel, I’d like to feature (3) short stories. You can read one, you can read them all… but it’ll give us variety and options. If you have any ideas for things during the Discussion blog day for this, let me know! So, when you post, don’t forget to add your nominations for May’s CSR features … your favorite short stories!

Thanks BigAKHorton! I'm so glad you enjoyed my stories!

Even keeping these thanks short... it's going to be long. Bear with me! Renee Stevens. No matter what, when it's important, she's there to help me. Site work, which I kinda suckered her into, beta reading, letting me vent whenever I need to or ramble on endlessly about plot ideas and paranormal mythos. Lugh. Cranky as he can be, lol, he also gets my ideas and helps me build on them and make them better. Comicfan. As busy as this man is, and he IS, he always has a kind word and offers to help when I really need someone to peek at a story. Cannd. A recent join to GA from off-site, she has a great mind for beta reading, anticipating and understanding plot progression and character portrayal. Her comments, reviews, and betas have improved my writing immensely. LJH. Louis has left me some amazing reviews. He's supportive of the authors on the site, and having personally received some of his excellent feedback, I truly appreciate his presence here on GA. Julie L. Hayes and M.A. Church. These two amazing authors have helped me with my writing, promotion, and marketing. I wouldn't have been nearly as successful in the last year if it weren't for them. John Colourfield and SidLove, both have helped me with special beta projects. Thank you! A big thank you to my readers, Bandage who comments on pretty much everything! Daddydavek, Daithi, avidreadr, lilansui, hillj69, clockworkprince ... and many many more. I wouldn't write if it weren't for you guys, and even when I fall apart and don't write for ages you don't hold it against me, which I truly appreciate. Thank you. On to my other teams... To the members of the mod and admin team I'm constantly pestering to do this or that, thanks for putting up with my bossiness! To the members of the WST, old and new ... thank you, thank you. I know I sometimes ask a lot, and having members stand up and agree to help out helps immensely. GA wouldn't be as amazing as it is if we didn't have so many great people here that give up their time and use their own special skills.

Hi Thorn, welcome to GA! I hope you will enjoy our writing community here. You are more than welcome to post; we love to see submissions from new authors. We do have some guidelines on posting, including some that were recently clarified about posting on GA and then epublishing, especially as it relates to removal of stories by site authors. I hate to see conflicts down the line, so please read the Author help topic in the site FAQ under the ? tab in the red menu bar. I approve all submissions by new authors and my PM box is always open if you have any questions; you can contact me through my profile. Again, welcome to the site!

Once again from yours truly... a look back at this week on Gay Authors! This week's blogs started with a review by Wicked Witch of The Rider's Pride by dkstories. This novel length story is a fanfiction of McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern stories. Dan did a great job creating a story in much the same manner of the original work; Wicked Witch called it a "superb piece of fanfiction". As a fan of the series since I was a girl, I have to agree! Wednesday brought something a little different; Myr shared a blog post on what the word free really means when it comes to GA. We heartily encourage members to support the site if they're able and to always remember that we strive to bring everyone the best experience on GA that we can, but sometimes we need a little support which can be done in various ways. Check out the blog, What Is Free?, for some suggestions on how to do that. Our resident prompt mastermind, Comicfan, brought us two new flash fiction prompts, a creative plot idea and a prompt where you feature a list of words. Let's see what authors can come up with for next week's featured response! Site Announcements: Don't forget April is Team Recognition Month! This chance to publicly thank your team is almost over! Please welcome K.C. as a Promising Author if you haven't already. Congrats again KC! Just Announced! Please welcome Michael9344 as our newest Promising Author! Anthology Announcements: Summer Anthology "Roll the Dice" - Due June 8th Summer Premium Content Anthology Event - (Paid Submission Call) 3 Themes! Due by June 15th. NEW READING: In Premium This Week: Empty Corners by Comicality By our Hosted Authors this week: In The Arms of An Angel by Nephylim Palouse by Rec 9.11 by Mark Arbour One Night by Cia Recovery by Nephylim Line of Sight by Renee Stevens Circumnavigation by CJames Harry Potter and the Destiny of Prophecies by dkstories Legacy by Altimexis By our Promising Authors this week: Blind Dates by FrenchCanadian Caught Behind the Shadows by Michael9344 The Road to the Future by JMH Pour Me Another by K.C. The Luxorian Fugitive by Mann Ramblings The Game They Played by Michael 9344 Scars - The things we bare by Comicfan That's it, whew! Our authors have been busy this week ... check out these, and more, under the Stories tab. Please remember to review if you like what you read!