Lugh

Time to go haunt Comicfan and see what he can drag out of the inspiration file for this week. Seems we have two new challenges. One is a Point of View challenge -- those are always interesting -- and one has the goal of animating an inanimate object. You've got a week. Make life interesting. Prompt 106 – Cue – The Fight Remember the last argument you got into? Change it into a story about two other people. The challenge is to tell the story from the other person’s point of view. Prompt 107 – Cue – Inanimate Life Everyone knows the old saying, “if these walls could talk.” Well imagine something that would be around someone for a while. Is it the blanket on the bed, a child’s beloved toy, or maybe the morning coffee mug? Bring that object to life and let it tell about the person it is always around. Our featured prompt response this week is by JOeKEool, AND JUST WHAT THE HELL AND just what the hell am I supposed to do with this? JUST dealing with sadness. Alone and amiss WHAT, now I start over. Start dealing with bliss? THE odds are against me. Do I get a kiss? HELL! Why do I feel like this might be my bris AM I gonna go for it? Then get a dis? I could not handle a boo or a hiss SUPPOSED to be here? Just me, vis a vis? TO let you see me? My soul looks like swiss DO I have a choice. I'm your Bro. You're my Sis WITH out reservation. It is what it is THIS is my new home. But no more of this! If you would like to leave him specific feed back please leave a review on his poem page. Thank you. Good Job JOeKEool! So who will it be next week?

FYI, there is a 500 CHARACTER limit on the description. This includes spaces and punctuation. If you would like five sentences, they would have to be very, very short sentences. Personally I would like to see a concise, attention grabbing description in the description and a more lengthy blurb in the story note, which allows up to 800 characters. Together they can provide quite a bit of useful information... HOWEVER, neither of these things really has much to do with "promotion" the idea behind this specific tip was to get people TO your story... granted getting them to open it is a very good idea, but you have to start somewhere, yes?

Herm, we've had a resource, a writing tip, an editing tip... how about a site tip? How to promote your story on GA: Just as you'd find with a book placed on the bookshelf in a store, your story can get lost on GA among the other stories if you don't make it stand out. Most importantly, imo, is to have a story that engages and interests readers and then try some of these other tips to help improve your fan base. 1. Post regularly if you are writing a serial work. We ask that you don't post more than one or two chapters a week to avoid flooding the system. On average, that amount of time seems to also provide the most readership feedback. 2. Make a discussion topic for your story in the appropriate forum. Individual forums for Promising/Hosted or the Stories Discussion forum for all other authors. Post a link in the topic whenever you update chapters if the story is a serial piece. 3. Mention the story posting in your status update. Do NOT spam by updating about your story posting multiple times unless you are posting for each new chapter posted. 4. Create a banner link or place a text link to your site signature to send readers to your story. 5. ALWAYS respond to comments and reviews by readers. 6. Read and review for other authors. Most people will check out the work of another author who is actively participating on the site and in GA Stories. For more information on how to promote your work or anyone else's for that matter, please read the FAQ: Basic Care Guide of Authors As usual, if there is something you would like to see explained or a tip written about, PM the idea and we will see what we can come up with in a future tip.

Well, here we are at Wednesday again, and it's time to look at something new. So, what shall we look at this time? Decisions, decisions... How about a promising author? Quonus10, known affectionately as Q10, has been writing here for about eighteen months. During that time he has made quite an impression on everyone who takes the time to stop and say hi. Well enough gab... here we go! What people are saying about Q10: TrevorTime on The Trial of Jordan Colmar: And on Second Shot: AnytaSunday on Q10's Stories in General: There you go... as usual, if you would like to contribute to our "What's New?" page, just drop me a PM with your review and we can discuss it. Read - Write - REVIEW!

there are three, nephy, and they each have a different purpose... one is for the author, one is for the story, and one is for facebook. It's ok to not click them all. Really, it is.

Everyone who has ever tried to pass eighth grade knows what a pain grammar can be, and one of the worst things in my personal opinion is punctuating dialogue. As many of you know, Cia edits for me, and one of her favorite things to do is smack me around for not putting proper punctuation around my speech tags. So, in honor of my favorite fallacy she agreed to educate everyone – enjoy! Important rules about structuring and punctuating dialogue: Definition of a speech tag: Any descriptive words preceeding or following dialogue that describes the speech. IE: said, muttered, asked, yelled, screeched, whispered, insisted, demanded. 1. When your dialogue is associated with a speech tag a comma should be placed within the punctuation marks at the end of the speech unless you use an exclamation or question mark. The first word in a speech tag directly after dialogue should be lowercase unless the word is a proper noun. IE: "Let me help you with that," he said. or "Let me help you with that," Billy said. 2. Speech tags that preceed dialogue should end with a comma and the first word of the dialogue should be capitalized. The dialogue inside the quotes should end with a period, question or exclamation mark as appropriate. IE: He said, "Let me help you with that." 3. A divided quotation dialogue can go in two different ways. Both sides of the dialogue should be within quotation marks. The first word in the second half of the divided quote should not be capitalized unless it begins a new sentence or is a proper noun. IE: "This story is long," he said, "but worth the time to read it." 4. Ellipses (...) and dashes (--) in dialogue. Ellipses indicate the speaker is trailing off and is pausing before either finishing the statement or not continuing. They should be spaced and if they occur at the end of the dialogue you need to include proper punctuation, either a period, question, or exclamation mark. Dashes indicated that the speaker was interrupted. If the speaker continues after the interruption the dialogue should be preceeded with dashes within the quotation marks. IE: "Do you know if he . . . ?" he trailed off and blushed as he looked away from her knowing grin. "Do you know if he—" "If he what?" "—said anything about me?" he asked as he blushed at her knowing grin. 5. Maybe the most important rule, imo, when writing dialogue you must start a new pargaraph EVERY time the speaker changes. IE: "Stop!" he yelled. The man kept running as he sneered over his shoulder. "I'd like to see you make me." "I will shoot!" Steve braced his gun, training it on the running burglar. The shot was loud in his ears. He calmly walked over to the man rolling on the ground. "You shot me in the knee," the man whimpered. "I did warn you."

Don't forget to leave her some reviews! If you love it.... "LOVE" it!

It's Monday again! Time for a new Featured Story Selection. Today, Tiger brings us one of his favorites, From Behind Those Eyes, by Viv. If you like stories about teenagers who play sports with a bit of angst about life and coming out -- well read on, this may be something you like. If not, well, it might surprise you, give it a try anyway. From Behind Those Eyes By Viv review by Tiger About a year after I joined GA, someone pointed out From Behind Those Eyes as a must-read story, and I am glad I read it. Recently, I decided to read the story once again. The story was a good read the first time around, and it wasn't long before I was enthralled by the story once again. From Behind Those Eyes is about a high school senior, Stephen Cooper. Stephen is a classic example of a closeted gay teen who feels that he has much to lose by coming out of the closet. For one thing, he is the class president as well as the captain and pitcher for the school's baseball team. The story begins with a school masquerade party, an event in the story from which the title is explained. Stephen has no idea who this young stranger is, but those beautiful eyes take his breath away. The two dance, and Stephen, for the first time, comes face to face with his own curiosity and his own fears at the very same time. Who is this young stranger? Well, he really doesn't know. He spends the next chapter or two trying to find the answer to that very question. Finally, through the events of the story, he finds out the name of this fine blond-haired, blue-eyed beau, and the rest is history. What's to follow is a story of coming out, of accepting yourself and discovering the love and romance you've denied yourself of having for your whole life. Stephen's boyfriend has his own secrets, and although he's out of the closet, he too struggles in a lot of ways. His outing was a very traumatic experience, and we soon discover that he needs Stephen just as much as Stephen needs him. Just like real life, there are some people who are less than accepting, if not outright antagonistic, toward their relationship. Jeremy and Tim are the story's quintessential homophobic jocks, and our protagonists may end up getting hurt, both physically and mentally, by these homophobic jerks. Will their relationship survive the storms? The dialogue is well-written except that toward the beginning, the author sometimes forgot to start a new paragraph when featuring dialogue from another character. However, I felt that this issue took away little from the story, and I was able to look past it. How about the sex? The sex scenes are very romantic and the words flow very well. You won't find the characters going all the way any time soon, but you'll find that their bedroom romance progresses throughout the story as the characters discover their sexuality. Rightfully so, there is a factor of fear as the two experience a lot of firsts together. What's the bottom line? I give the story, overall, a score of 4 out of 5. It's a must-read for any gay teen romance enthusiast. If you're looking for a story about coming out and about first time love, From Behind Those Eyes will deliver with plenty of laughs and tears along the way. As usual, our featured story can be found pinned on the GA Stories Welcome page for the next week.

This week we did so many things -- our Featured Story was Working it Out by Don Hanratty which a few of you read and commented on. I'm really hoping the rest of you will take a chance and do the same, this one is really worth a look. Sharon gave some great advice to authors, James suggested a book on writing, and we dregged up a Blast from our Past newsletters to make you laugh. Also, over the week, you had the chance to become aquainted with two of our newer stories, Ugly Davey by EmDee and Eye of the Tiger by John Doe. Finally, we were teased with writing prompts, and personally, I can't wait to see what they will bring next week. Hope you enjoyed our first week as much as I did! Announcements Reader's Choice Awards -- How to have your say! Nominations end Jan 29. Remember only the top people nominated in each category will make the ballot, so don't think that just because somone else nominated your favorate they will be in on the vote. Also remember there are PM nominations, you are only seeing some of them until a summary is posted. Nominate the ones you want to win. Also please remember that you may only nominate UP TO three stories / persons per category. There have been quite a few recent nominations who have forgotten this rule. Voting begins soon -- looking forward to as many, if not more voters! Anthology Announcements -- Spring Anthology "It Wasn't Me" Due March 8. Poetry Anthology "Cracks in Time" Due April 17th Novella Anthology "Secrets Can Kill" Due June 30? FSO Announcements -- "Valentine" Anthology due Jan 31 @ FSO You have ONE WEEK! General Announcements -- I'd like to thank those of you who participated in our Notification Deletion Day this month, there was a difference on the server. Please, remember to do this each and every month and remind your friends. Many of thise announcments are also on our calendar. If you would like a heads up on things to come, please subscribe to it by clicking the follow button or just take the occasional look by clicking on "calendar on the menu bar. Don't forget about the writing prompts. We will be posting one next Friday... why not yours? New Reading In Premium this week: Displacement by dkstories By our Hosted Authors this week: Circumnavigation by CJames Hypnotic Book 3 of Carthera Tales by Cia The Modern Writer as Performance Artist by Libby Drew Paternity Book 12 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) by Mark Arbour St. Vincent Book 5 of Bridgemont by Mark Arbour By our Promising Authors this week: Charlie by Hamen Cheese The Funny Thing Is by Jwolf The Strange Life of Jonas Marks by Comicfan Aglanthol 1 - The Legend of Khaalindaan by Dolores Esteban

How about a Blast From the Past? This was printed in our 2007 Vol2 Ed 4 Newsletter under Jokes: How To Write Good 1. Avoid alliteration. Always. 2. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. 3. Employ the vernacular. 4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. 6. Remember to never split an infinitive. 7. Contractions aren't necessary. 8. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. 9. One should never generalize. 10. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." 11. Comparisons are as bad as cliches. 12. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. 13. Be more or less specific. 14. Understatement is always best. 15. One-word sentences? Eliminate. 16. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 17. The passive voice is to be avoided. 18. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 19. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. 20. Who needs rhetorical questions? 21. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 22. Don't never use a double negation. 23. capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with point 24. Do not put statements in the negative form. 25. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. 26. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. 27. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. 28. A writer must not shift your point of view. 29. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) 30. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!!! 31. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to the irantecedents. 32. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. 33. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. 34. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. 35. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. 36. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. 37. Always pick on the correct idiom. 38. The adverb always follows the verb. 39. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They're old hat; seek viable alternatives. 2007 Vol2 Ed 4: Joke

Each week, our Writing Promp Guru, Comicfan, brings to you two (or more) prompts in the Writing Prompt forum, a subforum in the Writing Workshops forum. Writing Prompts are exercises for your writing muscles. They can help you get through writers block (creative prompts) or train specific muscles (technical prompts). They can even focus your writing muscles into new thought patterns (challenge prompts). Here are a few things to keep in mind to keep everyone safe, sane, and successful. This week the prompts are: #104 -- Life never has been easy on you. You thought nothing else could possibly upset you until you walked into the store and met your double. What sort of life do they lead? #105 – (first line) "And just what the hell am I supposed to do with this? Last week, one of the prompts #98 received an interesting response: The prompt -- Here is the situation - Five years ago your life was falling apart around your ears. With no real direction left you sign on to take part in a government experiment which will place you and 9 other people into lock up with no communication with the rest of the world until the time is up. Tomorrow the doors will automatically unlock allowing all of you out. What has it been like? Who are the others? What is the project you have been working on? The post, submitted by Cia -- They'd lied to us. We weren't working on an experiment. We were the experiment. I was shivering in my bed, the measly blanket that covered me not nearly enough to keep me warm. The effects of what they had done had changed others more than me but the sadistic bastards enjoyed torturing me more for some reason. Maybe it was because I'd killed one of them. I'd fought so hard for the first year. I didn't have much fight left in me. I had lost my savings and my family. With only days left on the lease of my cardboard box of an apartment in the slums, I'd desperately scanned the ads. I'd seen one for scientific service that seemed promising. They had said we'd be locked in the dome for five years. It was supposed to be an ecological study to see if humans could adapt to a new planetary environment. There had been a new planet discovered just outside of populated space and there were apparently creatures on 'MC-214-XXV' that were slaughtering the human troops they sent against them. We were supposed to be alone, no outside contact. That was just another lie. They wanted the planet. On my world what they wanted, they got. The nameless faces had stood behind thick clearplaz watching the experiments they performed on me. Four of the others had died immediately. Two had gone insane and damaged themselves so severely the doctors had put them down. Not before they dissected them though. They made the four of us still living watch while they did it. That was when I attacked, biting and clawing at the guard who had twisted my arm behind my back and faced me forward with a punishing grip on my neck. He'd died in convulsions, blood leaking out of his ears, nose, and eyes. I'd never killed anyone before. I was fiercely glad he was dead but they made me pay for it. I don't know how I survived the things they did to me. Somehow, I still felt sane but I wasn't sure if I really was. The other three had disappeared and I tried to listen, to find out what happened to them. I wanted to help them, even when I couldn't help myself. It was all for nothing though. I wasn't going to be alive much longer. I had discovered that if I held my hand against the metal door of my six by eight cell that I could feel the vibrations of anyone speaking in the corridor. Somehow I could understand what the vibrations were; could translate them into human words. The most interesting I'd heard before yesterday was whispered talk of an original specimen. One of the aliens that so confounded them was here. The five years the other nine desperate souls and I originally agreed to were up. But they had never planned to let us go. Not on Earth at least. I'd learned we were on a ship heading for MC-214-XXV. It had taken five years to get here. I was going to be sent down the planet. The experiments they'd done on me were an attempt to alter my DNA to mimic the aliens, to change me into someone that could survive and spy for them. Now that I knew what was going to happen I pulled out the one secret I'd managed to keep. I palmed a small sharp point I'd made from a screw that I had dug out of my bed, slipping it under the waistband of my pants. It wasn't much, but I'd rubbed the three inch bolt into what could be a lethal weapon. I had a feeling I'd need it. However, I didn't expect the dart that came through the small slot in my door. I slumped to the bed, unable to move. They hadn't darted me in a very long time. They had liked to see me struggle before I'd lost the will to do so. "You're about to go on a little adventure," the head doctor said. His smirk made me sick to my stomach. I tried to struggle when they stripped me but my limps were completely numb. One guard held up my screw and the doctor laughed. "What do you think you were going to do with that, hmm? Kill yourself? Don't worry... the odds are that the inhabitants of MC-214-XXV will be more than willing to oblige." He drew up a silvery blue liquid into a huge syringe and then injected it into my neck. The pain was overwhelming. It felt like acid eating into my body; the pain and pressure in my eyes and head felt like they were going to explode. I whimpered. "Why?" I forced out, panting at the effort that speaking took. "Science requires sacrifice," the doctor winked at me, "and you're the sacrifice." I tried to struggle as the guards carried me out of my cell and through the freezing corridors that made up the bowels of the ship. A secondary reaction to the liquid injected in me seemed to make me jerk spastically. I was dumped onto a metal slab and webbing came down over me. My head slumped to the side. I gasped. It was like looking at a man straight out of a vampire novel. He was pale white and his skin was covered in blue marks that traced all over his body, possibly designs or his veins, I didn't know. But... He looked like me! Or I looked like him. I wasn't sure which. His eyes were dark, almost solid black as he stared back at me. His mouth dropped open and I could see that he had fangs just like I did. The doctor leaned over me. "Don't worry, he can't kill you. His life depends on yours. The nanos we put in you are the antidote to a poison we injected him with. Without your saliva he'll die. You should live long enough to gather some interesting intelligence that we can use to eradicate the disgusting creatures. "Remember, science is sacrifice. You will die for the greater good of mankind." I wanted to smash his smug, sanctimonious face. I was naked, weaponless, and locked on a small shuttle with an alien. We were about to be sent down to the alien's planet; a place where no human had ever lived more than a single hour. I was so dead. Maybe that would be a good thing. Dead meant no more pain, right? The trip down to the planet was rough. My head slammed against the metal slab and after that it was all a blur. The web around me retracted when we hit the ground and I slid off the slab to lie in a boneless heap on the floor. The alien was on me in seconds. A humming sound reached my ears but whatever changes they had made to my DNA allowed me to translate sound vibrations in the air converted his words as well. "What are you?" "I'm a man," I said. "You don't smell like a man. You don't look like a man." The disgust was palpable in his tone. Claws on his hands dug into my shoulders as he stared down at me. "You understand me. You have my isitziu." One claw traced the blue lines that covered my chest. I didn't have claws. "They did it to me." "The men in the machine in the sky?" I nodded. I didn't struggle. "Are you going to kill me now?" "No. I am not stupid. I understood that nelho's words. If I kill you, I die too. If I die, my people would suffer. So... we will keep you alive I think." "We?" The question was unnecessary after just a moment. Hot, humid air swirled around our naked bodies, warming my chilled flesh. I heard the sound of the inner capsule door being opened and men swarmed inside. The small space was soon packed. "Seral, you are alive!" I heard one cry. His hum was so high pitched it was almost painful. The babble was too much for me to translate after that. Seral, if that was his name, did not get off me. Blue blood began to seep from the wounds in my shoulders. Between that injury, the near starvation I'd been kept in, and the effects of the fluid they'd injected into me, I was done. I was beginning to fade but not before I managed to hear Seral order the men to bind me and carry me with them to their city. "We shall study this creature." I wasn't going to die. I was going to be locked back up in another cage. Despair filled me. I was going to become another experiment, for the aliens this time. What would they do to me? “Kill me now," I whimpered, "please just kill me." "Oh no, little tziu, I won't do that." His fingers traced the marks on my skin again. "I will discover everything that is in you and then we will see just who you are to me. The nelho have given us a gift that has great worth, one they can't even begin to imagine." As you can see... this can be a great way to write some really fun short fiction. So, get to the prompts and maybe we will see you up here next week!

it is possible, sort of, and with wordpress too, I don't know why he didn't just use it. It wouldn't be so much invite-only but password required, so people would have to ask for it, or be given it by someone who had it. I do it with some of my stories that do not "fit" GA's criteria. All he would have had to do was put up a splash that the story was unavailable. It would have been true.

Today you are being brought a book selection. The Essential Writer's Reference is an outstanding resource if you can get your hands on one. They do come used, and very cheap. If you would like more books for writers, both old and new, there is a thread in the writer's corner where they can be found. The Oxford Essential Writer's Reference Berkley Press, 2005. This is an excellent writer's reference that is current and more relevant to the task of creative writing than the Little, Brown Handbook. Its focus is more on langauge usage form. The text is divided into 19 sections: I. Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling and Usage Guides II. A List of the Most commonly Used Foreign Words and Phrases III. 100 Tricky Usage Problems IV. 100 Rare 50 Cent Words and their Meaning V. 125 Synonym Studies VI. Proofreaders Marks and their Meaning VII. Common Citation Styles VIII. A List of Cliches to Avoid IX. A List of Common Rhetorical Devices, Poetic Meters, and Form X. A Quick Guide to all the plays of Shakespeare XI. A Timeline of Great Work of English Literature XII. Biblical Quotes, Characters and Books of the Bible XIII. Major Mythological Characters XIV. A List of Great Print Resources that can be Found at Most Libraries XV. A List of Writer's Advocacy Orginazations XVI. How to Copyright Your Work XVII. A Commonsense Guide to Manuscript Formats XVIII. great Websites for Writers XIX. Forms of Address for Letter Writing copyrights: Jane Aaron, Longman Press 1998. This particular book was recommended by jamessavik. If you have a book or site you would like to suggest, PM me or add it to the thread linked above.

Today we would like to introduce you to two in progress stories added to GA Stories in the past few months, Eye of the Tiger is John Doe's third story on Gay Authors. Ugly Davey is EmDee's first. Here is what a few of our readers have to say about them: Eye of the Tiger by John Doe Romance/Fantasy Adventure reviewed by CassieQ One of the things that interested me in Eye of Tiger is that it was a fantasy story, which is one of my favorite genres. But it was unlike any typical fantasy story that I have ever read. In fact, there is nothing typical about it at all. Qin Xue is a senior in high school. He is gay, into origami and in his own words an "ultra-nerd or maybe the super geek". He is surrounded by a host of interesting friends: Lisa, a teenage potion witch, Alek the "hot" new kid who takes an unusual interest in Qin and Loren, one of the "Todds" who used to bully Qin only to later have him to thank for saving his life. Qin is also the priest of Baihu, white tiger of the west/Byakko of the western skies, guardian of the autumn season. I love the Chinese/Japanese flavoring of this tale, and the way the eastern mythology is woven into a suspenseful fantasy setting, giving this story a refreshing new perspective. Qin is also a great character, who deals with both mystical experiences--powers he gains from his priesthood and his encounters with Byakko along with the "real world" problems teenagers also face…like dealing with his parents, the loss of internet at home (the horror)! and dodging bullies at his school. Qin is a delightful narrator for this story; even as he goes through some hard times, Qin's perception of the world, filtered through a type of self depreciating amusement, is fun to read, taking events in stride without weighing issues down in a depressing manner. And the story itself is full of surprises and is completely unpredictable. I never know what is going to happen next and I always look forward to new chapters! Ugly Davey by EmDee 3 short views Bugeye: A story in progress, consisting of 13 chapters and 30,000 plus words at the moment. The very first chapter sets up the story premise. You know what is going to take place, you just don’t know the details, consequences, and hopefully laughs to come. Two very charming best friends are introduced and enough information about them is related anecdotally to make them instantly likable and solid in the reader’s eye. This first chapter makes a big promise of a enjoyable and fun read to follow. The idea behind this plot setup is pop culture based but with a twist of course. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the story and based on this first chapter I think I will have a good time. Clever and cute and adorable and sweet. So I loved it. Freddyness: Ugly Davey is a brilliant story that conveys the feelings of Davey across to the reader, it enchants you to want to read on and one of his and his best friends pranks grows out of hand. Over all i think this story is amazingly written and unlike most story it doesn't wither out half way through the plot, interest is kept even during the lesser dramatic parts of the story. The Editor's POV: Why I like Ugly Davey? Hmmm, well, I think the main draw for me, would be that it's a fresh plot. it's something I don't see very often. I think this plot-line has tons of potential to be developed, and I'd like to see how she does that. the overall tone/mood of the story is pretty happy and upbeat without being exaggeratedly so. I'm looking forward to see what's coming, because the readers know that there's going to be a big conflict coming up, but the path/build up towards that particular conflict point is unpredictable, which makes it exciting to follow. Plus she writes well and she's been doing all this by herself (I only started helping her very recently), Now that you have read what they have had to say.... what do you have to say? If you have a favorite story you would like to see highlighted, send a PM... we'll talk.

Tip Tuesdays is being lead off with a short article written by one of the hardest working editors on the site, Sharon. In the future, on Tuesdays, you can look forward to writing, editing, site, or other tips that we think you may find useful. If you have something you would like to share, drop a PM and let me know. Good for you! But take it from a veteran editor and reader, it takes more than the desire to put pen to paper. Or keys to screen. Trust me…it took me two days to write this article. And it’s not very long. If I could give just one piece of advice to a new author, it would be to brush up on the basic rules of grammar. We’re not talking about anything fancy here, just good old spelling and dialog punctuation. If these are not your strong suit, find a good book or website to use for reference. There are plenty of them out there that present information in a fun and entertaining way. Find one, or like me, ten that works for you. Also, check the options on whatever word-processing program you use and set the spellchecker, grammar, and style functions to the highest level. Don’t take the suggested corrections at face value, though. Most spellcheckers won’t catch everything. But at least things that may need a second look are highlighted. Spend the time to understand what these tools are telling you. Correcting mistakes in spelling, grammar, and style will make your writing more enjoyable to read. As a reader, these basic errors act as speed bumps for the eyes. They break a story’s ebb and flow. You may think your plot is wonderfully entertaining, your characters extremely well developed. And they very well may be. You could have the next Pulitzer winner for fiction all ready to flow off your fingertips. But if a reader has to stumble over the incorrect use of ‘there’, ‘their’, and ‘they’re’ too many times, you’ll lose them in the first chapter. So you want to be an author? Then do it. Write. Write with passion, heart, and flair. But learn your craft first and give your future readers your best effort. Copyright © 2011 sat8997; All Rights Reserved.

Today GA is proud to say we are beginning our Hosted Author's Featured Story Mondays. We would like to begin this journey by introducing you, our readers, to one of our oldest hosted authors, Don Hanratty, and his trilogy, Working It Out. Cia was so gracious as to do our first review. If you can, stop by and give it a look and drop off a few reviews of your own. It can be found pinned on the GA Stories Welcome page for the next week. Working it Out by Don Hanratty review by Cia The first stories I read on GA were Don's. Working It Out was a story I enjoyed immensely for many reasons. In order to review it, since it has been two years or so since I read it, I decided to give it a quick skim. That was about eight hours ago. In the midst of going about life-feeding the kids, grocery shopping, dishes and laundry-I was hooked once again. That, I think, is one of Don's strongest attributes as a writer. No matter the content of the stories you can't help but be sucked in to their lives. Working It Out is an excellent example of that. The young men in the story are just entering college, they come from fairly affluent families and they're jocks on scholarship who become roommates. Mike is gay. Matt is not. Somehow time and events change that. Yes, the guy turned gay for his friend who loves him is a plot device used by many but in this case Don not only made it seem plausible but as if there was no other direction for the story to take. Over the course of the several years that the story encompasses many things happen to both Matt and Mike. Loss, pain, death, religion... these are all subjects that come up as they face death of loved ones, plus discrimination and violence after they come out. Their relationship shifts along with their relationship to the Broman family members who play key parts in the story. All in all, while I don't think the story is strictly realistic, I was able to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy it. With plenty of heartbreak, I barely came out of it without the sniffles this time. Don't even ask how many tissues I went through the first time I read Working It Out. That was between groaning and laughing at the Broman brother's torture of Mike with extremely lame jokes which inserted some much needed levity into the story. Don's writing is nearly flawless when it comes to technical skills like grammar, punctuation, and spelling. He instills lessons along with some very pertinent life philosophy but he keeps it to a believable level. Many of the 'lessons' are ones that I think two college age guys with an actively involved, religious and conscientious family would be taught. Between those times the guys make mistakes, goof off and act like teenagers and young twenty somethings do. The story has several sex scenes as well as mentions of 'off-screen' sex. For this type of story, essentially a modern romance, they were vital for the storyline. The scenes themselves were well done, graphic but not vulgar, just as I imagine athletic sex between two young men like Matt and Mike would be. So, my opinion? 4.5 out of 5 stars if I had to rate it. The story was an excellent work of fiction and one that I was happy to read again. It makes me think I should go back and read more of the older stories. Lucky for me Don has Working It Out 2 & 3 completed.

Welcome to the new Daily GA News Blog! Starting today, we will be running a Daily blog. We have content all lined up and volunteers gathering more. Here is the weekly format: Sundays - Weekly wrap up of everything going on during the week, various announcements, and special features. Mondays - Hosted Author Story of the Week. (Story will also be pinned in GA.Stories for the week) Tuesdays - Tips (Writing/Editing/Laundry?) Wednesdays - What's New? Thursdays - Tips (Writing/Editing/Dieting?) Fridays - Writing Prompts Saturdays - Grab Bag including Author Interviews, Blasts from the Past, Humor, and other things. Be sure to check in daily for news, tips, reviews, and reading suggestions! *if you would like to volunteer, just shout! Announcements Reader's Choice Awards -- How to have your say! Nominations end Jan 29, Remember only the top people nominated in each category will make the ballot, so don't think that just because somone else nominated your favorate they will be in on the vote. Also remember there are PM nominations, you are only seeing some of them. Nominate the ones you want to win. Anthology Announcements -- Spring Anthology "It Wasn't Me" Due March 8. Poetry Anthology "Cracks in Time" Due April 17th Novella Anthology "Secrets Can Kill" Due June 30? FSO Announcements -- "Valentine" Anthology due Jan 31 @ FSO General Announcements -- Notification Deletion Day!, Monthy on the 15th of each month Please delete your old notifications so our back ups don't bog down! Many of thise announcments are also on our calendar. If you would like a heads up on things to come, please subscribe to it by clicking the follow button or just take the occasional look by clicking on "calendar on the menu bar. As a general reminder -- don't forget about the writing prompts. New Reading In Premium this week: Displacement dkstories By our Hosted Authors this week: Inside of You Book 4 of Carthera Tales Cia Circumnavigation Cjames Paternity Book 12 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Mark Arbour The Secret Life of Billy Chase 6 Book 6 of Billy Chase Chronicles Comicality New Kid In School Comicality St. Vincent Book 5 of Bridgemont Mark Arbour Kiss Of An Angel Comicality By our Promising Authors this week: Charlie Hamen Cheese Aglanthol 1 - The Legend of Khaalindaan Dolores Esteban Aglanthol 2 - Side Stories (The Legend of Murdock etc.) Dolores Esteban Coming Next Week: Blast from the Past -- 2007! Writing Tips from Sat8997 and Jamessavik Some interesting responses to the writing prompts and The Spotlight is on Don Hanratty

“Down The Rabbit Hole” –Tales of slipping into new worlds. July 31, 2012 paid Take us on a journey to another world. Think: Neverland, Oz, Wonderland, Fantasia, Narnia, Sliders, The Phantom Tollbooth, and Wind in the Doorway. We want to know what could happen in another place other than here, where the rules are new and unique. We prefer short stories in the 3,500- 7,000 word range, but will consider stories from 1,500-10,000 words.

Dark Finds May 30, 2012 paid Stories about cursed objects and things. Think old dusty shops in back alleyways. A person can “find” something dark in themselves too. Most genres will be accepted as long as the theme is there: must be a secret of some sort in the story. Word count is 3,000-6,000 FIRM

Soul Reflections April 15, 2012 Midnight (EST) paid They say that the mirror reflects the soul, the Egyptians believed that the shadow held great power and could move at great speeds, and Narcissus believed that his reflection in water was a vision of his own sister - a woman of unsurpassed beauty. Sometimes a reflection shows us what we want to see, other times it shows us the horrors of what we don't. We are looking for dark fantasy/horror stories revealing the truth behind the reflections, and most certainly not limited to those mentioned. Looking for short stories in the 3,500- 6,000 word range, but will consider stories slightly over 6,000 words. Lower word count is FIRM.

Sins of the Seven March 30, 2012 paid Stories focused on the Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony. This is a collection of stories to be enjoyed by everyone, please keep excessive cussing and sex out unless integral to your character. Word count is 3,000-6,000 FIRM

“Dead Rush” Old West Horror February 28, 2012 $paid$ We want all your dead, dying, and undead horrible people and creatures shooting it out, drinking it up, and carrying on in the old west. Think John Wayne and then make it truly terrifying. This is not strictly a horror anthology, this can be any genre—required to include the old west. Don’t forget about the old miners saloons and taverns, and the old mining shafts. Prefer stories written in the third person—will consider first person if you knock our socks off. We prefer short stories in the 3,500- 7,000 word range, but will consider stories from 1,500-10,000 words.

preschool? no no no! is this for "day care" or "education"?

hugs... you will survive! Miss you.

far as I know best anthology is best anthology no matter the format.... "poetry" is like for "poems" by "poets"