Valkyrie

The posting of this year's Secret Author Contest will be delayed indefinitely due to Cia going through a tragic family emergency. Please respect her privacy and do not reach out to her and ask questions at this time, especially about when the SA stories will be published. We apologize for the delay, as we know this is a highly-anticipated event each year, but family matters take precedence, especially during a time like this. Thank you for your attention and understanding. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available. I thought it would be nice to feature some past Secret Author Contests, so decided to rewind back to 2016 and the Secret Admirer Contest. @Cole Matthews story Jager was the winner this year, and if you read it, you will see why. I will warn you - make sure you have plenty of tissues on hand. This story has stuck with me over the past ten years, and it's easily one of my all-time favorite SA or anthology stories. Check out all the stories and let the authors know how you liked them.

I totally understand. Now you have me thinking about if I read the other stories, for the same reason.

Prompts are designed to inspire and get people writing, so you can absolutely do any prompt at any time. You do not have to do both prompts and definitely can mix and match as you choose. Please copy/paste the link to your prompt story in the blog so people can find it. And you never know... we may decide to feature prompt stories in the blog too

In honor of the Secret Author Contest - don't forget to send your submissions to @Cia by July 16th - I'm going to feature 'secret' as the theme for today's prompts. Remember not to reveal if you're participating in the SA contest. Shhhh... it's secret! PT Prompt #350 Your best friend thinks they're keeping a secret, but it's obvious to anyone who knows them. How do you confront them about it? PT Prompt #351 Tell the tale of how you discovered a secret society. Do you join or are there other consequences to your discovery? Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre ‘prompt’ in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/

LPW stands for Last Post Wins, a thread in the Humor and Games forum.

I'm so sorry for what you are going through. I hope your meds continue to work to keep your pain at bay.

Happy GA-versary! Glad to have you here

When I was a kid, I loved going to the zoo and seeing the animals. I still do, even though I haven't gone in ages. Most people love the monkeys or the lions and tigers, but my favorite was always the capybara exhibit. I think it's because it was astounding to me that rodents could get that big. Plus, they're cute Anyway, my local zoo just got a new capybara named Mozzarella. And since life can be a bit chaotic, I thought today's prompts could use a zoo theme. There's also the matter of the missing giraffe in Texas. I know Texas is big, but how the heck do you lose a giraffe??? PT Prompt #346: Your local zoo just got a new animal and is holding a contest to name it. You win the contest. What's the animal, its name, and what did you win? PT Prompt #347: Your job is crazy and feels like a literal zoo. With so much on your plate, you end up making a colossal mistake. What's the outcome? Does it end badly or surprisingly well? Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre ‘prompt’ in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/

Thank you!

It's a big weekend for show jumping, with the third leg of the Longines League of Nations, and also the Hickstead Derby. I haven't really been following the World Cup. I don't tend to watch the major sports, but do follow our local teams and like when they do well.

This one is stuffed

I can't leave behind my stuffed capybara wearing bling and shades 😎

Thanks everyone but Steve! I'll read those prompt responses when I feel better. I have a horrible stomach bug

Well, it's somebody's birthday today 🐧so I figured I would post some totally random stuff that probably only makes sense to me. And probably @chris191070 and his time-traveling capybara. My birthday present from everyone can be writing a prompt response. @wildone PT Prompt #342 Use the following word list in a story: ceiling fan, penguin, closet, snapdragon, fork, rutabaga, otter PT Prompt #343 Tell the story of a birthday gone either horribly wrong, or horribly right. Or both. Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre ‘prompt’ in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/

I love reading short stories. Well-written short stories pack a punch and make the reader think. I still remember reading stories like The Lottery and Flowers for Algernon in school. I won't say how long ago that was... I also love writing short stories. For me, they're an experiment. Sometimes it's a thought experiment - I wonder what would happen if.... Sometimes it's a form experiment. Writing in third person vs first person or writing a story without dialogue. @Libby Drew wrote a wonderful guest article a few years ago on writing short stories, so I thought it would be a good time to re-feature it. Give a read, and let us know in the comments your thoughts on reading/writing short stories.

Anyone who hates John Denver is a monster And lying I listen to the radio in the car sometimes, but mostly listen to CDs at home or iTunes on my phone. I mainly listen to classic rock, German punk bands, and folk music.

We have two upcoming writing events - the Secret Author contest and the annual Anthology. All the information about participating can be found in the links below. While we are not allowed to talk about writing for the SA contest , we can talk about the anthology. How are everyone's stories coming along? Feel free to share any teasers in the comments.

I don't drink pop anymore, diet or otherwise, or anything sugary since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I never really cared for cola, although my favorite brand was Coke Classic. My favorite pop was ginger ale and Squirt. I do like carbonation though, so I drink flavored sparkling water, and occasionally Ice, although sometimes I find those a little too sweet.

Last week, I threw together a random list of words, and @chris191070 came up with a story that will make you react like this: Time-traveling capybaras... be sure to check it out! Now, on to this week's prompt. I decided to use another picture as a prompt. We're heading into summer, which means time to travel for a lot of people. This picture kind of spoke to me. Is the person who packed this mess of a suitcase going on a vacation? Work trip? Kicked out of their residence? So many possibilities... let's see where they take us! Be sure to copy/paste the link to your story/chapter in the comments, and maybe you'll be featured in a future blog. Now start writing! PT Prompt #339 Photo by Eduardo Ramos on Unsplash Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre ‘prompt’ in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/

Budget and reimbursement cuts. I worked for a non-profit serving adults with developmental disabilities.

I've spent a lot of my working life in jobs that require working holidays. I worked retail for a bit, and also spent a lot of time working on horse farms. The animals have to eat, even on holidays, the ingrates It was a novelty finding a career and jobs that actually have weekends and holidays off! Although even the holidays are slowly being taken away. When I started my old job in 2006, we had around 16 paid holidays, when I left 15 years later, we were down to 8. The best and worst parts of retail were definitely the people. There were some great customers and then some definitely not so great. The nice thing was that I got to see some people I hadn't seen in ages, like my old high school English teacher. He had retired, and I told him how much taking his classes meant to me, and that he was one of my all-time favorite teachers. He really appreciated hearing that, and sadly, he passed away a few years later.

I think you need to do a whole series on space capybaras.

What the ever-loving heck did I just read? Great take on the prompt!

I've started a new job, so with my attention focused on that, I may or may not have realized it's prompt Friday So, let's embrace that theme with a new prompt. PT Prompt #338 Word list: Use the following words in a story - late, work, capybara, airplane, pizza box, umbrella Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre ‘prompt’ in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/