Valkyrie

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Bring it on

April is National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), which is why we feature the poetry anthology then. The goal of NaPoWriMo is to write 30 poems in 30 days. I've completed this task several times, generally using daily poetry prompts. I thought I'd feature a couple of my favorite prompts to see what others come up with. Maybe it will be something to use in the anthology. PT Prompt #327: Write a series of short stanzas that personify adjectives or abstract nouns. For example: Patient smiles politely as Clueless prattles on. Fate locks eyes across the room, his sentence abandoned mid-thought. Expectation drums his fingers, disappointed he was not met. Wonder stares wide-eyed at Fate. Truth careens around the room like a drunkard, causing sobriety with each slam. PT Prompt #328: Write a poem made up of suggestions (real or absurd) for appropriate manners or behavior in specific situations. You might talk about being taught manners. Or you might simply entitle your poem “Manners” and go somewhere unexpected. Example: But in some countries, Not burping after a meal Is considered rude. 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/

Thanks for the reminder! I'll add them now.

There's a little over one month to go before our annual poetry anthology goes live, so it's time to check in and see how everyone is coming along. I have some ideas, but haven't put them to paper yet. Feel free to share a snippet or how many poems you've written or plan to write.

Welcome, Davide! I love capybaras too. They were always my favorite animal to see at the zoo. Authors need readers, and authors here love interacting with readers, so don't feel awkward. There are plenty of non-authors who participate in the forums too.

Thanks! I've written quite a bit of poetry, so I hope you enjoy.

Last week, we explored Haiku as an introduction to writing poetry. This week, I'd like to discuss free verse. Remember that poetry does not have to incorporate rhyming or meter or stick to a particular form. Free verse embraces that concept, which gives the writer virtually unlimited freedom to express their thoughts. Free verse does not follow any particular form or rhythm. It tends to follow natural speech patterns, but doesn't have to. I think of poetry as painting word pictures - it's the ultimate exercise of 'show vs tell'. It can tell a story or describe a moment in time, or be pretty much whatever you want it to be. Here is an example of a free verse poem I wrote for the 2023 Poetry Anthology - Exploration. Sandcastles I watch you sit cross-legged at the edge of the cliff, as white-capped waves resculpt what’s left of the beach. The route we walked just hours earlier, exploring and climbing crumbling shale precipices, submerged and inaccessible. Now sand and water collide, advancing and receding as one. New crevices create temporary ponds, blocking the path to the fallen tree serving as bridge between camp and water. The same bridge where you steadied me with firm hands, when my steps faltered. A sturdy log leading to the bright beach where we ran and laughed and sang songs around the campfire, Eventually realizing we were water and sand, a temporary structure waiting for high tide. Bright sunlight briefly peeked through the dark clouds, creating a halo around your auburn hair, contrasting the angry surf. In that moment, you were holy to me. Sacred, untouchable, a sandcastle slipping through my fingers. Now let's see what you guys come up with. Let me know if there are any particular forms of poetry that you'd like me to dive deeper into. And don't forget to RSVP to the poetry anthology event!

A lot of the US is experiencing record cold temps. In my area, we came close to equaling a fifty-year-old record for longest cold snap. I don't remember the last time we were above freezing, and temps in the 20sF felt like a heat wave this week. Sadly, it's going to get worse before it gets better. This weekend is on track to be the coldest temps yet, along with good ol' lake effect snow. Is it spring yet? Our local groundhog said it would be an early spring, but I don't believe him. Since Jack Frost is in his glory right now, let's go on vacation and flip him off as we head to warmer destinations. PT Prompt #323 Describe your dream vacation. Include all the wh- words - who, what, when, where, why. PT Prompt #324 Take the reader on a sensory journey without explicitly telling us where you are. Describe the sights, sounds, smell, tastes, etc. 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/

Yes, those are fun! I did an Acrostic poem with the individuals I work with once. I think it was for RAINBOW and I asked each of them to come up with a line. It came out really good. I'll try to find it.

Writing poetry can be an intimidating prospect when you've never done it before, but it doesn't have to be. Like our Poetry Anthology theme this year - Choices - you can choose to give it a go and see how it turns out. Many people think of things like sonnets, ballads, iambic pentameter, and rhyming when it comes to poetry. Meter, form, and structure, oh my! Some of these forms intimidate even seasoned poets. But we don't need to be Shakespeare to express ourselves. Start simple. Haiku is a great starting point for beginner poets. It's an introduction to form without being overwhelming. Haiku are typically centered around nature, but they don't have to be. They are composed of three unrhyming lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. This is an example I wrote for National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) in 2017: Happy Place Multi-hued valley Visible breath, pounding hearts Two legs astride four This poem was based off the following prompt: “Field Guides” Let your poem tell of a small, resonating memory of a moment’s observation of the natural world. The suggested form was a Haiku. You can also choose to explore and play with this form. During the same week for NaPoWriMo 2017 I wrote a "reverse" Haiku - following 7-5-7 syllables instead of the typical 5-7-5. Ruins Stone towers lie recumbent No longer reaching For blue, but consumed by green. So, try out some haiku and see how it goes. Maybe you'll end up with enough to feature in the anthology. Stay tuned to future blogs for more poetry suggestions!

It's more of a young adult story. It's called Where the Red Fern Grows. If you read it, have a box of tissues handy.

The Velveteen Rabbit also wrecked me. I swear it's why I have an unhealthy attachment to stuff. You totally need to write that story!

OMG me too

I was recently looking for a new series to binge-watch during the nasty winter storm we just had and found a few that were promising based on the description. Then I read the title "The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart". Hmmm... intriguing. I scrolled past, then said I couldn't pass up something with such an interesting title. So over the next couple of days I discovered what the lost flowers were and who Alice Hart was. It was a riveting story, and I highly recommend it if anyone is looking for something to watch. Anyway, it got me thinking about titles and how they draw people in or turn them away. Let's explore the art of a good title. PT Prompt #321 Choose an existing title and write a short story about it. PT Prompt #322 Think of a title first, then write the story. 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/

It's here! The moment we've all been eagerly waiting for! It's time to announce the 2026 Anthology theme! But before we do, you know we like to keep everyone on their toes, so there's a bit of a twist for 2026. This year we decided on.... Two themes! So if one doesn't strike your fancy, hopefully the other one will. Ideally, both will inspire authors to write a story for each. So without further ado, here are the themes for the 2026 GA Anthology! Horizons and Unspoken Guidelines can be found below: 2026 Anthology - Due: October 1, 2026 2026 Themes are: Horizons, Unspoken Feel free to interpret the themes in any way you want. The anthologies are not exclusive, but inclusive, so don't worry if you think your entry has only a tangential link to the theme. If you are inspired, then write a short story, poem, or play! Please read these submission guidelines carefully. You may address these themes in any style or genre you choose. Be creative! However, please note this is an anthology of short stories. By definition, a short story must stand alone and not require reading a prior story. It therefore cannot be a chapter in a serial. Who may participate: Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. However, you must be a member here at GA with author or poet status (which is free and can be purchased through the Activities tab: Store link). Please RSVP to the 2026 Anthology event (can be found by accessing the activity tab, then events) to receive reminders and also to give the anthology team an idea of number of participants. Submission Guidelines Submission Date: October 1, 2026 Please Note: Submission date is for submission to the Anthology Proof Team. Non-Poetry No Story Limit: Each story submitted must meet quality and editing guidelines. Each story posted as its own submission Minimum word count per story: 1,000 Maximum word count per story: 25,000 Poetry Unlimited number of poems, up to 10,000 words total Posted as a single submission (a collection) Submission Procedure *Please read carefully* Once your story is complete and has gone through your beta and editing team, please complete the following steps: Contact @Valkyrie via PM. Include in the PM the following information: Title, original editor, genre, synopsis, word count, and excerpt in the body of the PM. Attach your story file as a Word document. Please send as a .doc or .docx if possible. We have had issues with .odt documents. You will be paired with a proofreader from the Anthology Proof Team who will perform a final proof for the anthology and return the file to you. *Please Note: Prior editing required before submission.* Once you receive your proofed file, complete your edits and submit your story into the GA Stories Archive. For help, please read How do I upload my anthology entry into GA Stories? o Make sure the story stays unpublished (DO NOT click on either the publish or publish now buttons for the story itself or later when adding a chapter/chapters.) Select “Fiction” as the category. It will be moved later by staff. A maximum of four chapters may be included, but submitting the story as one chapter is highly preferred. Due to site limitations, if there are multiple chapters submitted, one chapter will post every 24 hours. This is not something we can change. When submitting multiple chapters, DO NOT SET A DATE for the ‘story’ or the chapters. Site staff will set the dates for you once they are moved to the anthology category. The ‘story’ and first chapter will publish on the anthology release date, and subsequently, additional chapters will post every 24 hours after that. Not following this guideline results in a LOT of extra work for staff, and you will risk your story not being included in the anthology. Mark your story status as COMPLETE. Only completed stories are allowed in the anthologies Please note that once you submit a story it will NOT show up in your list of stories until the anthology has gone live. Copy the URL for your story (not a chapter page) and paste it in the announcement thread in the Writer’s Circle so your submission may be checked to ensure it meets submission guidelines and is moved to the anthology category. ***Please do a visual check of your story once it has been uploaded to ensure that it posted correctly. If it did not, contact @Cia or @Valkyrie. IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT do ANYTHING with your story once it has been submitted to the anthology. We lock edits to anthologies, but we can only lock so much and making ANY changes can cause issues with the system. If there is something with your story that absolutely needs fixed, added, etc, PLEASE contact @Cia or @Valkyrie. Thank you! Extensions Occasionally things happen that prevent an author from meeting the deadline. If you need an extension, contact Valkyrie before the deadline (not the day of or after), and something may be able to be worked out. If you have NOT made arrangements prior to the deadline, your anthology story will not be included. You are welcome to post your story independently and include a story note stating it was originally meant to be part of the anthology. Story Titles Please do not use the anthology theme or your GA Username as a title. Be as original as you can. In case of duplicate titles within the anthology, we will request that titles be changed. Unacceptable entries & Content Warnings Entries that are obviously unedited (containing many errors) or that violate site guidelines will be either declined or changes may be requested as a condition of entry. For information on what is considered to be unacceptable, please see the Story Content Rules FAQ. Please include a Content Warning in the story notes if your story contains sensitive content, e.g.: abuse-physical, mental, sexual, extreme violence, taboo topics, etc.... Previously posted stories (whether at GA or elsewhere) are not eligible for inclusion into the GA anthologies. Editing All entries MUST be edited prior to being sent to the Anthology Proof Team. If you need an editor, please visit the Editors section of the Writer’s Club to request one. Please make sure to follow the guidelines when requesting an editor. The proof team is under no obligation to provide a proofread of a story until it has been edited. Proofreads should take no more than 72 hours once you have been paired with a proofreader. If you have not received your story back within 72 hours, please contact Valkyrie via PM. If you send your stories in within the last 48 hours of the deadline, you have 48 hours after receiving it back to upload it in order for it to be included in the Anthology. Copyright As with all content in GA Stories, the rights remain with the individual authors. Your story will post with a simple 2026 copyright notice, using your GA user display name. If you have another preference (for example, a different name, or a Creative Commons license, or specific copyright wording you'd like to use), please include that with your submission. However, with this anthology, by submitting your story, you are giving GayAuthors.org first worldwide rights with 14 days exclusivity. What that means is you are giving GayAuthors.org permission to archive your story on its website, distribute it via RSS, kindle, iPhone, iPad, eyeball… and you agree not to publish it anywhere else for two weeks. If you later decide to post your story at another site, please mention at the beginning or end of the story that it was first published as part of the 202 Gay Authors Anthology – Horizons or Unspoken and include a link back to GA if possible. If you have any questions, please post them in the Anthology Forum. and be sure to let us know you are going to participate:

I got a gift this Christmas of writing dice, so decided to roll them and use the results here. My friends know me so well! 😁 I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. PT Prompt #318 Character traits: stubborn, empathetic Conflict: man vs technology Setting: Foreign country Theme: Power POV: first person Time: Ancient history 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/

The GA Poetry Anthology is returning for 2026 with the theme "Choices"! We face all different kinds of choices in life, so this would be a great opportunity to explore some of them. I look forward to reading what our site poets come up with! Submitted poems will be featured throughout the month of April to celebrate National Poetry Month. I will work on getting the threads set up in the anthology forum and the event posted. Give me a little time to get that done. 2026 Poetry Anthology - Due: March 30, 2026 The 2026 Theme is “Choices” Feel free to interpret the theme in any way you want. The anthologies are not exclusive, but inclusive, so don't worry if you think your entry has only a tangential link to the theme. If you are inspired, then write some poetry! Please read these submission guidelines carefully. You may address this theme in any poetic style. Be creative! However, please note that this anthology, UNLIKE the other GA anthologies, is an anthology of poems. Therefore, no prose allowed, unless it is prose poetry. Who may participate: Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. However, you must be a member here at GA with author or poet status (which is free and can be purchased through the Activities tab: Store link). Please RSVP to the 2026 Poetry Anthology – Choices event (can be found by accessing the activity tab, then events) to receive reminders and also to give the anthology team an idea of number of participants. Submission Guidelines Submission Date: March 30, 2026 Please Note: Anthology submissions must be uploaded into Stories and the link posted in the 2026 Poetry Anthology Choices Links topic, which can be found under the Anthology tab in the Writer’s Circle Club, by midnight EST March 30, 2026. Your entry must include the following: At least one poem – there is no upper limit; however, submissions may not exceed 10,000 words total. Posted as a single story submission A maximum of five chapters may be included (“chapters” may consist of multiple poems). Due to site limitations, if there are multiple chapters submitted, one chapter will post every 24 hours. This is not something we can change. When submitting multiple chapters, DO NOT SET A DATE FOR THE ‘STORY’ OR CHAPTERS! Site staff will set the dates for you once they are moved to the anthology category. The ‘story’ and first chapter will publish on the anthology release date, and subsequently, additional chapters will post every 24 hours after that. Submission Procedure *Please read carefully* Once your poetry collection is complete and has gone through your beta and editing team, please complete the following steps: Submit your poems into the GA Stories Archive. For help, please read How do I upload my anthology entry into GA Stories? Make sure the story is unpublished. Select “Fiction” as the category. It will be moved later by staff. Mark your story status as COMPLETE. Only completed works are allowed in the anthologies. Please note that once you submit an unpublished story for the anthology, it will NOT show up in your list of stories for readers until the anthology has gone live. Copy the URL for your story (not any chapter page) and paste it in the links topic so your submission may be checked to ensure it meets submission guidelines and can be moved to the anthology category. [*]Please do a visual check of your story once it has been uploaded to ensure that it posted correctly. If it did not, contact @Cia or Valkyrie. IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT do ANYTHING with your story once it has been submitted to the anthology. We lock edits to anthologies, but we can only lock so much and making ANY changes can cause issues with the system. If there is something with your story that absolutely needs fixed, added, etc, PLEASE contact @Cia or Valkyrie. Thank you! Extensions Occasionally things happen that prevent an author from meeting the deadline. If you need an extension, contact @Valkyrie or @Cia before the deadline (not the day of or after), and something may be able to be worked out. If you have NOT made arrangements prior to the deadline, your anthology entry will not be included. You are welcome to post your poetry independently and include a story note stating it was originally meant to be part of the anthology. Poem Titles Please do not use the anthology theme or your GA Username as a title. Be as original as you can. In case of duplicate titles within the anthology, we will request that titles be changed. No foreign language or ALL CAPS for the titles, please. Unacceptable entries & Content Warnings Entries that are obviously unedited (containing many errors) or that violate site guidelines will be either declined or changes may be requested as a condition of entry. For information on what is considered to be unacceptable, please see the Story Content Rules FAQ. Please include a Content Warning in the story notes if your story contains sensitive content, e.g.: abuse-physical, mental, sexual, extreme violence, taboo topics, etc... Previously posted stories/poetry (whether at GA or elsewhere) are not eligible for inclusion into the GA anthologies. Editing All entries MUST be edited prior to being uploaded. If you need an editor, please visit the https://gayauthors.org/forums/forum/372-editors/ forum to request one. We recognize that poetry sometimes breaks the rules when it comes to grammar and wordplay; therefore, it is not a requirement for poetry to go through the Anthology Proof Team. If you would like your poems reviewed for obvious misspelling, misused words, or something specific to the form you’ve attempted, then please contact Valkyrie and a proof team member will review your submission. PLEASE do not format text beyond bold and italics unless absolutely necessary. Changing the font color, size, etc… or other excess formatting breaks the custom GA reader controls which are helpful to those who may have visual impairments. Copyright As with all content in GA Stories, the rights remain with the individual authors. Your story will post with a simple 2026 copyright notice, using your GA user display name. If you have another preference (for example, a different name, or a Creative Commons license, or specific copyright wording you'd like to use), please include that with your submission. However, with this anthology, by submitting your poetry, you are giving GayAuthors.org first worldwide rights with 14 days exclusivity. What that means is you are giving GayAuthors.org permission to archive your story on its website, distribute it via RSS, kindle, iPhone, iPad, eyeball…. And you agree not to publish it anywhere else for 2 weeks. If you later decide to post your story at another site, please mention at the beginning or end of the story that it was first published as part of the 2026 Gay Authors Choices Poetry Anthology and include a link back to GA if possible. If you have any questions, please post them in the Anthology Forum or PM Valkyrie. Be sure to RSVP so we know you are planning on coming!

Last week, Myr outlined some plans we have for 2026, and there are some exciting things on the horizon! We had an outstanding response to our writing events in 2025, so I'm hoping we can equal or better it in 2026. Stay tuned over the next few weeks for announcements regarding this year's anthologies. Cheers to a great 2026! Let us know in the comments how you celebrated and if you stayed up till midnight.

Who's ready for some genre fun? For this year's Prompt Team Event, @Aditus and I challenged authors to step outside their comfort zone and write in a randomly-selected genre/subgenre. @Myr and team have done a lot of work curating a list of genres/subgenres, so there was an extensive list to choose from! Eight authors took up the challenge and sent me stories to include in the event. We have prompt stories ranging from Historical/Ancient Orient to Fantasy/Arcanepunk. Without further ado, please enjoy the genre Prompt Team Event!

I've been wracking my brain, but sadly cannot come up with any kind of theme for the prompts this week. So here are some random word lists. Have fun and don't forget to enter the Prompt Team genre event! PT Prompt #314: Use the following words in a story: fan, box, cat, snow, closet PT Prompt#315: Use the following words in a story: cheez balls, tree, raccoon, tuxedo, Empire State Building 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/

There's still time to participate in the annual Prompt Team Event! We've had quite a few takers so far, but the more the merrier. How are those stories coming along? PM either myself or @Aditus if you would like to be assigned a random genre/subgenre. Don't forget to send me the link to your unpublished story, so it can be included in the feature blog. Details can be found here:

It's Thanksgiving Day in the US, unlike some other countries who celebrate a month early... On behalf of all site staff, I would like to extend a heartfelt "thank you" for being a part of the site. The community is what makes GA special, and the interaction between site authors, readers, and members is part of what makes GA so unique. Thank you to all who participate in site events by writing, reading, commenting, and reviewing. If you're celebrating today, leave a comment with your plans and favorite Thanksgiving tradition. We're getting hammered with a lake effect storm at the moment - oooh we just had thundersnow! - so my feast may end up being this weekend instead of tomorrow.

We usually have turkey on Thanksgiving, beef (usually prime rib) for Christmas, and ham for Easter.