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Valkyrie

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  1. Valkyrie

    More Holiday Prompts

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    It's the holiday season and it's a merry time for some and not so great time for others.  Here are two prompts to reflect both moods.  
     
    PT Prompt #97
    You are gifted a magic snow globe.  What happens when you shake it?
    PT Prompt #98
    You are spending the holidays alone.  Describe your day and any celebration or lack thereof.  
     
  2. Valkyrie

    We Need Your Vote!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    The anthology selection committee did a great job with suggesting themes and then narrowing them down to a top five for the GA membership to vote on.  It was difficult selecting our favorites, but we have five great themes to choose from.  One of these will be our theme for the 2023 anthology! I'd like to extend a huge thank you to @Aditus@kbois @Mrsgnomie @northie @raven1 and @CassieQ for their input and discussion regarding next year's theme.  You guys are awesome! 
    Voting will remain open until midnight EST December 27th.  On December 29th, I will reveal the winning theme.  Please visit the following link and select your favorite of the five themes. 
     
    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BVqr8MUJjM1T21Ylro18ITkQ9R0_Kjvs5aImfpfzUr8/edit
     
  3. Valkyrie

    Seize the Day!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Anyone who's watched Dead Poets Society is familiar with the phrase carpe diem.  Even if you haven't watched this iconic Robin Williams movie, Myr featured this phrase as one of his Words of the Day last week.  Carpe diem was also the theme for the Summer 2009 Anthology.  So seize the day and reacquaint yourself with the stories from this past anthology. 

     
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/22-2009-summer-carpe-diem/
     
  4. Valkyrie

    2023 Anthology Theme Selection

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Thank you to all who volunteered to serve on the anthology theme selection committee!  I had six people volunteer, so all six will be included on the committee.  I have contacted these individuals, and we will begin the process of selecting and narrowing down themes for the GA membership at large to vote on.   This process will take place over the next two weeks, December 1-14, and on December 15th I will open up voting to the GA membership to ultimately decide the theme for the 2023 anthology.  Voting will remain open for two weeks and will close on December 28th.  Look for the winning theme announcement on December 29th.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the committee comes up with! 
  5. Valkyrie

    Happy Prompt-Day!

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I hope everyone in the US who celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful day yesterday and has enough leftovers to make more yummy things like turkey soup.  I know I will have stuffed myself into oblivion (no comments on that one, Steve  ), but there's always room for more, right?  We have another holiday of sorts today... Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, that's Happy Birthday in German, to our resident wolf, @Aditus! In honor of Addy's birthday, I've decided to feature a couple of birthday-ish prompts.  Now let's have some cake!  

     
    PT Prompt #91:
    Point of view:  Describe the same birthday party from three different points of view.  For example, a child, a middle-aged person, and an elderly person. 
    PT Prompt #92:
    Genre switching:  Take a character who typically belongs in one genre and place them in another.  For example, take a horror villain and put them in a contemporary romance. It may or may not feature a birthday.  
  6. Valkyrie

    2023 Anthology Announcement

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthologies
    After taking into consideration the results of the polls I conducted about the anthology, the team has reached a decision about what we’re offering next year. 

     
    In 2023 we will be offering two site-wide events for authors to participate in – one anthology and one secret author contest.  Stay tuned for further details on both!
     
    People overwhelmingly voted to have one theme for the anthology, and the majority wanted a committee to decide on themes, but also wanted to vote on themes.  So here is how we will be handling theme selection for next year’s anthology:
    I will form a committee who will suggest themes and then narrow them down to a top five.  Once the top five have been decided, I will create a poll for the GA membership to vote on.  The top choice from that poll will be our theme for 2023. 
    Anyone can become a member of the theme selection committee. I will be limiting the committee to five members, so if I get more volunteers than that, I will use a random generator to select the members.  If you are interested in participating, please send me a PM before midnight EST on November 30th, and I will add your name to the list. 
    Once I have selected the five committee members, I will invite them to the Anthology Development Club, where the discussion will take place.  My goal is to have the theme for next year decided by the end of this year. 
    A huge thank you to all who participated in the polls and discussion!  Your feedback was instrumental in the development of the 2023 site author events. 
  7. Valkyrie

    Anthology Flashback - 2010 No Going Back

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthologies
    I'm on vacation this week, so decided to re-feature one of our past anthologies.  Check out the stories from 2010's anthology "No Going Back".  Also, please be sure to vote in the two current polls in the Anthology section of the Writer's Club.  Both polls close on November 17th.  
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/27-2010-fall-no-going-back/
     
     
  8. Valkyrie

    Wordplay

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I love a good play on words, which is why I like Dad jokes and memes with puns.  Don't judge me... someone has to laugh at them!   Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any eye strain or facial bruising caused by excessive from any stories inspired by these prompts.  
     
    PT Prompt #85:
    Sometimes words have very different meanings across languages.  For example, the word "gift" in English means something given to another person without expectation of payment, synonymous with "present".  In German, however, it has a much darker meaning - a "gift" in German means "poison".  Write a scenario where your character uses a word incorrectly in a language foreign to them and what happens based on the miscommunication.  
     
    PT Prompt #86:
    Everybody loves a good pun, right?  Write a story riddled with puns.  The more groan-inducing and facepalming the better.  
  9. Valkyrie

    More Anthology Voting

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Based on the results of the polls I created a couple of weeks ago, I have created two new polls to further narrow down our choices for next year as far as number and type of anthologies/contests, and what you would like to see as far as themes go.  The polls will be open for two weeks, then will be closed.  
     
  10. Valkyrie

    Happy Prompt-aversary!

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    While it feels like just yesterday when I approached Aditus and Cole Matthews about working together to continue offering GA prompts on a weekly basis, it’s actually been one year!  To celebrate our one-year anniversary, we thought we’d pay homage to GA’s late prompt guru, Comicfan, by choosing our favorite prompts created by Wayne. 
     
    Aditus:
    Comicfan’s prompt #213 made me put my toe in the water and write a very short story. I got so many encouraging comments that I dared to write an anthology story a few months later.
    Since then, I’ve always looked forward to reading the prompts. Many times, they helped to get my lazy muse in motion. I don’t know if I’d otherwise ever become an author here on GA. Thank you, Wayne.
    My favorite prompt is#892.
     
    Cole Matthews:
    This prompt is my favorite, because not only did this prompt give me a character sketch to start a story.  It created an entirely new storyline with some of the best characters I've ever created.  For some reason, this 'first line' prompt gave me a vision of a man being berated by his son.  The prompt I wrote is called The Truck, and it gave me a precocious teenager scolding his father, who we discover is gay and has been hiding it.  It was a coming out by a father to his son, a very different tack to the usual trope.  Not only did this provide the beginnings of "The Art of Being Gay" but it led me to start viewing characters and storylines in a completely different direction.  Comicfan's prompts provided me with the challenge, and the creative spark, to get me to take more chances, try new things, and I grew enormously because of his help and dedication to writing.  
    Valkyrie:  
    It's almost impossible to choose a favorite out of Wayne's prompts.  His prompts inspired me to start writing, and the feedback I received encouraged me to continue.  My first multi-chapter story was inspired by a prompt, but I chose one that inspired my second story instead.  It's one of my favorite prompt stories from my early collection.  I always enjoyed Wayne's word lists and seeing how I could fit them all into a story in a natural way. 
     
  11. Valkyrie

    Writing for a Theme

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the polls I posted last week about the number of themes and anthologies for next year.  There was some interesting discussion, and I will be taking a close look at all the comments and the poll results this weekend and will open up further discussion in next week's anthology blog.  This week, we have a guest blog post written by @CassieQ about her take on writing for themes.  She's given us some great food for thought when it comes to writing for anthologies.  
     
    So, you’re thinking about writing for the anthology.  Awesome.  They are a lot of fun, a great way to expand your skills and garner new readers.  Go for it.
             The problem?  The themes.
             I get it.  Sometimes the themes are awesome and resonate with you and you can’t wait to get words on paper.
             Sometimes, they just don’t.  That’s what I’m going to talk about.
             First point, please remember the anthologies are inclusive and not exclusive.  If your story only kinda matches the theme, it’s fine.  It doesn’t have to be a literal interpretation, unless that is what you like, in which case, go for it.  You do you. 
             Every year, we vote on themes, and every year, I look at them, sigh and think I can’t write for those.  18 anthologies later, here I am.
             Before I get into the brainstorming section of this, I want to note that these methods work for me when trying to come up with story ideas, and that they may not work for everyone, and there are many different ways to come up with ideas.  Furthermore, I am very much a pantser when it comes to writing and abhor planning of any kind.  Therefore, I would love to hear from other people about their brainstorming methods, and especially from plotters. 
             So, you have the themes in front of you and you’re not crazy about them.
             First, decide between the two themes.  You may not like either one of them, but there is usually one that is worse than the other.  Get rid of that guy.  (Unless you want to write for both, in which case, go for it.  If you know a way to do so without feeling like your brain is melting, hit me up). 
             Okay.  So you have a “meh” kind of theme.  I have 2 methods for coming up with ideas.  The one I use the most often is the less exciting.  I just toss it the in back of my mind and let it marinate there for a while.  Think about it absently when doing other things…showering, driving, walking the dog, pretending to listen to your boss/teacher, stuff like that.  After a few days, I’ll usually get an idea about a scene or character that I can start building from.  You can outline from there, if you are an outliner, which I am not, so it’s usually just a messy jumble for me, but it’s something I can work with. 
             I like that method because I’m lazy and it’s easy.  There are some things I like to be hard, but this isn’t one of them.  (Yes, I 100% meant that the way it sounded).  If that method doesn’t work, then I go for the mind map.  (I don’t know if my method is genuine mind map, but it looks close enough for me). 
             So, I am going to describe the methods I used for coming up with an idea for a themed contest using a mind map.  I busted out a large sheet of paper and some markers because it’s more fun that way.  The theme was “Summer”, so I wrote that in the middle.  I already knew I was going to look at summer vacation themes, so I wrote that down too.
             Then I drew fours lines branching off from the main theme, like the spokes of a wheel and labeled them.  The labels were “camping” “road trip” “beach” and “meeting a summer fling”, all things that can happen during the summer.  The camping idea died first.  I’m not a fan of camping, nor of writing about it.  Nothing wrong with camping, I’m sure it’s fun for some people, I am just not one of them.  The “road trip” idea spun into an idea about fixing a troubled relationship and then into four more spokes about what might cause a troubled relationship.  It was an interesting concept to explore but didn’t really excite me.
             That left “meeting a summer fling” and “beach”.  I elaborated on both of them.  The “beach” idea had another spoke that lead to “friendship into lovers”, then two more off from that idea: “near drowning” and “drunken escapades”.  Sounds like fun. 
             The “summer fling” idea had two lines branching off, one reading “fall in love” and another reading “solve a mystery?” (I guess I had reservations about it).  From the “solve a mystery?” idea was another line, leading to an idea about a light house mystery.
             I ended up going with the lighthouse mystery as my main idea, but I liked the ones from the beach idea so much that I ended up including those (with the exception of drunken escapades, as my characters were teenagers).  Those ideas developed into a novella called Geist, which is up in the Premium section.
             I used this a lot when I was staring out, but not often now.  I typically utilize it when I am struggling to come up with idea.  It’s fun, though, because it often yields ideas I wasn’t otherwise considering.  At this point, some writers could start planning or outlining.  If you’re me, it’s throwing words at the paper and hoping they make sense.   
             So, if someone is struggling with the themes, I hope this helps you out.  If not, then I just spent 20 minutes typing to myself, which is fun too.  Also, please let me know your methods of brainstorming in the comments, I would love to hear from other writers!
            
                
  12. Valkyrie

    What's in a Theme?

    By Valkyrie,

    Themes can make or break an anthology, as our recent Anniversary anthology showed.  The theme spoke to a lot of site authors and exceeded my challenge to have twenty stories for GA’s twentieth anniversary.  The next few anthology blogs will be focusing on theme selection, writing for a theme, and submitting ideas for next year’s anthology.  I’m excited to announce we have a guest blog post for next week.  CassieQ has written a great article about how to write for a theme, so be sure to check it out next Thursday. 
    So, what makes a great anthology theme?  It needs to be broad, concise, and open to interpretation.  Anniversary is a perfect example of this.  There are many different types of anniversaries, as the stories featured showed.  When I say concise, I mean it needs to be between one and three words.  Here at GA, we limit the theme to a maximum of three words because it gets too clunky otherwise, and we risk losing the broadness of the theme.  On the Road is one of our past themes which fits the above criteria.  Now imagine if had been On the Road – Tales from Vacation. Still open to multiple interpretations, but far less broad.  Now how about On the Road – Tales from Vacation in France. Very limiting, and also difficult to fit onto a banner. 
    In the past, we’ve featured two themes per anthology, and recently started offering potluck themes as well, which gave authors a larger variety to choose from.  I’d like to hear thoughts about how many themes authors would like to have for the anthology.  Keep in mind that our anthologies are inclusive, not exclusive, so the theme does not need to hit the reader over the head.  A tangential link to the theme is just fine.  Cassie will go into more detail about this next week. 
    I’ve created two polls to get opinions about next year’s anthology(ies).  Please check them out to help the anthology team decide if we are featuring one or more anthologies, and also how many themes those anthologies will encompass. 
    https://gayauthors.org/forums/topic/48114-number-of-anthologies-for-2023/
    https://gayauthors.org/forums/topic/48115-number-of-anthology-themes-for-2023/
     
  13. Valkyrie

    The Final Countdown

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Today is the last day to submit stories to the proof team for inclusion in the anthology. I feel like we need a New Year’s Eve type countdown as we approach midnight, EST, complete with champagne and confetti.  Of course, there’s still work for the proof team to do, but we’ll be able to take a break soon.  Maybe. 

     
    So the big question with this year’s anthology is “did we reach the goal of twenty stories?”.  Well, I’m going to let the question go unanswered until the antho goes live.  But I will say give yourselves a round of applause and a giant pat on the back because whether we met the goal or not, we’ve got quite an impressive and unique variety of stories and poetry for your reading pleasure.  I will also say we’re very close to twenty, but I won’t say which side of the number we’re on.  You’ll have to tune in over the next few weeks to find out. 
    I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved in the anthology.  The proof team, @cia, @myr, authors, poets, readers, editors, beta readers, and everyone who commented on my anthology blogs.  You guys are all rock stars!
    Now I’d like to issue another challenge.  Now that the stories are written and ready to go live, it’s time for readers to step up. Instead of reading only the stories written by your favorite authors or poets, read all of them and give the anthology your full support.  React to the story, chapter, and leave a comment.  Authors love hearing from readers.  The stories will be spaced out over the course of a month, so that will make it easier to read all of them.
    Finally, another reminder for authors/poets to post the links to their works once they’re returned from the proof team.  PM either me or Cia and we’re happy to help with any issues. 
     

  14. Valkyrie

    Prompt Day Sept 2, 2022

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    Between editing, proofreading, and writing for the anthology, along with things being crazy at work, my brain is a bit on the crispy side at the moment.  So let’s get right into this week’s prompts.
     
    PT Prompt #79
    You are hiking through the woods when you encounter a wooden sign with the following words written in red, dripping paint:  I’d turn back if I were you.  Do you turn back or continue on the path?  If you continue, what do you encounter? 
    PT Prompt #80
    Your character is a stay-at-home parent who sleepwalks.  Use the following phrases to lead you into a story about that character:  awfully big shoes to fill, and the quest continues. 
  15. Valkyrie

    We Need Your Support!

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    The anthologies are an important part of GA, and have always been eagerly anticipated by both authors and readers.  We’re in the final stretch for this year’s anthology, with the deadline for submission to the proof team a week away.  That’s still plenty of time to complete the final edits and get stories to me by or on September first. I’m going to let the final number of stories be a surprise, so you’ll have to wait until it goes live to find out if we met our goal of at least twenty stories.
    The anthology wouldn’t exist without the support of site members, and that can happen in a variety of ways:
    Authors and Poets – write, write, write! We want to read your stories and poetry, and, as we discussed last week, it doesn’t need to be a 25k novella (unless that’s what you want to contribute), but can be a 1k flash fiction piece or anything in between.  Writing for the anthology is a great way to get new readers and also to give back to a site that has given so much.  The link to the theme can be tangential, so if the theme isn’t speaking to you, it doesn’t have to smack the reader in the face as long as it’s there somewhere.  But that’s a topic for another blog post.  The anthology is open to all site authors and poets, so even if you’re new to writing, give it a go!  We’ve had authors/poets contribute their first stories to the anthology before.  So as long as it fits into GA’s story guidelines and has gone through an editor, send it on! 
    Readers – read, read, read!  Authors love reader feedback. At the very least, leave a reaction or recommendation.  Remember to leave a reaction for both the story and story chapters.  Story reactions help get authors recognized on the recommended stories list.  Even better, leave a comment and/or review. 
    Editors – edit, edit, edit!  In the months leading up to the anthology, there are usually quite a few requests in the Writer’s Circle from authors looking for editors.  Stories must be edited before being submitted to the proof team, and it can be difficult at times for authors to find someone to edit their story, so stepping up to help make these stories the best they can be is a fantastic way to support the anthology.  Another way for editors to contribute is to join the proof team.  Having more proof team members will help ease the backlog we sometimes experience when a lot of stories are submitted at once.  Anyone interested in joining the proof team can feel free to message me, and we’ll go from there.
     
    Finally, I wanted to give anthology authors/poets a reminder to post the links to your story in the anthology links thread in the Writer’s Circle once they’re returned from the proof team.  If you have any questions about the process, message either myself or Cia and we’ll be happy to help.
  16. Valkyrie

    Does Size Really Matter?

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    A couple of questions that come up for discussion frequently here are “How long should I make my chapters?” and “How long should my story be?”.  The truth is, there is no right answer.  My response would be, “Long enough to tell what you want to tell.”  It’s a bit of a glib response, but I’m going to go more in-depth in this blog post. 
    In terms of the anthology, there is a right answer.  It needs to be between 1,000 and 25,000 words. So how do you decide if your story is going to be a 1k short or a 25k novella?  I would say a lot of that decision comes down to personal preference and writing style.  Some writers have difficulty constraining themselves to only 25k words, while others are quite comfortable in the 4-6k range.  A 1k word story needs to pack a punch and have every word count, since the story is being told is so short.  Short doesn’t mean bad or unfinished—I’ve read some phenomenal flash fiction pieces in the 1k range—so don’t skip reading those stories because of the low word count.  Those 1k stories are a great way to work on descriptive writing and character sketches. 
    Conversely, if you’re going to write 25k words, make sure what’s going on the page is relevant and interesting.  Is every scene necessary to the story, or are there infodumps and scenes that don’t move the story forward? Not every reader likes reading stories that long in one go, so something to consider is breaking up a story that length into chapters.  While it helps keep the reader engaged, it’s certainly not a requirement.  Good writing itself keeps the reader engaged, regardless of story or chapter length.  So, readers, don’t be intimidated by the lengthy word count.  You might find yourself sucked right into the story and reach the end before you remember you just read 25k words. 
    Now back to the first question “How long should I make my chapters?”.   Again, there is no right answer or magic number when it comes to chapter length.  It needs to be long enough to accomplish what you want for that particular point in the story, whether it’s 2k, 4k, 6k, etc.  It’s a good idea to try and be consistent with chapter length, but that doesn’t mean it’s not ok to have some variation.  Personally, I like chapters in the 2-4k word range, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a longer, well-written chapter, especially if it’s at crucial point in the story.
    So, how does all this relate to the anthology? Write to your strengths and personal style.  Don’t worry about the word count as much as telling a good story.  The word count only matters if it’s below 1k or above 25k.  There is still plenty of time to write a short story and get it sent to the proof team.  We are very close to making our twenty story goal, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop there!  Over twenty would be icing on the cake!  
  17. Valkyrie

    Technically Unplugged

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I spent last weekend out in the country with my BFF for her family reunion.  It’s been an annual tradition for us for over ten years now, and I look forward to it every year.  It’s an absolutely idyllic setting, surrounded by farmland and mountains sporting all kinds of greenery.  There’s no wi-fi, and cell phone signals are spotty, at best.  We sleep in a tent on a hill next to the main house and talk most of the night over a campfire, underneath a clear sky filled with stars never seen in suburbia.  A lot of the people who attend like to play games, so we also spent a lot of time playing a game where we had to create sentences based on a prompt by using a limited number of words we selected from a box.  We also played glow-in-the-dark cornhole, which is insanely difficult, but also a ton of fun!
    So where do prompts fit into all of this?  Well, first, I’m totally buying that game we played, so I’m sure I’ll be featuring some prompts in the future based on it.  Second, my BFF’s nephew is an aspiring writer, and we had an amazing talk about writing.  We talked about story ideas, stories/books we like to read, and the more technical aspects of writing. It was wonderful to chat with someone so enthusiastic about writing.  We also talked a bit about writing prompts, so I am featuring two technical prompts today – one from me, and one from him. 
    PT Prompt #71
    Write a short story featuring only one character.  No secondary characters at all.  You might drop them in the woods and see how they fare, or come up with your own idea, but only one character is allowed.   
     
    PT Prompt #72
    Write a short story with no dialogue. 
     
    @W_L decided to take up the challenge of PT Prompt #70 last week.  If you haven’t read it, I recommend checking it out!
    https://gayauthors.org/story/w_l/wls-prompts-short-stories/1
     
  18. Valkyrie

    Marketing Anthology Stories

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Last week, I gave my perspective on the anthology and why I write so many stories for them.  This week, we get a different perspective from @Carlos Hazday. Carlos shares his beginning as a writer and also gives some great advice about marketing.  
     
     Carlos Hazday
    After joining Gay Authors in July 2013, my membership lagged unused until I became active a year later. A newbie with zero writing experience, I gained confidence slaving over weekly prompts for a bit. Maybe not actually slaved since I was writing funny stuff readers responded well to. I got cocky.
    Then I tried writing something for Chain Reaction, the Winter 2014 Anthology, and met Cia. Her reputation preceded her and was well deserved. Very politely, as is her way, she trashed Allah’s Revenge. But only after telling me how dystopian stories were a favorite genre. I probably ruined it for her. My short story deserved multiple chapters and more detail. But hey, I didn’t know better.
    I screamed, I pulled my hair, I called her names, readers came to my defense… But you know what? Whatever it was she said was right. It did not sink in immediately, but when it did, it stuck with me and helped me improve. I learned to limit the scope of short stories and focus on the essentials.
    Cia’s an overachiever, as much as my character CJ, and like him juggles plenty of responsibilities. The fact she found time to read what I wrote and gave me thoughtful feedback was surprising. Since then I’ve realized she, and other long-time members make an effort to read and comment on anthology entries. So do a lot of regular members.
    That brings me to the main thrust of this blog: Marketing.
    Newer authors often bemoan their stories receiving limited views, reactions, and comments, while most established authors seem to create a buzz if they publish a dinner menu. Totally unfair, right?
    Not in my opinion. Those well-received stories usually follow a list of previous works that captured readers’ imagination. It did not happen overnight. But no matter how well-written something might be, if people don’t read your work, fame and fortune may pass you by. Okay, nothing that drastic but I’m certain all of us would enjoy a few more interactions with followers.
    That’s where an Anthology submission can help. Yes, it’s an opportunity to try something new, characters, style, setting, and a chance to get feedback from people who may not normally comment on what they read. But above all, your Anthology entry will get you eyes.
    More people seeing your name and your story means more potential fans. GA’s Marketing Department (LMAO) is doing its part by publicizing the project. Time for you to do yours.
    If you write it, they will read it.
     
     
  19. Valkyrie

    Writing for Anthologies

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    I wrote my first anthology story for GA for the summer 2014 anthology, The Backup Plan.  It was the start of my Max and Elliot series and hooked me on writing short stories.  I’ve participated in every anthology since then, sometimes with multiple submissions, for a total of 27 stories.  I’m planning on keeping the streak going with the upcoming Anniversary anthology with at least one story. 
    I thought I’d give some insight as to why I continue writing for all the anthologies and the process I go through when deciding what to write.  I’d love to hear from other anthology participants, past and present, about their process as well. 
    First, I love writing to a theme and seeing what interpretation I come up with and also reading other authors' take on the same theme.  The diversity, imagination, and creativity displayed in the anthos never ceases to amaze me.  Another reason I participate is to give back to a site that’s given so much to me. 
    Writing anthology stories is a great way for an author to introduce themselves to readers.  As a reader, I may not want to start reading a multi-chapter story written by an author I’m not familiar with, but reading a short story introduces me to their style, and may hook me as a long-term reader if I like what I see. 
    As an author, I like to use anthologies to hone skills I can use when working on longer stories.  When I first started writing, I was most comfortable using first person.  I decided I wanted to become more comfortable writing in third person, so I wrote some anthology stories in third person.  I’ve also used antho stories to work on descriptive writing (such as Escape and Jus Sanguinis). Sometimes I ask myself a question and then use an anthology story to explore that question.  For example, I wondered what it would be like to be reincarnated and how it would affect other people, so I wrote Born Again. Other questions I’ve had have been more hard-hitting, such as how someone’s life is affected by false accusations, and what happens to someone convicted of a heinous crime, who then has to navigate the world after paying their debt to society.  I’ve also written from the point of view of a stalker and explored what happens when a gay man falls for his straight, female best friend.  I find my more controversial stories tend to get the most views and most comments from readers. 
    Not every story has to be a controversial gut-punch, though.  A well-written, feel-good story linked to the theme is a winner every time.  So let’s hear what draws you, as either an author or a reader, to participate in the anthologies. 
  20. Valkyrie

    Disability Pride

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    I’m writing this blog on July 26th, which is the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  July is Disability Pride Month, which honors the passage of the ADA.  The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability and guarantees equal accommodation to people with disabilities in areas including access, transportation, and telecommunications. 
    I had a wonderful discussion today with one of my patients (I work with adults with developmental disabilities) about the ADA and what it meant to him, along with what he felt still needed to be done for people with disabilities and positive things that came from the ADA.   He was quite passionate about his feelings when he encounters places he is not able to access in his wheelchair or places with inadequate restroom facilities.  While a lot of positives came from the ADA, discussions like this show there is still room to grow. 
    This week’s prompts are in honor of the ADA and celebrate Disability Pride.  I could go on and on about this topic, but I’d love to hear from any GA members who have been impacted by the ADA or its equivalent in other countries. 
     
     
    PT Prompt #69
    You have an interview for your dream job, but when you arrive at the building, you discover it’s not wheelchair accessible.  What happens when you confront the interviewer about the lack of accessibility? 
     
    PT Prompt #70                                                     
    A gorgeous guy has been staring at you all evening, so you take it as an invitation to walk over and introduce yourself, hoping for a hot date.  Instead, he tells you he’s blind and not looking anywhere, but you have a nice voice.  What happens next? 
  21. Valkyrie

    Poetry Anthologies

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    While the anthology is now a combination of poetry and stories, in the past, site poets participated in poetry-exclusive anthologies.  I thought I'd feature a couple of those and hopefully get some of our poets inspired to contribute to the anthology.  I know of at least a couple of poetry submissions for this year, so let's have a solid showing to honor GA's anniversary! 
     
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/37-2011-poetry-anthology-into-the-unknown/
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/76-2015-poetry-anthology-remember/
  22. Valkyrie

    Anthology Favorites

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    There are currently 781 anthology stories in the GA story archive, so there’s sure to be something in there for everyone.  It’s hard to pick a favorite out of that many stories, but in the nine years I’ve been on the site, there are a few that stand out to me. 
    The Bachelor Farmer by Cole Matthews is the first story that comes to mind when I think about favorite anthology stories.  It’s a unique blend of history and characterization and has stuck with me since I read it back in 2014. 
     
    https://gayauthors.org/story/cole-matthews/thebachelorfarmer/
     
    Viv’s Underneath this Big Ol’ Sky series was posted in 2011, prior to my joining GA, but they definitely rank up there with some of my site favorites, anthology or not.  While each story can be read on its own, Viv has created a compelling series that begs for more.  I really wish she was still writing, so I could read more of these gems. 
     https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/series/underneath-this-big-ol%E2%80%99-sky/
     
    Another memorable series comes to us courtesy of @cia.  A Maze for Three is a great combination of modern sci-fi and shifter stories. 
    https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/series/a-maze-for-three/
     
    I could go on and on, but I’ll feature one more.  @myr still has readers begging for more of the world he created for this story, even eight years later.  *hint hint*
     
    https://gayauthors.org/story/myr/arangersduty/
     
    What are some stand-out anthology stories that you’ve read?  Post the links in the comments and share why they’re your favorite. 
  23. Valkyrie

    All About Bacon

    By Valkyrie,


    Prompts
    Today's prompts are brought to you courtesy of my dinner on the day I wrote this blog. 🍳 🥓 This is a tribute to the porky, fatty goodness we all love (well, most of us, @Slytherin  ). Bacon makes everything better, right?  

    PT Prompt #63a:
    Describe bacon to someone who has never eaten it.  
    #63b:
    For the site poets - Write an Ode to Bacon. 
     
    PT Prompt #64: 
    You are a strict vegetarian and your non-vegetarian boyfriend has just moved in.  To your dismay, he insists on cooking bacon for breakfast every morning.  The smell permeates the apartment for the majority of the day, and you are working from home.  How do you navigate the first hurdle in your relationship? 
     
  24. Valkyrie

    Anthology Challenge

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    I’d like to issue a challenge to site authors/poets.  Since the anthology this year is celebrating GA’s 20th Anniversary, let’s see if we can get twenty stories/poems submitted.  This will also put us over the 800 mark for anthology stories on the site. 
    Let’s thank Myr for creating such an amazing place by making this an anthology to remember. Who’s with me? 
     
     
     
  25. Valkyrie

    Anthology 101

    By Valkyrie,


    Anthology
    Myr posted a great blog last Saturday about the history of GA's anthologies and how participating in the anthology is a good way to get exposure as an author here.  Based on the comments on that blog, it sounds like there are some great stories already in the works!  One of the perks of being on the proof team is being able to read the anthology stories before they're released, and if the two I've already read are any indication, we're in for a real treat once the stories go live in September. 
    Since there have been some upgrades to the site since we wrote the FAQs for the anthology, we thought it would be a good idea to update them.  So today I'm featuring the revised versions of the Anthology 101 and how to upload your anthology story threads.  The answers to most questions about the antho can be found in those threads, but if anyone has any other questions about any part of the process to participate in the anthology, please PM either myself or @Cia and we'll be happy to respond. 
    Be sure to scroll down to Cia's post to see the updated version of how to post a story for the anthology:
     
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