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Comicality

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  1. Comicality

    Heartbreak

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Heartbreak Let me start off by saying that I have definitely been through it more times than I can count...and it never ts any easier for me to take. In fact, if anything...it has gotten much much worse over the years, now that I’ve matured a lot more and really have a deeper meaning of what love is and what it could be if only I could get the damn thing to work. Hehehe! Sad but true.
    I’ve always been a romantic. I work hard to give all that I have to give, and if my partner ever decides they need some space, I can give that too. I don’t mind giving someone my support, putting aside any pride or ego to admit when I was wrong, and enjoy being with someone that I truly care about. I’ve grown past the whole school boy crush phase of my life, so when I actually come right out and say, “I love you”...I don’t do it on a whim. I really do mean it. My heart is so big that I have more than enough to share with someone who’s willing to share their hearts with me in return. So...for me...heartbreak hurts. Oh God, does it hurt. And there are two or three people out there who really tore me up inside...to the point where it was hard for me to keep from crying in public. But...if it wasn’t meant to be, then it wasn’t meant to be. And I still love them. Say the word, and I’ll still come out to help you whenever it’s in my power to do so. It’s who I am. Heartbreak or not, I wouldn’t want to be ‘less’ of myself for the sake of a grudge or mixed feelings. You know what I mean?
    That being said, I’ve definitely written my fair share of heartbreak in my stories over the years. Almost from the very beginning. I’ve shared a lot of those feelings with my readers and dug into those old wounds over and over again to bring my audience the most genuine experience that I possibly could, even when it hurt me sooooo much to do so. If you’re looking to really explore the depths and the pain that comes with the heartache your characters are going through in your stories...then you might really have to explore a lot of those dark feelings that still dwell within yourselves. And that’s not always a comfortable position to put yourself in, believe me. BUT...done well, with as much raw emotion as you can muster up to bring those old pains up to the surface and put them on display for others to experience with you...it might do more than just add another powerful level of drama and feeling to your plot...but it might actually be a very therapeutic exercise for you as a writer, and bring you a sense of closure that you may never get for the situations that you’ve moved on from and put behind you.
    Getting your heart broken HURTS! But if you can soothe some of that inner conflict with the words you type out on a screen and turn it into something positive? Isn’t that worth it? You be the judge
    Today, we’re talking about writing heartbreak. Let’s get into it.
    I’m going to go out on a limb here and randomly assume that everybody reading this has experienced some level of heartbreak in their lifetimes. Some worse than others. If you haven’t...thank the stars every single day for that blessing. Because it is NOT fun! Hehehe! The thing about tackling heartbreak in a story between your characters...there almost always seems to be a certain feeling of injustice included in the text. An unfairness. Sure, you can write a story where both characters simply aren’t right for one another, fight all the time, or just don’t have anything in common...so they break up. And if that’s the narrative that you’re going for, then awesome. You can use your words to tell that story, and the break up might actually come off as a sigh of relief for your audience. However...we’re not talking about a ‘break up’ here. We’re talking about heartbreak. There’s a difference.
    When it comes to heartbreak, it often comes with a lot of entangled emotions and complex habits and expectations attached. But that is where the richness of the emotion really shines through. As I’ve said before in the past, one of the most effective tools that you can use to get readers to care and empathize with your main characters is the injustice of it all. Someone dealing with a problem or an obstacle that they didn’t ask for and don’t deserve. The idea of writing heartbreak taps into that feeling in a major way, and it highlights the kind of aches and pains that many readers can easily relate to.
    The very first concept that I think writers should keep in mind when attempting to add a level of potency to a heartbreaking situation in their fiction is the fact that it should have a smaller, but identical, structure to your story as a whole. This is how I always picture it in my head, anyway. An entire story has an introduction, and build up, a climax, and an aftermath, that will lead your audience from the beginning to the end. Now, while a heartbreak may only be a small part of your story, I’ve learned that it works best if that section of the narrative follows the same four part journey. If you have two characters that are involved in a romantic relationship, and you’re planning to have a heartbreak at some point between them...that’s how you put it together. You begin with an introduction of an issue or problem. Naturally, they may start off being all happy and goofy and seeing the world through rose colored glasses...and maintaining that joy and connection for a decent amount of time will make the heartbreak that much worse when it finally takes place. What’s the problem? Maybe one boy is out of the closet and the other isn’t...and it causes a conflict with how they interact with one another in public. Or maybe one of the boys is a huge flirt, and it’s just a normal part of his personality, even if it creates anxiety and insecurity to their partner. There are many differences that seem like such little things when the love is brand new and the sex is great. But...once the novelty wears off, as it inevitably will in all relationships, dealing with those problems and red flags that were introduced earlier on becomes a necessity if both parties plan to stay together and both be happy. Right? So, be subtle with your introduction of a potential problem, and then let it guide you towards the break up that you have planned for later. Gradual. Slow and steady. Break ups don’t usually come out of nowhere. They start with a few overlooked issues and grow from there.
    Next comes the build up. Little insignificant issues become more and more frequent, and may lead to a discussion between both parties. It’s like someone kicking the back of your seat in a movie theater or an airplane. You can bite your tongue and keep the peace for a while….but how long would you be able to deal with the frustration of it happening again and again before you start to lose your mind? If it were me, this is when I might throw in a few disagreements, and maybe an argument or two, into my story as the main characters attempt to address and ultimate fix the problem. Unfortunately, for a lot of people...fixing a problem doesn’t mean, “Hey, let’s find an equal compromise here.” Instead, it ends up being more like, “I hate when you do that! So knock it off and never do it again, and then we can be happy.” Well, that’s not really a compromise now is it? Hehehe! Adding this bit of escalation to your story will set off alarms for your readers, but if they believe in these two and their ability to make things work out for the best...denial will allow them to keep reading along as though it’s just a random spat between two loving hearts who are well on their way towards finding a civil solution to it all.
    Basically...you still have the element of surprise on your side at this point.
    Then...you have a climax. Whether it b a climax for the entire story, or just for this one particular relationship, this is when all of the stress factors hit a boiling point...words are exchanged...feelings get hurt...and then a break up occurs. Heartbreak. This is where an author’s focus should be the heaviest. This is the sucker punch. Adrenaline levels rise, tears begin to flow, secrets get revealed, people say things they don’t mean, defenses go up...this is the grand finale of the fireworks show right here. So make it something spectacular. Don’t drag it out for too long, just have your characters say what they have to say and really go at one another’s flaws, pushing all the wrong buttons, until somebody finally has the courage to be the first to say that it’s OVER! That will be your ‘surprise’ moment, which is why I said you shouldn’t let it drag on for too long. That’s what the ‘build up’ phase is for. If you want that impactful moment of shock, anger, or sadness, to really take over...minimize the major conflict a little bit. JUST a bit. When the moment comes, have it just kick into high gear and have the heartbreak happen rather suddenly, which will rapidly change the mood and tone of your entire story in the blink of an eye. I’ve written stories where I look back and I think that the big break up moment went on for too long before it was actually presented for what it was. I think I weakened the pacing and potency by doing that. But, you know...live and learn.
    This, of course, brings us to the last part of the equation...and that is the aftermath. I really feel as though this should be an important part of adding a serious heartbreak to your story, and it all depends on your characters, how they should react to such a situation, and how it affects the other characters around them. I almost always write in the first person, and this is when I really take the time to get inside the heads of my protagonist. There’s a soreness there. A dull ache that lingers for quite a while, and I make sure that it affects everything and everyone around them...depending on how they choose to deal with it. Now, I know that I told you to draw from the memories of your own personal heartbreaks and it can really hurt to rip those wounds open again. Especially if it was a particularly painful time for you and you just wanted to leave those feelings dead and buried deep down so you wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. But one thing you don’t want to channel into your story is the idea that “It was all their fault! They were assholes! And I’m doing so much better without them now!” I mean, trust me...I get the anger and the bitterness left behind, and maybe you can add that to your character’s inner thoughts as a way for them to deal with what’s going on. But after years of doing this, I’ve learned that it really doesn’t make for the most believable of story dramas. There’s no growth. No character arc. No evolution. You take a majority of the complex emotion that you spent so much time and effort building up from the very beginning, and you toss it out the window for the simple idea that “I’m the good guy...he’s the bad guy...so I win! Nah nah!” Which isn’t how heartbreak ever worked for me. There’s a long process to go through. The self doubt and abuse. The agony and torment of feeling it was so unfair how I was treated. The denial and hope that we’ll just work it out and get back together. The good old rebound revenge plot where we expect to screw the hottest, richest, celebrity guy EVER, just to make them jealous and teach them a lesson. Hehehe, everybody treats heartbreak differently...but we all go through an actual process, just the same. The emotions are yours, but keep them attached to your fictional characters and their coping mechanisms so you don’t end up ripping those old wounds of yours open even wider and turn your story into an angry rant when that wasn’t what you originally intended. It’s easy to get pulled into that quicksand, so you have to write this with a certain level of detachment if you plan to stay on task.
    The aftermath phase of writing heartbreak into your fiction is what you use to shine a light on how important the relationship was to your protagonist to begin with. If it’s a two week fling in a high school drama class...maybe the pain of it doesn’t linger for that long. It matters, but having the protagonist find a way to dull the pain and move on keeps the impact small and focused around that one series of moments. However, if we’re talking a post college relationship where two guys move into the same apartment together and one of them is caught cheating with another person...well that’s going to really suck, and it’s going to torture your main character for a long time to come. How you treat the aftermath should be somewhat equal to how you treated the relationship itself. The more invested someone is in the good times, the more it hurts when it’s over. Try to find a way to balance it out, and make it as believable as you can for your readers to stay engaged with it all.
    There are countless variations on this idea. Play around and see which ones most directly connects to your own experiences with love and heartbreak. Some people can fall in online and have never met, some might decide they’re soul mates and go looking for a house together, furniture and all. Some people might be heartbroken over a total stranger that they have a huge crush on and end up seeing them with someone else, even if they’ve never spoken before. And others are just plain oil and water whenever they’re together and can’t help but to be toxic to each other no matter how hard they try to make it work. Whatever it is that you want to write, go ahead and give it a shot...but always remind yourself that it’s fiction, and you’re creating this heartbreak for your characters and not just recreating it for yourselves. Balance out the joy and the pain in a way where one side matches the other. Nobody’s going to brush off a five year long relationship as though it doesn’t matter now and never did. In the same respect, nobody’s going to go out on one or two dates and totally freak out like some kind of psycho if their date decides that he’s not really into him. There are a million combinations for you to play with, but keeping certain core essentials in mind will help to guide you when you go rummaging through those old bothersome feelings and try to write them out for others to read. Cool?
    Of course, as always, I hope this all makes some sense. I could go on and on about heartbreak for days on end and never even scratch the surface as far as my poor heart is concerned! Hehehe! But this will just have to do for now!
    If you want to read any of my stories where I poured my soul into the fiction during a rather nasty heartbreak, feel free to check out “Save Or Sacrifice”, “Never Again”, “Just Out Of Reach”, and you’ll probably see a bunch of examples in different stories or series here and there. Can’t help it! Hehehe, I write what I feel! But I’ve learned how to treat my stories as more than just a place to let off steam. The story comes first. That’s what is most important to me.
    Take care, you guys! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  2. Comicality

    Niche Writing

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Niche Writing When it comes to writing and pursuing your art, day after day, night after night...I’m always stressing how important it is to be ‘comfortable’ with your particular set of skills. The more comfortable you are with your work, the more the writing itself will sort of fade into the background. Don’t worry, that’s not a bad thing. Hehehe! It just means that your natural ability will grow out of that level of comfort to the point where nothing is forced or focused on in a literary sense by your readers. Finding that comfort zone in your work will cause your audience to completely forget that they’re reading a story at all, and they’ll just find themselves immersed in the emotions and the environment that you spent all that time and energy putting together for them. That is a blessing! Believe me!
    But that comfort zone has to be ‘found’. You can’t just decide to hop up one morning and figure that you can write a masterpiece from scratch without any previous experience. It takes time and practice to find and define your voice. It’s a lot like finding that really comfy position to sleep in when you go to bed at night, you know? Hehehe, you’ve got the blankets just right, the pillows just right, you’ve found your little groove in the mattress...it’s a place that simply feels like ‘home’, and everything is awesome from there.
    So...what does this have to do with the ‘niche writing’ title up above? Let’s get into it!
    To be a niche writer means that you simply write fiction that is often directed at a certain target audience or demographic. For example, if you’re here on a GayAuthors.org to write gay oriented fiction...then you’re a niche writer. That doesn’t mean that straight men and women can’t read, enjoy, and appreciate, your work...it just means that your main audience is going to consist of readers who are mostly a part of, or are interested in, the LGBTQ+ community. They are the ones who are most likely to be here searching for the kinds of stories that you want to tell. Also, if you write gay fantasy? That’s a niche within a niche. If you write gay fantasy erotica...then you’re dealing with a niche within a niche within another niche. Hehehe, and so forth and so on. The path narrows itself down pretty quickly, and if you go TOO deep down that rabbit hole, you’re going to end up with only a handful of readers left to hear what you have to say. And not everybody left over is guaranteed to like your story as much as you might want them to. Well written or not. But...if that little niche is where you feel most at home, let’s see what we can do to expand on some of the themes you’re working with and maybe see if we can grab a few more people along the way.
    The one thing that I always try to get creative minds to remember whenever they’re starting something new is the idea that, at our core...our very center...we all have more in common than we could possibly imagine. All of us meaning humanity in general. We all have a need to feel safe, feel loved, form genuine friendships, search for comfort, have a desire to succeed...these are parts of life that everybody can relate to, no matter what kind of story you’re writing. So this is where we begin.
    Ask yourself what your story is going to be about. Not what happens in the story or who the characters are...but what is the actual story about? The other stuff is equally as important when it comes to filling out an engaging project, but you have to put yourselves in the mindset that these are all just fancy, personal, variations on the same handful of themes that applies to us all. Love, loss, vengeance, greed, temptation, family bonds, betrayal. As long as you can discover, emphasize, and deliver on these core ideas in your story...people will be able to latch on and understand it on a deeper level. It doesn’t matter if it’s hetero fiction, homo-erotica, science fiction, fantasy, horror, comedy, or tragedy. If the core elements are present and displayed in an effective and comprehensive way...anyone can read it and get the message. Even if you’re working with a very small sliver of a niche concept that they may not be used to. If you can get them to read it, you can get them to love it. Point blank, period.
    For me, personally? I write about gay teen romance, and I present it in a way that inspires heavy nostalgia and memories of first love. Heavy crushes, teen angst, fear of exposure, raging hormones...whether my readers are attracted to the idea of teen boys experimenting with those early feelings of companionship and sexual desire or not...it doesn’t matter. The core elements are what make the stories so heartfelt and relatable. These are feelings that we’ve all felt in some way when we were younger, and drawing from that brings what should be a very small niche topic to a much larger mainstream audience. Why? Because they GET it! They remember it. It connects to something on a much deeper level than just a few naughty escapades that exist, mostly, on a (hopefully entertaining) surface level of everything else that I’m trying to do with the story.
    I mean, you understand that, right?
    For example, if you guys love movies anywhere near as much as I do...you might have seen “Sleepless In Seattle”, “The Notebook”, “Pretty Woman”, etc...which are all romantic comedies. Well, since the majority of their audience is heterosexual...people just write it off as being ‘normal’. But in reality, they have a niche audience as well. A very LARGE niche audience, sure...but a niche audience nonetheless. They’re not written for someone who is looking for a gay or lesbian relationship in their entertainment, and yet...they rest upon certain touchstones that everyone can relate to simply by being human, and therefore can accept and allow ourselves to enjoy them just like their target audience can. I want all of us to keep that in mind as we continue on with this article. Just because something is perceived or labeled as being normal, doesn’t mean that it’s not a niche concept. I enjoy a bunch of Disney animations that might be made for kids, I enjoy movies that are made for teens, I enjoy movies that are written for artsy movie critic elites too. Your work is no different. Get those core elements to shine through, and readers will get it. Trust me on this.
    I can honestly say that I’ve never gotten more attention for my writing than I did when I started writing gay teen fiction on Nifty, and then on GayAuthors. I wrote PLENTY of other stories before that, I even drew my own comic books with my own characters and storylines in Middle School and Junior high. But the teen romance was where I found my home. That’s where I got my most responses and support, and I fell in love with it almost immediately. Getting comments and emails is my reward. It’s like getting a paycheck, you know? Makes it all worthwhile. However...from the time that I was in the second or third grade...my biggest flare was for science fiction and horror. I was exactly like one of those “Stranger Things” kids...with the comic books and the Fangoria horror magazine subscriptions and the Star Wars toys...that was what I used to write all the time. But I wasn’t sure that any of my practiced skills in that arena would ever be of any use to me when it came to writing to what I write now. How could it? People wanted stories about teenage boys falling in love. Nothing else.
    Naturally, after about a year of doing that and nothing else, the urge to go back to my roots and try something new kept nagging me...and that’s when I decided to give it a try. What’s the worst that could happen, right?
    Again...writing gay teen romance was already a niche position for me to get into. It would really narrow my fanbase down a LOT if I added a full blown vampire story into the mix. I didn’t know if anybody would read it at all. But still, the ideas wouldn’t leave me alone. So I started taking notes and eventually took the plunge. The worst thing they could do is hate it, right? Hehehe! Thus, “Gone From Daylight” was born.
    Now, I’ll be honest...it was like pulling greased teeth with a pair of piers to even get a majority of people to even LOOK at that story at first. No matter what I told them about it, no matter how quickly the fanbase was growing surrounding the series, no matter how much I begged and pleaded for them to just give it a CHANCE...they refused. Hehehe, some people still refuse to this day. “I don’t like teen vampires, Comsie! Nope! Not gonna do it!” BUT...there were a few that I convinced to just give the first little section a read, and if they decided they didn’t like it, I wouldn’t hold it against them. I understand that it’s a niche project that people tend to avoid like the plague, and that it’s not necessarily for everybody. I’m ok with that. Still, I continued to promote it and get them to at least be curious enough to see what all the fuss was about. So they checked it out, despite their earlier protests.
    Many of those people became some of the BIGGEST “Gone From Daylight” fans on the entire site! Hehehe! I hate to say, ‘I told you so’...but….I told you so! Because the story has elements of everything that I ever wrote or thought about growing up woven into the storytelling. The sci fi, the horror, the comic books...and it felt like a real homecoming for me. I had so much FUN writing those first three parts of the story. However, the main element was now surrounding my newest passion for gay teen romance, and “GFD” reads like all of my other stories do, just with a bunch of extras thrown in there. I emphasized the core elements to make sure that the story itself was relatable and engaging for everybody who decided to look into it and give it a shot. It doesn’t matter whether they like vampires or not...that’s not the point. It’s a story about love, about abuse, about finding yourself, about friends being more like family...things that hold meaning for all of us in some way.
    That’s how you take a smaller niche story and get it to appeal to a larger audience. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing about younger characters, older characters, or putting them in a different part of the world, or in a different time period, or if it’s fantasy and magic...if you can hold on to those core essential parts of the human experience and bring them to light in your fiction, you can write something that has a real punch to it. Everything else is just creative decoration.
    Keeping that in mind freed me up to write pretty much anything that I wanted to write from that point forward. Thank God that it worked out as well as it did, or I might have had a lot of my best ideas ever go to waste! LOL! Since then, I’ve been able to continue writing my gay teen stories about romance and high school and coming-of-age tales that still captivate and bring in new readers all the time, but...on TOP of that, I’ve written stories about angels, aliens, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, and more...but they still read like most of my other stories. It’s a much more narrow passage for readers to venture into when it comes to my particular niche, but once they get a taste for stories like “Shelter”, “Savage Moon”, “Skylight”, “Boys Of Widow Lake” (Only Available As Ebooks), and others...they never get enough. Why? Because they focus on the same essentials as all of my other stories. It’s just a matter of finding the threads that bind us all together.
    A 21 year old college kid in Michigan, a 16 year old surfer in Australia, and a 30 year old farmer from Zimbabwe, all want love. Friends. Family. Security. Status in their community. Make that your focus when you’re writing. All three fans will be able to pick up your story and share a certain level of understanding with you upon the first read. That’s what we all want as writers, isn’t it? To be heard and understood? To bond. To connect. This is how you achieve that.
    Naturally, the further you dig into your niche, the more you isolate yourself from a wider readership. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, just match your expectations with your reality as you go down that rabbit hole. Maybe you have a foot fetish. Not a lot of folks have that, but if you can get them to give your story a look and you want to add that into your writing...they might be into it. Who knows? But, if by some chance, they aren’t...you still have character development, a loving story, and witty dialogue, to carry things forward. That way, they’ll indulge in your own personal interest for the sake of continuing the story. If you want to write about furries, if you want to write a fanfic about anime characters, if you want to write a horror/thriller/mystery with a gay couple...do it! Go for it. Seriously. You might as well. And when you write and post it, keep those main human connections in the foreground where we can all see them. You’re bound to expand your audience in no time. Write your stuff your way. And don’t let the ‘niche writer’ tag throw you too far off of your game. Find your home and OWN it! Some ideas might take a bit more effort and strain when it comes to promoting your work, but you just remember what we talked about here, and pull them into your world by latching on to what brings us all together most.
    For all of you who might be writing in a very specific genre, are looking to appeal to a very specific audience, or might be feeling a little intimidated by the idea of getting started on something that you’ve convinced yourself that nobody else will read or enjoy...just write it your way and highlight those basic human wants, needs, and desires...and see how you do. You might just be surprised at how many fans you’ll find along the way.
    Hope this helps! Best of luck, you guys! And I’ll seezya soon with more! Happy writing!
     
  3. Comicality

    Spotlight

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Spotlight You guys have heard me talk about ‘spotlights’ in earlier articles, and I wanted to take an opportunity to maybe go a bit more in depth with what I mean when I say that. When you’re writing a story with multiple characters, multiple themes, or multiple tones (or perhaps a combination of the three all at once), it can be really difficult to keep everything in order and running smoothly without confusing your readers about what they should be focusing on. It’s like going to an electronics store and having an entire wall of TVs playing different channels all at once. Where do you look? What do to listen to and what do you tune out? How can you absorb everything that’s going on without getting completely flipped upside down and lost in the madness of it all.
    The answer is...you can’t. I certainly couldn’t do it. Even the computer or laptop that you’re working on right now can’t do that. Do you think it’s running all of these programs and open tabs and search engines simultaneously? It’s not. It can switch back and forth between tasks so fast that you can’t really detect it while you’re online...but your computer can’t do everything at once. And neither can your brain. Especially when it’s trying to immerse itself into a story that requires imagination, interpretation, and understanding, on the part of the people who are trying to enjoy themselves with your writing. So...the question is...how can I have a bunch of different storylines going on at once without throwing my audience into the middle of the woods where they’re liable to get lost and never find their way out again? Hehehe!
    The answer? By figuring out how to use your own personal writer’s ‘spotlight’. That’s how.
    Have you ever been at a party, or a family gathering, or just taking public transportation, going to school, or even being at work...and tried to pick up on everything that’s going on around you? It’s maddening, isn’t it? Everybody is talking and involved in their own little space in the room or at the dinner table or whatever. Obviously, you can’t pay attention to everybody. You’re going to miss certain things here and there, and you’re going to become a victim to the unfiltered ‘noise’ of the situation very quickly if you don’t teach yourself to single out and compartmentalize the parts of the situation that are most important to you in that particular moment. It’s the only way to make sense out of what’s going on around you, whether you end up missing a few things or not.
    This is your spotlight. It operates on a swivel base, and you can aim it anywhere that you want to aim it when it comes to inviting all of your readers to join in. You have to train yourself to find what’s most important for the immediate progression of the story. Even if you add a sentence or a piece of dialogue that you plan to use as a set up for future events...try to concentrate on the present, and put all future actions in a sequential order to deal with later.
    Hmmm...ok, I feel like I’m getting a bit lost here with my explanation. I took a break, looking for a way to make my point a bit more clear...and the best I could come up with was the visuals and music of this K-Pop video! Hehehe, stick with me here! Hopefully, it’ll make sense in a minute or two.
    Look at this video. The way that the dancing is choreographed here, along with the music and vocals, is absolutely phenomenal! But, what I want you guys to pay attention to most is the way they move and keep switching from one position to another! You have to keep your eyes open, because it’s so smooth that you might not catch on to what they’re doing here. There are twelve members in this group! TWELVE!!! Now, you obviously can’t watch all of them at once, know them all by name (at least, I can’t), or know who’s singing what or who’s voice belongs to who. Your mind would be so over saturated with stimuli within the first few seconds that you wouldn’t be able to follow along with the rest of the video. BUT...again, look at the transitions and the formations being made as their dancing. Whoever is singing at that particular moment or taking the lead...the dance choreography moves them up to the front of the group. You can see them clearly, you can hear them clearly, and it allows them to have the what…? The spotlight! And then the mesh back into the crowd, and someone else moves to the front. And even though you are being battered with a ton of activity, it doesn’t really feel cluttered or confusing, because you’re only being asked to focus on one or two smaller portions of the performance at a time. And when it’s time for someone else to take center stage, the entire group flawlessly shifts its position to give the spotlight to someone else for a little bit...and then back again.
    Writing with the idea of a spotlight in mind is really no different when you think about it. Just with story and plot instead of dance moves. Check it out! I believe the whole video is done in just one shot. Geez!
     
    The reason I want you guys to pay such close attention to this video is because it is so similar to the way that I picture multiple story plot points in my head when I’m writing. Like, everything is happening simultaneously, but there is only one major focus taking a hold of your attention at any particular time. So, whether I’m writing a short scene, or multiple chapters of a series, this is how I sort of keep everything together and present it as a part of a single story. It’s an illusion of sorts, because it’s actually a bunch of different stories going on at once, they just happen to intersect within the same space at the same time. And much like the computer analogy above, being able to smoothly switch back and forth between the tasks at hand is what makes the illusion work.
    I love writing ensemble casts, but I know that I can’t always have everyone talking all over each other at any given part of the story. So, if I’m writing “New Kid In School”...my two main characters are Ryan and Randy. That’s my main focus as a whole. But I have two other characters named Tyler and Ariel that are equally important to the story. What I do to keep them both involved and relevant in the storytelling is shift the spotlight back and forth between them. The last chapter or two might be centered around Ryan and Randy planning for their first date...but then I might swivel the spotlight over to the side for the next chapter and allow Ariel or Tyler take center stage for a little while. What’s going on with them now? You know? Then, I might have a chapter that is focused on Randy’s relationship with his mom. Then back to that first date. Then back to catch up with Ariel and Tyler. Nothing is simply swooping in out of nowhere and shaking the story up with something that doesn’t fit in the current narrative. When Im focused on one character or maybe two...the spotlight is theirs. Everything else sort of fades into the background for a moment and lets that relationship and those issues shine brightly for a while until I call on them again to come back and get a close up of their very own. And all of the situations are closely related to one another, which I try to show (not just tell) by highlighting the places where they crossover in a sequential order that makes sense. Maybe Ariel and Tyler decide to go out on a date...which leads to Ryan and Randy talking about going on a date of their own...which might lead to Randy having thoughts about coming out to his mom...and so forth and so on. The puzzle pieces fit together, but I can’t have all of this going on in a single chapter. Otherwise, all my readers are going to get is a bunch of literary noise. And that’s no good.
    In stories like “The Secret Life Of Billy Chase”, which actually has a huge cast of characters as it is documenting every aspect of his daily life...being able to aim that spotlight becomes a massively needed skill to keep things from spinning out of control. Billy has a mother, and a father, and a best friend, and a boyfriend, and people that he works with at a record store, and classmates from school...friends, enemies, old flings, new temptations...the ONLY way to write that story is to choose which two or three situations that I want to focus on for that next chapter, and not even really mention anybody else until they become relevant to a current interaction or situation where they need to play a part. Much like the music video, you can clearly see that they’re all there and working together in step for a complete experience...but I’ve got to be selective with who I choose to bring to the forefront to keep everything sane.
    So, what you as a writer need to ask yourself is...what is going on right now? Like, RIGHT now! Who do I need to carry this part of the story, and who can stand by and wait for an opportunity where they might be better used? Even if I’m writing a quickly paced action scene in a story with multiple characters all involved in the fray at once...I make sure to mentally separate them into smaller chunks so that my audience can follow the action without stumbling over any weirdness. I simply move my spotlight back and forth much more quickly than normal. Still, if there’s a fist fight going on with ten different people all involved in the brawl, I’ll focus on two of those people trading a few blows and paint that as a separate picture from everything else...and then I’ll move on to two other people. It might only be a sentence or two between my change of focus, but it still keeps things in order to a point where my readers don’t get overwhelmed and just give up on having it all make sense. So, the same rules apply, whether it’s a quick and frantic scene, or a drawn out presentation of one character’s thoughts and motivations taking place over an entire chapter or two. Keep the transitions smooth and only shift the attention to the people who are involved in that one moment of time to get the magic to work.
    Hehehe, you know...sometimes I swear that I must sound like a crazy person to the rest of you! But keep these wacky ideas in mind, and you may find out that they not only help you visualize and improve your writing over time by recognizing the methods in play...but you may even discover that you’ve been adopting a lot of these natural instincts all on own from the very beginning. And there’s no better feeling than surprising yourself from time to time! Hehehe! So take what you can from this for now, and if it doesn’t make sense now...someday it will. Promise!
    That’s it for this rodeo, ladies and gentlemen! Take care! Happy writing! And I’ll seezya on the next go ‘round!
     
  4. Comicality

    Man Vs Self

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Man Vs Self As many writers already know, and I’ve mentioned it a number of times in the past myself, almost all story conflicts can be broken down into three different categories. Man versus man, man versus society, and man versus self. Each one can be very easy to decode once you’ve read enough stories of different varieties, and have taught yourself to recognize the ‘checklist’ that exists for each labeled category. Writing gay fiction, it’s very easy to approach all three. Whether it be a love rival, persecution or bullying from the world around the main character, or the simple fear of coming out of the closet to those closest to you. A writer can take either one of those roads and run with it until there’s simply no more road to travel upon. However, a lot of authors often choose one of these themes for their story and stick with it from beginning to end. Me? I tend to bounce around a little bit from theme to theme, chapter to chapter. It depends on what my focus for the story is.
    But...the one theme that I can guarantee all readers will find in every story is the idea of ‘Man Versus Self’. I don’t think that I’ve ever written a story without that being a part of my hero’s journey. Why? Because, I personally feel like that is the most complex and compelling part of any character, and it greatly affects the way the story is told. So I’d really like to touch on that today, as I’ve found that to be a really good way to draw your audience in and keep them interested in the growth and personal story arcs of the very people that you’re using to tell your tale. It works. And I love playing around with it in a bunch of different ways whenever I’ve been given the opportunity.
    So let’s talk about Man Versus Self, and how it’s going to add a little extra shine and polish to your fiction once you’ve gotten started.
    The very first question that you, as an author, should be asking yourself is...what is drama? And how can I create it out of thin air? What do you need for the idea of drama to be present in your writing? If it were me, I would say a sense of urgency. Knowing what the stakes are. Suspicion. Tension. Hope. Fear. All of these are tools at your disposal when dealing with building up a memorable character, whether they be a hero or a villain. I’ve always been intrigued and fascinated by conflicted identities, no matter what it is that they might be involved in.
    To be conflicted is human. Hypocrisy is natural. And, as they say...a clear conscience is often the sign of a flawed memory.
    I’ve always felt that having a true and in depth search for self is a lot more difficult, but much more rewarding, than most people give it credit for. This is the angle that an experienced writer can use to create something truly special for their current audience. It doesn’t have to be the theme of the entire story as many would have you believe, but I do definitely use that as a part of every character that I’ve created from the very beginning. I think it can be a part of every character that you bring to life.
    Going back to idea of teen angst in a lot of my stories, this is something that continues on into adulthood and further into old age. Why wouldn’t it. It’s the core idea behind the saying that we’re all our own worst enemy. Since I write in the first person a vast majority of the time, I’m able to zero in and share that conflicting inner dialogue with my readers throughout the entire story. Being of two minds creates conflict and confusion. A dilemma. And that dilemma increases reader investment in the story because that forces your audience to stop and think about what they would do in that situation. You place them at that fork in the road...and if they choose the same route as your protagonist, then they get to see if they made the right choice. If they choose a different road from the one your protagonist chooses, they’re now curious to see what rewards and consequences come with that decision. Either way, you captivate your audience and keep them glued to your story from chapter to chapter. Mission accomplished. It’s a win/win situation. You can’t lose...even if your character ends up falling flat on his face. At least it will be entertaining. Hehehe!
    That’s why I add a Man Versus Self element into each character. They’re all just trying to do the very best that they can with whatever it is that they’ve got to work with. And, being human, the desire is to always win and come out on top. No matter what. Of course, that’s not how ‘life’ works...but it doesn’t stop us from trying. It’s one of the fundamental joys of writing fiction. You can create a world where you never lose and always get the cute boy in the end. Right?
    But that’s not realistic, is it? It gets pretty tiresome, pretty fast.
    When I create characters for the stories that I want to write, I always have some level of inner turmoil that has to be addressed before they can achieve the ultimate goal. Which, in my case...is love.
    The teen angst aspect is all about fighting oneself to the point where the insecurity and fear involved and the craving and love stricken fantasies of being close to someone you care about, can no longer coexist. Again...this is a fork in the road. And you’ll be pulling your readers right up to those same crossroads and getting them to consider what their choice might be if placed in that same situation. The inner conflict of the main conflict is something that you can explain and explore in a creative way to get your audience to understand what your main character is going through. And you remind them of a time where they might have been forced to make a similar choice at some time in their lives. How fun is that? Hehehe!
    Conflicted characters can truly make for iconic characters in your work. It’s done wonders for me over the years, as well as for many others. Take a look at the video below. Darth Vader is one of the greatest conflicted characters in cinematic history. AMAZING, the things they’ve done with him over the years! I’ve always been in awe. Maybe even somewhat jealous that I couldn’t come up with something like that myself, hehehe! I can only dream of creating such a template for the perfect villain. Someone who is forever cursed with the eternal struggle between good and evil, light and dark. How frightening would it be to find yourself leveraged to the point where you become completely consumed by your own anger and hatred? To have lived your life trying to do the right thing, but never receiving any rewards for your efforts until you’ve crossed the line beyond the point of no return? They never paid attention before...but they’re listening NOW, aren’t they?
    Ask yourself, could you ever find yourself in that position? That line you once drew in the sand might be a lot thinner than you thought it was.
     
    Like I said, it’s that Man Versus Self conflict within that truly embodies the character of Darth Vader. On one hand, it inspires fear and dread and introduces the possibility of losing yourself to your own devices if given the power and influence to do pretty much anything you want without consequence. And yet, at the same time...it inspires feelings of hope, and potential, and possible redemption if the struggle is finally one by the character who is most cursed by it. You could go either way with it, or you could switch back and forth between both extremes to keep your audience just as off balance as the character himself. The ideas are limitless here, and I’ve always been a big admirer of the duality that exists in someone like this. It’s fascinating.
    Another one of these character conflicts can also come from an outside source...triggering the inner turmoil by causing the main character to question his or her own actions and beliefs. One of the best examples of this would be Batman’s greatest villain, The Joker. This is the greatest challenge to Batman’s sense of honor and sanity, and I live for the many conversations that they’ve had throughout the years. Both in the comic books and in the movies. The Joker has dedicated his life to trying to show Batman the pointlessness of his efforts and his very existence. He ends up actually inspiring the villains that he ultimately gets enlisted to put down. His entire cause is a big joke. He has to stop the bad guys because they operate outside the law...but he’s a vigilante, so he is also operating outside of the law. He’s already crossed the line, claiming to be the hero. But if you cross one line, why not two lines? Why not ten? Why have a line at all? And eventually...when he’s pressured enough, when the stakes are too high for him to ignore who and what he really is...the world will finally see him as he was meant to be. A criminal. Just like the rest of them.
    This triggers an existential crisis, because you can’t really say that he’s wrong. And so Batman is eternally caught up in this swirling storm of wondering whether he’s doing the right thing or if he’s just a time bomb waiting to explode.
     
    So...whenever I’m writing a story, no matter what the overall arching theme of the narrative may be, I almost always add an inner conflict to my major characters, and often to many of the side characters as well, depending on how they’re connected to the plot. The idea of being completely corrupted by power and opportunity is a theme that I definitely play with in my stories like “Gone From Daylight” and “Savage Moon”...but it doesn’t always have to be quite that dramatic. Not at all.
    I also explore these conflicts in stories like “The Secret Life Of Billy Chase”, “On The Outside”, “My Only Escape”, “Jesse-101”, and many others. Whether to come out to family and friends, or whether to give in to temptation. Whether to struggle your way past that inner voice and abusive thoughts, or fight the insecurities that come with approaching a celebrity presence. It’s basically a conflict between what you really want and what you truly believe that you can have. Not to mention what you’re willing to do to get it. It’s all about attempting to achieve the best outcome for your main character’s number one goal despite the determined obstacles that they might be putting in their own path. We’re our own worst enemy sometimes...and the character can either let the fear and doubt conquer him, or he can fight his way towards his main objective and grow past it.
    It creates a serious dilemma that will both frustrate your readers, but also bring them hope as your protagonist begins taking small steps to grow and evolve beyond their problems. It makes for a compelling story in my opinion. Give it a try some time if it feels natural to the rest of the story. It’s a tool that you may have some fun using from time to time.
    Anyway, I hope this helps you guys out with your own writing. We’re all complex beings, and as writers...shouldn’t your characters reflect that in some way? None of us are saints all the time. But none of us are demons either. Don’t get in the habit of creating one note characters. Explore them a little bit from time to time. The internal struggle for your cast to make the right choices, even when done for the wrong reasons, can end up being the most interesting part of your project. So explore and experience these things, and build a story that will live in the hearts and minds of everyone who can relate to feeling the same way from time to time. It’s a big win!
    Take care, you guys! Happy writing! And stay beautiful! MWAH!!!
     
  5. Comicality

    Simplicity

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Simplicity You know...as much as I really love to be challenged by the stories that I read or the movies that I watch...sometimes I can ‘feel’ the extra effort put in to make a story more than what it needed to be. And I realize that sounds a bit weird coming from me, when I’m constantly trying to inspire writers to dig deeper and fully flesh out their characters with more details that can truly captivate an audience with depth and layers...so I’m well aware of the pseudo hypocrisy of switching over to talking about ‘simplicity’ in your writing. But I also think that it’s important to recognize when the idea of a ‘less is more’ approach is the best choice for a writer to make with their fiction.
    Everything doesn’t have to be an intricate web of metaphors and hidden meanings. There are times when working to complicate a simple message can end up hurting your writing more than it helps. Now, don’t get me wrong...if you have a more complex story to tell, where reader interpretation and literary nuance is core to the kind of story that you’re trying to tell, then by all means...go for it. And pursue your ideas in the way that you feel is needed for it to have the kind of impact that you want it to have. But it takes a true writer’s instinct to know when the excess isn’t wanted or necessary. And that has to be developed over time. Trust me, I’m still learning about this kind of thing myself, so it’s not something that happens overnight. But stick with it. It can help more than you know.
    One of the things that used to bother and frustrate me most about some of my favorite movie franchises was this big push to keep creating sequels and adding all of these extra plot points and deeper meanings to characters and plots that were actually much more potent in their delivery without it. You know what I mean? A few examples that come to mind start with “Halloween”. Michael Myers was a serial killer. He wore a mask, and he grabbed a butcher knife one night, and he started killing people. To me, the fact that he didn’t really have any rhyme or reason for doing what he did was the most terrifying aspect of his character. It wasn’t done in anger, or for revenge, or because of a messed up childhood, or some sort of psychological defect really...he just decided one day to snap and start sinking his knife into the flesh of whoever he found alone. Think about that for a second. How horrifying is that??? Something about the simplicity in his motives and his actions is what made him one of the greatest slasher villains of all time. The fact that you didn’t have to be guilty of anything or a bad person...you were just there. What other reason does he need?
    But...Hollywood’s gotta Hollywood. So more sequels were made, and they kept trying to add more to depth to his character. Family links, and some kind of supernatural senses, and then there was that whole thing with the ‘cult’...I mean, it kind of ruined the scary idea of pure evil for evil’s sake in my opinion as time went on. The simplicity of him as a character was compromised by trying to attach a legacy of unnecessary motivations and extra history behind him doing what he does. Why? It’s like...leave him alone. Why complicate him? It detracts from the story in a lot of ways and dillutes the impact.
    And this has been done in many movies, over and over again. You can’t ‘fake’ depth of character. Sometimes they’re better off being a mystery, and just remaining a simple entity in your story while you spend your time and energy developing the characters that you’ve added to the story in order to deal with the threat that you’ve put in their way.
    One of the greatest examples that I could use to demonstrate this point would be Ridley Scott’s, “Alien”, and the James Cameron sequel, “Aliens”! PERFECTION! I don’t know how or why this franchise went so far off track after those two movies...but I feel like it came from writers and creators trying to make the alien more than anything it was ever meant to be. It’s a creature. It kills, it eats, it reproduces, and it makes more aliens. That’s what made it so scary. So effective. So memorable. And the movies focused on the people who were there to deal with it, and ultimately survive the problem. However, in future movies, the writers were trying to attach emotions to the alien, dig deeper into the motivations, go back into their origins and their history...but, honestly...at the end of the day, do you really care? Does anybody? We don’t need to know where the alien came from or why it does what it does. It’s trying to kill the main characters, and the main characters are trying to kill it first. It’s a simple conflict and a simple story...but that’s what people came to see. If you’re a talented enough author to maybe add some wisdom or philosophy in there on the side somewhere, then awesome. Otherwise...leave it alone. You know?
    The point of this article is just my way to guide you guys towards finding your focus, and keeping your simple characters simple. There have been so many times when I’ve seen characters and plot lines ‘overworked’ to the point where the natural feel and main interest that made the story so cool gets lost in the background. And that’s, obviously, never a good thing! Hehehe!
    The first question that you need to ask yourself is...what is this story about? That has to be the North on your compass. This is what will guide you through the planning process and discover where you want to aim your spotlight when you begin writing. If you’re writing something like “A Nightmare On Elm Street”...what did people come to see? Now, the problem with this is...they came to see Freddy and the glove with knives on his fingers. But what a lot of writers try to do is expand and give more depth to Freddy’s character and his motivations, while still trying to create a main character to fight in opposition to his murderous exploits. This creates a conflict. If you’re putting too much thought into your protagonist, then Freddy’s story fades into the background and your main draw becomes nearly irrelevant to the plot. But...if you focus solely on Freddy and his origins and motivations for him doing what he does...then your protagonist ends up being just another faceless cookie cutter teenager who might as well get slashed and hacked up with the other nameless characters. Why not? And if you try to balance both characters out in a way for them share the spotlight...you just end up with two mediocre characters instead of one. What made the first movie so frightening was the fact that it focused on the main characters trying to figure out and fight back against a common threat. Freddy was a mystery. A danger hiding in the dark. He’s coming to kill us, we don’t know why, but we have to try to survive. Very simple. The story has flares and flourishes sprinkled throughout to complete the narrative and have everything make some sort of sense in the long run, but it’s the simplicity that allows the audience to focus once the uncomplicated part of the puzzle is out of the way. This is where you can use your individual writing talents to build up a bond with your main characters and your readers. Now you have room to make the audience care about the people who are facing this major disaster, so losing them becomes a bit more intense and a bit more memorable.
    Watch some of your favorite movies and the sequels that followed them. What’s different? Can you feel it? Can you sense it? “The Predator” kills people like animals for sport, and then he keeps their skull as a trophy. Done. Why did that simple twist on Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” become so complicated and weird over the years? When did “The Terminator” get so twisted up in paradoxes and future weirdness? Sometimes...simplicity and focus is the best route to take with your fiction. Being able to realize that, whether it be for the story as a whole or just for certain scenes (More on ‘Spotlights’ in a future article), is a key part of being a great writer. I think it can easily determine the flow and impact of any story as long as it’s done with confidence and a sense of what is most important and most constructive to the story you’re trying to tell.
    Shave off the excess and choose a side. Is this about the main characters, or is it about the threat that they’re facing? Nobody is really watching “Ghostbusters” and wondering, “But why are they attacking? How did they die? Why do they look like monsters? What is their motivation?” That’s not the point. The point is our main cast of characters. Make them your focus, get everyone connected to them and the challenges they’re facing instead. The ghosts are just ghosts. Allow them to exist with a level of simplicity that doesn’t draw attention away from the main focus of everything that you were trying to do with the story. Otherwise, you end up with a conflict that takes away the potency of the mission to captivate your readers and hold them still. You know what I mean?
    Every writer has a different way of achieving their specific sense of balance in their work...and it’s up to you to find your own. Try a few projects out where you attempt to play with the formula a little bit and find your own comfort zone. And remember that simplicity doesn’t mean deliberately leaving out important details or trying to downplay certain aspects of your story for the sake of just one character or plot point. It’s just a matter of fine tuning your instincts to think, “Maybe it’s best that I make this the most important part of my story, and I can leave a few things up to the imagination.” If that makes sense. Hehehe, I wasn’t quite sure how to verbalize that idea, but hopefully you guys get the gist of it.
    Think of it the way you would watching a disaster movie. “Titanic”, “Deep Impact”, “2012”, “The Day After”…whatever. The point is, ‘Oh no! The world is coming to an end for us!’ That’s the star of the show, but it’s kept simple. The premise is set up, the inevitable destruction has been introduced...now take that spotlight and build your characters up. Too much focus on the impending fire and brimstone can’t completely take over the story without sacrificing the importance of the relatable characters that your readers are supposed to sympathize with. You can explain it, even in great detail if you feel the need to, but remember that your characters dealing with the showstopper is what should be really important here. Keep your focus there, and let the story unfold on its own.
    Again...sometimes ‘less is more’. Build up your key players...and keep the rest simple. Complicated details make for complicated stories. And they’re generally less ‘fun’ for a wide audience. Cool?
    I hope this helps! Just keep it as a tiny nugget of knowledge in the back of your minds for later. You never know when you might need it later on.
    That’s it for this little go ‘round! I’ll seezya next time with more! Happy writing! And stay beautiful!
     
  6. Comicality

    Story Foundations

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Story Foundations The same way that you could build the tallest skyscraper in town...you can craft the most powerful story ever written in foundation...and they will both potentially come crashing down to the ground if they’ve been built on a weak foundation. Right? I mean, these aren’t a box of Legos that we’re playing with here. People with certain levels of expertise have to be called in to look at the plans, designers, engineers...without a firm foundation, you’re basically going to be spending a huge amount of time working on setting up a house of cards that will ultimate get blown over the second a strong wind comes through to test the foundations that you never made strong enough to begin with. So you definitely need to put these things in place before you get started. It’s a skill that can only be developed with planning and practice...so the sooner you get started on developing those instincts, the sooner they’ll come to you naturally when you pretty much start writing anything. It’ll happen all on its own in time, just give it a chance. Make it a part of your writing discipline, and then refine it over time. That gets to be the fun part.
    So, when I say 'foundations’...what exactly am I talking about here?
    I think of writing foundations as a loose template to work with when we’re all trying to organize and personalize our thoughts to create something new...and yet still feels familiar to our readers. Remember, that connection to our audience is super important. It’s our job to intertwine logic and emotion in an entertaining way that can translate them into words that are passionate and compelling for them to interact with. This means being able to recognize and study the basic building blocks of storytelling and making them your own. Let’s dive in!
    Foundations are built on a ton of tried and true methods that have been a staple of fiction for centuries. One that we all know. The hero’s journey, the climax, the tragedy of betrayal, the obsession of love...man vs man, man vs the world, man vs self...etc. We all have some sense of how your typical story is structured or how certain character types act and react in the stories that we’ve all enjoyed throughout our entire lives, right? Sure the stories exist with different characters, different timelines, different genres, as they are written by a variety of different authors...but there are core elements that you can use as dependable guidelines to make anything that you want to write possible without ever getting lost or sliding off track.
    Some people might consider these foundations to be 'tropes’ or 'cliches’, but I’ve always thought that it was important to examine and understand the traditional rules in order to effectively break them later on. With a few efforts under your belt, you will still be able to build upon these story foundations to create a strong base for your fiction while still changing and altering everything around it to make something uniquely your own. Know your arsenal, and then do all you can to expand on it.
    Never stop being a 'student’ when it comes to your craft. There is no way to know it all, and even the stuff you do know tends to change over time and present new elements that you never even knew were there before. So get those basics drilled into your brain so you can pretty much build you creative process around it on autopilot, and use the rest of your energy and effort on customizing every project to fit your style and personality. Be comfortable with what you’re writing. People can tell when you aren’t.
    Creating characters have foundations just like every other part of your story. Know the character types as they appear in their many different forms in other stories. The beautiful stranger, the reluctant warrior, the wise old sage, the sacrificial lamb, the court jester or clown….they show up in many many stories, time and time again. So teach yourself how to recognize them when they appear, and then study the way that they are used to carry the story forward. In ways that are new...but still familiar. Do you get it? There’s a base, a strong foundation, that you can use to firmly plant yourself into the story...but you still have more than enough room to play with the specifics of the well known formula to create something of your very own. You can reach a point where you begin to combine and subtract certain elements of your foundations to make something unique. But your first task should be getting those foundations in order so you’ve got a stable tower to stand on.
    How do we manage that? It begins with reading as much as we possibly can. That’s how.
    Saturate yourself with other writers’ work. Different authors and methods and genres of fiction. They will all read differently, but see if you can begin to pick out certain patterns that exist through all of them. Those are the basic foundations that I’m talking about. Seek them out, think about how they work to keep the story contained and paced in a way that feels focused and familiar...and then think about how you might be able to do something a little bit different with the act of building on top of those foundations in ways that other writers might not have thought about yet. Both with story plot and with your characters. I hope that makes sense...
    Let me see how I can better explain this...
    Imagine your fiction as though it was a song. K? Over the years, you’ve heard a countless number of songs, and they’ve all been pretty different in their sound and particular flavor, right? The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Led Zepplin, Billy Joel, Lil’ Wayne, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendricks, Bob Marley...they all have a unique vibe and a style to them, right? They probably don’t have any songs that really sound similar to one another...but that doesn’t mean that they don’t follow a particular formula when they’re presented to a wide audience. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t a definite blueprint in play when it comes to putting their music together.
    There’s an intro...a first verse...a bridge...a chorus...and then on to the second verse. Then there’s a change up in the song at some point the leads to a 'climax’ of sorts for the third verse and then the end of the song. This is the typical song formula. Once you learn to look for it, I can guarantee you that you can hear that foundation in 90% of the music that you listen to, no matter what the genre is or what era in history it was made. That’s a clear expression of the 'rules’ when it comes to making a song. Whether it’s Black Sabbath, Otis Redding, or Frank Sinatra...if you listen for it...you’ll hear it. That’s the template. However...these are rules that can be broken to make something that sounds totally different from what you might be expecting.
    Take these two songs below. Now both artists, Queen and R Kelly, have made plenty of songs that actually fit into the template of your typical song...but when I listen to these, they don’t fit any conventional rules at all when it comes to making music. They were genius enough to figure out how to crack the code and make something that had never really been done before for an audience that wasn’t prepared to hear it. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is easily one of the most original songs ever written. The change ups and the vocals are absolutely stunning, and it shatters all forms of a formula when it came to putting it together. It is the pure definition of a rock opera. And R Kelly’s "Exit" just...it amazes me that he was able to craft that song on a weird '3-beat’ instead of the usual '4-beat’ like most songs. I mean, it almost sounds like it shouldn’t make sense or have any kind of rhythm to it at all for an artist to follow with their vocals...but he pulls it off flawlessly. Again, the formula has been completely broken and made anew. This is what is possible when you know where your foundations are and then find creative ways to alter the overall chemistry of the usual cocktail to make it your own.
     
    00 Now, the secret is how to apply this to your writing...which is easier than it sounds. When you have enough practice, it becomes second nature. I think that every writer should be curious about what they’re capable of when their putting a project together. Explore. Take risks. Face challenges. Use your words, your metaphors, and your adventurous mindset, to find those root standards in storytelling and mold them into something that represents your particular mood and flavor at that time. Constantly be asking yourselves what you can do to break the formula. Use foreshadowing and flashbacks, use positive characters and negative ones...combine situations and obstacles that will either compliment or contrast one another. Take an off road approach with a plot twist, or add in a straight character where your audience is expecting a gay one. Have a 'coming out’ scene with an understanding parent go horribly wrong. You can go with something subtle like a rejection from a first date, to something as major as having one of your main characters get sick or even die off. I don’t know...it’s your story. You’re completely free to do with it whatever you want, but if you want four acts instead of the typical three...do it. If you want your story to end without a definitive ending...leaving it open without closure...hey, it’s your world. Do it. Who’s to say that wasn’t the perfect to go with it. Want to have a big time jump and continue where your story goes on from there...and then go back and tell the readers what they missed in an extended flashback? Give it a shot.
    Basically...learn the usual formula, inside and out...and then look for all of the ways that you can break it and change things up with your own little twists and turns. The foundation is your anchor, everything else is flare and glitter and gold. The key is to find a way to keep your beautiful extras from crashing down to the ground before your masterpiece is finished.
    It’s important to have those major locks in place so you have something to play around with. That’s all.
    Anyway, that’s my discussion on story foundations. I definitely have a few of them, both plot wise and character wise, that I stick to whenever I’m writing one of my own stories. I definitely stray from time to time and try something new so I can blaze a few different trails that I’ve never really explored before...but I know where my core is. I know how to stick to my outline and keep my story within a certain amount of boundaries as a completed project, and then spread my wings and stretch out into new territory with everything that I do. I, personally, feel more comfortable knowing that I have a home to go back to when I feel myself getting a bit too far from my original ideas. And that home exists in my training on how to write stories in the first place. I have to concentrate, and realize that there is a way that this whole 'writing thing’ is supposed to be done. Hehehe, and then...I break as many rules as I can without getting sent to detention for it.
    What can I say? I’m devious like that!
    As always, I hope this gives you another way to look at your own writing from a new angle, and that these articles will help you see new ways to approach your writing process, or possibly pay more attention to you being able to do what you do. Understanding why you do these things opens your mind up to soooo many other options! Trust me, you have no idea. A moment of introspection and self awareness can fuel the next few months or even years of new stories once you figure out their significance as a part of the art. K?
    Take care! Happy writing! And I’ll seezya soon! Love you lots!
     
  7. Comicality

    Insanity

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Insanity The classic saying is that insanity is the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. And yes, I’m sure that’s a part of it. But I truly believe that there’s a lot more to concept than that. And I have to admit that I really do enjoy writing insanity in many different ways for my characters because it’s so fascinating to me to explore the mindset of someone who has become completely detached from reality. Detached to the point where reality and truth can no longer penetrate...because the madness has become ore comfortable and more easily embraced than reality ever could. When you really think about it...it’s really not all that difficult to suddenly find yourself losing your anchor to the rest of the world and not being able to find your way back because you’ve lost your reason to search for a way back. So why would you? It begs the question...how would you know that you were insane if you were insane? And what do you do if you were forced to settle back into the world that you’ve left behind?
    Writing that into a story can be a maddening exercise in itself, but it brings up a lot of issues that you might find difficult to face or deal with when you tackle them head on. At least it is for me. But I enjoy the curious journey. Hehehe, which might be my own touch of insanity when I really stop and think about it. The goal is to find ways of bringing that same madness to your audience, and making them question who they are and what they’re willing to believe to help them sleep at night. Because it’s a phobia in itself wondering whether or not you’re capable of losing your mind and being helpless to do anything to stop it. Such a topic for your story could be mysterious, comedic, or downright terrifying...all depending on how it is written and how you treat it. So, let’s discuss insanity in our fiction this week, shall we? Just in case any of you guys decide that you want to try writing something like this for yourselves.
    Before I get started, please understand that I’m not taking the issue of mental illness lightly, or that any of the terms I use now (or have in the past) to explain the writing aspect of this topic is meant to be derogatory or insulting to anyone dealing with it in their own lives. Either on their own or through friends and loved ones. This article is simply my interpretation of ideas and how they can be used in a story, based on my limited knowledge of what it’s like to live with these afflictions. So, if I offend anyone, I apologize in advance. And feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment below to straighten me out if you feel the need. K?
    That being said, I’ve written a number of stories where a variety of mental illnesses have plagued the main character, and since I almost always write in the first person, I attempt to really try to convey a certain sense of sanity in their insanity. If that makes sense. Because I really do think that a lot of people who some would consider ‘crazy’ actually think that they’re crazy. I don’t believe it. I don’t think they’re crazy at all. We all have mental processes that we use to make sense of the world by looking at it through our own personal lens. We have daily habits that seem completely normal to us and therefore need no explanation to anyone else. But after talking to a great number of people in emails or in the chatroom...things that I might find strange about them, as well as the things that they find strange about me...aren’t really all that strange at all. It’s just a widely different perspective.
    One of the first times that I began taking notice of this was when I really started becoming comfortable with the idea of wearing my heart on my sleeve and opening myself up to talk about my earlier life with the story, “My Only Escape”. (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/myonlyescape) Which I never really thought of as a mental illness before then, but...is it, though? It does work to use a sense of fear and trauma to affect my outlook on the world as well as my behavior. It was a part of me. It’s still a part of me, even now that the series is completed and I’ve chosen to put it behind me. But talking to people back and forth during my journey from beginning to end, I began to realize that a lot of my thoughts and actions and my approach to my characters in fiction were completely baffling to a great number of people who were reading it. ‘Why does he do that? Why doesn’t he just get help? Why won’t he come out to his friends? Why won’t he ask his love interest out on a date?’ These all sound completely sane and rational to THEM, sure. And I get it. I really do. But I couldn’t get them to see what I was living through at the time to make them understand that none of those things were an option for me. None of them. And yet, as the comments kept coming in more and more, I was forced to ask myself...”Wait...am I the crazy one here???”
    Now, this isn’t mental illness or trauma in a severe form, nor is it as potent as it is for some people...but I think it gave me a slightly better understanding of the idea that the world looks different to people who aren’t like me. It doesn’t see the same dangers, or have the same worries, or carry the same triggers, as someone else who has a completely different life from the one that I lived growing up. So we may connect on a few different levels, here and there...but there are certain parts of our life experience that keep us from being able to communicate on the same level. The more I began to explore that with “My Only Escape”, the more I began to do the same with other stories of mine as well. And I think it helped me to dig just a little bit deeper into the story so that I could better translate my state of mind to my audience, and eventually get us all on the same page. Just like I said...it was all done in an attempt to communicate. What good does it do me to share my story if my readers are looking at my shots as if they’re all ‘off target’. You know?
    So, off I went to experiment more and attempt to bring my message to a wider audience and get them to understand my point of view. Naturally, they’re going to interpret it in an infinite number of ways and that’s not a bad thing. As long as they’re on board and making sense out of what it is that I’m writing...then I have a better chance of inspiring intrigue instead of confusion. I tried to get to the heart of all of my characters and explain why they were so hesitant to try their hand at love again, or why they felt the cute boy showing them attention was so far out of their league, or why the rich boy wouldn’t want anything to do with them. These people aren’t crazy...they’ve just restructured their perspectives to fit and feed whatever it is that they’re looking for at that particular moment, and avoiding what makes them uncomfortable. And when you have characters that are that emotionally involved...how do you convince them that you’re not the crazy one? They’ve found a safe place and a method of living their lives that soothes them and makes them feel whole...and you’re going to come around and challenge that safety and comfort with something that ‘you’ think would be better for them? Hehehe, good luck!
    Now then...take this same principal into some of my other stories like “Gone From Daylight” or “Savage Moon”. Or pretty much any of the sci fi/horror stories that I’ve written here on the GayAuthors website. I always make sure to introduce everyone to the main characters of stories like these where there can be a certain sense of understanding when it comes to their behavior in a lot of situations. Behavior that, to most...sounds like madness. But I don’t want it to read that way. Do you get what I’m saying? I want to pull my readers in and handcuff them to their train of thought, to their past experiences, to the troubles they’ve been through and the obstacles awaiting them further down the road. I want to add a sense of ‘sanity to their insanity’. A vast majority of people don’t just do things just to do things. There’s a reason for them being the way they are. It might be a messed up reason that you can’t wrap your brain around or ever really hope to understand...but a reason, nonetheless. Imagine if you could truly bring your readers into the mind of characters that you’ve spawned for your story...who under any other circumstances would be seen as totally insane. Thanos, Darth Vader, Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver”, Magneto from “X-Men”...and get them to accept that there’s a part of their madness that they not only understand...but can relate to.
    I’ve had readers actually STOP reading “Savage Moon” because that is exactly what I set out to do with that story. And then took things even further with a vampire/serial killer story called “GFD: Bloodstained Duet” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/gfd-bloodstained-duet/), where I take people into one of the darkest minds that I’ve ever created for this spinoff series! Hehehe, as well as the last story in the “Darkness Waits” ebook (https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/), which is sure to be very disturbing as well. These portrayals are over exaggerated, of course, but I feel like that’s the most fascinating part of it all while writing. Because I’ve spoken to people from all over the globe and all ages from all walks of life...but there’s something about the threat of possible insanity on our parts that causes us to cringe and fidget with discomfort. It’s one of the scariest things out there...thinking that we might have something in common with those that we’d probably avoid if we saw them in the street. The people who make us question whether or not we’re the crazy ones...and it’s merely the majority perspective of the rest of society that brings us any sense of stability at all.
    If you’ve never seen the movie, “In The Mouth Of Madness”, before...check it out, as it displays this idea in the coolest way imaginable!
    Basically...the key to writing about insanity or mental illness...especially if you’re doing so from a first person point of view...is to NOT write about insanity or mental illness. Because the world doesn’t look all that strange to them. Even if the thought process comes off as disjointed, unrealistic, or downright twisted...that’s just what WE see...looking in from th outside of it. I’ve always written that frame of mind as being as sane and as rational as any other...and we’re the ones who don’t get it because we’re looking at reality through a different lens. Make sense?
    I gained this perspective from having deep conversations with people over the years, and I never once felt like any one of them were delusional or out of sync with reality. If anything, I would guess that it was those of us (yes, me included) who are fully functional and seem totally stable to most who need the most help. It could just be that we are the insane who don’t know that they’re insane. In which case...what would there be to go back to? Why seek help if we don’t need? Right?
    Ummm...right?
    Anyway, if any of your writers out there are looking to take a walk down a dark path and write about a character, or multiple characters, that might be having an episode or dealing with some sort of mental or emotional disability, and chose to write about an unstable or perhaps even potentially dangerous character...this would be my advice. Do some research if you need to, talk to people who might know about these things better than you do, and always remember to approach the issue with respect. That’s a must. If you can’t deliver your own experience, at least try to have some level of understanding about it. K?
    I hope this helps! Enjoy your writing, folks! And if any of you have anything to add about mental illness or your experience with seeing how it’s portrayed in fiction, please feel free to comment down below! K?
    Take care! Stay beautiful! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  8. Comicality

    Reader Rejection

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Reader Rejection It will happen. Don’t try to run or hide from it, as it is as inevitable as the story itself. Hehehe! But it’s ok. Prepare for it, embrace it, and never ever let it get you down. As writers...we write. It’s what we do. It comes from the heart and it forces us, in many cases, to expose the most vulnerable parts of ourselves to any random stranger that comes along wanting a peek at who we really are on a very deep level. I wish that I could find a way to show readers how taxing and emotionally draining it can be to sit here at this keyboard and write just ONE chapter for them to, hopefully, enjoy. And the worst part is...the only thing that can be more disheartening in failing to achieve any kind of entertaining value in some people’s lives...is actually succeeding to do so.
    Let me explain it this way...
    Imagine growing up, your mom or dad or guardian (whatever situation you may have been in at that time) would cook dinner or make breakfast for you each and every single day. And you LOVE it! Omigod...this is soooo good! And even though every meal is made with the same amount of love and care and attention...how many times do you really consider that part of the process anymore? How many times do you give your wives or husbands a hug or a kiss on the cheek to say, “Thank you! You did it again!” and make them feel good about it?
    We’re all human, and we’re creatures of habit. We get used to things pretty quickly, and it makes us complacent. In other words...it’s easy to spoil us. And a constant string of fun and engaging stories is a lot like oxygen...we take it for granted until we have to go for a few minutes without it. Hehehe! And if you’re an author that is working super hard to put out your best work as fast and as often as you can, that complacency from your audience can be...well...hurtful. At least, that’s been my experience over the years.
    I, personally, tend to internalize these things...and it makes me wonder what it is that I’m doing wrong. I would end up trying to work harder or faster or go searching for ways to connect to my readers in a better way to keep them from leaving me behind. I have learned from years of experience that this is a mistake. Don’t do it. If you’re worried about this kind of thing to the point where you allow it to infect your writing process with a pesky virus that is extremely difficult to get rid of once you’ve got it...let me talk to you guys for a few minutes here and maybe help you recognize this kind of behavior for what it is. Once you understand it a little bit better, it might have a less devastating effect on your output and the quality that you’ve been trying to maintain from the very beginning. I hope it raises a bit of awareness and reminds you of why you started writing your stories in the first place. K?
    It was Eminem that said, “So skip to the loo while I do what I do best! You ain’t even impressed no more! You’re used to it!” And it’s true. Eminem can absolutely MURDER a rap verse at speeds that would blow your mind! But at this point...you hear somebody say, “Eminem killed it!” And it’s like...”Well, yeah. Of course he did. He’s Eminem.” Which is an honor in itself...but can those folks still truly say that they’re still able to really appreciate what he’s doing with words alone? It’s kind of like those few times when my family members from small town Georgia came to Chicago for the very first time, having never been to a city that big and full of that many people before. They were so SHOCKED that a place like that could exist anywhere except in the movies. Hehehe! And all of those things that I had grown so accustomed to and had usually taken for granted were suddenly highlighted in a major way. It got me excited too. But seriously, to someone who’s never heard Eminem just spazz out for about five minutes...this is mind-blowing. To everyone else, it’s treated with all the hype of a regular traffic accident on a Tuesday.
    Listen to this. Seriously, dude? WTF? By the way, in the last 30 seconds of this video...Eminem actually broke the Guiness Book world record for the speed and number of rhymes. Did you know that? A lot of folks don’t.
     
    The whole point is...if you put out a consistent amount of quality work on a regular basis, whether it be on one story, or with a variety of different stories...you audience will eventually become numb to it. And this is going to be a test for you as an artist, because it is going to sometimes feel as if you’ve reached your peak, or that you’ve fallen into a slump. Neither one of these things are true. If anything, it’s a compliment...to have brought so many sunshine days and rainbows to your audience that they eventually go unnoticed. Or perhaps even criticized for not bringing them the same ‘high’ that they got when they started reading your work in the first place. It’s something that can’t be done, but unfortunately becomes expected over time. Not marveled at or fully appreciated...just ‘expected’. It can be a hard hit to take sometimes, especially when your passions and emotions are constantly on display.
    There will be an urge to push yourself even harder and add a bunch of junk scenarios into your projects that probably don’t belong there, just to create enough of a spark to get them to seem somewhat excited again. I will admit to doing that myself in the past, and you know what? It didn’t do anything to strengthen my story at all. In certain chapters, it actually worked against me and diluted the story as a whole, forcing me to go searching for ways to get it back to what I wanted it to be from the very beginning. You have to be able to see these things for what they are, and somehow weave that into something positive instead of negative. Now...naturally there are always going to be readers who want everything for free, feel entitled to your hard work without ever giving anything back, and just want to stress you out until you’re heading to an early grave...at which point they’ll just move on and find somebody else to bully into doing the same. But one of the major parts of being an effective writer comes from focus, and this is one of those times when your focus needs to be more on what it’s doing for you instead of what it’s doing for others. Get your head in the game and keep your eyes on the prize. Write your story without validation. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t listen to your fanbase, I’m saying that it’s important to understand when their comments (or lack thereof) is more about what they want instead of what you need to make this the best story that you can. The story you started with, and satisfying the ambition you had for it before you began to doubt yourself.
    Just keep writing. The idea of reader rejection might just all be in your head, the same way that your subpar performance might be in theirs. Stories are all about ‘connection’. Writer to reader and back again. To folks who don’t write or create stuff like this...they may not really understand what it takes to produce quality work over and over and over again. Hehehe, congratulations...you’ve become Mom’s dinner! They just expect it to be hot and ready whenever they want it, and they expect it to be your best work. Not once or twice...not five times or ten...but EVERY single time! No excuses! And God forbid you fall short of those expectations every now and then. Oh man...people you haven’t heard from in years will suddenly come crawling out of the woodworks to tell you how awful it was! Hahaha! Like, WHAT??? Where the hell have YOU been for the past several years???
    Sounds weird, but it happens. And as hard as it is for some folks to deal with the lackluster reactions or the criticism backlash...you have to just stay focused on the original game plan. Easier said than done, I know...but take a few moments to really cherish the work that you’ve put out so far. I, personally, save a lot of emails that really hit a soft spot for me. Just from readers who can really understand and relate to the material that I write online or have found some peace of mind through a few of my stories. When I’m feeling down or insecure about my own abilities, I go back and look at those emails and it’s like chicken noodle soup for the soul, ya know? I think everybody needs a little positive encouragement every now and then. Why not? It’s not just an ‘ego’ thing. It’s just a return on your investment when you pour heart out at somebody’s feet, hoping that they’ll actually care and let you know it. You work hard on your art, don’t you? Doesn’t it feel good to be recognized for it every once in a while? Don’t feel selfish about that. They’re getting free entertainment, life lessons, distractions from real life, and repeated orgasms, at NO cost other than an occasional comment, email, or click of a ‘Like’ button. You’re not in a slump...they’ve just come to a point where they expect excellence from you without having to put forth any effort to get it.
    Again...it’s kind of a compliment...but not, at the same time. It’s the pure definition of being both a gift and a curse.
    One of the first and best examples of this idea is how people react to Marvel movies these days. Now, I may be heavily biased because these characters and storylines and comic books are what taught me how to write in the first place. Ever since I was old enough to read, comic books were always my number one form of escapism. They were my whole life back then. And now, being able to see these characters and stories on the big screen...it’s like my every dream came true! And I love every single one of the properties that they’ve put out. Like ALL of them! I never get enough! Give me more so I can overdose on the awesomeness! Hehehe! But, like I said...I’m biased. So maybe it’s just me. But even though some movies are better than others, I haven’t been one of those ‘hyperbolic haters’ who act like, “This is the WORST movie I’ve ever seen in my LIFE!!!” Hehehe, really? You’ve lived a pretty privileged life then...because I can point you in the direction of some flicks that never should have been made at all.
    But that’s the whole point! After billion dollar successes, four or five spots on the highest grossing movies in cinematic history, Oscar worthy actors, top notch directors, great writers, big budget special effects...it’s still not enough. It won’t EVER be enough. Do you realize that with the movies, the TV shows, the Disney+ shows, the animated series, the Netflix extensions, etc...people have gotten nearly FIFTY offerings from Marvel alone? FIFTY!!! That’s insane! It would take any one of you an entire prison sentence for armed robbery to watch them all in a row. 😮
    And yet...there are always going to be those people who are looking for them to slip on an invisible banana peel or something and fall from grace. (I can’t, for the life of me, understand why...but they do.) I wrote in one of my stories that it’s easier to say how much you hate something then explain why you love it. And I stand by that. People train themselves to find something wrong in everything the see, hear, read, experience. Liking something is almost seen as a weakness when you openly admit it. Why? We should be cherishing every second of life that makes us smile or uplifts us. But, I guess that’s not cool. So...there will be times when you will be criticized. And times when people really love your story, but can’t even be dragged, kicking and screaming, to say so. They just read it and horde all the good feelings for themselves. Hehehe, whatever. So be it. You know?
    But that’s not because of your output, your speed with new chapters, or the quality of your writing. If you leave this article knowing ONE thing...know that. Ok?
    Detach yourself from that mindset and keep writing. Don’t toss extra stuff into your story for the sake of sensationalism. Don’t cut anything out to rush through your story. Don’t get buried under the pressure to perform if you just don’t feel like performing that day. This is your work. Your story. Your soul on display. And there will be a million distractions that will be constantly pulling you away from the story that’s in your heart. Don’t let this be one of them.
    Sometimes you have to surrender to the fact that what you do will never ever be enough. After a few successes, your work will become Mom’s dinner. Still loved and enjoyed by many, sure. But to say that it’ll be underappreciated at some point would be a huge understatement. “You ain’t even impressed no more! You’re used to it!” It will happen...and this will be a test for you in terms of keeping your passion alive all on your own and keep going. It can feel a bit lonely and unstable at first, but realize this mindset for what it is and try your best to work through it. It may be the deciding factor in whether you’re a really good writer, or a really GREAT writer!
    I know a lot of folks don’t talk about this kind of thing, but seeing as it has affected me and my own performance a few times over the years...I wanted to share it with everybody. Because it really does affect your work, whether you want to admit it or not. Getting criticism for anything that is less than the astronomical standard that you created for yourself, and then feeling ignored or taken for granted at the same time, can really weigh heavily on your psyche. And it makes it harder for you to remain in touch with your natural instincts and take risks or challenges where they would do your story the most good. There’s nothing out there that can shield you from this part of the process. It’s kind of a ‘work hazard’ when it comes to sharing yourself with the public. Just remember that it’s not your readers’ fault, nor are they trying to make you feel bad. Nor is it always a matter of you losing your gift when it comes to writing. There’s just a disconnect (often temporary) between their expectations and your search for reward or approval. This is why I work so hard to get people to talk to each other and openly express when they like something that somebody else wrote, and to keep in mind how long and how often ‘Mom’s dinner’ has been keeping them going strong. That tiny bit of communication can mean the world to a creator of well written fiction...which only ends up to them being able to write more goodies for the people who crave it so much. So if you love it...say you love it. Otherwise, when the fanbase disappears...the author disappears shortly after. So let’s work to lean on one another, shall we? Hehehe, it’ll only make us both infinitely happy in the long run.
    Focus on your story and not the reactions. And occasionally remind yourself of your successes when you feel like you’re not doing enough. Or like people are just waiting for you to slip on that damned digital banana peel just ONCE so they can use that as an excuse to tear down everything that came before it. Nope! You’re doing just fine. And if your next story isn’t as epic as the one you wrote yesterday...there’s always tomorrow. Or next week. Or next month. Just focus on being the best writer you can be at all times, and your audience will continue to come back to see what you have to say. Don’t ever sacrifice your voice for the sake of insecurity. You can’t write an impactful story like that. I certainly can’t.
    I hope this helps to keep your spirits uplifted when it comes to writing. The articles I post aren’t all about method and mechanics. Being a writer is more than that. And these are the types of mental gymnastics that you’ve got to learn and figure out how to nail the landing so you can get back to doing what you do best. Hehehe, whether they’re used to it or not.
    Be their oxygen. Maybe taken for granted, but just as essential for them to breathe whether they appreciate it or not. K?
    You’ll do just fine! I’ve got faith in you! Hehehe! Just remember...no matter what, it’ll NEVER be enough. They just want more. And that’s a good thing, right? Remember...Marvel...FIFTY offerings!!! After a decade and a half of solid work...so many characters and intersecting plot lines and engaging themes...the utter audacity of eagerly searching for reasons to expect the impossible or angrily complain just boggles my mind. Fifty offerings, people! FIFTY!!! Who does that? Who CAN do that??? LOL!!! When the critics come knocking...you let them know that they can gain access to your sense of well being and your overworked mind when they can do it better! Period.
    Happy writing, you guys!
     
     
  9. Comicality

    The Feel

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    The ‘Feel’ There are a number of techniques that any author can use to create a story, build it up from scratch, and gain control over how that story reads. There are ways to ‘guide’ your audience into having them read it the way that you wrote it, and that comes with a ton of practice. But the more you learn about the art of actually doing it, the more effective your stories become in terms of delivering an experience that you can be proud of, and will stick with your audience long after it’s over. However, the ‘advanced class’ version of that craft comes from understanding how to take your story and gain some control over how it feels...not just how it reads.
    You may be asking yourself what the difference is...and that’s what I’m going to try my best to talk about today. Because there really is a difference. And the moment you pull on that thread and start figuring out how it works, you might fight yourselves extremely eager to start playing around with the idea! So let’s get into it.
    How a story reads is a measure of how involved people are in what you wrote and how you wrote it. Can you deliver the information needed for them to feel as though they’re right there in the middle of the action and can follow the action, the dialogue, the emotional involvement, etcetera. You are creating whatever it is that they came to read...and it’s almost like those glow in the dark lights in a movie theater, guiding your audience in a certain direction without having them trip or stumble along the way. It’s an important part of the process, making sure that everyone reading can be a spectator to the surrounding area, the characters, the dialogue, and the story as a whole without getting confused or mixed up and having to waste time readjusting so that they can re-immerse themselves in the plot. That’s the beauty of taking the reigns and controlling how a story reads.
    So...how is this different from how a story feels?
    Now, that’s the difficult part to explain. That’s why this is the advanced class, hehehe, but I’ll do my very best to make sense out of it.
    What really ‘sticks’ with people after they’ve finished your well written project from beginning to end goes way beyond mere comprehension of the material and the info delivered to them. Even if it’s done in a really lovely and almost poetic way...there’s an unspoken ‘X-factor’ in the stories that you read and enjoy both on and offline. I’ll be honest with you guys, a lot of readers (Maybe even a huge majority) will end up being connected to a mediocre story that truly inspired them or tugged at their heart strings than they will a professionally written piece that is mind-blowingly perfect with its prose and use of metaphor and symbolism. I definitely try my hardest to put out the very best work that I can every time I release a new story or chapter, but I doubt that I could keep a straight face and claim that my own work is anywhere close to being perfect. However, what I’ve learned and taken to heart over the years is that what people remember most about the stories they read is how those tales made them feel. Mistakes and all. And that’s definitely that you want to concentrate on and a skill that you want to master while still having a respect for the story structure and written mechanics needed to be an effective storyteller.
    It’s best to have both working for you...but it’s the intangible craft of creating a ‘feeling’ that is really going to end up being the thing that your story is ultimately remembered for. Your audience will end up becoming more attached to the emotions that your story brought out of them than they will to the story itself. Like...how many times have you heard people recommend a really good story to you in the vaguest of terms? How many lines can they really quote, or even paraphrase correctly, from your work? How many times do they even get the actual title of the story wrong, considering they remember the story title at all? Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that any of your hard work has gone to waste or that it wasn’t an important part of making it a memorable tale that’s worthy of recommendation. It most definitely is. But when readers have finished going through what you wrote, and your story becomes of their ‘past tense’...it’s the overall feeling that’s going to remain. Vague, inexplicable, general...but powerful just the same. No matter what it is that you’re writing...you can’t ignore the ‘feel’ of what it is that you’re using to tell your tale. That’s where a major part of your own personal magic lies. Learn to recognize it, and try to play with different aspects of it to see how your readers react. It will truly help you build an instinct around the one part of your story that might end up being the most influential part of the story that you’re trying to tell.
    This comes from how you word your text, and the pacing that you use to do so. You can take the exact same fictional situations and characters and create an entirely different feel for your story, depending on how it’s delivered and what you were feeling at the time that you wrote it. When I look back at some of my stories now, I can easily tell when I was totally heartbroken, when I was just happy with life, when I was seriously pissed off, or when I was starved for sexual affection! Hehehe! And if you guys read through my past work, I’m sure you can pick those scenes out as well. But the point is...the way those stories read...the ‘feel’ is right there on display for everybody to see. And the more I got used to taking chances and wearing my heart on my sleeve, the more comfortable I got with expressing my true feelings in a variety of different ways. The blessing that comes with that is the fact that you begin to pay attention to what makes those feelings more visible to your audience, and you begin to learn how to manipulate your words, your rhythm, and your writer’s voice, to bring these emotions into the spotlight whenever you need them. That’s the key. Finding the magic.
    The differences are so very subtle sometimes, but if you know what to look for, you can teach yourself to draw emotions from some words, scenes, and characters, more than others. You can just...sense it. You know? Does that make sense? It’s something that you can learn, but can’t be taught.
    The only way that I could think of to give you guys an example comes from music this time around. Maybe it’ll help you to pick up on some of what I’m talking about here. This is the song, “I Will Always Love You”, originally by Dolly Parton. Now, this is a very well known song to most people, but pay close attention to the ‘feel’ of it as you listen to it. What emotions, memories, dreams, inspirations, does it touch upon when you listen to it?
    I know that it’s a bit difficult to tap into an explanation with words alone, but stick with me here. Hopefully, you’ll get it by the time this article is over with.
     
    When I listen to the original version of this song, it seems very pure. Very simple. But it comes with an almost heartbreaking tone in its delivery. Can you hear it? With this version of the song, it almost feels like it’s told from a victim’s point of view. It’s like...this isn’t working out, and you’re leaving me...and there’s nothing that I can really do about that other than tell you that I don’t want to get in the way, and I’ll always love you, no matter what. It’s an amazing song once you really absorb what she’s doing here, and I love it. If you need to listen to it again, go ahead. Really let it sink in. Hear the lyrics. Embrace the sad undertones of a relationship that has fallen apart and it’s simply time to bring closure to it all. You know? At least...that’s how it made me feel, listening to it.
    Alright...now we jump ahead about 20 or 25 years...and we have Whitney Houston’s remake of this classic. BUT...again...pay attention to how it affects your emotions when you listen to it. It’s the exact same song, with the exact same lyrics...but the ‘feeling’ it gives me is almost the exact opposite of the original. This one feels more empowering. She’s not playing the victim role here, it sounds more like she’s the one leaving, and telling her significant other, “I’m out of here. But, just know, I’ll always love you.”
    Listen to this version and see if you get the same feeling...
     
    The feel comes from subtle changes in inflection and power and pauses...but I can sense the difference. It’s all in the delivery. It sounds like this song is coming from a different ‘place’. And when you’re writing, you can do the same thing with your words alone. This is why I do my best writing when I tackle a story according to my current mood, because it’s almost like I can’t ‘hide’ it from my readers. I often write my biggest fights and my arguments when I’m angry. I write my sex scenes when I’m feeling passionate. I write my flirtatious dialogue and my cute moments when I’ve got my romantic juices flowing. Those feelings translate into your creative efforts whether you want them to or not. So discover what generates certain emotions within you, and use those tools to the best of your ability. Don’t try to write something happy and joyful when you’re totally heartbroken in real life. Hehehe, if you’re really open with your emotions in your work...people will easily be able to tell the difference. Instead of using words that sound triumphant and sweet, you may end up writing with a vocabulary that comes off as jealous, stale, or pessimistic. It won’t feel like it at the time, but think about what lens you’re looking at life in general through at that particular moment in time.
    The words will be serviceable, and they’ll convey the right kind of information that you need to get your point across...but the danger is that your ‘feel’ may be off in the long run. It may not sound authentic. It might come off as being forced. And you can’t just tell people how to feel in a certain scene. They have to discover that for themselves, you can only act as a guide. Whatever emotion you’re trying to convey has to be accessible, but not shoved into their hands. That’s not how writing works.
    Jump ahead another 20 to 25 years...we have this version of the exact same song that was made by Chase Holfelder. Same song, same lyrics, same theme. But just listen to this version! Music can be composed in ‘major’ keys (which usually brightens things up) or in ‘minor’ keys (Which takes them to a darker, moodier, place). This time, the same song is performed in ‘minor’...and the feel is MUCH more sinister in its delivery. Instead of the melancholy Dolly Parton version, or the proactive Whitney Houston version...this one sounds almost as if it’s taking on a stalkerish or possibly suicidal feel. Again, it’s all in the delivery. Check it out, and see what you get from this remake.
     
    This change is not so subtle, but the haunting tone of it stands out as a glaring example of how the ‘feel’ of your story can truly change the whole flavor of your writing, your characters, and your audience’s view of whatever it is that you’re doing with your story. It all depends on where your writing is coming from, and what kind of vibe you want it to have when you’re writing it.
    How do you accomplish that? Well, unfortunately the answer to that changes from author to author. You really have to find out what each mood means to you, and what words and expressions you use to showcase those feelings. I can only tell you what to look for and how to recognize it when you see it. The rest is going to have to be a personal endeavor that you all take on for yourselves, experimenting and exploring how the words at your disposal can provide the appropriate impact that you want your story to have. But, whatever you come up with, don’t ignore this part of the writing process. I think every writer needs to look at their work and actually ‘see’ themselves in it, and what they were feeling at that particular moment. It’s a snapshot. A text based photograph that you can use to capture the moment. Find those snapshots and understand them for what they are. Then, learn ways to bend and fold and manipulate them in ways that can create those special feelings for your readers as well.
    That’s what people remember more than anything else when it comes to your story. You already feel something...all you have to do is translate it in a way that will help others feel it with you. Join you in your joy, in your pain, in your sadness, or your rage. Look at your own work. How do you speak when you’re angry? How does your pacing change when you’re sad? How much do you smile at your keyboard when you’re feeling goofy? Find that in your work and learn how to replicate it for the scenes when you need that same energy. K?
    I hope this helps! Take care, you guys! And I’ll seezya soon with more! ((Hugz all around))
     
  10. Comicality

    Character Casting

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Character Casting One thing that I remember most about trying my hand at the acting business was that I went into every meeting and audition thinking that I was going to nail the role. Hehehe, I was a kid, so why not? Right? I was going to go in there, whether I got the script ahead of time so I could learn my lines by heart, or if I just went in cold. How hard could it be?
    So I’d feel all optimistic about my chances, and I’d make sure that I was prepared to give it my absolute best shot, and I would already be imagining myself on the big screen and riding around in limousines and whatever youngster fantasies I could come up with at that time. I’d go in, read my lines, get recorded and hand in my info so they could get in touch with me...and then I’d go home and wait. Occasionally, I’d get a call back or two to come in again or was invited to do some extra work, which was promising, but obviously I didn’t make it to the big leagues. It’s not like it crushed my spirits or anything...it was just nowhere near being as easy and simple as I thought it would be. I had to be older to realize the reasons for that, and over time that was a dream of mine that tapered off to pursue something that I had a bit more control with.
    Why mention this? Because when you’re writing a story...even though it doesn’t involve actual actors, visuals, music, or anything technical...casting your characters for your story should take just as much of an important role in creating your vision through the fiction you’re putting out there for your audience to read. In my opinion...it may be one of the most important parts of the process...right up there with plot and dialogue. And in some parts, even more so. Your characters are what can carry or crash a story in its entirety, and if you’re not careful, even a great piece of fiction can wither away to almost nothing if your cast can’t bring all of your hard to work in a fun, intriguing, and convincing way.
    So let’s talk about casting the characters in your stories, and what all writers should probably take into consideration before they even get started. K?
    I think your characters should ‘move you’ when you write about them. When you think about them. In fact, you (as well as your readers) should be thinking about them outside of writing or reading the story at all. To me, personally...it’s a HUGE compliment to hear someone say that they can’t stop thinking about one of my stories as they try to go on throughout the rest of their day as normal. That makes my day, every single time! And it doesn’t always have to be the main protagonist or the love interest either. It counts for side characters, parents, teachers, or even if one of your characters has a pet that they connect with in a special way, too. But how does someone create a character out of thin air and have them fit a fictional character in a story that never happened in a world that doesn’t exist. I mean, that can’t be easy, right?
    Well, when I first began writing my own stories...all of my characters were pretty strongly connected to my closest friends growing up. Boys that I’ve had crushes on, situations that I had experienced myself, jokes that we used to share. However, as I kept going and creating bigger stories and more involving twists and turns in the narrative...I began to branch out a little bit more. I might add a few personality traits from people that I was working with, or people from school that I didn’t know all that well...but ‘this is what I imagine they would be like outside of our college classes or the dorm’, etc. So I started out the way a lot of creative minds start out, by sort of mimicking the influences surrounding me and trying to grab a deeper understanding of them. After that, I began combining ‘this person’ with ‘that person’, or ‘this sense of humor’ with ‘that kind of with and charm’...and eventually it all gets swirled up into a giant melting pot in my mind where I can mix up pretty much anything up that I want when I need it. It’s like having a big witches cauldron where you add a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, create a few of your own ideas, add bits and pieces of myself...voila! I can be creating characters that would be perfect for my story and start putting them together in a way that fits the fiction.
    Notice how I started with who they are instead of just what they look like? That comes next.
    I think that creating a look for your character should say something about their outlook, their attitude, their interaction with the rest of the world, and the way the rest of the world interacts with them. Take a moment to describe their look when you’re writing, and make sure to keep it consistent with who they are as a person. There’s a lot of room that you can use to play around with this aspect of adding details to your story. For example...if you have a character who’s an introvert and insecure about his looks...how would you portray that with their look and attitude without just saying it out loud in the writing? Maybe they dress in ways that openly displays that insecurity to the rest of the world. Maybe they’re extremely shy and quiet, and sort of stand in a corner by themselves most of the time without saying much to anybody else. Or...maybe their wardrobe consists of wearing all black, with ark make up on their eyes, and their dyed hair flopped down over their faces. Anything to silently deliver the standoffish message of ‘leave me alone’. Can you tell your story with an average kid with blue jeans and a solid white t-shirt? Sure, of course you can. But...if you were making a movie, and you wanted to have this person come off as an antisocial or isolated character...which one do you think would better demonstrate that on screen? Think about what you would do if you were actually casting your own story. This is what I’m talking about.
    If your casting doesn’t match your character, your story may not end up having the kind of feel that you’re expecting. A total narcissist character maybe wearing the best of name brand clothes and shoes, an abstract artist might wear something a bit more eccentric or colorful, and someone more flamboyant or camp might be dressed flashy with wrist bracelets and rainbow socks. You don’t have to be openly stereotypical, hehehe...so don’t over do it! But imagine a look for your character that reveals something about them. Let your readers visualize them for themselves, all while keeping those visuals as close to your own as you can when you’re writing.
    For example...one of the things that I did, early on, was make my character ‘Justin’ in “Gone From Daylight” extremely beautiful, with blond hair and penetrating light blue eyes. Now, that makes sense in some aspects of the story...but not in all of them. Seeing as he was so badly bullied in school and at home...it’s kind of like...why? How does he not have friends? How has no one approached him for a date or a party or something? I’m not saying that I regret the decisions that I made in the beginning, but looking back, I wish that I could have maybe enhanced or expressed some more of his flaws so his character arc could be explained a bit more. Now, when it came to the story, “Savage Moon”, I was able to internalize and dive a bit deeper into the thoughts of a teenage boy who doesn’t feel like he belongs, doesn’t fit in, has trouble at home…and his later choices can remain in tune with who he is as a character, and yet still match up with who he was in the very beginning. That was a better ‘casting’ choice for me when I look back at it now.
    Designing your characters physical appeal speaks just as much to their character as their back and forth with other people in the story does. A metal head might wear a faded ‘fuck you’ t-shirt and ripped jeans. A detective might wear a suit and tie to work every day. Cheap suit? Expensive suit? A high school jock might wear a Letterman jacket and a polished pair of white sneakers, while a little neighborhood kid without much money might be wearing some hand-me-down clothes from his older siblings. Think about whether they have blond hair or brunette. Maybe a redhead. Maybe it’s dyed a different color it has colorful streaks in it here and there. Is it short and worn with a preppy style, or does it hang a bit lower? Is it shaved on the sides? Maybe it’s shaved completely? Do any of your characters have a ‘rebellious’ tattoo on their arms or anywhere else? Are they dressed for the weather? Are they walking around with a t-shirt or a light jacket during a snowstorm or in the rain without an umbrella. You’re be surprised how much these little details can say about your characters without saying anything at all. And that’s the goal, isn’t it?
    To show, not tell?
    Sometimes the character just isn’t right for the part. It’s not what you’re looking for. And in order to know what you ARE looking for...you’re going to have to figure that out ahead of time. These are some of the things that you should have in your mind when you’re writing your story. Take notes if you have to and you think it’s necessary...but envision it in your mind. The next time you go out in public and think about what you would normally assume from the people around you. It doesn’t mean that you’d be right, because you can’t really judge a book by its cover...but at first glance...what kind of vibes are the people in your current area giving you? If you see a kid with thin rimmed glasses and a button down shirt, and he’s holding a few science books in his arms...what does it make you think of? If you see a guy sitting on a sidewalk shaking a cup full of change, or a couple of high school kids trying to get someone to buy them alcohol from the local store, or see a guy with a briefcase and talking into a cell phone...what info is that giving you? And what happens if you’re totally wrong about that assumption? Hehehe! There’s room for you as an author to play with that as well.
    You can be deceptive when it comes to the assumptions you project in your work, which is always fun. You can also use these casting choices to show growth. Like...maybe the boy that started off being shy and introverted find himself a boyfriend...and over time, he begins to dress differently, talk differently, carry himself with more confidence and swagger. These are all tools that you can use in your character casting choices to bring out certain aspects of their personality and their evolution without having to drone on about it with exposition, which will very quickly begin to drag your storytelling down to a snail’s pace. Avoid that at all costs. It doesn’t take much to describe a certain style or appearance of a character in their introduction to your fiction. Just a few sentences. Quick, focused, and concise.
    So ‘cast’ your characters for the roles that you plan to put them into, and make sure that they fit. If they’re unnaturally gorgeous...then their surroundings and the world they inhabit should reflect. In “New Kid In School” or “Kiss Of An Angel”...Ariel is extremely cute, but he’s painfully shy, socially awkward, and a bit of a klutz. Hehehe, so his world reflects that. In “Jesse-101”, he’s a Youtube celebrity, and when he goes to the mall, his world reflect that. In “A Class By Himself”, Chris is a rich kid and one of the elites among his peers...same deal. Casting is important. Get it right, if you can. And think about it enough to where they feel real to your readers...which of course depends on how real they feel to you.
    Already, that’s all I’ve got for today. I’m hoping you guys get the idea. I get a bit ‘wordless’ sometimes too when it comes to explaining how I see stories the way I do...but I’m willing to bet that most of you who have been writing stories of your own already know how. And if not, keep practicing, and you certainly will. Trust me.
    Take care! Love you lots! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  11. Comicality

    Off the Rails

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Off The Rails Alright...this is for our authors out there who have a whole lot of talent...talent for DAYS...but, as we all know...life sometimes gets in the way. Trust me, I know.
    Sometimes we get busy. Sometimes we get sick. Sometimes...every day is not a happy, happy, day and we need time to heal, grieve, or recharge. It happens. Hell, sometimes we just catch a hint of the 24 hour ‘slacker flu’ and want to play couch potato every now and then. Hehehe, I’ve definitely done it myself on a number of occasion, and why waste my breath apologizing for it? It’s GOOD to unplug every now and then and stop staring at a screen for so many consecutive hours in a row. If any of you guys need a break, then take a break. It’s cool! It’s not like fireballs are going to drop out of the sky and destroy all of humanity if you decide to walk off the job every now and then to keep yourselves sane!
    (Ummm...unless your job is to keep fireballs from dropping out of the sky and destroying all of humanity! In which case...yeah, we kinda need you to stay put!)
    A decent break, even an extended hiatus, is needed every now and then. You can’t write your way through fatigue. You just can’t. A lot of people simply don’t understand how mentally and emotionally draining it can be to write a well crafted story. Even PHYSICALLY exhausting, sitting in the same chair, often with bad posture, trying to pour your heart into the lives of fictional people with the hopes that anybody out there will care when you’re finished. And, you know what? Sometimes they won’t. And even if they do, they probably won’t say anything where you can see it. So what’s the point, right?
    When that kind of thinking starts to invade your mind...it gets easier and easier to find excuses to not write anything at all. Instead of feeling like you’re sharing something special with a thankful audience and possibly working towards some sort of reward for your efforts...you begin to think about how much work you’re going to have to put in. You start thinking about nasty comments, or being ignored completely, or how you’ve got better things to do with your time...and, like most humans would, you take the road of least resistance...and you end up putting it off until later.
    When is ‘later’? It starts off as a few hours. Then a few days. Then a few weeks. Then a few months. And before you even realize what had happened to the drive you had towards the story that you were once so eager to write and share with the rest of the world...you end up tossing it in a random corner of your mind to get cold and moldy without ever going back to it again. And you know what? That’s a shame. It really is.
    I speak from experience when I say that I have countless stories that I wish I had pushed myself to continue and finish while the ‘iron was still hot’, as they say. And I’ve made plans to continue those stories and really working hard to get them to blossom in the way that I had originally intended...but it will never be as spontaneous and inspired as a project like it was when I first shot off like a rocket and tackled it head on. So many missed opportunities. And even now...I’ve got so much going on in my real life and with the stuff that I’m doing online, I highly doubt that I’d have the time to really make those stories what they could have been years ago. I doubt that I’d have the courage to take the same chances, or make the same literary choices that I would have back then. BUT...I’m not leaving any of my stories unfinished if I can help it. And I am attacking them with a fury that I’ve never had before. It feels pretty good to honest.
    Here’s the thing...
    When I first started writing, I was crossing my fingers in the hopes of maybe getting a few replies here and there. Just something to say, “Hey! I put myself out there, I did my best, and some folks really liked it!” Obviously, the responses that I began to get from that one story began to overwhelm me within the first few days. And as I wrote more chapters, and then other stories as well...they just kept coming. I was baffled by this, but I had sooooo many ideas that I wanted to turn into stories of their own, that I was filling up whole notebooks with stuff that I had in my head. But what really got to me was when I started answering all of the emails that I was getting at the time.
    Some of them were so young, you know? Boys just like me when I was their age...just wishing that I had stories like the ones I had seen on Nifty or had written myself. I mean, the responses weren’t just, “Omigod! That was so hot!” Many of them were more like, “Thank you! I wish I had a boyfriend like that!” They were from people telling me about how they grew up, some of them my age, many younger, some older...and things grew from there. Even though I was treating the earliest stories on my site as donations of slightly ‘elaborate porn’, there was a growing majority of people who saw it as much more than that. I began to talk to them through email, made some life long friends, and I began to realize that I wasn’t just creating jack off material online. Teens were reading my stuff and coming out to their friends and parents, some found boyfriends, some older readers found companions online, some were passing the stories on to others so they could enjoy them as well and maybe benefit from them as well. And that truly meant a lot to me. You have no idea.
    Basically, what I’m saying with this article is...get back on track, you guys! If you’ve given up on your writing...ask yourself if you still have any gas left in the tank. You know? I totally understand if you’re not really the writer type. I understand if it’s less than a hobby for you, and you just had a phase that has passed and you’re done with it. And some of you reading this may have no desire to ever write (Or share your writing) with anybody, ever. That’s cool, and it’s totally up to you. But I’ve learned, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that somebody out there in the world is in desperate need to hear EXACTLY what it is that you have to say! Nobody else is going to reach them the way that you can. Whatever stories and hidden treasures that you’ve got in your head and have been hiding away from the rest of us or procrastinating and claiming that you’ll just do it tomorrow...that message could change somebody’s life. It really can.
    Sounds wild, doesn’t it? But it’s the truth. Hear me out...it’s the TRUTH!
    What’s the issue? Ask yourself the question and be honest with the answer. If you’re not a writer, that’s fine. But if you really DO want to write, and just don’t? Then why not? Why not? Look at me...hehehe...why NOT???
    What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for life to stop and give you a chance to breathe? It won’t. No matter what you do or how hard you work to finish whatever it is that’s keeping you from writing a new chapter, or just a few new pages...life will always be there waiting on you. The Earth won’t stop spinning. Are you busy at work? Work will always be there. Don’t feel like it? Writer’s block? No new ideas? I mean...you know that sounds like a lame excuse, right? Let’s be honest. You’ve had the same stale ideas in your head for how long now? And you won’t type them out. What’s stopping you?
    Me, personally...I realize that I happen to be a hopeless insomniac, and I wouldn’t expect that from anyone else. People need sleep. They need to relax sometimes. We all do. But it doesn’t mean that I have any more hours in the day than you guys do. Even when I had a full time job, writing was a discipline that I indulged in. Never too busy, never too tired. I might not be able to FINISH something that I was working on, but only because I was literally falling asleep on the ‘zzzzzz’ button and had to go to bed. ::Giggles::
    And that’s what it boils down to. Discipline. If you find your passion lying dormant within you from lack of use or inspiration, then ask yourself why. What made you want to write in the first place? It’s ok if you decide that it’s not for you. No problem with that. But for those of us who really WANT to write and keep strengthening the habit we have to avoid doing so...what are we doing? What’s going on here? Seriously.
     
    So...if this is sort of where you find yourself, and want to make an attempt to get back into writing again but are unsure why you feel stuck or uninspired...try to keep these three steps in mind to maybe get yourself back in gear. Nothing major, but you might be surprised how quickly and effectively these soft pushes can get you to start up all over again. K?
    Number one is very simple...read your notes! If you have any, that is. Me, personally, I always have notes that I have easy access to whenever I need them. Plans that I had in mind for the story when I started, where I left off, where I was going with my ideas...character names, plot points, eye and hair color, physical attributes, etc. Not only does it act as an instant refresher of the story itself, but it often reminds me of what got me so eager and excited to write the story in the first place. It works to put me back in the same frame of mind. Now, I know that many of you guys have stories that you might have started a number of years ago, and it seems like it’s been way too long for you to pick them back up now. And it can be disheartening to fall between the cracks of continuing that story and looking at all the hard work you put into it when you started. But just...read through it again. There was a spark of something that caused you to sit down at your keyboard and start writing it in the first place, right? Well...what was it? Find the spark. The fuel is the easy part. Reconnect with whatever it was that you had to say back then, and use that to get those rusty wheels turning again.
    Number two? Finish up with all of your other activities! ALL of them! What do I mean when I say that? I’m telling you to relax and remind you that this is your show. You can write or not write whenever you feel like it. But when you pick a night to sit down and make it happen...get all of your distractions out of the way. You want to watch a movie or binge a TV series? Do it. Feel like playing a video game? Do it. It’ll be ok. Go walk the dog, put the kids to bed, spend quality time with your boyfriend, go grocery shopping, cook dinner...whatever it is that you have to do that day...go do it. Have FUN doing it! Even if it’s just watching videos on Youtube or engaging in a healthy stalking of your friends on Facebook...indulge in it and take some time to enjoy it. You see...the thing is...when you try to force yourself to write, your brain goes into this really annoying mode where it comes up with a thousand excuses as to why you shouldn’t be writing right now! Haven’t you noticed it yet? You try to sit down, and all of a sudden it’s like...’Well, as soon as I take out the trash...’ or ‘I should really wash the dishes first’ or ‘I need a cup of coffee to get in the mood’. Spoiler alert...all of that is bullshit. Hehehe! But it’s ok. It really is. Live your life. Have fun, relax, get yourself into a happy place where you don’t feel pressured or intimidated by the task at hand. Get all of your distractions out of the way so when you sit down to start writing...you can feel good about it. You know? You had a pleasant day all to yourself, did everything that you wanted to do...and now you have time to write. It doesn’t have to be a whole lot. Write a little bit. See where you left off...and then continue from there. It doesn’t have to be 100 pages worth of hard work. Just think of the next logical progression in your story, and then finish off a single thought. It might be a few pages, it might be a few paragraphs, it might only be a couple of sentences...but take your story to the next step by completing a single thought that will lead towards the next impactful scene of your story. You’ll be surprised how quickly that can get those creative juices flowing freely again and re-ignite that passion for a story that you thought you were better off giving up on.
    And the third tip? DON’T beat yourself up over how long it’s been since you’ve written your last chapter! Speaking from personal experience...I doubt that there’s anything more intimidating than the realization that it has been sooooo very long since you’ve written anything on that particular story, or anything at all in some cases. I know that it’s going to rattle around in the back of your brain for a while, but you’ve just got to do what you can to silence that voice so you can create something awesome. I mean...I get it. People won’t even remember where you left off, and you don’t know if you’re the same person now that you were when you started. And I know that you dread having to hear all of the ‘It’s about TIME!’ comments when you share it with your readers! Hehehe! But find a place in your mind and in your heart where none of that matters...and get back to work by isolating yourself in that space so you can concentrate and think clearly for whatever amount of time it takes for you to get back to business. K? Easier said than done...but keep going. It works. Trust me, I know!
    Anyway...follow those three tips, and stop putting your talent off for tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow! Each one of us has a story to tell the world, and the world will be missing something if we don’t do our part and share the light that we’ve all got within us. Don’t you want people to know your story? It costs you nothing. But it might be someone else’s saving grace in the grand scheme of things. So why not let your voice be heard? Right?
    As I’ve always said in the past...somebody out there needs to read the exact story that YOU have to tell! Nobody else...but you specifically. And you’re gonna deprive them of that to watch TV? Hehehe, you suck for that. Just saying...
    I hope this helps you guys to get those engines revved up and you all start writing again! We all have hard times, we all get busy, we all get tired...but our art and our creativity will outlive us all. We owe it to everybody reading to share a piece of ourselves with them. That’s how I feel about it, anyway. Best of luck! And happy writing!
    Stop reading this and go write something, dammit!!! LOL!
     
  12. Comicality

    The Slow Burn

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    The Slow Burn One of the elements of a really good story that we’ve discussed before on this board had to deal with ‘pacing’. Now, while it seems like such a thing should feel natural and almost effortless to some writers...it’s actually not that way for everybody. In fact, it’s a very delicate balance that I feel should be recognized and respected when it comes to putting a story together in a way that could be considered ‘effective’ when it comes to getting your message and your emotions across to your audience. Too many moving parts can come off as being chaotic and confusing, while too few can come off as directionless and downright boring. For most of the stuff that I put out, I try to balance the two extremes out in a way that will draw readers in and give them a full experience...while still providing enough entertainment to keep them interested and invested in what’s going on. BUT...there are times that I definitely want to slow things down and take my time to build a story that will have more depth and character building than anything that I could write in a ‘confined space’. Things like sex, romance, humor, or direct conflict, are present, sure...but they don’t take center stage until later on in the story. At least not in the way that I imagine it.
    Now...why would a writer ever want to slow down their pacing when they’re obviously trying to grab the attention of their audience and hold onto it for as long as possible? And if such a thing is possible? How do we pull that off?
    That’s what we’re talking about today! Feel free to add any thoughts or feelings of your own on this topic, as I’m always looking to learn as much as I look forward to teaching.
    So...what is a ‘slow burn’, exactly? It’s the craft of telling a story that is heavily focused on the characters involved in the plot, but doesn’t necessarily push for story advancement or major events until the readers are fully immersed in the proper mindset. It might seem like nothing major is happening, but the idea is to give your audience the promise that everything that they’re reading and learning about is all a part of the master plan, and will have some deeper meaning later on. It’s a gradual rise towards something great, if only they’re patient enough to stick with it. I’ve incorporated this technique into quite a few of my stories, and I’ve learned to hone my instincts to leave just enough breadcrumbs along the trail to inspire the kind of patience that I need for the story to work. Nothing major or too flashy...but interesting. That’s where the magic lies.
    The advantage of writing a slow burn story is that it gives you almost limitless room to explore the ‘space’ of your story and the characters that populate it. There are going to be times when you might feel as though you need to force your way towards that big moment that you think your readers are looking for, and I definitely think that you shouldn’t allow your story to stall in some state of limbo where nothing I happening at all...but if you really have more to say before anything ‘big’ happens...take your time and let it happen naturally. Give yourself some room. Working on a project with a slow burn approach give you time to do some world building (If applicable), or to really give everyone a deeper understanding for your protagonist and the people surrounding them. Ask yourself, what’s the backstory? What’s the motivation? If there are obstacles waiting for your main character on the horizon...what are they? And why do they affect your characters the way it does? Let’s get the whole story from you. I realize that every little tiny bit of information isn’t necessary to tell a story if it isn’t needed...but if you’ve got parts of your story, your character’s history, the relationship that they have with their friends, or their siblings, or their parents...don’t be afraid to add those elements into the mix and explore them at length before rushing to get that first kiss or sexual experience out of the way.
    Get to know your own characters, and allow your readers to get a chance to know them as well as you do. Sometimes, this can be essential in making a good story GREAT! The idea is to always keep a sense of momentum building in every chapter, even when your main character and your love interest aren’t making out or getting naked for ‘sexy time’. Know where your story is headed, but relax a bit and take some time to weave your protagonist’s mind set into the expectations of your audience. Make it your goal to learn at least ONE new thing about one of your spotlight characters per chapter. Remember when we talked about story arcs? Keep that in mind when you’re doing this. It can be a direct action, a bold piece of dialogue, or even just a series of inner thoughts that shows a change and a progression in your character that you can later use to your advantage. So, when those big moments DO happen in your story...they’ll have increased meaning and purpose to everyone invested in your narrative, because your audience will have gone on that journey with the characters that you’ve taken so much time and such care to build up from scratch. And nothing makes your story more memorable than having your readers be actively involved with your characters’ growth. Trust me.
    What you need to do as a writer is make sure that you stay focused on the plot that you have planned out from the very beginning. The last thing you want to do is start wandering aimlessly where your readers get lost as to whether this story has a point of not. Concentrate and stay on track! A slow burn is not an abandonment of story structure or an excuse to throw your instincts about story pacing out the window. Please don’t take this article as a license to do that. It isn’t. It’s merely a call to slow down when putting your story together to see things from more than just a few angles. It’s meant to give you room to ‘explore’ as a writer, and create a rich and satisfying experience for the crowd that might actually really like diving deeper into the hearts and minds of the people you’ve written about. The more they connect to your characters...the more they care about them. And the higher the stakes are when it comes to them possibly getting hurt or rejected by the boy of heir dreams. Those stakes will keep readers glued to every word, and it will help to create the kind of momentum that I was talking about. Whether your protagonist needs love, or needs courage, or needs to get over past mistakes and hardships, or simply need protecting...you readers will provide that energy for you when they’re moving from page to page. It’s difficult to explain, but not really all that hard to do.
    Think about the times you spent hanging out with some of the best friends that you’ve ever had. Sometimes...it’s just a good time for the sake of having a good time, right? Some laughs, some deeper thoughts being shared, a couple of memories exchanged, whatever. But even though you’re not expecting that particular time spent together to be leading towards anything magnificent...it doesn’t lose its significance. You’re building a true connection, a foundation, and a history between characters. This is all a part of the ‘show, don’t tell’ process of writing. What may seem slow and mundane to some is actually a strengthening exercise for your story to take. If your protagonist’s best friend happens to be a bit of a hot head...this is your opportunity to display that through a more involving interaction. Maybe you have that character come close to losing their temper over a simple slip of the tongue or a misunderstood joke. Or, maybe they’re having fun and begin talking about how they both got into a heated brawl on the playground with a couple of punks when they were younger. If it’s some expansive world building that you want to do? This is the time to explore that as well. Is this world heavily ruled by a militaristic regime? Is it a fantasy world full of monsters and magic? Does it take place in the current day, or in the future? Or maybe many decades in the past? A slow burn progression in a story is an opportunity to flesh out the details of the reality your characters have been given to work with. You can get a feel for the lingo and the gestures that are used. You can show your readers the kind of advantages or dangers that they might have during this time or in this particular place. You don’t want to explain everything and cause it to be an info dump that will ultimately overwhelm and possibly confuse your readers. What you want to do is make everything feel three dimensional and ‘real’ by giving the characters, the plot, and the world in which they exist, the feeling that this is simply the way things are and have always been. I believe that it helps to create a certain level of familiarity with the illusion that you’re trying to paint with your fiction. It’s like...whenever I talk to an old friend or a family member that I haven’t seen in ages...my brain has to create a ‘story’ that links the two of us together. I remember old parties that we went to, or sleepovers that we had, or laughs that we shared over the years...and I have a wealth of inside knowledge into who this person is and why we have the relationship that we do. That ‘story’ is what bonds us together. If I had total amnesia and didn’t remember the little things about this person at all, or vice versa...would we still be close? Without that history of random events and knowledge of so-called mundane moments, what would there be left to bond over? The idea of using the slow burn method is to fill in those gaps with something more personal. More emotionally engaging.
    Sometimes, more often than you would think, I see authors simply using their characters or the scenery around them to simply carry the plot forward without really involving them in the story in any significant way. You read on, and if you were to ask yourself, “Why is this character in the story?”...chances are the answer is, “They’re here to deliver this particular piece of information to my protagonist.” Well...ok. Straightforward, and right to the point. But once the information has been delivered, what else is there for them to do? They either fade into the background, or simply vanish altogether. And they’re simply not needed anymore. Which begs the question...
    ...Were they ever really needed in the first place?
    Now, I’m not saying that it’s totally wrong to use certain characters in this fashion, but when you have enough space to explore their necessity in a story, and make them a memorable, three dimensional, part of the narrative...you can create a need for them that goes beyond the ‘one’ thing that they were meant to do. If that makes sense. Otherwise, they come off as that random guy in the red shirt on an episode of ‘Star Trek’. What is their purpose? Their purpose is to die and demonstrate the threat that the characters we care about most will have to face between their last breath and the roll of the end credits. As opposed to series like ‘The Walking Dead’, where even the most beloved and well loved characters may end up not coming home by the end of the show. Using a slow burn to fill everything out and give it some color and meaning can occasionally be a better way to go than using your characters to just move the plot forward from point A, to point B, to point C, with no real involvement beyond that.
    We all have people in our lives who basically exist in the background as far as our goals and motivations are concerned. I don’t mean for that to sound as bad as it does, but it’s true. Acquaintances, co-workers, people we see in the hallway on our way to class, or that one guy that we always see at the coffee shop or on the bus or train on the way to work. We may turn a blind eye to them as an actual human being...but the truth is, those people have thoughts, passions, wants, and needs, just like the rest of us. The next time you’re out and about...look around you with that in mind. Take a moment to actually see them, and think about who they might be beyond being an ‘extra’ in your personal movie from day to day.
    A slow burn approach to a story can make the world around you so much more interesting than you might give it credit for...once you get everyone to pay attention.
    I hope this helps, folks! Happy writing, and I’ll seezya soon! We’ve got so much more to talk about! Hehehe!
     
  13. Comicality

    Cheating (Part Two)

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Cheating (Part Two) Welcome back everybody! ((Hugz)) As I’m writing this, I’m hoping that I didn’t offend anyone or step on any toes as far as their writing process is concerned with Part One of this article. I’m writing these back to back, and it will be a short while before you guys get to see them, so my apologies if I sounded like I was singling out any kind of writing style or anything like that. I wasn’t, promise. These articles come mostly from stuff that I’ve found in my own writing over the years, and see even more clearly now that I’m going back and updating and re-editing stuff to make them as close to perfect as I can get them for publishing as ebooks on my site. (https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/ if you guys wanna grab a few! Hehehe!) I’m putting my mistakes here to keep some of you from making the same missteps that I did when I was learning. That way, you guys can get a bit of an advantage, and do it a thousand times better than I ever could! Hell, a lot of you there already! So keep going, K?
    That being said, we’ve still got a couple of writing cheats to cover with this article, and I’m going to pick up right where I left off last time as we get into the final four! So let’s hop right back into it, shall we?
    #5- Speak No Evil - I cannot express enough how important it is for your characters to be able to talk to one another in a story. To interact in some personal way...whether it be as friends or enemies, lovers or rivals, students or mentors. It’s simply a part of creating good fiction, and I think that dialogue gives a good story a certain sparkle that can’t be accomplished with narration and well written prose alone. However, I also understand that writing dialogue can be a bit of a chore sometimes in certain situations. It can be awkward and clumsy and just feel unnatural when you’re trying to add it to your project in a believable way. BUT...sorry...can’t skip it! I know that there are going to be times when you want to, but it’s another one of those cheats that I think weakens your story immediately if you don’t at least make a sincere go at it. You know? The temptation to simply describe a great conversation that your protagonist had with their love interest or whatever...it can be useful in certain spots and in smaller scenes, but you can’t keep using that sin to shuffle past the work you need to put in to create conversations between the people you’re writing about. It very quickly becomes a disconnect between your readers and your characters. So, difficult as it may be at times, push yourself to making it a discipline when it comes to writing a story. It’s like the difference between having somebody describing a complete stranger standing on the other side of the street, and you having a conversation with a good friend.
    Again, I know that this isn’t always an easy task for everybody. Some folks, writers especially, aren’t always all that ‘chatty’ or outgoing, and might have a few stumbling blocks when it comes to writing dialogue. That’s ok. But try this...
    Go to a public place a few times a week. A park, the beach, a fast food restaurant, a shopping mall, a grocery store...as long as it’s public and has other people walking around. You don’t have to make any creepy introductions or approach anyone you don’t know, and you don’t have to necessarily eavesdrop on every word they say...but just go and get a feel for how people interact with one another verbally. There are no mind readers out there. They have to say what they feel and communicate out loud. Pay attention. Find the ‘flow’ in their words and see if you could possibly bring that into your stories the next time you sit down to write something. One of the big mistakes that I read in some fiction is coming from authors who feel like every word of a conversation has to lead to something in the plot of their story. Or that every question acts as bait for a predictable answer, which acts as bait for its own response. That can be one of the main problems when it comes to keeping dialogue from sounding stunted and uncomfortable. Depending on the relationship between the two characters that are talking in that particular scene, you should be able to control how comfortable or uncomfortable that conversation is going to be. Because that’s the leadership role that you’ve chosen to take, and not because you feel weird with dialogue. Find a way to learn how to make your characters talk in a natural way, making it a part of the story, but not so heavily concentrated on playing both roles and forcing it in a certain direction for the sake of your story. Practice. Everything takes practice. Just don’t run from make it a part of your story. Not only will you be cheating yourself, but you’ll be cheating your audience too. Not a good idea.
    #6- Divine Destiny - While this can work in romance and relationship stories as well, it’s most evident in stuff like fantasy and science fiction. I’m not saying that you can’t use it for your own work, as I’ve used it in mine many times, but it can sometimes weaken your narrative if readers are made to believe that your protagonist is simply destined to win the day, no matter what. This is the ‘chosen one’. The one who brings balance to the force, or will save his enslaved people, or was prophecized to come to Earth and rescue the whole planet from total destruction. I understand that this is an attractive lure to a majority of readers, and can truly set the ‘hero’s journey’ into motion almost right away without much more needed to make the story work. But, believe it or not...if you don’t get the balance just right, this can also come off as a cheat code of the highest caliber. This is going to happen because it was meant to happen. Period. End of story.
    Ok, then...what are the stakes, then? Where’s the urgency? When the motivation of your story is entirely left up to fate, then you instantly turn your main character into more of a passive observer of what’s going instead of having them be the driving force behind their actions and their quest to evolve to the next level. Your audience has nothing to worry about or stress over. They merely have to read long enough to figure out how the main character is going to follow the falling dominoes that are leading him to a happy ending that was already plotted out for him ahead of time. Done right, it can make for a pretty good story...but there are ways to increase the tension and make it a much more engaging read for your fanbase.
    In my story, “Gone From Daylight”, I have such a character where his entire existence has already been written in the texts and prophecies ahead of time, before he even knew what they were. He is...for lack of a better term...the ‘chosen one’. But how can I take that idea and make it much more interesting for my readers. First of all...he’s given a choice as to whether he wants to follow this path or not. There’s nothing saying that he has to, and he still has a choice in the matter. (Which, like I said, keeps him from being just a passive observer in his own story) That’s the bare minimum, I believe, when it comes to that sort of story. Second, the prophecy that he’s following reaches beyond his previous knowledge of it, forcing him to wonder if all of the pain and suffering that he experienced beforehand was a part of his path. And what kind of sick purpose does that give his life if he was never in control to begin with? And third? What happens if him being the chosen one is destined to win the day, but only at the kind of cost that he’s simply not willing to pay? What if he saves us all, but loses everyone and everything that is important to him in the process? There we go! NOW we have a nail biting experience! The audience wants him to win, but might want him to abandon his fate altogether...and he can choose either one at any time. These little additions can make a big difference in how your story reads. Don’t cheat by saying your main character is the chosen one and it’ll all be ok. Well...then you just gave away the biggest spoiler ever! Hehehe! That’s just bad promotion!
    #7- Well That Happened - When placing certain events, obstacles, and conflicts, in your story...there may be an urge to attack them, have everything boil over, feel satisfied with getting that off of your chest, and then moving on to the next issue that you have waiting for your protagonist just over the horizon. Hehehe...but wait! What happened to the big problem that your characters were just dealing with??? Sin number seven! Not properly closing all the loose ends from the issues you just inserted into your narrative and expecting them to just disappear with the next chapter. Honestly, you suck all of the credibility and power that your last major scene just had by sliding underneath it and leaving it behind you like it never happened. I have seen that before in some of the stories that I’ve read. (Not on GayAuthors though! You guys are consistently awesome! I’m actually impressed at how hard it is to find something that isn’t in my personal tastes!) If you’re going to showcase a conflict or a flare up in your story, treat it as though it has a certain amount of natural consequences. Nobody gets their heart broken or catches their long term boyfriend cheating on them with someone else, has one argument, says good bye, and starts life all over again. What? No way! That’s a cheat, for sure!
    Those situations have lingering feelings behind them. They cause damage. Anger, fear, depression...don’t just close that chapter up and move on like it’s some TV sitcom. Deal with those lasting effects in a realistic way. If a character dies, if the protagonists smashes his car into a tree, if someone’s house gets robbed when they’re not home...these are problems that continue to have an impact on your characters for a while beyond the initial assault. Add that into future chapters. These aren’t things that can simply be forgotten about and smoothed over in a day or two. Explore those feelings, and demonstrate how they affect your characters for a decent amount of time before simply moving on to the next part of your story. In part one of this article, I talked about skipping over details and opportunities for character growth and reflection...this falls into a similar category. If you have something significant happen in your fiction, and don’t properly address it or at least give it some time to breathe before it fades away, then you weaken the effort and make your audience wonder why they took the time and energy to invest themselves in it in the first place. Definitely not a good look.
    You created the problems and obstacles in your story...so deal with them. And have them be consistent with how things move forward from there over the next few chapters.
    #8- Time After Time - Last, but not least...do not use time jumps to get out solving any of the problems listed up above, or any of the problems in part one of this article. Hehehe, you didn’t think I’d catch that one, did ya? Oh yes...I know that trick. And I’ve only used it a few times myself, but it was definitely a cheat, and I personally used it to avoid dealing with a few situations that I didn’t have the words or the inspiration to deal with at the time, as well as skipping over everything might come off as being boring or awkward. So, I’m guilty as charged. But I’m trying to get better about that. No more cheating….unless it’s a literary emergency. LOL! Like...making a deadline or just not feeling like writing that part out.
    It’s a cake walk to simply add the words, ‘six months later’, and then basically give your story a reset and have everything go back to normal. Now...if you’re just cluing the readers in on a simple passage of time, that’s fine. But if you’re committing a literary sin and using this as a way to avoid the aftermath of dealing with a significant problem that you set up to punish your own characters (Meanie!)...then that’s cheating. If you’re going to use a time jump in your narrative, whether it be a couple of days, a couple of weeks, or a couple of years...don’t assume that your readers are going to magically forget what happened before you did so. Don’t think that you can just time travel into the future and come back without explaining what has changed since the problem first popped up in your project. What happened? How did your main character deal with it? What happens now? Why this particular jump in time? Six months? Why six months? See...when you make a time jump in your story, you’re basically pulling a magic trick that erases a significant amount of time from your story. And if you’re going to do that, the there are going to be questions. Depending on the length of time, you’ve left your audience out of a whole lot of character growth, conflict resolution, engaging drama, romantic attempts to get back together, character self reflection...there’s a LOT of story in there somewhere! If you think you can avoid some of the hard stuff by skipping ahead a few years and starting over...you’re wrong. That might be one of the biggest cheats of all if you don’t handle it in JUST the right way! So unless you’ve got some kind of brilliant plan in the works, this is the worst cheat of them all. I’m not saying that you can’t use time jumps in your story...but when you come back, you’d better have one hell of an explanation as to what happened between paragraphs 203 and 205! Otherwise, you’re going to have one hell of a frustrated audience to deal with. So let’s not do that, k?
    I think I’ve rambled on enough for today. Again, this is all stuff that I’ve gone back and found as flaws in my own work, and some of you may see the same in some of your older work as well. These are all methods that actually CAN be used effectively if you know how to do it, and if you’re doing so with the right intentions. But there is always that temptation to cheat and cut corners every now and then, and I’ve, personally, figured that it’s best to avoid using any of these as a crutch unless it’s absolutely necessary. That’s not to say that I’m anywhere near being flawless, or that I’ll never pull a few cheats myself from time to time...but for the sake of effort and professionalism, I promise to do better.
    Alright folks! Take care! Keep writing, and let me know if I missed any cheats along the way! I’ve always got more to learn myself, and that’s what makes this so much fun! Enjoy! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  14. Comicality

    Cheating (Part One)

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Cheating (Part One) It can be soooo tempting sometimes! Hehehe, trust me, I know. And there have been quite a few times when I’ve done it myself, and you want to know something? I go back and look at those stories sometimes, and I really regret making some of the decisions that I did to get those stories over and done with. Was I successful in that pursuit? Well, sure. I mean, it worked. But if I mentioned a bunch of those stories or their characters by name...chances are most of you wouldn’t remember them. Hell, I wrote them and I barely remember them! Hehehe! But there were a lot of little pockets where I wish I had added a little bit more of my own personal magic. And those pockets were skipped over because I cheated. And that makes for a story that’s finished, but often not very memorable. At least not in my opinion.
    So...I want to help you guys see these potholes in the road ahead and hopefully avoid them before you end up wrecking something really special. Don’t cheat. It’ll only weaken your project in the long run. And a weak project is a forgettable project. Let’s not allow that to happen to all of your hard work, because after all of your hard work and emotional energy...even if you decide it’s not one of your best efforts...there’s ‘gold’ in there somewhere. At least let the good parts of it shine the way you meant them to, right?
    I’ll be splitting this article into two parts so I can spend some significant time and focus on eight points that I think need to be looked at and enhanced if you get the chance to go back and check out some of your earlier projects. It’s an exercise that I always recommend for every writer. Just to see how you’ve evolved from those first few big efforts to what you can do now. You get more relaxed, more patient, more adventurous. You may not notice it just reading your new stuff...but if you go back and compare it to stuff you might have written a year or two ago? You may be surprised at how much of a difference a little time and practice makes. It’s like that Mr. Miyagi, ‘Wax on, wax off, paint the fence’ kind of deals from “The Karate Kid”! You’ve learned more than you can imagine, believe me.
    So, let’s tackle the first four sins when it comes to being tempted to cheat at your own writing. This is all according to things that I’ve learned from going back to update and create new versions of stories that I really wanted to bring up to standard and make them stand proudly next to the many stories that I’ve written since. And who knows? Maybe one day I’ll go back and see if I can improve on them even more. Who knows?
    (It’s doubtful though! Hehehe, some of my stories were better off just being spontaneous and from the heart. But...ever say never.)
    Now then...cheating sins...
    #1- Leaps And Bounds - When writing a story, it’s natural, and even beneficial to have a plot in mind so that you have a clear path towards whatever ending you have in mind. You’ve got it all plotted out and ready to go, and now all you have to do is write it, right? Ok...so then...write it! The first writer’s sin comes from a rush job where you have all of these great moments swimming around in your head, and you can’t wait to get the words out on the screen. It’s like, “I’ve got the hottest idea for a sex scene! I’ve got this really dramatic moment that I want to grip my readers and pull them into the story! I’ve got this crazy climax planned! Wait until they see this!” I love that enthusiasm, but if you push too hard and race by the small stuff too quickly...all of those fantastic moments that you hav planned will end up going to waste. Don’t forget your sense of structure and storytelling. It’s important! Especially if you want to set up these special moments in your work and have them deliver the appropriate ‘punch’ that you want them to have!
    The problem of being impatient with the process needed to take you from one big scene to the next is that it tempts a lot of authors to ‘cheat’, and leap over a ton of the opportunities for character development and plot details that you’ll have to have in place in order for your audience to feel fully invested in what’s going on. The impact of your story doesn’t just come from the big events, nor do they come from the words you use to describe them. It comes from readers’ emotional attachment to the characters, to the world you’ve built for them, and the growth and the steady evolution from what they were at the beginning of the story, and what they are by the end of the story. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of stuff that happened to a protagonist that seems somewhat familiar. The leaps and bounds you take can cause you to simply use quick shortcuts to hurry the plot along without really giving it a chance to take hold in the hearts and minds of your fanbase. Slow down. Take your time, and make it your goal to pour talent into getting you to your first major plot. JUST the first! Getting the new job, finding the buried artifact, talking to the cute boy at the gym for the first time, or buying their first car. Focus on that. And when you complete that task, focus on the next step. If you look at your story as a whole...you’ll be tempted to skip and race forward from one big deal to the next, and that hurried mindset is going to cause you to use your characters as simple tools to conveniently carry the plot forward with no real connection to your audience. You can only have so many coincidences and lucky breaks before readers begin to get bored with the idea. Remember...your plot should be somewhat ‘invisible’. People should be following the characters and feeling like a part of the journey, not figuring out your formula to see what happens next before they read it. Skipping over tender moments and emotional details can weaken your story’s impact. So don’t cheat. Let your writing flow naturally. Trust your instincts.
    #2- Drama Bricks - Think about your life as it is, right now. Just take a moment and think about all of the super exciting moments or dramatic interactions that you’ve had within the last two weeks. How many did you come up with? Even if you’re going through a turbulent time in your life right now...if you came up with more than five big moments, I would be surprised. Now, there are folks who live in dangerous neighborhoods, or are dealing with domestic abuse, or a super stressful job...and I get it. Life happens. However, for a lot of stories that I used to read on Nifty many years back when I first started writing, there was some kind of gigantic heartbreaking, mind-blowing, even every single chapter that got posted. Cheat number two? Using action, sex, or drama, to keep your story feeling interesting and exciting at all times. You definitely want to toss in some meaningful events here and there...but for your average person, life isn’t really all THAT exciting. Every chapter can’t be full of life altering events and passionate sexual interludes. This becomes tiresome after a few chapters for some readers. Someone dies in a car crash, and then someone breaks up with their boyfriend of three years, and then they’re getting evicted from their house, and then they find a way to get the money...but they get mugged in an alley, and then their computer gets hacked, then they’re outed to their family...ummmm, ok. Shhhhh! Hehehe! You’re doing just a little too much to hold people’s attention. It really isn’t necessary. As I’ve said before in the past...a good story is all about peaks and valleys. Introduce a problem, maybe it comes to a head and has to be dealt with immediately, and then let it die down a bit before tossing another major conflict at your readers. If every day is a dire emergency with high stakes and severe consequences...after a while they begin to lose their meaning. Thus, once again, weakening your story in the long run. Avoid the urge to make every chapter an epic triumph or an epic failure. Readers will burn out after a while.
    That’s not to say that you should write chapters with no real impact or purpose at all, just for the sake of separating one major even from another. I’m just saying that you can find other ways to keep readers invested in your story and your characters without putting them in mortal danger all the time. Even the most violent, on edge, war movies full of soldiers who are constantly under fire have a few quiet moments peppered throughout the story where the writer is given an opportunity to build up their characters. Deliver information. Have more subtle conflicts and rivalries take place. If you’re writing a good story with good characters, then every single chapter won’t have to knock everybody off of their feet and leave them breathless by the end. I know it seems like that might be the way to go, and a lot of people will be into it at first...but it’s a cheat that eventually wears off. Don’t exhaust your readers. Too much drama makes for a weaker read.
    #3- Emotional Leapfrog - The thing about writing a story from your heart is that it forces you to deal with and translate some deeper emotions, and that’s not always easy to do. So there can also be a temptation to keep away from that quagmire of intense feelings and try to tell yourself that your readers will just know what you mean. They’ll understand, right? Just tell them your main character is scared, hurt, angry, jealous….whatever, and they can fill in the rest. Nope! SINNER! Hehehe! I know that it can be difficult sometimes, finding the words...but try. Don’t cheat. It will be worth it in the end. Your readers are participating in the emotional impact of the story, but YOU are the one who’s supposed to be taking the lead in this dance, aren’t you? What are you feeling while you’re writing? I’m assuming that you have some knowledge of the emotions that you’re trying to convey in your story, since you’re writing about them. Well, take some time and think about how you plan to express those feelings. If you need a break, take a break. Go for a walk. Listen to some music. Watch a movie or a TV show. Get inspired. If you have a protagonist that is terrified beyond belief that there’s a man with a butcher knife hiding in his closet...then tell us about it!
    What’s he thinking? What’s he feeling? Is he trembling inside? Is he holding his breath to see if he can hear somebody moving? Are his eyes trying to see any shadows move in the dark? Will he reach for the light? Is he too scared to reach for the light? Is his heart pounding in his ears? All of these are physical and emotional brushes that you can use to paint a full picture of what’s going on in your character’s head. Don’t skip that part! Give your audience three hundred and sixty degrees of a frightening experience the whole time. Even if you begin to feel a bit of a block while trying to find ways to get those next few sentences to sound the way you want them to say, it’s better to take an extra day or two to work on getting them right than it will just trying to skip over them in order to save you time and go on with your writing as if it doesn’t matter. If you are REALLY having trouble putting your feelings into words...leave yourself a note on the page somewhere, and finish writing the next scene. But be sure to come back to it later. Sometimes...just writing something else for a little while will help you find the words you were looking for before. But, whatever you do, don’t skip it. I’ve done that before, and it made the rest of my story a lackluster experience. Not to mention that it becomes a nasty habit in your future projects. So don’t do it if you can help it.
    #4- Sudden Sob Story - This is a cheat that doesn’t just affect sadness, but all other emotional parts of your characters’ make up as well. You might have a protagonist who just moved to a brand new town from the other side of the country, and he feels completely alone without his friends. You might have someone who’s recently dealing with a massive heartbreak. Or someone who’s experiencing his very first time going to a gay bar on the outskirts of town. Do NOT downplay moments like these for the sake of simply letting your readers in on whatever exposition you need them to know in order to set the stage for future events. I realize that I can sometimes be a little bit ‘wordy’ with my own stories, but there’s a time to cut back on the details for the sake of delivering information...and a time when that information needs to have a much more personal and organic feel to it. You guys can balance that out however you see fit as long as you’re being honest with yourself when it comes to choose which is the best approach. But DON’T cheat! Hehehe, don’t take the ‘tell, don’t show’ approach for laziness sake. Put your nose to the grindstone and put your best foot forward. Each and every time. Take a moment and think about what you can use to bring more color and life to the static information that you’re writing out. “I’m living in a new town now. I miss my friends.” Ok, simple enough. But moved to what new town? Why did you move? Miss what friends? Were you forced to move? Was it for college, or for a job opportunity? How do you feel about what’s ahead of you as opposed to what you’re leaving behind? This might only add up to a few extra sentences here and there, but it works better than simply stating something and skating right past it as if it was a note written on the bathroom wall of your local gas station. Hehehe, you’re creating art here. Give us more.
    I remember watching this remake of Stephen King’s “Carrie” a few years ago, and I was thinking that there was NO way that a teenage girl that beautiful could possibly be totally ‘friendless’ in high school. Weirdness and all. Hehehe! I mean, you can’t just say that someone has been bullied for their entire life and just have everyone accept it as being a fact. Show your readers some examples of bullying. Some rejection. Some hard times. If you merely deliver it as a sentence or two in the beginning of your story, and then your protagonist turns out to be smart and funny and extremely cute and can charm his way into another boy’s heart without any real problems...well those two extremes don’t match up, now do they? When I wrote stories like “On The Outside”, “Gone From Daylight”, “A Class By Himself”, or “My Only Escape”...I knew that it wasn’t going to be enough to simply say that these teens were victims to massive abuse and teasing in their lives. I had to show examples of that. Something like that affects the way they interact with other people, with how they see the world, with how they see themselves...and my readers needed to see examples of that in real time so that it made sense, and so they could be a part of the story along with my protagonist’s struggle. It’s important. And it needs to be more than just a bit of info to keep in mind while you’re reading. It has to weave itself into the story as a whole, as well into the personality of my main character himself. So find ways to make choices about what you want to highlight and what you don’t...but don’t cheat! It’s a bad idea. K?
    Alright, so this is part one of the whole writing sins thingy! Hehehe, I’ll let you guys meditate on this for a while! And I’ll be back soon with part two! We’ve still got four more to go through! Feel free to let me know what you think down below! These are all mistakes that I’ve made in the past, and might make again in the future if I’m not paying attention. But once you figure out what you’re looking for...your instincts will pick up the pace and make better choices moving forward. Cool?
    I hope this helps! Happy writing! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  15. Comicality

    Flashbacks

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Flashbacks Depending on where you place them and how they are used in your writing...I’ve found that adding a flashback, or even multiple flashbacks, to your fiction can be really effective when it comes to expanding upon the story beyond the story. It’s like...putting two mirrors facing each other and creating that illusion where it looks like it just reflects itself and goes on and on forever in both directions..when it really doesn’t. But it gives your story that kind of vibe when used correctly to expose it’s full potential. And that’s what we’re going to dive in to today.
    Flashbacks...the short histories that aren’t always given the credit that they deserve when it comes to really bringing your characters to life and providing them with a sense of depth, all while giving your readers a better understanding of who they are, and why they do what they do. You may have used this technique to perfection before in your own writing without even knowing why it works so well. Well...let’s see if we can figure it out together.
    A flashback can happen at any time in your story, and it’s simply a bit of extra information that is given to your readers in an entertaining and visceral way. It’s like this wonderful weaving of ‘show’ and ‘tell’ that gives everyone insight that they wouldn’t have without the flashback being a part of the narrative. It goes back to a past time that happens before your plot takes a hold of the protagonist. It works to explore and explain their existence without actually telling the whole story in full. Just in small doses. Because if you treat your main character as if they’re really interesting and important to the rest of the story, their history should have been a major part of their creation. It’s the foundation that your main character is built on. That might just be the ‘actor’ in me talking...but it’s true. If you want to get a real handle on who they are and why they have the motivations they do to be a part of your story, you should at least have given a little bit of thought as to why. It builds a closer connection between you and your creation, and that will create a closer bond with your creation and your readers. Think about it for a second.
    Now, where does a written flashback come into play here? First of all, this can be done in a variety of different ways. It can be triggered by seeing someone again for the first time in forever, where the inner thoughts of your protagonist can reminisce over how this person came into their lives and what they might have experienced together...either as friends or enemies. This can also be triggered by having your main character go to a familiar place or finding a familiar object that shares some kind of meaning for both your main character and the person they’re thinking about. Again, told through narration, or a stream of consciousness running through your protagonist’s mind. But you can always feel around and find what method works best for you and for that particular story that you’re trying to tell in that moment. This can be done through random conversations, from PTSD reactions to certain stimuli, through dream sequences, etc...but the whole point is to build up your character and let your audience that they have an entire life and a legacy that exists outside of the boundaries that you set for them in this particular story.
    This is a short dream sequence from the original “Terminator” movie. Now, this character is from the future and he’s come back in time to watch over the Terminator’s target in (what was then) the modern day. So this is technically a flashback, it just happens to be a flashback to the future.
     
    Now, what did you notice about this use of flashback? First of all...it’s brief. It doesn’t really show the whole story...it merely shows that there is a story. You don’t have to do an entire recap on how the war began between man and machine, you don’t have to show a nuclear war, you don’t need to show the leader of the resistance or how the resistance came to be. All you needed to show was the fact that this character has an entire backstory that you, as a part of the viewing audience, isn’t aware of. It nod only adds some depth and intrigue to his character...but it encourages everyone to want to have more of their questions answered. This can be followed up with some exposition laced dialogue to fully flesh out a more complete story as to what happened there, but with the flashback being handy, that exposition has been cut in half. Maybe even more so, depending on how much mystery you want to remain when you’re finished. It’s a short peek into the world that he comes from, it displays that he’s a soldier, that he’s experienced hard times and loss, and it sets him up to be a worthy protector of what matters most. In less than five minutes, you’ve given your audience an entire prequel movie that sets up one of your main characters, identifies their motivations, and displays their expertise in situations like the one he’s trapped in right now. Again...all in less than five minutes. This is what an effective use of a story flashback looks like. And they didn’t need any narration or a single word of dialogue spoken to pull it off. Brilliant.
    On top of everything else...you now have a deeper glimpse into the character himself by seeing him in action. This is a history that exists outside of the rest of the story plot. Can you still manage to write a complete story without the few flashbacks that are in this movie? Sure. I suppose you can. But isn’t it much cooler to actually see it with your own eyes then just having the woman he’s protecting ask him a bunch of random questions out of nowhere and having him explain it to her in detail over a period of five to ten minutes? Where’s the fun in that? Sometimes a story has to be more than ‘functional’, you know? Show your readers who this person is and let them see why it’s important that they should trust him, root for him, or even care.
    That little bit of backstory makes a difference in the minds of your readers. Always keep that in mind when writing.
    If you read my ebook, “Shelter” (https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/), you can get a full story about a group of teenagers who have all been barricaded in their local high school and guarded by the military during a zombie apocalypse. All of the characters are described, and talk and interact with one another in ways that lets everyone know who they are as characters in this makeshift, last minute, fortress of theirs. But...I knew that I couldn’t result on brief little flashbacks for each character to truly introduce them with the kind of thorough backstory that I had in mind...so I went a different route instead. I could interrupt the “Shelter” story every few paragraphs for a full flashback, because that would come off as haphazard and sloppy. And I couldn’t deliver everything in a long, drawn out, info dump of exposition either, because that would have been long winded and boring. So I passed up on the short flashback idea, and decided to write a series of prequel stories that I thought would work much better. Even though the whole story is technically a ‘flashback’ in itself...it can be much longer and much more detailed, getting everyone attached to each individual character on their own...and then bringing them all together in the main “Shelter” story, so it can stand on its own and not have to stop and stumble in order to have (yet another) flashback to fill readers in on what’s going on with them. That can get really messy, really fast. I didn’t want that.
    So anybody who reads “Shelter” by itself can enjoy it as its own story...but...if they read all of the stories that come before it, there are a ton of bonuses that they can see and hopefully appreciate on a whole other level than they can just reading the main series by itself. I definitely appreciate both, but I love flashbacks and backstories and making them a part of my characters’ growth. People have reasons for doing what they do and for being who they are. Exploring that in greater detail, I feel, makes for a much better story. It just makes the characters more like personal friends of yours, doesn’t it?
    The key is altering the context of what your audience can see and read and experience through your writing skills. Even a subtle shift in context can make a big difference in how a story reads. Even if it’s being read for the second time. Context is an incredible factor to play around with, once you learn how to bend it to your will. ::Evil Laugh:: I could name a bunch of movies, but they have some of the best surprise endings ever...and I don’t want to spoil them for anyone who hasn’t seen them. But, I think this short horror film is a great example.
    Watch it all the way through, and pay attention to what’s happening, what’s being said, and how it makes you feel. And then...when it reaches its conclusion, there’s a flashback that actually exists inside of the story that’s being told here. But the flashback is what gives the rest of the story context, and creates an entirely different narrative from what you might have thought it was originally. Check it out, and examine how one flashback can make all the difference in a short story like this one.
     
    Hopefully, you can understand what I mean after seeing that, right? It’s the same camera shots, same dialogue, etc...but now you have a different context added into the mix to show you what you might have missed the first time around. Again, this short film could have been told without it if they wanted to do it that way...but isn’t it more fun with the flashback to earlier parts of the story? I thought it was.
    So practice and develop dependable instincts when it comes to using flashbacks in your work. They’re all like an army of fireflies, buzzing around your story while not really being a major part of it. And yet, they can add so much extra feeling and magic to your story when used in the right way. Pick your moments, keep them short, and don’t over do it...or you’ll scramble things up into an unreadable mess, and it’ll be nearly impossible to get things back on track after that.
    Put yourself in the place of your main character. For anyone in your life who ever doubted you...what would they say if they knew about your fans online that you gathered from writing stories? What would they say if they knew that you used to be the star athlete on your high school football team? Or if you were valedictorian of your graduating class? How would people see you if they could gather a glimpse at some of your past achievements, or failures, or vast knowledge, or your experienced travels around the globe? Having that context might change their attitudes about you completely. Well, adding short bursts of flashbacks and memories, whether good or bad, to further display the truest parts of your fictional character is no different. Keep it brief and to the point...and then make sure that your character’s personality traits, actions, and motivations, are in line with the historical illusion that you painted for them. Line those two things up...and you can’t go wrong. It’ll be fun! You’ll see! Hehehe!
    As always, I hope I’ve given you guys some food for thought today! What are your opinions on flashbacks in fiction? Some people never use them, others find them helpful every now and then. What about you? Let us know! And I’ll seezya soon! Love you lots! MWAH!!!
     
  16. Comicality

    Contemporary

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Contemporary Something that I’ve learned while writing stories over an extended period of time, is that times change. People change. Sometimes in drastic ways that make older versions of my original stories seem irrelevant or maybe even confusing to some of my younger readers. And it’s not really a ‘problem’ in any major way...but it’s a bit of a stumbling block that I’ve trained myself to pay attention to in my work, a try to avoid moving forward. After reading this little writing tip, hopefully you guys will learn to do the same.
    What this is about is simply understanding that this moment in time isn’t meant to last in terms of music, movies, pop culture, slang, or anything else that seems so normal and mundane to us right now. Times are changing faster and faster all the time, and the written word isn’t something that was created to keep up. (Unless you want to go through the trouble of going back to update them every six to eight months, hehehe! Which I, personally...do not.) Like...remember when that brand new ‘Justin Bieber’ kid was so obscenely famous and had his pretty face plastered over every corner of the internet? Well, guess what? The high school aged kids who read your work right now? They may not even have any idea who he is, and the ones who do will look at stuff like that as an extremely outdated reference. It sounds crazy, right? But it’s true. So...if you’re writing a story and using Justin Bieber as a point of reference, a topic of conversation, or even as a punchline in a witty joke inserted into a friendly dialogue between characters...it’s not going to hit the same way now as it did when you first wrote it. There’s an obvious shelf life involved when it comes to immersing yourself in the current era that you’re writing in. And this is fine if you have a story that is completed all in one shot and is over and done with. But it can have an unraveling effect on a series that is written over a number of years. Life is constantly changing and evolving at a rate that is hard to keep up with. And I had to find out the hard way that it can wreck havoc on your whole story and force you to switch things up to have everything make sense if you plan to keep going forward. It’s a definite monkey wrench in the gears, and it’s something that you need to look out for, or possibly avoid altogether if you can.
    So let’s talk about contemporary references, and how to use them.
    When I first started writing online, there were a lot of things that I put into my stories that were comfortably settled into the current culture and my characters existed in a world that no longer exists. But now that I have been around for a while, I’m aware of how the world changes and evolves in ways that don’t fit my stories anymore. The biggest example of this would be my story “Arcade Junkie” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/arcadejunkie) which is a story spinoff of the “New Kid In School” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/newkidinschool) series...and the first time that I ever wrote a threesome between boys, by the way! Hehehe, but not the last! Anyway, it takes place in an actual ‘arcade’. I mean...sure, arcade still exist to a certain degree, but not in the same way that they used to. The culture changed, and all of us changed with us. So the idea of a cute boy meeting up with a couple of other cute boys in a dark room full of coin operated arcade games isn’t really something that a lot of younger Shackers or readers in general can relate to. That’s simply not a world that they grew up in, and it comes off as unfamiliar and out of touch. Which is not the way I want my stories to feel to people who read them.
    You understand what I mean, right? I hope this doesn’t sound too weird.
    It’s like...the stories that I started off writing were placed in a different era. And I’ve had discussions in my emails where it became evident that I occasionally fell out of the loop as to what was current and seen as a normal part of life. It goes beyond the fact that arcades don’t really exist anymore in the same way that they used to. The internet is different, the way people talk is different, the fashion is different. I see it, and I can easily update my current state of mind to match the sign of the times and adapt in ways that will keep things fresh and relatable for my readers at all times. BUT...what I can’t do is go back and correct some of the things that I created to build the origins of the story that I’m trying to tell without having it look awkward and weird. That can be a problem. And every author should pay attention to stuff like this so their projects don’t end up feeling dated and out of place. To a degree...there really isn’t a way to avoid this obstacle in writing contemporary fiction...but it’s commendable to know that you tried. Hehehe!
    So what is contemporary fiction? Well...check out this movie trailer for the movie, “Wargames”, with Matthew Broderick. Hehehe, awesome movie, by the way, if you’ve never seen it. But look at the computers, the ‘phone modem’, the whole ‘Cold War’ scare that was going on in that movie. This was cutting edge and extremely relatable when it was first released, and while the concept of it all has aged well...the technology and the references haven’t. They’re really outdated now. The idea that you could use such a rugged home computer to somehow ‘hack’ into the nuclear launch protocols for the US government seems like a ridiculous premise in this day and age. It just wouldn’t work in today’s market without some serious tweaking and a much more sophisticated view of the internet and the capabilities of your average high school student gaining access to much of anything online, much less nuclear war initiatives! But...for the time, it worked. And everybody was cool with that.
    Watch these clips, and ask yourself...if this movie was coming out this year...would it be at all believable to you? I mean...really? Would it even make sense?
     
    What I’ve come to understand is that it’s sometimes to my advantage to avoid some of those ‘currentlt current’ references that may not be relevant in future chapters, depending on how long it takes me to write it. And, let’s be honest...it takes me an ice age to do just about anything! Hehehe! So it’s safe to say that I should probably keep this in mind all the time!
    The earlier stories or chapters that I wrote don’t exist in a time period that people can really understand anymore. Writing stories like “A Class By Himself” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/aclassbyhimself) or “Jesse-101” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/jessie-101onlinecelebrity) has some wiggle room, but they’ve still taught me to pay more attention to the rapidly changing landscape that I’m working with, and maybe cut some of my references down a bit, making them more vague and less time sensitive so that people can read stories years from now and not run into the barrier of weirdness that they may not grasp right away. If that makes sense.
    I realize that it’s kind of hard to picture a world where all of the things that you know and love, the music you listen to, the movies you’ve seen, the verbal expressions that you use when you’re having a good time with your friends, will someday be seen as unnatural or unfamiliar by a younger generation. But it will happen. Trust me. Hehehe! And this new generation will see it happen to them and the things that they enjoy someday as well. It’s the circle of life, I suppose.
    BUT...your writing is meant to be timeless. Right? Or is that even possible? I’d ike to think that it is to a certain degree. Give a sense of immortality to your work by shifting the main focus of your story towards the fundamental ideas and emotions that we all feel and have experienced at some point in all of our lives. I can remember reading “Romeo And Juliette” in junior high, and it was practically in a whole different language from what I was used to reading. So for that story, as well as other works by Shakespeare, we had to have daily discussions in our class to sort of decode everything so that could translate the text into something that we could better absorb and understand. When the play was originally written and being performed for audiences...I’m sure that there was no translation needed at all. Why would there be? That was the sign of the times. However, even though it didn’t go back as far and wasn’t as poetically scripted...I had no trouble at all reading books like “Lord Of The Flies”, “Huckleberry Finn”, or “Of Mice And Men”. They were all written and completed before my time as well...but there was something in those books that I felt was more connected to adventure, betrayal, war, compulsion, and emotions that I could not only understand but developed meaning for and ended up being able to more closely relate to by the time I was finished.
    Yeah. I was a binge reader, school assignments be damned. Hehehe!
    So, why is that? Because those stories really spoke to my heart in terms that didn’t feel as though they were coming from another world at the time. Naturally, through our class discussions, I was better able to grasp “Romeo And Juliette” concept of forbidden love and everything...but again it was something that speaks to everybody’s heart at one time or another. That desperation, the nervousness, the longing, the swooning infatuation...I get it. Most people do. And it doesn’t matter what era of time it takes place in. The human condition has certain elements that continue on from generation to generation, and I make that my concentration more times than not. I might still toss in a little reference here and there, but now I do it as more of a tongue in cheek sort of thing than anything of importance.
    For example, there were quite a couple of my earlier stories that I wrote in a scene that took place in a public arcade. Now...growing up, arcades were everywhere. And they were always full, as they were super popular. So if you see some of my earlier chapters, chances are you’re going to find references to stand alone arcades somewhere in there. And then...they all kind of closed down and disappeared for a while. Then, you could find a few of them at your local movie theater or in one of those places with crane games and skeeball...and now they’re sort of making a comeback. But there was definitely a time when the idea of my characters getting together at an arcade seemed a bit weird. And I can totally understand that.
    Hehehe, going back, I can imagine how cool it would be to have this gigantic mega event where all of these kids and adults would get together in a rabid crowd of fans to watch a kid play...Super Mario on a large screen? Ummm...ok! LOL! It looks so strange to me now! And a few years later, even the arcade in “Terminator 2” is pretty much a nonexistent thing anymore...
     
    00 But it’s not just arcades. It’s comic book stores (Which are still around, but a lot more rare now), certain club atmospheres, and certain character interactions. When I started writing, every single kid on the planet had an iPhone and texting capabilities. There was no Twitter, no Instagram, no Facebook...at one point I was writing about there was no way that one of my characters could afford a laptop for school. Of course, laptops are much cheaper than they used to be...but they weren’t back then. Heck, “Billy Chase” works at a music store, selling CDs and DVDs! That’s not really a thing anymore either, but I’m keeping it in the story because it’s fun for me. Hehehe! And it’s relevant towards some of the things that “Billy” is going to learn in future chapters. So there.
    Basically...I’m in the process of teaching myself to maybe pull back a little bit on the cultural reference that I was using so casually before, and focus more on the timeless parts of the emotion and relatability of the feelings that I’m trying to bring forth with the story that I want to tell. Sometimes, ‘current’ doesn’t mean hip or in touch for much longer than a year or two before that vibe begins to fade away. Eventually vanish completely.
    This isn’t a HUGE issue for many writers, but I think that it’s something that all authors should maybe think about from time to time. We all grow, we all change, and we adapt to new current times...but our stories don’t. And, let’s be honest...some older ideas and perspectives simply don’t age well on the written page. I’ll just leave it at that. Hehehe!
    Hope this little bit of food for thought will help you guys out with any current or future projects that you’ve got in the works. Learn every lesson you can, and keep them in the back of your mind in case you need to draw them out later. Cool?
    Love you lots! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  17. Comicality

    Character Interaction

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Character Interaction Not long ago, I was talking about my love for working with ensemble casts in my stories. It’s something that I really love to engage in as a writer, and it sort of fleshes out the world that I’m working with. I mean, even if you happen to be a fan of video games, you might remember way back when it was just your character on the screen trying to complete some kind of quest or whatever, and a horde of enemies trying to stop you. But video games have evolved since then. When you run through a city or a neighborhood...there are actual people walking around. Driving, shopping, talking, and just existing all around your character. Not enemies. They’re just sort of there. Hehehe! Well, when I’m writing...I think about this from time to time and try to keep things as realistic as I can, while still keeping my focus centered around a small cast of characters that I plan to be using to carry my story. Because that’s what characters do. They carry your story. Not the other way around.
    I can’t really spend too much time building up side characters that aren’t really meant to have much of an impact on the plot as it plays out, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. It’s a bit unrealistic to think that NONE of my fictional characters have any friends at school. No teachers? No parents? No activities? No homework? I do try to address the situation, but only briefly. And only if it means something to the rest of the story. But I’m doubting that there are any of us who don’t have daily interactions with other people in some capacity or another. Friends, family, neighbors, the mailman, an online chat, a text on your phone...something is happening outside of your own personal bubble at home, right? Even a virtual recluse like me has to go out and deal with other human entities every once in a while. Hehehe! So, I like to make the stories that I write feel as though they’re somehow ‘populated’ with other people from time to time. Even if they only appear as faceless with no dialogue at all, at least they’re there. I might describe a crowded school hallway, a mall, a skater park, a family gathering...something. It keeps my fictional world from feeling like some sort of dystopian wasteland where the only ones left are the protagonist and his love interest. You know?
    However...when it comes to building a cast of characters that are meant to share the spotlight with my main character? I get to have a great deal of fun building them up through their interactions with one another. And I feel like I have a lot more freedom to define who they are as individuals without having them come off as awkward or forced in the storytelling. You have no idea how off-putting it is to have a side character just start giving a random monologue about themselves without any real reason as to why they felt the need to do so. It’s creepy. Hehehe! And people don’t often talk like that. Even if you have a wide fanbase of readers who are already fully invested into whatever it is that you’re writing...something like that will pull them out of the moment and weaken your story as a whole. Sad, but true.
    This goes back to the fundamental rule of writing. ‘Show, don’t tell’.
    The beauty of having an ensemble cast to work with is that you can really lean into it and create a dynamic with other characters populating your story that will convincingly expose who they are in an interesting way that your audience will hopefully appreciate in the long run. Remember, it’s up to your characters, all of the ones you focus on, to do the heavy lifting and carry the story forward. And if you want your readers to care about them and empathize with what they’re going through (Or, at least loathe them for being the bastards that you created them to be), then you’re going to have to find a way to explore and explain who they are, inside and out...so that can happen and have some weight.
    This can be achieved through character interactions.
    Let’s say that you have a side character who’s a total hot head. He can’t help it, he’s just cursed with an extremely short fuse and a very low tolerance for bullshit of any kind. Would he be sitting down with your main character and just go into a monologue about how he has a bad temper and sometimes loses control? Would he just say that out of nowhere? That would feel a bit awkward to me if I read that in the middle of a story. Just saying.
    But, maybe this is a scene that demonstrates a certain level of bonding between this character and your protagonist. What I would do, personally, is have a third character involved that just rubs him the wrong way. It might not be on purpose. In fact, it might be completely benign on the other boy’s part. But he’s frustrated and annoyed by every word that comes out of his mouth, and they clash and interact in a way that is hostile and destructive at every turn. I would write out a scene or two of cruelty and conflict first between them...and then have my protagonist sit down with him and ask him what his problem is. THEN...maybe he sighs and gives a short, ‘I just lose control sometimes’, speech...almost in an apologetic way. We’ve already demonstrated his behavior and see the aftermath of his tantrums...but it comes from his interaction with the third member of their little group. We’ve seen it first hand. And being asked about it has a preamble that makes sense in a literary sense. He’s not just telling us something about himself out of nowhere. Allow your characters to mesh and talk every now and then. Weave them into the story in a meaningful way, and ‘show’ why they feel and act the way they do.
    With a bunch of different characters (Not TOO many), you get conflicting emotions, different goals, competitive instincts, and a lot more. All of us are different, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t coexist. One of the reasons that I’ve never been a big Facebook fan is the simple fact that I don’t interact with everybody in the same way. That’s not to say that I’m being fake or dishonest with anybody. It’s just that I can joke around with the friends I grew up with in high school in a way that I could never joke with the people I used to work with. I can’t talk to the people I work with the same way that I talk to my family. And so forth and so on. I can’t curse and make sex jokes or bring up funny drunken memories from my college days on Facebook! My MOM reads this! LOL! Well, if you look at the character interactions that I put into all of my stories...the same thing is happening there. It’s not really all that different.
    The best example of this is probably “The Secret Life Of Billy Chase”. Billy is keeping a secret journal with all of his daily thoughts and experiences, and that’s the one place where he feels like he can speak freely and give an unapologetic view into who he really is as a person. That’s the part of Billy’s life that you as the reader get to read and enjoy it as it is. However, Billy also has an entire life full of parents and friends and lovers and classmates and co-workers who don’t get to see what the audience gets to see. And his interactions with those people mirror my own in my life. Billy is still being honest, and he’s 100% Billy, no matter what. But he can’t have the same kind of open conversations with his mom that he has with his best friend, Sam. And those conversations are different from the way that he talks to his boyfriend. And he can’t talk to his boyfriend in the same way that he might talk to the other friends he has at school. Noticing this is important. But why? And how does it make a difference to you as a writer?
    It’s because every interaction that my protagonist, Billy, has with each of these different cliques becomes a clear demonstration of who he is as a main character. Everyone that he comes into contact with, whether it be in a positive or a negative way, brings out another aspect of his personality. Some will allow you to see his romantic side, some will display his angry and mistrust, some will show his envy, some will bring his lustful cravings to the surface, others will cause him to feel insecure and afraid...every aspect of his personality is showcased depending on who he’s involved with in that moment. At the same time, having those characters run into one another during the length of your story will create opportunities to expose their personalities and flaws as well. Their interactions build this community that they can all feed off of and trade that energy between one another. In my opinion, this is the best and most entertaining method of introducing and exploring all of the characters in your project. Everyone gets a chance to shine, and creates a bit of a shine to the characters that they’re communicating with, simultaneously. It’s a win/win situation, all around.
    If you have two characters that absolutely love and care for one another...that says something. If they can’t stand being in the same room with one another, that also says something. If they’re shy and inexplicably bashful around one another...that’s a whole other message being sent. And if they have a history together that creates sadness and heartbreak...another message. Use these interactions as a tool to tell their story and make them more than just flat cardboard cutouts or background characters. If you don’t need them there, take them out of your story. But if you decide to keep them there, give their presence some meaning. By having them share exchanges with one another beefs up their character and gives them more of a history and a purpose as to why they’re a part of your story. And that means that their interactions with your main character will end up having more depth and meaning as a natural side effect of that initial process. Does that make sense?
    You know more about who your protagonist’s friends and family are...which allow them to have a deeper impact on your protagonist.
    The way that I often go about this method of writing is by having my main character spend time with each other character separately at first. A one on one meeting where some of the set up details can be conveyed and expressed. He has blue eyes, he’s really standoffish, he wears ripped jeans and retro rock band T-shirts, he’s always in detention...whatever. Very basic descriptions and a few short engagements to build him up on his own first so as not to get him confused with anybody else right away. That’s my usual formula for character interactions, even if I do break the mold from time to time. Then...I bring that character into contact with another one of the characters in the story and see how they act with one another. Sometimes in a good way, and sometimes in a bad way. Whichever I choose...there’s always something being accomplished through having them meet one another, and I try to make it so it highlights parts of both characters’ personalities by seeing how the gel with each other. And even if they don’t get along at first, that leaves room for their relationship to build and evolve beyond that later on. And if not, then I still have characters who are capable of bringing whatever side of my protagonist that I need to use for that particular progression of the story. Whether it be an inspiring and supportive friend, or a troublemaker ‘Devils Advocate’ type...I can use that to craft a well written series of events that will create the peaks and valleys for the kind of the roller coaster vibe that I’m going for. Bonus!
    Every character that you put into your story should feel like the kind of person that your readers could somehow meet in person and hang out with some time. They should feel real. They don’t have to be perfect, or even likable. But you want them to be memorable. Again...your characters are in charge of carrying the story forward. If you can get your audience invested in them and their struggle, then your work is already half way done. Let them breathe life into your story, and peel back their many complex layers a little bit at a time by having them participate in their interactions with the other characters in your story. Not everybody gets along. And those that do...they don’t get along on everything. Use these emotional collisions to create special moments, to add levity through a humorous back and forth, or bring about the kind of friction that disrupts the peace of the placid lake you’re riding on.
    It’s a good thing. Trust me. It has more of a positive effect on your story as a whole than you may think, so give it a try.
    Alrighty then! I hope this helps! Pay attention to the way your characters already connect and talk to one another in the stories you’ve written so far. Or, if you’re just now thinking about writing your first...then take these lessons to heart, and build the most believable and drama filled world that you can. It helps to answer the whole, ‘How do I introduce this person into the group’ question. You’ll go mad trying to figure that one out. Hehehe, I speak from experience.
    Stay beautiful, you guys! And I’ll seezya soon with more! Happy writing!
     
  18. Comicality

    Fantasy

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Fantasy Alrighty then, hehehe...
    This is going to be another one of those articles that I need help with from the rest of you, because even though it’s been a while since I first started my very first full blown ‘fantasy’ story, I am still doing my best to wing it and figure things out. Any help or advice that you guys could give me from your own experiences would be greatly appreciated. I still feel a bit intimidated by the series, personally, but I’m trying my best to get past that.
    I think that one of the most important parts of any story that is science fiction or fantasy is the world building aspect of it all. And, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE world building in my stories. It’s one of the most entertaining parts of writing something new. However, with so much information that has to be delivered and displayed, I’ve found that the pacing is slightly different from what I’m used to. I would really love to hear how some of our fantasy writers get through that part.
    See...I write a lot of sci fi, horror, type of stuff. Like with the vampires in the “Gone From Daylight” storyline, there’s obviously a heavy fantasy influence there and a ton of world building that had to be done ahead of time before the first chapter even got started and was published years ago. BUT...”Gone From Daylight” takes place in modern day Chicago, you know? So, that’s somewhat grounded in a reality that has already been built, cultivated, and agreed upon. The whole point of me going all out with my story, “The Plateau” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/the-plateau/), was not being able to use any part of the real world as a crutch. It was meant to be a challenge. Obviously, I have them speaking English to make it easier for people to read, but I tried to stay away with common phrases or slang if possible. Even something as simple as “Oh my God”...would they have the same religious concepts in this world? How would their society operate? How many different species exist there, and how do they view one another? These are all things that I was constantly thinking about the whole time that I was writing, and maybe I was thinking too much in some cases, hehehe...but I really wanted to detach the customs and gestures and speech patterns away from the recognizable world as much as I possibly could. That was an important part of this ‘experiment’ of mine.
    I hate referring to it like that, because I really do enjoy writing it and what I have planned for future chapters...but I’d be lying if I said that it doesn’t scare me sometimes to get it wrong.
    Something else that I’ve learned so far? Set the rules, and stick to them. This something that I definitely plan to stick to throughout the entire run of the series. There’s a problem with just saying that everything is ‘magic’, I think. Hehehe, it’s like...not fair. When I grew up reading comic books, I was the BIGGEST “X-Men” fan ever! But one thing that I loved and always depended on back then was that every mutant had ONE special ability, and that was it. They might be able to use it in a variety of different and surprising ways from time to time...but it wasn’t like they just pulled something new out of their ass from nowhere. Even magic has to have some rules involved. Some limitations. Otherwise, everybody is ridiculously overpowered and that begins to drain on a reader’s sense of stakes or danger. You know what I mean?
    Even in “Gone From Daylight”, Justin should be seriously overpowered himself...but he’s just a kid. He doesn’t even know what he’s capable of, how to use the abilities at his disposal, and he’s got people that he cares about that will cause him to make snap decisions that most other people wouldn’t make. Not at a moment’s notice. But there’s strength in that vulnerability, I think. All of my characters can’’t be perfect, flawless, knowledgeable, and mature beyond their actual ages. That makes for a very BORING story in my mind! “Yeah, I had a problem. But I’m so awesome and powerful and smart that I solved it in a couple of seconds and now it’s over.” I mean...what? If somebody wants to go read that story, they can look elsewhere. I don’t like being bored when I write, and I don’t think my audience likes being bored when they read. So...yeah.
    There needs to be boundaries on the world that I created. And there needs to be a variety of dangerous consequences that come with going past those boundaries if that’s where I decide to lead the story. But I feel like I need to tell a story within a certain ‘pocket’ that remains somewhat stable throughout the entirety of the series. Not limiting, mind you...just stable.
    Let me know if I’m being a bit too constricting on this idea. Hehehe, because I wonder about that all the time. Maybe nobody will really notice or care, but I would. So I try to avoid whatever pitfalls I’ve seen in other stories that I grew up reading, so I could take a shot at creating something better. The idea was to challenge myself, after all...so completely breaking away from the norm was the original goal. Feel free to speak openly if I failed at this.
    With this story, I’m working with an ensemble cast (I love ensemble casts! That’s just my thing!), but I try to make sure that each one of them acts and engages everything in this world that I built in ways that are all unique from how my main character does. I feel like there is such a rich mythology and sooooo much backstory that I’d love to dive into before really moving the story forward...but again, I feel like that would slow the pacing of the story way down. I don’t want it to turn into an expository info dump, you know? At the same time, I don’t want to skip over anything and have it pop up as one of the fundamental rules of this particular reality, making it feel like I just randomly came up with it on the fly for the sake of moving the plot along. I figure, there’s got to be a decent middle ground between both sides somewhere that won’t make readers feel as though they’re stuck in the same place while the rest of the story and its characters become stale and uninteresting.
    To those of you who write fantasy? How do you get around this particular issue? Or is it not much of an issue at all? I’d be interested to know.
    I definitely don’t want to shatter the fantasy anywhere along the way. It’s like being immersed in the middle of this incredibly elaborate dream while you’re sleeping...but then you see something that’s really ‘off’ or out of a place, like, “Hey...why is there a purple goat driving a taxi?” And suddenly, you’re taken out of the moment and you realize that it’s all a fantasy and none of it’s real. Causing it to almost immediately lose a lot of its luster. I’m inviting an entirely audience into a world that they’ve never been to before and attempting to hold their attention for as long as I can. This is one of those moments where I have to be consistent at all times, but in a way that covers a heck of a lot more than what I’m used to. To the point where I spent a lot of time trying to study humanity itself and all of the things that we do and say on a daily basis. I wanted to figure out how our lives and our habits would look to a life form from another planet or reality in general. How incredibly ODD would we all look to someone who didn’t grow up with the things that we just accepted as being normal? Yeah...I wanted to get rid of all of that. Hehehe!
    The first time that I was inspired to try something like this out was with a touching short story that I wrote for a GayAuthors Anthology entry called, “Light Reaches Earth” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/lightreachesearth) where a teen in a group home befriends a strange new arrival who thinks he’s from another part of the solar system, light years away. I definitely had a lot of fun with that one, trying to imagine how our world looks to someone who’s a first time visitor to it, and still add a heartwarming message of hope on top of it. The difference between that story and “The Plateau” is that I got to direct the narrative through the eyes of a boy who’s only job was trying to explain everything from what we would see as a normal and realistic point of view. But this was still in Chicago, with a city, and the moon, and day and night, and clocks and blue oceans and gravity. How would it feel to someone who saw our world as fantasy or science fiction? What is their concept of time like? What is language like? How do they view the wildlife here? All questions that I wanted to touch upon in that one story wthout getting repetitive or too ridiculous.
    However...trying to start all over from scratch was a bit of a mental drain with what I’m trying to pull off with this new series. I catch myself wanting to just refer to certain things in every day culture that probably wouldn’t exist in this new world. Which is why I believe that the world building part of the whole fantasy writing process is so important, and why I have to keep pages and pages of notes handy so that I can refer to them often when I’m writing. I don’t want to be handcuffed to every idea that I have written down so far, but I worry about wandering too far off course and not being able to find my way back without a whole lot of explanation.
    Hehehe, do you believe me when I tell you that I’m new at this yet?
    Something else that I’ve learned from this project so far...not everything has to be explained to a tee for it to work. Contradictory to a lot of what I said above? Maybe. I don’t know. But I discovered that, as long as I can keep readers engaged in the world that I’ve already built so far...some details can be left up to the imagination. And it’ll be ok. I’m just getting started down that road now, and it will most certainly get much more complex as the adventures spreads further out than where it is, but I’ve found a few places where the suspension of disbelief has been my friend. I would like to play around with that a bit more. There are certain animals or foods or different species that all exist in the same realm, and I might give a few major details here and there...but now that the whole ‘fantasy’ aspect of the story has been firmly rooted in the minds of my audience, I’m finding that they’re willing to accept a great deal of weirdness about what’s going on here in this world. I feel like I’ve been giving a bit more freedom as the story expands, and that makes it a lot more comfortable for me to put my ideas on the screen and stretch everything out to widen the boundaries I set up for myself to create a more three dimensional vision of this world. I wanted everything to feel familiar, but still foreign and surreal to anyone who is looking to explore this world on their own in their minds. So describing certain meats in the marketplace, or spices, or practices of magic, or the sights and sounds of a swarm of demonic looking creatures flying overhead in erratic patterns while most of the characters in the story just see this as a normal, every day, occurrence. Which makes a lot of sense to me. Because it’s new to the readers...but not to the characters. This is the only world that they’ve ever known. Going back to the whole ‘alien’ idea...coming to Earth and seeing a chicken for the first time might freak them out. Hehehe! Like...what the hell kind of creature is THAT? And then to see them roasted on a spit over a low flame in a store window might be equally as disturbing. We see it every day and never really think about it, and that’s how I feel my characters would react in this fantasy world.
    Normally, to deliver exposition in a somewhat clever way without making it actually sound like exposition...I would have someone from our world interact with the characters in “The Plateau” and batter them with questions and confusion, while they try to explain and normalize everything for their ‘fish out of water’ guest. But that would be a bit of a cheat. I’ve already written that story. I wanted this to feel different. So...no outsiders this time around. It’s like learning a new computer program and tinkering with it until I find all of the really cool stuff while leaving out the stuff I don’t need. At least not for now. And it worked. Most readers just shrugged their shoulders and thought, “Ok...that might as well be a thing. Why not?” So I definitely feel a lot better about that as well. Which is inspiring new ideas for me all the time. I kind of like raising the difficulty level from time to time.
    So far, that’s pretty much all that I’ve learned about writing a story that is full fantasy and detached from anything and everything else that I’ve written before. Naturally, anyone reading it will still feel that ‘Comicality’ vibe running through it from beginning to end, but I’ve literally only got a heavy dose of trial and error guiding me on this one. It’s kind of fun at times, but please excuse me if I misstep a couple hundred times along the way. I can’t say that I have much past experience to draw from here with my writing, but if you guys were trying to write a fantasy story of your very own? This is what I’ve figured out so far! K? Hope it helps!
    And if any of you guys are writers or readers of fantasy fiction yourselves, and have any tips or previous experiences with the genre that you want to share in the replies down below, I would definitely appreciate you dispelling some wisdom on this one! I’m sure there are many others who could benefit from it as well! It’ll be your good deed for the day!
    Take care! Happy writing! And I’ll seezya soon!
     
  19. Comicality

    Writing Action

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Writing Action Multiple meanings, when talking about ‘action’ in the world of writing of fiction. Something to get readers to lean forward in their chairs, adjust their laptop screens or get a tighter grip on their mobile device. A heightened focus on the moment at hand. And while I’ve definitely written my fair share of chases, fight scenes, and shootouts...that’s not the only kind of action that we’re going to be talking about today.
    Ask yourselves the question...what is ‘action’? And the answer is simple. It’s moving forward and following a path of behavior based on the thoughts in your head and the emotions in your heart. Now that can be anything from an outburst of violence in a life or death situation...or it can be that nervous walk up to the cute boy at the Homecoming dance and forcing yourself to talk to him for the first time. Action is the bridge between what you have happening and what you hope to have happening once action is taken. But we’ll get into that in just a little bit. For right now, let’s start out with the idea of physical action in your stories. As many talented authors reading this are really great at writing fantasy fiction, I’m assuming that there is some sort of physical confrontation that takes place during their journey, correct? So how does one go about writing that out and making it as exciting as they want it to be for their audience?
    It’s more than just swinging a sword or casting a spell. Those may be the guidelines of your scene, and the tools used to build something amazing with...but the actual creation of the scene is all up to you. The shortness of breath, the danger involved, the risks at stake...each one of these elements can be an exciting moment in their own right, but one thing that I’ve learned since the beginning and always keep in mind is this...
    Action...is...CHAOS!
    A sudden push with no real guarantee of a positive outcome. It’s the craft of taking all of those elements at once and combining them together, where multiple objectives have to immediately be pursued and accomplished, all while crossing paths with many other conflicts of interest. When I’m plotting out an intense action scene, I usually go out walking with my headphones on and some hyped up music blaring in my ears, trying to find just the right rhythms and crazy moments that I can incorporate into the madness. I’m thinking, “What if he’s fighting off two guys at once...and now he has to find his around them because they won’t go down and he needs to keep moving forward.” Then, I might add another element of danger into the mix to energize the scene even more. Maybe there are other people who are shooting at him while he’s trying to fight. Then...maybe there is a panicking crowd of innocent people racing back and forth in hysterical patterns that he doesn’t want to get hurt, but they’re obstacles in his path and blocking his way. Still, he’s trying to save them by telling them to GET DOWN! Maybe the floor is caving in? Maybe something catches fire...and the flames are uncomfortably close to something that is extremely explosive? Who knows...but with all of this going on at once, what started out as a few traded blows between a couple of thugs has now turned into a full blown catastrophe as a series unbelievably lethal threats get added to a situation that was already deadly to begin with. I know it sounds like overkill, but in just the right places of your story, with just the right characters...it really can end up being a truly breathless experience. Even more so once you really put the pressure on your main character by putting him or her under some rather severe time restraints.
    Put the clock on them! Set the time! And let them figure out while your audience gasps and wiggles with anxiety in the meantime. It always works.
    To illustrate my ideas here and show you what I mean by piling on a bunch of chaotic elements on top of each other all at once to heighten a feeling of action and desperation, I’d like to point you all towards one of my absolute favorite action scenes from the “Indiana Jones” franchise down below! When I was a little kid, I would rewind and rewind and rewind...watching this opening scene over and over again until the VHS tape got all blurry and out of whack! Hahaha! But I LOVED it! There was SO much going on at once! And as a little boy, I could hardly sit still trying my best to absorb it all at once. This is action at its finest. It’s danger, it’s comedy, it’s high stakes...and the clock is ticking, so he’d better be quick to find a solution!
    Indiana Jones is in a fancy club, and he’s just been poisoned by the gangster he was doing business with. There’s an innocent showgirl, Willie Scott, in the mix...and a pricelessly large diamond that she would love to get her hands on more than anything. What happens here is pure genius in my eyes! Even to this day, it still gets me all amped up to watch it again!
    Check it out! And look at how quickly things escalate in this scene. How many obstacles keep getting thrown in the way. How conflicting interests cross paths. The whole package is right here for you to bear witness to.
     
    The thing about this scene is...despite the hysteria taking place...there’s a certain ‘flow’ to it all that keeps things moving in a forward direction that makes sense. You get to see enough of the insane antics to feel almost overwhelmed by it all...and yet you don’t really have any really trouble following what’s going on. The characters are placed in ways where they can convincingly run into one another, be in danger, and still have a way to find an effective ‘out’ if only they’re skilled enough and can think fast enough before they meet their untimely demise. This is something that you want to keep in mind while creating an intense action scene in your stories. Think of it as ‘controlled chaos’.
    There have been many times when I had to use a piece of scrap paper to place all of my characters in a particular scene and draw lines to keep track of what they’re doing and where they’re going. It’s not cheating to keep your notes close and follow them to a tee. Have your characters help each other out when their fights intersect. Think about the environment that they’re battling it, and what are the dangers there? Is it in a tight space where there isn’t a whole lot of room to move around? Are they fighting in the dark? Are there huge drops or pits of fire and lava surrounding them where one wrong step might mean the difference between life and death? Is your main character fighting one big enemy, or many enemies at once? Or maybe there are...I don’t know...wild animals reaching out at you from cages on different sides of the hallway? Create an environment for your action scene to take place in, and then figure out how you might be able to use different elements of said environment to heighten the tension even further as the scene continues. Change things up from place to place. An energetic action scene should be a short story in itself. You know?
    Another example that I’d like to use here comes from the end of the original “Jurassic Park”, where you can see all of these things in play at once. Notice how the immediate goal of the characters switches from one objective to the next so quickly. Beginning with them trying to be quiet enough to sneak by in the air ducts overhead. Then...SWITCH! They’ve been discovered! Now it’s gone from being a stealth operation to a rapid chase as they just try to get to a place of safety while avoiding the danger nipping at their heels. Then...SWITCH! As they leave the duct with their enemy in pursuit, the goal is to safely find a way down to the ground below. Switch to the raptor jumping on the same shaky structure which begins to crumble under their combined weight and separates the protagonists as things fall apart...making the objective to simply hold on for dear life. And when that can’t be achieved, they just brace themselves for a hard fall, all while dodging debris...etc.
    What creates the action in this scene is the immediate nature of how it’s put together. The main characters aren’t given a chance to come up with a plan that reaches past the next few seconds needed to survive their current predicament. Everything feels panicked and improvised at a moment’s notice...even if you spent the better part of a week planning out every crucial detail to fit it together in a smooth motion where everything feels hectic and unplanned, even if it isn’t. Give it a look.
     
    There is a rhythm to this scene that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, and if you take the time to write the details out just right, the impact is breathtaking. The fun of being an author is that you’ve been given the magical ability to not only conduct all of the actions in your imaginary workspace...but you can also reveal the frantic thoughts of your characters as well. Dive into that. Let your characters thoughts help you to direct the action as it’s happening. My feet begin to slip! I’ve got to save the kid! If we don’t get out of here soon...we’re toast! Another second and I probably would have lost a leg! By getting your characters involved, you are also getting your readers involved. And that is always a bonus, because the immediate threat coming after your characters feels as if it’s coming for your readers as well. It helps to heighten the tension of the moment.
    Also...and I know you’ve heard me talk about this before, but it will be more important when it comes to writing action than it will be anywhere else...shorter sentences speed up the scene. It’s an illusion, of course, but it really does work. Most people take a moment or two longer to fully absorb a longer, fully detailed, sentence. And you can toss a few of them out there if you want to flush out a particular motion or situation for a nice touch of flair here and there. But when the sentences are short are to the point...your audience will most like rush through it and get to the next sentence. And then the next, and the next, and so on. It creates this adrenaline rush in the scene that feels like a heavy train gaining momentum, all while giving the impression that it will be nearly impossible to stop once it hits a certain speed. Your readers should feel that and start looking for something to hold on to just they don’t end up flying off to the side somewhere and left behind in the dust. It’s an effective tactic keeps everyone locked in. Give it a try some time if that’s the kind of story you’re interested in writing.
    I doubt you could find anyone better at creating a combination of everything that I’ve written about above than Jackie Chan! How he’s even ABLE to conceive to pull off half of the stuff that he does in his movies is an absolute mystery to me. Hehehe, when I write a lot of fighting scenes in my own fiction...it’s stuff like this that I’m picturing in my head. The kind of stuff that I don’t have words for. (And his older stuff is even more mind-blowing than anything he’s done in Hollywood!)
    You have danger, speed, tension, high stakes, comedy, near superhuman stunt work, and precision, all going on at once. Everything works with that impeccable rhythm and flow that any fan of his will have already come to expect, and yet it all still feels like he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. He just happens to be a badass who can use the whole world around him at a second’s notice, where everything is a weapon, every move is just as unpredictable to him as it is to the audience, and nobody can think fast enough to keep up with him. Even if they have the advantage.
    Duck! Jump! Omigod, look out! Watch your footing! Don’t fall! Gah! Hehehe!
    Action at its finest...
     
    What I love about Jackie Chan’s work when I watch and study the way everything is put together and choreographed with such finesse...is the feeling that you’re actually being pulled along the whole time. This is that ‘train gaining momentum’ feeling that I was talking about. As fast as it is happening, it never feels confusing. There are transitions from one part of the scene to another. If you watch closely, it’s like one part of the scene ends with him setting up the next scene. He might be fighting three guys at once and taking hits...and then he backs up against a wall and accidentally bumps into a fire hose. You may not notice it right away...but once he feels out for it and gets the idea, he picks his moment of attack and then turns it on to go wild and do some of the work for him. Then he moves towards the next scene flawlessly before you really have a chance to fully recover from the last one. And you can do the same thing with the words you use in your story to paint a vivid picture and create a feeling of movement. Plan these things out ahead of time, put them in order, and pull the audience along as excited spectators the whole way through.
    Last, but certainly not least...
    As I said when we were first beginning...’action’ doesn’t always have to mean a physical confrontation. That’s ust the easiest way to sort of have the concept stick out far enough for me to get the point across. Action can also be two boys suddenly hearing the rattle of their parent’s keys at the back door as they’re both completely naked and caught by surprise. Now forced to scramble around for their clothes and fix their hair and make sure to wipe that guilty look off of their faces before they get in trouble. Action can be lightly pushed forward to talk to that really cute new guy at work, and taking those first few tense steps towards their desk while desperately trying to come up with something clever to say so you can break the ice and maybe start up a conversation. It could be a protagonist who has finally had enough of being pushed around by an older sibling and deciding to speak up and tell them that you’re simply not going to take it anymore. Whether it’s a character stealing something that doesn’t belong to them, attempting to overcome stage fright during an audition, or being forced to break someone’s heart by telling them that they’re just not interested...the same rule applies. The language is different, but the techniques you use are the same.
    ‘Pull’ the audience along with your main character. Create a sense of momentum. Display a series of immediate choices that have to be made without any sense of what the outcome might be. Get in your character’s thoughts and allow your readers to feel their confusion and anxiety by describing the stakes involved. And combine that by having possible obstacles tossed in the way that could cause everything to go horribly wrong if they aren’t effectively dealt with or avoided completely. See? Action. Make sense?
    Already, I’ve run my mouth for long enough now! Hehehe! Just use anything that you read here to your benefit if you can. And I hope it helps! As always, thank you for reading! Love you lots! And I’ll seezya soon with more!
     
  20. Comicality

    The Naughty Audience

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    The Naughty Audience Hehehe, it was the loving folks here at GayAuthors that first turned me on to the term, PWP!
    Meaning, quite simply...’Porn Without Plot’!
    Now, before anybody starts blushing and feeling guilty about anything, let me just say that I actually love the occasional stroll down the old ‘quickie’ lane from time to time. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading it, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with writing it either. So relax. We’re throwing any perceived judgment right out the window before we even get started on this one. K? Jump right in, get cozy, and let’s talk about the more carnal side of writing online erotica.
    Basically...we all have fantasies. Having a horny moment, or many many horny moments, in a single day is fun and can be really satisfying when you find something extremely HOT online that seems to pull all the right strings and stroke all the right levers. Hehehe, it’s ok. Sometimes that’s what we’re all looking for. How many times have you been really turned on and gotten all hot and bothered by something you saw in a movie or on TV, or maybe a cute delivery guy, or a classmate in the locker room, or just a random interaction with a person that you simply can’t stop thinking about, no matter how hard you try...and decided to engage yourself in an extended love series? Be honest!
    Who’s thinking, “Man, he was so gorgeous! I’m going to read a long story with great dialogue, character development, an awesome plot, and a main character that I can really relate to as he tries to navigate his way around love?” Is that what you were you thinking in that moment? Or...were you thinking, “Oh God! I’m so fucking HARD right now! I need to rub one out before my roommate gets home and ruins my need for an explosive release?” Hehehe, think about it. And then take a few minutes, and then come back and finish this article. (Wash your hands first!)
    See, the thing about PWP is that not beneath any of us to write it. If anything, I think a truly gifted author could probably write it better than most. It’s not all that different than the more extensive and elaborate work that you’ve put out there to showcase your literary skill...the ‘focus’ is just different. The gratification is more instantaneous. You’re not pouring a whole lot of heart and emotion into setting up a future or giving your readers a sense of their history together. That’s not the objective here. The idea is to get to the point and bring this particular audience a sense of relief from the sexual frustration that they might be feeling in that particular moment. The last thing you want to do is diddle around with extra meanings and plot points that they have to engage themselves in and remember or mull over...all while losing the erection that they came in here with. Hehehe, don’t do that. That’s just plain rude!
    No. This is going to be one of those ‘strike while the iron is hot’ moments in your writing, and you need to get to the point. Save your details and metaphors for the sexual descriptions that you plan on using to enrich a simple lustful encounter and turn it into something significantly memorable. The kind of story that they may save and come back to again the next time they feel the urge to get a quick splash and return to life without getting too involved in the life and times of a character that might be an amazing person, inside and out...but was just servicing a deep craving in that one instant. GRAB that audience while they’re still frustrated! Don’t let them calm down. If you go too far into a typical ‘story writing’ mode in the beginning of this kind of exercise...a lot of readers will back out and go read somebody else.
    As always...the backspace button is not your friend! For any author writing alongside a bunch of other authors...it’s actually your worst enemy. So get them to stay away from it at all costs.
    Reading this...you may think that I’m suggesting that you somehow tone down your writing ability or sacrifice a piece of yourself and your talent for the sake of getting some sexy attention from a larger crowd. I’m not. You can still create an amazing experience between two loving individuals who really do care about one another in the long run. You can even begin a longer running series from trying out projects like this. But, like I said, the focus is just different. It’s potent and it’s visceral...and you need to introduce it into your story early enough to at least offer the promise of a really hot interlude between the boys involved. You can do that effectively without being vulgar, or unrealistic, or rushing into anything that seems unnatural. All you’re doing is adapting your already exceptional talents to a new formula and allowing yourself to stand out in a new arena. It’s a playground that you’ve never been in before...so show them what you’ve got.
    If you think this isn’t possible to have your cake and eat it too...I guarantee you that it isn’t. As a matter of fact, the first gay teen erotic story that I ever wrote, “New Kid In School” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/newkidinschool), is a PWP story. It was only meant to be one chapter long in the beginning, and a very short chapter at that. But make no mistake...that was a PWP story. Go back and read it again, and you’ll be able to see it easily. The whole thing could have ended right there, and that would have been it. It was born out of my own sexual frustration, and the fact that I had pretty much depleted my supply of new stuff on Nifty at the time, so I decided to write the kind of story that I would want to see myself and relieve some stress at the end of the day. It has SOME story attached to it, but nothing that was meant to set up the huge series that it is now. Not by a long shot. It just happened to be a lucky blossom that grew out of what was originally intended to be a ‘jack off’ story. It’s true. So was “A Class By Himself”. (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/aclassbyhimself) And a bunch of other smaller stories that I wrote when I started. Granted, the atmosphere surrounding online erotica at that time was a lot different than it is now, and I mostly cherish stories that have more depth and story to them so I can be touched in ways that go beyond an emergency sexual release. But that doesn’t mean that PWP is a thing of the past. Are you kidding me?
    Whenever I’m feeling a bit ‘frisky’, I don’t go looking for romance and warm fuzzy feelings from a well written fiction. I grab something quick that’s willing to quickly grab me in return! Hehehe, and there will always be a place for that. I’d almost be willing to say that you could attract a much larger fanbase with a few quick one shot stories where the sex is fast and furious and to the point than you can with a mind-blowing series that challenges readers on an intellectual and emotional level. So don’t be afraid to get a few naughty thoughts in your head and just type them out to present them to a wide audience and see if they enjoy it or not.
    That being said, I understand that it can be a little bit embarrassing sometimes to share some of your fantasies with an online community of strangers. Trust me, I get it. And if you have trouble with the PWP practice...feel free to take your time to get used to it first before tackling it head on. Or...don’t tackle it at all. I would never tell any of you guys to write something that you’re uncomfortable with. But, if you ever want to give it a try...just to see what happens...to promote some of your deeper, more engaging work...or just to relieve a bit of stress of your own… the rules are very simple.
    - Limit your details. Don’t draw things out for longer than you need to. One boy is hot, the other boy is hot, they have a place to go get into some devilment with one another...that’s it. This one’s blond, the other one’s a red head, slap an age on there if it matters, maybe a few sentences as to how they met or why they decided to get together...and then get on with it. Remember...you’ve got a reader scrolling with one hand while the other one is busy. He’s holding it right NOW! Hehehe! Let that excite you, and do what you can to excite him in return. Don’t waste that stiffy on describing the bed sheets and the curtains and the main character’s history with his mother. Focus. The thing about PWP...you know what they came for, and you know you can provide it with your story. So what’s with the mind games?
    - You don’t have to be crass or vulgar or overly explicit when writing this kind of story. I know that some people do really get off on a more blunt approach to the subject matter, but if that’s not your thing as a writer...don’t think that you have to do it order to fit in to the genre. You can write your story, your way, and it will come off just as beautiful as you want it to. Again...the only thing that’s different here is the actual ‘focus’. In your mind, the story might still be 150 pages long with witty dialogue and character growth and plot twists, etc. But what you’re writing is just surrounding the impulsive cravings of sex. It’s all about pleasure and reward. Put yourself in that particular frame of mind, and use that as your anchor and don’t wander away from it. Take an intimate snapshot of that one moment in time and give it all the electricity and vibrant color that you can.
    - Use all five senses during the sex. If you’re going to write a sex story, this isn’t the time to shy away from or gloss over the explicit details of what’s going on here. In a longer story or series, it’s perfectly fine to simply allude to certain forms of activity or cut them short for ‘politeness’ sake. Let me make one thing clear, k? Hehehe...the PWP circuit is NOT a shy guy’s game! Readers want to know the feel of flesh on flesh, the taste of warm juices, the tightness of a constricted hole being offered up for your pleasure. If you’re going to do this, then go all out. We want to feel it. Explore the most intimate and most secretive parts of yourself, and toss them out there to the hungry wolves like pieces of meat. With PWP, the graphic sexual interaction is all you have to get your audience invested in it. So...you know...go hard or go home.
    Hehehe...or go home hard! Whatever!
    - Prolong the intimacy, but don’t give your reader’s blue balls if you can help it. Once your audience is invested in the act of pleasuring themselves...they don’t want you to just toss them a sentence and say, “And then he came!” and leave them hanging! Hahaha! Again, RUDE! A true PWP story should be so intense and so sexually invigorating, tha your readers should be having trouble holding out until the very end of it. Push them, tease them, edge them ever closer...but take your time and truly make it an erotic experience. They should explode so hard that they have to worry whether or not JESUS is watching! LOL! At the same time...you don’t want to make it an excruciating experience for them either. At some point, you’re going to have to release your control over their passions and let them catch their breath. So let’s not overdo it. But don’t ever cut them short either. Practice will teach you the delicate balance between the two. Cool?
    Alright, ladies and gentlemen...that’s my PWP article, and I hope that it helps you guys out with your writing. First of all...a short PWP story can very quickly gather a lot of attention and might greatly increase your fanbase as that is exactly what people are looking for when they look up ‘gay sex stories’ online. And they might just follow those stories back to some of your other stuff and find even deeper stories and become long time fans because of it. Second of all...the things you learn and the instincts you pick up by writing stories like this can become a part of your longer stories and series as well. It can be a hidden gem of sensual surprise that you add to some of your more involved stories and bring a big smile to your readers when they least expected it. Always a good thing!
    Alright, take your armor off. Let the shame seep back in. ::Giggles:: Or don’t. It’s up to you! Hasn’t seeped in for me for YEARS now! I LOVE sex!!! Mmmmm! I’m gonna go write some more about it right now! Seezya soon! Enjoy!
     
  21. Comicality

    Wordless

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Wordless There are many times, while I sit here at this keyboard and stare blankly off into space when I’m trying to find just the right words to express the emotions that I’m feeling in my heart at that moment...the words I need to finish the next sentence or two of the story or chapter that I’m working on at that moment...and words only seem to get in the way. It can be a really aggravating head space to be in when you’re trying to get something finished. It, actually, feels a lot like writer’s block...but after dealing with it for so long, I’ve personally discovered that this isn’t always the case. You know? It’s not writer’s block, because the ideas are THERE! They’re right there on the tip of my tongue (or my fingers, as the case may be)...but I can’t seem to capture them for some reason. They’re all fuzzy and out of focus. Hehehe, it’s like trying to “Karate Kid” catch a fly with chopsticks sometimes.
    But sometimes...the feelings are simply ‘wordless’. And it takes an entirely different approach and a completely different vocabulary to really fill in those literary pockets when descriptive words are simply the wrong tool for the job. As writers, I totally understand that this is something that comes off as completely insane and ridiculous, seeing as words are the only tool that we really have at our disposal when it comes to conveying any kind of emotion or information to our audience...but hear me out. Because it’s something that I had to learn over the years to navigate around that intimidating block that has wasted countless hours of my time trying to find words that, as far as I know...don’t exist. At least not in any way that could reach the kind of depths of emotion that I was hoping to reach with my next trailblazing project. Hehehe!
    What can I say? Words can be so unsatisfactory sometimes.
    But, you know what? I think more people understand that concept than you may realize. And when it comes to the trap of trying to swim through these quagmire pits of desperation and despair, hehehe...sometimes it’s better to lean into it than try to duck and dodge your way around it. You just have to realize it for what it is so that you can switch your game plan up and find an effective way to deal with it.
    Being wordless in your writing is simply addressing the fact that there are certain parts of our existence that have yet to be explained. Translated. And maybe they were never meant to be. You jut know it when you feel it. And I really do try to incorporate that idea into as many of my stories as I possibly can. Even though I mostly write about teenagers experiencing their very first experience with love, where they’re expected to be lost and wandering through the dilemma with no previous experience and no real guide as to how to handle what they’re dealing with...there’s always a core element to all of my characters that I hope, whether spoken aloud or not, will somehow translate to my fans and they’ll be able to tap in and understand why they do the things they do. How do I do that? I take those blank stare moments of mine...and I talk about them through the character. That’s how.
    It’s open. It’s honest. And it lets my readers know that I’m not just trying to take a shortcut to keep from stressing my brain out to the point of exhaustion in order to entertain. Hehehe! Like...no! I really don’t know how to convey this message surging through me right now. Please understand...everything can’t be spoken or written down. Sometimes, the ‘shortcut’ would be in using a substitute for the sake of a few sentences. I, personally, think that would be more disappointing than anything else I’ve done with my work so far.
    As to, what I think, is a perfect display of this concept is the work of cosmic horror king, HP Lovecraft, who’s writings of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, came to light very early on in the 20th century. One thing that always intrigued me about his writing was his ability to take these ‘spaces’ in his writing, these little pockets of wordlessness, and use them to his advantage. If you read his work, it’s like he’s trying to describe the most horrific, most frightening, creatures that have ever been seen by the eyes of human kind. Something that would cause nightmares and paralyzing terror to anyone who would dare to gaze upon it. But...how can you deliver that kind of fear to a mass of people with their own fears and weaknesses, and are strangers to your work? How can you bring this mentally painted picture to a wide community of strangers who have never experienced such a thing before in their lives?
    His technique is really unique, and it’s something that helped me with own work...even when it came to overwhelming feelings of young love. Lovecraft leans into the whole wordless concept in ways that give his stories a certain feel that other stories don’t have. Which is probably why his influence is still so prevalent in the stories and movies of that genre today, over a century later.
    The whole ‘language’ is different. These are one of the things that I study when it comes to trying to challenge my own abilities. But he finds real power in the vague descriptions that he gives you. Words like indescribable, unknown, nightmarish, nameless, etc. The idea that he COULD describe it for you...but if he did, you would go mad with terror. Now, to break it down in a mechanical way...there are many details that are left to the imagination and aren’t really ‘described’ at all. But it truly draws you in. And that’s the genius of it all. His work is amazing.
    This is a motion comic with someone reading the words of HP Lovecraft as they were originally written. Listen to this...and see if you can hear how much he actually describes, and how much he doesn’t.
     
    What happens here with a storytelling ability like this...is you encourage your readers to use their imagination and become more of a ‘participant’ in your project instead of a passive observer. Their thoughts, emotions, their memories, their deepest feelings, their fears and insecurities...they are now a part of the story itself. You’ve now put them into the situation and made them a part of what’s going on. That makes your story special above all others. They have enough space to mold and rearrange and make the story their own. This is an essential part of maintaining reader loyalty. You’re not just telling your own story...you’re telling this story for everybody reading. And they will automatically modify the characters to their own personal dream cast without you doing much of anything at all.
    It’s not a manipulation. It’s a gift that allows your audience to really place themselves in your main character’s shoes and experience everything that they’re dealing with through their eyes. Sometimes, you can say more with silence than you can with words. And what you don’t show, often highlights the things that you do. So don’t be afraid to use that as a tool to involve your audience.
    If you’re writing a story and you are pulling your hair out trying to find the right words to fill out the scene and get your point across...step back for a moment and take a breath. K? If you CAN find the right words, then by all means, go for it! Wow us all with your ability to say what other writers only wish they could say. There’s honor in that. So a salute, and major respect, to all of you guys that can pull that off. But if you ever feel that the emotion is running away and trying to escape the words that you’re trying to use to describe it? Maybe it’s not worth chasing. Does that make sense?
    If you feel like the concept is wordless...then say it’s wordless. Focus on it. Use it to make your point. There are MANY people out there who have severe difficulty trying to express their feelings to another person, especially if it’s face to face. The very fact that you have enough insight and self awareness to write a story at all has already put you light years past a vast majority of people out there. I mean what I say when I say that what we do as authors is NOT easy. We may be passionate and dedicated to the art of trying, but to think that it’s even remotely as easy as typing out a high school book report...that’s just bonkers. You’re attempting to translate the most intangible parts of our humanity into words that people can read and understand from every corner of the globe. That’s nothing to scoff at. And if you run out of word...it’s because they weren’t invented yet. Hehehe!
    I’ve written a few million words myself over the years, and I still run out from time to time. So….I get it.
    I think the key is to simply embrace that wordlessness in your writing, and use it to your advantage. I mean...what are you feeling, trying to come up with the right words to explain the surge of anxiety and weirdness that your main character is going through? Take that, and try to see it through their eyes instead. What kind of confusion are they going through trying to do what you’re doing while you’re writing their story? Lean into it. It’s indescribable. Unknown. Unfamiliar. Alien. Talk about how difficult it is to put it into words, and use that as your way of...ummm...putting it into words. Hehehe! See how that works?
    Sometimes you can’t just fill in a true emotional expression with some sort of accessible ‘buzz word’ that people can easily recognize and pretend to relate to, simply because they understand what it means. I’m not saying that it can’t get the job done...but I feel like it can sometimes be a cheap way of doing it. Find ways to use the unspoken parts of love, joy, sadness, fear, or hatred, to your benefit. Know when it’s best to let the emotion speak for itself when given in context to the rest of the story. Cool?
    Anyway, I hope this makes some sense, you guys! Questions are always welcome down below, but...the whole article is about how certain parts of my writing process are kind of inexplicable, so...hehehe, hopefully this will be enough for now. Take care! And I’ll seezya with more soon!
    There are sooooo many parts of the writing game that I wat to share with you all! I hope I live long enough to share them all! Go out there! And do it better than I did! ((Hugz))
    Later!
     
  22. Comicality

    Building a Team

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Building A Team For this particular article, I will need some ideas and some feedback from the rest of you guys. Because I definitely know HOW to do this...but it’s not really a practice that I’ve really used myself since I’ve been writing stories online. I guess a part of me was simply too intimidated to really dive in, head first...and another part of me is just too selfish, hehehe...but I DO see the value in making this a part of the writing process and it might be helpful to all of us at some point in the future.
    If you’re someone who writes to simply express yourself as a hobby or to clear the cobwebs out of your head, then the idea of putting a ‘team’ together may depend on how dedicated you are to having your projects look and read as awesome as humanly possible. And that’s GREAT! Putting that best foot forward is always your best bet. However, if you’re thinking about really going out to make a career out of your writing, submitting to an agent, or publishing work of your own...I would think that the idea of having others around to find all of the blind spots that you may not be aware of in your narrative. I don’t think that’s something any of us can really do alone. It takes different perspectives, different opinions, and a variety of conversations that can hopefully work in tandem with one another to create something that looks professional and worthy of the extra time and effort that you put into it. But it takes the right people, the right ideas, and a decent balance between you, as the author, to be strong enough to say no on occasion...but humble enough to say yes on others. If that makes sense.
    Like I said up above, while I’ve done this kind of thing before, I don’t work with a team of people behind me to help me pull off whatever touch of magic that I’m able to generate with the stuff that I write. To be honest, I get kind of ‘itchy’ about having anyone else touch my work, hehehe! I can’t explain to you why, but it happens. Something about it feels less personal to me, even if the benefits of having a team to work with would far outweigh my cringy little hangups about it. It’s like...even if I make mistakes and typos along the way, that’s a part of me too. At least I can claim them as being my own. Still...I might be missing out on something, and I just may want to try my hand at going pro with something that I wrote one of these days. I certainly wouldn’t want to charge in with an amateur’s mindset if I decide to go that route. This is my baby...and it takes a village to raise a child, right?
    So feel free to correct me if I get any of my thoughts tangled up here in this article. I’m writing this more from my thoughts and expectations than I am from any kind of lengthy experience. So let’s see what I can come up with. Feel free to jump in with any thoughts of your own down below. I like to learn new stuff too, after all.
    The idea of having a team on your side to help you produce your best work is to develop a language that you can use to communicate with creative minds of a particular skill set. We all excel at different parts of the writing process, and by circling up to share ideas with one another, we can discover certain tricks of the trade that we may have never really have considered before. Some writers are really good at finding mistakes, others are amazing with dialogue, and others yet are wizards with plot structure and story building. Having these people in your circle can really help you out when putting a project together, whether you think you’re having any particular difficulties with it or not. I discover so much more about my own work when I get email feedback from readers or see comments left behind somewhere online. The only problem is...by the time I get to reap the rewards of such good advice and insight...the story or chapter has already been posted. Imagine if I had a small group of people that I could work with all the time to help inspire an even better version of the story that I posted. That would be crazy! And that’s what I imagine building a team is all about.
    This scene is from a series that I used to LOVE when it was still on. It’s called “Sense8”, and I’ll try to keep the explanation as short as I can so we can get back to the task at hand. Basically, the show had this sci fi element to it (Done by the Wachowsky siblings who also did the Matrix trilogy), and it involved 8 different people from different parts of the world. There was a Chicago cop, an Indonesian female chemist, a German street gangster, a transgender woman who was a computer hacker and wiz, an African smuggler who had to out drive from one deal to the next, an actor in Mexico, a martial arts specialist in South Korea, and a London DJ...and somehow their consciousnesses were all linked from different parts of the globe. Basically, they could all use their individual talents by switching back and forth between one another. They’re knowledge, their physical strengths, their attitudes...if you’ve never seen it before, I highly recommend it. It’s really different.
    Anyway, in this one scene, you get to see a bunch of them all help each other out as the trans hacker is attempting to escape the police in Los Angeles, and they need to switch back and forth to have a chance. They’re an entire TEAM in one body! Check this out!
     
    Now...why show you guys this clip?
    Because this is what getting together and actually building a team of professionals is all about. Notice how each personality knows when to jump in and take the lead to do what they do best. Im sure that each consciousness knows how to throw a punch, and most of them know how to drive a car, etc...but imagine if you had the help of someone who has that skill as their main area of expertise. A Chicago cop that immediately knows police protocol. An actual fighter that knows how to quickly take down and subdue a number of opponents. An experienced smuggle who knows how to outrun a fleet of pursuers and gauge layout and distance, as well as how to shift speeds to take a screeching turn around a curve. And, during the show, some of the combinations get even more complicated than that in certain places. The idea is having a visible representation of what it’s like to have a collective of talents all working with one another. Now, all of these personalities exist inside of my own head, personally...but I don’t excel in all of these areas of creating a story. So a team would be a huge advantage in the long run. If you guys are ever looking to leapfrog ahead of me in this area, then I definitely encourage you to go for it. And then come back and let me know what you leqarned so I can try it out for myself. Hehehe!
    But, for right now? Let’s put a team together the way that I would imagine it, shall we?
    ::Begin the ‘Mission Impossible’ theme on loop, starting...NOW::
    Alright...you’re going to need the kingpin! If you’re reading this, that would be you! This is your story. You’re in charge of all the ideas, all the characters, the plot and theme and tone of the story, and a majority of the dialogue. It’s up to you to build the foundation that the entirety of your work is going to be based on. It’s your brainchild, and you’re in control. This means that you’re going to have to be able to accept or deny all of the extra info coming your way, and try to bring the entire game plan together in a way that fits your original intention for your project. It’s ok to be flexible in this pursuit...but you’re the guiding light in all of this, and if you feel the need to fight for your original idea, then fight for it. Period. You’re the big gear in this whole machine, so hold it together, and get your message out there the best way that you can.
    Second? You need a competent, thorough, but collaborative, editor on your team. This is going to be someone who is really good at catching spelling errors, mechanical mistakes in your punctuation, and can easily find catches or stumbling blocks in the way you write out your sentences. Someone who can recognize plot inconsistencies and loophooles that you might have over looked. I think it’s important to have a close and friendly relationship with your personal editor, because we writers tend to be very sensitive about certain things from time to time. Hehehe, don’t doubt it. If you haven’t experienced it yet, you will, eventually. Communicate. Find someone that you trust and can talk to about the choices you’ve made. And LISTEN to their advice! Even if you decide to go ahead and do it your way. It should be a give and take situation, but remember that this is their number one skill. They may know more than you do when it comes to this kind of thing, so pay attention...and keep an open mind.
    Third and fourth members on the team? You’re going to need Beta readers! I would get at least two of them, preferably with different tastes. These are going to be a vision into your readers’ experience with your work. Pick two people to maybe give your a story a read before anyone else gets to see it, and encourage honest feedback. Always remember that the stories are all in your head and closely connected to your heart at all times. Meaning that your attachment to the characters and the story is a much more intimate experience than what a random reader might have to it. Despite being engaged in the narrative, they are still seeing your work from a distance when compared to how you may see it personally. So keep that in mind. Beta readers can help you out on an emotional level that other members of your team might not be able to recognize in the same way. An editor is looking for mistakes, and the main author is seeing everything through a pair of creative rose colored glasses. Beta readers can tell you when they might be confused by parts of the story, or have a certain reaction to one of your characters that you may not want them to have. They can tell you what makes them smile, what makes them sad, what seems unfair, and what angers them about the story. Seeing as (I assume) the emotional involvement of your story is the most important part of you writing it out in the first place, I would say that their role in the process is pretty significant. So take what they say to heart. And don’t just have them talk to you, but hav them talk to each other if at all possible. Their joint conversations may prove to be of great use to you in the long run.
    Alrighty then...next step. You need a critic.
    Hehehe, don’t make that face! If I was building a team for myself, a critic would definitely be someone that I would need in my corner! It’s important. You need someone who can nitpick and deconstruct what your doing to find flaws in your storytelling where others can’t. Even with fans and people trying to help you out...sometimes it helps to have someone dismantle and completely obliterate everything that you’re doing so you can step back and look at it so you can spot room for improvement. You don’t want someone malicious who’s going to be MEAN to you and tear your work apart...but there has to be a voice of reason in the room. It may not be what you want to hear...but keep them close. Even the most harsh critics have the best of intentions, and they can bring you up to the next level if you’ll let them.
    Expect to fight and fuss and argue with the critic the most. Hehehe! But I’d be happy to have them on board.
    Next up...get a ‘tech guy’! This is someone who knows computers, programming, formatting, etc. You can write the most incredible story ever...but if the formatting is screwed up? If it looks weird on a mobile device? If the paragraphs aren’t properly lined up with breaks in between? All of that hard work will have been wasted. If that’s not your particular skill, get someone to help you. This is a place where I really fall short, because everything that looks just the way I want it to look on my laptop looks completely different on someone’s cell phone. And that might look different from how it looks on Nifty or GayAuthors. I definitely do my very best, but the thing with ‘techs’ is they are CONSTANTLY changing shit on me! LOL! Which I can’t stand, because the second I learn something, the code changes and they want me to learn all over again! That’s super frustrating for me, because the text of my stories is all that I want to concentrate on. So having computer updates and switching to different servers and having to surrender to changes I never asked for just slows me down like you wouldn’t believe. So...if I’m building a ‘Comsie’ team of my very own...I need a tech guy to keep that part of the process current and speedy so I don’t have to retrain myself every few months.
    And the last member on my team? I’d need a promo guy! Someone to spread the word, keep me up to date on posting standards for a variety of different websites (They are ALL so different), and can keep me motivate and aware of deadlines and new opportunities as they come along. I’m only human, and I can fall prey to bouts of procrastination just like everybody else. I would get somebody to keep me on schedule, give me the occasional kick in the ass a week or two ahead of time, and motivate me to get shit done. It’s too easy to start slacking and getting lazy when I’m doing everything on my own. I tend to get more focused when I have a bug in my ear telling me to keep going and finish up what I had planned for the day. Got to keep that ambition flowing, after all. Hehehe!
    SO...if I had to put an expert team together for a professional project, covering all of the aspects of the writing process where I might be lacking...I’d like to think that this would be my particular squad. Hehehe, this would be my Justice League! But that’s just what I’m thinking in my head?
    What do you guys think? Decent team? Did I miss anyone? Do you guys have a team of your own? And how does that work, exactly? Let us know down below. Because I’m really curious about this. Like I said, I may just need this collective knowledge someday.
    Anyway, I hope this helps you guys out when you think about your writing! And I hope it helps m out too! Take care! And Ill seezya soon with more!
     
  23. Comicality

    Author Branding

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Author Branding One of the greatest parts of being a highly creative person who shares their work with others who enjoy it is this...no one can ever ever take it from you. It can’t be taught, forced, or manipulated, by anyone else. It’s hard for most people to even understand, to be honest. How can someone create something out of nothing? No order given, no guidelines, no rules or regulations, no fixed direction on what to do or where to go. I assume that most of you reading this right now don’t really see this as being any big task at all, as you’re you’re all highly creative people just like I am...but understand...it’s not like that for everybody. What you have is a specific talent that many don’t, and might never be able to, understand. Take pride in that. It will be one of the biggest strengths in your writing...finding the courage and the confidence in whatever it is that you, and you specifically, have to bring to the table as an author.
    The more you engage your talents in the art of making the intangible tangible, the more they will evolve and expand. You take a few chances over ‘here’ that you might not have taken before. Maybe you add some details and depth to a scene over ‘there’ that you might have originally skipped over as a less experienced writer. No matter what is that you’re trying out or experimenting with...you become more closely intertwined with your own work. And the more honest and more vulnerable you are with your storytelling...the more it becomes a unique part of you, and vice versa. Soon, you as a writer become recognizable in your work. And this is something that I truly believe can be used to your advantage when building a fanbase and a varied body of work that you can be proud of.
    Now, this doesn’t have to be your thing if you want to go into every story, brand new, and just want to entertain with each project standing on its own two feet. It’s a very cool approach and works well if that’s your goal. But I feel like if you want to create a collection of quality stories that expresses the best parts of you and want to take your own spot among some of the greats...then author branding, in my opinion, is a must!
    So let’s talk author branding...
    What is it, and why would it be of any help to you?
    Branding is the art of creating this awesome mystique about you and your talents that will create a bond of trust between you and your readers. It is the ‘you’ that they are sure to recognize whenever they read your work. There’s an expectation there. A predictable level of enjoyment. When you release a brand new project, your audience should see your name, or online handle, and immediately get excited. They know what to expect, and it’s up to you to deliver.
    Will everything that you write be a big hit? No. Doubtful. Nobody’s perfect, and not everything can be golden. BUT...if you’ve branded yourself as a writer of quality, you will be rewarded with a certain amount of loyalty. Even if you’re writing a story that your readers aren’t interested in...they may just peek in and give it a chance regardless. Hehehe, sometimes I’ll write a college romance, sometimes a high school romance. I might do something like science fiction one day, and may dabble into some horror, and then try fantasy, and then write more romance. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve written entire series that people told me they had no interest in...but when they finally checked it out, they took it back and became an instant fan. This is what author branding can do for you. They may not know the story, they may not know the genre...but they know ‘Comicality’. And they know I wouldn’t just release something that wasn’t close to my heart in some way, shape, or form. They know how I treat my characters, and how I weave my story plot lines together, and how I treat certain situations with infatuation or heartbreak or fear. My audience knows my sense of humor. They know that I’m going to toss some teen angst into the mix. And that I won’t shy away from being tastefully ‘naughty’ when I feel the story calls for it. These are parts of my writing that people have grown used to and can recognize when they see it...so whether the next big series sounds like it’s going to be right up their alley or not...if they enjoyed some of my other stuff, there will be a curiosity as to whether or not it’ll fall in line. And that’s a plus in the win column for me. Every time.
    If you think about the many authors that you may read here on Gay Authors...you may see a few similarities in the kinds of writers and stories that attract your attention the most. Take a moment and think about what those qualities are and which writers embody them the most. Some writers might have a more poetic prose in their text, and some may be a bit more straightforward and down to earth. Some may create longer stories or series that will keep you engaged for a longer period of time, and some may enjoy writing something short and sweet and easy to digest in one sitting. What are your favorites? And why is that? Do you like writers who add a bit more sexual content in their work, or would you rather have something much more subtle or merely suggested instead of reading through any graphic depictions? All of these things are determined according to your personal taste as a reader, and your readers are no different. There’s a certain ‘flavor’ that they’ve come looking for...and if their search is in sync with your particular brand of content...then they will keep coming back to you, time and time again, whenever you post something new. They know what to expect from you. Thus...author branding.
    So what is your niche? What do you enjoy writing the most, and where do you fall in when it comes to building something new? You don’t have to commit to writing just one thing or feel handcuffed to one genre, but it’s important to develop your writer’s voice in ways where it can work almost anywhere. If having a sense of humor or a certain sting of sarcasm in your storytelling or your dialogue...focus on making that your calling card. Even without seeing you named as the author, people should be able to read certain comments or get a certain vibe from your characters and know that this is your work. Either that, or a shameless duplication. Hehehe! The more in tune you are with your greatest strengths, the easier it will be to recognize your signature talents and build trust and loyalty with your audience moving forward.
    That means that you have to bring your ‘A’ game each and every time you release a new story. No excuses. Because where a good brand can really help you out and showcase your abilities in a positive light...a bad brand can do twice as much damage. Even if you’ve already got a good brand going beforehand. A lazy or lackluster story will make everything else that you’ve done seem out of balance. How can you create a brand if that brand is inconsistent? It’s like...there might be a fabulous restaurant right around the corner from your house that you’ve never been to, and it might have excellent food. You’ve just never tried it before. So you grab your wallet, you leave the house...and you end up at McDonald’s. Why? Because McDonald’s is a recognizable brand. No surprises, no time or money wasted...you know what to expect and keep going back for more. There’s nothing WRONG with that...but they’re consistent. If nothing else, you’ll always have a steady line worth of business.
    When it comes to building a brand as an author...you want to take that amazing little restaurant that hardly anybody knows about, get people to give you a try, and then deliver something that’s worthy of grabbing that same kind of attention. You can’t have an off day. You want to serve people something that they’ll love and come back for. And then spread the word so you can get even more people to do the same.
    Don’t rush the quality of your work. Put your heart into every word. Not everything I write is going to be perfect. Far from it, in fact. But I would rather miss a deadline or put a story on hold before I post or publish something that I didn’t give an exhaustive effort to. The Comicality brand means more to me than that. It’s supposed to stand for heart, and drama, and a sincere shot at excellence. So when my name is attached to a story, readers can expect a few giggles and warm fuzzy feelings, a heavy dose of teen angst, and a few dashes of boyish nostalgia thrown in. I may take those elements and tell them in a plethora of different ways...but no matter what it is that you read by me, you can be sure to feel my life essence in there somewhere. That’s my brand, and that’s what my readers come looking for when they see me.
    Something else that I always stress, but can never stress enough...put your NAME out there! Connect it to every creative endeavor that you put out there, and promote it every chance you get. Go to any website with multiple author contributions and look at how many new stories or chapters pop up each and every single day. Who are you? How are people going to learn and involve themselves in your particular brand if you don’t work to let them know, “Hey! If you liked this story, I also wrote these others over here!” Allow new readers and potential fans get familiar with your work. They may want to see more. If you can entertain them with two stories...what will story’s three and four be like? They key isn’t just to be seen as having a good story...but as a good writer. Create an aura around whatever it is that you do best and try to be as consistent with it as you possibly can be. That’s how you build a strong foundation to stand on.
    Also, find a way to keep your stories all in one place. As we all know, not everybody sends in an email or leaves a comment behind. You may not even know that they’re there. Have a space of your very own where if a reader comes to the end of one of your stories and decides that they like it...they can easily click a button to move on to something else written by you. Maybe they’ll enjoy that one too. But don’t make them ‘work’ for it. Don’t assume that somebody is going to spend extra time searching for your next story when there are thousands of other options at their fingertips.
    You’ve got their attention...hold on to it!
    Take your time and get your story right. Put out a champion effort if you want a champion response. Make it so every reader that has ever absorbed one of your stories in the past is antsy and fidgety to see what you’ll do next. You’re their favorite movie director. You’re that band that they’ve waited forever to hear a new album from. Build up a dependable brand by becoming one with the words you type out on your keyboards...and half of the excitement for your new story will already be taken care of before they even read a single word. Cool?
    Anyway, I hope this helps you guys when it comes to the ins and outs of this whole chaotic writing process. I realize that there’s a lot to think about, but if you can take all of the elements that we’ve talked about so far ad put them together? There’s no way you can lose!
    Take care! And I’ll seezya soon with more!
     
  24. Comicality

    Intimacy

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Intimacy In order to really connect your readers to the romantic stories that you write, you’ve got to keep in mind that it’s not always some giant swing of the pendulum that brings the mood and the tone from one extreme to the other. I think that it’s important to be able to recognize opportunities for all of those little giddy moments in between that can sometimes come off as being your biggest strengths. In fact, I’ve found that they can end up being the most touching and engaging parts of your story as a whole. An extra seasoning that will enhance the flavor of every other detail and event that you write around them. Intimacy, when you think about it...can be an effective binding agent that holds everything together. Gives it meaning. Power and purpose. And when done right...it can end up being one of the most erotic pieces of the puzzle when it comes to having your audience really feel as though they’re a part of the experience that you’re trying to build. Don’t write it off as a simple bonus to the rest of the story. It may just be the strongest weapon in your arsenal.
    So let’s discuss the potent impact of ‘intimacy’ in your writing...
    In earlier articles, I’ve talked about romance...and I’ve also talked about sex...but I feel like the art of writing ‘intimacy’ is something that hits on any number of points on the scale between the two. Now, this is where you can use a myriad of different emotions to create an exceptionally magical experience between your protagonist and their love interest. You can balance them out however you want, and mix and match them together like some kind of literary mad scientist! Whatever floats your boat! Hehehe!
    You see...the thing with intimacy is that nothing big has to be taking place for it to really captivate people and draw them even further into this fictional relationship without exhausting your other tools in the process. (Save those for bigger moments. Right now, just tickle your readers with little hints and tender expressions of love without anybody getting naked or making any big confessions or grand gestures. Remember...intimacy exists between those two wide swings of the pendulum) There’s a subtlety to it that simply can’t be taught or manufactured. This is one of those things that you really have to feel in your gut. And your readers will be able to feel it too. Trust me on this.
    This is another one of those ‘show, don’t tell’ moments where I think it works best when you strip everything down to its core...and just allow it to breathe. Don’t force it. Just allow it to happen. No sex needed. No groping, no kissing, no flirting...none of that. Shhhh...hehehe...give your characters a chance to discover the intimacy without any help or outside influence. You don’t even need dialogue. Enjoy the silence. Let them enjoy the silence.
    Intimacy is, like...this unspoken beauty that really shines the more you focus on the delicacy of it. Like a soft wind blowing a few blossoms into a slight, but graceful, bend. It can be as simple as a bump of two boys’ elbows. The breath on your cheek. A gentle blush, or an extended moment of eye contact. The more hidden the expression, the more powerful its pull on the heartstrings of your readers. Just peppering a few of these moments throughout your story can really enhance the feeling of a loving bond that will ultimately enhance every other interaction that these two characters have together for the rest of the project. The little things count. They really do.
    This is a full short film called “Running Without Sound” about two boys who have developed feelings for one another. I really like this one, but pay special attention to the scene that happens around 8:00 minutes. Where they’re together in a bedroom alone...and it hasn’t really been made clear whether they know the other boy is gay, despite their attraction. There’s this really intense, extended, silence between them...will they kiss? Not kiss? Say something? Stay quiet? Watching this, you can definitely find yourselves trapped in a moment of true intimacy. Not flirting or romance. Not sexual desire or contact. But all of the surreal moments of first love, and the possible promise for more. Tension, confusion, fear, yearning...rapid heartbeat, heavy breathing...searching for courage...that one extended moment touches on a variety of different emotions that seriously gets me all giddy and anxious every time I see it. But it’s cute and it’s awkward and just...extremely sweet! Hehehe, see for yourself.
     
    The best part of intimacy in your stories, depending on how you write it, is that you can leave the erotic nature of these moments in the hands of your audience. Some will see it as a playful tease, others will find it to be the hottest part of the story. It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. But the key is to use these micro expressions to demonstrate a closeness that feels as though it is unique to these two characters alone. Something special that wasn’t meant to be shared with anyone else. You know? Using this method will set them apart from the typical boy meets boy story every time.
    Again, the beauty is in its simplicity. Holding hands, running your fingers through your partner’s hair, or gently rubbing noses together between kisses. Whispers, I think, are a real turn on. And just allowing your hands to glide over the skin of your lover after making love. Even when it’s not sexual in any way...there’s a certain excitement involved in short and sweet moments of intimacy. No words spoken, no kisses exchanged. Take a look at this clip from the TV series, “The Fosters”...and just feel the tension and boyish thrill of being in this position when you were first discovering intimacy for yourself. This scene is amazing! I can practically feel the poor kid’s heart beating hard enough to get all chocked up myself! Hahaha!
    Ahhhh….memories...
     
    One of the reasons that I think intimacy and smaller moments of affection in our stories is so effective when it comes to speaking to the hearts of your readers is because it’s like being plugged into a dream. It’s the ability to be totally vulnerable and see the world through the eyes of a romantic ‘hero’ of ours...but from a place of safety and security. You get to reap the benefits without any of the real risk that would com with it if you were to engage in the same behavior in real life, you know? When you’re living through the unguarded exploits of a fictional character in a story, you’re allowed to immerse yourself even further into the fantasy than you would if there were consequences involved.
    In a story, it’s ok to be awkward, or goofy, or to suddenly swoon and have a sudden ‘I love you’ outburst...knowing that it’ll be ok. I think there’s something really comfortable and alluring about that. So why not go for it? You’re the one with full control of the keyboard, aren’t you? The only limit is your imagination. Well...that and a suspension of disbelief, hehehe! But you get what I mean!
    One more example, and again...intimacy isn’t about some big event, or some story changing situation or plot twist. It’s not about a graphically, well written, sex scene, or a spoken exchange that was designed to bring tears of joy to your eyes. Those moments are needed too, and they work wonders when the time is right. But just a few random touches here and there, a few smiles across a crowded room, or a slightly awkward giggle between friends, can go a long way in your writing. Think of it this way...how would you feel accidentally bumping shoulders with a stranger on the bus...as opposed to bumping shoulders with the biggest boyhood crush you’ve ever had in a crowded elevator?
    Yep...that right there! You feel it? Hehehe, go ahead and smile! I won’t tell anybody!
    That’s the difference!
    This clip is from the show “Ugly Betty”, where the family pretty much knows their son is gay, but he refused to accept it...until now. And decided to ask his secret boyfriend to dance right there in front of everybody. It’s an intimate moment that really adds a whole new flavor to anything that could have come after that moment. (Unfortunately, I think that was the end of the series. But it would have) Like I said, intimacy is simple, but the impact is massive when used right.
     
    Not everybody is a modern day poet. Nobody spends their entire day giving and receiving flattering platitudes of love. And if all we did was have sex every day...how would the rest of the world even function. LOL! Who would want to do anything else, right?
    No. Sometimes...the best moments of life come from sharing a dance, a tender kiss on the cheek, or simply putting two straws in the same milkshake. Take advantage of these golden opportunities in your work and really demonstrate how close and tightly intertwined your main characters are when writing a romantic story. It helps to pain a three dimensional picture. Why are they together? What do they have in common? Why would they stay in love, other than they’re both cute and horny and have an intense attraction for one another? Sometimes...the love you’re writing about doesn’t really have to be about that. I’m not saying that you should avoid those other parts of the equation...just know that your readers will be more invested in those bigger moments if you occasionally focus on the little moments in between.
    Give it a try some time! And I hope this helps! K?
    Seezya soon, ladies and gentlemen! And happy writing!
     
  25. Comicality

    Parallels

    By Comicality,


    Writing Tips
    Parallels You know those moments in a lot of stories or movies where the hero comes up against their main rival, and they always say the same cliché phrase? Hehehe! That part where they say, "You know...we're not so different, you and I..." Hahaha! I've heard it so many times and phrased so many different ways, that it's kind of cheesy and weird now.
    However...it's a trope that I really actually LOVE to use in a lot of my stories, and do so often. I just don't have them talk about it out loud. I love the idea of deeply cultivated heroes and villains having a lot more in common than they ever could have thought possible. It's like...this hypocritical blindspot that neither one of them can really see or recognize until they're in direct conflict with one another...causing both characters to learn and grow simultaneously when faced with the truth of it all.
    There's something about that dynamic that really appeals to me, and always has. There's a parallel between good and evil, love and hate, righteousness and rage...that can be used to craft a really compelling argument between two or more complex characters. And if you create the fictional characters in your project with this idea in mind, it will add a number of different layers to who they are, and how they are perceived by your readers. It's just a matter of looking at problem or belief system from both points of view, and setting those perspectives to war against one another until there's almost an emotional 'stalemate' that will remain until both sides are forced to notice the similarities in their thoughts, feelings, and goals. Even while violently disagreeing with one another.
    One thing that I used to always love about comic books when I was growing up was the fact that it was the ideas and the relationships that were always driving the story forward. Anybody with super powers can punch the 'bad guy' in the mouth and tell him to shut up. But that's not 'strength'. That's just an advanced form of bullying at best. But what happens when the hero is close to understanding that he and his greatest villain have similar goals and methods? What then?
    In the movie, "The Dark Knight"...the Joker basically tells Batman, 'Yeah, I operate outside of the law, but aren't you doing the same thing? You're a vigilante.' He actually says, "Don't act like you're one of them! You're not!" And he's not lying when he says this. Once you take a step across the line...why not two? Why not TEN? What's stopping you? Everything that you're fighting for becomes a joke when you ignore the fact that we're both criminals. Very deep. It's one of the greatest character parallels in comic book history.
    Basically...the art of using character parallels in your story comes down to pointing out that we all have successes and failures. We all have triumphs and falls from grace. In the 'Writing Arguments' article, I talked about how amazing it is to have your readers sort of understand two opposing points of view. Parallels are different. This is when they share a common goal, but have conflicting ways about getting it done. I've always been intrigued by that idea. For example, in the story, "Gone From Daylight", my main character comes up against a deadly enemy that seems irrational and insane from his words, thoughts, and deeds. But...as my protagonist grows into his new life, he realizes that this enemy is what he could have been, if he had gone a different way. Both have suffered through abuse and bullying and pain...they just handled it in different ways. Whereas, in the story "Savage Moon"...the opposite happens. The protagonist immediately feels a kinship with the very people who are leading him astray, and he willingly goes along with that feeling of freedom and brazen self expression...until they begin to cross the line, and he goes running back to find it again. But what's really changed? Nothing really. Not when you think about it. It's just a matter of guilt and shame that keeps him from taking pleasure in what he was so ready to embrace, initially. But does he know that? Or is it another part of that hypocritical blindspot that he can't seem to recognize until he's forced to face it, once and for all? What is life if you never question your own role in it, you know?
    This is a writing technique that can be used in a variety of different ways to bring out a certain level of added depth to your main conflicts in your story. The idea that...what one character that you love and are rooting for to win the day...is operating on the same flawed blueprint that their antagonist is using to be such a thorn in their side. You take the time to paint them to be the villain, and then...little by little...you begin to unravel their motivations to expose the fact that they've been through rough times too. As they say, 'Every villain is the hero of their own story'. Your characters (Especially if you tell your stories from a first person gay teen perspective like I do) are usually so wrapped up in their own goals, problems, feelings, and ambitions, to really see a different way of thinking or asking to have their point understood as anything other than aggravating friction. It's natural. We all do it from time to time. But if you can write a story where both characters seemingly start on opposite ends of a giant football field of emotions, obstacles, and booby traps...and then slowly bring them closer and closer together in your narrative, they find out that they're not on opposing teams. They're simply teammates that don't get along. And that makes for a really interesting conflict once you fit your plot into that particular structure.
    I series I'm writing called, "Jesse-101: Online Celebrity", pretty much begins with my protagonist, Tristan, being dumped and heartbroken by someone that he had developed feelings for. But the parallel is the fact that a younger boy that lives on his block has developed a huge crush on Tristan and is always doing all that he can to be around him and impress him whenever possible. Unfortunately, Tristan is not interested. Not only that, but he feels annoyed and bothered by having the younger boy chase after him so aggressively. It isn't until later on in the story that Tristan begins to think of how much it hurt to be tossed aside and ignored, and realizes that he's doing the same thing. He's become a mirror image of his greatest pain, and he's now given a choice to possibly change his ways, or continue being as cruel as his first ever boyfriend was to him.
    Like I said, I've done this in many of my own stories. Where one side or the other suddenly has a moment of emotional sobriety where they are forced to face the fact that...well..."We're not so different, you and I..."
    Just...DON'T write it like that if you can help it! LOL! There are ways around saying it outright. It really is one of those cliches that you should avoid at all costs. And...I mean, I get it..sometimes you just can't slip by it and still get your point across. But if you CAN...then do it. Don't make it so obvious. Your audience will get it. Promise.
    The beauty of putting a story like this, where your characters are connected in this way, is all about having their thoughts and feelings intersect at some point. Whether it be in solidarity or in contrast...it still works. Find the similarities, and build up to the moment when they finally reach a crossroads. That's the key.
    I have a story called "Untouchable" where an older guy in his early 20's falls for a boy who's still in high school. And at one point, he loses his driver's license. So he has to go and get it replaced and they tell him that they need a valid ID. Well...he lost his ID. That's why he's there. How can he get an ID if he doesn't have an ID. But, when the teen returns his affections and wants to epress his love for him, he tells the boy that he's not old enough to know what he wants, has no experience, and has no way to even know if he's ready for a relationship. At which point, he throws the exact same line back at him. "How can I get an ID if I don't have an ID?" What is he going to do? Have the world tell him his inexperienced...and then deny him the chance to gain experience? That makes no sense. But, by using that parallel between characters...a great deal of my readers were able to get a different perspective on the situation and maybe understand why this paradox was such a problem for him.
    I truly think that parallels in storytelling can bring certain thought processes to light in a positive way. It highlights the history and backstory of your heroes AND your villains at the same time, and it creates this inner dialogue for your audience where everything isn't so black and white. It adds nuance and flexibility to your character motivations, while still increasing the stakes of having them go head to head until someone can declare themselves the winner. (If there really is such a thing)
    It's easy for poor people to think that those who are wealthy don't have a care in the world. It's easy for someone who thinks they're ugly or average looking or overweight to think that the super model gorgeous boys have it so easy. It's easy to be out of the closet as a gay man and think that everyone in the closet can just 'come out' and tell the world if they weren't so busy hiding. We all have our own visions of what life is and how it should be. And, more often than not, we put that personal filter on top of the characters that we read about or the people we interact with on a daily basis. But we're not all sharing the same experience. We're not surrounded by the same people. We don't have the same needs, the same fears, the same joys...
    But that doesn't mean that there aren't parallels between your lives and mine. Chances are...we agree on more than what we disagree on. And that's your strength as a writer. Being able to point that out, and saying, "Yeah...I get it."
    I can be generous, loving, horny, witty, and downright goofy. But I can also be selfish, frustrated, jealous, cranky, and simply stubborn, too. But, somewhere in that overly moody mess of random emotions and bullshit excuses for actions that I'm sure to regret later on once I come to my senses...I've learned to see the parallels between me and other people. It's a humbling experience, you know? Who am I to say that I've never been impatient? Or insecure? Or allowed that nagging voice in my head to see even the simplest of jokes or comments as an 'attack'? I see myself in other people, and I hope they can do the same when it comes to me. And that's a huge part of what I like to bring to my stories.
    I want my readers to see and understand how a young teen boy might be scared of telling his parents that he's gay over Thanksgiving dinner. I want them to see why asking the most beautiful boy that they've ever laid eyes on out on a date might take some time. I want people to remember how frightening that first virgin experience is, or how scary it is to throw that first punch in a fight, or how devastating it is to have a parent look at you with disgust for who and what you are. Don't tell me you've never been there. I won't believe you.
    But finding those parallels between characters creates an even playing field for everyone involved. So, n matter which side of the fence your reader happens to be on, at least they get an explanation as to why the other character feels the way they do. And, hopefully, absorb it in some way.
    That's why I'm writing, isn't it? To make some kind of sense of the world? To have people finally hear my side of the story? So what am I holding back for? You know?
    When you build your protagonists and your antagonists...keep in mind how much they're alike as well as how much they are different. It's a tool that will serve you well. Hehehe! Friend or foe, it opens the door to a lot of moments when they can either combine forces to reach a certain objective, or toss certain illogical hypocrisies right back in each other's faces. There's nothing more engaging than a war of ideas, where the crowd of public opinion is just as divided as the voices battling it out. Try it. It works.
    That's it for now! I hope this helps you guys out with your writing! Take care! And thanks for reading! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with next!
    Seezya soon!
     
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