Comicality

Psh! I can do that! I just don't wanna!

Hehehe, I know! It's weird, right? The whole astrology thing. Thanks for the answer! I could always use a lot more from people!

Thanks, you guys!

Hehehe, now, it's no secret that I am constantly typing my fingers to the bone on many different stories at once. And that means that I might finish a brand new chapter of one story, but it might take some time for me to cycle through a bunch of the others before I pick that story back up again. It's something that I've been really working on fixing for a long time now, and I hope that I'm getting better at it. However, I'm sure that there are some of you dedicated authors out there who have simply let one or more of your own projects linger for one reason or another, and might want to get back to it and finish it off, once and for all. Who knows what happened there? Maybe you lost some of your enthusiasm for the story, maybe life got in the way, maybe you found yourself in the middle of a new relationship, or are suffering the heartbreak of an old one. The point is, our work is a product of our current mood and mindset, and it takes time and energy and effort to create the stories that we do. It can't always be forced through our determination to finish it off and a craving from our fanbase. Sometimes you have to just wait for the creative expression to blossom like a flower growing in your garden. Yelling at the seed isn't going to make it grow any faster, so why even try? Hehehe! This is what creates long lapses between chapters for me, personally...and sometimes for others as well. But when you began writing that story, you truly had something to say. And that will remain a splinter in your paw until you finally get the chance to say it. Luckily...there is always an opportunity to go back in and pick up right where you left off. There's no real trick to it. Just dive right back in and make it happen. For any of you who have some unfinished stories that you've been procrastinating on, or worried about tackling again, this article is for you. It can be done...and that's what we're going to talk about today. The 'Not So Hot Potato'! I think that this becomes a lot simpler when you are personally invested in your own characters. That's an important part of this process. Because if you're invested in your characters and treat them as though they were real people, chances are that your readers are going to feel the same way. There's a bond and an emotional investment there. That will work in your favor. Every time. I've been asked countless times, "Comsie, how can you keep track of all of these stories at once and continue them all the way you do?" Well...how do you remember all of your friends and family members? They all have different stories of their own, don't they? Your mom, your dad, your siblings, your cousins, your aunts and uncles, your grandparents, your classmates from high school, you co-workers from a job that you quit years ago. How do you remember all of them? You might not have seen your best friend's wife's second cousin in ten years...but if you had a good experience with them and recognized them on the street as you were walking past them...you'd be able to greet them and pretty much pick up right where you left off, right? You might want an update on what's happened since then, but it's not all that difficult to remember what you originally liked about them or what interested you in their personal story or influence in your life. When it comes to picking up an old story of yours to rewrite, re-edit, or continue...the idea shouldn't be all that different. These characters may be fictional, but you created them from parts of yourself, your life, or your past memories. Reconnect with that, and try writing a new chapter. You might be surprised just how easy it is once you get started. The hard part is realizing that getting started is the most intimidating factor. But it doesn't have to be. I grew up in an era when things took time and people had to be patient with their entertainment. You didn't get seven new movies released in theaters or streaming services every week. No binge watching TV shows for nine hours straight to hurry up and get to the end. No...you got a satisfying piece or tasty morsel every now and then and you waited until the next one was ready. I don't know, something about that made me appreciate my entertainment much more back then. Now I just gobble, gobble, gobble, and devour everything in a day and then I ask, "What's next?" It's just not the same experience. But, if you do it right, and you get your audience invested in your characters to a point where they think about them outside of the boundaries of your current plot...even if it's been days, weeks, months, or even years, since you last updated it, you can pick that story right back up, blow some of the dust off of it, and finish your original work of art with just as much enthusiasm and creative energy as you had when you started it. The secret is in capturing that magic that made you start writing in the first place. And I've got a few tips on how to do exactly that. But first...a few examples of a single story (franchise) that can easily be continued in a successful way, no matter how long it has been between chapters. I have always loved "Alien", it's one of my favorite movie franchises ever, despite a few missteps here and there. But, the point is, every major chapter can literally go YEARS without any continuation whatsoever, and yet I can watch a new movie, and it's like I never missed a moment. In the blink of an eye, I'm right back into it. It's like revisiting an old friend, you know? The first "Alien" scared the living shit out of me as a kid, and that came out in 1979, so I was probably WAY too young to be watching that movie anyway! LOL! Thankfully, I was at home, and this was years after it had been on the big screen. Otherwise I would have been traumatized for life. But the second chapter, "Aliens", came out in 1986...and I think I was ten or eleven years old...so I handled it better, but that movie kind of freaked me out too when I first watched. That's a seven year gap! But the feelings that I invested in the first movie still lingered within me, and within the first five minutes, I was right back where I left off. And much later, when "Prometheus" came out in 2012...I'm a full blown adult now, and yet, I'm still tethered to the old movies even after all this time. So I was teleported back to watching those and now I'm getting a prequel that wasn't the best of movies, but my heart is invested in it just the same. It's weird. 0000 Again...the key all lies in the investment of the characters and the situations that they happen to be going through at the moment where you left off. No matter how long it's been since your audience has seen this story...the moment they get something new, if you've bonded them with the people populating your fiction, they will be eager to sit down and re-engage with them on a personal level all over again. Don't let the time lapse intimidate you out of writing that new chapter. Just write it. And follow these five tips when you're going back to an older project and breathing life back into it so that your readers can have a sense of closure. #1 - Don't feel bad. That's the first, and maybe the most important part of this process. Yes, it's been a long time. Yes, people are going to hound you, criticize you, or make passive aggressive comments about it...but you need to get past that. When you started that story, you had something that you wanted to say. What was it? Focus on that. Where were you going with it? What were you trying to express in terms of your feelings at that time. Maybe you were going through something difficult when you started it, and you've dealt with it and are trying to move on now. Whatever the reason...your story exists because you had something that you felt you needed to get out of your system. So get it out. You're not finished yet. There's no reason for you to feel bad for taking time to work your emotions out and translate them into a fictional story. It's ok. Stop beating yourself up and get back to the story whenever you feel up to it. It'll come out better if you don't force it. Trust me. #2- Start from scratch. Especially if it's been a really long time since you've worked on a particular project. Don't just read it and start writing again. It might have only been a couple of weeks or so, but you've changed as a person since then. Your views on life may have been altered. You skill at crafting a story may have changed. Your vocabulary might have grown. These seem like little things, but they aren't. And if you try to match the writing of the 'new' you to the writing of the 'old' you...it's going to be noticeable to everyone reading. Re-open that file, read your own story, and re-edit it as you go through. One thing that I've really enjoyed when going back through my stories while making my ebooks (Shameless plug! Comicality ebook 'director's cut' versions of the stories are available at https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/ Just so ya know!) is going back to stories that I wrote years ago and seeing them from a different perspective. Adding details, rephrasing certain sentences, putting in new scenes and dialogue...I mean, I was a totally different person back then. And it took a reread of everything that I put out to realize just how different I am now from the person I was when I started. So if you're picking up an old project and getting ready to work on it again, make sure to really go through your previous work with a fine toothed comb and mold it to match who you are now, as opposed to who you were when you started. #3 - Keep the same vibe that you started with. Even if you're writing has changed, or if you've evolved as a person since your last chapter...it's key to make sure that your story keeps the same theme and tone that you had when you started it. A drastically obvious shift in tone can be a stumbling block for your readers. Ir's almost like...'false advertising', you know? Remember, keeping your readers invested in the story and your characters is what's going to make this work. So if you've got a story that has been on a particularly long hiatus, and you suddenly switch gears to change the fiction and deliver an entirely different narrative than the one you started with...there's a chance that you could lose the fans that you started out with. Some of this can be smoothed out during the rewriting process, to match your previous work with your new work...but there's a limit to those adjustments. Make too many changes in the overall 'feel' of your story can be confusing. And you don't want that. #4 - Update where necessary. While your story may be frozen in time until you get back to it, the passage of time in the real world keeps going forward. Always keep that in mind. I've written stories in the past where there are things like 'video stores' or 'public arcades'...and obviously, these things don't exist anymore. Not really. So, to continue those stories, I would either have to make them retro (which could be fun) or update things like the music, the technology, the activities that my characters get involved in, etc. Every couple of years, certain aspects of life either vanish, evolve, or take on a different meaning. So you have to accommodate for that time jump. A great example of this is the movie, "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"! This is a story that has been told over and over again in the movies, but it evolves and changes to fit the times in which it's being told and what's happening in the world at that particular time in history. For example...the original movie came out in 1956, where the science fiction story was basically a metaphor for the big Communist scare during the Cold War. They could be your neighbors, your friends, your family members...oh no! (We always have people telling us that we have something to be afraid of, don't we?) Then, the movie got a remake in 1978 during the rise of interest in Occultism and cults and the whole Jim Jones Kool-Aid era. It showed up again in 1993, where everybody was a gangster or a drug dealer or had AIDS or something. Again, the fear that it could be your next door neighbor, co-workers, or even your spouse, was the driving force behind it. And then we got "The Invasion" in 2007, where people were living in a post 9/11 era where you had to watch everybody to make sure they weren't secretly a terrorist. The movies are all different, but the theme and tone of the movie was all about suspicion and paranoia, and keeping that element in tact is what made all of the remakes work in one way or another. 000000 #5 - Commit to an ending. If you're going to pick up an old story and start working on it again...you need to promise yourself that you're going to finish it this time. You're being given a second chance by your fans to bring things to a close. Don't waste it. Figure out where you want to go with your story, get your thoughts in order, and then get it all together. Set it in motion, and this time stick with it while the fire is in you. Don't let it linger. Sometimes, a spontaneous burst of creativity and nod from your personal muse is the best time to really get things finished. So plan some time to sit down and think about the first four phases of this process...and then get to work. Like I said before, I know that it can be intimidating sometimes...but once you push yourself to get started and find your rhythm and flow again...you'll find yourself getting right back into that same head space that you were in when you were inspired the first time. Use that to your advantage. And bring your unique brand of magic to the rest of the world. It's needed out there. Alright, so that's it for today. I know that some of you guys have older projects that you were really excited about when you started them, and somehow lost track of them after a while as other aspects of your life kind of took control and kept you from devoting the kind of energy that you needed to make it something great. But those stories still live in your head, and they deserve to be told. Just as much as they deserve to be read by your audience. So blow the dust off of those older ideas, read what you wrote, update and revise where necessary, and then pick up that not so hot potato right where you left off so you can complete the project and the vision that you originally had in mind. K? It's SO worth it! I hope this helps! Take care! And I'll seezya soon!

Honestly? If I had to rate myself on a scale of 1 to 10...I'd probably be somewhere around an '8'! Hehehe, that's the honest truth. I won't even pretend that I'm not a classic Taurus in every conceivable way. Hehehe! It's true, almost word for word. Anybody that has known me for any length of time at all will be able to agree with that particular diagnosis. (I just Googled my zodiac sign, and this is one of the first links that came up. YUP! That's me in a nutshell! https://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/zodiac-signs/taurus/ ) Now...it's not always me just being stubborn. Sometimes I'm just passionate, or extremely curious. And I tend to seem like I'm putting an invasive amount of pressure on people when I really want to know something. I get frustrated on occasion, because it's like..."I'm asking you about YOU! It should be the one subject in life that you know better than anybody else on the planet! ANSWER ME!!!" But I don't mean to push too hard, and I've learned to back off when people shy away from talking about something that they might feel is private or embarrassing. So...I get it. I'm still evolving as a person, so give me time. Also, when it comes to me wanting to work on something creative? I can be severely stubborn. Sometimes...I just want what I want. I won't be mean about it, but if it's something that takes fifteen minutes...and a friend or a family member or one of the many people that help me out with Imagine Magazine or the site is really sleepy and wants to get their eight hours of sleep for the night...I have to control myself. Like..."Can you, maybe...get seven hours and forty five minutes? This is important to me right now." And I try to bite my tongue and let it go. But I definitely feel it tightening up in my stomach. Hehehe, which is why I work so hard to do as much as I possibly can to do everything myself all the time. If I finish a story at 3 AM...I want to post it by 3:15 AM. Step aside, 'rest of the world'...I'll do it! And if there's something that I can't do with one friend, or one family member, or one site online...I will find ways to go around you and find an alternative. I don't want excuses and limitations. If you can't help me do something, that's cool...just let me know so I can find someone else who can. Period. I'd like to think that I'm pretty low maintenance, and don't ask for many favors. And I'm highly appreciative of every last bit of help and support that I get. I'll be overjoyed each and every time! But the downside to that...? When I finally do ask for something, and somebody seems to be having an issue with a simple request or can't stop what they're doing whatever it is they're doing or don't want to lose a little sleep over it...then, yeah. I might find myself being an unhappy camper for a while. That's only when it comes to getting stuff done, though. It has nothing to do my relationships with people. I know that I keep my guard up most of the time, so don't expect all of my most personal secrets after the second email. But I warm up to people pretty quickly, and I love you guys. I just get weary when I get emotionally 'bum rushed' out of the blue. Like...slow down. Let's get to know each other a bit more first. So, yes. I'd put myself at a solid 8 on the scale. I'm very stubborn, but not beyond reason. I'm quick to forgive, but hardly ever forget...so if you explode with the direct intention of hurting me...congrats. Mission accomplished. Forgiveness? Sure. But don't think I'm going to forget what you said or did to me. I won't. And if you make a habit out of it, you can considered yourself dismissed from my life as far as I'm concerned. I don't hold grudges, but I won't set myself up for another painful interaction with you either. So I'm stubborn, but I'm fair. Promise. If I had a problem with someone, I would let them know personally. And I've got no problem telling them why. Because, let's be honest, someone would have to do something really BAD, or consistently be a dick to me, to make me not want to be around you. Very few people get a spot on my bad side. And the ones that are there? They earned it. Trust me. That's where I'll at my all time stubborn high.

Stubborn. Hehehe, pigheaded. There can be a million ways to consider yourself a stubborn son of a bitch. It happens. But if you had to put your typical, daily, attitude on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most stubborn mule on Earth, and 1 being a complete and total pushover...where do you think you would rate? I mean, there's got to be a certain point where you have to stand up and assert yourself enough to keep people from walking all over you and always getting their way, right? You can't live your entire life being a total puppet for somebody else. Even Pinocchio wanted more out of life than that...and he was a literal puppet. But on the other hand...you can't just be blindingly stubborn to the point where nobody can talk to you and not even the truth can penetrate. I mean, that's just insanity. And yet, these days I'm starting to believe, more and more, that there is a growing population of people that just can't be reached anymore. You can tell them that it's raining outside, and they can go outside and stand there soaking wet, but will REFUSE to believe you. WTF??? I think that weighing in around a 5 on the scale is healthy. Not too gullible to be bowled over by anybody willing to tell you what you want to hear, but not so stubborn where you can't pry your mind open a little bit and see things without some sort of delusional filter keeping you locked in a state of madness. But feel free to be honest with us on this one. Not everybody sits at a 5. There's nothing abnormal or wrong with it. You are who you are, and that's fine. But I'd love to hear where you see yourselves. Are you happy with your ranking? Do you think it'll ever change? Do you feel like people take advantage of you, either way? Whatever it is that you want to share...add it to the replies below. Cool? I'm super curious here!

Hehehe, sorry. I grew up in Chicago. A kid walking right out of the front door of his high school in the middle of the day, getting on a bus, and covered in bruises...that's not weird at all. That's just a random Tuesday.

Life, in general, is so much easier, more peaceful, and more exquisite, when you just learn to leave people alone. Ya know? Just...leave them alone. You discover sex when you discover it. You worship where you want to worship, or not worship at all. Make friends, enjoy life, find fulfillment in a profession of your choosing. Why is there always somebody trying to block this and 'protect' you from that and legislate against whatever they have a bug up their asses about? Just relax and be happy to be alive. And let everybody else do the same. It's so silly to me. Sighhhh... I mean do people really think that they locked their kids in a cage, with no music, and no TV, and no movies, and no books, and no video games, and no video games, and no friends...that they wouldn't learn about masturbation all on their own? What is it that these people think that they're doing? Let them watch a gay themed short film once in a while. And if they're gay, they're gay. If they're NOT gay, then the video isn't going to change that. And if they decide to experiment to find out for sure, so what? Life is short. Know thyself. ::Shrugs::

To say that the very concept of me and depression being handcuffed at the wrist for many years is a common thing for me would be a severe understatement. I've been much lower than some people will ever know, and it really hurt. But, to be totally honest...I think one of the biggest mistakes that I ever made in my life was trying to deal with everything all on my own. Never talking about it, never speaking up, never screaming out "I NEED HELP!!! And this is starting way back when I was barely a teenager. What was I going to be able to handle? I didn't know how? And even years and years later, I was too scared to 'learn' how. I made some really...BAD...decisions right before The Shack came along. Some, I would even say were pretty dangerous when I think back on it. But what do I do when I spent so much time trying to protect myself, and protect my friends, AND protect my mom, and hide my secrets, and deal with trauma...? It was too much, but all of that pain had nowhere to go. Distracting myself worked for a little bit in small doses, but the damage didn't go anywhere. I was just creating another trigger inside where somebody says or does the wrong thing, and suddenly I'm ready to flip out...letting all of that anger and sadness and insecurity and self loathing explode out of me all at once. But when I started writing stories, when I started talking to people in email and on the boards and in the chatrooms...it relieved soooo much pressure. You have no idea. That's not to say that I'm not still guarded or defensive sometimes, or that I don't get my feelings hurt, or that my heart hasn't been broken more times than I can count at this point...but I finally found opportunities where people are actually willing to listen to me. You know? I can vent from time to time. I can talk about private parts of me, and invite other people to do the same. That's not something that I ever had before. It's pretty much why the Shack is what it is today. I want people to have a place to talk and a community to share with when life gets to be too much to handle on your own. Because those bad times will come knocking eventually. And I think people have to do more with the pain they're feeling now and teach themselves how to self soothe and grow from. Something more effective than just 'hiding it away' in the basement where nobody else can see it. My life isn't perfect. Not by any means. But after being able to talk about my state of mind, gaining wisdom and perspective...I now realize that it doesn't have to be. It never did. And when the bad times come, I'll deal with them accordingly. As long as I keep my 'basement' clean and stop trying to be a one man army. I tried that. Spent years trying to get that skill just right. And all I've got to show for it is missed opportunities and a waste of time. Let it go. Take all the time you need, talk to someone you trust, and then...let it go. You'll thank yourselves for it later. I did.

Thank you so much! It truly means a lot to me to know that there are people who can really grasp the feelings and relate to them in a way that brings them some peace. ((Hugz)) Thanks...

Rules are differently important, and I wouldn't advise that anybody break them until they know what they are first. Hehehe! So I definitely catch myself coloring way too outside the lines from time to time. But writing those rules out is probably a twelve part series in itself. I babble on enough as it is! Thanks, Cia!

I think that was the most difficult part of tryin to stick the landing at the end of the story. Because I was trying extremely hard to not make it look like Mr Raffe gave him a good grade just because of what he had been through. If that makes sense. There was no way to have Zack all healed up with no bruises and no new coverage, and have Mr. Raffe's intentions come off as being pure. My only other idea was to have Adam or Brody bring him his papers in the hospital, but I really wanted that moment to close the teacher/student part of the story. But, decent point. And I'm glad you liked the story. Thanks.

Agreed, Cody! I only wish I had stuff like this when I was first going through it myself. It would have helped me out with soooo much back then. You know, it's funny...if they tried to censor something sexist, homophobic, racist, anti-Semetic, etc...I'd have to hear them whone and complain and cry and bitch and moan for weeks and weeks and weeks about how unfair it is. But God forbid two people fall in love with that they don't agree with. Ten years from now, I doubt anybody will even know what the word 'hypocrisy' even means anymore.

Now...I know that there are authors out there (or artists of every kind, to be honest) who hear the word 'guidelines' and go into a state of immediate shock, shaking their fist like, "Oh nooooo! They're gonna try to take control and limit my artistic freedom! Don't put me a box!" Hehehe, I'm happy to say that I've never really been one of those people. That's not to say that I want to sellout or have my creative abilities to be bound and gagged in order to fit into a mold that was built by somebody else. Because I don't. But I've always seen the idea of writing a story within a certain set of guidelines as a really fun challenge for me, and I enjoy it immensely. Nothing could be more satisfying than trying to come up with an idea that fits into a structure that was put together by someone else, and actually finding a way to figure it out. It's awesome. The best example of this would be GayAuthors Antholgies right here on this site. I truly loved getting involved with those, and hope to keep doing so in the future. This is where a bunch of story themes are submitted and voted on by the collective readers of the site, and then the most popular themes become the guidelines that all of the participating authors have to adhere to in order to be added to the anthology. But DON'T worry! Hehehe, it's not limiting at all! If anything, I think it forces me to be more creative and more clever than ever with the stories that I want to add. And I have to say that some of my favorites, and some of my readers' favorites, have come from the anthologies that I wrote for GA! So don't be afraid of writing within certain guidelines! It can be a good thing, trust me! Let's discuss... What you have to do when it comes to writing with guidelines attached is truly understand the concept being presented to you, and make that your literary 'anchor'. For example, one of the anthology story themes was 'Road Trip'. Ok, got it. I want to write about a road trip. What does that entail? What happens on a road trip? How can I write a story about a road trip? What creative spins can I put on the theme without losing sight of the theme itself? I can't just have a road trip happen for a few paragraphs in the middle of my story and then have the rest of the project be about something else. The theme is a road trip. So that needs to be the main focus of the story. So I thought it over, took some notes, tried to make sure that I was sticking to the idea presented to me, and I came up with the story, "Not Enough Road". It was about two boys who were going out of town to visit their older brothers on a college campus, and this was their first time taking a long bus trip out of town without supervision. By doing this...I can still have that beautiful stranger, boy-meets-boy, idea that fits right into my particular niche of writing, and the actual 'road trip' theme remains the lion's share part of the story at the same time. Once the theme has been tackled and fleshed out in your mind...the rest of the narrative is wide open for you to create whatever you want to create. You're free to go nuts from that point forward. One Summer anthology theme was 'Out Of This World', which could be taken a bunch of different ways, but I decided to take a slightly sci-fi, literal, approach to the idea...and I wrote, "Light Reaches Earth" for that one. A story that I can say that I'm really proud of, and have re-edited and turned into an ebook afterward because of the joy that I got out of writing it in the first place. Again, the real freedom came from finding ways to fit within the guidelines that I was given, while breaking the rules at the same time. Hehehe! I loved it. And it became one of my absolute favorite stories. Whether you're writing something for a competition or contest, a fanfiction, or trying to get something published in a particular magazine or online website for the sake of promotion...the art of finding your freedom within the guidelines that you've been given is an excellent skill to develop and keep under your belt. Not only does it train you to focus and control your output, but it also diversifies your talents to a point where you can write almost anything that comes to mind without worrying about whether you'll be able to pull it off or not. It comes in handy. Especially for those of you who want to make a career out of this sort of thing someday. SO...how do we accomplish this, and still feel like we have the freedom to write what's in our hearts at the same time. I think that it's simply a matter of finding your comfort zone within the boundaries that you've been given, and then pushing those boundaries further out, all while sticking to your 'anchor' and not floating away into something that has nothing to do with the guidelines you've been given. I would break this down into five simple rules to think about before you even get started... #1 - Theme And Concept - This is obviously the most important part of writing a story with guidelines placed upon it. What are you writing about? What's the theme? Look at it. Study it. What do you think about it? What does it mean to you? How can you concentrate your creative energy around that one idea? This can be really fun once you get your wheels spinning. Hehehe! At least for me it is. What you're trying to accomplish here is basing your writing talents on a single subject or event while still making it your own. It makes you narrow certain aspects of your writing process while expanding on others. What would other people do with this idea, and how can you do it differently? Spend some time thinking about a single situation that is theme related, and then create characters that are best suited to carry out the tasks involved with bringing this situation to life. Believe it or not, this is the easy part. Ideas are infinite at this point...you just have to choose one that you think will be the most potent and relevant to the people reading it. Something that will have a significant impact on an emotional level. That story is out there somewhere...and if you plan it just right, you get to be the one to write it down and bring it to the masses. So choose an idea that really speaks to you, and apply it to the story you've been given to write. #2 - Word Count - Now, this is where you might begin to feel the walls closing in on your project. Not by MUCH...but a little bit. If what your writing is constrained to a suggested word count, you're going to have to adjust your thought process and control your narrative to fit within a certain space. It's like going on vacation in a lot of ways. You can't pack your entire closet full of clothes into a single suitcase. That's too much. You remember the discussion that we had on 'scope' earlier? That will come in handy here. Don't rush into an anthology or contest with a giant, century spanning, narrative that simply can't fit into a much smaller space without you cutting a lot of it out in the long run. Don't do it. You're either going to commit to a story that is way too elaborate and complex for you to finish in time, or you're going to end up with an incomplete story that will lack depth and meaning because you had to rush and cut it short. Neither one of those is a good idea. It's good to be ambitious, but don't tackle a challenge that you can't handle if you think it'll be a burden on everything else that you've got going on. As we all know...'life' tends to get in the way. #3 - Deadlines - One thing that I am, personally, terrible at...is meeting deadlines when it comes to my creativity. My muse is a fickle master, believe me. But I will push myself and try to meet them as fast as I can. If you're writing for a publication, for instance, and they need all submissions in by June 15th...try to get your story finished a week ahead of time! That way you have time to give it a rest, then go back and look at it again to see if you can re-edit, add, or subtract, certain elements in your story to make it as awesome as you possibly can. But you've got to meet that deadline. Try as hard as you can. I don't always make it, and I've missed out on some great opportunities because of that...but when that writing bug gives me the appropriate 'sting'...everything else just seems to fall into place. So be aware of your deadlines! Mark them on your calendar. Find out how many days you have left to work on your project, and how many hours you might need to put in on each day to get it ready in time. I know that authors don't like being rushed to completion, but if you plan far enough in advance, and don't have too many outside influences working against you...then it really shouldn't be much of a rush at all. Planning is everything. Writing it out is the easy part. #4 - Read The Room - I think it's important for every author, when writing for a collection, a publication, a contest, or anything else with guidelines included...to be able to read the room. Who is your audience? What are the other stories going to be like? Can you find past works from the source and maybe get a feel for the type of fiction that they may be looking for? Again, this isn't meant to limit you or your imagination. It's just a good idea to keep in mind that most of the time, in these situations, when you're writing for mixed company or a wide audience. It's basically a way to tell what could help your story's presentation, and what might hurt your story's presentation. If most of the audience is looking for something sweet and subtle and romantic, don't just kick in the door with some hardcore fetish porn! Hehehe, I mean, you might turn a few heads and raise a few eyebrows, but you'll be causing more harm to your story than good. And the same goes for the reverse situation. If they want something, ummmm...'hot n' ready'? Don't try to win them over with puppy dogs and rainbows, ending your story with a bashful kiss when the readers of that particular genre are waiting for them to get naked already. Teach yourself to be versatile. You should be able to operate on a self made scale of what will and won't fit into the guidelines that you've been given. That's one of the beautiful parts of using this as practice. Turn it up, tone it down, explore some different genres...figure out what works and what doesn't. You're an artist first...but coming in as a close second...you're an entertainer. So entertain. And make it count. #5 - Test The Leash - Once you've gotten all of those other issues out of the way, and you're about ready to start writing, test the leash. Think of it like a puppy wearing a leash for the very first time. They tug at it, shake their heads, bite it...it takes some getting used to. Hehehe! Do this with your writing. How far can you take things and still stay in your pocket? What can you get away with? What's going to be your edge when it comes to matching your story up with everybody who might be writing about the same topic or within the same theme? Use your instincts and your personal voice to find as many opportunities as you can to spread out and create your own experience within the space that you've got to work with. Switch genres. Be creative with your main character. Add a plot twist. Change story formats, like go from first person to third person, or put it in a diary format, or whatever you come up with. Guidelines don't take away your freedom to be yourself as a writer. It merely focuses it and directs your ideas in a certain direction. As with all of your other stories, once you know where you're going and what your character motivations are...everything else is free game. Your ideas are as limitless as you want them to be. So why not take the challenge, you know? Show your readers what you're made of! Now, these lessons can work for any kind of creative fiction that you decide to pursue on another platform, but I really think that the GayAuthors' Anthology projects are the best place to try your skills out among friends and a cool audience of readers who are looking for the kind of work that you can manifest and present to them in an entertaining way. There's usually a number of themes or topics for you to choose from, the deadlines are more than fair and give you enough time to work your magic without feeling pressured about it, and you've got a lot of room to interpret the ideas any way that you want. So try it out some time. You might just like it. And it truly helps to hone your skills as an author to find your strengths and weaknesses to involve yourselves in this community and match wits with your peers. It's a good feeling! It really is! That's it for today! I'll see you guys next time with more! Take care, and I hope this helps!

It's not unhealthy or 'weird' to feel sad sometimes. I've always said that the worst thing about feeling bad...is feeling bad about feeling bad. It's a spiral that really hurts us in the long run, and it's really hard to escape from sometimes. But I also think that it's damaging to avoid feeling bad every now and then. Listen...life is hard sometimes. Bad things happen. And we need to develop effective ways of dealing with the parts of our lives that don't always go our way or working in our favor. Depression is painful, but it's also a stepping stone towards getting stronger as a person. It's not going to KILL us. It's ok to feel bad when times are bad. It's okay to cry when we need to cry. Since when has this become something that is not okay? For this question, we're talking about depression. Have you felt it, been through it, been forced to deal with it? What happened (If you care to share)? How did you deal with it ad get through that rough time in your life? And what advice can you give to other people who might be going through something similar right now? Maybe it was the loss of a loved one. Maybe it was a defeat, or a betrayal, or a devastating heartbreak. And sometimes...a deep depression can happen for no real reason at all. I've personally been there myself, and it's no fun. Believe me. Take a chance and open up to tell us your story. Maybe you can help somebody else get through it too. You know? Feel free to answer down below. And anonymous replies are always welcome too, either here or in my email at Comicality@shackoutback.net if you want it added to the list. Cool? Depression is nothing to be ashamed of. Be aware of your feelings and deal with them accordingly. Nobody needs you to be a superhero. Just be human. It's more than enough. K?

https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/a-home-for-christmas/ A brand new chapter of this holiday themed series is now up and ready to go! So I hope you guys enjoy it! And please take a moment to let me know what you think of it when you get a chance! Cool? Writing is hard work, and emotionally exhausting on top of it! But your comments and support always refuels the creative tank! So thanks for that! And also, huge thanks goes out to anybody who sent in a few dollars worth of donation to the paypal.me/Comsie account! You have no idea how much it helps me out! MWAH! Love you too! Enjoy! And Ill be back with more free stuff soon! Promise!

"A Home For Christmas 4" I made my way over to sit next to Blake on the sofa, trying to position myself where I was close enough to be near him, but not so close that I'd arouse any suspicion from him. I just....sighhhh...I just wanted to feel the radiating beauty of him as he got a bit of a break from being outside all day long. I think it was the sound of the TV remote falling to the floor that made me realize that he had totally passed out from being so cle

https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/gfd-bloodstained-duet/ A brand new chapter of "GFD: Bloodstained Duet" has just been posted on the site! So go ahead and check it out whenever you have a chance, and be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think! K? I always love to hear from you! Now...just so you know...this is probably one of the darkest and most psychologically disturbing spinoff series from the "Gone From Daylight" mythology! Maybe one of the darkest stories I've written so far, with the exception of the "Darkness Waits" ebook! Taking place in the mid 70's, this is a story that might shake a few folks up. So...beware! Because it'll get worse. Hehehe! Anyway, enjoy! >:P And speaking of "Darkness Waits", remember that I'm hard at work to have the next four completed stories ready in time for Halloween this year! So grab the first anthology collection, and look for more later on! Seezya then!

"GFD: Bloodstained Duet 6" It seemed to take me longer than usual to wrap Victor's body up in the black trash bags that I got out of the pantry. That and the duct tape and double checking for any sort of leakage from the sides. That boy was definitely a bleeder. Such a mess. Even after rolling up the carpet to shove in the bag next to his corpse, I found that had to mop up a bit more of his blood on the floor beneath it. Even in death, this kid was a fucking asshole.

Youtube decided to start censoring all gay teen short films, and wiping out all favorite lists that include anything that MIGHT make the gay youth feel okay and normal about who they are. Just out of nowhere, for no reason. Saying that it violated their 'child safety' rules and regulations. But that's bullshit! So I'll be posting ALL of the stuff that I had suddenly 'removed' from my youtube account without warning. You guys please feel free to stop me when you find a short film that you think is 'dangerous' (Their words, not mine) for gay teens. K? What's so offensive about liking and sharing the stuff that I find on Youtube? Why am *I* getting a strike on my account??? Wednesday is now "Gay Like Me" short film day. Since 'shame' is the agenda for those who don't have to live with it these days. Every week! Every Wednesday! I'll be right here with another one! FUCK those people! Seriously! These are all gay short films that I had on my account that, for some reason, they found so dangerous and offensive. Like I said...you tell me what YOU think about them, and why they needed to be erased from my account. Is *THIS* what they were so afraid of??? Maybe I'm missing something here. Enjoy! This week's Short Gay Film - "Blog Entry 34"

Hehehe! I definitely saw it on day one! LOVE this movie! Now go check out Imagine Magazine! Walker's in it! ::Giggles::

Ms. Marvel is coming! Yay! I don't know much about her character, as she came along after I stopped reading comic books, but I know that she's a pretty big deal! And a huge fan of the Avengers (Captain Marvel, specifically), and it'll be cool to see her have her own show in a couple of months! She's also Muslim, and this looks like it has a cartoony coming of age vibe to it! So I'm in! It's been a long long time since Marvel has disappointed me on anything. Hehehe!

https://imagine-magazine.org/releases/ It's the 15th, ladies and gentlemen! And that means a brand new issue of Imagine Magazine is now live and ready for you to read and enjoy! New chapters from some of your favorite authors! And new articles and posts for the month of March! And of course...more cute boys! Hehehe! So have fun! And remember to hit that green 'Up Vote' button to show everybody some love when you get a chance! It's just the click of a button. And you burn half a calorie or something, doing that. So consider it exercise! Hehehe, keep clicking the like buton, and you'll have six pack abs in no time! Take care! And I'll seezya soon! And watch "The Adam Project"! That movie was AWESOME!!! LOL! Plus, Walker Scobell cracks me up!!! If there was ever going to be a teenage version of 'Deadpool', he'd be it!

So, this is one of the stories that I wrote, specifically, for GayAuthors! And it begins today! They already have the completed story, and will be releasing a new chapter every other week until it's finished! The story is about a man who, even though he's bisexual and is enjoying a 'friends with benefits' situation with a young lady...ends up falling hard for her younger brother as he moves out of his house and is taking a road trip to go to college for the first time. Her brother, Maddox, is a true beauty...inside and out. And may be hiding a few secrets of his very own. This story is only available as a part of GA Premium! So head on over to the GayAuthors.org homepage and find out how to get yourself set up with an account! Not only will you gain access to stories from your favorite authors that you can't get anywhere else online, but you can also read other stories exclusives from me as well! Including "Strawberry Chapstick", "Lost In Question", and the creepy horror/drama, "Empty Corners"! (The last two stories will be posted to completion very soon as well! And there will be more in the near future!) So grab yourselves a Premium membership ASAP, and enjoy! And look for the "Empty Corners" grand finale soon! I like to make people's brains hurt from time to time! Hehehe! Thanks for the comments so far! A few nightmares are good for ya every once in a while! Seezya there! And let me know what you think!