Thirdly

I'd more likely create a character based off of you and give them their own spin-off tale. 😂

I research so many things when writing my stories, and somehow, I still miss key "basic" things. And yeah, that's why I was surprised my niece got her dad's grey eyes instead of the grandpa's green or the mom's brown ones. My favorite eye color is one I call "lightning blue" because I've only seen one or two people with that exact bright, punchy blue color in my life, and one of them was a celebrity. The other belonged to a boy who worked in student affairs at my high school, which I'd have totally tried to flirt with if I weren't gay for women.

Oh, no no no, my friend! I'm just one of those kids who always had a 64 off-brand crayon box that memorized the exact shade of Goldenrod and Periwinkle Blue whenever I ended up using my flea market pocket money (from old toys I sold off) to buy an actual Crayola set (I blame the early 90s)...so I'm usually over-enthusiastic at any attempt of trying to nail exact shades as descriptors. 🤣 I swear if there weren't enough names for the shades of paint at Home Depot, that would have been my calling. Anyway, what was I going on about? Right! So, I used a niece of mine as a reference for Ash. She's Just a mixed kid with soft brown skin and desaturated blue eyes that are on the lighter side (though I imagine they might look more like grey when she's older). The wild part is her grandpa has green eyes, not blue. But her dad had some strong eye color genetics to jump through all the other combinations!

I'm glad you enjoyed reading this one! I really got a kick out of it, too, which is why I wanted to share it so badly! 😂 It's actually my friend @LunaM. who wrote this story. I merely helped with edits and tried to get her not to kill them all off. My name is listed as an author instead of only hers because she couldn't figure out how to post it, as English is her second language. An entertaining story I actually wrote is Ash's Marriage Trigger, but it's not nearly as funny as this one.

(I'm so invested already and we're only a couple parts in. Jooooin us, everyone~)

Zelt remembered running faster than this in his high school. As the blue line zoomed past his left shoulder, he cursed. "Oh, for fuck's sake!" He had just made it to the street corner at the same time as a stranger reached the corner from the other side. They were both out of breath and holding onto their knees as they saw the train leaving the station without them. (I love endings and beginnings that connect. Lucky me being online in time to be the first post. 😘 Also, I totally didn’t just name a character by staring too long at an Alka Seltzer box. 🤭)

@Myr, I hope whatever noises you must have been suffering while posting this have stopped.

1. How do I get my story seen on here? - Three ways: 1. Be active on the forum (there are sooo many parts of the forum, you'll definitely find something you'll enjoy...there are groups and prompts and games...explore; make a few friends.). 2. Read stories in your favorite genre and leave comments or reviews. You'll see which authors respond back and are friendly. You'll see which stories are more popular. You'll probably even be inspired for your own stories. 3. FIND BETA READERS OR EDITORS. There are threads in the forum just for this. Ask for help and you will find it, someone will read over your story and will let you know if it's worth posting. 2. How often should I post new chapters? Whenever they are ready? Should I write ahead and them post a new one once a week? Twice a week? Daily? - FAR MORE IMPORTANT than how often you post chapters and what time of day to post them in is to MAKE SURE you run the chapters through at least a spell checker or grammar checker program!! I cannot state this enough! FULLY COMPLETED stories are the most ideal for posting because once you post the story, you CANNOT DELETE or REORDER chapters. So, make sure those chapters are as pristine as can be. Readers also love consistency and completed work!! Whether you post once a week or once every three days, be VERY CAREFUL in setting the timer on the chapters (though it will be a long time before you are able to set any timer at all, I think your first couple of stories will be monitored to ensure nothing crazy happens when posting them). I had a simple, completed 6-chapter story that I ROYALLY messed up the timing for and had to get the poor overstressed moderators involved in helping fix the problem, and I've been here for 10 years! (This whole segment is like a "please, learn from my mistakes" plea) 3. Do you have any tips for posting the story? Like how many categories/tags should I pick? Is it better to pick the maximum amount (if fitting of course) or should I only pick the most essential ones? - This is your own personal preference. I would put the maximum amount. 4. Do you have any other tips at all you think a writer new to Gay Authors might find useful? - Yes! When you feel ready, join one of the events! We have all kinds of events all year round, some the same and some new and different every year. Secret Author events, Prompt Team events, Dedications, the yearly Anthology (Creature Feature theme this year, due in October)... BUT I would try posting a *completed* story or two first before entering any of the events, because just as complex as posting a story is, different events have different entry instructions!! Joining events is another great way to gain exposure, though I'd steer clear of any overly controversial themes the first few times (example: anything WW2 related).

This doesn't just apply to writing; this applies to any craft with various genres. Art, movies...just like in sports where you wouldn't want to be seated on the wrong side of the field being surrounded by opposing fans...the same goes for writing. First, focus on what YOU want to do and where your enjoyment is. Then, find your niche, your people, and anyone that has similar likes to yours. Reach out to that group and ignore the haters. That phrase "Everyone's a damn critic" has persisted for decades now, and this is exactly why. You can't please everyone, and it would be a complete waste of time to try (that's when projects become so bland no one is pleased). Even surgeons have to specialize because they can't fit everything in their heads in one lifetime.

I don't think I'm the right person to ask this. As others already know, I have projects on a list longer than my arm. I also dabble in drawing because I was a born Jack of all Trades...able to do a lot, but average all across the board. 😂 What I do to pacify the plot bunnies forever boffing and multiplying in my head is alternate from one project to another (only 3 different projects at a time because my attention can't really be divided, but I can pretend to have some control over what the 3 top slots are). This allows me to rest from the burnout of project 1 and focus on project 2 for a while. Then when I burn out on project 2, go back to project 1 or hop to project 3 and so on until one of them is completed. That's my method of madness.

"You mean to tell me that a person holding a torn map was part of your treasure hunt?" Jason questioned as he took the balloon without thinking. "No, just a person holding a map," the penguin guy responded. His free hand gripped a clipboard, which he handed over for Jason to see. Jason immediately looked at the checklist. A child with a painted butterfly on their cheek, a mother with more than one child, a person holding a map... "Oh, I guess I am part of the treasure hunt," he mused aloud. Jason's eyes widened, however, when he saw the next line of the treasure hunt. A person perusing the renovated capybara exhibit. "Wait, if you help me get to the capybara exhibit, I'll help you hunt someone down for the next checkbox!"

Glad you enjoyed it! Sorry for the late response. I was visiting my grandma and then I ended up catching a hefty cold, so my vacation week felt more like sick leave. I'm glad you enjoyed it! We might see them again someday; I do tend to revisit worlds. As of right now though, I'm a bit burned out on sirens and aquatic beings at the moment, so my next story is the creature feature for the anthology (which in my case involves werefoxes...one that bathes under medicinal waterfalls for reasons I can't say yet, so there is still a body of water in the story I'm working on, ironically enough.😂) Yes, the seaweed helps regulate the salinity levels of both freshwater and saltwater mermen. Yes, Aunt Hali deserves a more chill retirement, too! 🤣 Agreed.

Yes, the temple was maintained by Maren devotees in the past and all of her temples have them (though there aren't many temples, maybe 6 altogether that are scattered in their ocean). Some temples aren't so deep into brackish water that it's inaccessible to saltwater or freshwater mermen, but the one nearest to these guys just happened to be precariously placed. Yes, Balar was behaving that way, but the blue color on Peter's person really also triggered the blue-finned betta's fighting instincts. I researched way too much about these fish before I started writing this. Yes, real betta fish lose parts of their scales and fins in the fights. But thus far, Balar's been catching Peter off guard to steal his scales. Peter was the one that incited this fight first, for once.

The solution seemed deceptively simple, but the risk was anything but. All I had to do was swim deep within a brackish water region, retrieve the suspicious seaweed from Maren's temple, and bring it back to conduct experiments. This seaweed, believed to have unique properties, was the key to our plan. I hoped not only to make it to the seaweed in time but also that it'd prove effective. "Be careful not to push yourself too hard," Griffin warned me. We faced a corner of the brackish bar

I trained with Griffin for a few months, using my dancing and grace to my advantage. We utilized the brackish barrier to correct my stances, ensuring my movements were intentional. Whenever I performed well, Griffin rewarded me with a kiss, a sweet incentive that made each session feel special. Despite our efforts, we hadn't uncovered anything more about Maren's songs regarding a specific location that allowed various merfolk to coexist. Many of the songs hinted that more information resided ins

We'll find out soon! Same! 🤣

"You can't use longer slings until you master the smaller ones," Griffin instructed me. We were training near Maren's temple, and even though I wanted to dive straight into hand-to-hand combat, Griffin insisted on teaching me long-range attacks first. The training was intense, and I struggled to master the techniques. As much as I wanted to question his methods, I decided against rebuffing the help he so freely offered. "Remember, at first, you'll only be able to fend off one attacke

Yes. This.

Seeing big hair bands makes me nostalgic for the 1980s too!

I am from paradise barely held together after hurricanes and earthquakes.

To be honest, I might have read something like that somewhere and it just exists in someone else's story with different character names. Or it could have even been a scene from a comic or webtoon I read. 😂 If pressed to write a similar scenario with a higher chance of NOT copying someone else I'd have changed the aspects around a bit. Example: If it was the character names, a quick name swap is easy or even making sure that the last names are not the same. If this scenario occurred in a school setting, I'd have changed it to a corporate building or a restaurant or, hell, a hospital. If it's the act of spreading rumors that is too similar, I'd have changed that to a photo taken or video footage! Then, you can even change things around, including who the MC even is! Original: "I heard it was Chad that spread the rumors about you giving Theo a blowjob in the men's room on the second floor." "Oh fuck, Chad heard us? I hope Theo doesn't break up with me because of this!" Reworked: While in the waiting room, Taylor's breathing quickened when he saw the thumbnail of the clip sent to him by a number he didn't recognize. He didn't have to click on it to know that someone caught him giving Charles a blowjob while they waited in the patient room. Neither of them even heard the door being opened enough for a phone to record them! Taylor pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought of who would want to blackmail him like this? Did he even know any nurses? The only name that came to mind made him shake his head in disbelief. Why would his cousin Cam Cox do such a thing? ...and I think it still counts as indirect conflict because he isn't confronting his cousin "Cam Cox" in any way yet, but a storm's brewing.

I'm sorry you had so much trouble with trying to explain things to that resident @kbois, but I'm still laughing at that last bit you wrote about it almost escalating to a fist-fight then and there. OH! That's something to point out, actually!! Misplaced anger is something that can lead to both a direct and indirect conflict (not me almost mispelling indirect), like in the case of the resident lashing out at @kbois staff over a notice that they didn't fully understand (sounded like they assumed the highlighted and X'd out ones were in the clear and the blank ones were the ones they were lacking). Highlighting USUALLY clears this out, but it did nothing in this case. 😂 Let me see if I can think of some examples: 1. What is a writing example for direct vs. indirect conflict in terms of a disagreement between two parties? Direct: "Grey is the most neutrally flattering color for all shades and there's nothing you can say to make me think otherwise." "The hell ever, it's black all the way! Screw you and your grey fetish!" Indirect: "Grey is the most neutrally flattering color for all shades and there's nothing you can say to make me think otherwise." "...You do know that black is also slimming?" 2. What is a writing example for direct vs. indirect conflict in terms of a physical altercation between two parties? Direct: "This Friday afternoon. Schoolyard. No spectators." "You're on!" (the two meet and either beat the crap out of each other or make out?) Indirect: "I heard it was Chad that spread the rumors about you giving Theo a blowjob in the men's room on the second floor." "Oh fuck, Chad heard us? I hope Theo doesn't break up with me because of this!" 3. What are any other types of conflicts that I didn't mention that would result in a direct vs. indirect conflict? Please write an example. Direct: Calling someone out on the spot after being groped in a non-consensual manner. "Respect my boundaries! If I were a felon, you'd have lost your hand right then and there." Indirect: Calling someone out after the fact of being groped in a non-consensual manner. "Text: I didn't want to embarrass you in public, but I don't appreciate being touched without permission, let alone in inappropriate ways. The next time it happens, I won't hesitate to report you."

That's like 2-3 chaps a week! Still impressive! The fastest I ever wrote was a chapter a week back when I was a full-throttle pantser (I am a half plotter/half pantser presently) that didn't even have any middles or endings in sight. I didn't even have a mist of an idea of a middle or ending for any of my first stories. This was when I started realizing that maybe I shouldn't post until the stories were completed first, but I didn't act on it whatsoever. 😅 This was advised almost everywhere on GA when I first began and I didn't pay it any heed until around less than 8 years ago maybe? 🤔 It's never until it happens to you or affects you that you realize "maybe, just maybe, there's a reason for this advice." In my case, not 1, but 4 of the most popular stories I followed on other sites stopped updating towards the last literal chapters, SO CLOSE to the end...4 different writers! 4 very different stories! After hunting them down and trying to do my part in motivating them to just finish their work for years and years (more than a decade! true story!), I realized I didn't want to keep posting incompleted work myself (CECO being the exception because a cowriter walked out on it and gave me full reigns, so I had to pause)...not that I have that kind of following that more than one reader would try to hunt me down with pitchforks messages of motivation to finish any of my stories, there's no more worrying about this at all for me now. 😂 It's a double-edged sword because posting "live" holds you accountable and sometimes that can be a motivation in and of itself, so I understand anyone who still chooses to post incomplete work. My personal feelings are as follows: I fret more about having an unfinished project in front of my eyes than being burned out on any specific project. I work on no more than 3 alternating projects at a time (though my focus is on one of those three at a time, not all 3 at once) I have fully accepted that any projects out of the hundreds that live rent-free in my head that are NOT completed in this lifetime will have to wait for my NEXT lifetime (plot bunnies continue to fornicate in my mind and they seem to have infinite space).

Wait wait wait, as in 20 something chapters in a month? That's your normal???? 😱 Edit: Unlesss I misread it and you meant 20 something chaps in 8 months.