Trebs

Even though we paused our news blog last week, the prompts continued on schedule. So *that* means - we have FOUR prompts to showcase today. As usual, ComicFan is our source of all of this wonderful promptyness... Prompt 130 – Creative Cue – The Call You have lived your whole life in the same town, however with each passing year you have felt a desire to move. Always you head in the same direction. Now you are legally an adult and the money you have saved manically for the past few years is going to get you to the place that has haunted your dreams and called to you like a siren’s call. Where is this call taking you? Prompt 131 – Creative Cue – The Pet Science has been tinkering with pets for years now. You can get an animal in nearly any color, length of fur, and intelligence. Today you went down and specially ordered your own pet. Only after it was delivered to your home you find it isn’t the simple creature they claimed it would be. What is your pet like? Prompt 132 – Creative Cue – The Aftermath War is never pretty. Who expected a war like this though. Over half the world’s populace is gone. Things are going to have to start over. What is your job in the aftermath of war? What was it fought about? Prompt 133 – Challenge Cue – First Love First loves are messy, wonderful, disastrous, and unforgettable. They teach you, they wreck you, and they make you stronger. Choose any form you of writing you like- poetry, the short story, a journal entry, or even a news article and put down all the things you went through or a character you wrote went through in their first love. How many of them will YOU try? Even if it is just one, share your take on any of these with the rest of the community - post them in the Writing Prompts forum! For previous prompt 126, Renee Stevens gave her take on the prompt of "Today is your wedding day and it should be the happiest day of your life. However, you have been keeping a secret and know if you get married without disclosing it first your marriage will be doomed. What is your secret?" Here is her The Only One Liked that tidbit? Here's the rest of her story...

Interesting characters are usually one of the most important elements of good writing. That's why this great tip by CassieQ is a welcome addition to our GA News Blog. If you have a great tip that you'd like to share with the community, let me or Renee Stevens know. Character Building by CassieQ To be 100% honest, writing about characters was hard. Characterization is something that always seemed to flow naturally, so trying to take it apart and explain the mechanics of how it works was a little weird. I looked through all my stories, stories written by other authors and even stories that I really don't like that much and thought about the characters in them and I found what bound them all together. Characters WANT something. That's all there is to it. There is the basic idea. They want something. They desire something. Now make sure they don't have it. That's motivation. This ties into plot as well, as the characters going after what they want usually propel plot. Nothing is going to happen if your character is sitting on the couch with the thing they want. The story is over at that point. Silly example: I want a Slinky. But I don't have one. So there is the start of the story--a search for a Slinky. Now I have to decide how to get the Slinky. I could go to a store and buy one. I could steal the one that belongs to the child sitting outside the window. I could try to figure out how to make one. But wait…don't give them what they want yet. If I get my Slinky right away, then the story is over. And it's still early. What kind of character am I? That's something to think about. So what choice would I make? Am I the kind of character that would steal--and from a child no less? Am I a playful and creative enough to do it myself? I don't want to buy it from a store (boring) unless something happens at or on the way to the store. So I steal the Slinky. There. I have what I want. Now the story is over, right? No. Not yet. The Slinky is an external desire, which leads to an external motivation=steal the Slinky. Now, I have stolen the Slinky and I have it in my possession, but I am unhappy. I have stolen from a child who is now wailing outside the window and I am overcome with guilt. (Or I am a sociopath, but that is a different story). So now I want to overcome my guilty feelings for my theft. This is an internal desire. It is something that I want to overcome. This is my new desire, my new motivation. Then I, as a character, have to figure out how to resolve it. I can give the Slinky back to the child and apologize. I could buy her a new one. Or I could become a vigilante, to bring justice to all children who have their cherished toy stolen by a bored writer. And just take it from there... The above is just a very basic, rough idea of how a character starts (for me anyway). There are obviously more elements that need to be considered, like the character's background (maybe I stole the Slinky because that is how my mother get stuff she wanted…she stole it). Think about the character's traits--personality, appearance, mannerisms, speech--because these usually make your characters fuller and rounder and have an effect on the course of action they will take. I, for example, like to write about character's feelings a lot: toward other characters, towards themselves, toward obstacles and anything else I can find. It helps me learn much more about characters if I think about how they feel towards certain things and certain scenarios. But do what works for you. If you are not sure, experiment. There are a few more things to remember about characters. Watch out for stereotypes. You know who they are. The ditzy blond. The curmudgeonly old geezer. The shy awkward geek. If you must use them, fine, but break the stereotype somehow. If a character must be a ditzy blond, tell us why (I smell a back-story)! Write who you like. If your character isn't the kind of person you will find interesting, then your story isn't going to go anywhere, and you might lose your drive to write. I like young adults and teenagers as my primary characters. I think they are interesting, and it is easy to draw upon my own experiences growing up. If you like to write about professional, working class adults, write about those. If you like to write about feisty old people, write about those. If you like to write about vampires and werewolves, write about those. Some characters, like villains or antagonists, might not be people you like, but they should at least interest you in some way. Give your character some issues. It's that internal motivation. There are some characters that don't have a whole lot of internal motivation (Indiana Jones, for example, has mostly external motivations….grab the treasure, escape the booby trap, get the girl, etc) but most characters, especially well developed ones, end the story a different person than when they started it. Character profiles: If they help you, use them. If they don't, then don't. I keep a very short dossier on my character's physical attributes just to make sure I don't get eye or hair color mixed up (and even now that still happens). But there are character profile templates all over the internet and in many writing books. That is about all I can think of to say about characterization. If you have something to add, please feel free to comment. Or if you disagree with me on something, be sure to let me know, because I like arguing with people as well Thanks for your time! Happy writing!

Brainstorming Past Your Block Especially when writing a short story, there will often come a time in your plot when you get stuck. One of the best ways to move past a block in the action is to brainstorm what could happen. Then... pick one! Often when I'm trying to figure out the loose overall plot I will do a 'this happens, then that, then this' in a timeline fashion. Sometimes I can't figure out what I want to have happen next and that's when I start brainstorming. I'll do this on my own, or with my writing team and often that's the little boost I need to figure out where my story is headed and get writing again. Examples: Your character is dating someone and thinks they are cheating. They could: Try to get proof, then confront them Confront them with their suspicions Gets drunk and cheats in retaliation Get into a big fight Break up Forgives partner Orders partner to leave Main character leaves Moves into a new place Moves back in with parents Gets depressed and commits suicide Gets depressed and enters therapy Main character starts over and refuses to date Main character starts over and has a lot of one night stands Main character starts over and meets someone else Or: Your character finds out their partner is a paranormal creature. They could: Run screaming Accept them Attack them Be curious about who/what they are Be angry that the person hid their true nature and get into a fight about honesty Report them to authorities or scientists Reveal their own paranormal self Run screaming but then accept them By just thinking outside the box, start coming up with anything and everything that comes to mind. Don't self-edit - just put down anything, whether it seems boring or too fanciful. As one idea spills out after the other, when you take a breath and look them over - something may cry out to you "PICK ME"! So - above are SOME examples... If you were writing and hit a block on your character bumps into their ex while at a cafe - they COULD: ??? (your turn - start a comment with a couple of fast off the top of your head thoughts)

After a brief lull, we return to our regularly scheduled daily GA News blog, with this review of Gabriel Morgan's Stonegate Stables. Stonegate Stables By Gabriel Morgan Reviewed By: Renee Stevens Status: Complete Word Count: 230,697 I first started reading ’52 Panhead by Gabriel Morgan on another site. Since it wasn’t finished yet, I went searching for any site that might have more of the story. Instead of more of that story, I found Gabriel on Gay Authors and immediately found myself immersed in his story Stonegate Stables. Despite the length of this story, I was unable to pull myself away and finished the story in two days. The story follows the life of Sean Flanagan, head trainer and the general manager of a successful horse stable. While I don’t personally know much about running a stable, the way the author portrayed it, I could see things happening the way he wrote. Whether he did his research or not, this story showcases the author’s ability to craft a very believable tale, in most aspects. Throughout this story, Sean finds himself hooking up with multiple other characters, including his best friend Vincent, a chef. The pair have an unorthodox relationship in many aspects, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with these characters, especially Vincent. It seemed like just as I figured out what I thought was going to happen, the author threw another twist into the story, or another character. While at times I had to pay very close attention in order to be able to follow the story and keep all the characters straight, no pun intended, I still found this to be a very enjoyable read. As the story progresses, the characters begin to pair off, but still get together socially. One of the biggest questions the reader faces is trying to figure out who Sean is going to end up with, or if he was going to end up alone. Upon finishing this story, I felt that the author tied up the loose ends very well. Between this and his story ’52 Panhead, I honestly think I must say that I liked this story much better. I would strongly recommend this story to any reader as it is definitely worth the time it takes to finish. The only complaint I had with this story is that there seemed to be a gay guy around every corner, but hey, that’s why this is fiction! Why not go check it out for yourself, and don’t forget to leave the author a review! 4 Stars out of 5!

Poetry is one of those things I think are in the eye of the beholder. The impact a poem bestows on the reader is only as great as the answering emotion it awakens. When Houdinii offered to do a Hosted Review, I was surprised and pleased when he offered to review Luc's poetry. I thought his review was as honest as he found the poetry; I hope you will enjoy both! Poetry Collection: Angst By Luc Review by Houdinii Marzipan once told me that I, Houdinii, may be great at poetry, but I've never tried. I just messaged Cia moments ago that I thought, well, what the heck . . . never had a go at poetry. The pieces I'm viewing are by Luc, and I decided to choose his angst volume, as I'm a darker person than most would believe. I read my first bit of poetry on this site tonight, and I was pleased. It's rather hard when you read it hard and fast, but if you slow it down, as I had to do, I was surprised at my reactions. The Door As this was a difficult task for me, I needed to first prepare myself and grab a notebook. No telling where this goes. The very first poem was entitled The Door. This, I can say is the only one of the bunch I couldn't connect with easily. I wrote in my little book that it sounded like a kid growing up in the closet. While I was in high school, I knew that feeling. I was that kid that belittled and bullied the “fags” into submission; a price I fair dearly for. I can say, if the rest of the poems are like this, I have a hard time on my hands. Film Noir Okay, after reading another, and making a stiff drink because I realized Luc's a little deeper than I was expecting. I'm trying to feel out what this means, because it really disturbed me when I re-read it. Not only have I been within a situation, the emotions Luc brought up were truly open. I like how the gun felt on my hand while I myself shot the victim... Cold blooded and calculated. Incarceration A few of the people that either know me or have read my sole story on this site know that I have been incarcerated myself, and out of all of the poems in this volume, this is the one that stung the most. I've never had someone be able to convey the feelings I went through so completely. If my emotions hadn't been hardened by my own situation, I probably would have been in tears after reading this poem. Nothing I do not know where to begin on this one. It truly sent shiver's up my spine. Growing up, if it wasn't my sisters or me getting the brunt of abuse, it was my mother. As this is the forth poem I've read that hits close to home, I'm actually quite close to the tears I said couldn't fall in the previous review. I take back my previous statement; this is definitely the one that stung me the most.... Suspicion I'm glad this one didn't move me as much as the previous two, because I don't think I could stand being on the brink of tears once again. I'm assuming the poem is speaking about a relationship, but really could be talking about anything. I feel bad for my fiancé after reading this though. I was in a previous relationship that ended on bad terms over a suspicion, and somehow it all came rolling back. I know this review looks a little more like a diary entry, but I wasn't quite sure how to write a poetry review, so I simply jotted down how it made me feel. I hate to admit it, but tears did fall in the process. I don't know Luc, but I hope to one day meet the man that was able to connect with me through simple words, knowing my every thought. I do think next time I'm going to read the “Love” volumes though. I'm not sure if I can take much more angst from him. Maybe I'm not as dark as I thought. Luc, you are well versed, and I'm glad to have been schooled in the world of poetry for the first time by a man that can move the heart.

It is with GREAT pleasure, that I announce our newest Hosted Author - Baby Q's dad! (erm - I guess he also goes by Quonus10). I am personally a big fan of his work, especially Second Shot and The Trial of Jordan Colmar - if you haven't read his stuff yet, I encourage you to give it a try. Also, a big last minute reminder that entries for the Poetry Anthology need to be to Lugh by April 17 - that's just two days from now. So, we've had a pretty good week, starting with a review of Duncan Ryder's How the Light Gets In. I also recommend starting with Everybody's Wounded as it's the first book of this story, that has fantastic characters and realistic situations. We actually had three tips this week. Setting the Scene gave some hints on how to better give context to where events may be happening and how to use this information to make your story better. Synonyms was great - and with the variety of synonyms, you can make your story richer. And while we normally only have two tips a week - we snuck a third in by highlighting a tip from a Feb 2007 newsletter on The Editing Process: From the Writer's Point of View. From our midweek author's showcase, we saw reviews of our Promising Author JWolf's Nowhere Man as well as a review of The Waltz, by newer author Percy. And our great weekly prompts by ComicFan challenges you to write either about a possible third sex and how people would react, or write a story using the following terms: fog, bus, newspaper, coffee roll, and toilet paper. Have you tried to write one or both of these? If so, be sure to share your writing with the community in the Writing Prompts forum! Anthology Announcements: Poetry Anthology "Cracks in Time" - Due April 17th Summer Anthology “Choices” – Due June 8th Novella Anthology "Secrets Can Kill" - Due July 31st GayAuthors.Org Announcement Our newest Hosted Author: Quonus10 NEW READING In Premium this week: Displacement by DKStories By our Hosted Authors this week: Paternity by Mark Arbour, Book 12 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) Circumnavigation by C James By our Promising Authors this week: Nemesis by David McLeod Aglanthol 4 - Tyrnae (Journey to the Otherworld) by Dolores Esteban Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

So - glancing over some of the past newsletters, I found this gem from Feb 2007, about editing from a writer's perspective. I hope you enjoy! Editors and Writers The Editing Process: From the Writer’s Point of View By Talon Rider Finding an editor can be a problem sometimes. You think to yourself, where can I find someone? Do I ask another author who they use? Do I post something in a forum somewhere? Has an editor made their presence known? Either one of those methods may work. GA is making this step easier. As an author, you need to be clear on what you are looking for from an editor. Do you want a minimal amount of editing done, such as spelling and punctuation, or something more serious like spelling, grammar, flow, plot, and character development, etc.? Communication is the first and most important step. The author should provide the editor with a brief description of the storyline and provide a small sample of the story to give an editor an idea of the story. This may also help to pique the editor’s interest in the story. The method that the editor uses should also be discussed. Does the editor use the “Track Changes” function in Word? Does the editor make the suggested changes in the document using different colors? With Track Changes, the editor can make the changes and leave a comment to the side, giving the author the option to accept or decline them. The other method of editing can be time consuming. Here the editor may make changes within the document, typing them in a different color, showing the suggested changes, and then writing his comments elsewhere. An editor who doesn’t explain the reasons behind the suggested changes isn’t helping the author, especially the new or beginning writer. In time, as the team works together, a one or two word reason may suffice. Once the edit is complete and sent back to the author, the author should then review and decide how to proceed on the suggested changes. Once this step is complete, the author should send the story back to the editor for a second edit. The author should not be afraid to ask questions or to explain why a change was rejected. An important thing to remember is the editor helps the author fine tune the story. It is the author’s right to accept or reject any suggested changes to his/her work. Once the author is satisfied with the editing portion, it is recommended that it be sent to some Beta Readers. The beta reader’s job is to give the author that all-important first feedback on the story before it’s released to the public. They will look into things like, flow, character development, plot, etc.

Synonyms In writing, especially when doing character pieces, you need to watch for repetition. The words used when writing can give clues to accurately express how the character appears or acts depending on what synonym is used. Physical cues are very important when it comes to showing and not telling. However, using the same word repeatedly is boring. Below are a few common actions and examples of synonyms you can use to highlight them in different ways. Expression: noun-outward appearance, characteristic Synonyms: bearing, carriage, demeanor, dress, guise, front, manner, guise, presence, pose, sembelance, countenance Walk: verb-travel by foot Synonyms: hike, jaunt, march, pace, parade, promenade, ramble, saunter, schlepp, step, stretch, stride, stroll, tour, traipse, tramp, tread, turn Smile: verb-a happy expression Synonyms: beam, grin, simper, smirk, look amused Fight: verb-engage in a physical encounter Synonyms: box, brawl, battle, scrap, scuffle, tussle, wrangle, wrestle, exchange blows, feud, bicker, duel, quarrel, war Cry: verb-physical tears and making sad sounds Synonyms: bawl, bewail, blubber, keen, howl, wail, whimper, shed tears, snivel, sob Have Sex: verb-physical intercourse Synonyms: make out, neck, intimacy, coitus, relations, lovemaking, sleeping around So - give us some good examples of other synonyms by leaving a comment. And if you have any great tips that you want to share with the community, let Trebs or Renee Stevens know!

Well, it's Wednesday again, and you know what that means! Is everyone ready for their weekly dose of "Author Showcase"? Today we bring you a story by Promising Author: JWolf titled "Nowhere Man". Also, we are bringing you a story by a bit of a newer author here at GA, Author: Percy and his story "The Waltz". Nowhere Man by JWolf Reviewer: LouisHarris Status: Complete Word Count: 44,350 JWolf understands the edge. And, in this short thriller, he doesn’t waste words. Every word transports the reader to a place where there is no turning back and the reader is suddenly, inextricably, sucked in. Nowhere Man is a dark escape into one man’s reality. But that is not the sum of the story. Every action has a reaction. Note, not an equal and opposite, but every cause has an effect, and this is clear from the time you start reading, to the time you finish. Every scene, every chapter of Nowhere Man is suffused with action and drama born out of a conflict that leads to disaster. One thing is absolutely certain, Mr Wolf is not afraid of the edge, and he places his reader, without too much interior thought, straight into it with him. Travis lives in a trailer park with his brother and his wife, stuck in a nowhere place. Life is humdrum in the park, until he meets the tattooed Tyler Lafferty. Lafferty is one serious hunk of a man who likes to sing a song called “nowhere man” and Travis is drawn to him, both mentally and sexually. Lafferty plays him like putty in his fingers even to the point of stalking him. But Lafferty isn’t enough for Travis. The young man’s seclusion leads him to meet a man called Wade. And this is where the trouble starts. It becomes apparent that nothing is what it seems, and when Lafferty confesses to Travis that he had murdered his wife, it is too late to turn back. Travis is unable to withdraw, and it is this inability that leads him closer and closer to the edge of his own sanity. Only a miracle can save Travis. That, or murder. Lafferty is conspicuous in his stalking of Travis: I recommend Nowhere Man as a roller coaster of a read. It has a well-constructed plot that will not bore. The reader is hooked from the first word through scenes of action and reaction and the heat is on from the very first line. But the hook in Nowhere Man has several levels. It is real and it is imagined. It is internal and external. It is both positive and negative. There is an underlying threat of impending doom with every turn of the page, and Travis knows and understands the situation he is in and that it must be dealt with. The conflicts increase between Travis and Lafferty and Wade, and Travis finds out all too late that the conflict has developed into a game. Wolf increases the stakes at every turn and puts forces into place for the grand finale. The ending had me pulling my hair out, for I wanted this story to continue. It felt a little unresolved even though so many secrets had been revealed and so many questions had been answered. The Waltz By Percy Reviewer: Comicfan Status: Complete Word Count: 10,093 Is there anything better than stumbling onto a new author who has something to say? Anyone who knows me, knows I have a thing for fairy tales and seeing them bent into new configurations. If you share that enjoyment then come join me in the Waltz. Percy’s first story here on GA centers around Lacy Winters. She is an attractive woman, who just happens to have been born in the wrong body. Lacy has undergone surgery and refuses to hide her past from anyone. She is upfront, takes no prisoners, but also has known heartache as well. Having finished college Lacy has found her first job after grad school working for Mayor Drew Halperin. In time Lacy and Drew will find themselves being drawn to each other. Is this simply a case of the Mayor being interested in Lacy or is he out to experiment with the transsexual? In what basically becomes a new twist on the old Cinderella fairy tale, Lacy will be made up to go to the ball. Will she met her Prince Charming? Will misunderstandings be cleared up? Perhaps a happy ending is in store? Then again, maybe not. You will have to read Percy’s The Waltz to find out. In addition to his story The Waltz, he has worked on two prompts and has begun a new story as well entitled, Neither Here Nor There. So give this new GA author a read and surprise yourself with a whole new perspective. Enjoy. As always, a great big Thank You goes out to our reviewers for providing us with the reviews for the blog. We still need reviews, so if you are interested in reviewing for the blog, please contact either Trebs or Renee Stevens!

Today's Tip is brought to you by our prompt guru, Comicfan. Thank you for this wonderful little lesson on setting the scene for a story! If YOU have a tip for a future blog entry, let Trebs or Renee Stevens know! The Scene by Comicfan Ever notice how important a scene is? I don’t mean the action; I mean that place it is located in. Sometimes it can add to the overall sense of what is happening or it can make it a tragedy. It isn’t very hard to have a story go wrong by the location of a story. It can be as integral to the story as the main characters themselves. I was reading a story that seemed to be the everyday tale, a young girl going shopping with her mother. The horrifying thing was she walks into the middle of a murder in the changing room. The location was so scary due to the normalness of the whole thing. Here is this chick rocking to the music blaring on her iPod thinking how great it is that the store is so empty and then walks back to try on a skirt only then she finds the first body. The shock value is what did it, but that works in the story she was writing. However I was also reading another piece for my writing group. This one wasn’t so perfect. Here was supposed to be this really romantic dinner that ends in a proposal. He had the main couple get dressed up and go to Denny’s. He drops to his knee to propose while waiting for the pancakes to arrive and the waitress asking if they wanted refills on their drinks. I started laughing and asked where he got such a funny idea. Then realized this wasn’t supposed to be funny. Romance doesn’t happen at the kid’s birthday party, and you don’t send your character in search of peace and quiet into the middle of a fraternity party. The setting can enhance your story if you put the effort in. You have two characters who want a romantic time. Where do you put them? Will it be the expensive restaurant or will it be a picnic basket on a blanket in the park? Say halfway through the meal there is to be a fight. Now the restaurant offers you witnesses and the chance to hide a character maybe in the bathroom. If the fight happens in the park again possible witnesses but you also have the weather which can become stormy mirroring the character’s emotions. Also remember that a location can be used against what is expected. Take for example the humble library. For most it is a place of quiet and solitude, a place for knowledge, books, and the soft tapping of people working on computers. However, into this realm of silence you can also have the sexy librarian, the assistants, the sexy stories, and possible sex in the stacks. The room of odd objects at some college libraries, slave documents, original copies of manuscripts, and who knows what else. The main thing to keep in mind is make sure everything in your story works. The setting can be as important as the characters. It can be there to support them or it can overshadow them. You as an author just need to be aware and see if everything fits. Good Luck.

Duncan Ryder is one of our Hosted Authors that writes in a very touching and true fashion. Two of his stories, Everybody's Wounded and its sequel, How the Light Gets In show very realistic young men, struggling through life and struggling to connect both with others, as well as with themselves. CarringtonRJ has done a great review of How The Light Gets In - but I strongly recommend reading Everybody's Wounded first for the full experience of how each person has gotten to the place they are when How The Light Gets In begins. How The Light Gets In by Duncan Ryder Review by Carringtonrj Of course, everyone loves a story about hot guys getting it on at college, but the challenge for a writer in this genre is to be original, sophisticated even, without spoiling the basic premise. How the Light Gets In by Duncan Ryder is an example of a story that includes many of the ingredients of the classic gay college romance, but it is also a subtle, intriguing and moving investigation into the lives of four troubled young men, each one trying to come to terms with their past and find ways to move on towards a brighter, happier future. The key element in this story is the trust it places in the reader: it begins with a host of suggestions and hints about its main characters, allowing us to put the pieces together gradually, until we are led to create our own subtle and complex portraits of the main characters out of fragments that Ryder offers us. So, we soon get to know and like delicate, tormented Luc, but it is not until the tender and beautifully realized revelations of Chapter 15 that we finally understand exactly what happened between him and his first love, Daniel. Then there’s Matt. Like Luc, he’s returning to college to finish his interrupted course, but his problems were of an entirely different order. But what was he running away from? And what does it have to do with the gorgeous Josh? The past is what the story really deals with. Even Josh, mooned over by Matt and adored by his current boyfriend Scott, has a history to come to terms with, and has to face some painful revelations about his own past. And what of Scott? He seems the most in control of all the protagonists, but he too is wrestling with his demons – in particular, he blames himself for Luc’s problems, which he fears were precipitated by an evening Scott and Luc had spent together. It is this guilt that drives the story – leading Scott to suggest that Matt share accommodation with Luc, so that Luc will have someone to keep an eye on him. In this way, all the main characters, with their burdensome baggage in tow, are thrust together and led sometimes to help, sometimes to hinder each other’s progress towards some sort of contentment. Another of Ryder’s stories is called Everyone Is Wounded, and that might have been the title for this often sorrowful tale. Add to that the fact this story takes its title from a song by the notoriously morose Leonard Cohen, and you might be forgiven for fearing that this would be a read of unremitting gloom. It isn’t. Ryder may favour the dark and troubling, but he also has a fine line in tender romance, beautifully rendered love-making and quiet humour. More to the point, Ryder is able to make us care about his characters and follow their exploits with the concern and care that we might usually feel for friends and relations. This is a Canadian story, set in Nova Scotia and featuring such exotica as rugby teams and bi-lingualism. Luc’s modest little lapses into French certainly add to his charm. It’s world that is both familiar and strange – which is pretty much what all good fiction delivers when it works well. In all, Ryder is clearly an accomplished and inventive writer, who has a fine facility for engaging our interest and making us believe in the situations he describes. I would warmly recommend that you go on this journey, get to know Luc, Matt, Scott and Josh, and see how their tangled relationships develop as they variously struggle to come to terms with their complicated pasts. If you haven’t read it already, give it a go. You won’t regret it.

Before we review the past week, I want to point out that the deadline for the Poetry Anthology is just NINE days away. If you are planning on submitting a poem (and I hope you do), it needs to be sent Lugh by April 17. Our week started as always with a Hosted Author review - and this week, Roan wrote a review of Renee Stevens' Eternity. This is a story that I loved when I first read, and Roan's review is a great reminder of what a gem Eternity is. Our tips this week were both very useful for authors - how to Blog for Exposure, by Cia and Writing for Technical Geeks, by Myr. Great helpful tips - and if you have a tip that you think others would find useful, let me know and you may be featured in the future! Our Author Showcase had a review by Houdinii of Charlie, by our Promising Author Hamen Cheese. Houdinii really enjoyed Charlie and it shows in his review. We also had a review of K.C.'s Mr. Anonymous. Our new special guest reviewer, Fozzy Bear, made this his first review and I'm glad he did, as Mr. Anonymous sounds like a great read. Our Writing Prompts by ComicFan were "The Wedding Secret" and a First Line prompt. Take a peek at them and give one (or both) of them a try. If you post them on GA.Stories, you can now choose "Prompts" as a genre when categorizing your story. We ended our week with a look back - a Blast From the Past from the 2007 Spring Anthology. K.C. did a review of Time to Grow Up, by Jack Scribe. Jack did a really interesting modern twist on Peter Pan. Anthology Announcements: Poetry Anthology "Cracks in Time" - Due April 17th Summer Anthology “Choices” – Due June 8th Novella Anthology "Secrets Can Kill" - Due July 31st GayAuthors.Org Announcement We have two new Forums!!!! “Sports Bar” and “Video Gamers” are now OPEN!!! NEW READING In Premium this week: Displacement by DKStories By our Hosted Authors this week: The Only One by Renee Stevens Paternity by Mark Arbour, Book 12 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) The Secret Life of Billy Chase 6 by Comicality, Book 6 of Billy Chase Chronicles Standing in Shadows by Krista Circumnavigation by C James Crosscurrents by Adam Phillips By our Promising Authors this week: Nemesis by David McLeod Aglanthol 4 - Tyrnae (Journey to the Otherworld) by Dolores Esteban The Prompt You Say! by comicfan GA Writing Prompts by Dolores Esteban Blue by Bugeye Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

Today we're going to revisit another Anthology Entry from some of the earlier anthologies. So from the 2007 Spring Anthology: Fairy Tales, here is the review for: Time to Grow Up by Jack Scribe Reviewer: K.C. Status: Complete Word Count: 8,584 “Time To Grow Up” 2007 Anthology piece by Jack Scribe is a modern twist on a timeless fairytale of Peter Pan. The character of Peter Pan has delighted children and adults alike for more than a hundred years. Peter’s carefree life of a playful boy who never grows up is intriguing, but who wants to be stuck as an adolescent forever? After the Lost Boys went home and Wendy was long gone, Peter is still stuck in Never Land. If it wasn’t for Tink, he would be all alone. The gender swap of Tinkerbelle being Tinkerboy is charming. So, what is a boy, who never ever ages, to do? There’s only so many times one can masturbate before even that starts to get old. Peter doesn’t want to be alone anymore, but it’s been over 70 years since the Lost Boys went home. The ones still alive were now old men with grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. Of all the Lost Boys, Peter still feels a special connection with Nibs. Peter’s scared to leave the comfort of Never Land, but when he sees Nibs' attractive grandson, Nelson, has Peter finally found a reason to grown up? Can Peter really give up fun and fairy dust for a chance to find love in the real world? The whimsical feel of the story is charming. I would rate it 5 stars, since even with his own twists to the story it still has that old fairytale lure that thrilled me as a kid, yet the new version excited me more now as an adult. Well done Jack! Why don't you go check the story out and leave a review! And don't forget, read, write, and review! If you are interested in reviewing a pre-2009 Anthology story for "Blast from the Past" please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens.

Good Friday! Happy Passover! Or that great catch all - TGIF!!! I recently chatted with someone who said they couldn't write - they thought they did well on email and documents for work, but trying to write a story was something they thought beyond their skill. I have to say, ESPECIALLY for that type of person, these writing prompts are the perfect way to just experiment and try seeing what you are capable of. ComicFan has given us two great new prompts - I really hope you try one of them, especially if this would be your first time "writing". What better way to start? And please, when you do - consider sharing them with the community in the Writing Prompts forum. Prompt 126 - Creative Cue – The Wedding Secret Today is your wedding day and it should be the happiest day of your life. However, you have been keeping a secret and know if you get married without disclosing it first your marriage will be doomed. What is your secret? Prompt 127 – Creative Cue – First Line “Just how many more times can you do that?” But before you head over and post your prompt, check out this response we have to one of last week's prompts. JamesSavik saw Prompt 125: and came up with: Check out the rest of James's response!

For today's tip - we have a great writeup by Myr that we hope will be useful to you as an author. If you have a tip you think the community would find useful, please let Trebs or Renee Stevens know! Writing for Technical Geeks by Myr As many know, I'm a rather technical person by nature. It is in my blood to research stuff into the ground so that I can understand all the angles of a thing. I think and rethink on things all the time. It is thus when I went into a writing block that I decided to research the more technical aspects of writing. I therefore purchased and read a LOT of 'How to' books on writing. Many of them were from the group Writer's Digest, which is quite good at getting professional writers to write about how they write. As anybody that reads my writing knows, I'm a strictly science fiction and fantasy writer. Even things that look 'normal' are not. As such, a lot of the books I looked into were about writing. If you can get your hands on it, I strongly recommend David Gerold's "Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy" David Gerold is famous as the writer of the most famous Star Trek Episode of all time "Trouble with Tribbles". His book does a wonderful job of posing the questions you need to ask yourself as you develop a world. World Building is especially important in my two favorite genres: Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing is one I just finished reading. It has a lot of great essays by established authors that address every major area of writing. The book is also free to check out if you have Kindle and Amazon Prime. I've also recently ordered two more books that I haven't read, but appear to have some good tips. "The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller!" by Phillip Athans. I have not read very far in it yet, but I'm definitely hooked and think it will provide some worthwhile tips for my current epic fantasy and epic science fiction writing projects. The other book I've ordered but haven't yet devoured is: "How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play" I believe this will be useful in fighting through those bouts of writer's block. I hope this helps!

It's Wednesday again and that means it's time to feature some more stories from GA's very talented authors. Houdinii has done a great review of "Charlie", a touching story by Promising Author Hamen Cheese. We also have a guest reviewer who is a board member but would rather do reviews anonymously, and we agreed as long as all of these reviews are under the same reviewer name. So here is "Fozzy Bear" with their first review - and what better first story for them to review than Mr. Anonymous by Author K.C.. Charlie by Hamen Cheese Reviewer: Houdinii Status: Complete Word Count: 163,568 Upon joining GA, I had certain expectations. I wanted nifty-style stories, with a little class, and I was pleased with what I found. Being a fan of the younger generation, and connecting with my own childhood, Charlie was about the best thing for me. It's truly a rare occurrence when I'm only a couple of paragraphs into a story and already hooked. Without even going back and re-reading I can still remember Charlie saying “Can I be Derek's friend?” The great majority of stories I agree with are met with a strong level of naysayers and such, but there are very few that can say something bad about “Charlie”, and I'm sure we all agree that Hamen outdid himself on this project. I suppose I should actually be getting to the review part of this, but it's not easy. There is way too much to say, and very little space to write. I can count on one hand the number of stories that truly make me tear up, and this is definitely one of the few. It's been numerous times I've spoken with fellow readers and was enabled to hear their review of our current top story, and was happy to say I voted for it myself. After reading upwards of over a hundred stories, I happened to be happily surprised and welcomed by Charlie. Little did I realize when I began reading, I was going to find a story I fell in love with, and couldn't stop reading, and I doubt even Hamen knew what was taking place. Seriously, did ya? Surprise or not, you begin with a little kid that you instantly fall in love with, and follow his story to his teens. And that's just Derek. Once Charlie was introduced, it was over. It's difficult for a lot of writers to develop their characters, but Hamen did just that, and I can picture these kids in my head as they go throughout the story. I'm not sure if you've ever met me or not, but I'm not one to give praise second hand. While I've only read a handful of authors, I can truly say this may be the best story I've seen written on GA, and I am appeased to have the opportunity to voice my true appreciation for this story. Hamen, kudos on a job well done, and I truly believe this is a story that every new member, and us old folks need to read. On a personal note, I'd like to tell you directly, I seriously think you outdid yourself, and I am ever happy to write this review. Congrats on a job well done, and I'm elated to have been asked to write this. Mr. Anonymous By K.C. Reviewer: Fozzy Bear Status: Complete Word Count: 45,856 Wokka, Wokka, Wokka. Well somebody has to pay a little attention here to an author with a wicked sense of humor. Let me introduce all of you to one K.C.. He has been a member of GA for nearly a year now and has continued to pump out stories for the Anthologies, Novella Contests, and other delightfully wicked tales. From vampires and werewolves, to first love, from personal looks to dealing with pain, KC crafts some incredible stories. In Mr. Anonymous, KC has recently created the story of Percy Giannopoulos, a closeted gay man, who runs a publishing company. His life is compartmentalized and he finds in order to protect his world and the life he leads, his only chance to be himself is when he is far away on vacation. Things might continue that way if not for his chance encounter in a gay chat room where he takes a chance talking to someone from his own city. While working behind a nickname to remain totally anonymous, Percy finds himself falling for his chat partner, and it appears to be mutual. To add to the mix Percy is surrounded by beautiful women, including his right hand girl Roxie, and his Greek mother who desperately wants to see her son married. There are cute guys, and some real scoundrels as well. What will happen when Percy’s straight world and his gay world collide? Will he ever meet his chat partner? What happens when blackmail is added to the mix? Read on oh gentle reader, just beware, Percy’s desires can really heat up a page. This thirteen chapter story will keep you flipping from page to page, chapter to chapter till you sit back and ask for only one thing – more! After this adventure I’m sure you will join the rest of asking for and waiting for the next project KC puts forth for our consumption. This is Fozzy Bear saying “Wokka, Wokka” and read KC’s stuff. Fozzy Bear is inspired by KC’s avatar of Animal. No muppets were harmed in the making of this review. Thank you to all of our reviewers. How about you? Is there a story that you have read and would like to see featured on the blog? Why not write a review for it! If you're interested, please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens.

How to get more traffic to your stories is frequently something author's are concerned about. What use is it to write a fantastic story, if people don't know about it. Here is one way - Cia writes about blogging as a way to increase your exposure. Check out her tip and let us know what you think! Also, if YOU have a tip, let me know. It may be one we feature on a future news blog entry. Blogging for Exposure by Cia Do you blog? I didn't until about 3 months ago. I've writing scattered on FSO, Literotica, All Romance Ebooks, and here. I decided when I wanted to send a few things to publishers that I should start a blog, get an audience, and put myself out there. This way, readers can find all the various things I write and where they are. It worked too; I've increased my readership on every site. See, if you want readers, you can't just write a story and sit back and wait for them to show up. A book on the shelf, an online story on a site full of online stories, or an ebook on a publisher's website, whatever you have - will not stand out unless you make it. A great cover, blurb, and excerpt or any combo of those help, of course, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, imo. A good story will keep readers coming back for more, but to get them there you need to network. On the sites you are on, the best way is to get involved in author discussions, use status updates, signatures, reviews... whatever resources are there. A blog is also a great way to feature yourself in whatever capacity your art takes you. I've created one and posted links to all my stories on various sites, and threw my photography in for fun. I also post a story part on there every few days (which get the highest reads) but that's boring after a while I think. Not to mention hard to keep up with! So, I researched, considered posts of blogs I follow, again networking-I follow authors I like and some of them follow me back, and ended up with a list of things you can share on your blog to keep it interesting. Hopefully, if you decide to start a blog or already have one, these will help you keep it fresh. Here are not quite 35 blog topic ideas: 1) Do a book review. And don't do what everyone else is doing. Choose a book that's controversial, edgy or just different. 2) Interview an author. 3) Interview a magazine or ezine editor about what's hot, what's not, the Do's and Don't's for their publication and what they're looking for right now. 4) Highlight a new writing opportunity. 5) Do a giveaway. 6) Get another writer, author, editor or publisher to do a guest post. 7) Review a writing resource. 8) Do a 'Top ____' list. Choose a subject such as best/worst books, best writing tools, etc. 9) Do an interview with a character from either one of your works or someone else's. 10) Post a picture and have followers write short story about it. 11) Do a weekly writing prompt. 12) Start a story and invite followers to keep the story going by adding their own scene. 13) Interview a child about his or her favorite books and why they love them. (Kids are a GREAT resource for writing ideas!) 14) Flip through a book, read the fourth sentence and write something based on that sentence. 15) Share a short story, article or chapter from your latest work. 16) Participate in writing prompt circles or other writing groups. 17) Write a post about your favorite song and why it means so much to you. 18) Put another author's blog in the spotlight. 19) Discuss a media tool (eg: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) or give some tips on how to use it most effectively. 20) Have a 'Writers' Treasure Hunt' where readers have to go to fellow writer's blogs for clues to win a prize. 21) Participate in, or organize, a writer/author blog hop with a specific theme. 22) Share a special childhood memory. 23) Talk about an issue that needs to be in the spotlight. 24) Highlight one of your other favorite creative distractions. 25) Have another writer join you for a post where your readers come up with three (or more) prompt words you have to create a story with. 26) Discuss a specific genre. 27) Talk about how you broke into a specific market and share a few tips. 28) Interview a publisher and get some tips for submitting to them. 29) Open the discussion about what a certain celebrity is doing. 30) Give a list of writing opportunities or writing contests. 31) Discuss ways you embrace your audience. 32) Share your favorite flames! We all have trolls, and some of them are just hilarious in their vitriol. Share your favs. 33) Check your comments. Readers/Followers often have interesting questions or provoking ideas. 34) People seem to like surveys. Keep them simple and fun with amusing topics (or hot pictures, lol).

Well - you already did... Puppy Love :-)

Being an admin on GA, and especially recently with working on this news blog, I've "met" and gotten to know quite a few people. Renee Stevens not only is a great writer, she also has been a fantastic help with so many things on GA and helped me so much with this blog. I really enjoyed reading Roan's review below - especially as I first read Eternity on nifty, and remember waiting for each new chapter. Now I get to really know an author I admire. Eternity by Renee Stevens Review by Roan In my early introduction to GA, as a newbie, I was bewildered by the plethora of colours attached to people’s names on site and the different roles they indicated. Ignorant of what it meant, I defaulted into thinking people were only what their colour said, so Authors were authors (and came in many flavours) but Mods moderated and Admins administrated, and never the twain should meet. As a result early on I missed the work of great writers such as Lugh, Cia et al because I assumed they didn’t write. After realising my error, I decided to deliberately look at the profiles of all these multi-coloured people and see what they wrote. While naturally attracted to a variety of genres, romance was not necessarily my home base, but remembering my earlier mistakes from too many assumptions, I was determined to click away without prejudice. As a result, when it came time to explore the profile of Renee Stevens, uber forum mod and all around organising force, I ignored my usual prejudices and went for it. The romance genre is replete with cliché’, and gay romance is certainly not immune, so I always approach a romance writer with a degree of trepidation. Early on in reading the writings of Renee I learned I could safely set my fears aside, and I have been reading her work ever since. Eternity, one of her earliest works, is a good introduction to her style and to her talent for bringing a love story to life in a way that entertains and moves in equal measure, a combination I always find hard to beat. It showcases her ability to write a story where all things are in balance; romance is balanced with misunderstanding and tension, joy with disappointment, and the characters are a balance of good and bad. The story begins not at the start of a beautiful relationship, but, jarringly, 2 years after the end of one, a first indication that this will not be standard fare. Kyle and Jared’s apparently solid relationship was cut short two years ago when one partner disappeared without warning. We enter the story now at a time fraught with tension, as they are reunited after this break but with the baggage of the past weighing them down. Their struggle to reconcile their continued feelings for each other with built up guilt and anger, and with the not always benign influence of family and friends, provides the emotional core of the narrative. The story grips me firstly because it is written honestly. The characters are flawed, they make mistakes, they hurt each other even when trying to do the right thing. In short, they are human, and display all the human frailties alongside the strengths. They also live believably normal lives, complete with struggles and disappointments. It makes it easy to relate to the characters, and to draw them into your heart. The author strikes her usual balance here, giving the characters room to be hurt but also feel love. Importantly for me also the consequences of the main characters sexuality are dealt with. In gay romance, there can sometimes be a false dichotomy presented in which the protagonists sexuality either has no effect on the plot at all or drives the plot and the characters’ lives entirely. Here we are presented with a love story first and foremost, but one in which the extra strains and effects on the protagonists lives and family relationships are melded into the story believably but not overwhelmingly and with a great sense of insight. With that strong underpinning, the plotline involving mystery, mayhem and danger cracks by at a good pace, working with the emotional subtext to draw you in. Although a relatively short novella at about 60,000 words it still provides the opportunity to get to know the characters, enjoy a plotline with twists and the occasional shock, and be satisfied with an ending you feel the characters have deserved. While later stories by Renee may be more polished, this one still delivers on several levels and is well worth rediscovering whether you are a fan of Renee, of the romance genre, or simply like real world characters that make you care. You can find the story here. If you do take a look and like what you see, please consider leaving a review and/or hitting the like button; for authors it is the best way we can get feedback and know it’s all worthwhile.

We had a great week and now it’s that time again to take a final look at what was included in the News Blog over the last week. On Monday we featured a story by Hosted Author: Krista entitled “Are You Christian?”, reviewed by Zolia Lily. Hopefully it gave you a slight insight into this author's writing, and if you haven’t already, go check it out and leave Krista a review letting her know what you thought! On Tuesday we had a very informative tip written by WatchPatRun on Online Safety. While it was geared more towards the minors on the site, every member should go and read it. It discusses ways to protect yourself and your identity in the online world. On Wednesday’s Author Showcase, Renee Stevens reviewed Promising Author: Linxe Turmoil’s story L.A.F. We also had a review by Frostina for Author: Greg_A’s story Dangerous Impulses. Hopefully you already went and checked these two wonderful stories out, if not, why not give them a look? We are still looking for more people to do reviews for the blog, if you’re interested, then please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens! On Thursday we had a fantastic little poem called “Ode to the Spell Check”. It was quite humorous and well worth the minute or two it takes to read it. If you need a chuckle, take a look! On Friday we featured two new prompts brought to us by Comicfan, “The Mystery” and “The Shift”. Both of these look to be quite interesting. Prompts are a great way to get the juices flowing and who knows, you might be featured on a future blog entry! Last but certainly not least, we took a look back in time at an old Newsletter article on Editing Tips that gave some great tips to keep in mind when you are helping to edit an author’s work! Anthology Announcements: Poetry Anthology "Cracks in Time" - Due April 17th Summer Anthology “Choices” – Due June 8th Novella Anthology "Secrets Can Kill" - Due July 31st GayAuthors.Org Announcement We have two new Forums!!!! “Sports Bar” and “Video Gamers” are now OPEN!!! NEW READING By our Hosted Authors this week: The Secret Life of Billy Chase 6 by Comicality, Book 6 of Billy Chase Chronicles Paternity by Mark Arbour, Book 12 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) Hypnotic by Cia, Book 3 of Carthera Tales By our Promising Authors this week: GA Writing Prompts by Dolores Esteban Aglanthol 4 - Tyrnae (Journey to the Otherworld) by Dolores Esteban Blue by Bugeye Nemesis by David McLeod Purpose by Quonus10 - NOW COMPLETE Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

I love looking back over older GA Newsletters. This gem about editing was published in the December 2006 issue - but is still very relevant today. I hope you enjoy! Editing Tips... How Far Should You Go? There can be little doubt that editing is an extremely complicated process. Sure, anyone with basic literacy skills and a spellchecker can read through a story and correct spelling and grammatical mistakes. It's not exactly brain surgery. Yes, it takes a certain degree of skill and patience to comb through a story and spot the errors, to know how to put them right and to do so in a way that is helpful to the author, but as any good editor will know, this is only part of the process. The job of an editor is not just to correct mistakes, but also to help an author learn to be the best that they can be, to make their story shine. For many authors, this may just mean rewording a bit of dialogue to make it seem a little more realistic or helping them to develop their descriptive skills, but sometimes a little more work and creativity is required. So, what do you do when you get a story or scene that doesn't quite work? Do you shrug your shoulders, correct the mistakes and move on or do you work with your author to help them fix it? The answer to this question goes straight to the heart of the dynamics between author and editor. Some authors just want a glorified proofreader to look over their work, stick in a few commas and fix the spelling, but a good author, an author dedicated to developing their talent, will want something more. They will want their editor to help them to learn, to improve, to fix those sentences, paragraphs, scenes, even whole chapters that just don't work. A good editor should never be afraid to tell their author when there is something in the story that simply isn't up to par. The question is, how do you do it without upsetting your author? How do you help them fix their story and expand their skills without offending them? Let's face it, the majority of authors have fairly fragile egos and telling them that their story is a steaming pile of crap is probably not the best way of dealing with the situation. Ideally, the best approach is to discuss with your author right at the start how they would like you to deal with problems with plotline, structure and weaknesses in their writing. A gentle, but proactive approach is best. Authors rarely know what they actually need from an editor. Let's face it, there are very few authors who are truly capable of judging their own strengths and weaknesses, so it may be up to you, their editor, to spell it out to them. Suggest to them that the best way to deal with such problems is for you to let them know if you spot something that isn't working. Offer to provide notes to explain the problem and suggestions about how to fix it. When you encounter a problem, don't be afraid to let your author know. Sure, they might get a little frustrated, but isn't it better that they hear from you that their story isn't working in places rather than from the readers afterwards? You need to be tactful, direct and, wherever possible, provide suggestions to help address the issues you encounter, but a good author will appreciate the opportunity to make their work the best it can possibly be rather than to publish something that is merely mediocre. So, how do you go about it? One of the mistakes many editors make is to attempt to rewrite difficult sections themselves. Never do this. You're an editor and even if you know you can do a better job of it than the author, your job is not to become the author, but to guide them, help them to learn how to improve, let them write their own story in their own words. Think of it this way - when you're teaching someone to drive, you can get behind the wheel and demonstrate the maneuvers as much as you like, but until they're in the driver's seat they'll never master the technique. You can guide them, whisper words of encouragement in their ear, but if you do it for them they'll never learn. When your author sends you a new chapter/story, read through it and be prepared to make notes about what you see. Be honest. When your author writes something that you really like, tell them. If a section of the story moves you, let them know. And where you see something that isn't working, be sure to tell them what, where and why. Maybe your author won't be interested in correcting their mistake, but if they are really serious about their writing they will listen, learn and rework a section until it's just right. The editing process isn't about getting a piece of text, looking it over and sending back a corrected version, it's about developing a story. As an editor you play a vital role in the growth of your author, helping them expand their skills and making them the best that they can be. If they have to rewrite a chapter a dozen times before it's right, so be it. It's only through this process that an author can learn to master their craft and a story can go from being run-of-the-mill to a work of literary art.

Happy Friday (and for those who celebrate, Happy Cesar Chavez Day)! ComicFan has come up with two new prompts - I hope you give at least one of them a try. If you do, share them with the community in the Writing Prompts forum. Prompt 124 – Creative Cue – The Mystery You have been having a nice walk with your dog along the beach when your dog suddenly begins barking and tugging you toward pier. Deciding it is still a move back toward your car you allow the dog to lead you under the pier. As you do you see something you never wanted to see. What is the mystery under the pier? Prompt 125 – Creative Cue - The Shift You remember reading as child the horror stories of transforming from man to wolf and those who were blood thirsty killers during the full moon. You laugh now that you are cursed but unfortunately you didn’t get something cool like a wolf or a tiger. Now you are cursed to transform as well only become what? Give these new ones a try - or any of the prompts in the Writing Prompts forum. One recent prompt, #110 asked Percy gave this one a try with his Quid Pro Quo - below is the beginning and you should check out the full story to see where it goes! The full story can be found HERE

For today's tip, Cia found a fantastic "Ode to the Spell Check". It appears to have been written by Nico van Tonder from Zaire who wrote it around 1999. Ode to the Spell Check Eye halve a spelling chequer It cam with my pea sea It plainly marques four my revue Miss steaks eye kin knot sea. Eye strike a key and type a word And weight four it two say Weather eye am wrong oar write It shows me strait a weigh. As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long And eye can put the error rite Its rare lea ever wrong. Eye have run this poem threw it I am shore your pleased two no Its letter perfect awl the weigh My chequer tolled me sew! If you have a tip that we can share, send it to me!

Today we bring you two more stories. One called L.A.F. from Promising Author, Linxe Termoil. The other story, Dangerous Impulses, is brought to you by Author, Greg_A. L.A.F. By Linxe Turmoil Reviewer: Renee Stevens Status: Complete Word Count: 12,017 I was looking for a story to do a review on and I decided on Linxe Turmoil’s story L.A.F. This story was first published as part of the 2011 Fall Anthology: Legends. I must say that it was an interesting read which enough twists and turns to keep me interested and wanting to find out more. The story is told in first person by Danny, the main character, and follows a short period of time in his life. L.A.F. focuses on the relationships in his life, both old and new, and how he handles different aspects of life that for a teenage boy could end up being crippling if he allows it. His best friend doesn’t want it to be public knowledge that they’re friends. Another friend of his is determined that he needs to find romance. Add to all this, school sporting events have a tendency to turn violent. What is a guy to do when chaos abounds around him? Linxe did a wonderful job, in my opinion, of mixing a dose of drama with a dose of humor into a believable story that at times made me want to smack characters and at other times made me want to laugh. I especially found the main characters relationship with his parents to be a nice change from some of the other stories I have read. As for the characters, it includes many of the clique’s that you find in high school. The jock, the shy artist, the popular cheer leader, and many others. I strongly suggest that if you haven’t already read this story, that you do so. I know from experience that wrapping up a short story can be a difficult task. Linxe handled this perfectly and has wrapped this story up well enough that the reader isn’t left questioning what has happened to a particular character. Want to know what L.A.F. stands for? Check it out now and find out that and so much more! Dangerous Impulses by Greg_A Reviewer: Frostina Status: Complete Word Count: 19,664 This story came as quite a bit of surprise to me, especially when it was posted on GA. But given that I was already a big fan of Greg’s from having read Alex and Zach, there was no way I was going to let it just pass. Also, it was a ‘Complete’ story. How could I have let it go? This story gives us the tale of Geoff, a shy, introverted man and Adam, a friend of his that he’d met online. Initially, as we’re introduced to Geoff, I couldn’t, for the life of me figure out why he was so terrified of meeting a friend in real life, especially someone he was close enough to have shared a lot of secrets with. But then again, if one could do so in the first few hundred words, why would they bother reading the rest? Adam, in a word, was an admirer or Geoff’s work: no matter how amateurish Geoff thought they were. In fact, that’s how they’d begun corresponding, in the first place. Reviews turned into emails, which then became IMs and regular conversations of the interesting and the mundane. So for him to meet his friend, who sort of understood him, knew him better than a lot of people around, was something to look forward to, and without the trepidation Geoff seemed to have. So while Geoff is trying his best to keep a distance, Adam is determined to show Geoff the best time in his city. Make sure that their friendship is worth maintaining, and also, he seems hell bent on bringing the quieter man out of his shell. Neither was prepared for what seemed to hit them full force, and that is where Greg does an excellent work of taking us along on the journey of their lives. Although the story only takes place over an extended weekend, it does echo the sentiments of the characters, by the time we’re done with it. We feel like we know the characters so well, that it’s hard to believe in the end that it is just a short story that told you their tale. And to all of those who prefer reading novel/novellas because they seem to be able to tell a much deeper story, this is an answer to how even short stories can do so. (So, here goes a personal Thanks to Greg for giving the short story writers a boost of confidence!) Although I want to say it’s a sweet romance, I really can’t do the story or Greg justice in doing so. It’s a bittersweet tale of new friendships, love lost and found. There really is no way anyone should miss giving this story a go! Take it from a voracious reader! Well, there we go! Two more stories featured by two wonderful authors! Why not go and read them and let the authors know how much we appreciate them sharing their skill with us. Thank you to all of our reviewers. How about you? Is there a story that you have read and would like to see featured on the blog? Why not write a review for it! If you're interested, please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens.

HH5 - while this thread started in a normal manner, asking questions and soliciting advice on your own situation, it has now morphed into a political debate and so I am closing the thread. If you have any additional questions ABOUT YOUR OWN situation that you want help with, feel free to open a new thread but if you are interested in debating the system and/or expressing thoughts on it, please open a new thread in the Soapbox.