Agincourt

I would use the word "daunted" rather than "intimidated." I'm about 65,000 words into a novel-length story that will end up being about twice that long. It becomes increasingly slow going because I keep banging up against the inadequacies of my own level of skill and craft. What's weird for me is that the story started out fairly simple, but once I started setting up the initial characters and situations, I discovered that I had a far more complex, textured, and interesting tale to tell. I have a fairly clear idea of where I want to go, and the feedback I have gotten on the installments I have published so far (as a guest author on a membership site run by another author) has been extremely favorable. But in order to move further I need to solve some knotty problems of "how to get there from here." I know generally where I want to end up, but there is some tricky stuff to maneuver in between. And I constantly have to resist the urge to wander off onto interesting tangents that don't really help the main story, or to allow incidental developments to expand and swallow up the overall narrative. In other words, I have to constantly remind myself to remain true to the story, and not try to tell several different stories at the same time. The thing is, I don't think I'm intimidated, because I don't have any serious doubt that I can pull off what I want to do eventually. I just have to learn how. Indeed, I think I have grown tremendously in craft just in the course of the writing I have already done, if for no other reason that I now know several major weak points that I need to avoid getting in trouble with (like scenes with many characters all doing things at once -- I find these nearly impossible to write). But as I look at my "to do" list of story issues that need to be resolved, it does seem somewhat daunting because there is a lot of work ahead, and the answers to some of my issues have not yet made themselves known to me. As I remarked privately to the author who is hosting my work-in-progress, I should probably have tackled something a bit less ambitious for my first major outing. He agreed wholeheartedly, and confessed that he made the same mistake with his first story (a long and complex tale available on Nifty and many other places on the net). So at least I feel as though I'm in good company. A

I would encourage you to read this post, from the perspective of a Nifty author, to discover why they want to hear from you: Click here A

You could even say, "I'm really shy and it's only because an acquaintance encouraged me that I'm writing. But I'm glad I did." A

I can tell you, after contacting any number of internet authors, that every single one of them has been gracious, fun, and interesting. I think they all get a big charge out of hearing from people. So I wouldn't hesitate even for a moment to drop a note to anyone whose work you liked, even a little bit. I have a nice lazy system I often use. I can read the stories on my Blackberry (same would work for an iPhone, I suspect). When I'm done, I can click on the e-mail link at the top of the story and it instantly opens a message window. I can then draft a quick note (putting the title of the story in the subject line) that says, "Great story. I really like the way Joey and Alan got back together at the end." Or whatever. It takes 30 seconds. I do feel it's a thoughtful form of "payment" to the many authors who post stories for free. And sometimes I'll have more detailed comments, or maybe tell a personal anecdote that the story reminded me of, or express my outrage at the fact that a parent in the story threw out their kid because they discovered he was gay. Not every author has responded, but most do. Recently one of them wrote, "Hi -- Thanks for your email and your kind remarks about my story. Glad you liked it." Then he added: "I would like to know more about you if you are comfortable with that. How old are you? Where do you live? What do you do? What do you like to do.....and not like to do.....sexually and otherwise? Have you had any similar experiences that you are willing to share? I get some good ideas and inspiration for stories from readers." So I told him about myself, and then he told me about himself (turned out he was in a very similar situation to me), and things just went from there. He gave me some very helpful advice as I embarked on the dating scene with guys. Since he lives near Indianapolis and I'm in Los Angeles it's unlikely we'll ever meet. But I still value him as a friend and sympathetic ear. I could tell you similar stories about another author who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I have shared things with him that I have never told anyone else. I can't tell you how cathartic it is to talk about these things with someone, even if it's just by e-mail. Now, obviously, there had to be some trust built up before we got into the "good stuff." But I have had tremendous experiences so far. I know from things that he has written that Comsie hears from all kinds of people, and I'm sure he could tell many stories of his own. The one thing I know when writing to an author of stories about people wrestling with issues around their sexuality is that I can probably talk to them about my own issues about wrestling with my sexuality. And it is relatively safe for the very reason that we don't really know one another -- it's kind of anonymous. Therefore, I would encourage you to consider dropping even a one-sentence note of appreciation to authors whose work you like. A

OK -- I'll hold off posting anything until NEXT Thursday. A

As long as we're resurrecting old threads I thought this would be a good one. Nifty . . . I started reading it back when it was hosted on a server at Carnegie-Mellon University. A lot of the early stuff was pretty raunchy, but it was a real eye-opener to me to discover that people were actually writing about sex between boys, or students, or college guys, or men. it allowed me, ever so slowly, to begin to access feelings that I had bottled up inside me for way too long. It let me move toward acknowledging who I really was. I can't point to any one story that was an "aha!" moment for me, although I suspect there have been some. However, something else entirely unexpected has come from Nifty for me. A while back, I started writing to various Nifty authors (they almost always publish e-mail contact info with the stories), because I realized how important it was to let them know that people were reading and appreciating their work. And, lo and behold, I have struck up great friendships with several of them. And I have discovered that many of them are just like me in so many unexpected ways! If anything has given me courage and conviction, it has been discussions with the Nifty authors. I have found that I can bare my soul to several of them, discuss my hopes, fears, and triumphs, and get really thoughtful responses. i think it has been a two-way street with many of them talking to me. It has been wonderful to come out to these guys, even though we've never met face to face. They have really supported me as I have gone out and started seeing guys and filled a gaping hole in my soul. So my twist on this theme is: Write to the authors of gay internet stories, and get to know them as they get to know you. it is an incredible, unparalleled community. A

I'm on Chapter 17 of "Against the Machine" which is close to the end. I figured that if no one else has done so already, I would start a new discussion thread just for that story. Don't know if anyone else has been reading it (although I guess Nephy already read it). A bigger question will be -- what's the NEXT story going to be? Is there a particular genre or category we should be looking at? Should it be something "serious" or more "getting off" in content? (I like both.) The main thing is that the length has to be manageable, so no Tyler Peel or Castaway Hotel I think. A

I'm going to wait for the chapters to show up on the main site, because the white type on black background is too blinding for my eyes. A

It seems to me there are two separate issues here. 1. The use of cliffhangers as a means of propelling the reader toward the next segment or chapter. 2. The annoyance/irritation of not being able to move ahead to the next segment or chapter because it's not yet written. I think the first one is fine. I think the second one is a problem. I had actually thought of starting a separate thread on why stories don't get completed. In the case of many here, I have come to believe it's because the "obvious" path and "obvious" ending no longer seem satisfactory to the author. In the search for a fresh approach, and the failure to find one, the author becomes discouraged and just stops. I have said before that it would be a courtesy to readers for the story listings to have some kind of symbol indicating which stories are complete and which are incomplete. A

Over in the DomLuka area they talk about C.H.A.D. -- "Cliff Hanger Anxiety Disorder." Seems like there's a lot of that going around. A

I can count on one hand, with fingers left over, the times that I thought shifting points of view were helpful in a story. In fact, the only occasion I can think of where it really worked to good effect is William Faulkner's novel, The Sound and the Fury. But Faulkner was a true master, and the way he carried it off (opening with Benjy's point of view, but not announcing it, and then changing to his sister's point of view, again without announcement) built the story very subtly. And the significant thing is that Benjy was retarded, something that only becomes evident after a number of pages, which gives his point of view a unique twist. I despise and abhor stories that carry legends like "Joey's Point of View" and "Alan's Point of View." It's just too artificial and jarring. In addition, in virtually every case, there's no real good reason to be doing it. In fact, many times the shifting point of view spoils the story, giving away critical information far earlier than need be. In the most hackneyed version of this technique, Alan and Joey are secretly in love with each other, but neither dares reveal it. Yet through the author's revelation of each one's interior thoughts, we readers know the truth, and the only thing left in the story is waiting to see whether one or the other is ever brave enough to reveal their true feelings. It's like the classic Columbo story architecture from television -- the first act of the television episode shows the audience who the villain is as he or she carries out an ingenious and tricky plot to murder someone while escaping detection, and the whole show is about whether detective Columbo will be shrewd enough to figure out who the culprit is. As a rule, I prefer stories to be told from one point of view. It is much easier to identify with a single principal character, and to experience things from that one person's perspective. The main issue there is choosing between a first-person presentation and a third-person/single-POV presentation. In the latter version, it is still possible to introduce separate scenes where the POV character is not present (e.g., in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where we see the gathering of Death Eaters at Lucius Malfoy's house), even though most of the book is presented from the lead character's POV in scenes where the POV character participates. That's generally not feasible in a first-person presentation, although Elizabeth Peters gets around this in her first-person Amelia Peabody/Egypt mysteries by occasionally introducing supposed excerpts from "Manuscript X" that describe "external" information. All of this is really a matter of literary convention. In the 19th century it was far more common for a writer to be far more intrusive, and to write from a more omniscient third-person perspective. By modern standards, this kind of approach tends to seem quaint and somewhat patronizing, although there are some who pull it off ("As Joey hung up the phone, little did he suspect how significant those last few words would turn out to be"). It's a bit like Peter Falk reading "The Princess Bride" to Fred Savage, where the film audience is periodically reminded that they are being told a story rather than simply experiencing it. But again, William Goldman is also a master. Bottom line for me: Better to start out following well-established conventions that readers are accustomed to, and honing basic writing and storytelling skills, before venturing into the unconventional. A

It all depends, on such things as my current mood (and level of horniness), the circumstances in the story, and the skill of the writer. If I've just had someone f**k me stupid (in a nice way) that day and I'm still full of the glow, I will probably be pretty receptive to some hot sex scenes that remind me of the experience. (Ooh, I said "receptive"!) Or if I'm really looking forward to the next time, I might also be happy for a warm-up. In those cases, even if the sex scenes seem pretty damned gratuitous, I'll overlook their "intrusion" and enjoy them. But there are clearly times when the extended details somewhat interrupt the flow of the story. It's an overall pacing question. If important things are happening in the overall story, halting the forward story motion to detail every lick, suck, and squishy sound can seem somewhat intrusive. It would be similar to detailing each lifting of the knife and fork as the characters eat a meal, where the meal doesn't really have any relation to the story. If it's a story of discovery/coming of age/stumbling through the "first time"/etc., then some detail may be warranted, because that really is part of the story. And I like it when the characters are less than perfect, or do something awkward that they laugh at, or just have fun with their discoveries. If Joey is trying to sit on Alan's cock but it keeps slipping out, there can be some interesting character development as the two of them try to figure out how to make things work. It goes beyond the mechanical in-and-out leading to perfect simultaneous orgasms that can become sort of tedious in a lot of stories. Once the principal characters have been described in detail engaging in a particular kind of sex act, it may not be necessary to repeat that description in connection with subsequent similar encounters. Rather, it may be enough to say, "And later, in their bedroom, drawing it out as long and teasingly as possible, Alan made sure that Joey knew just how grateful he was." Skill of the writer obviously affects everything about the story, but sex scenes especially suffer in inept hands. It takes a lot of imagination and creativity to keep things fresh. And, just as in a real-life sexual encounter, as a general rule the writer should bring the readers along seductively and with foreplay, allowing the characters to kiss, cuddle, undress, cuddle some more, and tease each other erotically before they start thrusting away. I also think it helps to include some emotional reaction and inner thought of the POV character as arousal increases and barriers start to erode, rather than just providing a journalistic description of the mechanics and anatomical details. On a related note, in many cases it quickly becomes obvious when the writer is attempting to describe sexual activities that the writer has only imagined, or read about elsewhere, rather than having personal knowledge. I recognize the fantasy value of writing about such things, but it can still tend to cause more experienced readers to disconnect. I guess the solution is to do good research first. I think it can be fun to build sexual tension with subtext, double entendres, and other subtle techniques that fall short of actual step-by-step descriptions of sexual acts. Bottom line: As I said above, it all depends. A

Well, I'm reading Against the Machine and I must say that as of the end of Chapter 4 it's a pretty bleak world being portrayed. Without knowing more about where the story is going to go, it already has me pondering whether any society could resist using (and misusing) the technology that is being described, despite the obvious moral and humanitarian issues raised. A

I think in general that it is dangerous and generally unsuccessful to "put a moral in the story." In other words, a conscious effort to weave in or impose some kind of predetermined moral tends to lead to an artificial, sermonizing quality that readers tend to dislike. Having said that, however, I think it is common, and probably desirable, for a theme or moral to emerge from the story itself. It may be that the writer won't even recognize what it is until the story is finished. The difference is that the writer isn't trying to push the story into that particular mold or theme; the theme emerges organically from the characters and their actions, the situations they encounter, and the way they deal with them. In other words, if a character behaves in a self-destructive manner, and comes to grief because of this, the principle that self-destructive behavior will lead to a bad outcome is illustrated/exemplified by what happens in the story. There is no particular reason to jam in some additional sermonizing about this. I also think that modern sensibilities tend to reject the such a strong intrusion by the author into what's happening in the story. Even if the story is written from a third-person point of view, it is customary nowadays for that point of view to belong to one of the characters. We don't generally like an omniscient point of view that isn't anchored to a particular character, but appears to see and comment on much more than any particular character can. Incorporating overt morals, however, tends to lead to such an omniscient view, which itself may be off-putting to readers. A

I was assuming the discussion would be in message threads on the forum. Things like: What we liked about the story, what we disliked, what questions we were left with, maybe highlighting a few key passages, etc. I would probably have trouble supporting a live chat schedule. A

In this, as in other, contexts, size only matters to me if it's too big. 'Nuff said. A

I haven't, but I've often thought about trying something like it after reading A Christmas Story by Gymnopedies. I read it every year at Christmas time and it never fails to bring a tear to my eye. Actually, now that I think of it, it would not be that hard to stretch the "fairy tale" characterization to the story I keep mentioning, One Night, Why Not? It has kind of a Cinderella or Ugly Duckling quality to it, in the sense of someone's true self emerging. A

Hope your typing muscles haven't atrophied too much in the mean time. There's a lot of writing to do! A

This discussion is about the story My One True Weakness, currently standing at three chapters. As always, be warned that there may be spoilers in the discussion below. This story, which appears to date back to 2001-2002 based on the Nifty posting, takes a new perspective. The protagonist this time is the beautiful, attractive kid that everyone wants to meet and go with. Yet he finds this position strangely unsatisfying. We first meet the main character, Russ, in the midst of awesome sex with an awesome and equally handsome guy named Joey, who is totally infatuated with Russ. But Russ's feelings don't return the love. Here is a guy with the sex life any other high school student would die for, and he's bored and indifferent about it. He wants something more. That something appears in the shape of a freshman named Colin. Russ falls head over heels. But Colin seems to be afraid to let a relationship develop. We readers are suspicious that Colin really is gay, and that his longtime friend, Missy, is trying to get him to overcome his fears and make something happen with Russ, but Colin seems unwilling to cross that bridge. Russ, in the meantime, can't figure out what's going on, and is deathly afraid of making a misstep -- especially if it should turn out that Colin is not gay after all. So we leave Russ at the end of chapter 3, having mind-blowing sex with Joey again, but the whole time imagining that it's really with Colin. And that was more than 7 years ago (the last chapter posted in December, 2002). Alas, poor Russ's love has remained unrequited for far too long. A

For Graeme, I hope you're familiar with the stories by the author called "Kiwi" that are set in New Zealand. I also learned quite a lot about British life in the stories by Jo Vincent a/k/a "Joel", particularly Aladdin's Awakening, Mystery and Mayhem at St. Mark's, and Mystery and Mayhem at St. Mark's - Sequel (they should be read in that sequence). And I actually had to study up on the rules of cricket in order to understand parts of Hartswood Priory, set at a fictional English boys' boarding school in the 1960s. But I agree that geographic diversity (at least at an international scale) is pretty lacking in the stories one usually sees. It probably reflects the location of the authors. I might be able to fake my way through a story set in France, for example, just because I speak French and have vacationed there, but it would take a lot of research on my part and probably checking with some of my French friends on details. Even then I would have to be careful not to be too self-conscious about the locale -- in other words, avoid the temptation to hit people over the head with those details. Probably I would do it from the perspective of a visitor to France who is from North America, because then it would make sense for the differences to be "discovered" in the course of the story. But that's more a product of my own limitations. As to the main question -- I have to agree that early Nifty tended to be pretty down and dirty. I started viewing Nifty when it was still hosted on a server at Carnegie-Mellon University, at nifty.andrew.cmu.edu. Someone at the school must have decided that hosting a bunch of gay porn didn't quite mesh with the institution's image, so it was moved onto an independent site. There were some really classic stories that emerged in those early days, but they were classic only in the sense that they were really well-written porn, not that they contained serious story value and emotional connection. I think of The Fiend and No Such Thing As Ghosts as two particular favorites that now appear at various sites around the net. No one would accuse them of having major story content, but they're great getting-off material (at least for me). What has emerged nowadays, however, is a growing number of people who recognize that stories, even gay-themed stories, are really about people, not penises. Today you get stories like Everybody's Wounded by Duncan Ryder. Or The Circle by Smokr. These are stories that portray love, heartbreak, coming-of-age, and the challenges of life -- with the overlay of the additional challenges of being different in a society that seems to prize conformity. So -- what's missing? Jeez, that's a hard one. And to tell my story as a teen, you'd have to write about a character whose sexuality was so closeted that he just denied it altogether, and stayed out of the social game. My closet was like a survival shelter, well-stocked for a long stay. And it didn't help that I was basically a shy person anyway. It was popular when I was growing up to speak of "sublimation" of sexual urges, and that's pretty clearly what I did, throwing myself into activities that were, to be sure, rewarding, and that kept me safely out of danger. If I was the drummer in the band playing at the school dance, for example, I didn't have to worry about bringing a date to that dance. Whew! I was a virgin until age 17, a young college freshman, when I met another young guy at a party in another city where I was visiting a friend, and somehow we ended up going back to his room. It was a glorious experience for me, and answered countless questions for which I probably already knew the answers. But even though I now knew for sure what team I was playing on, I was still shy, still cautious, still closeted. I wonder how my life might have been different if, back then, I had had access to all the stories available today that show young people coping with these feelings and deciding to affirm their true selves, rather than retreating into that comfortable, well-furnished closet? Hmmm . . . looking over what I just wrote, I see that I haven't really answered your question at all. Sorry about that. A

This discussion is about the multi-chapter story A Class By Himself which currently stands at 18 chapters. It is unfinished. I am going to try not to mention any significant spoilers, but readers should be warned. As the story opens, young Derrick, the protagonist, has transferred from his old familiar school in the grittier part of town to a fancier, preppy school because Derrick is so smart. The new school is populated with obnoxious rich kids who resent Derrick's presence. It is presided over by a completely clueless principal who could not be more ineffectual. Its computer system is wide open to hackers, including one student who gleefully alters records right and left. Derrick is ashamed because he comes from a humble home, where his mother has to struggle to make ends meet. His father died several years earlier. Derrick's one salvation is meeting one particular rich kid, Tanner, who is not like the rest. Derrick and Tanner discover that they are both attracted to one another, and in the course of the story fall hopelessly in love. Tanner's family despises Derrick because he comes from the wrong side of the tracks, and treats Derrick with unspeakable rudeness. Tanner, however, persists in adoring Derrick, and the feeling is definitely mutual. As Derrick and Tanner become more smitten with each other, events conspire to frustrate their attempt to be together. By around chapter 6 or 7, one particular adversary appears whose demented obsessiveness is almost ludicrous in its extremity. This adversary is one of the other rich kids, and he has the emotional maturity of a three-year-old. Yet in the face of all the depravity that this kid brings about, Derrick somehow maintains a noble ability to see some good in him. Derrick also displays a stubborn ability to ignore or reject any help from all the resources around him in dealing with his situation. He has the typical teenager's approach of assuming the entire world's problems fall on him alone. The adversary's most potent threat against Derrick is blackmail, threatening to out Derrick and Tanner at school. Inexplicably, Derrick doesn't think to conceal a small recording device to capture what this adversary has to say in private, which, if recorded, would represent a weapon against that adversary ten times more powerful than any threat made by that adversary. And Derrick has an entire neighborhood of old friends, headed by his friend Joel, who would almost certainly be happy to run to his rescue if they were but asked. But nothing like this occurs. As a result, Derrick is pushed further and further into a desperate corner. I began reading this story in the naive belief that with 18 chapters posted, it was probably complete. I was wrong. It became clear to me by chapter 17 that there was no way it was going to be wrapped up by chapter 18. In fact, when I finished chapter 17, I then skipped to the very end of chapter 18 and determined that the story was unfinished. I almost didn't read chapter 18, in fact, but finally decided to do so. In reality, nothing of consequence actually happens in chapter 18; it is just angst and aftermath from chapter 17. This is a strong story, and it becomes particularly strong in the chapter 16-17 region. However, I would estimate that it is anywhere from 6 to 10 chapters away from being finished, possibly more. At the current rate of posting (one or two chapters per year), it could be 2014 before we see a conclusion. I'm not sure in retrospect that I would ever have started it had I known this. I wish the uncompleted stories had some sort of notation to indicate that they are still "in progress," so that readers could choose whether to get started with them. It's kind of Truth in Advertising. In the meantime, in this story, I hope that Derrick will find a way to empower himself and quit being such a punching bag for every force of adversity. In a just world, a number of his fellow students would be in juvenile detention on criminal charges, and the school principal (and probably a number of other administrators) would be fired immediately for corruption and incompetence. Or, in a variation on that theme, Derrick's friends from the old neighborhood would see to it that the lacrosse team members can never play another game, and on top of that they would be framed so they get busted on whatever charges the friends can contrive. Somehow I suspect this won't happen, however. Derrick's soft spot for the adversary mentioned earlier, coupled with his general reluctance to do anything particularly courageous, pretty well assures this. Sorry if this post sounds kind of frustrated. I know that this is a big project to finish, and I know that certain parts of chapters 16-17 must have been extremely difficult to write. I'd like to see the story completed sometime soon, but the odds of that seem pretty slim. Sigh. A

According to this FAQ page, "Someone for Me" was the first of the Rainy Day stories and set the template for the others. A

This discussion is about the one-chapter story Beneath the Surface. It's a moldy oldy based on its Nifty date (1999). As always, it may be better to read the story first as there may be spoilers in this discussion. On the other hand, in this case, the ending probably will come as no surprise. Unlike virtually every story in this genre, the protagonist here -- 13-year-old Jon -- does not have a guilty secret of liking boys. He has no thought of any such thing. But he is the typical Comicality misanthrope, convinced that he is ugly and not at all up to the standard of the "cool kids" in the school. He doesn't get invited to the big parties, girls don't turn their heads when he walks by -- he thinks it might be an improvement for a bully to decide to pick on him, because at least that would represent attention. His mood is not improved when a new kid -- Oren -- shows up in his science class, and decides to sit right next to him. Oren represents everything that Jon laments and despises about himself -- he's handsome, athletic, looks like he stepped out of an A&F catalog. He's the kind of person that everyone -- boys and girls -- fawns over. Yet for some reason Oren persists in trying to befriend Jon. The breakthrough comes one day when Oren tells a joke that causes Jon to burst out laughing in class, to the point where he has to excuse himself to get a drink of water in order to recover his composure. From that point on, Jon and Oren become closer friends. Jon finds himself entertaining unthinkable thoughts about Oren, thoughts going way beyond friendship. It's fair to say that he's pretty freaked out by this. In addition, he persists in believing that he is no better than an ugly duckling, and can't believe that anything could ever happen between him and Oren. He is convinced that Oren will, at any moment, find someone who is more attractive and generally cooler to become serious with. Yet Oren insists that he likes Jon for the very reason that he's different from the others. He also tries to convince Jon that his (Oren's) life is not a bed of roses either. He doesn't like being in the spotlight, constantly the target of people fawning all over him. He likes Jon because Jon is the one person who actually listens to him and isn't trying to get anything from him. We readers become suspicious long before Jon does that Oren is developing feelings for Jon. Jon, on the other hand, seems to feel that he needs to distance himself from Oren. One day, the hottest girl in the school, Staci, gives Jon a note that she wants Jon to pass along to Oren. It is a steamy love note, signed only "the one you've been waiting for." That just underscores Jon's determination to wean himself from Oren, for he is convinced that once Oren knows of Staci's interest, Oren will leap at the opportunity to get close to Staci. Jon gives the note to Oren at the end of the next school day. Shortly afterward, Oren calls Jon and, with great excitement, asks Jon to come right over to his house. Jon assumes that Oren is going to talk about how he plans to get together with Staci. Instead, Jon discovers to his horror that Oren has misunderstood who the note was from, and thinks it was from Jon himself. Oren pours out his heart to Jon, and Jon, in shock, can only respond by setting Oren straight on whom the note was really from. Oren is mortified, and collapses on his bed in tears, thinking that he has now ruined everything with Jon. Thankfully, Jon musters the courage to confess to Oren that he loves him just as much, and the story ends with a rather wet and messy celebration of the two boys' mutual love and lust. All in all, a satisfying outcome to a nice story. A

This discussion is about the one-chapter story Someone for Me. There are spoilers below so you may wish to read the story first before reading this post. 15-year-old David, the protagonist, is the poster child for being your own worst enemy. Though it's not at all clear why, his self-esteem is down in the negative numbers. He spends his time being bitterly envious of the other students at his school, all of whom, per his perception, are prettier, more handsome, more fun to be around, and more likely to score socially, even though they are shallow and bring far less to any relationship than he would . . . if he only had the chance. But his self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy pretty much guarantee that such chance will never come. For some inexplicable reason, David's best friend is another boy named Taylor, who seems to represent the polar opposite of every issue David confronts. Taylor is confident, outgoing, attractive, and seemingly fearless in making sexual conquests of other boys in the school. While Taylor and David are both aware of each other's gayness, for some reason nothing ever happens between them. Rather, Taylor -- like many of the other students -- sees David as a sympathetic and non-threatening ear to listen to whatever is on his mind. Taylor seems oblivious to David's angst at his own lack of social success. One day, David notices a new boy in his English class -- Julian -- and in his private world begins to fantasize that maybe he could get to know Julian better and even develop a relationship with him. But these hopes are dashed as soon as he discovers that Taylor has also set his sights on the same boy. David gives up without a fight, not even trying to get to know Julian better, and resisting Julian's efforts to reach him because he 'knows' he'll just seem like a dork. Yet Julian still tries to get through to David, as in this scene in the school lunchroom: David's hopes are dashed further when Julian asks to speak to him privately, and it turns out he just wants David to let Taylor know that Julian is really interested in him. The feeling is apparently mutual. When it becomes obvious that Taylor and Julian are becoming a more serious item, David shuns both of them. Things come to a head, however, at a party that all three boys are attending. Julian makes some discoveries about Taylor, and then later about David, that set the stage for what promises to be a happy ending with David. And it does seem like David and Julian are a worthy match. The final scene calls back the earlier scene in the lunchroom: Somehow, against all odds, it seems that David might do OK after all. Indeed, had he only been paying attention, it should have been obvious that Julian was looking for the kind of relationship that David was looking for, all the way back at that lunchroom scene. Julian, indeed, discovered that he wanted more than Taylor was able to give him. A

This discussion is about the story All Eyes Watching, currently comprising two chapters so far. The story is unfinished. High school student Gabe has come out to his female friend Summer, his cousin Bobby, and his mom (who kind of overreacts in the supportive direction), all with no major problems. With some trepidation he decides to come out to his longtime bud Jason, who also seems fine with it (though, to Gabe's disappointment, confirms that he is straight). Gabe feels better having revealed himself to these friends. A month later, Summer and Jason invite Gabe to go with them to a cafe on the other side of town for a specialty warm cider available there. Shortly after they are seated, another boy named Niles shows up. He is incredibly dishy and Gabe's eyes are out on stalks when he sits down. Gabe bashfully tries to avoid revealing his attraction for Niles. Then Jason and Summer both find reasons to leave the table, leaving Niles and Gabe together. As they talk, Gabe's infatuation grows, and then the stunner: Niles reveals that while he supplies his friend Jason with girlie magazines from the newsstand he works at, he himself is not interested in them. This leaves Gabe with two largely self-created problems: 1. For some reason, he is furious with his two friends for conspiring to put him together with this dishy gay guy who seems like prime boyfriend material. In his perverse logic, it seems like he's ready to reject Niles simply on this basis. (Luckily he gets over this in due course.) 2. More seriously, he feels totally inadequate to pursue a relationship with Niles, despite Niles's obvious interest in him. He's convinced Niles must already have a boyfriend (not true, according to Jason), and would never be interested in someone as uninteresting as him (also not true, from what we can see). In the meantime, there is a humorous interlude where Gabe's over-eager mother jumps to the conclusion that Gabe and Jason are fooling around sexually, and purports to set up ground rules for Jason's visits to the house. Luckily for the story (and a potential relationship), Niles persists, and gives Jason his phone number to pass along to Gabe. Gabe finally works up the courage to call Niles, and some nervous conversation ensues, where it's obvious that Niles is still very interested. Gabe's nerves get the better of him, and he makes an excuse to have to get off the phone -- but not before agreeing that he will see Niles that weekend. And there the story (currently) ends. Will Niles and Gabe get together at last? Will Gabe overcome his nerves and allow himself to relax and enjoy being around Niles? Will they do the nasty together? Also -- will Gabe become more open about his sexuality at school? What new silliness will his mother come up with when she learns about Niles? Inquiring minds want to know! A