What To Say, What To Say - 1. Chapter 1

I truly believe that the hardest part of any story, in any category, is the very first sentence. You'd be surprised how many stories NEVER even GET to that part! And how many more get past the first sentence and not much further. It's an amazing, albeit mysterious, process, coming up with the concept of a new story. There are so many questions when you're staring at a blank screen. Where do I start? Where do I finish? What do I write about? How is this going to be different from the billions of other stories I've read online? Sometimes, when staring at a keyboard and not exactly knowing where to go with the ideas in your head, these questions can put pressure on you like you wouldn't believe. And as unfortunate as it may be, that pressure often discourages a lot of truly great stories from ever being written. Don't let it get to you. If you have a story to tell, then by all means...TELL IT! Don't psyche yourself out of it by thinking negatively.

There are many of you who will stand up right away and tell me that you are simply incapable of writing a story. I am here to tell you, in all honesty, that I don't believe that. There are folks who have written me emails, and have given me the same excuse, that they can't write anything good or don't think it will go over well. But, in their email, they'll tell me about a certain event or someone they loved or were inolved with...and it will be in such rich detail and told with such vivid imagery, that it IS a story! They don't even realize it, but they've written me a 'story' in their email, and it was AWESOME! Everytime you tell somebody about yourself, that's a story. Everytime you think back and remember a good or a bad time in your life, that's a story. Writing them down takes nothing except for time and a little effort. Some of those 'story' emails are still saved in my email archives online, and the stories that have spawned from them have become some of the most popular series on the net. To this DAY their websites bring in hundreds of visitors, and what I've read has been beyond phenominal. That's all a story is. It's a piece of you that you are willing to share with others. No matter how secret, no matter how personal, no mater how you change names, events, or hide the emotions in metaphor. If you're willing to share it, then write it down. You never know who you'll be helping by giving your own unique perspective on life and love. Trust me on this. If you feel it in your heart...then there are PLENTY of people out there who can relate and understand exactly what you're going through. You'd be surprised. So give it a shot. I speak from experience when I say that it's possible.

What is a story? A story is nothing more than a series of events put into a sequential order. That's it. Take, for example, a boy that you might have been head over heels for in high school. You might have been blown away by his good looks, or his sense of humor, or the fact that he was such a sweet guy. And maybe you longed after him through all four years of high school without ever telling him so. Ok...that, in itself, is a story. If you think about it...there had to be a time when you saw this boy for the first time, right? You remember meeting him, you remember what you thought, what captivated you, what made you like him, what he looked like, sounded like, maybe even SMELLED like! Each one of those things is a description. Each one of those things is something that is fondly close to your heart. Think about it, remember it, and write it down. Bring all of that joy, and confusion, and fear, and desperation, into your story. Think about how you would approach him, how he would approach you, and how you'd like it to end. (Hehehe...and this IS erotica...so go wild!) Writing about what you want and need, what has happened in your life, or what you WISH had happened in life, is an awesome place to start. Because you're usually connected to it in ways that you can't reproduce by just making something up. Think about what happened, or didn't happen, and tweak it and change it around however you like. Instead of making it how it really happened, with you saying hi to him and having him laugh in your face (Hehehe, hey, you never know. Maybe he was a jerk)...this time, have him blush and get nervous around you. And lead that into you guys getting a chance to talk. Use your 'sensual' imagination. Don't tell me you don't have one, because back in high school, if you were falling for this sweet angel of yours...I KNOW that you entertained a few fictional fantasies about him! Hehehe! And you'd have to put them together in pretty much the same fashion. So USE them! There's no boundaries here except for the ones you create for yourself. Take what you remember most, add what you think would be an incredible romance or sexual interlude, and put it into some kind of sequential order. Voila...your very own erotic story! It seems hard, but it's not as hard as you may think. You just have to sit down and really decide to get started. Once that bridge has been crossed, it's all downhill from there. The worst thing you could do is not try.

Remember, the first thing you're going to have to do is erase the idea of making your very first story the Bible of gay fiction. Don't put that kind of standard in the way of getting out what you feel. Don't think about how good it will be, or how horrible it will be. Don't worry about your English (if it's not your mother language). Don't worry about it being too real, or too fake, too sappy, or too kinky. Just do it. Sit down, open up a blank screen, and stare at it until whatever is in yur heart comes up to the surface. It'll happen, trust me. And once you open Pandora's box, it will get easier and easier with time. Writing...creativity in GENERAL actually, is a muscle. And just like any other muscle, you have to excercise it in order to strengthen it. The more you practice, the stronger the muscle will get, and the easier it will be to express yourself on the 'page'. I guarantee you....if you start writing your own story, you will begin getting ideas out of NOWHERE for it within your first two weeks! It's surprising, even ADDICTIVE at first, but if you're really into what you're writing about, the possibilities become limitless. Most people discover that once they actually begin writing the story that it's hard to stop. It's easy to be intimidated when you're not actually involved with the writing process...but just type a sentence and start fleshing it out from there. Your heart, mind, memories, and imagination will carry you from there. So take a notebook or scrap paper and a pen with you everywhere you go. New ideas will be coming your way all day long and well into the night once you begin.

Now that you've gotten some of that pressure off of your back...it's time to start writing. Again, the hardest part is the first sentence. So don't wait any longer. When you feel the muse tapping on your shoulder, answer it, and show us all what you've got. There are some beautiful stories in us all, so feel free to share. K?