Valentines Stories

[dude]

Camy said it all:

Why? If you're an AwesomeDude and you write, what does the theme matter? 'Stories by, for, and/or about LGBT People of All Ages' doesn't mean this is a site with solely gay themed fiction.

Being gay is just part of who we are... I'll accept any kind of story from our AwesomeDude Authors... if you want to specify that it's a gay or non-gay story you're free to do so. One of the most delightful stories I've ever read was The Sexual Predator by Cole. Nothing gay about it.

We are a community of writers and readers who enjoy good fiction. Not all stories of a 'gay nature' will appeal to everybody and the same is true of other kinds of fiction. Please feel free to submit whatever you think our readers might like.

Mike

[Chris James]

As a former author of stories on the Nifty site I can tell you it is all too easy to write a gay story if the only objective is to create sexual situations for the characters...and it becomes eternally boring. But if all I wanted to do was depict gay characters as sexually active individuals in every paragraph then I wouldn't be posting here.

Many times I have said that gay is what we are not who we are. We do have lives beyond the bedroom and contribute a good deal to society beyond our sexual identities. I like characters that speak to their gay feelings without necessarily acting out every chance they get. In some cases that can be very subtle and I depend upon the readers to see what is behind the curtain.

I think every story I have posted here would be considered a gay story...except one. The first story I submitted to Mike was Marathon Gold because I thought it a grand adventure for boys. Two stories in one that depicted a pair of boys thrown together under difficult circumstances and how that forged a bond between them. Was it a gay bond? I did not tell you, but it could have been.

I didn't want to say anything more about those characters except that love between boys is not always sexual. I felt it was good to contemplate how the human experience brings people together in the face of adversity and in the past decade I have been trying to write stories with that theme. I want the readers to see young heroes who give their all for someone they love, and in this case the word gay never came up.

We have the perfect opportunity here to give the readers a boost, a look at what we think gay men, women, and children ought to be. The vehicle of fiction allows us great leeway to present these ideals. Our readers aren't dumb and I would hesitate to suggest we label any of our stories. In essence all our words are gay fiction either because of the characters or because of the author's own self identity.

I get no complaints from the readers so if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Addym Kehris]

I get no complaints from the readers so if it ain't broke don't fix it.

By far, the best advice I've heard on the subject.