by Amy Karian

1. When I have three characters in a scene and one just kind of disappears into the sidelines 

They might be smoking a cigarette or off drinking a Coke. Maybe they’re having a bathroom break. Maybe they’re lurking in the corner, reading ahead in the script to see what happens next or if their character is going to die. No one knows. That character is just missing in action and I can solemnly swear that I did not send them out of the room.

2. When my characters have out of character moments 

They might say something that just doesn’t mesh with who they are and their normal way of talking/acting. My Internal Editor usually puts an end to that nonsense. I’ll have another character actually say, “What’s gotten into you? You’re not acting like yourself.” And I’m like “Heck yeah. He isn’t acting like himself. I’m…

Writing on your own, it’s easy — and acceptable — to leave small errors and ‘iffy’ sentences alone until you decide to edit later (if you ever get that far — let’s be honest). This doesn’t fly when you’re submitting your work to an editor, though. There’s a certain level of “polished” editors expect from anything they consider for publishing, and if you’re not willing, or don’t know how, to get to that stage, you’re going to have a hard time getting published.

This goes far beyond basic spelling and grammar. (If you can’t fix these obvious errors on your own, you’re probably not quite ready to submit to editors — and that’s OK.) Here’s what to make sure you’ve revised/rewritten before you send off that piece of writing.

1. Unnecessary words

Fluff is not at all an impressive thing. For many people, it’s a leftover bad habit…

by Theresa Jacobs

by Ken Harrison

I started writing as Keith Wilkins for extra cash back in the ’90s when you could make a quick buck writing short stories for porn magazines. I also wrote book reviews for a local LGBT newspaper, Bay Windows, but short stories paid more. I was a regular contributor to such magazines as In Touch, Indulge, Blueboy, and Mandate. My fiction appeared in other magazines here and there, but those were the ones that published the bulk of my stories. Let me tell you, it was the best part-time job I ever had.

It wasn’t until I published my first short story collection through Leyland Publications, Daddy’s Boys, that I used my full name, Kenneth Harrison. My publisher was the one who talked me into using my real name, and I’m glad I did. These days, I use Ken Harrison, which is what people actually call me.