All images are from Pixabay unless stated otherwise.
Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today
My latest Chandler’s Ford Today post is the start of an occasional series where I look at pivotal moments in history. I start with one where the result changed everything – Bosworth 1485. And the relevance for Hampshire? Well given our county symbol is the Tudor Rose, quite a bit!
It is strange that Bosworth is not commemorated more than it is given its impact on the whole country.
Hopefully, see some of you at the Winchester Discovery Centre 10th-anniversary celebrations tomorrow.
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Looking forward to reading some of my flash fiction at tomorrow’s Winchester Discovery Centre event (10 am to 4 pm. Officially, I’m “on” at 11.45 for a short presentation but I will be there for the day with a stand).
If you would like to know more about flash fiction and/or writing for the small press and online magazines, do come over and have a chat.
There will be a wide range of authors taking part throughout the day and other activities so the whole day should be a lot of fun with something to interest most people!
Fairytales With Bite – Reading Fairytales
I’ll be reading some of my fairytales with bite at Winchester Discovery Centre tomorrow (Saturday 25th November 2017) as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations. A group of local writers, including me, will be giving short presentations and readings throughout the day as well as manning our own book stands there. It should be good fun. If you are in the area and would like to know more about flash fiction and/or writing for the small press and online magazines, do come over and chat.
Reading fairytales also means of course reading between the lines. One of the things I love about fairytales is they usually have a fairly strong message behind them. With Hansel and Gretel, I pick up the obvious anti-child cruelty theme but also the importance of sticking together and supporting one another. Had Hansel and Gretel not done this for each other, they wouldn’t have survived in the tale, which is the whole point.
The nice thing about fairytales also is the story shows you the message without preaching it. It is by far a more effective way of getting the message across and something we should all aspire to with our own writing. I know I find it far too easy to slip back into “telling” though flash fiction writing, with its tight word count,does help me against that (there’s no room for it!).
This World and Others – Changing the World
My latest Chandler’s Ford Today post looks at how the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 changed everything and I especially look at its impact for Hampshire, my home county. It was very much a personal battle too between Richard III and Henry Tudor, later Henry VII. One man’s actions, that of Lord Stanley who betrayed Richard, literally did change everything so this made me wonder what about our characters and the changes they could bring about.
What individuals amongst them could change everything in the worlds we’ve created and how? What would the impact be of them doing this? What if they decided not to change anything? Is the status quo maintainable (and should it be)? Is the world you’ve created crying out for change and needs the right character to do it? Even if your “right” character is willing to carry out the changes needed, how do they reach that decision and what obstacles are in their way? Do they ever doubt themselves and their “mission”?
There are some cracking stories to be written answering those questions. Of course, for the last couple, I was thinking of The Lord of the Rings, but while I know I won’t ever write anything on that scale (few of us could!), we can still answer those questions for our own stories and bring more drama and tension into them, which should hopefully keep our readers wanting more from us!
Allison Symes: Collected Works 