Facebook – Chandler’s Ford Today
My latest Chandler’s Ford Today post is part 1 of my interview with fellow Chapeltown Books author, Gail Aldwin. She shares how her around the world bus journey inspired her flash fiction, especially her story, Paisley Shirt, which is the title for her new collection. Part 2 next week will see Gail sharing writing tips and her thoughts on “real” books and ebooks amongst other things. Plenty of insights for writers and readers to come.
Facebook – General
My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week will be Part 1 of an interview with fellow Chapeltown Books author, Gail Aldwin, whose flash fiction collection, Paisley Shirt, is now out. She shares travel tales from around the globe and looks at where paisley comes from. It is not often the East India Company gets a mention in my posts but it does here!
Part 2 will feature writing tips, a discussion on characters etc. Link to Part 1 will go up tomorrow.
There are so many things I love about interviewing other writers. Some of these things include finding out what inspires them, how links form between something they may have read years ago and a story they’ve written now (it can be amazing what conscious and sub-conscious influences come out when you’re writing), and the tips they’ve found most useful.
I also really love the way Chapeltown Books have such a distinctive image for their flash fiction collections. Okay, so my From Light to Dark and Back Again is one of them. Okay, so I AM biased (!) but if you wanted to see an example of effective branding, I would say this is a good one.
Facebook – General
What do you like most about interviews (regardless of format)?
I like those questions that draw the interviewee out and interviews that really do seem like it is a conversation written down or broadcast or what have you.
One great thing about writer interviews is that, regardless of the genre being covered, we all face the same challenges of getting the story down, editing it well, hopefully getting it published and then marketing it. That does give a lot of ground in which to find lots of lovely questions to ask!
Sometimes you can strike gold when your interviewee reveals something that you instantly recognize you’ve got to ask them more about. It is often about the most unexpected things too. My CFT post later this week contains such a gold nugget! Link to go up on Friday. All I’ll say now is it involves transport!
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
The joy of flash fiction is its brevity. No words wasted. A powerful impact on the reader made very quickly. But, as with the standard short story, all moods and emotional reactions can be covered in the form (which is why I called my book what I have!). Indeed, I think it a good thing that there is variety here. I like to see my flash collection as a “selection box” of moods and stories.
I suppose it’s indicative of human nature that no one person likes the same thing all the time. I love humorous fiction but also appreciate crime stories, historical tales and so on and I like to mix up what I read too. I wouldn’t want to just read (or indeed write) one thing all the time. Another joy of flash is that you can sample different styles of writing and moods very quickly. You could even use a flash collection to try out stories in genres you’ve not read before.
Happy reading and writing!
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Write what you know, so they say.
But influences come out in your every word.
Sometimes they’re buried away
For years but they will find a way of being heard.
Time means nothing there, you’ll find.
So read widely, both non-fiction or a tall tale.
You’ll feed your creative mind.
Ensure the whole story does not stumble or pale.
Strong “people” reflect our best
While the weak characters will reflect our worst side
Write, rewrite, then let it rest
Every writer has to have a skin made of hide.
Some will not get what you do.
But it’s true you won’t like everything they invent
Rejections can make you blue.
It’s all part of the process you can’t circumvent.
Ask where your story would fit.
Target well, it improves your chances of a hit!
Allison Symes – 15th March 2018
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
I have a framed poster above my desk which says “Don’t ever give up on your dreams”. (Good advice. Okay, sometimes the dreams have to change for myriads of reasons. Just because you can’t be a novelist that doesn’t stop you from becoming a short story writer etc). But it also struck me this line could be a great motivator for a character.
What are the character’s dreams? Just what are they prepared to do to achieve them? What obstacles are in the way? Is he/she/it encouraged or are others holding them back? (You could also look into what their agenda was).
What writing triggers will help you create your new worlds? Image via Pixabay
Time to have another home perhaps? Good stories to be had here! Image via Pixabay
Write, edit, write, edit… image via Pixabay
Nobody gets their ideas right first go. Image via Pixabay.
Escape with a good book, it’s good for you! Image via Pixabay
Fairytales with Bite – What is Behind Your Stories?
In my interview with fellow Chapeltown Books author, Gail Aldwin, for Chandler’s Ford Today this week, she shares with me how her round the world bus trip influenced her flash fiction. She also shares some of the research she carried out into where paisley comes from given the title of her flash fiction collection is Paisley Shirt. One of the things I love about these kind of interviews is discovering what has influenced a writer to come up with what they have! There are so many influences…
This is also why every writer, regardless of genre, should read widely and well in non-fiction and fiction, classic and contemporary works. You are literally feeding your mind. You can’t know in advance what book it is you read that will spark off ideas of your own. You will just know it when you come to it. So have plenty of fun reading lots of lovely books! It is good for your own writing.
I used to worry about picking up other writers’ styles doing this but have found it not to be the case. I read something that sparks off an idea in me and I then write that idea down in my style only because, well, it is the only style I have. After all, doesn’t every author want their work to be uniquely something from them? That’s where the joy of writing is – in creating something that is unique to you.
A lot of the fairytales are retelling of stories passed down orally over many generations. Sometimes there can be agendas behind stories. Hans Christen Andersen must have had concern for the poor as his agenda behind The Little Match Girl (and probably the hypocrisy of people being horrified at what happened to his character yet doing nothing to allievate suffering themselves).
So what is behind your stories? Why have you created your characters as you have? I was surprised when I was looking back at my draft of From Light to Dark and Back Again how often the theme of poetic justice came up. That wasn’t planned (well not consciously anyway). I also hadn’t planned the variation in moods of the stories that formed the book (though it did help inspire the book’s title!). Look back at what you have written and see if you can spot what is really behind it. It may well inspire other stories!
This World and Others – Character Journeys
My latest Chandler’s Ford Today post features fellow Chapeltown Books author, Gail Aldwin, and how her round the world bus journey influenced her flash fiction.
The obvious character journey (well for me it is!) is that of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. Everything about this story is epic! However, character journeys can be much smaller than that. Scrooge went on a journey of sorts as he transformed from a miserable miser to a generous (and much happier) man in A Christmas Carol.
So what journeys are your characters going on? If it is a physical journey, why are they making it? Do they like travelling or is is something where they have no choice? What obstacles must they overcome? What is the landscape like? Are they from a background where travelling is normal? (It generally wasn’t for hobbits so Frodo’s journey was unusual from that angle).
If the journey is more of a character development one, is the journey a good one or a bad? (People can go from being good to bad, so why not characters?). Is it a successful journey? What is the impact of the character change on them and those around them? Change can threaten others so how is this dealt with?
Allison Symes: Collected Works 