Many thanks to the Hampshire Writers’ Society for making me so welcome on Tuesday night. Also thanks to those who have liked or given other positive feedback via my Facebook pages on my talk. Much appreciated.
Thank you, HWS! Image via Pexels
Indeed! Pixabay image.
Many thanks to @wildwinter and @AllisonSymes1 for their very informative and interesting contributions to our HWS meeting on Tuesday.
— Hampshire Writers (@HWSoC) October 11, 2018
@AllisonSymes1 inspired us to write Flash Fiction at our HWS meeting on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/Zu3zGzYjQm
— Hampshire Writers (@HWSoC) October 11, 2018
Many thanks to the Hampshire Writers’ Society for their kind permission to use this photo.
Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today
My CFT post this week is part 1 (of 3) looking at the joys and challenges of writing series novels. My panel joining me for this are #JenniferCWilson, #ValPenny, #AnneWan, #WendyHJones and #RichardHardie. Between them they cover crime fiction, children’s fiction/YA, historical, ghost and timeslip! Some great insights here with more to come over the next couple of weeks.
Many thanks to all who sent in likes, encouraging comments etc following Tuesday night’s talk at the Hampshire Writers’ Society. All very much appreciated.
I know that some would like the links for some of the competitions/markets I mentioned. I list only a few below. I hope you can see these as a useful starting point.
http://www.flash500.com/index_files/flashfiction.htm
You do have to pay to enter this one but the competitions are quarterly and on an open theme so if you miss one date, put a story in for the next one!
http://writersfestival.co.uk/competitions
This is for Winchester Writers’ Festival and lists all their competitions. Great to now see flash fiction listed here.
http://www.paragraphplanet.com/submission.php
Free to enter. Always looking for submissions. Want to get around to trying this one myself!
Cafelit – give website details and submission details
http://cafelit.co.uk/index.php/submission-guidelines-2
I started writing flash fiction thanks to their 100-word challenge but do visit the site for a wealth of stories and styles.
Writing Magazine
For their 750 words and 1000 word competitions but very much fits into flash fiction territory. Keep an eye on their website and, of course, the magazine itself.
Earlyworks Press details
http://www.earlyworkspress.co.uk/Competitions.htm
And don’t forget The Bridport Prize, the Bath Flash Fiction Award etc etc. Definitely worth scanning the net every so often to see what is out there.
Trust this helps – and just to finish, something I didn’t have time to share on Tuesday. Two one line stories which, in different ways, conjure up a whole world of fear! You tell me which is the most frightening…
1. The lion ran straight at you.
2. The dentist will see you now.
Well?
Many thanks to the Hampshire Writers’ Society for making me so welcome as guest speaker at last night’s event. Much appreciated.
I discussed what flash fiction is, what I love about it, why I think all writers should try it, and a few hints as to possible markets and competitions – in about 15 minutes! Mind you, isn’t it appropriate that a flash fiction writer keeps her speech short!!😁
The main speaker was Ian Thomas, games writer, (founder of Talespinners – stories for video games etc) and his talk was illuminating as to what is needed in this field of work. What was interesting was two skills needed in flash fiction writing – the ability to edit ruthlessly and the need to leave gaps for readers to use their imaginations and fill in – are both vital for games writing too.
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
As part of my talk at HWS yesterday, I discussed what I love most about flash fiction. One aspect is that it is proof you can make a huge impact on your readers but don’t need thousands of words to do so. I’ve read many a thoughtful flash fiction piece which would have LOST impact had it been a longer work.
I find I am always thinking about what impact I want my stories to have on readers (or those I’m reading my work to, come to that!). So even as I am writing the story, I am trying to engage with a potential audience. I think it is a good mind set to be in. It helps make it easier for me to cut out the inevitable waffle that does creep in to any draft writing I do. I have a tendency to overwrite, which is okay. That can be cut after all. But I always DO have to cut and that is just one of those things.
It’s a good thing to look at what your writing weaknesses are (in my case, overwriting) and then work out strategies to deal with them. I accept I overwrite, I get the draft down and then I ruthlessly prune back. Problem solved. The great joy of the first draft is only I get to see it!
If you’re having a brainstorming session for story ideas, how about trying a random word generator?
Weave, say, the first three words you come up with into a story. Having a quick look on the net, I found one of these that lets you choose how many words and the first and last letters of the words. You could even select the number of syllables or word length! I chose the first letter of a and the last letter to be t, and a word length of six letters. The words that came up were:-
appointment
accountant
appoint
So what can be done here? How about:-
A QUESTIONABLE CHOICE
It was a grim day in the magical realm when the Dark Lord decided to appoint an accountant. This was not the way things were done here. The Dark Lord was supposed to rob and plunder and then spend his ill gotten gains in a frenzy. The appointment even made the headline news. People dared to question what the Dark Lord was doing and ask what would happen next.
Allison Symes – 11th October 2018
Naturally you can expand this out to trying the first five words you come up or vary the syllable and/or word length, but there is a lot of fun to be had here playing with words and ideas. When is that ever a bad thing?!
Many thanks to #HampshireWritersSociety for taking this picture of me (see top of tonight’s post!) speaking at their meeting last Tuesday (and for permission to use it). I usually take my own pictures of my book stall etc at events and so on but it’s a bit tricky doing it when you’re the one who’s speaking!
One thing I love when talking about flash fiction is getting to read some of it as part of this. It is by far the best way of showing people exactly what it is and, of course, does not take too long. It also mixes up your talk with some storytelling (and I know I love listening to this sort of thing when I’m at other writers’ talks etc).
Says it all really. Image via Pixabay. And am glad to say my poorly border collie, Mabel, has very much been showing this spirit.
Never give up, work hard, be disciplined… all valuable traits for success, whether you’re a tennis player, a writer or a character in a story! Image via Pixabay.
Fairytales With Bite – Story Loves
What do you love most in a story? I look for the following:-
- Gripping characters – I’ve got to really root for them to succeed or get their just desserts for me to stay with them during the story.
- Good pacing – What pacing is required obviously depends on the type of story but generally I’m looking for a pace that keeps the tension up until the end.
- Unforgettable settings – This doesn’t have to be an invented world (though it often is). Here I’m looking for the setting being appropriate to the story and characters and be a place I’d love to visit or equally be glad I’m nowhere near. The latter depends on the type of story but whichever way it goes, the setting has to provoke a reaction in me.
- Entertaining dialogue – Sure sometimes this will be funny dialogue (when appropriate) but even when not I want to feel as if I’m eavesdropping on a conversation that I have absolutely got to finish listening to!
- Strong Resolution – The story definitely has to end. Not on a cliffhanger – that should be for the chapters leading up to the end in a novel or in the middle section of shorter works before the issue is resolved.
This World and Others – Joys and Challenges
My CFT post this week is the start of a three-parter looking at The Joys and Challenges of Writing Series Novels. Many thanks to my panel of Jennifer C Wilson, Val Penny, Anne Wan, Wendy H Jones, and Richard Hardie for their great contributions. Am looking forward to sharing the rest of the series over the next couple of weeks. Between them, these fine writers cover children’s/YA, crime, historical, ghost, and timeslip! (Some of them cover more than one of these!).
The title of this piece led me to think about the joys and challenges our characters face. How do they handle these? Which do they cope with better? (Not everyone handles happiness that well – they literally don’t know how to cope with it or live in such dread that the happiness is going to end any moment, any enjoyment of it is lost!).
Are others pleased for your characters in their joyful times or is there resentment there (openly or hidden)? In the challenges your characters face, do they have friends and family to support and encourage? When your characters overcome a challenge, do they go on to learn from the experience or does their success change them (and not necessarily for the better)?
This is where the core central values and attitudes your characters have really matter. Someone who is generally a decent character is not going to upset others by showing off about their successes. They will have friends who are genuinely pleased for them. Someone who aggravates others will only find said other characters will be rooting for their downfall!
Allison Symes: Collected Works 