Month: October 2019

What Writing Means To Me

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Image Credit:  Unless otherwise stated, the images come from Pixabay.

Facebook – General

What does writing mean to you? For me it’s:-

1. Escapism. (Always welcome that!).

2. Writing stretches and challenges me. I came up with blog posts or stories yesterday, can I do the same today? (The discipline of daily writing is very good for developing your imagination and stamina and is also brilliant for keeping the brain active).

3. Writing has given me a creative art form I can take part in and love. I’m useless at art (my kid sister was much better there – and still is) but I can use words. I believe most of us have a creative streak somewhere and it’s a question of finding the one that suits us best. Being creative does something positive for my soul/mental well being/self-esteem etc and that is a good thing for my sake obviously but also for those around me.

4. Writing has led me to doing things I would never have dreamt of doing (such as reading publicly from my own work).

5. Writing has given me wonderful friends who understand the joys and frustrations of writing and that wonderful buzz when your books arrive with your stories in them!

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So what does the coming writing week hold in store for you?

I’m currently preparing a review of the play My Husband’s Nuts performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group for Chandler’s Ford Today. Yes, it really is called that. Reviews can sometimes be tricky. How much do you reveal about the plot? My approach is to give enough of the “flavour” of the play without giving away spoilers. And yes, this one is a farce. Well with a title like that, it kind of had to be really.

I’ve just submitted work to a competition and I plan to work on my big projects throughout the week. Am making good progress on one in particular. I also want to get another flash fiction collection together at some point.

Delighted that the Best of Cafelit 8 with its lovely green cover goes beautifully with the cover of my From Light to Dark and Back Again. They’ll look good together on a book stall! The Cafelit series always has the same cover image, just the colour of the cover changes, and the Chapeltown flash fiction collections always have a frame around a differing central image. Branding, folks, branding – it does matter but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple ideas here can work wonders.

I have two stories in this volume of excellent short fiction.
My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.
FLTDBA for sale in the Swanwick Book Room. Image by Allison Symes
Image by Adrian Symes

Publication News

Delighted to share my latest story on Cafelit called Humourless. Hope you enjoy. Definitely not something that could be applied to me, I’m glad to say.

So many lovely forms of writing… Pixabay
Nothing like getting down to some writing… Pixabay
Good questions for writers to ask themselves.
All great ideas for writing but you still need to “apply the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair” (P.G.Wodehouse). Pixabay image.
Feedback can vary in scale! Pixabay image.
What writing can give you. Pixabay
Something writers know only too well…
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Sometimes the books come to you! Pixabay

Facebook – General

When something unexpected happens, how do you react? Okay, okay, I know. It depends on whether the unexpected happening is nice or not. (I was nominated for Miss Slinky in my Slimming World group tonight – very nice surprise and it brightened up my Tuesday considerably!).

Okay, next question. How would your characters react? Same response from you? Yes, and rightly so too. But it pays you to know how your characters are likely to react, no matter what turns up in their lives.

Also think about why they would react the way you think they will. If someone reacts badly to a balloon bursting, is that because their link that sound to a bad memory? There should be a reason for their reaction, especially if other characters seems to consider it an over-reaction. You can ask yourself if it IS your character over reacting and then think about why your character might do that. Trying to get sympathy perhaps?

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I occasionally write a piece of flash fiction where the first letter of each line spells out a word. Let’s give that a go again now and appropriately I think I’ll go for Autumn. (Now this is where I could cheat and go for the American word of Fall here to make my life easier but I won’t!).

AUTUMN

A = Allison finished digging in the garden not a moment too soon as the rain started pelting down.
U = Urgent requirement for a hot cup of a tea and a Hi-fi bar made her put her spade away in record time.
T = Turning away from the garden shed, she ran indoors, put the kettle on, and grabbed her bar from the larder.
U = Unaware her actions had been witnessed.
M = Missy, next door’s dog, got through the gap in the fence and went to where Allison had been digging.
N = Never had a body been uncovered again so quickly; never had Allison shooed a dog off so quickly before as she rushed to cover up her work.

Allison Symes – 26th October 2019

Not based on a true story, honestly!

 

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Reasons to engage with other writers positively:-

1. It’s fun – best reason of all.

2. You will learn useful information – I’ve found out about competitions etc thanks to chatting with other writers. Some of it I’ve used, some of it I may use in the future, some I may never get to use at all.

3. When you can share useful information, see it as paying your dues. I know I’m grateful for the good advice from other writers that has helped me so pass it on.

4. Ultimately, we all want to write good material, whether it’s flash fiction, or an epic saga. There are things on our writing journeys that we will share in common. You don’t have to cope with these things on your own!

5. You can be warned about scams. No industry is exempt from these so why should publishing be?

6. Linking with 5, other writers can tell you where to go for good advice and what has helped them.

7. I was told about Cafelit and from there found out about flash fiction and I’ve been very grateful for finding out about those!!😀

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Pleased to have another story up on Cafelit – Humourless. More to come too.

http://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/…/10/humourless.html

For Cafelit, you need to assign a drink to your story and I try to match the mood of the tale with an appropriate beverage. I sometimes find that harder to do than write the story and I’ve often searched cafe menus for inspiration!

It is a great way to discreetly flag up the mood of the tale though. This, and finding pictures for my CFT posts, are probably the main ways where I’m “forced” to think laterally sometimes. But it is worth persisting with doing that. Other story ideas have come to me that way.

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I always feel a certain amount of relief when I’ve got the first draft of a story written. I never worry about making each line or paragraph “perfect” before moving on because I know if I took that approach, I would get very little written. Also, there’s no such thing as “perfect” writing anyway.

I like to get a first draft written, move on to another piece I’m editing or submitting somewhere, then come back to that draft to give myself enough distance from it to be able to judge it as objectively as I can.

There are two reactions made by a writer to something they’ve written.

1. This is genius. Not true, sadly.

2. This is awful. Whatever made me think I could write. Not true either and that’s better news!

It is inevitable as you read through a piece, ideas for better ways of phrasing things occur to you so go with that and don’t worry about it.

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Association of Christian Writers – More Than Writers – A Season For Everything

Do you find the seasons affect your writing? I can’t say they do with me. One good thing about the evenings drawing in earlier is the lure of a cosy room, my desk, hot drinks on the go, and an evening’s writing is even more appealing than it normally is!

I don’t write much about the seasons. Flash fiction with its word count limits means I have little room for description. If I want to show it’s cold, I’ll get my character to put on their big coat, having established they usually wear shorts or something daft like that.

Sorry to all shorts fans out there but I’ve never liked them. I’d also consign flip-flops to history’s dustbin. If I ever come up with a character I really can’t stand, I could make them wear shorts and flip-flops in freezing weather and make them suffer! I guess that could be fun…

Is there any writer who doesn’t get some enjoyment out of putting their characters through the mill, especially when those characters have it coming? I refuse to believe that is just me.

If I have seasons to writing, it is not in the quantity of what I do but in the tasks themselves. I will have weeks where I’m submitting work all over the place. (I finished drafting this after sending three stories off to Cafelit).

There will be other weeks where I’m editing work I’d deliberately put aside to look at again with fresh eyes prior to submission. It does pay to give yourself that time so you return to your story afresh. It’s the only way I know that works where you do come back and read your work as a reader would.

Without a time break, I’ve found you can be too close to your own work to be objective about it. This is why when there’s a competition deadline, I take off at least a week from the official end date and that will be the date I aim to submit the piece by. If life gets in the way as it does sometimes, I still have a few days in hand to still submit that piece.

I am so grateful for email submissions! I did start writing seriously when everything went in by snail mail (it was just after the last T Rex left this world). Some things have definitely got better. (I don’t miss typewriters, carbon paper or Tippex either. I did use to cut and paste literally).

I’ve found it pays to have periods when I’m creating new work. While I’m working on the second story, the first one is having its “time break” for me to edit effectively later.

There is always something on the go  writing wise and that’s how I like it. I have a very low boredom threshold and the lovely thing with creative writing is that threshold is never tested. There is always something to do.

Happy writing, editing etc etc!

Goodreads Author Blog –

What Do I Want Books To Do For Me?

I look for different things from books, depending on which genre I’m reading, but there are things in common across the spectrum. A good book for me must:-

1. Entertain me. (I want to be gripped by its pace and narrative. I don’t want to be sent to sleep by it!).

2. I want to learn something from it and this applies to fiction as much as non-fiction.

From the former, I can learn something about behaviour and choices depending on what the characters do.

Learning from non-fiction books is obvious but it is a good idea to read outside the subjects you might usually choose (and this is something I need to do more often).

I love history and that is my “go to” for non-fiction reading but I always used to like geography so maybe I should try some travel writing books etc. Hmm… might look up some ideas to put on my Christmas present wish list then!).

3. I want to want to read the book again in due course. Good books call for repeated reading (and I find I pick up more details on a second or third read). I also wouldn’t undermine the comfort of reading a familiar book. There is much to be said for that.

So what do YOU look for in a good book?

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Meanings

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Image Credit:  Unless otherwise stated, the images come from the marvellous Pixabay

Facebook – and Chandler’s Ford Today

For this week’s CFT post, I look at Meanings, how comedy writing depends on there being multiple meanings to get the laughs (particularly true for puns), and discuss how certain radio shows can help you as a writer learn about the use of language. Hope you enjoy.

Feature Image - Meanings

My inspiration for my Chandler’s Ford Today post on Meanings this week comes from going to see My Husband’s Nuts, the latest production from the Chameleon Theatre Group. (Review next week).

I guessed that there would be at least some reference to the various meanings of nuts within the play (you can fill in your own gags here!) and that led me to look at how much comedy writing depends on multiple meanings etc.

Ideas can be funny things at times. All it needs is that initial spark to create a starting point and you go from there. You just need to be open to recognising that initial spark for what it is AND to see that it really is just the beginning.

I’ve found reading and writing more makes it easier to recognise those initial sparks. And ideas do come from all over the place (and not always at convenient times either!) but you get used to that.

I have brainstorming sessions every so often and just write down all the ideas I come up with then. A lot I do go on to use either for story ideas or CFT blog posts and some I discard.

Closer examination, after a break away from that brainstorming session, leads me to critically decide which ideas have the “legs” and which don’t. But coming up with ideas I don’t take further later on is not a waste of time. Far from it. Sometimes I have to add another element into that initial idea and then it has the “legs”. What matters is there ARE ideas I can flesh up and write up. I think there is a certain element of having to think through ideas to get to the nuggets you can do something with.

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Posting early today as off to see The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production, My Husband’s Nuts, later tonight. I make no comment on the title except to say I’ll be reviewing the play and production next week for Chandler’s Ford Today. This week’s post will be all about Meanings. Read into that what you will! 😀😀

I’ll be meeting up with my lovely CFT editor, Janet Williams. Going to the plays has become something of a CFT tradition for both of us. I like to think of it as a kind of works outing! What I do know is this evening should be a lot of fun!

Have put in my order for the Best of Cafelit 8. Looking forward to that postal delivery. You never lose the thrill of being in a book!

Am working on a story for a competition and hope to get that submitted over the weekend. I really don’t miss the old days of having to get everything sent off in the post – email submissions are so much easier.

Image from Bridge House Publishing
Image by Adrian Symes
Books take you into other worlds.
Our stock in trade… Pixabay
Well… again! Pixabay
So true. Pixabay.

I’m looking at Meanings for this week’s CFT post. I look a little at how the use of certain English words has changed.

I also discuss how radio shows like Just A Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, as well as being great fun, are excellent for writers to learn from. This is particularly true for JAM. (If you get the chance, do check out earlier series where grammatical deviation challenges are particularly useful for writers to learn from).

I look at how comedy writing is so dependent on getting the right meaning from the right words to get the laughs. Well, where would puns be without having more than one meaning?

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to say I’ll have another flash fiction tale up on Cafelit soon. Will share the link obviously. Very pleased with the look of The Best of Cafelit 8. Receiving parcels with books with your stories in is a great joy. It doesn’t dim!

How do I decide what is a great moment in a character’s life that deserves having a flash fiction tale revealing said moment?

Well firstly that moment has to grip ME. A writer is their own first reader and if you’re not gripped by the characters and situation you’ve put them in, nobody else will be.

Secondly that moment should reveal something interesting to a reader.

That can be anything from the character finally learns a much needed lesson (humour can work well here), the character changes their ways or deals with a conflict and resolves it.

I’m always interested in how characters resolve problems and why they’ve gone the route they have. I think most readers are fascinated by that. It’s why we read to the end if we are gripped by the tale. We have to find out what happens and that urge to find out has been with humanity for centuries. It’s not going anywhere any time soon!

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Posting early as off to see My Husband’s Nuts, the latest production by The Chameleon Theatre Group, later on. Oh the power of a title!!

I look at Meanings (including how comedy writing depends on words having multiple meanings to get the laughs at all) for this week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. Link up tomorrow.

I sometimes know the title of a flash fiction story immediately because I’ve come up with something I really want to write something to and so off I go. At other times, the title emerges from the character and the story but at all times I have to have a draft title to get me started. I do need a “peg” like that but once I’ve got one, away I go!

But I’ve learned not to worry about changing the title if a better one comes to me. Only the Ten Commandments were set in stone, folks.

(Oh and have literally just had The Best of Cafelit 8 delivered – at 5 pm on Thursday 24th October. I like getting parcels like that! So naturally that needs a photo!).

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For someone who writes flash fiction, I can’t say I have that many flashes of inspiration! I don’t usually get an idea out of the blue. What I do hear is a character’s voice and I can detect from that something of what their major traits are likely to be.

Assuming I like the sound of this character (whether they’re hero or villain doesn’t matter – all I need is to see possibilities for them), I ask myself what situations would they hate having to deal with and why. I then dump them in those situations. It’s time for my character to sink or swim then! No shortage of conflict here either (especially internal conflict). And yes, I know, I’m all heart to my characters – NOT!

There’s no point in putting your super duper character in a situation you know they can handle. Where’s the story in that? Give them hell and then some. It will challenge you to work out how your character deals with it and that is where the story is!

Have fun dropping your characters right in it then!

Good advice. Image via Pixabay.
Well, would you? Image via Pixabay
Good advice – and it applies to our characters too. Image via Pixabay
Love this image! Image via Pixabay
Let those ideas flow! Image via Pixabay,
Love both the Kindle and the paperback. Why choose when you can have both? Image via Pixabay
Books are a fantastic form of escapism. Image via Pixabay
Reach for those ideas. Pixabay image.
Not arguing with this! Image via Pixabay
Alas, too late for me! Image via Pixabay
The art of the flash (fiction). Image via Pixabay
Great way to relax. Now where are those biscuits? Image via Pixabay
The wonderful world of writing should include non-fiction, which benefits from creative techniques too. Image via Pixabay.
What wonderful worlds we can creat! Image via Pixabay.

Fairytales With Bite – What I Like in a Fairytale

  • Strong characters (even if they themselves don’t think they are but prove it later)
  • To see wrong being righted (with some help from a fairy godmother and a magic wand. Be prepared for pumpkins to be involved. Just go with it… it’s part of the fairy godmother’s stock in trade).
  • Humour. While the character of Buttons is not in Cinderella to the best of my knowledge, I can understand his addition to the traditional pantomime. If the main character can’t be humorous, for whatever reason, best to get a sidekick to do it then!
  • A good and appropriate ending, usually a happy one though there are exceptions (The Little Mermaid as told by Hans Christen Andersen is a classic example here).

 

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This World and Others – Deciding on a Setting

How do you decide what setting is best for your characters?

  • The setting has to meet the character’s needs. If a character is on a quest, where are they likely to meet those who will help them/supply them etc? Also where are they going to and why? What kind of obstacles must they overcome to achieve their objective?
  • The setting has to be appropriate to the characters. You wouldn’t get a mermaid to live in an inner city etc (well she wouldn’t last for long if you did!).
  • What kind of world do you want to create? Have you got a hankering for forests? Then create a world which has plenty of them and think about what kind of characters would live in woodlands? Which characters would hate that? Would there be conflict between the two types (I should think so but good stories always come out of conflict!)?
General woodland shot but typical of the Jermyns Lane walk I enjoy. Image via Pixabay
I love walking by water – so calming. Can also inspire how you create your own world. Image by Allison Symes
The more you looked at this amazing stained glass window, the more you saw in it. Image by Allison Symes
Another gorgeous library. I love pics like this.
I know I have lots of stories and books in my head but I didn’t mean it literally! Pixabay
Image by Allison Symes
The writing journey has to be taken a step at a time. Pixabay

 

 

 

The Writing Life and Publication News

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Image Credit:  Unless otherwise stated, the images are from Pixabay.

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I drafted this post on my way to a Writers’ Day (19th October 2019) run by the Association of Christian Writers. (I’m their Membership Secretary). I do love a good train journey and Evernote! I adjusted to using a stylus quicker than I thought I would too.

The event itself will be good fun and it will be nice catching up with friends too. Am enjoying seeing the sun rise over the Hampshire countryside as I draft this. Will be seeing the sun set on my way home. (And I did. It was lovely).

Writing wise, I’ll have a story up on Cafelit tomorrow so look forward to sharing the link for that.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the next production by The Chameleon Theatre Group called My Husband’s Nuts next week. Should be fun. Review to follow in due course.

Am making progress on projects I’m working on but why is progress never as quick as.I’d like it to be?! Oh well says she, pressing onwards!

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Publication News

Delighted to say The Best of Cafelit 8 is now available in paperback as well as in ebook form. Reviews welcome, as always!

I have two flash stories in here – The Art Critic and Dignity and Injustice. Very different moods for those two as well! Great collection of stories so if you’re not sure what you fancy reading next, try this assortment! You’ll find something to suit…! Lovely eclectic mix of authors, styles, and moods. (Pleased to say Cafelit 8 is now up on my Amazon Author Page too!). Thanks to my recent CFT series on What Books Mean to Me I can share some of the images of the authors in Cafelit 8 but do check the book out and catch up on all the authors included here. There is a great mix of styles but you don’t just have to take my word for it!

Also thrilled to share my latest story on Cafelit called Takeover. The thrill of being published in print, online or both never dims!

The Best of Cafelit 8 is now available in paperback and for the Kindle. Image kindly supplied by Gill James
Image by Adrian Symes
Paula Readman – has two stories in Cafelit 8. Image supplied by her.
Dawn Kentish Knox – another writer in the collection – image supplied by her.
Jim Bates is another writer in the Cafelit 8 collection. Image supplied by him.
Gill James – editor and author and publisher. Image supplied by her.

 

Facebook – General

Favourite moment in editing? When you know the changes you’ve made have strengthened your story/book and your only regret is not having spotted the necessary changes when you were drafting the tale in the first place.

The one thought that has always cheered me up here is that nobody writes a perfect first draft. Shakespeare didn’t. Dickens didn’t. I’m not going to – so that’s okay then. What matters is the edit. And it does pay to take your time over it, leave the work for a while, before then re-reading the piece as a reader would.

Least favourite moment in editing? Checking for typos and then spotting one after you’ve gone through the document several times. The one comfort here is that this happens to us all at some point so you’re definitely not alone!

 

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S = Spellbinding characters make you have to find out what happens to them so you keep reading.
T = Tall tales, flash fiction stories – there’s something for every word count!
O = Originality. I find it fascinating how writers create unique characters and keep doing so and, of course that is a challenge to me too.
R = Reading – the other side of writing. Two wonderful creative arts in one in many ways. You have to read well to be able to write. Name a better way of working out how a book works, how characters come across on the page etc.
I = Inventiveness. I love inventing new people and situations to put them in. Exercising the imagination regularly like this has to be good for the brain – and your writing muscles.
E = Entertainment – stories cover the whole range. Some are entertained via tragedy, others via humour, crime, historical fiction. There are plenty of wonderful books out there. And don’t forget the anthologies – flash fiction and short stories. Perfect for quick reads.
S = Setting. Via a book, I can visit fantasy worlds, places on this planet I may or may not get to see for myself, places I’ve never heard of – does this give another meaning to losing yourself in a good book? You can lose yourself in an enthralling setting. The world of The Lord of the Rings is a good example (though I admit I’d never visit Mordor out of choice if that option was available).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I was listening to the gloriously peaceful music of Sailing By on Classic FM as my train left Basingstoke when I drafted this earlier today (on my way to the ACW Writers’ Day mentioned earlier). Quite a contrast in images there! Flowing water, sunny days, and a big town!

Contrasting images can work well in flash fiction but, due to the word count limits, contrasts are best shown sharply. You are flashing a brief light on the lives of your characters to your readers when all is said and done. So what is the contrast they must pick up on? Focus on that.

For the longer flash stories, there may be room for subtle contrasts to come in but again focus only on what your reader needs to pick up. You still won’t have room for more than that. Flash is all about focus (which is why it is a great discipline for any writer).

 

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Places I have drafted flash fiction stories:-

1. At home on laptop (very conventional!).
2. On the train on Evernote.
3. In a notebook using good old pen and paper while waiting for my phone to recharge! (There is much to still be said for pen and paper).
4. On a car journey.
5. Just the once – at the end of a church service, I had a very strong idea for a story which I knew I just had to write down a few notes about so I could write it up properly later. I usually hear my characters speaking, then visualise them. For this story, it was the other way round. Yes, it does have a faith based theme but I just had a very strong compulsion to get this story idea down quickly – so I did, using Evernote.
6. When I’ve got ten minutes before I have to go out anywhere… well it’s useful writing time and I flesh up the stories properly later on.
7. At writing conferences when I’ve been set a writing exercise. Nearly all of mine turn into a first draft af flash fiction.

I have NEVER followed the advice to keep a notebook by the bed to jot down thoughts that occur over night. This, I know, simply wouldn’t work for me. I sleep very heavily as a rule and don’t often dream so this is a no-go. I am never at my best first thing anyway so any notes jotted down would make no sense to me yet alone anyone else!

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Why do I like using the first person in flash fiction so much?

1. It’s immediate. I can take you right into the thoughts (and attitudes) of my characters.

2. It reads like a first-hand account (which from the character’s viewpoint is, of course, the case!).

3. I can get my character to refer to other characters and give a sense of a life being lead without actually bringing those other characters into the story itself. It saves on word count, obviously, but if I just need to show Character X hates Character Y, I can show you that by revealing X’s thoughts about them. I don’t need to bring in Y at all. It is more direct and, to me, comes across as more natural.

4. I find first person works really well in the sub-500 words stories so it does tend to be my “go to” when I specifically want to write to that limit or under.

5. There isn’t a lot of room for dialogue and character development in flash fiction. Flash is, as I mentioned the other day, all about focus and I’ve found it best to focus on one to two characters at most in a sub-500 words story. In sub-250 words, one character works very well (and therefore the means of showing their story is often best done via the mouth of the character concerned).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Travel Reading

I tend not to read much while travelling. I’m usually drafting blog posts and stories on my phone for one thing! But I like to take a good mix of good reads for when I get to my destination.

I prefer light reads when away. I am escaping from the usual routine so want to escape through books too. I’m currently enjoying Ben Macintyre’s The Last Word on Kindle which takes a light look at the use of language and is good fun. Highly recommend.

I also loved his Operation Mincemeat. Not a light read so to speak but a cracking and true story told at a great pace.

What do you look for in a good read?

I like to be entertained, escape my cares for a bit, and ideally learn something too.

When reading fiction, I learn something from how the characters are portrayed, how the dialogue is put together etc. I get so much from books and hope you do too.

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What Books Mean To Me Part 3

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Image Credit:  Unless otherwise stated, all images are from Pixabay. A big thank you to my guests on the Chandler’s Ford Today Series What Books Mean to Me for supplying photos.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I’m delighted to share the final, bumper edition of my What Books Mean To Me series for Chandler’s Ford Today. A big thank you to all of fantastic guests for sharing their insights here. It has been a superb series to put together and great fun!

This time Gail Aldwin, Paula Readman, Jim Bates, Wendy H. Jones, Val Penny and yours truly answer the three questions I set.

I asked which ONE book would you save in the event of a disaster, what does reading mean to you, and what do you think reading has done for you as a writer.

As ever, do share your thoughts on the books you’d save over on the CFT page.

A HUGE thank you to all of my guests appearing in the What Books Mean to Me series on Chandler’s Ford Today.

The series was great fun to put together. The wide variety of books chosen to save was amazing (as were the reasons why).

There is plenty to learn from also when my guests discussed what reading had done for them as writers (and of course continues to do).

If you were ever in doubt about the importance of reading for writers, do check this series out. My guests’ comments will leave you in no doubt that the best thing any writer can do to help them improve their craft – read and read widely and read lots. But, hey, don’t just take our word for it. Get on and read and discover how true this is for yourself (and the great thing is you can include reading the posts as part of that!).

Incidentally one of the joys of my CFT posts is choosing a Feature Image (nearly always from those magnificent people at Pixabay). Isn’t the library image for this week’s post just gorgeous?! See the slideshow!

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W = Welcome into a new world (sometimes it’s this one but seen from a new angle).

R = Real characters you can identify with come to life before your eyes as you read and you root for them all the way to the finish.

I = Imagination. The writer has clearly shared theirs with you. Does your imagination picture the world the writer has created clearly enough? Does the story spark your imagination and maybe inspire you to write your own stories or, even if that is not the case, can you think how the characters might live on after the book is finished? The latter shows the characters really are “live”.

T = Tension. There should be plenty of that, even in the funniest of books. Characters have to strive for something important. Other characters should get in their way for good reasons of their own. No tension/conflict = no story.

I = Intensity. Does the story grip you with its intensity? Do you feel the emotions the characters are being made to feel? (You should. No cardboard cut out characters here, thank you).

N = Narrative should be lively and speed the story along. The information given here should be crucial to your enjoyment of the tale.

G = Genre. Read widely in many! Think how many worlds you can explore through book covers if you do that!

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Looking forward to sharing Part 3 of What Books Mean to Me on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. It has been great fun putting this series together and there have been some fabulous insights and books selected to be saved. More to come on Friday!

My guests this week are #GailAldwin, #JimBates, #PaulaCReadman, #WendyHJones, #ValPenny and…. er… Allison Symes. Well I thought I should answer the three questions I set! Never ask other writers questions you’re not prepared to answer yourself!

(And if the series gives you a marvellous Wish List for a certain season due in a couple of months’ time, even better!).

Second image in was taken on my phone at the pub just before the Waterloo Arts Festival in the summer. Here are three happy flash fiction writers – Paula Readman, Gail Aldwin, oh and me.

Many thanks to Wendy Jones and Jim Bates for supplying their pictures. Val Penny and I were having a selfie moment at the Winchester Writers’ Festival earlier this year.

Do check out everyone’s thoughts on what books mean to them on Friday. Meanwhile, there are Parts 1 and 2 to catch up on over at CFT.

https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/what-books-mean-to-me-par…/

https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/what-books-mean-to-me-par…/

 

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Glad to say I will be having more stories on Cafelit later this month and into November. Two of them are linked. I’ve experimented with linked flash fiction stories this year and have found these to be good fun. I think the trick, if there is one, to them, is to ensure the link is strong enough and don’t keep it going for too long. Will keep you posted.

No shortcuts to editing! Pixabay image.
So true. Pixabay.
I prefer tea myself. Pixabay
Writing regularly, even in short bursts, encourages your imaginative side to flourish. Pixabay.
Reading has such an impact. Can’t imagine the world without it. Pixabay image.
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Recharge yourself when you need to. Your writing will be better for it. Pixabay
Adapations take more than one draft! Pixabay image

Tying in with my post on my author page, here is another acrostic which I hope shares some good tips.

F = Flesh out your character who is going to be the focus of your flash fiction story. Why are they the star of your story? What is special about them? Some of that needs to come through so your reader picks up on their special qualities and will want to read on. (Not necessarily all by the way. Readers won’t need the full biography! Just give the readers what they need to know.).

L = Lively pace. Well nobody wants a dull read, do they?

A = Animated character(s). They’ve got to be the type of people who readers will want to root for and, in the case of villains, are perhaps a little sorry when they lose (assuming they do).

S = Setting(s) to be places readers could picture, even if the setting is a fantastical world beyond any known galaxy. What is there readers can identify with? (That even on Planet QZog, the females of the species have trouble getting their men to put the bins out?).

H = History – character and setting. There won’t be a lot of room in a flash fiction tale of course, so imply what you can when you can. A character’s thoughts can be a useful device here as they consider what action they will take based on the circumstances you’ve put them in. They will decide what to do based on their past experience and also based on any known history of their country etc, as indeed we do.

Let the creativity spill out. PIxabay image.
How is your fantastic world governed? Pixabay image
Stepping into another world.. Pixbay
Whatever you write, enjoy it! Pixabay image
A good read means you ARE in a world of your own. Pixabay image
Set goals for the short, medium and long terms. Pixabay image
A good adaptation will confirm images the reader has already conjured up from the original material. Pixabay image.
Getting the balance right in adapting work is never easy. Pixabay image.
There be dragons. Pixabay

What do I want my flash fiction to be?

1. Entertaining. (Never despite the value of the escapism value of a book or story. The ability to escape into a good story is invaluable and I’m convinced has health benefits too).
2. To have the impact on a reader I hoped it would, whether it be to make them laugh, scream, or, where appropriate, both.
3. To be something I can be proud of – not just now but years on when I can look back at it and think, yes I loved writing that story/book and I still enjoy reading it.
4. A good character study, even if my character is a rotten piece of work. (Marvellous fun to write up though!).
5. To sometimes, and where appropriate, give a reader (and me) pause for thought.

So true. Pixabay image.
No matter how strange your characters or setting, there must still be identifiable elements for a reader. Pixabay image
I try NOT to chain down my creativity! Pexels image.
The Writing Life. Pixabay image.
A great new idea makes me smile, as does this image. Pixabay image.
Lovely books. Pexels image.
I’ve never read a book in these conditions, have you? Pixabay image.
Words have power, whether funny or tragic. Pixabay image.
What stories will emerge from here? Pexels image.
Playing with words. Pixabay image.
Words are the power source of so much creativity. Pixabay iamge.
What worlds will emerge from your writing? Pixabay image
Let the creativity spill out. PIxabay image.
Good reading – and writing to be done – here. Pixabay image.
The joy of writing is you never stop learning. Pixabay image.

Fairytales with Bite – What Books Mean to Me

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed interviewing my guests for the Chandler’s Ford Today series for the past three weeks. But linking that into fiction writing, I’ve got to ask what do books mean to your characters? Are your characters set in a world where they can read and books are easily available? Or are their stories preserved in other ways?

When you think about it, we have not had the printed word for that long compared with how long we have had the oral storytelling tradition. I love both “formats” and long may they reign but what would your characters know best? What is their technological equivalent to the Kindle if they have it? What fictional books would they read?

You can also ask that last question as you create your characters. Their choices may well tell you a great deal about them (and do query why the choices are the ones they are. Do they love, as I do, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice because they appreciate irony? How do they express their own irony and is it appreciated? Does it land them in trouble?).

Thoughts to ponder!

I know I have lots of stories and books in my head but I didn’t mean it literally! Pixabay
What we all need… Pixabay
Not exactly a selfier but… Pixabay
So true. Pixabay.
Well… again! Pixabay
A book lover’s dream. Pixabay.
What writing can give you over time. Pixabay.
Abbotswood House, home of Sir Walter Scott. Pixabay image.

This World and Others – Goalposts

When you create a setting for your characters, do you set up goalposts for yourself? What do I mean by that? Simply, do you set limits for the setting that you absolutely have to know about before you write?

For example, you may decide you need to know the history of the town your lead character lives in but not of the neighbouring villages. There’s one limit set (one goalpost if you like that you won’t cross!).

Look at what you decide you need to know and examine why you need that. You should have no problems justifying those choices. What does pay is if thoughts occur to you about your setting that do not appear to be relevant, do jot them down anyway. You may find they come in useful later on in the story draft.

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The Writing Life – and Publication News

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Image Credit:  As ever, all images, unless stated, are from Pixabay

 

Facebook – General

I thought I would look at what reading non-fiction has done for me.

I was a huge fan of the Simon Schama History of Britain TV series so got the books too. They are a fascinating read both in terms of content and how they are structured. Lots of useful pointers there for a writer.

I love guide books. Whenever I visit a historical place, I always get the guide book (and usually a nice pen too!). I learn so much from the contents but also from the human interest stories that often form part of these and how they fit into the factual narrative. Again, things to learn about blending material there.

I sometimes read specific books around a subject but I also love dipping into encyclopedias and other reference books (Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a favourite) and seeing what I find out! It is a lot of fun exploring avenues here and makes you think along ways you wouldn’t have planned. Ideas for stories and blog posts do spark from doing things like this. Give it a go. If nothing else, you expand your reading!

Hope you have lovely books as presents! Pixabay image
Well… Pixabay
A book worm’s idea of heaven and picture books will be in here! Pixabay image
So true. Pixabay.
Books are their own world. Pixabay
Another gorgeous library. I love pics like this.
FLTDBA in NZ. Image kindly supplied by Raewyn Berry
What worlds can you explore in flash fiction? Pixabay
Why look despondent in a library? I wouldn’t. Pixabay
I doubt if they’d let you put your feet up with a good book in here. Pixabay
Sometimes the books come to you! Pixabay

Pleased to bits to have my first review for From Light to Dark and Back Again on Amazon.com – the simplest thing people can do to support authors is to review their books. Reviews don’t have to be long either. Honesty about what you liked (or didn’t) is key.

So please, please review!

Also pleased to say that the Kindle version of The Best of Cafelit 8 is now available. There will be a paperback later in the year. My flash stories Dignity and Injustice and The Art Critic are here. The book is now on my Author Central page.

Last but not least, I’ve finally sent off a pitch for an idea I’ve been working on. Got to have the old hat in the ring after all to be a contender!

Do I still get nervous about submitting new work? Oh yes. Do rejections still leave me feeling flat? Oh yes. But, over time, you do get used to this being a normal part of a writer’s life. You do dust yourself down, look at your idea again, think about reworking it and so on.

Sometimes when an answer is no, the real answer is not yet or not here. What you can’t know when you submit material is whether similiar ideas have been received by whoever it is you’re submitting work to and so, of course, they can’t have something that is too like work they’ve already accepted. Park the idea, revisit it later, and if you can think of a suitable alternative market, go for it. The worst that can happen is they say no but, even after all the years I’ve been writing, you still have to fight the nerves and get that work out there!

Of course, you can’t beat the feeling when you receive acceptances! I only wish I could bottle it.

Open Prose Mic Night Swanwick 2019 - image by Penny Blackburn

I read The Art Critic at Swanwick earlier this year. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for the picture.

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Love having my creations around me! Image by Adrian Symes

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My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.

that lightbulb moment is a wonderful one for writers - pixabay

The lightbulb moment of inspiration for writers is wonderful. Pixabay image.

much easier to cut and paste and edit on one of these - pixabay

Write to screen but edit on paper. Pixabay image.

Glad to report The Best of Cafelit 8 is now up on my Amazon Author Page (see link above). Looks good on there! (Am also looking forward to the paperback coming out later in the year and the Bridge House Publishing event in December. Always good fun).

How do you find writing works for you when you’re tired? I find that shorter pieces of writing perk me up and I save the marathon sprints for when I have more energy. I do get ratty if I can’t write at all as those nearest to me would testify.

I have got to write something creative even if it is just the outline for a flash fiction story. Having said that, once I get started, I find the creative instinct takes over and often I’ll get to the end of a session having written more than I thought I would. So that cheers me up no end. Mondays ARE the worst day of the week for me for this. Do you have any bugbear writing days? How do you manage them?

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My favourite part of writing is when I’m drafting a character’s thoughts. Why? Because I can get the character to show something of themselves without them being aware of it! It is the reader who will make judgements about the character based on what they read of their thoughts and actions.

I also like writing thoughts because they can be a great way of a character revealing what they think of themselves and what they feel other characters think about them. They don’t have to be right on either of these! (There’s potential for comedy or tragedy there).

Also characters will think things they would never say out loud to anyone else (just as we do) and there can be fun to had there as a reader “watches” a character struggle to keep their real feelings for another character hidden.

If you think someone is a dingbat but they’re your boss, you’re going to think twice about saying so AND know you’ll have to suppress how you really feel to make sure nothing embarrassing unwittingly is “let out”.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Do the seasons affect what you write? I can’t say I’ve noticed anything here but I can imagine it may be easier to write a darker tale when all is dark and gloomy outside. (You’ve at least got the atmospheric setting for it!).

Having said that, I often write cheerier stories during the darker months because I like something to cheer me up and I figure readers would like that too!

From a practical viewpoint, when the weather is awful, the lure of being at my desk in the warm with hot drinks on the go is too tempting to resist so I don’t! There is much to be said for bad weather increasing productivity!

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Managed to do some writing while I was away in glorious Northumberland for a week. As well as my blog posts, I’ve drafted two new flash fiction stories (of the circa 500 words variety. I know, that’s going on a bit by my standards! Good fun to write though).

Pleased to say The Best of Cafelit 8 is now out on Kindle. It is now on my Amazon Author Central page (see links shared earlier). My flash tales Dignity and Injustice and The Art Critic are in there. Very different moods too just on those two stories. What I love about the Cafelit collections is the range of styles and moods of tales they have. (Paperback will be out later in the year).

I’m a great advocate of short story and flash fiction collections for the obvious reason I am sometimes in them (!) but also because they are a fabulous way to get a feel for a writer’s work. Give them a go!

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I was away last week in gorgeous Northumberland and the scenery was amazing. The dog loved the stunning coastline and we all did plenty of walking.

I don’t usually go in for a lot of descriptions in my stories. There isn’t the room for them in flash fiction but if I ever set a story on a windswept beach with stunning views, then you can take it I was referring to either Dunnet in Scotland (right on the top edge of the country) or Duridge Bay in Northumberland! Would love to revisit both places next year.

Where setting is invaluable for a writer is where it is almost a character in its own right. Check out the crime writing series for great examples of these (Morse = Oxford is probably the best known). Mordor hangs over Frodo Baggins long before he gets anywhere near it. The latter is a great example as the very name Mordor implies dread and darkness. Well it does for me anyway.

(Oh and for Part 3 of my What Books Mean to Me series on Chandler’s Ford Today this week I will be featuring, amongst others, two Scottish crime writers who very much use their settings as a vital part of their stories. More later in the week).

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What is your favourite kind of character?

I like characters that can surprise me even though I created them.

I like characters who might seem a bit dodgy but really do have good hearts. (It may be a cliche but it’s one I love. I also think we need far more good hearted people in this world – can we ever have enough of them? I think not).

I love characters who can make me laugh. The character who is good at one-liners will always go down well with me, even if they’re a villain. (‘And cancel Christmas’ – Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a great example of that kind of character).

I love the underdog who becomes the hero/heroine. I like supporting characters who understand their role is to support the lead and don’t resent that. (Sam Gamgee of The Lord of the Rings and Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series are great examples there).

So what kind of characters do you really love to read about and, better still, write for?

 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Holiday Reading

I drafted this just as I was packing up to come home from a fabulous week in Northumberland. Lots of walking and wonderful scenery.

As ever, I took lots to read, read some of it, and fell asleep far too quickly.

My best opportunities for reading came before an evening meal and even then I had to fight the urge to nod off. I blame the gloriously fresh northern air!

I mixed up the reading I did do. Naturally I took the Kindle, magazines, and paperbacks.

Do you find you read more or less when away?

I don’t usually buy specific holiday reading as I see holiday time as a chance to reduce my To Be Read pile a bit. It’s another matter whether I’m successful or not!

What matters though is whether you can read for five minutes a day or five hours a day, you ARE reading!

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What Books Mean To Me Part 2

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I am thrilled to share Part 2 of my CFT series What Books Mean To Me.

Many thanks to Patricia M Osborne, Jennifer C Wilson, Anne Wan, and Richard Hardie for going under the spotlight this week.

I quiz them about the one book they would save, what reading has done for them, and also find out how reading has helped them develop as writers.
I’m fascinated at discovering what my lovely guests feel reading has done for them as writers. There is plenty to learn from here!

Fascinating insights so far in Part 1 as well (on CFT from last Friday) and there’s Part 3 to look forward to as well next week.

Meanwhile, do send in your comments as to what book you would save.

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What does writing do for you?

Writing takes me out of myself. It makes me dream up characters and worlds that could exist in an alternative reality.

In developing characters, I have to know what makes them tick. In working that out, empathy is encouraged.
I have to understand why my characters are the way they are. I don’t necessarily need to like them but I have to be able to understand their motivation.
In doing that, I can get to understand more about how others tick and that includes me!😊
Writing stretches me whenever I have to research anything (and that applies to my fiction as well as my Chandler’s Ford Today posts).

Writing has taught me to look beyond the obvious as I don’t want my characters to be cardboard cut-outs after all.

Writing is good for you!

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Facebook – From Light To Dark and Back Again

I chose my book’s title based on the moods of the stories in it. I could only pick the title when all the stories were gathered together and I could judge how the book would work as a whole. Sometimes you do have to step back and see the bigger picture.
I had assumed one of my stories would give the title for the book but couldn’t make up my mind as to which would work best. So I turned to the overall mood of the collection instead.
It’s perfectly okay to take your time to get your title right. What matters is that you are happy with it as you will be living with that title for a very long time, hopefully!

Love having my creations around me! Image by Adrian Symes
Ah! The joy of the edit! Pixabay.
Imagination feeding the lightbulb moment. Pixabay
Feedback can vary in scale! Pixabay image.
My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.
Write to screen but edit on paper. Pixabay image.
If you’ve got a scene with a super-duper character from a longer work that really has to be cut because it does nothing to move that story on, could you look at it and work it into a flash fiction tale?
Bear in mind, you could use short pieces like that as “adverts” for your longer work later on.
You could see them as intros for the super-duper character.
Worth considering I think!

Lost in a good book.
Flash fiction illuminates briefly. Pixabay
Our stock in trade… Pixabay
Well… again! Pixabay
What worlds can you explore in flash fiction? Pixabay
Let the ideas spill out! Pixabay
Still room for pen and paper drafts. Pixabay
Short story and flash fiction collections make excellent presents, of course, especially if the people you are buying for have eclectic tastes in fiction. Also, collections can be a great way of trying an author out before going on to enjoy their longer works.
So do put all kinds of books on your present/wish lists but don’t forget the collections!

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Fairytales With Bite – Books and Their Importance

All of my lovely guests for my CFT series What Books Mean To Me have rightly stressed how important books are to them.
What books are important to your characters and why? Are there books they must read?
Are any books banned and, if so, which ones and why? Is there a kind of “read-easy” mirroring the speak-easies of the American Prohibition era?
In your setting, are books, writers, publishers, librarians etc cherished or seen as potential threats? Not everyone welcomes knowledge being freely available to anyone. (Oh how I wish that was only true for fictional set-ups!).
Which formats are books available in? Are books easy enough for most to buy?
Hopefully answering at least some of those points will trigger story ideas.

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This World and Others – Worldviews

When you set up a fictional world, what is the dominant worldview of that setting? In my flash fiction, I have to focus on my character(s) and their attitudes as the word count restricts your room for manoeuvre here. (You can imply worldview though).
For longer fiction, you need to decide what it is your readers really need to know here. Do they just need the worldview of your main characters as it affects their behaviour, or do they need the worldview of the setting so readers can see if your characters are “normal” or not compared to that?
Whatever you decide here, do drip feed things into your fiction. Leave some gaps so readers can put two and two together for themselves. One of the best ways of showing a worldview is in the attitudes and actions of your characters.

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Titles, Themes, and Formats

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Facebook – General

One good thing about the nights drawing in is it does encourage more reading, which is never a bad thing. It is also easier not to be distracted from being at your desk to get on with writing. One look at the murky weather and the thought of being in a nice cosy room writing is infinitely more appealing.
Stories have been a major part of my life for donkey’s years. My only regret is I wish I’d started writing my own a lot earlier. But the mportant thing is to start. Don’t worry about getting it right first go. Nobody ever does.
See learning from your mistakes and rejections as a kind of apprenticeship. Everyone goes through it. What nobody can say is how long that apprenticeship will be. But you should find acceptances increase as you get better at what you do and target your markets more effectively.

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Many thanks to all who’ve commented so far on my new Chandler’s Ford Today series What Books Mean To Me. Keep the books to be saved from disaster coming!
Books, and music, are two of the greatest joys in my life. The creative arts matter! I used to play the recorder years ago and, more briefly, the flute.
The recorder, which I still have, was something my dad got for me with his Kensitas cigarette cards!
I know! The irony of a wind instrument being obtained thanks to smoking which does nothing to help the lungs at all! I am glad to say Dad packed up smoking and spent decades cigarette-free.
You’ll be pleased to know I stopped playing a long time ago. I wouldn’t get Three Blind Mice out of it now! So listening to music is the real joy now.
The lovely thing with books is I relish reading and writing them and there’s no age limit here. I am encouraged a lot by those writers who achieved publication later in life. There’s hope for us all there!

What kind of writing exercises do you like best? I prefer a set theme or an opening line kind. You can go in all kinds of directions with those!
A writing exercise I was set earlier this year was to write down the first ten ideas I had on a theme. The purpose was you would “get rid of” the obvious ideas first. It would be the ideas that cropped up at numbers 5 or 6 onwards that would be the most interesting ones to work with.
So I tried it – and yes, this will be an idea I will keep using. It makes you dig deeper into your imagination and that’s a very good idea!

Ideas, ideas, ideas! Pixabay.
Tools of the trade. Pixabay
One of the first twist in the tale stories that had a major impact on me was Roald Dahl’s “lamb” one and I can’t say more than that without spoilers. Do check it out if you’ve not read it or seen an adapted version on things like his Tales of the Unexpected.
I watched that series every so often but wuld certainly appreciate it more now. When reading other material, I look for clues that to me hint at a coming twist. Sometimes I guess right. Sometimes I get the clue but the author does something with it I didn’t see coming. Other times I miss the clue altogether! Then I’m miffed at myself!
But it is huge fun to play that guessing game and enhances my enjoyment of a book or story so much!

Well… Pixabay
Books take you into other worlds.
Flash fiction illuminates briefly. Pixabay
Well… again! Pixabay
Recharging… Pixabay
Well? Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Themes, like titles, are best kept direct. If you use a pun you’ve got to ensure you deliver on it. What you are looking for at the end of a story is a sense of completion for the reader.
Did the tale meet its theme? Did it twist the theme? If so, was the twist an “obvious” one performed well? If it does surprise, is that something which could be reasonably anticipated from clues within the story?
One reason why it pays to read .well is you could and should work out what it is you like about the story and then figure out how you can apply that to your tales. If a twist is superb, what did the writer do to achieve this? Look through and you will pick up something. I call it the oh that’s how moment!
Best of all, you pick up tips like this and enjoy a good read.

How do you choose your themes? I tend to pick ones like love or justice and then come up with a quirky character to serve that theme.
I find it best to keep to straight-forward themes as they are great for plot and character development. Also I’ve a great aversion to over-complicating things!

Flash fiction does force you to keep to the point which is no bad thing.

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Flash fiction has also been known as postcard fiction in that your word count is what you can get on the back of one. This is good news for me! My handwriting is tiny. It’s a family joke I could get War and Peace on a postcard!
Set word counts work better for me then!
I think a set word count is better in any case. I’ve found it to be an odd truth that boundaries, like word counts, free me up to write better. For one thing, I know I can’t go off at tangents. I have to stick to the point. Fine-tuning my focus has always paid for me.

Glad to see the Little Library idea is speading.
Lovely library but my favourite spot for reading is either in bed or sitting in a comfy chair with drink to hand. Pixabay
Nothing like getting down to some writing… Pixabay
The magic of reading. Pixabay
What we all need… Pixabay
Top tips for titles:-

Mix up the type of title you use.

Use alliterative titles sparingly. The novelty does wear off quickly.

Keep titles to the point and as short as possible. You want them to be memorable and shorter titles always come up trumps there.

Proverbs can make good titles and can hook readers in. What would you make of a story called A Stitch In Time for example? That is open to interpretation and a reader will hopefully be curious to see what you have done with it.

Twist sayings to come up with intriguing titles.

Above all, have fun inventing your titles!

Goodreads Author Blog – Hearing Stories

My favourite format is paperback but I am fond of audio books. I managed to convert family members to the sheer joy of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld thanks to audio books. We can get through two of them each way on our annual jaunt to the far North of Scotland.
I think what I like most about audio books is hearing the characters come to life. It’s a bit like eavesdropping on a conversation. From a writing viewpoint, you also get to hear the rhythm of the dialogue, how the author handles hesitation, repetition etc.
Speech in whatever format of book cannot be exactly the same as real speech. You’d never want to read all these umms, ahhs, coughs and false starts! All it can be is mirror an idealised version of speech.
But hearing that helps you to write it yourself.
Happy listening!

What Books Mean To Me

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

It’s an absolute pleasure to share Part 1 of my latest series for Chandler’s Ford Today called What Books Mean To Me.

A big thank you to my fabulous guest authors for taking part, especially as I asked them which ONE book they would have to save above all others in the event of a disaster.

Come on, which author would only ever save ONE book?! Still at the end of the three part series I do get to answer that question myself.

The series also explores what reading means to us as readers and as writers. I’m very much looking forward to sharing the remaining two parts of this series.

And if the series gives you some ideas for presents for the book lovers in your life, even better! See it as a shopping list!

My featured authors include YA writers, children’s fiction writers, Scottish crime authors, flash fiction writers (not just me!), paranormal fiction, writers of women’s commercial fiction, and fantasy. Several of my guests wear more than one writing hat (do check them all out!) and some write short stories and flash fiction as well as novels. (Do check them out too!).

I hope you have as much joy in this series as I did in putting it together.

Image Credit: The library and books images are from the marvellous Pixabay. A huge thanks to my guests for supplying their images.

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I start a three part series on Chandler’s Ford Today called What Books Mean to Me. A big thank you to all of my guests who are taking part in this. It was great fun to put together.

I asked writer friends three questions:-

1. What is your favourite book and why?

2. What does reading mean to you?

3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?

For Question 1, my guests could only pick one book and the deciding factor was it HAD to be the one above all others they would save in the event of a disaster.

Really looking forward to sharing the links over the next three weeks. I will say now there is a wonderful eclectic mix of books chosen too.

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Many thanks, everyone, for the congrats yesterday on the Slimming World result. Much appreciated.

Awful day today. Had no water for a few hours. Now you know what Murphy’s Law is at work here. The moment you know you can only flush the loo ONCE until the water is back on again, you suddenly find yourself keeping on wanting to go! Oh well…

Yes I do feel sorry for the engineers sorting things out. It wasn’t just our house, it seems to be a major part of my postcode area and just when people were coming home for the day too.

Not impressed with a certain water company’s Customer Services. Let’s just say that’s an hour of my life I won’t get back and I was cut off during one call just to add insult to injury so had to go through the queuing system again. Yes, I had to queue. The numbers on the website take you to Customer Services and that’s it. No direct quick response emergency number. That strikes me as odd to say the least.

I tell you, it’s a relief that I’m now about to turn to writing for the evening… I really DO want to escape into something creative and therapeutic! Writing can and does come into its own for enabling you to escape for a while. Bliss!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

The love of stories (of all lengths) is what drives most writers to want to come up with some of their own – and to keep going when there seems little point in doing so.

I should also add there is some fabulous non-fiction out there which uses fiction techniques very effectively to get their facts across without being in the remotest bit boring. So when book shopping, check out the fiction AND the non-fiction aisles!

I’ve used actual events to inspire flash fiction stories and plan to keep on doing so. There is a lot of history to be inspired by after all!

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Hope to draft some new flash fiction over the next week or so. I am almost there with another collection but would like to add a few new pieces to it.

Unless I’m entering a competition with a specific word count, I never know how long a piece is going to be until I’ve written it. Sometimes what I think will work well at 100 words actually works better at 50 or 250.

It’s always a case of getting the story right first, then worry about the word count. Where a story is better at a longer word count than what you might have envisaged, well there are always open competitions and flash fiction markets with longer word count requirements. There will be a suitable home!

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Ten things I love about flash:-

1. It is direct. No waffle whatsoever. (No room for words like whatsoever either!😀😀).
2. It can be set in any genre or time you want.
3. It has to be character led so if you like inventing people, this is for you!
4. There are so many categories within flash there is bound to be at least one to suit you.
5. There are more competitions and markets for flash fiction now.
6. It is ideal to read on a screen (which is handy when travelling and could be a good way to tempt in a reluctant reader).
7. The form is flexible too. I have written flash tales in acrostic form to name just one. (Yes, it can be done in poetic form too but some would rather keep poetry to poetry and prose to prose and that’s fair enough too. I have written the odd poetic flash fiction story but it’s not something I do often).
8. If you like showing character thoughts and attitudes, again this is a great vehicle for that. It isn’t for long conversations though!
9. The form forces you to focus on what is really important and only that goes in your story. There is no room for more.
10. If you want to find out how to edit, REALLY find out how to edit, then flash fiction is a good way to go!

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Fairytales With Bite –

What Triggered Your Love of Fairytales?

I have the nagging feeling I really should have asked this question a long time ago!

For me, the trigger for my life-long love of fairytales comes from The Reader’s Digest Collection of Fairytales which came in two volumes. Both are hefty hardbacks and you wouldn’t want to drop them on your foot! I loved the stories and beautiful illustrations. These books were given to me by my late parents. I still have the books. The spine on Volume 1 in particular has been bound up by tape! I’m probably going to leave the building long before these books do!

The stories are those collected by Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, as well as originals by Hans Christen Andersen etc. I remember the shock at discovering fairytales didn’t necessarily have to have happy endings when I first read The Little Mermaid.

My favourite overall fairytale is Cinderella. Mind, my first published story was A Helping Hand in Bridge House Publishing’s Alternative Renditions anthology.  I look at the Cinderella story from the viewpoint of the younger stepsister who is not best pleased with the fairy godmother turns up again.  Great fun to write and, being my first published story, it will always have a special place in my heart. I still love writing fairytales from different viewpoints. It’s good fun!

Looking at why you love stories can help inspire you write your own (and do so better!).

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This World and Others – What Books Mean To Me

I’m starting a new three part series on Chandler’s Ford Today called What Books Mean to Me. It has been a great joy putting this together and I hope you enjoy it.

What do books mean to your characters? Is their world a literate one or is the oral storytelling tradition the strongest influence? Are stories welcomed or do your characters have to stick strictly to the facts and imagination is discouraged, punished even?

Can your characters read any books they like or do they have to stick to an official list? Is there a secret underground world of books where banned items can be read?

Do your characters treasure books themselves or do they leave that to others? If so, why?

Attitudes to books and stories can reveal so much about characters and their world settings. There are stories to be written here – lots of them ideally!

Image Credit:  All images from Pixabay.  Captions over on CFT (as are the pictures of my guests this week).

 

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Flash In The Pan, Meeting Targets, and Book Tokens

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Image Credit:  Unless otherwise stated, all images are from Pixabay.

Facebook – General

Lovely day (over the weekend) having a family get-together. Weather held for just long enough too. Lots of laughter, happy memories of those we’ve lost, and mutual support. Gatherings like this are so precious.

What do your characters cherish most? What would their get-togethers be like? Is there anyone they absolutely would NOT invite under any circumstances? How did that come about?

Is there a character who would love to have get-togethers but has nobody to invite? Do they make efforts to break through loneliness, shyness etc? Are they successful? (I must admit for a story like that I would always prefer an upbeat ending).

Happy writing!

 

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Facebook – General – 

and Association of Christian Writers –

More Than Writers – Flash In The Pan

It was a real labour of love to write about flash fiction for the Association of Christian Writers’ More than Writers blog today. I looked at the benefits of writing it and what it has taught me. I’m afraid I couldn’t resist the pun of Flash in the Pan though!

Having said that, puns can work well as titles in flash fiction. You are looking for the title to do a lot of the work for you in setting mood and what is likely to come, especially for those competitions and markets where the title is part of the word count.

I like to mix up how I come up with titles to keep me on my toes. You can’t use puns all the time, it would be tiresome, but every now and again, they can add spice to a mix of stories.

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I used to love writing letters to friends when I was much younger. I like email and couldn’t imagine life without it. (It makes submitting work SO much easier and cheaper for one thing!).

But there was something nice about receiving a hand-written letter with your name all over it and you knew it was from Friend X. Guaranteed to brighten my day as I not only had the joy of the letter to read, I always anticipated the joy of replying!

I occasionally still receive a hand-written letter as part of my volunteer role for the Association of Christian Writers and those are a joy too. I suppose it’s the personal touch that really rings home here. Someone has taken time and gone that extra mile for me. (Thank you!).

How can we as writers go the “extra mile” to benefit our readers? My approach here is to try to make my characters as engaging as possible (even if they are the type a reader loves to hate! I like (silently) booing a “good” villain myself so want to make sure there is something a reader can really get behind here!).

I like dialogue to ring true (I rarely use any kind of accent in a story. Nor do I use old English for historical flash fiction. I always aim for clarity – and frankly old English isn’t always that clear. You just want touches to conjure up the old worlds for readers. So I may use the odd old word, I try to get my characters to speak in such a way it makes sense for them to speak that way – they are always true to their class – and above all I will show something of the setting. Those are generally enough details for the reader to pick up the right images. Then I get on with the story!

Whatever you write, thinking about what the reader needs from your characters I believe is very important. I’m looking to entertain others with my stories (I hope) so I need to figure out how to reach out to those I’d like to read them. After all they don’t have to read my work so I see it that I must go the extra mile so they might want to!

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Pleased to say I reached my target at Slimming World tonight. I don’t know yet if I’ll be aiming to lose more but this particular journey has been a long one. That’s okay. The writing journey is also a long one and that’s not the only similarity between the two kinds of journey.

1. You know the journey will take a long time and that you have to be in it for the long haul to make progress. That’s okay. Go into it with your eyes wide open.

2. There WILL be blips along the way (rejections, that block of cheese which somehow managed to vanish by itself!). What matters is accepting that and learning how to handle them. (Can you learn from the rejections? Can you try your story out somewhere else? Can you learn NOT to have blocks of cheese in except for special occasions and relish them more because it’s for a special treat?).

3. When success does comes (whether it’s a publication credit or a bigger weight loss than expected comes, sometimes ANY weight loss!), you will cherish it the more because you know the hard work that has gone into either of these. You really will have earned it. That is a good feeling.

4. There will always be someone who will, deliberately or otherwise, try to undermine what you are doing. (You don’t need to lose weight. You don’t want to submit a story THERE. Said unhelpful folk either feel threatened by what you are trying to achieve or really don’t realise what they’re coming out with is undermining you. Best advice? Ignore. Focus on what you are trying to achieve and Go For It. You have nothing to lose here after all. If you achieve what you would like or close to it, that’s fab. If not do you need to revisit your goal? Perhaps go for it in baby steps rather than try to do it in giant strides.). What you really need are people are constructive and can share helpful thoughts and comments. When you find such people, cherish them and naturally always try to be that way yourself.

Good luck with the writing. If any of you are also on a losing weight journey, good luck with that too. Neither are easy but both can be rewarding! (Naturally any food or drink in the Pixabay pictures are completely calorie and syn free!).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

What things stop you writing? For me the biggest one is fatigue. So if I know I’ve got a particularly busy week coming up, I will draft a few posts and then upload them later. It takes any pressure off me, I still feel like I’m writing (which means the world to me), and I get things done.

It’s never lack of ideas or time, funnily enough, which is a relief. Fighting fatigue is best done for me by ensuring I get enough sleep, eat and drink well etc. I pay for it if I don’t do those things. It pays for writers to look after themselves here. It does help the creative spirit, especially since we are all in this for the long haul.

Happy writing and look after yourself!

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One of the frustrations of flash fiction I used to find was having a fabulous character that I wanted to do much more with, but I’ve said all that is needed to be said in their story!

One way round that? Linked flash fiction stories! The only thing to ensure is, however many other stories you do with this Fabulous Character in it, that each and every story is strong, stands in its own right, and builds that character over the series. It’s great fun when you get it right. Yes, you do need to know how many stories would be appropriate. Better to have only two linked but strong stories than six, out of which four are weak. You never want to come across as stretching an idea or character too thinly.

The nice thing with linked stories is I still get to enjoy the challenge of coming up with new characters for each story as the Fabulous Character won’t meet the same characters in each and every story. They’ve literally moved on to the next adventure and so will come across new people and challenges to overcome (or not as the case may be!).

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I love writing flash fiction using a closing line and working backwards to the beginning. It means I can come up with a humdinger of a closing line and then work out logically how my character(s) would get to that point. Agatha Christie often worked backwards like this.

But I think I have the most fun when I have a humdinger of an opening line. I like to work out different possibilities and then I go with the one I like best. It is never the first idea I’ve come up with either. This is where I find spider diagrams useful as I work out varying possibilities.

The important point though is to have fun writing. I think that fun does somehow permeate through to a reader. Certainly when I read, I pick up on the liveliness of a character portrayal, for example, and my first thought is inevitably something on the lines of the writer had fun writing that! Naturally I would like readers to think the same about what I come up with!

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The things I look for in a good flash fiction story (whether written by me or not) include:-

1. Impact. (Did the story have any?! Also was the impact what I think the writer meant me to feel? Was it the impact I wanted it to have on my readers?).

2. Imagery. (What images does the story/characters conjure up in my mind? What images do I think my story will give readers?).

3. For twist in the tale endings, did I see the ending coming or was the author able to keep me guessing? (Both are fine, funnily enough. The former shows the author delivered on what their story promises. The latter keeps me on my toes).

4. Appropriate use of words.A really well written story will make me gasp in admiration at the way the writer has used the language. They won’t go for the “obvious” either. I can learn from that (and do!).

5. I finish the story, having relished reading it. I then re-read it and can find something new in it that I missed on first read through.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Book Tokens and Gift Vouchers

Do you remember the book token? I was given a few of these when I was growing up in the 1970s and loved them. The thought of going to a bookshop and choosing something was so exciting.

Of course back then there were more bookshops to choose from. I definitely don’t see the reduction in bookshops (and indeed libraries) as something to be proud of, just the opposite in fact.

A £5.00 book token back then would certainly mean I could get two paperbacks (£1.99 each – those WERE the days!).

One of the earliest series I collected was Enid Blyton’s Famous Five as my local TV company (now sadly defunct) was bringing these to life on the small screen. Naturally the books were rushed out again with new covers linking in to the TV series.

These days it tends to be gift vouchers but I love those you can spend almost anywhere, including W.H. Smiths and Waterstones. I needn’t tell you where I spend mine after that, need I?!

The nice thing is I still have that sense of excitement about the prospect of choosing a new book. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that. Neither do I want to!

Do you remember where you spent your book tokens and what were some of your cherished purchases?

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