Month: December 2019

It’s That Time of Year Again

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Welcome to a bumper edition of my blogs round up. As ever, all pictures are from Pixabay unless otherwise stated.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

It really is that time of year again! I look back at my writing year, anticipate the one to come, and share why networking with other authors is such a good idea. (And that’s besides it being enormous fun, which is the best reason of all to do it!).

I set short, medium, and long terms goals for my writing. Do share in the CFT comments box as to how you go about this kind of thing. The lovely thing with chatting with other authors is you can learn so much from each other. I’ve picked up useful hints and tips and hope I’ve shared some too. I’m a big believer in paying it forward and backwards.

I also share some wishes I know we can all second.

Incidentally, there will be no Collected Works round up from me tonight but I am planning a bumper edition next Tuesday. As well as the link to this CFT post, I’ll be sharing my ACW blog link (due on Sunday), my Goodreads post (due tomorrow) and all FB posts from today. I’ll be back in the writing “saddle” properly from tomorrow but have relished catching up with some reading over the Christmas period.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and more power to our pens/PCs for the year to come. Creativity is a good thing and worth celebrating on its own account!

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What are your favourite openings to a book or film?

I love the opening sequence to the first LOTR film which shows how Sauron lost the Ring of Power. There is a real sense of an opportunity lost to get rid of the thing for once and all then. You know then the rest of the story has to be about what happened to the ring, did anyone find it, and was it destroyed eventually?

It is a classic example of setting your theme and building a sense of anticipation from the start.

Another favourite of mine is the opening to Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal. It says a lot for the story that it starts with the hero being hanged and goes on from there. Yet I am really not giving much away when I say that!

Again you have a tremendous sense of expectation that the story and its hero will somehow deliver despite what must surely be a disastrous start! Do read it if you haven’t already. Even if you have, re-read it.

Great stories stand up to repeated reading and I find I always pick up on something new.

Reading is such a wonderful thing to do anyway and as a bonus, as a writer you will always learn something from what you read.

I know I have lots of stories and books in my head but I didn’t mean it literally! Pixabay
This is lovely too!
Ideas, ideas, ideas! Pixabay.
Our stock in trade… Pixabay
Books take you into other worlds.
Another gorgeous library. I love pics like this.
Well… again! Pixabay

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Association of Christian Writers – More Than Writers – Christmas Angles

My monthly spot on the Association of Christian Writers’ blog looks at Christmas angles (yes, angles!) and why I like the telling details.

I looked at the little details that mean the most to me in my blog for More Than Writers, the Association of Christian Writers’ blog, this month. What was crucial was the Bible story only gives what it considers to be the vital details. Now there’s a lesson for a flash fiction writer right there!

What can be tricky is working out what ARE the vital details and I never get this right on a first draft either. But that’s not what a first draft is for. I’ve always loved Terry Pratchett’s take on first drafts when he said “first drafts are just you telling yourself the story”.

So let that thought take the pressure off. You don’t have to get it right at the first go – nobody does!

 

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I’ll be looking at Beginnings appropriately enough for this week’s CFT post. I’ll be sharing some of my favourite beginnings, have a look at why they’re so important to the success of a story or film, and discuss why I DON’T go in for New Year’s Resolutions. Link up on Friday (3rd January 2020).

I’ll be including LAST week’s CFT post (my end of year review) in tomorrow’s WP round up, which will be a bumper edition as it will also include a link to yesterday’s post for ACW on Christmas Angles. (I had to work hard here to make sure I DIDN’T put the word “angels” in. That’s the problem with words that are right in and of themselves. I’ve found grammatical aids do not pick up on context so it is still possible to come up with total nonsense, albeit it beautifully spelled and gramatically correct so beware!).

I’m editing two short stories for competitions and hope to have them submitted by the end of this week too. Whatever your week holds in store (writing wise or otherwise), I hope it’s a good one!

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Am drafting this via my phone and Evernote enroute to West Bay, Dorset. This is one of my post Christmas traditions.

Having enjoyed the feasting, now comes the time to do the walking it off! Lady will be having a particularly good time today. She loves the beach.

Do your characters have favourite places to go? What makes these places special? How often can your characters get to go there?

Also, do they have special places from their past which they can’t visit now but which have special memories for them?

How do those memories affect their behaviour in the here and now?

I suspect some good stories can be generated from answering those points. Good luck!

Lady having a good time at West Bay in Dorset. Image by Allison Symes.
A familiar sight to many of us. Pixabay
The writing life. Pixabay
Let the ideas spill out! Pixabay
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
A writer’s life. Pixabay,

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I’ll be back in the writing “saddle” properly from tomorrow (Saturday, 28th December) but wanted to pop by to say I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I managed to catch up on some reading which is always a fab thing to do!

My next Collected Works round up won’t be tonight but I am planning to post a bumper edition on Tuesday. I take a look back at my writing year on Chandler’s Ford Today which is now live.

http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/its-that-time-of-year-again/

I hope the coming year brings you much joy whether you write stories, read them, or do both!

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Some thoughts for as we rapidly approach 2020:-

F = Find new competitions to enter but check out credentials first.
L = Love writing, love reading.
A = Always have stories to read and write.
S = Submit work regularly so you have plenty of material “out there”.
H = Have plenty of writing prompts to hand so you’re never short of ideas to work on.

And talking of which:-

I’m glad to say #GillJames has put together this book of prompts which were written by authors published by Bridge House/Cafelit/Chapeltown etc. I’ve got a few prompts in there too and I am very much looking forward to working my way through this book in the New Year. Hope you have as much fun with this as I intend to!!

Prompts 2020 by [James, Gill] Image by Gill James

The biggest challenge for flash fiction writers is continually coming up with interesting characters to write about (though that for me is what I love most about it).

I have, in the collection I’m working on, linked a few flash stories where either characters carry on into another story or two or where they are referred to by others. I’ve liked that and will continue to do it but I do relish inventing new people.

I also love taking known settings and looking at a story from the viewpoint of an alternative character. For example, I have a flash piece called The Craftsman in this quarter’s edition of Christian Writer, the magazine produced by the Association of Christian Writers. I took as my lead character the man who makes Jesus’s cross.

What alternative/minor characters could you get to tell a flash fiction story? What would their outlook be on an event we know well? It’s an interesting angle to work with.

 

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Well, have you got your writing diary on stand by? I’ve gone for the same type as last year with lots of prompts to work my way through. (What with that and the book Gill James has produced – see below – I’m not going to be short of things to work on. Oh good!).

Whatever your writing year holds in store, have fun! Writing should be fun. It is also hard work, frustrating at times etc., but it should be fun most of the time.

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Loved listening to Ravel’s Bolero on Classic FM when I drafted this post enroute to West Bay in Dorset earlier today.

Yes I do remember watching Torvill and Dean ice dancing to it in the 1984 Olympics. The other breath taking sporting moment for me was Murray winning Wimbledon in 2013. (Loved his second win too but the first was pretty special).

What breath taking moments have you created for your characters and why pick these to be special? Could you write a flash story solely based on something like that?

Hmm… now there’s a thought!

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Goodreads Author Blog –What Day of the Week Is It?

Do you find you lose all sense of what day of the week it is after Christmas and Boxing Days? I do.

Time only has meaning in that I get to do more reading at this time of year. And naturally all time and its meaning goes completely when you’re engrossed with a good book! (But that is exactly how it should be).

Also why is it when, having decided to have a good read in bed, you find you’re asleep in minutes?

Conversely, on the thankfully rare occasions I have insomnia, why is it reading does not send me to sleep then?!

I read during the day when I can, usually at lunchtime, but it always feels a little like I’m playing truant. It’s tricky trying to ignore all the things I should be doing but I usually manage it!

Reading and time available are never in the ratio I’d like though! Still there is always time for one more book, one more story etc. Now back to that To Be Read pile. The only decision to be taken is whether I’m going for the “real” book TBR pile or the Kindle one!

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Will resume Fairytales with Bite and This World and Others from my next post on Friday. 

Have a wonderful 2020 and many thanks for your support.

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas, Everyone

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Image Credit:  Pixabay, unless otherwise stated.

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Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you have lots of lovely books as presents and plenty of time in which to read them. Now if that’s not a good wish, I don’t know what is!

Hang on, I can think of another. If you’re a writer, may you be inspired by plenty of excellent ideas and have lovely stationery as gifts to jot down those thoughts, which will surely become works of genius in years to come.

Yes, I think that counts as a good wish too. Not quite sure how Santa can deliver that one exactly but I am sure the great man will think of something!

Have a wonderful time. Will be back online in a few days.  NB:  I don’t know if I’ll be posting on Friday as, if I do, it will only be a link to my CFT post and I may save that until next Tuesday.

 

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I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Whether you write books or read them or ideally do both, I hope you find plenty of fascinating new material to be enjoying in 2020.

Not sure what my plans writing wise are for the rest of this week but I am planning a CFT post which will be a review of my writing year. I will also be sharing a few timeless wishes. Link up later in the week.

There is a surge of reading at this time of year for obvious reasons but I do hope that leads to a surge of reviews in the usual places in the New Year! As a certain supermarket would say, every little bit helps!

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I was reminded of the power of words and music to move the human spirit at the Carols by Candlelight Service I went to this evening.

Firstly, I heard the most beautiful rendition of O Holy Night I’ve ever heard (well done to the two ladies concerned) and it was one of the loveliest things I’ve heard EVER regardless of musical style etc. The congregation was deeply moved by it. I was close to tears (of the good variety).

Secondly, even without the familiar tunes, the carols are great poetry in and of themselves (and they all tell a story too so I’d love them for that reason alone).

I also read the poem Shepherd by Lisa Debney which was a great pleasure to do. It takes an unusual angle on the Christmas story – that of someone coming to terms with Jesus as a baby – and the words are so moving.

Words – and music – are wonderful things. Any of us working with either or both are so privileged. Enjoy!

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I’ve created a book trailers page on my website. As well as the one for From Light to Dark and Back Again, there are trailers for Nativity and Transforming Being, both of which I have stories in. A big thank you to #GillJames for her wonderful work in creating these three.

I’ve also included a short video I created for Job Satisfaction which is in FLTDBA. I hope to add more trailers (and things I creat too) on this page every so often.

Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the new page!

Nativity Medium

FromLightToDark_medium-2

Image from Chapeltown Books

Transforming Being

Transforming Being. Image by Bridge House Publishing.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Merry Christmas, everyone. I’ll be offline for a few days. I hope you all have a lovely break – and enjoy plenty of flash fiction, whether you’re reading or writing it (or both), of course.

To finish here are some of my micro Christmas stories. Hope you enjoy!

1. Scrooge grimaced as he walked home, having heard some youngster tell a snippet of a ghost story. Ghosts! Whatever next?

2. In the bleak midwinter, they could have done with a snow plough.

3. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer found that telling everyone he was suffering from a nasty cold stopped the awkward jokes about what he was adding to his water trough to generate said red nose.

4. Frosty the Snowman was the first to admit he really could not appreciate the benefits of central heating.

Allison Symes – 2019

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Thought I’d share one of my flash fiction stories. Hope you enjoy it.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

She knew she had to stop it. It wasn’t doing her any good and any comfort she derived from it had vanished long ago.

She put on her huge black coat, it made her look slim, grabbed her cavernous bag and shook out the massive pork pie she stored in there. She grimaced at it, picked it up and, as she left her flat and walked out of the roadway, she dumped the pie in the community bin.

Today she would start again. Enough was enough. She took a deep breath and headed to where she knew the slimming group met. She’d put off going for ages. But today was different.

She was NOT going to be mistaken for a giant tomato on legs again by anyone. She would show the world she could do it.

And when she had she would get the most rotten tomatoes she could find, hide and hurl the things at those people who’d humiliated her tonight. She knew where they were. They did not know where she was. And it would stay that way.

A year later, the local papers appealed for help in tracking a mystery assailant going around pelting rotten veg at people coming off the 28 bus at different times.

She laughed.

ENDS

Have a wonderful, story filled Christmas and New Year!

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There are certain things about the Christmas story I particularly love – and those are the telling details (which is highly appropriate for a flash fiction writer as only the most important nuggets of information are included in our stories. We have no room for anything else and readers have to fill in the gaps though, for me, that is the joy of flash. I love having to work things through like that and picking up on the implications etc).

One such nugget is the Bible story says Mary was perplexed by the angel’s greeting to her and wondered what kind of greeting this could be. Firstly, I can just picture that (!), and secondly, it makes Mary so real. It would’ve been very odd NOT to react that way I think.

When it comes to our own stories, our characters’ reactions MUST be realistic to the situations we’ve put them in. Readers should be able to think yes, I’d react like that or yes, I could see why they would react this way but I would have…

So when reviewing your stories look at how your characters react to something. Is that reaction reasonable? If a character goes “over the top”, can a reader understand why they might do that?

Happy writing!

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I love the poem The Night Before Christmas. It’s a wonderful story told in rhyme. As is The Gruffalo. I admire hugely anyone who can tell a story in rhyme like that. It’s such a challenge NOT to go for slightly awkward phrasing just so you get the rhyme you want.

Flash fiction can be told in poetic form and I occasionally experiment with this. It’s an interesting challenge but not something I’d want to do regularly. If there’s an award for most difficult category of writing ever invented, I think it would have to go to poetry. So hats off to all poets out there!

But flash fiction writers can learn a lot from poets. DON’T go for awkward phrasing just so you can achieve a desired word count. Your phrasing has to read naturally. You don’t want anything to jar with a reader. You do pick up on “duff” notes in the rhythm of your prose and I know when I’ve come across it in something I’ve read, it throws me. The writing will have to be pretty special to make me keep reading after that.

I write a flash fiction piece, edit it until I’m happy with it, and THEN select the competition or market it is best suited for. When a competition comes up for, say, a 250 word piece, but my story works better at 300, I won’t crop it. I’ll save it for another competition.

Incidentally unless a competition or market specifically says otherwise, it is okay to come in UNDER the required word count. I’ve found though my work tends to come in at 20 or so words below whatever the limit is and that is deliberate on my part. It means I’ve got a little bit of room to manoeuvre if I need it and allows for those places where the title IS part of the word count. You’re never going to have a 20 word title, are you?!!

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Goodreads Author Blog – 

Why Everyone Needs a Writer in their Life

If you’re not a writer yourself, you definitely need one in your life somewhere. Why? Well for one thing, you’ll have an easy present buy for said writer.

If we don’t give you a list of books we’d like to find under the Christmas tree, we’ll always appreciate nice pens and notebooks!

But the chances of us NOT asking for books, in whatever format, are extremely remote. Nor will we ever moan about a book shaped present waiting for us! We don’t care we know it’s a book in there. We just want to find out which one you picked out for us!

And this is why I loved receiving book tokens as presents too. I relished the thought of going to pick up my own present after the Christmas holidays – the thought of all that choice…oh good!

I don’t know about you but I always find it a joy buying presents for people where I know they’re going to like said present. And writers as a rule fit that category very well.

I can’t think of any writer who would pass on the option to have books bought for them!

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What Makes A Good Story

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

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I share what I think makes a good story and why. I also name some of my favourites and share my reading “diet”. I also invite you to share your favourite stories. Hope you enjoy – and that you have plenty of wonderful books and stories as Christmas presents this and every year!

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Two posts from me tonight. This second one also ties in with my CFT theme of What Makes a Good Story too.

Below is the book trailer for Nativity, this year’s Bridge House Publishing anthology. I’m delighted to have a humorous fairytale in here – What Goes Around.

Do check out the wonderful stories in here. There’s a lovely mixture of styles and moods but of course you don’t just need to take my word for it!

Boxing Day is my chance to catch up on some reading – books old and new – and I relish the opportunity to put my feet up for a bit and get my nose stuck into a good read!

Must admit to being a bit miffed Doctor Who has been pushed back to New Year’s Day. It always was the highlight of my Christmas Day viewing.

Have no idea what I’ll be watching this year. If nothing appeals, it’ll be back to the Morecambe and Wise box set. Can’t go wrong with that! The scripts were wonderfully written and brilliantly performed.

This is also where I particularly miss mum. She loved a good game or two of Scrabble. You knew word play had to come into this somewhere, right?

I’ll be taking a bit of time off from writing naturally but what is lovely about this is (a) a brief break does me good (and does for everyone) and (b) I’m raring to go again when it is time to start again. Gets the New Year off to a good new creative start and I love that.

Am I ready for Christmas yet? Umm…

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I’ll be asking What Makes a Good Story in my CFT post this week. I know – I could’ve gone on at length on that one. I haven’t, honestly (the link will be up on Friday so you can see for yourself!). I look at a good reading “diet” too and share a couple of festive flash fiction stories.

I can’t remember what the first book I read by myself was though the Reader’s Digest Fairytale Collections and Little Women have got to be strong contenders for that. What I do know is once I was hooked on stories, that was it.

What I like now is the range of ways in which you can take stories in – I love audio books for example and a great film adaptation can bring stories to life for many and may drive them to read the book too. The latter is one reason I love The Muppet Christmas Carol so much as The Great Gonzo aka Charles Dickens recommends reading the original book! (And very good advice that is too).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Good stories (my theme for Chandler’s Ford Today this week) come in so many varieties of style, mood, genre and, of course, word count length! The phrase “less is more” could have been invented for flash fiction writers. It wasn’t but it could have been!

Of course good stories for me are centred around the characters (as I discuss further in my CFT post) but the characters don’t have to be likeable. Well, Hannibal Lecter is memorable, is he not? Would you want to have dinner with him? I’d pass on that one… you’d never know who you would have having with the Chianti, would you? (I refuse to believe that’s a plot spoiler after all this time!).

So how do you make your characters memorable then? For me, they have to have a distinctive voice. This is one reason I use the first person a lot for my flash fiction. I can take you straight into the characters’ heads and show you their thoughts and attitudes. You then decide whether you like them or not!

A good story, whether it is a flash fiction piece or longer work, has to engage with a reader and the characters are, for me, the key to doing that.

Ideas, ideas, ideas! Pixabay.
I know I have lots of stories and books in my head but I didn’t mean it literally! Pixabay
The magic of reading. Pixabay
Flash fiction illuminates briefly. Pixabay
Imagination feeding the lightbulb moment. Pixabay
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Books are their own world. Pixabay
Our stock in trade… Pixabay

As you know, I like a mixture of darker and lighter stories in my reading “diet”. I do find at this time of year when the nights draw in so early, I read more of the lighter side. I guess I’m trying to balance things out here! I know I need something to give me a bit of a lift reading wise and that’s why I head to the funny/amusing side of fiction first.

And, yes, as the light gradually increases, that’s when I turn to the darker stories for a good read.

Whatever your reading diet, I do hope the books you’ve asked for end up under your Christmas tree this year. The best things about winter by are having more time to read and hot chocolate!

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Flash fiction can be written in different styles as after all it is a very short story and tales can be told in varying ways as well as in a variety of word counts!

They’ve been told in many different ways for centuries – from the oral tradition to the printed word from stories told in letters, diaries (think Adrian Mole!) etc.

I’ve occasionally written limericks which tell their own story. Hope you like this one.

TAKING THE PEN AWAY

There was once a cracker joke writer
Whose puns made people curse the blighter
So when his pen was taken
He felt forlorn, forsaken
But the world felt oh so much brighter!

Ends
Allison Symes

I suspect there are many of us who could identify with this!😊

 

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Fairytales With Bite – Transformations

Fairytales often have transformation as a theme ranging from the changing of an arrogant prince into something ugly (Beauty and the Beast) to changing someone’s life completely (Cinderella).

In all of the stories there is justification for the transformation ranging from deserved punishment to rewarding virtue/delivering from a dreadful environment. So when you use transformation in your stories (especially if it is done courtesy of a helpful and handy to have around fairy godmother), ensure you have a good reason for it.

The actual transformation is a pivotal point of the story of course. The arrogant prince becomes the beast and his story after that point is in discovering whether someone will love him enough to free him from the curse. For Cinderella her life is turned upside down by the fairy godmother’s intervention. Think about how your characters could handle that. Not everybody would handle it well and there could be some interesting stories there.

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This World and Others – When Your World Works…

This is by no means a definitive list but useful pointers for gauging whether your fictional world works include:-

  1. You can imagine living there yourself.
  2. You can picture how the different species in your world could co-exist (whether they do so or not is then up to you!).
  3. You know where your characters fit into the overall picture. Not everyone can be a leader so who are the governed and who does the governing?
  4. You know how your characters live and what they do for housing, food, sanitation etc. You have to convince yourself your world could work if it existed somewhere. You may not need to put all of these details into your story. You just need to convey enough so a reader is convinced you know how your world works!
  5. You know what could threaten your world and its characters and why.

 

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Seasonal Stories and Songs

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Image Credit:   Unless otherwise stated, all images come from Pixabay

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I’ll be looking at what makes a good story for the next CFT post. I promise to make it a reasonable length as I know I could write chapter and verse, quite literally, on this topic! I know, I know – the irony, given I write flash fiction and I’m duty bound there to keep it short!

I’ve mentioned before I have “patches” of reading one specific thing – e.g. crime stories – before moving on to the next thing I fancy. At the moment I’m particularly into short story collections. Hope to be reviewing a couple on Amazon before too long.

Stories coming up that I always enjoy at this time of year are Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather (probably going to watch the DVD), A Christmas Carol (have watched the Muppet one which is brilliant but I also like the Patrick Stewart version), and possibly The Polar Express. (I like that as it is not twee. I loathe twee).

I love the carols as so many of them are stories in themselves and/or encourage strong imagery. My favourite there is probably In the Bleak Midwinter. Fabulous poem by Christina Rossetti. I love both tunes to the carol but for me the Holst one is THE one to sing along to.

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Part 1 of Hogfather watched tonight. Cracking story and the film adaptation is wonderful. Fantastic music to it too. Do check it out. I’ll be watching the final part on Friday I hope.

Am feeling virtuous as have given my desk the pre-Christmas tidy up. Yes, it did take a while. It doesn’t take long for clutter to gather. I freely admit to not being the tidiest writer in the world but I do know where everything is so there!

What must I have on my desk? Well, aside from the usual pens, PC, printer etc., there have to be the family photos, notebooks, my dictionary, Writers and Artists’ Yearbook, the Mslexia Indie Press Guide, and Scrivener for Dummies.

I also have my writing diary and the projects I’m working on and a lovely doggy calendar (which is one of those will do for any year types. Each date has a picture of a dog and a suitable quote to go with it). Incidentally, Lady takes no interest in my writing whatsoever. She’d rather curl up on the sofa with my other half!

I deliberately keep reading material well away from my desk. The temptation to read rather than write is far too obvious! (And not that easy to resist!).

My writing desk is nowhere near as elegant as this one. Pixabay image.
Put work aside for a time and come back to it so you can look at it as a reader would. Pixabay image.
Let the creativity spill out. PIxabay image.
A great new idea makes me smile, as does this image. Pixabay image.
Write to screen but edit on paper. Pixabay image.
Let one creative idea spark another. Pixabay image.
My latest CFT post. Pixabay image.
Which number draft is this? Pixabay image
Ah! The joy of the edit! Pixabay.

Murphy’s Law For Writers (an occasional series!):-

1. Your printer will run out of paper and/or ink at the most inconvenient time.

2. You will either have loads of ideas for stories/articles or none at all.

3. Your favourite writing conferences will always have several talks/workshops to go to but they’re all on at the same day and time. (I know. I don’t envy those who put the timetables together. Anyone who prepares timetables come to that…).

4. You will never find a new notebook when you want one, though you know you’ve got loads. There’s nothing for it, of course, but to go out and choose another!

5. You will find that notebook you were looking for when you get back with your purchase. Never mind.

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Have just got back from a lovely evening at our church’s Carols by Candlelight Sing-Along. The church goers used to go around the village singing carols. Now the village comes to the church and frankly it is warmer, more comfortable, we can have tea, coffee, mince pies etc., and a lovely time is had by all. In between the carols were Christmas cracker jokes and poems!

Why did one of Santa’s helpers need to go to the doctor?
Because they had low elf-esteem.

Not sure the writer of that one is going to get any prizes but I am very happy to claim I DIDN’T write it! Mind you, a good cracker joke is one that can make you laugh or groan so I guess you can’t lose here!

All of the carols tell the Christmas story in different ways. Now there is inspiration for writers. There may be only a few basic plots but it is what we do with them that gives a story its uniqueness.

Oh and we did sing my favourite carol, In the Bleak Midwinter (and it was tonight too – very foggy!) and to the tune I love – the Gustav Holst one.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

A good flash fiction story should have:-

1. Impact (whether it is to make a reader laugh or cry or to surprise them).

2. A strong lead character.

3. Not many characters. Many of my stories are single characters only (though they often refer to others and that can tell you quite a bit about the “off stage” people and my lead’s attitude towards them. It’s not always nice!).

4. Leave the reader feeling as if nothing more could be added to the story.

5. Have a good pace to it (and funnily enough that goes for reflective pieces too. The pace must be suitable for the kind of story you’re telling).

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Is it worth analysing flash fiction given its brevity? Oh yes!

Coming across flash tales you love still gives you the opportunity to work out what it is you DID love about them. You can still look at why the story worked for you. You can also think about how you would have approached the theme in the story you’ve read and why you would take the approach you would.

Also if you come across flash fiction tales that don’t grip you for whatever reason, again take the opportunity to look at why. Then look at your own work and see if any of the points you noted might apply to your stories.

Taking time to figure out what works or doesn’t work in a story always pays off, regardless of the word count.

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Another form of writing prompt that can prove useful is to list ten words associated with something and get all of those into a story. For Christmas as a topic you could have:-

Elves
Tree
Tinsel
Reindeer
Cards
Presents
Cooking
Music
Stories
Post

The clever bit will be to ensure you use the words in a way that makes sense but doesn’t seem too obvious. (Mind you, the idea of the elves doing the Christmas Day cooking while the reindeer look on horrified at the mess the elves are making is one that quite appeals to me!).

It’s also useful to think of connections but to then go beyond the obvious ones. For example, we associate the elves helping Santa get the presents ready but what if the elves decided they’d had enough for one year and went on strike? How would that story resolve? (Who would mediate between Santa and the elves? I have images of someone like Cinderella’s fairy godmother being called in but then I have an imagination like that! What could yours come up with?).

So if you’re stuck for story ideas try listing some words and using some or all of them in a tale. Make the story as ridiculous or otherwise as you want. Have fun with this. The idea is to help you “relax” into writing (which I always find increases creativity).

Drafting those ideas… image via Pexels
Fiction is strengthened when backed by fact. Image via Pixabay
The wonderful world of writing should include non-fiction, which benefits from creative techniques too. Image via Pixabay.
What great books and stories will emerge from your laptop this year? Image via Pixabay.
Angelic Music – image via Pixabay
Stories reflect all sorts of moods. There is a story to suit everyone out there! Image via Pixabay.
I write fairytales with bite as flash fiction and short stories in particular. Image via Pixabay.
Images from the magical world… Image via Pixabay
One way through to the magical world but is it all sunshine and flowers? I doubt it! Image via Pixabay
Fairytale heroines. Image via Pixabay.
Books really are the gatekeepers. Image via Pixabay.

Singing carols tonight reminds me that stories can be shared in many formats. Each carol tells its own tale though for me Ding Dong Merrily On High is not so much a carol as a challenge. I’m asthmatic and have to take a breath halfway through the long “Gloria” so I sing it as “Glor….or…..or TAKE IN BREATH…. or….ia”! Hmm…. very much a case of taking a run at it and giving it my best shot and that will have to do!

I guess carols could be considered a form of flash fiction. I can’t think of any of them that would be above 1000 words!

 

Around the crib. Image via Pixabay.
Contrasting can be a useful technique when trying to solve problems with your fiction. Pixabay
Writing the first drafts! Image via Pixabay.
Fairytale magic can go awry – characters lose powers or become power obsessed. Neither is a pretty sight. Image via Pixabay.
So true. Pixabay image.
Have notebook. Will jot down ideas for how to drop my characters right in it and work out how they get out of it again. Image via Pixabay.
The universe is beautiful. Pixabay image.
Sunrise from space. Pixabay image.
The Andromeda Galaxy. Pixabay image.
Get those ideas coming! Pixabay image
There must be some truly fantastic fiction here. Image via Pixabay.
The writing life. Pixabay

Goodreads Author Blog –Weighty Tomes

I guess the reason Santa’s sleigh is as big as it is must be to take the weight of all of the books that are given as Christmas presents. (He must’ve loved the invention of the Kindle. Think of all the weight and space saved!).

On the assumption you have made it on to Santa’s nice list, how many books have you asked for this year?

I don’t ask for as many as I used to funnily enough. I download many to my Kindle. I almost always pick up books to read at book events such as the Bridge House Publishing I was so pleased to be part of last weekend. (Still saving Santa time and effort here. That’s got to put me on the good list alone, surely!).

The heaviest hardback I own is The Collected Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Wonderful book. Beautifully illustrated too but not something you have on your lap for a quick read.

The heaviest paperbacks I own are The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Seven Basic Plots. Neither are books you’d want to drop on your foot!

But I love all my books, whether they’re ebooks or print, whether Santa brings them or I pick them up.

Of all the joys in life, books, music and chocolate are my top three.

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Friends and Traditions

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Image Credit:  Mainly the marvellous Pixabay, but also a big thanks to Debz Brown, Paula Readman, and Dawn Kentish Knox for kind permission to use their images of the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I discuss Friends and Traditions in this week’s CFT post. I think the image below from Pixabay may well prove to be a favourite. Just love the thinking behind it.

It is with great pleasure I look back at the Bridge House Publishing/Cafelit/Chapeltown Celebration Event which was held at St. John’s, Waterloo, last Saturday.

I must say a big thank you to Dawn Kentish Knox, Paula Readman, and Debz Brown for kind permission to use some of their pictures. The big problem with taking part in an event is not being able to take pictures of yourself doing so! If you ever want to know how to help a writer friend out, do consider taking pics for them!

I also look at what traditions writers could have. Hope you enjoy.

Captions as ever over on the CFT link.

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What kind of picture prompts do you find most useful for generating story ideas?

I prefer “open-ended” images which give me ideas for settings and then I work out what characters would live in those places. I don’t want specifics. I want to be able to fill in some gaps for myself.

I also find quirky pictures don’t work well. They tend to dicate the mood of your story (which inevitably will also be quirky and while I LOVE quirky fiction and write it, I don’t want to write it all the time).

And forget cute pictures of kittens etc. Lovely to look at but dreadful for inspiring story ideas. (I know, that’s not the purpose of cute kitten pics, but whenever I do see a photo, if a story idea is triggered, I see it as very welcome input. You just can’t do that with a cute kitten pic!😀).

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I’m looking at Friends and Traditions for this week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post.

I look back at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event held last weekend. I’ll also be looking at how writers can make their own “traditions” by figuring out what works best for them when it comes to settling down and getting the words out.

I also celebrate my lovely celebration of meeting up with other writers. I always come back from doing that with a real “buzz”. Encouragement is contagious! Link up on Friday. Next week I’ll be looking at what makes for a good story. I suspect I’ll have to put a strict word count limit on that one!

So true. Pixabay.
Recharge yourself when you need to. Your writing will be better for it. Pixabay
Looks a nice cosy set up to me.
Well… Pixabay
Image from Bridge House Publishing
Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox for this image of me reading from FLTDBA
Image thanks to Paula Readman
Not exactly a selfier but… Pixabay
Again, well?! Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Flash fiction can take many forms. I’ve written acrostic stories which can work well and, of course, you can write a story in a poetic form. A lot of the Christmas carols do this. Think of The First Nowell for example. You have the telling of the Christmas story in one carol there. Good King Wenceslas is also a great story told in song.

But the point remains, whatever the length or format of your flash fiction story, there has to be one central theme to focus upon. Everything else hangs off that, of course, but there is no room for sub-plots (and those are wonderful for the longer short stories, novellas, and novels. I love the fact that every aspect of writing has a purpose and a joy of its own).

I’ve found it helpful to sum up my stories in a line, especially for flash, as that becomes the “peg” I write the story to!

(Oh and one other Christmas tradition I’ve happily upheld tonight is watching The Muppet Christmas Carol. Easily the best film they made and a classic telling of a brilliant story).

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Am listening to a hilarious version of The Twelve Days of Christmas on Classic FM narrated by Joanna Lumley (as at 12th December!). Could well count as a flash fiction story though likely to be towards the upper end of the spectrum. Do check the piece out. It is very funny. (Oh and the writer of this piece has stuck to the “golden rule” of flash fiction by not having too many named characters!).

And talking of Christmas related flash fiction, I hope you enjoy this one.

AN UNEXPECTED STOP
‘You do know at what speed you were travelling, sir?’
‘Er… no… officer, I’m afraid I was concentrating on getting to my next destination. I have to cover everyone on my list, you see, and I don’t have much time. Was it important?’
‘I’ll say so, sir. You will cause chaos flying at that speed. If everyone did that there’d be accidents galore.’
‘But, officer, it’s Christmas Eve, I’m Santa Claus, there’s nobody up here except us and I’d love to know how YOU got here.’

ENDS
Allison Symes

 

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Do I ever feel frustrated by word count limits imposed by flash fiction?

No. If a character has a longer story to tell, then I tell it and it goes on to be a competition entry for, say, a 1500 to 2000 word market.

If I can’t enter a 100-worder flash competition, I can always enter a longer piece for a 250 or sub-500 words kind. I do like that kind of flexibility.

The really important thing is getting the story right and if it works better at 150 words rather than 100, you are better off sticking to the longer word count. There will be a home for it somewhere out there.

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Fairytales With Bite – A to Z of Fairytale “Rules” – Part 4

Final section with some tricky letters to tackle but here goes!

U = Unique. Your fairy godmother will always come up with a unique way to help you. Pumpkins are often involved and she seems to have a bit of a thing for extremely uncomfortable footwear (for you that is) but she means well so bear with her. Her unique approach will work out.

V = Variety.  Where the fairy godmother will demonstate variety is in the number of ways they transform errant beings into hideous beasts and so on. Naturally there will be a need for someone to set said errant beings free from their horrendous transformation. Naturally the errant being needs to have learned enough humility to recognise they need to be set free. There is no room or point in continued arrogance here. It is that which led to the horrendous transformation in the first place.

W = Wands. A magical being will have their wands on them at all times of course. Fairy godmothers will still have the star on the end. Tradition is a big thing in the magical world and also the end client expects to see something of that nature. Letting people down is not what a fairy godmother does!

X = X-Ray Vision. A fairy godmother won’t “do” a Superman here. Where her vision is at her sharpest is in assessing character. Let’s just say when a being gets transformed into something hideous, there’s always a good reason for it. Nobody has been wrongly transformed to date. So when it comes to reading a character’s soul, your average fairy godmother has wonderful X-ray vision and will not be fooled. (Indeed trying to pretend you’re something you’re not is even more likely to encourage her to ensure you are next on her “to bring down several pegs or so” list).

Y = Yarns. Not wool! What your average magical being likes is a good story. Sometimes they like being the star of said yarn but it naturally has to have a happy ending and make them look good (even if they don’t do so at the beginning).

Z = Zest. Every magical being is expected to be full of zest. Nobody wants a bedraggled and tired looking fairy godmother turning up to help out. Magical beings are expected to keep themselves looking and feeling good, no matter what it takes to do so. (This may explain Snow White’s stepmother’s attitude towards her own looks).

discovery-space-shuttle-1757098_640Even in a fantasy world, the author will share some of its history to make the world seem more real to the readerEven in time travel stories there is a history involved

The best books take you right into their world - it's a painless procedure

Books take you into other worlds.

The perfect way to end a day - with a good book - Pixabay

Fab end to a day I think. Pixabay.

This World and Others – What Is A Good Fictional World

For me a good fictional world has to have the following attributes.

  1. I’ve got to be able to see it in my mind’s eye and either wish to live there or avoid it like the proverbial plague. Sounds like a contradiction, right? What matters here is being able to visualise that world so well it will trigger either reaction in you. That world has drawn you in – job done!
  2. A good fictional world will reflect the lives of different species/classes/genders within it. There generally isn’t one species/class/gender etc. Okay, the story may focus on only one but you should be able to see how that one reacts and acts to the others living in that same world. (They’ll often be the source of conflict driving the story or will be supporting your hero/heroine in some way).
  3. A good fictional world will give some details on its virtues and shortcomings. What do your characters love and loathe about being where they are?
The basic necessities of the writer’s life!
Let the writing flow and if music can help it along even better! Image via Pixabay
Flash fiction, by its nature, has to take one look at a situation to be a story but you can get quite a bit into that “one look”. Image via Pixabay.
Jotting down ideas for future stories is always a good idea. Image via Pixabay
Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay
Outlining your characters, perhaps. Image via Pexel
Flash fiction for impact. Image via Pixabay
Fantasy may look at other worlds but often reflects on our own. Time is different too. Music can interpret worlds too. Think of classic film scores like that for The Lord of the Rings. Image via Pixabay.
The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay
Love what you write. Image via Pixabay.
Aids research whether it is tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc! Image via Pixabay

 

 

Celebrating Writing

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

A very big thank you to Paula Readman, Debz Brown, and Dawn Kentish Knox for kind permission to use their photos which were taken during the Bridge House Publishing celebration event.

Facebook – General

On my way to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event as I draft this post at 7.30 am on Saturday, 7th December 2019. Not going to see much of the lovely Hampshire countryside this time – it’s pitch black still and will be again on the way home.

Am happily ensconced in a comfy seat plugged in and listening to Classic FM as I write. Generally I find classical music soothing unless they put on the 1812 Overture when I have to resist the urge to use my stylus as a conductor’s baton! You’ve heard of air guitar. This is my equivalent!😀

When I get to read my stories publicly, I like to pick a mixture of tales in terms of length and mood. For today’s event I’ve picked short humorous (which can also be used as a description for yours truly!), a mid-range fantasy with a twist, and a crime tale. Hope they go down well. Will be writing the event up for CFT for next Friday.

What I am looking forward to most is meeting up with my fellow writers. It will be fun!

And the pics below prove it was fun!

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Loved the Bridge House event yesterday. Got home shattered but happy – always a sign of a good event, that! Many thanks to Paula Readman and Russell for the group pic of us holding up the books we were in this year. It’s a smashing photo. And this gives me the perfect excuse to repeat showing it!

Was very happy with my work during the day too. Drafted my FB and Goodreads blogs on the way up to London, posted them on the way home. Drafted two new flash fiction stories and wrote a reasonable section for a non-fiction book I’m working on as well. On getting home I started drafting my CFT post for this week so plenty of writing done I’m pleased to say. Naturally I came home with books to read too…

I do love Evernote and a smartphone! Even better was being on a train where I could keep my phone charged up as I actually had a power socket! (I know, I know, writers can be pleased by strange things indeed but I’ve been on too many trains where there is no power socket for phone charging or, worse, where there were some and they’ve been blanked out so I don’t take this kind of thing for granted!).

It was also lovely to chat to different people during the speed “dating” exercise at the event yesterday. Books, whether writing or reading them (or both), are a great conversational ice breaker. (Many thanks also to Dawn Kentish Knox for the pic of me reading from From Light to Dark and Back Again).

Oh and the Christmas tree at Waterloo was lovely. More pics in my CFT post later in the week.

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Am enjoying singing along with the carols on Classic FM. Lady doesn’t really know what to make of it all though… 😀😀 – mind you, she does love Christmas. For a household with a collie in it, there is no such thing as left over turkey! And we get to go on post-Christmas walkies, which always goes down well – with Lady at least.

One of the nice things about coming back from events like the Bridge House one on Saturday is I can be sure of being “mugged” by the dog (demanding a big cuddle, how dare you go away, Mum!) on my return home! (Lady has almost followed me on to the train to Swanwick before now!).

I’ll be writing about Friends and Traditions for my CFT post this week. The Bridge House event has become a tradition for me and it involves lots of friends so win-win there! Link up on Friday. (I’ll also be looking at the benefits of meeting up with other writers).

Oh and I was delighted to find one fellow Bridge House author, #LindaPayne, is a fellow fan of the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. Another instant topic of conversation right there!

I remember being a very nervous newbie when I went to my first writing event aeons ago. Now, I can hardly wait for my favourites to come around. What has helped here? Why, making writer friends of course. It makes a huge difference. And I’ve always found that when you meet up again, you continue your conversations as if there hadn’t been a break of months or what have you since you last spoke directly.

There is so much much to enjoy about writing and this is one aspect of that. All hugely encouraging too and we all need encouragement on a regular basis.

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A very wet day (as Lady would testify if she could) and I spent a lot of it fervently wishing my glasses came with mini windscreen wipers!

I don’t tend to use the weather much in my stories as, if I wish to add atmosphere to a story, I can usually do it in some other way. If I want to show my characters under stress, there are usually better ways of doing it.

I tend to save the weather for when the story wouldn’t make sense if it wasn’t brought in. That way I can avoid parody (“it was a dark and stormy night”, anyone?) and any description of the weather is kept to the minimum I need to achieve my objective.

 

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Flash fiction lends itself well to being read publicly and also gives an instant demonstration of what flash is. Its brevity is its strongest selling point. Not got enough time to read?

Well, you can read a 50 or 100 worder quickly enough! See it as a great way to enjoy a fiction fix! A good friend has described it as a bus stop read, which is a great way of summing it up as well as suggesting where you can read it!

I love to read shorter fiction in between novels too. Flash fiction is the story form you can enjoy between “meals” of longer works without ruining your appetite for long or short fiction! Anyone else out there who remembers the old Milky Way advert?!

 

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A story comes to life for me when the lead character comes to life. For flash fiction, that has pretty much got to happen in the opening couple of lines. I try to do this by:-

1. Giving an intriguing situation the character has to solve and you want to find out how the character does it.

2. Take you inside the character’s head immediately and something about their attitude/thoughts will make you want to read on.

3. In my Punish the Innocent, I use a letter format to show my lead character addressing “their” reader and by opening with powerful lines. “Dear Sarah, They say the perfect crime is where the criminal doesn’t get caught. Wrong.” Again I’m seeking to intrigue a reader here into wanting to find out if my letter writer is right or not and if THEY’VE committed the perfect crime as their line clearly implies they think they have. It is the “got to know what happens here” scenario and if there was a kind of holy grail for writers, I would say that was it.

So basically then my way into a story is via an intriguing character or intriguing situation. The ideal, of course, is to have both but often (and I’ve found this in works I’ve read by other writers too), you don’t always realise how intriguing a character is until you have got to end of the story.

After all, if you take A Christmas Carol, you would hardly warm to Scrooge if you only read the first page or two, would you? There has to be something to make you want to read on and it is only at the end of that Christmas classic, you have got to see the depths of the real Ebenezer. In flash fiction, you have to do that much more quickly but it is a fun challenge!

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I sometimes write one liner flash fiction stories. (These are great for the 25 words and under competitions/markets). One of the stories I drafted in London on Saturday was one of these. I saw the potential for expanding it and did so! I’ve got work to do on it but the character comes across better in the longer version so I will stick with that.

The flexibility of flash here is one of its strengths I think. If I want to I can still submit the one line version but to a different, appropriate market for that word count.

At other times I will look at my one line stories again and realise they are best left as they are. But this is added reason to put work aside for a while before coming back to it. You need distance to be able to assess whether something would work at a longer word count than the version you originally came up with.

The deciding factors are whether the character is strong enough for their story to be expanded at all and does that character benefit from this.

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Thought it would be nice to share a story tonight. Hope you enjoy it.

WHAT THE NEIGHBOURS THINK
Had the neighbours seen the appearance of a witch in the huge chestnut tree?
Mary fervently hoped not. She also hoped they hadn’t seen her frantically wave at the witch indicating exactly where she could go. Back into the sky on that dodgy looking broomstick and away from Mary.
What is it about me that attracts the oddballs?
Mary poured herself a cup of tea and added a decent amount of brandy to it. She felt in need of it.
Even by her standards, the appearance of a witch was unusual. Annoyingly it was nowhere near Halloween so Mary couldn’t pretend it was one of the neighbourhood kids taking a prank that bit too far.
Looking again out of her kitchen window, Mary sighed with relief. The witch had gone. Mary turned back to her tea only to discover she now had company in her kitchen.
‘Well, aren’t you going to make me a cup of tea then, sister?’
Mary grimaced. She now knew where the witch was.

ENDS.
Allison Symes

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Goodreads Author Blog – What Reading Does For Me

Hmmm….where to start on this one!

1. Reading helps me escape. It doesn’t matter if the day is a good one or not – when I get to read I get to switch off.

2. Reading shows me worlds, real and fantastical, and expands my horizons. You can’t know everything, no one person could, but books are a brilliant way of expanding your knowledge. They can help you develop new interests too.

3. Reading inspires my own writing. I see what other authors do with their characters and think well I would have written them this way instead because… and off I go with my own tales.

4. Reading non-fiction expands your general knowledge. Handy if you like quizzes!

5. Reading expands your vocabulary. Handy if you love word games as It do.

6. People will never run out of present ideas for the book lovers in their lives!

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Trains and Wish Lists for Writers

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

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

It was a joy to write about trains for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. It is one of my favourite inventions. I share how it has affected my writing (in terms of how I use a train journey and writing events I get to) and share some links to some great places to visit connected with the train. All of this just ahead of my going to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event tomorrow. Naturally I’m travelling by train!

Yes, I did have a train set as a kid, shared with my sister, but you can’t beat going on the real thing and I’ve loved trips on the Fort William to Mallaig line (think Harry Potter) and the Watercress Line amongst others. (The latter has a Permanent Way sign on one of their engineering sheds as a tribute to Terry Pratchett. They also have an old advert for Nosegay tobacco – make of that what you will – see the post for the picture proving it!).

One thing I didn’t mention in the post was I love stories connected to trains too. I’ve always loved Agatha Christie’s 4.50 from Paddington (a Miss Marple story) – and who could forget Murder on the Orient Express? And I’ll always have fond memories of my book signing at my local railway station. That was good fun. (Many thanks to the Three Rivers Rail Community Partnership for their help there and I’m pleased to advertise their Mulled Wine and Mince Pie event coming up on 13th December. See the post for more).

Oh and my favourite Terry Pratchett story? Very hard to say but I do adore Raising Steam.  Captions over on the CFT post, as always, but I will say a big thank you to the Three Rivers Rail Community Partnership for their poster for their Mulled Wine and Mince Pie event.

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Had lovely day in Dorset celebrating wedding anniversary with other half and Lady. Plenty of walking and very fresh air! Hope both prove to be inspiring!

Many thanks to all who read my story Staying In on Cafelit earlier this month..it is nice to know it did very well in the number of reads for the period. Things like this are so encouraging.

If there was a wish list for writers I would include:-

1. Encouragement to always come when most needed.

2. Time to somehow magically expand when the writing is going well and you are on a roll.

3. Inspiration to always come when most needed.

4. Always knowing not only have you found the right publisher before submitting work you have sent them the perfect pitch.

5. Never running out of paper, computer consumables, and good ideas!

And below is Lady having a fab time on West Bay beach!

Lady having a good time at West Bay

Lady having a good time at West Bay in Dorset. Image by Allison Symes.

What dates have special meaning for your characters and why? How do they celebrate key events/mark the more sombre ones? Do they live in an environment where commemorations/celebrations are enforced? If so, what led to that and do they toe the line or rebel? What are their reasons?

Questions like these are useful for fleshing out the characters you want to write about but also their setting (which can often be treated as a character in its own right).

In flash fiction, I have to hint at a setting but for standard short stories (1500 words +), there is more room for manoeuvre. I’ve found that the telling details (often only a line or two) are the ones that create the greatest impression of the world you’re trying to convey and so have the biggest impact on a reader.

 

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I’m looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event tomorrow and enjoying hearing fellow writers read their creations. I love being read to – doesn’t happen often enough (though this is where audio books are brilliant).

I’m planning to read some of my flash fiction stories too and this is where my favourite type – the 100 worders – come into their own. Short and with a sting in the tale. What’s not to like?! Looking forward to sharing new material and an old favourite or two.

I hope to write further stories on the train. I usually get a couple drafted, along with blog posts etc.

And one of the best ways of showing someone what flash fiction is simply to read them an example!

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What do you like your characters to be? I like mine to show spirit, whether or not that stance is justified! I also have a very soft spot for the older hero/heroine.

All of that is fine but I have to watch out I don’t just write characters who are all like that.

It can be a challenge to write about characters I dislike. The even bigger challenge is ensuring I do that so a reader would never know!

It can be really satisfying though when a character you don’t particularly like wins you round by the end of the story you’ve put them in.

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All fiction writers are given the advice to show, not tell in their stories. It’s even more crucial for flash fiction writers to do so. We have to imply so much and leave readers to fill in the gaps (which is just one very good reason why I love reading and writing flash. I’ve always loved filling in the gaps – and yes I was a huge dot to dot fan for much the same reason when I was a kid! I HAVE to fill the gaps in!).

All we can show you is this brief moment in a character’s life and its impact on them. You should be able to see the point of every flash fiction story and why this moment is important to that character. I’m particularly fond of those stories which leave me wondering at the end whether I would have made the same choices as the character. A story that encourages you to think is a very good thing indeed.

 

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Fairytales with Bite – A to Z of Fairytale “Rules” – Part 3

O = Obscure Origins. Fairytales love their lead characters to have humble beginnings. Many a hero has sprung from there. So never despite anyone coming from such a background. In the fairytale world, they usually go on to greatness.

P = Poverty. This is often an underlying theme. Look at Cinderella. She was made to live in poverty. The fairytale world generally looks kindly on such and will go out of its way to help. Good news if you are that person. Less good news if you’re the one forcing the character to live like this in the first place. There is a comeuppance in most fairytales and you will face it.

Q = Queens. Don’t always get a good press in the fairytale world. Just ask Snow White’s stepmother. Alternatively, there are those such as Sleeping Beauty’s mother, who struggles for a long time to conceive (there is a whole story there which would resonate), gives birth to the heroine, but is not even named (which I think is a great shame).

R = Royalty in general. There is a right royal mixed bag here. The fairytale world is full of princes who aggravate magical beings (Beauty and the Beast), kings who send their three sons out on missions (and it will always be the youngest one who succeeds), and those who try to prevent a bad spell from ever being activated by burning all the spinning wheels in the kingdom. Nice try that but the king concerned should have guessed it only needed one to escape that particular edict and for story purposes that was bound to happen, wasn’t it? Even kings are bound by the rules of story in the fairytale world.

S = Story. There has to be a beginning, a middle and, a lot of the time, a happy ending though The Little Mermaid and The Little Match Girl are notable exceptions to the latter. But it is also true in the fairytale world that the hero/heroine will overcome all obstacles in their way, sometimes with magical assistance. The story is usually a test of character for that hero/heroine and they have to pass it.

T = Time. Most fairytale stories play out over a relatively short period of time (Sleeping Beauty notwithstanding!). What always begs the question for me is why did Cinderella’s fairy godmother turn up so late to help her goddaughter, who clearly needed help much sooner?!

Final section next time.

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This World and Others – Visiting Fictional Worlds

A recent question which came up on my Goodreads page was which fictional worlds would you visit if you could and why? Well, my choice was Middle Earth from The Lord of the Rings, as I’ve always loved its portrayal and the films just confirmed what I had already imagined this glorious place would be like. I also liked the hobbit holes and fancy one myself as they look lovely and cosy. Mind you, I’m under 5′ tall so I would probably fit in quite well! I must admit though I’d happily give Mordor a miss.

My second choice would be Narnia from The Chronicles of Narnia, though I would ensure I wrapped up well (see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for why!). I wouldn’t mind visiting Harry Potter’s Hogwarts either. I like the look of the school grounds! (And to tie in beautifully for this week, I would love to get to Hogwarts on their train!).

So where would you go if you could and why?

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Reading Lists and The Joy of Writing

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

Facebook – General – and Publication News

Delighted to share the link to Green Door, my latest story on Cafelit. I was particularly pleased with the ending on this one. See what you think and I hope you enjoy it.

HISTORY - What stays in your book or story must grip your reader and only you can decide what details must go in

Hope you enjoyed Green Door, my latest on Cafelit, which went up yesterday. More to come in December and January. I’m very fond of my lead character, Emily, in this one but I do have a very soft spot for feisty older heroines.

I’ll be taking a look back at my writing year in a couple of weeks’ time. I like to review what I’ve achieved, where I’m making progress, and what I’d still like to do. I then make plans for the coming year and give them my best shot.

One thing I have achieved this year which I am pleased about is entering more competitions. Okay I haven’t been shortlisted in them but I can (and have) reworked some of those stories and either will or have got them out elsewhere.

I’ve found very little is wasted in writing. Especially for short stories and flash fiction, taking another look at the piece, submitting to another competition or market, is very much worth doing.

One nice thing about this time of year as the weather gets colder is I get to write with Options hot chocolate keeping me going! This is where I am thankful writing is NOT an outside thing!

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I’m not the world’s most gregarious person but two things have got me chatting to people. One is becoming a dog owner. That really does break down barriers of reserve. The other is becoming a writer.

Instant topic of conversation at writers’ events and so on: what do you write, how long have you been writing etc? By the time you get to compare your favourite kinds of stationery (and you will), you’ll feel like you’ve known the person you’ve been talking to for YEARS.

 

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Top tips for writing:-

1. Enjoy it. Know you would write whether you are published or not. Know rejections are part and parcel of the writing life. Go into writing with your eyes wide open.

2. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different forms of writing. I didn’t start out writing flash fiction after all.

3. If you can, get along to good writing conferences. You’ll learn lots from them and hopefully make friends too. Having writer friends is wonderful. They will understand the ups and downs of the writing life better than anyone else.

4. Never be afraid to ask questions about writing services etc. All industries have their charlatans, publishing sadly is not exempt. (Do check with the Society of Authors/Alliance of Independent Authors and again writing friends can be invaluable here. You learn so much from them and they can learn from you too).

5. Have fun with your writing. The first one to enjoy your work should be you!

Generating the writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.
My desk is NOT this tidy. Pexels image.
What journeys are your characters going on? Image via Pixabay
If your story grips you, all sense of time will go! Image via Pixabay.
Reading is wonderful. Image via Pexels.
Lovely books. Pexels image.
Can’t have too many notebooks and pens. Image via Pexels
Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.
Ready to write? Image via Pixabay.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Love this bookmark! Image via Pexels
Your blog, your topic, your theme – just be sensible on copyright and libel issues. Image via Pixabay.
What every writer needs. Image via Pexels.
Trusted notebook! Image via Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My goal on the flash fiction front is to try to get my next collection ready for submission. Hopefully I’ll then submit it next year.

I’m still adding stories to it, which is a joy, but I need to go through it and ensure only the very best make it.

Of course that is the challenge. What is the very best?

Again I am looking at the impact the stories have on me. If they have the impact I hoped they would have, then they’ll stay in because they’re likely to do the same for a reader. If not, out they come and I’ll rewrite.

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One liners can work well in flash fiction because they have to keep to the point. They can be a great ending to a story, especially a humorous one.

I sometimes draft a few possible one liners and then work out what could lead to a character coming out with them. (This is where writing the story with the ending mapped out and then work out what the beginning and middles are is useful).

The advantages of drafting one liners like this are (a) it’s fun and (b) your one liners will be justified. That in turn will lead to the story finishing on a natural, funny ending, leaving a reader with a smile and on a high point.

 

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Looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing event on Saturday. Plan to draft plenty of flash fiction and blogs on the journey to and fro.

I’ve long loved the train (I’ll be writing about that for CFT this week) but also love having that period of time when I can just sit and get work written. It’s extra to what I’d do back at the old desk and I get to go home, having had a wonderful time and feeling virtuous I’ve got new stories mapped out! Win-win.

Learning to work almost anywhere obviously increases productivity but I’ve found it helps me cut out distractions back at home. It’s a question of what works for you.

 

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A flash fiction story should be focused around one central character and one major point of change affecting that character.

There really isn’t room for anything else but I have found having a character think about another character or mutter about them under their breath etc is a good way of (a) showing something of what my main character is like and (b) the effect the character they refer to has had on them.

So much in flash fiction has to be implied but this is very effective. I know as a reader I don’t necessarily want everything spelled out. I want to come to some conclusions myself.

 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Lists

Do you have a reading list (or several)?

I tend not to bother with this. I read according to my mood. I tend to flit between non-fiction, read that, then move to fiction and read that for a while.

I also mix up whether I’m reading books or magazines, short stories or novels.

I can see the point of a reading list. My worry is I’d feel guilty if I didn’t get to the bottom of it and, given there is always so much I would like to read, I never would! And reading should never encourage a feeling of guilt.

I also like mixing up my reading according to how I feel and not to some prescribed formula.

I receive notifications in from booksellers as to what is on their recommended list and I will take a look. I’ll go for the suggestion if it takes my fancy but if not, forget it.

What matters is getting the reading done, list or no list!

Stories reflect all sorts of moods. There is a story to suit everyone out there! Image via Pixabay.
Books are wonderful – whether in print or electronic, whether as audio stories or told by a storyteller. Image via Pixabay.
The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay
Can’t beat a good book or several. Image via Pixabay.
The old method of printing. Image via Pixabay
My stand at the Winchester discovery Centre event. Image by Allison Symes
Another beautiful library (this one is in Canada). Image via Pixabay
Let the ideas flow and let journeys encourage that! Image via Pixabay
Books are a fantastic form of escapism. Image via Pixabay
Books are the gateway to other worlds – image via Pixabay
The world’s most beautiful library perhaps? Image via Pixabay. But lots of lovely stories to read which may well spark off ideas for other stories. Only problem? Where to start!
Books invite you into their world. Image via Pixabay.