Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you to fellow author friends for taking various publicity shots of me last year. Much appreciated and said shots are being put to good use!
Well, the New Year in the UK has got off to a very stormy start. Hope you are all okay. Plenty of flooding and high winds in my part of the world. Have well and truly christened the new boots received for Christmas!
Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today
My first Chandler’s Ford Today post for the New Year is all about The Joys of Writing Dialogue. I love getting my characters to talk but I do have to ensure what I get them to say is relevant to their story and moves the tale on in some way. Otherwise there is a risk of conversational ping-pong which gets in the way of a good, pacy story.
I share thoughts and tips on what I’ve found useful in writing dialogue. I also share why knowing your character types helps with this aspect of writing too. Hope you enjoy the post and find it helpful.
The Joys of Writing Dialogue
Hope you are all okay. Stormy weather today. Enjoyed my swim but that was the only occasion today when I welcomed getting wet. Even Lady didn’t like the heavy rain and it was very heavy. Did our walk in record time this afternoon!
Another reason to love creative writing – it is something you can do in the dry! Talking of which, I will be sharing The Joys of Writing Dialogue for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above.
My interview with Val Penny will be Friday week so plenty of good things to look forward to (and I hope you enjoy reading them in the dry!).
Will be having a busy weekend looking at some drafts for competitions. Deadlines are in February but I follow my own advice to get my entries in at least ten days before said deadline, having gone through my scripts several times. Yes, even for flash. It’s amazing how typos can get through several edits.
The one consolation here is this happens to every writer but I know to look out for this and my final edit on anything is to specifically look for these. So I set myself dates where I will have an edit to check the story works done by a set date, then I will have another edit a few days later to ensure I am still happy with the plot and go through for errors. Then a few days later still I do my final edit for typos and get the story submitted. Then off to the next story!
The weather was a complete contrast with yesterday. Lady and I didn’t get wet at all. She did get to see her best pal, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a riotous time was had by both of them.
Am looking forward to interviewing Val Penny for Chandler’s Ford Today again soon on her book of short stories. More details nearer the time but did I want to quiz a novelist about switching to the short form? You bet I did! All sorts of questions arose from that which I look forward to sharing later, along with Val’s answers.
Writing Tip: Never worry about rubbish first drafts. That’s the point of a first draft. You just get the story down and tidy up later. Nobody ever writes a perfect first draft. Shakespeare didn’t either. There is some consolation in that thought, I think!
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
It’s great to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my first story for 2024 called, aptly, A New Start. Find out if Gemma does actually have her own new start this time. Hope you enjoy the tale (and many thanks to those of you who have already commented on this one).
Sometimes I use a theme as a title. One example of this is The Power of Suggestion in Tripping The Flash Fantastic. I get my character to show how the power of suggestion changed their life and whether it was for the good or not. Themes are fantastic hooks for stories and I like the thought of having a double whammy here by using them as titles as well.
Writing Thought: Why not write down a list of your favourite themes (and this can include proverbs and sayings too) and pick one or two to write stories up for? Think about your favourite films, TV shows, books etc – is there a common theme or two behind what you like most?
I’m attracted to the thought of people not always being what they seem (this is a classic idea in fairytales) so the moment I came across Strider in The Lord of the Rings, I did guess correctly there was more to this character than was apparent. I also thought this was true for Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series.
So do I write stories where characters are not all they seem to be? Oh yes! Simply because it is a theme I care about and working out what those are for you can be a great place to start when looking for new story ideas.
There are several good reasons to have a try at the flash fiction and short story competitions.
Firstly, these are excellent ways to practice writing to deadlines.
Secondly, following the submission rules (and these do vary) gets you some useful practice in following any future guidelines on submissions of longer work.
Thirdly, if you are long or short listed or win or get a runner’s up spot, all of this makes for excellent material to put on your writing CV. This is especially true when you are submitting longer work. It will show a publisher/agent someone else judged your material to be of a standard to get any of those placings.
Fourthly, you get in useful practice in sticking to word counts. This is especially true of the flash fiction competitions where there are those who want you to write to an exact word count. Not one word more. Not one word less. It is a good idea, when you’re drafting flash for future use, to draft some which come in at the 250, 300, and 500 word counts as these are some of the most popular categories I’ve come across for competitions.
Fairytales With Bite –
New Year Acrostic – Tips for Visitors to the Magical World
N = Never underestimate a fairy waving a wand.
E = Expect the worst if you come across a witch with a cauldron as she is highly unlikely to worry about your health and safety.
W = When visiting a magical world, expect strange creatures but the good thing is they’ll think you’re odd too.
Y = Your three wishes, if you are fortunate enough to get any, cannot be extended or transferred.
E = Expect high moral standards here, even with strange creatures about – greed is generally looked down on, for example.
A = Always treat anyone you meet with respect – you never know what powers they’ve got and prudence is a good thing here.
R = Restrict yourself to following the proper tour with guide and don’t go wandering off – it won’t end well for you if you do.
This World and Others – Beginnings
At the start of a new year, it is natural to think about beginnings. For fiction, we can look at beginnings for characters but also for settings.
How did your magical world begin? How did it get to where it is now in terms of development? Has the use of magic enhanced your setting or weakened it? Have there been magical wars? Has power had to be controlled to stop chaos erupting?
For example, if magic polluted your world, was there a point when the “bosses” said enough was enough and limited the use of magic to prevent further damage? How did your setting and characters then cope with a new beginning of limited magical use? How difficult was it to adjust?
For your characters, what beginnings have they had to face up to and were these welcome or not? What are they leaving behind so they have their new beginning? Do they have regrets or are they only too glad to have a new start (and what could lead them to feeling that way)?
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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsA New Start, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/Q02aOlIHBP It’s great to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my first story for 2024 called, aptly, A New Start. Find out if Gemma does have her own new start this time. Hope you enjoy the tale. pic.twitter.com/jIbEAlhMH6
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) January 5, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe Joys of Writing Dialogue https://t.co/FPHNh3Crjr My first CFT post for 2024 is The Joys of Writing Dialogue. I love getting my characters to talk but must ensure what I get them to say is relevant and moves the tale on in some way. I share tips on what I’ve found useful here.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) January 5, 2024
Allison Symes: Collected Works 