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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.

Hope you have had a good weekend. Quiet but lovely one here. Another smashing interview coming up with Wendy H Jones about A Right Cozy Christmas Crime on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Do look out for it. What I love about interviews for CFT is how much useful information is shared other writers can use.

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Hope Tuesday has gone well for you. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today and had a lovely time showing off her running skills in front of the dog she considers to be her “mum figure”.

Writing Tip: I’ve mentioned before about recording your stories on something like Zoom and playing them back to hear how they sound. You take in the story as a reader would doing this but I would add I think it is essential when you have plenty of dialogue.

What looks good written down doesn’t always read out well. It doesn’t always sound like natural speech either. Playing the story back will also help you pick up on those ums and ahs we do use in natural speech but which are a turn off in fiction. The odd one or two are fine but you don’t need many of them to convey a character hesitating.

The irony with fictional speech it has to be better than natural speech to keep a reader’s attention.

Hope you have had a good Monday. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal today. Zoomies ensued! The Ridgeback’s owner and I have long experience in getting out of the way of the pair of them when they’re in full running mode like that. Why is it dogs like to play right near their humans mums just like toddlers do!

Writing wise, have had a fantastic weekend. I’d been resting some flash fiction pieces I’d earmarked for competitions. (Taking part in Flash NANO gave me an excellent time period in which to rest them). Worked on said stories, odd amendments only, and have now sent them in, well ahead of their respective deadlines. Have also drafted some blogs for later in the month.

This was all on top of what I’d usually do over the weekend so felt like I got a fair bit done. Will slow down as the month goes on – can’t imagine why!

And it was lovely to catch up with friends and family on Zoom too. Today by contrast has been chaotic but am so glad to be at my desk now. Getting to do any creative work, I find, relaxes me and I’m all for that!

Author newsletter went out earlier today. The “advantage” in producing a monthly newsletter is it makes it so easy to see just how quickly the year is flying by!

Loved Flash NANO. Enjoyed the prompt variety. My word count for this year came in at around the 8000 words mark as my story word counts were towards the shorter end this time. Having said that, it’s 8000 words I wouldn’t have written otherwise.

Am also getting ever closer to having a potential fourth flash collection in terms of word count though there is much to be done to tighten things up before submission. Have also got other pieces to submit this week (competitions) and another longer term project which I’ve completed, and where I’ve almost got the submission package up together.

So plenty going on behind the scenes, most of which involves flash fiction in some way.

Am delighted Writers’ Narrative is back and I hope you’ve had chance to check it out. Useful for all writers.

Hope you have had a good day. Quiet one here but lovely. This time next week I will be on my way back from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event – am so looking forward to going to that and catching up with friends old and new.

Writing wise, I’m delighted to say there was a fantastic response to the Flash NANO prompt set on 29th November. It was one I set and it’s been a joy to read what people have made of it. I too had a go at it (if it hadn’t been picked, I was going to save it for something to write up later) and my tale came in at 73 words, my shortest for Flash NANO 2024.

Author newsletter out again tomorrow – where does the time go?

Last but definitely not least, I’m looking forward to sharing a wonderful interview with Wendy H Jones about A Right Cozy Christmas Crime, a recently released short story collection, featuring 13 authors, including Wendy herself. We’ll be discussing the joys of crime fiction in the short form amongst other topics. Link up on Friday.

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Am looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event on Saturday. Many of the authors get to do some readings and I hope to do so too. It’s a joy to be read to – I love being told a story. I also love sharing some of mine and flash fiction is ideal for this.

Competition News: Friday Flash Fiction are running their Christmas competition at the moment.. You can enter two stories over the two weeks the competition is on. Each story to be 90-100 words and no more. And you do have to include two different words relating to the season in your stories. You use one on one week, the other on the next. You cannot use both words in either or both of your tales. For more details, see the link. Good luck if you have a go!

It’s Monday. Has been a hectic one for me (have the feeling that won’t slow down until after the 25th!). It’s definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – There’s Red and Then There’s Red.

What does Santa do when Rudolph comes down with a cold with five minutes to go before flying time and the famous red nose has become an infamous one? Find out why and what here.

I know. I can hardly believe we’re into Advent and the final month of the year already. Looking back, I’ve got plenty of writing done. Would still like to do plenty more before this year is out.

Had a lovely time at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting last week. I’ve some exercises from that to tidy up and see if I can submit somewhere plus more to write up. All fun though. When I know I can do something with the character, the words fly and that is how I like it to be. I can tidy up and sharpen later. Have always found this pays off.

Will be taking time off at Christmas as usual. The break is lovely but what is nice is I am always raring to go again by the time I get back to my desk again and I like that too. I do enjoy dropping my characters right in the mire and seeing what they do to get out of it again. Whether my characters like me is a totally different matter!

Can’t believe this is the last day of Flash NANO for 2024 already (30th November). Many thanks to Nancy Stohlman for another great year of interesting prompts. Am I biased because one of mine was chosen? A bit!

But in fairness I have found all of the challenges interesting, some I thought I’m not going to do because I couldn’t see an immediate way in, and others I took to at once. I was expecting that though.

BUT I have got something out of each and every one so I see it as another successful year here. Also 30 new stories written which is always a win!. Am also grateful for feedback received on my stories. Useful and encouraging. Thanks, folks! Probably after Christmas I will go back and look through my drafts and see what can be done with them. I hope to send at least some of them out to competitions.

Goodreads Author Blog – ‘Tis the Season For Books

Couldn’t resist the title for this blog given we are about to go into Advent and then Christmas, of course as I write this on 30th November 2024.

It really is the season to be reading books of course. What is there not to like about being curled up somewhere nice with a good book and a lovely drink of choice (Options hot chocolate, mint or orange flavoured, for me usually) and have a good read?

‘Tis also the season for authors to be out and about selling their wares so if you have an event near you, do go along and support. Your local writers will appreciate it. Another way of support is to leave reviews in the usual places. These don’t have to be long and help writers with their marketing. They’re also encouraged because it is always nice to know you’re being read (and I love this aspect myself).

So ‘tis the season for books then – to read them and to support those who write them. Books are such a fantastic invention and there is something for everyone out there of all ages. I like to mix up my books between genres, long and short form fiction books, and non-fiction.

Whatever you read, I hope you find some cracking new books this season.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

So nice to get back to sharing the latest issue of Writers’ Narrative here. Enjoy!

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: 'Tis The Season For Books https://t.co/KZQlzVpveq via @goodreads Couldn't resist the title for this week's Goodreads blog as we're about to go into Advent. I hope your reading season is an excellent one! pic.twitter.com/AFitBEwxpt

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) November 30, 2024

It’s Monday. Time for a tale. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – There’s Red and Then There’s Red. What does Santa do when Rudolph comes down with a cold at five minutes to go before flying time and the famous red nose has become infamous? Find out here.https://t.co/WC3iOBY774

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) December 2, 2024