Why I Write – Guest Blog Appearance – and Characters

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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. Many thanks to Janet Williams for the photo of me signing books – always good to share those photos! Image from the Autumn Gathering in October 2024 (an Association of Christian Writers event) was taken by me, Allison Symes, as were all screenshots taken by me.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Ghastly weather all over the UK. Very wet with some flooding here. I hope all clears up soon. Writing wise, it was good to get back to my usual flash fiction Sunday afternoon, the first of the New Year. Am also looking forward to sharing author interviews on Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. And I’m delighted to say I was on Val Penny’s blog as a guest writer looking at Why I Write. Link below.

BookBrushImage-2025-1-7-20-3148
Facebook – General

Sorry running very late today (7th January 2025). Have had one of those days – good but busy. Lady was delighted to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal again today and I was delighted later, to have my first swim of 2025. The water seemed warm compared to the cold outside!

What one thing about creative writing do you enjoy the most?

My answer is creating characters who come to life as I flesh them out more. I love that process. It means I know I’ve got a character who has a story to share.

Okay, what other thing about creative writing do you enjoy the most?

My answer is getting the story finished, submitted, and accepted!

Best get on with things then!

472749386_1064446565695204_7217415212245922127_n

Hope the first Monday of the New Year hasn’t gone too badly. Lady got off to a good start by seeing her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals again. Avoided part of the park (think muddy ski slope and you have a good idea as to why my doing this was a good idea!).

Glad to see Writing Magazine have issued their competitions guide again. Will have a good look through at at some point soon and mark up some possibles. I find doing that is a good inventive to then get something in for said possibles!

Character Tip: Give some thought as to what you most love about your character and also what you loathe about them. Think about why you come up with the answers you do here. It will give you further insight as to what your character is made of and you are bound to find that useful as you tell your story (sorry, their story!).

472774071_1063672119105982_2040312476744891658_n
Hope you are having a good weekend. No snow here, thankfully, but it is very wet and there is flooding in the usual places around here.

Will be looking at a topic close to my heart for Chandler’s Ford Today this coming week. I’ll be discussing The Joys of Fairytales. It’s apt too as later in the month I will be going to see Cinderella, as staged by my excellent local theatre company, The Chameleon Theatre Group. Looking forward to seeing that and sharing something about my love of a classic story form on Friday.

Also glad to report there will be more author interview coming on CFT too. More details nearer the time.

4th January 2025
Many thanks to Val Penny for inviting me on to her blog today. It was a joy to talk about Why I Write. It is a great topic!

It makes you think about why you put yourself through producing work you don’t know will see the light of the day. (It’s why acceptances mean so much when you get them). You do need a thick skin and the love of story I think to be able to keep going despite setbacks (which every writer faces).

I also share something of my writing journey as that has a huge impact on why I write at all. See link.

Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 20-40-45 Why I Write by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I usually submit stories for Friday Flash Fiction over the weekend so will look forward to doing so again this coming one. It will keep me on track (though they are open for submissions again from today, 7th January).

I like to mix up my story moods for all flash I write and go from a mixture of light and dark (which directly inspired the title of my first collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again. Sums the book up well, I think).

Given fiction reflects the human condition – with all our failures and vices – I think a mixture of light and dark is appropriate for that reason too!

Escape with a Good Book - FLTDBA.jpg
6th January 2025

It’s the first Monday of the New Year. It’s dark, the weather’s ghastly, and it is still a Monday. Definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Making the Best of Things. Perhaps an apt title!

 

I get my inspiration for my flash fiction and short stories from many different sources. I like this a lot. I’ve found it pays to keep the ways you’re inspired varied as it keeps things more interesting for me too and encourages me to “raise my game”.

Naturally I’m inspired by books and stories I love written by other authors. The various prompts are a huge source of inspiration, especially if I tweak them a bit to suit my purposes better.

The proverbs and well known sayings are often great for use as themes for your stories. And ideas do occur as I’m out walking the dog. (I note them down as soon as I can on getting home again). Reading comes into all of this a lot. I’ve been inspired for stories by interesting non-fiction articles or books as I wonder what my character might make of what is in that article or book.

Ideas are all around but it is a question, I think, of expecting there to be ideas and thus to be open to spotting them. Reading does expand the mind. It can expand your own imagination too. I like that a lot too.

The one thing I consistently find is if I’m especially tired, that is when ideas can be harder to spot. So I aim to be kind to myself, get some rest, and read. I know that will fire up my own imagination again in no time, spurred on by that rest.

472684541_1062808159192378_1261730558795466106_n

Hope you have had a good day. No snow here but did have a very heavy frost. Am so thankful writing is something I get to do in the warm!

Looking forward to resuming my flash fiction Sunday afternoons tomorrow. I’ve also got a couple of short story competitions I want to enter so will try to start fleshing out ideas for those as well. Plan to send in a story for Friday Flash Fiction when they re-open next week.

Good to have my copy of Writing Magazine come through the letter box. Pleased to see Debz Hobbs-Wyatt’s piece in there. I recently interviewed her for Chandler’s Ford Today re her novel, If Crows Could Talk. I always see it as a good month when I know (or have heard of) at least four or five authors in the magazine. It is a good month this time!

472783891_1062165552589972_6409958020427460160_n

Goodreads Author Blog – Influences

Isaac Newton claimed “If I have seen further it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants”, rightly meaning he was building on what had gone before. But every single writer does this, regardless of what we write. Every reader will experience it, regardless of what you read. Why?

Simply because every author has their influences – the writers who have gone before. I have too many to mention but I especially love Pratchett, Austen, and Wodehouse (what a trio!). Every writer is inspired by what they read and readers get the benefit of that though they won’t know it directly.

Austen showed me the wonderful use of irony in fiction. Pratchett showed me fantasy and humour were a superb mix. As for Wodehouse, his mastery of the English language is sublime and his creations live on long after him. Nobody will forget Jeeves and Wooster.

Any time I enjoy a book, I am indirectly taking in what and whom the writers of those books were influenced by. I think this is a lovely thing.

Screenshot 2025-01-04 at 18-00-53 Allison Symes's Blog - Influences - January 04 2025 10 00 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Leave a comment