My debut flash fiction collection from Chapeltown Books

ADVICE TO A FAIRYTALE STAR

April 11, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

Advice to a Fairytale Star gives five useful ideas for those visiting the fairytale world or who would like to star in it. Fairytale justice does tend to be on the tough side so following advice such as “be humble” and “help others” really comes into its own here. The whole point of this is in such a setting, you never know who you are helping (or offending by refusing to help) so be genuine, be a decent soul and the fairytale world will generally help you. Act arrogantly and it will delight in bringing you down!

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

I like writing summary posts every so often of tips I find ueful over and over again and tonight’s Favourite Pointers is one of those. Certain tips, such as always editing on paper and not on screen, I really can’t emphasize the importance of enough. You always miss things on screen. I couldn’t tell you how often I’ve done that. It is only when I edit on paper I can be reasonably certain I will pick up on errors. And given every industry has its con-men, it does pay to check out that competitions, agents, publishers etc are who they say they are. If in doubt, query with organisations such as the Society of Authors. They will be glad to give advice on things like this.

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Short but sweet post tonight so have put in full here. (Quick peep ahead to my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week too).

Really tired tonight but managed to do loads of magazine reading so pleased with that (first time in a week too!). My Chandler’s Ford Today post later this week will be taking a look at the lessions I learned from my cyber launch for From Light to Dark and Back Again. Hard to believe a week has gone by already…

One of my favourite stories from From Light to Dark and Back Again is Health and Safety and, for once, tells the classic fairytale from Goldilocks’ viewpoint. Image via Pixabay. I shared the tale during my cyber launch last week.

Heaven on earth? Image via Pixabay (of the library at Leeds Castle)

BEING EMOTIONAL…OR NOT…

April 9, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In Being Emotional or Not, I look at whether your characters wear their hearts on their sleeves or whether they bottle everything up until a crisis (often a family one) forces them to open up. I also ask what makes your characters emotional (or not) in the first place and what led them to take this approach to life. Your characters’ emotions can be shallow or deep but there should be good reasons for them (even if they are only good from their viewpoint!).

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

In Knowing What to Do… or Not, I look at how your characters handle those moments in life where you are thrown in at the deep end and have to learn how to swim or sink. How do your characters react when they face a situation they don’t know how to handle? Who do they turn to for advice and why? Is the advice good? If your characters don’t know what to do initially, do they fall to pieces or are they determined to find a solution/do their duty no matter what? Good story ideas there with plenty of potential for conflict.

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Thought I’d reproduce my post in full. I expect it may ring some bells with writers!

Managed to declutter my desk last night. Felt absolutely shattered afterwards so didn’t write much. Probably won’t be decluttering my desk again until 2021 (no NOT just after twenty past eight) so am currently feeling proud of myself. It has to be one of my most hated tasks.

I am reasonably well organised but you know how writers collect things. It’s the I’ll just keep that competition leaflet, details of this story challenge etc etc – I’m bound to have a go at them, right?

Nine times out of ten I do but it’s the one time I don’t that causes the problems. Those end up at the bottom of my pile and I forget about them. By the time I get to them again the deadlines are long since expired.

And the other thing – confessions from writers are generally not that exciting. Not breaking any rules there!

Story Shuffle Project App. Image supplied by Eastleigh Borough Council.

TRUTH AND LIES

April 8, 2017April 8, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

Truth and Lies looks at the crucial role these play in fiction (no crime fiction would be complete without them, just to name one genre!). They are often the spark for the conflict which is the story. I look at how your “lying” characters should be able to have good reasons for being this way. They have to be able to “carry it off” so need to be able to justify, if only to themselves, their lies and the way they act. Sometimes, of course, it isn’t a case of “lying” as such but one character needing to change their perspective and there can be some interesting stories to write on that theme. In a clear black and white truth and lie situation (as is often the case with fairytales), this conflict has to be resolved. There has to be a clear “good guy” and “bad guy”. I think this is one reason why fairytales will always be popular with children. There is usually a clear sense of right and wrong and that can be comforting when, even at a young age, you do know the world isn’t always like that. Thoughts and comments welcome on this…

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

The Joy of Editing (another of my titles that say it all!) discusses my three stages of editing. I start with gettig rid of the typos and grammatical errors. This is probably my least favourite of the editing stages I do so am glad to get it done (though I do have a final overview to check I have picked these all up). The second is to check the story or article makes sense. The third is to ensure any additions work. (These are usually put in because I spot something in the second edit that needs clarifying or I have inserted another, stronger idea I know will improve the piece). The post gives more details but I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on editing. Do you like it/hate it? What do you find works best for you?

CHANDLER’S FORD TODAY

Finally! The perfect topic for a fiction writer to blog about – a Storytelling Festival! This is taking place in the Borough of Eastleigh (of which Chandler’s Ford is part) across ten local libraries and a local theatre. It is being held between 10th – 22nd April and there are plenty of things to interest younger ones.

There are creative writing and other workshops (one I would have loved to have gone to had this been around when I was growing up is about Fairytales and Monsters and involves games and play!).

The Story Shuffle app, a project which digitised versions of the story of Sir Bevis of Hampton as written by school children across the Borough, is now being opened up to the public. The children taking part initially had their own code so they could access their own and the other tales on the app but had to go to their local libraries to do so. The same libraries are rerunning this but the public can now try this app.

I very much hope that everyone going to the Festival has a wonderful time and that reading for pleasure is encouraged by events like this.

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I share news of my CFT post.

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ALL IMAGES SUPPLIED BY EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL. MANY THANKS TO THEM.

I hope all who go to this have a fantastic, fictional time! Image supplied by Eastleigh Borough Council.

Unwelcome Professions in the Magical World

April 7, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

Unwelcome Professions in the Magical World lists some of the careers most in such an environment would go out of their way to avoid. These basically include those careers which seek to control or stop magic. Can you imagine how well that goes down with your average fairy godmother (yet alone an evil witch)?

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

I share some World Building Ideas tonight and suggest looking at the kind of professions, education and ranks in society your world might have. (It would also be interesting to see from what you choose what you are deciding your world does not want or need).

FACEBOOK PAGE/CHANDLER’S FORD TODAY

I talk about what is coming up in my new Chandler’s Ford Today post (great news of a Storytelling Festival. I had to write about that one!). I share the FB post in full here.

My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week will be about a Storytelling Festival coming up over the Easter break. More details tomorrow but this must be close to the perfect post for a fiction writer to write about… Hope everyone who gets to go to the various events has a marvellous time. The events sound fun.

It is strange to think that storytellers were amongst the earliest forms of “information technology” in their day. They read when so many could not. People would hang on their every world (and I guess if they upet the authorities of the time, the storytellers themselves would literally hang!).

What I hope the new Storytelling Festival will encourage… Image via Pixabay

THE VALUE OF FAIRYTALES

April 6, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

A topic very close to my heart is the subject of tonight’s post. The Value of Fairytales looks at why I think fairytales matter. Some of the reasons include the themes they tackle are timeless (wrongs being righted, never judge by appearances etc), they are often the first thing children read and can be the gateway to a lifetime of other stories and books, and they can often be a source of wonderful social commentary (The Little Match Girl). Why do you value fairytales?

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Storytelling looks ahead to the Chandler’s Ford Today post I’m currently preparing for this week and asks about storytelling in your fictional world. Who are the storytellers? Are they respected or treated with suspicion because they are literate and the population at large isn’t? I also talk about reading your own stories out loud and why this is such a good idea. And then there are those characters who tell tall stories. Do any of your characters do this? How do other characters react to it?

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I’ve been seeing the bats out and about again locally. I like bats. Misunderstood creatures but very useful and their “radar” is so clever. Definitely not glamorous things but I love non-glamorous, quirky creatures, whether they’re wildlife, characters or people!

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Where all stories start, regardless of technology – the blank page. Image via Pixabay.

Creative writing takes many forms, including blogging. Image via Pixabay.

FESTIVALS

April 4, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In Festivals, I ask whether your fictional world would have its own festivals and if so for what? It is compulsory for people to attend and what happens to those who don’t? I’m looking forward to going to writing festivals in the summer and also discuss what I like about these.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

In How to Tell if Your Character is a Winner, I list five things I think would indicate you’ve written a really strong character. The chief one for me would be when you find you are thinking a lot about the character outside of the story. A good character stays with you and clearly has a life of their own!

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It’s a great joy to thank the prize winners from my cyber launch for From Light to Dark and Back Again for letting me know they’ve received their prizes. Glad these have gone down well! The main prizes were a signed copy of the book, a FLTDBA notebook and pen and some sweets. Runner-up prizes were everything except the signed copy of the book. Some wonderful conversations about writing etc developed during the launch, which was huge fun.

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Back cover of From Light to Dark and Back Again

THE OUTSIDERS

April 4, 2017Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In fairytales, the outsider often ends up being the hero/heroine. What reaction would your characters have if an outsider turned up amongst them? I look at this in The Outsiders.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

What If is probably my favourite question to use when trying to generate story and article ideas. You can apply the question to your characters and yourself, in the case of the former to find out what they really are made of, and as for the latter, to discover what you are made of! Now where will those discoveries take you?

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Just a short post tonight so have put in full here.

Back on the old exercise bike for me tomorrow so I can catch up on my reading. Just as well pixels don’t have calories, or anyone at my cyber launch will have put on several pounds and been the worse for wear in other directions too.

Glad the lighter evenings are here. Mabel is too. Much prefers things when she can see what she’s doing. Now if only certain drivers would take that view…

Do your characters know in which direction they're going? (Border collie is optional!). Image via Pixabay.

Mabel. Image taken by me.

CELEBRATIONS AND LEARNING

April 3, 2017Leave a comment

Both of my website posts tonight were inspired by my cyber launch of From Light to Dark and Back Again from yesterday. Had a wonderful time, thanks to all who supported it in any way and also thanks to my publishers, Chapeltown Books and Cafelit, for hosting the event (with me as co-host) and for guiding me through this. A fun and interesting day and I know I’ve learned from it. I hope to write about this for a future Chandler’s Ford Today post but in the meantime:-

SPECIAL OFFER

The Kindle version of From Light to Dark and Back Again is currently on offer at 99 pence (UK). Many thanks to all who have reviewed so far.

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In Celebrations I refer to the launch (naturally!) but I also discuss what kind of celebrations your fictional world would have. Are there compulsory celebrations everyone must attend on pain of death? Who organises and pays for celebrations? Is there a literary world in your setting and so do “your authors” have their launches? Are there celebrations which are banned and how do people find ways round that to keep their traditions going?

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Learning asks if your characters keep on doing so (they should – the characters that appeal most are the ones who develop and they must learn from their mistakes, or those they know about, to be able to develop at all). I also refer to learning a lot from my launch and I hope to write about that later. I also discuss one great thing about writing – writers have to learn all the time to develop the craft and hopefully improve our chances of being published.

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I loved picking music to go with my launch yesterday (all You Tube based). I am really fond of stories in song and one of my favourite album tracks comes from Dave Edmunds and is a classic example of this. It is also a great example of a twist in the tale in song. The perspective taken in it is not the usual one!

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Two FB posts tonight! My main post looks at the launch, I talk about my writing prompt challenge and share my thoughts on bringing out a book. You have got to go into this with your eyes wide open and for the love of writing. Nothing else will steer you through the rejections and bad reviews etc.

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A huge thank you to all who supported this and took part in the discussions. It was great fun and simply would not have been the same without you! Maybe same time next year, who knows?!

A very proud moment, one all writers of fiction dream of - holding the first copy of your own book. Image by Adrian Symes.

LAUNCHING YOUR DREAM!

April 2, 2017Leave a comment

CYBERLAUNCH NEWS: FROM LIGHT TO DARK AND BACK AGAIN/FACEBOOK PAGE

On 1st April 2017, a long held dream of mine came true. Chapeltown Books and Cafelit (with me as co-host) launched From Light to Dark and Back Again online. The event was huge fun and I must say a big thank you to my lovely publishers and to all who came and supported the event. I shared writing tips, how I got into writing flash fiction at all, and I loved the virtual food and drink aspect to this. (It’s just as well pixels don’t contain calories!). I share here the link to the book’s page on Fairytales With Bite where I share interview links and other information, which I hope you enjoy.

What I do know is persistence, learning how to improve your work (by submitting it, getting feedback and reacting to that in the right way), as well as being open to publishing possibilities you might not have initially considered are all key. I learned a lot from today’s event and hope to write a future Chandler’s Ford Today post about it. But today was lovely and I am looking forward to sending out the prizes to the winners of my quiz and raffle. That really is one of the loveliest things about the writing life: getting to do things like this. The launch was special for another reason too: it marked my first ever full day spent as a professional writer! I usually only get to do this when I go to conferences and so on. Aside from becoming periodically annoyed when my internet connection slowed down for no obvious reason, the launch went perfectly.

Can I also add, on behalf of all writers, please write reviews, good, bad or indifferent ones but above all honest ones, for Amazon, Goodreads, writing blogs etc? It really does help. Many thanks.

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In When Fairytales Come True, naturally I talk about my launch (my big news for ages!) but I also go on to discuss the importance of persistence, having beta readers have a look at your work and my thoughts on so often hearing the advice not to give up when all that was coming through the door were rejections. Hope you find my thoughts here of use. It is easy to think that publishing success won’t ever come to you but that can only happen if you stop writing or refuse to improve on your work where it needs it.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

In Cyberlaunch: From Light to Dark and Back Again by Allison Symes, well no prizes for guessing the topic of conversation BUT I take the chance to publicly thank my publishers and to put the word out for the small independent presses in general. They do increase the opportunities for writers to get their work out there and improve the variety of what is available in the book market. But they need support and that is where we come in – as readers and buyers of books.

WHEN MAGIC GOES WRONG…

April 1, 2017Leave a comment

CYBER LAUNCH NEWS

The big day is nearly here and I am both nervous and excited about it! I set up a few writing prompts on this page the other day, one of which was “The dragon was terrified”. I share here the link to the page as I posted my story on this tonight. Hope you enjoy it.

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FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

One thing all visitors to the magical world should be aware of is that magic can and does go wrong, even in the hands of the most experienced practitioners. In When Magic Goes Wrong, I share some advice as to what you can do if you are ever unfortunate enough to be facing this.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Journeys is an apt post for tonight as my Chandler’;s Ford Today blog is the second part of my interview with Martin Kyrle who has written about his adventures on the Trans-Siberian Railway. My writing journey continues tomorrow (1st April 2017) with my first cyber launch of my debut flash fiction collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again. In the post I look at how your characters travel, do they need magic to assist them or can they manage without it and ask if their journeys and who they meet change their perspectives on life or reinforce them.

CHANDLER’S FORD TODAY/FACEBOOK PAGE

Both focus on my interview with Martin Kryle. His travel book, Jottings from the Trans-Siberian Railway, is very funny and his Kyrle’s Laws are wonderfully humorous and practical. It was lovely to meet Martin and the book is a great, fun and enlightening read.

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