Getting Lines Right

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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 week. Had a lovely trip out with other half and the dog on Friday. Did us all the world of good. Looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop for a writing group on Saturday. Plenty of editing work done too so a good week here.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Getting Lines Right for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at opening lines and suggest ways to create memorable ones. Hope you find it useful.

Getting Lines Right

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Must admit the temperatures have come back to the level the dog and I prefer – early 20s. Starting to see the autumn leaf colour change. There is a fair amount of Virgina Creeper in my part of the world and it is lovely seeing that turn to red at this time of year. Mind you, the wildflower meadow in our park is still in full bloom so summer hasn’t quite had its last hurrah.

Am looking at Getting Lines Right on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow (see above) and will run a flash fiction workshop on Saturday morning on Zoom.

Writers’ Narrative will be out again before too long. Written by writers for writers it is packed full of information. If you want to sign up to make sure you get the forthcoming October issue (and future ones of course) do sign up at http://subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

 

Lady got to play with the lovely Coco, Kyaha, and Kitima today. Fabulous “puppy” party had by all. Three happy but tired dogs went home. It is lovely watching them being so pleased to see each other.

Looking forward to sharing Getting Lines Right for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Will be looking at opening lines especially. Hope it will prove useful to people. Opening lines are crucial hooks for any form of writing but for the short forms especially flash, they really do have to punch their weight. I’ll be sharing some thoughts and tips in my post on Friday. See above.

When I am writing my first draft, I jot down what I think will be a good opening line but I inevitably end up changing parts of it later when I realise with the character in mind, a better opening line would be this rather than what I started with. That’s fine. I just need something to kick me off and I expect to change things. What matters for me always is getting started. The fine tuning happens later.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction is Time Travel. Hope you find it moving. My sympathies here are with both characters.

Screenshot 2023-09-15 at 19-00-56 Time Travel by Allison Symes

I sometimes start a flash fiction piece (and indeed a longer short story) by asking a question or getting my character to do so. It is an excellent hook to lure the reader in because that question has to be answered in some way by the end of the work. So story structure is set up as well here – win-win as far as I’m concerned.

The question has to intrigue in some way (and I look more at this in my Chandler’s Ford Today post on Getting Lines Right which will be live tomorrow – see above). But this can be a simple intrigue.

In my The Recruit (from Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I get my character to ask Can Jim do this? The story then takes off from there given the intrigue is what the answer to that question is, who is Jim, and why does this matter.

BB - Flash with a Dash for TTFF
I often read some examples of my published flash fiction work when I run a workshop on flash. I do this and then break down how I wrote these pieces. When I’ve read author interviews where they do this, I found I learned so much from it.

Understanding why someone has done something with their writing is a great way of working out whether that would work for you or whether with slight adjustments to the technique, you can get something which would suit what you do. I know I have learned so much this way. It’s a fun way to learn too as you get to listen to or read stories too!

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Fairytales with Bite – Magical Malpractice

In your setting, what would count as magical malpractice? If you had a world run by old style evil witches, would they consider any magic used to help others or overturn evil to be magical malpractice?

In a world where there is a balance between evil and good magical powers, what rules does each side stick to (mainly to prevent their world falling apart altogether. For me, that would be the only reason the evil side would agree to any such rules. If their own survival depended on doing so, you would think twice about wrecking that, wouldn’t you?).

How would each side govern its own? What would a fairy godmother, say, have to do to be seriously out of step with her colleagues and her ultimate boss? What would her punishment be? Losing one’s wings could take on a whole new meaning here.

Likewise on the evil side, what punishment would there be for someone who stepped out of line there? It is mind boggling to think what would count as being out of line but there would be something – mainly challenging the boss for power I would have thought.

But there would be a great story in working out how that could happen, what happened to be the being trying it, and if they were being what we would know as a stalking horse for someone else.

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This World and Others – Accountability

Who is accountable for what in your magical setting? Ultimately there will be some “head of state” but what about lower down? How is your world governed? Do “ordinary” beings get to have any say in how this is done?

When things need to change, as inevitably they do from time to time, how is this done? Peacefully or by violent overthrow? Would this mirror what we know here (given we have both types of change of government on our planet)?

In more “ordinary” settings, such as in towns and villages, is there a system of local government? How are things done? Who is responsible for ensuring these things get done? This can take in everything from ensuring people/beings get to eat (and therefore dealing with supplies) to managing the local Council budget. If money isn’t used, what would be?

Where folks have got power, is there a way of ensuring they use these things properly? Even the smallest of villages will have some sort of pecking order. In a magical setting, does the magic help things run more smoothly or make things more difficult? If magic goes wrong, how would that change the running of things? Who would be held responsible for things going wrong?

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES


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The Point of Fiction

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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. Many thanks to Janet Williams for taking the image of me at the Book Fair.
Glad to say it has cooled down a bit since last week. Lady isn’t sorry about that either. Pleased to say I’m running a flash fiction workshop again on Saturday courtesy of Zoom. Looking forward to that.

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Facebook – General

Lady got to show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler friend today. The latter doesn’t mind. Lady loves it of course. It is a bit like showing off to Mum given the Vizler is older than Lady. But both went home feeling all had been put right with their worlds at least!

There is an Amazon offer on From Light to Dark and Back Again at the moment. See the link for more details.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover recently my short stories have appeared in almost 20 different anthologies (and when the Bridge House Publishing anthology comes out later this year it will be 20!). Yes, they are on my ALCS listing. I add new books to which I’ve contributed to this listing as soon as I can. It’s easy to do and it helps boost the money I receive from ALCS every March. Win-win there and if you are a published writer not on the ALCS system, do look into it.

11th September 2023
To all who mourn those killed or injured in the dreadful events of twenty-two years ago, my deepest sympathies. We will remember them.

Memories, of whatever kind, can make a wonderful theme for stories, whether these are thoughtful pieces or more humorous ones. Think about why your character remembers what they do (or who of course). Why are they recalling this (or them) now? Is it something they have learned to come to terms with, as best as anyone can? Are their memories reliable? What do other characters in the story think?

Memories are something any reader can identify with – we all have our own so will identify with a character recalling theirs. Great empathy can come from stories like this. The world needs much more empathy. Maybe in a way story writers can play their part here.

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Cooler today. Have had some rain so the air is a little fresher. Lady and I are not sorry about that.
I’ll be looking at Getting Lines Right for Chandler’s Ford Today next Friday. I will take a close look at opening lines especially. Looking forward to sharing that. Will be running a workshop next Saturday morning too. All good fun!

Many thanks for the comments coming in on Heaven Sent, my most recent story on Friday Flash Fiction. See link in case you missed it.

The 100 word story (also known as a drabble) was my introduction to flash fiction many moons ago and it is lovely returning to writing them regularly for Friday Flash Fiction. Am so enjoying doing this. Screenshot 2023-09-08 at 10-04-53 Heaven Sent by Allison Symes

Another hot day here. This was on 9th September. Weather changed the next day! We’re all staying as cool as possible. Lady got to see her best friend, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, when it was cooler. Both dogs happy about that. Friends matter!

Looking forward to sharing a workshop next Saturday morning. The beauty of Zoom? No travel on hot sticky days! One blessing for the Bridge House Publishing celebration event being in December is that hot sticky days will not be an issue!

I know now my story for a literal festival competition didn’t make the cut but I will take another look at this tale at some point and see what else can be done with it before submitting it elsewhere. Sometimes I find I need to make amendments. Sometimes I don’t.

Having been a competition judge, I know how difficult it can be to produce a short list. So take heart if your story doesn’t do anything in a competition. See it as another opportunity to refresh it and re-submit it. A turn down doesn’t necessarily mean there was anything wrong with your story but taking the chance to have a second look at it may well help you see where you could strengthen it here, strengthen it there. That has been my experience.

Writing Advice

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My favourite sort of flash fiction is the drabble – the 100-worder – and it has been fantastic getting back to these for Friday Flash Fiction in particular. But I am also very fond of the sub-500 words kind. It is worth practicing writing to this kind of word count as it is a common format for competitions.

Also easy to share (if you wish) on your website, newsletter etc as they don’t up too much space and are quick and easy to read. I save some of mine for this but also put others towards a future collection. Marketing and a first draft for another book in one go here!

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It has been a hectic Monday (though thankfully cooler than last week. Given I’ve been batch cooking today, I appreciated that!). Definitely time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – One Day My Spell Will Come.

 

One of the things I look for in an opening line (which is something I’ll talk more about for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday) is whether it hooks me enough to make me want to read on. It has to provoke the “have got to find out what happens next” moment.

This can be done via something intriguing about the character, setting up a dilemma which has to be resolved, or even setting a question the story would have to answer by the end. In Being Yourself from Tripping the Flash Fantastic, I start with Jane Stephens suppressed the urge to scream. I would hope that would make people want to read on to find out why!

I do know if I’m not intrigued by an opening line of mine, others won’t be either. It is a great motivator to come up with something good!

 

Occasionally I write a flash piece which could be termed as horror. For me, the best horror isn’t all guts and gore but implied menace. The reader can then imagine what that menace looks like etc and does a grand job of this. I do it too when I watch a suspense film. Sometimes at least what I imagine is going to happen next is more scary than what does happen in the movie!

In my story Pressing the Flesh in From Light to Dark and Back Again, I imply references to Burke and Hare (bodysnatchers) and my character being inspired by that. Yet I do not use anything gory here. To my character their actions make sense and maybe that is the scariest thing of all. Maybe that is where true horror does lie. Certainly we can learn from our own history here when someone believes themselves to be so right they can do anything so go on to do so. You could argue we are seeing it again.

The point of fiction, including horror, is to entertain, helps us escape our cares for a while, but it can also show us something of our human nature. Horror can be brutally honest here. But it doesn’t need to be guts and gore to make us think about what we as a species can be capable of.

After all there are some horrific moments, when you stop and think about it, in the nursery rhymes and fairytales most of us would have grown up with, which most consider would and should act as warnings.
Would still like to know though why Little Red Riding Hood didn’t spot that wasn’t her granny in the dress and cap. Did she honestly think her granny was that hairy? Maybe LRH should have gone and got her eyesight checked at Specsavers! (Other opticians are available, as they say! Probably best known ones here in the UK though).

Advantage to flash is setting characters anywhere

Goodreads Author Blog –

Writing and Reading – The Inseparable Joys

I have long felt writers have two joys in life – writing and reading. Most writers are inspired to write because of the books they have loved reading. Ideas for stories have sparked from what we have read and you develop this urge to write your own. Sometimes that urge can come from reading a “duff” book and wanting to do better. Better though is when an inspried story encourages you to write.

My first venture into print was with a reworked fairytale told from the viewpoint of Cinderella’s youngest step-sister. That came out in Alternative Renditions (Bridge House Publishing) in 2009 – my story in there is A Helping Hand.

But without the original faurytale I loved (and still do), I couldn’t have written my tale. We do stand on the shoulders of giants here. We build on what has gone before. And that means we have to read more. Don’t have a problem with that!

What I have found in recent years is that inspiration for stories can come from something I’ve read in non-fiction too. I have welcomed that development as I love reading fiction and non-fiction.

 

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Benefits of Creativity

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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.
Wow! What a hot week in my part of the world. September has gone barmy AND balmy! Some time ago I bought a laptop stand with its own in-built fan to keep the computer cool. It has proved to be a wise purchase. I just wish I came with an in-built fan. Could do with one right now.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Hope you have had a good day. Another hot one here. Hard to believe it is a year today since we lost Queen Elizabeth, a very much missed lady.

Am pleased to share the Benefits of Creativity, my latest post for Chandler’s Ford Today. I celebrate the joys of creativity in any form and share some of the benefits of any kind of creative activity. I couldn’t share them all but using more of your brain and keeping your brain active are just two major health benefits to being creative.

With many of the creative arts, there can be opportunities to get your work out there to a wider public too. I have made many friends thanks to being interested in creative writing and I treasure them all. Hope you enjoy the post and whatever form of creativity you enjoy. It is good for you!

The Benefits of Creativity

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I wasn’t sorry I had a swimming session in my diary today. It was lovely in the pool. I was only sorry to have to get out. This was especially nice after an afternoon spent putting wood preservative on a huge fence panel yesterday. Both were good workouts. One was much more fun than the other though!

Time for a rantette (and that should be a proper word): I sometimes get inappropriate comments on my posts. Every writer I know gets them. My specialism seems to be US Generals who all seem to be tragically widowed. Stay well clear, folks. At best this is a phishing exercise. At worse, it is an outright scam designed to trick you, hack your social media accounts etc.

To those who have been putting these things on my timeline, don’t. I delete and block. Where I don’t want to take a post down, I will put out a warning comment to others to advise to stay well clear. You are merely being a pain. I am here as a writer/editor, nothing else.

And those who claim to have tried to friend me in the normal way or don’t want to do that because it seems rude – you are lying. I know you are lying. Go away. You are being rude in putting comments like that on my timeline.

And it would not at all surprise me if I have someone put an inappropriate comment on this post but I thought I would put the word out anyway.

This did happen. I had someone query about the security of my account. Had absolutely nothing to do with this post as I pointed out. I urged them to re-read what I had actually said and pointed out this was a kind of public service announcement against scammers. Do be careful out there, folks. Oh and someone has tried to hack my Facebook account tonight (8th September 2023). Failed because I reported to Facebook I had NOT requested an account change reset. I suspect that someone might have been upset by this post but it is a warning to be vigiliant, always.

I had to deal with a nasty scam case which almost cleared my late father out. All sorted thankfully and Dad was recompensed too. But it has left me with a very loud alarm bell ringing in my head at anything that seems like a scam. I have a zero tolerance threshold for any kind of scam.

Mind you, it was very satisfying when those scammers tired to trick Dad again later. The second time they spoke to me. I was crystal clear in my opinions of them. You can imagine the rest! Dad had no further problems after that. Result!

Every so often I will write stories about scammers. No surprises to hear I always make sure they get their comeuppance. What is fun here is working out how (and I hope readers find that too). But I must admit they are such as joy to write. Well, they do say write what you know, don’t they?

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Hope today has been okay. Another hot one in my part of the world. Managed to get another fence panel painted with wood preservative. Dried within minutes. Fortunately I am under good cover as there are huge trees near by so that was pleasant. Lady stays in – she is sensible with the heat and, more importantly, so are we with her – and I can’t trust her not to try to stick her head in the preservative tin! It is all glamour here – not!

I’ll be talking about the Benefits of Creativity for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Link up on Friday.
Will be running another flash fiction workshop on Zoom soon. Looking forward to that.

Writing Tip: Don’t worry about not having as much time as you would like to write. That is true for most of us. And you can still jot down ideas, start a draft in short pockets of time. I do this. Then when I have longer at my desk I have something to work on immediately. I like that. On the busy days, I still feel as if I have written something, which I have. I like that too.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest 100-word tale, Heaven Sent. See if my character thinks what the new new vicar has done is heavenly inspired or not! Hope you enjoy the story.

Screenshot 2023-09-08 at 10-04-53 Heaven Sent by Allison Symes

It is hard to believe that tomorrow (8th September 2023) will be the first anniversary of the late Queen’s passing. She is much missed.

But it led me to think that there are plenty of story ideas to be had/written on the theme of anniversaries. Anniversaries can be happy or sad. They can be something your character wants to remember or not. Maybe an anniversary makes them face up to something and they then take a different path in life. But there are story ideas here.

I used an anniversary of some adult children’s visit to their elderly father in Time for Tea in From Light to Dark and Back Again. Was all as it appeared to be?

Well, naturally I am not revealing that here but I liked the idea of using an anniversary in this way. It doesn’t have to be an “obvious” anniversary either, which gives even more leeway for a story to be created.

From Light to Dark and Back Again - by night

I often use random generators to help me get started on a new piece of flash. What I especially like is when one prompt generated this way gives me two ideas for stories. I just send the resulting tales to different places.

I have found it pays to set parameters for what I generate. I have found limiting myself to say two or three things generated at a time is effective. Stops me feeling swamped too.

It is an odd thing but I have found limits like word count etc encourage creativity rather than stifle it. I guess it is because these things make you focus.

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Fairytales with Bite – The Changing Seasons

In your magical setting, does the changing seasons have an effect on how well your characters can do magic? Is magical power less in the winter, for example, for does the colder time of year (or other way of marking time span) fuel magic? Do your characters on a personal level have times when they know they will do well magically and other times they won’t and this is due to their own biology? What problems could this cause them?

Does your magical setting have changes of season as we know them? Or do they have their own? Or is a question of both? I would have thought there would need to be a planting season and a harvesting season to say the least. Everyone needs to eat. But how would this affect how magic is used? Is it used in the production of food at all? Can climatic seasons override magical seasons?

How do your characters respond to changes in season? How well or otherwise would this affect the outcome of their stories? Could other characters use this against them?

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This World and Others – The Natural World versus the Magical One

Following on from Fairytales With Bite, is your world setting more of a naturally based one or a magical one? What happens when these come into conflict? What is valued the most?

Does the magical element need the natural side to help it exist at all or it is a case the magical side brought the natural one into being in the first place and there is now co-dependency?

Can the natural world overcome the magical one? Earthquakes etc are not great news or anyone. Would magic be able to stop these things? Is your world reliant on magic stopping things like that and could someone exploit this to hold your world to ransom?

Story possibilities there, I think!

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Back on the Radio and Blog Appearance

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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 are all okay. Weather has suddenly warmed up considerably. Feels more like summer than the summer did. Glad to say I was back on Hannah Kate’s radio show over the weekend – details below. And I am a guest on Gill James’ blog too again see below.

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Facebook – General

Am pleased to now be able to share the Mixcloud link from Hannah Kate’s radio show, Hannah’s Bookshelf, which went out on Saturday. This show is what Hannah calls a pick and mix (I remember Woolworths too) and there is an author interview here, the What Am I Reading slot I took part in, and much more besides. Do check it out if you love books in any way whatsoever! Further down are links to the two halves of the show so you have a choice of how to listen!

Much as I love reading books, I also enjoy listening to them so having a radio show all about books makes a great deal of sense to me! One of my favourite book radio reads is The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. This was done on Radio 4 Extra (and I suspect will be broadcast again at some point). If you are a fan of Richard III, this is worth checking out (the book itself and the radio read of it).

 

Many thanks to Gill James for inviting me on to her blog to discuss The Best of CafeLit 12. It was great fun to do this and I share what was behind my story, Jubilee, which is in this anthology. I also share why I love short stories and flash fiction. It isn’t just because I am published in both, honestly. Find out more via the link.

Screenshot 2023-09-04 at 14-49-31 Allison Symes talks to us about being invovled with The Best of CafeLit 12

Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Great to see some late summer/early autumn sunshine.
Will be looking at The Benefits of Creativity for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. There are many benefits and I believe everyone has some creativity. It is a question I think of finding what yours is and enjoying it, playing to its strengths if you like. More on Friday when the post goes up.

What do you like about stories the most? Yes, I know, tough question time and on a restful Sunday too, what am I thinking of? I ask because my favourite moment is when the story has been resolved but I know the characters have brought that resolution about by their own attitudes and actions. I like to think the characters have earned their good ending.

 

It was a joy to be back on North Manchester FM with Hannah Kate on her Hannah’s Bookshelf show. I was taking part in her What Am I Reading? slot and that was a joy to do. I come in at about the 28 minutes mark on Part 2 of the show but do check out both halves. Links to both below.

This is a fabulous show which celebrates books and writing. What is there not to love about that? I review books by Stephen Clark (history), Jennifer C Wilson (historical fiction, romance, collection), Val Penny (crime), and Ruth Leigh (women’s fiction, Christian fiction, humour).

I’ve mentioned before I like to mix up my reading – and why not? I’m not going to be confined to one genre! Mind you, that is one thing I love about flash fiction writing. As it has to be character led, I can set my characters in any setting, time period etc. It is a joy to do that.

Part 1 – https://podcast.canstream.co.uk/manchesterfm/index.php?id=49679

Part 2 – https://podcast.canstream.co.uk/manchesterfm/index.php?id=49680

Screenshot 2023-08-31 at 19-56-24 North Manchester FM Hannah's Bookshelf Saturday 2 September 2-4pm - Hannah Kate

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. Another scorcher today. Lady has kept cool. On this, she is a remarkably sensible dog. On almost everything else, she’s anything but (being lovable helps her cause a lot!).

I often end a flash piece with a punchline (especially if it is a humorous tale) but sometimes I finish with a line of dialogue which acts as the punchline. I did this for George Changes His Mind in From Light to Dark and Back Again. There was nothing to add after that final comment from my character. So I left it there!

Writing flash over time helps you develop a good sense of where the story should stop. This is another good reason to practice writing flash as learning what makes a good ending and leaving it there can apply to other forms of writing too.

Flash with Amazon and Barnes and Noble

It’s Monday. It has suddenly become very warm. On the plus side I know it is not me having a hot flush. It is still Monday. Definitely time for a story. Hope you enjoy Therapy, my latest on my YouTube channel.

 

How do I decide which word count to write to for my flash fiction? For competitions and websites like Friday Flash Fiction, the word count is usually set. (I could write longer stories for FFF now I have two of my 100-worders on there but it has been a joy to rediscover the joy of writing the 100 word stories/drabbles again so am happily sticking to that for them).

When a word count isn’t set, I get my first draft down first (having a rough outline as what I want this story to be). It is then a question of working out what I can do to tighten up the writing and sharpen the piece overall. There is always something!

I then look at what word count I have reached. If, for example, I am just over 300 or 500 words (two common categories in competitions) I see if I could legitimately get my story down to those word counts or just under them. Sometimes I can. Sometimes I can’t.

If it is a question I can’t reduce it without losing something valuable, I would enter that story for the next category up. So my possible 300-worder coming in at 350 would stay that way and I would put this in for a 500 words or under competition instead.

The crucial factor is how well the story works at a given word count. If it is working fine, I leave it alone. If I can see ways to improve it (which often does bring the word count down), then I will improve it.

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Many of my flash stories focus on one character. Given I don’t usually ask my characters to talk to themselves, I do use thoughts (in italics) as the best way of communicating to the reader. After all we think so our characters would think.

Fiction reflects our reality even if the setting is fantastical. The joy with reading a story though is being able to read the character’s thoughts! And I like to use those thoughts to show something of my character’s state of mind and attitudes.

When I have a longer flash piece with more than one character, thoughts can show the reader the character may be thinking one thing but saying quite another to the other character. Hopefully the reader is then hooked into wanting to find out how things pan out.

For one thing, I’d want to know if there is a good reason for the thinking one thing but saying another – the character could be trying to protect the other from something. Equally they could be lying. And then I’d want to know why. Only one way to find out – I keep reading.

Character Flaws

Goodreads Author Blog – Promoting Books

As a writer as well as reader, I have a vested interest in promoting books. Obviously I would like to promote my own but I like to promote books by other writers I’ve loved reading too. Why? Because I have an even bigger vested interest in sharing the joys of reading with others. Why?

Well, it is the way to encourage book reading, book buying, use of the libraries and so on – all good things. Reading is good for us. It entertains, it informs, it helps us escape for a while. It deepens our vocabulary. It helps us puzzle things out.

Don’t you try to guess the ending for a crime story ahead of reading that ending? I do all the time. Sometimes I do guess the killer correctly, sometimes I don’t but I have had a fabulous time in guessing and I always like it when an author manages to wrong foot me too. I go back through the book then to try and spot the clues I missed first go around.

Every writer’s most difficult task is in getting that initial spark of interest in their work. We need to encourage people to read, to see the point of reading, whether they then go on to read our work or others. Ideally they’d do both of course!

And I am conscious there are other forms of entertainment. We have to make the case for books, I think, as being a fabulous use of anyone’s time.

Screenshot 2023-09-02 at 20-08-38 Promoting Books

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Autumnal Joys

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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, as were some of the photos in my CFT post.
It has been a right mixed bag weather wise this week. Autumn definitely coming in a bit early but that makes my Chandler’s Ford Today post timely. I’m sharing about Autumnal Joys this time.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Author newsletter out today. Getting these ready monthly is a great way to discover how quickly the year is going! Many thanks and a huge welcome to those who signed up at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Good to have you aboard. A big hello to all of my longer term subscribers too and many thanks for your continued support. Much appreciated.

Am pleased to share Autumnal Joys, my latest post for Chandler’s Ford Today. I share an autumnal story in this too which I hope you enjoy. I chat about the joys of the season and have a brief look ahead to writing “things” coming up over the next couple of months or so. Hope you enjoy the post.

Autumnal Joys

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Glad to say I’ll be running a workshop on editing later in the year. Am looking forward to doing that. Flash fiction has helped me so much with editing as I have learned to spot my wasted words and cut them out. That in turn helps with other forms of writing I do.

Am chatting about Autumnal Joys for Chandler’s Ford Today this week – link up tomorrow. See above.
Author newsletter is also out again tomorrow.

Pleased to see reviews coming in for The Best of CafeLit 12. Book reviews do help authors so please consider leaving one. They don’t have to be long either. Other than buying the books themselves, leaving reviews is one of the best things you can do to support writers.

Hope you have had a good day. I was delighted The Lord of the Rings soundtrack did make it to the number one spot on the Classic FM chart on Bank Holiday Monday. Love the book(s) – I have the trilogy in one huge paperback so I guess that counts as one for me! Love the films, love the music, fantastic casting.

Writing Tip: Give some thought as to what makes your character a hero. What makes them care about the outcome of a situation? Is it a life or death one or do they simply not want evil to prosper, even if they could stay out of the situation? What beliefs drive them? How did they develop these?

I’ve long thought Sam Gamgee is a classic modest, understated hero in The Lord of the Rings. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. His friendship with Frodo drives him on. But you can see all of that in the portrayal and we want our characters’ positive attributes to be clear to a reader without spelling everything out.

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Two lovely bits of news to share. Firstly, I will be on the Hannah Kate show on North Manchester FM tomorrow (2nd September 2023). I’m taking part in her What Am I Reading slot and share some thoughts on books I’ve recently read. Fun thing to do!

The link below enables you to listen online regardless of where you are. Will be handy for me as I often have to listen later than the scheduled time but that’s fine (and it is so useful being able to do that).

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 2 September, 2-4pm

 

Secondly, I’m back on Friday Flash Fiction with my tale A New Leaf. Hope you like it. Am so pleased it has been made Editor‘s Choice this week too. Lovely way to end the working week.

I’ve chatted before about reading your work out loud because it is a great way to pick up on things that look good written down but which do not necessarily “read well”. This technique is something I’ve developed due to taking part in Open Prose Mic Nights. Naturally I want to rehearse what I plan to read and I have picked up things to improve in those rehearsals.

Another reason I’ve developed this is because sometimes I submit stories for broadcast so I need to know how long they are in terms of time. I read them out and record them on Zoom to give me the time but in playing that recording back, again I get to hear what works and what may need a rewrite because it didn’t flow as well as I thought originally.

371858468_723117366494794_1995778043819982131_nDon’t forget that, despite the September date on the cover, that issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Written by writers for writers, it is a great read. Do check it out. Given this issue is about marketing, it will benefit you, no matter what you write.

I must admit flash fiction is an asset to marketing. How? Because it is easy for me to share a story (often via my YouTube channel) which acts as a marker for what else I do. It also advertises flash in general and I hope gives readers/viewers an entertaining short tale. Win-win there.

 

Fairytales with Bite – Magical History

In your magical world setting, what role does history play in how your characters interact with each other or what the ruling government allows in terms of magic or not? Are witches strictly forbidden from trying to stick kids in an oven, for example?

Also, does your world have the same fairytale knowledge we h ave or are their tales different? What would these be if so and is there any similarity with the tales we know here? I believe there are various versions of Cinderella, for example, across different cultures and histories here so something like that could be the case in your setting.

What lessons have been learned from history in your setting? Have people learned the hard way what you could do with magic which you really should not have found out? What were the consequences? Has it affected the physical geography of your setting? (Am thinking along the lines of climate change here. Has there been a magical equivalent in your world?).

Are your characters trying to learn from history and, if so, are they successful? Are they better at what they do than their forebears would have been precisely because they have learned from prior mistakes? Are there lessons they should have learned but have not and what are the consequences there? Plenty of story thoughts here.

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This World and Others – Settings

One of the things I love most about fantasy is the setting. The Lord of the Rings, to my mind, can’t be beaten here. I so wanted to live in Rivendell!

The advantage of the films is you could see a re-creation of that. The advantage of the books is you get to picture it for yourself (and yes I think the films got it right).

What I also love about the books is the descriptions came in at the right time and broke up the drama. I found I did need something to break up the pace and of course the setting description literally set the scene for the next drama. Neither did the description go on for too long. There’s much to learn from that.

The other thing to note is not having everything all at once. Information is drip fed into the story. We didn’t need to know about Rivendell until the hobbits got there.

So think about what a reader would need to know about your setting. What makes it stand out? What do your characters love about it? What would they change if they could and why? I love outlines. Even for my shortest flash fiction tales (100 words usually, sometimes 50), I jot down a line or two about what I think I need to know about the character and where they are likely to be to make the story work.

For longer pieces, it would pay to work out how your setting will work. You don’t want to box yourself in later when you find you said characters rely on machines for transport in a world where machines are not known. That’s an extreme example but I have come across oddities where characteristics, even names change, when I’ve judged stories. It’s even easier to do that with a setting if you forget a pertinent detail.

I find an outline helps me approach my first draft with more confidence too because I know roughly where I am going. Having a setting outline means you know your world. That will help you to picture it and your characters in it more effectively.

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Using the Senses, Workshops, and Classical Music

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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 few days. It was a bank holiday for many of us in the UK and I loved listening to a special classical music chart – more details below. I find writing to classical music effective. There is something about classical which relaxes me and when I relax, I write more (and I hope better!). As far as Lady is concerned, bank holidays mean bonus walks so she is happy.

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Am delighted to be back on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my post on Workshops.

I share thoughts on what I look for from a workshop I go to as a delegate. I especially check out the workshop leader’s background in the topic they’re sharing. This should never be difficult to find out by the way!

I am so grateful for all I have learned from workshops and will continue to do so. They are a good thing and I am glad Zoom has made more workshops possible.

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For those of you who had a bank holiday today, I hope it went well. Bank holidays are a bit odd for me as I get on with the jobs I would usually do on a Monday anyway. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today so it was a normal day for them too!

Mind you, I am enjoying the movie music countdown on the Classic FM Hall of Fame today. I’m rooting for The Lord of the Rings soundtrack to get the number one spot. The soundtrack is perfect for the films. There is everything from opera to Enya on there and it all suits the story so brilliantly.

Talking of music, do you listen to any while you write? I find classical to be soothing and when I’m relaxed, I just get on and write. Sometimes I will hear a piece of music and think that might suit Character X whom I’ve just written about. That’s a good sign. If the characters seem real enough to me to have tastes in music, they’ll seem real enough to readers too.

So working out what your characters are likely to love and/or loathe is a good way to find out more about them and as a result you will write their stories up knowing you know your character well enough to do justice to their tales.

I find it helps to think of it as being “their” tales too. I don’t want my authors’ voice intruding. It is the character which holds my interest in any story I read. I want to find out what happens to them so I take the same approach with my own stories.

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Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Will be talking about Workshops in my More than Writers post for the Association of Christian Writers. That will be up on Tuesday. See above. Can hardly believe the end of next week will see us into September, mind you.

Writing Tip: It has often been said about using all of the senses in your writing. It is a great idea but don’t shoehorn these things for the sake of it as that never works.

If I need a character to eat something, I may well slip in something about how much they loved or loathed the texture of their food etc. Or, even more likely, mention the smell of it. But I won’t get a character to eat something just so I can get the use of another sense into my story.

Everything in your story has to be in there for a good reason. The story should lose something important if you were to take that something out. I’ve found this to be a useful way of gauging whether I do need something in the tale or not.

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Strange day weather wise – a right old mix. Still I guess it prepares us for autumn with September just around the corner. I’ll be talking about Autumnal Joys for Chandler’s Ford Today next week so it’s timely! I don’t do a lot of seasonal writing – my autumn post for CFT and my festive flash fiction writing is about it.

I’ve talked about knowing your character well before but you could consider, as part of the getting to know them process, what they make of the seasons and why they hold the feelings they do. You do get people who love autumn and those who loathe it.

My late grandmother hated it. Always thought it was the season when everything died. I do love it as I see it as the colour change season (leaves etc) and things getting ready for a rest period (winter) and then coming back (spring). You can’t have the spring without the autumn and the winter before it.

This in turn could lead you to thinking about whether your character is generally optimistic or not and what kind of problems their overall attitude to life could cause them. There would be story ideas there.
I thought I’d share one of my autumn stories from a while back. Hope you enjoy it.

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Don’t forget my author newsletter is due out again on Friday. I share links to my online flash stories here as well as useful writing advice and the latest news from me. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com and many thanks to all who have subscribed. Much appreciated.

I’ll be talking about Autumnal Joys for my Chandler’s Ford Today post on Friday. Autumn is a busy season writing wise and I have various things to look forward to, culminating in the Bridge House Publishing celebration event in December. I hope to have further publication news soon too.

One good thing about the darker evenings is they do encourage you to stay at your desk and write! Have resumed working on a long term project and it has been great to get back to that so I hope to make good progress on this over the next few months.


It’s a Bank Holiday Monday where I am but it still remains at heart a Monday, that day of the week which can fill people with dread. Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest tale on YouTube – Bobbing for Apples. A bit early for an autumnal story, I hear you cry? Hmm.. Given the weather has taken a distinctly autumnal turn where I am, I thought I’d get ahead of the game here!


Flash illuminates one moment in time but has such a powerful impact because of that. I use that aspect of flash fiction writing to work out whether I want to write a funny story, a sad one, or what have you. I then work out how I can best achieve this.

I focus on one character, one moment for any tale which is 500 words or fewer. For the 500 to 1000 bracket, I may have a second character but I always make it clear whose story it is and there has to be a good reason for the second character to be there at all.

Naturally that second character can fall into the helper or villain category where I have made the main character the “good guy”. Where I haven’t, I can flip that around (though I still like to show where my main character is a villain, the second character has severely damaged them and I have to have a good reason for telling the story from the villain’s viewpoint in the first place).

Flash Fiction focuses on THE important aspect of a character's life

Sometimes I use repetition in a flash tale. An example of this is The Wish List from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Every sentence bar the last one starts with the words I wish. The story builds up until the conclusion. It was fun to do.

Repetition can be useful. It can be used to build up tension, which is what I did in this story. It can be used for emphasis. But it is important you know what you want repetition to achieve for your story. Otherwise you will use up your word count without having good reason to do so.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Fiction – An Acrostic

F = Fabulous characters in a range of settings, past and present and future, in this world and others.

I = Imagination, inventiveness, images created – all gripping stuff.

C = Characters who live on in your memory long after you have read their tales.

T = Truth is often stranger than fiction but the latter can show truths in a way straight reporting cannot and in a more palatable way too.

I = I can get to imagine what I would do if I was in the characters’ shoes – fiction is great for encouraging empathy.

O = On this world, over it, off this world altogether – fiction can take you anywhere.

N = New books, old books, bought books, borrowed books, audio books, ebooks, collections – treasure them all!

Screenshot 2023-08-26 at 20-38-38 Fiction - An Acrostic

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Writing Exercises

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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, as was the photo from a local wildflower meadow.
Hope you have had a good couple of days since we last met here. Newsletter will be out again next week. How can it almost be September already? Not that Lady worries. She’s been having a fabulous times with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals for a lot of this week so it has been a good few days for her.

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Am pleased to share Writing Exercises on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I discuss my nervousness when I was first set them, thinking help, I can’t do this. But I did draft something and later realised that was the idea. Just get something down. You can work on it again later if you wish. I usually do with my writing exercises and some of them have gone on to be published.

I also set a couple of exercises in this post for you to have a go at as well. Hope you have fun with them and find the post useful as I also share why writing exercises are so useful for any writer.

Writing Exercises

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In my Writing Exercises post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week, I will be looking at some of the most popular types I’ve come across. I’ll also have a look at the benefits of practicing writing to these.

Glad to say the writing exercises I set at last night’s Association of Christian Writers Flash Group meeting went well too. And if I get set exercises, as I so often am at things like Swanwick, I am only too glad to give them a go. I get a draft out of it! Sometimes I go on to do more with that draft. Sometimes I don’t but I find it fun just having a go at these things. More in my post tomorrow.

Am so looking forward to the next production from The Chameleon Theatre Group in October. They’re staging Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (adapted by Stephen Briggs). Will be a real treat. Great story. Will be the first time I’ve seen a Discworld play.

What's your story - writing exercises can help you find out

Lady had a lovely time with her two best girlfriends in the park today. Good time had by all.
I’ll be looking at the usefulness of Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today this week – link up on Friday. See above.

I’ll be setting some writing exercises for the flash fiction group I’ll be leading later today.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again on 1st September. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Looking forward to sharing further publication news soon too.

Ideas are triggered by writing exercises and the more you do, the more you trigger said ideas

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Am pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Puzzled Out. Hope you enjoy it – this is a story where I knew the ending first. And then worked backwards to get to a logical start. Definitely one for puzzle fans.

Screenshot 2023-08-25 at 10-16-23 Puzzled Out by Allison Symes

Have signed up to take part in Flash NANO again in November. This is where you are given a flash fiction prompt for the thirty days of November and you write them up as flash pieces. Last year, I managed to complete the challenge – that’s thirty new pieces to edit and submit somewhere and/or put towards a new collection. I hope to do the same again this year.

I found it great fun to do. I found it useful to write the prompt each day but found with some I had to “carry over” to another day but that was fine. I had something to work with, which is the whole point, The person behind Flash NANO is Nancy Stolhman. More details below.

 

Hope you have had a good day. As well as mixing up the kinds of flash fiction I write in terms of mood and setting, I also mix up the word count length. My overall favourite is the drabble, the 100-worder, but I am fond of the whole range of flash. My next most common category to write in is the 250 to 500 words bracket. I do write some at 750-1000 words but not nearly so often. I usually find if I’m going for a longer work, I will turn it into a standard short story instead (and it ends up at 1500 or so).

For my blogs, all of them are between 500-1000 words or so. For Chandler’s Ford Today I can and do sometimes go up to 1500/1750 depending on what kind of article I am writing. It isn’t always apt to split an author interview in two, for example.

You do end up getting a feel for what kind of word count works best for which item of writing. Practice helps which is why regular writing comes in handy as you get to develop your style of writing and which word count works best for you for certain pieces of work. At least that has been my experience.

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Fairytales with Bite – Once Upon A Time – Acrostic

O = Original characters in an original setting – your magical world won’t be exactly the same as anyone else’s while it will have elements in common.

N = Never mind how your characters feel – drop them right in it and see how they fare.

C = Create characters we will care about in some way – we all love to boo a “good” villain but need to understand why they are being the way they are.

E = Experience will tell – it is not unreasonable for your main character to have a magical mentor of some sort.

 

U = Undertaking – there will be something special for your character to do here and there will be high stakes.

P = Persistence and perseverance – two qualities every hero will need. (Funnily enough the villain needs them to a certain extent too but naturally they usually don’t have enough of these qualities. There has to be a difference between them and your lead).

O = Once upon a time is a classic way to start a tale but you could mix it up by bringing us straight into the action. We will have to read on to find out what happens.

N = Never leave loose ends – there has to be a resolution.

 

A = Always care about your own characters – you are the first to believe in them. You don’t want to be the last!

 

T = Truthfulness in character portrayal pays off – people will believe in your characters if they feel they are or could be true. Knowledge of human nature and what we’re capable of and why can be useful here.

I = Imagination, Imagination, Imagination – why do we read? To find out what the author has imagined for us to enjoy.

M = Memory can be unreliable. If you’re writing series stories, it would pay you to note somewhere what you need to recall about your characters. It’s too easy to change colour of eyes, say, from one story to the next.

E = Enjoy the writing – creativity is fun. Bear in mind editing can be creative too as you seek to strength your story. But do see the writing and editing as two separate tasks. I find that helps a lot.

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This World and Others – History and How It is Told

So much depends here on what value your world setting puts on history and who controls the narrative. That seems a familiar tale does it not?! But when history is told, how is it done?

Is it just via books or are there plays, reenactments, and so on? I once went to a historical reenactment in Tewkesbury – good fun but what was interesting was you got a real sense of the smells, the sounds etc which you would not have got had you just read a historical account.

So in your setting, who writes the history? Is it performed? Who would do that? Do they have to stick to the official version of the history or can they put their own interpretation on it?

In your setting, are new historical discoveries ever found? Are these welcome? Not all might be! If something were to put a different spin on a genuinely accepted event, people (as well as their government) are not likely to react well to it.

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Writing Believable Characters and Writers’ Narrative Magazine

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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. Images from Writers’ Narrative magazine kindly supplied by Editor in Chief, Wendy H Jones.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Back to the kind of sunny weather you expect from August. Thrilled to say the September issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out – full details below. Don’t miss it. It truly is a great read and the theme is marketing. Is there any writer for whom that topic is not appropriate? I think not.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lovely to be back swimming today. The downside to writing is it can encourage the development of Writer’s Spreading Bottom, which is never a pretty sight. Walking the dog and going swimming helps!

Writing Tip: having regular time set aside for writing will help you produce more. I can never do 9 to 5 but there are hours I can do so I do them! I also see it as confirming to myself writing is important so book time for it. I think the regularity trains my brain into realising this is writing time (as opposed to editing time, say) so it encourages me to get on with it.

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Delighted to say the September issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine is now out. The theme this time is marketing and the magazine is packed full of useful information. Pleased to say I have two articles in here – Marketing Your Books and Writing for Online Magazines.

Link to the actual magazine is below.

 

To ensure you don’t miss a copy you need to subscribe (for free) here – http://subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

Oh and it is a fabulous read but don’t just take my word for it – do check it out.

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Sorry the Lionesses lost but well done to them for doing so much for women’s football and congratulations to Spain too. Am not a huge football fan I admit but I do love a good story. No surprises there. And it is a cracking story that two teams got to the Women’s World Cup final for the first time.

Favourite sporting moment for me was when Andy Murray won Wimbledon for the first time. As well as enjoying tennis, this was special because I rang Dad the moment Murray won. Dad was an avid tennis fan and he was so overjoyed the 70 year duck had been broken here. (I suspect the Duke of Kent who was then President of the Lawn Tennis Association felt similarly!).

It was a lovely moment because we’d not long had to put Mum into care as her dementia had taken a real hold by now and there was no way that could be managed at home. This moment – a shared joy over the phone with Dad was special to us both especially after such a difficult time. Yes, we were delighted when Murray did it again!

Talking of stories and how to create them, I will be looking at Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today later on next week. Labour of love writing this one! Link up on Friday.

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Many thanks to Val Penny for inviting me on to her blog today. I’m talking about Writing Believable Characters. I create characters a lot for my flash fiction and short stories. I’ve alway believed the story is driven by characters readers can get behind. So it was lovely to talk about this topic with Val. Hope you find the post useful.

Screenshot 2023-08-22 at 20-12-42 Creating Believable Characters by Allison SymesVal Penny at Swanwick - photo by Allison Symes

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Sometimes a phrase will pop into my head and I get with that an inkling of the kind of character who would say it. Instant outline right there. Often I will use that phrase as my opening line as it is always something to intrigue. Would like this to happen more often, it’s useful.

Dialogue is a great way to open a story. You get a couple of characters immediately (unless you have someone talking to themselves. That can intrigue. I would want to know why they’re doing it.). You also get a sense of character attitude and likely premise coming up. They are likely to discuss what has just happened as the story opens or what they think might be about to happen.

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Bonus post tonight. Not going to forget it’s Monday. It’s time for a new story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Getting the Message.

 

As part of the flash fiction group I lead, we share competition/market news we come across. The good news is there are loads of flash fiction competitions, certainly many more than when I discovered flash as a format. Indeed I don’t think it is possible for one writer to know them all but this is where writers help one another. Others have told me about sites like Friday Flash Fiction and CafeLit for example. Have been very glad of that information!

I must admit this is where I find a writing magazine helpful as it flags up competitions and markets to me. I also follow some writing groups on social media and these can be great sources of information. I see it as part of my marketing keeping up together (as much as I can) with this information.

Talking of marketing, the latest issue (September) of Writers’ Narrative is now out and the theme this month is on that topic so do check it out. Link to the actual magazine here (but do subscribe – it’s free and in the magazine itself is information showing you how to do this. Check the box on Page 33 entitled Subscriber News).

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Sometimes it can be fun to put something unexpected in a story title. One of my favourites from Tripping the Flash Fantastic is called The Terrified Dragon. Well, you have got to read on and find out what on earth (or other realm) could make a dragon terrified? That’s the idea of course. The hook is right there in the title.

I have judged competitions where writers have not used a title even though the title was not part of the word count. Please don’t do this. A title is your first hook for a reader and you can use it to set mood and genre. It’s a golden opportunity for writers without using up your previous word count in a restricted form like flash fiction. Don’t waste that opportunity.

I find I have to have a working title as I write my first draft. Sometimes a better title idea comes along, I make a note of it and decide which is better later on. I also find having a title is a great way to get me started. I guess it is because deep down I know a story has to have a title so let’s start with that then!

Tripping The Flash Fantastic - by night

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom next week. Always good to talk about and write flash fiction And I am sure we will get some useful writing done in this session. We usually do and I am so pleased some have gone on to have their work published online and broadcast too. Keep it up, folks! I get to do more writing too. Will be looking at seasonal writing this time.

When is the best time to write anything? Depends on the writer. For me, it is in the afternoon and evenings. Mornings are pretty much out for me. What matters though is getting into a regular habit of writing.

I find that regularity spurs me on. You decide on the regularity of course. Once a week stuck to is far better than every day for a week and then you don’t write again, say. I’ve learned not to overlook those odd pockets of time we all get. They’re perfect for drafting down ideas I can return to when I’ve got more time at my desk. It also means I hit the ground running when I am back at my desk. I like that aspect.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Short Stories

Confession time, I don’t have an overall favourite short story. I love too many of them to pick an outright favourite. But the classic fairy tales are amongst them. I also love the short stories of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, as well as being a fan of their longer works. Sometimes a story is better told in the short form – I admire those writers who can do both.

I make a point of mixing up what I read in terms of genre but I also do so for word count. I deliberately read short story collections and flash fiction anthologies in amongst my novels and long form non-fiction books. I think a mix is good for you!

I will often use a short story or flash collection to decide what genre of novel I will be reading next. I don’t strictly read to order on my To Be Read pile. Does anyone? I go with what I fancy reading and work my way through! But the short story and flash collections can help me work out what I do fancy reading next!

Screenshot 2023-08-19 at 19-57-43 Favourite Short Stories

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Getting the Most From an In Person Workshop

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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, as was the photo of my books in the Swanwick Book Room. Almost every author does this! Many thanks to Julia Pattison and Janet Williams for pictures of me at Swanwick and the Book Fair respectively.
Hope you have had a good week. Mine has got better as the week has gone on. Nice to be back out walking the dog and she has been glad to be seeing her dog friends again. Our wildflower meadow is looking especially nice right now – see photo below taken by me. (Oh and it’s double blog time as well as both my CFT and Authors Electric posts came out on Friday, 18th August 2023).

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Authors Electric
Double blog post Friday today! First up, it’s my turn on Authors Electric. I’m discussing Book Fairs and Writing Retreats. The last month has seen me happily busy with both! I share some thoughts on editing too given I was running a workshop on that for the writing retreat I was on.

Hope you find the thoughts there useful especially as I discuss how to give the Procrastination Monster and the Imposter Fiend a very hard time indeed.

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Chandler’s Ford Today

The second of my two blogs out today is my usual weekly one for Chandler’s Ford Today. This time I look at Getting the Most from an In Person Workshop and I hope you find the thoughts here useful. I share what I look for in a workshop like this whether I run or go to them.

Getting the Most From An In Person Workshop

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It’s been a week since I returned home from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Fabulous time. Glad to be home but also miss Swanwick dreadfully! Will be looking at Getting the Most from an In Person Workshop for Chandler’s Ford Today – link up tomorrow. See above.

Am also looking forward to the return of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom next week. Will be glad to see you good people! Am sure we will get some useful writing done too.

Writing Tip: Plan ahead for markets you’ve got in mind. Entering competitions is good practice for this (and if you get listed or win, even better!). They get you used to deadlines for a start.

But many markets, especially those that are seasonally based, will be thinking months ahead of the season in question. One positive thing here is these seasons come round, literally time and again, so you can always plan a story for another year if you miss the current one.

I do write, for example, festive flash fiction as and when throughout the year. Sometimes I find a home for it in the same year. Sometimes it waits for another year but I do know I’ve got something. I also try to build up a small stock of stories for seasonal use given I know the season will come around again. (Doesn’t have to be the obvious calendar based seasons either. Bear in mind there are holiday seasons for winter and summer. There are seasons in sport etc.).

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Pleased to say the September issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine will be out in the last week of August. Do watch out for it. Am pleased to share tasters in the photos below. Be sure not to miss out. The topic this time will be marketing and the magazine is packed full of useful information for any and every writer.

Am practicing what I preach here too. My Chandler’s Ford Today post will be about Getting the Most from an In Person Workshop. Having just run one at Swanwick now I am marketing the idea of going to them and running them. I’ll be sharing useful tips for getting the most out of workshops whatever side of the desk you are on (and always giving self explanatory post titles is a good marketing start!). Link up on Friday. See above.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Nothing from me on Friday Flash Fiction this time though I hope to rectify it soon but why not treat yourself to a read of some wonderful stories here. Also please note there is a change of deadline for submissions here – see top of page on link and screenshot.

Screenshot 2023-08-18 at 17-24-00 100-Word Stories


It’s worth keeping an eye out on the writing competitions for ideas for themes, even if you don’t enter the competitions themselves. I’ve done this a few times when I’ve spotted the competition too late to enter it but like the look of the theme and think I can use that. I do too.

Proverbs can make great themes and often the topic they suggest will come up time and again so is worth writing stories about. For example, take the proverb a stitch in time saves nine. You can have various characters in situations and settings showing that to be true. (I used this as a a title for a story in Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Proverbs are versatile like this). You could use that proverb as the basis for a love story, a crime one and so on.

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Just to flag up there’s an offer on Amazon at the moment on the paperback of From Light to Dark and Back Again. Check out the link below.

When writing flash pieces, I focus on my character as I’ve got to know where they’re coming from (and what is behind that. This is where knowing their major trait and likely attitudes coming from it is so helpful). It is then a question of working out whether I will then use the first person or the third.

I try to mix this up. I have used first person more with flash as it is so immediate but I don’t want to use it all the time. It is not always the best option. I have to figure out what would work best for my character and their situation. But this is good fun!

And for my collections, I had a fabulous time putting the stories together. I hope that comes through in the tales themselves.


Fairytales with Bite – Magical Services For Hire

In your setting, is everyone magical? If not, are there services which people can buy in as and when they need them? Who would run these services? Are there any standards services have to stick to (and what would be the consequences if they didn’t?). What kind of character would need to buy in a service? Is it easy to get the services needed?

If the services doesn’t deliver, is there room for redress? How could a non-magical character get justice here against someone who has conned them? How did your setting develop the need to be able to hire services out? Can the government use these services for their own ends – or is this a way of controlling who can access these things?

Name an industry and you can name a con artist connected with it. There is even more scope for this with a magical industry! But this could form the basis of humorous stories, especially if the con artist is forced to change their ways. If a customer turns out to be someone they know or someone they would like to get to know better, could they still con them?

Where you have things like magical shops, what would they stock? How do they obtain their products? Are products tried and tested? And think about your customers. Why is someone in need of these things? Does the services they buy in make a difference to their mission and if so how? If not, was it a question of bringing in these things as a kind of confidence boost? Also, did it work?

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This World and Others – Guilds and Commercial Bodies

If you have a magical industry, are there guilds and other commercial bodies which control the running of these things? (Best fantasy guilds of all time are the ones Terry Pratchett has in his Discworld series incidentally!). Who would run these things? Are they answerable to the government or do they control the politicians?

Who set the guilds/commercial bodies up in the first place? Did they come into being by consent or were there unpleasant historical episodes which led to them being formed? Did those who control them have to fight their way to the top? Do they still have to fight to stay at the top?

How can people join the builds/commercial bodies? Do they offer apprenticeships? Are there preferred organisations here? Are there ones which people only go for because they literally have no choice? Are the guilds/commercial bodies the same as they they started or have they had to adapt? Were changes welcomed? What rules do they have to stand by? What rules do they find are useful (even if not legally enforceable?).

How does commerce come into the lives of your characters? Does it help them or get in their way?
Thinking about these things can help you picture your world as all settings will need to have employers and employees. Where you have got those you have a financial system of sorts behind them. This is where the guilds could come in and there could be good stories to be written about what goes on within their organisations.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

September issue due out in last week of August.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

 

 

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Housekeeping, Editing, and Paper Cuts

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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. It’s always a case of coming back down to earth with a bump after my wonderful week at Swanwick but there is writing to be done so off I go! (And I can already start my countdown to Swanwick 2024).

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Facebook – General

Every so often I take the opportunity to do some housekeeping on my website.Often it is to update the anthologies on my books page etc but today I’ve updated my Author Services page on my website. See link below. I’ve added in details about my work on Writers’ Narrative magazine, the editing services I offer, and also the kinds of talks/workshops I run. Very much behind the scenes writing work but necessary all the same.

Writing Tip: Do include the work you do on your website etc as part of your writing work for the good reason it is. Writers need to have a shop window where we can show people what we do so keeping your website up together is an important part of your overall writing work. Make sure the website has material you yourself would find useful. Putting yourself in the head of your ideal audience is a good idea here. Think about what they need to know. Think about what they would find useful if they came across it in your website.

Author Services – Allison Symes

 

Glad to report the notes for my Swanwick workshop are now up on the site – Editing From Both Sides of the Fence. This is one of the lovely bonuses from The Writers’ Summer School. After the school itself, delegates can access the course notes even for those workshops and courses they didn’t go to. I’ve made good use of this myself and will continue to do so.

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Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out on 1st September, which will be here almost before we know it. To sign up for tips, hints, as well as news and useful links, do sign up at my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks for those who signed up at my editing workshop at Swanwick during the last week. I have now added you on to the list. I have also sent out a separate email to flag up the email address linked with my account with my newsletter service provider has now changed. Just for information only. For those of you who have been with me for some time here, I just didn’t want you puzzling over why the next newsletter is linked to a different email address!

Writing wise, I will be looking at making the most of an in person workshop for Chandler’s Ford Today later this coming week. I hope that will prove useful. Naturally that post is directly inspired by my time at Swanwick!

Newsletter with envelope image

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my Diary of a Swanwicker post for Chandler’s Ford Today post yesterday. All of my CFT posts are labours of love but there was something special about this one. There is something very special about The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. For more information, check out their website.

I’m working away on a flash piece I want to submit to a competition by the middle of this month or thereabouts. The deadline is for the end of the month but those at my editing workshop will have heard me mention I always do take off time from the official deadline and make the brought forward date my deadline instead.

It is my final chance to check for typos etc and then I submit it. It helps me beat procrastination too and that can be the curse of many a writer. (Many thanks also to those who have signed up for my author newsletter while at Swanwick. I will be adding you on to the list very soon).

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. I strongly suspect all who were at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick are thinking back to what they were doing at this time last week. I know I have been!

(Today I have got a good excuse. I was running my editing workshop last Tuesday. A huge thank you to all who came and supported that. There was a great turnout and it has reminded me to update my Author Services page on my website so that’s good too!).

Writing flash has meant I’ve lost all fear of editing. I see it as an essential tool to make my work better and give it a more of a chance out there – and so it has proved. Having a strict word count has meant I do have to cut out all unnecessary words and that habit carries over into my other writing.

Sometimes I have a character who is wordy but I flag that up as part of their portrayal early on. There my editing would be to give them a style of speech which suits them. So in their case I would get them to talk about “meandering around the Recreation Ground” rather than to say “I walked across the park”. But I could cut words out from around them to give them the word count room in which to do this. I don’t do this often and the character has to be strong enough to justify me doing it.

But editing has to be apt for the character you’re writing and even in wordy creations there will be ways to tighten up what you’ve given them to say.

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It’s my first Monday back after Swanwick. I don’t know about you but I definitely need a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Paper Cut.

 

There won’t be any story from me this coming week on Friday Flash Fiction this week given they are closed for submissions at the moment. They’ve just run a competition so understandably want a break. Good luck to all who have entered the competition. However, do check the website out anyway. I’ve shared the link to the 100 word story section. You’ll be in for a very good read and will pick up a good feel of what flash fiction can do and be at this word count. So well worth checking out. Update:  I believe FFF are now reopen for the 100 word stories but I will be submitting material again at the weekend. Still check the site out though – it is a great read.

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As I write a lot of flash and short stories, I am always on the look out for sources of ideas. I use a variety of ways here – the random generators, which I’ve talked about many times. I have used (and still use) books of prompts (and have contributed to some). I also use story cubes. I am also inspired by books and characters by other writers, things I’ve seen on film or TV or heard on the radio.

Music can inspire too. I love to ask questions, my favourite probably being the old “what if” one. And going to workshops such as the ones at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick can also inspire ideas whether or not the workshop leader issues prompts themselves (and many do).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Selling Books, Buying Books

Understandably all writers want to sell their books. But what got us into writing in the first place? Our love of reading books by other authors!

I’ve just come back from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and had the great joy of selling some of mine. I came back with an interesting selection of titles which have gone on my To Be Read pile. I have started on a couple of them. Am loving what I have read so far and am looking forward to tackling the rest in due course.

The bonus for writers is we get to do two things we love – write our own stories and read other stories. This probably explains why most authors are not rich! It also helps a lot if you can arrange to have plenty of shelves.

I do know there is nothing else I would rather do – write (and hopefully sell) my own books and buy books from others. The written word (including via audio books and ebooks) is glorious. It is a great joy to me to have a book shelf dedicated to books written by friends of mine and signed by them. I am adding to my collection here too. Such a pleasure to do that!

Separately I have a section for the two flash fiction collections I’ve written and the anthologies I’ve contributed to over the years as well. It’s always a joy to add to that too.

Conclusion? Can’t have enough book shelves in my life but it is a nice problem to have.

Screenshot 2023-08-12 at 20-38-15 Selling Books Buying Books20230805_164239

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

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The September issue will be available during the last week of August. It is packed full of useful information.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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