Diary of a Swanwicker

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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 most of the photos from Swanwick.
Had a a fabulous time at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick – more details in my Chandler’s Ford Today post. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for taking the shot of me at my editing workshop at Swanwick. Now back to the real world again!
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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am pleased to share Diary of a Swanwicker as my post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Couldn’t be anything else really! I hope this gives you a good flavour of what The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick is all about. There is something magical here and I loved catching up with old friends, making new ones, and enjoying the range of courses on offer. A huge thank you also to those who came to my one hour workshop on editing.

Diary of a Swanwicker

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Safely home once again. I loved catching up with friends and making new ones at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Now to come off cloud nine for a bit and to get back to the usual writing routine.

Yes, I do find a writing routine helpful. I agree with P.G. Wodehouse who advised writers to “apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair”. Well, he wasn’t wrong, was he? It is the way to get things done!

What I do though is adapt my routine. There are some days of the week where I am especially busy and I know I won’t get so much writing done. That’s okay. All I do is save those shorter writing sessions and use them for shorter pieces of work because I still feel by the end of my session, I have got something useful done. I have too – whether it is a draft of a flash fiction piece, jotting own ideas for article and blog ideas, outlining thoughts for a future short story etc.

Part of the reason behind this for me is in the past I have had significant caring responsibiities. Alas my people are now gone but I had to learn to use what time I had as opposed to what time I would like to have for writing. The habit has continued. And those two types of writing time rarely marry up incidentally. So rather than beat myself up about I’d only do this if I had more time, I focus on what I can get done in the time I know I have. It’s a more positive outlook and outcome.

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Many thanks to all who came to my Lift up Your Pens pre-breakfast writing session this morning. It was a good turnout given the disco last night didn’t start until 10! I don’t do disco or fancy dress so thought it best to sit that one out but the costumes I saw were fantastic and I knew a good time was had by all who did go. Collected my books this morning so will pack them up to go home later. How has the time gone by so quickly? Will br sharing Diary of a Swanwicker on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday so do look out for that. See above. Good time had by all! We wrote too!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to share The Lakes, my latest on Friday Flash Fiction. A shout out must go to Val Penny because her Perfect Plotting specialist course at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick helped inspire this story. And it is a story, okay. I’ve not got any plans to do what my character is thinking of in this tale. I hope that means you have to check the story out now!

Screenshot 2023-08-11 at 11-01-33 The Lakes by Allison Symes

Lovely to get home to my guys and I was right on something else. I was mugged by my very excited dog when I got off my last train! There was a small chorus of “ah” from others on the platform. Always lovely to know you’ve been missed. Also, you don’t forget 18 kilos of dog hurling themselves at you!

Great to spread the word about flash fiction at Swanwick. Incidentally flash ifs often set as a kind of writing exercise. It was in the Rediscovering Your Writing Mojo session I went to during the time I was away. Loved doing that I can tell you. I’ve got a story drafted to work on thanks to that!

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Many thank for all the positive feedback on my editing workshop this week. Much appreciated. Also the feedback for where things could be better still etc. This is precisely how writers learn and I always appreciate this. Can’t believe how quickly the time has gone but have made the most of the last full day here in Sunny Derbyshire. Nice to have sold books (and bought some!) – I don’t think there is a writer anywhere with an empty To Be Read pile.

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Fairytales with Bite – Magical Places

Many writers would consider The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick (The Hayes) is a pretty magical place with almost a week packed with workshops and courses.

But what would your characters consider to be their magical place? Even in a fantasy setting your characters would have somewhere that was special for them. Where would this be? Why is it special? Do they appreciate a break away from magical work?

In a magical setting, would characters consider any thing (such as nature) magical precisely because it doesn’t involve the stuff! Where would your characters go to escape their cares for a while? Even in a magical setting, are there places which are seen as more magical and what special powers do these places have compared to “ordinary” magic?

If someone needed magical help, which places would they go to and why? What would be the charges and consequences of seeking this kind of help? Are any magical places banned due to unethical practices etc?

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This World and Others – World Issues

Whatever your word setting there will be issues to face. For some it will be case of preventing hunger due to failed crops. For others, it will be working out ways to live in peace with hostile neighbours. What issues does your setting face and how does it deal with them? Bear in mind, they may not necessarily deal with them successfully.

Take the issues we face here and transfer them to your setting. How would things work out there? What ethical and other dilemmas would your characters have to face up to? Ratchet up that tension!

Your world’s geography may have a direct bearing on the kinds of issues it faces. For example, does it lack water? Or does it have too much of the stuff? Do countries/other blocks co-operate to deal with the issues the world as a whole faces or is this a source of conflict? Either could lead to interesting stories (for example, how did the co-operation happen? Someone had to be brave enough to make the first move).

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES


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Workshops, Courses and Being at Swanwick

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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. Photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick were also taken by me. 
Many thanks to Julia Pattison for taking the one of me at my editing workshop. Have had a wonderful time here. And will continue to do so for the next couple of days. I will be sharing more about this in my Chandler’s Ford Today post later this week.

Facebook – General

Thoroughly enjoyed the final two sessions of Val Penny’s Perfect Plotting. Packed full of useful information. Enjoyed Whose (Story) Line Is It Anyway? after lunch. This was led by Zana Lamont. Then it was time for my workshop – Editing – The View From Both Sides of the Fence.

It is lovely catching up with friends I only “see” online the rest of the year and to have a good natter over breakfast, tea breaks, lunch, dinner etc, I also appreciate not having to cook anything or clear up. Many of us here feel that way!

It was especially nice to catch up with a fellow member of the History Writers group, Linda Brown, in person, something which meets online once a month. And it is good there is a contingent from the Association of Christian Writers here as well.


Many thanks for the support at the Lift Up Your Hearts session this morning. This is a short reflective session for all denominations and it was lovely. We were in good voice!

Thoroughly enjoyed the Rediscovering Your Writing Mojo sessions this morning led by Esther Chilton. Am off to the Author Business Foundations sessions led by Kate McCormick (aka Elizabeth Ducie). Sadly, I won’t be taking part in the Open Prose Mic Night session tonight as it clashes with The Big Quiz. The quiz is such fun and I can’t miss that.

Mind you, at the end of the Mojo course, we all got to write a piece of flash fiction so I shared my draft when we were asked if anyone wanted to read out so I did get a little bit of flash fiction prose reading done! I hope to polish this story up and submit it somewhere later.

First full day at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Went to Perfect Plotting by Val Penny – always a useful topic and the course is led by someone who is expert here. There is always something to learn here. Am then off to Amazon and Kindle Publishing and later still Comedy – a Whistle Stop Tour. This is just on the first full day, mind you!

And for a while it stopped raining too. Win-win all round!

Am back at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. It is the highlight of my writing year. It will be lovely to catch up with old friends and hopefully make new ones. I love the range of courses and workshops. I suppose the real treat for me here is being able to have a few days fully immersed in the writing world.

All writers need to know there is support out there. All of us have had and continue to have rejections and setbacks. But there is nobody like another writer to understand the joys of the writing life. It is a case of finding your tribe here, I think.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It was sunny Derbyshire when I rang home this morning. It is less so now but it has stayed dry at least. Wouldn’t place on any bets how long that will last, mind you.

I gave my workshop – Editing – The View From Both Sides of the Fence – this afternoon. Writing flash fiction regularly has taught me so much about editing. And I discuss being on both sides of the fence because I have been edited as well as having carried out editing work at one and the same time. I can see where editors come from. I can understand the authors’ viewpoint too.

Was thrilled at the turnout for my workshop. Thanks, everyone. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for the photo.
I was set an interesting writing challenge at the Write on Cue session led by Anita Belli last night at Swanwick. We had to select objects to write a story around and mine was a Monopoly piece. The result is my latest story on YouTube – The Silver Boot. Hope you enjoy.

 

So good to be back at Swanwick. The grounds, as ever, are glorious, and it has been wonderful catching up with so many friends already. Looking forward to the courses today. Always a feast to choose from. And with any topic, pretty much, I can find something to apply to either my flash fiction writing or my blogging, sometimes both.

Sometimes information proves to be useful much later on but what I do know for sure is the world of writing is a fascinating one, there is always something to learn, and that is good for us all – to keep on learning.

Will naturally be waving the flag for flash fiction and short stories at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick over the next few days. Will be a joy to do so too.

There is usually an Open Prose Mic night here and it is a fabulous platform for the short form. You do only have a few minutes and the golden rule here is you can come in under time but not over it. Flash fits so well here and people do get to hear complete stories. Win-win here!

Goodreads Author Blog – Stories In Other Formats

I recently had the great joy of watching Lilies on The Land, which was staged by our local excellent amateur theatre company, The Chameleon Theatre Group. I then reviewed it for online magazine, Chandler’s Ford Today.

Lilies was an interesting play because it is a story made up of stories, all based on the real life experiences of the Women’s Land Army (aka the land girls). The stories were collected via letters, interviews etc and The Lions wrote Lilies based on this information.

It is a great case of non-fiction inspiring fictional work. The Lilies characters were invented but based on solid fact. Some fictional liberty was taken in enabling the characters to communicate with each other. But it all worked so well. It was believable. All stories must have that believability even if set in the most fantastical settings.

Let’s hear it for stories in all formats inspired by non-fiction!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

 

 

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Lilies on the Land and Podcast News

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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 ever, a huge thanks to The Chameleon Theatre Group for kind permission to use their photos (and some of their direct quotes about the recent play by them) in the Chandler’s Ford Today post. Both make for a more rounded article! Image of me signing books at Swanwick was taken by the late and much missed Fiona Park.
Off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, at the weekend. Has been a busy summer what with the Book Fair too but that’s all to the good. Delighted to have received my copies of The Best of CafeLit 12 too – always a nice feeling when your books arrive!

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Delighted to share my review of Lilies on the Land which is the latest production staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group. It is always a pleasure to review their productions for Chandler’s Ford Today and this is no exception.

See what I think here and do check out the links. They will bring back memories for many and those interested in history will find some of the links especially useful. The play is about the Women’s Land Army and their stories about their efforts in World War Two. Sublimely written by The Lions and well performed (but then I’d not expect anything less from The Chameleons).

Review – The Chameleon Theatre Group – Lilies on the Land

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I mentioned the other day I was amused when Amazon thought I might be interested in The Best of CafeLit 12. Well, for that they did it for the Kindle version of the book. Today they did this again for the paperback! Not long afterwards, my copies of the book arrived! Hmm… talk about timing!

Talking of timing, I am kind of going back in time for tomorrow’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I’m reviewing Lilies on the Land, the recent production from The Chameleon Theatre Group. See above.

The play looks at the stories of the Women’s Land Army. The play was moving but see what I thought of the play in tomorrow’s post. There are some useful history links for those who want to know more about the WLA too and a great link with a certain very famous episode of a well known TV sitcom. Link up tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing this.

Podcast and Publication News

Am delighted to say I have a story, A Summer Retirement, Maybe on The Casket of Fictional Delights. As well as the tale appearing on the website, I am thrilled to say it is on their podcast too.

I am blown away by the quality of this podcast of my story – do give it a listen – and a huge thank you to the wonderful people who have produced this.

Also a big thanks to Alyson Rhodes for telling me about the Casket in the first place. (You’ll find the link to the podcast on the right – handily under a great big Hear button!).

A Summer Retirement, Maybe

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to say I am back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest story, Shallow, Moi? Hope you enjoy it. Comments are currently switched off due to there being a competition in connection with the website.

Members of the Flash Fiction Group (ACW) may well recognise the title as one I came up with during our recent session on titles. This title is a good example of the title setting the mood for the story,.

Screenshot 2023-08-04 at 10-06-26 Shallow Moi by Allison Symes

Am all packed, including my flash collections, ready for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Will be posting as usual next week but timings will vary. I suspect that may be true of my train journey too!

The Best of CafeLit 12 reached me today – I have a flash piece called Jubilee in there. Am also looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event in December. This is always a great way to round up the year.

Sometimes I will think of a title for a flash piece. Sometimes I will think of a character. Either way works. I have to have a hook to write to and it will either be an intriguing title that makes me want to find out what happens. Or I am intrigued by the character and want to find out what they do and what happens to them. The important bit is being intrigued!

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Only a few days to go before I set off for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Did most of my packing today. I do like to wave the flag for flash fiction.

Thrilled to be on a podcast with one of my flash fiction stories for the first time. You can find my A Summer Retirement, Maybe over on The Casket of Fictional Delights. I make no apologies for repeating the link here (it is also on my author page on Facebook) because the quality is so good, I do want to shout about it ! Enthusiasm is a great asset for writing!

I’ve talked about the joy of being read to before but this is the first time I’ve had one of my own stories read to me. I would like more of this to happen!

A Summer Retirement, Maybe

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Fairytales with Bite – Travelling

This topic was a good one for me this week as I’m off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick soon. This is the highlight of my writing year.

Going back to our magical settings for our stories, how would your characters get about? Not everyone would get on with broomsticks, for example. I wouldn’t for a start. Not the most comfortable of seating arrangements and the thought of cold cross-winds does nothing for me! I could see characters having problems with their navigation here!

You could think about whether anyone is entitled to fly or whether it is restricted, are there any environmental concerns and so on. But characters to have to travel (especially on quests!) so how would they do this? What are the pains of their mode of travel? What are the advantages, if any? Is it a question of having no choice?

If someone tries to invent a new way of travelling how successful or otherwise are they? What problems would they have to overcome to get their idea “out there”? And what could get in the way of your average traveller here? What are the joys of travelling in your setting? It would be good to think there were some!

I love train travel though this image seems to invite you to ride by rail into another world - Pixabay
This World and Others – Transport Networks

What does your setting have in the way of transport networks? Are things geared up to encourage or discourage travelling? Who would run these things? How well are they run? If individuals have to sort out travelling, how would they do this? What vehicles (and I would include animals in this category) could they access? Is it easy to travel around your setting?

If your world has never had a transport network, what might happen which would make them require one and how would they set one up? Would they see what other worlds, including our one, would do first?
How would characters get to/from where they work? Most would work away from home, even if the distance isn’t great. Even the seven dwarves had to commute to a certain extent even if they walked, singing as they went! That was their transport network…a commute and a sing song!

Off on my travels again

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Apologies for the size of the image. Having issues with resizing photos for tonight’s post. Mind you, for the record, I still prefer the original Twitter symbols. Let’s hear it for the blue bird!

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What Makes A Character Work

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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 Jennifer C Wilson for taking the image of me about to run a workshop at Swanwick in 2022. Looking forward to catching up with you, Jen, at Swanwick 2023! Many thanks to Richard Hardie for taking the image of me at the Book Fair.
Hope you have had a good weekend. I’m off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick this coming weekend for a few days. I am planning to post but times will be different. Am looking forward to catching up with friends (the rest of the year I meet them online only) and attending the excellent workshops.

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Facebook – General

Someone hasn’t told the weather it’s August, have they? Oh well. On the plus side, the grass in my local park does now look and feel like grass as opposed to the straw it had resembled during that period of hot weather we did have.

My latest author newsletter went out earlier today – many thanks to all who have signed up. Hope you enjoy the latest one.

I came to author newsletters fairly late though I enjoy reading several and it is something I should’ve done sooner than I did. It is a useful way of keeping in touch. I aim to put in mine what I know I’d like to receive myself. I think that helps (and shows). It is a great joy putting these together – marketing can be fun, honest!

May be a doodle of text that says "E-MAIL out my NEWSLETTER I send author newsletter ơη the 1st of each month and share news, tips, story links newsletter EMAIL etc. talk about flash fiction and share thoughts ση writing it here tσơ."

Allison Symes - August 2023 - Out and (Flashing) About

Had to have a chuckle. Had an email in from Amazon today suggesting I might be interested in The Best of CafeLit 12. Credit where it’s due and all that – they’re not wrong.

Someone might have noticed though I asked Amazon to add it to my Author Central page, which they’ve done – speedily too – within minutes of my asking, and that’s because I’m one of the authors in here! Mind you, I have had this kind of email for From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic as well. Joined up thinking? Possibly not here.

In other news, have started packing for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Told you I was looking forward to it.

Bit of a strange day today. I’m standing down form a voluntary role I’ve carried out for some years. Absolutely right time to go. Things are developing for me in my church life and my writing one too, which means I no longer have the time for the voluntary role as well. Am still a member of the organisation concerned. I am looking forward to “just” being an ordinary member again though but when you have carried out a role for a long time, it does seem odd to be moving on.

Am so looking forward to sharing my review of Lilies on the Land, the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group, for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Such a moving play and it brought back memories of stories I was told by my parents/grandparents. More in the post. I suspect the play has and will continue to bring back memories for others too.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter goes out on Tuesday. Still time to sign up at my landling page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Newsletter with envelope image

It’s my turn once again on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time I talk about What Makes a Character Work. Hope you find the post useful and you can find out why the Sheriff of Nottingham as played by the late great Alan Rickman puts in an appearance here too.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. Busy one as ever. Am currently working on a flash piece I hope to bet submitted probably just after I get back from Swanwick.

I want to get it to the “resting” stage before I go away. When I come back – well, that will be enough of a break to give me the chance to judge the tale objectively before sending it anywhere. It’s amazing how many things I can pick up when I’ve given a story proper rest period like that and it can make all the difference to whether a tale is accepted or not.

This is why I build in time for this to happen so I still submit well ahead of any deadline. It is a tip which works and has worked repeatedly for me which is why I am happy to recommend it. I like tried and tested tips a lot!

May be a graphic of lighting and text that says "Like these three points but I would also add in a reminder that editing takes longer than you think at times. 1) Dream 2) Set goal 3) Action"

It’s Monday. It’s the Monday before I go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick! Still time for a story though. My latest on YouTube is called Welcome to Earth. Hope you enjoy it.

Damp and drizzly here today. And the month we’re in is what exactly?! Having said that, I do not envy the poor souls with the heatwaves. I know I couldn’t cope with it, I can cope with the rain.

Heads up for those who send in stories to Friday Flash Fiction. For the next couple of weeks, they are only accepting the classic 75 to 100 word flash tales. See link for more information. Their contest ties in with the Edinburgh International Book Festival though, of course, the FFF one is purely online. Usual rule of one story a week applies. Good luck if you’re having a go at this.

Screenshot 2023-07-30 at 17-04-37 Edinburgh Festival Competition 2023

Hope you have had a good day. Changeable weather again here. This time next week I’ll be at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and am so looking forward to it. Naturally I shall be spreading the word about flash fiction. Will report back for Chandler’s Ford Today in due course.

Talking of which, there is an offer on for the paperback version of From Light to Dark and Back Again on Amazon at the moment. You can check it out at the direct link below.

Goodreads Author Blog – Biographies

I’m currently reading London by Peter Ackroyd, a biography of the city which is an interesting way to approach writing history. Enjoying it immensely so far. But it led me to wonder about biographies, I have read some (mainly autobiographies) of figures I’m interested in. Agatha Christie’s autobiography is a fascinating read but unless the subject interests me, I don’t read much in this genre. No celebrity biographies for me!

Are there biographies you would recommend and what appeals about them? I do think the subject has to have led some kind of interesting life. With Agatha Christie, I am a huge fan of her books so am naturally interested in what she had to say about herself. I love history so the idea of London appealed to me too. (It helps I’m a Londoner by birth I suspect – another reason to be interested in the subject).

I suppose one reason I do like some of these is I am at that stage of life myself where I am interested in what others at this stage of life or beyond it have got to with theirs! This is another reason why I’m not interested in the younger celebrity books here.

I do wonder well what experience of life have you got other than that which made you famous? For me that isn’t enough, I like to read of how people struggled, made the breakthrough, made mistakes, picked themselves up again etc. Those are stories worth telling.

Screenshot 2023-07-29 at 20-19-37 Biographies

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Welcome to 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. Many thanks to Wendy H Jones for supplying the Writers’ Narrative magazine publicity shots for the Chandler’s Ford Today interview. Many thanks to Janet Williams and Richard Hardie for the photos of me at the recent Book Fair.
It has been a busy week what with the launch of Writers’ Narrative and the recent release of The Best of CafeLit 12. Am also looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick which is coming up soon. It was also a delight to watch The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latrest production, Lilies on the Land. Review to follow in due course. In dog news, Lady has had a ball with many of her friends this week so all is well there too.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am thrilled to welcome back Wendy H Jones to Chandler’s Ford Today for an in-depth interview called Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine.

Wendy is the Editor in Chief and I am part of the editorial team. The magazine is written by writers for writers and covers all aspects of the writing world. Definitely not one to miss. Do check out the CFT post for more information (and handily there is a subscribe link in the post. Even better news, it is free to subscribe).

Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine – Interview with Wendy H Jones

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Posting early today as am off out later to see The Chameleon Theatre Group stage their latest production, Lilies on the Land, which is a play about the Women’s Land Army. Should be interesting and it covers a side of history which is often overlooked. I’ll be reviewing this for Chandler’s Ford Today next week.
Meantime, I’ll be sharing my post tomorrow where I interview Wendy H Jones about new online magazine, Writers’ Narrative. Looking forward to sharing that. See above.

Not long now either before I am off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Can’t wait to catch up with friends and meet new ones. I’m running a one hour workshop on editing here plus carrying out a couple of volunteer short sessions (pre-breakfast – people have to be keen!).

Great to see everyone at last night’s Flash Fiction Group meeting (Association of Christian Writers). Fab time had by all and there was plenty of creativity going on – well done, all and I hope you have fun with the writing exercise I set you.

Back to changeable weather today but Lady got to show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler friend so she’s had a good day and her chum never minds this.

Many thanks for the huge and great response to yesterday’s post about Writers’ Narrative magazine. I’ll be interviewing Wendy H Jones, the Editor in Chief, for Chandlers Ford Today on Friday. See above. Do look out for that. There will be plenty of insights shared and useful information about how to submit for the magazine as well. Looking forward to sharing that.

I’ll be getting my author newsletter out next week. If you would like to sign up for tips, hints, advice, news etc do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Having a Ball. Dog sympathisers will especially like this one I think. Hope you enjoy it. I had so much sympathy with my lead character (and I’m not sorry for the pun there either!).

Screenshot 2023-07-28 at 10-11-21 Having a Ball by Allison Symes

Do you like writing exercises? I love them and usually set at least one at the flash group meetings I lead for the Association of Christian Writers once a month. I find writing exercises encourage creativity, they make me think outside of my usual box(es), and I produce work I would not have otherwise have produced.

Most writing exercises suit flash fiction – such as writing to an opening or closing line. They’re also good practice for writing stories for competitions. Many of them issue a set theme, sometimes a title, and if you are used to producing things to a prompt, it is handy here.

You’re not going to be fazed by the challenge. You see it as just another prompt. Still need to produce your best work though – and I must admit I love the ongoing challenge of that.

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I was amused to receive an email today from someone I know who chose to write their missive as a flash fiction story – the writer did a great job! But I have used letters in flash fiction for more serious purposes. My Punish the Innocent from From Light to Dark and Back Again tells a story of criminality/vengeance/justice in the shape of a short letter. Letters can be a useful format in flash – you have to keep them short to make them work!

Why not give it a try? What is so important your character has to write to someone (especially if your story is set in an age where they could phone, email etc)? What would they reveal? The nice thing with this format is you can get clues as to what the receiver must be like from the way the character writes to them. That can be so telling.

What is the tone of your character’s letter? Forthright, judging, humorous? Plenty of story ideas here and I find it makes a pleasant change from writing direct prose. There is something intimate about a letter and you can get your characters to show this kind of thing too. Best not done too often – anything can look gimmicky if done too often after all , but if you want to mix up your writing, this is a good exercise to try.

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Fairytales with Bite – Food and Drink

Even the most powerful fairy godmother must take time out to recharge the batteries via food and drink. So what would she consume? Presumably not a suspiciously shiny red apple but other than that what would you feed her with? Would you base requirements on what we have here? Or would magical beings have to eat some sort of magical food and what would this be?

Would your characters prepare their own consumables or would others do this for them?

Food and drink are major parts of our lives naturally, but would your magical beings consider them to be necessary evils? What is their attitude towards having to eat/having to drink? Do they see it as tiresome, for example? Your average evil being would consider these things as a waste of time when they’ve got evil to be getting on with (while recognising they could use food and drink against their enemies).

Is there an industry devoted to producing these things and who would run this? Is government control exerted over it to make sure only what is approved can be consumed? Are there banned substances here? Why was any ban brought in?

Is there such a thing as food allergies here? What form would those take on a magical being? Which of your characters loves their food ? Which are the fussy eaters? Could envisage funny stories here – someone who is fussy has to learn not to be.

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This World and Others – The Hospitality Industry

Most of us experience various parts of the hospitality industry. I love visiting a local pub/restaurant, for example. What establishments would exist in your world? Whom would your world be hospitable to? Whom would they never offer any kind of hospitality towards? Are characters of lower standing expected to visit certain kinds of establishment, saving the best ones for the higher up? Does the hospitality industry encourage tourism in your world and who would take advantage of this?

Are the ones working in this sector respected or looked down on? How much regulation from central or local government (or both) goes on? Is food easily sourced? Does the industry have inspectors to ensure standards are maintained/improved as necessary? Who would work in the industry? Is magic allowed to be used as part of the job?

If you have personal experience of working in this sector, what could you bring into your fiction for a hospitality industry set on another planet? What problems would be the same? Which would differ?

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Publication News – Writers’ Narrative – and Writing to Unwind

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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 for Writers’ Narrative magazine used in the Chandler’s Ford Today post and on my Facebook posts were kindly supplied by Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief. The Feature Image is based on an image supplied by Wendy too. Many thanks also to Richard Hardie for taking the picture of me at the recent Book Fair.
Hope you had a lovely weekend. Had a family to to celebrate my other half’s significant birthday – good time had by all, despite the weather. Lady loved it all. And it was lovely to be able to share more publication news just before the weekend too.

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Am thrilled to say the first issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine is now out there. It’s a fabulous read for any writer (and written by writers who understand what people are seeking in this kind of magazine). I talk about Boosting Your Writing with Flash Fiction but there is an astounding range of articles in here. And the magazine has already hit the No. 1 spot in the US on Amazon. It was a real pleasure to receive the magazine in my inbox this morning – and you can receive it this way too. Just see the link.

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Hope you have had a good start to the week. Mondays are always hectic but it is nice to get to that point of the day where I can write for a while. Bliss and I find it invigorating and a great way to unwind at the same time, strange as that may sound. Writing satisfies a need to be creative. This is especially great after a day of doing more mundane things.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone at the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting on Wednesday. I am glad to say several have had pieces on Friday Flash Fiction which is fabulous. Flash fiction writing, I find, comes into its own when I don’t have as much time as I would like to write. I still can get something down!

May be an image of text that says "Learning to go with the flow takes time but you will be happier for doing so."As well as sharing the wonderful news The Best of CafeLit 12 is now out (with my story Jubilee on page 110 – guess who looked!), I get to do some authorial housekeeping. I’ve updated my Amazon Author Central Page – I will give Amazon their due here. I put the request in and literally minutes later the book was up on my page. Can’t fault that.

Updating books on Goodreads is more tricky though – I’ve sent a request in but don’t know when I’ll hear on that. Am less impressed. I’ve never found updating anything on that site easy.

I’ve updated the books page on my website (see link – I’ve got the books page as my home page – I think there is something apt about that. Books always make me think of home and the lovely volumes I have here!).

Oh and I’ve got the book listed with ALCS (Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society). As a member of the Society of Authors, I get to be part of ALCS for free but it doesn’t cost much to join and your membership fee is taken from your first payment. Just the once too. You pay once and that’s it.

Adding my books on to my ALCS list means I will get something from my contribution to this book in due course from them. It is worth adding on your books (but they can’t do ebooks). Well worth investigating if you’ve got books out (or contributions to print anthologies etc).

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Had a family do today. Great time had by all. Lady loves it when we have guests around. They all make a huge fuss of her and treats are involved too so what’s not to like?

Am so looking forward to sharing next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post – Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine. I’m talking with Editor in Chief, Wendy H Jones, for this one. Amongst other topics will be how you can subscribe to this free magazine and how to submit articles for consideration.

The first (August) edition is out during next week (25th July, just ahead of my post). See above. Trust me, there is plenty of good reading here. I am privileged to be part of the editorial team here. Naturally I am also contributing articles! If you would like to sign up now, to ensure you don’t miss a single thing, you can do so at the link here.

Writers' Narrative

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Delighted to be talking about how writing flash fiction can boost your writing overall for the first issue of Writers’ Narrative, which came out today.

I will also be focusing on flash fiction for tomorrow’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group on Zoom.

This is a good example of why it is important to love what you write. All writers need to market their work (else how else will people know about it?) so it is vital you enjoy what you do to (a) help you keep going with this and (b) talk about your writing love with conviction. It does show.

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The good old notebook is still useful for Zoom workshop attendees

It’s Monday. It’s been wet, dark at times, more like an autumn day than a summer one, wet, and it is still Monday. Time for another YouTube story from me then. Hope you enjoy my latest called Celebrating though my character Sheila is celebrating alone. Find out why here.

 

Sunday afternoon is flash fiction writing time for me and is something I look forward to immensely. I’m also looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday evening.

My story, Jubilee, in the recently released The Best of CafeLit 12 is a piece of flash work. Yes, it is about the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. So much seems to have happened since then, yes?

Events like this can act as time markers for fiction – most people remember where they were/what they were doing at these things so that can save you a lot of description and gives a setting immediately. (And nobody, who saw it, is going to forget the marvellous sketch with Paddington either!).

CafeLit12 MediumHad a lovely time at the family do held earlier today. We don’t let the weather get in our way! Just as well too given it poured down all day….

The first edition of Writers’ Narrative magazine is out online next week and I’ll be taking about flash fiction in that. See above. Am excited about this as the magazine really is fabulous.

Talking of which, I am thrilled to have a flash fiction piece of mine, Jubilee, out in the recently released The Best of CafeLit 12. Many congratulations to all of the other writers in this lovely collection. Great mix of stories and authors here. Do check it out. Good read guaranteed!

 

Goodreads Author Blog – Publication News and Being Read

Am thrilled to have another story out, Jubilee, in the recently released The Best of CafeLit 12. The buzz of being published never dies! It’s a continuing joy to know your work is being read.

I regularly mix up what I read. I will read novels, non-fiction, fiction across most genres, but I also make sure I include the short form (short stories and flash fiction). Okay, I’m biased because I write short stories and flash fiction, but they are just as every bit a valid an art form as the novel. You cherish all of these things, I think.

The advantage of the short forms of fiction is they are perfect for those without much time to read or who do not have the confidence to read bigger works.

The shorter forms are ways of showing there is something out there for all reading needs. Not everyone wants to read a huge novel, at least to begin with, Maybe they’ll get to that later once they‘ve had confidence in reading built up (and the short forms can help a lot there). Sometimes a story is best told in fewer words and it genuinely works better at 10,000 words, say, rather than standard novel length of about 100,000.

What I love is there is plenty of choice out there and I will always wave the flag for the shorter forms of reading. They can be a great way into reading altogether.

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As well as selling my books, I was selling books I've contributed to - those went well too

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Must admit I do not like the new X symbol for Twitter. I liked the bird! Is staying here for the time being at least.

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Websites – Why A Writer Needs One

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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 Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief of Writers’ Narrative, for supplying the images of the new online magazine (due out very soon, folks. Don’t miss it). Many thanks to Janet Williams for taking the image of me in “full flow” at the recent Book Fair.
Have had a good week, hope you have too. Lady has got to show off her ball retrieving skills in front of her Hungarian Vizler friend for most of the week so she has had a good week too (and her friend looks on indulgently almost like a proud Mum!). Oh and it is fabulous to be able to share publication news again – more below.

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Am delighted to share Websites – Why A Writer Needs One for Chandler’s Ford Today. I share tips I’ve found useful in developing my own website. The good news is you don’t have to do everything at once here. I hope you find the post useful.

Websites – Why A Writer Needs One

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Am delighted to say The Best of CafeLit 12 is now out. Many congratulations to all of the writers with work in here, many of whom I know well. That’s a second joy right there! The first joy? Being in there myself, of course, with my story, Jubilee. (There will be a third joy later on at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event In December – looking forward to that already).

 

I’ll be talking about websites for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Every writer needs one but I share tips and how I started out (simple) and then moved up as and when I needed to do so. More later in the week.

Writing Tip: What does your character want? What drives them? What gets in their way? Answers to those three questions alone will give you a basic outline. Outlines don’t need to be complicated.

I’ve found taking a little time to figure questions like this out saves me a great deal of time later on. I’ve got the structure in place so it is then a question of whether I’ve written the story as well as I could do. It is then and only then I look at my phrasing etc. Inevitably there are things I can tighten up but I know I won’t have to worry about the structure. That alone for me is worth having a outline for.

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Delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my new story, Doing Time. Hope you enjoy it. (And a huge thanks to those who have kindly commented on this one already).

Screenshot 2023-07-21 at 09-55-45 Doing Time by Allison Symes

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my Authors Electric post for July where I talked about Books Which Worked and Those Which Don’t. Not the snappiest title I’ve ever come up with, I admit, but it doe get to the heart of the matter! If you missed it first go, please check it out here.

Another benefit to flash fiction writing here – you get used to the word count and so much of that is applicable to blogging as well!
Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 10-08-08 Books Which Work and Those Which Don’t by Allison SymesI outline flash fiction tales as well as my longer short stories. The outlines for flash are merely shorter but they help me get my structure right from the start (as I mentioned over on my main author page on Facebook earlier).

When I write the ending first (for a humorous punch line tale or a twist one), I just outline backwards to get to a logical starting point. I only outline what I need to know. What a writer needs to know will vary but knowing your character well is a good failsafe.

Knowing your character well enough means you will have a a greater understanding of what motivates them and that in turn will drive their actions and reactions.

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Fairytales with Bite – Crime Solving in the Magical World

Where you have power, you have abuse of power. In the magical world there needs to be a system in place where the powerful cannot just ride roughshod over the others in their world. If they could, there would be no stories, other than bleak ones about how they got their own way all the time. Would be a depressing (and I suspect boring) read.

So there needs to be a way of holding them to account. There needs to be at least one way of dealing with crime. Abuse of power so often leads to that too!

So what kinds of magical activity would be considered criminal? How was this decided on? Who upholds standards here? Is there such a thing as a magical police force and, if so, are they given extra powers to keep the rest of the magical world in check? How are they themselves held to account? Would they have detectives as we know them and what kinds of cases would they need to resolve?

There is potential for humour there too. How would those charged with dealing with magical crime interact with each other? How would the general population regard them?

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This World and Others – Unique Qualities

Think about what unique qualities your world has. How would these impact on the way your characters lead their lives? Are those qualities imposed on the world due to geographical factors? Or are these qualities which have developed as a result of political actions, including warfare?

What unique qualities do your characters have in your setting? Have they needed to develop these to cope with their environment? For example, if the land is unstable, does that mean your characters have had to be able to fly by their own powers? How have they had to adapt where they live (presumably not on the ground)? Would that put pressure on available spaces to live?

Think about what makes your world attractive to you to write about – can you keep this going? There has to be something which appeals to you and which will continue to appeal. Do study other series (the Discworld one by the late great Terry Pratchett would be a great place to start). Definitely outline what makes your world stand out – its advantages and the disadvantages. That will throw up things your characters have to find ways of dealing with and there could be great stories in that alone.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Books Which Work and Those Which Don’t

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Not bad here. Glad to spread good news about the forthcoming monthly online magazine, Writers’ Narrative. This is written by writers for writers and the first issue will be out soon. More details below. Am very pleased to be part of this. (Images kindly provided for Writers’ Narrative by Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief).

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Am pleased to be back on Authors Electric once more. This month I talk about Books Which Work and Those Which Don’t. I do love titles which get to the heart of the matter! Hope you enjoy the post.

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Back to the changeable weather today but Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler friend so was very happy with that.

Will be looking at Websites – Why A Writer Needs One for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. Looking forward to the next Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Group meeting next week too.

The countdown to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick starts about now. Well, at least it does for me! So looking forward to catching up with friends and making new ones and the workshops are always an inspiration.

I’m chatting about Books Which Work and Those That Don’t for Authors Electric – link up tomorrow. See above.

May be a graphic of 1 person and text that says "The writing life is addictive but fun. The support of other writers makes a huge difference."Better day weather wise today though was thankful to avoid most of the rain yesterday. Still our park is looking much better than it had done. The grass is looking like grass as opposed to straw.

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my post yesterday about Writers’ Narrative. Much appreciated. I’ll be sharing a fabulous interview with editor in chief, Wendy H Jones, about the new writing magazine, in a couple of weeks time on Chandler’s Ford Today.

Meantime I’ll be looking at websites and useful material for them for the post coming up on CFT this coming week. Hope you will find both posts useful. More on each nearer the time.

15th July – Val Penny blog tour
So pleased to be part of Val Penny’s book blog tour to link in with the re-release of Hunter’s Blood. The tour is organised by Lynsey Adams but do check the tour out. And good luck, Val.
Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 20-42-30 Reading Between the Lines Online Book PR15th July – second post
Am pleased to share more news about Writers’ Narrative, the forthcoming new online writing magazine. Written by writers for writers. The first issue will be out soon and the best way to ensure you don’t miss an edition is to subscribe to it. Best news of all – this is free – do see the link (and meet the team as well while there). The magazine will be a monthly one and packed full of advice and aspects of the writing world you will not want to miss. Oh and check out the cover on the first one – it’s fabulous.

Writers' Narrative

 

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Many thanks for the great comments coming in on The Neighbours, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. This is the only tale I’ve written which is inspired by Shakespeare, Terry Pratchett, and the female characters from long running sitcom, The Last of the Summer Wine. It’s a good mix though! If you missed it, do check out the link.

(Oh and many congratulations to other members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group for having work on here this week as well. Always good to see that).

Screenshot 2023-07-14 at 10-10-17 The Neighbours by Allison Symes

It’s Monday. I just about rescued my washing in time from a heavy downpour when the forecast said there would be no rain. (Have always felt the forecast is more like an intelligent bet – and sometimes it does not pay off!). Time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Porridge.

 

I’ve mentioned before that telling details, which includes having a hook-them-in title, are crucial components for flash stories. With no room for much in the way of description, you do have to show only what your readers what they need to know and leave it there. The rest can be implied.

This is where using the senses can come in handy. Rather than get my character to wear a drab coat, I would get them to wear a beige one. It is specific. Beige is considered a drab colour. Job done there.

Sometimes for locations you can use sound to imply where a character has to be. If they’re listening to a wide variety of bird song, they’re unlikely to be in the middle of a big city. Other little details can then flesh this out such as the character relishing the sound of walking through crunchy leaves etc (and that gives you the season too without you having to say so).

Naming a street, say, would imply the character has to be in at least a village.

It pays then to work out what your reader has to know and then work out how you can show that through your character’s actions and thoughts.

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As promised, more news about Writers’ Narrative. I am one of the team behind the magazine (the editor in chief is Wendy H Jones) and the magazine is packed full of wonderful information and advice no writer is going to want to miss and much more besides. Good news! You can subscribe to the free magazine here. The first issue will be out soon. It is a pleasure and privilege to be working on this. (Oh and naturally I’m talking about flash fiction in the first issue). You can subscribe for free here.

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Goodreads Author Blog – All The Fun of the Book Fair

I was thrilled to take part in a Book Fair local to me last weekend. It was the first one in the venue chosen (and the venue was excellent). It was fantastic to see a wide range of authors covering so many different tastes in books and age ranges too.

Non-fiction (travel journeys) was well represented too. The organisers counted well over 100 people in attendance and there was a constant footfall flow all afternoon. This is highly encouraging. There is hope this event will become an annual one. For obvious reasons, I hope it does too.

But I also saw it as encouraging that people still love books. They want to see what their local authors are coming out with. If you have an event like this coming up near you, do go if you can. You may well be pleasantly surprised at the wealth of reading material on offer. I was – and I was taking part!

Also great to see these events back again. The last one I took part in was before the pandemic – that seems like a world away now – though I have run workshops, gone to conferences etc since. Good to see the book fairs back too now! This was something I was especially pleased about as our bookshops are now several miles away so having the books come to the locality will always be a fantastic idea.

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This tweet came as a nice surprise! Thank you. Jacci Gooding! Also have been very busy on the Twitter front this week – that bird has been tweeting a lot from my end!

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Review: Book Fair at The Hilt

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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 Vie Portland, Janet Williams, and Richard Hardie for contributing images to this week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post, the rest are from me. Lovely Book Fair, more details below and in my CFT post. (And there will be exciting news about new online magazine, Writers’ Narrative, which will be launched soon, in my next post here and on my Facebook timeline prior to that – lots going on).

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It is with great pleasure I share Review: Book Fair at The Hilt for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Talk about writing (a) what you know and (b) what you love, this post is a fabulous example of that. If you were at the fair, I hope this makes for a good look back at the event. If you missed it, see it as something not to miss next time!

I look at the hard work behind the scenes (some of it anyway) and I was glad to say there was a good contingent representing Chandler’s Ford Today too. Naturally there was plenty of networking going on and it gave every author taking part to spread the word about what they do – that was much appreciated.

And if that was not enough I have exciting news to share about Writers’ Narrative, the new online magazine which will be coming out shortly. I’ll talk more about this tomorrow but this will be something of use to every writer so worth watching out for.

Review: Book Fair at The Hilt

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Nice to be back in the swimming pool today (making the most of the quiet before the six weeks summer holidays!). Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback bestie and Coco, a lovely Labradoodle. All three dogs were so pleased to see each other.

As well as being on Amazon, I‘m pleased to say you can find me on Waterstones, Hive, Bookshop.org, and, naturally, the Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop (which covers the books from Bridge House Publishing/CafeLit/Chapeltown Books). If you ever come across somewhere which says the books are out of stock, panic not! This simply means the book is a print on demand one (and is not really in stock as such) but it doesn’t take long for the online bookshop to get these in.

I’ve ordered my own books from Hive and Bookshop, as well as directly from Bridgetown, and received them quickly. You can also contact me directly via my website (https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com) as well. There are plenty of options here – I like that as a reader, as well as from a writer’s perspective.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler friend again today. Both dogs happy. It’s lovely to see friendships like that.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing my review of the Book Fair on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. See above. Got some feedback sent off to the organisers yesterday too as they are keen to have feedback. It helps with planning for future events.

Feedback is useful elsewhere too. I appreciate the feedback given on Friday Flash Fiction. It is always useful to know what others make of your stories (even though that can be nerve wracking too). It is how you can learn though what works, what clearly didn’t work quite so well and so on. (Reviews are helpful here too)

When I give feedback, I explain what my thinking is behind it. I’ve been grateful for this myself when I’ve been on the receiving end. Again, you can learn a lot from this. You can see how others read your works. They may well pick up on things (good and bad) which didn’t occur to you.

Sometimes you are in for a nice surprise here.

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It is a soggy end of the week so definitely time for a new story then. Hope you like my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – The Neighbours. This story was loosely inspired by the long running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine and the marvellous female characters in that.

Oh and I will have exciting news to share about forthcoming new online magazine Writers’ Narrative to share tomorrow. Watch this space, as they say. More details in my post next week here.

Screenshot 2023-07-14 at 10-10-17 The Neighbours by Allison Symes


Flash has a powerful impact due to its brevity and this can be used brilliantly for humorous stories. Who doesn’t love a punchline ending? It is also good for twist in the tale stories.

But it can also work well for thoughtful pieces. A character shares something of their life with a reader. They don’t want to go on too much. They want to show what matters. And this can have what I call the “punch in the gut” effect on a reader when done well.

Stories of all lengths encourage empathy as we understand the characters we’re reading about. Flash can be used to bring about that empathy in fewer words!

May be an image of text that says "Reading can encourage empathy as we follow what characters do and say."A major benefit of writing flash fiction for me has been to improve my focus. I have to ask do I really need this in my story? If there is any doubt, the answer is no! Out the words come along with the usual wasted words of mine I can’t help writing but which I know need to be surgically removed. Still at least that gets my editing off to a good start.

We all have wasted words/pet phrases. It does help to be aware of them. It helps even more to recognise that well over 95% of the time, these things don’t add anything useful to your story so out they come.

Maybe it is a form of comfort writing, I don’t know. What matters though is getting your work done and then improving it. So if that means having to write my wasted words and then take them out again that’s fine by me. I know this method works!

May be an image of text that says "Knowing when to cut and when to leave well alone takes time to develop."

Fairytales with Bite – Storytelling

We all love stories but do your characters? Do they value certain types of story or are they the more practical type who can’t see the use of books etc? I understand there are some folk out there like that for real. Never understood them but there you go.

But you could well end up having characters who have the same view and set them against someone who does treasure books and stories? What conflicts could that lead to? If their quest relies on a story to help them fulfil it, how does the negative one handle that? How would they react when old legends are proven true and has a direct impact on the success of their mission? Do they change their outlook?

Also give some thought as to how storytelling is done? Is your setting based on an oral tradition or is literacy widespread? Are stories confined to the printed age or is there technology, as we would understand the term, and what is this and how is it used? Can everyone have the benefit?

What stories do your characters like? What stories are forbidden in your setting and why? Inevitably there will be someone trying to read something they shouldn’t. What is this? What are the consequences? There are always consequences! What seems like a harmless story to one characters is anything but to another and that could make for an interesting story in itself.

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This World and Others – The Value of Books

Books to me represent entertainment, education, and inspiration. They represent literacy obviously, but also my freedom to read. Not everyone has that. I also treasure favourite books and stories of course.

Which books and stories would your characters treasure? Which can they not abide at any cost? Are books available to all? Who controls the overall reading list? What does their taste in books say about them?

How does your world value books, assuming they do? Are books a recent development or has your setting had these wonderful things for centuries? Are there set books everyone is expected to read? If so, which would these be and why? Did they develop importance immediately on publication or has this happened over time?

Then there’s monetary value. Some books are worth a lot simply due to their rarity or important historical factors behind them? Would your setting value books like that? Are there book exchanges, auctions of books etc? What would your characters be prepared to do to get a book of immense value to them?

And books can contain secrets? Again what would a character do to get hold of a book which means everything to them from that angle? I could see murder being committed there! Certainly there are story ideas here. Happy writing!

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
As well as selling my books, I was selling books I've contributed to - those went well too

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Characters Who Surprise and Unexpected Reviews

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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.
Fabulous weekend with the flash fiction workshop on the Friday and the Book Fair on the Saturday. More about the latter to come in my CFT post this week. Hope you have had a good weekend too. Lady has been busy catching up with her girlfriends so she has had a nice time too.

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As well as selling my books, I was selling books I've contributed to - those went well too

Facebook – General

Changeable weather today – managed to avoid the rain. I got wet instead thanks to a swim! Much more fun.

Reading wise, I’m now back on the non-fiction after reading a hugely enjoyable crime novel. (And there were good examples of both kinds of book at last weekend’s Book Fair too).

Writing Tip: Never expect perfection from a first draft. It’s not what the first draft is for. I is just where you get the story down. Then you can work on improving it. It will need improving. All stories do. But unless you get that draft down, you won’t see where to improve it. And take comfort from the thought that every fiction author is in the same position here!

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her two favourite girlfriends today – good time had by all. Busy day after a lovely weekend but then Mondays are always like that.

Can you remember the first character (or an early one) that took you by surprise? Mine was The Little Mermaid from Hans Christen Andersen. (Definitely not the Disney version!). Why? It was news to me that fairytales did not always have a happy ending. Okay, be fair, I was a kid at the time but that was a useful lesson, even if you don’t realise it is one at the time.

Another story which captivated me early on was The Snow Queen. The girl is the hero in this one! I loved that (and still do). Bearing in mind I grew up a long time ago and that kind of thing was a novelty, trust me. (It’s why I always have had a soft spot for Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds as well).

To this day, I have an even softer spot for the feisty female lead in a story who knows her own mind and acts on it, whether she gets it right or not.

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Met a fellow dog walker in the Recreation Ground today. No surprises there but she bought From Light to Dark and Back Again from me at the Book Fair yesterday. She came over and said, with a big grin on her face, she’d read the book this morning and she felt I had a “wicked sense of humour”! As I replied, that is a review! (Oh and guilty as charged here by the way. Not at all sorry!).

Looking forward to sharing a write up of how things went at the inaugural Book Fair here for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Will be an especial pleasure to share that one!

Oh and a huge thanks for the great comments coming in on Flaky, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Much appreciated. If you didn’t get chance to spot this one, do check out the link (and check out the other stories too. You’ll be in for a good read).

 

Had a fantastic time at the book fair at The Hilt today. It was lovely to meet fellow authors, some I knew, others I didn’t, but we all got chatting to each other and to the many people who came. I’ll be writing more about this for my Chandler’s Ford Today post next Friday but it was a great event and I hope this does become a regular thing. Many thanks to the organisers, to those who kept the writers well supplied with tea and coffee etc., and to all who supported the event.

It was nice to finish my day with a meal out with family. Much appreciated. I never mind not having to cook!

Writing Tip: Never worry about your first draft being rubbish, They are kind of meant to be. It’s the editing which will polish the work and make it better. Do see the writing and the editing as two separate creative tasks. They each have their challenges and I find if far easier to keep the two tasks separate. I need to know what my story is and what really matters before I can do any editing work on it. (Oh and this ties up with the writing tip given above but I can’t stress this point enough. Write first, edit later. It really does pay.).

May be a graphic of text that says "The writing is the obvious fun side to do but editing has its creative side too."

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the lovely comments in on my post yesterday regarding Counting which is my latest tale on YouTube. Much appreciated. These videos are great fun to do and are another way of highlighting what flash fiction can be. Who says marketing can’t be fun?

Was at an interesting Zoom talk last night and it flagged up another source of research. For me, non-fiction has often sparked ideas for stories.

Why? Because you often come across intriguing characters and events in non-fiction. You can ask yourself what would your character do if they faced something similar. If in real life a personage did Action X, you could explore alternative history stories here by getting your character to do Y instead and work out what the consequences would be.

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It’s Monday. The weather’s changeable. It’s still Monday. It’s time for a new story from me on YouTube. Counting is a result of a random number generator prompt where I generated three numbers in sequence. Thought I’d put them all into a tale and mix them up, apt for this story especially.

 

So nice to see authors I knew and those I met for the first time yesterday. Plenty of networking went on at the Book Fair (which is how it should be too).

One aspect to flash which might be overlooked is, if you’re not sure where to start with writing, the short form is a great place to begin.

Why? Well, for one thing, you’re not overwhelmed by the thought of having to come up with 80,000 to 1000,000 words for a novel. Also, with work, practice, and persistence, you can get stories submitted and hopefully build up publication credits which you could then list in a query letter to a publisher/agent when you are ready to submit a longer piece of work somewhere.

I mentioned a few times yesterday that writing flash has helped with my other forms of writing. You don’t just tighten up your editing in one form only here! The skills you learn writing the short form come in useful for the longer works too! Win-win.

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It was a fantastic opportunity to spread the word about flash fiction at the book fair at The Hilt today. I was pleased to meet others who write flash too. Also great to see many authors who write a wide range of books here. More about this in my Chandler’s Ford Today post on Friday. So good doing live events like this though.

Glad to say the flash fiction workshop went well yesterday and it was lovely meeting everyone in the writing group online. It has been a lovely end to the week.

May be an image of text that says "deas Zoom workshops are useful for the exchange of ideas especially when not possible to do this in person."

Goodreads Author Blog – Book Fairs and Events

I was at a Book Fair local to me recently and it was great fun. As well as celebrating books, it was fantastic to meet other authors and readers. There was a good range of books on offer too covering a wide range of tastes which is exactly what you want from an event like this. (The organisers also kept the writers well supplied with tea and coffee, which was also appreciated!).

Going to events like this is a fabulous way of supporting authors you know, as well as discovering writers new to you. It’s a way of bringing books to you, especially if your nearest bookshop is some distance away.

I hope the organisers of this event do it again. It would be lovely if it became a regular event.
If you get the chance to go to such things near you, do go. You may well be surprised at the range of books on offer. Every book event I’ve been to has been seriously impressive here.

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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