Allison Symes shares her Facebook author page blogs, her website posts and Chandler's Ford Today magazine articles with links. She also blogs about her writing journey and shares thoughts and hints on flash fiction.
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.
Again thanks to Vie Portland for the Book Fair poster photo in my CFT post. From many moons ago, many thanks to Janet Williams, my lovely editor at CFT, for the photos of me at Chandler’s Ford Railway Station carrying out a book signing. Also thanks to Jen Wilson for images of me at Swanwick signing a book for Val Penny. Am pleased to share again a fabulous picture of me signing a book at Swanwick taken by the much missed Fiona Park who left this world far too soon.
Hope you have had a good week. Busy end to it as I run a flash fiction workshop and go to the Book Fair. Nice way to end the week, mind you. Lady and I have appreciated the cooler weather and even the rain (the latter more so when we’ve not been out in it!).
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Pleased to share Taking Part in The Book Fair at The Hilt – 8th July 2023 for Chandler’s Ford Today. I’m a great believer in self explanatory titles!
As well as publicity for the event, I look at how things like this support writers and the value and importance of books. If you’re in the area and can pop along, every author taking part including me would be glad to see you!
(Oh and a huge thank you to the writing group I ran a flash fiction workshop for earlier this afternoon. It was lovely meeting you all online and you made me so welcome. Much appreciated and I hope you go on to discover the joys of flash fiction – there are many of them!).
Are there times I don’t get as much writing done as I would like? Oh yes. Happens more often than I’d like. Suspect this is the case for most writers. I don’t fret about it the way I once did though. Why?
Because I know these things can come along in peaks and troughs. Also because on the flip side, there are plenty of times when I write more than I thought I would. Also what matters is writing what you can when you can and, generally, enjoying what you do (at least most of the time).
There was a survey I came across a while ago which showed that while many people wish to write a book only a small percentage do so yet alone go on to be published.
Depressing thought? Not really. If you have the stamina to do the work to write a book, well done. And every writer I know (and the vast majority of those I’ve read) faced rejection after rejection after rejection etc.
I still get turn downs. I always will. It is part of the life but it helps enormously having supportive writing friends who know exactly what it is like and to know it isn’t just you (or them either come to that).
Enjoy your writing – being creative in any way is a good thing. I know it has helped me in so many ways (and did so long before I had anything published).
I’ll be chatting more about the Book Fair on Friday in my Chandler’s Ford Today post. See above. (Still not too late to book a ticket for that by the way. The event is free but if you pre-book, your name is put into a raffle and you can a £10 voucher to use towards a book of your choice at the Fair).
Looking forward to meeting the writing group I’m running a flash fiction workshop for on Friday. Zoom is a great way to bring writers together.
Will also be off to the next Chameleon Theatre Group performance – Lilies on the Land – later in the month. It’s a historical play based on the Women’s Land Army so should be interesting. I do love stories which are based on historical fact but which show an “imagined” reflection by the characters about what they’re going through. So I expect this to be right up my street, so to speak.
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Glad to shareFlaky, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Also great to see some familiar names having more stories on this site this week. Well done, all. My tale relates the utter tragedy of attempts to have an ice cream in peace. Hope you enjoy it and many thanks for the fabulous comments coming in on this one already. I have clearly hit a nerve here!
Certain things stick in the mind. Today would’ve been the birthday of one of my grandfathers. What I always remember about him is is his love of the horse racing and quiz shows. He liked to see people win!
So that started me thinking about what I would want my readers to remember about my characters. Having that in mind helps me hone said characters. I can give them a turn of phrase or an attitude which sticks in the mind – it doesn’t have to be some kind of quirky attribute.
I am wary of the latter – these can come across as gimmicky. But an attitude – well, you can usually see why a character has that. These are far more relatable, at least to me.
All authors seek reviews for their work. It helps with publicizing what we do writing wise. And reviews don’t have to be long. This is especially apt for me as a flash fiction writer but a one or two line review is still useful to a writer even if you have written an epic saga! So if you know a writer, do bear this in mind as another way of supporting them. As a certain supermarket says, every little bit helps.
Two favourite quotes from some of my reviews are:-
Allison Symes can pack more into 100 words than most people can into 1000. Politicians take note! The storytelling was beautiful in so few words which takes the talent and skill of a practiced author.
Both of these are from the reviews for Tripping the Flash Fantastic.
If you’re coming to the Book Fair on Saturday, and want to know more about flash fiction I will be only too pleased to talk. Oh and a huge thanks to those who have reviewed me!
Screenshot from my Amazon Author Central Page.
Fairytales with Bite – Magical Law Enforcement
This can be a fun topic to write humorous flash fiction/short stories about. I’ve written a number about dodgy fairy godmothers breaking their own code of conduct (one was about the Tooth Fairy who decided she needed to carry out a raid and grab some chocolate. Another was about the Tooth Fairy stand-in who resented having to do the round and was taking pliers to deal with a kid she knew wasn’t nice. She was going to carry out her job according to her law ).
It can be so satisfying getting a character to have their well deserved comeuppance in this kind of tale. Plus there is always the option to show how, say, a magical police force does its job. How would they rein in the more dodgy elements in a magical society? How would a court system work? Could powers be taken away from the misbehaving ones and how would this be done? Could they have powers restored later?
What would your society define as magical law and how did they come to decide which laws should be included? I would expect some things here to have been found out the hard way so people realised certain elements had to be included.
You could also look at how characters try to avoid magical law enforcement. Are there petty laws which everyone ignores.
And, yes you can write crime stories in a magical setting. What would be the consequences of being caught for a criminal? How would you confine someone who might be capable of making themselves invisible and slipping away literally unseen, say?
This World and Others – The Justice System
Following on from Fairytales with Bite, you could have stories set entirely in the justice system. Is your setting based on a fair legal system or not? If it isn’t fair, are there campaigners seeking to change that and how would they carry out their campaigns? What interest groups would support them/be opposed? What would they be seeking to change and are they successful?
If you’re writing humorous stories, as I often do, what could be funny about the justice system in your setting which you could exploit here? For example, if you have a system where traffic offenses were dealt with every other Monday, does that open up to the possibility of there being traffic abuses every other day in between? I could see farcical stories emerging from that.
You could also think about key figures in the justice system to write about and do consider those behind the scenes. How would a Clerk to the Court operate in your world? Do they carry more influence than might at first appear to be the case, simply because they can control access to the judge etc?
There are also stories to be had about those on the receiving end of the justice system especially when that has been unfair. How can they clear their names? How robust or otherwise is your setting’s justice system? There are always those determined to commit crimes, bend rules etc so how would your setting deal with these? There would, I think, have to be something to hold people/beings of choice to account.
Flaky, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/cNCPu0vnKW Glad to share Flaky, my new FFF tale. Great to see familiar names having stories on here this week. Well done, all. My tale relates the utter tragedy of attempts to have an ice cream in peace. Hope you enjoy. pic.twitter.com/jZO327sEEe
Taking Part in the Book Fair at The Hilt – 8th July 2023 https://t.co/KRh3SzkwLn Pleased to share my latest post for CFT. I’m a great believer in self explanatory titles! As well as publicity, I look at how things like this support writers and the value and importance of books.
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 for the Book Fair poster.
Hope you have had a good few days. Am looking forward to the Book Fair in my area later this week. Will be nice doing events like this again. Also running another flash workshop on Zoom before that so will be a busy end to this week but a fun one. And it all advertises the joys of books and flash fiction so win-win there!
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Hope you have had a good day. Rain welcome. Will clear the air. The grass over the park should look less like straw too! One lovely thing about the Book Fair on Saturday is it is an indoors event – always a wise move, that!
Writing Tip:Think about what you need to know before you write your story. I have to know who the character is and their major trait. Other writers may need to be able to work out the setting first and then figure out who would be in it. What works best for you? You can play to your strengths here. There is no one right way to “do” an outline. It is a question of working out what suits you and then going with that.
Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for sharing the recent two part interview I conducted with her on Chandler’s Ford Today on her own website – you can check things out at the link. Also there are links to other interviews with her and Richard Hardie on the Authors Reach website – see separate link for that. Lady had a fabulous time with her her best girlfriends in the park today. So nice to have cooler air. The dogs appreciate it. I find it easier for concentrating on my writing too!
Now for my monthly blog spots, I draft these in advance and, as with story competitions, I take time off from when these should be in by and use that as my personal deadline instead. It pays. It means I don’t miss a deadline and being able to schedule blogs is so useful.
Hope you have had a pleasant weekend. Was putting wood preservative on one of my fence panels yesterday (a big one – took some time). Back to writing today. The glamorous life has passed me by I think!
I’ll be writing a little bit more about the Book Fair for Friday’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I do hope this becomes the annual event the organisers hope for. Our nearest bookshops are in two cities a few miles either side of where I am. I think it is lovely having an event which brings books to the doorstep so to speak.
I also hope to be writing more about Writers’ Narrative, the new online magazine for writers, which will be out in August. Do watch this space.
Am looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop on Friday afternoon. Zoom has proven so beneficial.
Unusually, I have a second post from Chandler’s Ford Today to share with you. This one is a mini post all about the forthcoming Book Fair on Saturday 8th July. If you can get to the event, every author there would love to see you. It is great to be back doing events like this once again. So looking forward to this.
And if you’re outside the area, do support your own local book events. Authors and organisers appreciate the support and you can find many a great discovery amongst local authors you might not have found about about another way.
Many thanks for the wonderful comments coming in on Your Time Your Cake, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. The feedback (so apt for this story!) is much appreciated. I do enjoy coming up with older characters, especially, who know their own mind and are not afraid to show that is so. Think you’ll like my Gran character here. Do check out the story – hope you enjoy it.
3rd July It’s Monday. The weather has been changeable (though the rain has been welcome -well, it was the moment I got my washing in anyway!). It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube -New Holiday. This story was written in response to a challenge prompt I was set recently. Hope you enjoy it.
Sometimes in my flash fiction, I can get across something which I feel strongly about via my characters. For example, I am anti-bullying. Most people are. But in Enough is Enough from Tripping the Flash Fantastic I get my character to reveal “she was not going to be mistaken for a giant tomato on legs again by anyone”. I don’t need to say she’s been bullied for her weight here, do I? I’ve shown you this via that character.
This kind of thing has helped me to grasp what show, don’t tell really means. (Just one of the many benefits of writing flash fiction). Sometimes showing does take up more words than straight telling but it has so much more impact on a reader. They will see what your character does. They will feel what your character does.
You can’t get any of that just by telling them things. Readers are more likely to stick with your story if they are “feeling” what your character does (or at least have empathy) and readers are more likely to do this if they can see for themselves what your character is.
Looking forward to spreading the word about flash fiction at the Book Fair at The Hilt on 8th July. Good to be back doing this kind of event again. Newsletter went out this morning. Always a joy to put those together and a big hello to those who have signed up since last time and just as big a hello to those who have been signed up for longer. All welcome!
So looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School in August. Not so long to go now. I’m running a short course on editing (a one hour workshop) and will also be running an early morning session as part of their Lift Up Your Pens sessions. These are great fun and a fabulous way to get some writing done before breakfast (which is not something I can usually manage!).
I have a soft spot for what could be considered “light” reading. By this I mean humorous fiction (Wodehouse, Pratchett), short story and flash fiction collections (though I should add some of those can be dark in tone though they are not especially my cup of tea), and the kind of non-fiction which entertains me and helps me learn something new at the same time.
I definitely don’t want academic works. My experience of those is they don’t read well, at least to me, and there is often far too much jargon in them.
Novel wise, I’m not after the dark, grim ones. Am not a huge fan of dystopian fiction. (Especially since you could argue we are seeing so much of those themes on our news bulletins!). I do love crime fiction (and the ones that can combine humour tick a second box for me).
I like feel good literature. For me. It is one major point to reading. Books and stories should take you into their worlds. They don’t necessarily have to be dark ones.
Event News: The Book Fair, The Hilt, Chandler's Ford https://t.co/ast1OqpwTo Unusually, I have a second post from Chandler’s Ford Today to share with you this week. This one is a mini post all about the forthcoming Book Fair on Saturday 8th July. Hope to see you there!
It’s Monday. The weather has been changeable (though the rain was welcome – the moment I got my washing in!). It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – New Holiday. This story was written in response to a challenge I was set recently. https://t.co/MlCuCwwh3g
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 Gail Aldwin for the wonderful book/author pics and cover reveal video she supplied for my Chandler’s Ford Today interview with her.
Hope you have had a good week. It has been cooler and both Lady and I have appreciated that. Grass still looks like straw in places mind you. I send sympathetic greetings to all fellow hayfever sufferers!
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Am delighted to welcome back Gail Aldwin to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her new novel, The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell. Gail explains how true crime podcasts influenced her for writing her book, how she managed dual timelines, and why she used a prologue. She also shares details of her Twitter launch (and this will be on Monday, 3rd July so do look out for this). We also look at outlines and Gail’s writing journey so far. Hope you enjoy what is a fabulous interview.
It’s my turn once again on the More than Writers blog (the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers). This time I talk about a subject which is very close to my heart – Generating Ideas. Hope you find the post useful.
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Am looking forward to sharing a great interview with Gail Aldwin on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. See above. She is discussing her new book, The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell, a psychological suspense.
Gail is a prolific writer and has written coming of age novels and flash fiction so we talk about how her short form writing has fed into her longer works. We also look at timelines and Twitter launches, which Gail will be having for her book on 3rd July, amongst other topics. Link up on Friday. I’ve mentioned before I love author interviews as I learn so much from them and this I promise is a good example of that.
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What do you do, as an older lady, when you can’t stand Victoria sponge and yet your granddaughter has brought one to you? Find out here in my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction – Your Time Your Cake. Hope you enjoy it (and many thanks for the comments coming in already on this one).
A cooler day today and Lady got to see a pal we haven’t seen for a while – Willow, a smashing Jack Russell. Takes no prisoners that one but Lady is very fond of her and she of Lady which is always nice to see.
Looking forward to taking part in the Book Fair at The Hilt on 8th July. Will happily be spreading the word about flash fiction. Last night’s Flash Fiction Group meeting for ACW went very well and we all produced stories with promise.
I drafted my own during the meeting and think I may have something with promise for a competition I’ve got in mind. Needs work and reducing but that isn’t a problem. Always better to have to cut than to pad (and the latter never works anyway. Experienced judges, editors etc spot it easily).
Am posting earlier today as I’m hosting the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom later. Looking forward to seeing everyone online and taking part in the writing exercises. I may set them but I love joining in with them myself on the night itself. I love “live writing”.
Find it is a good discipline for me too. Later I’ll polish these exercises up and then see if I can submit them somewhere. I usually can. But it means I get to do more draft flash fiction writing myself along with everyone else and I just love that.
Fairytales with Bite – Twists
T = Trust the magical beings to turn up when you least expect them.
W = Wands will be used – don’t get in the way.
I = Increase your wariness of older beings – they may well prove to be much younger and are merely in disguise waiting to catch out the unwary.
S = Spells can be limited or reversed – have a friendly magical being on side always.
T = Take nothing for granted – even the animal kingdom may prove to be harboring cursed or magical beings.
S = Suspect everyone as being more powerful magically than you are – and treat with respect – you’re unlikely to go far wrong doing that.
This World and Others – The Unexpected
In a magical setting, what could count as being unexpected? Where you have magic, do you have science? Would scientific discoveries be more unexpected than magical ones?
Where you have alien worlds what would they consider to be alien to them and do they come across that at all? How would they handle something/someone they consider to be strange?
Different characters will have varying ideas as to what would be unexpected. Others handle the unexpected fine. Others are completely thrown by it. How could that play out in your stories? What could this reveal about characters to others in your stories? Could it change how they act towards them?
If the unexpected is an event, what is the outcome? Could it have been predicted and maybe prevented? Where is the fallout from this?
Deserved Desserts, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/f8nN8LqbnX It’s Friday. It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Deserved Desserts. I do like a bit of alliteration every now and then! Hope you enjoy the story. pic.twitter.com/l5VX2nFanx
How do you generate ideas for your writing? In today's More than Writers post, @AllisonSymes1 offers some helpful ideas. Do you have any you could add? https://t.co/1DSF9YN3qc
More than Writers: Generating Ideas by Allison Symes https://t.co/TMo1xKuir8 It’s my turn once again on the MTW blog (for the Association of Christian Writers). This time I talk about a subject which is very close to my heart – Generating Ideas. Hope you find the post useful. pic.twitter.com/BeWEMamRrC
Your Time Your Cake, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/tnsEjptmbH What do you do, as an older lady, when you can’t stand Victoria sponge and yet your granddaughter has brought one to you? Find out in my latest FFF story tale. Hope you enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/ZRJAFZ77zt
Author Interview: Gail Aldwin and The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell https://t.co/xJI2sgym7k Pleased to welcome back Gail Aldwin to CFT to discuss her new novel. Gail explains how true crime podcasts influenced her and shares details of her Twitter launch (on Monday, 3rd July).
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for taking the image of me reading at the Swanwick Open Prose Mic Night back in 2019. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the photos from Windsor Castle.
Had a lovely day out with my younger sister over the weekend. It was a trip down Memory Lane in some ways. While we’d not been to the Castle itself before, we have been to Legoland and, prior to that on that site, the old Windsor Safari Park. (That was very much of its time). In both cases we remembered the magnificent views of the Castle from those places. This time, it was nice to see the views FROM the Castle!
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Posting early as have a busy evening ahead. Have another one again tomorrow with the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting on Zoom. Talking about flash fiction is always fun and it has been great to see people with this group have works published on Friday Flash Fiction etc. The proof of the pudding etc etc. Writing exercises (and I set these regularly) do spur creativity and are worth having a go at for that reason alone. If you can then go on to get the works published, even better.
Today would’ve been my father’s 86th birthday. He would have heartily approved of my kid sister and I having a trip to Windsor Castle over the weekend. The last time we were in the area at all, we were kids and he was driving. Yes, I am going a long way back. I have a long way TO go back!
Lady had a good time with her two closest pals, the Rhodesian Ridgeback and the Hungarian Vizler. It has been cooler today – nobody in my acquaintance, human or otherwise, has been sorry about that!
Looking forward to welcoming Gail Aldwin back to Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. (Many thanks again to Francesca Tyer for her two part interview – it was great).
Have submitted a short historical piece as an entry for an article competition. So enjoyed writing the piece too. Am pondering whether to have a crack at a flash fiction competition – deadline end August.
Another hot day (though cooler than yesterday). Lady and I are not sorry about that. Many thanks for the great comments coming in onDeserved Desserts, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. The opening line here is an odd one even by my standards but huge fun! Hope you enjoy it if you missed the link on my book Facebook page on Friday (From Light to Dark and Back Again).
Sometimes I will start an idea from a quirky opening line I’ve jotted down (usually during one of my brainstorming sessions). I then work out what I could do with that line and I usually find something. Don’t forget you can use random generators to come up with opening lines (quirky or otherwise). This makes for a good writing challenge. There are competitions which are based on opening lines set by the competition organisers so this is well worth having a go at on a regular basis.
Had a fabulous day out at Windsor Castle with my kid sister. Lovely time had by us both. So hot though. What is nice is we’ve been able to convert our tickets so we can visit again during the next year during the times the Castle is open to the public. We hope to get to do that. No extra money for this either. Also very impressed with how well organised they are for those with mobility issues.
Looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with Gail Aldwin whose The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell is out soon. Link up on Friday. And then I’ll be sharing more news about the Book Fair I’m going to be part of in July.
I’ve occasionally written a flash piece based on a work of art. Gill James set this as a challenge ages ago and it was fun to do. Will I do it again? At some point, yes. I was impressed with the Van Dycks and other masterpieces I’ve seen today at the Castle so plenty of inspiration to be found there! Am not short of potential material at least…
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I mix up the pieces I use for reading at Open Prose Mic Nights etc – in terms of mood, word count as well as by using different tales. I rehearse reading these (and yes I do often record them on Zoom to play back) but the important thing is to have a good read through (ideally several) as it is too easy to assume you know the material, you can wing it. Err… no.
What I do find the rehearsals do is help calm my nerves because I know I have rehearsed. It helps. The tricky bit is working out how much to drink (non-alcoholic as alcohol can dry the throat aside from any other side effects!) ahead of an event because you don’t want to have a dry throat when reading (it can lead to coughing) nor do you want to be caught short! I find about an hour before hand works well.
It’s Monday. It has cooled down a bit! Still time for a new story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Cake Glorious Cake. Is on the dark side, probably like the chocolate involved in the cake. Hope you enjoy it.
Internal thoughts are a great way to show character attitude (and usual practice is to have these in italics. It distinguishes them from “speech” and flags up the the reader this is a character thinking). I use this a lot as I often want to get across attitude and don’t we all think things we don’t then go on to say? Characters can do the same thing! What the thoughts will do is influence their behaviour and show the reader directly why your character is acting the way they are, both useful things.
Looking forward to running the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group meeting on Zoom next week. Always good fun and it is an enjoyable challenge for me to find a useful topic to set exercises on. I like setting (and then doing) writing exercises. I’ve had several stories go on to be published which started life this way.
Now I must admit I find the hot humid weather not the easiest of conditions to cope with but it led me to wonder if you could get a character to find the same thing. How would that change their attitudes and behaviour? How would that change the course of your story? And are other characters tolerant of their struggles to cope with the conditions?
Now for me there is no debate when it comes to whether you should read classic or contemporary works of fiction and non-fiction. You do both of course. For non-fiction you need to be aware some information is likely to be out of date but there is still inspiration to be had from what people thought at the time of publication. That could even lead to fictional story ideas.
I often mix up my reading so I’ll read a novel, before going on to a story or flash collection and then I’ll move on to some non-fiction but it is a good idea to mix up between classic and contemporary as well. You don’t want to miss out on the classic works and you want to see what is out and about now. I see this as having a good reading diet (which I find helps inspire my writing too).
It’s also encouraging to know great writers have always been inspired by others’ stories. So I should be too! But it is interesting that ideas for stories often come when I’m reading non-fiction. And I can be as taken away by fabulous tale whether it is a classic or contemporary one.
liked Allison Symes's blog post: Classic -v- Contemporary Reading https://t.co/48XCro6gN6 via @goodreads I look at why I mix up classic and contemporary reading as well as the kind of reading material (fiction and non-fiction, novel and short story etc) for Goodreads this week.
It’s Monday. It has cooled down a bit! Still time for a new story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Cake Glorious Cake. Is on the dark side, probably like the chocolate involved in the cake. Hope you enjoy it.https://t.co/ZTDAXub8co
Many thanks once again to Francesca Tyer for author and book cover images supplied for the Chandler’s Ford Today interview this week. Also thanks to Vie Portland for supplying the images for the Book Fair at The Hilt. All other 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.
I was very sorry to hear about the Titan disaster. I hope lessons can be learned from that.
In happier news, I am looking forward to a busy summer with workshops and I am glad to say I will be, via Chandler’s Ford Today, hosting more author interviews. Part 2 of Francesca Tyer’s wonderful interview is out this week and there’s another corker of an interview to come next week. Am looking forward to sharing that too. Have a peaceful weekend.
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Am pleased to share Part 2 of a fabulous interview with Francesca Tyer for my post this week on Chandler’s Ford Today. This week we discuss workshops (Francesca runs her Untold Stories Academy – see the post for more), her involvement with Authors Reach, how she got into writing at all, and much more. Hope you enjoy the post.
Many thanks, Francesca, for the interview and good luck with your launch, soon, for your third book, The Earthstone.
A better day today and it was nice having a swim earlier. Most refreshing.
Looking forward to sharing Part 2 of a great interview with Francesca Tyer tomorrow on Chandler’s Ford Today. Plus there will be more author interviews after that. See link above for FT.
Don’t forget my author newsletter is out again soon (1st July) and I share tips, news, links to some of my online stories and so on. To sign up just head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com
Talking of online stories, do head over to visit Friday Flash Fictionregularly. It gives you a good “feel” for what 100 word stories look like on screen and there’s a great range of material here.
Have had one of those irritating, everything rubs you up the wrong way kind of day, so it is a great relief to get to my desk to enjoy an evening’s writing. Always puts me in a much better frame of mind!
Am looking forward to taking part in the Book Fair at The Hilt on Saturday 8th July. For full details, follow the link. Entry is free but if you pre-book a ticket, your name is entered in a a raffle. The winner gets £10 to spend on a book from any one of the authors, including yours truly, taking part in this event. So basically you can get a free book! What’s not to like about that? (It was nice to see the advert up in our Post Office window for this event – it looks good!).
Just before this I’m running a flash fiction workshop on Zoom and am looking forward to that too. So looking forward to Swanwick in August too.
Meantime there is writing to be done so best get on with it!
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It’s Friday. It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Deserved Desserts. I do like a bit of alliteration every now and then! Hope you enjoy the story.
Hope you have had a good day. Getting humid again. Lady and I not all that keen on this. We send greetings to fellow hayfever sufferers (as even Lady has been known to have the occasional sneeze -on days when the pollen count is sky high so no great surprises there). Good old Sneezy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves really needed to be on the antihistamine!
Now I create flash fiction stories throughout the week. Sometimes I use snippets of reality to inspire my stories. Sometimes I completely make things up. Both are fun routes to take! But when I do use reality, I use things which have either happened to me directly or which people will know to be true because most of us are affected by these things at some point.
We all know, for instance, the frustration of being caught in a queue at an awkward moment. My story Time Waits For No Man right at the end of From Light To Dark and Back Again is my take on that situation. It is fun putting my characters through the mill here rather than experience the situation again myself though!
Sometimes I get another character to “talk to” another character by narrating a story. In From Light to Dark and Back Again, I do this with You Never Know where my lead is pointing out it is not all glamour and fun being a magical tour guide. Great fun to write and I suspect my lead character enjoyed having the chance to have a humorous whinge!
What I like about this tale is my lead has to know the other person she is “speaking to” though the reader never sees them and they’re not even named. The character has to know what the other one is likely to come up with to rebut the things she thinks will be coming. This means a lot is inferred in this story regarding the character not seen.
Inference is used a lot in flash and I must admit I love being left to work things out by other authors, as long as they give me the right clues so I can do that. Naturally when I use inference, I ensure the right clues are not just there but are in the right place in the tale.
Fairytales With Bite – A Magical Recipe
Thought I would do something different this time. Below is a story I’ve recently written up in response to a 30 day challenge and it illustrates what I mean when I refer to “fairytales with bite”. There is humour and irony in this piece – that’s where the bite comes in. Hope you enjoy the story.
The Best Fairy Godmother
Ingredients: –
Tonnes of kindness (the more the better in fact).
Equal amount of common sense (so important knowing where and when to use magic properly which is where the common sense comes in).
A fully charged magic wand with recharging facilities. (Never rely on battery wands. They always pack up when you need them).
A selection of spell books. (No one book has them all in, at least the ones you use most often).
Fluffy white hair (optional).
Grit – lots (and not the kind you put on the road when snow is due).
Sensible clothes including a hooded cloak, a full length gown which must have pockets (you need somewhere to store your wand and books when on the go), and reliable underwear. (You don’t want that giving out on you in mid flight).
Method:-
Blend all together with years of experience on the rounds and you have the best fairy godmother going.
Now to find the clients to help but that’s beyond the scope of this recipe. You’re on your own but good luck!
Ends Allison Symes – June 2023
This World and Others – Qualifications – Advice to a Student
Q = Quality of work will count for more than quantity in any magical world which values safety when practising magic.
U = Under good tutors, the diligent pupil will do well but be ware of those who cannot prove they’ve got experience in their field.
A = Academic scoundrels get everywhere – they’ll happily con you and you still won’t qualify.
L = Love learning for its own sake – you’ll be more likely to do well.
I = Intense revision is not avoidable in any world when exams are looming but it is a temporary phase so keep going.
F = Fantastic magical careers await those who work hard here.
I= Imagine what you could use a qualification in dragon flying for – which worlds could you get to and explore?
C = Challenge the expectations if you’re from a lowly background – no reason why you can’t quality as a wizard, fairy godmother etc as long as you put the work in.
A = Always assume you’ll be tested thoroughly on what you find your most difficult topic. This happens everywhere exams do.
T = Test yourself regularly well ahead of exam season. Okay you’ll be testing your invisibility and other spells rather than maths and geography but the principle is the same!
I = Invigilators are not out to get you – they look that stern at everyone. They’re looking for the cheats. Not easy to do in a magical setting.
O = Open your results envelope as soon as you can. You won’t be able to mind read these – they’re protected against that. Would make it too easy for someone to forge the results otherwise.
N = Never look down on those whose results are worse than yours. The magical world has a habit of the underdog coming back to do phenomenally well later on. You don’t want to be the wrong side of these people. Retribution is likely to be swift and painful.
S = Success breeds success – now build on your magical qualifications. Put them to good use and good luck!
Deserved Desserts, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/f8nN8LqbnX It’s Friday. It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Deserved Desserts. I do like a bit of alliteration every now and then! Hope you enjoy the story. pic.twitter.com/l5VX2nFanx
Part 2 – Francesca Tyer – Author Interview https://t.co/S1ft69oUad Am pleased to share Part 2 of a fabulous interview with Francesca Tyer. We discuss workshops, her involvement with Authors Reach, how she got into writing, and much more. Hope you enjoy the post.
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.
Am looking forward to a trip out with family to Windsor Castle later this week. I suspect there will opportunities for people watching. Whenever I go out anywhere, there usually is! Sometimes a snatch of dialogue will inspire a story. Sometimes a striking hat or other clothing item will make me think of a character of mine who might wear something similar and what situation they’re in. As ever, I just need something to get me started and getting out and about can help with that!
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Nice, cooler day today – Lady and I appreciated that.
Part 2 of my interview with YA fantasy author, Francesca Tyer, will be up on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Cracking interview. Link up on Friday. Be sure not to miss.
Now if you were temporarily allowed to bring one of your characters to life to ask them one question, who would you choose and what would you ask? Could be great material for a story or two here. Hmmm… something I too need to check out I think!
Am looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. These are always great fun. I do set exercises here. I find writing exercises a great way to put into practise a tip or two you’ve picked up. The nice thing with writing exercises? There is sure to be at least one or two which really suit the way you write. Practising writing to them helps build up your writing skills so worth a go for that alone.
Wasn’t sorry for the rain yesterday evening. Has cooled things down though the grass is still like straw over the Recreation Ground. Not that it stopped Lady having a good time with her Rhodesian Ridgeback bestie today.
Writing Tip:Quiz your characters. Find out what makes them tick. What wouldn’t they do in any circumstances? Your job here – put them in those circumstances and then see what they do. They will have to find a way of coping with it. Doesn’t necessarily have to be something “overly” dramatic.
For example, let’s say you have a character who doesn’t like the water. A friend is ill and someone is organising a charity swim to raise funds to help this friend. What would your character do? Sure, they could just donate but where’s the story in that?
What they would do so there is a story is learn to swim, take part in the event (though they probably wouldn’t do many lengths given the lack of experience here) but everyone is thrilled they’ve done this. That would make a nice human interest story. Your character has faced up to something they don’t like here. They are putting themselves out for someone else. It’s that which readers will like.
So think about something which would make your characters do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do. This can be taken in many directions. Have fun!
I’m talking about Holiday Writing for Authors Electric this month. Do you do any and/or do you send your characters on holiday? Take your characters out of their normal environment and what could happen? I discuss this and more in this post. Hope you enjoy it.
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Bit of an odd day. Have gone from doing the ironing to painting a wood preservative on another fence panel. Oh the joys! So it is with great relief I am now back at the writing desk.
It was great to share Part 1 of the interview with Francesca Tyer on Chandler’s Ford Today yesterday. Am looking forward to sharing Part 2 on Friday.
Many thanks for the great comments coming in on Anniversary, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. This one has a dark twist – if you missed it, check out the link. I very much appreciate the feedback on this great site and if you want to see what flash fiction can be, this is a very good place to start.
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Flash fiction collections are a great way to show off what flash can do and be. Mine have a wide range of characters and situations in them. Equally The Great War by Dawn Kentish Knox is a wonderful book (100 x 100 word stories) all based on World War One. So flash works well for characterisation and themes then. Then there are the flash-in-novella books too.
There is more flexibility in flash than at first might appear to be the case. It is the top word count only you have to watch for but there is much you can do within that
I regularly share tips on flash writing via my author newsletter. Next one is due out on 1st July. If you’d like to sign up, please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com
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It’s Monday once more. It’s still hot (in my case not helped by having an afternoon in the kitchen batch cooking though it will pay off later in the week!). Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Editor Edited.
One of the joys of flash (and there are many) is that it is a great format for turning the tables. In my The Terrified Dragon I do exactly that. Firstly, the expectation normally is the dragon would be terrifying. Not in this story from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Secondly, I then go on to show good reasons why it is terrified instead and have another character come to its aid. Great fun to write. Best kept as a very short story, anything else would be padding, and so flash is perfect for it.
Sometimes you just know when an idea comes to you that it works best in the shorter formats and with flash we have the ideal vehicle for the very short form. A single idea executed in the right amount of words works so well. Gauging whether an idea has “legs” for a longer format is not easy to get right. My gut instinct is to keep an idea tight – stick to the point of it and don’t elaborate further. Turning the table kind of stories tend to focus on one central action so this is why it works brilliantly when kept short.
I’ve sometimes used proverbs as title ideas (and often they end up being the theme as well). One of these is A Stitch In Time from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I used a humorous slant on this one.
The great thing with using proverbs for fiction is the proverbs have a timeless quality to them. People will always identify with the point they’re making and that is something invaluable to use for your stories. People will always get the point you’re showing in your tales as a result. So don’t throw out that book of proverbs – you can make good use of it here.
Do you go to book fairs? I hope so. I’m taking part in one in my area in July and am looking forward to that. It gives local authors a chance to show what they do and these things are especially useful in areas which have a lost a lot of their bookshops. We had a fantastic local one but that had to close due to the owners’ retirement. Much missed.
All of us as readers appreciate the works of authors. We wouldn’t be on Goodreads otherwise but authors do appreciate support from readers. Going to book fairs is just another way of showing that support. So if you have such an event coming up near you, try and get along. You may well be surprised at the range of works your local authors produce. I know I’m impressed with what is available in my area.
liked Allison Symes's blog post: Book Fairs https://t.co/Pl741VQNxG via @goodreads I explore the value of book fairs for this week's Goodreads post. I'm taking part in one in July so will admit to bias but, having attended others, have been impressed with the range on offer. pic.twitter.com/Njp8ulSHan
Do you review where you are with your writing? I ask as we're now beyond the middle of the year (I know!). Being positive, there is still time to get things done. It is also a chance to see where you have got to since the year start. You will have achieved things, small or large. pic.twitter.com/sc3ChHlRIf
Reviewing where you are at writing wise is never a waste of time. I use this review time to have some encouragement from what has gone well. Those things which have not, and inevitably there are some of these, I ask what can I learn and there usually is something of value here. pic.twitter.com/naZbWKbS6p
Authors Electric: Holiday Writing by Allison Symes https://t.co/S4n2c9OnVN I talk about Holiday Writing for AE. Do you do any and/or do you send your characters on holiday? What could happen if you take your characters out of their normal environment? Hope you enjoy the post. pic.twitter.com/AocZHAi2uW
I plan my writing time over a week. There are days when I can't get much done. I try to save those times for “writing bits and pieces”. When I do have more time, I use those for my longer pieces of work. I’ve found working out what I can do when has made me more productive. pic.twitter.com/SsDGKmH695
It’s Monday once more. It’s still hot (in my case not helped by having an afternoon in the kitchen batch cooking though it will pay off later in the week!). Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Editor Edited.https://t.co/LiNEJPDrpz
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for supplying author and book pictures for the first part of her fabulous interview on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Another hot few days but Lady and I have been keeping as cool as possible. Delighted to share Part 1 of a great interview with Francesca Tyer, YA fantasy author, who is part of the Authors Reach stable. Wide ranging questions and more to come next time too.
I’ve talked before about interviewing characters to find our what they’re made of – it is a fab idea, I’ve used it many times, but don’t forget to ask open questions so “they” can’t answer with a simple yes/no. You want your characters to have to explain “themselves”.
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Am delighted to welcome Francesca Tyer, YA fantasy author from the Authors Reach stable, back to Chandler’s Ford Today. This is the first part of a fabulous in depth two-part interview. This week Francesca and I discuss inspiration, poetry, writing follow on books, writing routines, and much more. Hope you enjoy it and I look forward to sharing Part 2 next week.
It was so good to go swimming today, I can tell you! Pity I had to get out again but there you go. Can’t have it all.
Don’t forget Part 1 of a fabulous interview with Francesca Tyer is live on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday – will put the link up tomorrow. See above. Looking forward to sharing that. More interviews to come later in the month too.
Looking forward to running another flash fiction workshop in early July. Then there will be the Book Fair at The Hilt. And after that I will begin my official countdown to when I go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which is the biggest highlight of my writing year. It will be so good to catch up with friends (and hopefully make new ones) there. Am also looking forward to running my editing workshop there.
Towards the end of the year will be the Bridge House Publishing celebration event and I am looking forward to that too. So plenty going on, writing wise, which is how I like it.
Oh and I should have news to share about online magazine Writers’ Narrative fairly soon too.
Hope you have had a good day. More breeze today which Lady and I have welcomed.
On Friday, I’ll be sharing Part 1 of a wonderful two part interview with Francesca Tyer. She is a YA fantasy author whose third book, The Earthstone, will be out soon. This is the follow up to The Firestone and The Seastone.
We’ll be discussing what led Francesca into writing YA fantasy, her love of poetry, her writing routine, and she shares some useful tips and there is much more besides. Looking forward to sharing the link later this week. See above.
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Pleased to share Anniversary, my latest 100 word story on Friday Flash Fiction. See what you think about Helen, my lead here, and her take on anniversaries.
I often ask myself questions as I’m outlining my story. I want to quiz my characters so I know what they’re made of and it reminds me why I want to write about these people/other creatures of choice in the first place. I ask myself whether my title would lure me into reading the story if it were written by someone else. I also ask what is in this for the reader?
The last question is a good one. It helps me to focus on what matters for my characters. It encourages the ruthless cutting out of any purple prose and to ensure my wasted words (very, actually, and that are the worst) have been removed.
I like to keep my titles to the point. Often when I’m entering competitions, I’m conscious I need something that will “hit” the spot immediately. After all I’m trying to hook the reader into reading the rest of the story – in this case the competition judge.
I want my title to help the story stand out and give it a better chance of a placing. For those competitions where the title is part of the word count allowance, I have an even more powerful reason to keep my titles short. I want to save the majority of the word count allowance for the story itself.
The role of the title is to set the scene for what is to come in the story. It should be a good lure!
Fairytales with Bite – Magical Extremes
What are the ranges of magical ability in your setting? What would count as magically “low” ability and “high” ability? Is this dictated by the character’s background? Can your characters improve what they do or are magical educational establishments only for the privileged few? Is this something that has been inherited or are your characters seeking to change the system?
Talking of systems, is there an agreed definition of what would constitute “bad/evil” magic and which would be considered “good”? Is anything banned and what would happen if someone broke that ban? How has your world discovered what works and what doesn’t here?
The past history here might not make it into your story but it will colour your characters’ views and behaviour. That can change your plot. So it is worth working out what you need to know here. It will add depth to your characterisation knowing X is doing Y because….
This World and Others – Climates
Your setting is likely to have more than one climate. As well as the geographical variety, and there will be different regions with different temperatures etc., think about what the political climate could be like. Everywhere has some sort of political elite so what form would yours take? Do your characters come from that elite or are they against it? How interested in politics are your characters? If they’re disillusioned, why would this be?
If your setting has a religious element, there will be a climate there too? Is is a moderate one or an extremist type? How does that play out?
Class and social status can have a major effect on the kind of climate your character lives in. If they’re lower down the social scale, how does poverty affect the kind of climate they live/work in? Are there tensions fuelled by poverty in and around them? Can your characters work to improve things here?
If a character is within a family unit, what kind of climate exists there? Is s it a loving one or does your character struggle to fit in? Why would that be? Personal climates will affect attitudes and actions of your character too.
Anniversary, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/deqIurTGi4 Pleased to share Anniversary, my latest 100 word story on Friday Flash Fiction. See what you think about Helen, my lead here, and her take on anniversaries. pic.twitter.com/JzugEzAQRT
Author Interview – Francesca Tyer – Part 1 https://t.co/JNxMlalhKH Am delighted to welcome Francesca Tyer, YA fantasy author from Authors Reach, back to CFT. Francesca and I discuss inspiration, poetry, writing routines, and more. I look forward to sharing Part 2 next week.
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.
Still humid and hot here. Lady fine and is a good water drinker. Not all dogs are – my first two weren’t! Writing wise, I’ve the first part of a great interview with YA fantasy author, Francesca Tyer coming up this week. Plus there will be more wonderful interviews to come later in the month too. Meanwhile I’m taking part in a 30 day writing challenge which is great fun – details below.
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Again, very hot. Again, Lady and I keeping cool. Hope you are too. Now a little while ago, I mentioned I would be taking part in a Book Fair. Am glad to now share more details.
The event will be at The Hilt, Chandler’s Ford on Saturday 8th July from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm. Entry is free but if you book a ticket, you will be entered in to a raffle. The prize is £10 which you can use to buy a book from any of the authors at the event (who no doubt will be pleased to sign it for you too. I know I would be!). I’ll be posting more about this nearer the time (and will do a future Chandler’s Ford Today post on it as well).
So if you are planning to come, do book a ticket and good luck with the raffle. This event is a great opportunity to find out what the local authors do – there are a fair few of us and the range of what we write is incredible. There is bound to be something you like! Do come along and check things out.
Best of all? The event is being held at a good time for you to top up your holiday reading list!
Another hot and humid day here. Lady all okay. She drinks well and is sensible about heading for the shade. We’re sensible about taking her out at apt times. It all helps. The latter is vital. I’ve got a nice spot here where I can do a pavement test – it gets the sun directly so is a good place to monitor about whether walking Lady is okay or not.
I have already cancelled one walk with her where the air was far too hot (last Saturday) and have seen pictures of dogs with burned pads on Facebook. It is just not worth it. Be careful with your furry friends, folks.
Can’t stress that point enough. And talking of getting the point, do check out my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction called, you guessed it, Getting The Point!
Cooler day, even had some rain, air much nicer. Was nice to take Lady out earlier. She appreciated it too. (Was she sorry she stayed put yesterday? Not a bit of it. Had a great day in the shade and/or indoors and was much happier for it too, as indeed was I!).
I’ll be talking to YA fantasy author, Francesca Tyer, in the first part of a two part interview on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. It’s a great interview. Do look out for it. More details mid-week or so.
I’ve mentioned before I’ve interviewed my own characters prior to writing their stories up. I find this a useful technique. It means I get a real “feel” for their likes and dislikes and the kind of character they are. I can then write their story up with confidence. I don’t need to know every single thing about them. I just need to know enough to know I’ve “got” them and know why they would act the way they are in my tale.
The Scrivener short story function has a template for both character and setting but there is no reason why you can’t create you own. It is a question of working out what you need to know. Elements of that will differ from author to author. I don’t need to know physical appearance. I do know other authors find that knowledge crucial.
A very hot day today. Lady had her exercise at appropriate times and spent the rest of the day resting. She wasn’t sorry. Neither were we. On the plus side, my washing was dry in under two hours. It is always the simple pleasures in life which give the most joy!
Many thanks to Val Penny for a fabulous interview on Chandler’s Ford Today yesterday. More author interviews coming soon. And starting this coming week as I begin a two part interview with Francesca Tyer. What I love about author interviews is there is always something useful to learn from them. Hope you find the same.
Am enjoying taking part in a 30 day writing challenge issued by Auscot Publishing and Retreats. Some of the pieces I’ve drafted so far I know I can turn into flash fiction pieces and get out to competitions, markets etc. Others – hmm… the jury’s out there. I may be able to do something with them later but at least I will have the option of having something to try and work with. Equally if I discard these at a later date that’s fine. I gave the exercise a go. Didn’t quite work out for me but at least I know.
If you get the chance to take part in a challenge like this, do so. It encourages you to be more productive. And it is just good fun to give these things a go and see what you can do. That, after all, is how I discovered the joys of flash fiction – I gave it a go!
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Am looking forward to waving the flag for flash fiction at The Hilt, Chandler’s Ford for a Book Fair being held on Saturday 8th July between 1.00 pm and 5.00 pm. The organisers hope this will become an annual event. I hope so too. We have lost a lot of bookshops over the last few years though I am glad there are still some in the area (which covers Southampton and Winchester too). Will be posting more about the fair nearer the time.
I often demonstrate what flash is by reading some and I hope to get to do that again. It is good fun and always results in sales!
It’s Monday. It’s a very hot Monday. Time for a story though I can’t promise it will cool you down. Hope you enjoy Recall, my latest on YouTube. Is loosely based on a true story which happened to my late father and I.
As flash fiction is so short, it has to be character led. Readers need to care about the characters to read on and there isn’t the room for much description anyway. What you want for that is the odd telling detail which will set enough of the scene to help readers visualise it.
But clues can be given to character status through the use of names. People will have different expectations from a Charlotte than they would from a Karen (and I am not saying whether that is a good or bad thing, I just know people will!). Of course whether your story lives up to those expectations will, I hope, be the hook that makes people read on to find out if they were right or not.
But another thing you can use to show something of a character is their nickname. I just went on to a random question generator I often use and the first question which came up was What is your nickname? You could apply that to a character and the story could be about how they got it. It could also reveal something more about them. If Charlotte prefers to be known as Lotte or Charlie for example, there will be a story about why that is the case.
One of my longer flash fiction pieces is Rewards which is in From Light to Dark and Back Again. It takes up pretty much the whole 1000 words maximum for flash.
My lead character, Becky, reveals a lot about herself through her thoughts , including how she is haunted by another woman. The story reveals how she deals with said woman.
What I like about this piece is I reveal more and more about Becky as the story goes on but I am drip feeding this in to the plot. I also like Becky’s attitude. Doesn’t mean I agree with what she does though! But it is always a lovely moment when you know you have just “got” your character. The story spark is in that moment.
I love books you can dip into but what do I mean by that? Well, short story anthologies and flash fiction collections are ideal for this, of course. I will admit to being biased here given I have work in anthologies and two flash collections of my own out there. But I also love the reference books to dip into as and when.
A great one for this is Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable which goes into the origins of well known fables and phrases. Fascinating book to dip into. It’s a massive one as well – another one to avoid dropping on your foot.
I also love books like the Agatha Christie short story collections. Her novels I will read from cover to cover, naturally, but for the collections I can pick a story at random and then come back to another at random later if I wish. I find this to be a refreshing way to read from time to time.
I have a number of writing advice books on my shelves and I can dip into those to refer to specific topics now I know what it is I need to know. When you start out as a writer, you generally don’t know. You find out what you do need to know about the writing world as you go along. But I am at that point now where I can just refer back to selected chapters as and when I need it. (This frees up more time to read other things so win-win there and proves there is value to dipping into books at times).
liked Allison Symes's blog post: Books To Dip Into https://t.co/B665MtS7lH via @goodreads I look at books to dip into for this week's Goodreads post. I consider the value of story collections and reference books here. pic.twitter.com/zjozj860AK
It’s Monday. It’s a very hot Monday. Time for a story though I can’t promise it will cool you down. Hope you enjoy Recall, my latest on YouTube. Is loosely based on a true story which happened to my late father and I.https://t.co/juA1nLk8YD
I'm part of a Book Fair at The Hilt on Saturday 8th July. Free entry. If you book a ticket, you'll be entered into a raffle. Prize = £10 which you can use to buy a book from any of the authors. Come and boost your holiday reading list! https://t.co/6qRPXKX6U2pic.twitter.com/niLCPbPFJJ
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 a kind colleague from Swanwick for taking the picture of me book signing there on my phone. Always tricky to do that kind of thing yourself!
Gorgeous, sunny week and Lady has seen many of her pals so a good week for her. Following on from my last round-up, am pleased to report more poppies emerging in my garden. I love those splashes of red. Writing wise, it is lovely to share a wonderful interview with Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. See below for more. And a huge thank you to Val for supplying author and book pics and some great shots of Edinburgh.
There will be further author interviews to come soon too. I love sharing these as I always learn from them and I find it endlessly fascinating finding out what other writers are getting up to! Mind you, it does add to my To Be Read pile considerably…
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Am delighted to welcome Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, back to Chandler’s Ford Today.
We discuss The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, Val’s two series of wonderful crime fiction, scheduling your work, and much more besides. I hope you enjoy a fabulous in depth interview with her as much as I enjoyed conducting it. (Am also looking forward to when Val brings out her collection of short stories – we talk about that too).
Lady got to see a couple of pals unexpectedly while out on walks today and she loved that. Mind you, she loves seeing people. Most affectionate dog. Delighted more poppies coming out in my garden – love those splashes of red.
Talking of colour, I do use it sometimes to add to my flash pieces and short stories. It can make something easier to visualise. But I try not to just use vision when adding senses to a story. It is the obvious one to go for but I must admit I find it difficult at times to add in taste.
Well, for one thing, my flash pieces can be so short, my characters are in and out of the story again before they’ve had chance to eat or drink anything!
I never add anything in for the sake of it. I will bring senses in to a story, regardless of length, when it is apt to do so. But I must admit I do tend to fall back on vision and sound as the two basic building blocks here. I think many writers do.
Mind you, maybe my characters would be grateful for the chance to hear music, grab a bite or two to eat etc. I came across a lovely story in The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose compiled by the much missed Frank Muir where an author’s characters come to life and berate him for giving them such a hard time. Hmm… something to think about then!
Another lovely day in the park for Lady and her girlfriends. Three happy but tired dogs went home (and long before it got hot in my part of the world too).
Looking forward to sharing a smashing interview with Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, this week on Chandler’s Ford Today. Val shares her latest news, why she is now a member of the Committee for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, and looks ahead to her forthcoming collection of short stories. Plus there’s more. Link up on Friday. See above (and a great photo below of the two of us taken at Swanwick on my phone by a kind colleague!).
Reading/listening to author interviews is a useful tool for other writers because not only can you learn from them, you can use the questions to work out how you would answer them if an interviewer put them to you.
This in turn gives you the chance to really think about what your book/stories are about. That’s a good thing. Being able to talk concisely about your work stands you in good stead for pitching to publishers/agents (and for chatting to other writers at events).
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Amazon made me laugh today. You know they send you emails recommending what they think you’ll like. Well, I had one of those today and what did they think I would like? A copy of From Light to Dark and Back Again! Can’t have noticed the name on the cover! Okay they’re not wrong but…
Pleased to say Getting the Point is now up on Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy it.
Pleased to have got my story submitted for a competition last night (closing date is the end of this month, 800 words maximum word count so perfect flash territory). Have another story to work on for another competition later in the year plus interviews to get ready for Chandler’s Ford Today. It’s a lovely mix of writing work.
So looking forward to being at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick again in August. I’ll be running my one hour editing workshop there. I have another workshop to run on flash fiction in July. So busy, busy, busy which is how I like it but it is also why I need to plan out what I’m doing when. Having said that, it means I get more done including entering more flash and story competitions.
A writing exercise I’ve sometimes used is to take an old story of mine and see if I can cut it in half. I’ll take a 1500 words story, say, and see if I can get it down to 750/800 words without losing anything important.
Sometimes I really can’t but I will get the story down to, say, 1000 words. Sometimes I can though and it is an eye opener as to what can be discarded and how the story tightens up considerably. Asking yourself the old question does this story/character really need this is an amazing aid to editing!
Just give yourself time for this exercise. It does take longer than you think but the results can be amazing.
Fairytales with Bite – Fairytales and Proverbs
Don’t discard your old book of proverbs. They are so useful in providing themes for your stories and fairytales use these a lot. For example, the saying Don’t judge by appearances would apply to Puss In Boots who is far smarter than his master. It can also apply to any tale where a wizened old man or woman turns out to be a powerful magical being in disguise (Beauty and the Beast).
There is a strong sense of right/wrong/justice in the classic fairytales and that will often be based on proverbs, well known sayings, Biblical quotes etc.
I have sometimes used a proverb or well known saying to provide a title for my story and I do use these as themes a lot. Part of the reason for that is these things are timeless. There will always be room for stories based on, for example, truth will out. You could take that in many directions and show the consequences – for good or bad – here.
Also if your setting is a strange one, having a basic theme which people will identify with will help “anchor” your setting. People will take to it because, even if they can’t identify with your setting, they can do so with the theme. Your setting can of course have its own proverbs (but it will help if they are loosely based on what we have).
Another favourite of mine is beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Think about The Ugly Duckling. Didn’t consider themselves a “looker” at all. Thinks about what your characters believe about themselves. Are they right? If not, who or what can make them see themselves for who they really are?
Many wonderful stories can come from having themes based on the proverbs.
This World and Others – Wise Words
What would your fictional world consider to be wisdom? What would be their wise words? Is the constitution of your world based on these? Are there wise words nobody argues with (and is that because they don’t want to argue or they dare not?).
Who gives your fictional world their wise words? What great teachers/philosophers have your setting had? Have their words been proven to be true?
Now characters (as indeed we will) can argue about what defines wise words. What can seem like wise words to one can seem like foolishness to another. What could that lead to in your setting? War? (People have fought over far less a motive than words after all). How would your characters resolve it?
Think about whether you have a character who is especially wise (the Gandalf motif if you like). How could they share their wisdom with others without being too dominating?
And do wise words “win out” in the end ?Can the right wise words said at the right time (or discovered written down) change the course of the characters/story?
Always love signing my books for people at Swanwick
Today I’m visiting Allison Symes @AllisonSymes1 to chat on her blog about The First Cut and all things writing . You can read our chat here. https://t.co/Q0D55hxDvQ
Val Penny – Author Interview and News Update https://t.co/2g5zmueNbC Am delighted to welcome back Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, to CFT. We discuss The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, Val’s crime fiction series, scheduling, and much more. Hope you enjoy this great interview.
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 had a lovely weekend. Pleased to say poppies from seed I planted last year are now flowering. Am especially pleased as I’m not the world’s greatest gardener by any means. Lovely splashes of colour and it occurs to me that with the right telling details in our stories, we can add splashes of “colour” to the portrayal of our characters, making them seem more real to readers. The use of the senses can help a lot here. I can picture a character in a red coat, say, rather than one in a dull coat. Dull isn’t a strong enough image for me.
Facebook – General
Today would have been my maternal grandfather’s birthday. It is also, of course, the anniversary of D-Day. (I’ve only seen mention of that on social media incidentally. Am surprised not to have seen at least a mention of it elsewhere). He was in a reserved occupation for the war. Other members of the family were in the forces and then went into the ARP and fire watched.
Anniversaries can be tricky subjects to write about given so many emotions are tied up with them. On those grounds, I tend not to write about them directly but where stories can help, I think, is where you have a character showing the reader what something, including anniversaries, means to them. The action of the story should show why they feel this way.
The nearest I’ve got to this is in my They Don’t Understand from From Light to Dark and Back Again where my character shares a poignant snapshot of his life. He references events many would identify with and certainly I just felt for my poor character in this tale. I hope other readers have done too. Sympathy and understanding are much to be encouraged and stories do have an important role here.
Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler girlfriends today. All had a nice time. Mind you, Lady couldn’t believe the Ridgeback’s human mum really did not have any treats in her bag. Lady had to stick her nose right in said bag to make sure. Why can you never get a camera out quickly enough for things like that?! Lady looked so comical.
Good laugh had by all and Lady no doubt wondered what the fuss was about. All dogs can do a very good impersonation they are not fed enough, they desperately need more food/treats etc. Don’t believe a word of it, well at least as far as Lady is concerned anyway!
Writing wise, am busy working on another interview for Chandler’s Ford Today, as well as looking forward to sharing the one with Val Penny this coming Friday.
Also looking ahead a little will be preparing material soon for the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting at the end of the month. These presentations are always great fun to do and I set plenty of exercises. I do write up the exercises myself and on the night of the meeting too. Live writing like this is a good challenge.
The great advantage to it is nobody expects perfection. You simply can’t do it in the time scale (often only minutes) you’ve been given. The idea is just to get something down. The polishing and editing can happen later.
Another lovely day in my part of the world. Am almost at the end of reading 1000 Years of Annoying the French. Good read, humorous, and an interesting look at history. Highly recommend.
I’ve developed a love for non-fiction in recent years and often find ideas for stories spark from something I’ve read in non-fiction. Think about the spouses of past inventors who were never appreciated in their life time. How did they handle that? Did they appreciate what their spouses were trying to do? Story ideas there for a start!
I like to mix up my reading so the next on my list is a crime novel I’ve been looking forward to reading so that will be fun. Your reading as well as your writing should be fun (at least most of the time).
I’ll be interviewing Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Looking forward to sharing a bit more about that nearer the time. The interview itself will be up on Friday.
Talking of interviews, I do sometimes quiz my characters as I’m coming up with an outline of a possible story. I need to know my character is the right one to be the “lead”. I do see it a bit like casting the right actor for the right part.
I need to know their main trait (and that will often show me likely attitudes to spring out of that). I also need to know what would they not do if they could at all avoid it and then put them in a situation where they do have to face this.
Dumping your characters right in it is a fabulous way of finding out what they’re made of – it’s also great fun. Okay not for them but it is for you, the writer. It will also keep your readers gripped as they will want to find out what your character does to get out of the situation (or If they do at all of course).
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Many thanks for the wonderful comments coming in on Telling It As It Is, my most recent story on Friday Flash Fiction. All much appreciated. The views on my lead character’s behaviour is pretty much unanimous!
Mondays are especially busy for me so by the time I get to my desk, I’m already feeling tired. But the good thing is I am aware of this so I use Mondays for “little bits and pieces”. It makes me feel better I’ve got something done. Being creative at all helps me unwind which is just what I need after a busy day.
And one of my “little bits and pieces” is to share my latest YouTube video with you. Hope you enjoy Walking Away.
Sometimes I use an attitude as the basis of a story. One I’ve used is the idea of having to make the best of things. My story, Decisions, from Tripping the Flash Fantastic is an example of this.
So think about attitudes you love/loathe and think about how your character(s) could “act” that out. You are not telling the attitude here. You are getting your character to show it and readers will pick it up and run with it. I like to go with positive attitudes (it’s not a bad idea for life!) and as with Decisions, these can often lend themselves well to humorous pieces.
I love writing humorous flash stories. The mini story form is ideal for funny tales and to end with a punchline is a delight. I try to ensure the humour arises naturally from the characters and their situation. This means it is is less likely to date. Some things we will always find amusing and it is that kind of humour I try to tap into with these stories.
So think about what you find funny and why that is. One important thing to remember is normally in a comic story, the character themselves does not find their situation funny. It is for the reader to do so. A character can think their situation tragic (and with cause) while we, the readers, fall about laughing. If you look at the classic TV (and radio) comedies, watch (and listen) out for this.
What do you consider makes a book “flop” for you? Thankfully, I’ve not had too much experience of this but if a character doesn’t grip me quickly, I’m unlikely to read much further. I have to care about the character. I have to care about what happens to them and what they do or don’t do to help themselves. There has to be the hook to draw me into reading more and then more etc.
For non-fiction, firstly the topic has to grip me. Secondly, the narrative has to be interesting. I don’t want a list of dates. I want a good read which helps me take in useful information as I go. (This is where I welcome creative non-fiction which uses techniques in fiction writing to great effect in presenting non-fiction material in a more engaging manner. I’ve mentioned before I love the works of Ben Mcintyre. His books read as novels though they are all non-fiction. Case in point here I think).
The biggest killer of a book is dullness. Dull presentation. Dull characters. Funnily enough, you can learn from books you didn’t enjoy and work out what it was that failed for you to help you avoid doing the same in your own work.
Mondays are especially busy so I use them for “bits and pieces”. It makes me feel better I’ve got something done. Being creative helps me unwind which is just what I need. One of my “bits and pieces” is to share my new YouTube video – Walking Away.https://t.co/Z4tqJ3cqIu
Allison Symes: Collected Works 