Tag: 100 word stories

Key Story Elements

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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. It was back to creosoting the fence here but I was thankful for cooler weather in which to do that. Have had some lovely comments in on my recent Chandler’s Ford Today post about Swanwick. I was deeply touched by those. Thank you, folks.

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Hope you have had a good day. Not bad here.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again soon. To sign up for tips, news, story links, and more do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Newsletter tip: I find having a monthly theme helps because I can share tips related to the theme, writing prompts related to it and so on. It gives the newsletter a focus. It also means I can prepare the newsletter during the month so there isn’t one mad rush to finish it and get it out on time.

Mind you, I am a big fan of scheduling and do this all the time for my Chandler’s Ford Today posts so it makes sense to me to prepare as much as I can in advance here too.

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Despite it being a bank holiday in my part of the world (the next one is a certain day in December, folks – argh!), Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal. A good time was had by both dogs. Bank holidays always seem a little odd to me as for most of them I am doing mostly the sane stuff as I would do on any other Monday but there you go. Certainly the writing continues as normal.

The next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group is on Wednesday so am looking forward to that. We’ll be looking at prompts, useful for any form of writing, I think.

Writing Tip: Never worry about how much time you have for writing. As long as you write regularly, what you do write will mount up over time. I’ve found this to be the case and you end up getting more done than you might think, especially if you look at your writing over the course of a week or so (rather than daily).

24th August – Bonus Post – CafeLit Serialisation – Seeing The Other Side

Bonus post. As I posted my other posts earlier than normal, I forgot to share the latest part of my serialisation of Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit.

The posts don’t appear there until 4pm each day as the idea here is you get to read stories at this time with tea/coffee, cake etc. Lovely idea (just wish I had more time for the cake and didn’t put on what seems like half a stone just by looking at cake but there you go!).

Anyway, here is the latest installment. I do hope you enjoy the stories.
Hope today has been a lovely peaceful Sunday for you. It has been here. Lady is currently happily curled up having had a couple of lovely walks and play times. Hopes to catch up with her pals during the week.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Stand Alone Books for Chandler’s Ford Today this coming week. Link up on Friday.

Have started work on editing a story I’ve drafted for a competition. Will probably aim to have this sent out in the next couple of weeks.

Looking forward to reading Christian Writer, the quarterly journal of the Association of Christian Writers. Copy landed on my mat yesterday. Also looking forward to going to their in person event in Egham in October. My railcard is getting good usage so far this year! The good news from Lady’s viewpoint is I will be back in time for dinner so she won’t be too unhappy about Mum going off somewhere for this one.

Hope today has gone well. Quiet one here – back out creosoting the fence. Am making good steady progress. Sometimes you come across descriptions which are perfect. Well, our fence was described as being made from rough cut timber. They were right about the rough bit!

The next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group is next week so am looking forward to that. I hope to resume preparing work for competitions from next week too. I have set it as a goal to enter more competitions this year. I have already fulfilled that compared with how many I went in for in 2024 but I would like to do more before the end of the year.

I’ve got a story in draft for a competition (due in towards the latter end of September) so will focus on that one first. Always good to have something to work on like this. Makes me up my game and certainly I have produced more stories than I would have done otherwise.

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Flash fiction is a great thing to share if you have an author newsletter. It gives something hopefully entertaining to your followers, doesn’t take up too much room, and who doesn’t love a free story to read? Win, win, win there. All part of my marketing too.

No author newsletter? Well, how about writing a short story to share on your website for your followers there. It is a lovely way to give back for the joys writing gives us, I find.

And talking of flash fiction, hope you enjoy this one.

The Party by Allison Symes – 26th August 2025
Out of the thirteen guests who were dressed as ghosts for the party, only one could walk through the walls, leaving the remaining twelve screaming.
Ends

It’s a Bank Holiday Monday where I am. It’s been a hot one too. But it does mean it is time for a beginning of the week story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Liberating Luck.

A witch cannot believe her luck on managing to escape a magic lamp nor on whom she managed to get to take her place in it. Find out who that was here. Is the witch right to celebrate her luck?

 

About to crack on with flash fiction Sunday, which is something I always look forward to – it’s a great way to end the week and I get more stories drafted. I can polish them and find a home for them later.

Congratulations to the winner, the runners up and the short listed for the recent Friday Flash Fiction competition.

The 100 words (drabble) category for flash fiction is a popular one for competitions so it is worth practicing writing to this word count. I’ve found the form to be addictive and hope you do too! They’re also great for sharing on your author newsletter etc as they don’t take up too much space and give people a quick, entertaining read.

One element to flash fiction which can be overlooked is that it gives you skills you can use for any form of writing. I’ve found this to be the case. You tighten up your editing skills, for one thing.

You learn to look for phrases which convey the meaning you want but do so in fewer words. You focus on specific images rather than risk anything which could come across as vague.

No room for wordy description here. I have to show you a character and/or a setting quickly so must focus on the telling details which will bring those to life for you. This means I have to be able to picture it first. Anything getting in the way of that is cut.

Goodreads Author Blog – Key Story Elements

I lost count years ago of how many books and/or stories I’ve read.

I include flash and short story collections here deliberately, partly because I write them, have featured in them but, in any case, they are still as much of a book as a novel or novella. They’re just a different format, that’s all, and I’ve found them useful for another reason.

If I like an author’s short work, it’s a good bet I will like their longer works too. So sometimes I have tried out an author’s short form work before buying any of their novels.

But regardless of story type, every work of fiction has to have key story elements. For me, these include characters I can relate to, an interesting plot, and an ending which fulfils the promise of the book.

I have to feel that the ending was right. If there was a twist (and I love these), I need to be able to look back at the story on a second reading and see how it could only be this twist and it had to be the way the writer portrayed it.

No matter what the setting, the characters have to be believable too. There has to be something in their portrayal I can relate to and naturally this acts as a wonderful challenge for me to do the same with my own creations.

Reading encourages writing. Writing encourages reading. Behind it all is a love of story and the key story elements are what readers crave and what writers long to create.


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Serialisation News: Seeing The Other Side by Allison Symes – CafeLit

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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 had a good weekend. Busy here – from wood treating fence panels to writing to editing. Glad it has become cooler now. Lady is not sorry about that either. Thrilled to say the partial serialisation of Seeing The Other Side has started on CafeLit – details below.

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Nice day today. Lovely swim. Hope today has been a good one for you. Loved an online Zoom meeting I attended last night. Perfect end to a hectic Monday and interesting topic too.

Writing wise, have just completed the first stage of an edit. Looking forward to assisting with a friend’s online book launch before too long as well. Delighted the first part of the serialisation of Seeing The Other Side is now up on CafeLit. Will share another link to the next part this coming Sunday.

And it won’t be too long before the next author newsletter is due. To sign up for news, tips, story links and more do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Hope today has been okay, given it is Monday after all. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal this morning so all is well there. Also cooler today which is most welcome.

Writing wise, I’ll be catching up with bits and pieces this evening as Monday is one of those days when I don’t have so much writing time. But the nice thing about this is I still get useful stuff done which frees up my time for longer writing stints later in the week.

The nice thing about flash is of course I can get a short tale written in the time I do have even when said time is limited. My bits and pieces also include things like writing admin, such as adding things to my ALCS listing (Authors Licensing and Collecting Society) as well as tidying up/updating my website here and there. ALCS link here – do check them out.

Serialisation News – Seeing The Other Side – CafeLit

Am thrilled to say the first part of the serialisation of my third flash fiction book, Seeing The Other Side, starts today on CafeLit. See link. Hope you enjoy this opening taster! More to come too. Will share as and when I have the links. This is the first time I’ve had any work of mine serialised. So pleased about that.

You get good value here too – you will find four of my new flash pieces here.

And while you are on CafeLit do check out the wide range of stories and styles they have here. It is a great site for short story and flash fiction writers.

Hope today has been good for you. Lady out nice and early as another hot one today. Managed to get two fence panels wood treated – it’s all glamour here I’ll have you know!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Breaking Down Why A Story Works for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Plus after that I’ll be interviewing fellow Swanwicker and flash fiction writer, the lovely Esther Chilton, who will be sharing news of her children’s book, The Secret Dragon. More details on that nearer the time. (Plus it won’t be long after that before I meet Esther again in person at Swanwick; am so looking forward to being there again).

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I sometimes come up with alliterative titles to make me think of ideas for flash stories. Good fun to do. Can be useful for acrostic stories too.

I deliberately mix up how I come up with titles. I use phrases and proverbs. Sometimes I use a piece of some of the dialogue I’ve used in the story itself. I prefer two to five words for my titles (easier to remember) though I have used longer ones, including for my book titles.

What matters though is any title, however you come up with it, has a hook to intrigue a reader.

It’s Monday. Okay it’s not as hot as last week but it is still time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – You Know It Is Time.

You know you must change your career. You know your boss won’t be happy. You dare not run from her. It would be better to face the dragons than that…

It’s flash fiction Sunday again for me. Lovely way to spend the afternoon. (Will also be interviewing fellow flash fiction writer and Swanwicker, Esther Chilton, for Chandler’s Ford Today soon though ironically it won’t be flash which will be the focus here!).

I do love the weekly challenge of coming up with my 100 worder for Friday Flash Fiction and another flash piece for my YouTube channel. I also use this afternoon to sort out competition entries and thinks like that. It’s a nice way to end the week – by submitting pieces here and there. I think it gets the following week off to a cracking start.

It’s another way I put specific time aside for specific writing work I want to do – I find it pays.

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow for me. Plus I hope to finally get another competition entry out. Story is all good to go but I want to do my final checks on it. This week has been hectic in a good way so am especially looking forward to a quieter one tomorrow when I can get more done.

Things like those final checks for example shouldn’t be rushed. (You will miss something and then be cross with yourself for it – guess how I know!). I will be in good time for the competition deadline – it’s the end of August – but once this story is off, I then focus on another story to work on for somewhere else. I like to have something “on the go”.

Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Parts of a Story

Regardless of story genre, length, whether it is in a magazine or in a book, what would you say were your favourite parts to a story?

I love dialogue because when this is done well, it is like eavesdropping an interesting conversation. I know – that probably does say a great deal about me, doesn’t it? But good dialogue will move the story on, have a good pace to it, and leave you wanting to “hear”/read more.

Description works for me when it conveys information I need to know in a story which can’t be shared any other way. So yes I will need to know something about setting, for example, but I won’t necessarily need to know every last detail. I just need to know what is important.

So I would need to know there was a moor, say, but I don’t need to know exactly what the moor is made up of because I will have my own ideas about that. Earlier generations would have needed everything spelled out when people didn’t travel so much so wouldn’t necessarily know this. Naturally writing flash fiction and short stories does tend to encourage what I call tight writing.

Narrative where the story is being moved on thanks to the narrator is another favourite of mine because you usually get a good pace here. You are shown what you need to see. Everything counts so you know you need to read this. I’ve forgotten who it was who said “try not to write the bits people skip” but they had a point!

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Character and Story Traits I Love

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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 had a lovely Easter weekend. Sorry to hear about the death of Pope Francis.
Writing going well. Weather a bit of a mixed bag at the moment but that’s April in Britain for you! Lady hopes to catch up with more of her friends as the week goes on.

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Hope you have had a good day. Quiet one in the park with Lady but the weather was good and Lady had a great time running around.

Writing wise, don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out on 1st May, the first one from the new service provider. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

The next edition of Writers’ Narrative will be out before too long as well so do keep an eye out for that too.

Also have exciting writing news I cannot share yet but hope to do so soon. Good start to the week basically!

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Mixed bag weather wise today. Nasty but thankfully shortlived storm this afternoon. Lady managed to stay dry this morning and did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal so all well there.

Looking forward to seeing Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor, the latest show from The Chameleon Theatre Company, with my lovely editor, Janet Williams, later this week. It will be another Chandler’s Ford Today “works outing”. The play is one adapted from the radio and is an interactive murder mystery where the audience can interrogate the cast. Sounds fun and I will review later for CFT.

Talking of CFT, I will have another smashing author interview to share in May but more details on that nearer the time.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate. Lovely church service this morning.

Just to flag up Friday Flash Fiction are wanting submissions sent in from Mondays to Thursdays only. See link for more information.

Planning to submit my competition story next weekend a good way ahead of the deadline. Today has been busier than expected so will be spending today writing flash, editing, writing blogs etc. Lots of “bits and pieces” but I enjoy writing sessions like this. The work mounts up over the course of time too.

Hope the Easter weekend is going well for you so far. Am tuned into the Classic FM Hall of Fame chart (and have been since yesterday) as the new one is unveiled over the long weekend. Am hoping I don’t hear the three I voted for until Bank Holiday Monday! Two of mine made it to the last day of the new chart being unveiled. To quote Meatloaf, “two out of three ain’t bad”!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Honest and Dishonest Characters for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link up next Friday. After that I will be reviewing The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production, Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor, which I’m off to see next week. Ties in nicely with next week’s CFT post given the show is bound to have plenty of both type of characters here!

Writing Tip: Much as I love the outline, do give yourself manoeuvre room. What I mean by that is I don’t plan out every little thing about my characters or my storyline. I just need enough to get started and to have a rough ending in mind. It gives me space to work out how ideas which occur to me as I write my draft (and it happens a lot) will fit in or are better than my original thoughts and I can adjust accordingly.

I usually find if I know enough about my characters an apt story for them will occur from their outline anyway and it is why most of the time I focus on knowing my characters first. The one exception to that is if I am entering a competition with a set theme where the situation has been given to you. I then work out the kind of character which would best suit that situation.

But whether I work with the situation first or with the characters, I always give myself that manoeuvre room as better ideas occur to me. It is one of the laws of writing other better ideas will occur to you as you write your drafts but you need to have written something to generate those or so I have found. But if you have got that manoeuvre room available it is easier to put those better ideas to good use.

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Hope today has gone well for you. Submitted a flash piece yesterday. Am building up a bank of 100 word stories as I have different outlets for them and it is good to have something I know I can call on when I spot a competition I like. There are a number of 100 word competitions out there so it is worth keeping an eye on.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week too. Will be looking at writing in different genres using flash, which is something I do a lot as flash can give you more freedom than you might think. It is just the word count limit you need to watch.

It’s Monday, albeit a Bank Holiday one in the UK. Time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Waiting Game. I sometimes write historical flash fiction and this is an example of that.

What someone who could be considered to be the power behind the throne really makes of their role. It isn’t all banquets and flashy clothes. Would you do what my character is preparing to do?

 

Plenty of lovely singing at church this morning including the classic tune of Maccabeus from Handel for Thine be The Glory. This wonderful music often turns up in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, which I am enjoying this weekend. Not heard this one so far this year.

Prompt: Story thought for you. What would your characters like to sing if they could pick one tune? Why would they choose this? There will be a story behind their choice. What could you do with that?

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow. Am hoping to submit a competition entry as part of that.

When it comes to flash competitions and titles, most of the competitions don’t include the title as part of their word count allowance but there are always exceptions to the rules! I always note whether a competition allows for the title in the word count or not, along with what the overall word count is.

Where a competition does include the title as part of the word count permitted, I allow up to five words for the title. I then write to the story up to whatever word count is remaining. If I end up taking a couple of words out of the title, I can add them to the story or not, depending on whether I need a couple of extra words or not. It is always all right to come in at under the word count stated, unless a competition expressly states they want a specific word count.

Basically, it pays to check and double check the rules. Competitions do vary in their requirements and you don’t want your stories discarded due to not following these things.

It happens. But it doesn’t have to happen to you!

Goodreads Author Blog – Character and Story Traits I Love

One of the things I love about series novels is watching how the characters develop over several books. The best for me for this is the development of Sam Vimes in the much missed Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. 

The transformation in that character is astounding and so well done. Start with Guards! Guards!, work through Men at Arms (which is also a fabulous detective tale) and wind up with Raising Steam and you will see what I mean.

But thinking about this led me to consider those character traits I love to see in fiction. I love courage, honesty, working hard etc and Sam Vimes easily embodies all of those. He’s also not afraid to upset his “superiors” when he needs to do that. I have a soft spot for characters doing that. It usually is deserved!

What I’ve always loved about the classic fairytales is characters deserving of help get it. Those who are arrogant etc are usually brought down a peg or two. But with rare exceptions they do learn their lesson. Oh if only that would happen in life, yes?

One huge advantage to reading widely (across genres as well as types of fiction such as short stories, flash as well as novellas and novels) is you get to see so many more character developments and I have always loved this as a reader. It means even more to me now I’m a writer as well.

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Author Interview – Introducing Joy Wood, Storyteller

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good few days. Family do over the weekend which I’m looking forward to and Lady is as well as naturally she will be spoiled rotten! Writing wise, getting plenty of “bits and pieces” done so all well there.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am so pleased to welcome fellow Swanwicker, Joy Wood, to talk about her great series of books on Chandler’s Ford Today.

As well as sharing her writing journey to date, Joy shares useful writing and marketing tips and what she thinks about editing amongst other topics. She also shares how competition slogan writing kickstarted her writing career, which is an interesting way into novel writing!

Naturally she discusses the joys of The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, something we both love, here too. Plenty to enjoy here – hope you enjoy the post.

Author Interview: Introducing Joy Wood, Storyteller

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Hope you have had a nice day – lovely sunshine here. Good temperatures too. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler pal again today.

Am notching up another year on the clock on Saturday. Many thanks to all who have donated to my birthday fundraiser for this year. I’m supporting the Salvation Army.

Do look out for a fabulous interview with Joy Wood on Chandler’s Ford Today – link up tomorrow. See above. Looking forward to catching up with Joy in person at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick later this year.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her Hungarian Vizler, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Labradoodle pals today. Marvellous time had by all. Nice weather too.

Looking forward to sharing my interview with Joy Wood, a fellow Swanwicker, on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Will be a great read – do look out for it.

Writing Tip: Give some thought as to what the hook for your story is – that is, try to ask yourself what would make you want to read it had it been written by someone else. It’s a good question to ask as it means you’re thinking of what your readers want and that is a great thing to focus on. It helps against waffle tendencies!

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Pleased to share my story Best Served Cold on Friday Flash Fiction. You will see that it has the topic of Revenge in the corner. This is because this is my entry under the 100 word category for the annual Andrew Siderius competition Friday Flash Fiction runs. 

Next week I hope to submit a story on the other theme for this year but that will have to be at a longer word count. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one. It’s another example of where I’ve used a well known phrase to generate an idea for a tale. 

Good luck too to all who are entering the competition this year.
Flash tales are great for humour (think short, snappy tales with a punchline). They’re also great for specific moments where a character has something important to share but doesn’t need a lot of word count space in which to do this. As a result those specific moments have a more powerful impact I think. I call these “punch to the gut” tales and they can reflect all moods.

I like to mix up my word counts within flash. My favourite will always be the 100 worders because those were my first introduction to this fabulous form of writing.

But another one to have a go at is the 250 worder and some competitions are using this word count limit, The Bridport Prize springs to mind here. You can obviously pack more into this word count limit so it gives you the chance to show more of your character and what they are made of, which has always been my favourite aspect to storytelling.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. Focus will be on editing. Flash fiction writing teaches you a great deal about this but it is a major benefit of writing in the form regularly. It can transfer to other forms of writing you do and I’ve found this to be the case for my blogs etc.

Also because you do have to keep an eye on the word count, you are always looking for better ways of phrasing things so you make yourself dig deeper to find that better phrasing. That in turn encourages your creativity, another good thing!

Fairytales with Bite – Legacies

We often think of legacies as gifts etc left in wills and so on but legacies can mean so much more than that. We all have those legacies, often resulting from family traditions, upbringing and so on, which form a major part of who we are and why we are that way, so why not apply this to potential characters?

It means digging deeper into fleshing out your creations but that will help you create more rounded characters. You may well find you can do more with those characters as a result.

So why not give some thought as to what your characters have “inherited” from their past which will directly effect the way they are in the story you’re going to put them in? This kind of thing will be a major part of what motivates them.

That in turn is what readers will latch on to because we understand this. We know what drives us. We know why we are driven this way. Some of that can be from our past, (as well as being from things like greed, lust for power etc).

This World and Others – Tales of Old

What would your setting consider to be tales of old? Are these cherished or an embarassing part of their history which they can’t quite shake off?

Are the old tales useful for a tourism industry (so much the case in my part of the world – all of our historical castles etc have stories attached to them, some of which are gruesome to say the least. In any other circumstance, these are the stories you would keep quiet about because they’re not something you’re proud of but the tourist industry finds them useful!).

How old does your world consider to be old? Where I am, it would be anything over 50 years old, I think, but that may be me being biased given I am over 50!

Who decided which tales could be kept from olden times and which have been deliberately forgotten/suppressed? Are the tales of old ever re-enacted (stage, film, for historical purposes etc) and who would stage these things? Are these things obligatory for the populace to see every so often? Could these things be used as a way of educating the populace especially if literacy rates are low?

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Many of the Cafelit, Bridge House, and Chapeltown authors contributed to this book by Gill James. There is a prompt for every day of the year.
My latest published story is in The Best of Cafelit 6.
Where my stories are in print. Image by Allison Symes
Six of the seven books my stories have appeared in (okay in the case of Limerick Nation, one limerick!). Baubles is the other book. Image taken by me.
My tale Evergreen – Never Old and Good to Go – is in this collection from Bridge House Publishing
Image from Bridge House Publishing
I contributed to this. Image from Bridge House Publishing
Nativity. Image supplied by Gill James, Bridge House Publishing
Transforming Being. Image by Bridge House Publishing.
Image from Bridge House Publishing

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Reviews, Book Covers, and Publication News

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Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

Image of Wendy H Jones kindly supplied by her.

Hope you have had a good week.

To those who celebrate Easter (as I do), may you have a blessed one.

Writing wise, not a bad week and there’s another story of mine up on Friday Flash Fiction. This site is a great way to encourage me to write a drabble (a 100-worder) every week! More below.

Always fun to find out what happens next, writing wise!

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today – Good Friday – 2nd April 2021

Delighted to share my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post which is on a topic close to many a writer’s heart – Reviews!

I look at why authors need them, my policy on reviewing (including when I review National Theatre Live productions and shows put on by our wonderful local amateur dramatic company, The Chameleons). I also discuss hatchet jobs and share my thoughts about those (!). I also share why paid-for reviews are, for me, a huge no-no.

Like so much in writing, building up reviews does take time and it has to be done the right way to avoid running into difficulties with Amazon especially. Even ignoring that, the policy of paying for a review does make my blood run cold. It just doesn’t seem ethical to me. I want reviews to be honest and with thought put into them.

The old saying goes that he who pays the piper calls the tune but for a review, I want that “tune” to be an honestly considered one and not “bought in”. You really don’t want to be muddying the waters here, to use another old phrase.

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Pleased to share a More Than Writers blog from #WendyHJones tonight. More Than Writers is the blog of the Association of Christian Writers. Wendy’s post this time is all about book covers and, as well as discussing her latest cover reveal (for the lovely Bertie The Buffalo), she invited some fellow ACW members to share their latest book cover and a few words about it.

Many thanks, Wendy, for inviting me to take part in this. And do have a good look – there are wonderful covers here.

(Oh and my CFT post is up tomorrow).

Wendy H Jones. Image kindly supplied by her.


My CFT post this week is all about a subject close to many a writer’s heart – reviews!

I talk about why they are useful, my policy for giving reviews, and share a few thoughts on how to write a review that will be useful to an author.

I also chat about my policy when I review stage productions, National Theatre Live plays etc (and I am so looking forward to being able to go to these things again and review them once more! It has been a long year and even more so for our great local am dram company, The Chameleon Theatre Group).

I also discuss hatchet jobs. Now the big question is do I manage that without carrying out a hatchet job myself? Well, you’ll have to find out tomorrow when I put the link up!

Well then…! Pixabay
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again Good Friday – 2nd April 2021

I sometimes start a flash piece by coming up with an intriguing title. For example, in Tripping The Flash Fantastic, one of my stories is called The Terrified Dragon. I had great fun working out what on earth could possibly terrify a creature that is renowned for causing fear in every other creature that is not a dragon!

I do sometimes use a simple flowchart or spider diagram to work out different possibilities and I then go with the one that I like the most. That choice is nearly always determined by the impact the idea has on me. If the idea makes me laugh the most, or makes me cringe in terror, then it will have the same effect on other readers. I am always thinking about potential impact on a reader and that’s a good thing. I want to write with a potential audience in mind, always.

And good news, I have another story up on #FridayFlashFiction. Nice way to end a week! Hope you enjoy this one. Called Mustn’t Tell. I do like an “open” title which hopefully draws people in!


My latest author newsletter went out earlier today including an exclusive flash fiction story. If you would like to sign up just go to my website landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

As well as sharing exclusive stories here, I share writing tips and news, most of which is related to flash of course. This time around I’ve also shared a writing challenge and set a 250 word count for it.

It wasn’t something I planned but the 100 to 500 word mark does seem to be my natural home for flash stories. I gravitate to that word length almost as if I’m on auto pilot. (I’m not by the way! If possible I would save auto pilot abilities for boring tasks such as the housework!).

A screenshot from my latest author newsletter. I also share tips and writing prompts here amongst other things.



There will be a new flash fiction story from me in my new author newsletter, which will be going out tomorrow, 1st April. If you would like to sign up for this, please go to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Have submitted another drabble to #FridayFlashFiction.

Am working on material for a third flash collection too so plenty going on to keep me out of mischief!

I’ve found the basic ingredients for a flash fiction story, regardless of length, are:-

  • A character (doesn’t have to be human!).
  • An action (sometimes a refusal to act can be the action).
  • Something indicating the story has to go on.

Get those lined up and you’re well on your way to producing a promising first draft!

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Fairytales with Bite – What Would Your Characters Wish For and Why?

Well, what would your characters wish for and why? Just as interestingly, is there any chance at all of them getting their wish granted? What would the consequences be?

Action and reaction. Cause and consequence. The basic building blocks of all stories.

A character outline is a useful tool for working out what your characters are likely to want and why. (I ignore the basics of wanting food, shelter etc because you can take them as read. Everyone wants those things, understandably). What you want to go into here is deeper than that.

Character A wants a loving relationship because they have had loneliness foisted on them all their life and they want to change that. (Interesting story here: who foisted the loneliness on them and why? Why wait until now to change things?).

Your outline would go into who Character A is, who or what has got in their way (and what happened to them incidentally), what they are planning to do to change things. You won’t have every idea immediately but what you should have is a glimpse into who Character A is and, as a result of that, how they are likely to try to change things. A shy character is going to use more reserved methods compared to an extrovert, say.

Just knowing that will get you off to a good start with your story (and finding things out as you go along is (a) fun and (b) should confirm whether or not you know your character well enough to write their story up.

You may well find you will find out more about your character as you go along and that’s how it should be but you should also find your outline did nail the core elements you needed to know about them before you got started. I always find that aspect reassuring.

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This World and Others – Limitations

What limitations do your characters have? How do they overcome these? Can they overcome them?

If they can’t, do they have ways of getting advantages from their situation? What limitations does your setting have? Can your people only live above ground for certain time periods due to restricted oxygen (or other gas) availability the rest of the time?

I write flash fiction and find the word count restriction there (1000 words maximum) doesn’t stifle creativity. It fuels it. Why?

Because I have had to learn to think laterally to get the most out of every single word I put into my stories. And you can do this with limitations on your characters and settings too. If your characters can’t use magic without weakening themselves significantly, they will themselves limit their use of it (and probably save it for life and death moments. You just would, wouldn’t you?! So what would they do the rest of the time?).

If your setting has limited capacity for supporting life, how would that capacity be used? Who would control it? Would someone find ways of boosting that capacity so more people could live?

All interesting thoughts to explore.

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