Tag: author newsletter

Story Endings and Why I Love Creative Writing

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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. Wet and stormy again here though crocuses are emerging in my garden. Plenty done writing wise which I’m very pleased about. Hope the rest of the week continues to be productive.

Facebook – General

You know I said yesterday Writers’ Narrative was due out soon (see below!), well I was right. It’s out now! Do check out the magazine below.

The theme this time is historical fiction. Plenty of wonderful articles in here sharing useful insights. Time for a good drink and a great read I say. You can find my piece on pages 16 and 17 where I look at how historical fiction can be written for the shorter forms of writing too.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hope you have had a good start to the week. Park so muddy this morning. Lady didn’t worry thought (she never does!) and focused on having a nice time with her Hungarian Vizler pal. Quite right too.

Writing wise, I had a lovely weekend, submitting stories and picking others to edit for competition entries later. Also drafted articles and got on with my longer term project (well, one of them anyway).

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again on Saturday. Yes, it is almost March already! To receive news, tips, story links, prompts etc do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Also Writers’ Narrative will be out again soon. I was right – see above!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope your Sunday has gone well. Nice quiet one here though the wind is getting stronger. Storm due later.

Why do I love creative writing, fiction or otherwise? There is no one answer to that but my love of reading made me want to write stories of my own. Basically, I wanted to see if I could do it and I soon discovered writing is addictive (albeit in a good way).

My love of reading non-fiction has led to me wanting to and then going on to write non-fiction articles and posts. And, of course writing is a creative outlet. I suspect most people have at least one way of being creative and I soon found that writing was the one for me.

Best of all has been getting to make so many writing friends. All of us understand the need to create stories and articles without having to explain why. When we get together in person or online, that is lovely. We do pick up from where we left off!

It will be a little while before I go to my next writing event though, as well as running the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group this coming week, I’m going to attend an event ACW are putting on in early April, which I’m sure will be encouraging and useful.

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Had some sun today which is lovely and have potted the first crocus emerging in my garden.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing The Writers’ Wish List for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. (Well, it will be this writer’s wish list but there will be plenty to agree with and maybe add to via the CFT comments box on Friday!).

Delighted to be Editor’s Choice on Friday Flash Fiction this week with my Best Advice tale. Link here in case you missed it yesterday and a huge thank you for all the lovely comments coming in on this so far.

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow too. I have been submitting a number of stories recently which is great. I need to take some time out to look for other possible competitions and I hope to do this tomorrow too. I make a point of checking out the competition background just to reassure myself all it as it should be before I send anything anywhere.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope today has been good for you. Lovely to see some sunshine. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal and an old friend, Daisy, whom we haven’t seen for a while.

Writing Tip: You can show something of your characters’ general attitude to life by showing how they react to minor annoyances, you know the kind we all have.

Do they swear like the proverbial trooper when they stub their toes or do they express their annoyance in a less fortnight manner?

How do they react in certain weather conditions? What brings out the worse of them here (and bear in mind in a fantasy story you could have another magical character deliberately make them face this situation knowing it will cause them to react badly).

It’s Monday. It’s been stormy (overnight) and so muddy in the park. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – People Watching.

Just another woman working away in a cafe over a chocolate brownie and tea or is there something more sinister in her work? Find out here.

 

Finding topics for my flash fiction and short stories varies. I use the random generators. I use books of prompts (some have been published by Bridge House Publishing. I’ve contributed to those and there is now a Big Book of Prompts available – see link below).

I also use story cubes. Sometimes a topic is set by the competition I want to have a crack at and sometimes I use a competition theme even if I don’t enter it. (This is usually due to my having discovered the competition a bit too late to enter it but I can still use the topic and get a story out of it. I can find another home for it later).

I like having a variety of methods to “get into” a story (though my all time favourite is working out who my lead character will be and then finding a lovely situation to dump them in – great fun!).


Flash can be punchy, moving, funny, and anything in between those things. You can set your characters anywhere and everywhere including in time, in this world and others you make up. The word count can vary from a few words to a few hundred but as long as you don’t go over 1000 at a time, it’s fine.

You can bring out flash collections, share individual pieces on websites like Friday Flash Fiction, and there are competitions specifically for the form. And you wonder why I love flash fiction! (The fact it is responsible for me finally having books to my name has a great deal to do with it too!).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Goodreads Author Blog – Story Endings

A story doesn’t keep its implied promise of a good read until a reader reaches the end of it and then even the magic words The End are no guarantee it was a satisfying read.

A great story ending ties up loose ends and has an appropriate conclusion for the characters involved. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a happy ending but it does have to be “right” for what we have come to know of the characters and the plot line. It has to “fit”. Otherwise a reader will feel “jarred” by that ending and will wonder whether the book or story was worth their time reading it after all, something no author wants to encourage.

Sometimes when I write my short stories and flash fiction, I have the closing line immediately. I have sometimes entered competitions where they give you the closing line and you then work out what must have come before that.

I enjoy this exercise. It makes me think from B to A rather than A to B. I deliberately make myself start stories this way first every so often to encourage my own creative thinking. The huge advantage of course is I know what the ending is going to be. I have an outline (a very rough one) from that alone.

I like to read books and stories where I feel the ending couldn’t have been different from the ones which have been given. To me that is a successful story.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

As the March issue is hot off the press (see above), so to speak, I thought I would share the February issue again here. Double bubble here, folks. Hope you enjoy both magazines. Do subscribe. Link above and in the magazine itself.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Popular Themes – Is There Anything New To Say?

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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. Lady did – she got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback again. I managed to get plenty of writing done, which always pleases me. Full steam ahead for the week to come, I hope!

Facebook – General

Delighted to be back on Authors Electric. My post this month is called Popular Themes – Is There Anything New to Say?

I thought it would be an apt topic given a certain saint has just had his renowned saint’s day and there are more than a few love stories around at the moment!

I share my thoughts on the importance of bringing something new to the mix and share how my way in to this is via the character(s).

Hope you find the post useful.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope your Monday has been reasonable. It’s not my favourite day of the week by any means but what was lovely this morning was Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and her Rhodesian Ridgeback pals. A great time was had by all.

It seems the scammers were especially busy earlier today as I spotted a couple within the space of a few minutes. Tiresome, tedious and a reminder, I suppose, we all have to be careful. The golden rule of if it seems too good to be true is right here.

Writing wise, had a smashing weekend getting plenty done with story and article submissions achieved. Hope the rest of this week follows a similar pattern!

Lovely church service this morning. Enjoyed that. Lady also got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal unexpectedly after that and both dogs were so pleased to see each. Very sweet to see.

Sent off a story for a competition. Have picked another one to try (and have got a rough edit of a potential story for it too). Had a good evening writing yesterday!

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again before too long. I share news, tips, story links etc. To sign up head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I’ve found adding bits and pieces to my newsletter throughout the month is the best way to write it. I also allow a few days before it is due to go out to check it and to make sure there is nothing missing. I usually pick a theme for the month. The one for March will be titles, a great form of advertising for your stories if you get them right.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope the weekend is going well so far. Still grim, weather wise.

Writing wise, I’ll be discussing Making the Most of an Author Interview for Chandler’s Ford Today next week and plan to share tips I’ve found useful. Hope you will do so too. I also hope to have further author interviews (more news as I get it) and hope you enjoyed the great one with Gill James, which I shared yesterday.

Character Thought: What would a character of yours usually see as nothing out of the ordinary but another character shows them otherwise? What has brought about the chance of perspective and is the second character right in bringing it to attention of the first character or not? What is the impact of the change of perspective on the first character? Do they handle it well or not?

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Lady hit the jackpot this morning in that she firstly got to play with Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, and then, separately, with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. Lovely time had by all. Lady tired but happy. Definitely a good day in her books.

Talking of which, what would be a good day for your characters and could you get some stories from that? A day in the life of can make an interesting take for a story. Works best when kept short so what better format than flash fiction for that?

It’s Monday. It’s cold BUT the sun came out today, hooray! Note to anyone not in the UK – most of us have had several days of grey, murky weather. Okay not unusual for February but it is so nice seeing the sun again! Still time for a story though. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Listening to Reason.

What do you do when you are fed up with some jerk being incredibly rude to you and in a crowded shopping centre where people are laughing? Well, when you’re in my character’s shoes, you have options you know will silence the jerk and the laughter. Find out what these are here.

 

Will be working on another flash story for a competition which isn’t advertising itself as a flash one but is because it wants a maximum word count of under 1000 words. It pays to look out for these. There are more of this kind of competition than you might think. Also several of the short story competitions have a minimum word count of 1000 words so flash fiction writers could go in for these too if they wished.

It pays to practice reading flash fiction (and indeed other stories) aloud. It is so easy to stumble over something you know well (and even easier on material you don’t!). I use Zoom to record myself when I’m preparing for an Open Prose Mic session or anything like that. It means I go into the event more relaxed than I might otherwise have been simply because I do know I have prepared all I can.

Separately I’ve found reading work out loud, even if not an event, to be useful because it means I can hear how my dialogue comes across and so on. You can hear where the prose seems “heavy” or too complicated and I can then edit accordingly.

Goodreads Author Blog – Flash Fiction

My main writing work is in the field of flash fiction where the longest any story can be is 1000 words. You can pack a lot of characterisation and drama into that limit. As well as having individual pieces published online and in print anthologies, I have two collections of flash fiction books out with a third in the pipeline. The advantage of flash fiction is you get a short sharp read and it can have a huge impact on you because it is so short. It is undiluted fiction, if you like.

Probably the best known of all flash fiction stories is Ernest Hemingway’s famous For sale: baby shoes, never worn. There is a world world behind those few words. Very much punch to the gut storytelling there.

I make a point of reading flash fiction and short story collections in between reading longer works. I want to read from as wide a field as possible and I will always put in a huge plug for the shorter forms of fiction, just as I am doing here! It isn’t just because I’m published in these forms, honest.

Do check out the collections. There are so many fabulous stories to find out there and word count shouldn’t come into your reading choices, I think.

I also think reading long and short forms of writing makes for an interesting reading “diet” for you. I know I love mine!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Questions, ALCS, and Publication News

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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 nice weekend. Weather was lovely on the Sunday. Pleased my snowdrops are coming out. These are always one of the first signs of spring on the way. Had a fabulous time at the pantomime last week (oh yes I did!) and am looking forward to sharing more about that on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. It’s a joy to support local theatre too.

Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady had a fantastic one in that she unexpectedly got to see and play with Coco, the lovely Labradoodle. Two tired and happy dogs went home!

Writing Tip: Questions are useful for story writing.

Firstly, you can use them as a title. The fact it is a question will help intrigue readers because the story will have to answer it and there is only one way to find out if that happens – read the story.

Secondly, you can use the question as a theme for your tale so it may not appear in the text itself but you will use it as a structure to help you write it.

Thirdly, you can get your character to ask the question and then have them or another character answer it but you will see there is a structure built in right away. I like questions in stories just for that reason.

Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. It’s not my favourite day of the week though today was okay and Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal so she was pleased.

Just a quick note to writers who have articles in magazines with an ISSN number (such as Writers’ Narrative which had its February issue come out on Friday – see link below if you missed it).

Don’t forget if you are a member of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) you can list your articles here and these will add up to what ALCS will distribute in due course. More information about who ALCS are, what they do for writers, and how you can join up can be found at their website at https://www.alcs.co.uk/

A little admin and you can earn some money from articles you write for ISSN numbered magazines so do consider this.

 

Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Nice to see some sunshine. Lady and I have appreciated it when out and about.

Writing wise, I’m planning to share a review of Cinderella as performed by the excellent Chameleon Theatre Company as my post on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. There will be a fabulous author interview the week after that.

As ever, have enjoyed a big stint writing stories as my flash fiction Sunday afternoon though some inevitably end up being longer short stories. I say inevitably because sometimes a character develops and I know I need more than 1000 words in which to explore their story properly. That’s fine. I will just find a suitable market for that story in due course.

1st February – second post

Second post from me tonight is to say I’m thrilled the new edition of Writers’ Narrative has come out and the theme is on non-fiction. I have two pieces in here. One is Writing Non-Fiction: Hints and Tips and the other is Using Fictional Techniques for Non-Fiction.

The magazine is packed full of wonderful articles and useful information but don’t just take my word for it. Check it out at the link below and remember it is free to subscribe to it. Apologies link is in twice this week but it IS a fab read. Don’t just take my word for it though!

1st February – 1st post
Two posts from me on here tonight. First up, just to say my author newsletter went out today. I was looking at the idea of using popular themes for this one. Hope you find it useful.

If you don’t already subscribe, it is easy to do so. Just head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks to all of my subscribers, your support is much appreciated.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to say I will have a new flash fiction tale on CafeLit next week. Will share more details nearer the time.

As well as writing flash fiction, I of course, read it and am currently enjoying a wonderful book full of marvellous pieces (Flash Fiction Magazine bring out book length anthologies. Well worth a look).

Naturally, you can also check out mine at my Amazon link which is https://author.to/AllisonSymesAuthorCent

It’s Monday. It has been murky. It is cold. It is still Monday. You know what that means. It is time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Mistaken Identity.

Stella was sure she’d recognized Mary but the woman insisted she was called Jane. But if Stella was right, Mary was in the wrong place in the wrong time and why is there a gunshot?

 

I often set exercises for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. Some of these I prepare my answers to in advance because sometimes it is useful to see an example already laid out. Others I write my answers to on the night because I love the adrenaline rush of writing to a prompt given with little notice. I find I just want to get on with getting a story down. I know I can improve it later.

And that is the secret to these things. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. That can come later. Just get something written to the prompt. Everyone knows this is a just a very rough first draft. Nobody gets it perfect first go. That thought has cheered me a lot over the years and it still does!

Hope you have had a good day. Cold and murky but at least the dog and I didn’t get a soaking today. We always count that as a win.

Am building up a nice compilation of stories for a potential fourth flash fiction collection. Will add to that when I enjoy my usual flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow!

Am currently resting a longer story for a competition but hope to review that and get that sent off in the next week or so. I so welcome email submissions. When I started out, everything had to go by post. Email for this kind of thing save so much time and money and you know for sure your story has reached its destination okay.

Having said that, every so often I receive a lovely letter in the post from a dear friend -and there is something so special about that. (You can’t beat postcards either).

Incidentally, I have sometimes used the letter format for a flash story. Why not give it a go and see what you can come up with? They’re fun to write. This format is also a great way of ensuring you do have a strong character voice because it is vital to have that to make this format work. You do have to know the kinds of things your character would come up with. But that is huge fun to work out!

Goodreads Author Blog – Watching Stories

I’ve just enjoyed watching a fabulous pantomime, Cinderella, staged by my excellent local amateur theatre company. It was a wonderful evening’s entertainment (oh yes it was!).

Most of the stories I enjoy I do take in via books of various formats – paperback, ebook etc – but there is a case to be made for watching stories on the stage, via film, and listening to them too via radio and audio books.

But watching stories I think is especially interesting. Is what you are seeing on the stage or via a film matching up with what you’ve already imagined if you’ve already read the book or story the production is based on?

For Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the answer to that was yes. The pantomimes are faithful to the original fairytales too though they do bring in extra characters like Buttons. But nothing spoils the original story. And that matters. In an ideal world, those who don’t read much will watch stories and maybe be tempted to check the original books out. I would like to think this happens, at least sometimes.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Link shared above. Hope you enjoy the magazine.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Creating Characters, Famous First Lines, and Writing Tips/Exercises

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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 the weekend was okay. Stormy weather here – thunder, hail, the works. Perfect weather for staying inside and getting on with the writing though. Even Lady hasn’t been sorry to get back home from her walks the last couple of days or so. Am seeing more signs of spring emerging though which always cheers me.

Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today. I had a great swim but now it’s more than time to be back at the desk again.

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

Looking forward to sharing my blog post, Getting There, on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers tomorrow.

Writing Tip: Flash fiction comes in a great range of word counts and formats up to the 1000 limit. Why not have a go at a one line story? It can be done! Here is one of mine.

Glenda, not having wish granters encroaching on her patch, thank you, and having sealed the genie back in his lamp, grinned as she kicked the wretched object into the sea.
Allison Symes – 28th January 2025

Have fun drafting one-liners like this. Sometimes you could extend them for a longer story. Equally leave them as one-liners and share on posts or via your website as extra reading for your audience (but just bear in mind they will count as being published. I only share here or via my website what I am happy not to share elsewhere).

Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. Weather frightful. Caught in hail though thankfully it didn’t last long. Lady did manage to play with her pal Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, so that made the world all right for both of those two.

Very pleased with writing done over the weekend. Have sent a story off for consideration. Picked a story I wrote a while ago which I know could suit a competition. And I did manage to get plenty of blogging done too (to appear at future dates). Also enjoyed Flash Fiction Sunday. Will share my new piece for YouTube shortly over on my book page.  See further down.

Today I’ve completed a survey for the Society of Authors regarding my thoughts over AI. I don’t fill in every writing survey I am sent but this one definitely warranted my attention. They’re emailing all members about this so if your belong to the Society it might pay to look out for this. I saw it as a chance to have my say.

Stormy again here. Took Lady around the park in record time today and even she wasn’t sorry to get back home again. This is about as common as gold dust in these parts – I.e. not at all. Keep safe, everyone.

Looking forward to starting flash fiction Sunday soon. Plus one of my two story competition drafts I have now edited and I hope to submit this later on before turning my attention to the other one. And, yes the gap away did help me spot something which could be strengthened. The break away from a piece of work does pay off.

Busy week coming up but I am looking forward to seeing my local theatre group, The Chameleon Theatre Group, perform Cinderella later this week. That will be fun.

Hope the weekend is going okay.

Writing wise, I’ll be talking about Adaptations for Chandler’s Ford Today next week, ahead of my going to see an adaptation of Cinderella performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group. A review for that will follow. Am looking forward to doing that as the show, I know, will be such fun and I’ll enjoy writing the review because I try to convey something of that fun in the write up.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out again soon. I discuss all things related to flash fiction and short stories, share tips, story links and more. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I need to create characters continually for my flash and short stories, though I do sometimes re-use some in linked tales. This is why I find a simple template useful for this. I can then add or take away from that template as I see fit which in itself helps me create characters who are not formulaic.

For example, for one template, I might “ask” my character what would they never want to do (and then almost certainly I would make them face having to do that thing in a story. Great drama).

For another one, I might “ask” what they find funny and what they don’t and again set them in a situation where this comes out and moves the story on. There will be consequences from what they find funny or not. I will make sure of that.

But in writing down the question to “ask” I find I have to answer it and I also get to start hearing my character’s voice in “their” response.

It’s Monday. It’s stormy. There has been hail. There has been a soggy dog walker (me!). Definitely time for a story then Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube -Being Careful Enough.

When you go to so much trouble to make a new life for yourself on your new world, you know you can’t be careful enough. You know there are portals out there designed to drag you straight back to what you consider to be hell. Find out here how Shiraz, who decided to name herself after a grape, fights back against all attempts to drag her “home”.

Writing Thought/Exercise: Why not have something unexpected arrive in the post, yes good old snail mail, to your character? What is it? Why is it unexpected? Is the delivery a welcome one or not?

Earlier this week I had a pleasant surprise arrive on my mat – a certificate from the National Blood people enclosing my “I’m a 75 donor” certificate and badge. Will happily plug them too – if you can give blood, why not do so? Lives are changed by it (and there are story ideas here too. You could tell a tale about the donor or recipient or both.).

Sometimes with a flash piece, I start with a title (often having picked one to work up from my notes. I use pockets of time to brainstorm ideas for titles, opening lines etc. It pays. It also means I know I can always find something I am likely to want to write up). The title often gives me clues as to the kind of character needed to fit it.

Sometimes I start with a drafted opening line which then usually inspires ideas for the title and the character to fit it.

It’s not a bad thing I mix things up like this. It is good practice for competitions given some of those give you a set opening line to work with, for one thing. For another, it keeps me on my toes and it means I have more than one way into crafting a new story.

Goodreads Author Blog – Famous First Lines

Famous first lines (such as It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) are often used to show writers how to hook your readers from the start. I like to think of it as hitting the ground running. And it I something I try to do with my flash fiction and short stories.

I know when I’m reading I want that first line to draw me in either by setting up an intriguing setting or a character whom I simply have to know more about. Only one way to do that of course – read on.

Naturally that sets a challenge to me to make sure I’m doing something similar when I’m writing. But then this is why writers do have to be good readers too. You do learn from what you read. Gives us the perfect excuse to get our heads in a book as often as possible – I like this!

Of course the best first line in the world cannot support the whole of the following story on its own – the rest has to be pretty good too – but as a way of drawing readers in, you can’t beat it. People look at book covers, the blurb, and the first line. If they like all of that, they are more likely to buy the book.

And from a reader’s viewpoint, great first lines stay with you.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Next issue due out any moment. Hope to share in next post.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Characters and Motivation

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Lynn Clement for the recent image taken at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event and to Janet Williams for the one taken of me at the Book Fair in October.
Hope you had a good weekend. A busy one for me with next weekend being even busier still though I suspect that will be true for most. Will be taking a few days off in Christmas week so will probably end up doing one round up post here only that week. Am wrapping up various writing things now.
Looking forward to reading a wonderful poem about the three wise men in a church service later this week. It’s one of the few times when I get to read poetry out – always a lovely thing to do (and listen to I find). There are links between flash fiction and poetry in that both focus on specific details, are looking to make impact by the specific choice of words (we think about how they sound when read out etc) , and word count is limited.

BookBrushImage-2024-12-17-20-54

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today so all well there. Looking forward to resuming swimming from tomorrow. Have been poorly but also had car off road so not a great combination of circumstances. All well with car and with me now!

Character Tip: What is it about a character that makes you want to read their story? This is where studying the books you love by other authors is so helpful to you. You can work out what you like and dislike and apply that to your own creations. I know what I dislike in characters so make sure those traits don’t turn up in mine.

470228854_1048610320612162_5919990201627265561_n

Family funeral today so was out early with the dog. Lady will hopefully catch up with her pals properly later this week though she did get to see one of them on our way home (and the two dogs gave each other “muzzle snuggles” – sweet to see).

Writing wise, am busy editing and wrapping up various pieces of work because come next weekend, I know I won’t be getting much writing done!

Author newsletter will go out on 1st January (though I’m not going to promise it will be on the stroke of midnight!). I share news, tips, prompts, story links and more here so if that sounds of interest, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks to all who have signed up to the newsletter this year and to all who continue to support it. Much appreciated.

Newsletter with envelope image

Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Cold but dry. Lady and I have appreciated not getting soaked!

Will be sharing Bridge House Publishing Celebration and Broadcast News for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this coming week. Will also be sharing a free festive story not found elsewhere as part of this. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward to wrapping up the year with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday. Four of us had a story on Hannah Kate’s show yesterday – well done, all.

Character Tip: Actors need to know their motivation, so do your characters. Funnily enough, motivation can be something small (though it would be major to your character). So, for example, a character can be motivated to act in a certain way simply because they want to successfully carry out one petty act of revenge against someone, whereas most of us would just let something like that go.

The motivation has to make sense to your character (and to your reader – we don’t have to agree with it, mind you, and neither do you. I can think of some of my characters whom, if I could meet in real life, I would want to shout at).

470237089_1047000460773148_8564700340279867585_n

Saturday 14th December 2024
Have had a delightful afternoon listening to Three Minute Santas on North Manchester FM with Hannah Kate. A lovely range of 23 stories – loved them all. Well done, everyone, and such a great advert for festive flash fiction, I think. Hope to share a link later (and again in my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week where I’ll also share more from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event).

Writing Tip: I often get ideas for festive flash much earlier in the year so I do just dot them down then and come back and work on them at a later date. Naturally you can do this for other obvious topics (someone is bound to want a love story for February for some reason!).

Basically, when you get the idea write it down. Don’t rely on your remembering it – you won’t. I’ve lost ideas myself in not doing this. Something always comes along to distract you. But once it’s safely noted down in a notebook, or on your phone etc., you do at least know you have something to come back to to work on later.

470211818_1046225867517274_3565332021265457245_n

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Looking forward to an informal Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom tomorrow. It’s a lovely way to wrap up our writing year. We share festive flash pieces, have a good chat, and Christmas hats/jumpers etc are entirely optional!

I won’t be entering any further competitions this year though I was glad to get a couple of flash related ones in at the end of November/early December. Won’t know for a while how they did. Fingers crossed time!

470234076_1048610727278788_2064059401257613518_n

It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Ringing The Changes – Not. There is one person who would love an iced bun with a cherry on it but knows they cannot. Expectations and all that. Find out who and why here.

 

Has been a busy weekend. I suspect the next one will be busier still!

I did love enjoying all those festive flash pieces on Three Minute Santas yesterday – it is a great advert for the form. Many thanks, Hannah Kate. Lovely way to support short form writers.

Am busy enjoying Christmas favourite films at the moment. Watched The Muppet Christmas Carol on Friday and plan to watch The Polar Express soon (Tom Hanks is great in that). Have seen Hogfather.
Definitely time for festive stories – flash or film related!

As for hopes and plans for 2025, I’ve got a few ideas in mind. As ever for this year, I’ve written more than I thought in one direction and not quite finished other items off, though I have made good progress on them – the usual mixed bag! Will be winding down the writing from next weekend for a few days. One thing I look forward to just after Christmas is having more time to read – and I do make the most of that.

470208361_1047001097439751_1631538797759087454_n

The challenge with writing festive flash, in particular, is coming up with a new way at looking at what are familiar stories and legends. For my Perspective, broadcast on Three Minutes Santas on North Manchester FM earlier today, I took the story of the Nativity and showed how it looked through the viewpoint of the oxen, one of whom especially was a bit on the grumpy side. As ever my way in is to find the character I want to write about and then take things from there.

What appeals to me about a potential character? With a grumpy character like my oxen, I can explore why they are grumpy (and often this can lead to humour). But there has to be something in the character for me to be able to draw out.

470176339_1046226350850559_6436406225410843377_n

Goodreads Author Blog – The Reading List

I suspect if ever there is a time of year for the reading list to grow, as if it had been fed with a super speedy fertilizer, it will be the time of year just on Christmas and just afterwards. It’s a nice problem to have though and I hope your reading list grows with lots of interesting new items this year.

Now I admit any book related presents I receive at Christmas do go automatically to the top of my reading list. I think there must be an written rule somewhere that new books do go to the top of the list like that. I tend to top up my Kindle reading list in the New Year (it’s a great way to use any given vouchers etc).

One thing that doesn’t change is the variety I have on my reading list. I like a good balance of the long and short forms, non-fiction as well as fiction. I’m never short of something interesting to read – the thought of that makes me shudder. Just as well there’s no chance of that happening then – and my reading list continues to grow and thrive!

Screenshot 2024-12-14 at 16-30-49 Allison Symes's Blog - The Reading List - December 14 2024 08 30 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Dialogue, finishing Flash NANO, and Competitions

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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. Quiet but lovely one here. Another smashing interview coming up with Wendy H Jones about A Right Cozy Christmas Crime on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Do look out for it. What I love about interviews for CFT is how much useful information is shared other writers can use.

BookBrushImage-2024-12-3-16-5924

Facebook – General

Hope Tuesday has gone well for you. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today and had a lovely time showing off her running skills in front of the dog she considers to be her “mum figure”.

Writing Tip: I’ve mentioned before about recording your stories on something like Zoom and playing them back to hear how they sound. You take in the story as a reader would doing this but I would add I think it is essential when you have plenty of dialogue.

What looks good written down doesn’t always read out well. It doesn’t always sound like natural speech either. Playing the story back will also help you pick up on those ums and ahs we do use in natural speech but which are a turn off in fiction. The odd one or two are fine but you don’t need many of them to convey a character hesitating.

The irony with fictional speech it has to be better than natural speech to keep a reader’s attention.

469151204_1038008648338996_6750821305814293143_n

Hope you have had a good Monday. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal today. Zoomies ensued! The Ridgeback’s owner and I have long experience in getting out of the way of the pair of them when they’re in full running mode like that. Why is it dogs like to play right near their humans mums just like toddlers do!

Writing wise, have had a fantastic weekend. I’d been resting some flash fiction pieces I’d earmarked for competitions. (Taking part in Flash NANO gave me an excellent time period in which to rest them). Worked on said stories, odd amendments only, and have now sent them in, well ahead of their respective deadlines. Have also drafted some blogs for later in the month.

This was all on top of what I’d usually do over the weekend so felt like I got a fair bit done. Will slow down as the month goes on – can’t imagine why!

And it was lovely to catch up with friends and family on Zoom too. Today by contrast has been chaotic but am so glad to be at my desk now. Getting to do any creative work, I find, relaxes me and I’m all for that!

468841003_1037349155071612_8758455932160783035_nAuthor newsletter went out earlier today. The “advantage” in producing a monthly newsletter is it makes it so easy to see just how quickly the year is flying by!

Loved Flash NANO. Enjoyed the prompt variety. My word count for this year came in at around the 8000 words mark as my story word counts were towards the shorter end this time. Having said that, it’s 8000 words I wouldn’t have written otherwise.

Am also getting ever closer to having a potential fourth flash collection in terms of word count though there is much to be done to tighten things up before submission. Have also got other pieces to submit this week (competitions) and another longer term project which I’ve completed, and where I’ve almost got the submission package up together.

So plenty going on behind the scenes, most of which involves flash fiction in some way.

Am delighted Writers’ Narrative is back and I hope you’ve had chance to check it out. Useful for all writers.

468885190_1036411131832081_4146249516002910914_nHope you have had a good day. Quiet one here but lovely. This time next week I will be on my way back from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event – am so looking forward to going to that and catching up with friends old and new.

Writing wise, I’m delighted to say there was a fantastic response to the Flash NANO prompt set on 29th November. It was one I set and it’s been a joy to read what people have made of it. I too had a go at it (if it hadn’t been picked, I was going to save it for something to write up later) and my tale came in at 73 words, my shortest for Flash NANO 2024.

Author newsletter out again tomorrow – where does the time go?

Last but definitely not least, I’m looking forward to sharing a wonderful interview with Wendy H Jones about A Right Cozy Christmas Crime, a recently released short story collection, featuring 13 authors, including Wendy herself. We’ll be discussing the joys of crime fiction in the short form amongst other topics. Link up on Friday.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event on Saturday. Many of the authors get to do some readings and I hope to do so too. It’s a joy to be read to – I love being told a story. I also love sharing some of mine and flash fiction is ideal for this.

Competition News: Friday Flash Fiction are running their Christmas competition at the moment.. You can enter two stories over the two weeks the competition is on. Each story to be 90-100 words and no more. And you do have to include two different words relating to the season in your stories. You use one on one week, the other on the next. You cannot use both words in either or both of your tales. For more details, see the link. Good luck if you have a go!
Screenshot 2024-12-01 at 14-10-07 Christmas Contest Entries - Friday Flash Fiction

It’s Monday. Has been a hectic one for me (have the feeling that won’t slow down until after the 25th!). It’s definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – There’s Red and Then There’s Red.

What does Santa do when Rudolph comes down with a cold with five minutes to go before flying time and the famous red nose has become an infamous one? Find out why and what here.

I know. I can hardly believe we’re into Advent and the final month of the year already. Looking back, I’ve got plenty of writing done. Would still like to do plenty more before this year is out.

Had a lovely time at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting last week. I’ve some exercises from that to tidy up and see if I can submit somewhere plus more to write up. All fun though. When I know I can do something with the character, the words fly and that is how I like it to be. I can tidy up and sharpen later. Have always found this pays off.

Will be taking time off at Christmas as usual. The break is lovely but what is nice is I am always raring to go again by the time I get back to my desk again and I like that too. I do enjoy dropping my characters right in the mire and seeing what they do to get out of it again. Whether my characters like me is a totally different matter!

468869855_1036411951831999_3404817724283799195_n

Can’t believe this is the last day of Flash NANO for 2024 already (30th November). Many thanks to Nancy Stohlman for another great year of interesting prompts. Am I biased because one of mine was chosen? A bit!

But in fairness I have found all of the challenges interesting, some I thought I’m not going to do because I couldn’t see an immediate way in, and others I took to at once. I was expecting that though.

BUT I have got something out of each and every one so I see it as another successful year here. Also 30 new stories written which is always a win!. Am also grateful for feedback received on my stories. Useful and encouraging. Thanks, folks! Probably after Christmas I will go back and look through my drafts and see what can be done with them. I hope to send at least some of them out to competitions.

468955878_1035752951897899_5024008121234976586_n

Goodreads Author Blog – ‘Tis the Season For Books

Couldn’t resist the title for this blog given we are about to go into Advent and then Christmas, of course as I write this on 30th November 2024.

It really is the season to be reading books of course. What is there not to like about being curled up somewhere nice with a good book and a lovely drink of choice (Options hot chocolate, mint or orange flavoured, for me usually) and have a good read?

‘Tis also the season for authors to be out and about selling their wares so if you have an event near you, do go along and support. Your local writers will appreciate it. Another way of support is to leave reviews in the usual places. These don’t have to be long and help writers with their marketing. They’re also encouraged because it is always nice to know you’re being read (and I love this aspect myself).

So ‘tis the season for books then – to read them and to support those who write them. Books are such a fantastic invention and there is something for everyone out there of all ages. I like to mix up my books between genres, long and short form fiction books, and non-fiction.

Whatever you read, I hope you find some cracking new books this season.

Screenshot 2024-11-30 at 17-59-22 Allison Symes's Blog - 'Tis The Season For Books - November 30 2024 09 59 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

So nice to get back to sharing the latest issue of Writers’ Narrative here. Enjoy!

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Out and About

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Janet Williams for the images of me at The Hilt Book Fair.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Managed to prepare lots of draft flash pieces for competitions and other market submissions which I hope to review by the end of this week and either send out or have read to send out by early next week. I can’t rule out my picking up on something when I review but than that is the purpose of the review! Lady has had a lovely time with her two best girlfriends so all is right in their world.

BookBrushImage-2024-11-19-19-5938

Facebook – General

Brrrr…. It has been a chilly one today. No snow but it has tried to sleet off and on all day. Lady didn’t get to see any pals today but she had a good run around. She is rarely fazed by the weather. Me? I am so thankful writing can be done in the warm!

Writing wise, I will be sharing Top Flash Fiction Writing Tips and The Benefits for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Link up on Friday. More author interviews to come on CFT too.

Next newsletter will be out on 1st December – just where has the year gone?

Many thanks to all of my subscribers for your ongoing support. If you would like to sign up to find news, story links, flash fiction and writing tips, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my latest post Out and About. I summarise what I’ve been up to lately writing event wise and celebrate the wonderfully supportive writing community. Hope you enjoy the post.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Getting colder. Not that Lady notices. She’s loved her runs and walks today, as always.

Will be back on Authors Electric tomorrow with a post called Out and About. Am also due to appear on a guest writer spot later this week too. More news on that nearer the time.

Will be getting on with writing various flash fiction pieces shortly. Have got three resting for competition entries, which I hope to review and send towards the end of next week, all being well.

It’s almost festive flash fiction time too. I haven’t written any so far this year. I often have done by now. It’s strange how the ideas can strike during a hot day in July. I just get on and write the story down at that point and review later when this happens. Didn’t happen this year but then it was a funny summer weather wise.

I do love writing festive flash – it’s fun, it’s cheery, and what I think we need as we approach the end of the year so I will enjoy doing this. Maybe the colder weather will also help inspire ideas. Now there’s a thought – put the weather to good use!

467484330_1025967232876471_5581481689536511304_n

Hope you have had a good day. Got a good workout earlier raking up some of the autumn leaves (only some because I ran out of space in my garden waste bin!). Lady was happily watching me with football between her paws.

Will be sharing tips on writing flash fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today next week.

Am busy preparing some flash fiction pieces for competitions at the moment too. So looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event next month too. Also busy preparing various blog pieces which I hope will make appearances in due course.

Writing Tip: Don’t worry if you find you’ve little time to write. Just use those periods to jot down potential ideas for writing/marketing you can follow up on later when you do have more time. I do this a lot and I find it helps because when I do get to my desk with a reasonable amount of time ahead of me, I know what I’m going to be working on immediately. I find I end up getting more done precisely because I’m not dithering.

467188691_1025327889607072_6533115551173299084_n

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Bitterly cold in the UK today. What could you do with weather conditions like that for a flash fiction story? How does your character handle the cold? What do they have to do which they would rather not in those conditions? Could be potential for funny stories there (maybe Grandma’s hated virulent green scarf finally comes into its own!).

467586748_1027513639388497_670546509994034310_nIt’s Monday. It went dark even earlier than normal thanks to bad weather. It’s still Monday. It’s time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Wishing Wisely. Jenny spends a lot of time wishing but is she wishing for the right things? Find out here.

 

I wonder if anyone has written a flash piece about a writer being buried by the books and stories on their desk! If not, maybe I should put my hat in the ring for that one. I never share pictures of my desk on social media. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to see it. I do know where everything is on it though. And I’ve seen pictures of Albert Einstein’s desk when he died. He makes my desk look pristine. It isn’t.

I do know there are story ideas to be followed through on looking at neatness and untidiness. These are traits you could give to two characters – they’re bound to strike sparks of each other here! Could be fun to do. Good luck if you have a go at this.

467242233_1025967762876418_5458513026082236543_n

Every author appreciates reviews and I’m no exception. Appropriately for a flash fiction author, the reviews I’ve received do tend to be short and to the point. This is a quote from one of them for Tripping the Flash Fantastic.

… Allison’s stories always make you stop and think a little – there is something slightly off-centre in the way her characters see the world, and she switches effortlessly from humorous tales to stories with a harder bite. A real treat for readers who enjoy being taken on a mystery tour.

Many thanks to FishLady for that. I particularly liked the slightly off-centre bit – sums me and my writing up well!

Goodreads Author Blog – Story Collections

Naturally as a flash fiction and short story writer, I have a very soft spot indeed for story collections and I would urge you to consider adding these to your Christmas list. (There, I’ve said it! Christmas is indeed coming!).

I find them useful in trying out authors whose work is new to me – if I like their short form work, I am highly likely to love their novels. I also like to read shorter stories in between novels as I like to ensure I read plenty of both types of fiction.

But with my writing hat on, I know some stories simply work best when kept short. The classic fairytales are just one example of this. Simply wouldn’t work as novels in my view. Jesus’s parables and Aesop’s Fables again work best and are remembered better precisely because they are short.

What has been a joy in putting my own flash collections together is in being able to share a wide range of stories in terms of mood, word count length, and so on, It is a great opportunity to show what flash fiction is and can be.

It’s also been a joy to contribute to the longer short story anthologies too and I always consider it a real compliment when my work is included in any of these. I also love reading the other stories in there. The variety of styles is always amazing.

I am also fond of short stories by authors far better known for their novels. P.G. Wodehouse and Agatha Christie both had excellent short story collections and I have these on my shelves along with their more famous longer length works. Love them all.

Screenshot 2024-11-16 at 19-50-15 Allison Symes's Blog - Story Collections - November 16 2024 11 48 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the January/February 2024 bumper edition of the magazine. I look at New Beginnings for Characters and also ask Flash Fiction Romance – Is It Possible?

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Author Interview Part 2 – Debz Hobbs-Wyatt – If Crows Could Talk and Flash NANO 2024

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as is one of the photos from the Book Fair. The image of me signing books there was taken by my lovely CFT editor, Janet Williams.
Hope you have had a good few days. Looking forward to listening to Pet Classics on Classic FM soon – it does help against the noise of the fireworks. Lady isn’t so much scared, more annoyed by fireworks especially the louder ones though the pain there is it means she finds it hard to settle. I wish people would use the silent ones and have done.
Writing wise, it is a joy to welcome back Debz Hobbs-Wyatt to Chandler’s Ford Today and I’m glad to say I will have more author interviews coming up too. Plenty to look forward to then. And Flash NANO 2024 has started too!

BookBrushImage-2024-11-1-19-3221

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am so pleased to welcome back Debz Hobbs-Wyatt to Chandler’s Ford Today for the second half of a superb interview re her If Crows Could Talk. As well as discussing her novel, Debz shares so much useful advice which will be of use to all writers so do have a good read!

Tonight, Debz discusses drafts, editing, marketing, her favourite aspects of storytelling and so much more. Hope you enjoy the post (and if you missed Part 1, fear not, there is a link to it at the bottom of this interview).

Separately, Flash NANO has started – hooray – and I look forward to having a crack at the first prompt later this evening. Also author newsletter went out earlier. Busy but productive day and Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal and the lovely Coco, the Labradoodle, so Lady feels her day has been a good one too.

Author Interview – Debz Hobbs-Wyatt – If Crows Could Talk – Part 2

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Screenshot 2024-11-01 at 10-08-47 Allison Symes - November 2024 - Writing Prompts and Flash NANODon’t forget I’ll be sharing the second half of a superb interview with Debs Hobbs-Wyatt on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. She’ll be discussing her If Crows Could Talk but shares so much useful advice, it doesn’t matter where you are on your writing journey you will find it useful. Be sure to check it out – link up tomorrow. See above.

Author newsletter also out tomorrow and Flash NANO begins, hooray! Looking forward also to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event in December. Writers’ Narrative will be back soon too so plenty to look forward to as the year winds down. Where has the time gone?

Character Tip: I sometimes find it useful to work out a character’s negative traits. If someone is honest, my character will be so to the point of rudeness and a story idea will begin to form from that. If they tend to be pessimistic I may throw them in a situation where they have to find reasons to be more optimistic for once – that being the only way to get out of their situation. What will my character do to achieve this? I want to have fun finding that out and I would hope a reader would too.

465375227_10162381784652053_5917200654278089722_nHope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today. Good time had by all. It’s their rule to always have a good time and to be fair they do stick to it!

Don’t forget Part 2 of a wonderful interview with Debz Hobbs-Wyatt about her If Crows Could Talk is on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Be sure to not miss it as Debz shares much useful advice which will benefit so many writers. See above.

The following week is when I am planning to review the recently performed I’ll Be Back Before Midnight so wonderfully staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group. One joy of going to their shows is it introduces me to a whole wealth of stories (as plays) I would not otherwise have come across.

There will be more author interviews to come before the year’s out on Chandler’s Ford Today and I am looking forward to sharing these as and when.

Writing Prompt: You can ask one of your characters one question only which they must answer truthfully (nor can they leave anything out). What would be your question? Find out what the answer reveals. I strongly suspect you’ll end up with a good story outline at the least answering this one. Happy writing!

465014492_1012087164264478_4545777133235619001_n

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s Friday. Somehow it is November. Time for a story then. Glad to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest Random Objects. Even magical parents have issues with their offspring human parents will understand only too well. Find out one of those issues here. Hope you enjoy it.

Screenshot 2024-11-01 at 10-05-10 Random Objects by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Hope you have had a good day. No pals out for Lady to play with today so she had to put up with me!

Author newsletter out again tomorrow and, of course, Flash NANO kicks off. Good luck if you’re taking part. Unless the prompt is to a specific word count, I don’t worry about this aspect at all. Some of my stories end up at 100 words or fewer, some at 250 words or more and most somewhere in between. All will need polishing up later. But that’s fine. I will hopefully have 30 new drafts to look at in December!

What I am hoping for will be the kinds of prompts I know and love and others which are new to me but which I find to be great fun! Will keep you posted.

465057639_10162381786702053_8180788368835822851_n

Two days to go until Flash NANO starts. Yes, I am keen, fancy you noticing!

What I especially like here is not knowing what prompts will come up and then just seeing what I can do with them. I know I’ll get something from them. The polishing can happen later. I am hoping to use at least two of these prompts for competitions I’ve got in mind.

Those will be the two stories I won’t share on the supportive Flash NANO Facebook page! Some places don’t allow you to send in anything which has been published elsewhere, even on your own website, so I play safe here and ensure anything I want to submit anywhere does not go elsewhere at all. Easiest thing to do. Can’t go wrong with that.

465050430_1012087677597760_5358167067137660514_n

Fairytales with Bite – Magical Fireworks

I’m not keen on fireworks, being a dog owner, but have enjoyed them when they turn up in fantasy fiction. My two favourite examples are:-

The Lord of the Rings – Gandalf has a supreme talent for fireworks, does he not? The book conjured up wonderful images in my head. The films brought those images to life spectacularly.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – I always was fond of Fred and George Weasley but my favourite scene of theirs for me has to be when they unleash their fireworks and the dragon one goes after the odious Dolores Umbridge. (Played almost too well by Imelda Staunton, I thought). And I loved that bit where Professor Flitwick shows his approval of the Weasleys’s antics and then realises he shouldn’t. Very funny. Suspect Warwick Davis enjoyed that bit, it certainly come across that way.

But there can be metaphorical fireworks of course. So what kind of magical metaphorical fireworks would your characters (a) set off or (b) do their best to avoid setting off but somehow don’t manage it? What are the consequences of these things? There would be consequences! Funny ones maybe or deadly serious? The choice is yours.

BookBrushImage-2024-11-1-20-558

This World and Others – Intelligent Beings

I suspect if we had a group discussion on what counted as intelligent beings, there would be many who would put a question mark against humans. They would point to what we’ve done to the planet, our warlike tendencies and so on. As a dog owner, I know when dogs squabble, it is over something specific and usually easily dealt with. Dogs generally don’t hold grudges either. Hmm…

But then there would be others who would point out to our amazing creative skills ranging across a huge range of disciplines. I’ve got every sympathy here. It does take intelligence to want to create something lovely such as a painting, piece of music, or a story.

Okay, let’s move that group discussion out of our own solar system. If others from worlds way beyond us were to look down on us, would they consider we were intelligent beings or not?

And if we went exploring, what kinds of being would we come across? How would we evaluate their intelligence? What would happen if we got this wrong? We could get it wrong in two different ways here. What would the consequences be and what intelligence would we use to rectify matters?

BookBrushImage-2024-11-1-20-946

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Back to the September 2023 edition of the magazine this time with its ever timely topic – marketing. I have two pieces in this one – Marketing Your Books and Writing For Online Magazines.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner (2)

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Author Interview: Behind The Curtain with Anita D Hunt

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Anita D Hunt and Lynsey Adams for pictures supplied for the Chandler’s Ford Today post this week.
Hope you have had a good few days. Torrential rain and brief spells of sunshine here. Hoping it brightens up for the weekend as have a family event. Writing wise, have more superb author interviews coming up on Chandler’s Ford Today in October. Will say more nearer the time though I find it hard to believe we’re almost at the tenth month of the year already! Where has the time gone?

BookBrushImage-2024-9-27-18-5850

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

As part of her blog tour, I am delighted to welcome fellow Swanwicker, Anita D Hunt, to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her new domestic noir novel, Behind The Curtain.

Anita shares many useful tips and plenty of great advice in this in depth interview, in which she also discusses how it can be painful getting inside your characters’ heads at times and what to look for in a writing group.

She looks at what she likes about creating characters and how Cornwall, her home county, plays a major part in her work. She discusses themes and shares an invaluable tip about writing blurbs. Do check out the interview and settle down for a riveting read.

Behind The Curtain with Anita D Hunt

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Glad to say the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom last night went well. The theme was marketing (many thanks to Rosemary Johnson for suggesting it) and I shared a few ways flash fiction can help with this.

If nothing else, sharing flash fiction stories every now and again can act as a marvellous advert for the rest of what you do. It doesn’t take long to read, it entertains potential/actual readers, and it showcases you/your work. Nothing to dislike there, I think.

And talking of marketing, it’s time for me to put in my usual end of month reminder about my author newsletter. The next one goes out on 1st October and I share stories, tips, advice (based on what I’ve found useful myself), news etc. If interested do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com where you can sign up. A huge thank you too to all of my subscribers here and on my YouTube channel.

Thought for Today: Every writer has their fair share of rejections, not doing well in competitions etc, but there’s nothing to stop you revisiting your old work, seeing if you can polish it up and get it out somewhere else. I’ve had work published that way.

Sometimes I will review a piece and with the benefit of time and that useless aid, hindsight (I would far rather have the ability to spot something wrong at the time I’m working on a piece and see my mistakes before I send anything out!), I can see why a piece failed but even that can be useful because I’ve learned from it.

So maybe hindsight isn’t so useless after all. I would still prefer foresight or at the time sight though! Suspect most of us would.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady has had a smashing one given she got to play with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today. I’ve managed to avoid most of the rain today too so will take that as a win.

Don’t forget I’ll be talking to Anita D Hunt about her domestic noir novel, Behind The Curtain, on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. The interview is packed full of useful tips and advice too so do look out for it. See above. Glad to say there will be more author interviews to come on CFT in October too.

Writing Tip: I know some writers dread marketing and would far rather focus on writing. I understand that but there are creative aspects to marketing your stories too. After all the challenge here is to make what you have to say here about your work interesting and appealing to readers and not switch them off. (Saying buy my book all the time does do precisely that).

I’ve found if I can make the marketing fun for me to do it is more likely to be appealing to a reader. Sharing something of interest and/or value to readers/writers as I discuss what I’m up to writing wise is also marketing. I think it is more likely I can keep this kind of marketing going too.

My aim with posts like this one then is to have a chatty informative style, while sharing useful tips and something like oh by the way my newsletter is out soon, if you want to sign up head over to etc etc. I take the view if it is something I wouldn’t mind reading if I were on the receiving end, other readers (or at least some) will take the same view.

So work out then what you like to see in marketing you receive. Figuring out what works for you as a reader will help you come up with material based on your work you won’t mind sharing with your readers (and they won’t mind it either). The focus has to be on engagement, I think. Stories about your writing life work well too.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s Friday, end of the week time, weather iffy so definitely time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – The Old Bat and The Cookie Tin. Think I’ve found a contender for one of my all time favourite titles!

Screenshot 2024-09-27 at 10-09-12 The Old Bat and The Cookie Tin by Allison Symes - Friday Flash FictionHope you’ve had a good day. Lady didn’t get to see any of her pals today though she hopefully will tomorrow. Have a family event at the weekend. Lady loves these because (a) she loves people, (b) she loves getting extra food and getting to be an outside Hoover, and (c) she loves playing with the visiting dog, with whom she gets on brilliantly. Am expecting Lady to be shattered on Saturday night. She was last time but happily so!

Looking forward to the local Book Fair in October and literally the week before the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering event. I shall be off to Rugby for that one and will be back to London in December for the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event. Lots going on all connected with writing and I plan to enjoy every minute! I also get to spread the word about flash fiction of course.

Prompt Idea: Events mean different things to different people so why not invent one for a character of yours and show what they make of it? Do they organise it? Do they love it? Do they dread it? What happens at this event which changes things for them?

461332721_10162283069397053_7196259478840081979_nI’ve mentioned before the importance of using the right telling details to help your readers picture your world/setting/character/any combination of those. In my The Terrified Dragon (Tripping The Flash Fantastic), I start with the line The dragon was surrounded by angry humans with weapons and realised to his dismay he was supposed to blast them all away.

Note I haven’t told you what those weapons were as that isn’t the important thing. What you need to know is the main character is a dragon who has got into trouble (which is odd in itself given dragons are usually the cause of fire-related trouble!). You need to know about the angry humans (and you don’t need telling why they’re angry given a dragon turning up is seldom good news).

But you also see something of the dragon’s attitude. He knows what he is meant to do but is strangely reluctant to do it. There is something strange about this creature. Only way to find out what is to read on. Job done.

I’ve always found it useful to figure out what a reader has to know and then decide how I am going to plant those things in the story. When I’ve outlined my character well enough, I can see how the story will develop and where those things should go. It will arise naturally, which is what you want.

BB - Flash with a Dash for TTFF

Fairytales with Bite – Flying Around

Now I know I moan about traffic in my area – I suspect most of us do – but what would this traffic look like in a magical world? How is the Eye in the Sky supposed to work when all around them are flying on broomsticks and other magical craft?

Would there be speed limits? Would there be corridors magical flying beings are supposed to stick to (if only to give the wildlife a half decent chance of being able to fly anywhere in safety? I feel sorry for birds in magical worlds. In any other kind of world the skies would be theirs. Not in this kind of environment it isn’t!).

Now we all know there are certain kinds of car driver (usually with specific brands of vehicle too) who are notorious for tailgating, jumping traffic lights, being awful at junctions etc. What would the magical equivalent of these things be in your setting? How is flying traffic controlled or is it a free for all and it is assumed the fittest/fastest/strongest survive and it’s tough luck on the others? What are the accident rates?

Are the state of the skies in your setting better than they used to be or worse? Can any magical being fly? Are the “vehicles” restricted to certain speeds?

You could have some funny stories here about the magical traffic cop and how they rein in anyone who breaks the rules here. I once wrote a festive flash piece where such a character tried to pull Santa over for speeding! Great fun to write.

BookBrushImage-2024-9-27-19-3546

This World and Others – Policing the Skies

Linking in with Fairytales with Bite, who does police the skies? How seriously or otherwise is this role taken? Does it get the support of the general public or it is looked down on? Are there any perceptions that certain flyers (e.g. witches and wizards) get away with traffic faults and other more lowly kinds (such as the trainee fairies etc) do not?

Who does control the skies in your setting and how do they do it? We consider keeping control of our own air space as vital to our defences (as proven by the Battle of Britain in World War Two) so I would assume your setting’s government would take the same view.

Who would they need to defend their skies against? What is the history behind that? What is the history behind how your government does police the skies? What have they found works well and what less so?

I quite like the idea of a traffic cop on a broomstick with a flashing blue light pulling over other magical beings for speeding etc. What punishments can be given? How are other magical beings stopped from avoiding these and/or giving the cop a hard time?

Story ideas here (and possibly funny ones too).

BookBrushImage-2024-9-27-19-4222

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Since marketing has come into this round up tonight, I thought I’d share the link to the September 2023 edition of the magazine given it has marketing as its theme. I have two pieces in here – Marketing Your Books and Writing For Online Magazines.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Music, Character Tips, and Flash Fiction News

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for the image of me at Swanwick 2023 above.
Hope you have had a good weekend. It was the last summer bank holiday in most of the UK. Weather got better as it went on, which was nice. Lady doesn’t understand bank holidays though. Misses her friends given normal routines tend to get dropped including by us. Writing wise, I was glad to have received a commended for my story, Demanded, in the recent Friday Flash Fiction competition. Am resting another story for another competition. Hope to submit that over this weekend.

BookBrushImage-2024-8-27-20-1358

Facebook – General

Hope you have a good day. Bank holiday weeks always feel a bit odd, as if you’re missing a day or are a day out somehow.

Pleased to say Friday Flash Fiction is now open again for submissions. Have just send a story in. Have another story I want to send in for a competition later this week. Plus Hannah Kate is putting out calls for stories for her Autumn Equinox show on North Manchester FM again. Many thanks to Jenny Sanders for flagging that one up. Do follow the link for more details.

Now this is one area where I do always use Zoom to record my stories because I want to make sure my tales do come in at under Hannah’s timing limit and it is the best way I know of doing just that. Good luck if you are having a go at sending something in. Hope to have a crack at this myself later in the week.

Autumn Equinox Stories Wanted for Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

Screenshot 2024-08-27 at 19-52-56 Autumn Equinox Stories Wanted for Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM - Hannah KateHope you’ve had a good Monday (and made the most of the bank holiday if that applied). I’ve enjoyed listening to Classic FM’s Movie Hall of Fame today (26th August 2024) where they counted down the top 100 film themes voted for by listeners.

I voted for The Lord of the Rings soundtrack and was pleased that hit the top spot again. Epic book, epic film, epic soundtrack. Classic stories stay with you, as does classic music. I can’t say a specific piece of music has ever inspired me to write a story but maybe I should try that sometime. It would be a sound prompt!

Character Tip: What kind of music does your character like most and why? Is it something they’ve always loved or something they developed a taste for (the latter is the case for me with classical)? Do they find music helps them to unwind and what would they need to unwind from? I’m sure there are story ideas there!

457214661_10162170743762053_2434117636414299628_nHope you’re having a good Sunday. Lovely service this morning. Quiet day the rest of the day. Just what the doctor ordered etc.

Don’t forget my author newsletter is out again next week. I share news, tips, story links and much else. If that is of interest please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Also, many thanks to those who signed up to the newsletter at Swanwick recently.

I outline my characters but never use all of the information I trigger doing this in the story itself. What it does do is give me enough information to be able to write my characters with conviction. I know what they’re going to be doing and why, so away I go on my first draft. I know I need to know my characters well enough to be able to drop them right in it in whatever situation I choose and that is so much fun!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Many congratulations to Tom Baldwin who won the Friday Flash Fiction competition with his story, Wedding Day. Congratulations also to the runners-up and those who were Highly Commended and Commended. I was delighted to find my tale, Demanded, is one of the Commended ones. Nice start to the long weekend!

I’ll be discussing Random Generators for Chandler’s Ford Today on 30th August. I use these often because I am always looking for ways into creating story and/or character ideas. I use a variety of these things and have found them all useful. Link up on Friday.

A huge thanks for the great response to yesterday’s CFT post about Swanwick. (Am already looking forward to Swanwick 2025).

Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 09-38-35 Demanded by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

May I welcome all who have subscribed to my YouTube channel, especially since I see the numbers have gone up. Welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy the stories I share here. If you’re interested in subscribing, just follow the link.

I usually put a new story up on Mondays. It’s good fun to do. I use Book Brush for creating the video – lovely and easy to do too. Having my own channel makes for a nice, visual media addition to my marketing and I also use it to advertise flash fiction and all it can be.

Screenshot 2024-08-27 at 19-56-34 Allison Symes - YouTube

It’s Monday. Okay for a lot of the UK it is the summer bank holiday but it is still Monday when all is said and done. Time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Perfect Timing.

 

F= Fun format to write for and it helps you to learn to write tightly and to not fear editing.

L = Less is more is the anthem for flash fiction writers – you have to be selective as to what you show a reader.

A = And if you like creating characters, as I do, this is the form for you as you need loads of them!

S = Succinct storytelling, giving readers only what they need to know and allowing them to infer plenty for themselves.

H = Has various divisions – the dribble (50 worders), the drabble (100 words), micro (usually under 300 words), plus the 500 and 750 word forms – there will be at least one to suit you.

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

Not a great day to be out and about here – has chucked it down for most of the day. Not that this worries Lady. She dries quickly. It is a good day to be indoors writing and reading though!

I like to be inside my characters’ heads for all of my fictional work. I have got to understand where they’re coming from, even though often I don’t approve of their actions and attitudes at all. One huge advantage to outlining a character is you do get to understand them. I’ve found it helps me to portray them realistically, even if they’re a fantasy creature.

In my Time for Some Peace (Tripping the Flash Fantastic) I write this from a mother dragon’s viewpoint and her actions are understandable based on what I’ve shown you about her. But I outlined that bit in a line or two before I wrote the story up.

Goodreads Author Blog – Next on the TBR Pile

Working out what to read next is probably the reader’s most difficult dilemma though it is a lovely one to have. I mix up reading novels with short story and flash fiction collections. I also mix up the genres I read. I also like to mix up the mood of what I read. I also mix up reading classic and contemporary.

At the moment I’m happily reading some of P.G.Wodehouse’s works as I want a lighthearted read. Am loving getting into the stories of Jeeves and Wooster again. Am currently reading Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen and I was delighted to come across a reference to Blandings Castle, the scene of some of my favourite Wodehouse stories with the lovely Lord Emsworth and the wonderful Uncle Fred.

Not just here but in series books, I love those little “nods” to other places the author writes about. I see this a lot in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld too. In the fabulous Maskerade (a spoof of opera and The Phantom of the Opera especially), the Lancre witches come to Ankh-Morpork where so many of the other Discworld novels are set. I love links like that and often I will find my dilemma about what to read next is solved because having read Maskerade again, for example, I wold probably go on to re-read one of the Sam Vimes books, the common link here being that fabulous fantasy city.

Screenshot 2024-08-24 at 17-57-56 Allison Symes's Blog - Next on the TBR Pile - August 24 2024 09 57 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time, I share the first edition of the magazine – the August 2024 one. I talked about Boost Your Writing With Flash Fiction. Now that will be a topic which will always be close to my heart, pen, laptop etc!

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.