Tag: author reviews

Review – The Chameleon Theatre Company – I’ll Be Back Before Midnight

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Janet Williams for taking the image of me at The Hilt Book Fair and to Adrian Symes for taking the image of me holding The Best of CafeLit 13.  A huge thank you to the lovely folk at The Chameleon Theatre Company for kind permission to use their photos in my Chandler’s Ford Today post reviewing their recently performed I’ll Be Back Before Midnight.
Hope you have had a good week so far. Not bad here. Delighted to share my review of I’ll Be Back Before Midnight recently performed by The Chameleon Theatre Company for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Plays are another way of taking in stories and I have discovered many fantastic ones going to see the various shows The Chameleons have put on over the years. It will be panto time for them next – oh yes, it will be!
Am busy with Flash NANO and preparing separate flash pieces for competitions plus there will be further author interviews to come on CFT. Still with the weather being dark, murky and damp, I am so thankful writing is something which is generally done indoors! It is no hardship to sit at my desk in a nice warm room!

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Lady had a smashing day today in she got to see her Hungarian Vizler friend and then play with Coco, her young Labradoodle pal. Damp, dull, and murky weather again today though.

Delighted to share my review of I’ll Be Back Before Midnight, recently performed by The Chameleon Theatre Company as my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. One of the joys of my involvement with CFT has been discovering my local amateur theatre company.

I review the performance and the play itself (so if you get a chance to see it elsewhere, please do. I haven’t given too much away, just enough of a flavour for you to get a good idea that this is a cracking thriller, well worth seeing).

Hope you enjoy the post and well done to the splendid Chameleons for a fantastic performance. They also build their own sets. The work they did for this one was amazing and their lighting/sound crew were brilliant, adding so much to this play.

Review – The Chameleon Theatre Company – I’ll Be Back Before Midnight

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My review of I’ll Be Be Back Before Midnight recently staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. Do check it out. See above.

As well as reviewing the performance, I take a look at the play itself and this one has a fabulous storyline which kept me on the edge of my set all evening.

One of the joys of loving stories, writing, reading, or watching them (as plays), is you do get to learn how stories work. You take this in as you read, watch or listen, I find. And all of that you can apply to your own writing. It does mean when I go to see a show, especially a thriller like Midnight,

I am looking out for what I think might be red herrings, bluffs etc. It is a joy when I spot them but it is an even better one when I am wrong footed. For a book, I will then go back through and see how the author managed to do that. So much to learn here. It is a pleasure to do it too.

 

Hope you have had a lovely day. Lady is having a tremendous week in that she played with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals again. Sadly though her Chuckit ball thrower broke (the ball holder end sheered off!) but fortunately we have a spare. Have had the thing for years and it does get a lot of heavy duty usage so fair wear and tear here. Lady has more than tested it!

I’ll be sharing my review of I’ll Be Back Before Midnight recently staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Looking forward to sharing that. The play had a fabulous storyline. More later in the week. See above.

Am cracking on with Flash NANO 2024.Will be tackling Day 6’s prompt shortly.

Writing Tip: If you outline your characters (as I do, even if you outline briefly), give some thought as to their vocabulary. What kinds of words would they use? Which would they never use? How does their educational background feed into this?

You can tell a lot about a character from what they say and think. When editing, just ensure there is consistency here and also ask yourself if readers can tell characters apart just on the grounds of how they speak. They should be able to do so.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Okay. When a friend rings you to find out how you are after a divorce, what answer would you give? Find out what Beth says to Jenny here – and that all is not as it might seem.
Screenshot 2024-11-08 at 10-00-38 Okay by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction


Looking forward to having a go at Flash NANO’s Day 7 prompt later. Again it is so different from all of the others so far. This is the joy of this challenge – not knowing what is coming and having a go at as many prompts as I can manage.

I know I’m going to be late with one over the weekend as I have a family do happening (Lady will love the company and the food!) but I will catch up and enjoy doing so. My word count so far has varied but it always does for this.

I would like to see if I could write a 50 worder (aka a dribble) at some point over November for this. Didn’t manage it last year (the lowest word count was a 30 word exactly tale).

Am also preparing separately three flash pieces for competitions which I want to have out by early December. So plenty going on with the flash fiction right now.

Less is More is the theme for flash fiction writersNow I’m sure the thought of a certain event in December is not too far from your minds and there is one simple thing you can do to cheer up any author – well two actually.

One is obviously to buy their books. The other is to leave a review. Reviews don’t have to be long but every single one helps a build the author’s profile with Amazon. I’ve had some lovely reviews for From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic though more are always welcome – neither is there a use buy date on these things!

You can check out my works (and the anthologies I’ve been in including the recent The Best of CafeLit 13) via my Amazon Author Central Page at https://author.to/AllisonSymesAuthorCent

Aptly my reviews are on the short side but this is right for flash fiction books, yes?!

Flash with Amazon and Barnes and Noble

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Fairytales with Bite – Getting in the Way

Who or what gets in the way of your magical creations achieving their ambitions? Are their own powers limited? Is there an overriding authority who controls what being can do what kind of magic and how is that policed, if so? There is always someone who wants to break the rules. Can your characters get in their own way where ambition is dwarfed by their lack of competence? (There would be some funny tales to be written there).

When something or someone gets in the way, how does your character react to this? What do they do to try and overcome the problem? Do they succeed or only make things worse (again potential for humour there)?

Fairy godmothers often put something in the way of a being they’re punishing, something they have to achieve. (In the case of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast he has to win love from Belle to be set free. He has to make the effort here). So having something getting in the way isn’t always a bad thing and you can capitalize on that for your characters.

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This World and Others – Who Obeys Whom?

In your magical setting, who lays down the rules? Who decides who has what magical powers? If these things are a species issue given at birth, how did these originate? What are the limits? Overall, who controls the use of magic and how did that come about? (The reason why is obvious – to prevent chaos and to give more beings a chance of surviving).

Is your system of government a monarchy, a republic, or something else entirely (such as a ruling Council)? What are the consequences of not obeying the top beings here?

Can your beings make progress and develop further magical powers if they “fit in with the system”? Are they rewarded for being obedient? Or is it a case they have little choice but to obey if they wish to see the end of the day alive and in one piece?

Can reforms happen and if so, when were the last ones done and why? What struggles did the beings concerned have to overcome to get these reforms through? You can learn so much from history here and it can inspire many tales. I understand Game of Thrones by George R R Martin is inspired by the UK’s War of the Roses in the medieval period.

Has your system moved away from a “might is right” attitude, having learned its lessons from its own bloody history?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the June 2024 magazine which was based on the theme of poetry. I look at the links between flash fiction writing and poetry in this one. There are more than you might think.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Writing Tips, Course News, and Finding Blog Ideas

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick (taken in much warmer times – last August!). Many thanks to Julia Pattison for taking the publicity shot of me at my editing workshop at August 2023’s Swanwick too.
Hope you have had a good few days. Good weekend writing wise and one of my stories submitted over it will be published soon. More details in a future post. Plus I do have news to share of a two part course I will be running later this year. Good start to 2024! Lady continuing to have fabulous times with her best friends so she thinks she’s got off to a good start for 2024 as well.

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Facebook – General

Brrr… it has been a tad on the nippy side today. Wearing enough layers to act as my own buoyancy aid should the need arise. Hope you have had a good day (and do keep safe. No snow here. Know it has fallen heavily elsewhere).

Will be sharing advice and tips in Newsletter Tips for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Talking of which my next one will be out on 1st February. To sign up please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

A huge thank you for the kind comments on my post yesterday where I shared news about the course I’ll be running at Swanwick later this year. Much appreciated. Looking forward to August already – mind you, the cold snap here encourages that feeling!

Writing Tip: Finding ideas for blogs such as Chandler’s Ford Today, Authors Electric, More than Writers etc is something I have to do a lot obviously but a good way in to this is to look at what interests you as a reader and as a writer because you won’t be the only one interested in those themes.

Some of the topics I write about are based on what I have found out on my writing journey and would be useful to share. My Newsletter Tips post this week comes into that category. Sometimes I write about books. Sometimes I use seasonal topics (for example, I always write something about the importance of remembering in November).

Occasionally I will use the random generators – especially the question one – to trigger ideas. I looked up one for this post and what came up was Who inspires you to be better? Now that’s a fabulous question and the answer to it would make for a great blog (Allison, do note this one for yourself at some point!).

Course News

Thrilled to say I will be running a two part course at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, in August. My topic will be Hints and Tips on Editing. So looking forward to this and to being at Swanwick once more. For me, if there is a home for writers so to speak, Swanwick is it. Lovely start to 2024 too.

For more details on Swanwick, see the link. Writing Magazine, in conjunction with the School, are running a Win Your Way to Swanwick competition. You have to the end of March 2024 on this one and there are three categories – short stories, poetry, and writing for children. See the Writing Magazine link for more information.

Nice start to the week and pleased to say another story of mine will be on CafeLit next week. Heard today on that one. More details and link to come in due course.

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A good writing exercise is to take a character and put them in different word count stories – for example, 100 words, 200 words, 300 words etc. You can either take the same basic story and extend it (without padding of course) or, as I prefer to do, put the character in a short sharp 100-worder, then put them in different situations for the longer flashes. Three different stories but with one character. Well worth a go and is an interesting challenge especially if you go for the different situations scenario.

And of course you choose how many you do. I’ve prepared something recently on this for the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Group meeting and I went for one character, two different stories but you can do as many as you like. So if you have a character you really want to spend more time with then this is a way to do so.

419744417_809669697839560_6894645829121530112_nHope you have had a good day. Still pretty cold. Will be looking at Newsletter Tips for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Link up on Friday.

It was a joy to welcome back Val Penny on yesterday’s post New Year New Writing Format for Val Penny. Always glad to welcome someone to the short story and flash fiction worlds!

Writing Tip: Think about what it is you love about stories and characters. Is it the way the author has used select details to reveal more about them or the way they speak? Is it the way the story “comes together” for a satisfying resolution?

Look at how the story starts, look out for the tipping point roughly in the middle, heading to the resolution/conclusion. (The latter are often combined). Look at how the writer has ended their story in what is the right place (or what you think, because you love the story, is the right place).

Working out when to end a story can be tricky. It can be tempting to add in just that bit more, especially if you adore the characters, but you want to look for an ending which leaves the reader feeling no more could be said or should be. And a great way to work out what that could be is to see what other authors have done – yet another great reason to get more reading done!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have kept warm today. Brrr… it’s bitter out there. Lady ran around as normal. No problems with her keeping warm.

What is it you like most about stories of any length or genre? For me, the characters have to interest me enough to make me want to read to find out what they get up to and that usually happens if they’re facing dilemmas that have to be solved, one way or another.

I have a soft spot for humorous works where the resolution to the dilemmas faced by the characters usually provide a good laugh. Would love to see humorous fiction and non-fiction appreciated more than it is. We could do with more to laugh about, yes?

Flash can come into its own for humorous stories. I often end a humorous flash with a punchline ending. The form’s brevity makes this the perfect way to end a story. You leave the reader on a high note. Nothing to dislike there!

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It’s Monday. It’s January. It’s freezing. Time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Toppings. Find out what happens when a trainee fairy loses a magical duel and where hats come into it all.

 

I usually write a flash fiction story for Friday Flash Fiction and then another for my YouTube channel afterwards. Sometimes I take the same topic but take it in contrasting directions. So if one story is a “dark” one, the other will be lighter. I like doing that.

Most topics/themes are suitable for working with like that. I don’t write on the topics/themes which, for good reason, can only be grim. I see my role as writer to be one of someone trying to entertain so there are some topics I don’t touch. But there are plenty of other ideas to write up and that is where I focus.

Sometimes I keep the mood for my flash pieces the same but go for two different topics/themes. All good fun to do! And I like to mix up how I approach writing the stories. Sometimes I use random generators (and there are so many of these to choose from you are not going to run out, honestly!), or pick a proverb to use as a theme/title. Sometimes a film or book I like inspires me.

It is the getting started on ideas for stories that can be tricky at times so it pays to have a variety of methods to play with.

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Reviews are what every author would like and find difficult to get but please consider giving a review. They don’t have to be long. And an author can use a review or parts of it to help with their marketing, which in turn can help with book sales and visibility on Amazon etc. Also a bit of encouragement goes a long way when you’re at your desk writing away.

For example, part of a lovely review I had for Tripping the Flash Fantastic reads The storytelling was beautiful in so few words which takes the talent and skill of a practiced author.

Lovely and unexpected and a real boost to yours truly.

I do give reviews myself – mainly on books though I do sometimes on groceries etc. I find you can get a good “feel” for whether something is likely to suit you or not by reading the reviews. If the majority are favourable, they’re likely to be right.

Same goes other way round (and am glad to say I’ve never come across this one with books. I have come across it with grocery items at times – what do I do here? Avoid said product!).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Making History Gripping

Making history gripping is something that applies to fiction and non-fiction. Given a writer is telling the story of something that has happened or a biography of a historical figure, it should be gripping to read. History is so full of drama and vivid characters, it should catch the reader’s attention and hold it until we get to the end.

Am currently reading historical non-fiction and loving it. Hope to review in due course but what I love about this particular book is the way in which evidence is presented for the case the author is making. It shows the facts and resources used and you just have to read on to find out what will be uncovered next.

I also love creative non-fiction here as history often comes up in this. Creative non-fiction can give a kind of licence to fill in the gaps where facts are not known but it has to be done in context with what is known. A reader has to feel that this is plausible given what is known.

I enjoy history in hardback, paperback, and the Kindle and am glad to see there are so many ways to approach what, for me at least, is an engrossing topic. I’ve also enjoyed historical romance (The Warrior’s Prize by Jennifer C Wilson because this showed me aspects of history for an era I didn’t know much about as well as having a great romance story with it. I will declare I do know the author but I liked the book because it showed me aspects of border life back in medieval times which was an area of history I haven’t really explored).

So even if you like “just stories”, history can meet a need here too. Why not check out historical fiction? It will show you history as you’ve not seen it before. I learned a lot about King John from reading The Lady of Hay.

Screenshot 2024-01-13 at 20-00-55 Making History Gripping

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Review: Pinocchio – The Chameleon Theatre Group – Pantomime and Potential

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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.
A huge thank you to The Chameleon Theatre Group for kind permission to use their photos in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week reviewing their performance of Pinocchio. Did I have a good time at the pantomime recently ? Oh yes I did! More below.

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to share my review of Pinocchio, the latest production staged by the Chameleon Theatre Group. I also take a look at some of the traditions of pantomime and the theme of this one. I review the performance, nominate my costume of the show (a first for me when it comes to reviewing shows but it was an outstanding costume – see what you think), and discuss whether this role is the only one where an actor is expected to “act wooden”.

I also flag up The Chameleons’ next performance in April, which will be a series of three plays. As ever, a big thank you to them for providing the photos.

And if you’re not in my part of the world, do take the time to check out your local theatre groups. Expect to find gems. I’ve lived where I do for thirty years but have only known about The Chameleons over the last few years. And I would say taking in shows like this one is another way of taking in stories – you’re hearing them and watching them being acted out. It’s a hugely enjoyable experience too.

Do check out the post on Chandler’s Ford Today. I had a great deal of fun coming up with captions for the wonderful photos!

Review: The Chameleon Theatre Group – Pinocchio

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Hope you have had a good day. Weather significantly milder which has been lovely and Lady got to play with her best friends today so she had a lovely time.

Now a good definition of a lovely time for me is having written something I like which has potential. Another good definition is having edited something to get it to that potential. And then there’s putting down a good book, having had a wonderful read, and not really wanting to leave the characters behind. That is a sign of a truly great story. It also inspires me to always up my own game (and that’s a good thing. We should be trying to improve on what we do, writing wise).

I’ve talked before about making the most of whatever writing time you have. I always do this but right now I’m doing so more! Why?

I do a behind the scenes the job and it is particularly busy at the moment. So I relish my time when I get to write and feel both tired and refreshed after said writing session. How can I be both?

Well, creative writing should stretch you mentally and that is tiring but I also find it invigorating. I always feel better after having written something even if it is not as much as I would’ve liked to have achieved. What matters is getting something down. It is the getting to be creative at all which matters here I think.

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Looking forward to sharing my review of Pinocchio as performed by the Chameleon Theatre Group in my post on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above.

Great fun and I have a soft spot for pantomime given they are based on the classic fairytales.

Author newsletter out today (and welcome to those who have subscribed since my last one, also thanks to those who continue to subscribe – all appreciated I can assure you).

Now when I am blogging, whether it is for Chandler’s Ford Today, Authors Electric, or More than Writers in particular, how do I think of the theme given these are not set by anyone else?

Sometimes the time of year inspires the theme (this is especially true for More Than Writers where I will write something Easter/Christmas related etc at the apt times). I usually draw on the writing journey – my personal one and the journey in general.

One thing I love about creative writing is you never stop learning. This can be from your mistakes. It can be from tips you pick up on the way and I can usually find an aspect of these things to make a good theme to write about. But the important thing here is I am writing about something I absolutely love and this I find is continually sustaining. I also make sure there is something of value to the reader and, as with my fiction, I keep my Ideal Reader in mind, always. It helps with focus too.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with one of those tales I think a lot of people will identify with – forgetting to buy something while out shopping. Hope you enjoy my latest tale, The Milk.


Screenshot 2023-02-03 at 09-43-43 The Milk by Allison Symes

Don’t forget the February issue of Mom’s Favorite Reads is out. I talk about the Year of the Rabbit in my flash fiction column this time. How can I get a flash story out of that? Did others respond to my challenge? Yes I did. So did they. Check the magazine to find out more. Also check out the Meet the Team feature which starts on Page 28.

 

 

Don’t forget author reviews are a great way of supporting a writer. They don’t have to be long. Okay, I know I would be found to say that as flash fiction writer, but it is true. Reviews can be a line or two. As well as being encouraging to the writer, a thoughtful review can be a great guide for other readers.

Do I review books myself? Oh yes. Not every single thing I read, I admit, but I make sure I do review reasonably regularly. Being a writer makes me more aware of the need to do it, I suppose, but reviews are never a waste of time. And they are appreciated.

Likewise, useful comments on a blog you’ve liked are also appreciated. It’s another kind of review! Also another way of supporting other writers.

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Fairytales with Bite – Favourites and Dislikes

What do you think are the favourite ingredients of a classic fairytale? What are the dislikes?

My favourite ingredients are:-

  • Sympathetic lead character I can root for – usually down on their luck or ill-treated or overlooked in some way but capable of greatness.
  • A villain I really want to see get their comeuppance.
  • Magic coming to the aid of the sympathetic lead character but they also have to put the work in and prove themselves worthy of that assistance.
  • And I have a very soft spot for a smart animal character who is often wiser than the humans around them.

As for my dislikes:-

  • Cruelty though I know it is unavoidable – you do need the conflict and resolution.. Much as I hate to say it, there usually does have to be some sort of cruelty done to the lead character. There has to be something they have to be delivered from in some way. One thing I’ve always loved about the fairytales is I know the cruelty will stop and there ill be a good ending. Of if only we could say the same about life!
  • The animal characters not being appreciated for their wit and wisdom. Too easily looked down on.
  • A villain who is NOT a worthy opponent for the lead character (what I don’t want is a character who is just a cruel clown).
  • Magic being used as a “cop-out” – there has to be a point to it being used and where there is o viable alternative. For me, it then works.

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This World and Others – The Law

How does the law work in your fictional setting? Is there a criminal/civil law distinction as we have? Or is there just one law, such as martial law? How did the laws come about and have any been modified over the years? Who works in the law in your stories? Is this considered to be a good occupation or not by the ordinary people/beings ruled over?

How severe are punishments? Are your characters rewarded for obeying the law of are they ruled via fear? Who brings about changes to the law and how long did it take them?

The above questions I hope would all start triggering potential story ideas. But even if this isn’t your story directly, thinking about these things will give you a clearer idea as to your setting, how it works as a society. and how your characters are likely to interact with it. Your view of the law will depend on which side of it you are on after all!

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

Screenshot 2023-01-31 at 20-50-46 Mom's Favorite Reads eMagazine February 2023