Tag: Authors Electric

Popular Themes – Is There Anything New To Say?

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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

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The New Writing Year

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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, with the image of me holding The Best of CafeLit 13 taken by Adrian Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Pleased with writing done over that time which included writing new flash and reviewing draft short stories. Hope to submit the latter in the next couple of weeks or so. Have got my eye on other competitions to enter too. Lady has been in fine form too.

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Hope Tuesday has been okay for you. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler today (and our neighbour’s retriever) so she has had a good day. Still pretty cold here.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again before too long. It’s amazing how quickly the first of the month comes around. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com and many thanks to all who have subscribed.

I subscribe to a number of author newsletters myself. I find them useful – writers always learn from each other – as well as helping me to stay informed of what else is going on out there, writing wise. I find the world of writing infinitely fascinating and love hearing more about it and not just in my sphere.

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Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. Lady got to catch up with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today and has had a good day.

Monday is one of the days in which, due to other commitments, I don’t get to do so much writing so I use it to do “little bits and pieces” which then frees up my time later in the week, when I can have longer writing sessions.

What do I count as “little bits and pieces”? Well, adding items to my newsletter is one, finishing off a blog post is another etc. Longer writing sessions will see me write one or more flash pieces, edit a story, make submissions and so on.

It is a question of working out how to make the best use of your writing time, I think. I aim to finish most days by being pleased with what I managed to get done in the time available to me rather than beat myself up about not getting much done. It helps me cope with Mondays for a start!

Hope the weekend has gone well. Freezing again here and murky.

Glad to say I’ll be talking to fellow Swanwicker Gemma Owen-Kendall about her novel Red Daisy for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. It is a great interview. Looking forward to sharing it.

I hope there will be further author interviews throughout the year. It’s always fascinating to find out about the writing journeys of other writers. I’ve always found you can learn so much from each other this way.

I often “interview” my characters when I’m preparing a story. I find it useful to know what makes them tick and certain questions such as what is the one thing you would ask for if you could be allowed a wish to be a great way to find out more about my potential “star”. For a start, I will find out if they would ask for a selfish wish or not and that alone can reveal more about them.

Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my first post here for 2025. This time I talk about The New Writing Year.

I share how I use January, often a gloomy month, to ensure I have something to look forward to, writing wise, later in the year and discuss competitions and writing plans. This time of the year is a great time to focus on what you’d like to achieve by the end of it, I find.

Hope you find the post useful as you consider your own writing plans for the year ahead.

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I love flash fiction for many reasons but a big one is being able to set my characters in different settings, meaning I can play with genre here.

I’ve written fantasy flash, fairytale flash, historical flash, crime flash, ghost flash and much more. I like the variety.

What all of these things have to have in common though is characters who will grip a reader (not literally!). This is why I always start by working out who my characters are and I have found this pays off.

It’s Monday. It’s still cold, dark and January and, of course, Monday. Time for another story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube. This one is called To Do. Wilma takes matters into her own hands when she gets fed up with her neighbour’s boasting and she gets to complete her yearly bucket list too. Find out how and why here.

 

Will shortly be embarking on flash fiction Sunday. Also want to review a couple of stories I drafted last week. For flash and short stories, I usually find a few days is enough time to give me the necessary distance to see what needs to be fixed. The one thing I know for sure is something will have to be fixed!

I also write longer short stories though I tend to stick to between the 1001 and 2000 words mark for those. I must admit anything over 1000 words does seem lengthy to me!

Am delighted to say I will be sharing my first author interview for 2025 on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll be interviewing fellow Swanwicker (and short story and flash fiction writer) Gemma Owen-Kendall about her novel, Red Daisy, which was launched at Swanwick last year. Looking forward to sharing that.

Talking of flash fiction, Writing Magazine have a 500 words competition. See link for more information and good luck if you enter this. Deadline is 15th March 2025. If you can get hold of the current copy of the magazine, they’ve issued their competitions guide. Well worth having to hand.

Goodreads Author Blog – Why Reviews Matter

There are two things every reader can do to help authors. The first one is obviously to buy their books in whatever format you prefer (and where that’s not possible, do borrow from the library. Authors usually receive Public Lending Right – at least in the UK). The second one is to review their books here on Goodreads and/or Amazon.

Reviews matter to writers for several reasons.

Firstly, it is good (and encouraging) to know we are being read.

Secondly, it is helpful for us to know what you like about our books and yes occasionally what you dislike. All we want is for any review to be fair, as most of us accept not everyone is going to like what we do.

Thirdly, we can use the fact we have had reviews as part of our marketing.

I always check out reviews for any product I’m interested in – books or otherwise. Often, I will come across something linked to the product I’m looking into I hadn’t heard of before simply because a review for it turns up. I then check it out.

The good news is reviews do not have to be long. Some of the best ones I’ve had have been one or two lines only. What helps is in saying you liked the book (hopefully!) and what in particular stood out for you. Job done.

Do I review books myself? Oh yes. I tend to do this in batches of two or three books at a time but I keep my reviews short. (Also makes it easier for the author to use part of the review in quotes they want to share).

A good New Year’s Resolution for any reader would be to review more. As we’re a community who love books and stories, it’s a nice one to try to keep, don’t you think?

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Happy Christmas – and Festive Writing and Reading

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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.
Spent a lovely weekend singing a lot of carols at various church services. Almost there on my Christmas prep. Also looking forward to a few days off. My next post here will be a week away – on New Year’s Eve. I hope you have a very happy Christmas and New Year.

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24th December 2024 – Christmas Eve
Have a very happy Christmas, everyone. After my website round up which I will share later tonight, the next one will be next Tuesday, New Year’s Eve. I’ll share a Chandler’s Ford Today round up post on Friday but that will be about it for a while as am taking a few days off and looking forward to them! Have a lovely time.

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Glad to say I now have a single Mixcloud link to the Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM hosted by Hannah Kate on 14th December. One easy link to check out 23 great stories. My tale, Perspective, is on in the first half of the show but do enjoy a good listen. There was a great range of tales here. Perfect to listen to as you finish your present wrapping, maybe?

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22nd December
Am making up for posting late yesterday by posting early today! Many apologies for forgetting to share my Authors Electric post on 18th December. I blame being caught up in Christmas prep and Southern Water for cutting off my water supply on 18th December for 36 hours, bless them (not!). Anyway, I am only too glad to share the post now and it is on a topic close to my heart – Festive Writing and Reading. Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope you have had a lovely day. Christmas can now start for me. Have just got back from a candlelit Festival of Carols and Readings which was lovely. I read out a great poem about the wise men which was new to me. (It’s called Star of Wonder by Abigail Blessing – worth checking out, made me think again about a story I know well).

Writing wise, I probably will write a short Chandler’s Ford Today post for next Friday (I love being able to schedule in advance!) and one round up post on my website probably on Christmas Eve but not much more until after Christmas. Will be catching up with friends and family and am looking forward to that.
And, yes, Lady will be spoiled rotten and has got her wish list into Santa Paws in good time.

AE - DECEMBER 2024 - FESTIVE WRITING AND READING - Best version of A Christmas Carol is the one by the Muppets

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24th December 2024 – Christmas Eve
Good to sit down after the usual Christmas Eve prep work. Will be doing a little writing later on but then will be off for a few days. To friends, past, present and future, Happy Christmas!

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It may be Christmas Eve Eve but it is still a Monday and therefore still time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Time Off. Everyone needs some down time, especially at Christmas.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Had my church’s carols by candlelight today (yes two lots of singing in two days as I took part in another one yesterday – great fun). Our minister’s Christmas cracker jokes made us laugh and groan in equal measure. But I guess that’s the purpose of a Christmas cracker joke!

I guess you could argue it is a form of flash writing given these jokes are generally under 50 words or so but you’ll be pleased to know, for humanity’s sake, I’m not preparing to write any myself!

Am wrapping up my flash tales for this year. There will be one, maybe two, to come on my YouTube channel but that will be about it for now. I shall look forward to the break but also resuming work after Christmas. Flash is a lovely way to get back into writing again after a break given it is short. A gentle way to get back into the writing life, I think.

Advantage to flash is setting characters anywhere

Hope your Christmas prep is going well. Am almost there on mine though the early part of next week will be busy with cooking etc.

As part of my flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow, I hope to write a flash fiction piece for YouTube (to go out on Monday) but won’t be doing much more flash work now until after Christmas. I’ll be looking for competitions to enter from the New Year (but think Writing Magazine should be issuing their competitions guide again before too long . I hope so anyway. It is useful).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Happy Christmas and Lots of Lovely New Year Reading

I do hope you have had a good reading year. I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas. I hope you end up having lots of lovely New Year reading to get on with thanks to gifts under the tree! Okay you can’t disguise a book shaped present – why would you want to anyway even if you could? – but it is such fun unwrapping such lovely gifts! Naturally I got my wish list in early here!

Not sure whether I’ll be posting again here before the New Year as am looking forward to catching up with friend and family over the Christmas break but I did want to finish by saying a book isn’t just for Christmas, it’s forever.

I also wanted to say books make the perfect Christmas presents and authors and readers are the easiest people in the world to buy for!

Happy Christmas!

Screenshot 2024-12-21 at 21-03-40 Allison Symes's Blog - Happy Christmas and Lots of Lovely New Year Reading - December 21 2024 13 03 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Out and About

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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 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.

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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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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

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Double Blog Day: ACW Autumn Gathering and Supportive Writing Groups and Writing Prompts

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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 for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. Many thanks to Paula Readman for taking the image of me reading at another book event – the Bridge House Publishing one back in December 2023. (Looking forward to going to this year’s one too. Am hoping for much better luck with the trains this time!).
Hope the week to date has been a good one for you. Am looking forward to taking part in the Book Fair on Saturday 19th October. It made its debut last year and I am so pleased it has come back again. Will look forward to meeting the other authors taking part too. Lady has spent most of the week playing with her two closest pals so she’s had a good week too.

 

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

18th October 2024 – Chandler’s Ford Today

Every so often I have a double blog day and today is one of them. I will shortly share the link to my Authors Electric post on Writing Prompts but first and foremost, it’s time to share my latest on Chandler’s Ford Today. This week I talk about the ACW Autumn Gathering and Supportive Writing Groups.

I share some of the experience of last Saturday’s ACW writing day but also useful tips if you’re thinking of joining a writing group. Hope you find the post useful here.

Oh and if you are in the Chandler’s Ford area tomorrow, do come along to The Hilt at the Hiltingbury Recreation Ground. The Book Fair is back and is from 1 pm to 5pm, it is free entry, and there is a wide range of authors taking part, including yours truly. Hope to see you there.

ACW Autumn Gathering and Supportive Writing Groups

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18th October 2024 – Authors Electric

Second post tonight as it is double blog today for me today! I’m back on Authors Electric today talking about Writing Prompts, a favourite topic of mine. I use a wide variety of prompts and find them invaluable. I discuss some of the prompt types I use as well as how to make the most of the random generators. Hope you find the post useful.

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One happy Lady today as she got to play with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals once again. All of us happy as it stayed dry today, unlike yesterday when it poured down. Managed to avoid a lot of it but not all – it is amazing how wet you can get in a three minutes shower!

Will be discussing the ACW Autumn Gathering and Supportive Writing Groups for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I’ll be sharing tips and thoughts on what to look for if you’re thinking of joining a writing group, as well as celebrating a marvellous ACW event last Saturday in Rugby. Link up tomorrow. See above.

It will be double blog day tomorrow incidentally as my Authors Electric post on Writing Prompts is also out on 18th October. Plenty to look forward to reading and I hope you will find both blogs useful and entertaining. Again see above.

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16th October – bonus CFT post

Delighted to share a bonus post on Chandler’s Ford Today advertising the Book Fair at The Hilt on Saturday, 19th October between 1 pm and 5 pm. All welcome. Entry is free. Come and support your local authors (and get some book buying done early for You Know What coming up in December!).
Am so pleased to be taking part in this again – hope to see you there!

BOOK FAIR AT THE HILT – SATURDAY 19TH OCTOBER 2024

 

In separate news, I’m delighted to say I will have a super duper two part interview with Debz Hobbs-Wyatt about her new novel, If Crows Could Talk, coming up on CFT at the end of the month/early November. More details nearer the time.

Author Interviews coming up on CFT

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It’s good to wrap up the week with a story and I hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Getting There. See how my character coped with her unfaithful Ron, but is all as she would wish it to be now? Find out here.

Screenshot 2024-10-18 at 18-39-43 Getting There by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Hope you have had a good day. I’ve now sent in the results to the flash fiction competition I was judging. Good fun to do. Looking forward to the Book Fair on Saturday too, It will be nice to catch up with the other authors too, some of whom I met for the first time last year. This time I’m on the list to give a short talk about who I am, what I write, and naturally I will share some flash fiction as part of that.

A busy week coming up next week too with the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom on Wednesday and I’m off to our wonderful local theatre on Thursday too. As the year starts to wind down, the writing life winds up! But it gives me more opportunities to spread the word about flash and I’m always happy to do that.

Always a joy to talk or write about flash fictionLooking forward to spreading the word about flash fiction at the Book Fair at The Hilt on Saturday. See link to bonus Chandler’s Ford Today post which shares more info.

I’ve often found at events like this demonstrating what flash fiction (a) entertains, (b) shows what flash is so effectively and (c) can lead to sales! Nothing to dislike there! Hope to see you there if you’re in the area. And there will be plenty of other authors represented too. Last year, there was a good selection ranging from YA fantasy, flash (of course), non-fiction, women’s fiction and much else, and that should be the case again this time.

If you’re not in my area, do support your local author events. There will be plenty coming up in the next couple of months (can’t imagine why!).We always appreciate the support, regardless of what we write.

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Fairytales with Bite – Special Books

I still have two very special books – The Reader’s Digest Collection of Fairytales, a two volume set given to me by my late father. The fairytales are the originals collected and written by Hans Christen Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Perrault and so on. One of those books has its spine bound up by tape, I read it so much!

But recalling these led me to wondering what books would your magical creations consider special to them?

Would it be their study books? Would it be what we call fairytales but which they would see as their history, maybe? Would it be a book which was especially helpful to them in developing their craft?

Do any of your magical creations write their own books? Have they contributed to your world’s literature, magical arts etc?

Just what would be their special books and how have they helped your characters develop? There are story ideas there.

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This World and Others – Ways of Researching

Often when I’m drafting a story, I may need to do a quick bit of research to check something. I once needed to find out what poisonous plants I could reasonably expect to find in a garden. Honest, guv, it was for a story and nothing else. I suspect most crime and horror writers internet search histories would not beat too much scrutiny!

Where would your characters go when they needed to research something to help with their work, quest etc? Do they find materials easy to access? Are there libraries and archives as we understand the terms or, if not, what would be the nearest equivalent to these things? Records are kept everywhere after all!

How would they research? As well as books and scrolls, could they interview people/beings? Would there be something along the lines of the web so all could easily research? Are there areas they would be stopped from researching and, if so, what and why and who does the stopping? All ideas there.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the October 2023 edition of the magazine. The focus was on horror. My article is Writing Horror: The Telling Details. Often it is specific details which will give your readers “the chill factor”. Select them well!

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Author Interview: Catching Up With Ruth Leigh – The Further Adventures of Ruth Leigh

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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 Ruth Leigh and Social Shapes for some of the images in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week.
Hope you have had a good few days. Continuing to enjoy lovely autumn weather here. Lady continuing to have a riot with her pals in the park. All is well! On the writing front, I’m delighted to say my story, Spade Work, will be broadcast by Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM on 21st September (between 2 and 4 pm). Hope to share the link later.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

I’m so pleased to welcome back Ruth Leigh to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her new book, The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge. Isabella is one of those unforgettable, touching, and funny characters, it was clear from the outset she would need more than one book!

In this in depth interview, Ruth and I discuss what she loves about Isabella and who Ruth would pick to play the role should Isabella ever come to the screen. Ruth also shares some wonderful tips about book launches. If you’re thinking of having a launch, do check these out.

Ruth also discusses what inspired her to write A Great Deal of Ingenuity and The Little Unexpected Book of Poetry which came out since the last CFT interview and we both celebrate being Jane Austen nerds.

Ruth also shares how her writing life has taken off in other directions with Resolute Books and the British Christian Writing Conference. There are also valuable tips on websites and the challenge of managing both writing and marketing time.

Plenty to enjoy then and lots of useful advice and tips for other writers. Do enjoy. And congratulations, Ruth, on the fourth installment centred on your wonderful heroine.

Catching Up with Ruth Leigh – The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge

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Lovely start to my day as I found out my story, Spade Work, will be broadcast on Hannah Kate’s Autumn Equinox show on North Manchester FM on Saturday, 21st September. I hope to share a link later. Many thanks to Jenny Sanders for flagging this one up.

Am looking forward to listening in as there is always a lovely mix of stories on these shows. Will be interesting to find out how the autumn theme has been taken by the other contributors.

Flash works well on radio and/or Open Prose Mic Nights precisely because you have a contained story which doesn’t take too much time to read out/listen to.

Am also looking forward to taking part in Flash NANO again in November. Hope to get thirty more draft stories out of that!

Screenshot 2024-09-19 at 17-19-48 Hannah Kate on X 🍂 Coming up on Sat at 2pm it's the Hannah's Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special on @normanfm1066 featuring flash fiction from Jess Richards Carmen Walton @mariascohut @noodle[...]

Another lovely autumn day here and Lady had a fabulous puppy party with her chums, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Coco, the Labradoodle. Tired but oh so happy dogs went home. Lovely to watch them at play.

Am pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my post Directions. I look at how my writing life has been an upside down one and why I’ve learned not to worry about my writing life changing direction. I hadn’t started out writing the short form at all but when I did get around to that, it twisted again when I discovered flash fiction and from that the joys of learning to write tight and to never fear editing or being edited again. The latter alone has proved useful to me.

Wherever you are on your writing journey, I hope the “ride” is a good one and the turns you take prove to be useful to you. Hope you enjoy the post.

WORD OF WARNING:  Annoyingly there are two useless comments on my Authors Electric post, one of which is potentially dodgy. I have flagged them up to the admins of Authors Electric. These comments weren’t there when I published the post.

One is advertising how to hire a hacker. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THAT COMMENT OR CLICK ON THE PERSON’S ICON. I dread to think where that would take you.

The other is about recipes, irrelevant to a writing post. It is the bane of all website owners to have to deal with this kind of thing. Please DO enjoy my post though. I hope you find it useful.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s Friday, the end of the working week for many. Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy The Case. If there is a moral to this one, it is to take a hint seriously when you are given one. Find out what happens given my character David didn’t do that.

Screenshot 2024-09-20 at 10-06-36 The Case by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Hope you have had a good day. Lovely autumn weather continuing here. Delighted to say I’ll be on Hannah Kate’s show on Saturday afternoon on North Manchester FM. The theme for the show in the Autumn Equinox. Will share a link when I get one. Next seasonal theme I will write something for will be, dare I say it so early, a festive one. Festive flash is so enjoyable to write. I do think the aim there is to make the stories fun. At least that’s the take I try to use for it!

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A lovely review for From Light to Dark and Back Again describes the book as From Light to Dark and Back Again is indeed, as the subtitle states, ‘a collection very short stories to suit every mood’ – be it mournful, pithy or murderous.

Many thanks to Book Reader for that one. Please note though Amazon say the book isn’t available in paperback that isn’t the case. All Chapeltown Books are print on demand so it isn’t a question of unavailability. Print on demand doesn’t have a use by date!

Also you can order directly from me. Just contact me via my website (https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact/) or you can go to my publisher’s bookshop, The Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop. See link.

Screenshot 2024-09-20 at 20-31-21 The Bridgetown Café Bookshop From Light to Dark and Back Again

Fairytales with Bite – Professional Practices

Think about the professions in your magical setting. Think about the obvious ones like witch, wizard, fairy godmother etc. Behind any profession there is usually a service industry. Within the profession there is usually a set of professional practices or some sort of Code of Practice.

So what would make up the service industries here? Someone has to supply the magical equipment and test it so it is good to be used on a wider scale. Someone else would write the spell books (and those would have been tested and proved to work at some point, else why include them?).

Then there would be whoever supplied the ingredients or someone who brought out the latest model of wand etc. Also who taught those who work in the professions? What rigorous standards do they have to teach to? Do you have the magical equivalent of Ofsted here?

So all sorts of things then go on behind any job in our world and the same would apply in a magical one.

Fairies may be born but they would have to be trained. They will need to know how to use their equipment and so on, They will be expected to stick to what most accept as a reasonable code of conduct (noting there would always be some who defy these things).

As for the professional practices/Code, who wrote these? Who approved them? What led to there being a need for them in the first place? What would happen to anyone who went against these things?

Story ideas there for sure!

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This World and Others – Unions/Guilds

Given the need for professions in any world, who cares for the workers in those professions? Would there be the magical equivalent of trade unions? Are there guilds ensuring professional practices, as referred to in Fairytales with Bite, are adhered to? Who runs these things and how did they get into those roles?

Who would they answer to and do the workers have the right to hold their union officials, as well as their bosses, to account where necessary? How does the employment world work in your setting? Story ideas there too!

On a lighter note, as for possible magical trade unions how about the following:-

The FGTU – The Fairy Godmother Trade Union. Motto: Clocking off is always at midnight, not a moment sooner or later.

NRG – Nursery Rhyme Guild. Motto: There for the talking bears to ensure they always get their furniture and porridge replaced.

MCWU – Mouse Clock Winders’ Union. Motto: Ensuring the clocks always read 1 am or 1 pm – nothing else. Members here cannot be a member of the FGTU as well due to an obvious conflict of interests.

COBBLERS Guild – Collective of Brave Blue-collar Leather-working Elves Restoring Shoes Guild – Motto: Always proud to help the small businessman who is kind but has fallen on hard times.

Hope you enjoyed those. For story purposes though the world of employment (on both sides of the fence) could be a good source for ideas.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the April 2024 edition of the magazine which is on a theme close to my heart, editing. I ask the big question – Editing:  Do You Love It or Loathe It?

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The Joy of Writing Events

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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 goes to Penny Blackburn for the image of me reading at the Swanwick 2024 Open Prose Mic Night, to Jen Wilson for taking the one of me at the Lift Up Your Pens session, and to June Webber for the Swanwick celebration photo. (I swear I was on the apple juice and NO not cider!).
Must admit the weekend was mainly spent recovering from Swanwick week but I suspect every other attendee did much the same! Have slowly resumed my usual writing routine this week. I find having a routine helps enormously. I know what I am writing when and by the end of the week I’ve got more done precisely because I haven’t dithered.
Of course most of this week I’ve also been thinking about what was I doing at Swanwick a week ago. It would never surprise me if other Swanwickers do the same.

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Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Glad to be swimming again. First time back in the pool after Swanwick. I came out feeling a little bit less like a beached whale! (You do get looked after very well at The Hayes!).

Writing Tip: Even if you’re not thinking of being published or are published yet, it would still pay you to work out what you would say if someone asked you about what you write. That question does make for a good ice breaker at events like Swanwick so it would pay to be ready for it.

Should the time come when you’re submitting work to a publisher/agent, they will want you to be able to describe your work succinctly. If you are writing a book or a short story collection, it also pays to think of your one line hook for it because these take more time than you might expect to get right.


Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Zoom on Wednesday. Plan to share some useful tips, after which I hope people will share a piece or two of flash fiction.

It’s not a bad idea to get used to sharing work in an environment where you are comfortable doing so. It gets you used to reading your work out. You receive immediate feedback from a friendly audience. It can be a major source of encouragement.

Talking of which I was encouraged Bridge House Publishing shared an excerpt from my Tripping the Flash Fantastic. See screenshot. Nice start to the week.

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Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with a timely post. I talk about The Joy of Writing Events, two days after returning from the wonderful The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Post went out originally on 18th August 2024.

I look at the joys of being with like-minded people who understand the joys and frustrations of writing and discuss the benefits of joining in with writing events. Zoom, of course, has come into its own thanks to the pandemic making online events possible. I regularly run a workshop on flash fiction using this.

What is great is that there are benefits from both types of event. For me, being with others who understand that urge to write is one of the biggest ones. No need to explain anything!

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I was mugged by Lady on getting home from Swanwick yesterday as expected. Lady duly delivered and she was delighted to see her best pal, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, as we returned from our lunchtime walk today. Win-win for the dogs!

Eventful journey home yesterday as the train to London St. Pancras had to stop at Kettering because of a medical emergency and everyone had to change trains. Just hope that poor passenger is okay. Especially glad to get home after that and see everyone.

Will be writing about my week at Swanwick for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Looking forward to writing that one up! The rest of the weekend though is booked for recovery time. As expected, I came back from Swanwick, re-inspired, re-enthused, and shattered but these are all signs of a truly great week!
Many thanks to June Webber for the picture too!

Celebrating at Swanwick 2024 - photo from June Webber
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I was resting a flash fiction competition entry prior to going to Swanwick. Glad to say I have now reviewed it and submitted it.

I knew there wasn’t a lot to do to it but those who came to my editing course will know I talked about having a “final, final edit” where I look for typos, ensure I’m following all the rules etc. I then get the story sent off which is now done for this one. I won’t know anything until much later in the year but I’m 11 days ahead of the deadline so that pleases me too.

Never leave submissions to the last minute – you will miss something. I’m not guilty of this one myself but have known it to be done. It never pays off.

So on to the next flash competition then and I do have something in mind to have a try for here. Now to get on with a first draft (though I will probably add this on to my flash fiction Sunday afternoon spot later this week).

Sometimes I know which competition I’m trying. Sometimes I have an idea for a character, write their story up, and then if a suitable competition comes up, I will review my story and after polishing it, send it in. But I do always like to have some flash “on the go”. That does pay off!

Polishing your manuscriptIt’s Monday. It’s the first Monday back from Swanwick. I need a story! Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Dial a Character.


I suspect it will be a slow return to normal after the bliss of Swanwick week. Having said that, one thing which will help enormously is having my usual flash fiction writing on a Sunday afternoon! I also had the lovely task of judging some flash stories for a competition and I have now sent in my choice. It was hard to pick a choice (which is alway a good sign of great quality writing overall). I’ll be judging flash stories again for a writing group in September and am looking forward to doing that. Will also be resuming my editing work later this week.

Oh and have managed to submit a story for a flash competition, which I was “resting” during Swanwick week. I’d drafted it at the end of July, edited it a week or so into August, and then rested it, came back home, minor tweaks only required, and off it has gone.

One of the things I mentioned in my editing course was having a deadline by which you will send a piece off somewhere. It is possible to use editing as a form of procrastination and I am aware of this so always set myself deadlines to get work out by. It gets around that issue nicely.

456023104_10162139308377053_632554507637700600_nLooking forward to seeing everyone next week at the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group on Zoom. I plan to share some top tips and I hope people will get the chance to share some of their flash pieces. Well, everyone likes to listen to stories, right?

Pleased to share the word about flash fiction at Swanwick. It is also a fabulous format to use at Open Prose Mic Nights because you can give your audience complete stories and still not over run. Win-win there.

Am looking forward to resuming my usual flash fiction writing on Sunday afternoon. Nice way to end the week. Good luck to anyone who has entered the Friday Flash Fiction competition (which is timed to run as the Edinburgh Festival runs).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Celebrating Books and Those Who Write Them

I’ve recently returned from my highlight of the writing year – a week spent at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which is set in the lovely county of Derbyshire. I have a week of workshops and courses (I ran a two part one on editing there this year) and spend a week immersed in the wonderful world of writing with other authors who understand the drive to write at all.

It is also fantastic catching up with old friends in person. For the rest of the year we stay in contact online. It’s also lovely getting to meet new people and chat with them about what they do writing wise. (The topic is a guaranteed ice breaker).

I like to see Swanwick as a chance to celebrate books and those who write them. I come back refreshed, reinvigorated, and shattered! You can feel the creativity in the air, I think.

In general terms, I would like to see more celebrations of books and their authors. Books are one of the best things humanity has ever given to the world.

Screenshot 2024-08-17 at 20-12-50 Allison Symes's Blog - Celebrating Books and Those Who Write Them - August 17 2024 12 12 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I’m sharing the recent May 2024 edition which was based on memoir. My article was on using memoir techniques for character creation.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Making The Most of a Writing Event and a Great Blogging Week!

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Photos of me were taken by Adrian Symes. It is tricky to do the author holding the book picture without camera shake etc.
Hope you have had a good week. Weather up and down though back to sunny and hot at the moment. Looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with Val Penny on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week – do look out for it. There will be tips on book blog tours too as part of this. Meantime, do check out the THREE blogs I share with you this week!

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

How come it is Friday again so soon? Anyway, it’s time to share my latest Chandlers’ Ford Today post and this week I’m looking at the topic of Making the Most of a Writing Event. This is timely given in less than a month I will be at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick once again.

I look why going to writing events is a good idea and share top tips on how to make the best of them. Most of the tips apply to online events as well as the in-person kind. I also share thoughts on what is useful after the event too.

Hope you enjoy the post and, whatever writing events you are going to in the next few months, I hope they prove to be hugely enjoyable and useful.

Making the Most of a Writing Event

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It’s that time again – time for me to share my Authors Electric post. This time I look at Opening Lines. Whatever form of writing you do, opening lines have to lure the reader in and, for the short fiction forms such as flash fiction, I feel they do a lot of “heavy lifting”. You do have to hit the ground running here I think.

I’m also one of those writers who need something to start them off even though that start may well change later. I see opening lines as my way in to a story or article. Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady had a lovely time with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today and we all enjoyed the sunshine. Coming back home without getting soaked always counts as a win!

Glad to say I am on Gill James’ blog today talking about my involvement with The Best of CafeLit 13. When you send in a story to CafeLit, they ask you to assign a drink to your story. I try to match my drinks to my story moods. You can see what I chose for my three stories in this anthology and much else in the interview.

Good fun to take part in – hope you enjoy reading it. A quick shout out to my other half too for the photos in this. These kinds of shots are difficult to do yourself, what with book in one hand, camera in the other, trying to avoid the dreaded camera shake etc.

 

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I’m delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Time Problems. Some fairy godmother clients aren’t perhaps as grateful as they could and should be. Find out who and why here. Hope you enjoy the story.

Screenshot 2024-07-19 at 09-59-12 Time Problems by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Has been a gloriously sunny and warm day today, much better than earlier in the week when Lady and I had a soaking!

Writing Exercise: Pick a random opening line from a random generator or, if like me you brainstorm ideas for these every so often, go back through your notebooks and find one you like the look of and which you haven’t already used.

Then write a 50 word story to it.

Then have a go at writing 100 words to that line.

Maybe even then write yet another story to this line but this time go up to 250 words.

Once you’ve got at least two stories down, read them out loud (maybe record them and play them back) and see which has the most impact on you. A reader is likely to react in a similar way.

Sometimes I’ve found with this exercise the 50 word one is the best story. Sometimes I do need more words and it is the 100 or 250 worders which I will then submit somewhere. But this is a fun and interesting exercise to have a go at, if only because you find out just how strong (or otherwise) that opening line is.

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A task I am gladly looking forward to fairly soon is working out which new stories of mine I will use as potential reading material for the Open Prose Mic Night at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I couldn’t take part in it last year as it clashed with something else I really wanted to go to but this year’s timetable shows no clashes for me here. Really pleased about that.

I make a point of mixing the moods of whatever I read at whatever venue but also the word counts. So I expect I will end up reading a 100-worder, a 250 type, and maybe a couple of the 50s. It’s a good way of showing the range flash has.

Don’t forget my author newsletter comes out again on 1st August. I share flash fiction tips and stories here, amongst other things. You can sign up at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Fairytales with Bite – The Influence of Fairytales

Fairytales are some of the oldest stories we take in and I recall, with huge fondness, my late mother often reading to me from the Reader’s Digest Fairytale Collections long before I could read these wonderful books for myself. The reason I remember this is so well is my mother read to me consistently and often for many years, even when I was beginning to read for myself.

I owe my love of books and stories to her – very much drummed into me from an early age but something I am grateful for and which feeds into my writing now. Naturally I also watched several of the Disney classic fairytale animated films. All of that has encouraged my love for the form and I write some fairytales myself in my flash fiction and short stories.

But the influence of fairytales goes much deeper than this. Thanks to them, I’ve picked up on the Rule of Three subconsciously. I know in fairytales something happens twice but on the third occasion, something changes and that then usually leads on to the traditional happy ever after ending (Three Little Pigs, anyone?).

I’ve also learned the decrepit looking old man or woman is usually a powerful magical being in disguise and they will be teaching some arrogant so-and-so a hard lesson (The Beauty and the Beast). I’ve also learned to expect justice to be done in some way, and some wrong to be righted in some way (Cinderella).

You then have to learn that doesn’t always happen in life (deep down I knew that even as a kid) but I think one of the comforts of fairytales is it does happen in them.

The other influence from fairytales is they got me reading more of them and then moving on to other kinds of story. All very welcome!

Also fairytales don’t shy away from showing something/someone as being evil. Sometimes the tales act as warnings. Fairytales are honest writing and I love them for that too.

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This World and Others – Access to Books

Linking in with Fairytales with Bite, reading is encouraged to develop when access to books is easy! In your setting, are there such things as libraries? What kind of books would they stock? Can anyone access them? Are there bookshops to purchase your own choices? Again, what would be on offer here?

If you have several communities in your setting, which would each read? For example, I would expect dwarves to read their own histories and legends but are they open enough to read those of other communities such as the elves or the humans they share their world with?

Is the skill of reading universal or limited? Who decides what goes in the libraries and bookshops? (Easy to arrange censorship there).

If your characters can travel around your setting, what would they find in other areas, book wise, they don’t have at home? Do they bring these back with them? Would doing that cause an outcry or would people/other beings welcome the chance to discover things they did not know? Not everyone would welcome that.

Are there any banned books? If so, what and why were these banned and has anyone tried to get around or repeal the ban?

Access to books is something we can easily take for granted. Do your characters do so or do they know they are lucky to have it and make the most of it?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

I’m sharing the link for the November 2023 edition of Writers’ Narrative this time. Its theme was Novels, which was apt for the month of NaNoWriMo (and for flash fiction writers, Flash NANO). I wrote a piece called Writing Novels for this issue, based on my experience of writing novels earlier in my writing life and what I’ve learned from doing that. Do check out all of the excellent articles in here.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The Joys of Creative Writing

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Not bad here. Writing wise, I’m talking to Jennifer C Wilson on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday about her new book, 31 Days of Writing. Looking forward to sharing that.
Pleased to see numbers for my YouTube channel and author newsletter are growing steadily. Enjoying preparing a presentation at the moment for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group. Always fun to do and the presentations trigger ideas as I prepare these. I’ve followed up on many of these with work inspired by these ideas appearing on YouTube and Friday Flash Fiction in particular. Would like more of the same!

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Facebook – General

Am pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my new post, The Joys of Creative Writing. I’d been planning to write on this topic anyway but having been burgled last month, well let’s just say it gave me extra motivation to write this one! I share why it did and why I feel the creative arts are more important than many realise. Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope your Monday hasn’t been too hectic. Lady got to see her best friend, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, today. Lovely time had by both of them.

The writing life is full of ups and downs. You get better over time I think at coming to terms with that and just getting on with the next story, the next project etc.

Just heard today my submission for the Bridge House Publishing anthology has been turned down. Later on in the summer I will have another look at the tale and see if I can (a) improve it and (b) send it somewhere else.

Often when work has been turned down, I have found the answers to those last two points are yes and yes! I’ve then sometimes gone on to have turned down work published elsewhere. So worth another look, always, is my motto here.

For Authors Electric, my post tomorrow will be about The Joys of Creative Writing. Timely I think! Link up tomorrow. See above.

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Hope you have had a good day. Celebrated our church’s 206th anniversary today, which was lovely. A lot happened in 1818 including the publication of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A timeless book, I think, because it asks a timeless question – just who is the monster? That’s how I see it anyway.

The one positive thing about time seemingly whizzing by at the moment is it means The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick is also rapidly approaching (August).

I’m running a two part course there, Editing as an Author, Editing as a Competition Judge. So looking forward to doing this but do check out all the other courses on offer too. Bear in mind too there are four part courses, one hour workshops and a lot more at Swanwick including the chance for 1:1s (I’m doing this too this year on the editing theme).

Hopefully see you at Swanwick in August.

Screenshot 2024-06-16 at 16-24-40 Short Courses Swanwick Writers' Summer School

Strange old weather today. Have managed to avoid most of the downpours.

I’m delighted to say I’ll be welcoming Jennifer C Wilson back to Chandler’s Ford Today next week to discuss her forthcoming publication, 31 Days of Writing. This book comes out on the same day as the CFT post. Much to look forward to in the interview including thoughts on publishing via Amazon and much more besides. So looking forward to sharing this.

Writing Tip: For flash fiction and short story writers especially, always double check whether your title is included in the overall word count you are set for competitions. Some places do include it.

What I do with these markets and competitions is to allow five words for my title. I have to have a working title in any case which may or may not change later. But having something in place immediately means you won’t forget this aspect.

If you find later you only need three words for your title, then you will have a couple of “spare” words to put into your story which is especially useful for those places where you have to write to an exact word count. Think of your working title as a kind of place holder. I find this helps a lot.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today. Both dogs so pleased to see each other.

Thought for you: which of your characters would be pleased to see each other and why? What has kept them apart? Which would be horrified to see the other and why? What brought them back together again?

I’m sure there would be some flash fiction stories to be written up based on those thoughts – have fun!

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It’s Monday. It may just be me but it’s been more hectic than normal. It’s still Monday. Time for my latest on YouTube then. Hope you enjoy Forward Thinking. Just what do you do when a silly bet has gone wrong and you now have to pay up… find out here.

 

Wow, halfway through June already. Author newsletter is out again on 1st July. If you’d like flash fiction/short story news, tips, story links etc., do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I enjoy reading author newsletters as well as writing my own. I like to find out what the news is from my favourite authors and tips etc are always useful. If you’re thinking of starting a newsletter of your own, you might like to check out a post I wrote about this for Chandler’s Ford Today called, surprisingly not (!), Author Newsletters.

Author Newsletters

Have fun mixing up what you do with the writing prompt generators. If you use a word based one, as I often do, change where you put the word you’ve been given. Put it at the beginning, at the end, somewhere in the middle and ring the changes.

There’s nothing to stop you either writing one story with that word at the beginning, another in the middle and so on. What I would do there is change the characters and situations – the common thread would just be the word you’re placing and where you’re placing it. But you would have two or three stories here based on one prompt – I like that idea.

Could you also change the mood of the stories you write here? Could one with your chosen word be a feel good story? Could another with that same word in it somewhere be a tragedy?

Have fun!

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Goodreads Author Blog – Short Form Collections

I read a number of short form collections because (a) I love them and (b) I’ve contributed to many of them in my time and still do, the most recent being the hot-off-the-presses The Best of CafeLit 13. Also my flash fiction collections, From Light To Dark and Back Again and Tripping The Flash Fantastic, come into this category too.

Short stories are fantastic for dipping into. They’re also great for helping me make up my mind what longer form work I want to read next. I also like to ensure I have a good reading diet by reading novels, short stories, flash, magazines, ebooks etc. I’ve never seen the point of limiting yourself to just reading in one category!

But the advantage of the short form, flash or standard length short story, is in giving a reader an impact that much more quickly. For twist in the tail stories, you get to the twist more quickly too. I like that.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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A Strange Few Days…

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Many apologies this is a day late due to very unexpected circumstances.

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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 and photos from Scotland were taken by me, Allison Symes.
Had a lovely time in Scotland last week. Good to be back home again and Lady was thrilled to catch up with her two best friends early on in the week so she’s not sorry to be back home either. Looking forward to running an editing workshop on Zoom on Saturday and the ACW Flash Fiction Group next week. Did take PC with me while away. Enjoyed doing some writing but also enjoyed not doing as much as I normally would have done. It was good to slow down for a while.
Separately, it has not been a great start to my week back though. Burgled on Tuesday. Everyone, take care. It has been a very strange few days.

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Facebook – General

A huge thank you for all the kind comments, caring emojis etc following my brief post yesterday. Glad to say after the Scene of Crime Officers finished here today, I was able to get on and start clearing up properly. Still got plenty to do but have made a good start and just that is making me feel much better, along with your lovely thoughts and comments.

It is also great to be back to the writing desk again. Especially in stressful times, writing is a creative release. I’ll be sharing my latest website round up a little later on and then I should be “caught up”, writing wise.

I’ll also be looking at Decisions for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday and that in turn will be followed by a superb two part interview with Jenny Sanders, whose new book, Polished Arrows, is now out.

Just occasionally I write “two handers” flash tales where two characters interact back and forth. Sometimes these are all dialogue stories but not always. One example of a non-dialogue one is The Pink Rose from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Here I don’t even name the two characters but you do find out they are mother and daughter, the latter battling for the former for as long as she can.

This kind of tale can be moving and I like to write these kinds of tales in between my lighter humorous stories and my darker ones. I think it makes for a good balance.

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21st May 2024

Apologies, folks, for the lack of a “proper” post tonight. Also for the lack of my usual website round up. Will be back to normal tomorrow, I hope. Have had to deal with family emergency (burglary). It has NOT been a good day. Take care, everyone, and will hopefully be back online properly tomorrow.

Lady was thrilled to see her two closest friends today, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback. Lovely time had by all. Just every now and then Lady will show affection by licking her friends on the top of their heads. (Neither of my other collies would have done this but then they both preferred just to focus on their humans – us). Lady did so today so I knew she was so glad to see her pals.

Nothing will ever beat the view I had last week when I was writing my Facebook posts but the view out of my office isn’t bad. Am surrounded by trees. Have had some noisy rooks arguing over the water in the bird bath. Goodness knows why. There is plenty in there.

Writing wise, this week will mainly be spent, I suspect, in catching up with blog posts, my newsletter etc. It was great to be away for a bit. It is good to be back too.

Writing Tip: When you’ve had a break from your normal writing routine, take the chance to look at what you missed doing, what you’re keen to get back to etc. Is there anything you didn’t miss? (Am glad to say not in my case).

If the latter gave you pause for thought, maybe it is time to re-evaluate whether that project is worth continuing with. You need enthusiasm to keep going with writing and while there will always be peaks and troughs, taking the time out to think again will help you establish whether you just need a longer break from the project or whether your heart really isn’t in it any more. (Nothing to stop you coming back to it at a later date either but be kind to yourself here).

Writing Advice

Lovely to be back at home, church etc. Lady was glad to get back to “her” park too.

I’ll be looking at Decisions for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I’ll be looking at the topic from the viewpoints of character decisions, writing decisions, career decisions etc. Plenty to be thinking about then! Link up on Friday.

Was thrilled to discover I was an Editor’s Choice on Friday Flash Fiction with my most recent story, A Break Does You Good. If you missed it, do check out the link. Many thanks to all for the wonderful comments on this one so far too.

Screenshot 2024-05-19 at 17-16-04 A Break Does You Good by Allison Symes

Am on my way home from a fabulous Scottish holiday. Glorious weather all week. Magnificent scenery.

Delighted to be back on Authors Electric with PowerPoint and Zoom Workshops. I discuss how I rediscovered the former thanks to running and going to the latter!

I also look at the benefits of both of these for where I attend webinars on topics of interest which I could never get to in person. I often register for these things even if I’m not sure if I can get to them at the time allocated as many of those running these will send you a link so you can play a recording back at a more convenient time to you. I’ve found that so useful.

Hope you find the post useful. There are many benefits to these things.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for all the kind responses to my post yesterday after my burglary experience. Very much appreciated and it is such a relief to get back to writing again.

Am looking forward also to the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. Plus I’m running an editing workshop for another ACW group this coming Saturday. Good to be busy on something which is fun, writing related, and productive!

I’ve occasionally used a time as an opening line. I used 3 am in my creepy tale, Pressing the Flesh from From Light to Dark and Back Again. The time itself indicates this story is likely to be dark. If I’d set the time at midday, say, the mood of the story would have been entirely different. The darkness of night was needed for this one.

Now this is something you could use to great effect in your own tales. Time can almost be used as a setting in itself here.

Allison Symes - Flash Fiction CollectionsIt’s Monday. My first day back at home after a lovely holiday. Am feeling tired! Definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Going Out. (Not that I was today!).

 

One of the reasons I love opening lines as a writing exercise is they give me two ways in which to operate.

If a character is mentioned, I can then flesh them out more and work out what kind of situation they’re going to deal with.

If the situation is mentioned (but no character as such, often just a name and not always that), I can work out what kind of character would best suit the situation. Win-win either way here as far as I’m concerned. I regularly use both methods to create stories. What I do know is character and situation have to marry up well though.

Will be running an editing workshop for an Association of Christian Writers group on Saturday. Looking forward to that. Until I have the story down, no matter how I create it, the editing waits. I’ve got to know what I’m working with first.

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Going home after a fabulous week away in the beautiful north-east of Scotland. What does going home mean to your characters? Is it something they look forward to doing or something they fear will never happen or something they dread?

There are so many connotations here. What could you use? What does the reaction show about your characters? Could their reaction get better if it is not a good one to start with and what/whom would make that better?

Will miss the marvellous view across to a huge hill (often with red deer on it, we’ve seen a fair few this week) from my temporary home but will take back happy memories and photos. What would your characters bring back with them when they go home?

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Goodreads Author Blog – When A Story Fails

I’m glad to say a story doesn’t fail for me often. When it does, it is always due to me being unconvinced by the characterisation. Something about the characters doesn’t ring true for me or they manage to aggravate me (Miss Price of Mansfield Park is a prime example of this for me yet I love all of Jane Austen’s other heroines, including the supposedly unlikeable Emma).

There is a positive to this though. Knowing what I dislike in character portrayal means I make sure I don’t write this kind of thing for my own creations. I like to know my characters well enough to know what drives them and how they would act/react in any circumstance.

If I understand motivation, I am far more likely to read on to find out what the characters go on and do. It doesn’t mean I have to agree or like what they do but I do have to see where they are coming from.
For me, a story works when the character convinces me. The story is nothing without a convincing character as far as I am concerned.
Screenshot 2024-05-22 at 20-59-18 When A Story Fails

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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