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 photos from the recent Autumn Gathering event which the Association of Christian Writers held earlier this month. Image of me at the recent Book Fair was taken by Janet Williams, my lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today. My book stand shot there was taken by me though.
Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Clocks went back an hour in the UK over the weekend. I was glad of the lie in though deep down I wish they’d pick one time and stick with it but there you go. Lady is not fazed by this at all. When she decides it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up! Writing wise, am looking forward to taking part in Flash NANO once more, starting on Friday. Good luck if you are taking part in this or NaNoWriMo (and even better luck if you’re attempting both!).
Facebook – General
It’s good to be back again on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. I discuss the Autumn Gathering this time, reflect on a wonderful day held earlier this month in Rugby, and look at the value of getting together with other writers, in person and/or online. Hope you enjoy the post.
Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today and we managed to avoid most of the rain so not a bad start to a Monday, I guess.
Managed to get a lot of writing and editing done over the weekend so well pleased with that. Today I’ll get less done simply because Mondays are always hectic for me but this is where “little bits and pieces” of writing come into their own. I’m still being creative. I still get work done, I get to tick things of my list, Win-win-win there!
It has taken me a while to do it but I have become better at working out what I can do with the amount of time I’ve got to write and it is paying off.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Weather lovely here today, the kind of autumn day I like.
Writing Tip: Next Friday, I shall be beginning my Flash NANO “campaign” and what I have found useful here is to have a go at each prompt as they come in. I don’t worry about editing or polishing up until after the event ends.
On days when I’m too busy to even have a go at a prompt, I get back to Flash NANO as soon as I can, resume from where I’ve left off and then eventually catch up. But again no editing or polishing until after 30th November.
By then my earlier stories have had plenty of time to “rest” and I can then evaluate them with a much clearer eye. Good luck to all taking part in this or NaNoWriMo.
Hope you have had a good start to the weekend. Wet and horrible this morning, lovely and sunny this afternoon – sums autumn up well, I think.
Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of my interview with Debz Hobbs-Wyatt re her If Crows Could Talk on Chandler’s Ford Today yesterday. Part 2 follows next Friday and again there is going to be plenty of useful writing advice and thoughts for wherever you are in your writing journey. Do look out for this.
Will be reviewing I’ll Be Back Before Midnight for Friday 8th November. Great show, phenomenally strong storyline, and I look forward to sharing more about what made it so in my CFT post.
Has been nice to have a quieter weekend given the last two have been busy but fun but I also appreciate the quieter ones, especially at this time of year just before things hot up again for Christmas – yes, there I’ve said it!
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Only a few days to go before the start of Flash NANO for another year – hooray! It’s an enjoyable challenge and the prompts are interesting; some I’ve done before, others I haven’t. All good for stretching the old imagination.
Will be looking at festive flash fiction for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting in November. Know we’ll have fun with this. It’s a wider topic than might at first appear given you can look at various traditions, including the Christian one, for inspiration here.
The other way of mixing up your flash types is to try different styles (as well as vary your word count). Why not try an all dialogue story? Why not write a story form one character’s viewpoint and then flip it around and write another one from another’s point of view?
Two people can have widely differently interpretations of situations. You can get something out of that for two flash stories here. Your tale from Character A’s viewpoint will be different to the one told by Character B. Your reader can have fun working out who was right!
It’s Monday. It’s the first one since the clocks went back in the UK. It’s pitch black now at 6.pm as I write this. Definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Way The Cookie Crumbles.
Chocolate chip cookies with Gran sounds wonderful but what will Gran reveal which may come as a surprise to her daughter and granddaughter? Find out here.
Author newsletter out again next week. Hard to believe we’re almost at November. Have got a couple of flash competitions I want to draft something for but hope to get around to this during the coming week or so.
I sometimes know what the mood of the story is going to be from the word go – this is often the case with competitions with set themes. So then I figure out what kind of character would best suit that mood.
I also want to know my character can “deliver” on the story, that they’re worth writing about and they will suit the theme. It’s one reason why I find character traits a useful way into writing a story and working out which traits would suit the mood of the tale.
There is no shortage of traits and we all can draw on our own experiences of them, I think it helps make your stories seem more real, no matter how fantastical the setting, because they’re based on traits we all know and identify with.
Lots happening towards the end of next week. My November newsletter will be out, of course, and I’ll be starting my Flash NANO campaign for another year on the same day, 1st November.
My train tickets for the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event have arrived – two days after I ordered them at the weekend. Always impressed with this. So looking forward to going to the event again.
Will be fun to find out what prompts come up for Flash NANO this time. New, at least to me for this year, was the chance to submit a credited prompt. I have sent one in but don’t know if it will be taken. Will share after November (if I remember!) if it isn’t.
But I enjoyed thinking of something to send in. And I haven’t written a story to my prompt already. If it gets picked, I’ll do it on the day it’s chosen. That for me is a crucial element to the fun of Flash NANO – joining in with everyone else on the same day.
Goodreads Author Blog – Memory Books
When my now late mother was in care, memory books were a big thing in her care home and these were so beautifully produced. They looked like large scrapbooks and they were on different topics.
One of my favourite ones was old advertising signs. Brought back so many memories which, naturally, was the idea. I have come across the odd one of those on Amazon but it struck me you could make your own and use the memories triggered as your own story prompts. (You could use your own photos, say).
But you can also use books themselves this way. I inherited several from my mother and every time I see them those bring back memories. Some of my own books now (especially those by the likes of Wodehouse and Pratchett) have now had newer editions of the same stories issued. Though for Pratchett I much prefer those with the covers by Josh Kirby. The colourful images are so apt for Discworld.
Certain books I re-read at certain times of year because they are either (a) appropriate for the season or (b) much loved books I have to get a re-read in during the year somehow. Lovely memories associated with both types.
And then there are my special shelves. Here I have books I’ve written and/or contributed to plus books signed for me by their authors, all good friends of mine. Lovely memories of getting them to sign for me too.
Just more proof, if it were needed, books are indeed wonderful things! And while I would never be without the Kindle you can’t beat the paperback either.
WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK
Back to the beginning with the first edition of the magazine, the August 2023 issue. I talk about Boost Your Writing with Flash Fiction. Well, I would now, wouldn’t I? And it really won’t be long now before the magazine is back out again.
AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsliked Allison Symes's blog post: Memory Books https://t.co/Gp1NCWfE5h via @goodreads I talk about memory books for Goodreads this week and look at how books I own trigger other wonderful memories. Hope you enjoy the post. pic.twitter.com/KNZzRGN40m
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 26, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIt’s Monday. Time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Way The Cookie Crumbles. Chocolate chip cookies with Gran sounds wonderful but what will Gran reveal which may come as a surprise to her daughter and granddaughter? Find out here. https://t.co/1epAWu28eQ
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 28, 2024
Had a fabulous time with the Association of Christian Writers yesterday. Will be writing more about that for Chandler’s Ford Today this week but it was just marvellous getting together with people I haven’t seen in person for some time. Regards to all and I hope you all had safe journeys home.
Allison Symes: Collected Works 