Tag: blogging

What Makes A Story Real

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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. Many thanks to Paula Readman for taking an image of me with From Light to Dark and Back Again. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope the weekend went well. Not bad here. Looking forward to attending a Zoom social event with the Association of Christian Writers this week. Lady is hoping to catch up with her friends in a different way of course!

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Hope the day has gone well. Looking forward to a lovely online meeting with fellow members of the Association of Christian Writers later on today. Should be fun. Am always up for a good chat with other writers!

That thought makes me smile as I remember going to my first ever writing event many years ago (over on the lovely Isle of Wight too) and being such a nervous newbie. I knew nobody. By the end of the event, that changed! I’ve always found the writing community to be incredibly supportive and continue to appreciate this. It has been a great joy to go to various events over a lot of the country since.

Marketing Tip: I’m a big believer in scheduling mainly because I do blog a lot. But you can do this with aspects of your marketing too. I think ahead a little about themes for my newsletter, for example. I can then start drafting my newsletter a little bit at a time over the month so there is no mad rush to write it right at the end of the month ready for it to go out on the first.

Talking of which, it won’t be long before my next newsletter is due out. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

It won’t be that long before you can find out what the theme for my February newsletter will be!

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Hope your week has got off to a good start. Busy one as ever here though Lady did enjoy seeing her Hungarian Vizler pal today.

Writing wise, I’m writing various bits and pieces, some of which I’m preparing ahead of tomorrow when I have a lovely ACW event to go to online. It will save me a great deal of time tomorrow (which I’m looking forward to “spending” chatting with other ACW members!).

Looking forward to going to Camelot The Pantomime which is being staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company. Their pantomimes are always good fun – oh yes they are. It will be interesting to see just how much make up the Dame gets to wear this year. It usually is pretty impressive.

Character Tip: I don’t tend to use how a character looks as a way into getting to know them. Their traits and attitudes are more important to me but that doesn’t mean I only use those. If I have a character, for example, suddenly start using a lot of makeup when they normally wouldn’t, there will be a story idea there for me to follow through on.

I’m delighted to be back on Authors Electric with my first post of the year, Approaching The Light. While it is true January does seem to be the longest month ever (and do check out Brian Bilston’s Mnemonic for more on this), on the plus side as the month goes on we are literally approaching the light(er) evenings.

I also discuss liking (as well as writing) light and dark stories. Life has both elements so I think fiction should do too. Too much dark is too grim for me. Too much light can be sickly sweet for me. Neither option is good! I also look at redemption stories and light and dark in our characters for this post.

Hope you enjoy it.

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Hope today has gone well. I cleared up a load of autumn leaves. It makes for a great workout, trust me on this. Lady, naturally, “supervised”.

Will be looking at Spoofs for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’m fond of a good spoof and you can find them in different art forms too. I’ll look at some of these and discuss what makes for a good spoof in my post. Am looking forward to sharing that. As you can imagine from the title, it was a fun post to write.

Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing my first Authors Electric post for the year and will be looking at Approaching the Light. This topic suggested itself because as January goes on (and doesn’t it just!), you do start to see the lighter evenings and the promise of spring coming again. See above.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Flash is great fun to write as you can set your characters anywhere you want and in any period of time. I try to take full advantage of that, though inevitably, certain favourite genres of mine do crop up regularly in my writing. I will always have a soft spot for humorous fairytales/fantasy tales.

I like to mix up the moods of what I write too. I do write light and dark tales which inspired the title of my first book, From Light to Dark and Back Again. It reflects life, my tastes in fiction etc.

Characters, like us, do have to work for their success, in whichever form that comes so their stories should reflect this. It inevitably won’t be all sweetness and light (which to me is far too twee to read yet alone write. I want my stories to have some bite to them).

Certain issues you care deeply across are likely to surface in your fiction too. It’s no coincidence that in most of my tales some sort of justice is always seen to be done for those characters deserving that.

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It’s Monday. It’s still January. It’s definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Nicknames.

The receptionist of an exclusive club where nobody gets in without an invite with their name and nickname on it is confronted by someone without this. The character is forceful but will the receptionist stand her ground? Find out here.

Flash encourages focus, as I was discussing yesterday, simply due to its word count restriction. You haven’t got the word count room to go on at length. Over time and with practice, you become better at leaving out wasted words, finding better ways of phrasing things etc., and all of that tightens your writing considerably.

Even better, learning all of this is useful for whatever other writing you do. I’ve found it helps me with my blogs and articles. Plus it is an excellent warm up writing exercise ahead of your main work. You can always use the random generators to trigger a prompt to get started.

And if you are writing longer works, you might, later, want to write some short pieces to share with readers of your newsletter, website etc. A scene with a favourite character which you had to cut from the main work might be turned into a short, stand alone piece. It can act as wonderful additional marketing material and your readers will feel as if they are getting extra from you too.

Hope you enjoyed my Changing My Life 100 words story I shared here yesterday. See previous round up post. The 100 words flash format (also called drabbles) is a great challenge but it is wonderful for twist and punchline endings especially.

It is also long enough to let you think something about a character with the ending either confirming what you thought or surprising you. I do know I wouldn’t want to cross my character from yesterday (whom I deliberately didn’t name – it’s more chilling that way sometimes).

Often with the drabble, I do know the ending first. I can work out the details leading up to that ending and focus only on what you need to know to make sense of the story. I’ve often talked about flash fiction making you focus. The shorter the word count, the more intense that focus is, but it can lead to powerful, emotional storytelling. You’re not diluting the impact basically. It is “in your face” so to speak.

Goodreads Author Blog – What Makes A Story “Real”

What makes a story real for me, regardless of its genre, is when I believe in the characters. They have come to life to me on the page (or via the screen or via audio etc) and so I want to find out more about them and what happens. If I don’t “get” the characters, I’m unlikely to read on.

Now those characters don’t have to be nice but even with the villains, I still have to see why they are being the way they are. I don’t have to agree with them though! But I don’t believe in any character who does something or says something “just because”.

Every story, even the shortest flash fiction such as the ones I write, has to have a logic about it, even if it is set in a fantasy land. There have to be characters and situations readers will “get” even though we can never be part of the fictional world the author has created.

A story also feels real for me when it “plays out” properly. Even in flash fiction, you can have the Three Act Structure. The acts just aren’t so long, that’s all! But there does have to be a proper beginning, middle, and end. I have to feel as if the characters ended up in a situation which was appropriate and satisfying.

I do prefer happy endings but have read stories where the endings are open to question on that front. Frodo, from The Lord of the Rings, doesn’t get the happy ending Sam did. Rightly so too. It was apt for Sam, not for Frodo but that’s the point. The two characters are realistic. Their story arc is right for them.

I like to see a “right” story arc, regardless of the length of story. Stories fall flat otherwise, for me. What do you think?

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A New Year, A New Promise, A New List (Maybe)

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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.
I hope you had a lovely Christmas and may I wish you a Happy New Year. The round up below consists of posts for pre-Christmas and in between Christmas events plus my usual pieces. I hope you enjoy a bumper read! Lady, naturally, had a fabulous Christmas seeing family and Santa Paws was as generous as ever.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady saw her “boyfriend”, the lovely Aussie Shepherd, Bear, today. They both had a lovely time with Chuckit balls – at least the pair of them had the coats for the bitterly cold weather today.

I am sad to report Friday Flash Fiction is closing in the New Year. I am so grateful to them for their support, for getting me into regularly writing 100 word stories again (which was my way into flash fiction and being published in my own right), and the sheer fun of joining in and reading the other fabulous stories on this site. It will be greatly missed.

Will I keep on writing the 100 word stories? Oh yes. They are a great challenge and fun to write. It is amazing what you can convey in such a short word count.

29th December – More Than Writers

How can the year have gone by so fast? Yes, it is time for my final More Than Writers post for 2025 and I look at A New Year, A New Promise, A New List (Maybe). I discuss why I don’t make resolutions but I do review what I think I might like to achieve writing wise for the coming year.

I share why I think doing this is helpful and the great thing is it doesn’t matter where you are in your writing life. Even if you are just starting out, taking time to review where you are and where you would like your writing to go is a good idea. I also share some thoughts as to what could go on to your “review list”.

Hope you enjoy the post and find it useful.

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27th December

Hello again. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Lovely time here. Will be back to my usual writing routine on Monday but thought I’d pop by just to say I hope you received lots of fabulous books as presents. Don’t forget the next best thing you can do for any author is to review their books. Aptly since I’m a flash fiction writer, I will say reviews don’t have to be long. A line or two is great. Make a writer’s New Year – give them a good review!

I’ll be back on Chandler’s Ford Today next Friday too with a post about Winter Stories. Will share that on Friday.

I will be sending out my author newsletter on New Year’s Day too. To sign up for tips and stories and more, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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24th December – Christmas Eve

Hope your Christmas Eve has gone well. Busy one here but am set up ready to go for tomorrow. Lady is always interested when Mum is busy cooking in the kitchen. I wonder why….

Looking forward to a lovely church service tomorrow and then later catching up with family and favourite films. However you spend Christmas, I hope you have a great and enjoyable day.

It was great to have a quick catch up chat with my Chandler’s Ford Today editor, Janet Williams, this evening. Will be posting again on CFT from January. Tonight, I plan to just write a few odds and ends. I find doing some writing helps me unwind after a a busy day. I think it’s because the writing gives me some time to be creative and I seem to thrive on that.

Happy Christmas! Seems so long ago now but it was less than a week as I prepared this! Mind you, even with Christmas now over for another year, it is ALWAYS worth celebrating the wonderful world of stories.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am happily working on an edit of my Seeing The Other Side at the moment, as well as editing for someone else. It was way back in 2020, the year we all prefer to forget, when I was last on both sides of the editing fence at the same time. It’s an interesting and enlightening experience.

Will be co-judging a flash fiction competition from the end of January and am looking forward to donning my judge’s hat again. Judging stories is also an enlightening experience and a great honour to be asked to do.

It’s hard to say what the single thing is I most love about flash fiction writing and reading, but a strong contender would be the impact such stories have on you. There is no dilution of the emotions the stories are meant to produce. You get the pay off for twist stories quickly too and I find I then want to read even more short twist tales, it is like an addiction but this one is harmless at least!

29th December
The time between Christmas and New Year always does seem strange. What I do know though is today, 29th December, is still a Monday and therefore it is time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Approaching Time.

Even anthromorpic beings with a limited shelf life make the most of the time they’ve got, even when they are parts of Time herself.

 

27th December
Just popping by to write some brief pieces. Have thoroughly enjoyed my time off (and will be off again tomorrow) but it is also nice to be back at the desk for a short while tonight.

One of my nicest tasks when I get back to a proper writing routine will be to start selecting flash and short story competitions to have a go at in 2026. I did enter more competitions this year and want to keep on doing this (as it makes me write more and what isn’t accepted in one place may be accepted elsewhere, that has happened for me before).

I also want to find new competitions to try. It stretches me and my writing and that’s a good thing. It will be a while before I send anything into Friday Flash Fiction but hope to do that again sometime in January when the new editor gives the word to go. Sadly, I received further news since writing this that Friday Flash Fiction will be closing at the end of 2025 but I will keep writing 100 word stories. There are a number of competitions for these so I hope to try some of these.

24th December – Christmas Eve
Just a quick post to wish you all a Happy Christmas. Naturally I hope you receive many wonderful books (including flash fiction collections, of course) tomorrow! Mind you, I am obliged to add flash fiction isn’t just for Christmas!

Joking aside, I will also say a huge thanks for your support this year. I continue to love flash fiction in all of its forms and look forward to getting back to writing more after the Christmas break.

Meantime, I hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year. See you here again soon!

Fairytales With Bite – Festivities

I write this on the evening of Christmas Eve 2025 so naturally festivities are very much to mind at the moment.

Now festivities come in a huge range of forms and are held for various reasons, including personal festivities, religious ones etc. Which type or types would your setting have? How did they originate? Have the way they are celebrated changed over time and what brought about the change?

What do your characters make of the festivities? Do they look forward to them or dread them? Is there the equivalent of the last minute Christmas shop? Are the festivities a time for everyone to “down tools” including magical ones? How would your world ensure it was secure enough during its “down time” or is it secure enough to know it doesn’t have enemies? (Good story possibility there for someone to prove them wrong!).

Who organises the festivities? (I’d want to know who does the catering but I have a vested interest in that one given I do the catering here).

Also a festivity could be a useful break/time of respite for a character who needs it. Story ideas there for sure.

This World and Others – Marking the End of a Time Period

As well as thinking about Christmas as I write this on 24th December 2025, the festive season also includes marking the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.

What time periods operate in your fantasy world? Are there periods of time they mark when they pass? How does time operate in your setting? Is it the same as ours or do they not have things such as days, weeks, years?

When it comes to periods of light and dark, which is the greater in terms of length or are they the same? We base our time system on the thought there are twelve hours of daylight, twelve hours of night (especially in mid summer) but what would your world base their system on if they don’t use natural light to base it on?

Now I admit I did use to stay up and see the New Year in but these days I tend to take the view the New Year can come in without me witnessing it as I do appreciate my sleep more! In your setting, would everyone be obliged to mark the passing of a set period of time? How would those commemorations happen? Who did say what the time periods would be at all?

Goodreads Author Blog – Happy New Reading Year

I hope 2025 brought lots of lovely books into your life and that you have an excellent and Happy New Reading Year too.

The time between Christmas and New Year can seem a bit odd, it’s almost as if you’re in limbo, but it is a great time for getting on with reading all of those lovely books you received as presents. (And a lovely New Year’s present to the authors can be to leave them a review here on Goodreads and elsewhere, of course).

The New Year will bring a new book into my life too. In May, my third flash fiction collection (Seeing The Other Side – Bridge House Publishing) will be out and I am looking forward to that, naturally.

Am also currently enjoying editing works for others. It’s a lovely job. Also it makes me think about my own writing and this can be enormously helpful.

I do know, above all else though, I will continue to love and appreciate stories and books. They are some of the best things about humanity. (Okay, folks, I do have to include chocolate and classical music in that list too!).

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A Year In Flashback

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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 Lynn Clement, Paula Readman, and Penny Blackburn for images from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event and The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick held earlier this year.
Hope you have had a good week. Lady has enjoyed seeing her chums though the weather has been frightful at times. Am slowly winding down for a Christmas break. There will be one more round up post (Tuesday 23rd December and the one after that will be on Tuesday, 30th December). Meantime I hope all of your Christmas preparations go well – still plenty to do here!

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Pleased to share my last Chandler’s Ford Today post for 2025. I look at A Year In Flashback and review my writing year. I also share the link to the recent Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM hosted by Hannah Kate. I was pleased to have a festive piece broadcast here (and thrilled three other members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group had their work broadcast too).

This post was a joy to write as I look back at events I went to and review my news of the year, especially the forthcoming publication of Seeing The Other Side (Bridge House Publishing). Hope you enjoy the post and I would recommend taking out some time to look back at your own writing for the year. You may well find you’ve achieved more than you thought. I’ve written more stories than ever this year, for one thing.

A Year In Flashback

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The weather has been ghastly today (Lady didn’t go out this afternoon and it has to be really bad for that to happen) but I do hope my latest post on Authors Electric might bring some seasonal cheer.

I look at Approaching Christmas and A New Year this time and discuss the joys of taking in seasonal stories whether it is by book or film (many of which are based on books in any case). I also share some film ideas here too – if you haven’t seen Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather, I highly recommend it. Plus you can’t beat The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Hope you enjoy the post and I hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year. See you here again in 2026, all being well!

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Hope you have had a good Wednesday. Lady had a lovely time with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals which was sweet to see.

Looking forward to tonight’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. We’ll be sharing chat, news, stories etc. Christmas jumpers and so on are optional. Should be fun and it is a lovely way to wrap up our writing year here. It was great fun!

Will be sharing A Year in Flashback for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I will be back on CFT after that early in the New Year. A huge thank you to all the lovely authors I’ve interviewed this year. Am hoping for more of the same in 2026. See above for CFT post.

Writing Tip: As Christmas approaches, I do slow down on the writing and then stop for a few days. The break is wonderful and gives me chance to catch up on some reading too. Never be afraid to take a break from writing when you feel you need one. It will still be there for you when you are ready to resume it (and I find I am raring to get back precisely because I have had that break).

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

No story to share on Friday Flash Fiction this time but I will just say the winner of their Christmas competition will be announced shortly after 19th December 2025. Good luck to all who took part in the competition too.

I will start sending stories in again in the New Year and look forward to doing so, though the break will also be lovely (and I am sure that will be the view of the FFF people too!).
Will be sharing A Year in Flashback for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. Will be my last CFT post for 2025. See above.

I hope to draft some flash and other pieces during the holidays but don’t plan on writing much. I do hope to catch up on some reading though.

I will be sending out my author newsletter on 1st January as normal though I will admit to preparing a lot of this in advance. It helps! I share news, tips, story links and more here. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com and for those who already subscribe, may I say a huge thank you for your continued support.

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Last meeting for 2025 for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group tonight. (On Wednesday 17th December and it was good fun).

Also am glad I got my final flash and short story competition entries in a couple of weeks ago. Things are starting to become more hectic in the run up to Christmas. I know, I know. I shouldn’t be surprised by it really. We all know Christmas is coming but the last week or so seems to creep up on you. Am looking forward to taking part in some carol services too. These are always lovely.

I try to use some of the Christmas break to catch up with stories (via books, films, audio etc).

Flash fiction comes into its own during busy times. It means I will always have time to read some stories, even if they are only 100 words long a piece!

Fairytales with Bite – Minor Characters in Fairytales

I have a very soft spot in my heart for minor characters in fairytales. One helped me get into print with A Helping Hand in Bridge House Publishing’s 2009 anthology, Alternative Renditions. I have written many fairytales with minor characters taking the lead for once since then.

Flash fiction works brilliantly for this given I think this kind of story works at its best when kept tight. For one thing, you don’t need to go into much detail about the story the minor characters have come from as folk will know this already. All you do is hint there was more to come and that is where your story comes in, of course.

This kind of story can be great fun to write as you can set the record straight, if you wish, for the minor characters who will be your “stars”. You can also show behind the scenes material the original story didn’t cover. For example, what did go on in the Palace kitchens on the night of Prince Charming’s ball? What was the gossip (and you can bet there would have been plenty of that, especially after midnight!).

What matters is showing why you want to write about the minor characters you pick. What made them special enough for you to write their tales up? That is where the story will “spark” and catch not just your imagination but those of your readers too. So what does need to be told about these characters and why?

These tales are a great vehicle for humorous stories too. Have fun! (I continue to do so here).

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This World and Others – The Role of Your Setting

What role does your setting play in your story? Why have you set your story there? How does it help or hinder your characters? How would it appeal to your readers? What would we picture about it to make it seem real to us?

Setting can almost be a character in its own right. Think Mordor or The Shire from The Lord of The Rings. Both of those places conjure up different images (and of the characters likely to live here too).

If your world setting is an old one, how has it changed over time and has that been due to natural factors or things like magical power misuse? If the latter, has anything been done to correct it?

Your setting could be the story in its own right – what happened to it, why, and what was done to rectify it and who led the way to things being put right (or as right as possible).

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The Darkest Hour and Themed Anthologies

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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 have had a good weekend. Wild weather. Lovely church service with a special presentation for a long standing member/elder. Cake followed. That went down well with all. Lady is making the most of being out and about. Am thankful she dries quickly and doesn’t mind being tried. She sees it as cuddle time with Mum, which helps. Writing going well. Hope to submit competition entries this week, the last for the year I suspect.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady had a lovely time with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals today. It was so nice not getting soaked!

Writing wise, I’m sharing a fabulous interview with fellow Swanwicker, Heather Beveridge (who writes as Hetty Waite), about her new novel, Evolve. Amongst other topics, she’ll be sharing what she loves about dystopian fiction. Be sure not to miss. Plenty of tips and useful thoughts in this interview too. Link up on Friday.

Hope to submit my final story competitions for the year later this week. Hope to review and send tomorrow if I can. Busy editing at the moment too.

Writing Tip: Never be afraid to write rubbish. In all first drafts, you will find something of value and plenty to discard! This is the way of it but unless you get something written, you will never find that something of value to work on further.

Hope you have had a good day. Ghastly weather but Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler friend so that was a big plus. Mind you, we weren’t out for long! Even Lady wasn’t sorry to get home.

Writing wise, my last author newsletter of the year went out earlier today. Where has the year gone? Theme this time was on festive flash fiction.

Had a good writing weekend in that for the three story competitions I want to enter, I now have three pieces prepared. Handy that! Am just now resting them for a couple of days before I review and hopefully send in but that will be it for competitions for me for 2025.

Am so looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event on Saturday. It will be lovely catching up with everyone again. I also get to meet up with friends from Swanwick and the Association of Christian Writers here so I see that as even more of a win!

Hope the weekend has gone well. Crisp, cold, and dry here unlike yesterday which was milder, wet and soggy! Mind you, Lady goes out in all weathers and has her humans to clear up after her so she never worries about the weather.

Writing wise, I am looking forward to introducing Heather Beveridge, who writes as Hetty Waite, to Chandler’s Ford Today next week to discuss her new book, Evolve. This interview is part of a blog tour organised by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog.

Heather/Hetty and I have a friend in common – Val Penny – and The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Interview is a fabulous in depth look of Hetty’s writing journey to date, the blurb for Evolve is intriguing, and I look forward to sharing the interview on Friday.

After that I will be looking back at my writing year – yes, it is almost that time again.

As ever, am looking forward to commencing flash fiction Sunday afternoon soon. Last ever Flash NANO prompt though – boo hoo! Still, I’ll enjoy the challenge of that later today.

Delighted to be back on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest post, The Darkest Hour.

I look at the topic from the viewpoint of characters facing their darkest hour. They all do. It is at that moment the pivot of change in any story usually occurs as the characters have to find a way of dealing with that darkest hour. Will it overcome them or will they overcome it? We read on to find out of course.

Hope you find the post useful.

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Have three final flash stories to submit for competitions and hope to get them in tomorrow. I suspect I will end up drafting new material for competitions in the New Year. I try to get as much written as I can before Christmas, then have a few days off, then back to writing again.

But it is useful to me to have something drafted to come back to and it has also proved useful to set myself a deadline by which time I will have submitted my final competition entries for the year. I do dislike last-minute-dot-com-itis when it comes to sending any written work in. Mind you, this isn’t new. I was like this with my school and college work too!

It’s Monday. It has been a dark, windy and very wet Monday. So glad to be indoors. It’s definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Toy Snowman.

Some things always have meaning. Find out what a toy snowman means to my character and what is on its scarf to give it even deeper meaning.

 

Flash fiction gives you a glimpse into a character and their world, shows you a moment in their time, but it should leave you feeling as if there was nothing more to be shared. The impact of any story is crucial. It shows it “lives” and is resonating with readers, whether it is to make them laugh, cry, scream, or what have you.

This is another reason for me why, in the character -v- plot debate, character always wins out because unless they make me care enough to want to read their story, I’m not going to get to the plot at all. It always pays to ask yourself honestly how does your story make you feel as it is likely to be the response a reader will have.

I can hardly believe we’re at the penultimate day of the last ever Flash NANO already. Am looking forward to having a crack at today’s prompt later on.

I’ve picked out two stories for one competition (where you are allowed to send in two entries for one fee) and another longer piece. All ready for editing and I hope to submit them maybe towards the end of next week.

Will be having an informal chat and sharing of stories at the December meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. That is always fun and it makes for a lovely way to end the year.

Pleased to say I will be a competition judge again in the New Year for a flash competition. Looking forward to that.

So there’s plenty going on I’m glad to say. Also my next author newsletter will be out very soon indeed.

Do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com if you would like to sign up for flash tips, stories and more.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Themed Anthologies

I love anthologies. Okay, I’m biased because I have short stories and/or flash fiction in many of them over many years. My latest, The Family Legend, is in the recently published Magi (Bridge House Publishing).

But I love anthologies because they’re not only great to write for, they are wonderful to read. You get to read the styles of many different authors. I always find it fascinating to read how many writers come up with so many different takes on the same theme (and practically every anthology does have a set theme).

I find anthologies useful for discovering authors new to me. If I like their short work, I’m highly likely to love their longer tomes. Also, naturally at this time of year as we think of Christmas presents, they can be great gifts for the readers in your life, especially if you don’t know what they’ve got already in terms of novels etc. They’re also superb ways of supporting many authors in one go too.

Why not give them a try? You are bound to find many with themes which appeal.

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Author News – Allison Symes – Out and About With ACW

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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. Many thanks to Janet Williams, my lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today, for the image of me at the most recent Hiltingbury Book Fair. I now use this as my Gravatar! Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good week. Had a lovely time watching The Chameleons perform Arnold Ridley’s Ghost Train. Review to follow in due course. Am off to another amateur production soon too. It’s all go. Author newsletter out again tomorrow. How can it be almost November already?

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31st October 2025 – First Post

Am thrilled to share Author News – Allison Symes – Out and About with ACW as my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week, I review last week’s Autumn Gathering run by the Association of Christian Writers. I reflect on the presentations given (with so many helpful thoughts for all writers) and celebrate what was a lovely event. Hope you enjoy the post.

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31st October 2025 – second post

As an extra post to the Chandler’s Ford Today one, I am delighted to say the Association of Christian Writers now has its own YouTube channel.

One thing to come out of the Egham day was that ACW members in attendance with books out had the opportunity to share a little bit about their books on this channel. Hope you enjoy the video below.

You will spot I am in full “just come in from a walk mode” here (so apologies for the wild hair but it is the authentic me you are getting!) but do check out the other authors and books here. There will be more videos to come too. There was a fantastic range of ACW works at the book table last week.

 

Hope the day has gone well. Quiet over the park but Lady and I had a lovely time. I then got on with my autumn working out – raking up leaves. (Lady is no good at this but is excellent in running through leaves, scattering them everywhere).

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Author News – Allison Symes – Out and About with ACW for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I’ll be looking back at a fabulous event in Egham last weekend and share some of what I thought came out from the theme of the presentations, all useful for any writer. Link up tomorrow. See above.

Am off out this evening to see The Chameleons’ latest production – Ghost Train (which was written by Arnold Ridley of Dad’s Army fame, he was Godfrey in that). Will review for CFT in due course. Will say now it was an excellent story but more to come in a future review.

Pleased to be back on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest blog post, Memories and Fiction. I look at how memories can inspire fiction and why characters should have memories (it helps make them more believable for one thing). Hope you enjoy the post.

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I don’t celebrate Halloween as I prefer to commemorate 1st November – All Souls Day – where you remember and celebrate those who have gone to heaven.

But for this week’s Friday Flash Fiction story I have come up with an appropriately titled piece for this time of year. I hope you enjoy Pumpkins.

One thing with flash is it is suitable for almost any topic but you do have to focus on one particular moment, one particular character. The essence of flash is to hone a story down to its essence.

What can be tricky is working out what the particular moment is you have to share with readers. Often you’ll have a great idea for a story but it will take more than your allowed word count to put in everything you want so you have to hone down to get to the spirit of the piece and focus on what will serve that alone.

It is why flash is a wonderful discipline and why it will do so much for your editing skills. With time and practice, you develop skills and instincts as to what does really matter in your stories.

Hope today has gone well. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal on what has been a murky day here.
I don’t tend to use the weather much in my flash and other stories. It can be open to cliche but you could use weather to influence your character’s mood and, as a result, what their attitude and behaviour might be. This will be especially effective if other characters in your story know your lead person isn’t normally like this.

Also the weather can be used to put another obstacle (or several) in your character’s way. What will they do/can they do to overcome that?

Fairytales with Bite – Magical Events

What kind of events are commemorated in your magical setting? I am thinking along the lines of historical events for your world but it could also include “scientific” discoveries in the field of magic being commemorated, especially if they have brought great benefits to your setting.

For example, if a particular spell helped boost your world’s equivalent of medicine, how would that be commemorated? Would your characters be encouraged to look at how life was before it was discovered and compare it with how things are now?

Naturally such events could be manipulated to keep folk under control so who would be behind that and why did they feel the need to have the Roman equivalent of “bread and circuses” to contain their magical world?

Who set up magical events in the first place and, even where there is a good reason for having these things, what did they have to do to persuade others to have these things?

I’ve always imagined that organising magical beings to do anything would be like herding cats – technically possible, of course, but nigh on impossible to actually do, so how did your person get these things set up?

Could be some funny stories here. Also there could be good stories to be had with the magical event concerned as the backdrop.

This World and Others – Commemorations and Sombre Events

Now for Fairytales with Bite above, I was assuming the magical events in question would be jolly ones. But there are other types of events of course, including formal commemorations and more sombre events.

For example, what would your world’s equivalent be of Remembrance Sunday? All worlds would have some history behind them. If there is one thing I do know about history, it is that it is so often grim. And while that may not come into play for your story directly, a world setting would hint at its past in some way, including things like this. It would help a reader picture your world more. It would make it seem more real.

Also your characters would refer to events of any kind going on, especially if you did use them as a backdrop. Also it could form part of their conversation – e.g. “did you get to Event X last week? Did you hear what happened?” etc. That kind of chatter would have a direct impact on your story. There would be consequences from the chatter as well as from readers finding out what did happen.

In the development of magic, there would be good developments and bad ones. So could your more sombre events remember those times when things went badly wrong? How did your world come to terms with this? What impact does it have on your setting now? Were your characters involved in these things in any way or are they the descendants of those behind what may well have been a tragedy? How do they come to terms with the past here?


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Growing The Seed and Comfort Books

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Hope you had a good weekend. Great, family party orientated one here. Fabulous time had by all. Lots of laughs. Lady loves these things and is also shattered. Writing wise, it’s back to the desk and I am looking forward especially to sharing the October issue of Writers’ Narrative. See below for more.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady has – she got to see and play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback buddy today.

Looking forward to the October issue of Writers’ Narrative due out at any moment. I always look forward to the magazine coming out but this one is special because its theme is Short Form Fiction, a topic which is close to my writing heart of course.

I am the Featured Author this time and enjoyed a fabulous interview by Wendy H Jones, the magazine’s Editor in Chief. I also wrote a separate article breaking down how one of my published flash pieces works and looking at the influences behind it.

So can’t wait to share this with you. Coming soon, as they say!

Oh and my author newsletter is out again tomorrow too. Busy busy.

It’s a delight to be back on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest post, Growing The Seed May Take Longer than Thought.

The idea for this one came from looking at the dates in my hymn book. There is often a considerable gap between the words being written and the music for the hymn being composed. Naturally, as writers, we too can wait for longer than we would care for to see our work be accepted etc.

Hope you find the post encouraging. This phenomenon is nothing new. I find it helpful to know I’m not alone here. And, especially if you are starting out, I hope it helps to know this. I can’t think of any writer I know who has not had setbacks, rejections etc (I’ve had loads) but you press on and learn and improve and keep going. 

 

Had a fabulous time yesterday. Plenty of good company, good food, good drinks, and loads of laughs! But now back to the writing desk.

Will be getting on with flash fiction Sunday afternoon shortly. Hope to put finishing touches to my next author newsletter either today or tomorrow, ready for it to go out again on Wednesday. Having an author newsletter and/or running a monthly workshop really does show up how quickly the year flies by, or so I’ve found.

Hope to get around to looking at competition material next weekend (as do have some ready already ) but also want to draft some fresh material too. (Keeps me on my toes and I always like to have a “stock” in ready for me to look at when suitable competitions come up). There is at least one more competition I want to have an entry in for this year.

I also hope, before too long, to be drafting my festive flash fiction again (and yes it is almost time to be thinking of that again. I sometimes draft such stories in the summer but more often in the early to mid autumn so I have plenty of time to polish work up before sending it anywhere).

Hosted a family event today so posting at a different time. Am shattered thanks to having a wonderful time but then that’s how a good event should be.

Writing wise, I’ll be getting on with flash fiction Sunday tomorrow and I plan to share Things I Wish I’d Known Earlier for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. To stop that post from being far too long (!), I’ll be focusing on writing here.

Flash Fiction Tip: Always focus on the story rather than the word count. I know that sounds odd for me to say but it does matter to get the story right. I’ve sometimes written what I thought would be a 100 words story only to find it works better at 300 words, say. So I save that story for another market.

For flash, it helps to focus on one character and one important moment for them. It is more direct and can save a lot on your word count.

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Good day, less hectic than yesterday, and now time to settle in for an evening’s writing, one of my favourite times of the day.

Flash Fiction Tip: If you’re planning to write a piece which has a twist ending or a humorous punchline, jot that down first and then work out what could lead to it. I find doing this means the twist or humorous punchline comes across more naturally and is more believable to a reader.

I often have ideas for this kind of ending to a story so have found “planning backwards” works a treat here. I have my ending, I know what has immediately led to it, I work out what has led to that and before I know it I am back at the beginning of the story.


It’s another hectic Monday (after a fabulous party weekend). Time to take a little time out and enjoy a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – True Friendship.

Beth feels Mary is a true friend after Beth’s break up with her ex but is Beth being honourable here?

 

I’m delighted to share the latest – and the last – installment of Seeing The Other Side, which is being serialised on CafeLit. I hope you’ve enjoyed the stories serlalised here. Plenty more to come when the book comes out next May. This will be my my biggest flash fiction collection to date and I am so looking forward to seeing it out there. Meantime, do enjoy the last crop of stories for now.

Have hosted a family party today. Great fun. Now, have you given thought to using parties as a backdrop to your flash fiction stories? Is your character at a party for themselves or someone else? How do they feel about being there? Can the party be a moment of change for your character?

Story ideas there, I’d say. Also open to mood here. This kind of tale could be funny or tragic. Or anything in between simply due to how your character feels about being at that party.

Goodreads Author Blog – Comfort Books

Often when the weather is gloomy, or the news is grim (and right now both of those things apply), I will turn to what I consider to be my comfort books. It’s when I will often turn to Wodehouse, Pratchett, Austen, knowing I’m going to need something to make me smile.

Ironically, something to make me smile doesn’t preclude serious issues. Pratchett was a master of tackling these with humour in his Discworld series. (Do check out his Raising Steam. It has a strong take on terrorism especially that done in the name of faith).

One of the purposes of reading, for me, is to escape. I’ve never seen any harm in books written for “just entertainment”. Indeed, I feel there is a snobbery about books like this, which would include my own, and naturally I am against that. The important thing is people read. Some of my special memories are associated with books too so there is comfort in them too.

Sometimes that is just what you need.

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Double Blog Day – Stand Alone Books and Out and About with Jane Austen (again!)

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Hope the week has gone well so far. Weather becoming changeable, a good reminder we are rapidly heading into autumn (in my part of the world anyway). I like autumn. Love to see the leaves changing colour. Lady doesn’t mind which season she’s in though can find the high heat of summer trying. Have had to cancel some of her walks during the heatwave this year.
Writing wise, had a lovely session of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group this week. Will have a smashing author interview coming up too plus I too am being interviewed so lots going on.


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29th August 2025 – 1st post – More Than Writers

It’s double blog time again for me and the first one I’m sharing today is my More than Writers post for this month. This is the blog spot of the Association of Christian Writers and this time I’m talking about Out and About with Jane Austen.

I look specifically at what writers can gain from going to exhibitions like this and why one particular thought I had here is a good challenge for all writers. If you can, do get down to The Dorset Museum in Dorchester as this exhibition is on until 14th September and is worth going to see.

(A longer version of this post was on Chandler’s Ford Today recently but for More than Writers I wanted to look at things writers especially can learn from such things, as well as to celebrate the life and times of Miss Austen, of course. Don’t think you can do that often enough incidentally!).

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29th August 2025 – 2nd post – Chandler’s Ford Today

Second blog post from me today and this time it’s my Chandler’s Ford Today one. Again I look at something well worth celebrating – Stand Alone Books.

I share what I like about such books. I’m not unbiased here as I write them too. My flash fiction books are different from each other and each can be read alone, though naturally I would love people to read both of them and to get my third when it is out next May as that will be different again!

I also look at the joys of writing such books and naturally I look at the challenges too.

Hope you enjoy the post.

Stand Alone Books

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It’s double blog day again for me tomorrow so do look out for two posts from me. I will be sharing my latest on More Than Writers (the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers) which is about my recent visit to a Jane Austen exhibition in Dorset. I specifically look at what writers can get from going to things like this. The second will be my usual Chandler’s Ford Today post where I will be looking at Stand Alone Books. See above for both.

Writing Tip: Always have in mind your potential audience for what you are writing, as well as the reason why you writing it. It helps with focus. I wrote a longer piece for CFT about Jane Austen which was to give a general overview of the exhibition a little while back with the idea to encourage potential visitors to go to said exhibition (and if you can get to go before it ends in mid September, I would). My post tomorrow for More than Writers narrows my focus down as to what writers can learn from this kind of event (and there is plenty too). So one idea, two articles, two different areas of focus – and this works. 

For fiction, think about what your potential audience will get from your story, whether it is to be entertained, or made to think about something (though there is no reason why you can’t do both of those things as a good story will always have me asking myself whether I would act as the character did or not). What is the focus of the story? Why will your character appeal to readers?

Hope the day has gone well. Had some welcome rain today. Actually had to towel the dog down for the first time in weeks.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting later this evening.
Am also looking forward to sharing a wonderful author interview on Chandler’s Ford Today in September. Am also working on interview questions for myself at the moment. Am almost there on them. More news later on that one. But plenty going on, I’m glad to say.

Don’t forget the next issue of Writers’ Narrative will be out again soon too. It is free to subscribe to so why not check it out? It is written by writers for writers and covers so much but why not see for yourself?

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Hope the working week has gone well. I can now share what were my two entries for the recent Friday Flash Fiction competition and, once again, heartiest congratulations to Sue Clayton, who won with her tale Per Annum, plus the runners-up.

My two pieces were:-
Making It Up
Faith and Flowers

Hope you enjoy these two but do check out the other tales here. I’ve had a fabulous read doing so and am sure you will too.

Had a lovely session of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group yesterday. Was pleased we all got to draft some stories. I joined in with this too and now have two pieces to polish up and submit somewhere. All good!

It’s funny how your perspective can change over time. I remember being terrified of writing exercises. Would I be able to write something? I was sure it would be absolute rubbish if I could get something down.

Now I rarely pass up the opportunity to have a go at any writing exercise. I know the first draft will need work so I can forget about the rubbish bit. It’s fine for it to be rubbish. Nobody writes the perfect first draft but there will be something I can take from my initial draft and make better still. And that has the possibility of going on to be published or do well in a competition. Everything to go for then as far as I’m concerned.

With flash, you can have fun playing with genres as well as the moods of your stories within any one genre, so why not give it a go? If you usually write funny flash, why not try writing a more moody one (and vice versa)?

I like to mix up the word counts I write to though for Friday Flash Fiction it is usually the classic 100-worder I send in with an occasional trip to the longer flash category allowed. But elsewhere when I’m entering competitions, my usual word count is 300 words or fewer. It is by far the most popular word count category I come across.

Mind you, I also come across competitions which don’t advertise themselves as being flash ones but are. For example, Writing Magazine does run a 750 word story competition. Also many of the short story competitions will allow you to send in something at 1000 words, the top end of flash so there is a kind of crossover point here which flash writers could take advantage of.

Certainly it would be worth having a go at these, even if you don’t enter the competitions. Why? It would give you useful practice in writing to the top end of flash.

Fairytales with Bite – Being Creative

How would creativity manifest itself in a magical world? Would it mean inventing things without the use of magic etc or would it mean developing and creating new kinds of spells or both? Would there be a writing world here, an artistic one etc? How would stories be told in your world? Are there any creative things your magical setting copies from Earth and why did they pick these things to ape?

Is creativity valued or is it seen as secondary compared to doing an honest day’s “magical work”, say? Not everyone appreciates creativity here so it wouldn’t be unreasonable for some in your setting to take the same view. That could give other characters of yours difficulties if they were of a creative persuasion. Mind you, you could be creative in turning that into a good story!

This World and Others – The Unexplained

Our world has much which is unexplained. How would this apply to your setting? Especially if your setting is more advanced than ours in terms of technology, science, magic even, what would remain unexplained to them?

Would this cover your setting’s natural world? Just think of how much we don’t know about our oceans, for example. What would your world’s equivalent be here?

I am always amazed at the pictures sent back by the space telescopes. What would your world’s equivalent be here too in terms of the technology here but also what planets and star systems surround them?

When it comes to your world building, there will be things you need to know but which the readers of your works may not. Can you cover all you need to know so there is nothing or very little unexplained to you?

Knowing how your world works (or at least enough of it to get your started) will save you much rewriting later on. If you know your setting has a form of power we don’t know here, for example, your working out how this would work, how it is supplied etc will add credence to your tale.

You can never just wing it but you don’t necessarily go into details to the nth degree either. What you do need to know to be able to show the reader what they need to know is what is key here.

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Stories in Troubled Times

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Hope the week has been a good one so far. From insane temperatures over last weekend and continuing on Monday and Tuesday, we now have milder, cooler, far pleasanter temperatures and Lady and I are both relieved about that. It’s also meant she has seen some more of her chums, of course, especially from Wednesday. Writing continuing to go well. Easier to work in cooler conditions too!

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Pleased to be back on Chandler’s Ford Today with my latest post, Stories in Troubled Times. I love stories of all kinds and lengths regardless of whatever is going on in the bad old world but when times are troubled, as I think they are now, I find fiction to be a wonderful comfort. Generally you know things will work out okay in some way in fiction! That was one thing which always appealed to me about the classic fairytales, and still does.

I look at what I think the role of stories is and how stories inspire other stories, including in different formats. A well known film only came about because a certain director was inspired by what he’d seen from another director and asked the classic “what if” question.

Do check the post out and I hope you enjoy it. 

Stories in Troubled Times

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Today has been another lovely cooler day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal and both had a great time. Mind you, our park grass does resemble straw right now. Had a great time at another ACW Zoom group I “go to” monthly. Nice way to catch up with folk.

Will be sharing Stories in Times of Trouble on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. Fiction is always a wonderful thing but I find especial comfort from it when times are on the grim side. Fiction can provide an outlet, for one thing. I don’t have to encounter dystopian unless I want to for another! More on this in the post tomorrow.

Comments are always welcome on the CFT posts by the way. They just need to be family friendly.

 

Much happier dog and dog Mum today. Lady had a lovely time in the park with her Hungarian Vizler pal and a good run around with Coco the lovely Labradoodle. The air was much fresher, the temperature delightfully cool and it was fabulous to see the dogs having a healthy, happy time of it.

On the other side of life, I am off to the dentists this afternoon…. Wish me luck. Thankfully, it went okay!

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing Stories in Times of Trouble for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Later this month, I’ll be sharing a fabulous author interview here too. More on that nearer the time.

Writing Tip: Never worry about a first draft having to be perfect. It isn’t the purpose of the first draft to be perfect. Its purpose is just to get your ideas down. Sorting out which work best and which need strengthening can happen later.

I know I’ve got to be able to see the whole thing before I can decide what works and what doesn’t. So I find it useful to take the pressure off myself here and just write, get those ideas down and, separately later on, get on with the editing.


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It’s Friday and time for a story again. Am pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest drabble, Super Power. See what my two fairies, on secondment to Earth, choose as their additional gifts to help them cope with humans. Has Bella chosen wisely?

Should be able to share the first link to the partial serialisation of Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit soon. Will keep you posted. Am excited about this as it is the first time I’ve had anything serialised. Naturally am also looking forward to the whole book coming out too.

The challenge of flash remains as having a complete story with a proper beginning, middle, and end, in a few words, often fewer than most would expect for any story. But it does encourage and develop tight writing and I love that. It’s a good challenge to rise to and I can and do have great fun placing my characters in all sorts of situations and genres. I just need to stick to the word count limit.

Hope your day has gone well. Nice to have cooler weather. Much nicer for the dog and I.

Flash Tip: This is one I use all of the time. I draft my flash story first, tidy it up, and then and only then worry about the word count. The story has to be right and it has meant sometimes a story I thought would be 100 words works better at 150.

So I just write another 100 word tale for any competition I’ve got in mind. I don’t try to make the 150 words one “fit”. It never does. Cutting too harshly as well as padding doesn’t work well for your stories.

Fairytales with Bite – Hotting Up and Characters

This one I thought was an apt topic as the weather in the UK over the last few days as I write this (July 2025) has”hotted up” considerably. I’ve had to cancel a few walks out with the dog given the pavements were too hot. But how can we use the topic of hotting up for our characters and our stories?

For the avoidance of doubt, I definitely don’t mean erotica here. I do mean getting your characters to feel the pressures of expectation and then having to face even more pressures and then more pressures after that etc. And then throwing magic into the mix as well to make things even more complicated.

Giving characters dilemmas and then further dilemmas they must solve and ideally a limited time span in which to do it is a timeless way of heating things up and crosses all genres.

As for magical characters, what pressures could be put on them to make them use powers they don’t really want to use? What would be the outcome? Which powers would they reveal to have had which they’ve not used before, which they have not had the need to use before? How does this change things for them because it will do so? They will have to come to terms with what they’ve done afterwards, for one thing.

Pressure is the key to hotting things up for your characters but magical powers, being allowed to use certain skills and not allowed to use others, can heat things up still further. You could also explore further why certain skills are banned and why. Your character already knowing this is going to feel the “heat” of the pressure to try to stick to the rules here when they know deep down they cannot do so.

This World and Others – Magical Climates

As well as thinking about your magical world’s “physical” climate (is it like we have here for example?), give some thought to other types of climate. What would your setting’s political, religious, societal climates be like? How would the use of magic impact on all of these?

Are magical skills encouraged in all sections of society or are they limited to a few? Who gets to decide who can use what magical powers? Do the non-magical sections of society look down upon or up to those with these powers? Is the “magical climate” tightly controlled by some overseeing authority to ensure magic cannot get out of hand?

I am thinking of the Patrician in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld here. After the events in Sourcery, magic doesn’t get the upper hand in the series again, at least in the ones with the Patrician in it! He may not have magical powers but he does have enough other skills to ensure people don’t cross him. Those that do never get to do it twice. If you haven’t read Discworld do check it out. It’s a wonderful series.

Incidentally in the witches books in Discworld where magic does come into the stories more, it is the witches who control it. The reasons for their actions are clear too. So they control the magical climate.

So give some thought as to who would control your setting’s magical climate and how successful or otherwise are they are with this? Who might seek to change the climate and what reasons do they have? They don’t have to be good reasons but they should be those readers would understand. We all get the idea of being greedy for power but what is interesting is seeing how a character develops that. What starts them off on to wanting to change the magical climate in your setting for their own ends.

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History and Stories/Writing for Online Magazines

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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 week so far. Mixed bag, weather wise, but Lady has seen her chums most of the week so is happy. Writing and editing going well. Booked for a writing event later in the year (and that kind of thing always makes me smile. Have something to look forward to later).

It’s double blog time. Firstly, Chandler’s Ford Today and, secondly, More than Writers.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Delighted to be back on Chandler’s Ford Today with my latest post, History and Stories. I love history and stories and, of course, history is full of tales. 

Also as a topic, there are wonderful stories in both the historical fiction and non-fiction departments here, so you will never be short of something intriguing to read (and learn from).

I look at untold history too (what could all of those servants from years gone by have to share with us if they were able to do so? Food for thought or fiction writers there!).

I share how it is possible to write historical flash fiction and how you can “drop” history into a story even if you’re not specifically writing in the genre. Plenty to read and digest here. Hope you enjoy the post.

History and Stories

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More than Writers

Am delighted to be back on More than Writers, the blog spot of the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest post on Writing For Online Magazines.

Well, they do say you should write what you know and given I write for two online magazines… (Chandler’s Ford Today and Writers’ Narrative), I felt this was an apt topic!

I hope you find the post useful as I share useful thoughts and tips about this kind of writing.

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Hope you have had a good day. Weather much nicer today and Lady loved seeing her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals again.

Booked my writing event for later in the year. Will sort out train tickets later (though I have got the ones I need for Swanwick – those arrived last week! Sometimes at least I can get a good discount on booking early so this is not as mad as it may seem, honest. Looking forward to Swanwick and the other writing event already).

Looking forward, much nearer in time, to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom. That happens tonight! (Wednesday 28th May to be precise!).

Writing Tip: Use your own love of stories (and their characters) to work out what you want your stories and characters to be. I know I like characters who do something to try to help themselves, even if they don’t succeed, so will base at least some of my characters on that kind of being. Not all of my characters are human – other beings can try hard and have their failures too! It will be the effort to try to do something which readers will sympathise with.

I’ve never had time for tales where good things happen to the “hero” thanks only to rotten things happening to other characters. I want my people/other beings to earn their successes.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest drabble, George The Butterfly Tamer.

The title idea came from an exercise I’ve set so I thought I would go on to see if I could write the story up to go with it.

Hope you enjoy the tale – it’s a mixture of horror and humour (and could be described as one of my fairytales with bite).

Wonderful meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting last night. Amongst other things connected to the theme of Tens, we had fun with writing ten word stories. No more, no less.

Why not give it a go? It’s fun. It’s also useful practice for writing a strapline for any longer work you are writing. Why?

The ideal strapline isn’t too long! Indeed my one for From Light to Dark and Back Again comes in at exactly ten words with A collection of very short stories to suit every mood. Does what it says, folks!

As for my thoughts on ten word stories, here are those I shared last night.

Mary rammed the umbrella from hell into the park bin.

The aliens diverted past Earth, as they’d heard about humans.

Mark refused to swim in the sea, he’d seen Jaws.

Sarah unintentionally shared salad with some slugs and a caterpillar.

The fairy slammed her wand down, beaten by an amateur.

Hope you like those though I appreciate the one involving Sarah may make you wince! I could, if I wanted to, expand these stories further later on and use them as closing or opening lines too.

Will be sharing thoughts on “tens” in flash fiction as part of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting later this evening. I prepare my PowerPoints for these meetings during the month (as I do with my newsletters) so there isn’t one big rush as the relevant date is coming up. I like things which take the pressure off. I also find it fun to compile things as I go. Gives me plenty of editing time later in the month too, which is always a good thing.

When I haven’t a lot of time to write, and I am itching to write something (which is my state of mind most of the time!), I will brainstorm, have a go at a writing exercise, or draft a flash tale. All great things to have a crack at when I only have five minutes, ten minutes or what have you. And I get something drafted I can polish up later.

Fairytales with Bite – Putting On a Show

How would your characters hide their real feelings in a magical world where mind reading, telepathy etc are likely to be commonplace? How good are your characters at “putting on a show” here? We all have to cover up true feelings at times (and sometimes for the best of reasons. For example, we’re sparing others who have gone through worse our problems).

But we don’t have to get around magical powers. Your characters may well have to do so. What can they use to help them here? Are mind blocks a thing in your setting or can only those of a certain status use these? Can your characters have filters to limit the scope of telepathy being used on them rather than by them?

Are certain kinds of characters better at putting on a show like this than others and , if so, what are the reasons for these? Plenty of practice perhaps? Survival depending on it? (Is that still the case now or a historical element?).

Plenty of food for story thought there, I hope.

This World and Others – What Society Expects

What does your fictional society expect from your characters and why? Are the same standards applied to all or only to some? Why any discrimination? Could there be good cause for it?

Where do the expectations come from? History (and all the nastier elements of that leading society to realise it has to have certain standards of behaviour to try to prevent these things happening again)? Faith of any kind? How does your society treat those who rebel against it and are they right to take the line they do?

Good story thoughts can come from looking at how your society has developed over time and what/who were the causes for changes? Is your society grateful for those changes and those behind them? Is there anyone who resents/tries to resist these? (I am thinking of the Luddites here who smashed machinery fearing job losses but you could take that idea further and apply it to your setting and people).

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What Do I Love About 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. Photos of me with Creativity Matters were taken by Adrian Symes.  One promo image of Creativity Matters was kindly supplied by Wendy H Jones. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of Lady having a wonderful time at Druridge Bay.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Had a fabulous holiday in Northumberland last week. We all enjoyed it. Lady had a wonderful time. All those walkies! Now back to the normal routine – the common thread here? I kept writing in the evenings. Writing is work but it is also a great joy. I have to be ill not to want to do it!

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. It was good to get back to swimming again today. Mind you, it was hard work!

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

Writing/Editing Tip: I’ve always found it helpful to get that first draft down, warts and all, before doing any editing on the story or article. I’ve got to see the whole thing written down before I can judge it objectively enough to deal with the inevitable faults. But this is what the first draft is for – get those warts out of your system by writing them out and then stamp on them during the editing process!

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Hope Monday has been kind to you. Lady was overjoyed to see her two best friends, the Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler, in the park today, especially after a lovely week’s break away in Northumberland last week. It was sweet to see.

Writing wise, am slowly getting back to my usual routines. Was pleased to get plenty of story writing done yesterday, including a submission. Another is fleshing out an idea I’ve had for a while and beginning work on it. Was pleased with how that has gone but plenty still to do. Will be back on this later this week, I hope.

Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my Out and About – Inspiring Ideas. Sometimes ideas for blogs feed in to each other and my recent Chandler’s Ford Today article (which is longer) explored this theme too. The Authors Electric post gives a good summary though of things which can help inspire your writing when out and about, even if you don’t wander far from home. Hope you find it useful.

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Hope the weekend has got off to a great start. Am on way home from a fabulous week in Northumberland. Great time had by all.

Writing wise, I’ll be welcoming Val Penny back to Chandler’s Ford Today about a short story collection she is contributing to and on something different for her. This anthology is called The Ring which follows what happens to a Roman ring over time. The book will be raising funds for The Reading Agency too. More on this next week.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

What do I love most about writing? Hard to pinpoint exactly but a huge part of this is the sheer joy of meeting the challenge of creating something new which will hopefully resonate with readers.

For flash fiction, my initial thought was to see if I could write 100 word tales. Then the challenge went to could I write 50 worders? Could I write right across the spectrum for flash? Then could I get a collection together?

There are always new things to try in writing, whatever your field. Each article and story I write is a new challenge in and of itself. I do love this. What helps is knowing I can write short stories, flash, articles etc.

The challenge always is can I do something with this topic, this story idea – will they work this time? It keeps you on your creative toes (which I think is beneficial, if only because you don’t rest on your laurels. You also don’t take anything for granted).

It’s a lovely sunny Monday but still a Monday and time for a tale. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Breaking the Chain.

The opening line to this one is based on an exercise I set the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group recently. I only changed one word – the starting one to give my character a name. The name occurred to me as I was drafting the story. That happens.

Sometimes I don’t name a character deliberately (usually when I feel it would have more of an impact keeping a sense of the unknown going usually though that wasn’t the case here).

Why does Louise know her grandson, Mark, smashed the last thing her late husband, Tom, gave her? What will she do about it?

 

Sometimes I link flash stories. For example, my recent one on Friday Flash Fiction, Rivalry, links to my YouTube tale, The List. You can check them both out below. Mind you, I don’t think I would trust Shirabelle any further than I could throw her. See what you think!

Why link stories? Sometimes it is because I can think of a further idea which the 100 word limit in Friday Flash Fiction (the one I prefer to adhere to) won’t allow me to include so I get another longer tale out of it for my YouTube channel (and another post to share like this one!).

Best reason of all though? Simply because it is fun to do this sometimes. I like to mix things up and reusing a character or two is one way I do this.

Just got back from a lovely break in Northumberland. Have followed my own advice in yesterday’s Chandler’s Ford Today on Inspiration Ideas as I have taken lots of photos. Plan to use some of these to inspire flash stories later. Landscape ones will be especially useful I think.

Hope to look up more flash competitions to have a go at soon too.

Goodreads Author Blog – Holiday Reading

I recently had a lovely holiday in gorgeous Northumberland and naturally took plenty to read with me.
Equally naturally, lots of walking and fresh air in forests and on beaches meant I didn’t get to read as much as I’d planned! But there is no way I wouldn’t pack plenty of reading material. You just do, right?

I like to take my Kindle, one or two books, and magazines. All easy to pack, of course.

Mind you, when I could read, I made the most of it. Comfy chair, gorgeous outlook, drink to hand – perfect reading conditions.

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