Introducing Rosemary Johnson – Wodka, or Tea with Milk: The Road to Publication

December 15, 2023Leave a comment

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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 Rosemary Johnson for supplying author and book cover pictures and images of her trip to Poland for the Chandler’s Ford Today interview this week.

Hope you have had a good week so far. Christmas preparations are coming along. So pleased to have my cards out! Mind you, it is lovely seeing the cards coming in. Nice way to keep in touch. Lady, as ever, will be looking forward to her Christmas dinner and inevitable toys. She is a great believer in Santa Paws. Writing wise, so pleased to be back on Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas show again and also to have another story on CafeLit (coming up later this week, will share on next post here).

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to welcome Rosemary Johnson to Chandler’s Ford Today this week to talk about her novel, Wodka, or Tea With Milk. Rosemary shares her road to publication, which has not been an easy one, and what she thinks about writing blurbs. There is much here for many writers to identify with!

She looks at what triggered her love of creative writing and much else besides. Do enjoy a cracking interview and, many thanks, Rosemary for coming on to CFT. Also thanks for a shout out on your blog (see second link) and for referring to me as a flash writer supremo!

Introducing Rosemary Johnson – Wodka, or Tea with Milk: The Road to Publication

Chandlers Ford Today

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Will be sharing a fabulous interview with Rosemary Johnson on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. Do look out for it. See above. Rosemary will be talking about her book Wodka, or Tea With Milk, which is set against the backdrop of the Solidarity movement in the early 1980s, a time I recall well.

I love author interviews. I always learn so much from them. And even if you are not published yet (note the yet!), it is worth preparing for these.

Why? Because it gives you some useful practice in working out what to say about your book or story and to keep it succinct and interesting. That may well prove to help you in preparing a short description when you are ready to submit said work to a publisher. In reading/listening/watching other author interviews, you can learn from how they’ve done this. I know it has stood me in good stead.

Lady got to play with Coco today. Two happy dogs. Always nice to see that.

My story, I Do, I Don’t, will be on CafeLit on 17th December. This story started life as one of this year’s Flash NANO prompts. Link to come later in the week.

Looking forward to an informal Christmas chat/review of writing year with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. Glad to say three of us will have pieces on the Three Minute Santas show hosted by Hannah Kate at the weekend. This is especially nice as we managed this last year too!

Writing Tip: Festive flash fiction is the main seasonal writing I do. I’ve found it helps to focus on one thing – whether I’ll feature Santa or someone present at the Nativity etc. But for the other seasons, you can pick telling details to flag up to a reader the season in question.

For autumn, I could mention the nights drawing in earlier, or harvest events, or leaves changing colour but I would pick one as the detail for the reader to pick up on. I’ve never believed in laying it on with a trowel! One good thing about flash is the word count limit does stop you doing that.

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Delighted to share my story, Breakdown, on Friday Flash Fiction. This is the second entry by me for the Christmas competition. Here you can find out why Santa needed to call out a mechanic. Hope you enjoy the story.

Closing date for the Friday Flash Fiction Christmas Competition is midnight tomorrow, Friday 15th December. Entries to be 75 to 100 words (and the word counts are checked!). So you do still have time to get something in for this one. More details in the link.

Have another story I want to enter for a competition elsewhere. It is almost ready. Deadline is the end of the year but I want to get it in this side of Christmas to make sure (a) I don’t forget to do it and (b) to follow my own advice to get a submission in about a fortnight ahead of the closing date!

If you are entering any Christmas related competitions, good luck! Even if you don’t win or get shortlisted, these are still good things to try as they’re fun and they get you working to a deadline and word count. That is always useful to practice.

Every so often I will use something I’ve seen in a film to inspire a flash fiction story. Where the Wild Wind Blows (Tripping the Flash Fantastic) is an example of that. The film in question is The Wizard of Oz. This is good fun to do because I can take the viewpoint of another character and run with that.

Indeed it is how I got into print back in 2009 with my A Helping Hand in Alternative Renditions (Bridge House Publishing). So give some thought to the films and stories you love. Is there someone you think has been unfairly represented and who deserves to have their story told? In my first story, I went for the viewpoint of the less unkind stepsister to Cinderella.

Think about the kinds of characters you love to read about. What is it about them that draws you? What can you take from that to put into your own creations? Inspiration comes from thinking about what you like yourself in stories. So the more you read, the more inspiration you’re opening yourself up to getting! That’s never a bad thing.

Fairytales With Bite – The Christmas Tree Fairy

Hope you enjoy the following festive themed tale of woe. Who would be the fairy on top of the Christmas tree?

The Christmas Tree Fairy by Allison Symes

They get me out of the big cardboard box once a year.
They need five minutes to get the dust out of my ear.
I am given the place of honour, you see.
I must sparkle and shine, every part of me.
I look down at the festive tinsel and lights.
While affixed, I get ladders in my tights.
I watch them scoff all the Christmas chocs
Then doze away by the telly box.
I try to make the most of what I can see.
Takes my mind off having been rammed on a tree.
Pleasant it is not, there are places pine should not go
But I’m just a toy fairy, they think, what would I know?
And then before I know it Twelfth Night is here.
Tomorrow I go inside for the next year.

Ends.
Allison Symes – 13th December 2023

This World and Others – Unexpected Visitors

In your fantasy setting, what would count as alien to your usual residents? What would they make of unexpected visitors? What do they expect to be “normal”?

In the Nativity story, I have every sympathy with the shepherds being terrified when the angels arrived. Well, you would be, wouldn’t you? The shepherds knew that bright light wasn’t a natural one (at least not natural to this world). But what would frighten your characters? Would they listen to whoever their unexpected visitors were?

Why would the unexpected visitors come to your setting? Is it a peaceful trip or is there sinister intent behind it? How would your main characters handle this?

I would expect fear, hostility but do you have characters who could see the potential of getting along with the visitors, seeing benefits to both worlds? Would anyone listen to them and give them the chance to see if that potential could be realised?

Definite story ideas there!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Many thanks to @AllisonSymes1 for posting about Wodka, or Tea with Milk on Chandler's Ford Today.https://t.co/jsDkzLxC2g pic.twitter.com/O1RFtnLKH7
— Rosemary Johnson (@REJohnsonWriter) December 15, 2023

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Breakdown, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/DlWJCGlLfI Delighted to share my story, Breakdown, on Friday Flash Fiction. This is the second entry by me for the Christmas competition. Find out here why Santa needed to call a mechanic. Hope you enjoy the story. pic.twitter.com/CYDh9oub3B
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) December 15, 2023

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Introducing Rosemary Johnson – Wodka, or Tea with Milk: The Road to Publication https://t.co/rcF3i2WLqI Pleased to welcome Rosemary Johnson to CFT to talk about Wodka, or Tea With Milk. She discusses her road to publication, blurbs, and much else for writers to identify with.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) December 15, 2023

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Broadcast News and Interviews

December 12, 2023Leave a comment

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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 Julia Pattison for the image of me at Swanwick 2023. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you had a good weekend. Had a lovely trip out to the West Country with other half and Lady plus a meal out with family which was great. Have had great writing news which I hope to talk more about in the New Year. Meantime, I have a story being broadcast soon and another one on CafeLit soon. So it has not been a bad few days!

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Right old mix weather wise today.

Am looking forward to welcoming Rosemary Johnson to Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday to talk about her book Wodka, or Tea With Milk. Her novel is set against the backdrop of the Solidarity movement. Now to me this seems this was only on the news yesterday but that definitely is an “age thing” on my part!

Rosemary will be sharing something of the joys and challenges of her road to publication as well. Great interview – do look out for it.

Talking of interviews, do bear in mind this can be a useful technique for finding out more about your characters to help you picture them well enough to write their stories up.

For my flash fiction, I find only a couple of pertinent questions are enough to help me picture my characters. Good questions to ask include things like what is your major trait and why do you think you have this one? A character has to open up to answer those properly. These can’t be Yes/No answers. Give it a go and see how you get on. I find it useful.

Am thrilled to say my story This Is The Partnership will be broadcast by Hannah Kate on her Three Minute Santas show on Saturday, 16th December between 2 and 4 pm. The link gives more information. I hope to share the link to the show itself early next week.

Huge congratulations to all of the other writers whose stories are being included in the show. I spied some familiar names (Rosemary Johnson and Jenny Sanders) too. Well done all!

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 16 December, 2-4pm

Pleased to say I’ll be on CafeLit later this coming week. More details nearer the time. Publication news is always lovely!

Have also had some great writing news elsewhere but hope to talk more about that in the New Year. I will just say it’s a great way to come towards the end of this writing year though!

Don’t forget the December issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Packed full of great information and interviews, it is an enjoyable and useful read for any writer. Do check it out. Link below.

Hope you have had a good day so far. Went down to Dorset with other half and the dog. Blustery but dry and it was fabulous to see West Bay again. Lady loves these trips out. Thankfully all three of our dogs have been good travellers. It helps, in Lady’s case, that she is a very nosy dog so the chance to explore somewhere different is always welcome!

In writing news, I am delighted to say I will be interviewing Rosemary Johnson, whose debut novel, Wodka, or Tea with Milk, came out earlier this year. She will be talking to me about her road to publication and shares some of her writing frustrations as well as her writing joys. We have all had our fair share of the former and would like far more of the latter! Looking forward to sharing this interview on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

But one writing joy I am glad to share is that my festive flash fiction piece, This Is The Partnership, will be broadcast by Hannah Kate on her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM on 16th December (between 2 and 4 pm). Am looking forward to sharing the link for this later.

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Am so thrilled to be on the Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas show this coming Saturday with my flash tale, This Is The Partnership. Am so pleased people I know will also be on that show too. Will be sharing links, probably early next week.

This will be the third year in a row I have had a story on here and I am delighted there is a home for festive flash fiction. It is worth celebrating. It is huge fun to write and to listen to. Am looking forward to tuning in myself on Saturday. It is another way to have stories read to you after all!

It’s Monday. It’s dark. I can’t put on the Christmas lights early enough! It’s still Monday. It’s time for a story then. My latest on YouTube is called Satellite Navigation and I make no apology for the pun! Hope you enjoy the story.

One of the joys of anthologies and collections is they are perfect books for dipping into. They are also great when you know you haven’t got a lot of time for reading but want to keep your reading “going”. They’re also fabulous for introducing you to authors new to you.

I’ve been in a number of anthologies over many years now as well as having my two flash fiction collections out there. To find out more do visit my Amazon Author Central page.

Am always happy to sign books for people so please contact me via my website at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact for more information.

Contact

Sometimes I will use a well known phrase in the story. In The Power of Suggestion (Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I use a well known phrase as the penultimate line (and in case you’re wondering, the line reads There is a sucker born every minute).

Sometimes well known phrases suggest story ideas or a character for whom that phrase would indeed be the mot juste. I then flesh out the idea or the character more, depending on which thought arrived with me first!

If you’ve got a book of proverbs, keep hold of it! It is worth dipping into every now and then as I have had many a story idea this way. The phrases and proverbs have the advantage of being timeless truths which readers will always identify with.

For example, there’s a sucker born every minute is always going to be true, is it not?! It is a question of your story revealing who your sucker is and what they fell for. I must admit I love that kind of story. It’s good fun to give a character deserving of if their overdue comeuppance. In my case, the sucker did have it coming.

I do like poetic justice tales. Maybe this is a function of fiction. We often don’t see justice in life. We can see it in stories. We can also see why someone might act in a certain way. This can act as both triggering empathy but also as a warning not to go that way ourselves. I am sure the fairytales were meant as warnings in a lot of cases.

Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Christmas Stories

There are always wonderful Christmas stories. I love the Nativity. I also love A Christmas Carol. The redemption theme will always be timeless. I am not at all surprised this wonderful work by Charles Dickens has never been out of print. I can’t see it ever going so either.

There are stories in the carols themselves. The First Nowell tells the Nativity pretty much from start to finish. Gabriel’s Message focuses on the Annunciation. While Shepherds Watched focuses on the shepherds and We Three Kings does the same for the wise men. (Yes I have sung the traditional and alternative versions of these!). The only carol I don’t really get is The Holly and the Ivy.

Film wise, I love the story of The Polar Express. I see that as a great all age story. It’s not twee (which I think Miracle on 34th Street is). And then there is the much missed Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. Time to watch and/or read that again very soon!

Plus as I mentioned last week there is always the wonderful post Christmas reading to do. Christmas is full of stories. Not all of them are of good cheer (see King Herod for more on that) but the majority are and I find that to be a wonderful boost at a dark and cold time of year.

Jacob Marley comes back to visit Scrooge - Pixabay

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

liked Allison Symes's blog post: Favourite Christmas Stories https://t.co/PG267zDX69 via @goodreads I discuss some of my favourite Christmas stories for Goodreads this week and look at how many of the carols tell stories themselves. pic.twitter.com/rv40QkkRdw
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) December 9, 2023

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There are so many stories connected to the Nativity which make me wonder. For example, who did the shepherds speak to on their way back to the fields? Did anyone believe their tale? What happened next? Great stories come from answering that last question! pic.twitter.com/hxF8s73s2G
— ACW (@ACW1971) December 9, 2023

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I sometimes wonder whether any at the Nativity events would have still been alive 33 years later and witness Calvary. Did any of these witnesses become some of Jesus’s followers? What stories could be told here? The “what if” question could be used to great effect here. pic.twitter.com/Ep1tUGiBqk
— ACW (@ACW1971) December 10, 2023

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I love carol singing. Many of the carols tell a whole story in their verses. Now there is a writing challenge for you. Could you write the words for a carol? What element of the Nativity story would you focus on? pic.twitter.com/zPPkoWGgv2
— ACW (@ACW1971) December 11, 2023

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It’s Monday. It’s dark. I can’t put on the Christmas lights early enough! It’s still Monday. It’s time for a story then. My latest on YouTube is called Satellite Navigation and I make no apology for the pun! Hope you enjoy the story.https://t.co/glwYfBdSdv
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) December 11, 2023

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Review – Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group

May 5, 2023Leave a comment

Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you to The Chameleon Theatre Group for sharing their pictures for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week.

Hope you have had a good week. Am looking forward to watching the Coronation on 6th May. I discuss below how pictures, including those of crowd scenes, can be used to inspire ideas for stories. I expect some tales may well emerge from this weekend’s events! Hope you find the tips useful.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

It is a real joy to share Review – Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group as my Chandler’s Ford Today post for this week. My lovely editor, Janet Williams, and I went to see the trio of plays just over a week ago and were thoroughly entertained by the mixture of comedy and drama on offer. This is one of the pleasures of live theatre – you get to see some real gems. I also look at twists in this post as these came up a lot in these plays. Hope you enjoy the flavour of the evening I’ve shared here. It was lovely to write it!

Review: Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group

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Had a nice surprise today in that I was given a nice plug on Write On, Rosemary Johnson’s blog. Rosemary and I know each other though the Association of Christian Writers but this plug came out of the blue. Thanks, Rosemary. Am so glad the writing prompts are proving useful.

I use prompts all the time (and have contributed to some books of prompts published by Bridge House Publishing) and find them to be a great way to trigger story ideas. Occasionally I’ve used things like the random question or theme generator to trigger an idea for a blog post.

What I do find pays is mixing up the type I use. It keeps me on my toes (never a bad thing that!) and it makes you think in different ways too. When I took part in Flash NANO last year, one prompt I’d not tried before was writing a story in the form of a police report. What happened? I had great fun writing the story and it ended up being broadcast on Hannah Kate’s Three Minutes Santas show on North Manchester FM last December. I call that a win!

It has been a gloriously sunny day here today. Lady and I appreciated it. Lady appreciated playing with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal too. Good time had by all.

Looking forward to sharing my review of Spring Trio on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Always enjoy seeing The Chameleon Theatre Group at work. Like the mixture of comedies and dramas. More on Friday. See above.

Talking of reviews, don’t forget these help authors so if there is a book you’ve loved, do drop a quick line to say so in the usual places.

Had a nice surprise yesterday. I receive the Bridge House Publishing newsletter and in that is a link to CafeLit. I discovered my story, Untaken, was the fourth most read on CafeLit in April. Well done to those above and below me here! Very nice viewing figures. That was lovely to know so many thanks, #GillJames, for sharing that.

Screenshot 2023-05-03 at 19-51-34 Latest news form CafeLit and the Creative Cafe Project

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Am pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Starting Conversation. The Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group may well recognise this as my response to a prompt I set them recently! A huge thank you also for the wonderful comments coming in on this tale already.

One kind of prompt I should try and use more often is the picture one. You can do this with objects and put them in a story. You can also use pictures of landscapes and wonder who would live there. Crowd scenes are good too as you can pick an individual out to base your character on and then write about them or write a story about why the crowd are gathered. (I suspect there may be Coronation stories coming up here!).

You can use your own photos too and set your character in the scene they show. What would your character be doing? What are they trying to achieve? Is the scene they’re in a help or a hindrance? Two characters could see a scene in opposite ways. What conflict could that lead to and how is is resolved?

Looking forward to giving a flash fiction workshop in a couple of weeks time to a writing group. Always fun to do! And it’s another example of Zoom making things possible. Where transport/distance means in person isn’t viable, Zoom is the answer! I’ve loved the fact that this has got me back into using PowerPoint again. I hadn’t used it in years until Zoom transformed things here. Given PowerPoint and bullet points go hand in hand, it’s ideal for flash. Well, I’ve got to write to a short word count, yes?

Fairytales with Bite – Job Hunting

How do your characters find jobs in your magical setting? Or it is literally a question of stepping into a dead fairy godmother’s shoes here? Not even fairy godmothers go on for ever (magical accidents and dragons can happen to the best of them) so I assume your setting would allow for training to happen to bring up the next generation. Would employment automatically follow that training?

For other roles, consider who else might work in a training establishment. Someone would need to cook, clean, prepare magical ingredients etc. How would these people get their work? Is it a question of who you know here?

For the non-magical beings in your story, what work would they do? How easy or otherwise would it be for them to find gainful employment?

Equally is your character being hunted for a job they really don’t want to do? Can they get out of it? If not, how do they manage?
Story idea potential there I think. (This is where we can use our knowledge of the working world to flesh out our story world and that can be useful. Dreadful bosses/colleagues can occur in fiction as well as in life – as can good ones).

This World and Others – Employment Types

What kind of employment can your world offer your characters? Is it similar to what we have here or something specific that could only happen in your setting? What kind of tools/equipment /technology would your characters be expected to be able to use? What are these things for? And are jobs allocated on merit or on status?

So could there be a character who would love to do Job X but knows they can’t because they’re from a certain social class which never does a job like that. Could they be the one to break the mould here?

Is employment divided between, say, magical and non-magical or is it just down to the job itself? For the latter, you could have, say, clerks working for the government who do have magical skills and those who do not. How would they get on? Would the magical abilities come in useful at work at all and that is why they are employed here? Do the non-magical lot have special qualities/skills which compensate here and are useful in another way?

What would count as manual labour? What would be considered “high end” employment? Do employment types change over time? (Not much call for abacus makers in our day and age, for example. Technology changes employment so much).

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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I wrote about taking stock for More than Writers recently and it is something our characters should do too. When they mess up (as they will), what makes them take stock? How do they turn things around? That is the story. That is what grips us as readers. pic.twitter.com/6lswuCXlqN
— ACW (@ACW1971) May 5, 2023

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Starting Conversation, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/RPL9cvjTit Pleased to be on FFF with Starting Conversation. The ACW Flash Fiction Group may recognise this as my response to a prompt I set recently! Thanks for the lovely comments on this tale already. pic.twitter.com/ca6KvTYMAL
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 5, 2023

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Review: Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group https://t.co/ZTgNLF4yHt It is a joy to share my review for CFT this week. My lovely editor, Janet Williams, and I went to see the trio of plays just over a week ago and were thoroughly entertained by the mix of comedy and drama.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 5, 2023

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Publication News and Writing Up from My Notebooks

April 11, 2023Leave a comment

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.

Hmm…back to the wild and stormy weather again. Am grateful Lady doesn’t mind being dried down when we get in. She sees it as a chance to have a cuddle. I get her dried. Just a pity I don’t dry off so easily and quickly but never mind! Am delighted to have publication news to share this time though.

Facebook – General

Publication News: Am pleased to say I am back on CafeLit with my story Untaken. Hope you enjoy it (and it’s a warning to beware of thorny hedges with special properties – see the tale for more!).

After a gloriously sunny Easter weekend, it has been an odd day weather wise today. Have had rain, hail, torrential rain, strong winds, sunshine etc. Just need snow now and we’ve got the set. (Has not been unknown to happen either!).

Looking forward to sharing Using Time For Fiction on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Will also be reprising my role as CFT arts correspondent when I go to see The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production of spring plays later on this month (called aptly enough Spring Trio). More nearer the time.

Many thanks for the lovely comments continuing to come in for Which Way?, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. I do find the feedback on this site useful and encouraging. Also good to see familiar names on here too.

For all who celebrate Easter, I hope you had a very happy one!

Am enjoying listening to the Classic FM Hall of Fame as I write. I hope my three choices end up playing on the final day of this, which is tomorrow. They did last year! One of mine was in the top three too.

Publication News: Am also thrilled to find out today I will be in The Best of CafeLit 12, which will be out later this year. Always great to have publication news. (And a story of mine will be on CafeLit as well during this coming week. Looking forward to sharing the link there when I can).

A huge round of congratulations to the other authors will be in CafeLit 12 with me too!

Lovely sunny day, Lady had a great time at the park, and loved being able to have lunch with my other half in the garden for the first time in months. Lady loved “hoovering” up too.

Many thanks for the lovely comments coming in on Which Way?, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. In case you missed it, do check it out here. I rather like my character, Betty, in this. See what you think.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. Lady, my better half, and I all got rather soggy tonight. This is where I am pleased writing is an indoor activity – in the warm and dry!

I did okay in the Classic FM Hall of Fame this year. One of my pieces went down one place, another went up by one place, and the other stayed where it was last year! One of my chosen pieces was Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens. I remember this piece from the old quirky detective series, Jonathan Creek, but I do have another reason for loving it. See link!

It’s Easter Bank Holiday Monday here where I am but it is still time for a story. Hope you enjoy Super Soaker, my latest on my YouTube channel.

Have had a lovely Easter Day at church and then came home later to find out I will be in The Best of CafeLit 12 later on this year. (Also thrilled to see friends of mine will be in there too). Now that is a nice start to the week ahead!

I’ve talked about jotting down promising opening lines in those pockets of time everyone gets (aptly) from time to time. I’ll be talking more on that in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week but a good follow up question would be, “Allison, do you actually write up those opening lines into stories?”.

Yes, I do. Some of those stories have ended up in my flash collections (From Light to Dark and Back Again/Tripping the Flash Fantastic). Others have ended up on Friday Flash Fiction, CafeLit or my YouTube channel. But they do get written up. Not always immediately, I admit. That doesn’t matter though. Indeed a break away helps convince me this opening line really does have the promise I initially thought – and that’s a good thing, always.

Hope you have had a good day. I’ll be looking at Using Time for Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today next Friday. Always a timely topic!

One thing I think should go into the Murphy’s Law of Creative Writing is when you start a writing session slowly, time seems to drag a bit. You then find your “spark” and get cracking and then time speeds up and before you know it, it is time to stop. I guess time must reflect state of mind here. I do know it can be a pain at times.

Glad to report I will be back on CafeLit next week. Looking forward to sharing another story with you from there early next week. See above.

Dream, set goal, action, give yourself enough time to edit properly

Goodreads Author Blog – Humorous Books and Stories

I love humorous books and stories. As well as treasuring the works of Wodehouse, Austen, and Pratchett (now there’s a trio for you!), one of my favourite books is The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose compiled by the much missed humorist and all round good person, Frank Muir. (I remember him from the TV show Call My Bluff and he was an early pioneer of BBC radio comedy with his writing partner, the equally missed Denis Norden).

The book is huge (and not to be dropped on your foot if, like me, you have the hardback edition) but it is a riveting read. Also perfect for dipping into when you need a quick “humour fix”. Can’t recommend highly enough.

The reason I mention it is because my late mother taught me to read at an early age and I inherit my love of books and stories from her. The one thing she never really got though was humorous writing. No idea why. Just didn’t work for her at all. The nearest she got to it was with Jane Austen. Yet she read sci-fi, crime, thrillers, Du Maurier, Dickens, all sorts, and fantasy. She loved the Terry Brooks series of fantasy books. Me? It was Terry Pratchett all the way here!

Which humorous books would you recommend? Do you have any “blind spots” with regard to reading?

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Humorous Books and Stories https://t.co/lZC8rn2Jql via @goodreads I share my love of humorous books for Goodreads this week and recommend a much thumbed favourite compilation of funny writing too. pic.twitter.com/mXmJGJ0KlC
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 8, 2023

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For all who celebrate Easter, I hope you had a happy one! Am thrilled to find out today I will be in The Best of CafeLit 12, which will be out later this year. Always great to have publication news. Huge congratulations to the other authors will be in CafeLit 12 with me too! pic.twitter.com/kqUUEQ9ZSN
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 9, 2023

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It’s Easter Bank Holiday Monday here where I am but it is still time for a story. Hope you enjoy Super Soaker, my latest on my YouTube channel.https://t.co/tNX1W4ztBs
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 10, 2023

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CafeLitMagazine: Untaken by Allison Symes, sour wine https://t.co/wLtQTVakTN Am pleased to say I am back on CafeLit with my story Untaken. Hope you enjoy it (and it’s a warning to beware of thorny hedges with special properties – see the tale for more!). pic.twitter.com/JGqlJo4M5P
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 11, 2023

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I did okay in the Classic FM Hall of Fame. One of my pieces went down one, another rose by one, and the other stayed still! One piece was Danse Macabre. I remember this from the detective series, Jonathan Creek, but have another reason for loving it. https://t.co/dwr5mpX3Hd
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 11, 2023

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Turning the Tables, Mom’s Favorite Reads, and Publication News

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023Leave a comment

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 start to the week. Looking forward to sharing a wonderful interview on Friday and it is nice to have publication news again too. Also, we have had sunshine here – spring has finally turned up!

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Delighted to say I’ll be having another story (a flash piece) up on CafeLit next week. More details nearer the time but news like this always cheers. I find it useful to submit stories regularly to different places, including my YouTube channel.

Doing this builds up publication credits and I enjoy sharing the links to stories on my author newsletter. Who doesn’t like a free read after all? Also said publication credits backs up my books (From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic) so win-win there too.
Woo-hoo, welcome to spring! Got my washing out on the line today – it is always the simple pleasures in life I appreciate most!. Gorgeous sunny day today, much enjoyed by Lady and I. Hope you have had a cracking start to your week.

I write for a number of blogs and online magazines and I love the different challenges each sets. But this is where scheduling is vital for me. I plan out when I am writing X piece for Y, also giving myself enough time to rest a piece and then edit it before submitting it (naturally in good time for the deadline).

And what helps me schedule effectively? The good old-fashioned A4 sized diary! So using a pen and paper still comes into my writing processes. I like that.

Hope the weekend has been a good one for you. Bit of a mixed bag here. Poorly again (but thankfully it was brief) on the Friday night, spent Saturday recovering, and now back to my full self, happily writing away, Looks like we might see some sunshine this week. Do hope so. Lady would welcome it too.

Looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with Gill James on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. We’ll be discussing her Build a Book Workshop book. Later this week I hope to flesh out some stories I drafted during the Flash Fiction group meeting on Wednesday night for submission – definitely want to get these somewhere!

Have a great writing and reading week. Am currently reading and loving 1000 Years of Annoying the French. It‘s a different way of looking at history, that’s for sure!

Pleased to say the brand new edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now out. Grab yourself a wonderful, free read. I’m talking about New Life – Transformation as the theme for this month’s flash fiction column given the link with Easter in April. Hope you enjoy the piece (and the great fiction and non-fiction pieces that came in as a result of my challenge this time).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Do you find music evocative? Have you used that to help you get in the right mood to write a specific story? I tend to use classical music to relax to as I write and find that really helpful. I write more when relaxed. But music doesn’t change what I write – and I like that too because the one to change anything is me (later an editor/publisher as and when needed – always is by the way. There are inevitably some changes to be made before a book sees the light of day).

For the historical fiction writers amongst you, do you use music to help you get the right era set in your mind as you write? I can see a use for that. Mind you, given historical includes anything aged over 50 years, that has to include me too!

It’s Monday again (though it has been lovely to have a sunny one!) and time for another YouTube story from yours truly. Hope you enjoy Still There. This story started life as a response to a throw of my story cube dice. See the tale for why this is so appropriate!

Flash fiction is great for turning the tables on a character. I love doing that. (Who said authors had to be nice, by the way? If a character deserves what’s coming, that is precisely what they get from me!). It is why punchline endings and/or twist endings work so well in this format. The reader doesn’t have time to get bored before “wham!”, they’re at that punchline/twist ending.

But the reasons for turning the tables should make sense. I’m not going to drop a character in it just for the sake of it. There has to be a good reason for it, even when my character doesn’t have it coming.

The latest edition of my author newsletter went out earlier today. I enjoy compiling these and I aim for a good mix of news, tips, story links etc. Talking of news, I’ll be glad to welcome back Gill James to Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday where she’ll be talking about her book, Build a Book Workshop. Now this combines two of my favourite things – books and workshops – so this will be a special joy to share! (Just add in chocolate and I would have hit the jackpot!).

Goodreads Author Blog – Animal Stories

Do you like animal stories? I have a very soft spot for the classic tales like Black Beauty. Anna Sewell was an early campaigner against animal cruelty with this wonderful book. I also love Aesop’s Fables. The Tortoise and the Hare will never date. I sometimes write animal stories in my flash fiction. I think it can work well there given flash is so short and the impact is greater due to that.

I also liked Fantastic Mr Fox and Watership Down (though it is probably best if those characters don’t mix!).

I think the strength of animal stories is when they are well done, you see things from a different perspective. You certainly do with Black Beauty. As with any fiction, I like the character to be well portrayed and what they come up with to be reasonable in terms of what we know about them and their character. In the case of animal stories, what we know about their behaviour patterns too should fit in with the tale being told.

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Pleased to say the brand new edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is out. Grab a wonderful, free read. I’m talking about New Life – Transformation as the theme for this month’s flash fiction column given the link with Easter in April. Hope you enjoy the piece.https://t.co/jSqG24yOkH
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 1, 2023

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Animal Stories https://t.co/xSVxcIA5Xm via @goodreads I look at animal stories for my Goodreads post this week. I have very fond memories of Black Beauty. pic.twitter.com/LazucgSOeu
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 1, 2023

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It’s Monday again (though it was lovely to have a sunny one!). Time for another YouTube story from yours truly. Hope you enjoy Still There. This started life as a response to a throw of my story cube dice. See the tale for why this is so appropriate! https://t.co/DG7Dq6Yc5W
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 3, 2023

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Character Creation

February 17, 2023Leave a comment

Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of a day out in Dorset.

Delighted to have publication news to share and I hope you find my Character Creation post for Chandler’s Ford Today especially useful. Also spent today (17th February) out and about with better half and Lady. Lovely time had by all. (Weather not bad for time of year – overcast but dry and mild. Got to blow a few cobwebs away!).

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share my latest post for Chandler’s Ford Today – Character Creation. I share thoughts on identifying with your characters, ask if outlining stifles creativity, and discuss why a good knowledge of human nature is crucial for successful character creation. Hope you find the post useful.

Character Creation

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Publication News: Am thrilled to be back on CafeLit with a story which started life as something I wrote as part of the Flash NANO challenge I took part in last November. Now CafeLit like authors to nominate a drink to be associated with their story. I didn’t have any problems with this one. It had to be cinnamon tea for my tale, Cinnamon Comforts. Hope you enjoy it. (I highly recommend cinnamon tea by the way – lovely!).
Looking forward to sharing some thoughts on Character Creation for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above. One thing about writing flash fiction is you get to create characters a lot but as inventing people and other beings is my favourite aspect to storytelling, this is not a problem!

I find in getting to know my characters story ideas suggest themselves. It is a case of seeing that this kind of character would work best in this kind of story. I love it even more when I hear my characters “speak” before I put a word of dialogue down on my screen. If ever I needed confirmation this character has come to life, then this is it. And if my characters seem real to me, they will do so for a reader too.

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Hope you enjoy my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction – The Right Call. See if my character did do that!

Hope you’ve had a good day. I’ll be chatting about Character Creation for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow (see further up) and share a few thoughts on this. I get to create a lot of characters for my flash pieces though I have sometimes used the same character in more than one tale. Characters, for me are the driving force behind any story, regardless of length. If I’m not interested in them and what happens to them, it is highly unlikely I’ll be reading much of the story!

I use the random generators a lot to help trigger story ideas though I was recently given a set of story cubes. I’m going to see what I can come up with using those. One thing I can see immediately is that, as well as using using all of those cubes, I could just use some of them and get more stories that way too.

Equally I could just pick one and use what is on that for an idea. I like options though I do find parameters increase my creativity. There is something about limitations which makes you think more creatively and that is a good thing.

Fairytales with Bite – Kindness

The fairytale world values kindness (see how often the kind are rewarded with magical gifts/help etc) but the world itself often isn’t kind at all. How do your characters navigate that? How do they continue to be kind when maybe it would not be in their best interests to do so, yet they want to remain true to themselves?

Which characters deliberately “arm themselves “ with spells/magical equipment that can nullify the evil effects of others? See Sleeping Beauty for more on this. That fairy godmother was prepared and ready to deal with the evil one. This interests me as it shows shrewdness and a willingness to recognize evil and the need to thwart it as much as possible. That fairy godmother was worldly wise enough to see its failings and willing enough to confront what was wrong. She was no “twee fairy”!

I like to see kind characters having the benefit of others being kind to them (such as in Cinderella where the fairy godmother helps Cinders because she is kind). At the end of the story, I want to see kind characters win through but also using other qualities to help them do that. I don’t want passive, kind characters having others do all of the work for them here. They do have to earn their reward in my eyes.

This World and Others – Ethics

Does your fictional world have any kind of ethics as we would know them? What is the driving force behind your world’s political system? Are there ethics the ordinary folk are expected to follow and those higher up can do as they please? Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that!

How did your setting develop these ethics – through religion or tradition founded another way? Has your setting abandoned ethics for any reason and, if so, why? Equally has it adopted any form other worlds, say? Why did they decide to do this and which ethics did they adopt? What guidelines are given to the ruled over by their rulers? How easy or otherwise it is for ordinary folk to challenge ethics they disagree with?

Does your world’s media have any influence on what ethic should be followed/ignored?

What would be the consequences for a character who deliberately goes against what is accepted in their world? They say “follow the money” when it comes to looking for suspects for crime cases and I’ve not doubt there is a lot of truth in that. But you could say “follow the ethics” as well to see if your characters have a well hidden nicer side to their nature.

You could also follow the ethics to see who is saying one thing but doing another. We’ve all seen that before too!

ALLISON SYMES – AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL LINK

CafeLitMagazine: Cinnamon Comforts by Allison Symes, cinnamon tea, https://t.co/xt0ZDFz3mx Thrilled to be on CafeLit with a story I wrote during Flash NANO. CafeLit like authors to nominate a drink to link to their tale. For my Cinnamon Comforts, it could only be cinnamon tea! pic.twitter.com/59lFWClfoF
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) February 16, 2023

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Hope you enjoy my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction – The Right Call. See if my character did do that!https://t.co/5alzRUrxU4 pic.twitter.com/qopL7B0pln
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) February 17, 2023

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Character Creation https://t.co/NmzK4UhiOT Pleased to share my post for CFT – Character Creation. I share thoughts on identifying with characters, ask if outlining stifles creativity, and discuss why a good knowledge of human nature is crucial for successful character creation.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) February 17, 2023

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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Drafts and Depth of Characterisation

February 14, 2023Leave a comment

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.

Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate. (Lady has had big hugs today. Mind you, she often gets big hugs!). And it is always a great idea to celebrate our love of books and stories, regardless of what date it is on the calendar.

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Hope today has been lovely, whether you celebrate St. Valentine’s Day or not. Lady had a lovely time playing with her Aussie Shepherd friend. As ever, both dogs went home shattered but happy.

Writing Tip: Somewhere Near Infinity or Thereabouts – Never worry about a first draft being rubbish. It is part of the point of a first draft. Just get something down and then worry about editing. Terry Pratchett has a great quote on this – “the first draft is you telling yourself the story.”.

So true. You have to work out what it is before you can work out what to improve.

Another busy Monday has sped by – hope your one hasn’t been too bad. Lady got to play with her best buddy, the lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback, so two dogs in my area were happy today!

Looking forward to being interviewed for a “catch up” session with Hannah Kate for North Manchester FM soon. More details nearer the time. A lot has happened since I was last on the show.

Later this week I’ll have another story up on CafeLit. Will be lovely to be back on there again.

Am busy getting my author newsletter up together ready for issue on 1st March. I like being able to add bits and pieces to this as I go through the month. It’s especially useful when something crops up, say, halfway through the month and it gives me a nice news item for the next edition. Mind you, the newsletter is also a good measure of how quickly the year flies by as the time for the next one comes round etc etc!

Brrr… it’s turned cold again though glad to see my snowdrops are now out.

Will be looking at Character Creation for Chandler’s Ford Today next time. I’ll be sharing some thoughts on what I’ve found useful here. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward to the next Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group again soon. These meetings are always great fun.

Glad to say I’ll be having another story up on CafeLit soon and it is one that started life as a Flash NANO piece too, More details later this week.

Hope you have had a good start to your weekend. Many thanks for the comments coming in on How Nice, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. See link if you missed it. Hope you enjoy it. The title – well, you could give it marks out of ten for irony!

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Flash fiction is to the point though that doesn’t mean it can’t offer depth of characterisation. Far from it in fact. I’ve found because I have to choose what I show a reader, I think more carefully about what I absolutely need to show. And it is in defining what absolute is here, the depth to a portrayal comes in.

For example, if I need to show a reader a character has issues of trust (for whatever reason) I can show this via action. The character continually checks if a door is locked. They never allow people to be alone in a room etc. I can show those as two different actions in my story and readers will get the point. Definitely a lack of trust here! Dialogue/character thoughts could then show what is behind this.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "What do you, the writer, ter, think about your character and why?"

Monday is with us again and it’s time for another YouTube tale from me. Hope you enjoy Hidden.

Can you use repetition in flash fiction given its limited word count? Yes, you can. It can sometimes be useful for emphasis. I’ve used the odd word repeated as part of the same phrase in stories like Bringing Up Baby, from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I used this to give a “rhythm” to the sentence and it worked well. But it was a case of deliberate and thought out placement here which is why it worked. Sometimes I will repeat an odd word from the title and place that in the story to give a kind of “mirror” effect but again only when I can justify it and place it well.

Many of you will know I’m the flash fiction editor for Mom’s Favorite Reads. As well as the joy of writing my column (with a story to illustrate the theme), it is an absolute joy to read the stories that come in, to give them a light edit, and then see them in the next issue. What is especially nice is seeing where authors have used the telling details that really brings their stories to life.
One or two powerful pertinent details – always better than a wad of description which sends the reader to sleep!

When I’m writing my stories, I am always thinking what does the reader need to know here? If it’s not something essential out it comes. I look for telling details which make an impact too. Sometimes that can be a visual thing. Other times it is a phrase my character comes up with which is memorable but also shows something about them (such as how well or otherwise they were educated etc).

Goodreads Author Blog – Re-Reading

Do you make a habit of re-reading books or is it something you only do occasionally? I can sympathise with the school of thought that says life is so short, read new books, then read more new books etc. But I must admit I do re-read.

There are certain books I simply have to re-read (or in some cases re-listen to) at different times of the year. For example, I have to take in Hogfather by Terry Pratchett in the run up to Christmas. In that case I nearly always re-watch the excellent film adaptation.

The nice thing here is, as well as enjoying old favourites again, I nearly always pick up something new from the repeat reading – a bit of wonderful characterisation that I somehow hadn’t quite picked up on before. A great book can always stand being re-read.

You should be able to get more enjoyment from it each time. Here it is not a case of familiarity breeding contempt, more like familiarity breeding anticipation of more things to enjoy from a well-loved story. What is there not to like about that?!

liked Allison Symes's blog post: Re-Reading https://t.co/POov6XIfuc via @goodreads I look at re-reading old favourites for Goodreads this week.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) February 11, 2023

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Monday is with us again and it’s time for another YouTube tale from me. Hope you enjoy Hidden.https://t.co/1gVN4M7r7X
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) February 13, 2023

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Screenshot 2023-02-02 at 20-23-18 Mom's Favorite Reads eMagazine February 2023

Screenshot 2023-01-31 at 16-15-23 Mom's Favorite Reads eMagazine February 2023

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

Back Home – A Blog Appearance and Flash Fiction

October 18, 2022Leave a comment

Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots and holiday photos taken by me, Allison Symes. The week back after a holiday is always a busy one but so far I’ve appeared on a blog and I’ll be running a Flash Fiction group on Zoom soon too. Hit the ground running then, Allison!

From Seahouses looking across to Beadnell Beach. Weather last week was glorious.

Facebook – General

Good to get back to swimming today. Always a tough one – the first swim after a break.

Posting early today as out this evening. What do you look for in an author interview? I look for information, helpful tips, and something indicating the writer has had their fair share of ups and downs. I don’t know about you but it makes me feel considerably better to know I’m not the only one there!

When I’m on the receiving end of an interview, I look to give tips, share warnings about some of the scams out there which can trip up the unwary writer, and share some of my own ups and downs. It helps to know It is normal for the writing life not to be a straight road.

I’ve learned so much about the writing world from author interviews whether I read them or listen to them on podcasts etc.

Hope you have had a good start to the week. Busy one here. Lady back to enjoying her usual visits to our park (and got to see the lovely Coco yesterday, who is a smashing Labradoodle).

Am pleased to say I am on Gill James’ blog today. I talk about all things CafeLit. Do see link (and many thanks to Gill for hosting me).

There is a lot of truth in the saying you need a holiday to get over a holiday! This coming week will be especially busy but it was lovely to get away.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Group meeting on Wednesday. Always good fun.

Hope to be working on my stories for YouTube and Friday Flash Fiction later on. Now which random generator will I use tonight? Hmm… decisions, decisions – but these are fun ones! And there is a wealth of generators to choose from. You will find one(s) to suit.

I refuse to think about a certain festive event until the end of the month though I will add now if you have a writer in your life, be thankful. We are so easy to buy for. There are always books we want. Pens, notebooks, book-related mugs etc always go down well. So come the end of the month, I will be starting to put my list together! (Oh and the other easy type to buy for are dogs so I shall need to get Lady’s list for a certain person together next month too).

And it will be time to be thinking about festive flash too. I usually write a couple of these. Good fun.

Had great time in Northumberland. Good weather for most of the week too. We always do self catering as it is easiest option for dog owners. Would happily stay in our cosy cottage again. Great views over farmland and such a comfy place.

For Chandler’s Ford Today I will be interviewing Ruth Leigh to talk about her new book, The Continuing Times of Isabella M Smugge. Isabella is one of those great unforgettable creations who is funny and moving. Once read, want to read more which is a great sign of fabulous characterisation.

Ruth and I will also be chatting about launches and marketing. Part 1 of the interview is up on Friday.

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Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Group meeting on Zoom tomorrow night. The members here live hundreds of miles apart so an in-person gathering is not feasible. Zoom has been (a) a lifeline and (b) made certain things possible and not just for ACW.

Naturally it is good to have a couple of hours to talk flash, have a go at some writing exercises and so on (I have great fun thinking these up by the way!).

It’s Monday and time for another YouTube flash story from me. Transforming Hope is based on a line triggered by a poetry line generator (yes, really!). I adapted the line a little bit to suit my purposes. Hope you enjoy this.

When I’m picking flash tales to read at Open Prose Mic Nights, I look for a mixture of moods. I like to mix up funny with more sombre tales as it is a good advert for flash doing that. You can pack a punch with a short piece. You can also make people laugh with a short piece. I love trying to do both.

Life so often is a mixture of light and dark and I think it apt fiction overall reflects that. After all I read to either match my mood or to give me an uplift, depending on how I am feeling so what I write will do this too.

I came across some lovely place names while away in Northumberland. Possible inspiration for future character names, I think. I wouldn’t be the only writer to use place or other names for character names. P.G. Wodehouse famously did this for Lord Emsworth, Galahad Threepwood etc. Emsworth is in my home county of Hampshire.

I also use random name generators. I often just go with the Christian name. I don’t always need a surname. I use names to indicate likely social status, if they’re from this world or not, also age. Names make a great indicator and I find them useful in flash for that as they can be a useful shortcut. A name can tell you things and save a lot of description.

Goodreads Author Blog – Non-Fiction Inspiring Fiction

Non-fiction can inspire fiction. How things are made, for example, can trigger ideas for how things would be made in your fictional settings and the characters who would make them.

Equally reading up on science that interests you or a period of history can trigger ideas for characters. I’ve always found getting a character in my head is a surefire way to spark story ideas.

So having a reasonable general knowledge, fuelled by non-fiction reading, is a useful “pool” to fish in for story ideas. And as ever, the wider you read the bigger your “pool” to fish from.

Screenshot 2022-10-15 at 20-50-37 Non-Fiction Inspiring Fiction

Mixing up what you read to include contemporary works will give you a feel for what is being published now

Understanding what makes your characters tick

liked Allison Symes's blog post: Non-Fiction Inspiring Fiction https://t.co/A4lN6c1eUX via @goodreads I look at how non-fiction can inspire fiction for Goodreads this week. pic.twitter.com/x9bPRGpUs5
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 15, 2022

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Gill's Blog: Allison Symes talks today about her experince of w… https://t.co/w8upJM9Uqq A huge thanks to @GillJames for hosting me on her blog today where I discuss all things CafeLit related. pic.twitter.com/uc5XoE2VAj
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 17, 2022

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It’s Monday and time for another YouTube flash story from me. Transforming Hope is based on a line triggered by a poetry line generator (yes, really!). I adapted the line a little bit to suit my purposes. Hope you enjoy this.https://t.co/jNGjZvQfu0
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 17, 2022

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Stories, Naming Characters, and Addictive Flash Fiction

June 28, 2022Leave a comment

Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you had a good weekend. Nice to have publication news to share this week. Glad to share two links to two of my stories as part of that.

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good Tuesday. Loved a swim earlier on today and Lady got to play with her best buddies, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, and the Hungarian Vizler. Lovely dogs. Girls had a great time. Good day all round here then!

Looking forward to leading the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group tomorrow (so my posts may be up late or early tomorrow depending on what kind of day I have!). I’ve used PowerPoint more in the last twelve months or so (as it is so useful to use on Zoom) than I have in the last twelve years. That really isn’t an exaggeration.

Many thanks for the lovely responses (especially on Twitter) to Jubilee, my latest story on CafeLit. Link below. This tale was one where I knew the name of the character immediately (I don’t always). Here I anted an older lady, who is a little posh but well meaning with it – Dorothy it had to be then!

Publication News – CafeLit
Delighted to be back on CafeLit with my new story, Jubilee. I wrote this as a homework exercise I set for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group which I lead. Dorothy is one of those characters who grow on you – see what you make of her here. Hope you enjoy.

Today would have been my father’s 85th birthday. He is much missed by all the family. What was nice was my late Mum got to see my first story in print and Dad got to see my first book. Don’t think they’d be too impressed with the state of the world right now, especially since both of them were child evacuees.

On a happier note I am glad to say I will have a new story up on CafeLit tomorrow. Am looking forward to sharing the link then. See above!

And I think I may have found what may be my favourite title for a Chandler’s Ford Today post. My blog this week will be called Verbs and Verbosity In Fiction! Link up on Friday. (Wish me luck for when I get to the letter X by the way!).

My author newsletter will also be going out later this week so if you would like to sign up for that, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Screenshot 2022-03-01 at 20-14-12 Allison Symes - March 2022 - Northward Bound

Hope you’ve had a good Saturday. I’ve spent the day mowing the lawn, playing ball with the dog (and while mowing the lawn too – it is quite a sight!), washing, ironing, cooking etc. Now it’s writing time. I am one of those writers who can only relax into writing when I know the major things of the day are behind me.

So could I procrastinate with doing “essential” jobs while putting off doing any writing? Not really. I do have a saving grace here – I loathe housework! There is no way I’m using that as an excuse not to write! If anything the opposite is true in that I get the dreaded chores done as soon as I can to expand my writing time.

And talking of writing, I am glad to say I now have an author bio up on the Friday Flash Fiction site under their Authors section. See the link and screenshot. Also, a big thanks to all for the comments in on my new story here, A Picture Paints A Hundred Words.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It doesn’t take long to become addicted to writing flash fiction. I found after writing my first 100 word piece, I wanted to see if I could do it again (partly to prove to myself it wasn’t a fluke I think). Then I wanted to do another, then another, and then I tried to write to 50 words and then again to 500, and on to the upper limit of 1000 and all kinds of word counts in between. All great fun!

It has been lovely getting back to the drabble for Friday Flash Fiction especially since writing to that length was my way into flash fiction in the first place. There’s a pleasing symmetry to that I think.

So be warned! Flash can prove surprisingly addictive for such a short form of writing. I also wanted to explore (and still do) what kinds of characters would work well in such a tiny tale, whether I could write linked flashes (where the same character turns up in more than one story) and so on. Always plenty to try here and that too is part of the charm of flash fiction.

It’s Monday. It has been hectic (and stormy here in my part of the world). Definitely time for a story I think. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Many Happy Returns.

Interesting thought for a writing prompt here. Anniversaries, birthdays and the like can be sad or happy or a mixture of both, depending on exact circumstances. Is there a special day for a character of yours? What would be the story behind that being a special day? Does your character change their views on a special day and, if so why? Can other characters help them to see things more positively where that might be needed? Hmm…story ideas there I’m sure – good luck!

The challenge of writing to a specific word count (such as my drabbles for Friday Flash Fiction) is also in making sure that I am getting the maximum impact from my story. Every one of those one hundred words has to punch its weight to justify its place in my tale. This is where I admit I love it when the title is not included in the overall word count. I can use that title to give extra nuances and indicate the likely mood of the story without using up my “allowance”.

Ironically my story this week on Friday Flash Fiction is one of my rarer stories with a fairly long title – A Picture Paints a Hundred Words. I used that one because it is a play on the usual phrase (it’s usually a thousand words but I wanted to play on the fact the drabble is only one hundred words long. Because a standard phrase is being subverted a little bit here, that will help make it more memorable. My favourite word counts for titles are usually between one to four words. They’re even easier to remember as a rule.

Goodreads Author Blog – The Good Old Paperback

The good old paperback has long been my favourite book format. Easier to carry around than a hardback (and certainly less damaging if you drop it on your foot!). That love was intensified when my own flash fiction collections came out in good old paperback! Okay, I’m biased but it is a good reason to be biased!

The first paperbacks I remember buying were the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton in the days when you could buy books from your local newsagent. Southern TV had been adapting the books and of course the publishers brought out the books in an edition to match the TV series.

I then bought my own paperback of Pride and Prejudice by the wonderful Jane Austen. Later I went on to the paperbacks of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett and the P.G. Wodehouse books (though I haven’t got all of those. Still it gives me something to aim for!). All a joy to buy and to read and re-read (a sign of a good book is that is it one you can always re-read).

Which paperbacks are your favourites and why? Are there any you regret buying? (Sometimes you can find the answer to that one by looking at the books given to charity shops. Every so often a book is a big hit and then it just drops out of favour and ends up in said charity shops!).

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: The Good Old Paperback https://t.co/Y5tZljsy3x via @goodreads I chat about why I've always loved paperbacks (and always will) in my Goodreads blog this week. As for the image below, I'd drink good tea rather than coffee but the advice is sound! pic.twitter.com/XTvLAj7NkJ
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) June 25, 2022

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CafeLitMagazine: Jubilee by Allison Symes, cup of tea https://t.co/wjtvfVl0pn Pleased to be back on CafeLit again with a story which started out as a homework exercise I set for an online flash fiction group! Hope you enjoy. pic.twitter.com/G2t6n28vMz
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) June 27, 2022

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It’s Monday. It has been hectic (and stormy here in my part of the world). Definitely time for a story I think. Hoe you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Many Happy Returns.https://t.co/OldLa7JjWR
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) June 27, 2022

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Flash Flexibility, Writing Workshops, and Supporting Other Writers

June 21, 2022Leave a comment

Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you have had a good few days. Summery weather at last which Lady and I have loved. I have publication news too so it’s a good start to the week in that department too.

Facebook – General

Lovely day today and Lady is very happy because she got to “boop” her best mate, the lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback. Usually the Ridgeback boops Lady. For dogs, it really is the little things in life that bring them the most joy (oh and dinner of course!).

Delighted to say I can now reveal I will have another story on Cafelit on 27th June. Looking forward to sharing the link on that then. The piece comes from a homework exercise I set for members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group.

Will be off to the theatre again in July with my lovely editor from Chandler’s Ford Today, Janet Williams, Looking forward to seeing the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group. Will review in due course. I should’ve finished my In Fiction series for CFT by then – wish me luck finding something suitable for the letters V and X! I hope my years of Scrabble paying might help here!

Hope your Monday has been okay. Busy as ever here though the weather was lovely. Glad to say I’ll have further publication news to share soon so that’s a smashing start to the week.

My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week is about Underlining In Fiction. I’ll be looking at how to stress points to a reader without needless boring repetition and talking about planting the right clues. Link up on Friday.

Amazon currently has offers on the paperback of both From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic. See the link.

Writing Tip Number 3,004 or something like that but one I’ve found incredibly useful: time away from a piece of work is crucial. You do need the distance in terms of time away from it so you can see where it has strengths and, more importantly, where it hasn’t!

With my judge’s hat on, I can spot those stories where an author has clearly given themselves enough time away from their story as they have then edited it effectively too.

The trouble with editing a story immediately is there tends to be two responses to it – this is a work of utter genius, no work needs to be done to this deathless prose, or this is a work which I really shouldn’t have bothered with, everyone will loathe it. Neither are true. The truth is your story will have promise but needs polishing up and sharpening to show bring its potential out.

Many thanks for the comments in on Time Off, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Some smashing feedback, all appreciated.

Going back to my Authors Electric post yesterday on Writing Workshops, I can’t stress enough how important it is to support other writers (something Friday Flash Fiction does very well, as does CafeLit). Nobody produces a perfect bit of work immediately (and is there any such thing anyway? I can look back at my earlier stories and see immediately how they could be bettered but they were where I was at during that time of my writing life).

We all have to start somewhere. We can all improve on what we do. It takes time and practice. There are no shortcuts for anyone.And people remember those who support them. They also remember those who were unsupportive. Which would you rather be known as – a supportive writer or not? I know what camp I want to be in! (That thought is assisted by the old saying make your words sweet as you never know when you’ve got to eat them!).

Screenshot 2022-06-17 at 15-15-41 Time Off by Allison Symes

Screenshot 2022-06-18 at 11-10-59 Writing Workshops by Allison Symes

18th June – Authors Electric
It’s my turn on the Authors Electric blog and this month I’m talking about Writing Workshops. I discuss what I love about these, whether I run them or go to them, and look at how old school pen and paper can come into their own at these things. Hope you enjoy (and I’m looking forward to running another workshop at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in August).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Flash has more flexibility than you might think. Yes, there is the word count issue but I’ve written stories in the first person, the third, as diary extracts, as well as setting my characters backwards and forwards in time. I’ve written fairytales with bite, crime tales, the odd ghost flash piece etc.

What influences all of this are the kinds of story I’ve loved reading over the years and which I continue to love and read. It really has paid off for me to read reasonably well and widely (I don’t think anyone can claim to be perfect here. Why would you want to be anyway? You want there to be other books and genres to discover after all!).

Many thanks for the views on my YouTube tale last week (or should that be tail?) – The Unexpected. But it is Monday once again and time for another video. Hope you like this one – The True Picture. I used a random verb generator which triggered the word picture and here is what I came up with for that prompt.

Sometimes I have an idea for what I think will be a flash piece but the story really does deserve a larger word count. So I simply write that piece for the short story market instead (and my stories tend to come in at 1500 to 2000 words for that). Sometimes what I think could make a good short story really does work better as a shorter, tighter flash piece. And that’s all fine.

It’s why it has paid me to ensure I have a foot in both camps when it comes to short form storytelling. What matters is the story is right for the character (and vice versa) and the story has a proper beginning, middle, and end. The story ends with a proper resolution to the dilemma the story is about and sometimes that will come in at a longer or shorter word count that you might have originally anticipated.

I’m chatting about Writing Workshops for Authors Electric this month (see my author page on this – https://www.facebook.com/allison.symes.50) and one advantage to flash fiction here is these are easy to share when you want to discuss elements of story writing. They don’t take too long. They also demonstrate the points you’re trying to make. (And it’s another way of spreading the word about flash fiction so win-win there!).

I’ve found flash pieces are especially useful for demonstrating the old advice of show, not tell. Precisely because I don’t have the word count room for description, I do have to get my characters to show the readers what matters. And showing a point gets things across more clearly I find. I’ve been on the receiving end of that benefit many a time from workshops I’ve been to and have always appreciated that.

Goodreads Author Blog – Book Covers

For a book to grip me, I have to be gripped by its characters, but the right book cover is what is going to get me to look at the blurb, the opening page, and then go on to buy said book. I want the cover to show me something of the mood/genre of the book, to be attractive, and to intrigue me enough so I do pick the book up in the first place. Not asking much. Hmm…. No wonder book covers are so difficult to get spot on.

My favourite quote on the topic comes from the wonderful P.G. Wodehouse who, in a letter to a friend, said “God may forgive Herbert Jenkins Limited for the cover of……… But I never shall!” Book title deleted here to protect the guilty. I highly recommend the Wodehouse books of letters by the way – there is a wonderful one edited by Frances Donaldson (Yours Plum, the Letters of P.G.Wodehouse which is where I came across this quote) and another which was edited by Sophie Ratcliffe (Wodehouse: A Life in Letters). Both are fascinating reads.

It is some comfort to me as a writer that even the big names didn’t/haven’t always liked the book covers they’ve been “given”. I’ve been fortunate here in that my small indie publisher has ensured I have had some input into my covers which is something I’ve appreciated.

The author ought to have some idea of themes etc that their book cover could draw on though, rightly, the publisher should have the final say given they know what has worked for them already and can drawn on that kind of knowledge one author is simply not going to have.

So then what works for you with book covers? I don’t like over-complicated ones. Indeed my Agatha Christie collection (good old Odhams Publishers) are simply red hardbacks with gold lettering – simple but effective. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has Gandalf striding out in bad weather and again works well (I know immediately this has to be a fantasy quest).

Authors Electric: Writing Workshops by Allison Symes https://t.co/Veez9sZTPB I discuss what I love about workshops, including how old school pen/paper come into their own here. Hope you enjoy (and I’m relishing running a workshop at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in August). pic.twitter.com/G9H2Yppf2b
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) June 18, 2022

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liked Allison Symes’s blog post: Book Covers https://t.co/oRwDco3bAF via @goodreads I discuss what I like/dislike about book covers. I look at how big names haven’t always had book covers they’ve liked. I ask what you like in a book cover. Comments welcome on my Goodreads page. pic.twitter.com/3MQFyTnzca
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) June 18, 2022

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It is Monday once again and time for another video. Hope you like this one – The True Picture. I used a random verb generator which triggered the word picture and here is what I came up with for that prompt.https://t.co/b3oq0sSYjn
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) June 20, 2022

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