Tag: Chandler's Ford Today

Using Time for Fiction

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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. Not bad here though the weather was mixed. Think winter is trying to hang on when it really should just go away now. I have a look at friendships, crossing divides, and whether flash fiction can bear having repetition in it amongst other topics this time.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Delighted to share my latest post for Chandler’s Ford Today which is on a topic which is close to my heart – Using Time For Fiction. I like to make the most of those odd pockets of time we all get and it can be amazing what writing you can do in these. See the post for tips and thoughts here which I hope you will find useful.

Using Time For Fiction

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Better day. Got to have some sunshine today and Lady got to “show off” playing with her ball in front of her pal, the one she treats almost like a mum, the lovely Hungarian Vizler.

Am off for a day or two tomorrow. Will be posting as usual but times may vary. A lot will depend on where I am and the quality of a Wifi signal. It can be variable indeed on trains!

Sharing Using Time for Fiction on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. As ever I plan to use what time I can on my journey to do what writing I can using my trusted phone and Evernote. Am never short of things to do here. Am never bored. The journey flies by and I end up going home with a lot drafted ready to be edited later. There is nothing about that scenario I dislike!

Using pockets of time boosts productivity

Another mixed bag, weather wise, here, but Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback best friend today. Both dogs went home tired and happy.

Am talking about Using Time For Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above. Looking forward to sharing that.

Hope to be taking part in an author event in July. More news on that nearer the time. Am giving a flash fiction workshop for a writing group in May. Looking forward to that a lot. Always happy to talk about flash fiction!

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom at the end of the month. I set some prompts last time and one of these was the first line of my story, Untaken, which was up on CafeLit yesterday. So I do write up my own prompts too!

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "I don't believe in writer's block. I DO believe there are times when we are not so creative for all kinds of reasons. We're human after all. Prompts can be a useful kick start."

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It’s the end of another working week (a shorter one in the UK given we had a Bank Holiday on Monday for the Easter weekend). Still time for a story. Hope you like my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Making Her Day. See what does here!

Screenshot 2023-04-14 at 17-27-12 Making Her Day by Allison Symes

Does writing flash regularly make writing to a specific word count easier? Hmm… jury’s out there. What I find is it is a case you know you can do it. You’ve done it lots of times before. But you still have to face this blank page. I go by the Wodehouse maxim to apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.

I will often refer to my notebooks (and this is where an idea from there will grab me and I run with that). Using pockets of time just to jot down potential ideas is never wasted effort and it pays off for me a lot.

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Is there a place for repetition in flash fiction? It may sound ironic, given the limited word count, but yes there is. I’ve used a repetition of a phrase for a character to stress something. They are trying to convince you they are speaking the truth. Sometimes this kind of repetition can be a habit of the character. So there is a place for it but it must be something you’ve thought out and can back up the characterisation to limit the risk of it looking like a mistake.

May be an image of text that says "Repetition, deliberately done, can be highly effective in a story. It can lead to a ripple effect throughout and add depth to your characterisation. Saying something once and then repeating it twice (again a rule of three!) helps people remember that something ar better. It is a huge indicator to the read that this something matters to the story and its outcome."

Fairytales With Bite – Friendships

What kind of friendships are encouraged in your fictional settings? One of my favourites is the friendship which develops between Legolas and Gimli from The Lord of the Rings. So many funny moments when they’re fighting side by side too. (‘It still counts as one, elf’, just being one example. This was an aspect I thought the films brought out so well).

And you can’t beat the friendship between Frodo and Sam for loyalty and courage. But the latter friendship is more understandable – between two hobbits rather than between an elf and a dwarf, traditional enemies.

Does your world discourage/encourage friendships between different species? Where would friendships be forbidden outright and does anyone defy this? How do your characters meet and develop friendships (or enmity come to that given friendships can go sour)?

You can show so much about a character by the type of friends they seek out (or seek to have because it serves their career etc – that in itself tells readers a lot about them!). Also what kind of a friend is your character to others? That can also reveal a great deal about the type of person they are.

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This World and Others – Crossing Divides

Following on from Fairytales with Bite, friendships can be a great way to cross divides. The Legolas/Gimil example is a great one here. Who would be brave enough in your setting to make the first move here?

What divides does your world have and how did these come into being? Does anyone ever challenge them? Are there any good reasons for a divide? (An aggressive country attacks another. They’re beaten back. The victim country puts up a wall to stop this happening again – that kind of thing).

Where you have a divide, you have characters caught on either side of it. There is an obvious potential for tragic stories here but could you bring out a funny side at all? Do you have the spiv type characters who use the divides to their advantage and manage to cheat the system?

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Building A Book Workshop – Author Interview: Gill James

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of Gill James at a Bridge House Publishing event.
For those who celebrate/commemorate, may I wish you a Happy Easter. It is lovely to have the sunny weather to go with it! A busy week again this week. I hope you enjoy a fabulous interview with Gill James on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Really great idea here. Check it out below.

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Am thrilled to welcome back Gill James to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her Build a Book Workshop. Doesn’t that sound intriguing? Find out all about it here.

Author Interview: Gill James – Build A Book Workshop

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Another good day for Lady – she got to play with her pal Coco today.

Will be sharing a wonderful interview with Gill James on Chandler’s Ford Today soon. We’ll be discussing Build a Book Workshop which is a fabulous idea. More tomorrow. See above.

Don’t forget the April issue of Mom’s Favorite Reads is out. Do check it out – it’s a great read and free!

 

Lady had a ball with her best mate, the lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback, today. Good time had by both.

Looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with Gill James about Build a Book Workshop for Chandler’s Ford Today. Interesting premise. Great answers to questions, what’s not to like? Link up on Friday. Again see above and yes I am really excited about this interview. The premise here is a superb one. Do check out the interview.

Talking of questions, don’t forget you can use these to quiz your potential characters, I often do and will also use the random question generators to help me come up with “left field” questions, which can be a great way of truly finding out what your character is made of! They also stop you using the same old questions over and over again.

I will often use questions to give me ideas for themes for stories and again often they make for good titles too. I find they help me dig that big deeper and that in turn benefits my story and characterisation.

May be a cartoon of text that says "Questions make for good themes τσσ. What questions DO bother your characters and why?"

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Pleased to be on Friday Flash Fiction this week with my story Which Way? Hope you enjoy it. This story was prompted by the throw of a story dice and, aptly, a picture of a dice came up!

Screenshot 2023-04-07 at 09-12-58 Which Way by Allison SymesIf you do get Writing Magazine the last issue had their competition guide in it. Bear in mind a lot of the short story competitions either have categories for flash as well or their word count requirements fall within flash territory. Well worth checking out.

Don’t forget to check out the Ts and Cs of the competitions too (and that should be easily done by going to the competition’s website where you should be able to see these). You can sign up to Writing Magazine on line – their website says you could get access to their archive here, which would include the last edition with the guide, I would have thought!
Screenshot 2023-04-07 at 20-29-10 Writers Online Membership - Writers OnlineEntering competitions is also good practice for writing to deadlines

I was talking about using questions to help me with my fiction writing over on my author page earlier. Of course, because I am coming up with stories and characters all the time for my flash fiction and short stories, I need to ensure I have a constant supply of idea generators.

This is where the random generators are a blessing. It is also why I mix up the type I use frequently. Doing all of that makes me think outside the box more. That in turn helps fuel creativity and I am always all for that! (Story cubes, the old game of bits of paper in a hat with different words, adjectives on etc and then you pick out pieces at random – these all work too).

Also don’t forget the prompts books (and I will admit to bias here given I’ve contributed to some). Talking of which, I am also in The Big Book of Prompts, and many of the writers who regularly contribute to CafeLit, Bridge House Publishing etc are in there too. Why not see what we’ve come up with for ideas and see what you can make of them? Have fun!

 

Fairytales with Bite – Light and Dark

I’m writing this after what seems to have been the dullest, wettest March on record. Even the recent clock change where the clocks went forward did not appear to make much of a difference. And then the sunshine turned up and now we can believe spring has got here after all! Light makes all the difference.

In your setting, what kind of light would be considered natural? Are your characters affected by light levels the way we can be? What would they have in the way of artificial light for the winter season? Does your setting have a long dark period or a long light one? How would that make your characters behave?#

If you live in a setting where there isn’t a lot of natural light for most of the time, behaviour will be different compared to those who have nigh on perpetual natural light. (Those living in the latter can more obviously get out and about that much more easily. Sleep patterns will differ here too. How would that affect your characters?).

Is dark feared or welcomed? How do your characters manage to do the everyday tasks of life when dark is a way of life for them? Is crime more prevalent in a “dark” world?

You can also explore the issues of light and dark for each of your characters too. What would be their light attributes, which their dark etc? That alone could give you a good character outline ahead of writing your story up.

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This World and Others – Nature

Light and dark are natural phenomenons of course but in your setting what is the natural world like? Is it comparable with ours? How do your creatures (human like or otherwise) cope with light and dark? What are their natural tendencies? Is there prey and predator, for example, and who would be considered to be the “top of the tree” here?

Have your main creations changed the natural world and, if so, how? Are there benefits to what they’ve done? What are the disadvantages and has your natural setting found a way of fighting back against what it hates? There are stories to be had in climate disasters and their aftermath, for example, but a more positive outcome here would be a tale where your characters learn from their mistakes, put them right, and the natural world responds to that. Redemption stories are always welcome! (If only to cheer us up as readers because there is so much gloom out there. We see natural disasters all the time, yes?).

How broad is your natural world? Is there a range of geographical settings? That directly affects what can live in your setting naturally so what kind of varieties of plant/insect/animal life, do you have here? How do these affect how the others can live?
It pays to take time to work this kind of thing out. Setting can so often act like a character in its own right. Think of The Shire, Mordor, Gondor etc in The Lord of the Rings. Each distinct. Each memorable. Each with their own “natures”.

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

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

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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 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.
Screenshot 2023-04-04 at 20-48-24 Allison Symes - YouTubeWoo-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.

May be an image of text that says "I use my diary to note down what I am writing when and to record how I'm doing. Has helped make me more productive."

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!

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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!

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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.

May be an image of tree, road and text that says "Make your twist a strong one. Twists, well delivered ơη, are superb hooks. love it when a twist catches me out and I ook back at the story and see the clues WERE there."

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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Anthologies

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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.
Another hectic week, more rain too! Am hoping the weekend proves to be a much needed time to wind down a bit!

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Pleased to share Anthologies, this week’s post on Chandler’s Ford Today. I look at the advantages of writing for them and share some tips on working to themes. Most anthologies do set these and it is good practice in any case given so many competitions do as well. Hope you find the post useful.

Anthologies

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Looking forward to sharing my Anthologies post on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. This is a classic case of writing about what you love as well as what you know! Link up tomorrow. See above.

Had a fabulous time at the Flash Fiction group meeting on Zoom last night (for the Association of Christian Writers). Great responses to the writing exercises I set. Hope you all get some stories submitted and “out there” as a result.

Don’t forget my monthly newsletter goes out on the first of each month so there is still time to sign up in time for April’s one. Head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com – would love to have you “aboard”. I share tips, writing advice, as well as news.

What I have in the back of my mind here is writing something I would love to receive myself in my inbox for this kind of thing. Mind you, I try to take that approach with my story writing too. I try to keep an Ideal Reader in mind, always, while writing what I love to write.


It’s my turn on More than Writers (the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers). This time I talk about Signs of Spring. This applies to our writing too! Hope you enjoy the post.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I took part in the Andrew Siderius Memorial competition on Friday Flash Fiction last week with a 100 word story. This week I have had a go at the up to 500 words category. Good challenge to mix up the word counts you write to!

Hope you enjoy The Fairy Godmother’s Guide For Finding A New Client, which is one of my longer titles! Sums the story up though.

Screenshot 2023-03-31 at 19-47-23 The Fairy Godmother's Guide for Finding a New Client by Allison Symes

Lady had a fabulous time with her Aussie Shepherd gentleman friend today. Both dogs have a very impressive thundering gallop when they run! Okay, they can send up some seriously impressive mud as well but one cannot have everything!

There is a useful competitions guide (often covering flash too) in the current edition of Writing Magazine but I think the next one is due out at any time so it may pay to grab a copy of the current issue while you can. The guide takes you up to December.

I’m currently prepping a story for a competition and hope to end up submitting that sometime in April.

Don’t forget to look out for Mom’s Favorite Reads due out again soon. I will shortly be setting my challenge for the May edition. See it as a good way to practice writing to a word count of 300 words maximum.

May be an image of text that says "Flash Fiction"

Damp and grey day here, not that Lady cared. How does the weather affect your characters’ moods? Do they match the weather or do they deliberately go in the opposite direction (if only to cheer themselves up a bit on days like today, say? I find the writing carries on regardless – it is time which is a more relevant factor for me.

May be an image of text that says "Creative writing does just that for reader and writer. Readers can tell when something is written with love and care. You've got to care about what you write to stand all the rejections you are likely to get before acceptances come. Come INSPIRE"

Fairytales with Bite – Humorous Magic – What Could Go Wrong?

What kind of magical jokes would your mischievous characters do and what would be the consequences? In your setting, is magic taken seriously most of the time but with the proviso of something like an April Fools’ Day where folk are allowed to be more playful with their spells (on the understanding nobody gets hurt or made to fall in love with someone they wouldn’t usually fall for)?

I mention the latter as some limits would have to be set to prevent unfortunate consequences which would continue for longer than the period of mischievous magic allowed for. But tricks, jokes – what kind would these be and does your society welcome this as a way of letting off steam every now and again?

If humour is frowned on (it can be closely linked to free speech), how would your characters let off steam? Would there be underground comedy venues? I grew up watching The Goodies. Check out their episode Goodies Rule UK for their take on this – I find this is still funny after all these years. If funny magic is banned, why, who brought in the ban, and does anyone defy it?
Where humorous magic is allowed, who clears up the inevitable mess? There will be someone!

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This World and Others – Treating Magical Accidents

That last line leads nicely into this topic. Where magic is practiced, things are bound to go wrong. See The Sorcerer’s Apprentice for one thing! So who would deal with the accidents? Is there the magical equivalent of paramedics, the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, or any other first responder? Are magical mishaps treated magically or with or traditional kinds of medicine, similar to what we have?

Also, is there any such things as a magical accident insurance company? I could see there being funny stories here, especially with what might go on the claim forms. (Fans of UK comedian Jasper Carrott will remember his routines with insurance claim forms. Hilarious stuff).

Are there particular groups in your setting who would be more prone to this kind of accident, due to either being more clumsy or less experience with magic than other more privileged groups? Would this lead to them being allowed to get more magical experience (if only to keep everyone else safe from them)?

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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Purposes of Reading

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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. Pleased to receive my ALCS money (more on that below, if you’re a writer you really should check them out) and Lady has had a superb week in the park seeing so many of her friends. Better weather too. Yay!

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Pleased to share my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post about the Purposes of Reading. This is the other side of the writing “coin” in that to write well, it helps enormously if you read well too. See the post for why and I hope you enjoy it.

Purposes of Reading

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Delighted to receive my payment form ALCS yesterday (especially nice given it was my birthday! Lovely timing, ALCS!). If you want to know more about ALCS and how they help authors, do check out the website. I get my membership of ALCS as part of my membership of the Society of Authors. I like that – a lot!

One reason for networking being important for writers is you find out about organisations like this through other writers. It is always good to have somewhere to turn to when in need of advice and what ALCS does for authors is a wonderful addition.

Screenshot 2023-03-23 at 20-15-01 ALCS

Many thanks for the wonderful birthday messages on my timeline today. All much appreciated! I am now officially a “Heinz” – of the 57 varieties fame! (Very famous advert which ran for many years saw Heinz boast about having 57 varieties. Well remembered in my part of the world).

Will be sharing Purposes of Reading for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above. Loved writing that one. (In fairness I love writing all my posts but anything to do with books, reading, writing etc will always be especially pleasurable to write!).

Writing Tip: When reading, note down what it is you love or loathe about the characters in the story. Work out why you feel the way you do about them. Use that to work out what you would like/loathe to see in your own characters. Are there character aspects in common (you really discover you loathe a certain type of character because…)?

As well as being an interesting study, you may well discover themes you really want to write to/avoid writing about doing this. I don’t particularly like grifter stories where the grifter gets away with it so am unlikely to write any. I know that’s partly due to having to deal with scams for real so that colours my view but I am aware of that. If I wrote a grifter story, you could be sure I would make sure they didn’t get away with it!

May be an image of text that says "Do you look at your characters' flaws and wonder what has led to them?"

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you enjoy my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction called Getting One’s Wings. Fun to write, I hope you find it fun to read.

Screenshot 2023-03-24 at 09-42-13 Getting One's Wings by Allison Symes

I’m talking about Purposes of Reading for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. And I would add here it is important to read widely in your field as well as outside of it. I love reading flash fiction collections (and short story anthologies). I find them inspiring and encouraging and they remind me of why I love both of these fabulous forms of fiction.

If you’re not sure where to start, why not try The Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop? See link. (Oh and if you’re wondering if it is a coincidence I’ve flagged up my own two flash collections, it’s not!).
Screenshot 2023-03-24 at 20-36-22 The Bridgetown Café Bookshop
Many thanks for the happy birthday wishes. Much appreciated. Had nice day having hair done as well.

Now what would your characters consider to be a nice day? Can you set them against one another here? A criminal would see it as a good day if they’ve got away with their crime. Someone on the right side of the law would take a different view. And there can be poignant pieces to be written here. A character has a specially nice day and we discover it is going to be their last one etc.

Flash fiction is very good for those moments you want to “capture” for your character. This time meant something to them because… and that is the story. The impact here is how will it make your reader feel. A story should generate a reaction. And especial moments as stories work best when kept short.

May be an image of text that says "With flash fiction, you have to focus on THE single most important aspect of your character's life"

Fairytales with Bite – Birthdays

Topical subject this week given I’ve just had my own birthday! So in your fictional setting how much importance is given to birthdays? Do people celebrate them or is it just another date on the calendar? Is there a birthday “industry” (cakes, cards etc)? Or are only the birthdays of important figures commemorated? If so, who would these be and why have they been chosen? Would these be celebrations everyone is expected to join in with, regardless of how they feel about it?

Now birthdays can be public gatherings so how would the powers that be in your world look on these? Are such gatherings forbidden or limited to a set number? How are birthdays counted? Is the calendar year the same as ours or much longer/shorter?

Another use for birthdays in fiction is to have them as the point where your character realises something has to change. They’re another year older. Life is passing them by. What do they do to change things? How can the birthday be used as a trigger here?

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This World and Others – Celebrations

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone. There is a lot of truth in that. But when it comes to celebrations, for birthdays or anything else, what are your characters’ attitudes here? Do they love to celebrate or do they dread that kind of gathering?

What would your characters celebrate? Do they stick to traditional forms of celebrating or come up with their own thing? If your setting is divided into different settings, are there common celebratory forms or does each “segment” have their own style?

If your character is a more morose type what would they do if forced to take part in celebrations and what or whom could get them to agree to such a thing in the first place? Think about the hold someone might have over them and can your character escape this? Do they use the celebration as a cover for a get-away? (Yes, do think The Lord of the Rings here but what would your character want to get away from? How could the celebration be useful to them?).

If your world is an oppressive one, do the powers that be allow official celebrations or is everyone kept down all the time?
Celebrations have meaning and impact on people which is something your could explore for story ideas. Think about what celebrations have meant for you. What would make your character feel the same way? Could that lead to your character developing empathy?

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Purposes of Creative Writing

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
It has been an odd week. I started it being ill, got better, appeared on a blog, and am now looking forward to catching up with friends and family shortly. Proof I suppose it is better to end well rather than worry about a rotten start. Having that said, writers need to start well, do the middle well, and end well. It is a good challenge!

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Purposes of Creative Writing, my Chandler’s Ford Today post for this week. There are many benefits to any kind of creative activity but I look at these from the writing viewpoint. I hope this proves to be an encouraging post! I also look at finding your creativity in this one. I believe everyone has at least one form of creative activity which would suit them. It can be a question of finding it. I also feel creative writers actually have two – we need to be active readers too. Hope you find much of cheer here and do keep on with the writing.

Whether you stay in the same direction or not is another matter. I changed direction to flash fiction and have never regretted that! Whether you seek to be published or not, writing can stretch you, make you come up with pieces you never thought you could produce, and is huge fun.

Yes, there are those days when you would rather throw your laptop out of the nearest window but even there is some comfort. Every writer has felt like that at some point. I find it helps to know I’m not alone when I feel like that. We get days when we still do but you also get those days when you are in the zone, the words fly out of you, stories get produced and published etc.

Purposes of Creative Writing by Allison Symes

 

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Hope you have had a good day. Looking forward to sharing my Purposes of Creative Writing post for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. Has been a struggle to get back to writing after a very dodgy weekend but have got there in the end. Have run late all week but not just on my writing it should be said. The writing has been a solace all week (unlike so much else!).

I hope everyone who goes to the Scottish Association of Writers Conference has a fabulous time. I did when I went last year. I ran a flash fiction workshop there and judged one of their competitions for them. It was a delight to meet friends old and new. Weather this year is a bit different, mind you! Keep warm, folks.

One of the joys of conferences is learning more about the wonderful world of writing. I love the fact there is always something you can learn to improve on what you do and to get more from it. No wonder writing is good for the brain, something I cover in my CFT post tomorrow. (Nice to come full circle on a post as well!).

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Am thrilled to be back on Val Penny’s blog today. Many thanks for hosting me once more, Val.
Val put some pertinent questions to me which I loved answering. I talk about flash fiction (of course!), discuss characters, and writing routines. Last but not least I share some advice which I’ve found helpful. Hope you do too.

Screenshot 2023-03-15 at 10-12-50 Conversation with Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

You know the saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Well, for my story for Friday Flash Fiction this week, I apply that principle to magic. Hope you enjoy Spotting the Magic.

Screenshot 2023-03-17 at 09-40-48 Spotting the Magic by Allison Symes

Am at that stage where I’ve got a couple of possibles for a certain well known competition I enter – now it’s make up my mind time. I could enter both so I may decide on that eventually. Am resting the pieces so I can look at them with a fresh eye. I’ve got a couple of months in hand here but that soon whizzes by and I want to have my submissions in well ahead of the deadline, as I usually do. What is pleasing here is I have earmarked some of my draft Flash NANO pieces for competitions so that’s another reason for taking part in this again. I found it a great way to get a stock of stories together to work on for future use.

May be an image of text that says "Flash fiction illuminates briefly it is a great form for a lighthearted piece. These often work best when kept short."

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group meeting on Zoom later this month. Ideas and news (competitions etc) are shared. This is handy as no one writer can know everything and we can all help each other here.

Don’t forget I share tips and news on a regular basis via my newsletter. Next one due out on 1st April. That may be April Fools Day but I’m not fooling, honest. To sign up head over to (my landing page) at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

 

Fairytales with Bite – Using Prompts for Fairytales

I often use a wide range of writing prompt. I often use random generators, have recently used story cubes, and I’ve contributed to, as well as used, books of prompts in my time.

But have I used any of these for writing what I call my fairytales with bite? Oh yes. Not all the time. Some prompts work better for certain types of story but things like the random question generator are useful for giving you a direct theme and/or title for your piece. Then you can work out how to get a fantasy/fairytale story out of it!

One such question I’ve used was What’s something you learned in the last week? You can apply that to a magical character easily enough and there is good potential for a humorous piece here.

The random word ones are even easier here given what you usually do with those is put them into a story (of any genre so the sky’s the limit here).

Well worth having a go at – I’ve had a few pieces published this way. I often use these to submit stories once a week to Friday Flash Fiction and to create stories for my YouTube channel. You just want a way in to get started and the prompts are useful here.

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This World and Others – Exploring Your World

How do your characters get around in your setting? Is exploration encouraged or firmly discouraged? Is there a drive to explore at all? Or does that drive come about as a result of urgent need? The hobbits in The Lord of the Rings are the ultimate example of that I think, given they were usually more concerned with second breakfast and/or beer!

You could get stories from transport systems here (and who uses them and, perhaps more pertinently, who doesn’t. What would be the reasons behind that? Does anyone defy the rules? What would be the consequences (there always would be something)?

Where the world has been explored, who did this? Who were they doing it on behalf of? What do your characters think is the most important thing about their world? Are they worried about location or do they prefer to explore the world metaphorically via challenges to standard ideas etc? There is always someone who will want to find out just how far they can go!

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Not Impressed

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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.
Apologies for a shortened post this time. Sadly I was ill over the weekend/early part of this week but am glad to report am now feeling much better. I did miss being able to write though. It is true – writing can be addictive! Mind you, it has been the thing to cheer me up as I’ve got back to it again.

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Facebook – General

A huge thank you for the best wishes expressed yesterday. Am so glad to be well on the mend (though must ‘fess up to sporting a rather unfetching tired and washed out look right now! Better than being ill by lightyears though).

So glad to be back writing again. I do have to be ill not to be able to do any at all! I did manage to submit a story to Friday Flash Fiction yesterday and I will be sharing over on my book page shortly my video for the week. To only be a day out is not bad given the circumstances.

And it is always nice to have something to look forward to doing, creatively, at the end of my day. I suspect it was that aspect I missed the most.

I’ll be talking about Purposes of Creative Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Look forward to sharing that on Friday.

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Apologies for the no-show yesterday, I had an awful weekend, being rather ill! (Lost 6 lbs over one night!). Am feeling better now but very tired and washed out. It will be a few early nights this week for me I think.

Writing tip: Never beat yourself up when you can’t write. I just couldn’t focus on anything over the weekend. These things happen. Look forward to having writing to come back to when you are more up to that again. I know this one works – have just done an unwanted test on this one!

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Hope you have had a good day. Many thanks for the comments coming in on Clearing Away, my latest on Friday Flash Fiction.
I’m going to be looking at the Purposes of Creative Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Am enjoying writing it and looking forward to sharing this on Friday.

When I prepare author interviews for CFT, I take some time in researching the background to the writer in question so I can put pertinent questions to them and find aspects of their work they will want to elaborate on. That makes for a great, entertaining interview. You can do pretty much the same for your character outline. What would your character want to tell you and why is an interesting angle to explore. What do you think your characters would want to keep hidden from you and why is another one.

Screenshot 2023-03-10 at 09-42-10 Clearing Away by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Glad to now be able to share my story video of the week. It was lovely getting back to doing this, after having been ill, and to only be a day out is nice. My story title reflects how I felt about how I ended up spending my weekend – hope you enjoy Not Impressed!

Sorry, I wasn’t about yesterday. I spent a lot of the weekend being ill. Pity that wasn’t over in a flash!

Moving on, I’ve mentioned before that one joy of flash is being able to draft something when you haven’t got much time. It is also handy when you are not up to writing much. You still feel as if you have got something done and I’ve found that helpful in the past and now. It can be a useful morale boost when you’re not feeling up to much.

Allison Symes - Flash Fiction Collections

I shared in my CFT post yesterday that one thing I loved about editing for Mom’s Favorite Reads is in seeing how people respond to the challenge I set. They always rise to the occasion! I love responding to challenges (say competition themes) and seeing what I can do with them. I think being made to raise our game here is a great discipline.

It is always nice being able to surprise yourself with what you can come up with here and having the challenge to respond to is a fantastic way of stretching yourself. After all, responding to that CafeLit 100 word challenge made me discover the joys of flash fiction. You need something to respond to in the first place, I think.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "A fiction writer's challenge is to keep coming up with characters who engage with us. A non-fiction writer's challenge is to keep coming up with topics which engage us. I do both!"

Goodreads Author Blog – Haunting Characters

I occasionally write a ghost flash fiction story. One of my favourite stories of all time involves three ghosts and a miser – I’ll leave you to guess what that one is! And I love a great series of books called Kindred Spirits by Jennifer C Wilson who combines ghost stories and history. (I should add Jennifer is a friend but I would happily read and recommend these books anyway given I love historical fiction and this is an interesting take on it).

But haunting characters shouldn’t just be confined to ghost stories. I want characters to haunt me and stay with me long after I’ve finished reading their story. Some of those that do this for me include Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Sam Vimes, Death (from Discworld), Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee, Jeeves and Wooster, and many others besides. I do love an eclectic mix!

So how can a character haunt a reader then? Simply by being so convincingly portrayed any reader would want to root for them and absolutely have to find to what happens to them. They’ve got to make the reader feel as if they were almost there in the story with them, as it is only when that is achieved will a reader care enough about them.

Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 20-46-06 Haunting Characters

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Catching Up – Author News – Allison Symes

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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 week. It has been a right mixed bag weather wise – snow, sleet, rain, sunshine – but Lady has taken it all in her stride. My solitary crocus seems to have survived the onslaught, much to my relief. Before you ask, I have planted others but I suspect they’ve been taken by animals feeding on these things. This one crocus comes out year on year and is a delight to see.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am pleased to share Catching up – Local Author News – Allison Symes as my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. The first quarter of 2023 has been brisk, I’m pleased to say. Pleased because the writing life is not meant to be a static one. Am also pleased to spread the word for Mom’s Favorite Reads and share some tips I’ve found useful.

Catching Up – Local Author News – Allison Symes

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Looking forward to sharing a catch up post from me for Chandler’s Ford Today where I share recent events and news. See above. There has been plenty going on since my last one. Mind you, the writing journey isn’t meant to be static so I fit in with that well enough. Link up tomorrow.

One tip that has stood me in good stead is to always double check submission requirements, whether it is for an online magazine, a publisher, or a competition etc. Follow these things to the letter (and in the case of Friday Flash Fiction to the comma – see the site (and my screenshot for more on that). Why?

Well, you risk automatic rejection if you don’t, for one thing. There are always good reasons for submission requirements. Sometimes it is to do with formatting.

Secondly, you make the editor’s life that much easier if you follow the rules. Editors, competition judges (and I am sometimes both of these!), appreciate these things (and trust me, I have!).

Thirdly, it can make you look like an amateur if you don’t follow the rules.

Fourthly, if you’re working (or hope to) with a publisher/agent, if you can’t follow the rules, it can make you look awkward to work with and you don’t want to give off that impression, however unintentionally.

So it is worth taking the time here to get these things right.

(In other news, am rather chuffed with myself as I’ve finally managed to score over 600 on an online game similar to Scrabble. I managed to get all seven tiles out on a double treble word score. The likelihood of this happening ever again is remote so am grabbing bragging rights now!).

Screenshot 2023-03-09 at 20-08-57 100-Word Submissions

Well, we did get snow, and Lady had a lovely time but neither of us were that sorry to get back home again.

Where would your characters call home and does home have the same meaning for us as it would do for many of us? Is it something they look forward to returning to or somewhere they just “put up with for now” because they have plans for better?

One of the things I loved about The Lord of the Rings is when Frodo, Sam etc do return to The Shire, they are pleased to be back but it is obvious they have changed. It would be odd if they had not been. And that’s something we need to reflect in our stories if we get characters returning to a place having been through their story.

A character shouldn’t be exactly the same as they were before setting out. Readers expect to see change (and sometimes it can be negative) but there should be something to show they’ve been affected by their experiences during the tale.

May be an image of outdoors and text that says "Hobbiton, home of the Hobbits, in The Lord of the Rings."

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I mentioned I was going to use the theme of clearing away for my YouTube and Friday Flash Fiction stories this week. The YouTube one went out on Monday but today I can share the one now on Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy Clearing Away.

Screenshot 2023-03-10 at 09-42-10 Clearing Away by Allison Symes

Just a quick post to say if you find flash fiction books like mine on Amazon saying they’re out of stock – well, they’re not. Most of the indie press such as Chapeltown Books use print on demand (as it saves a small fortune in warehousing and distribution costs and I feel is less wasteful too).

What happens is an order goes in to print your book and you get it shortly afterwards. And do bear in mind you are always welcome to buy from me directly via my website. Just let me know via my contact page (link below). Always pleased to help here! (And I can sign your books for you too).

Screenshot 2023-03-10 at 21-01-28 Contact
Just going to flag up that Amazon have an offer on the paperback of From Light to Dark and Back Again. See link. Many thanks to all who have reviewed both of my books – reviews are much appreciated. More are always welcome, of course. Yes, I do review books myself. It is another way of supporting the author. The nice thing is reviews don’t have to be long either but they do have to be honest ones!

Screenshot 2023-03-10 at 21-07-08 Allison Symes

Fairytales with Bite – Problems Acrostic

P = Problems a character must overcome; cause of great drama and tension.
R = Real issues even in a magical world should be something a reader can sympathize with your character about.
O = Onward and upward but just how does your character do that – with magical help or without?
B = By the end of the story the problem must be resolved in some way but not necessarily happily.
L = Let your character work things out for themselves, even if they end up concluding they’ve got to call help in.
E = Extra help should be seen to be merited (after all, why should someone have a fairy godmother drop in?).
M = Make the problem help your character develop in some way, that will bring about a point of change, which all stories need.
S = Sympathy, struggles, stress – your characters should go through two of these to get the first!

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This World and Others – Typical Problems Your World Faces

What are the typical problems your world faces? Are these seasonal? Have they taken steps to make things better or are other things getting in the way of that happening?

If it is a question of your world not wanting to face up to the problems they’ve got, why is that? Is it a question of the problems being so huge they can’t tackle them or a lack of resources? Could they team up with other places to help them sort these issues out or is that where the real problem lies – they can’t get on with anybody, nobody wants to help them etc?

If the underlying problems are to do with the environment, are there characters in your story who are trying to do something to make things better? What can they achieve? Can they change others’ attitudes?

Plenty of story thoughts there. And bear in mind the problems might be exactly what your character needs as a challenge to get the best of them. We generally see problems as to be overcome. Your characters can do and it can develop what they are capable of doing, even if at the beginning of the story (and throughout it) they doubt what they can achieve. People will be glued to finding out what your character can do, how they overcome their doubts etc.

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

Screenshot 2023-02-17 at 20-52-45 Reader Hub Book BrushMOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

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Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them

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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 week. Looking forward to my interview with Hannah Kate going out on air on 4th March. Find out below how a technical hitch added useful material to my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. Trust me, this does not happen often!

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Screenshot 2023-03-01 at 16-17-49 North Manchester FM Hannah's Bookshelf Saturday 4 March 2-4pm - Hannah Kate

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them For Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Am relieved too. There was a technical hitch earlier in the week and I had wondered if I would be able to post at all. Still, do see what use I made of this incident in the post itself. In some ways it was timely! I share my thoughts and tips on deadlines, which are a normal part of the writing life. It is just a question of how we handle these and I hope my tips prove useful. I know I have found them so.

Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them

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Hope today hasn’t been too hectic. Pleased to have another Zoom workshop booking in for May. These are great fun to prepare and do. Also got my name down for books to go into the Book Room at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in August – pays to do that early mainly because it makes sure I don’t forget to do it! So looking forward to seeing everyone at what is my writing highlight of the year.

Technical hitches are a pain, right? Well, for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week, one such thing has helped me prove a point in my text for Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them! Not something I expected either – find out how when I share the post tomorrow. Also proves material can come to you in unexpected ways. See above.

One thing I discovered early on as a writer was how much I didn’t know about the writing industry and how important it was I rectified that. I did so by joining the Society of Authors. I wanted someone expert in the field to turn to when I needed advice and that so paid off for me. They stopped me signing up with a vanity publisher which would have cost me thousands. I had no idea what vanity publishers were or even that they were out there. I know now.

Time spent in finding out about the writing industry and being prepared to ask questions is never wasted time. I’ve always seen this as steps taken to help me avoid the rogues, find out useful links and connections, and to help me develop my writing.

Never be afraid to ask awkward questions. They can save you a small fortune.

May be a cartoon of text that says "Came across a few of these in the early days of my writing career."

I’ll be talking about Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I share thoughts and tips and hope people will find it useful. See above. I find deadlines useful, other writers loathe them, but I believe you can use them to help your creativity.

Glad to say the March edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now out. March sees International Women’s Day on 8th March so this issue of Mom’s celebrates women. You’ll find my flash fiction column on Page 60 and do check out the fabulous stories in based on the theme. This particular topic of Celebrating Women was great for flash non-fiction too and I was glad to see examples of that come in too.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s Friday. It’s the end of a busy working week (for many of us). Time for another story of mine from Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy Learning The Trade where my character explains their career choice to a disappointed parent.

Screenshot 2023-03-03 at 09-59-08 Learning The Trade by Allison Symes

As well as taking part in pen Prose Mic Nights when I can (flash is ideal for these, you can’t go on for too long so that pleases the audience too!), I will read a flash piece or two as part of any workshop I run.

Why? Because it is the ideal way to demonstrate what flash can do and be. I mix up the pieces I choose. I like a mixture of funny and those which definitely are not!

Flash is a great vehicle for storytelling moods. I can mix these up along with my characters and what they get up to in my tales, which is something I love doing. I can and do set my characters, and their moods, anywhere I wish.

Flash is liberating like that. It’s only the upper word count you need to watch.

May be an image of sky and text that says "One advantage to flash fiction writing is I can set my characters anywhere. I do too!"

Pleased to share the link to Hannah Kate’s website. I’ll be on her show on Saturday (between 2 and 4 pm) on North Manchester FM. You can get to the Listen Again service via her website though I hope to have a link to share after the weekend. Naturally I’ll be spreading the word about flash fiction again!

When I was first on Hannah’s show back in 2021, I had to pick three books for inclusion in her Library at the End of Days/Apocalypse Books feature. It was hard picking the three books I had to save no matter what but it really made me think about what I picked and why. (I’d still pick the three I have too). Go and have a look at the fabulous collection of books on there. It is impressive!

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

 

Fairytales with Bite – The Perfect Ending

Would you say the perfect ending was the traditional happy ever after of the fairytale world? I would say it could also be considered a new beginning. Part of me also wonders what would happen once the “magic” has worn off. Now I appreciate this kind of tale would not be aimed at children but I like alternative renditions where you see “after the happy ending” played out where people have to work things out as we have to do and this time without the intervention of the fairy godmother!

Having said that my first story in print was called A Helping Hand (Bridge House Publishing – Alternative Renditions – 2009) where I do get the fairy godmother sent back to Cinderella’s youngest stepsister because she wasn’t so unkind as the elder one. That was fun to write. I was so thrilled it was published.

So think about what would make a perfect ending for your characters. Is it really all about the magic, the glitz and the glamour, or for when all that has settled down and your characters have to get on with life by themselves?

For me the perfect ending for any story is when the loose ends are tied up. You know what has happened to the characters. The problem/conflict in the story has been resolved satisfactorily (though that doesn’t necessarily have to be happily. Some of your characters are bound not to be happy at how things turned out – the villains especially!).

But it should feel as it not another word could be added or taken away without spoiling the tale in some way, The story should linger with you too. Then you may have the perfect ending!

Alternative Renditions Small

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This World and Others – Resolutions to Conflicts

Conflict is the bedrock of storytelling. A conflict happens. Characters deal with it. There is resolution of some kind. But how does your world handle a conflict which has been imposed on it by outside sources? Is there such as thing as the United Nations? Or are conflicts always “slugged” out and whoever has the biggest army etc wins? (Must admit I find that thought depressing and limiting for storytelling reasons. If there is no hope of any other outcome, where is the story? It becomes a tragedy only at best I think. I prefer stories which have at least some prospect of hope even if it is isn’t actually delivered during the tale).

This is where knowing some of your world’s history helps. If your setting has a series of dreadful conflicts, did that lead to the founding of peace organisations and the like? Who would be behind these? How did they get these set up? There would be stories here since they would be found to face opposition from the “hawks”. That would be another conflict to resolve!

But stories like that can show so much about character, determination to do right by society as a whole etc. You could show how your world has evolved and got better thanks to having these things, despite opposition.

If your setting is facing a threat to its existence, how would it resolve that one? Would it have problems getting people to fight for it or would they be queueing up to do so? How can it deal with the threat? This is where I think a basic outline would help you to work things out.

I’m not talking about a detailed plan but notes on what your character are likely to come up with/be able to do to resolve the conflict. That kind of outline can help avoid “boxing yourself in “ as you try to work out how a character would resolve an issue. You’ve got some ideas from the get-go, even if you end up not using them as you initially jotted them down. I often find better ideas occur to me as I am writing a first draft but I do find notes a useful way to get started.

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When Is A Story Finished?

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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.
Happy New Year to you all! Hope you had a lovely Christmas. And now back on with the writing… it is always a pleasure to come back to it too.

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Facebook – General

Lady and I spent a lot of today getting wet – not great weather here today. Am looking forward to going to The Chameleon Theatre Group’s next production, Pinocchio, later this month. Oh yes I am!

When is a story finished? When the writer is happy with it?

Possibly but for me a more important consideration is to ask myself if my characters have fulfilled the premise of the story so there really is nothing left for them to do or say. Does the ending deliver on the promise of the beginning?

Would I enjoy this story if someone else had written it instead of me? (That’s a good question to ask because you put yourself in the head of your Ideal Reader doing that and so you ask yourself does the twist work? Am I gripped so I have to read to the end?).

Then and only then am I likely to be happy with the tale and consider it ready to go out there, having of course rested my story, edited it, and got rid of the inevitable typo that has somehow escaped my attention until now! There always is one… writer usually sighs heavily at this point!

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler friend today so that made her happy. She was less impressed with the fireworks though given the weather was dreadful last night, we had fewer of them this time.

I’ll be looking at Diaries and Letters for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. Looking forward to sharing that on Friday as it’s a topic I’ve wanted to write about for a while.

It was nice getting back to my “flash fiction Sunday afternoon” writing slot yesterday. Will be sharing my latest YouTube video shortly over on my book page – https://www.facebook.com/fairytaleladyallisonsymes/

 

1st January – New Year’s Day

Happy New Year! I caught a little bit of the London celebrations on social media and loved the tribute to the Queen and the coins changing from the Queen to the King. Thought that was nicely done.

Lady loved the Pet Classics show on Classic FM yesterday. Found it very soothing – as did I. Nice way to end the old year as was getting to catch up with a couple of Swanwick friends on Zoom.

Slowly getting back into my writing routine again though I know it will be a day or two before I am fully up to speed. Mind you, it would help to remember what day of the week it is. I find it comforting to know it isn’t just me for that during this time just after Christmas and now. I did remember to get my author newsletter out today though so that counts as a win!

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31st December 2022 – New Year’s Eve

Happy New Year! I hope 2023 proves to be a blessing and you enjoy lots of good books and stories, old and new. The lovely thing with stories is the vast majority of them are timeless. I look forward to re-readings and finding books new to me.

Author newsletter out tomorrow though I can promise it won’t be on the stroke of midnight. I take the view the New Year can see itself in without me!

Have a lovely time if you’re off celebrating. Lady and I will be listening to Pet Classics on Classic FM. Nice soothing music – just the ticket for us!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I did manage to get a story in for a flash competition ahead of the end of the old year.

In between competitions, as well as writing for Friday Flash Fiction and my YouTube channel, I will draft stories with a reasonably open theme or a topic I know is bound to come up at some point. These drafts are never wasted. I will find a home for them during the next twelve months at some point. It is good to have a stock of stories for this kind of use.

I can and do often go through past stories which didn’t make it to see if there is anything further I can do with them. Sometimes I can then get these out again and find a home for them on a second attempt.

BookBrushImage-2023-1-3-20-3358Glad to be back to writing flash fiction again after the Christmas break. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Another Job. Proof I think delivery people are always needed.

1st January – New Year’s Day

Happy New Year! Hope you managed to get some reading in over Christmas. I’m just getting back into writing again and am looking forward to resuming writing flash later today. Will be good to get tales in for submission again.

Sometimes I know what theme I’m writing to immediately for a story (it’s usually a competition with a set theme). Many times, I don’t and that’s when I’ll use the random generators to help me trigger a theme of interest to me. Hope I can find some new generators to use this year – there are loads out there. (And do remember even with your favourite ones, you can adjust the parameters on many of them so just doing that will trigger even more ideas for you).

Hope you have a fantastic writing year.

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31st December 2022 – New Year’s Eve

Happy New Year! Time often crops up in my flash tales, sometimes as a character too. Given flash is all about a specific moment in time for a character, it is apt time often features as a theme.

What do your characters make of time? Do they adjust to the passing of time well? Definitely story ideas there!

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Goodreads Author Blog – New Books for a New Year

My New Year reading will begin with the books I received at Christmas. I have got off to a good start already but am glad to say I have plenty of reading to do!

In the next year I hope to discover books and authors new to me, as well as enjoy old favourites. It will be fun!

I will continue my reading policy of novels, novellas, ebooks, short story and flash fiction collections, and magazines. Also to enjoy audio books and stories via films. This is the nearest I get to a New Year’s resolution, folks!

Happy New Year!

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