Tag: Chandler’s Ford Today

Allison Symes – Festive Writing and Round Up 2023

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you to all who shared pictures from the Bridge House Publishing celebration event with me – full details in the Chandler’s Ford Today post – but thanks, all!
Hope you have had a good week. Almost there with Christmas preparations. Loving joining in with the carols when played on Classic FM. (For the record my favourite carol is In The Bleak Midwinter but it has to be the Holst setting). Lady has got to play with a few chums this week and a new terrier pal called Freddie so she has had a good week.
Am winding down now for Christmas so my next round up post after this one will be on Friday, 29th December. For some reason I’m not going to be about to do one next Tuesday, Boxing Day! So that leaves me to wish you all a most blissful and happy Christmas and hopefully catch up with you again on the 29th.

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It’s always a joy to write the pre-Christmas round up post for Chandler’s Ford Today. This week in my Festive Writing And Round Up 2023, I report on the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event, the Three Minutes Santa show hosted by Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM, and I share some festive flash with you too. Hope you enjoy the post.

Allison Symes – Festive Writing and Round Up 2023

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Making more progress on Christmas prep work so that’s good. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal today. Two happy and tired dogs went home. Just what the doggy doctor ordered then!

Will be sharing a festive writing and events round up post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow plus I will be sharing festive flash as part of the post. I’ll also be sharing my write up of the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event as part of this too and the links to the Three Minute Santas show which went out last weekend. See above. You can see from the pics what a good time everyone had at the BHP event!

Looking a little further ahead, I will not be posting on 25th and 26th December for reasons which now escape me (!) and timings will vary as I disappear to have fabulous times with friends and family. I very much hope you get to do the same!

Meantime more writing and Christmas prep to do so best crack on!

Hope you’ve had a good day. More Christmas prep done today so am making progress at least. Lady got to play with her pal, Coco, and then later with a friendly terrier called Freddie. Good time was had by all.

Looking forward to sharing my festive post for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Also looking forward to the Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom tonight for the Association of Christian Writers. Will be catching up on news. Christmas jumpers are optional. Will be good fun with or without said jumper! Am so pleased a number of us had festive flash broadcast last weekend on the Three Minute Santas show hosted by Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM. Hope we can keep this going!

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Will be resuming submitting stories to Friday Flash Fiction in the New Year given they are taking a well earned break after running their Christmas competition. Many congratulations to the winner and those who were listed.

I’ll probably share a flash fiction tale on my YouTube channel sometime next week but in the meantime if you would like to check out my other stories on there, you can do so at https://www.youtube.com/@allisonsymes

Festive flash is obviously a hot topic for me at the moment but the one thing I am always keen to avoid is any sense of tweeness. I’ve never liked it in any form of writing and, so help me, will not be guilty of it myself!

What I look to do is either write something which will make people smile/laugh (always a worthy aim, that!) or to give pause for thought (time for reflection at this time of year is also a good thing I find).

Will be taking a break over Christmas but will be sharing some of my festive flash for this year in my Chandler’s Ford Today post. Link up on that tomorrow plus I’ll be talking about the recent Bridge House event and sharing the links to the Hannah Kate radio show. So if you like festive flash, as I hope you do, please look out for that post tomorrow. See above.

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I do hope to create some festive flash after Christmas and before New Year but is likely to be just on my YouTube channel and on a different day. Will flag it if I get around to doing this.

Don’t forget the December issue of Writers’ Narrative is out and the theme is Finishing Strong. Well, it is an apt topic for the end of the year, is it not?

If you haven’t read it yet, you can check it out here.

Fairytales With Bite – Is Magic The Be All and End All?

The simple answer to that question is no. Magic can’t be the be all and end all, else all conflicts and problems in stories would be resolved by a quick wave of the magic wand. No drama in that!

Magic should be seen as a tool to be used wisely and where there are no alternatives. I believe that is its use in fairytales. Cinderella did need magical help to get to the ball for example. There were no alternatives.

I also like to see magic as having consequences (on the grounds any form of power has consequences if it is used for good or for ill).

So give some thought as to how your characters use magic, what they do instead of using magic, and what consequences they face when they do use it. For example, does using magic drain their mental powers (which could also have a major impact on what else they go on to do in the story).

Consequences should be something they’re aware of (or become so fast) as I would feel it a little unfair if the character didn’t know (or find out quickly). Also if they know what the consequences are it gives them the chance to go for other options and that will make for a more interesting story. A reader will also know when they do use magical power it is because they have no other choice.

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This World and Others – “Usual” Magic

What would your setting consider to be “usual” magic – I.e. what most in your setting would expect to see used on a regular basis? For example, is magic used where we use engineering? What we consider ordinary household gadgets such as the washing machine, would these be seen as magical in your setting or very basic?

Who would be the usual practitioners of any kind of magic? Are any species in your setting banned from using it? If so who, why, and is that ban enforced? What would happen if someone defied it?

Within your setting, what categories of magic exist? Can all species access magic to improve lives in their communities? Is some magic considered only to be used by the more important beings? (You can guess who brought that rule in!).

Are any restrictions placed on the use of any kind of magic for the benefit of the whole setting? Generally you don’t want beings firing magic at each other all the time and causing chaos. So what restrictions exist to prevent that from happening? What magic is considered acceptable to be used all the time?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Getting The Most Out Of Themes

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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 my two flash fiction collections taken at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, taken back in August. That seems ages ago now!
Hope you have had a good week. Weather wet, wintry, and cold. In happier news, I celebrate my wedding anniversary and am glad to share the December issue of Writers’ Narrative, another cracking read for all writers. See below for more.

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Pleased to share Getting The Most Out of Themes for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Themes, to me, are the foundation stones of any piece of writing, fiction or non-fiction. Why? Because they show me what the writer cares about.

Themes also drive character motivations. Love, as a theme, is a classic example here. What would your character be prepared to do for love (or not to paraphrase Meatloaf!)?

Motivations drive actions and reactions. Motivations are driven by the themes. Many a romance and/or crime story has come about due to the character acting and reacting to love.

Hope you enjoy the post.

Getting the Most out of Themes

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Will be looking at Getting the Most Out of Themes for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. This topic will be of use to all writers as themes are a wonderful hook for non-fiction works too. Link up tomorrow. See above.

Had a fabulous time at a sci-fi/fantasy group run by the Association of Christian Writers last night. The verdict on the Doctor Who specials was overwhelmingly positive. Must admit I did feel a tad emotional on seeing Wilfred Mott as played by the much missed Bernard Cribbins in the last one.

Storylines matter (as the Doctor Who specials are proving). There has to be a solid foundation here. I see those foundations as made up of gripping characters, a situation they have to deal with (and you know they’ve got no choice but to deal with it), and a good outcome. Okay the outcome doesn’t necessarily have to be a happy one but it should be apt for the characters and situation.

A reader (or viewer) should be able to see that yes, this outcome was a logical one, even when the story is set in the most illogical universe you can imagine. For anyone to “buy” the universe you’ve created, they’ve got to see it works.

Think about the old fairytales. There is still an internal logic to them. This happens, that happens as a result, magic is used to help a worthy character who also does something to help themselves, happy ending (usually). The follow through happens, basically. Sets up a reader to want to read more.

Delighted to say the December issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. I have two pieces in here this time. I talk about Finishing Strong in the Short Fiction Forms (page 28). My second piece on Page 35 is where I talk about the Association of Christian Writers: Flash Fiction Group as part of the regular feature Writing Group of the Month. It is a joy to share what the group has been up to!

For my main article, I look at why there must be a point of change in your story and why I consider it is vital to at least have a rough idea of where your tale is likely to end. This is to ensure your story does end strongly. You really do need to know the stop point.

Hope you enjoy a cracking read. The magazine is packed full of wonderful information and interviews, the perfect read for any writer.

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Delighted to share Questions, a Christmas themed story for Friday Flash Fiction. See why Sam ended up with two cookies rather than just the one he’d hoped for.

In other news am thrilled to say my festive flash piece has been accepted by Hannah Kate for her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM. More details to follow in due course but so pleased to achieve this again.
Screenshot 2023-12-08 at 16-57-06 Questions by Allison Symes

Let’s just say I shouldn’t have bothered drying my hair after my swim today. Lady and I got a soaking on our afternoon walk! On the plus side, it isn’t as cold as it has been. You win some… some only, mind you.

Another plus side to writing flash fiction is you can still get something usefully drafted in a small number of words. It will still be a complete story. What it will need later is editing and polishing but that applies whether you write 50, 500, or 50,000 words.

So if you are pushed for time (and who isn’t at this time of year?), consider drafting a flash story. They make great warm up writing exercises and there are competitions and markets out there for these tales. Could well prove useful in building up publication credits. I’ve found that to be the case.

I like to end my writing day knowing I’ve got this done, that done etc. Having a story drafted is satisfying in itself. I know I’ve got something to work with and I can come back to this later when I do have more time at my desk.

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Hope you have a good day. Brrr… it has turned cold again though Lady didn’t notice as she got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Hungarian Vizler, and Labradoodle pals this morning. Very much a puppy party! All four dogs went home tired but happy.

If you’re looking for a present for anyone who loves short reads with more than a touch of humour, I will point the way to my debut book, From Light to Dark and Back Again, which is on offer on Amazon at the moment. See link below for more.

If you would like to buy signed books directly from me, please contact me via my website at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact

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Fairytales with Bite – Baking in the Magical World

There are some renowned ingredients in the fairytale world, of course – suspiciously shiny red apples, the pea (though that got shoved under the Princess’s mattress rather than be used in actual cooking), and gingerbread! Plus there is bread, as dropped on the path by Hansel and Gretel, and the bean as in the giant’s beanstalk, not forgetting the good old pumpkin being readily available too.

The bread and gingerbread confirm baking has to take place to produce these things but what would be baked in your setting? Would the foods be roughly as we know them here or something completely different (to quote Monty Python!). Are Earth-style methods used for baking or is magic used for “mundane” things like cooking?

If you have magical foods, what are the qualities that make them magical? Can all characters in your setting eat them or are there some species for which doing so would have dodgy consequences? Is baking considered an art (it ought to be in my view!) or something those lower down the social scale do (not just for themselves but those above them in rank)?

For celebrations, special events, festivals etc., what special foods would be prepared? Who does the preparing? Can they be trusted? And again is magic used at all? Is food ever used as a weapon and, if so, how? Poisoning is just one way of doing so but if you have a setting where a certain food is not easily available and a neighbouring enemy setting has it in huge quantities, what stories could emerge from that?

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This World and Others – Gatherings

I write this as the Christmas season rapidly approaches and naturally that is a time for people to get together. In your setting, what kind of events would have the same effect? Is your setting one where gatherings are strictly controlled and who does the controlling and why?

Where gatherings are permitted, are there rules governing this or does anything go? Is magic used at these gatherings? I always have loved Gandalf’s fireworks at the start of The Lord of the Rings though, given I am a dog owner, I would ask him, if I could, to produce for me the silent type. It’s the noise that worries the animals.

Are there gatherings which are state sanctioned/compulsory? What would be the consequences for someone not going? For other gatherings, do all of your characters enjoy these things? If there are some who don’t, why is this? How do they make themselves cope with the gatherings especially if society/family/friends expect them to turn up?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Screenshot 2023-12-05 at 21-13-46 The December Magazine isHereScreenshot 2023-12-05 at 21-21-05 Writers' Narrative eMagazine December 2023Screenshot 2023-12-05 at 21-21-20 Writers' Narrative eMagazine December 2023

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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When A Story Works

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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 had a good weekend. Mine was lovely and could be summed up in three words – family, writing, Zoom. Great to meet in person and online – got to do both over the weekend though the advantage of meeting up with family in person is we got to have fish and chips together! Now counting the days to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event this coming weekend.

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Hope you have had a good day. Posting early today as off out later so my Flash NANO challenge for today might have to be done tomorrow. The good thing with these challenges is you can play catch up like that. Later, I will go through all the pieces I’ve drafted for this and work out what will go where, though I do have some ideas already for some of the stories.

How can I tell when a story works? There is no one simple answer to that but for me, it means:-

  • The story has gripped me and kept me reading.

  • I can’t see how any words could be taken out or added without something being spoiled.

  • When it is by an author, wishing I had written it is a huge compliment to them! (I can also imagine the time taken and editing that went into their piece so credit where it is due and all that).I cared about the characters and, ideally, would like to know more about them.

All of the above is a challenge to me too, of course, but that is a good thing. Writing should keep me on my toes. I want my stories (and blogs) to be as good as I can make them. Writing is so good for the brain because you do keep on learning how to improve.

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Nice start to the week for Lady as she got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today.

I mentioned yesterday I would be writing a post about themes for Chandler’s Ford Today. (See below). Well, that post is written and scheduled for later in December and I’m looking forward to sharing that. Hope it will prove useful.

But I am delighted to say for this week I’ll be welcoming back YA fantasy writer, Richard Hardie, to CFT to discuss his new book, Remember Remember. This is the third in his Temporal Detective Agency series and he has an online launch on Friday too so this coincides rather nicely.

I’ll share the CFT link on Friday but Richard and I discuss keeping tabs on timelines (he has two to handle in his new book!), tips on marketing, and much else besides. Looking forward to sharing that this week so do look out for it.

Pleased to say I did get my festive flash piece submitted over the weekend. See below where I mention I was getting one ready. Good fun to do, these things always are, now it’s fingers crossed time.

Even colder today, brrr! Am wearing thickest cardigan in the world too.

Will be looking at Getting the Most Out of Themes for Chandler’s Ford Today soon. So looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event next weekend. Will be great to see friends, old and new.

Writing Tip: When you’ve read a book or a story you loved, read it again and work out what it was you loved especially. I suspect it will be in the way the character(s) portrayal has been done.

Something would have engaged with you and you will be looking to do the same thing with your own characters so they engage with your readers. I’ve learned a lot by figuring out what I like about how characters are portrayed and, to an extent, from what I’ve disliked too.

With that at least I know what I don’t want to do. Besides reading (and re-reading much loved tales) is always a good idea, especially when it is cold outside.

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Brrr… it has been on the cold side today. Lady got to do plenty of running around and met a young Dalmatian so she (and the Dalmatian) have had a good day. Looking forward to catching up with friends on Zoom later.

I’ve a piece of festive flash fiction to edit this weekend and hopefully submit during the coming week. I love writing festive flash. It’s always good fun. I’ll be talking about this topic for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group on Zoom this coming week and setting some useful exercises.

Can hardly believe we’re almost at the end of November (and Flash Nano) for another year. Have put in my book request list for Santa, as you do. The joy of the cold weather? Staying in and reading good books. Also staying in and enjoying drafting my own tales!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Need to post early today as off to a meeting later. Talking of meetings, could one of those be the basis for a flash fiction piece? Who would meet whom and why? Friendly meeting or anything but? Set in this world or another? What would the meeting achieve?

Hmm… may need to give some thought to this one myself! There’s a good structure here.

Happy writing!

BookBrushImage-2023-11-27-21-1811It’s Monday. It’s dark. It’s getting cold again. It’s Monday. Time for a story then, which I hope will put a smile on your face. My latest on YouTube is The Last Cookie.

Have edited a festive flash piece this weekend and submitted it. Will let you know later how it does. I do love writing these stories. I like tales with humour in them and many of my festive pieces reflect my tastes there.

I hope to be reading some of my flash fiction at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event next weekend. I love listening to what the other writers have produced too. Who doesn’t like being read to like that?

Will crack on with the latest Flash NANO challenge later on. The great thing with this is the prompts do encourage you to think outside of your usual creative box and you come up with things which you would not have done in any other way. It is a good way of being stretched a bit.

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Thought I’d treat you today to something I’ve drafted for Flash NANO. This was in response to the challenge to write a flash piece in the form of an advert. Again, as with the police report style one last year, this isn’t something I’ve done before.

Last year’s police report one went on to be part of Hannah Kate’s Three Minutes Santas show on North Manchester FM. This advert one is too short for that (I have got something else in mind for potential submission to this year’s show) but I thought it would work well to share here. Hope you enjoy this (and many thanks to the great comments in on the Flash NANO Facebook page on this one). This one, Wanted, comes in at 53 words, excluding the title.

Wanted by Allison Symes
Help needed urgently! I need something to help me spot a big hairy animal with massive teeth in a dress is not my grandmother. Could never be my grandmother in fact. Can’t imagine why I missed this before.
Or do I need to go to the opticians?
Advice appreciated.
Little Red Riding Hood.
Ends – Allison Symes

Little Red Riding Hood's journey

Goodreads Author Blog – What Defines a Good Read For You?

Now this is a leading question, is it not?

What defines a good read for me is whether or not the book or story grips me enough to make me keep on reading to the end of it. I have abandoned a few stories and books which failed that basic test but am glad to say I can count the number of those on the fingers of one hand. Life is too short (and there are so many excellent things to read) I’m not going to waste time on what I consider to be “duds”.

Of course tastes are different but a good rule of thumb for me is if I don’t care about the character, the reading stops. I have got to be able to see where the character is coming from, whether I agree with them or not. There has to be sufficiently high stakes for the character to make me want to find out the outcome. And all of this is a challenge to me to make sure I produce those kinds of stakes, those kinds of characters, my readers will want to find out more about.

Mind you, even “dud” books have had their uses. They have shown me what I don’t like. Therefore, I make sure I don’t produce those kinds of things myself.

But on to good books. Nothing beats a good read, curled up, with a nice drink besides you, does it?

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Triggering Writing Ideas

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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 Julia Pattison for taking the image of me at an editing workshop for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.
Hope you have had a good week. Lady has got to play with pals, get a soaking with yours truly, play with pals again, get another soaking – yes, one of those weeks. Pleased to say the editing workshop for the lovely people at Medway Mermaids went very well. Always enjoy running these workshops and it is good to know they are useful.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Post 2 of 2 from me tonight. Post 1 below. It’s a fact of life you can have days where there is lots going on and other days where there is nothing! Having said that, it is always fabulous to have plenty of news and posts to share.

Am pleased to share Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. It’s proved to be an apt topic given I talk on Gill James’ blog this week (see below for more) about how I took her theme of gifted for the Bridge House Publishing anthology of the same name and used it for my story in there. An idea was definitely triggered by someone else setting the theme. (This is another advantage to taking part in Flash NANO too).

Hope you enjoy the CFT post and find it useful.

Triggering Writing Ideas

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Bonus Post

Post 1 of 2 from me tonight. Many thanks to Gill James for hosting me on her blog to talk about my contribution, Desperately Seeking Talent, in the Bridge House Publishing anthology, Gifted, which is out and would make a great present for someone. Find out what I love about the short story form as well and why I took the theme of gifted the way I did with my tale. Link to blog here.

Screenshot 2023-11-17 at 10-06-01 Allison Symes talks to me today about her involvement in our Gifted anthology

My sport of choice is swimming. I go regularly and you get to spot other regulars there and start chatting usually as you come out of the pool. (One good thing about it being cold today was it did encourage me to get something of a move on in said pool!). Anyway, one of those regulars complimented me about being consistent and disciplined about my swimming. I find I have to be otherwise it would be too easy not to go, especially during the winter months.

But it occurred to me the need to be consistent is a good thing for writers too. It doesn’t matter what your routine is – writing daily, writing every other day or what have you. It is the regular turning up at your desk to get on and write which matters. It is the regularity of writing which will build up your stories, novels etc. I’ve found this to be the case and know I have submitted far more pieces than I might otherwise have done simply by being consistent. It’s an underrated quality I think.

And if you want some inspiration, I’ll be talking about Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. Great run around by both of them and a massive zoomies session to finish with. Lady came over and “flumped” down in front of me as if to say, ‘Mum, I’m done!’. Takes a lot to do that to a collie!

I’ll be looking at Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’ll be looking at some of the methods I use here and hope the post will prove to be useful. See above.

Don’t forget the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is out. The theme is on Writing Novels this time and you can find the magazine at the link below. A perfect free read packed full of fabulous advice and interviews.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Glad to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Maisie. Does Maisie the dog know better than her owner as the world falls apart around them? Find out here. I hope you enjoy the tale and a big thank you for the comments already coming in on this one.
Screenshot 2023-11-17 at 10-04-57 Maisie by Allison SymesGlad to report Hannah Kate is having her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM again this year. Full details via link here. Do give it a go. It’s great fun.

Top Tip: When you’ve got your story ready, do record yourself on Zoom and play it back to yourself. You will pick up on things like characters stumbling over dialogue etc but also get your timing right. The stories need to be a maximum of three minutes long and I’ve found it so useful to use Zoom here as that will give you an exact timing.

Good luck! Yes, I’ll be having a go again at this myself this year and am looking forward to tackling Day 16 of Flash NANO later today.

Screenshot 2023-11-16 at 16-59-30 🎅 3 Minute Santas 2023 is Open for Submissions! 🎅

Looking forward to having a crack at today’s Flash NANO challenge later on. I have to cut something already drafted in half. I’ve done this kind of exercise before. It’s a great discipline and takes longer than you think too. This time I have to add a specified object in. That will be fun. The object in question, well let’s just say I’m going to have to find a legitimate way of working it in! It wasn’t an “obvious” object but I did work the thing into my story legitimately.

I have used objects in stories before as one kind of exercise and cut a story in half as another but this will be the first time I’ve combined these two.

If I had to nominate a favourite writing exercise, it is the opening line one. Why? Because I can work out what possibilities could come from what has been set and a character to suit it.

I then go for what I like best. It is always the one that has the most impact on me whether it makes me laugh or cry or what have you. I figure if I react like that, readers will too. It is always a good sign when you remember the impact a story has on you.

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Fairytales with Bite – Laughter

In your magical world, is there much in the way of laughter? Do magical students give their teachers many a laugh when getting things wrong as they develop their skills? And that’s just to name one example. I can easily visualise this happening. (The Harry Potter series touches on this too, especially with Ron Weasley and his wand held together with Spellotape).

Does your setting encourage its inhabitants to laugh? Are communities made up of a wide mix of species type or do the different magical types not mix at all? Where folk really don’t get on, the latter is probably the best solution, but a better one is where they do mix and they live and laugh together.

Equally is this something your characters do get on with even though the powers that be may not entirely approve?

Laughter can be a great bridge builder and comedy the source of that laughter so how does this play out in your setting? Laughter can bring about understanding.

Is there one species type that is better at producing laughter than the others? Is this a talent or is it a case everyone else laughs at them and how do they handle that? Laughter makers can also be bridge builders. How could this be put to good effect in your stories?

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This World and Others – Sources of Information

We live in an age where sources of information have never been so readily available. If you don’t know where to find something of this nature, a quick search of the internet is likely to throw up ideas as to where you can find out what you need to know. Plus there are always the reference libraries and museums often have their own libraries. I’ve spent time at a lovely steam railway exhibition looking at their displays and then having a good read in their archives.

So in your world setting, what sources of information exist? Is there an equivalent of the web? Are there papers, media etc and do these operate freely or are they limited in what they can share with the general populace?

Also how well educated are your characters because that will make a huge difference to what they can access even if there are no other restrictions? Who publishes papers and periodicals and where do they get their information from?

Think back to the history of your setting as well. What does everyone “know” (or more accurately think they know) about it? What information in archives backs this up or challenges the accepted view (hence it was archived and kept out of sight!)?

What information would your characters need to make to fulfil their stories?

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Stories Based On Other Stories

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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. Very stormy on Wednesday night/Thursday. Glad things are settling down now. But on the fabulous news front (and there so needs to be one!), I’ve started my Flash NANO 2023 “campaign”, my copies of Gifted (the Bridge House Publishing anthology) have arrived, and the fantastic November issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Its theme is writing novels. More details below.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Hope you have had a good day. Am talking about one of my favourite topics – stories – for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I discuss Stories Based on Stories.

So many wonderful tales (book, plays, adaptations etc) have come into being thanks to inspiration from previous ones. We build on what has gone before. Writers need to be inspired and it is our own love of books and stories which does this. I also look at the advantages and disadvantages of stories based on other stories.

Hope you enjoy the post. All of my posts here are a joy to write but some are just that little bit more joyous. This is one of those.

Stories Based On Stories

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Sympathies to all affected by the horrendous weather in the UK today. Have seen some horrible pictures from places I know well in Dorset.

On a much happier note, I’ll be sharing Stories Based on Other Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above. It’s always a joy to talk about stories and so many wonderful ones have been inspired by previous ones. I like to think of that as building on solid foundations.

Talking of books, don’t forget reviews are a great way to help authors. Reviews don’t have to be long either so if there is a writer whose work you have loved, do send a review in. It’s encouraging for one thing. Given writers spend so much time at their desks, encouragement like that is always welcome!

Part of a lovely review for From Light to Dark and Back Again reads ‘A thoroughly enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages’ but that does make a complete review in and of itself. It also encourages me a lot!

Am pleased to say the November edition of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Link below. The theme this month is novels (appropriately given November is NaNoWriMo time).

My article is on page 58 and I discuss what I learned when writing my first novel, though to date that remains unpublished. It was a fabulous learning experience though and what I learned has gone on to help me with my other forms of writing. If you are willing to learn, little is wasted in writing. I speak from experience there. And do check out the whole magazine for a wonderful range of in depth articles packed full of advice. It is a joy to be part of the team working on this.

For those of you who receive my monthly newsletter which went out earlier today, I hope to share a double link in my next one (out on 1st December) to cover the November and December issues of Writers’ Narrative. In the meantime, do check out a fabulous read below.

In other news, as they say, I’ve received my first Flash NANO challenge for 2023. Looking forward to working on that! Good luck and happy writing to all who are taking part in this and NaNoWriMo.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with Manners Maketh The Fairy. Hope you enjoy this. It is one of what I call my fairytales with bite. This one has an environmental theme to it as well.

Screenshot 2023-11-03 at 10-14-06 Manners Maketh The Fairy by Allison Symes

Will be cracking on with the Day 2 challenge of Flash NANO 2023 shortly. Now since done and good fun it was too! I love the variety of prompts. Good way to kickstart the old imagination. Some of last year’s flash pieces will form part of my third flash fiction collection in due course.

I’ve always enjoyed those moments in stories (especially in film) where I know I’m going to be able to recall it years later. The great thing with flash stories is they are those complete moments. Short form writing can have far more of an impact due to its limited word count and flash fiction writers especially can use that to work out what kind of impact they want their latest tale to have. Then it’s a case of making the most of the word count you’ve got to play with.

396714200_764034269069770_9199351449952028100_nThere are some days when I have a quiet writing day. There are other days when loads of things happen at once. Today is one of the latter.

Firstly, the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is out and focuses on novels. Link shared on my main Facebook page (and above!).

Secondly, my author newsletter went out today. The subscribe link to Writers’ Narrative is in this. If you’re not already a subscriber, I highly recommend signing up and it is free!

Thirdly, my copies of Gifted, the latest anthology from Bridge House Publishing arrived today. My story, Desperately Seeking Talent, is in there. The joy of opening a box of books from your publisher never diminishes!

Does it make the hard work, the years of rejections and learning the craft (which is an ongoing process), all worth it?

Oh yes!

Fairytales With Bite – The Environment

Whatever your setting, there will be an environment. Some will be much nicer than others! What is the attitude of your characters to their environment? Do they care about it? Has damage been done to it they’re trying to rectify?

If the environment is generally sound, how do your characters contribute to it being so good? Are there laws in place banning certain activities or insisting certain ones are carried out?

In a magical setting, think about the energy your magical characters have. Where do they get this from? Even if it is from within themselves, what affect does their using it have on the outside world? Do they have to be careful with how much of it they use and/or where?

What creatures would live in your setting’s environment and what would be your characters’ relationship to these? If magic has done damage to certain parts of your setting, how did that happen (presumably magical wars/industrial kind of accidents are two ideas that occur to me here)? What is being done to correct that damage? Or are those areas left alone and is that the right thing to do? What would what passes for nature on your world do to correct things if left alone to get on with it?

How does the environment, which includes all manner of things from air quality to transportation, have a bearing on what your characters can and cannot do?

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This World and Others – Agencies

What kind of agencies exist in your setting? These can include environmental agencies (see Fairytales with Bite above) to agencies who care for elderly magical beings who need looking after in their latter days. And who almost certainly are grateful to be still alive to be looked after given most magical worlds are not exactly friendly to their inhabitants. Well, you can hardly call a place friendly when dealing with dragons is a daily, hazardous, occupation, yes?

Also you could think here of stories involving magic which went wrong and damage had to be undone somehow. There would be stories here. This might explain why you have elderly magical beings. They would have to be phenomenally good at their craft to survive, yes?

Every world will need some sort of government and even if you focus on one area, who would be in charge of that and how did they come to power? Do they rule well or badly? What agencies do they use to help their peoples (or to suppress them)? What kind of characters would work in these things?

I think in a magical setting there would have to be some agreement as to what was allowed and what was not to avoid chaos. So which agencies would set these rules and how do they ensure they are adhered to by everyone? The risk of not having rules is any powerful wizard worthy of the name would almost certainly ensure they became your setting’s dictator. See Sauron in The Lord of the Rings for more on this!

Also on a more peaceful setting, how do the agencies work with each other as there would inevitably be some overlap? There always is with any kind of agency. An environmental one would have to work with other agencies responsible for caring for specific aspects of the environment.

We in the UK for example have a Forestry Commission. We have water boards. Both are responsible for the environment but in different ways. When the water agencies need trees clearing to clear waterways, they would have to work with the forestry body. And that’s just one example. Where you have the need for co-operation, the prospect of conflict of interest arises and there would be interesting stories there in working out how to resolve these and what your characters do.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Scene Setting and Publication News

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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. Weather changeable. Bright sunshine followed by torrential rain. Hope you are keeping as safe and dry as possible. My sympathies to all who are dealing with flooding. Lady has had a great week. Has seen her best friends all week. So she and they would see it as a very good week. And I finish the week with publication news – see below for more.

Pleased to be in print again with the latest Bridge House Publishing anthology

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Pleased to share Scene Setting for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I share various ways in which scene setting can be done, including the use of dialogue and locations, all of which I use regularly. Hope you find the post useful.

Scene Setting

 

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There are a few delightful tasks to carry out when I have a story out in an anthology. I’ve asked Amazon to add Gifted (Bridge House Publishing) to my Author Central page. I’ve added the book to my ALCS listing (Authors Licensing and Collecting Society). I’ve also added it to my books page on my website. See link below. I have my books page as my home page by the way.

That is after I’ve ordered my copies from my publisher of course! This is delightful admin to do. Naturally once the books are in with me, I will say so here and I would be delighted to sell them directly. Equally you can go through The Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop link I shared yesterday. See below.

Now to look forward to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event in December!

In the meantime, tomorrow for Chandler’s Ford Today, I will be discussing Scene Setting. See above!

Books Page

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Publication News: Am thrilled to announce my short story, Desperately Seeking Talent, is now out in the Bridge House Publishing anthology, Gifted. Many congratulations to all of the writers in this new collection. It is great to see familiar names in here and names who are new to me. BHP is a great believer in encouraging writers.

Will be putting my order in for my copies very soon. Meantime you can get Gifted, which naturally would make an ideal gift for someone, from The Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop. See link and picture above. You have the option to buy from the publishers directly and from Amazon. One is bound to suit!

Screenshot 2023-10-27 at 19-47-44 Facebook

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Pleased to share Musical Neighbours, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. I hope this one will make you smile. My characters here can at least be grateful their new neighbour didn’t take up the violin but find out here what they did do instead.

Screenshot 2023-10-27 at 09-46-42 Musical Neighbours by Allison Symes

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her best buddy, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, unexpectedly this afternoon to the delight of both dogs. Nice afternoon spent sorting out some admin for Gifted, the latest Bridge House Publishing anthology. My story, Desperately Seeking Talent, is in there. One lovely thing here is the buzz of being published never fades. I just wish I could bottle that feeling!

I’ve sometimes used well known phrases as the title for the story and its underlying theme. One of these is A Stitch In Time (Tripping the Flash Fantastic). I even use the phrase in my opening line as the lead in to what my character is up to. Good fun doing that.

Usually I will use a proverb or well known phrase for one thing only and it is usually either the title or the theme. But it can work doing both in the same story as long as the character and storyline is strong enough.

396718551_759611992845331_5379539281637291755_nDelighted to be in print again with Desperately Seeking Talent which is part of the Bridge House Publishing anthology, Gifted. The thrill of being published never goes away and many congratulations to the other authors in here with me. Good to have your company! Very nice to spot familiar names and new ones in this anthology.

Am running the Flash Fiction group meeting for the Association of Christian Writers this evening. Always great fun and we’ll be having a look at marketing flash fiction this time. You can say at least today I am definitely practicing what I preach!

And it won’t be long before I’m taking part in Flash NANO once again. One prompt a day for the thirty days of November. Loved it last year. Sure I will again this time!

Publication News

Fairytales with Bite – Traffic Rules for the In-Flight Magical Being

It can be chaotic on the roads at the best of time but when you’re in a magical world, you have to worry about what’s happening in the skies as well. So some basic traffic rules for the in-flight magical being include:-

  1. Courtesy is a life saver. Give way. Don’t hog the middle cloud.
  2. Get out of the way of other fliers if they are faster than you.
  3. Keep your broomstick emissions as clean as possible. Nobody wants to breathe in the smell of burning broomstick up there. And if you’ve got a burning broomstick, you shouldn’t be flying. If you are, you won’t be for long.
  4. Do not park on a convenient cloud for in-flight meals and entertainment. You will get in the way of other fliers doing that. You eat, drink, watch a film etc when you’ve landed safely and not before.
  5. If you are flying on other worlds, look out for their aircraft, birds etc. Don’t get in their way either. There are birds of prey big enough to deal with irritant tiny fairies on the wing. They may well see you as a tasty in-flight snack. As for aircraft, there is a good chance you will be killed and cremated at the same time by these things so stay clear.
  6. Also the other danger of flying on other worlds is drawing attention to your existence (and that of your world). Not a great idea. It would be best to use the transport methods available to the residents and blend in instead.
  7. No littering just because you can from a broom and think nobody will spot you.
  8. Should you come across traffic lights etc., some realms will have them, obey them. Again it is a question of not drawing attention to yourself. In a magical world they will be able to have traffic lights anywhere so again obey these.
  9. Again don’t draw attention to the fact you’re a stranger in town. That is rarely a great idea.
  10. When you land, park your flying vehicle considerately.

Traffic rules apply to all

Considerate flying applies to all

This World and Others – Getting Around

Following on from Fairytales with Bite, all worlds need some sort of transport system. Your characters will need to get around so how can they do this? Is the better kind of transport limited to the wealthier characters or can anyone fly, for example?

What issues does your setting’s transport system have to deal with regularly? Does climate/weather have an impact here or has your setting found a way of ensuring it cannot do that by having some sort of shield around it?

Do your characters like travelling or see it as a necessary evil? If fuel is needed, what kind is used and what problems does it cause your setting? I like the idea of a totally green fuel source. Has your setting found one? How have they made it work?

Plenty of story ideas here. Also, humorously, what would traffic hold ups look like in your world? Is magic used to settle scores here? What are the results? There could be funny tales here.

Are your transport systems available to all

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES


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Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops

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Many thanks to Jennifer C Wilson for her great author/writing group/book images for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. Other images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were images from The Hayes, Swanwick as part of my CFT post.
Hope you have had a good week. Got back to the normal routine relatively easily though I have missed my holiday lie-ins! Hope everyone keeps safe in the stormy weather. Autumn is here with a vengeance.

Prefer my autumns like this

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to welcome back Jennifer C Wilson to Chandler’s Ford Today. We discuss The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops, a subject close to both of us. Jennifer leads the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. They have recently released their debut anthology, Black Coals, White Sands.

Jennifer shares wonderful advice on writing groups so if you are thinking about joining one, do check this out. She also discusses how to get the balance right when writers in a group are, inevitably, at different stages of their writing journey and write different things.

Jennifer, for example, has to balance the needs of poets and novelists in her group, just to name two. But it can be done and done well and North Tyneside Writers’ Group is a great example of this. Check out the post for useful information on writing exercises too.

The right writing community can do wonders for a writer’s self belief, confidence and, as a result, their writing skills.

Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops

 

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Apologies, folks. Meant to share my Authors Electric post yesterday and forgot. But good news – I shall share it now instead. I talk about Books on the Radio this month and discuss what I think about adaptations as well as what my favourite book on the radio is and remains. Hope you enjoy the post. Books are meant to be read or listened to and I do think radio/audio books are fabulous ways of continuing the oral storytelling tradition.

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Hope you have had a good day (albeit it a soggy one here in Hampshire, though Lady still got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal so both of them were happy at least!).

I love writing with classical music on in the background. I find the music relaxes me and when I’m relaxed, I write more. But I don’t bring music into my stories, funnily enough, at least to date. Haven’t felt the need to do so but it is something you could use as a character question if you want to find out more about your “people”. I put people in inverted commas simply because I have written from the viewpoint of a mother dragon so my characters are not necessarily human!

If your character prefers Beethoven to Mozart, you could look at why that was and if any particular piece by the former “hits the spot”. Likewise if there is a piece which they loathe, you could look at why that was. Could hearing it cause them to do something they might not otherwise have done, especially if they hear it repeatedly? (That could be something done deliberately by another character too).

Music may be the food of love but it could drive your characters round the bend if you have the right characters and plot!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My latest story on Friday Flash Fiction, On the Beach, was inspired by my recent week’s break in glorious Northumberland. Hope you enjoy it. It’s a lighter tale which I hope puts a smile on your face.

Screenshot 2023-10-20 at 09-56-39 On The Beach by Allison Symes

Many a writing exercise can be turned into a publishable piece of flash fiction. Writing groups/conferences etc always set these things and I find it fun practising writing to different types of exercise. This gives me more ways of producing more stories. Nothing to dislike there!

Talking of writing groups, I will be talking with Jennifer C Wilson (who leads the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle) about The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link for that up tomorrow. See above. Jennifer shares some great tips about finding the group which is right for you so be sure to not miss the post.

Meantime, back to the writing exercises!

 

Sometimes I use a well known phrase as part of a story. In my The Power of Suggestion (Tripping The Flash Fantastic), I use the phrase there’s a sucker born every minute. I used that to help me picture my character. Who could this saying apply to and why? Then having ideas for that, I got on with my draft. I’ve mentioned before I use phrases and well known sayings as themes and/or title but this is another way of using them.

Every so often I will refer to my old book of proverbs for ideas here. Themes are the most obvious use, I think, but there is plenty of stories to be told based on things like don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. You can show examples of where characters did count them too early and the results of that – a lesson learned the hard way, perhaps.

TTFF with social media icons

Fairytales With Bite – Tips to the Beginner Fairy

Fairy godmothers are not born. They are made. They are trained. So what tips would an experienced fairy godmother give to someone new to fairy college? My thoughts are:-

  1. Do read your spell books properly. Many a mishap has happened when someone read out the wrong word or got things in the wrong order. You must be sure of what you are saying before you say it.
  2. Don’t use the magic wand just because you can. You should only use these because you need to (and settling a score with a fellow student doesn’t count. Neither does showing off what you’ve learned. It would serve you right if someone else showed off and proved they are better than you).
  3. Do use natural ingredients for spells where appropriate. They’re easier to source and it’s kinder on the environment. Yes, we too have to worry about that. Nobody should waste energy. Better still, grow your own natural ingredients. Time in the garden is good for all. You can also work out which creatures you have around you that might be useful for transformation purposes (briefly only) later on.
  4. Beware of suspiciously shiny red apples. There is history here.
  5. Where magic doesn’t have to be used, save your powers. You may as well and if getting around a table with a decent cup of tea, a slab of cake, and talking sorts out the problem, who wouldn’t prefer that?
  6. Revise. Practice. Accept you will get things wrong.
  7. Don’t upset the birds when you’re flying. Stick to your own flight path.
  8. Remember people aren’t always what they appear to be. In our world, the animals might not be either. Approach with caution and politeness. You do not want to upset some powerful witch/wizard in disguise.
  9. Your profession is a noble one so don’t let the side down. No dodgy magic. No cheating with magic. No use of magic to enable cheating in other ways. Magic is not meant to be used to help you get rich quickly, for example.
  10. The humans have a saying discretion is the better part of valour. Applies to us too. We don’t want to draw attention to the existence of the magical world, do we? Humans are too inquisitive for their own good. We don’t want that here.

Listen to the more experienced fairy godmother

This World and Others – Learning the Trade

What trades exist in your fictional world, magical or otherwise? How did they come into being? What kind of training happens? Certain trades, such as agriculture/farming, will always be around. It will be a question of how it works in your setting. What would your world’s farmers grow, for example? Is water (or an equivalent substance) easily available?

Are there schools/colleges to enable people to learn their craft? Nobody just picks up a trade, even if it is a family tradition. In the case of the latter, do your characters carry on with the family business or do they want to do their own thing? How well or otherwise does that go down with their relatives?

Does your setting develop new technologies and, therefore, new trades? If your setting trades with other worlds, what are they looking to buy in? What would they exchange? How does the actual trading happen?

Lots of ideas for stories here. Don’t forget the creative arts too. There are plenty of trades here too.

Fantasy trades

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Screenshot 2023-10-17 at 19-53-12 Writers' Narrative eMagazine October 2023

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Questioning Characters and Flash NANO

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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, as was the photo from the lovely Kielder Viaduct in Northumberland.
Why is the first week after a holiday so tough to get through?! Has been lovely catching up with friends again (and Lady would say the same if she could). Autumn well and truly here now as the temperature plummets. I like crisp autumn days though. It’s the cold, wet ones I could do without!

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Hope you have had a good day. Managed to get a good weight loss after my week away thanks to plenty of good fresh Northumberland air and loads of walking. Temperature has plummeted at home but I guess I am already acclimatised to it!

When do you know a story is special to you? For me, it is when the characters stand out and I can easily quote lines from the tale. I’ll be talking more about this in my More than Writers post for the Association of Christian Writers later this month.

Meantime, I’ll be talking about Books on the Radio for Authors Electric tomorrow and will share the link then. Books are meant to be read and listened to, I think. I cherish memories of being read to as a child.

My love of books started right there (and is one reason why I was thrilled my late mother got to see my first story in print and, later, my late father got to see From Light to Dark and Back Again). Radio is a fabulous way of keeping the oral storytelling tradition going too.

Don’t forget to check out the October issue of Writers’ Narrative. As the nights draw in earlier, what more encouragement do you need to settle in for a great read?

 

I’m pleased to say Jennifer C Wilson will be back on Chandler’s Ford Today this week talking about The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops. She leads the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle and their anthology, Black Coal, White Sands, has recently been released. More about this on Friday but she will be sharing lots of wonderful advice on what to look for in a writing group if you are considering joining one. Am looking forward to sharing this – I know it will be useful to many.

I mentioned yesterday I’d be writing about Scene Setting as well for CFT. (See post below). That I hope to post on 27th October. So plenty of good things coming up!

I must admit that writing regular columns, whether they’re weekly or monthly, soon shows me how quickly the year is passing!

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Have spent the day catching up with various things after our break. Nice to get Lady back to her usual park walk and play. She loved it too. Managed to get some writing done too last night though back to normal routine today.

I plan to look at Scene Setting for Chandler’s Ford Today soon. One bit of sad news is that The Chameleon Theatre Group have had to cancel their production of Wyrd Sisters. I do hope they can come back to this at another time as I know they’d perform it brilliantly (and the story itself is so good). Their next production will be the pantomime in January. My wait to see a Discworld play goes on a bit longer then!

Anyone watching their weight may well sympathise with my character, Shelley, in Lucky Thirteen, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. If my Slimming World consultant is reading this, I was not guilty of this on my recent holiday, honest!
Screenshot 2023-10-13 at 15-50-30 Lucky Thirteen by Allison SymesNow home from a great holiday in Northumberland. Very grateful for good weather too. Loved all the walking. Lady loved it too though was very tired each night. Mind you, we averaged a 5-6 miles walk each day. It is good to be home again though too.

Do you send your characters on holiday or enjoy reading works by other writers who do? I must admit I don’t do this myself but my favourite book along these lines is probably Nemesis by Agatha Christie. It’s amazing what Miss Marple can ferret out when sent on a coach trip!

Many thanks to those who took part in my recent poll over a topic for the next Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting later this month. Votes noted and will be honoured! Next topic will be Marketing Your Flash Fiction.

Always a joy to talk or write about flash fiction

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I’ll be taking part again in Flash NANO which starts on 1st November. I did this last year and ended up with thirty new stories, some of which I have since worked on and submitted to online websites and to Hannah Kate’s festive flash fiction show. Find out more about Flash NANO at Nancy Stohlman’s website below.

I had a ball drafting my thirty stories last year and am looking forward to repeating that experience this time! Unlike NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where you write 50,000 words over the month of November, with Flash NANO you are given a prompt for each day of the month.

I found it useful to draft something each day and then I came back later when I had more time to finish pieces off. Sometimes I completed the first draft on the same day but what matters here is getting something down. I also found the range of prompts interesting too, some of which I had done before, others I had not.

If you’re interested in flash fiction, I strongly recommend giving this a try because even if you can’t do it for the whole of November, you will still get more stories written.

 

It’s Monday. It’s my first Monday back after a much appreciated holiday. It’s cold. It’s still Monday. Time for a story then. My latest on YouTube is The View and is loosely inspired by my recent break. Hope you enjoy it.

 

I mentioned yesterday (see below) I ask questions about/of my characters but I also quiz myself when I’m outlining a story. I want to ensure I am committed to the idea and that it is as strong as I first thought. So I ask myself what mood I want the story to be, which character would serve that best and why, and whether it is going to be a 100 word story, such as I write for Friday Flash Fiction) or a longer flash piece/short story.

I look at why I want to write the story too. For example, if I want to write a funny one, is it because an idea has come to me that would work well humorously or do I want to write something to cheer myself (and hopefully others) up. Both views are fine but I need to be clear in my own mind as to why I am writing the story this way.

Then, with my characters quizzed too, off I go with the first draft. One joy of flash writing though is this process doesn’t take long but I have found, once done, I get that first draft done more quickly too.

Where will your fiction take your readers
Some questions I ask about/of my characters as I outline them include:-

1. What is your major trait and, more importantly, why? What kind of trouble could this lead you into?
2. What would you never do and why?
3. What do you want from life and why?
4. What drives you?

For a flash piece, my answers to these are kept short. If I was writing a longer piece, I would extend those answers as I would need further information. The joy of questions like these are their adaptability to whatever you’re writing. I find it is a question of working out what you need to know.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Kindle

My favourite book format is the paperback but must admit you can’t beat the Kindle for when going on holiday. No more worries about how many books I can take with me. Also takes less room in the suitcase.

I recently finished Churchill’s Wizards on Kindle. Great read. Interesting look at trickery used against Nazi Germany.

Books like this (and non-fiction generally) often work brilliantly as ebooks, thanks to indexes acting as hyperlinks, making looking something up a doddle.

I also like being able to adjust fonts and font sizes and display on ebooks. What I need to remember to do when at home is mix up my reading to include the Kindle more so I don’t just use it when away.

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My flash collections are available in Kindle and paperback

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Author Interview: Val Penny – Hunter’s Secret, Writing a Series, and Blog Tours

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots and photos of the lovely area of Northumberland taken by me, Allison Symes.
Coming to the end of my time in Northumberland as this goes out. Had a lovely time. Gorgeous scenery and the break has been much needed. Is lovely to be writing somewhere else now and again too. Lots of walking done – we’ve averaged five miles a day. Lady, because she has a fine line in zig-zagging everywhere like our dog, Gracie, used to do, has probably averaged at least a third again on top of that!

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am thrilled to welcome back Val Penny to Chandler’s Ford Today as part of her blog tour for her new book, Hunter’s Secret. Val discusses her latest book in her DCI Hunter Wilson series and shares fabulous advice on blog tours, useful information for all writers. She also shares great advice on what writers can do to help themselves in the run up to publication day. Do enjoy a great read and good luck with the new book, Val.

Author Interview: Val Penny – Hunter’s Secret, Advice on Writing a Series, and Blog Tours

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Another glorious day at the Druridge Bay Country Park though this time we took a different direction on that glorious beach and had a fabulous three miles walk towards Cresswell. Then it was time for our around the lake walk after lunch and then coffee/hot chocolate and cake before heading back to our cottage. This is what we call a good day.

Lady having a wonderful play on the beach and a calming walk after lunch is what she calls a good day (though she wouldn’t have minded snaffling some cake from the couple next door to us at the cafe. Fortunately they liked dogs! Lady didn’t have any. I brought her own treats for cafe time). We worked out we’ve averaged five miles a day walking while we have been here (and on one particular day we have cause to think it was closer to eight). We have all been sleeping very well. No surprises there!

Will be sharing a great interview with Val Penny tomorrow on Chandler’s Ford Today. Link above. She discusses her new book, Hunter’s Secret, and shares a wealth of useful information especially on blog tours. So do watch out for this if you are planning a blog tour yourself.

I know I’ve been grateful for all I’ve learned from author interviews over the years, whether I’ve conducted them or not. And learning like this can help save you a great deal of time as you work out what is likely to work best for you.

 

Smashing day out again at Kielder Forest and Water Park. There are so many different walks here and it was a joy to do some different ones today (as well as admiring the marvellous view over the Kielder Viaduct again). There was a wonderful sunset as we came back to our cottage too. Autumn in Northumberland is lovely.

Finished listening to Thud (Terry Pratchett) today and started Feet of Clay (also Pratchett – it is a fabulous crime story. All of the Vimes novels in the Discworld canon stand alone as detective tales). I love the characterisation in Discworld and the dialogue between regular characters in particular. Vimes has a fine line in sarcasm.

Talking of dialogue, this is another area where writing flash fiction helps you hone this. Dialogue in flash fiction needs to be kept to the point. I love getting characters to talk but the need to keep things concise means I ensure all I get them to say is relevant to the story. Anything else gets cut.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to share my latest tale, Lucky Thirteen, on Friday Flash Fiction. But is the number thirteen as lucky for my character, Shelley, as she thinks? Find out here.

Screenshot 2023-10-13 at 15-50-30 Lucky Thirteen by Allison Symes

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again on 1st November. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

The November edition of Writers’ Narrative will be out soon too. To make sure you don’t miss an issue, do subscribe (for free) at http://subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

I do follow a number of author newsletters. I love reading them and it is a great way of keeping up with authors you like. I prepare mine over the course of the month, adding in news items as I get them in, and find that a useful way of compiling the next edition. Doesn’t take too long doing it this way either.

 

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group meeting at the end of the month. It’s always great fun and I love the way information is shared two way. Also looking forward to running an editing workshop via Zoom in November for another writing group. Zoom has been a great tool for workshops.

I’ve mentioned before that flash makes for a great writing exercise and you can use this in different ways. Firstly, you can choose which word count to work to. After all, if you like to start your main writing work by a warm up exercise, why not write a flash fiction tale to 50 words, to 100 words, to 300 etc? It gives you something else to try and get published later as well.

Secondly, in writing flash, you write concisely. You can apply that to any other form of writing you do. Thirdly, if you are writing long form work, there will be a time when you are resting that ahead of editing work. Why not have fun writing the short forms in the meantime?

Less is More is the theme for flash fiction writers

Fairytales with Bite – Character Development

One of the things I love about Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is the way his characters develop over several novels. Sam Vimes, I think, is the best here. But what about our own characters? Can your characters develop even if they are “one-offs”?

For the vast majority of my flash fiction and short story work, my characters are “one-offs” but they develop over the course of the story I’ve put them in. After all, every story has to show change and that change is how our characters develop. Okay, the outcome might not always be a positive one but it will still be change. My characters are not the same at the end of the story as they were at the beginning and that is how it should be.

So in a magical setting, how would your characters develop? Is it a question of improving their skill sets, their ability (or otherwise) to get on with others, their growing realisation that magic is not always a good thing etc? Development takes many forms after all and our stories can reflect that.

What I want to see in characters I read is to see how they change. Sometimes I’ll root for them because the change they’re going through is, to my mind, the right one. There are others I want to scream at because I feel they’re taking the wrong path (and often in the story, later on, I am proved to be right).

What I never want to read or write are static characters. Where is the interest there? For magical characters, development can be enhanced or complicated by their magical skills (or lack of).

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This World and Others – Supplies -Magical or Otherwise

How do your magical characters top up on supplies? Are there things which a wave of the old magic wand simply cannot produce? (I must admit if I was living in a magical world, I would want my food and drink produced naturally, the old school way if you like. I would be deeply suspicious of anything produced by magic which is meant to be edible. Snow White should have taken the same view!).

When your setting has things which have to be produced by means other than magic, how is this done? Is there agriculture, for example, as we would know it? Are the producers of non-magical items respected or looked down on? What is the attitude of the society around them?

Does your setting have to import its supplies from other sources (other planets, other countries on their own planet etc)? Does your setting ever have problems getting supplies in and how is that overcome? Does your setting trade magical skills to get in supplies from elsewhere? Who would organise getting those supplies? How would trading agreements work?

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Locations and Author Interviews

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots (and photos from wonderful Northumberland) taken by me, Allison Symes.
My post this week comes from glorious Northumberland where my other half, the dog, and I are enjoying an autumn break. Gorgeous scenery. Lots of walking. Cosy cottage to stay in. Bliss! Oh and I get to write as well. Lovely!

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Facebook – General

Glorious day spent at Seahouses and Bamburgh. Wonderful beaches, great walks, and fabulous views of Bamburgh Castle. One tired and happy dog again – result! Also am enjoying catching up with Terry Pratchett audio books while we are touring. Today, we managed to get most of the way through Thud and should finish that tomorrow.

Will be interviewing Val Penny for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. She’ll be sharing news of her new book, Hunter’s Secret, and sharing good advice on blog tours. Link up on Friday.

I was writing postcards earlier this evening and it reminded me that one of the many names for flash fiction is postcard fiction, the idea being you can only write what you can fit on the back of a postcard. Now I have tiny writing so I can get 150 words on there (yes, really). Others in my family have huge writing. They’d get 50 on!

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Had a wonderful day in and around the Kielder Forest today. Gorgeous woodland walks, superb lake views (Kielder Water). Again one tired and happy pup in Lady! Looking forward to another day on the coast tomorrow. We like to mix up beach play and forest walks. Weather has been good too.

Writing Tip: Little touches can add great depth to a story. Near where I’m staying at the moment is a lovely bench which reads “Sit and Chat Bench”. Anyone sitting there is open to having a chat. I thought it a lovely idea but there are stories here too.

Fictionally, and in a setting of my own, I could invent someone who set up that bench and explore why they did it. Which characters would sit on a bench like that? Who would they talk to? What would the conversation lead to (because it would lead to something)? Conversations can change a great deal!

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Lovely day out and about at Druridge Bay Country Park. Great beach. Useful visitor centre. Great walk around the huge lake on the other side of that centre. A perfect day out for dog walkers! Lady has come back shattered but oh so happy.

Will I be using some of the locations I visit this week in future stories? Don’t know right now but I will have them in mind if I want to describe a certain setting. I often find though that the odd telling detail is enough. For example, I could mention my character walking along a lonely, sandy beach and you may well conjure up in your own minds where that beach could be. (I can think of several in Scotland as well as in Northumberland which would come to mind for me if I read that).

What matters to me is having a picture in my mind. I usually focus on character but sometimes that will show me their setting as well. I then work out what I need to share in the story so it makes sense to a reader. Still I am going to have some cracking ideas for future settings during my time in Northumberland and it is great to be back here.

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Am staying in glorious Northumberland for a break with other half and Lady. Looking forward to lots of lovely walking.

Will be sharing a fab interview with Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. She will be sharing news of her new book, Hunter’s Secret, and wonderful advice on blog tours, something which is a major part of marketing for many writers.

What do I look for in any author interview, whether I conduct it or not? I like to have the sense the interview is a proper conversation as useful tips and information comes out of that. I like to see how the author’s experience is helping them now when it comes to marketing. We all try different things. Some work. Some don’t work so well. All of that can save time, money, and effort for other writers.

I do know I am grateful for all I’ve learned from author interviews over the years. And they’re fun.

Author Interviews coming up on CFT

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Many thanks for the great responses coming for Being Engrossed, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. In case you missed it, see the link below. Would you do what my character, Stephen, is planning to do here?

Screenshot 2023-10-06 at 09-28-46 Being Engrossed by Allison SymesIt’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy Thirteen Hours, my latest on YouTube.

Flash fiction is great for use in various marketing ways. Firstly, I can (and do) create mini videos via Book Brush and YouTube to share on my social media timelines. Secondly, I can add these to my website. I sometimes create exclusive stories (video and plain text) for my author newsletter. I see all of that as advertising what I do.

When out and about at book signings, it is easy enough to share an example of flash fiction to people by reading out one or two. Doesn’t take long. Shows what flash is and what it can be capable of quickly. My experience has been people love being read to and I have made sales as a direct result of doing that!

And flash has helped me no end with my own editing. I am not afraid to cut where it is needed. I remember, years ago, being tentative over that. After all, who really wants to kill their darlings? They’re your darlings for a reason, right?

Hmm… writing flash sorted all of that out. If it doesn’t move the story on, out it goes and that’s that.

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Flash focuses on moments but these can take many forms. An event is an obvious moment but so can be that moment of realisation when a character switches direction. What triggers that moment of realisation?
Also something a character says to another can be the spark for the changing moment. But the changing moment really does have to be important enough to trigger the required change. All stories show change.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Writing Guides

Most writers, including me, have a number of writing guides collected over many years. The need for guides changes through a writer’s career. I started with the beginner guides and, much later, went to marketing and publishing books.

What I was after (and still am) is clear information presented in an entertaining way. I find I recall things better if I like what I’ve read. Also guides should be encouraging, otherwise why read on?

My favourite writing guide is On Writing by Stephen King. I am also fond of the Wannabe Writer guides written by the much missed Jane Wenham-Jones.

A good test of a guide is its readability (and re-readability). Which guides have you found useful?

Screenshot 2023-10-07 at 19-51-29 Writing Guides

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