Tag: character traits

Diaries and Letters

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. (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 2023. It is lovely being back at the writing desk. Look out for a useful writing exercise in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. Hope you give it a go and find it useful.

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am pleased to share my first Chandler’s Ford Today post for 2023 where I take a look at Diaries and Letters.

I look at the joys of reading books of these as well as explore using these formats in my own flash fiction writing. I also discuss the usefulness of keeping a diary (not just for noting down what I’ve got to do and when but also for reviewing where I am with my writing and to set goals). I also share a useful creative writing exercise here.

Hope you enjoy the post and hope you have had a good first week “back to normal”.

Diaries and Letters

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Looking forward to sharing Diaries and Letters for my Chandler’s Ford Today post tomorrow. See above – this is one of those posts where I have to watch my spelling. It’s difficult reading and/or writing dairies!

I love reading and writing both formats! Am looking forward to sharing more author interviews later on in the year and am glad to say I’ll be taking part in another writer’s blog in March. More details nearer the time. Also looking forward to running another flash fiction workshop later this month.

Hope to get back to work soon on a major project I had to shelve last year (due to my wanting to get my third flash fiction book submitted). Looking forward to that too. I’ve got a rough draft done on it but know it needs plenty of honing.

Have you set any writing goals you want to achieve this year? I like to have a rough idea of what I’d like to see done in the period and deliberately have a mixture of goals I know I’ll achieve quickly as well as the longer ones. It is nice being able to tick things off my “list”.

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Hope you have had a good day. Weather a lot better than yesterday – Lady and I didn’t get wet! It is the simple pleasures in life etc etc…

Am currently reading a biography of the late Queen by Gyles Brandreth (and loving it). Then I’m on to a crime novel. I like mixing things up! I read in different formats too (and I’ll be looking at some formats of story writing in the forms of diaries and letters for my next Chandler’s Ford Today post too. I often read books of letters and diaries – do check these out. They’re illuminating. I’ve written in both diary and letter formats too).

Writing Tip: Given you’re going to be spending some time with your characters (and yes that applies even to a flash piece), it does pay to get to know them a bit. If you could write a letter to your leading character, what would you put in it and why? Give some thought as to how they would reply to you. You’ll get insights into their personality doing this.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s great to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my story The First Day. An apt title for the first week in the New Year, I think. Hope you enjoy. (Also many thanks for the comments coming in on this already but I think you’ll like my characters in this one).

Screenshot 2023-01-06 at 09-18-42 The First Day by Allison Symes

If you want to practice writing short in a way that helps other writers, how about writing a review of their books? It helps authors with publicity and is the second best way to help them (the first is to buy said books of course). The great thing with reviews is they don’t have to be long.

Talking of writing short, I must admit I did find the strapline for both of my collections tough to come up with – I knew what I wanted to say but it was condensing it down enough that was the issue. Still I got there in the end.

For From Light to Dark and Back Again, the strapline reads A collection of very short stories to suit every mood.

For Tripping the Flash Fantastic, it reads A carefully crafted collection of story worlds.

It is funny how writing short is so often more difficult than writing long!If you’ve got ideas for possible strap lines or even words you’d like to use in a strapline, jot them down somewhere safe. Never assume you’ll remember. You don’t, honestly.

Flash with Amazon and Barnes and Noble

I mentioned over on my main author page on Facebook about getting to know your characters. There are various ways of doing this. For flash fiction, you may not need to know so much. I often use a template to help me work out what I think I need to know. One or two pertinent questions can draw out a lot of information! It’s working out what you need to know I think which can be the tricky bit.

I know I need to know a character’s major trait and why it is that one. Others may need to know what they look like and deduce their personality from the type of clothes they like to wear etc. But as long as you know what makes them tick, that’s the important thing. You do have to convince ourself you know these people and therefore can write their stories up with conviction. You know X would react like this to Y because… etc etc

May be an image of text that says "".. Understanding what makes US tick is crucial for understanding what makes your characters tick."

Fairytales with Bite – New Year Acrostic (Writing Tips)

N = New Year = New start – do your magical characters need this and, if so, why?
E = Explore what your characters would do when dropped right in the mire. This can be great fun!
W = Work out what your characters could do with in the way of worthy opponents. You mustn’t make life too easy for them.

Y = You decide how magic works in your setting and whether your characters can all have the same powers or have the potential to develop them.
E = Eagerness to gain power – which of your characters have this? Why? What would they do with that power if they got it?
A = Always know what your characters are doing and what their motivations are. These need to be motivations readers understand but we don’t necessarily have to like them.
R = Read through your stories and check for consistency. If your character changes behaviour patterns, there has to be a good reason for that, again something readers can identify with. Were they “redeemed” or “corrupted”? What are the consequences of the changes? Your stories need to play this out.

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This World and Others – Starting Over

This is an apt topic for the start of another year (and Happy New Year!). Many stories show characters starting over (and my favourite here is A Christmas Carol by Dickens).

But give some thought as to whether your setting needs to start over. Has there been a climate catastrophe in your world where agriculture, industry etc all need to start again? What caused the disaster? How have your characters recovered from it? What changes have had to be forced on them? Which have they happily adopted?

Also there are personal disasters for your individual people. What form(s) do these take? How did your characters start over or have they never been able to really recover? What are the consequences of not being able to start over?

How would the history of your world impact on those living in it now? Is there history they prefer to forget (and so have “started over” by focusing on the history they are happy about?). Starting over can be an artificial concept exploited by the powerful so you could explore what they are trying to bury here.

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

Superstitions, Characters, and the Love of Story

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Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. (Some screenshots of my reviews too).

Looking forward to the WI talk I’m giving this week (17th March), the start of the Share Your Story Writing Summit (18th to 23rd March 2021), and the interview with #HannahKate which goes out on North Manchester FM on Saturday, 20th March 2021. (Images connected to the summit were supplied by the organisers, Creative U, or screenshots from their website advertising the summit).

And I have my first Covid jab on 22nd March… it will be a busy and unforgettable few days for all sorts of reasons!

Screenshot_2021-03-05 summit presenters 2021Screenshot_2021-03-06 Share Your Story Writers Summit Facebook

Facebook – General

Lovely big walk with Lady today. Delighted to spot a few early bluebells out and some early blossom. Spring is almost here! It’s hard to say what my favourite season is as all of them have charms of their own. (Yes, even winter – I love seeing the silhouettes of bare trees against a setting sun in the winter months and must try and remember to get more pictures of these).

Thanks for the great response to the heads-up about my CFT post this week, Places to Go For Writing Advice. Feedback is always useful and something writers often cry out for, especially for reviews. It helps us know if we are generally speaking on the right track and reviews, as well as being useful for marketing, can be a great source of encouragement.

Given we spend a lot of time at our desks on our own, hoping our characters are going down well with people (or going down the way they are meant to!), that encouragement is so useful. Go on you know you want to – write a review today!

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My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week will be Places to Go For Writing Advice and, while this will be especially useful to new writers, I hope everyone can get something helpful from it. This is the kind of broad overview post I would’ve loved to have read when I was starting out so many years ago as it is a good place to start. (It’s also reassuring to know there are places you can go and that there is no such thing as a stupid question either!). I’ll be sharing useful links too. Post up on Friday.

I’m talking to The Disparate Housewives WI-affiliated group on Wednesday night and part of that talk will be about the ups and downs of the writing life. The idea for my CFT post this week has come from that talk. I love it when one piece of writing inspires ideas for other work. (It’s useful too!).


A huge thank you for the wonderful response to my post yesterday about my late mum gifting me the love of books and stories from an early age, which is something I do appreciate more than words can actually say. I was moved by the responses. Thank you, all.

I generally don’t write about mothers in my stories but with one exception. That is Time For Some Peace from Tripping the Flash Fantastic, where I look at motherhood from the viewpoint of a lady dragon. (As you do – and someone had to!).

My main focus on characters is usually centred on them as opposed to their relationships with others. I can and usually do imply the latter through what I show a reader via the character’s own head, attitudes etc. It is a very direct approach and one that works well for flash fiction.

When I outline my characters, I look at their major traits and what reactions are likely to come from those. When I have a longer flash piece, with more than one character in it, then I can let the sparks fly but I have chosen Character A to be that spark generator and it will be seen from their viewpoint. I have, interestingly, come across a competition recently in the Writing Magazine comps guide where the organisers are looking for the same story told twice, but from opposing viewpoints. Now that is an interesting idea and one I hope to explore at some point.


Today would have been my mum’s 87th birthday. One of my fondest memories was when I showed her my first story in print – A Helping Hand in Bridge House Publishing’s Alternative Renditions anthology back in 2009. She was so pleased. I owe my love of stories and books (and therefore writing) to her.

And to all who will find tomorrow a difficult day, for whatever reason, know you’re not alone. Virtual hugs to you all.

I’ve long thought that giving someone the wish to read and to keep on reading is a truly fantastic gift for anyone, whether or not you go on to write your own stories. It certainly inspires me as a writer to try to keep on writing tales that will entertain people.

I’m not a literary writer. I never will be. I have nothing against literary fiction, far from it, but it is just not me. Seeking to entertain people through stories is a fantastic thing to do in and of itself and great fun.

But it is the love of story that sparks all of that.

Thanks, Mum.

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Allison Symes and published works 640 VERSION

Allison Symes and some early works.

My flash collections are available in Kindle and paperback

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Thanks for the great response to my video Superstitions yesterday. Much appreciated.

This story hinged on a well known superstition and showing my character is more affected by them than she perhaps cares to admit. This was a case of knowing what the twist would be and then working backwards to getting to a logical start point.

But I do deliberately mix up how I write a story. Sometimes I have a line which I know will make a cracking opening, It is then a question of working out where that line could lead to and going with the storyline I like best.

And I have to be “taken” by the characters. If they don’t grip me, then I can forget any chance of hooking other readers with them. It is useful to know what fascinates you about characters you’ve read and work out what makes them work for you. You can then apply what you discover here to what you then go on to write.

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Am delighted to share a new story video – Superstitions. Hope you enjoy. Am enjoying exploring the Youtube audio library. Good fun to try the different tracks and try to match an appropriate one with the mood of my tale. As for my CFT posts, where I have to think laterally sometimes to find pictures that suit my theme, I am doing this with music, which I had not anticipated doing when I first set the Youtube channel up. It’s good fun though!

Many thanks for the great response to my post yesterday about my forthcoming interview with #HannahKate. If you can listen live, it is on Saturday between 2pm and 4pm on North Manchester FM. Hannah’s show is called Hannah’s Bookshelf. I will share the link to the show as soon as I can after broadcast and I am really looking forward to doing that. The interview was great fun to do and I can’t wait to share it.

Now I know I’ve mentioned before that interviewing characters is a great technique for a writer to work out what makes the characters tick. I’ve found I write the characters’ stories up with greater depth, even in a restricted word count, because I do know “my people” well enough.

(And it is good to remember it is the character’s story. Why? It helps you focus on getting their viewpoint across without the author voice butting in and, frankly, getting in the way. It’s also a great way to avoid head-hopping because you are focusing on your major character, their needs and wants etc).

But it is down to you what questions you use to find out what you need to know. I need to know what the major traits are, for example, but a good secondary question to that is to ask your characters what made them develop those traits in the first place. A defensive trait for example – what caused your character to develop that as they won’t have been born with it? That could trigger story ideas.

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I will flag this up again later, when I have the link, but my interview with #HannahKate on North Manchester FM will be going out next Saturday, 20th March.

It was great fun talking to Hannah about flash fiction and blogging, my twin writing loves.

It is going to be a busy week as I chat online to a WI group about The Ups and Downs of Becoming an Author. I also hope to share some examples of flash fiction as I have found the best way to explain it is demonstrate it! The 100 worders (the drabbles) are especially useful here!

And the Share Your Story Writing Summit begins on 18th March. My topic for that is Flash Fiction – Why I Love It and Why I Think Every Writer Should Try It.

Then there’s the interview with Hannah on the 20th. (And I get my covid jab, the first one, on the 22nd – well I’m pleased about that anyway!).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Books as Gifts

I always love to give and receive books as gifts. For me they are the perfect present and so easy to gift wrap too! Also no calories are involved whatsoever and a good book as I’ve mentioned before will take you to all sorts of wonderful worlds. Books are the places to escape your cares for a while. (This is just one reason why I can’t read misery memoir. When I read, I do want to escape. I guess that is why fantasy IS high up on my reading list).

But flipping this topic, let’s wonder about what books would make great presents for fictional characters.

Scrooge – The Art of Generosity. (He would have got more from this after the visits from the ghosts).
Jane Eyre – Exploring the Attic.
Elizabeth Bennet – Knowing Your Own Mind
Frodo Baggins – Appreciating Your Friends
Miss Marple – Anything from the I-Spy collections.
Hercule Poirot – Hair Care for the Fussy

Okay over to you – what books would you give to fictional characters?

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Submissions, Reviews, and Publication News

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Image Credit:  Thanks as ever to Pixabay for the images here.

Facebook – General

Good evening so far. Submitted a flash piece, pitched a couple of non-fiction ideas. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.

Also sorted out my bedside cabinet and organised my reading piles (one for books, one for magazines before you ask!). Feel both productive AND virtuous and, trust me, that doesn’t happen often!

Hope the weather isn’t causing too much havoc where you are. Mainly tree debris where I am. Always sad to see trees down (though Lady will end up having more sticks to play with than she ever thought possible so there is that to it).

The other thing to be said about the weather is if you needed encouragement to stay cosy and warm and get on with writing at your desk, you’ve got it. Well, you’re not going to want to go out now, are you?

It WAS a dark and stormy night – and writers everywhere took one glimpse at the horrible weather, got on with their latest epics, only too glad to do so!😀😀

Happy writing, everyone!❤️⭐️

Flash fiction illuminates briefly. Pixabay
Even in fantasy worlds, the author creates a history to make it seem real. Pixabay
What questions do you put to your readers via your characters? Pixabay

I’m looking forward to sharing two separate items of publication news later on in the week. It has been a good few days. I wish they were always like that but there you go!

Am almost there on a standard length short story I want to submit for a competition. I hope to get that submitted by the end of this week. And I’ve picked out the next competition I want to have a crack at so need to start thinking out some ideas for that.

I’m also going to be working on the edits for my second flash fiction collection, Tripping the Flash Fantastic, so have plenty in the pipeline.

But that’s how I like it – a nice mix of non-fiction writing (CFT particularly), sending stories out to hopefully good homes (!), and editing.

Reading wise, I’ve recently started London: The Biography. It’s an interesting concept for a historical book – a biography of a city – and I anticipate an enjoyable read. I love history – fiction and non-fiction. I won’t be sorry if story ideas spark from reading this book. (I’d be disappointed if I don’t get something. Non-fiction can be a great source of sparks for stories).

Hope the weather rapidly improves where you are. It is calmer here in Hampshire though there is some flooding. Lady gets a bit skittish in high winds (a bit like some young children can do) so it’ll be fun walking her tomorrow when said high winds are back. Still, at least it’s going to be dry.

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What do you love writing the most? I love getting inside my characters’ heads and sharing their thoughts. Sometimes said thoughts surprise me and I think where did that come from but it’s a wonderful feeling when that happens. It confirms to me the character has backbone, is taking on a life of their own, and is going to resonate with readers. All good things to aim for!

But the danger here is to only focus on the things you like writing most. I do enjoy writing narrative but I’ve come across too many books in the past where the narrative has gone on for too long and is keeping me away from the character whose story I want to follow.

For narrative writing, I’ve learned to focus only on what a reader needs to know for the character and/or story to make sense and there are absolutely no massive descriptions of setting etc. That I feel belonged to a bygone era.

I got into conversation with someone (and I apologise now because I’ve forgotten the name) who felt that the long descriptions of setting particularly in classic novels were necessary then – no TV or film back then. I think that’s a valid point. Now, of course, books are just one form of entertainment amongst many. Everyone knows the kind of setting that would be in, say, an ancestral home thanks to things like Downton Abbey, TV adaptations of stories such as Pride and Prejudice, etc., so do you now need to write every aspect of that down? I think not. You just want enough to conjure up the appropriate images in a reader’s mind and leave it there. Less is more and all that.

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PUBLICATION NEWS

Delighted to share not 1, or 2, but 3 of my linked flash fiction stories called Story by Number published on Cafelit. Many thanks to #DawnKentishKnox for her excellent prompt idea in the Chapeltown Books Prompts Book. My stories here are directly inspired by that.

Prompts 2020 by [James, Gill] Image by Gill James

The titles all reflect the number of words in each story. Hope you enjoy.

Will I write more of this kind of story again? I hope so. It is great for the old imagination muscle to mix up how you write a story. It keeps things fresh for you and will do for a reader too.

(The image I’ve added to the link below comes from a recent Chandler’s Ford Today post of mine called Numbers into Writing Will Go. It seemed appropriate! Link to article below.).

https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/numbers-into-writing-will…/

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Firstly, a big thank you to Val Penny for her lovely comment on the book on Twitter earlier today (18th February). Much appreciated, Val!

 https://twitter.com/valeriepenny/status/1229794879544479745

If you’re a reader and know some writers, I bet they’ll have asked for reviews of their books etc in the usual places. (My friends know I’ve asked them!).

If you think well hmm… I wouldn’t know where to start etc., I’ll just add that reviews on Amazon, Goodreads etc., don’t have to be lengthy write-ups. A line or two would do and whatever your tastes in reading, the author will appreciate those reviews. They’ve got to be honest ones though!

(Oh and a good place to start is what YOU liked about the book and yes what you disliked too. Reviews have to be honest to have any meaning and writers will learn a lot from feedback they receive this way).

Making writing friends online is great but meeting them in person is even better

I’ve mentioned before that I like to use character traits to help me “get going” with creating a new person to either write about or to be my narrator for my next flash fiction story.

I also talked about this in my interview with #WendyHJones which went out on Wednesday this week. Naturally that gives me a golden opportunity to share the link again! (Shameless plug and all that….! 😊❤️).

Episode 4 – How To Write Flash Fiction

Feature Image - Local Author News - Allison Symes - Podcast by Wendy H Jones

It was lovely being able to write a bonus CFT post for this. Image by Pixabay

But going on from there, one question could be “could you run out of character traits?”. Surely there are only so many.

Well that’s true but I like to combine them with something else.

For example if I have a character who is feisty, I’ll give them a vice such as greed. There could be a crime story there. There could be a comic story too if their greed dropped them right in it. The reactions from a reader here could range from horror and disgust at my character to laughter as my character makes a complete fool of themselves.

The trick will be making readers care enough to read about a character like that. There will be a certain amount of wanting to see if that character either gets their comeuppance (I love stories like that!) or somehow redeems themselves. Either way there is going to be a significant change in that character or their situation by the end of the tale and I hope I can make a reader curious enough to find out what that is.

A writer’s life. Pixabay,
The lightbulb moment is not so easy to capture as drawing it! Pixabay
A book worm’s idea of heaven and picture books will be in here! Pixabay image
Good question! Pixabay image.
A good adaptation will confirm images the reader has already conjured up from the original material. Pixabay image.
Reading work out to an audience can also give you feedback as hopefully they laugh when you did when writing the story! Pixabay
Stories link us. Pixabay.
Let the ideas spill out! Pixabay

Another character who is feisty I may well make charitable but their big mouth lands them in it from time to time. So there I would hope a reader would want to find out if the character can carry on doing their good works and their loudmouth has not ruined things completely. Or perhaps the being outspoken ends up bringing in much needed changes and my character is a catalyst for positive change.

Yes, there’s that word again – change. The single most important thing about any story of any length. There has to be change. Your character has to be different in some way by the end of the story whether it’s 50 words long or 50,000. The challenge is to have a character your reader HAS to follow to find out what happens to them.

Image supplied by Wendy H. Jones

Will have flash fiction publication news to share later in the week so am looking forward to putting the relevant links up.

Will be starting work soon on the edits for Book 2 – Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Looking forward to that. I do enjoy editing. Sure there are some tasks associated with that which ARE less interesting (yet another misplaced comma to remove etc etc!) BUT I keep in mind the overall goal is to improve my work and to get it to the best I can make it. That helps a lot.

I’ll be talking about short and long form fiction in my CFT post later this week and will share more on that on Wednesday. No prizes for guessing which is my big love here!

 

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How do you handle those times when you know your story hasn’t got anywhere with a market or competition?

My practice here is to look at my story again. If I spot anything that could do with strengthening, I do that but I then get the story back out again to another, suitable market or competition.

Another way of using a story that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere is to look at why you wrote it in the first place and analyse it as if it had been written by someone else.

If this story had been in a magazine, would it have appealed to you? If there were bits that didn’t seem to gel with you, ask yourself why?

This is a good editing technique and by putting your reader’s hat on, you might find something about the tale that could do with working on and which, once done, will give it more of a chance in the big, bad world out there.

The one thing I’ve found is you have to be totally honest about what you think works in the story and what doesn’t work so well. The trick of course is to improve those latter sections so there are no bits which don’t work so well!

And be persistent too. One market or competition may feel it is not right for them (they may have taken something similar to your story recently, you will never know), but it doesn’t mean others will feel the same way.

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Just a quick reminder for Writing Magazine subscribers that you can advertise your book on their Subscribers’ Showcase. Proof of the pudding? See this link!

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Image from Chapeltown Books

I hope later in the year when Tripping the Flash Fantastic comes out to put that on here (probably with a link back to From Light to Dark and Back Again).

Meanwhile over on Cafelit, do check out my latest three flash fiction stories. Yes, three of them. They are linked though. Linked flash fiction is relatively new for me and this set was inspired by a prompt in the Chapeltown Books Prompts Book. (Thanks to #DawnKentishKnox for her cracking idea which inspired me here).

http://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/…/story-by-number_1…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prompts-2020-Gill-Ja…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Piles

How many reading piles do you have? Mine include:-

1. My book pile.
2. My magazine pile.
3. Everything on my Kindle!

It’s probably enough to be going on with though I suppose I could split my book pile into two categories: novels and short story/flash fiction collections.

Note I said probably just now. I’ve just seen a lovely post on Facebook where someone has come up with a new idea for an escape room – you have an hour to get out of a well stocked book shop!

I don’t know about you but that’s me well and truly stuck then. One hour would just about give me enough time to have a good look around and work out what was where. I might get to decide where I would be starting first if I was efficient with my time!

I’ve mentioned before I like to mix up my reading. There are some evenings where I just HAVE to read magazines, rather than books, and the other way round. I don’t really know why that is but I love reading both overall so that’s okay. So therefore it is absolutely necessary for me to have reading piles that suit all my reading moods.

How do you organise YOUR reading?

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Reading Journeys and the Role of Stories

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I look at how what I’ve read has changed over the years in my CFT post about Reading Journeys this week. I also look at how the Kindle has impacted on my reading life too (and boy has it! My suitcase is a lot lighter thanks to it!).

I can’t remember what the first book I read all by myself was but wouldn’t be surprised if it was a picture book. I am still very fond of The Reader’s Digest Collection of Fairytales which is beautifully illustrated. I’m also a sucker for a good map (see The Lord of the Rings!).

I’ve said it before, and will no doubt say it again, but adult fiction writers owe a huge debt to those who write for youngsters. So many readers of fiction for adults come from a background of having always read books/had books read to them. It is just a case of tastes changing over time. It is difficult to understate how important it is to create that wish to read spark off in the first place.

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My favourite moment when writing a story or a CFT post is when the piece “takes off”.

For a story, this is when the character hits their stride and there’s no holding them back. You, as the writer, are keen to find out what happens next (which is always a good sign!). And yes I outline but I deliberately don’t put down every detail. I need signposts but what happens between them is the really fun bit!

For a post, it is when one idea leads to another and that leads to more and before you know it, an article is written.

The scary moment? When you’ve outlined an idea and you begin writing and at that point you don’t know whether it is going to “go the distance”. There’s always a certain amount of relief when things “take off” and you realise the post or story will be fine (after editing later, naturally).

Image Credit:  The picture of From Light to Dark and Back Again was taken by my cousin, Raewyn Berry.  My book is on display at her guest house in New Zealand.  It is easily the furthest my book has travelled!

Hope you have lovely books as presents! Pixabay image
So true. Pixabay image.
The ultimate smartphone maybe?! Image via Pixabay
How many story ideas could come from an image like this? Pixabay.
My smartphone has not yet managed this! Pixabay image.
The joy of writing is you never stop learning. Pixabay image.
Books and tea, bliss! Pixabay image
A book worm’s idea of heaven and picture books will be in here! Pixabay image

My CFT post this week will take a look at reading journeys and how they change and develop over time (as they should). Good excuse to put lots of pictures of lovely books up too! Win-win! I also look at how methods of reading have developed. Who would have predicted the Kindle when I was growing up in the 1970s?

Do you have a reading list of books you simply must read (in whatever format suits best) before the Grim Library Keeper tells you that you are way overdue and it is time to go?

One of my favourite cartoons is the one of a woman in bed ringing to tell someone her other half has been crushed by his To Be Read pile. I have a nasty feeling life could imitate art for many of us here on that front! So don’t pile them too high, eh?

And I really must go and reduce the height of mine!

Where is your setting? Pixabay image.
Enjoy your writing whether you write directly to screen or to pen and paper first. Pixabay image.
My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.
I was in this Bridge House anthology. Picture taken by Allison Symes
Another of my stories made it into this collection. Image taken by Allison Symes
It is a great joy to be published by Cafelit online and in print. Picture taken by Allison Symes
Another flash fiction piece of mine is in here. Pixabay image.
My first story appeared here. Photo taken by Allison Symes
This is the first solely ebook compilation I’ve had work in – cover photo from Bridge House Publishing.
Stepping into another world.. Pixbay
There be dragons. Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

The spark for a new flash fiction story comes from a variety of sources for me. These include:-

1. Hearing a turn of phrase which catches my fancy.

2. A well known saying or proverb. (I can often twist these too so double whammy as far as I’m concerned).

3. I sometimes use a question as the story title. The story of course is then found in answering that question!

4. Writing prompts – picture based, theme set or what have you, I find all of these useful. (My writing diary is a boon for these. I should have 52 new stories by the end of the year at least given there is a prompt set every week!).

5. What is lovely is when a character I’ve created sparks off an idea for a follow-on story but the character and the follow-on idea both have to be strong enough for this to work.

6. I will sometimes put a character name into my title (for example George Changes His Mind). The idea here is to provoke curiosity as to find out who the character is and, in this example, what he changed his mind about! The implication also is that it has to be something reasonably important otherwise there would be no story.

The writing journey can be a long one so setting goals along the way makes sense. Pixabay image
The one time of year when Time itself is the news. Pixabay image.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
Just what is your story then? Image via Pixabay
Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.
Reading immerses you in another world. Pixabay image.
There is something almost mystical here. Pixabay image.
Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.
Fiction can take you anywhere. Image via Pixabay.
Which number draft is this? Pixabay image
Love writing, love reading, love books. Pixabay image.
Fiction should show you new ways of looking at the world. Image via Pixabay.

F is for Fun which writing should be
L is for Lines for your characters to say
A is for Action without which a story is dead
S is for Story, the “must know how it ends” reaction
H is for Heroes, of all kinds, caped or not.

F is for Flashbacks which should be kept brief
I is for Imagination – feed yours by reading well
C is for Characters we all want to root for
T is for Truthful Narrators or ARE they? Make us guess!
I is for Illumination, that lightbulb creative moment
O is for Original – you have a unique writing voice
N is for Names – what do they reveal about your “people”?

Allison Symes – 14th February 2019

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Flash fiction can be great for giving little insights into a character and/or their setting which would not be enough for a standard length short story. You can imply their world without going into lots of description.

My Every Little Detail doesn’t spell out who the reader mentioned in the story is until literally the last word but so much is implied in the run-up to that, my closing word acts as a confirming punchline in many ways.

I relish writing stories like that. The fun comes from working out what clues to put in and how best to do so. The reader needs to work things out without you spelling everything out but the clues must enable them to do that.

What worlds will emerge from your writing? Pixabay image
The ultimate book tunnel? Image via Pexels
Words have power, whether funny or tragic. Pixabay image.
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Hopefully the Book Fair will encourage even more reading! Image via Pexels
Decisions, decisions and a not terribly helpful signpost. Image via Pixabay.
No room for gobbledygook here. Image via Pixabay.
It would be a joy to research here! Pixabay image
Walking into the words maybe. Pixabay image
Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.

Fairytales With Bite – Character Traits

I like to look for a major trait in a character and use that to help “round them out”.  For example, if I decide a character is a coward, I dig deeper and look for what has led to the character being like that.  I can also look at whether they’re ashamed of this or not.  Not everything I outline here will make it into my story but I know that if I know what the answers are here, I will write my character with more confidence (and therefore conviction as well) and I believe THAT comes through to the reader.

So useful character traits to consider then could include:-

  1. Cowardice/Heroism;
  2. Being a Liar/Being Honest (the latter could cause as much trouble as the former and the potential for comedy is here too);
  3. Stubbornness/Being Flexible;
  4. Being Unfriendly/Being Sociable;
  5. Being Prejudiced/Being Open.

There are of course many more traits than these and practically every trait has its opposite flaw/virtue which could also be used.

Questions to ask yourself when using these:-

 

  1. How did the character develop this flaw/virtue?
  2. Do they see it as a flaw or virtue?  Are they right about this?
  3. How do others around the character react to them and their flaw/virtue?
  4. What are their society’s expectations?
  5. Does the character change – for better or worse?

Have fun!

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This World and Others – The Role of Stories

We all know how important stories are to us personally and to our society but when creating your own world, what thought have you given to the role of tales there? Does your world have its own legends? What are these? How are these legends shared?

Was/is there an oral storytelling tradition? Are only certain stories allowed (and who chose these and why)? Are books easily available to all (or the technological equivalent)? Is reading encouraged? Are there libraries?

How does your world decide whether something it is civilised or not? You’ll guess from the questions I list above I consider the ready availability of books, libraries, stories being generally available etc to be major considerations as to whether I think something is civilised!

How do the characters in your stories treat books and stories? Do their views agree with those held by their society or not?

The role of stories is important (they’re a great way of getting a message across without preaching and are a wonderful form of entertainment. Does your fictional world treat them in the same way? If not, why not?).

Publication News:  Cafelit

I will have two new stories up on Cafelit on 16th February and 16th March.  Will share links as and when.  I am also pleased to say two stories of mine are being voted on for consideration for the Best of Cafelit 8 print anthology due out later this year.  Will keep you posted on how I do but do check out the Best of books as there are wonderful stories in here from a lovely variety of writers.  (How do I know they’re lovely?  I’ve met them!).

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Memories and Motivations

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My latest CFT post, The Importance of Memories, is timely of course as we enter Remembrance Sunday/Armistice Day, but I also look at the topic from the angle of how and why memories are vital to us all as individuals and as countries. I look at the impact of dementia and how singing helps with memory. I also discuss how fiction writers can use memories.

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One tip I’ve found useful when planning out my stories is making sure my characters’ motivations ARE strong enough.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a “do or die” approach either (though the dramatic qualities of that are obvious), but if, for example, Character A wants to buy a special present for Character B, then you must show why Character B means the world to A. Motivations have got to be something any reader is going to be able to identify with (but not necessarily agree about!).

Books invite you into their world. Image via Pixabay
How is your fantastic world governed? Pixabay image
Clarity and constructive criticism are always useful. Pixabay image.
Hope your Christmas books take you to all sorts of wonderful places! Pixabay image
A good writing group will help you discover this. Pixabay image.
Let the creativity spill out. PIxabay image.
How does gravity and time work in your settings? Pixabay image.
What an upgrade from Shakespeare’s quill! Image via Pixabay
Walking into the words maybe. Pixabay image
Write first, edit later. Pixabay.

What is your favourite form of writing and/or reading – fiction or non-fiction?

I love (and write) both. Non-fiction can and has inspired ideas for my fiction. It also means having different projects to work on, I never get bored, and I am exercising more “writing muscles” than if I did just write one thing. (I just wish I had more time but then don’t we all?).

I also think where you have a fictional world but which has solid basis in fact (i.e. you have thought about how gravity works in your fantasy setting, what form of government there is etc, based on what we know here), your story has got to be more convincing and stronger as a result.

Let those ideas flow! Image via Pixabay,
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com
Words have power, whether funny or tragic. Pixabay image.
Outlining your characters, perhaps. Image via Pexel
The lights fantastic. Pixabay image.
Use what you know of our world and your imagination to create something really special. Image via Pixabay
Fiction is strengthened when backed by fact. Image via Pixabay
The wonderful world of writing should include non-fiction, which benefits from creative techniques too. Image via Pixabay.
Words are the power source of so much creativity. Pixabay iamge.
Let your writing sparkle. Image via Pexels.
The writing necessities! Pixabay image.
Love writing, love reading, love books. Pixabay image.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

The best flash fiction is where the writer has stuck to ONE simple idea/theme and followed it through. There really isn’t the room to do anything else and the impact of the story is greater for keeping it simple.

This is not the same thing as simplistic though. The best flash fiction will hit you emotionally, can make you think, can frighten you, make you laugh etc, all in a few words.

Simple writing is where the editing has been done (and often several times) and, to quote the late great Eric Morecambe, albeit in different circumstances, “you really can’t see the join”!

Use personal reviews to help you generate character and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.
Assemble your characters, assemble your world. Image via Pixabay
The writer’s desk. What do you hope will emerge from yours this coming year? Image via Pixabay.
Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.
This made me smile! Pixabay image.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
Wonderful writing desk. Pixabay image
Fiction should show you new ways of looking at the world. Image via Pixabay.
Never in my fiction. Image via Pixabay.
Preparing the blog. Image via Pixabay.
The ultimate smartphone maybe?! Image via Pixabay
Escape with a good book. Image via Pixabay.

Favourite themes of mine for flash fiction include rough justice, alien life being as intelligent as ours (and usually more so!), and crime (often showing the criminal’s justification, if only to themselves, as to their course of action). It is perhaps ironic that the really big themes – love, justice etc – can be summed up in one word but the amount of variety of stories you can get from these is vast.

I believe the simpler the theme, the better. It comes across well too. You don’t need your readers scratching their heads trying to work out what the theme is.

Plugging in for new ideas? Pixabay image
Image from Hampshire Writers Society where I was a guest speaker last year. Great fun! Many thanks to HWS for permission to use the photo.
Love that clock. Pexels image.
Remembering… image via Pixabay
For jotting down those initial ideas. Image via Pixabay.
Is everything black and white in your stories? Image via Pexels
The first draft, the second, the tenth? Pixabay image
If your story grips you, all sense of time will go! Image via Pixabay.
What journeys are your characters going on? Image via Pixabay
Edit, edit, edit! Pixabay image.

Looking forward to the Bridge House celebration event in early December. Less than a month to go!

One of the nice things about writing is getting to meet other writers. It is lovely knowing you are not the only one who wants to get their imaginary world down on paper and send it out there in book form.

I suppose one of the biggest things I’ve learned is never to underestimate how long it takes to get a book together! It always will take far longer than you think, as will the editing process, but it will be worth it in the long run.

I read three stories from From Light to Dark and Back Again. Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox for the picture!
My latest CFT post. Image kindly supplied by Gail Aldwin.
Dawn Kentish Knox, fellow flash fiction writer, reads some work from her excellent book, The Great War. Image by Allison Symes
Gill James reading from her January Stones collection. Image by Allison Symes
Preparing a talk or a flash fiction story perhaps. Image via Pixabay.
Gill talks with Dawn Kentish Knox and me. Image thanks to Paula Readman.
Connections to what you read and what you write. What are yours? Image via Pixabay.
Paula Readman, Dawn Kentish Knox and I celebrate where our stories have appeared! Many thanks to Paula Readman for the picture.!

Memory is my theme on Chandler’s Ford Today this week but it plays a vital role in fiction too. For characters to seem real and therefore believable, they must have a past. That past doesn’t need to BE the story you’re telling but it should impact on it in some way (if only because it has made the character turn out to be the way that they are).

Also the setting in which your characters live, that world should have values and rules, which will be formed by its history. There are likely to be ceremonies and special days which your characters will observe or note in the course of your story.

With flash fiction of course this has to be condensed right down. In my Helping Out, my opening line has a witch helping a fairy and acknowledging she is not supposed to do so. Those last few words immediately imply a whole history of feuding between the two magical groups and the witch is remembering it and, in this case, ignoring it! The story goes on to explain why but her memory of usual behaviours impacts on her actions here. Memories = realities = more convincing fiction.

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Fairytales with Bite – Character Memories

I write about The Importance of Memories in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week.  I touch on the subject of memories and fiction writing here too but below are some specific reasons why memories should come into your stories (even if they are just implied.  They often are just implied in flash fiction due to the limited word count but to my mind that makes the impact more hard hitting).

1.  Characters need to seem real to be believable.  Real people have memories.  So do real characters.

2.  Our behaviour is affected by memory – memory of what we did wrong, memory of what we did right and the difference between the two!  Our characters should reflect this too.  They’re not going to get it right all the time (good thing too – no story there!) but do need to show they’ve learned from their mistakes.  That is where memory comes in of course.

3.  Your world setting will have rules and values it expects its citizens to live by.  Your characters will know what these are, will know what special days and ceremonies there are, and will live their lives i obedience to all of that or be rebelling against it, but again your characters need to know and remember what these are!

4.  We are shaped by our memories in terms of who we are and why we are the way we are.  Our characters should be too.

5.  We can be haunted by memories, especially of those we’ve loved and lost.  Our characters should be too.

The perfect place to reflect and take stock. Pixabay image.
Great characters = great books. Image via Pixabay.
Pressing on towards the light. Image via Pixabay
Flash fiction for impact. Image via Pixabay
The dark can seem to overcome the light but light will prevail. Image via Pixabay
Let the writing flow and if music can help it along even better! Image via Pixabay
We dare not forget. Pixabay image.
Glorious autumn. Time to take stock briefly and then move on. Pixabay image.
Love the sunshine through the trees. Pixabay image.
So true. Pixabay image.
Is the truth welcome in your fictional world? How does your community react to it?. Image via Pixabay.
There can be reality behind fairytales. Image via Pixabay (and image used as part of book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again)
What impact do your stories have on your readers? Image via Pixabay

This World and Others – Character Traits

What are the most useful character traits for a writer to use?  My thoughts would be:-

1.  Whichever trait you choose, it has to be “open” enough to go in several directions.  For example, if your character has a “brave” trait, does this mean they are brave all the time?  Are there some fears they really cannot face but because they are brave in other areas that hides this?  Are they brave when out and about with friends but cowardly at home?  Lots of directions you could go in there.

2.  Whichever trait you choose, it should be something most people can identify with/aspire to.  Most of us want to be decent, kind, brave etc.  I love reading characters who have those traits and who overcome against all the odds.  Instant reader sympathy.

3.  Whichever good trait you choose for a character, they should also have a fault that goes against it, something they have to manage and control.  (A good example of that is The Incredible Hulk!  Mild mannered most of the time but boy when he becomes angry the sparks fly!).  You have internal conflict here and also what happens when another character has seen the good side and suddenly comes to see the bad side for the first time?  What are the reactions there?

In Remembrance and with thankfulness. Pixabay image.
Memories are fragile especially over time. Pixabay image.
The men have fallen. Image by Stuart Wineberg.
The fantastical should still be grounded in reality (even if you create some of that reality too). Pixabay image.
Let’s hope your characters have a good sense of direction! Image via Pixabay.
What decisions will your characters make? Image via Pixabay.
Images from the magical world… Image via Pixabay
Writing in many forms… Image via Pixabay

 

 

 

Six of the seven books my stories have appeared in (okay in the case of Limerick Nation, one limerick!). Baubles is the other book. Image taken by me.

LITTLE THINGS/REALISTIC DIALOGUE

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FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In Little Things, I discuss those little traits that reveal what a character is really like.  Some of these things will be unconsciously done. Others may be deliberately put on to try to reinforce what that character wants other characters to see about them.  (A kind of “building up the image” reaction).  Little things like this can back up the main portrayal of a character or flatly contradict it.  (Personally, I think the little things really do give people and characters away).

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Realistic Dialogue is, for me, writing speech clearly and not necessarily as we actually speak it.  Too  many “umms” and “errs” make for a boring read.  Using slang or regional accents can be problematic.  Clarity is the most important thing of all.

PUBLICATION NEWS

Received my copies of Baubles today, this year’s anthology from Bridge House Publishing.  My story, Helping Out, is in there.  Love the cover.  Have shared the link to the Baubles Facebook page.  Am looking forward to going to the joint launch (with Cafelit) in London on Saturday.  I also have a story, Telling the Time, in this year’s The Best of Cafelit 5. 

https://www.facebook.com/Baubles-204986853276063/

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D204987223276026%26id%3D204986853276063%26substory_index%3D1&width=500

And for the Baubles book trailer:-

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F204986853276063%2Fvideos%2F204988269942588%2F&show_text=0&width=400

FACEBOOK PAGE

I discuss how long my Kindle battery lasts (!) and talk about the arrival of Baubles.  My stories have now appeared in 7 different books.  Am very pleased with that and hope to build on it.

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Love the cover for this. Image supplied by Bridge House Publishing.

Love the cover for this. Image supplied by Bridge House Publishing.

 

 

 

Mabel enjoying the view at Golspie, Northern Scotland. Image by me.

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

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Two short posts tonight.

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

Looking on the bright side is not an easy thing to do at times.  And those that can manage it can, at times, unwittingly irritate the hell out of those who can’t!  I discuss certain phrases that characters might use to “cheer up” others as well.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

I discuss using character traits in this post. When I create a new character, I start off by asking myself what the dominant trait is going to be and take things from there.  I sometimes cross traits too.

FACEBOOK PAGE

General chat about the humidity in my part of Hampshire right now (the dog and I are not liking it!) but I also ask about weather in fiction. My main thought was of Dorothy’s literal whirlwind arrival in Oz but if you can think of other examples of the weather playing a major role in fiction, do say!

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Glorious Golspie on the Far North coast of Scotland, image by me.

Glorious Golspie on the Far North coast of Scotland, image by me.