Tag: competitions

New Year, New Books, New Authors

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Hope your weekend went well. Some snow here though not too deep. Am wrapping up with multiple layers so I am waddling with Lady rather than walking with her right now! Hope the first full week back to “normal life” goes well. Pleased to be back writing and editing again. Needed and enjoyed the break but it is good to be back.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler friend and, later, was escorted home by her Aussie Shepherd “boyfriend”. Lady is keeping her socials together, well enough!

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Story Inspiration on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Always a timely topic, this one. Writing and editing works are going well – and I’m staying out of the cold as much as possible, all wins here!

Writing Tip: Think about what inspires you to write – favourite stories, favourite types of characters etc – and then look at why you love these things. You will learn something useful from doing this and it will help you as you create your own tales. More in my post on CFT on this on Friday – what I can say now though is this works.

You know I said yesterday (4th January 2025) we hadn’t had snow in Hampshire as yet? Well, it is a clear case of me and my big mouth. We did get snow over night (probably 1 to 2 cm, no more than that). You’ll be pleased to know I won’t apply for any job in weather forecasting! Think that would be best for everyone…

Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today, both of whom were wearing coats. Lady doesn’t really need one (and I am sure she and her predecessors would consider them sissy for a collie/collie-cross anyway). All three dogs had a lovely time despite the cold and yes we owners did keep them moving.

Writing wise, am having a quiet evening getting on with various small writing pieces. Nice way to unwind after what is always a hectic day for me. And I get to stay well out of the cold too. Win-win there, I’d say.

Character Tip: What does your character make of their usual weather patterns? If cold is a regular feature of these, how does your character cope with it? (If they’re a northerner of any sort, they’ll put on their big coat. If they’re a southerner like me, they’ll put on a big coat with a body warmer under it – mind you, it did live up to its name today). How could cold weather help or hinder them? There will be story ideas there. Happy writing!

Hope Sunday has gone well. Bitterly cold and heavy frosts here in Hampshire but no snow (as yet anyway). Hope you are all okay. Lady has had a lovely day in that she saw her “boyfriend”, a lovely Aussie Shepherd, in the park earlier. He has a wonderful thick coat and I shouldn’t imagine felt the cold at all!

Writing wise, I’m making good progress with my editing work. I’ve also got ideas I’d like to develop this year and I hope to share some 100 word stories on Facebook every so often. I’ve enjoyed sharing my Friday Flash Fiction links most weeks and want to keep up writing the good old drabbles regularly.

One enjoyable task this coming week is to start reading the latest Writing Magazine. It came with its annual competition guide and I hope to work my way through at least some of that this year. There are more flash fiction competitions out there than you might think and I do find this guide immensely helpful.

Hope the weekend has got off to a good start for you. As I write this I am enjoying a trip down memory lane thanks to Classic FM playing the theme from Animal Magic. Older readers will remember that show!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Story Inspiration for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. It’s a timeless topic and I’ll be sharing some ways I use regularly to keep triggering ideas. I hope you will find it useful and look forward to sharing that on Friday.

Have resumed my editing work and making good strides with it, including on my own edits for Seeing The Other Side.

Writing Tip: I use an old school diary to note down deadlines for competitions, my own deadlines for when I want to get work finished by, and so on. It pays. I see it as making an appointment with myself and my writing and it has helped me to get more done. For longer work, I can break my task down into “manageable chunks” and put those in the diary. It all helps.

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Tonight, 6th January, is of course Twelfth Night, traditionally the time the Three Wise Men visited Jesus in Bethlehem. My story, The Family Legend, in the recently published Magi (Bridge House Publishing) takes a thought from this story – that at least one of the men were still alive thirty three years later and found out what had gone on in Jerusalem – and I ran with it.

But you too can run with the idea of an unexpected and/or unlikely journey and the characters that do this. There could be some interesting flash fiction pieces here too though I suspect you would probably need the 500 words plus range to do this justice in the very short form.

Hope you try the idea out though. Good luck!

It’s a bitterly cold Monday, the kind where Good King Wenceslas would feel at home. For me it’s definitely time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Looking on The Bright Side.

A fairytale witch finally has to tell the facts of the magical life to her child, who is shocked to find out where their instructions come from. Find out more here.

 

F = Flash fiction – fun to write, easy to read, lots of impact due to its brevity.

L = Language and editing skills develop a lot when you write in this form as you do look for the right word which carries the right amount of weight for what you want to convey. No wasted words here. Where one word will have the impact I want, I’m using that not three or four.

A = Assessing the impact you want your story to have on readers and then working out the best way of doing it before writing anything is, I find, sensible for this format. I want to hit the ground running so to speak here.

S = Settings can be anywhere in time or space or in any kind of world you care to invent. What matters are the characters. People follow what they’re up to even if they’re a three headed purple dragon from the planet Zog. If people care about the dragon, they will read on.

H = Humour is fabulous for flash. It’s fun to end a story with a punchline.

Flash fiction is not new. It has been around for centuries. To name one example, all of Jesus’s parables in the Bible come in at well under the 1000 words mark limit for flash.

The form has had several names including postcard fiction (which I like – you can picture it); short short fiction (which I don’t like – it’s a mouthful); and sudden fiction (this is okay but doesn’t, to my mind, seem an apt term for thoughtful flash pieces).

But whatever you do call it, flash fiction is a fun challenge and I love writing to the various word count brackets within it. The most popular for competitions I’ve come across are the 100, 250, 300, and 500 word ones but the first three of those are the most common.

All of them are great fun so why not give them a go?

Goodreads Author Blog – New Year, New Books, New Authors

Happy New Year and I hope 2026 brings you plenty of books to enjoy. I hope amongst those books will be books and authors who are new to you. One of the great joys of reading is in discovering new stories to enjoy by writers you either already thought you knew well or by authors you’ve not read before. Everyone wins from that one.

I’ve not yet made any plans for my new reading year. I’m currently engrossed with the books I received for Christmas and loving them all. Then I may catch up on my poor neglected To Be Read pile or at least make some inroads into it. I suspect you may well be in the same reading boat, yes? I’ve not yet come across a reader and/or writer who hasn’t got lots of books “on the go”.

I used to feel sad at the thought I know I won’t get around to reading all of the books I would like to read. Funnily enough, I now feel comforted by the thought. Why?

Well, it confirms to me the world will never run out of stories to enjoy and that is a great thing.

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

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

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

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

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

29th December – More Than Writers

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

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

Hope you enjoy the post and find it useful.

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27th December

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

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

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

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24th December – Christmas Eve

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fairytales With Bite – Festivities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goodreads Author Blog – Happy New Reading Year

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

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

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

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

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

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Author Interview – Introducing Heather Beveridge/Hetty Waite – Evolve

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Many thanks to Heather Beveridge (who writes as Hetty Waite) and Lynsey Adams of Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog for supplying author, book cover and other photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have a good week. Mixed bag weather wise though Lady has seen all of her chums this week, including a couple we haven’t seen for a while. Have sent in my final competition entries for the year so glad to have that done. Other writing going well. Am so looking forward to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event on Saturday, 6th December too.

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Had a lovely day out with other half to celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary. Lady loved the trip out too. And that was despite the weather. We had a lovely lunch in the aptly named Windy Corner Cafe, where dogs are welcome, and Lady loved it. As well as being spoiled rotten, she also enjoyed looking around at the other diners, probably hopeful for titibits, but she does love people in general and loves being nosy. Can’t think where she gets that from!

Writing wise, I’m delighted to welcome fellow Swanwicker Heather Beveridge, who writes as Hetty Waite, to discuss her new book, Evolve. This is book two in her The Chromosone Trilogy, a YA dystopian series.
Plenty to enjoy here.

Heather/Hetty discussed what led her to write her trilogy, the joys and challenges of doing that, plus she looks at the usefulness of writing events, especially The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

Hope you enjoy the interview.

Author Interview – Introducing Heather Beveridge/Hetty Waite – Evolve

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Hope the day has gone well. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals again and all three had a lovely time.

In writing news, I was sorry to hear of the death of Jonathan Telfer, former editor of Writing Magazine. This was announced in the current issue, which reached me yesterday.

In other writing news, I’m sharing a fabulous in-depth interview with fellow Swanwicker, Heather Beveridge, who writes as Hetty Waite, about her new novel, Evolve. This is Book 2 in her The Chromosone Trilogy and follows her first book, Mutate.

Heather/Hetty shares her writing journey to date, the role The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick has played in this so far, writing and marketing thoughts/tips, and discusses what she loves about dystopian fiction. There’s much more in the interview too. Link up tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing that. See above.

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Hope you have had a good day. Cold but dry and bright here. Lady had a fabulous puppy party this morning with her Hungarian Vizler, Rhodesian Ridgeback and Labradoodle pals (the ever lovely Coco there). Also got to see the sweetest Jack Russell around, a lovely dog called Willow, whom we haven’t seen for a while. All of the dogs love her. Lady came home tired and happy. Dogs do get something positive out of socialising with each other. It always seems to give Lady a good buzz.

Mind you, I’m like that when I get together with other writers which I’m looking forward to doing again at the weekend! So I expect to be “buzzing” on my way home!

Busy editing and writing. Looking forward to going to an ACW genre group tonight. Always good chat and a lovely way to unwind. Have got my final stories in for competitions. Will probably look out other competitions to have a crack at early in the New Year, hopefully, but glad to get these ones sent in. As ever I took time off the official deadline to give me the time to check all is as it should be and to still send my stories in good time. It is amazingly (and horrifyingly) easy to miss something on a submission. Have made that mistake and I do my utmost not to do it again.

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Friday Flash Fiction are currently running their Christmas competition so you will see no names or comments on the stories. I have sent in a story and hope to do so again next week as you can submit one story a week for two weeks for this.

Do check the wonderful range of stories already in. Have had a good read already.

Festive flash is great fun to write. I alway go for the lighthearted angle – well, we need plenty of lightheartedness in winter, I think. It is about the only seasonal writing I do but always look forward to getting around to it for another year. Occasionally I have had great ideas for this in mid-summer so yes, I write them then. At other times, it is closer to October/November. But all great fun.

In my time, I’ve had Santa pulled over for speeding and, in a separate story, Santa facing disaster as the elves go on strike.

Do you think that would put me on the naughty list?

Have just sent in final flash fiction competition entries for this year. At the beginning of 2025, I did want to enter more competitions than in 2024 and I have done that. I’ve written more overall too so am very happy about that. Okay, I would have liked better results but you do have to be in it to even stand a chance of winning it so I am pleased I’ve given myself more chances this year at least.

Hopefully in the New Year, Writing Magazine will be issuing their competitions guide. I have found that useful, as ever, this year. I think as well as trying more competitions in 2026 than I have this year, I would like to try more competitions with different word count requirements. I would see that as a good challenge.

Fairytales With Bite – Wishing On a Star

I remember the old Rose Royce hit of Wishing On A Star and When You Wish Upon a Star from Disney’s Pinocchio. Don’t mind the songs but have always felt the concept of wishing on a star to be somewhat wishy-washy. I’d far rather admire the beauty of the stars in the night sky.

But what about our characters? If they could wish on a star (or other astronomical object), what would they wish for and why?

If they are magical characters, why are they not granting their own wishes or getting others to do it for them? I can understand there being rules to stop folk abusing their own magical powers but how effective are these and can your characters find a way around them? What would the consequences be? As I’ve said before, there are always consequences but that is where our stories take off.

If your characters aren’t magical but their world setting is, who could they turn to for magical assistance when they need it? What would they need to be able to do or prove to show what they are after isn’t unreasonable and magical assistance would be justified? Rather than wishing on a star, to quote Ghostbusters, “who are they gonna call?”

Also are your characters of a practical nature and how would they handle things when they do need to turn to magic to help them, rather than rely on their own skills? Not everybody would handle this well but whatever they’re facing has to be dire enough for them to turn to this avenue of help.

Good story thoughts there, I think.

This World and Others – Astronomy

Now I admit I love the stars. They look stunning against the night sky. But my knowledge about them is limited. I can just about recognise The Plough!

In your setting, what stars or other astronomical bodies would your characters regularly see? Would they study astronomy as we know it? Would it be compulsory for them to study it? Would they get to travel to other stars/worlds and how would this be done? Could they possibly come into our universe and Milky Way?

What technology would they have to be able to study the stars “properly”? Would they have anything like our space telescopes or would they have something far beyond that? Who would be behind the technology? How did they develop it?

Also your setting’s literature about its own universe – what are the theories behind it? Do they believe in a Creator? What do they think is behind the creation of the stars? Do they treat the stars and their own environment with respect?

Am sure there are story ideas to develop further here.

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The Darkest Hour and Themed Anthologies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope you find the post useful.

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Goodreads Author Blog – Themed Anthologies

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

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

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

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

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Character Memories and Publication News

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Hope you have had a good weekend. Busy one here but productive. Lady is making good progress too. Writing has gone well. Looking forward to sharing another superb author interview on Chandler’s Ford Today next month and many thanks too for the lovely likes and comments on the publication of Magi, the latest anthology from Bridge House Publishing.

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Delighted to be back on Authors Electric with my latest post Character Memories.

I look at why I think character memories make the character concerned more real for me. I also look at how memories can drive action and attitudes. I also discuss how I use memories a character might have to help me know about them even if those memories don’t end up in the story I tell about them.

Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope today has been reasonable (well, you have to make allowances for it being Monday). Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler which cheered her up no end. Lady is making good progress and I think giving it another week should see her fully okay again. We hope that will be the case anyway.

As the day went on though, I started to feel unwell and am not feeling fabulous as I write this so it will be an early night for me, I think. I will get some writing done though not as much as I might usually have done because it will cheer me up a bit. Being creative, in any form, is good for you like that. I hope a good night’s sleep will do wonders too. I guess it’s time for the bugs to make their presence felt, unfortunately.

Writing Tip: Never despair when you get those times when you can’t write much for whatever reason. It happens to most writers. I find the best way to handle this is to accept I will just do something and leave it at that until I am able to write to my normal levels.

Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Busy one here. Glad to get to Sunday afternoon and wind down a bit. Can’t believe we’ve hit the halfway stage of Flash NANO already. Will be working at today’s prompt later on.

Lady continues to improve and is feeling happier than she has done though we still need to be careful with her exercise for a while.

Had a lovely Zoom with Swanwick friends yesterday, one of whom I’ll catch up with in person at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event.

A huge thank you too for all the lovely comments and likes etc coming in on my news yesterday of Magi, the latest BHP anthology, being released. See below.

Check out an anthology for Christmas – that could catch on as a saying I think!

Hope today has gone well. Good news – Lady is improving and she got to see her best pal, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, on a short walk today. It was lovely to see how seeing her closest chum cheered Lady up a lot. Dogs are good for each other as well as us.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a review of The Business of Murder, the murder mystery play recently staged at the Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church by the wonderfully named Senior Thespians! Link up for that on Friday.

Will also on with the latest prompt from Flash NANO later today.

Publication News: But the big news is I am thrilled to say I am in print again. My story, The Family Legend, appears in Bridge House Publishing’s latest anthology, Magi. It is out today – 15th November 2025 – link below.

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Feeling better than yesterday though still not 100%. Writing has proved to be a wonderful distraction. It’s also handy it’s something which can be done in the warm given we had our first full frost overnight. Brr…

Will be working on the latest prompt from Flash NANO later. As ever, I’m enjoying the variety of prompts. It’s always a good idea to mix up the type of writing prompts you use. It keeps you on your toes. It makes you think outside of the box. Also, it’s just plain fun to have a go at different prompts, though inevitably you will end up with favourite types. I would say mine are writing to an opening line or where you have to put certain words into a story. Like those a lot.

Incidentally, if you like books of prompts, why not check out The Big Book of Prompts, published by Bridge House Publishing? I’ve contributed prompts to this book, along with dear friends from Bridge House, CafeLit and Chapeltown Books. This book gives you a prompt for every day of the year too.

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It’s Monday. It has been hectic. I feel under the weather – boo. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Outstanding Effort.

Sometimes monsters can’t believe what they’re hearing but when they win first prize for something which comes naturally to them, maybe they can hide their real attributes for a bit longer.

 

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly as I draft pieces for Friday Flash Fiction, my YouTube channel, and the latest Flash NANO prompt.

I need to select some stories, already written in draft form, to look at for potential competitions. I’ve got a couple of competitions I wouldn’t mind entering before the year end. This is where regularly drafting flash helps a lot because I always have something in stock I can pull out and, after good editing and polishing, put in for a competition.

Also hope to get on with a PowerPoint for the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group.


Thrilled to have publication news again in that my story, The Family Legend, is in Bridge House Publishing’s latest anthology, Magi. Always good to have news like this!

I started writing standard length short stories, such as this one, long before I discovered the joys of flash fiction and I happily write both. Most of my standard length short stories are either in anthologies or are submitted for competitions. My flash fiction work usually ends up online or in a future collection (sometimes both!). Plus I do enter flash fiction competitions.

Many congratulations to all who are between the covers with me for Magi. It is good to see some familiar names here and I hope to meet up with at least some of you at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event next month.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Collections Acrostic

C = Collections (short stories and flash fiction) are wonderful ways to try out works by authors new to you.

O = Original stories, often on a theme, inspire so many ideas and make for a truly entertaining read.

L = Lively imaginations at work in collections to make the most of the theme.

L = Love collections for giving authors a voice and also some at least are used to raise money for charity.

E = Enter the worlds of story collections and meet many different characters.

C = Characters which grip you and often short stories and flash fiction make more of an impact because of their brevity.

T = Tension and drama aplenty in the short forms and collections bring so many of them together in one easy format.

I = Imagination let loose for readers to enjoy.

O = Options for collections usually include paperback and ebook so there will be something to suit you.

N = Nothing ventured, nothing gained – why not try story collections as gifts?

S = Story collections are perfect for dipping into when you don’t have as much time as you’d like for reading.

Go on, give them a go! You are bound to find topics and themes to suit.

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Books When Out and About

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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 of St. John’s in Egham.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Busy one here. Had a wonderful time at the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering on Saturday in Egham. More to come on that in my Chandler’s Ford Today post later this week. Lady is all okay and is looking forward to catching up with her friends again this week.

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Hope you have had a good day. Bit of a mixed bag here though Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal and we did have some lovely walks today.

Writing wise, I’m busy preparing an other super interview coming up on Chandler’s Ford Today soon. Am interviewing fellow Bridge House Publishing author, Penny Rogers.

I love conducting interviews (and being on the receiving end). I always learn something useful from them. Mind you, I am insatiably curious about how other writers go about their work. Again, I think this is a good thing as I’ve picked up so many helpful tips along the way.

Long before I was published at all, I would read author interviews and try to figure out how I would answer similar questions if they were put to me. This is a good practice to think about. It helped me prepare for when I did face the questions! It also made me think about how I would describe my stories, again all useful stuff.

Busier day than usual by my standards for a Monday so it is a relief to get to my desk and write for a while. Lady did get to see and play with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today so that was lovely, all three had a great time.

Writing wise, it’s going to be a busy week. The rescheduled ACW Flash Fiction Group meeting will be on Wednesday and I’m off to see The Chameleons perform Ghost Train on Thursday. Am also going to another show on Saturday afternoon but I’ll write more about that later.

Writing Tip: If you’re entering competitions, give yourself enough time to draft the story, rest it for a while, come back to it for editing and still have time for a final check before submission. This does pay. I’ve found last minute things to correct before sending something in. So I plan out when I will have my draft done by, when I’ll have my editing done by and so on.

Hope you have had a fabulous weekend. I loved every moment of my time at the Association of Christian Writes Autumn Gathering yesterday. Glad of a quieter day today, mind you!

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Author News – Allison Symes – Getting Out and About with ACW for my Chandler’s Ford Today post. Link up on Friday.

The week after, I’ll be interviewing fellow Bridge House Publishing author Penny Dale (who writes as Penny Rogers) and it will be a joy to talk about her new book, Amelie at The Window.

Plenty going on then – and another author newsletter to come at the end of the week, of course.

Despite an iffy start to my journey to Egham for the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering event, I had a marvellous time.

One train cancelled on the way out and a slower journey time meant I got to the venue later than planned but I got there. It was wonderful catching up with friends in person, including some folk from the Flash Fiction Group. We don’t step outside our Zoom boxes often!

I will be writing more about this for my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week. Am looking forward to sharing that.

Meantime, don’t forget my next author newsletter is due soon. I share news, tips, links to my online stories and more. To sign up, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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When I’m using the random generators to trigger a starting point for new flash stories, I deliberately mix up the kind I use. I don’t want to just be able to use one or two favourites, no matter how useful they are. This puts me in good stead for when anyone else sets me a prompt. I’m unlikely to be thrown by it!

Talking of prompts, I’m looking forward to the next lot coming from the last Flash NANO which starts from Saturday, 1st November. Should be fun and I do relish the challenge of it.

It has been a manic Monday for me today and it’s definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Neighbourliness.

What does a fairy godmother do when moaned at by her neighbour for increasing the latter’s pumpkin yields to unmanageable quantities? Find out here.

 

Will be a bit later than normal getting on with my flash fiction Sunday. It will be more of a case of a flash fiction Sunday evening. Wanted to take the dog out for her last walk of the day before the light went though I did appreciate the extra hour’s lie-in this morning thanks to the clocks going back.

Time is an interesting topic for any form of fiction and I have used it often in flash. I’ve sometimes used Time as a character. I’ve given characters limited time in which they must get something done by and more besides.

It’s a good and, aptly, timeless theme because we are all impacted by time so our characters should be too. Even time travellers would be especially if they end up where they didn’t expect to be. I’ve written two fun tales on that – you can find them in Tripping The Flash Fantastic – Mishaps and Jumping Time.

So what does time mean to your characters? Do they make the best use of it? Are there times they dread?
Plenty of food for story thought there.

Lovely to see the sunrise on my way out to the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering event today. I enjoyed the event and resuming my habit of getting on with some writing while on the train. I find I can get quite a bit done, which helps when I go home again and am too tired to write much. I see these as “flash” writing sessions! Well, the countryside goes by in a flash anyway…

Looking forward to the rescheduled Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. Glad to have caught up with some group members in person today. Always something nice getting to meet and chat with fellow writers like this.

Our topic next week will be festive flash and looking at ways to find something different to write about here. It is a question of writing something new which ties in with familiar themes here.

Oh and I got to see the sunset on the train ride home too…

Goodreads Author Blog – Books When Out and About

Now confession time. When out and about on the train, I tend to get some writing done, rather than read. This week’s post was written on my train to London for a writing event.

Do you read on the train? Do you prefer books, including books and audio, or magazines?

When I do read on the train, I tend to read magazines (easily portable and not heavy) or, on my return journey, I will start reading those books I bought at the writing event. Well, that is almost obligatory, yes?!

Do you like any train related stories? One of my favourite books from Agatha Christie is her Murder on the Orient Express. That, and her The ABC Murders, are her best Poirot tales, I think. For her Miss Marple works, the 4.50 From Paddington and Nemesis, are the best for me.

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Curling Up With A Good Book

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Hope the weekend went well for you. Okay here. Writing wise, am making good progress on my next author newsletter, have sent some pitches off last week, and am continuing to blog, edit, and write flash fiction – all good stuff. I think it’s sometimes easier to write more as we go into autumn and winter – less temptation to be outside!

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Hope today has been a good one. Lady didn’t get to see any doggie pals today but she did see some human ones so was pleased about that and is looking forward to catching up with her four legged chums tomorrow.

There is one more big flash competition I want to have a go at (deadline is the end of the year) but am hoping something I will draft for Flash NANO (which starts on 1st November) this year may prove to be a good fit for it. Will have to wait and see. What I do draft this year will be an excellent start to my fourth flash fiction collection in due course.

Hope you have had a good day. Lady’s week has got off to a flying start as she met up with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals. Lady and her Ridgeback pal has a lovely play fight, which they both loved. Given Lady is coming up 9 and her pal is 7, they are both still pups at heart.

Writing wise, one of the joys of being interviewed is of course to talk about your work and what you love about it in depth. One fabulous question I was asked by Wendy H Jones in the October 2025 issue of Writers’ Narrative was about whether short form fiction allowed for more experimentation in voice and form.

Do check out the interview for my reply (screenshot below gives a taster) but it was great to share something of what I love about the short forms of fiction and, in a separate question, what drew me to it in the first place.

Hope Sunday has been a good and peaceful one for you. Not bad here. Looking forward to starting flash fiction Sunday soon. Nice way to end the week (or begin the next one, either works!).

Writing Tip: When you come across (as you will) a story which didn’t work for you, take some time out to figure out why this was. You will learn a great deal from this.

I know there are certain types of character I don’t like having read some of them in stories which didn’t grip me at all, so I take care not to produce that kind of character myself. I’ve found it helps just as much to know what you don’t like as it does knowing what you do when it comes to your own writing.

Hope you have had a good start to your weekend. Managed to get the lawn cut (and before it shoots up too high again ) so I count that as a win.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Ending a Piece of Fiction as a nice conclusion to my mini-series started yesterday with Starting a Piece of Fiction. The new post will be up on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

It was lovely to finish the working week with a nice surprise. Naturally, I was thrilled to be one of the two Editor’s Choices for Friday Flash Fiction this week with my Finding Out the Hard Way.

Delighted Jim Bartlett was the other pick for his Safer. Many a word of truth in that one. Do check the stories out on FFF. You can be guaranteed a good read. Link below to my one which appeared yesterday.

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One tip I find useful for competitions with a specific word count (e.g. 53 words, 75 words etc – and I have come across these) is to instantly reserve up to five words for the title. I then know a rough count for the story itself.

If I end up having a shorter title, I can add a couple of words to the story. Often I don’t bother. I see having those “spare words” as a safety net to ensure I am well under the count asked for though there are places which want you to get to the exact limit. In these cases, I know immediately how many words I need to put into the story to bring it up to the right count.

It’s Monday. It’s as hectic as ever. It’s time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Giving It A Miss.

A justly beautiful tourist destination, popular with colleagues, who only visit at a certain time of year leads to my character finding out why. She isn’t planning a return visit. Find out why here.

 

It won’t be too long before I take part in the last Flash NANO. I will be sorry to see that go. I’ve found it so useful for producing 30 draft flash pieces in November for the last few years. Some of those went on to be published (and some will be in my Seeing The Other Side collection due out in May 2026).

I’m looking forward to meeting up with other members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group at the ACW in person meeting at the end of this month. It will be nice to step outside our Zoom boxes for a bit. Naturally, we will all be waving the flag for the joys of writing flash fiction!

When I write to a specific word count, as I do for Friday Flash Fiction, the additional challenge of sticking to 100 words each time is coming up with something fresh and different every time, which can still be contained in that tight word limit.

I have found it useful to focus on one character and one moment. It makes me think about what matters so much to my character it has to be written up as a story. Flash is excellent for helping you develop a real feel for what matters here and that’s a good discipline to take across to other forms of writing as well. I’ve found it useful with my blog posts and articles too.

Goodreads Author Blog – Curling Up With A Good Book

One of the joys of the autumn and winter seasons is you get to have more opportunities to curl up with a good book., Okay, I do have to go out with the dog (which is fine) but when you have the chance to just grab a book and not go out in the cold and wet, you’re going to take it, yes?

As the nights draw in, I will often turn to my favourite forms of comfort reading, which is on the lighter side of fiction. There is enough “grim” going on in the world for real for me to want to read more of it in a book, I’m afraid.

Dystopian fiction has never been my thing and it certainly isn’t now. I’m all for books which address issues because they can meet so many needs. For one thing, they can draw attention to those issues and make people think about them.

But I will admit with not having as much reading time as I would like, I am going to focus on an entertaining read. That takes in many genres, funnily enough.

For me, one definition of a good book is it is one that takes my mind off things for a short while and with characters I can root for and come to care about.

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Back issue time as I’ve shared the October 2025 edition above. Hope you also enjoy the issue below and remember it is free to subscribe.

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Stories In Holiday Locations

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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. One Creativity Matters image kindly supplied by Wendy H. Jones. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope the weekend went well for you. Autumn has come in rapidly especially on Sunday. Not sorry about the rain but the darker evenings are already noticeable. Lady not especially bothered. The evenings are her curl up time no matter when they come in time wise. Writing going well and am busy editing too.

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Managed to avoid most of the rain today and then went and had a swim! Make that make sense…! I did have a good time in the pool though and it was good to catch up with some regulars there.

Writing wise, I am busy with blogging (for posts due later this month) and editing, as well as my usual column for Chandler’s Ford Today etc. I do like a good variety of writing projects to work on. They don’t have to be all done at once!

Friday Flash Fiction is now open for submissions again so I managed to get a 100 word tale sent in yesterday.

Flash Tip: I often use prompts to trigger story ideas but have found it pays to mix up the kinds I use. It challenges me to respond to more and different kinds of prompts, which is fun to do. I also get more stories written.

Well, it’s been a blustery start to September. No pals out for Lady to see today though we hope to make up for that as the week goes on. We were pleased to miss most of the showers though. Mind you, it is good to see the park grass starting to look like grass again.

Writing wise, I’m thrilled to say I’ll be interviewing American crime writer, Joan Livingston, for Chandler’s Ford Today soon. More details on that nearer the time. Plus I’ll be talking about Flash Fiction Collections for this week’s post – well, they do say write what you know.

Pleased to say my author newsletter went out again this morning. Won’t be long before I start thinking about ideas and themes for the next one.

31st August – Bonus Post – CafeLit Serialisation – Seeing The Other Side
Quick bonus post. Hot off the presses, so to speak, is the latest serialisation of my Seeing The Other Side over on CafeLit. Hope you enjoy the latest batch of stories.

Lady and I have been dodging the showers today (most of them anyway) but it is good to see the grass looking better than it has done for weeks.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out tomorrow. To sign up for news and tips do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

As ever, many thanks for the continued support with the newsletter. It is a joy to put it together and I hope you get plenty from it.

Character Tip: If you ever wondered why writers are always encouraged to read more, one superb reason for doing that is you get to know a wide range of characters across different genres. As a result, you soon get to know what you dislike and like in character portrayal and can then apply what you like/avoid what you dislike in your own creations. Besides which, it’s fun!

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Hope the weekend has got off to a good start for you. Wet here though we do need the rain.

Writing wise, I’ll be talking about Flash Fiction Collections for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Link up on Friday. (Well, they do say write what you know).

Have had a busy week in getting interview questions back – that was fun to do. Am also looking forward to receiving interview questions back from a lady I’ll be interviewing for CFT soon. Am also putting the finishing touches to my newsletter. Hard to believe we’ll be in September come Monday.

Writing Tip: When I’m thinking about a new character, I want to know what drives them more than anything else. Why?

If they are honest no matter what so that trait drives them, I will put them in a situation where that could get them either sacked or promoted, for example. I then give the character the dilemma of whether they are going to follow through or not. They know the costs of continuing to be honest so will they do it?

But whichever way they jump, it is going to cost them. And it is that I think, readers will relate to because we have all faced our own dilemmas, had our own regrets and so on. I think characters should too. I think it is important to be able to relate to a character.

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Hope today has gone well. Plan to look into further story competitions to have a try at later this week but one I must make a note to do is the Writing Magazine Grand Flash Prize. Deadline is 31st December so will start thinking about potential outlines for something here later this month, I think. I’ve kept my promise to myself to enter more competitions than last year but there is still three months to go so I figure I can get some more in before then!


It’s Monday, the start of a new month too, but still Monday when all is said and done. Time for a new story from me on YouTube then. Hope you like my latest here – Impressions.

Justin loved his girlfriend’s glossy hair but was surprised to see the source of it. Find out what that was here.

F = Flash is a fun and challenging form to write;
L = Leaving a lasting impression in few words.
A = Any genre can be used for flash fiction.
S = Starring characters of all backgrounds, human or otherwise.
H = Have fun experimenting with the form – it is addictive so be warned!

Looking forward to my flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. (I know Friday would be a better, alliterative day but I’ve too much on then!). Spending the afternoon crafting some flash pieces pleases me a lot, especially since I have got off to a head start this week, thanks to drafting a couple of 100-worders at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday night. Haven’t yet decided on further competitions to try but hope to do that during the coming week.

Goodreads Author Blog – Stories In Holiday Locations

Do you like stories set in holiday locations? I’m not specifically thinking about holiday reads as such, though they’re fine, but more along the lines of a regular character being taken out of their usual locale for a vacation. Naturally something happens on that vacation to drag them back to their usual day job.

Two good examples of this happen to Jane Marple, Agatha Christine’s fabulous creation, with At Bertram’s Hotel and A Carribbean Mystery. The latter leads on to my favourite Marple book – Nemesis. And that too involves a holiday – a coach trip in this case. Excellent books, all of them. Also makes a nice change of murders not happening in Marple’s St. Mary Mead!

Even in fantasy, holiday locations can crop up. In Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld for example, Sam Vimes is sent on what is meant to be a holiday in Snuff but naturally he uncovers something rotten in the state of the countryside and simply has to sort it out.

Do you prefer main characters to be in their usual setting or do you like it when they are taking out of it for a while? All I want is a good strong storyline with characters I care about, regardless of where they are set, but these books are great examples of what I see as holiday books.

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Key Story Elements

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Hope you have had a good weekend. It was back to creosoting the fence here but I was thankful for cooler weather in which to do that. Have had some lovely comments in on my recent Chandler’s Ford Today post about Swanwick. I was deeply touched by those. Thank you, folks.

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Hope you have had a good day. Not bad here.

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

Newsletter tip: I find having a monthly theme helps because I can share tips related to the theme, writing prompts related to it and so on. It gives the newsletter a focus. It also means I can prepare the newsletter during the month so there isn’t one mad rush to finish it and get it out on time.

Mind you, I am a big fan of scheduling and do this all the time for my Chandler’s Ford Today posts so it makes sense to me to prepare as much as I can in advance here too.

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Despite it being a bank holiday in my part of the world (the next one is a certain day in December, folks – argh!), Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal. A good time was had by both dogs. Bank holidays always seem a little odd to me as for most of them I am doing mostly the sane stuff as I would do on any other Monday but there you go. Certainly the writing continues as normal.

The next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group is on Wednesday so am looking forward to that. We’ll be looking at prompts, useful for any form of writing, I think.

Writing Tip: Never worry about how much time you have for writing. As long as you write regularly, what you do write will mount up over time. I’ve found this to be the case and you end up getting more done than you might think, especially if you look at your writing over the course of a week or so (rather than daily).

24th August – Bonus Post – CafeLit Serialisation – Seeing The Other Side

Bonus post. As I posted my other posts earlier than normal, I forgot to share the latest part of my serialisation of Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit.

The posts don’t appear there until 4pm each day as the idea here is you get to read stories at this time with tea/coffee, cake etc. Lovely idea (just wish I had more time for the cake and didn’t put on what seems like half a stone just by looking at cake but there you go!).

Anyway, here is the latest installment. I do hope you enjoy the stories.
Hope today has been a lovely peaceful Sunday for you. It has been here. Lady is currently happily curled up having had a couple of lovely walks and play times. Hopes to catch up with her pals during the week.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Stand Alone Books for Chandler’s Ford Today this coming week. Link up on Friday.

Have started work on editing a story I’ve drafted for a competition. Will probably aim to have this sent out in the next couple of weeks.

Looking forward to reading Christian Writer, the quarterly journal of the Association of Christian Writers. Copy landed on my mat yesterday. Also looking forward to going to their in person event in Egham in October. My railcard is getting good usage so far this year! The good news from Lady’s viewpoint is I will be back in time for dinner so she won’t be too unhappy about Mum going off somewhere for this one.

Hope today has gone well. Quiet one here – back out creosoting the fence. Am making good steady progress. Sometimes you come across descriptions which are perfect. Well, our fence was described as being made from rough cut timber. They were right about the rough bit!

The next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group is next week so am looking forward to that. I hope to resume preparing work for competitions from next week too. I have set it as a goal to enter more competitions this year. I have already fulfilled that compared with how many I went in for in 2024 but I would like to do more before the end of the year.

I’ve got a story in draft for a competition (due in towards the latter end of September) so will focus on that one first. Always good to have something to work on like this. Makes me up my game and certainly I have produced more stories than I would have done otherwise.

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Flash fiction is a great thing to share if you have an author newsletter. It gives something hopefully entertaining to your followers, doesn’t take up too much room, and who doesn’t love a free story to read? Win, win, win there. All part of my marketing too.

No author newsletter? Well, how about writing a short story to share on your website for your followers there. It is a lovely way to give back for the joys writing gives us, I find.

And talking of flash fiction, hope you enjoy this one.

The Party by Allison Symes – 26th August 2025
Out of the thirteen guests who were dressed as ghosts for the party, only one could walk through the walls, leaving the remaining twelve screaming.
Ends

It’s a Bank Holiday Monday where I am. It’s been a hot one too. But it does mean it is time for a beginning of the week story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Liberating Luck.

A witch cannot believe her luck on managing to escape a magic lamp nor on whom she managed to get to take her place in it. Find out who that was here. Is the witch right to celebrate her luck?

 

About to crack on with flash fiction Sunday, which is something I always look forward to – it’s a great way to end the week and I get more stories drafted. I can polish them and find a home for them later.

Congratulations to the winner, the runners up and the short listed for the recent Friday Flash Fiction competition.

The 100 words (drabble) category for flash fiction is a popular one for competitions so it is worth practicing writing to this word count. I’ve found the form to be addictive and hope you do too! They’re also great for sharing on your author newsletter etc as they don’t take up too much space and give people a quick, entertaining read.

One element to flash fiction which can be overlooked is that it gives you skills you can use for any form of writing. I’ve found this to be the case. You tighten up your editing skills, for one thing.

You learn to look for phrases which convey the meaning you want but do so in fewer words. You focus on specific images rather than risk anything which could come across as vague.

No room for wordy description here. I have to show you a character and/or a setting quickly so must focus on the telling details which will bring those to life for you. This means I have to be able to picture it first. Anything getting in the way of that is cut.

Goodreads Author Blog – Key Story Elements

I lost count years ago of how many books and/or stories I’ve read.

I include flash and short story collections here deliberately, partly because I write them, have featured in them but, in any case, they are still as much of a book as a novel or novella. They’re just a different format, that’s all, and I’ve found them useful for another reason.

If I like an author’s short work, it’s a good bet I will like their longer works too. So sometimes I have tried out an author’s short form work before buying any of their novels.

But regardless of story type, every work of fiction has to have key story elements. For me, these include characters I can relate to, an interesting plot, and an ending which fulfils the promise of the book.

I have to feel that the ending was right. If there was a twist (and I love these), I need to be able to look back at the story on a second reading and see how it could only be this twist and it had to be the way the writer portrayed it.

No matter what the setting, the characters have to be believable too. There has to be something in their portrayal I can relate to and naturally this acts as a wonderful challenge for me to do the same with my own creations.

Reading encourages writing. Writing encourages reading. Behind it all is a love of story and the key story elements are what readers crave and what writers long to create.


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Balancing Writing and Reading

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you had a lovely weekend. Great one here. Was so pleased Rosemary Johnson’s book launch for Past and Present went well on Friday night. Had a lovely Zoom call with Swanwick friends on Saturday. Talking of which, I am now busy getting ready to head off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick at the end of this week. So looking forward to that. Lady will be well cared for and will mug me the moment I’m home again!

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Lovely time out with the dog and then, later, in the swimming pool. Refreshing but tiring (for both things!).

Looking forward to sharing Visiting Jane Austen in Dorchester for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. This will take a look back at the recent exhibition I visited.

There will be a second CFT post coming out on Friday from me. I’m flagging up a forthcoming local author event by John Puzey in our excellent local library.

Looking forward to attending an ACW group meeting tomorrow. Plus I have started packing for Swanwick. Couldn’t resist doing that any longer!

Hope you’ve had a good day. Windy and wet here though not as bad as further north. Hope everyone is okay. Has brightened up this evening.

Busy day as always on a Monday so it is a relief to get to the desk and write for a while. Will focus on “bits and pieces” tonight. It’s a lovely way to unwind after a hectic day and I often get useful writing admin done. It frees up my time later in the week for longer bouts of writing.

Just to flag up Friday Flash Fiction are running their annual Edinburgh International contest to tie in with the Edinburgh Festival. Full details can be found at the link. The contest runs for two weeks and you can submit one story per week. Usual 100 words limit for this competition. They’re not taking any other longer submissions during this period so you will need to wait for the contest to finish before you can do that again. 


Very much with the blessing of publisher and author here, I am delighted to be able to share the YouTube link to Rosemary Johnson’s online book launch for her Past and Present short story collection. This was held on Friday 1st August and Rosemary shares two stories from her book, which I am sure you will enjoy.

We also have an in depth conversation about how she came to write the book and much more. Plenty of interest for writers and readers here. Hope you enjoy it and many congratulations to Rosemary once again for the publication of her collection.


Hope you have had a good day. I was back to creosoting my fence today. Much preferred going to see the Jane Austen – Down to the Sea exhibition at The Dorset Museum last week with colleagues from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading. Talking of which, I will be sharing a review of that exhibition on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

Also the countdown is now on for me. It’s a week to go before I am back at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Looking forward to seeing everyone again and learning so much from the courses and workshops.

Pleased to report the online launch for Rosemary Johnson’s Past and Present (Bridge House Publishing), which was held on 1st August, went well. BHP hosted the event, I was compere, and a wonderful discussion and readings entertained the audience. It’s exactly how you want an online launch to go. Well done, Rosemary. Fantastic start to a weekend I’d say! See above for more.

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Hope to get my 750 words story submitted to a competition before I head off to Swanwick. Not sure what stories I will be able to write etc next week so, as ever for this wonderful week I will play things by ear. I am sure I will come home with lots of ideas for future stories from the courses I go to though as in previous years!

It’s Monday. As ever, it has been a hectic one. Definitely story time then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Not Looking Up.

There are advantages to humans having smartphones as my alien character discovers in this story. Mind you, the birds are a different matter. Find out why here.

Will be getting on with my usual flash fiction Sunday shortly but, firstly, I wanted to share Part 4 of my serialisation of Seeing The Other Side which is now live on CafeLit. Hope you enjoy the latest selection.
Secondly, it is now less than a week to go for when I am at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. The case is out!

Many thanks for the kind comments in on my Clock Watching which was Editor’s Choice for Friday Flash Fiction yesterday. Much appreciated.

Am looking forward to my usual flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. As well as what I usually do, I have a story for a 750 word story I want to put my final edits to (with the idea being I will probably submit it just ahead of my going to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick next weekend).

Flash Tip: I’ve mentioned before that one advantage to writing flash fiction is it makes you focus on what matters to the character, that and nothing else. In the word count limit we have, it does have to be one focus.

So when I outline my character I ask what matters most to my character. I then put them in a situation where this “comes out” and readers get to see what my character does to handle the situation or other character which means so much to them.

Goodreads Author Blog – Balancing Writing and Reading

I would be most surprised if any author doesn’t find it tricky, at least sometimes, to balance their writing and reading lives. I know I do.

One way I get around this issue to ensure I do read at lunchtimes – usually a magazine – but it all counts! I can sometimes be far too tired at bedtime to read then.

I do sometimes find if I have had an intense period of writing, I will read less. Or I will read something totally different to what I’ve been working on. So if I’ve been writing a lot of fiction, I will crack on with my non-fiction reading. If I fancy fiction but have been writing lots of short stories and /or flash, I will read a novel.

As well as being a good idea anyway, because you get to read more, mixing up the types of reading I do helps here. It means I am nearly always reading something, And that is always a good idea!

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