Tag: Desperately Seeking Talent by Allison Symes

Scene Setting and Publication News

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good week. Weather changeable. Bright sunshine followed by torrential rain. Hope you are keeping as safe and dry as possible. My sympathies to all who are dealing with flooding. Lady has had a great week. Has seen her best friends all week. So she and they would see it as a very good week. And I finish the week with publication news – see below for more.

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

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

Scene Setting

 

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

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

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

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

Books Page

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Publication News

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

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

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

Traffic rules apply to all

Considerate flying applies to all

This World and Others – Getting Around

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

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

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

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

Are your transport systems available to all

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES


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Author News – Allison Symes – Spring 2023 Round Up

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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. Images of me at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by friends of mine, including the much missed Fiona Park, on my phone.
Hope you’ve had a great week. Lovely to have more publication news and it was great to discuss the importance of telling details for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group on Wednesday. Lady has had a great week and there was an unexpected visitor to the garden this week too. See below for more.

BookBrushImage-2023-5-26-19-1134Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Local Author News – Allison Symes – Spring 2023 Round Up for Chandler’s Ford Today. I am even more pleased to say there is a fair bit to round up here! Many thanks for the kind comments in on this one already.

It does pay every so often to look back at where you have come from as a writer and then look at where you are now. There will be progress. Sometimes this will come in recognizing one form of writing suits you better than another. Sometimes it will be having publication news.

Sometimes it will be developing your website and making it an interesting place for potential readers to visit. Sometimes it will be acknowledging mistakes and then not making those again. I say that because I was almost caught out by a vanity publisher many years ago. I now know the warning signs to watch out for.

One important lesson I’ve learned is to celebrate what may be considered the small steps you make as a writer. Without those, you can’t make the bigger ones.

Local Author News: Allison Symes – Spring 2023 Round Up

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Will be sharing Local Author News – Allison Symes – Spring 2023 Round Up for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. First time I’ve had to add a postscript to a post given my lovely publication news received earlier this week. See above.

Another glorious day here today and Lady got to play with her two best girlfriends today so she’s had a lovely time. No sign of the deer coming back though.

Don’t forget my author newsletter is next due out on 1st June so if you would like to sign up for tips, stories, news, and so forth, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Many thanks for the congratulations coming in on my post yesterday regarding the news my Desperately Seeking Talent is going to be published in the forthcoming Gifted anthology (Bridge House Publishing). Much appreciated, everyone.

Am currently working on a draft of a story for another competition and I hope to have that draft done in the next week. I will then rest it for a while before coming back to assess it with fresh eyes. It takes time but I have found that pays off. For me, it’s the only way I can re-read something of mine as if someone else had written it. It is that kind of distance you want too. You’ve got to be able to judge your work objectively.

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It’s Friday. It’s another Bank Holiday weekend in the UK. It’s time for a story. My latest on Friday Flash Fiction is called Purple Haze. Find out what a love for a colour did for my character, Sally. Hope you enjoy it.

Screenshot 2023-05-26 at 10-02-16 Purple Haze by Allison Symes

It was great to see everyone at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting last night and I am glad the session was useful. We were discussing telling details and how these can create stronger images in your readers’ minds. It’s an invaluable thing to do regardless of what form you write but in flash with its restricted word count, it pays off considerably and helps you to make the most of that word count.

Delighted to sign and return my contract for my story, Desperately Seeking Talent, to go in Gifted, the Bridge House Publishing anthology which will be out later this year. Always a pleasure to do that kind of task!

And if you’re wondering with a title like that, was the story great fun to write, I can tell you – yes if was!

Screenshot 2023-05-23 at 20-04-57 Bridge House Publishing Facebook

Hope you have had a good day. Gloriously sunny and warm here. Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting tonight. I love talking about flash fiction as you may have noticed!

Having said that, the skills you learn in writing flash transfer well to other forms of writing which is why I believe all writers should try flash fiction writing. It takes away all fear of editing.

It is perhaps ironic that a restriction (in this case on upper word count) can fuel creativity as you learn to pick better words to use to create images for your reader. There is no room for the old purple prose. That’s a good thing. It helps you to cut it out immediately on your first edit. We all have wasted words. We might not be able to stop writing them but we can cut them out!

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Fairytales with Bite – Characters (Acrostic)

C = Characters can make or break a plot so make them hook your readers in so they want to find out what happens to your characters.

H= Have your characters got a trait or a habit which shows a reader what kind of character they are?

A= Any magical talents/skills need to have in-built disadvantages as if anything and everything can be solved with using these, where’s the story?

R= Resist the temptation to tell readers what your characters are like, show them instead via your character’s attitudes and actions.

A = Actions, attitudes, attributes – all great ways to show readers what your characters are like.

C= Can readers understand where you characters are coming from ?

T= Test what your characters are made of by dropping them right in it – do they sink or swim?

E= Endeavour – your readers will want to see what your characters do to help themselves.

R= Remember your characters will have memories, a life before your story, which will colour their attitudes and actions when you write about them.

S= Story, story, story – what is their story and why do they deserve to have their story told? What is in it for the reader?

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This World and Others – Different Species

Most fictional worlds have more than one species living in them so how do they get on? Or do they do everything possible to avoid each other? What would happen when a common need means they do have to work together?

Does your setting have a dominant species and how did they get to that position? Is it ever threatened by another? What would they do to maintain their dominant position?

Do your species share a biology (I.e. they are all bipeds) or are the differences significant? Would the species prey on each other?

If you have a favourite species to write about, why is that? Think about the good and bad qualities of all your species. How can you make best use of these in your stories? Our planet would be a very different place without all the other species on it with us.

Would you have those who study the others species and report back? (Am thinking in terms of wildlife documentaries but studies could be used for spying and other activities).

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Blueways, Publication News, and Non-Fiction

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. One image of an unexpected visitor to my garden taken by my other half, Adrian Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Lovely one here though Sunday was a day of mixed emotions as my post below shows. Mind you, it did lead me to think about how we can portray characters with mixed emotions. They shouldn’t be cardboard cut-outs after all. Oh and I discovered what blueways are as I wanted to write a story based on a colour so did so and added to my vocabulary knowledge at the same time. Good result and I hope you enjoy the story further down!

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Facebook – General

Am thrilled to announce my story, Desperately Seeking Talent, will be in the new Bridge House Publishing anthology, Gifted, due out later this year. Many congratulations to all who will be in the new book with me. Good to see some familiar names there. It’s nice to “do the double” given I will be in The Best of CafeLit 12 due out again later this year. Great start to the week and it’s only Tuesday! Nice job of the week: returning my contract to the publisher which I plan to do tomorrow!

Also had an unexpected visitor in the garden this evening – a young fallow deer, female. Lady will go potty later on when she goes out just before bedtime, picking up on the scent! But what a lovely creature to see! Thankfully, she did not steal Lady’s football.).

 

Hope you have had a good start to the working week. Gorgeous weather again today and Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback buddy (and show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler pal who Lady treats as “mum” and you always show off to “mum”, right? Well, Lady does anyway).

Many thanks for the kind responses to my post yesterday. Much appreciated. Anniversary dates can be strange things.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group on Zoom on Wednesday night. I love preparing material for these. Keeps me on my toes and it often triggers ideas for stories for me so win-win there. Have also got a story in draft for another competition which I’ll be working on later this week.

Amongst the random generators there are picture and object ones. I need to use these more often because that kind of prompt can make me think laterally. Why is the object important? Who does it belong to? What is their story? It’s easy to stick to the word based random generators – or at least I find that’s the case.

May be an image of light switch and text that says "I like to regularly recharge how I generate my ry/blog ideas."

Funny day today in terms of mixed emotions. Today was the sixth anniversary of Dad leaving us. I was also ordained as an elder at our church this morning (which Dad would have liked to have seen).

Now characters can (and indeed should) have mixed emotions at times. It should be clear to a reader why they feel this way. None of us are cardboard cut-outs after all. Our characters shouldn’t be either but there should be good reasons for them feeling this way.

Think about what would motivate you to feel mixed emotions. This is where drawing on what we know helps our fiction writing no end. It also encourages empathy in the reader for the characters. Without that, they won’t read further. I know I’ve got to care about what happens to the characters to read on so I have to have some empathy for them at least to be able to do that. And for villains, I’ve got to want them to get their comeuppance so I’ve still got to care a bit!

May be a black-and-white image of text that says "A well drawn character will encourage empathy from readers, even if we still think their decisions are wrong."

Hope you have had a good Saturday. I’ll be sharing a local author news post for Chandler’s Ford Today later next week as these are a great way to bring a round up of happenings in one handy post. Also hope to be interviewing authors again soon.

Writing Tip: Look out your old notebooks from when you’ve been to writing events. Most workshops will set exercises. You only get a few minutes at the time to write something down. Why not revisit these and see if there is anything you can do with them? You may well have something that could be turned into a flash fiction story. Worth a go! (And you may even find something which you can work up into something which proves to be a short story, novella, beginning of a novel etc).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I’m running a flash fiction workshop for the Association of Christian Writers tomorrow night and I’ll be looking at picking the telling details. For flash fiction where you haven’t got the word count room to go in for a lot of description, picking out the right details to get the images across to your readers that you want to put in their heads is a useful skill to develop. It helps with other forms of writing too.

It pays to think about what you want to convey and then figure out how you want to get that across. There are various ways to do that and I’m looking forward to sharing some of them tomorrow night but you can use the senses here as well, which is also a great way of helping to make your characters seem more real to your readers. We can picture characters who use their senses.

May be a graphic of text that says "H Character needs are everything."

It’s Monday. Hooray, it has been a sunny Monday! Still time for a story though. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Blueways.
Blueways is the name for a trail designed for water users such as canoeists. I wanted to write a colour based story this time and came across this term and thought what could I do with this. Here is the result.

 

For the sub-500 word flash fiction tales, I find it useful to focus on one character and the single most important thing to occur to them. That is the story. What is even more interesting is when the character triggers a situation, even though they might not have meant to do that. What is the outcome? How do they resolve it? Can they resolve it? Soon get to 500 words with that!

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

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. Always good fun. I love setting a topic for these. Have been making more use of PowerPoint in the last couple of years than I had in the previous five to ten years!

I sometimes decide on a mood for my story and then work out what characters I could use to show that mood and what situation they would have to be in to trigger that. For competitions, where the theme is nearly always set for you, I work out which characters could best illustrate that theme. If the theme is one of justice, for example, I could have a character seeking to get justice or who has been on the wrong end of it. Either would suit the theme.

I like working out what I need to know before I write the story. Nearly always this is what my character is made from – are they keen to get justice if that is my theme? Why? I need to know what it is about this character that will make their story “worthy” to be written up. I’ve got to understand what drives them. There must be drive there.

May be a doodle of text that says "Ilike to "hear" my characters' voices though they don't need the megaphone!"

Goodreads Author Blog – Non-Fiction

I have got into non-fiction a lot over the last few years and am glad to have discovered it. Sometimes ideas for stories spark from a non-fiction book so I am glad about this for that reason too!

Reading non-fiction has increased my knowledge of certain time periods which is great in and of itself and I suspect will fuel ideas for further stories later on. I’ve known that happen before. You suddenly find something out and it triggers an idea.

Sometimes it can be finding out what you thought was true might not be or at the very least there is another side to things which is also worthy of exploring in my fiction work. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is a case in point here as it made me think again about Richard III.

I love the way non-fiction has finally shaken off its “worthy but dull” image. Well at least that was the image I had for it. The likes of the Ben Macintyre books on various aspects of World War Two history read like novels. I like that.

Screenshot 2023-05-20 at 19-53-59 Non-Fiction

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

Allison Symes - Flash Fiction Collections
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