Tag: Fairytales With Bite

Book Title Games

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for the photo of me at my one hour workshop at Swanwick in 2023 and to Adrian Symes for the CafeLit 14 and my book signing pictures.
About to head off to Derbyshire. So looking forward to seeing everyone again. Will be posting but at different times. Expect to come back refreshed, reinvigorated, and shattered! In my experience that’s a great sign of a fabulous writing event as here will be a lot of creativity going on. Lady will be spoiled rotten while I’m away – she usually is.

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Pleased to share a post which was good fun to write – Book Title Games – on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. It’s amazing what changing a letter or a word in a book title can do to it and its mood! Find out more in the post and why not give it a try?

I also pay tribute to that wonderful BBC Radio Four comedy, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, which often has books in their games, changing the titles just being one of them. Hope you enjoy the post.

Book Title Games

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Hope you have had a good day. Soggy one here. Lady not worried – she got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback chums today. Good time had by all. On the way home, there is a certain spot where Lady always looks up at me with what I call her happy, shining eyes, as if to say thanks Mum, that was great. Today she did that three times (rather than just once) and kept nudging me to make sure I saw. Now that is what I call demonstrating your pleasure at seeing your friends again. Dogs can be so sweet.

My Book Title Games is on Chandler’s Ford Today this week – link up tomorrow. See above. Hope you’ll have some fun with this one too. The post shares different ways to have fun with words via book titles.

Will be posting as usual from Swanwick from Saturday for a few days but posts will be out at different times. So looking forward to seeing everyone.

Writing Tip: You will often have heard don’t give up and this is true. Writing takes time to develop (and any success in it even longer to achieve). But it is fine to change direction if one way isn’t working out for you.

I did so by switching from the longer form of writing to the shorter. Will I resume my long form writing? Yes. Am working on something now. But I am so glad I have discovered the joys of writing short stories and flash fiction.

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Good day today, Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal, and I’ve done most of my packing for Swanwick. (Why is it packing always takes longer than you think?).

Will be looking at Book Title Games as a fun post for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Am looking forward to sharing the link. See above. Hope it inspires some silly but fun alternative book titles with you!

Writing Tip: When do you know a character has “got to” you? For me, it is when I can envisage asking them practically any question and knowing how they would respond and why.

I sometimes outline a character by interviewing them with a few pertinent questions. I don’t believe in Yes/No questions for characters for my guests on Chandler’s Ford Today either! Do give this exercise a try. It can be great fun to do and it’s often amazing what you come up with here.

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It’s Friday and time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Demanded. Just so you know, for the next two weeks while the competition linked to the Edinburgh Festival is on here, there won’t be any comments on any of the stories. Good luck to all entering the competiton too.

Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 09-38-35 Demanded by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction
Later in the year I hope to take part in Flash NANO again. A flash prompt is given daily for the 30 days of November. I’ve taken part in this for the last couple of years and have found it to be great fun and a good challenge. There are always prompt types I’ve not tried before and I love the way these push me to try new formats. One such was to write a flash story in the form of a police report. Loved doing that.

Meantime I continue with my regular flash fiction writing. I have found it to be true the more you write of anything, the more useful material you produce. That in turn I have found means it is more likely some of this at least will find a publisher somewhere. Rejections are a fact of life for any writer but the more you write, the more you can polish and submit and that has to increase your chances.

454688558_10162101839002053_2270935487159968106_nOne of the things I love most about flash fiction is it has to be character led due to its restricted word count. I haven’t the word count room for lots of description so I have to focus only on what readers need to know (and leave them to infer other things from what I have revealed). This is a great writing discipline for other forms of writing and not just for fiction. I’ve found it has paid off for my blogs and articles elsewhere.

It does mean I can mix and match my character moods though and I do just that when it comes to reading out at things like Open Prose Mic Nights. I want a story/character to produce a smile, another to give pause for thought and so on. It makes a great advert for what flash fiction can be and do. I like that too.

Advantage to flash is setting characters anywhere

Fairytales with Bite – Conferences

I’m writing this post as I prepare for one of the highlights of my writing year – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. And that led me to wonder about the kind of conferences you might find in a fairytale setting.

Do fairy godmothers go on retreat to recharge the old batteries when they’ve had enough (for a while) of helping unfortunate clients? Do they go to conferences where they can improve their wand/magical techniques? Do they have to go to these things to help with their Continuing Professional Development? What would be taught at such conferences?

Do fairy godmothers and the like relish the chance to get together with others in their profession, seeing it as a chance to share tales of woe and success, or do they dread it? Does having to go to these things mean they have to face up to fighting the magical equivalent of Imposter Syndrome? (Practically every writer I know goes through this at some point, and often more than once, but I think it is linked to the creative arts in general – you always wonder if you’re good enough).

Do the delegates appreciate good accommodation, wonderful food, and a great time? (You will gather from this a little of what Swanwick is lIke!). Or are they relieved the conference is over for another year? They’ve done what they’ve had to by requirement of higher powers and that’s it.

Story ideas here including from the viewpoint of those who run the conferences. Do they dread the latest intake? Could be some funny tales here.

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This World and Others – Thoroughfares

I like the word thoroughfare. It has a nice sound to it and conjures up to me images of old roads and streets in cities like York and Winchester. Here in the UK we still have Roman roads in existence (Watling Street is probably the best known). As well as creating new roads, the Romans also built over those already in existence so thoroughfares go back a long way.

I have a soft spot for old maps (including old editions of the A to Z) because these too can show how things have changed over time.

Now in a magical setting, what would count as a thoroughfare? Is it like we know here? (There is one obvious one – the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz). But how about thoroughfares for those who can fly? Would they have the equivalent of motorway lanes but just set in the sky? Who worked out “lanes” here and are they policed?

Just as we have traffic regulations, how would that kind of system work for your characters as they move around your setting’s roads and streets (even if they are set in the sky)? Are there some thoroughfares no respecting magical being would ever go down and why would that be? (Potential for a horror story there especially if even magical beings are scared by it!).

Who set out the street system in the first place and what obstacles did they have to overcome to do it? Has it proved to be a blessing or a curse?

Which would be your main character’s favourite thoroughfares and why do they love them? That could reveal aspects to your character’s personality and something of their background too.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the November 2023 issue of the magazine which focuses on novels. My article in here is Writing Novels and based on my experience of writing my first book (still unpublished though I would like to get back to it at some point). Fabulous magazine as ever packed with useful advice regardless of where you are at on your writing journey.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Bleak Expectations – Review – The Chameleon Theatre Group

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were pictures of Swanwick used in a collage below. Photos of me holding The Best of CafeLit 13 were taken by Adrian Symes.
A MASSIVE thank you goes to The Chameleon Theatre Group for kind permission to use their photos (taken by Stuart Wineberg) as part of my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week.
Hope you have had a good few days. Just over a week to go for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. So looking forward to catching up with many friends again and hoping to make still more. Have booked to go on the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering so that will be something to look forward to in October. Lady, meantime, is not that sorry we’ve had some rain and the temperature, while still high, is a little cooler.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to share my review of Bleak Expectations, recently staged by the fabulous The Chameleon Theatre Group. As you might expect from a title like that, this was the most marvellous spoof of Dickens and it was wonderfully performed by my local amateur theatre company. There were so many laughs and a great storyline. See the review for more.

If you remember the Radio Four comedy of the same name, yes, this play is based on that and written by the same writer, Mark Evans. So much to enjoy here so if you get a chance to see the play locally to you, do go.

The Chameleon Theatre Group – Bleak Expectations – Review

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Sent author newsletter out this morning. Doing this monthly means you soon realise how quickly the year is going by. The theme for this one was Special Swanwick though I also share some thoughts on Making the Most of a Writing Event (and share the link to my recent Chandler’s Ford Today article on that).

As well as looking forward to Swanwick, I’ll be off again in the autumn to go to the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering too. Looking forward to catching up with friends at both of these (and hopefully making new ones too).

I’ll be reviewing the recent performance of Bleak Expectations staged by the wonderful The Chameleon Theatre Group on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. Do look out for it. See above.

I share some thoughts on what makes a good spoof as well as part of this. And if you get a chance to go and support your own local amateur theatre company, please do. I’ve seen some fabulous performances from The Chameleons I would’ve missed out on otherwise.

 

Another hot day though not so warm as yesterday. Lady continues to keep cool though she was pleased to see her Hungarian Vizler chum this morning. Our park has lots of trees around it so plenty of shady spots. It wasn’t just the dogs who appreciated that.

Am currently working in short bursts with my French windows open. Helps a lot, as does keeping supplies of water, squash etc up, to aid concentration. It’s an odd thing the heat can make you tired but also stop you from sleeping! What is that about? Thankfully no issues here but every sympathy to anyone who struggles with this.

Writing Tip: Especially at the moment, if you’re finding it easier to write in short bursts, this is the time to have a go at some flash fiction writing. Perfect for short slots of time too. I like to mix up writing to 100 words (my all time favourite) to 500 words and most word counts in between. There are competitions for these too.

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Two things here tonight.

Firstly, am delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Summer Stings. Hope you enjoy it.

Secondly, the annual competition which is liked to the Edinburgh Festival begins on Friday Flash Fiction from tomorrow, Saturday 3rd August and runs all the way through to the 16th August. You can submit one story per week (I.e. one from 3rd to 9th August and another from 9th to 16th August). They are only taking the 100 word stories for this competition.

The longer flash submissions will resume after the competition finished but do watch out for this on the website nearer the time. They will say when they’re open for the longer flash pieces again. And if you have a go at the competition, good luck!

Screenshot 2024-08-02 at 09-33-28 Summer Stings by Allison Symes - Friday Flash FictionScreenshot 2024-08-02 at 18-50-59 Friday Flash Fiction - Friday Flash Fiction

Hope you’ve had a good day and managed to not get caught out by the thunderstorms. Lady and I just got back from a short afternoon walk and then the heavens opened again and again etc. I like writing flash. Not so keen on getting caught out in flash storms, mind you.

Time is an interesting theme to write about for flash fiction because you can do so much with it. I have used it in titles. I’ve written Time into a story as a character. When I’ve written pieces which nod back to the Cinderella story, time plays a major role there.

Plus you can use time as a proverb (time waits for no man is just one. I’ve used that one twice and got two different stories from it). I’ve also written two different stories with the same time travelling alien as the lead character, who gets into bother whether he goes forwards or backwards in time. All good fun to do.

But a broad theme like time is handy because you can jot down different thoughts to come from it and at least one is bound to appeal to the type of story you like to write. Below is just one of my stories based on time.

Had a lovely surprise today – an unexpected review for Tripping the Flash Fantastic by Kelvin M Knight (who discovered the book through the book shop the Association of Christian Writers have on their website. As a long term member, and former Membership Secretary for ACW, I can have my books advertised on their online book shop). Many thanks to Kelvin and to Susan Sanderson for forwarding the review to me.

This was a lovely boost. If you ever needed a reason to write a review for another author, do consider that aspect! Writers work alone, it is the nature of the job, but having good feedback every so often helps enormously.

What I love about ACW is it supports Christians who write obviously Christian material but also people like me who are Christians writing in the secular market. I appreciate both sides of this and I know it is invaluable to all members.

TRIPPING THE FLASH FANTASTIC by Allison Symes – A Review

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Fairytales with Bite – Holiday Season

Does your fantasy setting have tourism? If so, what would it consist of? Where would your favourite fairy godmothers go on holiday? Is there anywhere they wouldn’t go?

After all, everyone needs a recharge now and again. Would they stay in what we would recognize as hotels or would they go in for the poshest self catering cottage imaginable? Do they get to switch the magic off for a while or are they expected to be be on call at any time or have to arrange for someone to take over their duties for a bit?

In your setting, when would most go on holiday? Does it tie in with seasons as we know them here? Which of your characters looks forward to holiday season and which dreads it and why?

Are holidays decided on because magical powers diminish when in constant use and that dictates when a break has to happen? How would your world defend itself against enemies who might look to take advantage of that low power period?

Our own lives tend to work in seasons. We have periods when busy, others when not, and still others when we take a break so how would this work out in your setting?

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This World and Others – Tourism

Is tourism a major factor in your world setting? Is it seen as a good or bad thing or a bit of both? Who benefits from the tourists? Who finds tourists to be nothing but a pain in the neck? What kind of revenue is brought in by what tourists spend?

Does your world confine itself to only accepting other magical beings or would it welcome humans and other species visiting? Is tourism promoted or does your world try to keep it quiet, reluctantly accepting it will happen, people do move around, but they’re not going to encourage it to develop further? What would be the reasons behind that attitude?

Has tourism ever caused problems, such as pollution, in your setting? What happened and what did occur to put it right? That, of course, could be your story.

How would your characters get to tourist destinations? If flying is involved, can your characters do this themselves so they can take themselves off to their own destinations or would they have to charter someone, with appropriate equipment, who can do this for them? (Would we be talking the magical equivalent of a plane here or a massive flying carpet or some sort of portal device which other characters would control?).

Definite story ideas there.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the link to the September 2023 magazine which is on the theme of the timeless topic of marketing. I have two articles in this issue – Marketing Your Books and Writing for Online Magazines.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Author Interview: Val Penny – Hunter’s Rules and Lynsey Adams – Book Blog Tour Organiser

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Val Penny and Lynsey Adams for images associated with their interview on Chandler’s Ford Today this week.
Funny old week again. Lovely sunshine followed by heavy rain – the British summer is in full swing! Had a lovely time watching The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production – review to follow on Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. Do check out your local amateur theatre companies. I’ve seen some splendid shows staged by The Chameleons. You may well be in for some good surprises here with your own companies. Also I see plays as staged stories so that and the idea of supporting local theatre all at the same time is a fabulous one I heartily endorse.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

So pleased to welcome back Val Penny to Chandler’s Ford Today. We celebrate her Hunter’s Rules, which was recently launched at the Harrogate Crime Festival. Well done on achieving something so prestigious, Val!

In this in depth interview, Val shares with me the joys of coming back to write about familiar characters, writing straplines, what she loves about book blog tours and crime fiction, and much else besides. Plenty of useful thoughts and advice here – do check this out.

I also have a brief chat with Lynsey Adams who organised Val’s book blog tour. Lynsey shares a few tips on what authors should think about when planning their own book blog tour. Again do check this out.
Am sure you will find plenty of information which is useful and entertaining from both ladies. Thank you both for taking part in this.

Author Interview – Val Penny – Hunter’s Rules and Book Blog Tour Organiser interview – Lynsey Adams

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Am off to see Bleak Expectations, the latest show to be staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group, tonight. Looking forward to that and catching up with my lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today too. Plays are staged stories when all is said and done so I see these as another way of taking in wonderful tales I might not come across another way. Nothing to dislike about that!

Writing Tip: When you’ve enjoyed a fabulous tale of any word count, why not look at it again and work out what it was you especially liked. If the characters gripped you (as I would hope they would), work out what it was which made them “do” that to you. What made them stand out? How did the author achieve that? Which details were key in getting the character across to you that way? There will be something!

Another thought – re dialogue. Now we know that fictional speech can only replicate real speech but it has the advantages of having far fewer hesitations and repetitions in it because we don’t want our readers to nod off due to boredom. But if you’re tempted to abbreviate fictional speech think about how it will look on the page/on the screen to your reader. It still has to “look right” to read right.

Whatever your kind of character, their dialogue has to fit their portrayalHope you’ve had a good day. Lady managed to see her Hungarian Vizler friend and Gertie, a lovely Golden Retriever, whom we see from time to time. Lady went home shattered but happy (as one of her favourite tricks is to suddenly get a burst of energy and run around pals showing off as she plays with her toys. I have no idea if that impresses them but it impresses her).

Am off to the theatre again tomorrow for a Chandler’s Ford Today works outing! My lovely editor and I will be seeing Bleak Expectations (a stage play based on the hilarious radio comedy of that name) being staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group. Review will follow in due course. Am expecting plenty of laughs and Dickens based jokes. Should be a lot of fun. If you can, do check out the radio show. I thought it was fabulous.

Talking of CFT, I’m talking with Val Penny about her Hunter’s Rules and Lynsey Adams about book blog tours on Friday. Lots of useful information from both ladies. Be sure not to miss it and well done to Val for having her new book launched at the Harrogate Crime Festival too. See above.

As for this evening, I’m running the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom later. Theme is summer. Jury is out as to whether summer has turned up. I have had the sun back out today so I would give a cautious thumbs up to this one (given I know the rain is back for me tomorrow!).

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Delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my new story, Life Dreams. What does someone, whose species uses dreams to communicate, do to avoid being caught by them and dragged back to their own planet? Find out here!
Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 09-56-49 Life Dreams by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Do look out for Friday Flash Fiction’s annual Edinburgh Festival competition (it runs in conjunction with the actual festival). See screenshot but more details will be put on the website soon. The FFF competition runs over two weeks. Worth having a go. It is free to enter. You can enter one 100 word story per week for the fortnight the competition is on so two stories in all.

The 100 word category is a popular one for competitions. It is a great discipline for sharing what matters to your characters. You give the reader what they need to know and the rest they can infer. Well worth practicing regularly (which is one reason why I submit stories to FFF often!).

Screenshot 2024-07-25 at 16-20-20 Friday Flash Fiction - Friday Flash Fiction

Writing to closing lines is great practice for coming up with punchlines or twist endings. Every so often one of my brainstorming sessions will be to do this. (I also use such sessions for coming up with title ideas and opening line possibilities).

Once I’ve got some closing lines down, I rest them for a while before having another look and seeing what I could use. Inevitably there will be some discards but there will be ideas which literally stand the test of time with me. I then have the fun of working out how I could get to that closing line. The line will throw up different possibilities and I go with the one which appeals to me the most.

For example, if my closing line was And the day had started so well too, I could use that line to produce a humorous story. I could also use it to produce a sad or slice of life tale. I would then decide what mood I wanted to write to and then figure out what character could serve my purposes here. All good fun and then I write my first draft.

But what I am keen on is to ensure that lovely closing line I’ve got seems like the only way to end my story. It has to seem natural and not tacked on though that is true for any line for any length of story.

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Fairytales with Bite – Agencies

In your fantasy setting, what agencies exist? Is there one, for example, to train fairy godmothers to an acceptable standard? Is there a law and order agency (and, if not, why not? Who would ensure criminal magic did not run riot here?). Who runs the agencies and are they accountable to higher powers? How do those higher powers operate?

Within the agencies themselves, what hierarchies exist and how did these come about? There would be potential for humorous stories here I think as well as dramas. Where you have organisations you have the competent, the incompetent, and those who muddle their way through. You could have fun here!

How would your characters fit into that kind of set up? Could one of your “muddling” characters develop something which proves to be brilliant? How would they handle their unexpected success, given others wouldn’t have expected it either?

You may not want one hugely powerful magical being running everything. It would be bound to drain powers etc. So how would the ones at the top of the tree farm out jobs for others to do and where could your characters fit in to this?

Would the agencies be your world’s major employers and how easy or otherwise is it to get a job with them? Does it depend on the “old boys’ network” and could someone break that if so?

Story ideas there I think.

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This World and Others – Who Does What?

Wherever there is a setting, no matter how far away or fantastical it is, you have administration! It does get everywhere. To be fair, a job has to be done, someone has to do it (and therefore has to organise how they do it).

I’ve always loved the quote about Death from the Discworld novels by the much missed Terry Pratchett. The Archchancellor refers to Death as a Professional fellow with a job to do. And if you read the Death novels here you will discover there is an immaculate system of hour glasses and books. There is a reason why Death has a huge desk!

So for your characters who does do what job? Is it based on their species, their class status, or a mixture?

Do certain species have certain talents so your setting rightly deploys them for the jobs requiring those skills? How did those talents develop in the first place? Who organises your setting? Discworld has the Patrician and the Guilds. Who runs your world? Are they good at it? Is there any threat to their position? Do they give the most awkward jobs to the ones who might challenge them? Do they give offers others cannot, dare not, refuse? (Good way of dealing with enemies!).

If your characters are nowhere near the seat of power, and perhaps glad to be so, what would they do? What would they be expected to do in usual circumstances? If those change, what would your characters have to learn to do (and quickly)?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I’m sharing the link to the May 2024 issue which was about memoir. My article is about Using Memoir Techniques for Character Creation.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Making The Most of a Writing Event and a Great Blogging Week!

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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. Photos of me were taken by Adrian Symes. It is tricky to do the author holding the book picture without camera shake etc.
Hope you have had a good week. Weather up and down though back to sunny and hot at the moment. Looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with Val Penny on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week – do look out for it. There will be tips on book blog tours too as part of this. Meantime, do check out the THREE blogs I share with you this week!

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

How come it is Friday again so soon? Anyway, it’s time to share my latest Chandlers’ Ford Today post and this week I’m looking at the topic of Making the Most of a Writing Event. This is timely given in less than a month I will be at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick once again.

I look why going to writing events is a good idea and share top tips on how to make the best of them. Most of the tips apply to online events as well as the in-person kind. I also share thoughts on what is useful after the event too.

Hope you enjoy the post and, whatever writing events you are going to in the next few months, I hope they prove to be hugely enjoyable and useful.

Making the Most of a Writing Event

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It’s that time again – time for me to share my Authors Electric post. This time I look at Opening Lines. Whatever form of writing you do, opening lines have to lure the reader in and, for the short fiction forms such as flash fiction, I feel they do a lot of “heavy lifting”. You do have to hit the ground running here I think.

I’m also one of those writers who need something to start them off even though that start may well change later. I see opening lines as my way in to a story or article. Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady had a lovely time with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today and we all enjoyed the sunshine. Coming back home without getting soaked always counts as a win!

Glad to say I am on Gill James’ blog today talking about my involvement with The Best of CafeLit 13. When you send in a story to CafeLit, they ask you to assign a drink to your story. I try to match my drinks to my story moods. You can see what I chose for my three stories in this anthology and much else in the interview.

Good fun to take part in – hope you enjoy reading it. A quick shout out to my other half too for the photos in this. These kinds of shots are difficult to do yourself, what with book in one hand, camera in the other, trying to avoid the dreaded camera shake etc.

 

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I’m delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Time Problems. Some fairy godmother clients aren’t perhaps as grateful as they could and should be. Find out who and why here. Hope you enjoy the story.

Screenshot 2024-07-19 at 09-59-12 Time Problems by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Has been a gloriously sunny and warm day today, much better than earlier in the week when Lady and I had a soaking!

Writing Exercise: Pick a random opening line from a random generator or, if like me you brainstorm ideas for these every so often, go back through your notebooks and find one you like the look of and which you haven’t already used.

Then write a 50 word story to it.

Then have a go at writing 100 words to that line.

Maybe even then write yet another story to this line but this time go up to 250 words.

Once you’ve got at least two stories down, read them out loud (maybe record them and play them back) and see which has the most impact on you. A reader is likely to react in a similar way.

Sometimes I’ve found with this exercise the 50 word one is the best story. Sometimes I do need more words and it is the 100 or 250 worders which I will then submit somewhere. But this is a fun and interesting exercise to have a go at, if only because you find out just how strong (or otherwise) that opening line is.

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A task I am gladly looking forward to fairly soon is working out which new stories of mine I will use as potential reading material for the Open Prose Mic Night at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I couldn’t take part in it last year as it clashed with something else I really wanted to go to but this year’s timetable shows no clashes for me here. Really pleased about that.

I make a point of mixing the moods of whatever I read at whatever venue but also the word counts. So I expect I will end up reading a 100-worder, a 250 type, and maybe a couple of the 50s. It’s a good way of showing the range flash has.

Don’t forget my author newsletter comes out again on 1st August. I share flash fiction tips and stories here, amongst other things. You can sign up at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Fairytales with Bite – The Influence of Fairytales

Fairytales are some of the oldest stories we take in and I recall, with huge fondness, my late mother often reading to me from the Reader’s Digest Fairytale Collections long before I could read these wonderful books for myself. The reason I remember this is so well is my mother read to me consistently and often for many years, even when I was beginning to read for myself.

I owe my love of books and stories to her – very much drummed into me from an early age but something I am grateful for and which feeds into my writing now. Naturally I also watched several of the Disney classic fairytale animated films. All of that has encouraged my love for the form and I write some fairytales myself in my flash fiction and short stories.

But the influence of fairytales goes much deeper than this. Thanks to them, I’ve picked up on the Rule of Three subconsciously. I know in fairytales something happens twice but on the third occasion, something changes and that then usually leads on to the traditional happy ever after ending (Three Little Pigs, anyone?).

I’ve also learned the decrepit looking old man or woman is usually a powerful magical being in disguise and they will be teaching some arrogant so-and-so a hard lesson (The Beauty and the Beast). I’ve also learned to expect justice to be done in some way, and some wrong to be righted in some way (Cinderella).

You then have to learn that doesn’t always happen in life (deep down I knew that even as a kid) but I think one of the comforts of fairytales is it does happen in them.

The other influence from fairytales is they got me reading more of them and then moving on to other kinds of story. All very welcome!

Also fairytales don’t shy away from showing something/someone as being evil. Sometimes the tales act as warnings. Fairytales are honest writing and I love them for that too.

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This World and Others – Access to Books

Linking in with Fairytales with Bite, reading is encouraged to develop when access to books is easy! In your setting, are there such things as libraries? What kind of books would they stock? Can anyone access them? Are there bookshops to purchase your own choices? Again, what would be on offer here?

If you have several communities in your setting, which would each read? For example, I would expect dwarves to read their own histories and legends but are they open enough to read those of other communities such as the elves or the humans they share their world with?

Is the skill of reading universal or limited? Who decides what goes in the libraries and bookshops? (Easy to arrange censorship there).

If your characters can travel around your setting, what would they find in other areas, book wise, they don’t have at home? Do they bring these back with them? Would doing that cause an outcry or would people/other beings welcome the chance to discover things they did not know? Not everyone would welcome that.

Are there any banned books? If so, what and why were these banned and has anyone tried to get around or repeal the ban?

Access to books is something we can easily take for granted. Do your characters do so or do they know they are lucky to have it and make the most of it?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

I’m sharing the link for the November 2023 edition of Writers’ Narrative this time. Its theme was Novels, which was apt for the month of NaNoWriMo (and for flash fiction writers, Flash NANO). I wrote a piece called Writing Novels for this issue, based on my experience of writing novels earlier in my writing life and what I’ve learned from doing that. Do check out all of the excellent articles in here.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Writing Fitness

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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. Getting nearer to that wonderful week of The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Mixed bag weatherwise. Hope it improves for Swanwick week. Hope it just improves! Lady made a new friend earlier this week so she’s had a good few days and doesn’t care if she gets wet! It’s okay for her. She dries off quicker than I do.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Writing Fitness for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at the value of screen breaks, being prepared for the ups and downs of the writing life, accepting you are in for the long haul with your writing, and how taking that approach can make it easier to take rejections as well as it is ever possible to take these things. Hope you find the post useful.

Writing Fitness

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Lady and I appreciated the sun this morning after what has been a wet week so far. It is apt I’m listening to O Sole Mio on Classic FM (O My Sunshine) as I write this post too.

Do look out for my Writing Fitness post on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. Also my next author newsletter will be out on 1st August. Yes, I know, how can it nearly be August already? You can sign up to said newsletter for news, tips, and stories at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Writing Thought: When you put down the old pen, or shut up the old laptop, and resume reading for pleasure, do have a look at how the authors are presenting their dialogue, moving their story on and so forth.

One of the joys of creative writing is I think writers have two joys here. We have the joy of inventing our own tales but we also all love reading. And the second joy is we can learn from what other authors have done and have a fabulous time reading while learning, I definitely see that as a win-win.

 

Well, the sun did put in an appearance today, for which Lady and her chums, the Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler, were all grateful. First day this week Lady and I haven’t got wet.

I’ll be looking at aspects of Writing Fitness for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday, including looking at the value of screen breaks and preparing yourself for the long haul in writing. See above.

My favourite aspect to creating stories is in inventing characters who come to life as I outline them and find out more about what they would do and say (and what they would never do or say. That can be remarkably enlightening in itself).

When it comes to creating blogs and posts like this, my favourite moment is in having an idea to write about and then seeing its use to writers. I always find that a good moment because I then write away happily. I focus on tidying things up later.

But I have to see a use for writers here because I want these posts to be useful to me too. I also see this as a way of giving back because I’ve learned a lot over the years from useful posts myself so like the idea of giving back in some way.

But whatever I write, it is the getting started which is the key moment for me because once I have started, away I go.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I find it useful to be able to visualise what 100 word stories look like on screen (where most of mine usually find a home so it pays me to know this!) and one great way of doing that is to check out the 100 word stories page on Friday Flash Fiction. See link. Do take the chance to have a great read. Flash encompasses all moods and genres. It is a major reason why I love writing it and reading it. Enjoy!

 

I like to mix up how I present my flash tales every so often. I’m not reinventing the wheel here but it is nice to sometimes share a story in the form of an acrostic, a poem, a letter, an all dialogue piece, as well as in the “usual” prose layout. Keeps it fun and interesting for me and I hope it does for readers too.

I love reading as well as writing pieces for collections and anthologies. Those stories which stand out because they are using a different format always grab my attention. Partly I want to find out if the different format works. It nearly always does because the writer has rightly focused on ensuring it is apt for their character and situation.

In my Punish the Innocent (From Light to Dark and Back Again), I use a letter format because my main character has to leave information for another one in this way as it is the most appropriate medium. Without giving too much away, my second character here has to receive the information after a certain event has happened involving the main star here. The latter doesn’t want to be stopped from what they are intending so a letter, timed to only arrive after the event concerned, is the way to go with this one.

So if you use a different format, ask why you need it. Ask why it has to be this format. Ask why it has to be the appropriate one for your character. If you can answer all those in the affirmative, go for it and good luck!

From Light to Dark and Back Again - by night

Ending a flash fiction piece has its own joys and challenges. I do love ending a story on a punchline or a twist. They’re fun to write and a great place to leave the story. The tale has revealed all it needs to – the end, that’s it.

The challenges come from ensuring the punchline or twist (and sometimes you can have a punchline which is also a twist) arises naturally from the characters and situation I’ve put them in. Nothing must seem contrived or forced. A reader has to be able to feel the ending was the appropriate one for this situation.

This is one reason why I find a simple outline so useful. I have Character A, they’re in this situation, how would that be resolved? I can then jot down ideas for the ending and I go with the one which makes the strongest impact on me. A story and character has to be able to make me react to it, no matter how short or long the tale might be. I have to care about the outcome. If I care about that, readers should do too.

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Fairytales with Bite – Magic Wands Plus

M = Margo so begrudged having a second hand wand.
A = All of her fairy colleagues had brand new tools.
G = Granted, Margo’s mother was always fond
I = In Margo’s view of making her the butt at fairy school.
C= Considered it vital for making her develop backbone.

W = Wishing on a star was a complete waste of time.
A = And spell books could always be misread.
N = Never mind, Margo’s mother said, your wand is sublime.
D = Doubting this, Margo put it to the test and found it led
S = Straight to Margo outperforming everyone in her year.

P = Performance does not depend on having the latest gadget.
L = Learn, Margo’s mother said, updates are not all they’re cracked up to be.
U = Understanding now, Margo buried the hatchet.
S = Success came to her by studying hard and the hidden strengths of her old wand.

Ends
Allison Symes – 10th July 2024

Hope you enjoyed that. My sympathy here is with Margo’s mum given updates are indeed not always what they’re cracked up to be. They never come in at good times either but that may just be me.

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This World and Others – Inventors

Which three inventions would you say were the best? There are so many to choose from but my nominees are:-

  1. The invention of literacy going on to include the development of print.
  2. The invention of medicine.
  3. The invention of photography because I love seeing all those wonderful images coming from space and that all started with being able to capture things on film in the first place.

In your setting, which are the inventions your world could not do without? Which inventions do they wish hadn’t come about? (There is always something there. We didn’t need the “invention” of pollution to name but one).

How does your setting treat its inventors? Are they honoured or treated with suspicion? Not everyone welcomes the clever. Often people can be fearful of new inventions and those behind them.
Is your setting keen to develop further or does it want inventions to be within set limits? (Makes it easier to control, doesn’t it?).

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I’m sharing the December 2023 edition of the magazine with its focus on Finishing Strong. That is always a timely topic.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Employing Kipling’s Serving Men

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Hope you have had a good few days. Summer weather continuing at a nice temperature for Lady and me. Swimming sessions have been especially nice this week! Delighted to discover a useful notes program on my new smartphone. Am sure I will make good use of this when out and about. Writing wise, am keeping busy with blogs, flash fiction, and editing work – loving it all!

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Pleased to share Employing Kipling’s Serving Men on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at what these serving men are and why they are so useful to any form of writing. I also add in a “serving man” of my own – I use this particular one a lot in my own writing.

I share an example of a non-fiction and fictional use of the serving men and discuss frameworks, which is essentially what the serving men give you. Hope you find the post and the serving men useful for your own work.

Employing Kipling’s Serving Men

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Hope the day has been good. Lady accompanied me at the polling booth this morning. Only one in there who didn’t need photo ID.

Will be sharing Employing Kipling’s Serving Men on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. Just who are these serving men and why can every writer benefit from them? Details in the CFT post tomorrow. See above.

Have had to change smartphone recently. Delighted to find it comes with its own useful note program. Have used it for both of my Facebook posts today (4th July 2024). Am sure I will be making good use of this. I did use another but have not liked them wanting everyone to have a paid subscription. Not worth it for me.

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Hope the day has been a good one. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal and a lovely Nova Scotia Tolling Retriever called Charlie. Fantastic time had by all. Three tired dogs went home.

Will be looking at Employing Kipling’s Serving Men on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Said serving men make for an excellent structure for any piece of writing. More later in the week. See above. There will be more author interviews to come on CFT too plus a review to come for the next Chameleon Theatre Group show, Bleak Expectations, so plenty happening.

I see in this month’s Writing Magazine there is a feature about The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Will look forward to reading that soon. Can’t wait to be at Swanwick again – it is a major highlight of my writing year. Also hoping to get to a day writing event in the autumn and a book fair but I hope say more on both of those nearer the time.

Writing Tip: Always give yourself more time than you think for editing and polishing stories especially those for competitions. You get one shot at these things so taking that bit of extra time and care gives you the best chance. (Will be talking more on that in the editing course I’m running at Swanwick this year too but I’ve found it pays off).

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Am delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest drabble (100 worder), Blockage Removed. The word “bar” came up as a prompt I set for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group recently and this is how I put the word to work for me. Hope you enjoy the tale.
Screenshot 2024-07-05 at 10-07-53 Blockage Removed by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Ideas for stories can pop up anywhere. I’ve sometimes used overheard snippets of conversation, colourful hats etc I’ve spotted when out and about, and other observations for character portrayal. All out of original contexts too so nobody would recognise themselves.

I’ve heard it said writers have magpie minds – they collect this and that and it ends up in a story. Still I take comfort from the thought this has gone on from the dawn of time. Most storytellers want their audience to relate to their tales and that is done by crafted observations.

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Just a quick reminder to say I do take direct sales of my books via my website as well as at events of course. I am always happy to sign copies of From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic for people. Just contact me via my website – link below. I can also supply copies of the various anthologies I’ve had work in – just contact me for more details.

Flash Writing Tip: Get the story down first and then worry about the word count. Once I’ve got a first draft down, I rest it for a while and then come back and look at it again. It’s at that point I spot things I can strengthen and/or cut. If the story works well at 150 words, I leave it there and find a suitable home for it at a later date. The story does have to suit the word count rather than the other way around.

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Fairytales with Bite – A Letter From a Fairy Godmother to a Novice

Hope you enjoy the following. I suspect a letter of this type could be sent out to all magical beings about to graduate.

Learning The Ropes

Dear Novice

As a senior fairy godmother of many decades’ standing, and I am still standing, do take heed of the following. I was grateful for these tips when I was about to complete my final exams and continue to be. They are literally life savers.

Keep your wand fully charged. There is never a convenient time for it to lose power. It may be boring but get into a routine of looking after your equipment properly. Then when you need it, it will look after you.

Make sure your books are fully legible. Some of the ancient ones are easy to misread. You don’t want to find out what the consequences of a misreading will be. (It is still not clear, after all these centuries, what did happen to Fairy Mexatonia. All that was left of her were her smoking boots and a spell book with steam coming off its pages. No chance of reading anything on that now).

Dragons are best avoided. Left to themselves, they are seldom any trouble. They only cause trouble when they feel under threat so don’t go there. Yes, you get the odd rogue one who decides it wants to dine out on roasted fairy godmother but then you discover the joys of having a fully charged wand and zap the thing, right?

Treat all with respect. Many of our more powerful colleagues do look as if a strong gust of wind might blow them over. Not a bit of it. They’re the ones who’ve turned arrogant humans into hairy creatures. You don’t want that happening to you.

If something seems too good to be true, it is. Run away fast. This is a universal principle for all beings.

Best of luck with the practical and theory exams.

Senior Fairy Godmother Artexia

Allison Symes – 3rd July 2024

BookBrushImage-2024-7-5-19-455This World and Others – Getting Through

I would hope that any novice fairy, on receipt of the letter, Learning the Ropes, outlined in Fairytales with Bite, would realise they’ve got to take this seriously. Getting through to others though isn’t always easy though. Prejudices, pride, arrogance etc can all get in the way of someone learning something invaluable. That applies to our characters as well to ourselves!

So you have a story where an older character needs to get information through to a younger colleague, whom they know won’t want to listen. How do they get around this and get the vital information through to the one needing it? Give some thought as to why the younger one won’t listen – it is just youthful impatience or has the younger character got good reasons to be wary of taking seriously anything their older colleague tells them?

There would be some interesting conflicts there. Also does the younger character have to learn their lesson the hard way? Does the older character need to learn how to get things across in a better way so people will listen?

What worked back in the day may not be so effective now given times and technologies change. A younger character could be unwilling to study old magical text books when they could access material via whatever their equivalent of a computer would be. The older one to know perhaps there is information in these old books which shouldn’t be lost and not everything transfers to technology well.

Generational cross-purposes form the basis of many stories in different genres, but especially sagas. There is no reason why this couldn’t come into fantasy stories too. The same issues of being willing or unwilling to listen occur regardless of where your world setting might be.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

The magazine is back in 2025 after a hiatus but in the meantime do check out the back issues. This time I share the March 2024 edition with its theme of Writing For Children. Plenty of wonderful articles here. I had two pieces in here – Writing for Children and, separately, Writing for Anthologies.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Author Interview: Maressa Mortimer – Going Downsteam

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From Light to Dark and Back Again - by night
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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 few days. Lady and I are not sorry it has cooled down a bit – much easier to manage! It is a delight to welcome Maressa Mortimer back to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her new book, Downstream. She also shares wonderful advice about world building and much more. Do check out the interview. Link below.

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I’m delighted to welcome back Maressa Mortimer to Chandler’s Ford Today this week to discuss her fabulous new book, Downstream. Maressa is the author of The Elabi Chronicles and Downstream is book three in that series, (the other two being Walled City and Beyond the Hills).

Maressa shares wonderful tips about world building and writing series books and also discusses the importance of supportive writing groups amongst other topics. Hope you enjoy the interview. Much to enjoy here and good luck with Downstream, Maressa.

Author Interview: Maressa Mortimer – Going Downstream

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Do check out my interview with Maressa Mortimer about her gripping novel, Downstream, which will be on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above.

As well as sharing details about the book, Maressa and I discuss writing series books (including sharing useful tips on this), having a writing routine, favourite characters, world building and so much more. Looking forward to sharing this. Oh and I know writers aren’t supposed to have favourite characters from their own works but I suspect we all do.

Writing Tip: If you have an author newsletter, plan out when you want to have your draft for the month finished by. I do this and usually have a draft completed by the 20th or thereabouts. I find this useful because it still gives me time to add things in (especially news which can come in at any time) and I have then time to review it all well ahead of when I press send.

When I have ten minutes or so to write with, I will sometimes use that to add something in to the newsletter. I like to build up the content as the month progesses so there is no last minute rush.

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Today would have been my father’s 87th birthday. I can’t believe it’s eight years since we lost him.
Lady and I are focused on keeping as cool as possible. Am thankful she likes water. At least I know I can rely on Lady to drink plenty. (She has been too. Is keeping well and is being sensible. When it is hot is about the only time she is sensible!).

Am so grateful writing is something to be done wherever I like and right now I like cool!

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting tonight. We’ll be looking at writing 50 and 100 word stories. If you ever want an interesting challenge, have a go at these. The 100 worders were my first introduction to flash fiction. Have never regretted discovering it!

FLASH - Flash fiction encourages focus but you can apply that to other forms of writing

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s Friday. It’s time for a story. And I’m delighted to be Lisa’s Choice on Friday Flash Fiction this week. Hope you enjoy my latest here – I Remember You.

Screenshot 2024-06-28 at 10-14-49 I Remember You by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Don’t forget my author newsletter is out again soon. I especially focus on flash fiction so if this sounds of interest do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

This time I will also have news relating to The Best of CafeLit 13 so do look out for that if you already subscribe.

Had a lovely time at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group last night. We were looking at writing to 50 and 100 words. Have got a couple of drafts from that. Will be looking at these in a few days (I like to think of this as my cooling off period!) but think I know what I will end up doing with these stories.

Back to flash fiction writing over the weekend. Catching up with some blogs in the meantime. All wonderful things to write! (Oh and Lady and I are not sorry it has cooled down a bit. Is helping us both a lot!).

 

I’ve mentioned using questions in stories before. The reason I love them is they give you an instant structure to your piece because you and the reader know there will have to be some sort of answer before the end of said tale.

In my What the Neighbours Think (Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I use a question to make a character reflect on themselves as something odd happens and another one towards the end of the story to show a resolution to the tale. Nobody says you have to ask just one question but no matter how many you have there has to be an answer somewhere in the story to each and every one.

Metaphorical questions are fine by the way. It should be clear from context that a question is of that type and therefore no direct answer may be appropriate though in the case of this story of mine, even that one is answered by the way the story plays out.

BB - Flash with a Dash for TTFF

Fairytales with Bite – Accidents

No prizes for guessing what inspired this little tale.

A = A crafty but lazy apprentice
C = Conceited and sure of himself
C = Concocted a plan to get out of cleaning.
I = Imagination was wonderful, he thought.
D = Daring him to go further still.
E = Except things went wrong.
N = Now he had no control over the broomsticks and buckets.
T = Terrible things awaited him, he felt, when his boss got home.
S = Sadly, he was right, and he never meddled with spell books again.

Ends
Allison Symes – 26th June 2024

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This World and Others – Upholding the Law

How is the law upheld in your setting? Do most characters find this easy enough to do? Are the laws fair?
If your lead character could bring in one law, what would they choose and why? What does this reveal about them to you? If there was one law they could abolish, what would they choose and why? Again what does that choice reveal about their personality?

Who is responsible for bringing laws in? Can they or the laws be challenged? How far back in time do the laws go? Is the government a democracy or a dictatorship? The answer to that would reveal the kind of laws your society will have and how they are upheld. In the case of the latter, I would suspect with brutality where needed, given what happens here.

If you could think of a funny law, which is apt for your characters, what would you bring in and why? Story thoughts there, I hope.

BookBrushImage-2024-6-28-19-5821WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Screenshot 2024-05-31 at 16-55-29 Writers' Narrative June 2024Screenshot 2024-05-31 at 16-55-58 Writers' Narrative June 2024

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

 

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Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – 31 Days of Writing

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Hope you have had a good few days. Dare I say it but summer does finally seem to have turned up in the UK. There have been some gloriously sunny days and Lady has been making the most of them with “puppy parties” with her friends. Writing wise, it’s a delight to welcome back Jennifer C Wilson to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her hot-off-the-presses book, 31 Days of Writing. If you like writing prompts, do check this one out.

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It is with great pleasure I welcome back Jennifer C Wilson to Chandler’s Ford Today on what, for her, is publication day, Her latest book, 31 Days of Writing, is out today (21st June 2024).

We discuss what inspired her to write the book, aspects of publishing (including via Amazon), favourite forms of writing prompt, and the joys of writing groups (in her case the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle which launched its first anthology last year and is planning to bring out a follow up volume).

So much to enjoy here and plenty of useful information for writers at all stages. Do enjoy and good luck with the book, Jennifer.

Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – 31 Days of Writing

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Hope you have had a good day. Gorgeous weather today. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler chum this morning before it became significantly hotter this afternoon. But it is good that summer seems to have turned up!

Do check out my interview with Jennifer C Wilson on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. As well as discussing her new book, 31 Days of Writing, she’ll be sharing many useful tips and thoughts on publishing. Well worth checking out. Link up tomorrow.

Writing Tip: Check out author interviews. They’re fun. You learn a lot from them. Sometimes you can learn what not to do – that can be more useful than you might think. But do look at how the authors have approached answering the questions they’ve been set.

Where relevant to your work, figure out how you would answer these questions had they been put to you. Draft some notes. See it as practice material for working out just what you will say about your books and stories. I’ve found this so useful.

 

Glorious sunshine today. Lady had a fabulous puppy party with her Hungarian Vizler, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Labradoodle pals and with a lovely Toller (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever) called Charlie. Wonderful time had by all. Lady has a lovely habit of looking up at me as we walk home with her “happy shiny eyes” expression. She was beaming today!

Don’t forget I’ll be talking with Jennifer C Wilson, author of the Kindred Spirits series and much more besides, on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.  We’ll be discussing her latest book, 31 Days of Writing, which is sure to prove useful to many writers. Looking forward to sharing that. (More author interviews to come too, more nearer the time). See above.

I use a mixture of writing prompts because they all make for interesting challenges. I use books of prompts (and have contributed to some) and will be interested to find out what Jennifer has come up with in her latest.

I also use story cubes, the various random generators, picture prompts (and sometimes use my own photos here) and all sorts. I like to think all of this keeps me on my writing toes. That’s never a bad thing! Up the game and all that…!

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It’s Friday. It’s time for flash fiction. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Break The Ice. We all know families like this one who won’t let a loved one live something down – check out what this is here.

Screenshot 2024-06-21 at 10-02-54 Break The Ice by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

How about a flash fiction story in four lines plus title tonight? Up for that? Good. Here goes then..

Cookie Crisis
The mystery of how the cookie jar was now empty when, less than an hour ago, it had been full was only resolved at midnight.
Fiona heard the sounds coming from her kitchen and crept downstairs to see the culprit raiding the restocked jar.
It was news to Fiona the Tooth Fairy fancied biscuits on her nightly rounds.
It came as a shock to Fiona the Tooth Fairy was capable of vanishing quicker than her cookies.

Ends
Allison Symes – 20th June 2024

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Although my main flash fiction work is at the 100 words mark, I do regularly write at lower and higher word counts than that. Some of these I save for presentations, future collections, possible competition entries etc.

I like to write across the range because I get the benefits of writing tightly (especially at 50 words or fewer) but for the 500+ word categories, I can give more detail, show more of the character(s), all still without having anything irrelevant to the story in it.

There are many flash competitions out there and from observation I would say the 100, 300 and 500 words or fewer categories are the ones I come across most often. So if you wanted to focus on any of the flash categories, I would go for those.

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Fairytales with Bite – Magical History

What value/importance does your setting place on its history, magical or otherwise? Are what we see as classic fairytales seen as real history to the characters in your setting or have they been subverted in any way (see Shrek for more on that!)?

When it comes to the history of magic in your setting, who wrote the records? Are they accurate? Do they show how magic has developed as a power source in your setting and who wields it, past and present? Was magic always present in your world (literally in the atmosphere) or has it only come to your setting by the folk who settled there? You could also think about what drew them to your setting in the first place.

Are there historical places people visit? Is history treasured or ignored? What history in your setting has been repeated over the years and could those repetitions have been avoided? What impact does your world’s history have on your characters and their stories?

We know how we can be shaped by our personal histories, our nations’ histories etc so why not take that thought and apply it to your creations? What does history mean to them and why? What would happen if someone came along to challenge their long held views? Now that would be a good source of conflict for a story or two.

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This World and Others – The Past Influencing the Future

Henry Ford is supposed to have said “history is more or less bunk”. No, Mr Ford, your view on history is more or less bunk.

While true, history is written by the winners, there is usually at least some evidence to back that history up. You normally can see why the history has been written down the way it has been.

I’m a fan of Richard III and believe he is a much maligned man. There is some (and increasing evidence) on that point. But you can see why and how Richard III has been cast as the everlasting villain. Shakespeare had a role in that!

Everyone is influenced by their own histories then, the histories of their families, their countries etc. There is no getting away from the fact the past does influence the future. For one thing, it definitely influences politics!

Now how can you make use of that thought for your characters? What from their past has influenced them? Are they trying to escape their past and are they successful?

If you have time travelling characters, what in their past is fixed and they can’t change it no matter how much they might want to do so? What would be the consequences for anyone who did try to change fixed points in time? (I think there would have to be some fixed points, otherwise your characters would get to change everything, nothing would be fixed, chaos would result).

On a more general scale, how has your setting progressed? Has it learned from its past and are things improving for your characters as a result? Or are the powers that be trying to keep things always the same, everyone in their places etc because that is how things have always been done?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Having A Superpower

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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 back to being all over the place though – sun, strong winds, rain etc. Looking forward to sharing further author interviews soon on Chandler’s Ford Today so do keep an eye out for these. Meantime, I reveal in this week’s CFT post what I would choose if I could have a superpower. Well, what would you choose? Comments are welcome on the CFT page.

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Hope you have had a good day.

Glad to share Having a Superpower for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I share what I would pick and why. I also discuss why it pays, even in fantasy, not to allow your characters to have unlimited powers. If everything could be solved by the wave of a magic wand, where is the story? I also look at the problems of superpowers. Hope you enjoy the post.

Having a Superpower

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You can find out what I would choose as a superpower in my Having a Superpower post for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. The idea for this post came from a prompt I set as an exercise for the recent Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting. Lovely to get a non-fiction post from the idea.

Writing Tip: The random generators (words, numbers, pictures, themes etc) are great fun to use to trigger ideas but do bear in mind (a) these things are a starting point and (b) there’s nothing to stop you taking what has been generated and you then put your own twist on it. I’ve done this a lot.

It’s also a good idea to make yourself write to the prompts that emerge because they will come up with things you would not otherwise have thought of and I’ve found it great fun to find out just what can I do with this idea. They are great ways to encourage you to think outside of your usual creative thinking box.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady got to see her two best girlfriends again today – three days in a row. All three dogs very happy about this.

As well as my author newsletter, I do have a YouTube channel where I post flash fiction videos. (I usually post here once a week). New subscribers are always welcome.

Just go to https://www.youtube.com/@allisonsymes

I use BookBrush to help me create the videos and then I upload them to my channel. Easy and fun to do and I am grateful Dawn Kentish Knox flagged up to me how to add audio to these. Nice selection of tracks available, some of which you have to give accreditation to, but you are given the form of words to use for this when you’re putting a description of what your video is about in the relevant box. You just copy and paste this form of words in – easy peasy. I’ve only used the odd one or two of these. I mainly stick to the ones I can just use without that.

But it is lovely being able to have a form of story sharing which is both visual and audio. I like this a lot. Works well for flash tales.

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It’s Friday. It’s the end of the working week (for many if not all). It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Regrets. Billy may be a bestselling author but he has regrets too – find out what and why here.

Screenshot 2024-06-14 at 09-57-05 Regrets by Allison Symes - Friday Flash Fiction

Good to see the first review has come in for The Best of CafeLit 13. If you’ve read the book, please do leave reviews. They help all of the authors in the anthology. Thank you.

I do review books myself. I try to keep my reviews short (writing flash fiction a lot helps with that!). They don’t take long to do and, other than buying the book itself, reviewing is one of the other most important things someone can do to support authors.

When I review I like to give an idea of what I liked without revealing spoilers. I’m always intrigued by characters so if they grip me in a story (as they should do), I will mention that and why they did this.


Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting in a couple of weeks. Am working on a presentation for it. I like to work to a theme (same as with my newsletters funnily enough) as these make useful “pegs” to hang relevant material from. It also means we cover different aspects of flash fiction writing.

A writing exercise in three stages for you to try:-

1. Using a random name generator, pick the fifth name which comes up and write a character outline up for that name.

2. Using a random theme generator, pick the fifth theme which comes up and then get your named character to meet that theme in some way.

3. Using a random sentence generator, pick the fifth sentence which comes up and use it to either start or finish your story with.

Have fun!

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Fairytales with Bite – How Characters Handle the Unexpected

How characters handle the unexpected reveals a great deal about them no matter what the story genre might be. In a fantasy setting though you can have even more fun here because just what would count as unexpected in a magical world, for example?

Would that be something like a sudden shortage of magical powers (the equivalent of us having major power cuts basically)? Could a character find they can no longer perform certain magical tasks they always used to be able to do (and could this be related to their aging process perhaps)?

Can the unexpected situation be reversed or dealt with in other ways? Or do your characters have to find new ways of handling matters and how easy or otherwise do they find this? How do they cope with the stress of having to find new ways of handling things, especially if they are under any kind of time pressure? (Good way of raising the drama that one!).

What could the unexpected lead to? Does your world setting have to change its ways? Has the unexpected shown them something of themselves that really should be put right? (You need the equivalent of the kid in The Emperor’s New Clothes here to call out what is wrong here, I think).

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This World and Others – How Things Get Done

How do things get done in your setting? Does your world have the equivalent of engineers, inventors, scientists etc? When they come up with useful ideas for your world, how do they get these out into the public domain so all can benefit from them? Are there safety procedures in place, proper testing done first etc before anything new does get unleashed more widely?

When things go wrong, as does happen when anything new is being developed, how is that handled? Does this have an impact on the general population or is it contained because nothing gets unleashed until this kind of testing is done and done thoroughly enough?

Who controls the way things are done? I’ve often mentioned in this blog the powers that be. This matters. Nothing exists in a vacuum. So your characters will be in a world setting. There will be governments, politicians, and so on. Someone has to over see things. For the inventive side of things, there has to be some organisation which will test things, ensure they are safe for general use etc. So how would this work out in your world?

Could you tell stories about the characters who do this kind of thing and show the problems and stresses they face?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Author Interview: Jenny Sanders Part 2 and Remembering D-Day 80 Years On

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Image Credits:-
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Hope you have had a good week so far. Have had some lovely weather, hope it continues. Pleased to share Part 2 of a fabulous interview with Jenny Sanders for Chandler’s Ford Today – this time we’re looking at launches, marketing etc. Plenty of tips and useful thoughts. Lady’s thoughts this week, however, have revolved around how much of a good time can she have with her chums. Useful to her but nobody else!

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Am delighted to welcome Jenny Sanders back to Chandler’s Ford Today for the second part of her interview which forms part of her blog tour for Polished Arrows, her latest devotional book, which is now out.

This week we discuss marketing, launches, tips on reaching potential readers, the value of supportive writing groups (Jenny and I are both members of the Association of Christian Writers), and much else besides.

Hope you enjoy the interview – plenty of tips and useful thoughts for all writers here. Good luck, Jenny, with Polished Arrows.

Author Interview: Jenny Sanders – The Polished Arrows of Non-Fiction Writing – Part 2

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6th June 2024 – 80 Years Ago…

Today of course is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Will be listening to a special programme Classic FM are putting on later this evening featuring suitable music, clips from veterans etc. (It was wonderful). Am sure it will be so moving. (It really was).

I tend to think back to my grandfathers for D-Day and Remembrance in November. One fought. One was in a reserved occupation (and was forever being bombed out).

It is a sobering thought to consider I am only two generations away from this history and only one if you count my parents, both of whom were evacuated from London as children. My father was too young to go for the first batch of evacuees but did go later on in the war when the threat of the V1 and V2 occurred.

We have much to be thankful for including the freedom to have an education, to read, and to write. Too easy to take those things for granted.

Have read Double Cross by Ben Macintyre recently. It is the true story of the D-Day spies who made such a difference. Highly recommend along with his Operation Mincemeat. Stories are so important in preserving what happened for others to learn from, including us.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady has had an excellent one in that she saw her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback chums again today. Lady and the latter had a good zoomie session too. It is a sight worth seeing but you stand well back! Both of them can put in a terrific pace. You don’t want to be mown down by a combined weight of 58 kilos of dogs!

I’ve mentioned before I interview my characters to find out more about them before I decide if they’re worth writing up or not. I try to ask in depth questions because, as in a “real” interview, such as the one I’ll be conducting with Jenny Sanders on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday, you want the one answering the questions to open up. You don’t want the simple yes/no answers. That kind of response doesn’t tell you much.

But questions such as what do you fear most and why can trigger some interesting responses. I have to think about what my characters would fear and then figure out what they would do if they had to face up to that fear. The fear doesn’t have to be a complicated one either. Looking at the reason why can be fascinating too.

If my character feared black curtains, I would then be delving into their past history to come up with a reasonable explanation for that. This means I have to flesh them out more and it is that process which helps me to get to know them well enough to create situations I can put them in.

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Hope you enjoy my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction – Litter. What will Rosie do when confronted by litter louts? Who gets the upper hand and how? Find out here!
Screenshot 2024-06-07 at 10-00-24 Litter by Allison Symes

6th June 2024 – 80 Years Ago…

To all who fought on the beaches 80 years ago on D-Day, thank you.
To all who worked behind the scenes to make D-Day a reality, thank you.
To those who came back, thank you.
To those who did not, thank you.
The least we can do is remember.
Allison Symes
6th June 2024

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Writing flash fiction has led to me writing more in the first person and it does have its advantages. It is immediate. I take you straight into my characters’ heads. You literally see their world through their eyes.

But I do like a good balance so when I’m thinking of stories, one of the first questions I ask myself is whether this would work best in first or third person. When I’ve got more than one character in a story, then I’m going straight for third person (though I may get one of the characters to show you some of their thoughts if it is appropriate to do so).

For individual characters, first person is inevitable though I often get them to refer to other characters who mean something to them. Doesn’t necessarily need to be a good meaning either!

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Fairytales with Bite – The Establishment

Who or what makes up the establishment in your setting? How did it become the establishment? Is it based on long standing traditions, rights of inheritance, or have your characters had to fight their way to the top? Or is it a mixture?

What do the”ordinary” characters make of the establishment? Are they generally in support or are they oppressed by it? Does magic underpin the way the establishment works and could that be broken by anyone?

Give some thought as to how your establishment issues laws. Is it rule by diktat or is there some semblance of democracy? What did your current establishment replace? Is the replacement an improvement or not? Are all species in your world setting represented in this body or are some deliberately excluded?

What role has the history of your setting placed in getting an establishment established in the first place?
Does it have any role to play in the lives of most of your characters or is a remote establishment in that local governments etc do the day-to-day running of things and most characters are more affected by what they do instead?

Every society has an establishment of some sort though the make up of these differs. You could use what we have here – monarchies, republics (democratic or otherwise) – to give interesting backdrops to your stories.

Also could your establishments hinder your characters in what they are trying to achieve in your stories? If so, how? Hiw do your characters overcome that, assuming they do?

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This World and Others – The Hospitality Industry

One of the sectors to be affected the worst by Covid was the hospitality industry. It didn’t matter what country you were in – this applied worldwide. In your setting, what does the hospitality industry comprise of and what disaster could hit them badly? How is that disaster resolved?

Every so often I like to go out for a pub meal with family but have noticed, though the pubs are recovering from the pandemic, they are still not fully back to how they had been. Hopefully time will rectify that. But in the event of a disaster in your setting, how long would it take your hospitality industry to recover? What support would they have?

Separately, think about who works in this industry. They meet people all the time. They probably get to hear and see interesting things while serving drinks, meals etc. This was certainly true of The Prancing Pony in The Lord of the Rings!

So who could you get to be in a pub like environment? What would they say which might be of interest to someone else (and why is it of interest)? What pivotal role could your hospitality settings play here?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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