Classic Stories

January 27, 20232 Comments

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. Very busy one for me. Not sorry the weekend is almost here as I share this. Looking forward to visiting a local pantomime and winding down on Sunday, I hope.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Delighted to share Classic Stories, my post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at what I think makes a story qualify as being a classic and share some of my favourites. I also take a peek at inspirational stories (which so often go on to become classics) and what we can learn from classic tales. Hope you enjoy and do share some of your classics in the comments box.

Classic Stories

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Looking forward to sharing Classic Stories, my latest post for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link to go up tomorrow. Heading off to the local panto on Saturday – oh yes I am! Will review in due course for CFT. Looking forward to seeing what The Chameleon Theatre Group “do” with Pinocchio – I do know it will be a lot of fun!

When you’re thinking of characters for your stories, where do you start? I often look at major traits as they are a great way in to find out what you need to know. If someone is honest, they can also be tactless (just how honest is honest?!). And that just names one example. Also you can use traits like this to set up characters who have the exact opposite trait and really set the fireworks going here as the two characters will inevitably clash.

Don’t forget my author newsletter goes out on the first of the month so do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com if you would like to sign up. And a big welcome to those who have joined up since last time.

Hope you have had a good day. I was chatting earlier today about favourite characters (of my own and those of other authors) and I picked one of each. It was hard to pick just one. I love a whole range of characters in literature and so much depends on what I feel like reading. If I’m in the mood for a crime novel, one of my favourite characters will be in one of those books somewhere! If I’m up for humorous fantasy, as I so often am, well it’s Sam Vimes from the much missed Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series all the way here. So how would you make a selection here?

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Why Now? Find out why my character, Bella, really dislikes government inspections. Hope you enjoy.

On a separate note, I did enjoy receiving the latest delivery of my two flash fiction collections today – From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic – to replenish my stocks. Always lovely opening parcels like that!

Had a lovely time at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group last night (25th January 2023) on Zoom. Got chatting about favourites – tips, word counts etc and also at some of the downsides of favourites. I deliberately mix up the random generators I use for example so I am not just confined to using a couple of them. Also stretching myself by trying something new here has helped me find stories I would never have written otherwise and I like that too.

One of the lovely things about flash fiction is I get to invent characters all the time. Sometimes I use a character in more than one flash tale and that’s fine too. But I have always loved inventing my own people and given flash has to be character led, (no room for convoluted plots etc), I get to create lots of different people (and other beings) and put them in interesting situations, sometimes funny, sometimes anything but. It is a joyous thing to do and yet another reason to heartily recommend giving flash fiction writing a go.

Fairytales With Bite – Themes from the Pantomimes

I will be going to see my local amateur theatre’s production of Pinocchio soon and this led to my thinking about the themes behind so many of the pantomimes, which in turn often come from the classic fairytales.

Pinocchio – theme of acceptance.

The Ugly Duckling – also has the theme of acceptance but I would add in a second theme of not judging someone by their looks.

Beauty and the Beast – Love conquers all, don’t judge by appearances and, for the Beast, this is particularly true given he was cursed by an old woman he insulted, not realising she was a powerful magical being. Third theme here: don’t misjudge older characters!

Cinderella – Love conquers all/right will be done eventually (though I would still be cross with the fairy godmother for turning up so late if I was Cinders. She could’ve done with help much earlier on in the story!).

Aladdin – Theme of rough diamond winning through, also of not letting setbacks get in the way.

Puss in Boots – Cats are smarter than you think!

This World and Others – Entertainment

Often going to see a pantomime is someone’s first experience of live theatre and that’s a great thing as it encourages going again to see other pantomimes before going on to try other forms of theatrical entertainment. I’ve found National Theatre Live a great way to discover Shakespeare but my early experiences of theatre were the pantomimes.

In your fictional setting, which forms of entertainment exist? Is the government here a big believer in the “bread and circuses” policy adopted by the Romans who thought, as long as people had those things, they wouldn’t cause trouble? Does it work in your setting?

How long have these entertainments been on offer and have they developed from something even further back in time for your world? Are there forms of entertainment which would not be tolerated in any circumstances? Are there forms of prescribed entertainment your characters have to go to, regardless of their own feelings in the matter? Are there underground/fringe entertainments?

Now I am very glad that things like bear baiting no longer exist in my part of the world but this was part of my country’s history for a very long while. So how does your fictional setting decide which entertainment should not happen any more and what are the driving forces behind this?

Do your characters make their living in the entertainment industry?> Is this well regarded or not and how do your characters feel about it? There are story ideas here!

Why Now? by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/PHIhHfSoxY Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Why Now? Find out why my character, Bella, really dislikes government inspections. Hope you enjoy. pic.twitter.com/jVyz8STX91
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) January 27, 2023

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Classic Stories https://t.co/S1NRXEWCd6 Pleased to share Classic Stories, my CFT post. I look at what makes a story qualify as a classic and share some favourites. I take a peek at inspirational stories (which often become classics) and what we can learn from classic tales.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) January 27, 2023

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE

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Names in Fiction

April 22, 2022Leave a comment

Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots and photo taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you have had a good week. Lady has been enjoying the sunshine and meeting up with her dog pals all week. I’m busy preparing workshops and looking forward to running them.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I’m pleased to share Names in Fiction, my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post. I don’t always know the names of my characters immediately. Often I will know their major trait and their situation and ideas for names will emerge from knowing those things.

Setting helps too as if I’m writing a historical piece as I do sometimes, I will want to make sure the name is suitable for that time period. Sometimes I will jot down a name but a better one will come to me as I’m drafting so I change it, but once I do have the right name for the right character in the right story, nothing is making me change it!

I share thoughts on useful sources to find names in my post, as well as looking at how names have meaning and how that can be used by writers. Surnames didn’t happen until after the 1066 Norman Conquest in England so that is something which has to be borne in mind by historical writers.

I’ve used names to indicate the likely age of a character without spelling the age out. For example, I named a character Walter. Not likely to be a young person with a name like that, right? Correct, he wasn’t.

Hope you find the post useful.

Names In Fiction

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I’m talking about Names in Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above. I look at how writers can use names to add to their characterisation and how certain names have gone into the language. I’ll also be sharing tips on using names and good places to find them. (Don’t forget the old random name generators too).

Am looking forward to seeing The Dragon of Wantley, the panto being put on by the Chameleon Theatre Group, next Thursday. It’ll be lovely to catch up with Janet Williams, my lovely editor at CFT. I do see these evenings as “Chandler’s Ford Today works outings” when Janet and I both get to go! Review in due course. And it is so nice getting back to seeing live theatre again.

Do you find it hard to come up with names for your characters? Sometimes I know a name immediately. Sometimes I know who my character is going to be in terms of personality first and that in turn will give me ideas for names to suit that personality.

I don’t always worry about surnames and, where it is appropriate for the story, I stick to first person and just use I throughout. What matters I think is knowing how you are going to get “into” writing your story. I have to know the character’s major trait as so much comes from that. Some writers absolutely have to know the name first or to be able to visualise their people and that’s fine.

What I hope is my post on Friday will be a useful guide as to where you can find inspiration for names as there are various ways to find ideas here.

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It’s been another lovely day in Hampshire. Someone has enjoyed her time out and about – see pic.

Looking forward to taking part in the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group on Zoom later this evening.

One thing to come out of the pandemic was the increasing use of Zoom and that has made many things possible. I can talk to family members in New Zealand easily for example. Genre group meetings like this one, where the people taking part live several hundreds of miles away from each other, is something else made possible.

Am busy getting my author newsletter ready for the beginning of May. Do head over to my website at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com if you would like to sign up.

Am putting finishing touches to various blogs I write for on a monthly basis – I like to keep ahead of myself here so when one has gone out online, fairly soon afterwards the next month’s one is up and scheduled. Gives me plenty of thinking time too and that is always a good thing.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am pleased to share my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction. This one is called Where Am I? It is based on a prompt thrown up by a random scenario generator (which was about waking up in a strange room). Hope you enjoy it and a big thank you to all who have commented on this one already.

Another lovely spring day in Hampshire. Dog was equally impressed.

I’ve been asked an interesting question about whether flash is necessarily about moral twists. Not necessarily. You can argue that Jesus’s parables in the New Testament and Aesop’s Fables are flash fiction given they are mainly within the word count for flash and yes they have a moral message and there can be twists to them. Whoever would expect a tortoise to win a race against a hare, for example?

But a lot of my stories don’t exactly have a moral message though, as with most fiction, you can learn a lot about what not to do or be thanks to following the exploits of the characters. You can “watch” as you read as the characters make mistakes that make you wince etc and think I’d never do that. That is one of the great joys or reading fiction!

Where I think flash does come into its own is having a powerful impact for such a small word count. You can get the “punch in the gut” effect that much more quickly and a writer can exploit that.

Do you have a favourite kind of character to write stories around? I think most of us do. I have a soft spot for the feisty older woman character where you know there is more to her than meets the eye. I’ve always loved this kind of character in the fairytales. You know the kind – the old woman who suddenly turns out to be a powerful magical being and cuts some arrogant twerp down to size. (See Beauty and the Beast for more on that!).

I suppose behind this is a wish that older characters aren’t written off as being unimportant (and I wish that too for older people in general). What matters here is caring about the characters you dream up because only then can you write their stories up with any conviction. The first person to enjoy your story has to be you, the writer.

Fairytales with Bite – The Older Magical Practitioner

I have a very soft spot for the older magical practitioner in fairytales. I love those wizened older people who turn out to be a powerful fairy godmother/wizard in disguise who then usually go on to teach some arrogant so-and-so a much needed lesson.

I know my love of this character type is partly due to my own wish that older people are not underestimated or dismissed for being old. I don’t want age to be a factor for my characters. Indeed, if anything, I want their years of experience to have beneficial outcomes in the stories I’m writing about them now. I want experience to count for something.

The ideal sweet spot for me is having a character like that teamed up with someone younger, faster etc but who is willing to learn from them. They could make a formidable team!

What uses do you put your older characters to in your stories? Yes, they can be invaluable sources of advice but I would want them to do practical things that the younger ones could not. I would want the younger ones to do the things the older characters could not. Genuine team work.

Ageism, for me, has no place in fiction (or indeed anywhere!). Yes, sure your older characters aren’t going to be able to do what they could easily do years ago but there should be other things they can do instead, tips and tricks they’ve learned along the way precisely because they can’t do the other stuff any more. So what do you get your characters to do? Are you limiting what they can do?

This World and Others – Age

Going on from my Fairytales with Bite post, how does your fictional world react to age? Is it respected or despised? A lot will depend on the cultural background of your characters so how can you play on that to come up with interesting tales? You could get some nice tensions/conflicts between between those who respect age and those who do not. Here I would want the old ones to prove those who despise them wrong!

You can also write about age as an era and show how your fictional world has moved on (or not) from times past. What consequences would that have for your characters in the here and now?

Does age work in the same way it does here or is reverse aging possible? What conflicts could that cause? Also are only certain species/classes allowed to get to certain ages and beyond?

The Easter story is amazing. It is the little moments that get me. I understand why Mary thought Jesus was the gardener. I can picture that. We need to add little touches to our characters so they resonate with our readers. What is it about your characters we would understand? pic.twitter.com/AQKMWjatdE
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 20, 2022

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My favourite characters in stories are those who are redeemable and those who make mistakes but then go on to put what they can right. What mistakes have your characters made? When do they realise they need to correct things as much as they can? pic.twitter.com/agCYPY5kfS
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 21, 2022

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I like to get “behind” a character so there must be something about them I understand. I don’t have to agree with all they come out with but do have to get their basic rationale. What motivates your characters? What would drive them to do/say things they wouldn’t usually say/do? pic.twitter.com/bHqKoWnSY0
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 22, 2022

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Names In Fiction https://t.co/kTR1iLKNDK I’m pleased to share my new CFT post. I don’t always know my character names immediately. I know their major trait/situation and name ideas emerge. I share sources to find names and look at how names have meaning.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 22, 2022

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Where Am I? by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/Mrdj7B5f1s Hope you like my latest tale here. The idea for this one came from a random scenario generator where the prompt was about waking up in a strange room. pic.twitter.com/AaTQIIqSee
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 22, 2022

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Favourite Characters and Misunderstandings

July 27, 2021Leave a comment

Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

Looking forward to giving a talk on flash fiction to Byre Writers later this week. Always good to share the joys of writing and reading flash fiction.

Facebook – General

Hope your Tuesday has gone well. Glad to be swimming this afternoon. Refreshing and it is the only sport I do with any reasonable proficiency. I don’t use the time in the pool to think out stories or articles funnily enough. Again, as with being out and about in the natural world, it is the break away from the desk that helps the most. (Lady still doesn’t understand why she can’t go with me. She would cause chaos – no chance at all of her keeping to the proper lane!).

I’m a bit later at my desk tonight for various reasons (one of those days for a start!) but what matters is getting there at all and making the most of whatever writing time I have. I won’t be writing so much this Thursday for example as I will be back at our local Ritchie Hall watching The Chameleons in their come back production after the pandemic. Will be so good to see them back (and what with singing in church again on Sunday, it does seem some normality has returned).

But whether I have a long writing session or a short one, I aim to have something done by the end of said session I can either develop further when I have more time or I have flash stories ready for editing later.

I’ve learned to appreciate that if I only have ten minutes to write, say, then I will make the most of those ten minutes.

Hope you have had a great start to the week. Lady did as she got to see and play with her best buddie, the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Both dogs were so excited to see each other. Always nice to see that!

My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week is going to be a bit different. I am celebrating the glorious wildflower meadow in our local park where the dogs play. It is a wonderful sight. The funny thing is the natural world in and of itself does not inspire my writing. What it does do is give me a much needed break so I can come back to my stories raring to go. Link up on Friday and I share some great pictures too.

Looking ahead a bit, I am relishing sharing a two part interview with two of the funniest writers I know – #FranHill and #RuthLeigh (and it is so appropriate I use a hashtag for Ruth as the interviews will make clear!). That’s coming in August and I am so looking forward to reviewing The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production, the first they have been able to put on since the pandemic began. That will go up in the first week of August, just before I head off to catch up with writing pals at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School after a two year gap. It will be so lovely to see people again (and not just their top halves thanks to Zoom!).

Today has been lovely. I got to sing in church for the first time since March 2020 (and yes, I sang through a mask). It was wonderful. Really enjoyed that. Lovely to meet up with other congregation members, some of whom I haven’t seen since the first lockdown (as not everyone is into Zoom etc).

Had a lovely chat with Swanwick friends last night over Zoom. The next time I speak to one of them will be at Swanwick and that is a fabulous thought. So missed that and my writing chums there last year.

More comments coming in on Missing, my latest story on #FridayFlashFiction. Thanks, everyone, the feedback is useful and appreciated.

Am busy getting my latest author newsletter ready to go out on 1st August so if you would like exclusive stories, news, hints and tips etc., do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com.

Busy week ahead. Am looking forward to talking to Byre Writers via Zoom on Saturday morning about flash fiction.

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Hope you have had a good Saturday. Cooler today after last night’s thunderstorm.

Glad to share the link to my latest piece for Mom’s Favorite Reads. I talk about Patience in Flash Fiction Writing this time. I look at patience in characters (or the lack of it) and also at accepting the need it takes time and patience to hone your craft.

For example, I like to have a rough template to work to when writing a story and while that takes time (and patience) to begin with to get it set up so I know where I am going with my tale, I have found it saves me a lot more time later on. I also don’t go off at interesting tangents which are unhelpful to the story I am writing. (I would only have to cut these out later precisely because they don’t help the story along).

I also share my flash fiction story on the theme. Hope you enjoy and don’t forget the magazine is FREE to download from Amazon.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the respond to my latest story video, Misunderstandings, yesterday. See link below. These are great fun to write. I also share exclusive videos on my author newsletter (the next is due out on 1st August), so if you would like to sign up for that, please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I like to write a variety of flash fiction lengths as (a) this keeps things interesting for me and (b) the story length has to be right for the character I’m writing. If they need more room to show me their story, that is what they get and that is when I tend to write the 750 to 1000 word flashes. Most of mine come in at between 100 and 600 and that’s fine too.

LOOKING AHEAD - This kind of plan can help clear your thoughts

LOOKING AHEAD - Using deadlines, such as a year end, to work out what you'd like to achieve in the next 12 months is a good idea

Chandler's Ford Today post reminder picture(1)

FLASH - Flash fiction soon teaches you how to cut unnecessary words - Pixabay

Allison Symes and some early works.

Time for another Youtube video. My latest story video is called Misunderstandings and looks at what might happen when a slightly absent-minded fairy comes across someone with peculiarly shaped teeth. Hope you enjoy it.

I’m giving another Zoom talk on flash fiction to Byre Writers on Saturday morning and am so looking forward to that. It is always a joy to talk about flash and to share how, despite the word count restriction, it is more flexible than you might think at first.

After all I have written across many genres thanks to it. I go where my characters take me and I can set them any time and any where and I do. It is such fun to do too! After all, thanks to a challenge by Scottish crime writer #WendyHJones, I wrote a story about The Inside of a Ping Pong Ball! I’ve also written stories about a very creepy ghost, a witch who didn’t cheat in her magical exams (disappointing her mother a bit), and historical tales from the viewpoints of Anne Boleyn and Richard III.

And I am loving getting back to the drabble, aka the 100-worder, for#FridayFlashFiction, but I also love writing across the whole spectrum of flash. My natural home is 500 words or under but it is good to experiment and find out what works best for me. Sometimes my characters do need the whole 1000 words and that’s fine too.

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A huge thanks for the response yesterday to my post about titles. Also thanks to those who have commented on Missing, my latest #FridayFlashFiction story. I like open titles such as Missing as it gives me so many possibilities to play with – what or whom is missing? Are they found again? If someone is missing something, do they get it back? All sorts of stories can come out of writing the answers to those questions.

For flash, where sometimes the title is part of your overall word count allowance, it is even more important to come up with a crisp, intriguing title that will draw readers in and keep them with you. Random word generators can be useful for playing with ideas here.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Characters

Do you have an overall favourite character in fiction? I have too many to count! The characters that stand out the most for me are those who are unpromising at the start of the story and end up being heroes by the end of it. A hobbit is an unlikely adventurer but look what Tolkein did with his characters in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

I am also fond of characters who need redemption and find it. I also like stories where justice is seen to be done and in the right way. (I am not keen on the vengeance type of tale as you just know the character is likely to go too far with it).

I like characters I can understand even if I don’t agree with their attitudes and actions. One of my favourite characters is Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series as there is so much depth to his portrayal which is revealed over the seven novels.

So over to you then. Which are your favourite kinds of character and why?

AVBI - The author is the conduit for the character's story

AVBI - You don't want the author's voice butting in

AE - A love of reading, started early, will take you on a fab journey though so many books and stories

liked Allison Symes’s blog post: Favourite Characters https://t.co/dc5WAHGqwf via @goodreads I chat about favourite characters, unlikely heroes (see hobbits for more!), and the kind of stories I like to read in this week’s Goodreads post. pic.twitter.com/MWkdHRX8dE
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) July 24, 2021

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Favourite Characters and Publication News

November 24, 2020Leave a comment

Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

Many thanks to Dawn Knox for supplying her author photo.

Image of me signing Tripping The Flash Fantastic by Adrian Symes.

Facebook – General

Hope Tuesday has proved okay. More raking up of the oak leaves for me today with Lady assisting by looking for sticks in amongst the leaves though she would have preferred to find a squirrel.

Talking of which, I would love to know why every dog I know/have ever known, on spotting a squirrel, always looks hopeful that said squirrel will come and play with them!

Has not happened on my watch. Is unlikely ever to do so. Mind you, Lady is the only dog I’ve had who might be in with a chance of catching one.

Photo by Connor Danylenko on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Writing wise, I’ll be interviewing fellow flash fiction and Cafelit writer Dawn Knox about her latest book, The Macaroon Chronicles, on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

This will be a two part interview and we’ll be discussing the challenges of writing chronicles, what drew Dawn into writing, and how long it took her to become an established author, amongst other interesting topics.

I love conversations with other writers. I always learn something useful. Given no two writers ever have the same writing journey, it is fascinating to find out what others have found most helpful to their writing or, conversely, find out what they think has to be the worse writing advice of all time etc. Link up on Friday.

I haven’t kept a word count for my kind of NaNoWriMo project but to be fair I never intended to do so. My non-fiction project needed restructuring, which I’ve now done, and it is now a question of adding material to it. Then a massive edit or several! But that’s okay. I’m enjoying seeing the project coming together and this is an interesting experience since I’ve not written non-fiction to this length before.

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Am continuing to have fun playing with Book Brush.

Many thanks to Dawn Knox for inviting me on to her blog today. It was great fun to take part. I chat about flash fiction, Tripping the Flash Fantastic, the one regret I have about writing and other topics.

Do check the interview here.

And more news from Dawn and I in a moment….

: Dawn Knox. Image kindly supplied by her.

Bonus Post – Publication News

Talking of further news from Dawn Knox and I…

It has been a busy Monday, as always, but it was nice to discover further publication news! Dawn and I both have stories in the new Bridge House Publishing anthology, Mulling It Over. It is currently out as an ebook but the paperback will be out soon.

Many congratulations to the other authors in this ecletic collection. It is always great fun to be between the (electronic) covers with writer friends!
My story, It Is Time, is one of my colder, darker ones. Appropriate for this time of year I guess!

It was great fun taking part in the Brechin/Angus Book Fest earlier today (22nd November 2020). I shared videos for Judgement Day, Being Yourself, and the book trailer for Tripping The Flash Fantastic. (See further down for all of these).

I also shared some of the recent images I’ve had fun creating on Book Brush! (The phone one which also has From Light to Dark and Back Again on it too works really well I think). (Again see below).

Below is a round-up of my posts from earlier today in descending order of appearance.

Last but not least from me. This is Judgement Day from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Hope you enjoy.

Am happy to take questions about flash fiction. The irony is I never started out as a flash fiction writer. I discovered the form by accident but it has been a very happy accident!

My story, Being Yourself, on Brechin/Angus Book Festival today.

My book trailer as shown on the Brechin/Angus Book Festival event today.

Many thanks #SarahArchibald for your hard work putting the Festival together online. Great fun to take part! A big thanks for the opportunity events like this give authors especially since our usual events are not possible right now.

It was also lovely to share the posts and share a little of what flash fiction is about. It is the ultimate in the quick read of course but its impact should be a powerful one precisely because of its reduced word count. It lives up to the phrase less is more!

More details about my books can be found here (Amazon Author Central)

Bonus Post – Guest Blog Appearance on Gill James’ Blog

Am delighted to share the link where I am the guest on Gill James’ blog as one of the contributors to The Best of Cafelit 9. See for more (the screenshot is a sample!).

Have been enjoying the first day of the Brechin/Angus Book Fest. Looking forward to tomorrow when I’m due on from 1.35 for about 25 minutes.
Plenty of videos to watch and you could make a good Christmas book present list here.

Continuing to make good progress on my kind of NaNoWriMo project. Really enjoying writing new material for this though I am also looking forward to tackling the editing later on. I like editing. You can almost “feel” your work improving when taking out the wasted words and so on.

Good questions to ask when preparing blog, Facebook posts etc include:-

1. What have I learned as a writer that could benefit others? Posts like that are always useful and I have learned from so many over the years and continue to do so.

2. How can I entertain a reader so they’ll want to come back to read more of my posts? One of my ways is to share a new flash fiction story every so often. Flash being so short works well for this – and who doesn’t like a new story to read from time to time?

“See” you tomorrow at Brechin online!

A favourite of attendees at Swanwick - the trusty notebook and pen to take down invaluable advice

Screenshot_2020-11-09 Allison Symes - YouTube

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

STEPS - We all need to recharge at times - Pixabay

READING CHALLENGE - Good stories and articles will make you question and that's a good thing

It can surprise new authors especially how much research can be needed to write your book and yes that applies to fiction

Feature Image - Brechin_Angus Book Festival - Local Author News - Allison Symes

INTERVIEWS - What is it about your stories we as readers absolutely have to know about

Social media is crucial for online events to happen, especially Facebook

INTERVIEWS - Good advice but you may well prefer a computer

True but what makes your book unique, what could be YOUR niche

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Monologues can make great flash fiction pieces. I find they work best when kept short anyway so you’re immediately on to a winner there. Monologue with its demand for the focus to be on one character and flash fiction with its demand to keep the word count low make for a good match!

I outline my characters for my stories and, if you don’t usually do that, it would pay to do this for monologue writing. The question to ask above all I think is what it is about this character that they deserve a monologue?

What would fascinate a reader to keep them glued to your character?

A good tip is always to put yourself in your potential readers’ shoes and ask what is in this story for them?

MY NANOWRIMO - Setting a goal AND working out steps to achieve it has helped me a lot

MY NANOWRIMO - setting your own writing pace is a good idea

HISTORY - Taking time out to work out what you need to know about your characters does pay

READING CHALLENGE - Asking yourself questions about something you've read triggers ideas for your work - it always has for me

READING CHALLENGE - Good questions to ask your characters or help you find what made an article work for you

HISTORY - What DO your readers need to know about your characters

Hope your Monday has been okay. Mine has been hectic as usual but the plus side of that is it will free up more writing time for me later on in the week, which I make good use of!

Lovely watching Lady having a good old fun session with her Rhodesian Ridgeback buddie this morning. (It is a case of watch the show and stay well out of the way! Part of the reason for that is both dogs are still convinced they’re puppies… erm….no… and they have the size to prove not!).

The weekend went from having a flu jab to cracking on with my kind of NaNoWriMo project to taking part in the Brechin/Angus Book Festival. So yes, it got better as the weekend went on!

Writing wise, I’m drafting a future CFT post as well as working on my big project. I’m a little ahead of myself for once with CFT as I have a fab interview to share over the next two Fridays. More on that tomorrow and link up on Friday of course.

(I can always tell how rapidly the year is going thanks to writing for CFT. The Friday deadline zooms and then vanishes week on week and before I know it, another 12 months has gone by. Mind you, I don’t think anyone is going to be sorry about that this year).

Am working also on more flash material which will no doubt see the light of day in due course. Oh and how about a flash two-line story to finish with tonight? Here goes…

To Turn Or Not To Turn, That Is The Question

It wasn’t the odd creaking that terrified Bill. It was the frightened rat who was looking at something behind Bill.

Ends.

Allison Symes – 23rd November 2020

FLASH - Flash fiction can only show so much but that is the point - it is all on the focus - Pixabay

FEEDING YOUR WRITING - No matter how oddball your location can we identify with your theme

SEASONS IN WRITING - I don't have a prescriptive job list but DO plan my writing out to make the best of the time slots available to me

WRITING PROMPTS - Whether you use prompts or not, there's no getting away from the editing

WRITING PROMPTS - I hope your posture is better than that shown here though!

BACKGROUND CHARACTERS - Do your background characters act as catalysts in your story - Pixabay image

PRIORITISING - Have you ticked off all on your lists - Pixabay

WRITING DOES - what aspect of creativity sparks your imagination

New Story Video on My Youtube Channel

It has been a busy day on the old video front but given it’s a Sunday evening as I share this, what better than to finish the weekend with another story? I took my The Best Laid Plans which I shared here a couple of weeks ago and created a video for it using Book Brush and then uploaded it to Youtube. Be sure to watch to the end! Hope you enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilOcaCJMqQc

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPCiePD4p_vWp4bz2d80SJA

I must admit I don’t have a favourite character in my stories, which is just as well I suspect, given I’m inventing people all the time for flash fiction writing. My favourite kinds of character do have things in common though.

They’ve got a sense of humour.

They’ve got guts.

They’re prepared to stand up for what they believe in.

I especially love those characters where coming out with witty one-liners would be appropriate for them to do.

I have a soft spot for thoughtful characters where their reflections show you so much about their personality. Flash fiction works well for this kind of story as they work best when kept short.

Favourite characters from other books? Hmm… hard to say as there are so many to choose from but they have to have some of the above attributes to catch and keep my fancy.

CREATING CHARACTERS - Which direction will your characters choose

PREPARE TO LAUNCH - Mind you, it might be a good idea to NOT keep your notes on your PC quite like this

CREATING CHARACTERS - What story worlds will emerge from your keyboard

WRITING PROMPTS - Coming up with characters is fantastic fun but I like to mix up how I do things to keep my writing fresh

INTERVIEWS - You could ask this of your character but also of yourself

Give yourself plenty of time ahead of a competition deadline

HONEST WRITING - Readers should be able to trust your writing

WRITING DOES - there will be times you will feel like this when writing but focus on what makes you write in the first place

HONEST WRITING - I admit to having a soft spot for the odd ball character

Good ideas these but another good tip is to set your own deadline ahead of a competition one

Goodreads Author Blog – The Joy of (online) Book Festivals

This weekend is going to be an interesting one as I’ll be taking part in a Book Festival for the first time. I’ll be “at” the Brechin/Angus Book Festival which finishes tomorrow, Sunday 22nd November. I’ll be “on” at about 1.35 pm UK time and am looking forward to sharing the joys of flash fiction, which is the form in which I’ve been published the most.

Book Festivals and events are wonderful ways of celebrating the written and spoken word. (Bear in mind we do talk about audio books).

The one positive thing about this strange and horrible year has been that many events like this have been able to take place online and that has made them more accessible to more people.

I wouldn’t ordinarily have been able to get to Brechin for one event, much as I’d love to go, as from what I’ve seen, Brechin looks lovely. But I can take part in its Festival online (so a big thanks to the organisers and #WendyHJones for putting me on to this one).

I love going to book fairs and the like even when I haven’t got my author’s hat on. I love seeing the variety of books available and I enjoy listening to author talks too. The latter can still be done.

For the first time this year I’ve made videos of my reading from Tripping The Flash Fantastic and explaining a little about how I came to write the story I chose to read.

What I do know is authors are still glad of reader support and always will be. Whether it’s writing a review or going along to an online event and commenting on videos you’ve enjoyed watching, remember it all helps.

And in helping authors, you’re helping books in general. You’re showing they’re important. That books matter. They so do!

SEASONS POST - Pressing on Towards the Light

CHANGES POST - Improving your writing takes time and practice - image via Pixabay

READING CHALLENGE - Overnight success in writing is unlikely but support from others on your writing journey can help spur you on to new heights

WRITING DOES - couldn't have put it better

HISTORY - What stays in your book or story must grip your reader and only you can decide what details must go in

SEASONS IN WRITING - But setting your own deadline can be helpful for writing competitions

WRITING DOES - whatever you use to work with, enjoy the writing

Twitter Corner –

Re Brechin/Angus Book Festival – tweeted on 22nd November 2020

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>Great fun to take part in the Brechin/Angus Book Festival today. I was on from about 1.35 for 20 minutes or so but the Festival does go on for the rest of today. Grab a notebook and make a Books Make Great Christmas Presents shopping list!!<a href=”https://t.co/5ygkIuokBi”>https://t.co/5ygkIuokBi</a>— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AllisonSymes1/status/1330510528591093760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 22, 2020</a></blockquote> https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Re appearance on Gill James’ blog – 22nd November 2020

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>Gill’s Blog: Talking to another of our Best of CafeLit 9 contri… <a href=”https://t.co/4MIXeTjl76″>https://t.co/4MIXeTjl76</a> I was thrilled to be guest on Gill James’ blog today. Screenshot is a sample! See link for what led me into writing for Cafelit and what I find more difficult than writing stories for them! <a href=”https://t.co/BiMUZ1oalD”>pic.twitter.com/BiMUZ1oalD</a>— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AllisonSymes1/status/1330609892701462529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 22, 2020</a></blockquote> https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Re Appearance on Dawn Knox’s blog – 23rd November 2020

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>Please join <a href=”https://twitter.com/AllisonSymes1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AllisonSymes1</a> on my blog today and find out more about her new book ‘Tripping the Flash Fantastic’, her writing and what she thinks of custard, cheese and chocolate! <a href=”https://t.co/SSJrZfIr0a”>https://t.co/SSJrZfIr0a</a>— Dawn Knox (@SunriseCalls) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SunriseCalls/status/1330803625375961089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 23, 2020</a></blockquote> https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Interviews and Characters

February 7, 2020Leave a comment

Image Credit: As ever, unless otherwise stated, all images are from Pixabay.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

For my CFT post this week, I look at why writer interviews are so useful. I also share news of an interview I’ve taken part in, more details on that next week, and share memories of an interview that went wrong and another that involved an Emu! Anyone growing up in 1970s Britain will remember the latter!

I look at what I think makes for a good interview too and share my thoughts on interview etiquette. I also share a little of how I go about interviewing authors for Chandler’s Ford Today (and I hope there will be many more of those later this year).

I discuss the art of interviews as part of my Interviews post on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Good preparation for an interview is important for both parties to it, of course. But it is just as important for writers, as well as interviewers and interviewees, to think of good questions. (In the latter’s case, anticipating questions that are likely to come up gives you time to prepare your answers).

For fiction writers, you may well want to interview your characters to find out more about them and what makes them tick before you write their stories. (I do this as part of my outlining process. I have to ask what the character thinks makes them tick. They don’t have to be right! Other characters may have completely different ideas as to how Character A really ticks!).

For non-fiction writers, it’s a question of working out what research you need to do for your project and there you ask yourself what you think you need to know. As you start working on your project, other questions will inevitably crop up but, having already decided where and how you will research and found answers to those initial questions, you will know where to look to deal with the other ones as they come up!

I often find this to be the case for my CFT posts. I know a thread I need to look into initially to help me write on my topic. Inevitably there will be threads from those initial ones I need to check out to see if they are relevant to what I want to write about. Sometimes they are. Not always. It is important not to be sidetracked but this is where asking yourself what you really need to know first can help. It helps to keep you focussed.

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How well do you know your characters before you start writing your stories?

Particularly for flash fiction, I outline what I need to know about my character before I work out what their story is.

A character who is a loud mouth is going to need a tale that will show this trait in action and the resultant consequences. This could easily be a funny story or a tragic one.

A quiet mouse of a character is going to need a tale that will either show when that trait saves the day or they get so fed up of being treated as a doormat, they rebel. Then you can go into the consequences…

I’m a great believer in getting the character right. Then it is a question of deciding what kind of story they WOULD naturally be at home in and whether that shows them at their best or their worst. Either can be a great deal of fun!

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My CFT post this week will be about interviews and what I think constitutes a good one. It’s a timely post for me as you’ll see when I put the link up on Friday! (I also hope to be sharing more interviews later in the year on CFT too).

Moving on, let’s think of a wish list for writers. My top three wishes would be:-

1. Time expands so you can do all the writing you want and the boring things of life (e.g. housework) somehow magically go away. I do see that as one wish, so there!

2. There are never any tech issues. Computer batteries won’t go too flat. You’ll never get a power cut at any awkward moment (if only!). You’ll always be able to connect to the net. I’m sure you can think of loads to add to that one!

3. Never running out of ideas and enthuasism for writing (again I see that as one wish on the grounds the first bit is no good whatsoever without the second part as well).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I see a novel as akin to seeing a beautiful tapestry on a wall. You step back and literally see the whole thing. You are rightly taken in by its scale and how much it covers. There are so many wonderful threads to follow and your breath is taken away wondering at the mastery in putting such a thing together. You are immersed in the whole world portrayed.

A novella is like seeing one half of the tapestry, complete in and of itself, with plenty of stunning details to take in but simply not as much as the full novel, which is fair enough. But there is more than enough to capture your interest, plenty of threads to follow, again just not so many as the novel, but exactly the right amount for what you want to take in and enjoy. (I’m very pleased to see the form is back. Why? Well, people have all kinds of tastes in reading, not just in genre, but in length of story that they want too. There is plenty of scope for the novella).

A short story is like seeing one quarter of the tapestry. There is still plenty of detail. There are interesting threads to follow but obviously not so many as for a novella or a novel. You are taking in a world in minature and that’s fine. Maybe you want to enjoy some of these before taking in the whole of the tapestry again. (I often read flash fiction and/or short story collections in between reading novels).

Flash fiction is like focusing on one section of that quarter of the tapestry. You can’t see the whole picture. You are literally too close to it. Everything else around that section is blocked from your view. What you DO do is find those wonderful moments of sheer detail that those looking for the bigger picture will overlook as they have so much to take in and follow. They are standing too far back to spot what you are looking at. You are focusing on the ONE most important thing and can tease out every vital detail from that. You will pick up on things missed by the longer forms of creative writing.

And I love them all! (Whatever your preference is here enjoy! Writing and reading are two of the most wonderful things in life).

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Story time again. Hope you enjoy.

Putting My Face On

If I can fake this, I’ve got it made.

I’ve only got to go and meet John at 3. I don’t want to go but it will be the acid test. If I can keep my act together when I meet him, I can keep it together for anyone. Anyone, I tell you.

So if a bit of lippy and rouge are what I need to cover how I feel, so be it.

Well, I say I’ll meet him. It’s really a question of seeing him.

John’s in the Chapel of Rest at the local undertakers.

I put him there.

ENDS

Allison Symes – 6th February 2020

Now this is one of those tales where I knew my lead wasn’t looking forward to meeting John but I then had to work out why. So I did! Could’ve taken this in all sorts of directions but that is the joy of flash. It is open to genre and I fancied this one being a crime tale.

The irony is I can change the mood of the story completely by adding a few words to the ending.

If I added “I put him there – and so wished I hadn’t” – the mood of the story completely changes. Yes, there could still be a crime element but tragedy becomes the lead genre here instead.

So have fun with your flash fiction. Think about what impact you want your character and story to have on a reader.

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The story I shared yesterday, Putting My Face On, was something I came up with while out on a walk with my dog, Lady. I mentioned yesterday I could’ve changed the mood of the story by adding a few words. That is one of the arts of flash fiction if you like. You can change mood with a judiciously placed word here and there. The fun bit for you as the writer is working out what mood it is you want to go with!

The story on the book trailer for FLTDBA is one of my favourites. Part of the reason for that is the whole mood of the story turns on the very last word of Calling The Doctor. Do check the trailer out and you’ll see what I mean.

One thing I make sure of is that whenever the twist of moods comes in the story, it IS something that could reasonably be expected from the rest of the tale based on the information given.

Calling The Doctor does this because the conversational style of my narrator here is (a) consistent and (b) ties in with the mental image you will form of the character especially their age and such a conversational style would be appropriate for them and their age. The story leads up to … but that would be telling now, wouldn’t it! But the denouement is appropriate given the facts already stated by my narrator.

And very conveniently here is the book trailer with Calling the Doctor for you to check out!

Fairytales with Bite – Favourite Character Types

We all have our favourite kinds of characters, the ones we instantly gel with when we come across them on the page/on audio/on video etc. Some of mine include:-

The underdog. I always look out for the character who is bullied, despised, overlooked etc. I am never surprised when this character beats all the odds and has transformed their life by the end of the story. I adore stories like that.
The fairy godmother. I love these. They are the agents through which cruelty and neglect will be put right. (Think Cinderella especially). Sadly we only know cruelty and neglect are so often not put right and even as a kid I remember being aware of that. Fairytales are comforting in that in those you know things will be rectified. I think we all need that comfort sometimes.
The one who sees the error of their ways. Firstly, they too can be used to transform the story. Secondly, I like anyone who can see the error of their ways in life as well as in fiction! I am also very fond of redemption stories. I like to see characters being redeemed (it gives hope for us all!) but it has to be done in a way that makes sense. This is why I think gradual realisation of said errors is far more realistic.

Whatever your favourite kinds of characters, happy reading!

This World and Others –

What I Like to See in Created Worlds

I like to get a picture of the overall world. This is partly because I’m nosey (!) and partly because I like to be convinced the writer really has thought it through.
I like to see a system of government, even if it is a basic one. A world does have to have someone leading it after all. (Best one here: Terry Pratchett’s wonderful Lord Vetinari from the Discworld series).
I like to know how people live. I love the Middle Earth/Shire scenes in The Lord of the Rings. Okay, I could probably make myself very cosy and comfortable living in a hobbit hole as I’m not tall (that’s my example of understatement for this week!). More importantly, again it convinces me the author has thought this through and recognised different species will have different kinds of home and so on.
A sense of how the different species get on, assuming they do. Where there are conflicts, and I would expect some, I want to see how these originated. Both sides in the conflict should have good reasons for holding the views they do, even if they are only good to them and their people. It should be something a reader can understand.

Managing My Writing

March 5, 2019Leave a comment

Facebook – General

I’ve found getting into a regular time for writing has helped me get more work done but I sneak in writing as and when I can during the day. (Generally easier to do at weekends). I’ve learned over time that pockets of time mount up and of course flash fiction can be written as complete works in those pockets.

I tend to break longer projects into time slots – say 20 minutes on a longer short story, 30 on writing my CFT post for the week and so on. Inevitably I will find I overrun on a piece as it “grips” me and I carry on writing but that’s fine. I will “mine” that for all I can and then carry on with whatever else I was working on afterwards or the next night. I look at my writing over the course of a week and work out what I’d like to achieve over that time span.

So don’t give up just because you haven’t much time. It’s a question, I think, of working out what you time you have got and deciding how best to “spend” that time.

Good question! Pixabay image.

The moon rising. Pixabay image.

The one time of year when Time itself is the news. Pixabay image.

Put work aside for a time and come back to it so you can look at it as a reader would. Pixabay image.

Stepping into another world.. Pixbay

The darkness can have its own beauty. Pixabay image.

Making time to read as well as write is vital. Pixabay image.

Getting the balance right in adapting work is never easy. Pixabay image.

Looking forward to going to the ACW Writers’ Day in Bath on Saturday. What are the benefits of going to days like this/writing conferences in general?

1. You get to meet other writers and make friends.

2. You learn from the talks/courses.

3. Given most of the time you’re behind on the desk on your own writing, it is fantastic to meet up with others who know what the joys and problems of writing are and can sympathise!

4. Some writing conferences run competitions. Always worth a go.

5. My CFT post from last year talks about the benefits of a good writing conference. Many thanks to Geoff Parkes for the pictures of me reading at the Open Prose night.

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Reading and writing are great joys at any time but I think they come into their own the most when your own mood isn’t so great.

Books and stories can (and indeed should) take you out of yourself and into a new world where you can lose yourself for a while. The challenge for the writer, of course, is to create a world the reader will want to spend time in. How best to do that? By creating characters the reader will either love or love to hate and where they/you have got to find out what happens to them.

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Favourite characters beginning with the letter A:-

Aslan (Narnia)
Aragorn (LOTR)
Angua (Discworld – her bark really is worse than her bite!)
Adora (Belle Deerheart – Discworld. Feisty doesn’t begin to cover it for this character!).

All of these characters are memorable and stand out, not least because one of them is a lion! All overcome perils (and in Aslan’s case death as well. See The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe for more on that! I refuse to believe this is a plot spoiler after all this time. Having said that, much as I love the book, I think Prince Caspian is even better).

It is the characters that draw me into any story, regardless of its genre. Yes, an odd set-up can provoke my curiosity but unless the characters appeal in some way, I won’t stay with that story.

PS Am having difficulty posting images with this one. Don’t know why. Sorry! This is true for my Facebook post but I can and will post images here!

Books should show you other worlds. Image via Pixabay.

No room for gobbledygook here. Image via Pixabay.

Fake news and roundabouts that are too small make it into my CFT post. Image via Pixabay.

Just how fantastic is your setting? Pixabay image.

Beware! Writer at work. Other beverages are available. Pixabay image.

Is this light the way into a new world? Pixabay image.

There is something almost mystical here. Pixabay image.

No matter how strange your characters or setting, there must still be identifiable elements for a reader. Pixabay image

CAN you manage time? Pixabay image.

Just what is your story then? Image via Pixabay

Thoughts are free but check images used are either free to use or your own! Image via Pixabay.

A good read means you ARE in a world of your own. Pixabay image

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

When does a character come alive to you, their creator?

I think it is when you can put that character in any situation (outside of those in the story) and you would know immediately how they would react/deal with it. I sometimes know what my character’s favourite songs would be. I don’t always work thing out to that level of detail but I can hear a piece and think X would like that.

And yes it is perfectly possible to be irritated/annoyed with your characters as you get to know more about them. You need to look at why that is happening and ask yourself if this is an effect you want your readers to experience. If not, it’s time for amendments!

The realm of the fairytale has always fascinated me. Pixabay image.

Is your reading journey a straight run or does it twist and turn? Pixabay image.

Great characters escape from great books! Pixabay image.

What kind of defeats and downfalls do your characters experience? Pixabay image.

Set goals for the short, medium and long terms. Pixabay image

Hope your Christmas books take you to all sorts of wonderful places! Pixabay image

Let one creative idea spark another. Pixabay image.

Write first, edit later. Pixabay.

Clarity = communicating your ideas well through your characters. Pixabay image.

Making the most of the writing time. Pixabay image

Indeed! Pixabay image.

Stories can take you to fantastic places. Pixabay image.

Where will inspiration strike? Pixabay image.

Flash fiction shines a spotlight on writing faults due to its word count limitation but that can be useful as you can then do something about said faults! It is so easy to repeat phrases or to use words that don’t add anything to your story so when I’m editing, these are the first things I look for and remove when I (inevitably) find them.

Often that edit in itself can be enough to get a story down to a required word count. Even when it isn’t, getting rid of the dross can then help you assess what you really need from what you’ve got left. And at that point, I’m looking for “does this move the story on?” or “if I cut this out, would it be missed?” I’ve found those two questions so useful for helping with edits and of course they work with longer fiction too.

Reaching out for writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.

What every author would like to achieve or set, yes? Image via Pixabay

Social media has made the world a smaller place. Image via Pixabay.

A truly beautiful diary. Image via Pixabay

What do your characters face? Pixabay image

A storyteller on their travels perhaps? Pixabay image.

So true. Pixabay image.

There was always something magical about having a blank page to write to. Image via Pixabay.

Being lost in the world of your story. Pixabay image

Playing with words. Pixabay image.

There be dragons. Pixabay

I use the first person for a lot of my flash fiction as that immediacy of viewpoint suits the story form very well. It makes it easier for me to hit the ground running with my stories by showing you their viewpoint from the outset.

I often outline a character by just working out what their chief characteristic is and then deciding how far they will take that. You can have a lot of fun here if your character’s chief trait is stubbornness! Just what trouble can they land themselves/others in… and that of course can lead to a tragic tale or a funny one.

And which is the right way?! Pixabay image.

Very true.. Pixabay image.

Plugging in for new ideas? Pixabay image

Beautiful pens. Pexels image.

I don’t always write directly to screen. Image via Pixabay

Ebooks and print – both have their own frustrations when it comes to publishing. Image via Pixabay

Books are the keys to knowledge. Image via Pixabay

The old method of printing. Image via Pixabay

Research material, notebook and pen to hand. Image via Pixabay

Let the ideas flow and let journeys encourage that! Image via Pixabay

Flash fiction can be useful for generating story ideas for fleshing out into much longer pieces later on. I’ve sometimes taken a flash piece of mine and created a separate standard short story from it (circa 1500 to 2000 words).

Sometimes I think an idea will work better at a longer length but it isn’t always the case! For example, a quirky character can work well in a short piece. In a longer one they may irritate a reader. Just not worth going there! So when I’m pondering whether or not to expand a flash fiction story, I look at whether the lead character is really up to a longer word count. And they have to have plenty going for them for the answer to that one to be “yes”! (Beware the one trick pony – they really are best off in flash fiction and staying there).

PS Sorry for lack of images. Just not loading on this or my author page today. Don’t know why. All that happens is my text vanishes and no picture appears eitther! This has occasionally happened before. Hopefully normal service with pics tomorrow… Again, this is true for Facebook today but not here!

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Goodreads Author Programme Blog –

Saturday Night is Alright for Reading

As is every other day of the week, of course! I thought of this title (and by default Elton John’s hit Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting) because I recall Saturday night being THE night for TV viewing.

There would be something good on everyone would want to watch and, especially in the days before VCR, you’d have to catch the programme live or hope for a repeat.

I was reminded of that this week with the news of the sad passing of Andre Previn aka Andrew Preview on the Morecambe and Wise Show.

So given I think that kind of Saturday night viewing is a thing of the past, perhaps making it the Big Read Night is not such a bad thought.

It does surprise me a bit, given how many great novels and short stories there are out there, that more are not adapted for TV. I would love to see the Discworld novels brought to the small screen. The Vimes/Watch novels would work particularly well. And it would be very original material too!

So back to the books for entertainment then. That’s not a bad thing!

How TV used to be! Pixabay image.

Put work aside for a time and come back to it so you can look at it as a reader would. Pixabay image.

Write to screen but edit on paper. Pixabay image.

Planning your writing can save you lots of time later. Pixabay image.

It would be a joy to research here! Pixabay image

Reading can make it seem as if you are in your own bubble! Pixabay image

Getting books into bookshops is never easy. Image via Pixabay.

Lovely and treasured book collection here. Image via Pexels

Books should keep you gripped and that is down to the characters. Image via Pixabay

Books invite you into their world. Go! Image via Pixabay.

TITLES AND PROMPTS

August 28, 2018Leave a comment

How easy do you find coming up with the right title for your story?

I can think of something suitable most of the time nigh on immediately but it is a question, when I am editing the story later, if the “something suitable” is good enough. Could it be replaced with something which will make more of an impact? Yes, it usually could be!

So I often change my initial idea but I find I have to have something to act as a peg to hang my story thoughts from before I write the tale.

I suppose the point here is be open to changing things. If at the end of the editing process, you’re not sure if the title is strong enough, then it almost certainly isn’t. Don’t be afraid to play around with different title ideas. (Often a better title idea will come to me as I edit).

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What kind of story prompts are your favourite? I’ve never used picture ones (though I must give that a go at some point).

My favourite is the opening line prompt. I spend some time working out who the lead character will be (if it is not apparent from said opening line). I also work out different directions a potential story could go in and then write up the one I like best.

I also think of the effect I want the story to have on a reader. Do I want to make them laugh, cry etc? Most of the time I go for the make them laugh route!

The ever useful post-it note. Image via Pixabay.

Love the books and the lightshade! Pexels image.

Beautiful books. Pexels image.

Walking around the grounds at Swanwick is lovely. Image by Allison Symes

Books invite you into their world. Image via Pixabay.

What stories will emerge from here? Pexels image.

Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.

One of my favourite spots at Swanwick. Image by Allison Symes

What stories will come from this pen? Pexels image.

The tools of the scrivener’s trade. We’ve come on a bit since then! Image via Pixabay

Generating the writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.

What do you like best about your favourite characters (whether you’ve created them or not)?

For me, they’ve got to have spirit and the integrity to do what is right (which is not necessarily what their society would consider right. Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice would have been expected to marry the odious Mr Collins).

A good sense of humour is also invaluable in making your characters appeal to readers. I’ve always loved Elizabeth Bennett’s wit and sense of irony and long thought of her being ahead of her time.

Good advice – and it applies to our characters too. Image via Pixabay

Good reading – and writing to be done – here. Pixabay image.

Always good advice! Pixabay image.

Could this picture inspire stories? Good fiction will take you out of the world for a while. Image via Pixabay.

Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.

Use personal reviews to help you generate characters and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.

Writing is rewriting. Image via Pixabay.

Trusted notebook! Image via Pixabay

One downside to online writing is auto-correct! Image via Pixabay

What is your favourite creative writing book? I’m very fond of On Writing by Stephen King but another favourite is How Not to Write a Novel by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman. This also has the bonus of being funny!

I love books which can get their point across humorously, there is an art to it, and I find the message sinks in much better. I suppose this is why if given a choice between reading, say, a crime novel with humour in it or one without, I will always take the “with” option!

Someone likes a light read. Pixabay image.

Love this image! Image via Pixabay

Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.

Love this bookmark! Image via Pexels

Something I’ve yet to see happen! Pixabay image.

Alas, too late for me! Image via Pixabay

Time to have another home perhaps? Good stories to be had here! Image via Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

DO WHAT YOU MUST

The monster sat down and cried
No matter how hard he tried
He wasn’t scary any more.
The awful brat showed him the door.
No chance of any street cred here.
He could hear the others jeer.
What to do now? Oh yes, he knew
It bent the rules, that was true
To hell with it; do what you can
He went to the adverts man.
It was a way to earn a crust
He would up and do what he must.
The irony was what he sold
In his world would be like gold.
Rare and only for the few.
Here, it went to anyone who
Had the ready money to pay.
He disliked it but had no say.

Allison Symes – 25th August 2018

And before you ask, yes, I loved Monsters Inc!

Assemble your characters, assemble your world. Image via Pixabay

The Ring from Lord of the Rings - image via Pixabay

This made me smile! Pixabay image.

Charging up for new ideas, maybe? Pixabay image.

Fiction can take you anywhere. Image via Pixabay.

What wonderful worlds we can creat! Image via Pixabay.

Is it Time for a Change for the dragon in my story on Cafelit? Image via Pixabay

I’ve never read a book in these conditions, have you? Pixabay image.

If a novel is a portrait of a world and its characters, then flash fiction is the equivalent of the old Polaroid instant snap!

I am revealing my age here by saying I can recall when the Polaroid was THE height of camera technology. For the first time your pictures came out immediately instead of having to take a roll of film to the chemists or where have you for developing. Yes, and for younger readers, it really was another world away in terms of technology compared with what we have now! Dinosaurs had only just stopped walking the earth etc etc 😁😉

But instant snaps really do capture moments in time and that is precisely what flash fiction should do. Hone in on what matters and nothing else. The joy of flash fiction is the focus.

: The Polaroid camera. Pexels image.

: Polaroid snapshot. Pexels image.

: How pics used to be taken. Pexels image.

: The joy of the Polaroid was having your pictures at once. Pexels image.

: Colour photography was a huge leap forwards. Pexels image.

The restrictions of flash fiction force you to think about what it is you really want to convey through your story. This is no bad thing in and of itself. I’ve found that kind of thinking through has then carried on into other writing that I do, which has definite advantages.

When it comes to editing, I’ve mentioned before that writing flash has helped me locate those wasted words I use by habit and which don’t add anything to the tale, so they’re the first things I cut. I am finding, however, that more often now as I am writing the first draft, I am instinctively NOT writing those words at all. I hope that continues!

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Flash Fiction Favourite Pointers:-

1. Never forget, no matter what the length of the story, it still needs a beginning, a middle, and an end.

2. There should be conflict pretty much from the start as without that there is no story. You do have to hit the ground running.

3. Limit your characters. You haven’t got the room for subplots. I would focus on two characters or so though there’s nothing to stop you referencing another character as part of the story, as long as that is relevant to the tale. In my story Punish the Innocent, the two characters are the mum and daughter but the mum refers to others in the letter she writes to her daughter. This fills in backstory very quickly in this case and fleshes out why the mum has the attitude she has in this story.

4. Focus on what is most important only.

5. Let your readers fill in gaps. Just show them what they need to know and let them use their imaginations for the rest. From a reading viewpoint, that is the bit which is the most fun!

Creating great characters. Image via Pexels.

The blank page (or screen) is ready for your diary (or blog!). Image via Pixabay.

I could spend many a happy hour here – the library at Prague. Image via Pixabay.

Some of the strongest ideas have a simple theme. See A Christmas Carol as a classic example. Image via Pixabay.

What writing triggers will help you create your new worlds? Image via Pixabay

Ready to write? Image via Pixabay.

Pictures in text the old fashioned way. Image via Pixabay.

Fairytale magic can go awry – characters lose powers or become power obsessed. Neither is a pretty sight. Image via Pixabay.

This, for me, would be a magical place to be. Image via Pixabay

I try NOT to chain down my creativity! Pexels image.

Fiction is strengthened when backed by fact. Image via Pixabay

What new worlds and scenes will books show you? Image via Pixabay

The magical world of the imagination. Image via Pixabay

SPECIAL CHARACTERS AND HOW CHARACTERS SPEAK

May 28, 2018May 28, 2018Leave a comment

Facebook – General

Why are your favourite characters in other writers’ stories your favourite? What is it about them that makes them stand out from the other characters in that story or book?

It pays to take time out now and again to think about these questions as the answers to them can inspire you as to how to make your own characters stand out in a way that is appropriate to them and your own story.

Another reason for reading widely and well (and including non-fiction) is you do learn from other writers and you can analyse what works well and what works less well. So the more you read, the more you can learn.

Can’t have too many notebooks and pens. Image via Pexels

Despite technology, you still can’t beat the trusted notebook and pen. Image via Pexels

Be thankful for stories, being able to write etc. Image via Pixabay

The dark can seem to overcome the light but light will prevail. Image via Pixabay

The delights of the open page. Pexels image.

From Light to Dark and Back Again perhaps? Image via Pixabay (and so beautiful)

Beautiful light. Image via Pixabay.

Some of the strongest ideas have a simple theme. See A Christmas Carol as a classic example. Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – General

Glad to say I’ll be taking part in the Hursley Park Book Fair in just under a month’s time. I’m there on the Saturday, 23rd June, and will also be giving a talk on flash fiction. The event is FREE, there is parking and a wide range of authors and genres will be represented. Hursley Park is the home of IBM and is between Romsey/Chandler’s Ford and Winchester and just on the edge of Hursley Village itself. Hope to see you there!

Image Credit: Many thanks to Glenn Salter for the book flyer image.

Facebook – General

Characters can speak in all sorts of ways, sometimes by not speaking at all! Silence as part of a story can be very powerful. A character usually happy to chat who suddenly clams up – I would want to know why, what happened to trigger the clamming up and so on.

Characters can always speak through “their” writing – diaries, letters to others and so on. Characters can also speak in the way that they talk. For example, you could have a character who refuses to use contractions and as a result their speech is far more formal than everybody else’s.

Characters can also “speak” through how they treat each other. Are they as nice as pie to most people but treat Character X despicably? Wouldn’t you want to read on and find out why?

So what are your characters telling you and your readers? And are you aware of what your characters are saying or do they surprise you (sometimes)? One of my favourite things as a writer is when I write a line and just know it is exactly what that character would say, but I also relish the “out of the ball park” moments when my characters surprise me. I like to explore where that takes me as I nearly always discover something more about my characters.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

What is the image that you want to leave in the minds of your readers from your flash story? How will you achieve that? What impact do you want your flash tale to have on your readers?

I often ask myself the latter and so think along the lines that I want this story to be a dark one, another a light one and so on. I then ask myself how can I achieve this and prepare an outline. As other ideas come to me I add them to the outline and then work out which would be best.

My outlines for flash are, appropriately, brief but they help me to focus on what I want the story to “do”.

Some very strange creatures are in books. Image via Pixabay

What worlds could there be out here? Image via Pixabay

The dark can seem to overcome the light but light will prevail. Image via Pixabay

What wonderful worlds we can creat! Image via Pixabay.

The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay

Pressing on towards the light. Image via Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My next book event will be at the Hursley Park Book Fair on 23rd June. I will be posting more details about this via Chandler’s Ford Today nearer the time but I wanted to flag it up a little early as it is a FREE event, there is plenty of parking and a wide range of authors and genres will be represented. I’m waving the flag, so to speak, for flash fiction and will be speaking about it at the event too.

The Fair is on 23rd and 24th June and my only regret is I can’t be there on the 24th as well, but these things happen! Having said that, I hope there will be a good turnout on both days. Sure to be good fun!

My book (and a friend’s!) on sale at a local gift shop. Image by Allison Symes

Books from Bridge House, Chapeltown and Cafelit

Some of my published works, the majority are anthologies. Image by Allison Symes

Don't think I'll ever tire of signing my books

Don’t think I’ll tire of signing my books! Image by Adrian Symes

Let creativity spill out - image via Pixabay

Let your creativity spill over. Image via Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Some thoughts to ponder as you create your fictional world. What would happen when push came to shove for your characters?

What do your characters do when under extreme pressure? (What is the first of their virtues to suddenly bite the dust?).

What laws do your government(s) bring in to cope with emergencies? (What freedoms and rights suddenly bite the dust?).

What good qualities does your hero/heroine suddenly discover they’ve got in response to a quest or other task they know they’ve got to see through no matter what?

What would it take for your hero/heroine to either break or compromise with evil?

What would your fictional world do to defend itself (and what could threaten it)?

What is the driving force behind your characters’ motivations and actions?

Are the media still free to operate in an emergency situation or do new rules come in?

How do the “good guys” remain “good guys”? What do they do to fight the temptation to compromise with evil?

What triggers the “push”? Who or what is behind the threats to your fictional worlds ?

Are your characters better for having been put through so much pressure or have they caved in and what are the consequences?

There is definitely plenty of stories to be written here, just answering some of those! Okay, they may be on the dark end of the scale as opposed to the light but there may be a place for your characters to show humour in the face of adversity. (Equally whether it is appropriate humour or not would tell your readers quite a bit about them).

Let your writing sparkle. Image via Pexels.

A nice clear desk (not mine!). Image via Pexels

Always good advice this. Image via Pexels

The To Be Read pile. Image via Pixabay

The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay

Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.

Aiming for more “magic” from my stories this year! Image via Pixabay.

Escape with a good book. Image via Pixabay.

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog – Character IDs

In every good book or story, there is at least one standout character. Something about that character grips you so you have to keep reading until the end of the story.

So it pays, as a writer, to work out what exactly it is about that character which gives them their unique standout identity. How has the writer treated their character’s faults and virtues?

It pays writers then to read widely and across genres, including non-fiction. The more you read, the more you take in what other writers have done with their characters and that can inspire you with your own.

We all have favourite books and most of the time the reason they’re our favourites is because of the characters. (They don’t have to be the heroes either).

Characters have to be special to make a story work. For me, some of my favourite characters include:-

1. Frodo Baggins/Sam Gamgee
2. Severus Snape
3. Robin Hood
4. Jeeves and Wooster
5. Sam Vimes
6. The Patrician (Ankh-Morpork)
7. Hercule Poirot
8. Sherlock Holmes
9. Jane Marple
10. Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy

All of these have traits that make them unforgettable (even if some of these, as with Sherlock, would make them questionable even now).

So what qualities do you look for in stories you read that really identify the character as the standout one for you?

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BEING CREATIVE

January 27, 2018January 27, 2018Leave a comment

There’s a definite theme tonight! (Sometimes I don’t plan that, a theme emerges from the different things I’m writing but this theme was planned and is inspired by my wondering if, when you’ve been creating works such as stories for some time, do you still appreciate the joy of doing so? Anyway, more to follow).

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

This week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post talks about creativity being good for you. It is too!

Being creative has proven health benefits (mentally and physically) and my post talks about that and why creativity is a wonderful thing.

I do sometimes wonder if we appreciate it enough at times (which is my inspiration for writing this post). Whether you bake cakes, write stories, play music or what have you, if you have been doing this for a long time, can you end up taking the joy of creating these things for granted?

I think so and I hope my post helps to give us all a renewed sense of enjoyment about what we do creatively.

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Facebook – General

My CFT post this week will be on the theme of creativity being good for you. And it is – mentally and physically. I feel much better once I’ve completed something creative during the day – whether it is flash fiction, a Facebook post (😀), or baking a cake.

The nice thing about creativity is anyone can join in and you can find your own level where you want to be. For those wanting to develop creative skills further, there are courses, online as well as the traditional evening classes/OU etc. I’ve found that though my major creative interest is in writing, I have a greater appreciation of all of the arts, music especially.

I also think if you are involved in one art form, you have an appreciation of the hard work that goes unseen behind others. I learned years ago that if a piece of writing looks easy to read then you can bet that author worked their socks off to get it to that point. (Other hosiery accessories are available!).

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Facebook – General

What is the most helpful aspect of a book review? To be fair, there is more than one! There is obviously the publicity aspect but when people have said what they liked, or what they felt didn’t work so well, that has been what I’ve found most useful to know.

Okay nobody is going to please all of the people all of the time and there are many sound reasons not to even try doing that, but a general consensus does mean you are on the right lines (or not, as the case may be!).

Incidentally I can vouch for the fact Dawn, Paula and I do all appreciate the reviews we have had for books where our stories have appeared!

Paula Readman, Dawn Kentish Knox and Allison Symes and books - with kind permission from Paula Readman - Copy

Paula Readman, Dawn Knox and I at the recent Bridge House celebration event. Many thanks to Paula for the image.

Such appropriate decor for the Bridge House event in a pub room

This was part of the pub decor at the place where Bridge House had their event. Very apt! Image by Allison Symes

At the back are some of the other books I’ve appeared in. Image by Allison Symes

Facebook – General

Am currently listening to the wonderful Planet Suite by Gustav Holst on Classic FM. Each piece of music within the suite tells its own story. (My favourite piece is Jupiter, the bringer of jollity. It also contains what many will know as the hymn tune for I Vow To Thee, My Country).

Holst used music to convey his thoughts. Writers of course use words. But the way you put them together (and the order) makes a huge difference to meaning. So are your words having the impact you actually mean them to have? Of course, this aspect can be “sent up” for comedic effect (hence the pun, the innuendo etc) but it is true you do have to know the rules before you break them!

Conducting the night’s business. Image via Pixabay.

Hard at work! Image via Pixabay.

Part of the orchestra. Image via Pixabay.

Is the truth welcome in your fictional world? How does your community react to it?. Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Why does editing always take longer than you think it will? Answers on the back of a postcard… Seriously though, I do give myself plenty of time for this and it STILL takes longer than anticipated. I think there must be an unknown Murphy’s Law for Writers happening here. Talking of which:-

1. You tell people you’re a writer, they suddenly need a pen for something, and you cannot find one on you for love or money. Cue one embarrassed writer!

2. Your printer cartridge always runs out halfway through the printing of the story or book you are desperate to get out to your publisher.

3. You know you have more printer cartridges, you remember ordering them, but you filed them somewhere safe and now cannot remember where that place is!

4. You have a power cut just as you are getting to the end of your story and you forgot to back up so you lose what you’ve just written and have to start again from where you HAD last backed up. You discover you have words in your vocabulary you make a mental note NOT to use in front of the vicar when they next call in.

Guess which of these have happened to me!

Contributions to the Murphy’s Law List for Writers very welcome!

Preparing a talk or a flash fiction story perhaps. Image via Pixabay.

Big screen, little screen, LOTS of stories on either! Image via Pixabay

Let your stories have impact. Image via Pixabay

Escape with a good book, it’s good for you! Image via Pixabay

Flash fiction for impact. Image via Pixabay

There can be reality behind fairytales. Image via Pixabay (and image used as part of book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again)

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

What is your favourite way to start a story? I must admit I don’t have one single way. And so much depends on whether I’m writing flash fiction or a standard length short story.

I am very fond of being right inside my main character’s head from the start. I like to think of this as hitting the ground running.

I also like to start with a brief sentence or two scene setting. Using a time as part of this can be handy as if the opening line says it is 4 am in mid-summer, you’ve got an immediate image of light levels, whether it is likely to be warm or not and so on. Setting place names can be great too. Mid-summer in the UK is vastly different to mid-summer in Australia, say.

I always look for the words that give me the strongest images whichever way I start though. It saves on word count and has the greater impact on your reader.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I sometimes use the opening line in a short story competition to inspire my flash fiction. (Sometimes I write up the short story and enter the competition!).

It can be an interesting challenge to see what you can do with an opening line meant to generate a 1500-words short story and see if you can make it work for a tale of under 1000 words (and in my case usually around the 100-words mark).

I must admit I much prefer opening lines competitions to those where you have to finish with a certain line. I think there is more freedom in taking an opening line and running with it rather than being told where you have to stop!

What competitions do you prefer?

The joy of writing. Image via Pixabay.

Flash – for light or dark fiction! Image via Pixabay

Heaven on earth? Image via Pixabay (of the library at Leeds Castle)

How the very best fairytales start… Image via Pixabay

All books are gateways to other worlds, fantasy and science fiction especially I think. Image via Pixabay.

What fictional world have you created? What ways and rules have you set for your characters? Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

The challenge of writing a complete story in the shortest number of words is not a new one but it does make you increase your vocabulary. (As a flash fiction writer, you will always be on the lookout for those words that can convey stronger meanings than others or can convey more than one meaning. Saves on the word count (!) and the rightly chosen words will give your story a more powerful impact).

Does that mean you’ll never write longer fiction again? Not a bit of it but working to a tight word count helps develop your editing skills and that is always useful, regardless of what you write.

What writing triggers will help you create your new worlds? Image via Pixabay

Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.

I’m not arguing with this one! Image via Pixabay.

Some of Shakespeare’s sayings in popular use now. Image via Pixabay

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog

I have too many favourite characters to name them individually, as I expect is the case with most of us, but I do like particular types.

My overall favourite is the unexpected hero. Think Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! I admit being on the short side myself, I probably was always going to favour the idea of a hobbit as a hero!

I also love those characters who suffer injustice but win through in the end. That covers everything from Cinderella to the Prisoner of Azkaban to The Man In the Iron Mask.

I don’t have a problem with talking animals in stories as long as they make sense! Ideally, I prefer it when the animals know more of what is going on in the story than the hero does. (Hello, Puss in Boots!).

Characters have got to be appropriate to the fictional world in which they’re set so hobbits could only be in a fantasy world. Mind, if I had to live anywhere in fiction, I can think of far worse places than The Shire. (Mordor, for one!).

So what are your favourite character types and why?

Let those ideas flow! Image via Pixabay,

A great selection of books. Image by Allison Symes

Cinderella IN pumpkin! (One of my favourite fairytale characters). Image via Pixabay.

Great characters should show humour. Image via Pixabay.

Great characters should show humour. I love both of these two! Image via Pixabay.

One of my favourite detectives, Hercule Poirot. Image by Pixabay.

Fairytales with Bite – Appreciating What You Do

My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week looks at why creativity is good for you and it was inspired by my wondering whether when you’ve been creating, say, stories for some time, do you still appreciate what you do as much as perhaps you should?

I think it is easy to take the joy of creating anything for granted and I hope this post encourages all of us to take a fresh look at what we do creatively and almost, if you like, fall in love with it all over again.

I also think it is a good thing for writers to be open to trying different forms of writing. It flexes your writing muscles, you may well discover a form you become addicted to (in my case, I found flash fiction or maybe it was a case of flash fiction finding me!), and you get to find out what you really want to write.

It also means when successes come your way, no matter how large or small, you appreciate those more too and that can never be a bad thing. One way of appreciating what you do is read your work out. If you are gripped by the tale, others will be too. Images below were taken by me and are from the Bridge House celebration event. The range of stories read out was great. I took part too.

Gill James reading from her January Stones collection. Image by Allison Symes

Dawn Knox reading some of her flash fiction. Image by Allison Symes

Margaret Bullyment read a wonderful justice story at the Bridge House event in December. Image by Allison Symes

Robin Wrigley read a poignant, character driven story. Image by Allison Symes

Lovely having an appreciative audience, pic taken by Dawn Kentish Knox

I read three stories from From Light to Dark and Back Again. Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox for the picture!

This World and Others – Enjoying the Creative Process

My latest Chandler’s Ford Today post takes a look at why being creative is beneficial (and for science as well as the arts too).

I think it is vital to enjoy the creative process to get the most from it. That doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult at times. You will feel like swearing (and may do so!) when the words don’t seem to flow so easily as they usually do, but if, generally, you love what you do as you create your characters and stories, then you can know you’re on the right lines. That love will keep you going (along with support from other writers whether that’s online or in a good wriitng group) throughout those tougher times and the inevitable rejections we all collect as if they were going out of fashion. The one great thing is I can’t think of any writer who hasn’t felt in need of that support at times. You are definitely not the only one!

It is difficult to say what my favourite part of the creative process is but I do feel elated when I know I’ve got a character right. I know then that what I get them to say or do is right for them, and their story will flow much more easily as I am writing from deep knowledge of who and what and why they are the characters they are. I also think that will come through in the writing itself and make for a better read for future readers. I also feel elated when I’ve got a first draft down as I know I’ve got something to work with then (and it can only get better! All first drafts need work, even Shakespeare’s would have done!).