Tag: favourite moments in writing

Writing Fitness

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good week. Getting nearer to that wonderful week of The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Mixed bag weatherwise. Hope it improves for Swanwick week. Hope it just improves! Lady made a new friend earlier this week so she’s had a good few days and doesn’t care if she gets wet! It’s okay for her. She dries off quicker than I do.

BookBrushImage-2024-7-12-19-323

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

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

Writing Fitness

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

450545956_10162014998377053_3178739373101990085_n

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

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

 

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

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

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

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

From Light to Dark and Back Again - by night

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

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

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

450542819_10162015003582053_5662813459618974_n

Fairytales with Bite – Magic Wands Plus

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

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

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

Ends
Allison Symes – 10th July 2024

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

BookBrushImage-2024-7-12-19-5028

This World and Others – Inventors

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

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

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

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

BookBrushImage-2024-7-12-19-556

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Twitter Corner with hashtag, Scrabble tiles, and the blue bird

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Sweet Dreams and Reading Acrostics

Leave a comment

Image Credit:  As ever, Pixabay/Pexels unless stated.

Facebook – General – and Publication News:  Cafelit

Weather cooler again today – yippee! (Dog pleased too). Easier to concentrate and write too. Am preparing some blog pieces to send to various places in due course. As with the flash fiction, those are lovely to write during those pockets of time when I can only write for short bursts.

I forgot to share on this page the link for my latest Cafelit story, Sweet Dreams, (though I did share it on my book page). Hope you enjoy! This was a prompt from #GailAldwin in Gill James’ Prompts Book and it was good fun to write.

Now, without giving too much away, a favourite chocolate bar comes into this story. You’ll have to read it to find out why!

But it is useful to consider favourite and loathed things that your characters might have. Not only can you use those to add depth to your characterisation, you might be able to get short stories out of these things in and of themselves, as I’ve done here, thanks to Gail’s excellent prompt.

Oh and it’s a definite thumbs-up for writing to prompts set by others. They do make you think outside of your own writing box and that’s a good way to stretch yourself and what you can come up with as a result.

Happy writing!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hope you have had a good weekend and that the week to come is a productive and fun one. I did enjoy using the random noun generator (yes, there is such a thing!) to create a new flash story for my From Light to Dark and Back Again FB page yesterday. I will be using the noun generator again. NB.  The story I created, Misunderstood, will appear further down under the FLTDBA again section. Hope you enjoy it!

You can set as many nouns as you want and even choose the opening and finishing letters. I just went for two nouns at random and the great thing with that is you could use these as a title, the theme, or just work them into the story somehow.

I see all of the random generators I’ve used (word, phrase, question, noun, and even number!) as an alternative method of finding story prompts. And the great thing here? You’ve got an endless supply!

Give them a go and have fun. See what you can create. Playing with words and having fun in this manner is a wonderful trigger for creativity. And I’ve always found once you’ve got a creative spark going, you want to keep it going and you end up being more productive than you might have been otherwise.

Also the stories you draft here can be polished and edited and submitted later.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I outline my characters as I’ve discussed before. What do I look for in said characters?

1. Basically a good reason for me to tell their story.
2. Go back to 1!

So what would count as a good reason then?

1. They have the qualities to overcome adversity even if they themselves don’t realise that to start with (and the best characters usually don’t). They don’t easily give up. They take good advice. They have the ability to recognise good advice when they hear it.

2. They are usually from a background that would make others consider them to be the underdog. I do love underdog winning through type stories and they are a mainstay of the classic fairytales too.

3. They have a moment of change they have got to see through, ensuring their lives can never be the same again. Stories like that are always fascinating.

4. They will often experience internal conflict as well as the obvious external type. Really gripping characters will have moments of self doubt (as we do) and that is what readers will identify with. It is then how the characters overcome that which will keep the readers reading!

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’d thought I’d share some favourite moments in writing (and as ever this is not the be all and end all of lists. Am sure you can think of some things to add here).

1. Knowing I’ve picked exactly the right word for whatever it is I’m putting my poor characters through. I’m even more pleased if this is in dialogue. Good dialogue has emotional “whoomph” and shows a reader how the character is feeling.

2. Knowing my first draft is completed and I now have something to work with. This is where the work begins for me. It IS all in the edit(s) – and yes, there is always more than one! Sometimes considerably more than one!

3. Knowing my first edit has significantly improved my original story and I am getting glimmers of how it can be improved further. Out comes the trusted red pen and away I go…

4. Reviews for From Light to Dark and Back Again (and a big thanks to all who have reviewed it).

5. Having positive feedback on my Chandler’s Ford Today posts as that shows the piece has engaged with readers well.

So over to you then. What are some of your favourite writing moments?

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Well, the weather certainly lived up to “from light to dark and back again” yesterday! There was one storm but it was cleared by about 6 pm with drizzle for the evening. Having said that, it has been a lot cooler today for which I am most thankful (as is the dog).

LOVED meeting via Facetime some of my Swanwick pals yesterday evening. Great fun. Better still will be when we can meet in person at Swanwick, God willing, next year. (I’ve never been one to take things for granted anyway, life can have a habit of getting in the way at times, but if there is one HUGE life lesson to come out of 2020, that is it I think).

One thing I did forget to do yesterday, but which gives me great pleasure to do now, is to share my latest flash fiction story, Sweet Dreams. This appeared on Cafelit yesterday afternoon but I hope you enjoy! A story to finish the working week with is always a good idea, is it not?!

I loved writing this. It was a result of a prompt idea in the Prompts book by Gill James with the prompt itself coming from #GailAldwin.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’ve found a new random generator! I’ve sometimes used random word, phrase, question, and even number generators to trigger story ideas. And now I’ve found a random noun generator which could be fun. Let’s see what can be done.

I set the generator to trigger two random nouns for me. Nouns generated were “foundation” and “actor”. (Incidentally as well as choosing how many to generate, you can set the first and last letter of each noun as well if you wanted to but I like to keep things simple).

Now the nice thing with the generators is you can use what comes up as the theme of your story, the title, or ensure you use the words that are triggered in that story at some point. Or you can combine any/all of that. The important thing is to have fun with this!

So what can I do with foundation and actor then?

MISUNDERSTOOD
The actor frowned as he dug out the foundation for the new amateur theatre building. He’d been promised an audience. Sure he had one. They were all yelling unspeakable things along the lines of this being the hardest they’d ever seen HIM work. Not what he’d expected at all.

He expected the finest foundation all right. He expected it to be applied to his face as he gave the starring performance of his life, which naturally would then receive glowing reviews all over the country, and lead to bigger, better roles.

He guessed it served him right for daring to mention Macbeth on stage last week. HIs fellow actors told him it would bring him bad luck.

He’d laughed then. They laughed now.

Allison Symes – 15th August 2020

Hope you enjoyed that. I loved writing it.

 

Photo by Tuur Tisseghem on Pexels.com
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com
Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com

Really loved using the random noun generator yesterday. Will definitely add that to my list of story prompt generators. You can never have too many of those! Okay, you need the time to write up all the ideas, I grant you that, but this is a dilemma every writer faces and has to find their own way of tackling.

Flash is an ideal vehicle for those lovely story ideas that are best shown quickly. My story yesterday, Misunderstood, worked best as a quick tale only. I often find my humorous tales work better that way. If flash has taught me anything (and it has taught me loads!), it is to never, ever pad your story out. If it works better at 100 words, keep it there. If it works best at 1000, keep it there and so on.

Have a good writing week!

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You’d think a flash fiction writer would have no problems coming up with the blurb for the cover of their book, wouldn’t you?!

Now, okay, the word count is not an issue for me here. What can be tricky is choosing what HAS to be on the cover and what would be nice to have but is not the end of the world if it doesn’t make it. Inevitably it won’t! Why?

As with the fiction itself, only the crucial details can go on. You want every word to hook in potential readers so there can be no preamble, waffle etc. You have to be realistic with yourself as to what could be seen as waffle and cut, cut, cut.

My debut flash fiction collection.
Back cover for FLTDBA
Image by Adrian Symes
Photo by Caio on Pexels.com

I change the way I lead into a story as this keeps things interesting for me (and I hope in due time readers as well!).

Sometimes I will use a character’s thoughts. At other times I will show you the character doing something.

I try to get into the scene quickly so a reader picks up where they are nigh on immediately and there must be something about the character to draw their interest to ensure they read on and find out what happens to them.

In She Did It Her Way, Kind Of, I start with the line “Jane Westbrook knew it was too late to do anything.” Now that sounds like it might kill a story right from the start but what I planned here was that readers would want to find out why she thought this and whether she was right or wrong.

Curiosity about a character is a really good hook and one I enjoy using.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Goodreads Author Blog –Reading Acrostics

R = Riveting
E = Entertaining
A = Alternative Worlds
D = Drama and Dialogue
I = Imagination
N = Narrative
G = Genre Fulfilling/Crossing

All of the above are what I look for in a good read.

Regardless of genre (and I have a soft spot for those books which cross genres), I want the book to be riveting, entertaining, and for the drama and dialogue to keep me gripped until I reach The End.

I want to be amazed (in a good way!) by the author’s imagination. There can’t be a dull moment in the narrative either.

And yet some people still think writing is easy!!

G = Gripping
E = Educational
N = Nuanced
R = Readability
E = Enchanting

And again, regardless of genres, I want whatever I read to be capable of the above. Yes, fiction can be educational. You can learn from the mistakes the characters make for a start!

For me, nuanced means the characters have to be balanced. Nobody is all evil or all good. The only over the top characters I accept are Mr Toad in The Wind of The Willows and Cruella de Ville in 101 Dalmatians but they are written specifically that way and their characters wouldn’t work any other way. But those are rare exceptions to the general rule. Characters should be balanced.

At the end of a book I want to have experienced an enchanting time reading said book. I want something about it to transport me to its setting and to regret leaving it at the end.

Photo by Ricardo Esquivel on Pexels.com
Photo by Ricardo Esquivel on Pexels.com
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Pexels.com
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com
Photo by JESHOOTS.com on Pexels.com
Photo by Polina Zimmerman on Pexels.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READING WIDELY AND WORKING BACKWARD

Leave a comment

Facebook – General

Why is reading widely so vital for anyone wanting to write seriously?

Partly because you always learn something from whatever you read. (In the case of bad fiction, this can be as simple as learning what not to do! Sometimes this can also encourage you. If that got published, my work must be in with a chance etc!).

Partly when you read, you are filling your mind with ideas. Ideas encourage other ideas and before you know it, you have an original take on a story idea of your own. The more you read (and especially the more widely), the more ideas you will have for your subconscious to think about. I like to think of this as nurturing the creative spirit. It does need feeding regularly!

Also given all writers love books and stories, doesn’t it make sense to support the industry you hope to be part of?

Reading - says it all really via Pixabay

Says it all really.  Image via Pixabay.

Escape with a good book via Pixabay

Losing yourself in a good book.  Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

One of my methods of writing flash fiction is to work out the “punch” ending and then work backward from that point. I believe Agatha Christie used a similar technique for many of her novels. I would also be very surprised if she was the only one! I strongly suspect not.

The nice thing about this technique is you have that cracking ending and you have to think of something strong enough to justify it. It means not reaching for the first idea that comes to you but often the second, third, fourth etc.

But in making yourself think more deeply about how the ending could be the way you’ve written it, you come up with something far more original. I like to think of it as mining the imagination – and good mining always goes far beyond the surface!

The world of the imagination should play a role in your stories. I can't imagine any world without some form of the arts. Image via Pixabay.

What is the world of your story? Image via Pixabay.

Whether you write flash fiction or other kinds of story, brainstorming sessions are invaluable. I have, less often, used them to generate ideas for non-fiction work. Image via Pixabay.

Whether you write flash fiction or other kinds of story, brainstorming sessions are invaluable. I have, less often, used them to generate ideas for non-fiction work. Image via Pixabay.

 

ideas-the-spark-for-writing-competitions-image-via-pixabay

Ideas are only the starting point for stories.  Read widely, encourage your mind to fill up with different ideas and mull over them.  Image via Pixabay

 

And a recent post… Favourite Moments in Writing

Favourite moments in writing? Some of mine are:

1. That instant when you know your character has come to life and the story takes off.

2. When your characters surprise you with what they come out with (again proof they have come to life). You will broadly know what your characters are going to be capable of but something coming out of “left field” should make you reassess where the character and story is going. I have found to date that the “left field” experience is always worth pursuing. It nearly always ends up being a stronger idea than the one I first had. Sometimes it takes writing the story for a while to dig out the REAL idea behind it.

3. Knowing you’ve left enough room in your outline to allow for “left field” moments so you are ready for these. You can work out where they would best fit and how they impact on your initial thoughts and that they are not going to totally detail your structure, etc. I find being “open” to these things happening means I handle them better and so can make the most of them. I find that very satisfying.

4. Being told your story is going to be published.

5. Seeing your story in print, online or both!

Themes pour out of good books - image via Pixabay

Let those ideas flow!  Image via Pixabay

 

The wonderful world of stories... Image via Pixabay.

The wonderful world of stories… Image via Pixabay.