Tag: feedback

Prompts, Flash NANO Update, and Defining a Good Read

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend, as much as possible anyway given the antics of Storm Bert. High winds and rain here but grateful not to have flooding and snow.
Looking forward to sharing a fabulous author interview with Hannah Retallick on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Looking forward to catching up with her in person (and Debz Hobbs-Wyatt whom I interviewed recently) at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event soon.

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Hope Tuesday has been a good day. Busy one for me so am posting early.

With writing prompts, you are bound to find favourites. Nothing wrong with that. I love opening line prompts in particular. But one of the joys of Flash NANO is in not knowing what is coming your way and then discovering prompt types new to you.

Inevitably some of these you will love while others will be less to your taste but it is helpful knowing this. If you come across them again, you know which ones to have a crack at! They will be the ones you know you can get behind because you enjoy the prompt type.

I am sure somehow some of an author’s enjoyment of writing does percolate through to their published stories. I know when I am reading, I can often sense certain passages where it is clear to me the writer had a wonderful time writing it. The words flow, the characters gel, all comes together well and we can get this from our responses to writing prompts too.

Worth having a go at writing prompts then because you never know what you can come up with unless you try them out.

PROMPTS - One use of a picture prompt

Hope the week has got off to a calmer start after the havoc of Storm Bert over the weekend. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals so enjoyed that.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom on Wednesday.

My next author newsletter will be out again at the end of the week – how can it be almost December already? To sign up head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

A huge thank you to all for the support and feedback for where I have shared stories on Flash NANO but also, for the rest of the year as well, on Friday Flash Fiction. All much appreciated, I can assure you.

Storm Bert still causing havoc. Mainly branches down here and some localised flooding in areas known for it. Wish people would drive more carefully though. You would think they would, wouldn’t you?

On to much happier thoughts then.

Am delighted to say I will be welcoming Hannah Retallick to Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. She just just launched her debut short story collection, Something Very Human (Bridge House Publishing). Hannah has also won or been listed in some very prestigous flash fiction competitions too so it will be a joy to talk to a fellow flash fiction writer and Bridge House Publishing author. Plenty of interesting thoughts being shared too so do look out for this.

Second bit of excellent news – Writers’ Narrative will be back shortly. Am looking forward to sharing more details on that as soon as I can but I can say it is on its way. Plenty of interesting articles for anyone interested in the world and craft of writing.

Author Interviews coming up on CFT

I hope Storm Bert hasn’t done too much damage where you are. Take care. Very windy here but we only have the rain. Not sorry about that.

Writing wise, I have sent in a flash piece to one of my regular submission places at this time of year. Have still got three others to sort out but hope to do this soon. Will probably form part of my usual Sunday afternoon flash fiction writing session. Am pretty happy with the stories themselves but I always like to do a final read through and check. It pays. Sometimes I spot something last minute.

I’m a great believer in avoiding last minute scenarios wherever possible – it saves so much stress – but when it comes to story submissions, that last minute check through is so useful. It’s something I’ve developed from much earlier on in my career when I made the mistake of sending something off and later spotting errors. Too late to correct the story, too late to call said story back. I swore at the time! I then swore again that I’d not do this again and I’ve stuck to that ever since.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Busy one today so am posting early. As well as flash fiction, there is such a thing as flash non-fiction. I like that too. Pretty much all of my posts here and many of my blogs would count as flash non-fiction because they’re under the required word count (up to 1000 words maximum and some markets will set lower than that, say at 750 words).

I have found in writing flash fiction the techniques I’ve learn in tightening up my writing has transferred over to my non-fiction work too. Not a bad thing that. Working out what my wasted words are, the ones I immediately cut on my first edit, is useful for any kind of writing I do.

Image - Allison Symes - Flash challenge is to get your character to answer the question I've set

The random generators by themselves can trigger thousands of ideas and some can be used for non-fiction work tooIt’s Monday. It’s a Monday after a dreadful storm. Time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Name Change. I suspect many of you will identify with this one. Just sometimes a name change really is needed, especially for writers coming out with the unexpected. Find out what here.

Wow, am working my way through the Flash NANO prompts and I can’t believe we’re up to Day 24 of the challenge already. But have come up with a 100 worder which meets the theme. Have also written my other flash pieces which I usually do and submit or schedule on Sunday afternoons. So have been busy but all with fun things to write!

Am looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom on Wednesday. Theme will be festive flash fiction and exercises will be shared. Hope to get some drafts done myself.

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Hope all well with you especially given Storm Bert is giving the UK a hammering. Incidentally, given I loved Sesame Street, I do assume we will be getting Storm Ernie in due course. Just hope he’s not as bad as Bert is proving to be.

One of the joys of editing is when you spot something useful you could add to your tale, giving a strong image or, for something I’ve done recently, giving a memory which I hope, in time, will provide a smile. Can’t say more than that, as story is “out there” now, but one detail made all of the difference here and put a grin on my face. Didn’t spot this on my first draft though.

So editing is worthwhile and productive, honest! There is something special when editing can open your eyes to see something which will strength your story. I love those moments.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Definition of a Good Read

I should have thought of this topic before given this is the Goodreads blog! So what do I define as a good read then? Is it dependent on genre?

For me the answer to that last question is a firm no. For me a good read is one where I am so gripped by the characters I have to read on to find out what happens to them. It’s not a bad definition of a good read now, is it?

Those characters can be hobbits, middle aged women like me, women from the past, men from the past, and occasionally a monster. I have a lot of sympathy for Baron Frankenstein’s “creature”. Mary Shelley asked the timeless question here of who is the monster and it isn’t the “creature”in my view.

So the author’s job then (and this is a challenge to me as a writer myself) is to come up with characters a reader will get behind and to make us care for those characters. It’s not enough to like them. We as readers have to care deeply. It is that which keeps us reading.

Drama only means something if we care about the characters caught up in it. Humorous writing will only make us laugh if we care about the characters who are making us laugh, whether they’re doing this knowingly or not.

Screenshot 2024-11-23 at 17-06-21 Allison Symes's Blog - Definition of a Good Read - November 23 2024 09 06 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Good news, folks. Writers Narrative will be back very soon, packed with great articles. More news when I have it. Meantime, this time I share the November 2023 edition which focused on Novels. I discuss Writing Novels, based on my experience of writing one which remains unpublished to date but from which I learned a great deal.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Websites – Why A Writer Needs One

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief of Writers’ Narrative, for supplying the images of the new online magazine (due out very soon, folks. Don’t miss it). Many thanks to Janet Williams for taking the image of me in “full flow” at the recent Book Fair.
Have had a good week, hope you have too. Lady has got to show off her ball retrieving skills in front of her Hungarian Vizler friend for most of the week so she has had a good week too (and her friend looks on indulgently almost like a proud Mum!). Oh and it is fabulous to be able to share publication news again – more below.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to share Websites – Why A Writer Needs One for Chandler’s Ford Today. I share tips I’ve found useful in developing my own website. The good news is you don’t have to do everything at once here. I hope you find the post useful.

Websites – Why A Writer Needs One

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Am delighted to say The Best of CafeLit 12 is now out. Many congratulations to all of the writers with work in here, many of whom I know well. That’s a second joy right there! The first joy? Being in there myself, of course, with my story, Jubilee. (There will be a third joy later on at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event In December – looking forward to that already).

 

I’ll be talking about websites for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Every writer needs one but I share tips and how I started out (simple) and then moved up as and when I needed to do so. More later in the week.

Writing Tip: What does your character want? What drives them? What gets in their way? Answers to those three questions alone will give you a basic outline. Outlines don’t need to be complicated.

I’ve found taking a little time to figure questions like this out saves me a great deal of time later on. I’ve got the structure in place so it is then a question of whether I’ve written the story as well as I could do. It is then and only then I look at my phrasing etc. Inevitably there are things I can tighten up but I know I won’t have to worry about the structure. That alone for me is worth having a outline for.

May be an illustration of text that says "I find outlining encourages creativity. I work out who my characters are and why) and then off I go with the first draft of their story കക"

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my new story, Doing Time. Hope you enjoy it. (And a huge thanks to those who have kindly commented on this one already).

Screenshot 2023-07-21 at 09-55-45 Doing Time by Allison Symes

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my Authors Electric post for July where I talked about Books Which Worked and Those Which Don’t. Not the snappiest title I’ve ever come up with, I admit, but it doe get to the heart of the matter! If you missed it first go, please check it out here.

Another benefit to flash fiction writing here – you get used to the word count and so much of that is applicable to blogging as well!
Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 10-08-08 Books Which Work and Those Which Don’t by Allison SymesI outline flash fiction tales as well as my longer short stories. The outlines for flash are merely shorter but they help me get my structure right from the start (as I mentioned over on my main author page on Facebook earlier).

When I write the ending first (for a humorous punch line tale or a twist one), I just outline backwards to get to a logical starting point. I only outline what I need to know. What a writer needs to know will vary but knowing your character well is a good failsafe.

Knowing your character well enough means you will have a a greater understanding of what motivates them and that in turn will drive their actions and reactions.

May be an image of tick and text that says "9.. Understanding what makes US tick is crucial for understanding what makes your characters tick."

Fairytales with Bite – Crime Solving in the Magical World

Where you have power, you have abuse of power. In the magical world there needs to be a system in place where the powerful cannot just ride roughshod over the others in their world. If they could, there would be no stories, other than bleak ones about how they got their own way all the time. Would be a depressing (and I suspect boring) read.

So there needs to be a way of holding them to account. There needs to be at least one way of dealing with crime. Abuse of power so often leads to that too!

So what kinds of magical activity would be considered criminal? How was this decided on? Who upholds standards here? Is there such a thing as a magical police force and, if so, are they given extra powers to keep the rest of the magical world in check? How are they themselves held to account? Would they have detectives as we know them and what kinds of cases would they need to resolve?

There is potential for humour there too. How would those charged with dealing with magical crime interact with each other? How would the general population regard them?

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This World and Others – Unique Qualities

Think about what unique qualities your world has. How would these impact on the way your characters lead their lives? Are those qualities imposed on the world due to geographical factors? Or are these qualities which have developed as a result of political actions, including warfare?

What unique qualities do your characters have in your setting? Have they needed to develop these to cope with their environment? For example, if the land is unstable, does that mean your characters have had to be able to fly by their own powers? How have they had to adapt where they live (presumably not on the ground)? Would that put pressure on available spaces to live?

Think about what makes your world attractive to you to write about – can you keep this going? There has to be something which appeals to you and which will continue to appeal. Do study other series (the Discworld one by the late great Terry Pratchett would be a great place to start). Definitely outline what makes your world stand out – its advantages and the disadvantages. That will throw up things your characters have to find ways of dealing with and there could be great stories in that alone.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Review: Book Fair at The Hilt

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Many thanks to Vie Portland, Janet Williams, and Richard Hardie for contributing images to this week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post, the rest are from me. Lovely Book Fair, more details below and in my CFT post. (And there will be exciting news about new online magazine, Writers’ Narrative, which will be launched soon, in my next post here and on my Facebook timeline prior to that – lots going on).

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

It is with great pleasure I share Review: Book Fair at The Hilt for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Talk about writing (a) what you know and (b) what you love, this post is a fabulous example of that. If you were at the fair, I hope this makes for a good look back at the event. If you missed it, see it as something not to miss next time!

I look at the hard work behind the scenes (some of it anyway) and I was glad to say there was a good contingent representing Chandler’s Ford Today too. Naturally there was plenty of networking going on and it gave every author taking part to spread the word about what they do – that was much appreciated.

And if that was not enough I have exciting news to share about Writers’ Narrative, the new online magazine which will be coming out shortly. I’ll talk more about this tomorrow but this will be something of use to every writer so worth watching out for.

Review: Book Fair at The Hilt

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Nice to be back in the swimming pool today (making the most of the quiet before the six weeks summer holidays!). Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback bestie and Coco, a lovely Labradoodle. All three dogs were so pleased to see each other.

As well as being on Amazon, I‘m pleased to say you can find me on Waterstones, Hive, Bookshop.org, and, naturally, the Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop (which covers the books from Bridge House Publishing/CafeLit/Chapeltown Books). If you ever come across somewhere which says the books are out of stock, panic not! This simply means the book is a print on demand one (and is not really in stock as such) but it doesn’t take long for the online bookshop to get these in.

I’ve ordered my own books from Hive and Bookshop, as well as directly from Bridgetown, and received them quickly. You can also contact me directly via my website (https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com) as well. There are plenty of options here – I like that as a reader, as well as from a writer’s perspective.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler friend again today. Both dogs happy. It’s lovely to see friendships like that.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing my review of the Book Fair on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. See above. Got some feedback sent off to the organisers yesterday too as they are keen to have feedback. It helps with planning for future events.

Feedback is useful elsewhere too. I appreciate the feedback given on Friday Flash Fiction. It is always useful to know what others make of your stories (even though that can be nerve wracking too). It is how you can learn though what works, what clearly didn’t work quite so well and so on. (Reviews are helpful here too)

When I give feedback, I explain what my thinking is behind it. I’ve been grateful for this myself when I’ve been on the receiving end. Again, you can learn a lot from this. You can see how others read your works. They may well pick up on things (good and bad) which didn’t occur to you.

Sometimes you are in for a nice surprise here.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It is a soggy end of the week so definitely time for a new story then. Hope you like my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – The Neighbours. This story was loosely inspired by the long running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine and the marvellous female characters in that.

Oh and I will have exciting news to share about forthcoming new online magazine Writers’ Narrative to share tomorrow. Watch this space, as they say. More details in my post next week here.

Screenshot 2023-07-14 at 10-10-17 The Neighbours by Allison Symes


Flash has a powerful impact due to its brevity and this can be used brilliantly for humorous stories. Who doesn’t love a punchline ending? It is also good for twist in the tale stories.

But it can also work well for thoughtful pieces. A character shares something of their life with a reader. They don’t want to go on too much. They want to show what matters. And this can have what I call the “punch in the gut” effect on a reader when done well.

Stories of all lengths encourage empathy as we understand the characters we’re reading about. Flash can be used to bring about that empathy in fewer words!

May be an image of text that says "Reading can encourage empathy as we follow what characters do and say."A major benefit of writing flash fiction for me has been to improve my focus. I have to ask do I really need this in my story? If there is any doubt, the answer is no! Out the words come along with the usual wasted words of mine I can’t help writing but which I know need to be surgically removed. Still at least that gets my editing off to a good start.

We all have wasted words/pet phrases. It does help to be aware of them. It helps even more to recognise that well over 95% of the time, these things don’t add anything useful to your story so out they come.

Maybe it is a form of comfort writing, I don’t know. What matters though is getting your work done and then improving it. So if that means having to write my wasted words and then take them out again that’s fine by me. I know this method works!

May be an image of text that says "Knowing when to cut and when to leave well alone takes time to develop."

Fairytales with Bite – Storytelling

We all love stories but do your characters? Do they value certain types of story or are they the more practical type who can’t see the use of books etc? I understand there are some folk out there like that for real. Never understood them but there you go.

But you could well end up having characters who have the same view and set them against someone who does treasure books and stories? What conflicts could that lead to? If their quest relies on a story to help them fulfil it, how does the negative one handle that? How would they react when old legends are proven true and has a direct impact on the success of their mission? Do they change their outlook?

Also give some thought as to how storytelling is done? Is your setting based on an oral tradition or is literacy widespread? Are stories confined to the printed age or is there technology, as we would understand the term, and what is this and how is it used? Can everyone have the benefit?

What stories do your characters like? What stories are forbidden in your setting and why? Inevitably there will be someone trying to read something they shouldn’t. What is this? What are the consequences? There are always consequences! What seems like a harmless story to one characters is anything but to another and that could make for an interesting story in itself.

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This World and Others – The Value of Books

Books to me represent entertainment, education, and inspiration. They represent literacy obviously, but also my freedom to read. Not everyone has that. I also treasure favourite books and stories of course.

Which books and stories would your characters treasure? Which can they not abide at any cost? Are books available to all? Who controls the overall reading list? What does their taste in books say about them?

How does your world value books, assuming they do? Are books a recent development or has your setting had these wonderful things for centuries? Are there set books everyone is expected to read? If so, which would these be and why? Did they develop importance immediately on publication or has this happened over time?

Then there’s monetary value. Some books are worth a lot simply due to their rarity or important historical factors behind them? Would your setting value books like that? Are there book exchanges, auctions of books etc? What would your characters be prepared to do to get a book of immense value to them?

And books can contain secrets? Again what would a character do to get hold of a book which means everything to them from that angle? I could see murder being committed there! Certainly there are story ideas here. Happy writing!

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
As well as selling my books, I was selling books I've contributed to - those went well too

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Book Fair and Cake Story

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Vie Portland for the Book Fair poster.
Hope you have had a good few days. Am looking forward to the Book Fair in my area later this week. Will be nice doing events like this again. Also running another flash workshop on Zoom before that so will be a busy end to this week but a fun one. And it all advertises the joys of books and flash fiction so win-win there!

 

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Rain welcome. Will clear the air. The grass over the park should look less like straw too! One lovely thing about the Book Fair on Saturday is it is an indoors event – always a wise move, that!

Writing Tip: Think about what you need to know before you write your story. I have to know who the character is and their major trait. Other writers may need to be able to work out the setting first and then figure out who would be in it. What works best for you? You can play to your strengths here. There is no one right way to “do” an outline. It is a question of working out what suits you and then going with that.

May be an image of glasses and text that says "I see an outline as a road map. can veer off it if| want to. I've got it to return to when needed."

Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for sharing the recent two part interview I conducted with her on Chandler’s Ford Today on her own website – you can check things out at the link. Also there are links to other interviews with her and Richard Hardie on the Authors Reach website – see separate link for that.
Lady had a fabulous time with her her best girlfriends in the park today. So nice to have cooler air. The dogs appreciate it. I find it easier for concentrating on my writing too!

Now for my monthly blog spots, I draft these in advance and, as with story competitions, I take time off from when these should be in by and use that as my personal deadline instead. It pays. It means I don’t miss a deadline and being able to schedule blogs is so useful.

 

Hope you have had a pleasant weekend. Was putting wood preservative on one of my fence panels yesterday (a big one – took some time). Back to writing today. The glamorous life has passed me by I think!

I’ll be writing a little bit more about the Book Fair for Friday’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I do hope this becomes the annual event the organisers hope for. Our nearest bookshops are in two cities a few miles either side of where I am. I think it is lovely having an event which brings books to the doorstep so to speak.

I also hope to be writing more about Writers’ Narrative, the new online magazine for writers, which will be out in August. Do watch this space.

Am looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop on Friday afternoon. Zoom has proven so beneficial.

May be an image of text that says "Ups and downs happen in the writing life then but supportive writing friends are invaluable for coping with this."

Unusually, I have a second post from Chandler’s Ford Today to share with you. This one is a mini post all about the forthcoming Book Fair on Saturday 8th July. If you can get to the event, every author there would love to see you. It is great to be back doing events like this once again. So looking forward to this.

And if you’re outside the area, do support your own local book events. Authors and organisers appreciate the support and you can find many a great discovery amongst local authors you might not have found about about another way.

Event News: The Book Fair, The Hilt, Chandler’s Ford

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the wonderful comments coming in on Your Time Your Cake, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. The feedback (so apt for this story!) is much appreciated. I do enjoy coming up with older characters, especially, who know their own mind and are not afraid to show that is so. Think you’ll like my Gran character here. Do check out the story – hope you enjoy it.

Screenshot 2023-06-30 at 09-58-56 Your Time Your Cake by Allison Symes

3rd July
It’s Monday. The weather has been changeable (though the rain has been welcome -well, it was the moment I got my washing in anyway!). It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube -New Holiday. This story was written in response to a challenge prompt I was set recently. Hope you enjoy it.

 

Sometimes in my flash fiction, I can get across something which I feel strongly about via my characters. For example, I am anti-bullying. Most people are. But in Enough is Enough from Tripping the Flash Fantastic I get my character to reveal “she was not going to be mistaken for a giant tomato on legs again by anyone”. I don’t need to say she’s been bullied for her weight here, do I? I’ve shown you this via that character.

This kind of thing has helped me to grasp what show, don’t tell really means. (Just one of the many benefits of writing flash fiction). Sometimes showing does take up more words than straight telling but it has so much more impact on a reader. They will see what your character does. They will feel what your character does.

You can’t get any of that just by telling them things. Readers are more likely to stick with your story if they are “feeling” what your character does (or at least have empathy) and readers are more likely to do this if they can see for themselves what your character is.

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

Looking forward to spreading the word about flash fiction at the Book Fair at The Hilt on 8th July. Good to be back doing this kind of event again. Newsletter went out this morning. Always a joy to put those together and a big hello to those who have signed up since last time and just as big a hello to those who have been signed up for longer. All welcome!

So looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School in August. Not so long to go now. I’m running a short course on editing (a one hour workshop) and will also be running an early morning session as part of their Lift Up Your Pens sessions. These are great fun and a fabulous way to get some writing done before breakfast (which is not something I can usually manage!).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Light Reading

I have a soft spot for what could be considered “light” reading. By this I mean humorous fiction (Wodehouse, Pratchett), short story and flash fiction collections (though I should add some of those can be dark in tone though they are not especially my cup of tea), and the kind of non-fiction which entertains me and helps me learn something new at the same time.

I definitely don’t want academic works. My experience of those is they don’t read well, at least to me, and there is often far too much jargon in them.

Novel wise, I’m not after the dark, grim ones. Am not a huge fan of dystopian fiction. (Especially since you could argue we are seeing so much of those themes on our news bulletins!). I do love crime fiction (and the ones that can combine humour tick a second box for me).

I like feel good literature. For me. It is one major point to reading. Books and stories should take you into their worlds. They don’t necessarily have to be dark ones.

Screenshot 2023-07-01 at 20-34-41 Light Reading

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Anniversaries, Attitudes, and Interviews

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you had a lovely weekend. Pleased to say poppies from seed I planted last year are now flowering. Am especially pleased as I’m not the world’s greatest gardener by any means. Lovely splashes of colour and it occurs to me that with the right telling details in our stories, we can add splashes of “colour” to the portrayal of our characters, making them seem more real to readers. The use of the senses can help a lot here. I can picture a character in a red coat, say, rather than one in a dull coat. Dull isn’t a strong enough image for me.

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Today would have been my maternal grandfather’s birthday. It is also, of course, the anniversary of D-Day. (I’ve only seen mention of that on social media incidentally. Am surprised not to have seen at least a mention of it elsewhere). He was in a reserved occupation for the war. Other members of the family were in the forces and then went into the ARP and fire watched.

Anniversaries can be tricky subjects to write about given so many emotions are tied up with them. On those grounds, I tend not to write about them directly but where stories can help, I think, is where you have a character showing the reader what something, including anniversaries, means to them. The action of the story should show why they feel this way.

The nearest I’ve got to this is in my They Don’t Understand from From Light to Dark and Back Again where my character shares a poignant snapshot of his life. He references events many would identify with and certainly I just felt for my poor character in this tale. I hope other readers have done too. Sympathy and understanding are much to be encouraged and stories do have an important role here.

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Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler girlfriends today. All had a nice time. Mind you, Lady couldn’t believe the Ridgeback’s human mum really did not have any treats in her bag. Lady had to stick her nose right in said bag to make sure. Why can you never get a camera out quickly enough for things like that?! Lady looked so comical.

Good laugh had by all and Lady no doubt wondered what the fuss was about. All dogs can do a very good impersonation they are not fed enough, they desperately need more food/treats etc. Don’t believe a word of it, well at least as far as Lady is concerned anyway!

Writing wise, am busy working on another interview for Chandler’s Ford Today, as well as looking forward to sharing the one with Val Penny this coming Friday.

Also looking ahead a little will be preparing material soon for the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting at the end of the month. These presentations are always great fun to do and I set plenty of exercises. I do write up the exercises myself and on the night of the meeting too. Live writing like this is a good challenge.

The great advantage to it is nobody expects perfection. You simply can’t do it in the time scale (often only minutes) you’ve been given. The idea is just to get something down. The polishing and editing can happen later.

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Another lovely day in my part of the world. Am almost at the end of reading 1000 Years of Annoying the French. Good read, humorous, and an interesting look at history. Highly recommend.

I’ve developed a love for non-fiction in recent years and often find ideas for stories spark from something I’ve read in non-fiction. Think about the spouses of past inventors who were never appreciated in their life time. How did they handle that? Did they appreciate what their spouses were trying to do? Story ideas there for a start!

I like to mix up my reading so the next on my list is a crime novel I’ve been looking forward to reading so that will be fun. Your reading as well as your writing should be fun (at least most of the time).

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I’ll be interviewing Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Looking forward to sharing a bit more about that nearer the time. The interview itself will be up on Friday.

Talking of interviews, I do sometimes quiz my characters as I’m coming up with an outline of a possible story. I need to know my character is the right one to be the “lead”. I do see it a bit like casting the right actor for the right part.

I need to know their main trait (and that will often show me likely attitudes to spring out of that). I also need to know what would they not do if they could at all avoid it and then put them in a situation where they do have to face this.

Dumping your characters right in it is a fabulous way of finding out what they’re made of – it’s also great fun. Okay not for them but it is for you, the writer. It will also keep your readers gripped as they will want to find out what your character does to get out of the situation (or If they do at all of course).

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the wonderful comments coming in on Telling It As It Is, my most recent story on Friday Flash Fiction. All much appreciated. The views on my lead character’s behaviour is pretty much unanimous!

Screenshot 2023-06-02 at 09-42-22 Telling It As It Is by Allison Symes

Mondays are especially busy for me so by the time I get to my desk, I’m already feeling tired. But the good thing is I am aware of this so I use Mondays for “little bits and pieces”. It makes me feel better I’ve got something done. Being creative at all helps me unwind which is just what I need after a busy day.

And one of my “little bits and pieces” is to share my latest YouTube video with you. Hope you enjoy Walking Away.

 

Sometimes I use an attitude as the basis of a story. One I’ve used is the idea of having to make the best of things. My story, Decisions, from Tripping the Flash Fantastic is an example of this.

So think about attitudes you love/loathe and think about how your character(s) could “act” that out. You are not telling the attitude here. You are getting your character to show it and readers will pick it up and run with it. I like to go with positive attitudes (it’s not a bad idea for life!) and as with Decisions, these can often lend themselves well to humorous pieces.

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I love writing humorous flash stories. The mini story form is ideal for funny tales and to end with a punchline is a delight. I try to ensure the humour arises naturally from the characters and their situation. This means it is is less likely to date. Some things we will always find amusing and it is that kind of humour I try to tap into with these stories.

So think about what you find funny and why that is. One important thing to remember is normally in a comic story, the character themselves does not find their situation funny. It is for the reader to do so. A character can think their situation tragic (and with cause) while we, the readers, fall about laughing. If you look at the classic TV (and radio) comedies, watch (and listen) out for this.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Book “Flops”

What do you consider makes a book “flop” for you? Thankfully, I’ve not had too much experience of this but if a character doesn’t grip me quickly, I’m unlikely to read much further. I have to care about the character. I have to care about what happens to them and what they do or don’t do to help themselves. There has to be the hook to draw me into reading more and then more etc.

For non-fiction, firstly the topic has to grip me. Secondly, the narrative has to be interesting. I don’t want a list of dates. I want a good read which helps me take in useful information as I go. (This is where I welcome creative non-fiction which uses techniques in fiction writing to great effect in presenting non-fiction material in a more engaging manner. I’ve mentioned before I love the works of Ben Mcintyre. His books read as novels though they are all non-fiction. Case in point here I think).

The biggest killer of a book is dullness. Dull presentation. Dull characters. Funnily enough, you can learn from books you didn’t enjoy and work out what it was that failed for you to help you avoid doing the same in your own work.

Screenshot 2023-06-03 at 20-34-17 Book Flops

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Feedback, Local Theatre, and Reviews

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Busy week this time with a trip to the theatre and running a flash fiction group online coming up. Both will be fun though.

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Posting early today as have a meeting tonight. Will also post again early for the next few days. It is just one of those weeks but at least the sun came out today and Lady got to play with her friend, a smashing Aussie Shepherd. Both dogs had a fab time.

Writing Tip: Never worry about how much time you’ve got to write. Just get something down. I’ve talked about using pockets of time before but I have to do this a lot and it does pay off. I have had several blogs drafted, stories written etc doing this. It would’ve been too easy to have missed the chance to write those things down, yet alone then go on to do something positive with them.

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Lovely start to the day (and Lady got to show off her running skills to her older pal, the lovely Hungarian Vizler we know) and then by lunchtime it was pelting it down. One thing you can say about the weather in Britain – it is variable!

Have a busy week ahead with my visit to the theatre on Thursday and running the Flash Fiction group on Zoom for the Association of Christian Writers on Wednesday. Both will be great fun. (And I know I’ll get a review out of one of them and I suspect some draft flash fiction out of the other!).

Talking of reviews, remember these don’t have to be long and they are a great way of helping an author, so do bear that in mind. One from a review of Tripping the Flash Fantastic reads “Allison Symes can pack more into 100 words than most people can into 1000. Politicians take note!”

I wonder if I can make use of that given local elections are coming up soon!

Tripping The Flash Fantastic - by night

It’s St. George’s Day today (in England) and the birthday (also probable day of death too) for William Shakespeare. Have enjoyed watching several of his works thanks to National Theatre Live. Must try and get to see more.

Watching stories (stage or film) is another great way of taking in tales. My late mother would have been pleased about this. She tried to get me into the works of the Bard for many years. Would probably wonder why it took me so long! And the basic plots are often the basis for other stories – The Lion King is loosely based on Hamlet. His stories have inspired classical music too (The Love Theme for Romeo and Juliet being just one example).

Am off to local theatre later this week to see Spring Trio by The Chameleon Theatre Group.

Have never been tempted to act though I always admire those who do this well. It always has been the story I’ve been interested in. Doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that, does it?!

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Hope you are having a nice weekend. Off out for a lovely meal out later. Looking forward to that. Nice not having to cook!

I’ll be looking at How-To Guides (writing ones) for next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I have used a few in my time and have found the ones I used (and still use) incredibly helpful. No one writer can know it all and a well written guide or two, developing networks of writer friends, and going to writing events are all invaluable for helping you learn your craft.

I use Scrivener for my writing and find both the inbuilt tutorial and the Scrivener for Dummies book by Gwen Hernandez to be great aids.

Link up for CFT post on Friday as usual.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the great comments coming in on Going Home, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction.

Feedback is much appreciated, especially for the short forms of writing. In the past where I was submitting something for a competition, if there was the opportunity to get feedback, I would take it. Usually there was a small additional fee (it is something towards the judge’s time) but I took the view it was worth it to get “soundings” back on my story. I always found this useful.

Sometimes I would then resubmit the story elsewhere and had it published then, having taken on board comments made. Didn’t always take the advice given – sometimes I had good reasons for disagreeing with it. But that was still useful. It made me work out why. And then there were those times when the commentator flagged up something so useful I wondered why I hadn’t spotted it in the first place! This is the way of these things.

Screenshot 2023-04-21 at 09-47-09 Going Home by Allison Symes

It’s Monday. It has been pouring down in my part of the world. It’s getting dark early due to the weather. It’s still Monday. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube video – The Best. Not me being boastful (honest!) but see if you would do what my character does here faced with what she is facing.

One of the joys of going to things like The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, is getting to explore their wonderful Book Room! I’ve come back with flash collections and other books to enjoy many a time.

Don’t forget if you would like signed copies of either From Light to Dark and Back Again or Tripping the Flash Fantastic, please contact me and I will happily oblige! Payment is via bank transfer. Please contact me via the form on my website –https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact/.

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I was chatting about flash fiction and its benefits as part of an ACW meeting this morning. Always good to spread the word about the benefits of flash, no matter what else you write. I know it has brought on my editing skills a lot!

Sunday afternoons is often when I write a lot of flash. Always look forward to that. (I end up doing other bits and pieces on flash during the week whether I’m writing about it for blog posts or preparing for future books etc).

Above all, flash led me to having my own books published so will always love it for that alone!

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Goodreads Author Blog – What I Like about Reviews

All authors would like reviews, ideally good ones of course. What I like about reviews I read is when they give me information and a sense of what a book is about without giving away too much of it. These are the kind of reviews I try to write as well.

Other than buying a writer’s book, giving them an honest review is the second best thing you can do to help the authors in your life. We can share the fact we have had reviews in (which encourages people to take a look at those and hopefully our books too). It gives us a much needed morale boost. Bear in mind we are at our desks alone for a lot of the time. It is also a form of validation and most writers appreciate getting that every now and again.

So if you’ve read books you love, do review them. Reviews don’t have to be long. They don’t take much time to do and they really do help writers. And where better than to spread the word about the usefulness of well thought out reviews than at Goodreads?

Screenshot 2023-04-22 at 17-40-22 What I Like about Reviews

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Writing To A Theme and Dragon Duty

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you are well. Had a lovely weekend away at the ACW Committee Retreat. Lady not happy I went. Was overjoyed when I got back! Now back to the usual routines, writing and otherwise. Spring weather seems to be more settled now. Am hoping that won’t prove to be a case of famous last words!

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Regular blog posting is a good indication of how quickly time passes by! Can’t believe we’re at the 18th already and it is my turn once again on the Authors Electric blog. This time I talk about Writing to a Theme.

This is something I do a lot for my blog posts here and elsewhere (I set them), to other places where the theme is set for me, including competitions. Hope you find the post helpful.

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After a busy weekend, it has been a busy Monday! Start as you mean to go on, perhaps?

Will be scheduling a story for my YouTube channel so it appears tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing that. Spent a lot of my train journey home yesterday drafting different pieces – will find homes for them in due course. I often do draft potential blog pieces/stories like this because I know I can use them at a later date. I don’t usually edit pieces on journeys like that. I just want to get something written and save the editing for when I‘m back at my desk again. I see journey time as bonus writing time.

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On way home from the Committee Retreat (Association of Christian Writers). Plan to do reasonable amount of writing on the trains home. Never short of things to draft here!

It was lovely to be back at The Hayes, Swanwick. Due to be back in August for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

This weekend I stayed in the Main House for the first time. Very nice and I literally got some steps in going up and down the stairs.

Will be talking about Book Recommendations for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link up on Friday.

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Am currently at the Committee Retreat for the Association of Christian Writers. Good to see everyone again. Getting to stay at The Hayes, Swanwick again which is lovely.

Between us the Committee represents Christians writing for the secular market (I’m included here) and those who do write for the Christian market. There are novelists across different genres, article writers, short story and flash fiction people (yes I count here but am not the only one I’m pleased to say).

We are in a way a microcosm of the wider writing world. Not sure what my colleagues will make of being referred to like that (!) but I think it is an excellent thing. The writing world is huge and the variety amazing. With both my reader and writer hats on, I love that.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "The writing life is addictive but fun. The support of other writers makes a huge difference."

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I may be a day late (thanks to being away at the weekend) but there is always time for a story on a Tuesday as well as a Monday! Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube tale – Dragon Duty.

 

The day after you get back from anywhere is always a toughie as you try to resume your normal routines (whether they be writing, domestic, or in my case both!). This is where writing in the short form is a lovely bonus. If I get, say, 200 words written today, that may be a complete story for me (or I am well on my way to a useful blog post).

Never worry about only writing a “little”. These “little” bits and pieces mount up over time. It’s how I ended up putting two collections (and now a third) together. Also it’s not as if you could write a novel in “one go” anyway. All writing does need building up, you do get to the end. It’s not a race and I would rather write something than nothing.

I won’t beat myself up because I could only write a little rather than my standard amount (and I deliberately don’t work out my average word count. I just write and enjoy the process – mostly. I say mostly because we all get days when we’d far rather be doing something else but I always feel better for getting something creative done and for me that creativity is in the writing).

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Many thanks for the great comments coming in for Making Her Day, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Much appreciated.
Plan to write and submit pieces as usual this week for FFF and my YouTube channel but will be a day later than usual. Hope to draft both on my way back from my weekend away. I bless Evernote!

Screenshot 2023-04-14 at 17-27-12 Making Her Day by Allison Symes

Writing flash helps with other formats too. I’m not going to be fazed by having to write 500 words for an article, say, given I often write to that word count for stories.

I also know editing is vital no matter what word count you write to as there is no such thing as a perfect first draft. What you do get with that draft is a basic story which needs strengthening but that can be done later. You can’t strengthen the unwritten!

Flash has taught me to be specific with word usage and that is useful elsewhere too.

May be a graphic of text that says "Flash fiction illuminates briefly -it is a great form for a lighthearted piece. These often work best when kept short."

Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Away From Home

I usually take my Kindle with me for trips. Gives me choice. Saves weight. Gives me packing room for other things too.
But for my trip to the Commitee Retreat for the Association of Christian Writers, where I am as this goes out, I left my reader at home. Why?

Because I’m currently engrossed with two different paperbacks I couldn’t bear to leave behind.

One is 1000 Years of Annoying the French, which is funny and informative (written by Stephen Clarke).

The other is The Continuing Times of Isabella M Smugge (written by Ruth Leigh). This is funny and moving.

Plan to continue to make progress on these while away. Do think two decent sized paperbacks is a good limit for books in a case though!

Screenshot 2023-04-15 at 17-43-23 Reading Away From Home

 

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Publication News and Writing Up from My Notebooks

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hmm…back to the wild and stormy weather again. Am grateful Lady doesn’t mind being dried down when we get in. She sees it as a chance to have a cuddle. I get her dried. Just a pity I don’t dry off so easily and quickly but never mind! Am delighted to have publication news to share this time though.

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Publication News: Am pleased to say I am back on CafeLit with my story Untaken. Hope you enjoy it (and it’s a warning to beware of thorny hedges with special properties – see the tale for more!).

Screenshot 2023-04-11 at 20-17-17 CafeLitMagazine

After a gloriously sunny Easter weekend, it has been an odd day weather wise today. Have had rain, hail, torrential rain, strong winds, sunshine etc. Just need snow now and we’ve got the set. (Has not been unknown to happen either!).

Looking forward to sharing Using Time For Fiction on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Will also be reprising my role as CFT arts correspondent when I go to see The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production of spring plays later on this month (called aptly enough Spring Trio). More nearer the time.

Many thanks for the lovely comments continuing to come in for Which Way?, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. I do find the feedback on this site useful and encouraging. Also good to see familiar names on here too.

 

For all who celebrate Easter, I hope you had a very happy one!

Am enjoying listening to the Classic FM Hall of Fame as I write. I hope my three choices end up playing on the final day of this, which is tomorrow. They did last year! One of mine was in the top three too.

Publication News: Am also thrilled to find out today I will be in The Best of CafeLit 12, which will be out later this year. Always great to have publication news. (And a story of mine will be on CafeLit as well during this coming week. Looking forward to sharing the link there when I can).

A huge round of congratulations to the other authors will be in CafeLit 12 with me too!

Publication News

Lovely sunny day, Lady had a great time at the park, and loved being able to have lunch with my other half in the garden for the first time in months. Lady loved “hoovering” up too.

Many thanks for the lovely comments coming in on Which Way?, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. In case you missed it, do check it out here. I rather like my character, Betty, in this. See what you think.
Screenshot 2023-04-07 at 09-12-58 Which Way by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. Lady, my better half, and I all got rather soggy tonight. This is where I am pleased writing is an indoor activity – in the warm and dry!

I did okay in the Classic FM Hall of Fame this year. One of my pieces went down one place, another went up by one place, and the other stayed where it was last year! One of my chosen pieces was Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens. I remember this piece from the old quirky detective series, Jonathan Creek, but I do have another reason for loving it. See link!

It’s Easter Bank Holiday Monday here where I am but it is still time for a story. Hope you enjoy Super Soaker, my latest on my YouTube channel.

 

Have had a lovely Easter Day at church and then came home later to find out I will be in The Best of CafeLit 12 later on this year. (Also thrilled to see friends of mine will be in there too). Now that is a nice start to the week ahead!

I’ve talked about jotting down promising opening lines in those pockets of time everyone gets (aptly) from time to time. I’ll be talking more on that in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week but a good follow up question would be, “Allison, do you actually write up those opening lines into stories?”.

Yes, I do. Some of those stories have ended up in my flash collections (From Light to Dark and Back Again/Tripping the Flash Fantastic). Others have ended up on Friday Flash Fiction, CafeLit or my YouTube channel. But they do get written up. Not always immediately, I admit. That doesn’t matter though. Indeed a break away helps convince me this opening line really does have the promise I initially thought – and that’s a good thing, always.

Screenshot 2023-03-26 at 21-11-21 Allison Symes

Hope you have had a good day. I’ll be looking at Using Time for Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today next Friday. Always a timely topic!

One thing I think should go into the Murphy’s Law of Creative Writing is when you start a writing session slowly, time seems to drag a bit. You then find your “spark” and get cracking and then time speeds up and before you know it, it is time to stop. I guess time must reflect state of mind here. I do know it can be a pain at times.

Glad to report I will be back on CafeLit next week. Looking forward to sharing another story with you from there early next week.  See above.

 

Goodreads Author Blog – Humorous Books and Stories

I love humorous books and stories. As well as treasuring the works of Wodehouse, Austen, and Pratchett (now there’s a trio for you!), one of my favourite books is The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose compiled by the much missed humorist and all round good person, Frank Muir. (I remember him from the TV show Call My Bluff and he was an early pioneer of BBC radio comedy with his writing partner, the equally missed Denis Norden).

The book is huge (and not to be dropped on your foot if, like me, you have the hardback edition) but it is a riveting read. Also perfect for dipping into when you need a quick “humour fix”. Can’t recommend highly enough.

The reason I mention it is because my late mother taught me to read at an early age and I inherit my love of books and stories from her. The one thing she never really got though was humorous writing. No idea why. Just didn’t work for her at all. The nearest she got to it was with Jane Austen. Yet she read sci-fi, crime, thrillers, Du Maurier, Dickens, all sorts, and fantasy. She loved the Terry Brooks series of fantasy books. Me? It was Terry Pratchett all the way here!

Which humorous books would you recommend? Do you have any “blind spots” with regard to reading?

Screenshot 2023-04-08 at 20-46-23 Humorous Books and Stories

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Flash NANO, Book Wish Lists, and Podcast News

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Hope you have had a good start to the week. Wild weather here but progressing well with Flash NANO and I’m about to be on a podcast talking about that very thing. Hope to share the link to the podcast in the next issue on Friday.

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Thrilled to say I was interviewed by #WendyHJones for her podcast, The Writing and Marketing Show, today. Show will go out tomorrow and I’m looking forward to sharing the link.

Our topic? Flash NANO! Flash NANO is an offshoot of NaNoWriMO and is where flash fiction writers get to write 30 flash pieces over 30 days. I’ll be working on my prompt for today later on this evening! Tomorrow’s episode follows on beautifully from her show last week which talked about NaNoWriMo – the A to Z – see link for that. It was great fun taking part in this and I am always keen to spread the word about flash fiction – win-win here then!

Screenshot 2022-11-08 at 20-40-00 NaNoWriMo A to Z - The Writing and Marketing Show

Hope you have had a lovely start to your working week. Blustery and wet again here but I did have a lovely surprise this morning. Ruth Leigh, whom I recently interviewed for Chandler’s Ford Today, gave me a lovely shout-out on More Than Writers (the Association of Christian Writers blog spot). See link and screenshot.

Talking of CFT, my post this week will be called Remembering, especially apt at this post goes out on Armistice Day.

And in other news, I will be interviewed myself very soon. See above! Will give more details when I can but looking forward to this a lot.

All in all, it’s not been a bad Monday!

Screenshot 2022-11-07 at 09-21-45 It's All in the Questions

More rain last night, fewer fireworks, Lady dozing off to the second part of Classic FM’s Pet Classics – win-win all around here!
I use a good old-fashioned paper diary bought from my local Post Office to help me plan out my writing. I find this especially useful for the different blogs I write pieces for. There is still much to be said for pen and paper technology!

Having said that, I take my turn every month on the Association of Christian Writers Twitter feed. I draft those tweets in advance and schedule them so I use that kind of technology too.

Am definitely one of life’s planners. I find it invaluable for keeping track of my writing. And today being a Sunday, as well as continuing with Flash NANO later on, I will get some flash pieces ready for submission and scheduling respectively. It’s a nice way to round off the writing week.

May be an image of text that says "Planning out your writing does not have to kill spontaneity, far from it. don't plan to the "nth" degree. I plan enough to get me started and to ensure I get done in a week what I'd like to get done. TOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER YEARLYPLANNER PLANNER 2019 LNE MON ON"

Hope you have had a good Saturday. There were some fireworks last night but the combination of Classic FM’s Pet Classics, the TV being on, and shut curtains etc meant Lady was okay (and she nodded off during the evening, which is always a good sign). The only positive thing about the wild and wet weather today is it should mean fewer fireworks (I hope). I see some of the supermarkets are now stocking the silent variety. Now that is the way to go with these things. It is the noise which causes the most distress and I do feel deeply sorry for the wild animals. At least I can keep my pet indoors.

A big thanks for the wonderful comments coming in on Old Notebooks, my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction. Feedback always appreciated.

My theme for next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today will be Remembering given it will be Armistice Day.

Memories can make great themes for stories too. You can have characters who struggle with theirs for various reasons from illness to the memories themselves being something they don’t really want to have to face up to and don’t forget false memories. Who has them? What has triggered this? How can they be shown these memories are false?

Progressing well with Flash NANO too. Looking forward to having a go at today’s prompt later on.

Screenshot 2022-11-04 at 09-26-35 Old Notebooks by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Earlier today I was spreading the word about flash fiction and Flash NANO in particular as guest interviewee on Wendy H Jones’s podcast, The Writing and Marketing Show. Show goes out tomorrow and I will be sharing the link then.

But I’m always pleased to share the virtues of flash fiction and one perhaps overlooked aspect is the possibilities of getting into print with it. I hope by the end of Flash NANO to have 30 new stories. Once I’ve polished those up, I hope to send some in for competitions. Others I hope to put towards a future collection. And with the rise in the indie press, there are opportunities out there to have flash collections published. I know, I’ve done it!

I also remain convinced that flash is an excellent form of writing exercise for any writer because you have to think about what the story is about and what the reader needs to know and cut out everything that doesn’t serve a useful purpose.

Flash Fiction focuses on THE important aspect of a character's life

It’s a dark Monday. It’s a wet and windy one. Time for my latest story on YouTube. Hope you enjoy All In The Game, which is based on fact too.

 

How to tell when a flash piece is finished? My take on this is when I know I cannot take another word out without losing something invaluable to the characters/story. As for adding words, again the same criteria applies because you can, to use the English phrase, “over-egg” the pudding and ruin it.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have to justify to myself why I’ve included anything in my story. If I’m not convinced if something is necessary, then a reader is likely to feel the same way. I don’t want them switching off as a result.

When looking back at my earlier stories, I can see now how I could improve these but that is the point. That was the stage of writing I was at then. I have moved on since and rightly so too. I want to try and keep on improving on what I do. That attitude helps fuel my imagination and creativity and I am all for that. I don’t think any writer can feel they’ve “made it”. There are always ways to develop your characters further and to come up with other interesting situations to dump them in. That is the fun bit!

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "Wm ( S)TOP LEARNING Good idea. It can be great fun though getting your characters to learn their lessons the hard way. Makes for good drama."

Flash fiction is the definition of Less is More being true but it is nice being able to exploit that to maximum effect. This is another reason why knowing the last line first is such an effective device for writing flash. If I’m given a prompt which could be an opening or a closing line, I nearly always make it the last one for this reason. I’ve got the impact in that line so where best to place it? Often it is at the end.

Sometimes a story simply does work better at 300 words, say, rather than 100. Usually there are factors such as more in depth characterisation adding to the story which you would not want to lose. My basis for editing any piece of my work is if it adds something to useful to the story and moves it on in some way it stays in. If not, out it comes. So part of my editing process is to go through my story line by line and query its worthiness to be included. I have to be able to justify its inclusion.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Book Wish Lists

It is the right time of year to start thinking about book wish lists (assuming you don’t have an all year round one. The advantage of the latter is it covers birthdays, anniversaries, feel like a new book days etc). I don’t have a wish list for my Kindle. If there’s a book I’m after for that, I just get it.

But I will be compiling my annual list for the family to pick books from for me for Christmas. That’s always fun to put together. I go for a mixture of hardbacks and paperbacks. Some will be books I’ve been after for a while. Others are recent releases I like the look of – and often detective novels at that. I also make a point in checking out non-fiction releases as I’ve found some gems there.

So what it is that makes you put a book on your own wish list? For me the story is the lure. If I like the sound of it, on to the wish list it goes, whether it is by a big name author or not. Some are the latest in a series I’ve become fond of and others are stand alones. As long as I like the sound of the tale and the characters, I’m putting it on my list.

The nice thing about lists is it is a win-win for my loved ones too. I am easy to buy for! Mind you, I think most writers are. There are always books or stationery items we want. No good asking for an agent or a publishing deal though – you’re on your own for those!

 

 

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.
Good to see the evenings slowly becoming lighter in my part of the world. It’s still January though… aka the month that goes on for what seems like forever!

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Facebook – General

So cold out there today in my part of the world – even the dog wasn’t impressed.

Had a lovely time talking about flash fiction via Zoom to an ACW-affiliated group last night. I do hope it leads to more people trying flash fiction for themselves – it is good fun, addictive, and helps you sharpen your writing skills.

Certainly I’m not afraid of editing thanks to writing flash and it also makes me think about the impact of my stories and characters from the start. Doing that means I am thinking about the reader’s needs immediately. It also means I am less likely to go off at unhelpful tangents which only slow stories down.

And it is the perfect format for those times when you don’t have much time to write. You can get something drafted in a few minutes. The great thing is it doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s what the editing stages are for!

 

Has been a good Monday for me – as busy as ever but I seemed to get more things done more quickly. I wish all Mondays were like that. Still you treasure the good ones you get!

I’ve used the same prompt (from a random question generator) to trigger two stories. One I’ve submitted to Friday Flash Fiction and the other one I’ll share on my book page shortly as it is the latest in my YouTube videos. The question generated was what makes you cry? Link further down.

Interesting one as you can take this in a tragic direction but there is a possibility for comedy too (which is the direction I’ve taken). And of course you can adjust it to think about what would make your character cry.

I love random generators. They really make me put my thinking cap on.

 

Have been enjoying a quiet weekend. I’ll be taking a broad look at Characters in Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Looking forward to sharing that on Friday. Have been spending time preparing pieces for different blog spots – plenty to keep me out of mischief anyway!

And I am also getting my author newsletter together ready for that to go out on 1st February. (Do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com if you would like to sign up – I share news, tips, prompts, videos etc here).

What is the one thing you like most about writing? I know it’s hard to say but for me that feeling of knowing you’ve created a piece of work that you can’t improve any more and someone else has accepted it – well, it is hard to beat that one!

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Hope you have had a good Saturday. Many thanks for the comments coming in on Someone Like Her my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. It is lovely receiving feedback from other readers on this site and I love reading through the other stories too.

What I find helpful in feedback I receive is in finding out what readers responded to – was it the character, the twist ending etc? (This is another reason why book reviews matter – it isn’t just the number received, it is what is said here as well).

And in giving feedback, I look to stress the positives, share what I think can be improved, and maybe make market suggestions if something obvious comes to mind. Sometimes a story you’re reading for a competition just calls into mind a possible market for it.

Am looking forward to giving a Zoom talk on Monday night too. So all go at the moment but in a very good way.

Screenshot 2022-01-21 at 19-08-10 Someone Like Her, by Allison SymesBookBrushImage-2022-1-25-20-3855

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the views coming in so far on Crying, my latest YouTube video. Much appreciated, always.  See video link below.

For a short story like this one, I nearly always go for using the first person. I can take you straight into my character’s head and show you their thoughts, attitudes and actions. I like to think of it as “hitting the ground running”.

The funny thing here though is I had barely used first person before writing flash fiction. I suppose for a short word count format the immediacy of the “I” character has more impact than it would do in a longer piece where its effect might be “diluted” a bit. I do know it works really well in flash though.

 

Pleased to be sharing my latest YouTube story called Crying. This came from a random question generator and the question that came up was what makes you cry? Find out here what makes my character cry. Hope you enjoy it.


I’ve never liked those stories where the description seems to go on for ever and ever, amen. Funnily enough I have no problems here with classic novels where the writers had to spell everything out for their readers (no TV, no film, no easy way of a reader visualising what London looks like etc).

But in this day and age where we can get a good idea of what a place looks like because of our experiences with TV and film, I certainly don’t want to see that kind of description in any kind of story.

This is where flash fiction comes into its own. It makes you focus on only the most important things that have to go into the story for it to make sense. Having to work to a tight word count means you have to make choices but it is all for the good of the story – and that is always a great thing. Regardless of what we write, we should always be focusing on what is for the good of the story (which is where that famous phrase about “killing your darlings” comes in I suspect).

(But if you do want a great read right now and one which is free how about following this link to Mom’s Favorite Reads?).

 

Am giving a Zoom talk on Monday night about flash fiction. Love talking about that. I also think it is a great form for people who don’t have a lot of time to write but know they want to write something! And you can. Over time you can build up another flash stories for your own collections etc. I remain convinced in learning to write to a tight word count, that skill will carry over into writing query letters, synopses etc that also have to “not go on for too long” and convey information to attract an agent/publisher quickly.

BookBrushImage-2022-1-17-20-949[Tripping the Flash Fantastic Small.jpg

 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Best Friends in Fiction

With my other writing hat on, I blog including for a weekly online magazine. My current topic for them is Best Friends in Fiction but I realised it would be a good topic for Goodreads too. When a lead character and their best friend/sidekick character are well portrayed, it is a joy to read their adventures and the interactions between them.

Can you imagine Holmes without Watson or Wooster without Jeeves? So many classic stories depend on the best friend character – and across genres too. Think Sam Gamgee and his support of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. (It was literal support at some points too).

Characterisation has always been what makes or breaks a story (of any length) for me. I have got to understand where the characters are coming from, even if I disagree with their attitudes and actions. And for lead and best friend characters I have got to see why the lead has the best friend character they do.

Holmes is a genius but needs Watson to temper that but Holmes does recognise that. Watson knows he can never be as brilliant as Holmes but knows he has his own role to play that could not be fulfilled by Holmes. Can you imagine Holmes trying to narrate a story for the masses? Err… no I think!

Do you have any favourite best friend fictional characters and if so why have you chosen these? Mine is Sam Gamgee – you can’t beat the guy for loyalty and guts when it matters.

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