Tag: fiction

Plays, Ingesting Stories, and Writing Games

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Now there’s an eclectic mix just in the title alone!

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My CFT post this week is a review of the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group – Spring Trio of Plays.

One of the reasons I love going along to their performances is that the shows give me a chance to enjoy stories in a different format – i.e. plays.

Reading widely will always be important for a writer to help feed and nuture their own imagination BUT taking stories in via different media is also very useful. Particularly with plays, you get to “see” how dialogue works, how pauses are used to good effect and so on. This is obviously directly useful if you plan to write plays yourself, but even if you’re not, listening to dialogue and how it comes across can be a useful aid for how YOU write it when it comes to your stories and books.

So support your local theatre company. As well as being a good night out, it can and should benefit your own writing.

Image Credit:  Many thanks as ever to Stuart Wineberg, Lionel Elliott and the Chameleons for kind permission to use their excellent photos.  Captions on my CFT post!

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Fiction books of the alphabet:-

A = Anne of Green Gables
B = Black Beauty
C = Carpe Jugulum (Discworld’s approach to vampires!)
D = Death on the Nile
E = Emma
F = From Light to Dark and Back Again (I kind of had to!)
G = Great Expectations
H = Hogfather (Discworld’s approach to Christmas)
I = Interesting Times (Discworld again and to my mind the best of the Rincewind books)
J = Jane Eyre
K = King Solomon’s Mines
L = Lord of the Rings (I usually DO drop The!).
M = Murder on the Orient Express
N = Nemesis
O = Of Mice and Men
P = Pride and Prejudice
Q = Queen’s Nose
R = Rebecca
S = Sourcery (Discworld again)
T = Thud (and again!)
U = Uncle Tom’s Cabin
V = Very Hungry Caterpillar
W = Wind in the Willows
X = Xena – Warrior Princess
Y = You Only Live Twice
Z = Zorro

I can’t claim to have read all of these (though I have read most). It is a quite a reading list though! What would be on yours?

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When do you find writing the toughest thing to do? For me, it’s after a day of niggling admin tasks (you can guess what kind of day I’ve had now, can’t you!) and I feel tired and just want to stop (yes, you guessed right). The kind of day where you don’t want to think any more so writing creatively seems to be a VERY big effort…

However, I’ve also found it pays to make myself write. Why? Because I inevitably feel better once I’ve got going on a piece and that’s usually within a minute or two. I can also escape into the lives of my characters and the horrible problems I’ve set them (fiendish laugh can be inserted here!).

So true. Pixabay.
A good adaptation is creative in its own right. Pixabay
Indeed! Pixabay image.
Yes, but do you feel you’re going in circles?! Pixabay
Good question! Pixabay image.
Working things out the old school way. Pixabay image.

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I wonder if sketches (such as for radio comedy shows) could count as “flash plays”! Just a thought…!

There are certain things flash fiction has in common with plays. I’ve been “gallivanting” this week, having had a wonderful time at a local theatre company’s latest production.

One common aspect is having to select the most powerful points to get across to an audience and inevitably you will select those that will have the most impact on the story you’re trying to tell and those watching/reading it.

Another is when you do use dialogue, it can only resemble speech not be an accurate copy of it. So no ahs and ums (the odd one or two would be okay in a play, there’s no room at all in flash for them as they would literally be wasted words).

There should be some sort of emotional impact from the flash story or play. Doesn’t have to be a happy one but it should be a logical impact given the nature of the story you’re telling.

Twists, of course, feature in both.

There should be a satisfactory outcome, though again it doesn’t have to be a happy one (as Shakespeare proved time and again).

A familiar sight! Pixabay.
Shakespeare. Pixabay
Sometimes the words flow, other times they don’t! Pixabay
What all writers need (harmony within yourself to overcome the fear and write anyway). Pixabay.
Always good advice. Pixabay
Ah! The joy of the edit! Pixabay.

Flash by day, flash by night
Flash is such fun to write.
Outline your special ideas
Work out your character’s fears.
Put them through hell, time and again.
We’ve really got to feel their pain.
Who said a writer must be nice?
We just write and edit and splice
To get the tale that must be told.
We dig to get that story gold.

Allison Symes – 2nd May 2019

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One thing I must try and do is enter more flash fiction writing competitions. I do enter a few throughout the year and I’m pleased to see that places such as The Bridport Prize now have flash as a specific category. It’s nice to see the form recognised more widely and, of course, it gives more opportunities for flash fiction writers.

The rules I set myself on entering writing competitions are:-

1. They mustn’t cost too much. (The exception to this are novel competitions but ALWAYS check the terms and conditions carefully, which you should do for ANY competition, but that is even more important, the higher the entry fee is).

2. The background of the competition can be checked out and verified. I enter competitions which have been established for some time. I’m wary of new ones and wait for them to be established after 3 years or so. You do hear horror stories from time to time of a new writing competition and then it folds, taking all the entry monies with it. So be careful.

3. You know what you are getting for your entry fee. Some places will give critiques. I sometimes go for these but only after I’ve asked myself the following questions and got answers to them. Does the competition give you an idea of how detailed this critique will be? If the fee for it is low, it won’t be much but will that be enough to be useful to you?

4. The competition does NOT ask for all rights for ever and ever, amen.

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Fairytales with Bite – Ingesting Stories!

My CFT post is a review of The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production, Spring Trio of Plays.  This included Effie’s Burning, Ghost of a Chance, and In For the Half.  The performances and the impact of the plays were fabulous.

I like going to productions like these as they are another way for me to take in story.  Reading will always be phenomenally important to any writer but that doesn’t mean you can’t take in stories in other media.  With plays particularly, you get to “see” the impact of well written dialogue and that can help inspire you with your own writing, whether you write scripts or not.  You get to hear what works.  Memorable lines stay with you for a reason!  The goal of course is to be able to create your own memorable lines in whatever format you choose to write.

Another favourite form of storytelling for me is audio books.  Being told a story by someone else is one of the great joys of human existence for me. Again you get to hear what works.  If you listen to an abridged version, and you have the unabridged book version, find out what they cut and see if you can work out why.  Does this have an impact on what you put into your story or leave out of it?

I don’t watch a lot of film but it’s a very valid way of exploring stories.  Learn to spot where the Three Act Structure is in the movie you’re watching!

A good writing group will help you discover this. Pixabay image.
Ah, the bliss of reading! Pixabay image.
Books are their own world. Pixabay
Lost in a world of books. Pixabay image.
A good read means you ARE in a world of your own. Pixabay image
Sometimes the books come to you! Pixabay

This World and Others – Useful Writing Games

Following on from my post last week about writing exercises to help with world building, I thought I would share some writing games I find useful for generating story ideas.

  1. Word Association.  Used to love this when I was a kid as you could get some funny outcomes but it is worth playing this game on paper to see what links you can create here.  If you need a helping hand to get started, pick a word at random from the dictionary and off you go!  Set yourself a time of two to three minutes and jot down whatever comes into your head.  You can select the links you like the most later.
  2. Random Word Generators. Use one of these and pick five words to work with.  On some generators, you can set the first and last letter, how many letters you want in the words and so on.  Then try putting what you come up with into a story.  It works really well for flash fiction but there is no reason why you can’t put these words into a longer tale.
  3. Opposites.  Write down an object and then write down separately what could be said to be opposite to it.  For example – hot water tap.  Its opposite is the cold water one.  Now what role could these play in a story?
  4. The Hat Game.  Write down a variety of nouns, verbs, adjectives etc on separate slips of paper.  Draw out a few at random and again put into a story.  This is the traditional version of the random word generator but there is no reason why you can’t still play this in this way.  What I think you need to aim for here is a nice mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary for things to put on the slips of paper.  That is where you can “control” things unlike a random generator BUT limit yourself to how many slips of paper you pick out and write what you come up with into a story, no matter how bizarre your selections are.  Have fun with this.

Hope you find these help generate story ideas.  I’m particularly fond of the first two!

Yes, I could happily live here. Pixabay
What stories will come from this pen? Pexels image.
Generating the writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.
Beautiful pens. Pexels image.
What writing can give you over time. Pixabay.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
So true. Pixabay.
What wonderful worlds we can creat! Image via Pixabay.
I wonder how many dragon stories are in here! Image via Pixabay
Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.
Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experimenting with Words and Form

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My latest CFT post is Experimenting with Words and Form. I also look at favourite new words. If you have any, do share in the comments box.

I look at why playing with words (and I include things like playing Scrabble here) is a great thing for writers to do. As for experimenting with the form your writing takes, it can open your eyes to new forms of storytelling. What is there not to like about that?

Hope you enjoy.

 

Image Credit:  As ever, the images are from the marvellous Pixabay.

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I suppose most people start their reading “careers” off by loving the fairytales/nursery rhymes etc read to them in childhood. Where do you go from there?

For me it was the Famous Five by Enid Blyton, the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott, Heidi, Black Beauty – pretty much staple fare, or should that be stable fare?! 🤩.

Then later came Agatha Christie, Tolkein, CS Lewis, Wodehouse, Pratchett. Now I read a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, especially on the KIndle. I like to use that to try out books by non-fiction authors who are new to me.

It’s a pretty even split between books and magazine reading overall, though I find one week I’m in “book mode”, other weeks I’m not.

But what matters is I’m reading (and writing, naturally).

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I’m looking at experimenting with words and form in my CFT post later this week. Word games from Scrabble to crosswords to Boggle I think are great things for writers to indulge in.

Why? Because at some point you are bound to reach for the dictionary to check if a word really is a word or not! (It’s amazing what can get through in Scrabble for a start!). Link up on Friday. (I also share favourite new words).

A book worm’s idea of heaven and picture books will be in here! Pixabay image
Books are the keys to knowledge. Image via Pixabay
Nice selection of books here! Image via Pixabay
FLTDBA in NZ. Image kindly supplied by Raewyn Berry
Some of my published works, most anthologies. Image by Allison Symes
Let the ideas flow and let journeys encourage that! Image via Pixabay
Charging up for new ideas, maybe? Pixabay image.
My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.
Ebooks and print – both have their own frustrations when it comes to publishing. Image via Pixabay
What every children’s writer wants to see – children engrossed in books, ideally theirs! Pixabay image.
The to be read pile! Image via Pixabay

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I talk about experimenting with form as part of my CFT post this week. Flash fiction is particularly versatile here.

Not only can you select which word count you’re going for (and I mix them up, despite my overall preference being for the 100-worders), you can mix up the form too. I’ve written one-liners, acrostics, flash in the form of a rhyme and so on.

It’s important to have fun with what you write. Mixing things up can and does increase that sense of fun.

Always good advice. Pixabay
Pixabay image.
And have fun! Pixabay image.
Encouragement can do so much to help writers here. Pixabay image.
Self belief is crucial to a writer and Barbara did so much to encourage this. Pixabay.
What is unforgettable about your story? Pixabay image.
What is it about your world and characters that will appeal to readers? Pixabay
Good question! Pixabay image.
Checking spelling and grammar isn’t fun but so necessary. Pixabay image.

What are the joys of writing flash fiction?

1. Knowing you’ve come up with a story which makes a huge (usually emotional) impact because of its tight word count.

2. Knowing there isn’t a word out of place and that every one punches its weight and carries the story along.

3. Memorable characters you might want to do more with in other flash fiction or longer stories. Absolutely nothing to stop you developing ideas and characters further.

What are the woes of writing flash fiction?

1. Ensuring you DO make that emotional impact on your reader AND in the way you intend. If a story is meant to make them laugh, you want them to laugh as you intended and NOT at the story effort you’ve come up with!

2. The word count can work against you sometimes where a character really does deserve a longer “run” but you can still go to 1000 words. Even where that isn’t feasible, celebrate having a fabulous character to work with and accept this one is going to be a standard length short story, novella or what have you. Oh and good luck!

3. Making sure your story idea is strong enough to be a flash fiction piece. Flash is very intense due to its brevity. Is the idea up to that intense scrutiny?

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For obvious reasons I’m pleased to see the short story anthologies and flash fiction collections have a ready market. Even if I wasn’t writing in either market, yet alone both (!), I’d still want these to do well. Why?

I think it’s healthy to have a wide range of fiction available and collections are a convenient way of “storing” shorter stories. They also make the perfect books to read/dip into when time is short or, having finished one novel, you’re not sure what you’re going to read next.

And, as with all writers of novels, writers of the shorter fiction do appreciate reviews in the usual places whether it’s a one line review or a paragraph!

Now that is what I call impact! Pixabay image.
Words are the power source of so much creativity. Pixabay iamge.
So true. Pixabay image.
Never underestimate the value of a good edit. Pixabay image.
Walking into the words maybe. Pixabay image
This made me smile! Pixabay image.
Words have power, whether funny or tragic. Pixabay image.
Puns can be visual. Pixabay image.
What worlds will emerge from your writing? Pixabay image
The lightbulb moment of inspiration for writers is wonderful. Pixabay image.
Generating those ideas. Pixabay image.

Fairytales with Bite –

Experimenting with Words and Form

My CFT post this week looks at Experimenting with Words and Form and why this is good for writers.

Especially when starting out, experimenting with different kinds of writing is a great idea as it will help you find your niche.  Later, when you have discovered what that niche is, you can hone it and playing with form is a fantastic way of doing that honing.  Also, if you write flash fiction, as I do, there’s nothing to stop you having a go at the standard length short story (which I also do from time to time).

The watchword here is to have fun with your writing.  Sometimes give yourself a break from what you usually do and be creative in other writing fields.  At worst, it’ll act as a brief break and you’ll find you really do want to stick to what you usually do.  At best, you’ll find a whole new world of writing to enjoy.  This is what happened to me with flash fiction and I’ve ended up being published in it!  So be open!

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This World and Others –

The A to Z of Story Essentials Part 4

A slightly shorter number of letters to cover this week so I can finish with some of the awkward ones next week i.e. U to Z with a stopover at V, X and Y on the way. It’ll be a good challenge.  Meanwhile…

P = Promise.  Does the story live up to the promise of its tagline/blurb?  If it does, great.  Okay this is subjective.  No two readers will ever agree on every book they’ve read.  Personal likes and dislikes have to come into it somewhere but the general principle here is “does the writer deliver”?  For me, a good story is where that promise is easily fulfilled, even if you don’t like how the writer does it!

Q = Queries.  A good story should wrap these up by its end.  Leaving a reader wondering how the characters get on after the story ends is fine (and is a great sign) but the problems set up in the story should’ve been resolved.  There should be no unresolved queries here.

R = Reading Flow. A good story for me is one where I’ll be anxious to get to the next page for the “what happens next” moment.  The flow of the story should be a good one.  You want nothing to drag the story down. The story should read easily too, though don’t mistake simplistic reading/writing for simple reading/writing.  It is generally true if someone has made something look easy, such as making their prose look easy to reproduce, you can guarantee that same someone has worked hard for years to develop that skill. Getting the reading flow right requires precision with words and an awful lot of editing.  When it is done well, no reader will ever notice!

S = Set-up. The story set-up has to be intriguing enough to entice me into reading it. Anything with a fairytale/fantasy world basis will pique my curiosity enough to have a good look at the book.  It’s then when the blurb and opening paragraph kick in.  If they intrigue me, I’ll go on to buy the book.  So the set-up has got to be strong enough to intrigue me at all. That set-up must include there being something special about the characters to draw me in.

T = Tension.  There has to be lots of it and it should arise naturally from the characters.  If you have an awkward character, you know they’re going to clash with others in the story.  Fine.  What I also need to know is what makes that character awkward.  There is always a reason for it!

Final part next week…

The ultimate Book Circle perhaps? Image via Pixabay
Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.
The way to the magical realm perhaps? Image via Pixabay
Some of the strongest ideas have a simple theme. See A Christmas Carol as a classic example. Image via Pixabay.
Ready to write? Image via Pixabay.
Escape with a good book – and Roald Dahl’s were amongst the best. Image via Pixabay
Books can be magical, regardless of what genre they actually are. Image via Pixabay.
What every writer needs. Image via Pexels.
Well, what is it then? Image via Pixabay.
Gorgeous covers. Image via Pexels.
Use personal reviews to help you generate character and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.

 

 

Reading Journeys and the Role of Stories

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I look at how what I’ve read has changed over the years in my CFT post about Reading Journeys this week. I also look at how the Kindle has impacted on my reading life too (and boy has it! My suitcase is a lot lighter thanks to it!).

I can’t remember what the first book I read all by myself was but wouldn’t be surprised if it was a picture book. I am still very fond of The Reader’s Digest Collection of Fairytales which is beautifully illustrated. I’m also a sucker for a good map (see The Lord of the Rings!).

I’ve said it before, and will no doubt say it again, but adult fiction writers owe a huge debt to those who write for youngsters. So many readers of fiction for adults come from a background of having always read books/had books read to them. It is just a case of tastes changing over time. It is difficult to understate how important it is to create that wish to read spark off in the first place.

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My favourite moment when writing a story or a CFT post is when the piece “takes off”.

For a story, this is when the character hits their stride and there’s no holding them back. You, as the writer, are keen to find out what happens next (which is always a good sign!). And yes I outline but I deliberately don’t put down every detail. I need signposts but what happens between them is the really fun bit!

For a post, it is when one idea leads to another and that leads to more and before you know it, an article is written.

The scary moment? When you’ve outlined an idea and you begin writing and at that point you don’t know whether it is going to “go the distance”. There’s always a certain amount of relief when things “take off” and you realise the post or story will be fine (after editing later, naturally).

Image Credit:  The picture of From Light to Dark and Back Again was taken by my cousin, Raewyn Berry.  My book is on display at her guest house in New Zealand.  It is easily the furthest my book has travelled!

The ultimate smartphone maybe?! Image via Pixabay
Hope you have lovely books as presents! Pixabay image
My smartphone has not yet managed this! Pixabay image.
The joy of writing is you never stop learning. Pixabay image.
So true. Pixabay image.
Books and tea, bliss! Pixabay image
A book worm’s idea of heaven and picture books will be in here! Pixabay image
How many story ideas could come from an image like this? Pixabay.

My CFT post this week will take a look at reading journeys and how they change and develop over time (as they should). Good excuse to put lots of pictures of lovely books up too! Win-win! I also look at how methods of reading have developed. Who would have predicted the Kindle when I was growing up in the 1970s?

Do you have a reading list of books you simply must read (in whatever format suits best) before the Grim Library Keeper tells you that you are way overdue and it is time to go?

One of my favourite cartoons is the one of a woman in bed ringing to tell someone her other half has been crushed by his To Be Read pile. I have a nasty feeling life could imitate art for many of us here on that front! So don’t pile them too high, eh?

And I really must go and reduce the height of mine!

Where is your setting? Pixabay image.
Enjoy your writing whether you write directly to screen or to pen and paper first. Pixabay image.
My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.
I was in this Bridge House anthology. Picture taken by Allison Symes
Another of my stories made it into this collection. Image taken by Allison Symes
It is a great joy to be published by Cafelit online and in print. Picture taken by Allison Symes
Another flash fiction piece of mine is in here. Pixabay image.
My first story appeared here. Photo taken by Allison Symes
This is the first solely ebook compilation I’ve had work in – cover photo from Bridge House Publishing.
Stepping into another world.. Pixbay
There be dragons. Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

The spark for a new flash fiction story comes from a variety of sources for me. These include:-

1. Hearing a turn of phrase which catches my fancy.

2. A well known saying or proverb. (I can often twist these too so double whammy as far as I’m concerned).

3. I sometimes use a question as the story title. The story of course is then found in answering that question!

4. Writing prompts – picture based, theme set or what have you, I find all of these useful. (My writing diary is a boon for these. I should have 52 new stories by the end of the year at least given there is a prompt set every week!).

5. What is lovely is when a character I’ve created sparks off an idea for a follow-on story but the character and the follow-on idea both have to be strong enough for this to work.

6. I will sometimes put a character name into my title (for example George Changes His Mind). The idea here is to provoke curiosity as to find out who the character is and, in this example, what he changed his mind about! The implication also is that it has to be something reasonably important otherwise there would be no story.

The one time of year when Time itself is the news. Pixabay image.
Which number draft is this? Pixabay image
There is something almost mystical here. Pixabay image.
Love writing, love reading, love books. Pixabay image.
Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.
Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.
Fiction should show you new ways of looking at the world. Image via Pixabay.
Reading immerses you in another world. Pixabay image.
Fiction can take you anywhere. Image via Pixabay.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
The writing journey can be a long one so setting goals along the way makes sense. Pixabay image
Just what is your story then? Image via Pixabay

F is for Fun which writing should be
L is for Lines for your characters to say
A is for Action without which a story is dead
S is for Story, the “must know how it ends” reaction
H is for Heroes, of all kinds, caped or not.

F is for Flashbacks which should be kept brief
I is for Imagination – feed yours by reading well
C is for Characters we all want to root for
T is for Truthful Narrators or ARE they? Make us guess!
I is for Illumination, that lightbulb creative moment
O is for Original – you have a unique writing voice
N is for Names – what do they reveal about your “people”?

Allison Symes – 14th February 2019

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Flash fiction can be great for giving little insights into a character and/or their setting which would not be enough for a standard length short story. You can imply their world without going into lots of description.

My Every Little Detail doesn’t spell out who the reader mentioned in the story is until literally the last word but so much is implied in the run-up to that, my closing word acts as a confirming punchline in many ways.

I relish writing stories like that. The fun comes from working out what clues to put in and how best to do so. The reader needs to work things out without you spelling everything out but the clues must enable them to do that.

Words have power, whether funny or tragic. Pixabay image.
Decisions, decisions and a not terribly helpful signpost. Image via Pixabay.
Walking into the words maybe. Pixabay image
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
It would be a joy to research here! Pixabay image
Hopefully the Book Fair will encourage even more reading! Image via Pexels
No room for gobbledygook here. Image via Pixabay.
The ultimate book tunnel? Image via Pexels
What worlds will emerge from your writing? Pixabay image
Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay

Fairytales With Bite – Character Traits

I like to look for a major trait in a character and use that to help “round them out”.  For example, if I decide a character is a coward, I dig deeper and look for what has led to the character being like that.  I can also look at whether they’re ashamed of this or not.  Not everything I outline here will make it into my story but I know that if I know what the answers are here, I will write my character with more confidence (and therefore conviction as well) and I believe THAT comes through to the reader.

So useful character traits to consider then could include:-

  1. Cowardice/Heroism;
  2. Being a Liar/Being Honest (the latter could cause as much trouble as the former and the potential for comedy is here too);
  3. Stubbornness/Being Flexible;
  4. Being Unfriendly/Being Sociable;
  5. Being Prejudiced/Being Open.

There are of course many more traits than these and practically every trait has its opposite flaw/virtue which could also be used.

Questions to ask yourself when using these:-

 

  1. How did the character develop this flaw/virtue?
  2. Do they see it as a flaw or virtue?  Are they right about this?
  3. How do others around the character react to them and their flaw/virtue?
  4. What are their society’s expectations?
  5. Does the character change – for better or worse?

Have fun!

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This World and Others – The Role of Stories

We all know how important stories are to us personally and to our society but when creating your own world, what thought have you given to the role of tales there? Does your world have its own legends? What are these? How are these legends shared?

Was/is there an oral storytelling tradition? Are only certain stories allowed (and who chose these and why)? Are books easily available to all (or the technological equivalent)? Is reading encouraged? Are there libraries?

How does your world decide whether something it is civilised or not? You’ll guess from the questions I list above I consider the ready availability of books, libraries, stories being generally available etc to be major considerations as to whether I think something is civilised!

How do the characters in your stories treat books and stories? Do their views agree with those held by their society or not?

The role of stories is important (they’re a great way of getting a message across without preaching and are a wonderful form of entertainment. Does your fictional world treat them in the same way? If not, why not?).

Publication News:  Cafelit

I will have two new stories up on Cafelit on 16th February and 16th March.  Will share links as and when.  I am also pleased to say two stories of mine are being voted on for consideration for the Best of Cafelit 8 print anthology due out later this year.  Will keep you posted on how I do but do check out the Best of books as there are wonderful stories in here from a lovely variety of writers.  (How do I know they’re lovely?  I’ve met them!).

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A BUNCH OF AMATEURS, THE MAGIC OF THEATRE, AND NON-FICTION

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

It’s a joy to review the plays performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group as there is always a good mix of shows put on during the course of a year. I’ve watched pantos, tragedies, and comedies. Each review I do for CFT on these means having a look at the background of the play and/or the writers of it and I always learn something.

It’s a great way of taking in stories that are new to you: go and see them acted on stage!

A Bunch of Amateurs is written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.  The plot hinges on a local theatre company, the Stratford Players, desperately trying to save their theatre so bringing in a fading American star, Jefferson Steel, to get sponsorship and bring in the punters seems such a good idea….   You know the phrase “famous last words”?  Well, that applies here!

Image Credit:  All images below are kindly supplied by Lionel Elliott and the Chameleon Theatre Group and used with permission.  Many thanks to them.

 

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I was watching a Dr Who episode tonight (Peter Capaldi) and a phrase “stories are where memories go” caught my attention. Mind, it many ways it should do!

What memories of a character could you turn into a flash fiction piece (or longer)? Can you write a story where a character is led astray by mistaken or deliberately falsified memories (and why would someone do that)? Have you got another character who uses memories as weapons against others and how do they do this? What do they gain? How are they stopped, assuming that they are?

There are some good stories to be written out of memories, that’s for sure! (And the great thing is you can create the memories to write about in first place. The lovely thing about fiction is it should be rooted in truth to ring true to your readers, but it doesn’t actually have to be true, otherwise we’d have little in the way of sci-fi or fantasy!).

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Fairytales with Bite – The Magic of the Theatre

My latest CFT post is a review of A Bunch of Amateurs (written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman), which was recently performed by the Chameleon Theatre Group.  It was a great play, brilliantly performed.  But it led me to thinking:-

1.  Going to the theatre is a great way of taking in stories!

2.  In your fictional world(s), how do your characters take in stories?  Do they read?  Do they have theatres/cinemas etc?  What would they watch/read?

3.  When you go to a performance like this, you go in knowing you are seeing a “pretence” but being willing to suspend disbelief.  You focus on wanting to see how the story ends and enjoy the performances taking you to that point.  The challenge for writers is hooking our readers quickly enough at the start of the story to achieve the same effect for the length of the tale, whether it is a flash piece or a trilogy of novels!  So face the challenge!  The key is in creating characters readers will want to follow through anything.

Happy writing!

Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.
Great characters will engross you. You will lose time reading their stories. Image via Pixabay.
Editing – the crucial part to getting a story right. Image via Pixabay.
Lost in a good book. Image via Pixabay.
Books invite you into their world. Go! Image via Pixabay.
Great characters = great books. Image via Pixabay.
Some very strange creatures are in books. Image via Pixabay
Your blog, your topic, your theme – just be sensible on copyright and libel issues. Image via Pixabay.
Generating the writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.
Let the ideas flow and let journeys encourage that! Image via Pixabay

This World and Others – Why Non-Fiction Matters to Fiction Writers

I’ve written about this in a post for Chandler’s Ford Today (Fiction -v- Non-Fiction? No Contest!) a while ago, but it is a topic close to my pen so thought I’d bring it up again here.  Why does reading non-fiction matter to fiction writers then?

1.  If you are writing material which means you need to world build, finding out how this world works/has worked/has made blunderingly colossial historical mistakes/created some fascinating engineering etc can directly inspire you for how your fictional world carries out these things.  (Sometimes it can be the direct opposite of how we’ve done it but you need to know how we did it first to be able to do that!).

2.  Ideas spark off other ideas and non-fiction is full of them.  What did make an inventor come up with their revolutionary new designs?  What made them come up with a new system for, say, transport when nobody else had realised a need for it?  There are ideas for characters here too…

3.  When anyone comes up with something new, there will be opposition.  Sometimes it’s justified, sometimes not.  How does your hero/heroine overcome that?  Or if they are the ones behind the opposition, do they achieve their objective?

Plenty of story triggers there!

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REVIEWS, FAIRYTALE RELATIONSHIPS, AND STORY IDEAS

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Facebook General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My CFT post tonight is the penultimate one in my 101 Things to Put into Room 101 series. I have had no trouble whatsoever in coming up with 101 things! This probably says a lot about me but never mind…

As well as the horror of ripped jeans, I consign “easy to open packets” and the ability to lose scissors into the vault of doom. The latter of course is a real pain when wanting something to cut open the supposedly easy to open packets…

Part 6 - How many of the packets in a supermarket are that easy to open

How many easy to open packets are here, I wonder, and how many REALLY are easy to open? Image via Pixabay.

Part 6 - We'll be with you between 9 am and 6 pm with your parcel, argh

“We’ll be with you between 9 am and 6 pm”. Hmm… not exactly helpful is it? Image via Pixabay.

Part 6 - A ban on trumpet playing wasn't my first thought on bad manners but here things are different

A ban on trumpet playing? Image via Pixabay

Part 6 - End of the world predicted

I can predict there will be more end of the world predictions! Image via Pixabay

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What are the signs of a really good story for you? My top five would be:-

1. Not wanting the story to end.
2. Wondering how the characters would have carried on with their lives after the story ended.
3. Re-reading the story several times. (In flash especially a second or third reading will often reveal meanings and inferences you didn’t pick up the first time. You then really get to appreciate the depth of the story in such a tight word count).
4. Wishing you had written it!
5. The ending is so apt for the story, you can’t imagine it ending in any other way.

Comments welcome!

Beautiful pens. Pexels image.
A good reading pile! Pexels image.
The delights of the open page. Pexels image.
I don’t always write directly to screen. Image via Pixabay
Escape with a good book. Image via Pixabay.
Aiming for more “magic” from my stories this year! Image via Pixabay.
Books really are the gatekeepers. Image via Pixabay.
What fictional world have you created? What ways and rules have you set for your characters? Image via Pixabay.
One of my favourite book images. They really are magical. Transportation into other worlds and around this one in a few hundred pages. Brilliant! Image via Pixabay.

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Where do story ideas come from? Mine come from a wide range of sources including proverbs and other sayings, books or films that I’ve loved, to objects on my desk that have particular meaning for me.

I’ve learned, over time, to be “open” to ideas and not instantly dismiss them as being “too silly” or what have you. I will explore the idea to see if I can do anything with it and nine times out of ten I can.

I’ve only abandoned an idea once or twice in all my years of writing and I know now that was due to my not having outlined enough. By outlining (and spider diagrams can be useful here), you can work out whether an idea has “legs” or not or whether it needs something else to bring it to life.

 

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It’s funny how often in writing we remember the bad reviews but not the good ones etc. However, there is a flip side to this. I remember my first acceptance (hello, Bridge House Publishing, for my A Helping Hand in their Alternative Renditions anthology). That will always be a special writing moment.

I can’t recall my first rejection though. Nor do I wish to! I do wish I could recall my LAST rejection but that would mean stopping writing and I’m one of those people where the pen would have to be wrested away from me. And that is the way it should be!

Hard at work. Pexels image.
Books are the keys to knowledge. Image via Pixabay
Ebooks and print – both have their own frustrations when it comes to publishing. Image via Pixabay
Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay
Many thanks to all who’ve reviewed FLTDBA so far.
Libraries are fabulous places. Go and explore! Image via Pixabay.
Simply stunning… image via Pixabay
Flash fiction can help you grow your writing skills for other forms of writing. Image via Pixabay.

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Does mood affect what you write? The jury is out on this one as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve written funny stories when feeling sad (it was therapeutic doing that). I’ve written dark stories when feeling cheerful. (Not entirely sure what to make of that one).

What matters most, I think, is you have to decide what is going to be the mood of your story and then write accordingly. Deciding on the mood will then lead you to think about why you’ve chosen that and what character or type of character would be best for your tale. Sometimes I think putting a story together is exactly like putting a jigsaw together. The pieces are interconnected but you need a starting point and using mood of story can be a useful way to “kick off”.

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What influences your writing? Books and stories you’ve admired by other authors? A cracking film that kept you on the edge of your seat for over two hours? A special symphony?

I expect that your influences come from all over the place. What is lovely is when a couple of them combine and you can create a new story from that combination. For example, your lead character loves gothic novels and classic railway engines. How could you use that in a story? (Could be fun finding out. Indeed, SHOULD be fun finding out!).

What is great here is that by reading/watching films/listening to music etc, you can ensure you never get stuck for an idea again. The “trick” is to read widely/watch films across many genres/listen to several types of music etc. Think of it as casting your net really widely!

The building blocks of putting a story together. Pixabay image.
The writer’s basic toolkit – image via Pixabay
Good advice – and it applies to our characters too. Image via Pixabay
Use personal reviews to help you generate character and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.
Says it all really but reading your work to yourself will show up where dialogue is weak. Image via Pixabay.
One of the best ways to escape is with a good book. Image via Pixabay.

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It is only when you are putting a collection together, you realise sometimes just (a) how much you have written and (b) that more work is going to be needed to get that volume right.

Where themes emerge, you will want to group them together (so you’ll need to get your contents page right for one thing and that will keep changing as you move things around).

The importance of VERY accurate proof reading will dawn on you in a way it may not have done before! (You want “your baby” to be perfect, yes?). Also, you will soon realise you cannot rush the proof reading stage to be sure of accuracy.

But enjoy the process. This is a very special part of the writing life – you are that bit nearer to publication.

Books should show you other worlds. Image via Pixabay.
Books are a fantastic form of escapism. Image via Pixabay
What a beautiful home for books. Image via Pixabay
Ah! I do love a good memory stick! Image via Pixabay.
Enjoy what you write and read! Image by Allison Symes
What ever writer needs. Image via Pixabay
Images from the magical world… Image via Pixabay

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Busy preparing a couple of flash fiction pieces for a competition. Been a while since I submitted competition entries (not deliberately, you know how it is. You become engrossed with other writing work etc). Want to do better on this front so am starting to make diary notes to remind me to do it.

Really pleased that my last competition entry, for the Waterloo Festival anthology, did well and will be included in that ebook when it comes out. Naturally I shall post about it nearer the time!

I’ve been making greater use of my writing diary since earlier this year for sending in work to Cafelit and that has worked well. Why is it that almost making an appointment with yourself to do something like this can and does make all the difference to whether you actually do it or not?

I suppose it is because seeing it in the diary makes me block out time to actually get the job done. I need to block out more time!

Fairytales with Bite – Relationships in the Fairytale World

I write this post on the eve of the Royal Wedding in the UK between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.  So there will be a lot of talk about “fairytales” as in “fairytale weddings” tomorrow.  And yes, the happy ever after fairytale ending is a classic one.  But if you take a deeper look into fairytales as a whole, you will find that most relationships in a fairytale world are fraught ones!

1.  Cinderella.  Didn’t exactly have the happiest relationships with her stepmother and stepsisters.

2.  Snow White.  Having a stepmother actively trying to kill you puts Cinderella’s woes in the shade!

3.  Hansel and Gretel.  Could sympathise with Snow White.  Would feel, at best, disappointed their father ever agreed to the stepmother’s scheming at all, even if it was reluctantly.

4.  The Emperor in the Emperor’s New Clothes.  Couldn’t rely on his courtiers to be honest with him.  Quite sad really.  Makes me wonder if his vanity was an insecurity issue. How did he react, later, after his foolishness was soundly mocked?  He really needed someone to tell him he was being an idiot (and be honest enough to admit he needed that, as I think we all do).

So jealousy, hatred, and insecurity are huge themes here.  Hmm… fairytale relationships?  Perhaps not quite so happy ever after then!

Preparing a talk or a flash fiction story perhaps. Image via Pixabay.
Stories reflect all sorts of moods. There is a story to suit everyone out there! Image via Pixabay.
Books are wonderful – whether in print or electronic, whether as audio stories or told by a storyteller. Image via Pixabay.
Well, what is it then? Image via Pixabay.
Listening to an inspiring talk. Image via Pixabay.
Escape into another world. Image via Pixabay
A typical writing conference room. Image via Pixabay.

This World and Others – Advice to My Much Younger Self

I wrote a Chandler’s Ford Today piece on this a while ago where I discussed what I’d tell my 20-year-old self.  I thoYouught I’d revisit the theme and list some things I would tell myself when I was starting out as a writer that I know now but didn’t then.

1.  Expect rejection but don’t be fazed by it.  Use it to improve what you do.

2.  Submit to honest competitions as often as you can.  It is all useful experience in submitting work for outside criticism and in meeting deadlines.  If you do well and win or are shortlisted, you can add that to your writing CV.  And always check out the background of the competition so you know you are submitting work to a reputable one.  It’s not you, there ARE charlatans out there.

3.  Be open to trying different forms of writing.  Had I done this when younger, I would’ve discovered the joys of flash fiction that much sooner!

4.  You can never have too much A4 printer paper or toner cartridges or pens.  Stock up.  Take advantage of special offers when possible.

5.  Submit work to honourable online sites as well as for print anthologies etc.  Your body of work will soon build up doing this and you cover both audiences – those who only read online, those who read “proper” books and most people go for both anyway.

6.  Don’t underestimate how long it will take you to be published.  It always does take far longer than you dream of!

7.  Before entering any contract, get it checked by the Society of Authors (UK) or other reputable equivalent body.  You can save yourself a lot of heartache and money doing this.

8.  Expect to be addicted to (a) notebooks, (b) nice pens, (c) going to good writing conferences, and (d) tea/coffee etc to keep you going as you write.  Save up accordingly!  Start now…

9.  Read as much as you can, contemporary and classic, fiction and non-fiction.  You may think you’re already doing this but writing has made me read much more than I ever did before, sometimes for review purposes, sometimes not.  You need to know what’s out there now.  It can help you find your own niche for one thing.  You can then play to your strengths here which will give you a greater chance of success when approaching publishers.

10.  Remember practically everybody struggles to find an agent, it isn’t just you.  Rejection is never personal either.  It can be easy to forget these things.  Keep going.  There is a lot of truth in the saying the professional writer is the amateur who didn’t give up.

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READING AND WRITING PREFERENCES

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What do I like to write best – my flash fiction or non-fiction such as my Chandler’s Ford Today posts? No contest. Love them both. Wish I had more time for both. Also means I never, ever get bored.

I find it helpful to spend some time writing, say, flash fiction and then I switch over to CFT posts. It is just great to be inspired by writing something different to what I had just been working on. I have to take different approaches to what I write and going from one to the other and back again keeps me on my toes.

I am going to try this year to prepare more of my CFT posts (the non-time dependent ones) in advance as I have done this before and find it a great way to free up time overall for other writing work. Didn’t get to do much of this in 2017. I like being able to schedule posts in advance and it is a facility I could do with making more use of.

The To Be Read pile. Image via Pixabay
A clean sheet can lead to some fascinating characters and stories. Image via Pixabay
Good advice. Image via Pixabay.
Some very strange creatures are in books. Image via Pixabay
You can’t beat notebooks for jotting down ideas. Image via Pixabay.

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Am having a lot of fun writing my 101 Things to be put into Room 101 mini-series for Chandler’s Ford Today. Part 1 went up on Friday and I’ve already drafted Part 2. Am not having any trouble at all coming up with things for this! Grumpy old woman, moi? Surely not!

The joy of writing non-fiction like this is I can have fun with my writing in a different way to my fiction. With that, I love inventing my characters and the situations I put them in but with articles like this, I put my imagination to work and bring facts in to back it up! Well, sometimes anyway. Features like this one are, of course, opinion pieces but it is great to have fun coming up with something you hope will entertain others as well as being able to express views.

And I still want wasps booted into Room 101!

My current CFT series. Image via Pixabay
Good advice – and it applies to our characters too. Image via Pixabay
Plenty to enjoy here! Image via Pixabay
Not arguing with this! Image via Pixabay
Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.

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An interesting point came up in the comments box on my latest CFT post which referred to characters “knowing” they were about to die and later it turned out they hadn’t!

My response was that stories, of whatever length, do have to be logical and make sense. In this case, I would have written the character as genuinely believing they were about to die (and I would also have shown some of her bodily reactions to this – shaking, racing heart etc).

Equally later in the story, if the character had just been plain grateful to have been wrong about her earlier assumption, that would have modified things. But this comment reminded me my characters can only believe things. Their knowledge has to be based on what they CAN know or honestly believe to be true.

This comment also acts as a reminder when editing a story to go back and check that everything does make sense. Otherwise, you will lose your readers as they will see straight through anything illogical like this.

Let creativity spill out - image via Pixabay

Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay

The fantastic world of books must include non-fiction too - image via Pixabay

The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay

Books illuminate and fiction is made stronger by using non-fiction to support it - image via Pixabay

Fiction is strengthened when backed by fact. Image via Pixabay

Historical records can be an invaluable source of inspiration - image via Pixabay

Historical records can be an invaluable source of inspiration. Image via Pixabay,

Good books should bring illumination to a situation, make you see things as you haven't before - image via Pixabay

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

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What is your preferred form of reading? The paper/hardback or Kindle?

I love both but must admit the Kindle is a boon for when I’m away and has saved so much room in my suitcase! It is also nice to know I will definitely not run out of things to read. Also, I find the battery life is reasonable and I do like being able to go to weblinks etc from within an ebook.

However, you can’t beat a good browse in a bookshop and a leisurely half hour with a paperback and a cup of tea, My only complaint here? I wish I could do it more often!

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Benefits of writing flash fiction:-

1. You really do learn to write to a tight word count!

2. Your editing skills improve as you use the more powerful words to conjure up images in your reader’s minds. No room for waffle here!

3. It can act as really good practice for writing a blurb etc.

4. You focus on what is the nub of the story and get to the point quicker.

5. You can now enter all the flash fiction competitions!

 

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Am enjoying drafting some opening lines I plan to write up as flash fiction stories.

I like coming up with the bizarre, the other-worldly and the simple statement which I sometimes twist into something less simple!

For example, in from Light to Dark and Back Again in Health and Safety, the story starts with my character wondering why people are moaning. The tale then reveals the character is Goldilocks and she is sharing her version of events, but that opening line could have been ANY character in ANY setting at ANY time. It did not have to necessarily be a fairytale character.

I do like lines like that which offer so many possibilities.

I write batches of flash fiction at a time, polish them, submit them (and hopefully they then end up in a collection!).

Love this image! Image via Pixabay
Alas, too late for me! Image via Pixabay
Time to have another home perhaps? Good stories to be had here! Image via Pixabay
Use personal reviews to help you generate characters and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.
Nobody gets their ideas right first go. Image via Pixabay.
The keyboard beckons…

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What is the special something about your characters that mean you absolutely HAVE to write their stories?

I often use the major trait of a character as a starting point (and find it easier to write characters whose traits I like. With the ones where I hate the traits, I have to get inside the head of the character to see how they justify their attitude. That can be disturbing at times when you realise how easily they can justify their stance!).

Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.
This was part of the pub decor at the place where Bridge House had their event. Very apt! Image by Allison Symes
Escape with a good book. Image via Pixabay.
Is the truth welcome in your fictional world? How does your community react to it?. Image via Pixabay.
Classic Books. New Books. Love them all!
A good interview will bring the best out of the interviewee.

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Part of the role of fiction is to show up truths that can’t necessarily be proven by pure fact. Truths about the human condition, truths about what love is and so on.

Flash fiction does this too but in fewer words! I like to think of flash fiction as shining a spotlight on a theme and, of course, the shorter the piece, the greater the intensity of that spotlight!

The challenge can be where you direct that beam or sometimes even knowing where you’ve aimed it! Sometimes you write a piece and the theme can take even you by surprise.

I always write to a character. I know who my leading people are and why they are in that role. I don’t always write to a specific theme and sometimes the theme just leaps out at me AFTER I’ve drafted the story.

When I was editing From Light to Dark and Back Again, it struck me then just how many of my stories dealt with some kind of poetic justice. I never set out to write to that theme (though I guess the things you feel strongly about are bound to come out in your writing somewhere along the line!).

My story Helping Out is in Baubles, the Bridge House anthology for 2016
Historical records can be an invaluable source of inspiration. Image via Pixabay,
Write, edit, write, edit… image via Pixabay
How the very best fairytales start… Image via Pixabay
Where stories emerge these days… Image via Pixabay
Where stories used to start… image via Pixabay.

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog

What I Like in a Book Review

This applies to reviews for my From Light to Dark and Back Again as well as those I give for other books!

A good review has:-

1. No spoilers but enough information so the reader knows what they will be reading in terms of genre etc.

2. What the reviewer likes – good characterisation, twist in the tale endings etc.

3. No waffle.

4. No negativity. (The way to criticize a book is to say what you liked, what you thought didn’t work so well etc as the writer will be expecting this. Your thoughts on what didn’t work so well can be very useful to them. What you don’t write is a “hatchet job” on the book or the author).

5. A rough idea of book length and time taken to read it (though I must admit I don’t always remember this one! I DO stress when reviewing flash fiction collections the great thing about this genre is you can read it one sitting but it is also great for dipping in and out of).

6. What you would like to see from the author next time (i.e. next book in the series, continued great characterisation, less of the blood and gore, if appropriate etc).

7. Total honesty from the reviewer.

What would you add to this list?

Notebooks, pens, beverages… bliss for the writer. Image via Pixabay.
I read three stories from From Light to Dark and Back Again. Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox for the picture!
My first book! Am finishing off my second. Image by Allison Symes
My book is now on sale at MIBI Gift Shop. Image by me.
One joy of blogging is the ease of publication... Image via Pixabay

FLASH FICTION PERKS

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FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

Flash Fiction Perks shares what I think are some of the advantages of flash fiction.  Can you add to the list?  (I do love a list… but then you will have gathered that by now).  Flash fiction can be a great way of writing humorous incidents which, in themselves, would not be nearly long enough to make a standard story.  And there are plenty of markets and competitions out there.  What’s not to like?

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Fiction Feedback shares what I look for in a good story adjudication.  I know, I know – another list! – but I hope this might help those trying to decide whether to go for a critique on their work or not.  (And where you can get word of mouth recommendation from another writer as to how good Publication X’s feedback is, so much the better).

FACEBOOK PAGE/A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO SOUTHAMPTON WRITERS’ CIRCLE

I had the great joy and privilege of judging the Greensleeves short story competition run by the Southampton Writers’ Circle this evening.  A huge thank you to all for the warm welcome and kind comments.  Look forward to seeing your stories in print in due course!!

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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.