Tag: Flash fiction and “big themes”

Author Interview: Introducing Joan Livingston and the Isabel Long Mystery Series – Finding The Source

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
A huge thank you to Joan Livingston, Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog, and Sarah Holbrook for author, book cover and poster pictures for this week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I interviewed Joan as part of a blog tour. It is a cracking interview. Do check it out below.
Hope the week has gone well. Lady has had a lovely time with some of her chums, we’ve managed to avoid some of the rain, and the writing is going well. So all good here.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

I’m delighted to welcome Joan Livingston, author of the Isabel Long Mystery Series, to Chandler’s Ford Today for an in-depth interview regarding her latest book in the series, Finding The Source.

The interview is part of a blog tour organised by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog.

In a cracking interview, Joan shares insights as to how she developed her series and lead character, Isabel Long. In a nice link, given I live in Hampshire, Joan explains how her background as a journalist, including writing for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, influenced her writing.

She also shares how she manages to get the right amount of back story into a novel, given not everyone will come to her work with the first book in the series. Plus she shares three wonderful tips on writing and another three on marketing, which will help any writer. And there is much more too. Do check the interview out.

Introducing Joan Livingston and the Isabel Long Mystery Series – Finding The Source

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Lady was overjoyed to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum today. They’ve been best friends for a long time and we haven’t seen her for a while so the two dogs were overjoyed to see each other again. This is one thing I love about dogs like these two – the friendship is always there. Humans could learn a lot from dogs at times.

Writing wise, don’t forget to look out for my author interview with Joan Livingston on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. It’s a fabulous one but don’t just take my word for it. See above.

This evening (11th September 2025), I’m supporting a friend’s book launch on Zoom. That’ll be fun. It was and interesting with it.

Will have news to share concerning the next edition of Writers’ Narrative but in the meantime why not check out the current issue, which is packed full of wonderful advice about publishing.

 

Lady and I didn’t manage to avoid the rain altogether though she did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal and played with Coco, the lovely Labradoodle. Neither Lady nor Coco cared about the rain. Both had a super run around. Thankfully, both dry off easily enough, which is more than can be said for their owners!

Writing wise, I’ll be talking with Joan Livingston, author of the Isabel Long Mystery Series, about her latest book, Finding The Source, for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. This is part of the Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog book blog tour. The interview is packed full of cracking information and insights. Be sure not to miss it. See above. Plenty of interest to readers and writers of crime fiction here too.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s a delight to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest 100-worder, The Green Pin. Katie discovers the green pin slipped under her door by someone unknown has huge significance for her. Find out what that is and how Katie reacts here. Hope you enjoy the tale.

I’ve made no secret of my love of writing prompts and use many kinds to trigger ideas for my own writing. They’ve all paid off. But the lovely thing as a flash fiction writer is the fact I can use each prompt and get different stories out of it.

For one thing, I can write my prompt to 100 words, 250 words, 500 words, etc.

I’d have the choice of using the same character for each story or making up different ones.

If I use one character throughout, I can show more of their story with the increasing word counts.

If I use different characters, I could use the prompt itself as a common link and so have some linked flash written.

Either way I have options which I always like.

Though flash is necessarily on the short side, it doesn’t mean there are any limitations to the themes it can tackle. Indeed by focusing on the character, flash fiction can show the reader the big themes and the impact on those characters. As the word count is limited, the impact isn’t diluted.

One of my tales from From Light to Dark and Back Again is called They Don’t Understand and is what I call a slice of life tale where my character looks back on his life. You can see the impact losing his wife is having on him as he relates their joint story together. He doesn’t have to spell everything out.

The joy and strength of flash is inference and it is a powerful tool here. For this kind of story, I think it is the best way to go. The character’s voice grabs your attention, there are no boring bits, he focuses on what you need to know, and it doesn’t go on for too long.

Neither does he tell you the theme – he shows it.

Fairytales with Bite – Something Spectacular

The trouble with any magical setting is what would count as something spectacular? Mind you, do your characters see magic as something ordinary and would see something like our science as being something spectacular?

I guess this is a matter of perspective but what perspective would your characters have? Do they agree with the overall consensus here or do they think differently?

What would your world consider as a spectacular development for them? Would it be a case of being able to do more with the magic or other powers they have or to develop something which is different to that so they have alternative sources of power to use?

And what would the general public make of it all? Who would be behind the spectacular development? What drove them to do it? What obstacles do they have to overcome?

Definite story ideas there.

This World and Others – What Passes For Normal Around Here?

Now I think this would be a great title for a novel or short story. If your setting is a magical world, just would be considered normal? It would be different from what we would think here.

There are always those who think outside of the box so their definition of normal is likely to be different from that held by the majority. How would the “misfit” get on given this? Or would they be encouraged given your setting’s great inventions tend to come from those who do dare to be different?

Also did your world’s definition of “normal” change over time (and maybe partly due to different inventions coming along changing life and attitudes?). If your world interacts with other species/planets, how has that changed their definition of normal?

Plenty of food for thought for stories there, I think.


MailerLite – Allison Symes – Newsletter Sign up

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

As I’ve shared September’s issue above, I thought I’d share a back issue of this fabulous magazine here.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

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

SUBMISSIONS, IMPACT, AND DELVING INTO THE PAST

Leave a comment

Facebook – General

Sent off a story submission tonight so pleased with that. Had drafted the story a while ago but wanted to leave it to one side and come back to it with a fresh eye. The voice of my character comes through loud and clear!

This piece is just under 1000 words, which is LOADS compared to my favourite 100-worders! But that is a major joy of flash fiction – it has divisions within it and there is nothing to stop you sticking to one type or mixing and matching. I like the latter approach.

Sometimes a character does need to be “let off the leash” for a longer distance and that was the case with this story.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Whenever I watch/listen to an adaptation, whether it is a panto, a play or a novel turned into a TV series, am I looking for a word-to-word faithful rendition?

No! What I am looking for is the adapation to be faithful to the spirit of the original book, play or what have you. There is also a strong reason to adapt, say, fairytales for pantos and the like, given so many of the original stories are far too grim (some pun intended!) to be staged exactly as they were originally written.

I want the characters to be recognisable as the ones the original author created. I don’t like mish-mashes of characters, as can happen. Those never seem real to me, precisely I think because now I can spot the joins!!

Great characters = great books. Image via Pixabay.
Changing from one state to the other with your writing goals! Pixabay image
Stepping into another world.. Pixbay
Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.
The writing journey can be a long one so setting goals along the way makes sense. Pixabay image
Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.
Books invite you into their world. Go! Image via Pixabay.
Use personal reviews to help you generate characters and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.
Decisions, decisions and a not terribly helpful signpost. Image via Pixabay.
Or you could ask some simple questions! Image via Pixabay.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.

Am looking forward to sharing my CFT post as it will be a review of a recent panto put on by The Chameleon Theatre Group. The style I’ve used for this one is a bit different too but suits the material well. More on Friday! (I think we need pantos in January given it seems such a long month and the weather’s generally awful or cold or both).

Making good progress with the novel. Am “brewing ideas” for a story competition (deadline end of March) so plan to start outlining hopefully later this week/over weekend.

Also hope to finalise third flash fiction collection in the next couple of months. The material is pretty much all there now but it needs a darned good edit! Mind, there is nothing I write (with the possible exception of the annual holiday note to the milkman) that DOESN’T need a darned good edit!

The joy of writing is you never stop learning. Pixabay image.
What worlds will emerge from your writing? Pixabay image
No matter how strange your characters or setting, there must still be identifiable elements for a reader. Pixabay image
The building blocks of putting a story together. Pixabay image.
Reaching out for writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.
The classic fairytale opening line. Pixabay image.
Reading can make it seem as if you are in your own bubble! Pixabay image
There be dragons. Pixabay
Can’t have too many notebooks and pens. Image via Pexels
Let the words flow! Image via Pixabay.
Notes about your characters can help you portray them more accurately. Not every note has to make it into the story itself. Pixabay image.
And which is the right way?! Pixabay image.

I discuss impact in my turn on the More Than Writers’ blog spot from the Association of Christian Writers.

I look at the impact I hope to achieve in the stories I write by deciding in advance what I’d like that to be and then selecting the words to best achieve that. The rest, of course, is down to the reader. You can put down the pointers but it is up to reader if they “run with them”.

Having said that, I have found thinking about impact like this means I’m trying to engage with readers from the outset. It also stops me going off at unhelpful tangents (and that is too easily done!).

Use feedback, whether negative or positive, to help improve what you do. Pixabay image.
Now that is what I call impact! Pixabay image.
Reading has such an impact. Can’t imagine the world without it. Pixabay image.
Go for positive impact wherever possible. It is easier for a reader to identify with. Pixabay image.
You may never know what impact your blog has but write it for the love of it anyway. Pixabay image.
Strong clear words help your descriptions hit home. Pixabay image.
Feedback can vary in scale! Pixabay image.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Looking ahead to some of the writing prompts coming up in my diary, there are some promising thoughts for new flash fiction stories. Some of the prompts are asking for character studies (with some being based on a specific name. I’ll have fun with that when I get to the week for that one. A name is just a peg after all. It’s what you do with the peg that matters!).

There are also some word association prompts. That will be fun too. A great way to allow yourself to go off at tangents to generate further story ideas. I love playing with words like that.

Reading immerses you in another world. Pixabay image.
Being lost in the world of your story. Pixabay image
Always good advice! Pixabay image.
What will this be for your writing journey? Pixabay image
Let one creative idea spark another. Pixabay image.
Beware! Writer at work. Other beverages are available. Pixabay image.
Taking time to look back and then look ahead is a good thing. Pixabay image.
Always get contracts checked out – see Society of Authors as one place to go here. Pixabay image.
Writing tips! Pixabay image.
Outline the characters and away you go! Image via Pixabay
Making the most of the writing time. Pixabay image
Where will inspiration strike? Pixabay image.
Just what is your story then? Image via Pixabay

One huge advantage to writing flash fiction is it can give you a way of getting work out there while working on a much longer project, such as a novel.

I’m happily revisiting a novel of mine and using the editing skills writing flash fiction has given me. This should sharpen the novel up and I hope give it a better chance “out there” when I’m ready to submit it.

Naturally, this is going to take time but when not working on that, having flash fiction stories on the go is a great way of building up publishing credits and so on. I hope all of that will prove useful with regard to the novel later on. Watch this space, as they say!

This was the title of one of my CFT posts. Always true though!Image via Pixabay
Preparing the blog. Image via Pixabay.
Working things out the old school way. Pixabay image.
Hope your Christmas books take you to all sorts of wonderful places! Pixabay image
Aiming for more “magic” from my stories this year! Image via Pixabay.
Fiction is strengthened when backed by fact. Image via Pixabay
Your blog, your topic, your theme – just be sensible on copyright and libel issues. Image via Pixabay.
There was always something magical about having a blank page to write to. Image via Pixabay.

One of the hardest things to do is cutting out a character you love but you know doesn’t really fit into the story or novel you’re writing. At one time you thought they did, that’s why they were there at all, but you have come to realise, often on repeated reading, that they’re not doing that much and if you cut them out, they wouldn’t be missed. (By anyone other than you naturally). Of course they’ve GOT to go but it seems such a shame…

Well, have you thought about seeing if you can write some flash fiction for them? Waste not, want not and all that. If a character can’t justify a full length story, can they be useful in a much shorter piece?

Food for thought I hope!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Linking on from my theme of impact which I discuss in my monthly spot on More than Writers (the Association of Christian Writers’ blog), flash fiction has the huge advantage that its impact is immediate. It has to be.

That doesn’t rule out having “big themes”, far from it, but in a flash fiction story, you touch on them briefly and leave the readers to ponder on them.

I love this when I read flash fiction by other authors. I like being given the room to think on the impact of the stories I have just read. When a piece really inspires me, I look at how I think the author achieved that and learn from this. One shared joy of reading and writing is there is always something to learn to add greater enjoyment to what you read/help you improve your own writing.

Goodreads Author Blog – Delving into the Past

Delving into the past has great connotations for readers and writers alike.

Firstly, there is the whole range of historical books to explore – fiction and non-fiction. Then there’s the delight in exploring your favourite historical eras and discovering ones you hadn’t known much about.

For me, coming across Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time was one of those moments when a book really does change things for you. It completely altered my views on Richard III. Do check out the book and see if it does the same for you!

Secondly, there is the joy of rediscovering the stories that were favourites of yours in your own past. I’ve done this recently by, of all things, going to a panto and revisiting a story I’d not read in years – Ali Baba. The panto was great but the story reminded me that fairytales are anything but twee and when justice is served, it is usually with a very rough edge!

Other books connected to my past are my late mother’s Dickens collection. Some I’ve read, others not, but I do know I’m not running out of reading material any time soon! This is a VERY good thing!

So if you are stuck for something to read (I know, perish the thought!), delve into your past and look again at wht you used to read. Why did you stop reading that? Is it a question of going, say, from “childish” fairytales (though I’d argue fairytales are anything but childish) to more adult magical realism and fantasy stories?

Above all have fun delving into your literary past and see where it takes you now!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.