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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 the weekend has gone well for you. Sunny but cold now but has been good to get out with Lady. Writing and editing going well. Would’ve liked to have done more at the weekend but various things got in the way of that so onward and upward this week, I hope.
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Hope today has gone well. No chums in the park for Lady today as I had to get her out early so I could squeeze in a wonderful swim. Timetable changes for the Easter holidays but it was well worth going. Feel suitably tired and refreshed at the same time.
Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Hopes in Writing on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’ll be looking at hopes for writers and how we can use hopes in our characters. Hope you’ll find the post useful.
Next author newsletter is out tomorrow (1st April). Many thanks to all who subscribe.
Character Tip: When we talk about write what we know, this applies directly to characters too. We know what we as a species, and as individuals, can be capable of so we can apply that to our creations. It pays to be honest here about the better qualities we have and the worst ones too. From there, we can create well rounded characters.
Hope the week has got off to a good start. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback chums and a good time was had by all three dogs. Can hardly believe we’re almost at the end of another month.
Writing wise, will be getting on with various blogs during the week and stories at the weekend. Am also editing at the moment and am enjoying the work immensely.
Writing Tip: It’s easy to forget to do this one but do read about what is going on in the industry. It keeps you up to date and may well share news of interesting competitions and so on. The advice is also useful and I’ve often found tips coming in useful for me much later on after I first read about them. They stick in the mind. You come across something and recall advice you’d heard about before. I catch up with writing news while having lunch – win-win there. Food for the creative mind as well as the body here!
And don’t forget Writers’ Narrative gives plenty of good advice every few days on Substack. Do sign up. It’s free.
It’s my turn once again on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time I look at Hope Springs Eternal, which is particularly apt as we enter Holy Week and Easter.
I look at why writers need hope and how you can find this via a supportive writing group. ACW is excellent here, of course. I should add I have been to the two ACW Connect sessions held so far and found these were great opportunities to listen and talk with other ACW members. If you get the chance to go to these online meetings, I would highly recommend it. I do know a little hope and support can go a long way in the writing community.
I also look at how, as you start out in writing, you do need this kind of hope and support but as your own journey goes on, you in turn can become a source of hope and support to other writers. This is a real blessing for both ends of this seesaw.
I also look at why I like hopeful stories as a rule. I know I’m not alone there.
Hope you enjoy the post.
Hope you’ve had a good start to your weekend.
Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Hopes in Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll look at this from the viewpoint of writers and characters.
Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again soon. To sign up for hints, tips, story links and so on, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com
Hope to get on with plenty of flash and short story drafting tomorrow. It has been another hectic week so will be especially glad to get to Flash Fiction Sunday afternoon!
Writing Tip: Clarity is everything in storytelling and never more so than in the short forms. Part of the editing process for me is going through and checking the impressions I want to give to a reader via my characters are coming across clearly enough.
If I need a character to be ambiguous, I will show this through their dialogue and then back it up with what they are thinking because the two things won’t marry up here. But I want the reader to be able to see that my character is like that. This is the advantage of the written form. A reader can literally read my character’s thoughts and deduce from that whether they’re trustworthy or not.
And if it is a case the character said something and then realised later they were wrong, I’ll either show them apologising or get them to act in a way that shows they know they were wrong. But this will be crystal clear. There will be a natural and clear progression and that is what I like to try to achieve in all of my stories.
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I love the focus on character flash fiction encourages. Without much room for description, I have to take you inside a character’s mindset immediately. Even when the story starts with action, it won’t be long before you meet the character responsible for it and gauge something of their attitudes and actions.
Flash fiction is great for strengthening writing skills. You have got to cut the waffle and that’s no bad thing. That skill is transferable to other types of writing too and I’ve found this to help a lot with my blogging and article writing.
So am I all for flash fiction and flash non-fiction? Oh yes! Why not give it a go? (And if you regularly have a go at writing exercises, you are already in the flash world – welcome!).
It has been another hectic Monday. It’s time for another story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Heavy Handed. This dark tale started life as a sixty word flash fiction exercise. Brief can still give plenty of impact, which is why I love the form.
My character explains their actions against the most powerful man in their world.
We’re racing towards the end of another month and while I’ve managed to get plenty done, there is still plenty I would’ve liked to have done. I think this is true for most writers. Still, it does mean I’m never short of things to write up.
Talking of which, it’s almost time for my flash fiction Sunday afternoon. It’s a lovely way to finish an old week and begin a new one – getting more flash written. I had hoped to spend time this weekend either drafting more stories or picking competitions to enter but that isn’t going to happen. Will try to do better in the coming week. But what does matter is making the most of the writing time you do have and, as long as I’ve done that, I’m reasonably content.
Onwards and upwards with the writing then!
Flash fiction can and does make good use of words which have more than one meaning. The meaning being used will be clear from the story context. I am selecting words for definitive impact.
If I want to lead a reader down a certain path and then throw in a twist, there will be clues early on in the story to show that might happen so a reader can look back over the story and see, yes, this character was capable of doing this. I love this when other authors do it to me and it especially works well in crime fiction, of course.
But I choose words with care because I want to wring every possible use out of them that I can for my limited word counts!
Goodreads Author Blog – Characters Acrostic
C = Characters make or break a story.
H = Having characters to root for, to succeed or fail, is vital.
A = Actions and attitudes should be understandable though nobody says you have to agree with them.
R = Reading the stories should draw you right into the world and mindset of the characters.
A = Any action should have a reaction and consequences.
C = Characters should grip you by the heart.
T = Tension, drama, laughs – what will the characters give you?
E = Endings should be apt for the characters, not necessarily happy ones.
R = Re-reading stories is a sure sign the characters have got to you in a good way.
S = Stories with characters you can get behind – the best tales of all.
And whether you’re reading books, novellas, short stories or flash fiction, all of the above applies!
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https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsliked Allison Symes's blog post: Characters Acrostic https://t.co/6HVtQZjLXD via @goodreads I share a characters acrostic on Goodreads this week. This looks at some reasons why I believe characters make or break a story. They've got to grip your readers. Hope you enjoy the post. pic.twitter.com/LlnhOObgsB
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 28, 2026
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMore than Writers: Hope Springs Eternal by Allison Symes https://t.co/oPCw4hkn5o This is so apt a topic for Holy Week. I look at why writers need hope and how you can find this via a supportive writing group. ACW is excellent here. I also look at why I like hopeful stories. pic.twitter.com/lJm9ypuirc
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 29, 2026
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIt has been another hectic Monday and so it must be story time. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Heavy Handed. This dark tale began as a sixty word flash exercise.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 30, 2026
My character explains their actions against the most powerful man in their world.https://t.co/nFQOL88h5N
Hope today has been a lovely peaceful Sunday for you. It has been here. Lady is currently happily curled up having had a couple of lovely walks and play times. Hopes to catch up with her pals during the week.
Hope today has gone well. Quiet one here – back out creosoting the fence. Am making good steady progress. Sometimes you come across descriptions which are perfect. Well, our fence was described as being made from rough cut timber. They were right about the rough bit!
It’s a Bank Holiday Monday where I am. It’s been a hot one too. But it does mean it is time for a beginning of the week story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Liberating Luck.
One element to flash fiction which can be overlooked is that it gives you skills you can use for any form of writing. I’ve found this to be the case. You tighten up your editing skills, for one thing.
