Tag: flash non-fiction

Spoofs

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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 few days. Lady needed an X-ray but is fine and recovering well. Writing going well too. And mostly Lady and I are managing to avoid the rain so we always take that as a win.

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Am pleased to share Spoofs on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. A great spoof has to mimic what it is spoofing successfully so people will “go along” with the spoof and enjoy it (and what it is mimicking). This requires an in depth knowledge of the original work and, I believe, a great love for it. You have to know exceedingly well what it is you’re spoofing.

But when done well, this format is a delight. It isn’t just found in books either and I name two films and, separately, a TV series, which I think spoof brilliantly.

To find out more do check out the post.

Spoofs

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Lady is pretty much back to her old self today (needed an X-ray the day before, see below) and it was particularly nice she caught up with her two best pals, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback today. Seeing them perked her up no end and they all had a lovely time, despite the mud.

Writing wise, I’m sharing Spoofs on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing that. I look at what makes for a good spoof and if ever there was a time of year to enjoy them, I think it is now while we are still in the depths of winter with spring still a fair way away. See above.

It’s my experience too that humorous writing, of any kind, while it may be easy to read definitely isn’t easy to write. I salute anyone who manages it. This is partly because humour is subjective, of course, and not of all it “reads across” well. Also especially with a spoof, you do run the risk that those who love the original you base your spoof on will loathe the take you put on it!

But a good spoof is a great joy and you can find them in many art forms. More in my post tomorrow.

Hope the day has gone well. Has been a strange one here as Lady had to have an X-ray. She’s okay and we have had confirmed what we thought was the problem but it is manageable and things will get better from here because we know what it is. So glad to have her home again. The house has felt very odd without her here.

Writing wise, I loved the ACW Connect session run by the Association of Christian Writers last night. It was good to see old friends and chat with new ones. I’m also looking forward to the next session of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. I’m off to the panto next week too – oh yes I am!

I’ll be sharing Spoofs on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I like a good spoof and share some of my favourites as well as discussing what I think a good spoof should be. It was fun to write, as you can imagine.

Writing Tip: My week is made up of writing sessions where I can get lots done in one go and lots of smaller sessions. Writing flash is great here because I can use the smaller time slots I have available for that. But a good idea is to save the smaller sessions for those writing tasks you’re not so keen on (e.g. marketing, editing etc) so you have the longer ones for longer stretches of creative writing, which is where most of us get the maximum enjoyment from our writing.

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Lady was delighted to catch up with her Hungarian Vizler friend today and two chums she hasn’t seen for a while – the lovely Coco and Charlie. Lady is much more herself after her X-ray earlier this week.

Flash Fiction Tip: Always focus on the lead character (in stories under 250 words or so, you are likely to just have the one character in your story). Think about their purpose. What are they seeking to achieve? Do they do so or fall flat on their face (which you can exploit, of course, for a humorous tale)? What drives them? What gets in their way? All of those questions would be good to answer for longer works too. Motivation matters for our characters. It is that which does so much to make them believable to readers.

Hope to get around to looking up some flash fiction competitions over the weekend. I know of a couple of possibles but it will be a case of having the time to check them out before I draft anything. It always pays to check the details to avoid the risk of being scammed etc. Sadly rogues target any industry including the writing and publishing ones.

Also some competitions have very restrictive conditions which may well make you think twice about going that route. I avoid those who want to take all of my rights, for example, on the general principle I really don’t like this. The author is unlikely to do well out of this.

Having said that, when I’ve found suitable competitions, I love the challenge of getting something into them. It is fun to do. And you do have to be in it to win it after all.

It is possible to write flash without realising it. Any novelist who prepares a blurb or the shorter kind of synopsis will be writing up to the 1000 words maximum (and probably closer to 500 words). It would count as flash!

Any writer who takes part in writing exercises at online or in person events will be writing flash as you never have enough time to write more than about 100-200 words or so in the time you’re given for these things.

So why not look at those pieces you’ve drafted and polish them up and submit them? I was asked last night at the ACW Connect session (which was fabulous) where I submit my flash. Well, I build up stories for collections, of course. I also send them into competitions. I also share some in my newsletter/on my website (all counts as marketing).

Why not see if you can get your flash work out there and see what can be done with it? If you win or are shortlisted, anything like that, it also gives you news to share.

Flash Tip: Think about the purpose of your story. How do you want your readers to feel on reading it? Are you trying to make them laugh, cry, scream etc? From there you can work out the kind of character(s) which would be best suited for the story.

Fairytales With Bite – Starting Over

All of us need to start over at some point, whether it is starting a new job, new writing project etc. Why would your characters want or need to start over? Do they welcome or fear the prospect? How easy or otherwise do they find taking a new path in life? Is there support available?

What do your characters want their starting over to bring to them? There should be some advantages, otherwise why bother? If it is a question of necessity rather than wanting to start over, what brought them to this point? Could they have avoided it? If not, what advantages could they gain from dealing with the position they’re now in? Could something good come of the having to start over again?

Alternatively, is your character the one forcing someone else to start over? If they’re a fairy godmother or similar magical being, they could well need to use magic to bring someone to their senses to force them to face up to something and then change their ways. This is common theme in fairytales. Here, could you look at what was the last straw for your character which made them decide now is the time they are going to make Character X change their ways?

This World and Others – Finding A New Place

If your characters have to start over, as I discussed in Fairytales with Bite, would this involve finding a new place? Where would they go? Where are they coming from? Is the new place somewhere they want to go or are they out of options?

How easy or otherwise is it for your character(s) to find a new place to be? If they can choose where they want to go, given they can’t stay where they are for whatever reason, what would they be looking for? If they find this, does it compensate them for having to leave their old place at all? What does make them have to/want to leave?

In a magical setting, are characters expected to live in certain areas depending on their species? Or are the different species encouraged to live together and how does that work out? If it works out well, what would they do if someone from outside tried to change that? Would anyone be forced to find a new place because of this? (Sadly it is nothing new and we still see plenty of examples of it here).

Also, natural disasters can cause the need to find a new place. What kind of natural disasters could happen in your magical environment? Can the use of magic make things better or worsen them?

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News:  Writers’ Narrative will soon be moving to Substack. Subscription IS still free to the magazine. Have shared a link with an older version of the magazine below. Do enjoy and look forward to the next issue soon.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Story Inspiration

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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 the first full week back after the Christmas and New Year break has gone well. Lady has been pleased to catch up with her friends. Weather is what you’d expect for January! Writing and editing are going well and I have booked my big writing event for later in the year, which has cheered me no end.

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Hope your Friday has been a good one. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler pal and her Aussie Shepherd boyfriend, who, by far, had the best coat of anyone for coping with the bitter weather today.

Writing wise, I’m pleased to share Story Inspiration for Chandler’s Ford Today this week and hope you will find it useful. I look at various useful “hunting grounds” where inspiration is likely to strike (and has done for me many times). These include books of lists, prompts, Kipling’s honest serving men and much more besides.

I hope you find these thoughts useful to encourage your own inspiration as it never does any harm to encourage that as much as possible.

Happy writing.

Story Inspiration

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Hope today has gone okay. Bad weather coming in this evening as I write this. Keep safe. Lady saw her two chums, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback, again today. Thankfully it was only light rain this morning. I don’t think any of the dogs would’ve been that sorry to get back indoors again.

Writing wise, I’m sharing Story Inspiration on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. I hope it will prove useful as I share some good ways to find inspiration. I always feel it is better to hunt for it than wait for it to come to you. There are various good “hunting grounds” for inspiration, some of which I’ll be sharing tomorrow, and which I hope will add to your “store” of places to look for sources of story ideas.

Hope today has gone well. Lady saw her best buddies, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback, today. Ice and snow pretty much gone, just in time for the storm to come in tomorrow! Oh well, at least the temperature has gone up somewhat.

Writing wise, am looking forward to meeting up again later in the month with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. We’ll be looking at Ways and Paths as a topic. Plenty of story ideas to come from that and I hope we will start drafting some on the evening.

Also have a story to get on and draft for a future submission. Plus I’m beginning to go though the Writing Magazine Competition Guide for possible places to try.

Looking forward to joining in with another ACW genre group online this evening. It’s always good fun and a great chance to socialise. Zoom continues to be a blessing when you can’t get together with other writers in person. Though I am looking forward to my big annual event in August – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick – as well. Thinking about that cheers up a gloomy January for me somewhat!

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My way into flash fiction writing was the 100 word story, also known as the drabble. CafeLit issued their 100 word challenge and I responded to it and haven’t looked back since.

Flash Tip: I’ve often found the best way into writing a 100 worder is to focus on the ending first. How do I want the story to end – with a laugh or with something else which will move readers in other ways? Is a line of dialogue to bring the story to an end the right way to go or should I finish the tale with an “event” which must finish the tale?

Once I have a rough idea of the likely ending, I can work backwards from there to the likely beginning. Knowing a likely ending also shows me the likely lead character who will be finishing the story. I can then work out more about them.

Having the tight word count means I have to only focus on that which is relevant but this is a good thing. I’ve found writing the 100 worders does encourage tighter writing elsewhere and helps me fight any tendency to indulge in purple prose.

As well as flash fiction, there is such a thing as flash non-fiction. Many blogs would count as this given often they come in at about the 500 words mark.

But have you given thought to writing a short piece sharing how you came to write one particular story, say? This would be of interest to other writers and your readers. Works best when kept tight but could give you excellent additional material to add to your website/blog.

Counts as part of your overall marketing, of course, as well.

Glad it’s warming up a bit outside. Spotted a primrose out in my garden just around Christmas time. Is still out. Seems to have survived the frosts and snow – at least so far. (Am putting the qualifier in because I recently said we hadn’t had any snow and, guess what, overnight we got some so I don’t want anything happening to that poor little primrose!).

Now, we all face tricky conditions at time but this can be fabulous for our characters. It is perhaps just as well they cannot tell their creators what they think of them for this. I do love dropping mine in the mire as much as I can.

So what traits do your characters have to help them handle the situations you put them in? Are they already resourceful or do they have to learn how to be so? Many great story thoughts to come from that, I think.

Traits are an invaluable way of gauging a character. You could also use them to figure out how they could develop others.

For example, if your character’s main trait is honesty, would they develop bravery to ensure honesty in their world continued? Would they fight to save what was good in their world and stop it from being obliterated by the greedy?

(And if anyone’s thinking there are parallels with what’s going on here right now, you’d be right but we can use some of this at least as inspiration for story ideas. When you know what’s driving someone, you can get stories out of that).

Fairytales With Bite – Resuming Normal Life

It always takes a little while to resume normal life after any kind of break and perhaps more so after a break like the Christmas/New Year one. Am slowly resuming normality myself!

But how would your characters get back to what is normal for them? How long would that take them and what does count as normal for them? What kind of breaks would they expect to be as part of their overall life?

What official breaks does everyone in your setting have to take? Are they appreciated or resented? Could the events themselves be “commercially exploited” (and that does tend to lead to resentment in some quarters)?

Do any of your characters use official breaks to get out of something they ought to be doing? Does that work or does it cause further problems later on? Does anyone resent having to resume normal life again?
Could enemies of your setting use the break to cause havoc and how would they do this?

Story ideas there, for sure.

This World and Others – Routines

I must admit I do like routines. I have one for my writing and have had this for years. Every so often I adjust it to take in new writing/editing work etc but, on the whole, I’ve found it useful to help me make the best of the time I have available for writing and/or editing on any one day. But I know not everyone likes routines. There are many who would find them restrictive.

What would your characters make of routines? Are there those who thrive on them (and if so, how)? Are there others who would feel routines are like straitjackets? What would happen if you have a character of each type stuck together and they have to work out some sort of routine to get them though to the time when they’re free to do their own thing again?

Does your setting have a routine in terms of characters have to work at certain times, relax at certain times etc? What would its views be on those who don’t follow the general pattern here? Could a setting with a fixed routine face enemies who would exploit the disadvantages of being too rigid? What would the enemies be seeking to exploit on your setting itself?

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Remembrance and Book Memories

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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. Blustery here. Very moving Remembrance Sunday events. One good thing about the rain was it did limit the fireworks which helped Lady. Writing and editing going well too.

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11th November 2025 – Armistice Day

Hope you have a good day. Good to remember Armistice Day today.

Writing wise, had a lovely Zoom session at a group I go to once monthly. Was a lovely way to chill after a hectic Monday (though Mondays are always that way for me for various reasons. I know I won’t get much writing done so I do write little bits and pieces I can flesh out for longer work later).

Am busy writing a review of the murder mystery play I went to with my lovely Chandler’s Ford Today editor, Janet Williams, recently. My post this week will be the review of The Ghost Train performed by The Chameleons but it was one of those weeks where Janet and I got to see two shows in three days. The next show we are likely to see will be the pantomine The Chameleons stage (and this year it is Camelot, oh yes it is).

Will also have another author interview coming up in December and I will be working on that later this week.

So all go here but in a good way.

Hope your Monday has gone well. Lady was delighted to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today, especially as the weather was dodgy. We all managed to avoid the worst though so we will take that as a win.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing my review of The Ghost Train recently performed by The Chameleon Theatre Company for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. All I knew about the play was it was written by Arnold Ridley of Dad’s Army fame. Was pleased to have seen it – great story – more in the review.

Writing Tip: When you’ve got five minutes (I know – this will become less likely as we head towards Christmas!), but can’t get to your laptop, grab the old notebook and pen and brainstorm ideas. I find writing in the old school manner like this can make the ideas flow. It also gives me something to review later when I do have more time. I’ve had plenty of story ideas doing this.

9th November – Remembrance Sunday

As ever the Remembrance Sunday service where I go to church was deeply moving. I recall my late grandfathers. One served in the Forces and then went on to be an ARP warden in London’s East End (neither easy as you can imagine); the other worked in Woolwich Arsenal (and forever getting bombed out as you can also imagine).

I also think of my late parents. Dad was too young to be evacuated immediately so went through the Blitz on London with his mum until he could be evacuated. Mum was evacuated, didn’t say much about it other than she hated it. Two generations – that is all which stands between my generation and the Second World War.

For our tomorrow, they gave their today.

Writing wise, stories which focus on remembering can be deeply moving. I like to focus on one character, one pertinent memory. This kind of story (I like to think of it as slice of life), I feel, works best when kept short and to the point. It’s where flash fiction can come into its own.

Am delighted to say the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is now available. The theme this time is Narrative Non-Fiction and my article on the topic can be found on pages 18 and 19. (I use the technique a lot in my Chandler’s Ford Today posts as well as those I write for Writers’ Narrative). Do check out the other superb articles – see the link below for more.

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11th November 2025 – Armistice Day

Looking forward to having a go at today’s Flash NANO prompt later this evening. The prompt involves the use of magic and given I love writing and reading what I call fairytales with bite, I think this prompt has my name on it!

Have been very pleased to have some lovely feedback on the stories I’ve shared on the Flash NANO Facebook page. I don’t share all of my drafts but will share ones I think will amuse. (Well, at this dark time of year and with the world in a right old state, we all need some literary cheer, yes?).

It’s Monday, a soggy and dark one where I am, and it’s time for a story. I hope you like my latest on YouTube – Memories Edited. There is a (rough!) rhyming scheme to this one. Think it will have resonance with many.

 

9th November – Remembrance Sunday

Today is Remembrance Sunday and the focus is, naturally, on the past and to the huge debt we owe to those who gave up so much for our freedoms, which should not be taken for granted.

As well as flash fiction, there is such a thing as flash non-fiction and short reflective pieces can be amazingly touching, especially when based on memories (collective and individual). I think the important thing here is, whatever your topic, to write from the heart (though that is also true for fiction).

Compassion, empathy, acknowledging the past can be very powerful themes for our writing, fictional or otherwise.

Am enjoying the range of prompts from Flash NANO so far. Yesterday’s one from me was a story told as a list involving using a number in the title. I shared a story about the struggles a cat owner has in getting to get their pet to the vet. I speak as a dog owner! Make of that what you will but it was fun to do and I will crack on with today’s prompt later on today.

Another nice angle to these prompts is they encourage me to get a story down quickly. It’s good practice for when I am set exercises at places like Swanwick. I find fast writing a really good thing to do sometimes. It makes me think on my feet and I know it’s okay to write first, edit later.

Goodreads Author Blog – Book Memories

One of the pleasures of books is as well as giving you stories and non-fiction to enjoy, they can also conjure up good memories for you. Many of my books on my shelves are written by author friends and every time I see the books I remember the story and where and whom I got the book from! I also inherited books from my much read late mother and her Dickens leather bound set always make me think of her when I see them.

When I read the classic fairytales, I am taken back to childhood memories of reading these for myself and, even further back, when my mum read the stories to me.

I think this is why physical books will always be around. They can give you tangible memories in the way a Kindle cannot, though that does have its uses. I use mine to discover authors new to me, for example, and it is great for holidays/being away etc. Physical books can be heavy to cart around but I would never be without them.

With my own flash fiction collections, the memories of having my work accepted will always be very special. Having some input into the covers is another special memory.

I also remember when I first read certain books which are firm favourites of mine.

Books are truly wonderful things.

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As I’ve shared the new November issue above, I thought I’d sneak in the October one again given it’s about short form fiction, I’m interviewed in it, and am a cover girl on it! Well, you can’t blame me really, can you? Absolute thrill to do this interview.

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Discovering Favourite Authors

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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. Some images of me holding books were taken by Adrian Symes. One image relating to Creativity Matters was by Wendy H. Jones. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Blustery and busy one here. Plenty of writing done, which is just how I like it to be. Lady and I dodging a lot of the rain but not quite all – seems fair to us.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Not bad here. Enjoyed my swim. Can’t believe we’re halfway through the month already. Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. That, and my monthly newsletter, tends to confirm to me how quickly time goes by.

Mind you, that would make a great theme for a story. Why does time pass quickly for your character? Are they glad of this or not? What are the reasons for them feeling the way they do about this?

Today has been one of those “could’ve been worse” days. Had a lovely time in the park with Lady. She got to see and play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle plus, last minute, Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal too. Lady was also a huge hit with my supermarket shop delivery (I loathe going into those places).

Thought I’d take advantage of the strong winds to get my washing done and it was almost finished when the heavens opened and yours truly (and washing) got a right soaking. On the plus side tonight, I know I shan’t be spontaneously combusting any time soon!

So I am very glad to get to my desk tonight and put all of that behind me.

Story Submission Tip: Don’t forget if you submit stories to Friday Flash Fiction, their submission window is now from a Monday to the end of Thursday. As well as always checking you know the rules of submission for anywhere (online or in print), do look out for the fact these do change from time to time so ensure you’re up to date. It happens (and always for good reasons).

Hope Sunday has been peaceful for you. Lady and I just managed to avoid the heavy rain today. Whether we’ll be so fortunate on her evening walk later remains to be seen.

Had a lovely Zoom session with fellow Swanwickers last night.

Am looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group later this month. Will be taking a look at linked flash.

Character Tip: If your character is grumpy one, is there a reason behind the grumpiness? Are they ill, struggling with other worries, or feel they are being put upon to much by others? Give some thought to this and you will soon have a story outline to follow up. Indeed, you could get three different ones here.

Sometimes it is the small victories which mean the most. I managed to catch a break in the changeable weather today and finished wood treating my fence. I consider this to be a win! Lady was less impressed, mind you.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Writing Competitions for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward later this evening to seeing some Swanwickers on Zoom. Always a lovely time had by all here.

Writing Prompt: I love opening line prompts so thought I would set one for you to have a go at. Hope you have fun with this.

The mirror shattered on seeing her face.

Hmm… may well have a go at that one myself!

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I love the fact that I can create a flash fiction story quickly. Okay the polishing up and editing takes far longer but I can get the first draft down in no time and this is lovely because I have certain days, especially Mondays, when I can’t write a lot. So in drafting a flash tale, I know I have written something.

Being creative in any way always cheers me up. And given all writing exercises set at events and workshops are flash fiction by their nature, because you don’t have a lot of time in which to draft something, why not turn them into something you can submit somewhere?

It’s Monday. It has been a hectic, soggy one for me. Definitely time for a story then.

Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Turn Around. The inspiration for the title came from a certain Bonnie Tyler song – Total Eclipse of the Heart. The words turn around feature in that. Had no idea why I had that in mind but I know an inspiring title idea when I get one so I’ve used it. Hope you enjoy the story.

What does one anthropomorphic being do when they’ve caught another one doing something they shouldn’t? Find out here.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly the days speed by? Here we are at Sunday once again and it’s time for my flash fiction afternoon. It’s also time for me to share the latest part of the serialisation of my Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit. Hope you enjoy the latest batch of stories.
As ever, I am looking forward to flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow and I hope to share the latest installment of my Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit too. Done. See above. That serialisation stops at the end of the month and then it will be a question of waiting for the book to come out next May. I do hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far here though.

Don’t forget there is such a thing as flash non-fiction too. Many blogs might fall into this category if they’re under 500 words long. How about this for an idea? You have a story published (hooray!). Why not write a short piece sharing how you wrote it and what inspired you. That could be interesting material for your website and easy to share on social media too.

Yes, I have done this kind of thing myself and will, hopefully, be doing this again soon, but I will share more news on that when I have it.

Goodreads Author Blog – Discovering Favourite Authors

How did you discover your favourite authors? I suspect we all have several ways here.

I discovered the works of P.G. Wodehouse thanks to the television series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, as many have done. Everything about that adaptation was wonderful including the titles and theme music. So apt. (Do check it out. I suspect you may be able to fine some of this in YouTube).

I found Sir Terry Pratchett thanks to a mooch around my local independent bookshop, now sadly long gone due to retirement by the owner. But I found Jingo here. Liked the look of the cover. Bought it. I then read everything by Pratchett I could get!

As for Jane Austen, my late mum had some of her works at home and then Pride and Prejudice was set as a school read. Loved Austen ever since (with the exception of Mansfield Park).

As for The Lord of the Rings, I just knew, from what I’d heard about the books, I wanted to read it so went and got myself a copy. Wonderful.

Knowing about the books is so important and this is where libraries, authors, reading groups etc play such a wonderful role, as do the bookshops.

Let’s celebrate all of these and look forward to finding more favourite authors in the future.

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Prompts, Flash NANO Update, and Defining a Good Read

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Image Credits:-
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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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Editing, Haiku, and Swimming

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A lovely mixture tonight, I think!

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Facebook – General

When you edit your stories, what are you looking for first and foremost? I look for the impact. Does the character make me react the way I want them to make me react? The way I thought they would when I drafted the story?
Of course, I check for typos and grammatical errors too. Yes, I’ll inevitably find some. We all do! But it is the impact of the character that is the most important thing for me. Why?
Simply because if the character doesn’t make me feel something, I, as a reader, am not going to care that much about the perfect grammar and the exquisite spelling!
Grammar and spelling do matter (and this is where writing buddies can be so helpful if these things are not your strong point. They will see things you do not etc). But I would argue get the story right first and then tidy the other matters up.
It will be the story and the characters readers remember.
Incidentally when people don’t notice the spelling and grammar, that is a very good sign. It shows you’ve got these things right. It also shows people were so gripped by your story and characters they had to keep reading.
Where spelling and grammar do matter is when people are enjoying your stories, you don’t want them to have their reading flow interrupted by an annoying typo. But get the story straight, then polish the spelling and grammar up.

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Hope you’ve had a nice weekend. Lovely to have family around in the garden yesterday. Weekends are starting to feel a little more like weekends.
Writing wise, I’m working on a new series for CFT. Details later in the week. It is going to be one of those series with plenty of tips and advice which I, and my lovely guest contributors, all hope you find useful.
And naturally I’m itching to reveal the book cover for Tripping the Flash Fantastic so am looking forward to when I can do that.
Am also working on “homework” as a result of pieces created during the creative writing workshop on Zoom I “went to” on Wednesday. That was good fun as I mentioned yesterday. Definitely liked the haiku challenge.
My longer term projects, including a non-fiction one, are on the backburner at the moment but I hope to get back to those before too long.
I also need to find another short story competition to try and polish up those entries from earlier in the year I now know didn’t get anywhere in the competitions I submitted them for.
But I’ve sometimes had success with a reworked story submitted to another competition or market so this is worth doing. Occasionally I find I can’t do anything else with the story but the character really grabs me (and I would hope other readers) so I see if I can do something else with them.
Must admit though I am also looking forward to when the writing conferences etc come back and I can meet up with friends in person. Zoom is an asset but it is not/cannot be quite the same. (For one thing, whether I’m drinking tea or prosecco, I much prefer to do that in company!).

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Hope Monday has not been too tricky for you. Lady has had a cracking start to her week. She got to play with her best doggie buddie today. Tonight she is zonked (and I suspect her pal is too). There’s a link there somewhere.
I’ve started my writing week by updating the blurb which appears on this author page. It’s about time I had something about the flash fiction in there! Ooops. Still sorted now.
It’s easy to forget, I think, there is a whole wealth of things going on behind the scenes for most writers. Updating websites, profiles etc., takes time but I see this as part of the marketing work. I try to do something on that side of things most days even if it is just joining in with a writing topic of interest somewhere on the web. I see that as engaging with other people and THAT is a big part of what writers do. We want people to engage with our stories, of course, but they’ve got to know we write them in the first place!😊

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Bit of good news today. I should be able to book swimming soon. I have missed that. But it is good that this aspect of life is coming back.
I had thought I’d use my time in the pool to think out story ideas etc. As with walking the dog, not a bit of it, but it is wonderful “down time” and I always go back refreshed. So there’s the mental benefit I think.
I swim the front crawl. It IS going to be a crawl for a bit I should think!
Am catching up with some reading on Kindle and thoroughly enjoying that. Hope to post a couple of reviews by the end of the week. (Reviews matter!).
I read inside and outside of my genre, flash fiction, and I love the mixture of what I read. My absolute go-to has to be humour though. And if ever there was a period of time in my lifetime where a laugh from a good book has been a blessing, it really has been over the last few months.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

This week has been a very exciting one as I’ve worked with the cover designer from Chapeltown Books on Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I’ve also checked the text for the final time. So a busy but productive week and a lovely way to go into the weekend.
I hope in due course to post a cover reveal and I plan to hold a cyberlaunch. More details to follow.
This is the lovely side of writing. So much goes on behind the scenes and often for a long time at that. When you get to the point that the book is shortly going to be “out there”, then that’s the exciting and lovely pay off for all that hard work behind the scenes.

Yours truly and some of my collected works! Image by Adrian Symes
Back cover for FLTDBA

I’ve been drafting some haiku this week as part of a Zoom creative writing workshop I enjoyed this week. Can you tell a flash fiction in haiku I wonder? Let’s see, shall we?
1. The bear squashed the chair
To stop Goldilocks, that mare
Revisiting house.
2. Spinning wheel needle
Pricks the girl’s finger and then
Extended nap time!
Allison Symes
18th July 2020
Hope you enjoy!

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If you have a scene with a character that can’t go into a story, why not turn it into a stand alone flash fiction tale?
The most common reason for a scene not making it into a story is that the scene doesn’t add anything so what’s the point of having it in there?
That’s the right response incidentally. Anything that doesn’t move your story on should be cut.
I’ve had an issue since the new look Facebook came in re posting pictures to my FLTDBA page. Have reported it. No response as yet! It is a pity as I like the new look one but if not sorted out, may have to return to the old. Still I CAN post pictures for you good people here!

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It may seem an odd mix to be both a flash fiction writer and a blogger but I like the contrast. I like making things up for one and sticking to the facts for the other. I’ll leave it to you to work out which way around that works out!😆
One thing on my fairly long To Do list is to have a crack at writing what I’ve heard called flash non-fiction. I do wonder if that is just another name for blogging which is 500 words or under. Any thoughts on that? It is interesting there are calls out now for factual pieces kept to a tight word count.
I can see the point of that. Short, sharp pieces to encourage people to read further into a subject later – yes, I like that idea.

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1. The click of the mouse
Means I am writing again;
I still love my pen.
2. A flash fiction tale
Often has one character
With one main focus.
Allison Symes – 21st July 2020
I really DID enjoy the haiku challenge set on the Zoom creative writing workshop I was on last week. There is a follow-up session tomorrow which I am looking forward to but the point in the second haiku here remains!
Oh and it proves I can count to 5, 7, and 5 again so I guess that’s a bonus!
Flash is remarkably open to form. I’ve written flash in poetic form (and there will be some examples of that in Tripping the Flash Fantastic). I’ve also written flash in diary format too (and again see the next book when it is out). I’ve written flash in all sorts of genres. It is a great vehicle for strong characters and having fun with said strong characters.

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Goodreads Author Blog – 

First Books You Chose For Yourself

Do you remember the first book you chose for yourself?

The first single book I chose was Jane Austen’s Collected Works. It is handy having them in one volume!

The first book series I collected (and still have) was the Agatha Christie series published via Odhams Books. Remember them? The nice thing with that series is it covers all of her major characters from Poirot to Marple to Tommy and Tuppence. Great stories.

The first fantasy book I chose for myself was The Lord of the Rings.

The first history book I chose was Simon Schama’s History of Britain which tied in with his TV series of the same name.

The first comic series I went for was P.G. Wodehouse’s wonderful works. (I don’t have them all but do have a fair number). I started with Jeeves and Wooster, thanks to the fab TV adaptation where Stephen Fry played Jeeves and Hugh Lawrie played Bertie.

I then went on to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. I started with Jingo and then worked backwards to the beginning with The Colour of Magic.

Oh and I mustn’t forget Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. My local (at the time) ITV network, Southern TV (sadly long gone), produced a great adaptation of these and the books were reissued with the covers showing the child actors in their roles. Sadly Southern lost their franchise and I believe the series ended. I don’t know what happened to the books I managed to collect (I used to be able to buy them from the local newsagent – how times have changed!) but loved the stories.

So can TV and film have a great influence on book buying? Oh yes!

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