Tag: Goodreads Author Blog

The Joys of Book Rooms/Stalls

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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’ve had a good weekend. Much cooler, almost feeling autumnal now but this is most welcome. Am looking forward to the book blog tour for Seeing The Other Side in September, along with my signing event at Salisbury. I hope there will be more things to come here – more news as I have it. Glad that writing and my new editing job is going well. Like to keep busy and Lady can always help me fill my time too, I guess she sees it as her job!
Also, late news coming in, am so very sorry to hear of the death of Dolly Parton. A great singer and an even greater person. Her literacy work was amazing. Favourite songs? Hard to tell but I love Jolene, 9 to 5, her own version of I Will Always Love You (and I like Whitney Houston’s cover too), Islands in The Stream and so many more. She will be much missed.

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Hope the day has gone well. Had a gentle swim today. It was nice. Good to see some chums too. Still feeling bruised from my fall but am considerably better so hope another gentle week will put the rest to right. Thankfully, writing can be done sitting down, which helps a lot. Standing desks definitely wouldn’t be for me right now.

Writing wise, I’m getting back into my pre-Swanwick routine. Have prepared some non-fiction pieces and scheduled those ready to appear later this month/early September. Have almost finished drafting my September newsletter. Would like to have a crack at a flash competition this weekend I think. It’s been a while since I last had a go at one. Always good to keep your hand in!

Want to resume working on my long term non-fiction project later on in the autumn. Picked up some useful thoughts for it while at Swanwick and want to put them into practice but know I need to clear my diary a bit for that and October is likely to be the earliest for that.

Mind you, that will be here before we know it. It’s a matter of time before we see the adverts for the festive chocolates and it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re already out, says she, sighing heavily!

Hope you’ve had a good start to the working week. Not bad here. Cooler and pleasanter, both Lady and I appreciated that.

But it is Monday so it’s time for my story which I first shared on Substack yesterday. Hope you enjoy First Home. If you think to do lists are a good idea but struggle to stick with them, this one may resonate.

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Hope the weekend has been a good one. Much easier walking the dog now the temperature has gone down a few notches!

Will be working on flash fiction Sunday shortly. Good to be back to that again. Had a lovely chat on Zoom with fellow writers last night. Great way to spend a Saturday evening.

Don’t forget it won’t be long before my next author newsletter is out. To sign up for news, tips, stories and more do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Newsletter Tip: I make a point of sharing tips which will be of use to other writers in mine (and even more so when I have lots of news to share about what I’m up to, as is the case at the moment). I want readers to find the newsletters useful as I know the majority of my subscribers are fellow writers.

I will sometimes share links to articles I’ve written elsewhere given these can be a good summary of the topic for the month for the newsletter. And I do this because I subscribe to a number of author newsletters myself. Love them and these kind of “useful bits” for readers is what drew me into them in the first place and keeps me subscribed to them.

I’ve found it pays to draft the newsletter a bit at a time as the month goes on so there is no rush to get it out on your chosen date. I draft a lot of things as I go during the month as it is so it made sense to do this for the newsletter too.

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Will be nice to have a quiet weekend. August has been pretty hectic though the combination of a family wedding and The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick is a smashing one!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at The Joy of Responding To and Setting Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Plenty of tips as you’d expect. Link up on Friday.

Writing exercises are great for stretching the creative mind. Many of mine end up as finished work, published in print or online or both. Others I know I won’t take further but I am never sorry to have had a go at the challenge in question.

Sometimes it is a case of this particular exercise not being the best for me but until I gave it a go, I wouldn’t know. Sometimes even there the spark of the idea I had I can use in another story. Little is wasted in writing. It might take a while for you to use it but the prospect is there.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Nice time in the park with Lady earlier though I suspect we’ll catch up with human and doggy friends once the new school term starts. Holiday times can be a bit odd like this. You don’t see your usual crowd. You do see people you wouldn’t normally come across.

And a bell in the back of my head is telling me there are flash fiction stories to be written about that thought!

Fancy a go?

Meantime I’m looking forward to taking part in some writing exercises I’ve set with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group tomorrow. I sometimes draft an exercise response in advance to give an example but I don’t always do this. Sometimes I write live on the night with the others which I hope to be doing again tomorrow. It’s good fun!

It’s Monday but at least it isn’t as hot and sticky as it was a couple of weeks back. Still time for a story though. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Perfect Recipe.

Mum has found the perfect recipe for a cherished family dish but will a certain blonde brat agree? Find out here.

 

One of the joys of having fun with what Vistaprint has to offer writers is getting to update my business card. It is one of the most useful things a writer can have on their book event table. People do take them and I attribute spikes in my Kindle sales to people taking these and looking up my books later on.

I’ve taken the chance to have thumbnails of all three flash collections of mine on my updated card, plus my latest author photo, plus my website details on the front. On the back I’ve gone for a simplified version of where you can find me online.

As well as sharing them at my recent book launch at Swanwick, I’ve had opportunities to give them out elsewhere since then including on the train home from Derbyshire. I do usually keep some on me on the “just in case” principle. It has been nice to act on that principle recently!

Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group this coming week too. Have set some fun exercises and plan to do them myself on the night.

It’s a great way to get more flash written and I love “live” writing exercises. Always an enjoyable challenge.

Am looking forward to joining the good folk at Salisbury URC for my book signing event there on Saturday 5th September from 10.00 am to 12.30. See the link for more info.

Am pleased to say September will be a busy month as the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side also happens then from 7th to 13th September. More details to come on that.

I hope to set up some local (to me) events but will come back on that as and when I have something set up. Having my own card reader now is going to make life easier here.

Looking forward, as always, to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. Am so glad I responded to the CafeLit 100 words challenge all those years ago. Three books later…

Saturday September 5th, 10am-12.30 Meet the author

Goodreads Author Blog – The Joys of Book Rooms/Stalls

I’ve not long returned from one of the highlights of my writing year – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. This year was even more special as I had my book launch for my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side, there. It was a huge success. I sold two-thirds of my stock at the event.

Later the same day, I took part in an Open Prose Mic Night, read from my new book, and then discovered the next day in the Swanwick Book Room, the rest of my stock had been sold. I’d also sold copies of my earlier flash collections, From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping The Flash Fantastic. To say I was thrilled would be a considerable understatement.

I make a point, when at events, of always going to their book room/stalls etc. As well as contributing to what is on offer, such things give me a good chance to browse the works of other authors. I nearly always come away with purchases and love getting them signed for me by the authors in question.

Much as I find the ebook useful, this is where I think the paperback will always win. There is something special about getting a signed copy of a book from its author (and even more special when you’re doing the signing on one of your books – I wish I could bottle that feeling!).

I’ll be having a signing event at Salisbury URC on Saturday 5th September to celebrate my new book. They have a regular book stall there and it will be good to support that (and their coffee shop) as well as have my signing event.

Books and book rooms bring people together and, as an author, I relish the chance to chat with potential readers too. Books and stories are special. Chatting to readers directly is also very special and I hope promotes the written word more too.

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Book Launches and Associated Activities

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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. A huge thank you to Keith Hinchy for taking and giving permission to use shots he took from the Swanwick Prom. More below.Many thanks also to Babs Trevitt for the image of me taking part in the Swanwick Open Prose Mic Night.
Talking of Swanwick, I had a fabulous time at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. The launch for Seeing The Other Side went brilliantly. Sold two-thirds of my stock at the launch and the rest a day or so later. First time I’ve had a sell out. So thrilled. Pleased I also sold copies of From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping The Flash Fantastic.
It was a joy catching up with friends and chatting to new people to Swanwick. Hope to see them again there next year. Resuming normal home life – and the dog did mug me on my return!

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Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with Book Launches and Associated Activities. This one was a particular joy to write up given my recent launch for Seeing The Other Side at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

I also talk in this post about what I learn from other launches I go to, what authors hope will happen at them (and onwards – I often note a rise in my Kindle sales a few days after an event), and share some tips I think will help any writer prepare for their book launch.

Hope you find this useful. My last launch was in 2020 as, aside from anything else, I’m thrilled to bits to be able to get out and about for book events in person.

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Well, it is my first full day back at the helm after a fantastic few days away at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Am I shattered? You bet. It was nice Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal again today though.

Writing wise, it’s Monday so it’s time for my Substack story for the week after my break. Hope you enjoy Stuck on Q. This one isn’t just for Scrabble players, honest!

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Lovely to be back at church this morning and taking the dog out again afterwards. The latter is probably the most exercise I’ve had this week! Nice to be back at my desk “properly” and am looking forward to cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. Also nice to bring back some lovely books of prompts from Swanwick. Know they will be a great help.

I use prompts from a wide range of sources, including books, and will take something I like and put my own spin on it. Sometimes I will splice prompts and get a new one from two put together like that.

Story cubes are brilliant too. So many combinations available, depending on how many cubes you have. You won’t run out of the random generators any time soon either and with almost all of them you can set your own parameters, which again increases their usefulness to you and the ideas available.

Prompt Tip: If you use the generators, don’t generate too many in one go. You’ll feel swamped and that stifles creativity. Limits are so useful. They make you think more deeply and yes I know I’m biased here being a flash fiction writer but it is true nonetheless.

For books of prompts, pick out a few you think you’d like, say three or four. By the time you’ve done that, you should find there is one which is “grabbing” you so that’s the one to go for.

It takes a few days to recover from a fabulous time at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick but am slowly getting there. It was nice for Lady and I to get back to walking together and we even caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal. It’s the first time we’ve seen them in a good couple of weeks as everyone is getting out earlier than normal for dog walking and we all have different ideas of what early is!

Talking of Swanwick, my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week will be Swanwick 2026 and Book Launch For Seeing The Other Side. Am looking forward to sharing that one next Friday.
Will be resuming flash fiction Sunday tomorrow and it will be lovely to get back to that again.

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One of the joys of The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick is the end of school party. Many thanks to Keith Hinchy who took these (and many other) fab shots.

June Webber and I had a great time at the disco. We often get together online the rest of the year with other Swanwickers (it is one of those things where people drop in as and when) but it is special to be able to get together in person.

Fabulous way to wrap up another year’s school. Writers spend so much time at their desks.

Just sometimes we get up on the dance floor too!

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It’s Monday, it’s marginally cooler than last week, I stress the marginally, but it does mean it’s story time.

Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Scrabbling Around. The eagle eyed amongst you may spot a connection to my Substack story this week in terms of theme.

Is Linda really cheating at Scrabble, as Mark suspects, or is there something else going on? Find out here.

Looking forward to resuming sharing my Substack and YouTube stories. Now just to get on and write them which I’ll do shortly.

Sometimes when deciding where to start, I will think about the mood of the stories I want to tell. Funny, dark, or somewhere in between? Sometimes I’ll think about the character type I want – someone who is overdue their comeuppance or someone worthy of support getting that in an unexpected way?

It pays to ask yourself a few questions as to what you want your stories to be and what impact you’d like them to have on readers. From there, you can start to outline situations and/or characters and off you go with your first draft.

Happy writing!

The highlight for me at Swanwick this year was of course the book launch for Seeing The Other Side, but it was closely followed by the Open Prose Mic Night.

I love these. I get to hear a marvellous range of stories and, when I take part as I did again this year, I can highlight something about what flash fiction is and can be simply by performing some of my stories. I hope I get to introduce some folk to the form this way.

It is another reason why I include reading work out loud as part of my editing process. I know a story has got to read well on the page and out loud for Mic Nights and the like.

It is amazing what errors you can pick up simply by reading your story out loud and if you record it on Zoom and play it back, you can (a) get your timings right which always goes down well with a Mic host and (b) you will take in the story as the audience would.

That in turn helps you spot what might be missing, what doesn’t flow as well as you might like and so on. Gives you a chance to put all of that right before you do perform the pieces. Can’t recommend doing this highly enough.

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Reading Time

I suspect most of us would like far more reading time than we have got. I think it’s part of the territory of so many books, not enough time, and having other wonderful responsibilities. Time doesn’t stretch that much.

The irony for me as I write this is I’m off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick where there will be so much love and appreciation shown for the written word in all its forms.

Yet most of us will be busy catching up with friends, learning from the writing courses and so on to get much actual reading done while here!

I expect most of us will bring home new delights from the Book Room though! The To Be Read pile never goes down much, does it?! But then maybe that is as it should be.

I find it encouraging there will never be a shortage of good reading material.

And now I’m back from Swanwick, I can confirm I have brought more good reading material home with me! Sorry, couldn’t get to post this last week while away but will now resume weekly posts.

Ironically it was due to being at a place where every writer loves books, their own and others, and we spent a lot of time celebrating the fact, as well as learning more about our craft.

Now back home again, we can resume our usual reading with more material to add to the mix but then that’s never a problem, is it?

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Writing Events and How To Make The Most of Them

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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, as were most of the photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Many thanks to the School and Gemma Owen-Kendall for the shot of me at my launch.
Super duper bumper post from me this time as it was easier to write daily Facebook posts and collATE them here while I was away in Derbyshire. There was little time to do much else. Back to normal next week.
Talking of Derbyshire, I had a fabulous time at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. So good to catch up with friends again and chat to new people too and, as ever, I learned so much from the courses. Creative writing is good for you here – it keeps you learning and developing and that is so good for us in many ways.
Delighted my launch for Seeing The Other Side was a resounding success. More news on that below. And, yes, I was mugged by the dog when I returned home!

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Am delighted to share Writing Events and How To Make The Most of Them for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Could I think of the title for this one when on the train home from Swanwick yesterday? No! Still, I hope you enjoy the post.

I’ll talk more specifically about The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and my book launch there for next week’s post but this one looks at what you can get in terms of helping you to develop as a writer when going to events.

My only regret here is I didn’t start going to them sooner than I did. I’ve made so many friends, especially at Swanwick, and have learned so much which has helped me in my writing journey. I continue to learn for that journey. The lovely thing about creative writing is it is an ongoing challenge. It’s very good for the old brain just due to that.

I discuss some of the advantages of going to good creative writing events (and have no doubt you’ll find more yourself). I look at how to make the most going to these things. Now this includes what may seem like basic advice but I remember being a newbie writer and you don’t always think of things like this. You’re going to the event. You’re beginning to think do I know what I’m doing here as I don’t know any other writers etc etc. How I do know? Guess what I thought when I was preparing to go to my first event.

I also discuss having a one line “statement” ready to share with folks who ask you what you are writing. It helps to have that to hand. You should then find you ask them about their work and before you know it a good conversation has got going.

But having something to hand in the back of your mind so you know what you will say when asked is such a confidence booster.

Hope you find the post useful.

Writing Events and How to Make the Most of Them

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13th August 2026

Am on way home as I write this. Had a fabulous time at Swanwick. Many thanks to the Committee and all of the volunteers. Already looking forward to being back next year.

A huge thanks to all who supported my launch for Seeing The Other Side. Having launches at the Summer School is a great opportunity for all those having them. It would be harder to find a more sympathetic audience than at Swanwick.

Looking forward to seeing the family later. It will be back to business almost immediately on getting home. My Chandler’s Ford Today post will be up tomorrow – more details then. Did I draft and schedule ahead of Swanwick? You bet. Am I trying to recall the title right now and failing? You bet! Ah the delights of the writing life!

Nightmare journey home. Just missed train I was meant to be on. East Midlands Railway had to run slower due to the heat so I reached London later than planned. Want to give a shout out to Kofi at the Waterloo ticket office as when I explained, he just stamped my ticket and said I could get the next. No fee either. It always pays to ask rather than assume and he was lovely. Need more like that. Thankfully delay should only be about 30 minutes but it does mean I’ll see Lady later than planned. On the plus side the air con on the train is bliss!

12th August

So many who come to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick will say or think along the lines of where has the time gone? How come we are at our last full day here already? I’m not an exception here.

Found Simon Whaley’s The Business of Writing session informative and useful. Likewise, the two part course run by Bettina von Cossell on writing non-fiction books. Will be heading off to the second part of that this afternoon.

A huge thank you to the School. I’ve had a wonderful time. Many thanks to all who supported my Seeing The Other Side launch. I’m thrilled to say I sold out here. Being able to launch here is a fab opportunity.

Looking forward to seeing the family again tomorrow but not relishing so much resuming the domestic duties! I do expect to be mugged by my dog though on my return.

11th August

Enjoyed a great session before and after tea break time about submitting non-fiction work to traditional publishers. This was led by Dr Jacqueline Jeynes. I do have a non-fiction project on the go so this course was timely too.

Am looking forward to Liz Pacey’s session on Reading, Writing and Absolutely No ‘Rithmetic. Sounds fun. Liz l, like me, is a member of the Association of Christian Writers.

Have enjoyed signing copies of Seeing The Other Side for people since the launch. It is always a special moment when you’re asked about this. You also learn to treasure special moments in the writing life.

Also spotted the cute moorhen youngsters yesterday. No pictures alas as they move fast when they want to but the grounds here are lovely. They’re in remarkably good condition given the heatwave.

10th August

For once it’s a .Monday I don’t mind because I’m at Swanwick. Will resume sharing stories on Substack and YouTube next week.

The Simon Hall course on AI For Authors was intriguing and insightful. Found it cleared misconceptions for one thing. So glad I went to this one. This afternoon I’ll be back at Viv Brown’s course on Writing for UK Magazines.

Many thanks to Babs Trevitt for the image of me reading from Seeing The Other Side at the Open Prose Mic Night yesterday. Good fun to do. My three pieces went down well. And I loved listening to all of the other tales. Well done, all. Great entertainment.

9th August

Well, Swanwick has got off to a cracking start. Plenty of ideas sparking from Julia Pattison’s Lift Up Your Pens session first thing. After breakfast, I loved Viv Brown’s writing for print magazine course today. More to come on that course too later in the week. I plan to immerse myself in world building with Francesca Tyer this afternoon and later to look at real life humour in stories with Ian Fisermanis.

But the big news is I’m thrilled my launch of Seeing The Other Side went so well. Have sold two-thirds of what I brought up here. A huge thank you to Gemma Owen-Kendall for being launch coordinator and to all who are running/assisting with the Book Shop. Other than the bar, I suspect the Book Room is the favourite place for Swanwickers to be! Guess why I think that!

8th August

Am writing this on the first leg of my journey to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I change at Waterloo, get to St. Pancras and then get another train to Derby. From there, the school lays on a coach to take delegates to the lovely Hayes country house. That will be my home for the next few days.

I’m so looking forward to catching up with writer friends I only see I person here. Am looking forward to the courses, workshops, after dinner speakers and entertainment. I really will be immersed in the writing world.

I’ll be leading a short devotional session called Lift Up Your Hearts on Monday. It’s a lovely peaceful start to busy creative days. I’m only sorry I can’t get to the short service on Sunday lunchtime as that is when my book launch for Seeing The Other Side will be.

Saddest thing? Realising my dog knew something was up this morning as she was more clingy than usual. I do know she’ll be spoiled rotten while I’m away though. She always is.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Had a lovely surprise yesterday on returning from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I’ve received my first review for Seeing The Other Side and so pleased it is a good one. Many thanks to my reviewer. Also pleased Amazon are now giving sensible delivery dates on the paperback.

It was lovely seeing flash represented more in the Swanwick Book Room. Every writer has their own style which is one reason why stories in general are fascinating to read. No two writers will go about a creative writing task in exactly the same way. When the Waterloo Prize was run some years ago, all writers had to stick to the same theme and word count. There were fifteen winners for each book which came out on the theme of transform/transforming. I was one of them. Yet all of us came up with such different stories.

It is what you bring to the mix which makes a story stand out and never more so than for flash fiction. The limited word count means you do have to be more creative with your word usage and it so strengthens a story when done well.

13th August

Am on way home from Derby. This will be the last post I write on a train for a bit. I hope to do this again when I go to Salisbury on 5th September for a signing event for Seeing The Other Side.

I’ll be at the United Reformed Church for this. They have a monthly book stall event which also supports their coffee shop. Books and tea/coffee are always a winning combo! If you’re in Salisbury then, I’d be delighted to see you.

And it can be amazing how much writing you can do while on the train!

12th August

So good to wave the flash fiction flag this week at Swanwick. It even got a mention on the Lingo Bingo cards some of us played on the Saturday night. It was a good icebreaker.

I also read three pieces from Seeing The Other Side at the Open Prose Mic Night. Flash works brilliantly for Mic nights. It’s a great advert for the form too.

What I think has been so special this week is how we all celebrate writing in all of its forms. Long may that continue well after we get home from Swanwick.

11th August

Have enjoyed chatting to people who’ve asked me about flash fiction. It’s always good to wave the flag for a great writing format.

You learn to cut words again and again and to not be sentimental about what has to come out of your work when it is not doing something for it. It’s a crucial skill and one which applies to all writing forms.

10th August

Ernest Hemingway’s classic six word story, For sale, baby shoes, never worn, formed part of my Lift Up Your Hearts session this morning and was referred to in Simon Hall’s course too. Less is more, indeed! We were set a six word exercise by Simon too.

Why not give the following a try:-

Six word stories
Twenty-five word stories
Seventy-five tales (useful for Paragraph Planet)
And the good old drabble, the classic 100 worder.

All fun to do.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

9th August

So thrilled the launch for Seeing The Other Side went so well. I hope to write more about that and Swanwick for a future Chandler’s Ford Today post.

Was so pleased to see flash fiction represented so well in the Swanwick Book Room too. Flash is a fabulous format, especially if you enjoy creating characters. That has long been my favourite form of storytelling.

8th August

I hope to wave the flag for flash fiction (and short stories) while I’m at Swanwick. I hope to catch up with fellow Bridge House Publishing/CafeLit/Chapeltown authors at Swanwick too. I may even get some draft flash pieces written.

One such draft began life as a writing exercise set by Simon Hall at Swanwick a few years back. It has been polished and edited and is now in Seeing The Other Side. Just because something is “just” an exercise, it doesn’t mean it has to stay that way!

Fairytales With Bite – Travelling

I’ve not long come back from my annual wonderful world of writing week spent at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick at The Hayes Christian Conference Centre. A fabulous time is had by all and writers come from all over the country, and sometimes further afield as was the case this year, to get here. So a lot of travelling is done! Sometimes travelling is a pleasure and at other times it isn’t. Travelling in a heatwave has its issues.

So let’s think about your magical characters and their setting. How is travelling done in your world? Are there magical transportation systems or is magic kept out of that? What do your characters think about travelling? What places would they love to go to and why? Which would they rather avoid and why? Story ideas there for sure.

If your world has magical and non-magical transportation systems, why were two systems developed? One obvious answer would be to keep the non-magical firmly in their place. But could there be advantages to the non-magical variant the magical one cannot copy or access? Did not having that power mean non-magical characters had to be more inventive and creative in the things they use for travel (and you could extend that idea out to other areas of life too).

Definitely story ideas there!

This World and Others – Professional Gatherings

I see The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick as a chance to “continually professionally develop” (not an easy thing to say quickly, at least not for me!). It is the ethos behind the school.

Writers learn, improve their skills, develop new areas of writing interest or enhance the ones they’re already interested in. A great deal of fun is had too at the school. Why should professional gatherings always be deadly dull? It doesn’t encourage learning for one thing. And the really nice thing here is all of this is for writers who are starting out, who are developing their craft, who are published or not and so on.

So in your magical setting, what would your characters do to “continually professionally develop”? Where would they go? What could they learn? What kind of exams would they face? Are the opportunities available for all? Are standards high? Who monitors that?

How has your character benefited from the professional development they have already had? What would they like to develop further? Could anything or anyone get in the way?

Again, definite story ideas there.

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Events

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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.
Had a fabulous weekend. Wonderful family wedding on the Saturday. I took our church service on Sunday and it was a time of peace and quiet reflection, which I appreciated.
Have to watch the hot temperatures again this week for Lady but she’s doing well. Am so looking forward to being at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick very soon. I will be posting as and when I can while there but may do one round up post next week and that on my return.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Cooler but still not quite as cool as Lady and I would like. Still, we’re getting there.

Writing wise, I’m working out what I’d like to be going to at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick later this week. I do have basic ideas but know I will probably change my mind on at least some of them when I get there. It is almost a ritual for many of us! Good to have plenty of choice though!

Will be hosting an ACW group tomorrow night and am looking forward to that. We’ll be discussing all things science fiction/fantasy related though we often spin off into talking about writing issues too.

Character Tip: Know what makes your creations tick. Motivation really is everything. It is such a powerful driver and one readers will get behind even if they don’t approve of what the character is doing. It is, for me, what makes characters come to life almost more than anything else.

The countdown to Swanwick week begins! And that thought has cheered me up considerably given it has been another busy and very hot Monday.

Talking of Monday, it is time to share the story I put up on my Substack platform yesterday. This is one of my moving tales. Hope you enjoy The Newsletter.

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Yesterday’s family wedding was all you’d hope it would be – lovely, fun, and moving and a joy to be at. Managed to get some writing done on the way up to it and then posted the results on the way home! Writing on the move with someone else driving is great!

Pleased to say my author newsletter went out okay yesterday.

Have already packed quite a bit for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. There will a few bits and pieces to do later in the week but that’s it. Anyone would think I was keen!

Talking of this fabulous week, I will be posting at various times and some regular posts I may defer to when I am back home again. For example, my twice weekly blog round up over on my website may become once a week while I’m at Swanwick and then when I’m home. I’ll see how things go and how tired I am!

You get such a buzz from Swanwick in terms of being with other writers, as well as what you learn from the courses and workshops, by the time you get back to your room again, you’re usually just wanting to get some kip. (This is how it should be, of course!).

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Am on my way to a family wedding as I write this though whether I’ll get to post this today remains to be seen. I do love the notes app on my phone. Always use it when out and about. Have drafted plenty of useful material with it.

Writing wise, I’ll be welcoming Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, back to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her Murder in Gilmerton, which is part of her DI Hunter Wilson series.

Much has happened since I last interviewed Val, not least of which is her move to Joffe Books. We discuss that and more in an in-depth interview. Do look out for it next Friday.

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Have got a potential 250 word flash competition to have a go at, news of which landed in my inbox earlier this week. If I get any time at Swanwick, I will draft some thoughts, else it will be something I may have a go at on the train journeys up there and/or home again.

Love getting some writing done on the train and flash is wonderful for this. I can get a draft down in about half an hour or so, depending on word count.

Flash Tip: If you’re wondering what to write about, think about the themes which intrigue you the most and start from there. Look at why they intrigue you. Ideas may well start to spring up just by doing that. Guess how I know!

It’s Monday. It’s hot. It’s busy. It’s still hot. It’s still Monday. Time for another story from my YouTube channel then.

Hope you enjoy Spreading The News. Both this tale and my Substack one focus on a newsletter this time. Hope you enjoy both of them but now for the YouTube tale.

There are always consequences for critics of the fairy government. Find out what happens to Jasminda here.

 

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly after a busy weekend. Family wedding yesterday and I took a church service this morning. Part of my theme for that was the importance of keeping themes simple and to the point. They’re easier to remember that way. Oh and stories are a fantastic way of getting themes across to folk (and without preaching, which I know sounds ironic, but you really do want people to remember the theme).

None of this is new to any fiction writer, of course. For those of us focusing on the short forms, I think it is even more important for your theme to stand out. It will do a lot of the “heavy lifting” for you in terms of your word count if you get your characters to show the theme in “action”.

Readers will pick up on the inferences. Inference plays a huge role in short fiction, especially flash. And I must admit it is an aspect to flash I adore. I like to work things out. I just need the right clues from the author to do so.

Also delighted news of Seeing The Other Side went out on the Association of Christian Writers newsletter – again it’s a perk of membership. What’s nice about ACW is you have such a wide range of writers here – those, like me, who are Christians working in the secular market and others who do write direct devotional items. A broad church indeed.

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Inspiration for flash stories can come from practically anywhere but when you get to do some general observations, you can be spoiled for choice.

Am at a family wedding today so suspect ideas might strike if colours, clothing etc catch my eye. Will also have great observational opportunities when I head up to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick soon.

I always change something about what catches my eye and do likewise with prompts of any kind. I like to put my own spin on these things.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Events

Now that my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side, is now out, I’m thinking about book events. There will be a launch at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and my publisher is planning an online event. I’ll also be having an event in Salisbury in early September (5th). I hope there will be more to come too.

Book events are obviously great for writers but how about for readers?

I think events are great opportunities for readers to discover writers whose work is new to them and you get the chance to quiz the authors. We love being asked about what we write! So if you can support author events, it would be much appreciated.

Events can also be fabulous parts of stories, of course. Given events of all kinds have an impact on us, it would be odd for this not to be reflected in fiction. Where would Pride and Prejudice be without the ball at Netherfield or The Lord of The Rings without Gandalf turning up in The Shire? That was seen as a big event especially by Frodo who had no idea then just how big a turning point it would be for him.

So let’s celebrate the events, whether we hold them, go to them, or read about them.

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WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

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ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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New Stories and Opening Lines

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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’ve had a good weekend. Quiet one ahead of two busy ones coming up. Cooling down, even had some rain, but more is needed. Feel sorry for those fighting the wildfires.
Writing going all okay. Set up my card reader so it is ready to use – it was easier than I thought which was nice.

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Hope today has gone well. Is becoming hotter again so am being careful with the dog again. Having said that, she’s fine but she’d like the thermostat turned down a bit, as would I.

Writing wise, my next author newsletter goes out on 1st August (Saturday!) and I’ve plenty to share this time, of course. I also share story links to my work on Substack and YouTube and offer writing tips and advice. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

There’s nothing quite like writing a monthly newsletter to bring home the thought the year is whizzing by.

In other news, I’ve just heard my Bridport Prize entry won’t be going any further. On the plus side, this means I can have another look at this tale when I have more time and see if I can send it somewhere else. I’ve done this before and sometimes a piece has found a home on the second go around.

The writing life is full of ups and downs but you do get used to this. You learn to make the most of the up periods when you have them too!

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Another busy Monday so that means it’s time to share here the story I shared on my Substack platform yesterday. Both this story and the YouTube one I’ll share on my book page shortly are based on a blue hat. Two stories out of one object? Oh yes! Also both are at the 75 words mark. Hope you enjoy both of them but first up from Substack is my The Blue Hat.

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Many apologies but I forgot to share my Authors Electric post from just over a week ago but I am pleased to share it now. I talk about New Stories this time.

I know why I forgot. I’ve been full of the publication of Seeing The Other Side, of course, but this post looks at the joy of having new stories to share for things like Open Prose Mic Nights and the like. I like to mix up new and old stories and the moods of those tales for events like these so there is a good balance.

I also look at the advantage of reading work out loud even when it’s not for an audience. I continue to find it can be a great editing tool. I’ve often spotted things like missing words doing this and they can be the devil to spot precisely because they’re not there but when you read out loud, that is when you suddenly realise the gap.

Hope you enjoy the post and, again, apologies for the late share.

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Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Have finally invested in a card reader for book events and have now got it set up and good to go. Regardless of what the tech is, I know from experience it pays to give yourself plenty of time here! Still all seems to be okay and it will be lovely to be able to offer card payment facilities at book events.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Reworking Stories on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. The week after that, I hope to be sharing a super interview with Val Penny so do watch out for that. And then after that I’m off to Swanwick again – the year whizzes by.

Review Tip: As with any author with books out there, I will put in a plea for reviews. They don’t need to be long. They do need to be honest. One line reviews are absolutely fine and a good tip here is to think about what you liked most about the book and go with that. These make for excellent reviews. Reviews do help authors more than it might appear at face value so please do give a review.

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Pleased Tuesday has been somewhat calmer than Monday. Enjoyed a lovely swim earlier too. I remember thinking when I took swimming up seriously I could use this time to work out story ideas etc. Not a bit of it.

You focus on what you’re doing – rightly so – for one thing. I also find you tend to “switch off” which is lovely and I am sure that does refresh me, mentally speaking, for work at the old desk later in the day. I can’t recall writing any flash fiction based around the swimming world. Hmm… will have to rectify that at some point.

But things like swimming, going out with the dog etc can inspire story ideas even if they don’t seem to do so directly. I’ve spotted, say, a striking hat being worn by someone and “pinch the hat” to use for a character of mine who I know would just wear something like that.

Sometimes objects you see while out and about can be a great trigger for a story idea. (And there is always the random object generators to fall back on too. Plus don’t forget the photos on your phone. What view did you take a shot of which could be used as a story setting, say?).

Happy writing!

Monday – busy, hot, my least favourite day of the week as you may well have gathered by now. Mind you, it does mean it’s story time.

Hope you enjoy my The Return. As with my Substack story this week (see above), this video also features a blue hat but I take a very different take on what can be done with it in this tale.

One person’s bargain from a charity shop is another one’s horror story. Find out more here about what possible bargain this could be.

 

Will be getting on with flash fiction Sunday in a short while. Am also looking forward to catching up with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday too. Will be hosting another group for ACW the week after and then I’m off to Swanwick so next couple of weeks will be delightfully busy.

Flash Tip for Specific Word Counts: Now this is a specific tip if ever there was one! I’ve found it useful to look at what 50 words, 100 words etc looks like on screen/paper. It gives me a visual aid as to what I should be aiming for here. I then draft my stories, knowing roughly what it should like to get to the desired word count.

I always go over the limit but then go through and cut out my wasted words which brings the count down. I wish I could stop myself writing those wasted words in the first place but it doesn’t work that way for me so I go with the flow here, happy in the knowledge these things won’t be in the story for long.

Looking forward, as always, to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. Nice way to wind up one week and to start another one.

I do miss writing for Friday Flash Fiction and haven’t yet found somewhere suitable for me to submit regularly. It was that aspect of regular submissions I found most useful for FFF. Am sure I will find somewhere eventually. (Am also sorry Flash NANO is no longer about).

Having said that, I am enjoying posting stories to Substack and YouTube and will continue. Incidentally I do share all of my links to my stories on a monthly basis via my newsletter so you can easily see them all in “one hit” there so to speak.

I never mind doing this kind of marketing! I want there to be something in it for a potential audience and there is something lovely about sharing stories.

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Opening Lines

I enjoy creating intriguing opening lines for my flash fiction and short stories. Great fun to do. I also love reading intriguing opening lines. They do keep me reading on, which of course is the whole idea. The tricky bit though is in working out what will be intriguing to a reader given tastes vary.

Having something different which can indicate an interesting time period or setting is a good way to start. The classic one here is from Orwell’s 1984. The thought of a clock striking thirteen is fascinating.

But irony as in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is also a wonderful start. It leads to wondering whether the premise of that opening line (which I won’t give away here and in any case I am sure you know it) will be delivered on. The only way to find out is to read the book.

I must admit I have a soft spot for stories, including my own, which start with dialogue or a character’s internal thoughts. You get to have a feel for the character’s attitude and from that what might come further on in the story just from this alone.

A successful opening line then is one which makes you read on to the finishing one. You can write the most amazing finish to a story but unless the opening is equally fantastic nobody will get to the end and that’s the challenge every fiction writer faces. It’s a cracking challenge though!

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WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Having A New Book Out

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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.
A huge thank you to Rosemary Johnson for sharing a reel she created on my behalf on Instagram, one platform I’m not on at the moment. Also a huge thank you to my Slimming World consultant for letting me read a SW related story from Seeing The Other Side at our group session – marketing takes many forms!
Hope you have had a great weekend. Cooler here which is welcome. Writing going well. So looking forward to book launch events for Seeing The Other Side.

 

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Bonus Post

A huge thank you to Rosemary Johnson for posting a reel about my Seeing The Other Side on Instagram.

Lovely day here. Lady caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal today. The dogs haven’t seen each other since the heatwave started and the Vizler is considerably older than Lady so would have found the heat even harder going. The dogs were delighted to see each other. It does seem to be dog reunion week so far.

Writing wise, I’m going to be sharing one of my stories from Seeing The Other Side at my Slimming World group tonight with the consultant’s blessing. This particular tale will have resonance with everyone there and I’m looking forward to sharing that. (Whether it leads to book sales remains to be seen!). Glad to report the reading went well!

Have also been getting on with some admin which will end up hopefully giving further publicity to my new book via a website and in house journal. These are nice tasks to be getting on with!

And I’m also looking forward to meeting up with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. Am delighted one member has had a story broadcast since we last met.

Marketing Tip: Think about what you’d enjoy doing. It pays to plan things out. As I’ve mentioned prepare some material so you are ready to tell others what your book is about and remember this is an ongoing process. It can’t be done all at once, which is as well really.

Fantastic start to the week for Lady as she got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. The dogs haven’t met up properly since the heatwave started for obvious reasons. They were overjoyed to see each other. And I had a good natter with the Ridgeback’s human mum so that got the week off to a good start for me too.

Writing wise, it is time to share the story I put on my Substack yesterday. Hope you like my A Good Show.

Look out for my YouTube story this week, If I’d Known, because it links to the Substack one. Good fun to do and I hope you like both of them.

Meantime, it is indeed time for a good show…

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Hope the weekend has gone well. So much cooler, a lot nicer to be honest. Back to normal walks for Lady today for the first time in what seems like forever. She’s enjoyed that but I do know she’s missing her dog friends. Am hoping we’ll catch up with some of them at least this coming week. We did!

Writing wise, I’m glad to report I will be having a blog tour for Seeing The Other Side. Likely to be in September. More news as I have it. Hope to get on with some admin relating to promoting the book later today which will include working on my newsletter, which will be out again on 1st August. To sign up for that, just head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

While there if you head over to my books page, you will see I’ve added in recent publications including the new flash fiction collection to that. This kind of admin I never mind doing!

And it won’t be that long before I’m off once more to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Am so looking forward to seeing everyone again and this year will be extra special given it will be the first time I’ve had a launch here.

A writer’s life is made up of special moments – over time you realise how important it is to make the most of them because you can’t know when the next will be. It does help a lot to know you need to see all of this as a long term investment in your writing.

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Thankfully it’s cooler today though we still have to be careful with Lady. But at least there’s a decent breeze which helps a lot.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Summer Reading for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll be looking at what I like to read over the lighter months of the year and flagging up flash fiction and short story anthologies as good reads, especially if your reading time is more limited due to other commitments.

And, yes, I’m biased here obviously, but I do like to include the shorter forms of fiction, as well as the longer ones, in my overall reading “diet” and highly recommend this. I’ve discovered some great authors this way.

Short Fiction Tip: What is the one single thing which matters to your character(s)? (For flash it will often be one character). Focus on this and why it matters and you have an excellent framework for your story.

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Another cooler day which is most welcome. Certainly Lady has been appreciative of it.

Flash Fiction Tip: Don’t be afraid to start with the ending first. In many of my tales I know this first and then work backwards to get to a starting point.

But when I do things this way, I know why the ending is the way it is. That matters because it conveys truth and it is easier to work backwards to the starting point for my character because I will already know why they have concluded the action in the tale the way they have.

Motivation matters. I do think of my characters as if they were a cast. Are they the right fit? Do they have the right motivation to do what has to be done for the tale to make sense? I find this helps.

Not so hot as it has been which is a relief but still hotter than I’d like. And it’s Monday which scuppers most things anyway. So it’s definitely time for a story and my YouTube one this week links up with my Substack one (see my author page for the link for that). See above.

Hope you enjoy my latest video, If I’d Known.

Some people have to learn their lesson in life the hard way but for this guy it involved a bear, a girl and a woman who was more than she appeared to be. Find out more here.

 

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly with the weather cooler and pleasanter. It is hard to focus in a heatwave (though having shorter pieces of writing to work on does help!).

I never know exactly what I’ll be writing for these flash sessions and that is the fun of it. The challenge to come up with something interesting is an ongoing one and should be – it keeps me on my toes. I usually know what mood of story I’d like to write though. I find that a useful starting point.

From there it is a case of working out which kind of character would best suit that mood and then I need to know something about the character themselves to convince me this one is interesting enough to write up. Then I get drafting.

Sounds complicated? It isn’t really. What I have found is that, over time, you do develop a better instinct at what character would best suit a story and what is fascinating about them to have them as your “star”. Definitely instincts worth cultivating.

Quiet weekend this time and a cooler one. Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. Also looking forward to sharing readings from Seeing The Other Side in due course. It’s lovely having more material to choose from!

I’ve often recommended reading your work out loud as part of your editing processes. (Yes, there is definitely more than one!). I’ve found doing this helps me spot missing words. It also flags up clunky dialogue and where you think you’ve put a crucial element to the story in somewhere and then realise you haven’t.

You haven’t missed this before because, of course, you know the story inside and out so it won’t necessarily stand out to you that you haven’t put in the necessary elements to make it clear, but your reader doesn’t. Reading your work out loud and ideally playing it back means you can take in the tale as a reader would and it is so enlightening.

For longer works, it is still possible to do this though it would pay to break it down into scene and/or chapter segments. There’s nothing to stop you making notes on what works and what doesn’t as you go through the whole of your book a piece at a time and then come back to the correction stages only once you’ve gone through the whole book. Your notes will show you what needs work and where. That will save you a lot of time later.

Goodreads Author Blog – Having A New Book Out

It’s always a special moment for an author when they have a new book out. I’ve had the joy of this recently given my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side, came out on 16th July 2026.

As I write this, I’m happily arranging book events and updating certain records, including my website, to show off my new creation, of course. This kind of lovely work will go on for some time.

But for a writer, the moment you hold your new book in your hand is the special moment, I think. All the work, all the edits, and here the final result is – you’ve done it!

But now the hard work begins in promoting your book and any others you may have out. It’s also the time authors most appreciate reviews, especially here on Goodreads.

Other than buying a book from an author, the next best thing you can do to support them is to leave a review. It doesn’t have to be a long one. It does have to be honest.

So if you know someone with a book out, do give them a review. It helps more than you know. I use quotes from reviews I’ve had so far on my other two books (From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping The Flash Fantastic) as part of my marketing.

It shows readers this is a real author, someone else read their work and liked it, so it is worth them checking it out.

And you are encouraging reading too when all is said and done. That has to be a good thing!

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Flash Fiction Formats

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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 great weekend. Lovely one here despite the heat. Great family gathering enjoyed by all. Am starting work on setting up things re Seeing The Other Side – news to come as and when and I will be sharing a general update for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week.

Facebook – General

Hope your day has gone well. Loved my swim today. Lady still on hot weather scheduling.

Writing wise, I’m pleased to say I’m currently sorting out an in person book signing event for Seeing The Other Side in September and hope to share more details of that nearer the time.

I can’t begin to say how wonderful it is to have my book finally here. A lot of work has gone into it on all sides of this and it is lovely things are beginning to happen. It does make it real!

It’s also lovely to have new characters and situations to share and am looking forward to doing this. I often read some stories at book events. It goes down well, gives a good flavour of the book, is great fun to do and encourages sales – nothing to dislike there!

A cooler morning today than we’ve had for some time but it made up for it this afternoon!

Still, it is time to cool down a bit as I share my story which was shared on Substack yesterday.

This one is based on the number 67 (I used a random number generator to come up with that) and the story is 67 words long, excluding the title. Despite the heat though, this tale might give you a chill or two.

Hope you enjoy my The New Neighbour.

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Hope your weekend is going well. It was wonderful to catch up with family and friends yesterday. Grateful for (a) the gazebo, (b) fans for inside the house, and (c) whenever there was any breeze whatsoever.

Many thanks again to Val Penny for hosting me on her blog yesterday. See below. It was a joy to discuss Flash Fiction Formats with her. I’ll shortly be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday. Don’t yet know which formats I’ll use today but look forward to finding out!

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing an Update – Local Author News – Seeing The Other Side by Allison Symes on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday, the after my book is officially out. I’ll be sharing news of my launch at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, my other news so far on various events connected to the book, as well as links to the ebook and paperback versions. I’ll also be sharing more about the book itself given it is my largest flash fiction collection to date.

Flash Fiction Tip: Think about the theme or character or setting you would like to write about first. Worry about the word count later.

When I know I want to enter a competition with a specific word count, I work out what I need to be able to do in each “third” of the story. For example, if it is a 100 words competition, by about word 33, you must know the character and situation by word 66 or so, you’ve got the problem and my character’s initial attempt to sort it, and by the end you’ve got the resolution. I find it so helpful to break the story into segments like this.

It usually means my first draft is not far out from the word count specified. I always write over it but also know there will be my wasted words and other things I can genuinely cut out to bring it back to where it should be. Having this kind of framework in place though means I know the story does hold together and does what it is meant to do.

Am delighted to be back on Val Penny’s blog to discuss Flash Fiction Formats. I’ve used more of these in my new book, Seeing The Other Side, which is available to pre-order now and comes out on 16th July 2026. Find out more about flash fiction formats in my post here and a huge thank you to Val for hosting me again.

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Two days to go before official publication day for Seeing The Other Side. It’s fantastic having another flash fiction collection about to come out and I do hope the new book will introduce more people to the form.

Flash is fun to write and to read. It is the perfect form for short, sharp reads and those times, which we all get, where you would like to read more but for whatever reason, you can’t. There is a form of fiction which suits this – flash!

Top Flash Tip: Always focus on the character. Who are they, why must you write their story up, what grips you about them (which in turn will grip a reader), and what is their situation. One character (generally), one situation, one outcome (though this can be open to interpretation).

Bear in mind you can set your character in any location, any point in time, in this world or whatever you care to invent. Have fun!

Despite a cooler start today (which was so welcome), it has become horribly hot again. Time to cool down with a story, this time the one on my YouTube channel. As with my Substack story (see my author page for that – see above here), this is based around the number 67 but this one worked better at a longer word count length.

Hope you enjoy my Being Impressed.

Not much impresses an old fairy godmother but her niece managed it. Find out how and why here.

 

Hope you’re managing to keep cool. Still pretty hot here. Lady still on her hot weather schedule but she’s doing fine, drinking plenty of water and resting. She really won’t be sorry when the hot weather breaks. Neither will I be, to be honest.

Talking of cool, it can be great fun to write flash pieces when the character loses their cool altogether. You can explore what triggered that and whether your character gets their cool back again or not. Sometimes if the trigger is another character, that secondary one could be right to make your lead lose their cool. Maybe the lead character has done or is thinking of doing something stupid, for example.

Happy writing! Now back to keeping my cool in this temperature as I get on with more writing!

Won’t be writing much today as having a family do which will be huge fun, despite the temperature. Am pleased to be back on Val Penny’s blog – see my author page for the link. See above.

Always thrilled to be talking about flash fiction and in the post I look at some of the different formats you can use. I expect I’ll be using more of them for flash fiction Sunday tomorrow!

Meantime take care and keep cool.

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Book Parcels

It’s always lovely to receive a parcel full of books and even more so when they’re your books from your publisher! I received my copies of Seeing The Other Side, my third flash fiction collection, earlier this week.

Now I can crack on with planning events including a blog tour. Did feel sorry for the delivery guy though – there has been a heatwave again where I am (and most of the UK in fact). Book parcels are not light!

It’s always a wonderful moment to receive such parcels though. It makes it real. My new book is a good summary of my flash fiction work over the last three years or so. So to see it in print is a fabulous thing and I can’t wait for it to come out on 16th July though it is available to pre-order now via a certain well known online retailer.

I also like other kinds of book parcels – the ones which can be used for charitable purposes. Also bear in mind if you have books you really cannot keep and they’re in good condition, it might pay to ask your local library if they could use them. Given book budgets are so tight, this could well be a blessing to them and helps you.

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What Attracts You to a New Book/New Author

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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. Very hot here and will be for next few days so Lady won’t be out so much. Writing continuing to go well. More news on Seeing The Other Side soon.

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Even hotter than yesterday (with more to come) and Lady continues to chill out at home. We’re taking her out early and then she spends the rest of the day pottering around our well shaded garden. She is being so good and (unusually for her!) sensible!

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Using Dates in Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today. The link will be up on Friday. I will be sharing various ways of using dates this way, all of which I hope will trigger story ideas.

It won’t be long before my next author newsletter will be out. I know, I know. Where is the year going? Anyway, for flash tips, news, story links and more do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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A very hot and sticky Monday. Lady was out earlier than normal. Managed to see her Hungarian Vizler pal but the rest of the day has been spent quietly in and out of our sheltered garden. It will be enough for her for the next few days.

As it’s Monday, it’s story time of course. I shared this one on Substack yesterday but it is time to share it here too. Hope you like my latest on this platform – I Got Away.

Busy and hot weekend. Lady’s not going out so much, as you can imagine. Next couple of days will be especially tricky but I’m grateful she readily drinks water. It helps (my last two dogs didn’t).

Am also very pleased I have one of those boards with a fan in it for my laptop. It comes into its own when the weather is hot and helps me also have the right angle to write to. The board is tipped at an angle so air can also get in underneath it. Highly recommend. Have had mine for years.

Writing wise, I hope to crack on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. Hope to use some of my drafts from the meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group earlier this week to get me off to a good start.

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Will need to be careful with Lady over the next few days as the temperatures will be rocketing again.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Using Dates in Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll be sharing various ways in which you could do this and why dates can be such a useful telling detail in and of themselves. Link up on Friday.

Don’t forget it won’t be too long before my next author newsletter will be out. For tips, news, story links etc., do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

One nice job I’m looking forward to doing when Seeing The Other Side comes out is to update my books page on my website. I’ll take the chance to have a bit of a “tidy up” while doing this. It’s not something I feel the need to do often but the occasional refresh is always useful.

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I hope over the weekend to review some of my notes I jotted down during last week’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. I know there are some story ideas to come from these so hope to make a start on some of these then.

I like to mix up the kinds of random generator I use too when I’m seeking ideas. My two stories on Substack and YouTube earlier this week (see above AND below!) were inspired by a random picture generator.

There are loads of these things out there. There is bound to be at least one which will suit you and by putting your own spin on what comes up, you create even further ideas.

Have fun with these, I do!

So glad writing is something I can do in the (relative) cool. Well, almost anything is cooler than the pavements etc at the moment. And as it is Monday, a hot and sticky one at that, it’s time for another story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Best Left.

Both this one and I Got Away on my Substack platform were inspired by a random picture generator. I then put my own spin on the image and have got two stories from the one image. I like this!

She loved her old home. She really didn’t want to leave it but it was best left now. Find out why here.

 

Another hot day here in Hampshire but am keeping nice and cool where I write. Dog is happy in the cool too.

Thought I’d share five tips for flash I continue to find useful. Hope you’ll find them helpful too.

  1. Work out what the story is first and then worry about the word count.

  2. If your character portrayal is great and the story works, then don’t try to cut the story down for the sake of making it fit the “right” word count. I’ve often had to leave stories at 150 words, say, and accept I need to write something else for, say, a 100 word story competition.

  3. Think tight turns of phrases so no “he ran quickly”. It isn’t specific enough. “He raced” is specific and I believe is easier to visualise because people’s definitions of “quickly” can vary.

  4. Have a concrete detail In the story readers can picture. This can vary from being the colour of something to a named place or historical setting. What you want readers to pick up from this is a clear idea of where your character is in time and, from that, what they are likely to be wearing. For example, if you show me your story is set in the Tudor era, I will expect a high born character to be wearing a ruff.

  5. Think about what you want the impact of the story to be on your reader. Do you want to make them laugh or cry? Do you want them to feel empathy for your character? You can then look at ways to do this and my way in here is always to work out what I need a character to do and be to achieve the objective. Most of my characters I want readers to feel empathy for will be on the “goodie” side as a rule.

Hope you find that useful.

I’ve sometimes used the letter format for flash fiction and short stories. It’s fun to do but you need a strong character voice to make it work. For me, this is another great reason to get to know your character ahead of writing their stories up. I need to know the kinds of things they would say and/or write and/or think and what’s behind that.

Motives are usually simple ones – greed, jealousy and, on the more positive side of life, love, wanting to help someone etc. Motives will colour what a character says, does and thinks but get to the bottom of that and what your character comes up with is more likely to be believable. It will “ring true”.

Goodreads Author Blog – What Attracts You to a New Book/New Author?

I think the top thing which attracts me to a new book and/or new author (new to me anyway) is a good recommendation by friends, especially other writing ones. We love good stories. We aim to write themselves, of course. We’re inspired by what has come before (and continue to be). So when a writing friend recommends a book or author, I will sit up and take notice.

Sometimes seeing or listening to an excellent adaptation will make me read the book and find out more works from the author. That was the case for me with Dickens, funnily enough. Watching Shakespeare has introduced me to many of his wonderful works but I remain convinced, other than his sonnets, he is meant to be watched rather than read as such. Ironically, I have the pandemic to thank here because it was thanks to the National Theatre Live productions which were put on at that time which drew me to the Bard.

Sometimes browsing in a book shop will introduce me to a new author. I discovered Terry Pratchett that way. It was the Josh Kirby covers on the Discworld series which drew me in but once I’d read my first Pratchett, which was Jingo, I knew I had to read the rest.

What I remain glad about is there are so many ways to discover new books and authors. There will always be plenty to read out there (and authored by humans too!).

That’s how it should be too.

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Publication Week

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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. Plenty of behind the scenes work happening with Seeing The Other Side. More news soon. Lady and I are enjoying the return of the sunshine too.

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Hope the day has gone well. Lady caught up with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal only today but a fab time was had by both of them, despite me managing to lose one of Lady’s toys. (The whippet who lives in the garden where the ball landed will be pleased at least!).

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Publication Thoughts for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday and will look, in a shorter version, on the same topic for Authors Electric. Link up for the latter on Thursday.

Naturally this is a topic preoccupying me this week (!) but I do share thoughts and tips, especially in the CFT post, which I hope will prove useful to those approaching their own publication days.

Character Tip: What makes your character fascinating to you? What makes you keen to write their story up?

Answer those questions and you will get to what will make readers like them too (and sometimes at least love to hate in the case of villains. I still say in many ways Dolores Umbridge was more scary than Voldemort in the Harry Potter series so who was the bigger villain there?).

Hectic as ever for a Monday but Lady was delighted to catch up with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today. Weather lovely and the three dogs had a great time.

I shared this story on my Substack yesterday but now it is time to share it here. Busy days = time to unwind = stories. Well, I think it’s a perfectly good equation.

Hope you like my latest Substack tale – Get Writing. I used a random verb generator to trigger three words for this one. And it ties in with my YouTube story this week too (Moved On). See further down.

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Hope the weekend has gone well. Lovely to see the sunshine back. Lady and I made the most of that earlier.

Writing wise, this coming week should be a cracking one with Seeing The Other Side due out. I will share links as and when I can. A huge thanks to all who commented when I shared the book cover. Much appreciated as further comments have come in since I last thanked you all which is lovely.

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly but am putting competitions to one side for the moment. Hope to get back to those later in the summer. Am looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday.

All in all, it will be a busy, flash fiction focused week but I like that!

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Busy here with preparations for the publication of Seeing The Other Side. More news in due course.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Publication Thoughts – Seeing The Other Side on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’ll be looking at some of the work which comes after your book is published, as well as celebrating the fact it has been! I hope others will find that post useful. I will be sharing some pointers here.

Newsletter Tip: I find it useful to have a theme to write to for my newsletters. It means I can focus on relevant tips and keep the newsletter to the point. I think it makes it more interesting month by month too. Certainly, the newsletters I subscribe to tend to do this and it also means I know what I’m going to be writing about and can plan what I do when for this.

Topics can of course include general writing ones but if there is something special coming up, you can base a newsletter around that. Naturally mine at the moment are full of news about my new book. I suspect later in the year I will share news on launches (and tips on having these. I know I’ve found these kinds of tips useful in the past).

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Flash comes in various forms and I like writing to many of them. It also is a great challenge and writing should stretch you. You want to build on what you’ve written already and try and improve on what you do.

My favourite flash fiction forms will always be the 50 and 100 worders (also known as dribbles and drabbles respectively). I do come across more competitions for the 100 word form so if you like competitions in the very short form, it would be good to practice writing to that word count.

Am looking forward to meeting with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group tomorrow.

It’s Monday. It has been hectic. Story time then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Moved On. It ties in with my Substack story – Get Writing

.Why would a witch want to be kind to a young fairy who crashed into her gingerbread house?

Find out here.

 

Will be getting on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. It has been a joy re-reading my Seeing The Other Side collection as part of the process of it coming out into the world. Hope you will enjoy reading it too. Will share links as and when I can. Hope to be getting creative with marketing items for the new book soon too.

I like to use a variety of ways to create new flash stories. I often use proverbs and phrases (sometimes as the theme, sometimes as the title, sometimes both together). I also use a huge range of random generators. Just generating a single word has given me several story ideas. Object and photo generators (as well as photos from my phone I’ve taken) can inspire ideas too.

The books of prompts are useful too (and I’ve contributed to some before now – Bridge House have a Big Book of Prompts which is well worth checking out – see link).

Indeed in Seeing The Other Side I share how I’ve created some of the tales in there. All of the generators, prompt books etc do so much to encourage creativity. I’ve occasionally used these for non-fiction ideas too.

Happy writing (and reading!).

Naturally this coming week is a big one for me on the flash fiction front! More immediately, I’m looking forward to flash fiction Sunday as ever tomorrow. I am going to have to put competition thoughts to one side at the moment but hope to resume writing stories for and entering these later in the month/early into July. Mind you, it is great to be so busy with a new book!

I do say on the back cover for Seeing The Other Side that I hope the book helps people to discover the joys of flash fiction as a format. I like the idea of promoting the form, as well as my own work, because flash is a great writing format and I’ve learned so much from writing it.

Goodreads Author Blog – Publication Week

This coming week is a special one for me in that my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side, is due to be published. This latest collection has been a long time in coming and will be my biggest book to date. Am so looking forward to holding my copies in my hands too!

Publication week does act as a kind of validation for most writers. We work for years on stories, novels, what have you, and then there is the hard work of trying to find a publisher or do the hard work necessary if you go down the self publishing route.

My books are with a traditional small independent press, who are great. (I had some input into my book cover, for example. I know not every author can get to do that).

After that comes the work of letting people know about your book. So there is so much going on around a book being published.

Let’s hear it for all of the authors out there!

And the best thing of all? We add to the books and stories out there. We add to human creativity (and I can’t stress that point enough).

Books are wonderful things but they have to be written by humans for there to be real meaning to them, I think.

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Seeing The Other Side – Book Cover News

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Many thanks to the lovely lady at my local blood donor clinic who used my phone to take a photo of me celebrating their first anniversary at their new place. A very worthy celebration!
Hope the weekend went well. Not bad here. Wet week ahead but Lady and I just get on with things here. She dries off faster than I do! In other news, I’m thrilled to say I have now seen the book cover for Seeing The Other Side and well… see below!

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady and I caught up with her Hungarian Vizler friend after breaks away. Both dogs pleased to see each other again, Lady was especially affectionate.

Now in other news, I mentioned yesterday I had news on the book cover for Seeing The Other Side. See the partial reveal photo below and I hope to reveal the whole cover later this week). I created this image in Book Brush and it was fun and easy to do.

Image reveals part of a book with a yellow cover and two books in green, one called From Light to Dark and Back Again and the other Tripping The Flash Fantastic.

More news to come in due course.

Delighted to share my latest story which went out on Substack yesterday. Now time to share it here! Both this story and the one I’m sharing on YouTube this week took the phrase Goody Two Shoes as a theme. Hope you like both tales but first up here is the Substack one – Atonement Time.

And in other news, I plan to share more news on the book cover for Seeing The Other Side tomorrow. Exciting times. See above!

Am delighted to share my latest piece on Writers’ Narrative – Food Writing in Fiction. Food can /be used successfully in stories of any length to help with characterisation, setting, time period and more. Also, whatever kind of character you create, they are bound to need to eat at some point!

Do see the post for more and I hope you find the tips and thoughts useful. I almost always end my posts here with a question. Why not check out the latest one? Comments are welcome and don’t forget Writers’ Narrative is free to subscribe to. As it is now on Substack, what happens is you receive an article on the topic of the month every few day or so. Easy way to take in plenty of useful writing advice.

Soggy old day today. Lady and I went around the park in record time!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Discovering Classical Authors for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. This post is inspired by my recent visit to The Dorset Museum to see the Thomas Hardy exhibition. I also discuss in this post other ways bar books to discover classical authors and I share some of the ways I’ve used here. Post up on Friday.

Looking forward to sharing that and unusually for a CFT post I put in a PS but you’ll have to wait until next week to find out what that is and why it has gone up. Mind you, it was a joy to do!

Reading Tip: I’ve often mentioned the need for writers to read in and out of their genre. Aside from anything else it is fun to do and inspiration can spark from other stories so the wider you read, the greater the chance there is of this happening for you.

But mix up, not just the genres, but the lengths of stories and whether they’re classical or contemporary. While it is true writing styles have changed over the years, you can still learn loads from studying how the classical authors created their characters and situations.

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Thrilled to bits I have now shared a partial book cover reveal for Seeing The Other Side over on my Facebook author page. See above here. I hope to share the full cover later this week.

But it is always exciting when you know you are so close to having a book with your name on the cover in your hands again.

The thrill of being published doesn’t diminish and I am looking forward to sharing more about my new flash fiction collection soon.

It’s a soggy Monday and time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Reason For The Name.

There are always those who don’t get the point of a training scheme for self improvement and that goes for the magical world too. See what my fairy character who is about to be “properly qualified” is planning to get up to when allowed out in the world.

Both this story and my Substack one, Atonement Time, are based on the theme of Goody Two Shoes. Hope you like them both.

And look out for book cover news for Seeing The Other Side from me tomorrow. See above. This will be my first book out since 2020 so am naturally rather excited about it!

 

Now when I flag something up it is usually something to do with writing, as you’d expect, but this one is a bit different but could lead to a writing idea or two, maybe suitable for flash stories too.

Earlier this week, I went to give blood and it was the first anniversary of the Blood Service being at their base near where I live so there were plenty of balloons out (red ones naturally). Having donated blood, I then happily posed for a picture. See below. If you can give blood, please do as it is such a worthwhile thing to do.

Now how can that, worthy as it is, lead to a writing idea?

Easy! You meet all kinds of people at blood donation sessions so you could invent characters who meet there. What happens next? You could also use the donor centre as a setting.

Off you go and happy writing!

(And if you do give blood, I know the blood people would want to thank you. I know what I like most is finding out what happens to mine about a fortnight or so after the donation. It’s fascinating to know).

Flash fiction has been around for a long time, centuries in fact, but has been known by many different names. Jesus’s parables and many of Aesop’s fables would come in at under 1000 words.

I must admit my favourite name for the format is postcard fiction because it sums up things well. You’d be hard pushed to get more than a 100 words or so on the back of a postcard (unless you have tiny writing like I have which might push it up to 200!).

Indeed a good writing exercise is to take a blank postcard and get a complete story to fit on it. (I’d aim for 50 to 100 words here).

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Reading Acrostic

Hope you like the following acrostic. Has been a while since I last wrote one here.

R = Reading does so much for you, not least of which is increasing your vocabulary.

E = Entertainment awaits within books if that is what you choose; education is also an option.

A = Adventures in this world and others just within the power of the imagination await the reader.

D = Dastardly villains, heroes, heroines and more – all fabulous characters with stories to share.

I = Imagination fired up, maybe enough to write your own stories.

N = Nothing beats reading for all you can have from it and there are plenty of formats to choose from.

G = Get reading – old favourites, new books, ideally both!

 

 

 

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