What Is In Your Writing For A Reader?

May 7, 2024Leave a comment

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you have had a good weekend. It was a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK and yes we got the rain – traditions continue to be upheld there! Looking forward to a Scottish holiday coming up soon but I hope to still post as am taking laptop with me. Writing is a joy. Where I do take a break is in getting to do more reading than I would usually do at home – love that aspect of holidays.

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Lovely to see some spring sunshine today and Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback so we both count that as a win-win.

Every so often I write slice of life flash pieces, one of which is They Don’t Understand from From Light to Dark and Back Again. It also counts as a monologue where my character unveils more of his life – and you find out what a life it was. These kinds of stories work best when kept short. The emotional impact of them is more keenly felt by doing that. Besides one huge advantage of writing any kind of flash fiction is it teaches you fast to get rid of the waffle.

Looking forward to sharing Questions and Answers in Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. These make a useful structure and I use them a lot. There will be more author interviews coming up later in May and early part of June and I am hoping to conduct more after that.

I love talking with other authors here. Always something of interest to learn. You never known when it might become useful for you. What I love about writing is you are always learning – great brain exercise.

Am delighted to say the May edition of Writers’ Narrative is now out. The theme for this month is memoir. My piece is on Using Memoir Techniques for Character Creation and that can be found on Page 14 but do check the whole magazine out. There is an excellent range of pieces on why people should read memoir, 21 tips for writing memoir, and much else besides. Remember it is free to subscribe. There is a link to do so inside the magazine itself.

Changeable day weather wise here. Not that Lady worries.

Will shortly be working on my Sunday flash fiction writing. Always look forward to this. I read a lot of flash fiction as well as write it and it is a good idea to read well in your chosen field as well as doing so outside of it. All good writing inspires and what writer doesn’t welcome an inspiration boost every now and then? Reading is the way to get said boost!

I love reading the flash pieces on Friday Flash Fiction and it is a great way to see what 100 word stories look like on screen as well as seeing just what range of tales emerge. It is seriously impressive. It also helps you see where your work could fit in. What’s not to like there?

May 4th 2024 – Hope you have had a good day, especially if you’re a Star Wars fan! (Well, today is your day, is it not?).

Pleased to say I have had a a good response to my review of Waiting for Gateaux, my Chandler’s Ford Today post from yesterday. My next one on there will be all about Questions and Answers in Writing and how writers, fiction or non-fiction, can make use of these. Link up on Friday.

Writing Tip: Always ask yourself what is in your writing for your reader. It will help you focus. It also means you do know your intended audience (or likely one anyway) and it makes editing simpler in that you will cut out what doesn’t benefit the reader in some way.

Just doing the latter will improve your writing so much. I’ve forgotten who said it but there is a lovely quote about not writing the boring bits readers skip. It is useful to have that side of the coin in mind as well for those drafts. If it is useful to the reader in some way, it won’t be boring.

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As well as mixing up the kind of flash tales I write in terms of genre, I like to mix up the word counts I write to as well. For Friday Flash Fiction, it is nearly always the 100 word count I work to though I do occasionally send them in a longer piece.

But for my stories for my YouTube channel, I like to write across a range of about 50 words to 300 or so. And every so often I will come across a competition I like the look of so I stick to their word count requirements. It is good practice to regularly write across the word count range. It’s fun too.

Following on from my post yesterday (see below), I DID do something with my haunted teapot story idea, which came about as a way of showing how you could use Kipling’s famous six honest serving men (and my What If additional question) to outline a story idea.

So then it’s a wet Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK and it is time for a story. Just what can I do with a haunted teapot? Find out here with my latest on YouTube – Time For Tea.

Kipling’s six honest serving men give all writers a classic outline, these being What, Why, When, How, Where, and Who. I’d also add in What If – now there’s a classic question for you. The nice thing with these is a brief one liner for each of these will spark possibilities for a story. For example:-

What – Author needs an idea.
Why – For her daily Facebook post to share something useful to other writers in particular.
When – Right now!
How – By using a well known writing tip from Kipling to show how that tip works in practice.
Where – To be shared on Facebook.
Who – By author.
What If – She adds in a question of her own and uses that to expand the outline.

Now apply that to a potential character and situation.

What – Haunted teapot.
Why – Previous owner renowned for drinking tea by the gallon, tea was her life, can’t quite let go.
When – New owner finds previous owner haunting that teapot when they move in.
How – New owner was going to use the teapot for making their own tea and discovers the ghost as she lifts the lid on it.
Where – In the kitchen.
Who – New owner and previous owner – new owner flees one way screaming, the previous one flees the other way, nobody else was ever meant to use that teapot.
What If – That teapot haunts anyone who ever uses it. Someone has to smash it to break the curse on it. New owner comes back and does so. Sets ghost of previous owner free and vanishes.

Get the idea? And I may well do something with that story outline. Watch this space. Will let you know if anything comes from it. I did do something with it – see my YouTube story above.

One thing you can do with flash fiction is to write linked flashes where the same character(s) appear in more than one story. I’ve done this with my third flash collection (which has been given the nod by my publishers but I don’t have a publication date yet). It was fun to do and I would like to do more of this.

It means you can develop the character(s) a bit more over the course of two or more stories without exceeding your word count limit. You can also have Character A in one tale, Character B as the lead in the second one where Character A is either referred to or effectively plays a cameo role, and then have Character A lead again in a third story.

Linked flashes also lend themselves well to novellas in flash too where you have a 20,000 words + book where each chapter is it is own flash fiction tale but there is an overriding arc developing throughout the stories leading to a conclusion, as you would have in a novel. Not something I’ve tried. Is something I wouldn’t mind trying at a later date though.

Goodreads Author Blog – Fiction Acrostic

F = Fantastic for the range of genres to choose from.
I = Imagination let loose in history, crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and so many more.
C = Characters whose journeys you follow, willing them on to succeed or fail, as appropriate.
T = Timeless truths are often conveyed in stories and books and are more easily remembered too.
I = Inspiration from so many fields of fiction to current writers and to those yet to come.
O = Opening up so many worlds, there will be at least one fiction genre to suit you.
N = Never ever be stuck for something to read – the world of fiction is an expanding and wonderful one.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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Screenshot 2024-05-06 at 17-13-52 Writers' Narrative eMagazine May 2024

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Fiction Acrostic https://t.co/OBRBDVgsW3 via @goodreads I celebrate the wonderful world of fiction in an acrostic for Goodreads this week. Hope you enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/t0iN1RIbpD
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 4, 2024

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Delighted to say the May edition of Writers’ Narrative is now out. The theme is memoir. My piece is on Using Memoir Techniques for Character Creation and that can be found on Page 14 but do check the whole magazine out. Fab articles from start to finish.https://t.co/cv9OF1cDAx
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 6, 2024

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So then it’s a wet Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK and it is time for a story. Just what can I do with a haunted teapot? Find out here with my latest on YouTube – Time For Tea.https://t.co/XLPH3y0Kd9
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 6, 2024

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Faith In Stories

April 30, 2024Leave a comment

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you have had a good weekend. Weather still chilly but sun is appearing more often. I’ll take that. Really enjoyed the play I went to see last week – review on that coming up on Friday on Chandler’s Ford Today. I have CFT to thank for introducing me to the joys of local theatre and National Theatre Live. Must try and catch some more of the latter again soon. I see theatre as enacted stories – another way of taking tales in.

Hope you have had a good day. Enjoyed a great swim this afternoon and caught up with friends there.

I’ll be reviewing Waiting For Gateaux, recently performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group, for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Looking forward to sharing that.

Author newsletter goes out again tomorrow. (1st May 2024). How come it is the end of April already? (Lovely to see all the bluebells out in my part of the world though).

Writing Tip: If you do have or are thinking of having an author newsletter, do have items you can always share which will be useful to people regardless of whether or not you have any news to share.It pays to plan out what you will do with your newsletter long before you set one up. I have done this with mine and find it pays off.

I often find I have lots of items of news at once and then none at all for a bit so I will share what I have when I have got it but also share advice and tips useful to writers. There is no use by date on those!

Think about what you could talk about here as well – for example your writing process, what you have found useful to you, favourite stories of yours and why you like them and so on. You’re engaging with your readers directly here so make it fun and useful. I try to go for a bright cheery style with mine. Okay if you write horror, that style might not be so apt (!) but there has to be something of value to your readers for them to keep reading what you send out.

Pleased to be back on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time I’m talking about Faith in Stories where I look at having belief in the process of creating your tales. I share what the biggest single thing any writer can do to help themselves (reading, no surprise there) and discuss why it helps. Hope you enjoy the post.

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Nice quiet day here. Lovely way to wrap up the weekend.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter is out on 1st May. If you’d like to subscribe head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

When I draft a new story, I start with the character(s) but have different ways of bringing them into being. I use a simple template a lot where I jot down a name, their species (where apt), their main trait, and anything else I think I might need to know.

Sometimes I write down something I just know they would say or think and then work out what it is that makes me feel this because that will indicate the underlying trait of this character I will want to bring out more in the story itself.

Sometimes I write down a line of dialogue or internal thought and then work out what kind of character would come up with this. All are fun ways to create characters.

When it comes to competitions, especially those with a set theme, I like to work out what kind of character would best serve that theme. When there is an opening line competition, again I would work out what character would come up with this line, or if it is a description, what character would be noting this and then work out why it is important to them.

But for all stories, regardless of who writes them, for me it is all about the character. I have got to get behind them to want to read on and I take the view most readers will take the same view with my creations.

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Hope you are having a good weekend so far. Nice quiet one here. Lady got to see an old pal, Miller, today. Dogs do get so much from being with their pals.

Am looking forward to reviewing Waiting for Gateaux for Chandler’s Ford Today next Friday. Will also be having a smashing author interview coming up on CFT towards the end of May which will continue into the early part of June.

Many thanks for the lovely comments coming in on my most recent Friday Flash Fiction tale, Deception. In case you missed it, please see the link.

Also the next issue of Writers’ Narrative will be out soon. Do look out for it if you subscribe.

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I’m fond of poetic justice stories and flash fiction suits these well. You set up the situation. You show the character who is either on the receiving end of said poetic justice or is the one to dish it out. You finish by delivering on that justice in the last line.

One example of this is my The Circle of Life from From Light to Dark and Back Again. This one is just under 100 words and I get my character to share their story in the first person where they show you what they want to do something about and why and then finish with how they are going to do it. Let’s just say those on the receiving end of the plans here deserve it.

It was a fun and satisfying story to write and I hope readers like it but the important point here is if you have set something up in your tale, you must deliver on it. Else there is no point. What I love about flash fiction is the restricted word count means you do have to ensure everything in your story is necessary. You haven’t the space for anything irrelevant. This does wonders for your story pacing too.

It’s Monday. It’s been a long day. It’s time for a story. (Plus side it isn’t raining this week!). Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Something. The lead character may seem familiar to all fairytale lovers.

Am happily working my way through some of my own answers to exercises I set for the ACW Flash Fiction Group back in March for story ideas for my YouTube channel and Friday Flash Fiction. Am looking forward to tackling what I came up with for the April session in due course as well.

The March session involved possible opening and closing lines (two of my favourite writing exercises as my recent Chandler’s Ford Today post on the topic highlighted).

The April one saw the return of my character creation template and there are at least two possibles here I am keen to get to work on soon. When a character possibility grips you like that, it is a great feeling. Mind you, I feel the same way when I read a story by another author and I really “get” their character. Sam Vimes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is a classic example of that as are Jeeves and Wooster from P.G.Wodehouse’s fabulous works.

I was looking at genres and flash fiction for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Wednesday night. As flash has to be character led (no room for lots of scene setting basically so you must lead with characters), you can set those characters wherever and whenever you want. Those characters don’t have to be human either.

I also use a simple template to help me create some potential characters. I put those ideas aside for a while and then come back to them later. If the ideas still grab me after that break, I will write them up. I know there are at least two from Wednesday’s session I drafted I will come back to at some point. Looking forward to doing that.

But it is the time away from your jotted down ideas which matters. You need objectivity and time away from your notes helps you get that. The positive thing for notes like this and for draft flashes that time away doesn’t have to be a long one. I usually find a few days is enough. What matters is your being able to come back to your work and be able to see it as if for the first time. It is that which will help you see the strengths and weaknesses of your ideas. You can then of course do something about the latter.

Goodreads Author Blog – Holiday Reading

Am looking forward to a break away in May but I already know what my holiday reading will be. It will be whatever I am currently reading on my Kindle. The ebook comes into its own for this kind of thing, of course. No packing of heavy books. No limitation on what you can take to read either. All I must remember to do is pack my charger (especially since it does my phone as well!).

I don’t read what is normally known as holiday reading. Not really my genre though I can appreciate why the lighter reads are wanted for the summer season. (They’re even more important to cheer people up if the weather is a wash out as it can be in the UK).

For me, my light reads are the humorous books I love – Wodehouse and Pratchett works especially. I usually get to listen to some Pratchett audio books on the journey to and from my destination so get some extra stories in that way.

All counts as holiday reading in my book, some pun intended! I’m just listening to the tales rather than reading them but audio books are fantastic inventions. I get to take in even more stories and revisit old favourites -nothing to dislike about that.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Holiday Reading https://t.co/h400kIQIXO via @goodreads I share the joy of ebooks and audio books for holiday reading for Goodreads this time. pic.twitter.com/RY2z7LZrIT
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 27, 2024

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In today's More than Writers post, @AllisonSymes1 gives helpful tips on how to have faith in the writing process https://t.co/mpQflrM2WM
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 29, 2024

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Something https://t.co/2ZU1F32Wqr via @YouTube

It’s Monday. It’s been a long day. It’s time for a story. (Plus side it isn’t raining this week!). Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Something. The lead character may seem familiar to all fairytale lovers.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 29, 2024

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More than Writers: Faith in Stories by Allison Symes https://t.co/4zmAyfLEfl For my Faith in Stories, I look at having belief in the process of creating tales. I share what the biggest single thing any writer can do to help themselves (reading, no surprise) and why it helps. pic.twitter.com/l9gDmWu1VW
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 29, 2024

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Writing Magazines, Author Newsletters, and Notebooks

April 23, 2024Leave a comment

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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. Will be sharing My Top Five Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday but I don’t limit myself to five. I regularly use many more different writing exercises, which I also love, but had I written about all of those, I would have a long running series on my hands!

Lady has had a good start to her week, seeing some pals she hasn’t seen for a while, as well as her Hungarian Vizler chum. Back to the drizzly weather here unfortunately.

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Busy day and evening today so am posting early.

Don’t forget the next issue of Writers’ Narrative will be out again soon. You can subscribe for free at http://subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

What do I love about quality writing magazines?

Well, firstly there is the great advice. Everyone can use those.

Secondly, they remind me I am part of a writing community. Being reminded of that is great especially when you can’t meet other writers in person as often as you’d like. (It’s just one reason I treasure going to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, in August).

Thirdly, I do love the author interviews and always learn something useful from them.

Hope you have had a good start to your week. Lady got to see some chums she hasn’t seen for a while and her Hungarian Vizler friend who acts a bit like a mum figure to her.

Have got a busy week ahead of me but it will be fun to go and see Waiting for Gateaux being staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company on Thursday. Review will follow in due course on Chandler’s Ford Today. I have CFT to thank for introducing me to the wonderful world of local amateur theatre.

Did get my competition entry off over the weekend so well pleased with that. Will be thinking about drafting more stories soon. I like to have a stock in so when a suitable or open competition comes up, I have something that could be a contender. Suspect this may need to wait until the weekend though.

When I’m not writing for a specific deadline (whether that’s a post for Chandler’s Ford Today etc or a story competition), I will take some of the ideas I’ve jotted down in my notebook and then start drafting them as potential non-fiction articles. I know I will find a use for these at a later date. It is lovely to have work “ready to go” when an opportunity arises.

I will also draft flash fiction and short stories from my jottings for fiction ideas, even if I don’t have an immediate home for them, because I know there will be competitions later in the year where they could be placed.

For my regular deadlines, weekly or monthly, I try to stay ahead of myself in that I will have a post out there, one ready to put up, and ideas for ones beyond that. I find it pays. I’m never short of things to write up either.

One of the biggest aids to my creativity has been in getting to my desk knowing what I’m going to be writing. Just as with my fictional openings, for my writing overall, I do like to hit the ground running.

Hope you have had a good day, More sunshine! Yes, Lady and I have made the most of it again. Got the lawn cut. She played with her football.

Am looking forward to sharing My Top Five Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I evaluate these five, all of which I use regularly. Link up on Friday.

Also looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom on Wednesday and going to see the wonderfully named Waiting For Gateaux being performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group on Thursday. Review to follow on CFT in due course but I must say this does sound more fun than Waiting for Godot. A busy week to come then but should be a fun one. (Now if only the news could get better!).

Writing Tip: Every so often I jot down potential ideas for future blog posts for Chandler’s Ford Today, Authors Electric, More than Writers, and ideas for possible articles for Writers’ Narrative. So the jotting down of ideas for future use doesn’t just have to apply to fiction. I find it just as useful for non-fiction.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Don’t forget my next author newsletter is out on 1st May. Only a week to go, folks! If you’d like to sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

As well as sending out my own newsletter, I subscribe to a number of other author ones too. I enjoy finding out what my favourite writers are getting up to with their books and stories and any tips they share.

Sometimes I will find out about competitions relevant to me I hadn’t known about. No one writer can know it all here. There are loads of writing competitions out there. It pays then to stay in touch with what is going on in the writing world and author newsletters, as well as the writing magazines, are great and fun ways to do this.

It’s Monday. The rain is back. It is still Monday. Time for a story then. My latest on YouTube is Changing Time. Does Maxran get away with his scheme to make it seem as if he has been on time for once? Find out here and what will happen if he fails. Hope you enjoy the story.

Hope to be submitting a flash piece later on today for a competition. I won’t hear back for some time but I like to get entries in well ahead of official deadlines. Also ensures I don’t forget to send entries in – that is so easy to do. It may be old school but paper diaries work! I use one all the time to plan out when I need to submit stories or articles. I find doing that keeps me on track.

So even if you don’t plan out your stories, you may find it pays to plan out your writing time, competition deadlines etc. I also plan out when to have my newsletter drafted by and give myself plenty of time to add in last bits of news etc. That pays too.

Being organised sounds dull (okay it is dull, it is not something to get excited about) but I have found it has made me more productive and I welcome that.

I like to mix up what I get from my story titles. Sometimes I like to intrigue – see The Terrified Dragon (Tripping the Flash Fantastic). The obvious hook there is why would such a beast be scared and of what? Sometimes though I like to keep a title “open” such as Identity (also TTFF). There the hook is to find out what identity is being referred to and why it matters.

So I give good thought to what I want my titles to do. I also like a good mixture in collections of the specific and open titles. Also helps me get a good mixture of moods of story. I try to keep my titles short (usually) as they’re easier to remember. The majority of mine come in from one to five words though sometimes I have gone over that if I need more words to convey the mood I want to set.

I have a working title for my drafts. I find it helps. I do sometimes change that if a better idea occurs to me as I’m writing the first draft. I’ve learned not to be surprised when that happens and just go with it but having that starting point is useful for giving me to something to work to.

Goodreads Author Blog – The Lure of a Great Book

The lure of a great book, for me, is in its characterisation. I have got to want to find out what happens to them. For non-fiction, the “character” is the narrative voice and that has to grip me enough to make me keep on reading.

I find it is the characters I remember and from there the plot line rather than the other way around. If someone says Sam Vimes to me, I will picture his character in the Discworld books, then favourite lines by him or concerning him, the overall story etc. It is in that order though.

Once a book has got me gripped, that’s it. I’m away. To ensure I do get a good night’s sleep, I limit myself to a chapter or two. That can be difficult at times but I cheer myself up with the thought I will be having more to look forward to the following night.

The characters/narrative voice do have to get under your skin. They stay with you after the book has finished too. Now that is the sign of a great book if ever there was one. If I were to ask you to name your five top characters, I am sure you would have no trouble doing that. The problem would be in limiting it to just five.

This is why I think characters are so important. We get behind them, not the plot. We want them to succeed (and fulfil the plot but without the characters the whole thing falls apart anyway).

For non-fiction I tend to recall the authors/narrative voice but when these work really well, I am definitely going to be getting more books by them.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: The Lure of a Great Book https://t.co/nfsMt8K6aE via @goodreads I share what I look for in a great book, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. And it all boils down to voice, rather than plot. See post for more. pic.twitter.com/kYD2mYuzpw
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 20, 2024

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Changing Time https://t.co/WI9jsBxywr via @YouTube It’s Monday. The rain is back. It's still Monday. Time for a tale. My latest on YouTube is Changing Time. Does Maxran get away with trying to make it seem as if he has been on time for once? Find out what will happen if he fails.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 22, 2024

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Phrases and Using Repetition Effectively

April 16, 2024Leave a comment

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Strange weather so far – storm force winds, rain, blazing sunshine, and hail. That was just on Monday! Hope things are better with you.

Am busy prepping a story for submission to a competition and hope to get that out later this week. Almost there on it but I want a final read through on it, after a gap of course, to make sure I’ve missed nothing. Will be discussing History – Fact and Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Looking forward to sharing that.

Facebook – General

Better day weather wise today. Much appreciated by Lady, her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum, and their owners!

Already looking forward to being at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in August. I’ll be running a two part course there (on editing) and taking part in some volunteer run items too.

I sometimes use known phrases in a story rather than as the title. One of these tales is The Power of Suggestion (Tripping The Flash Fantastic). Now I know that’s a well known phrase in itself but it wasn’t the main one I was writing to for this story.

Instead the phrase I use within this tale is there’s a sucker born every minute and I was “hanging” my story around that thought. I go on to repeat that phrase towards the end of the story for deliberate emphasis.

I know. You’d think within a limited word count format, the last thing you’d want to do is repeat phrases. Sometimes though it can be so effective and pack a punch to do so and that was the idea for repeating the phrase in this tale.

So if you are thinking about repeating a phrase within a story, especially in the short forms, give due thought as to why you are doing it.

Also sometimes a direct repeat would be less effective in producing an impact on a reader than if you used a paraphrase.

So think about what would have the biggest impact on your reader here. What would make them react the most? I use that as my judgment call here.

It has been a strange Monday. Blazing sunshine, heavy rain, storm force winds, and an almighty hail shower all by 3 pm today. Lady and I were glad to be indoors though earlier this morning she was delighted to see her Hungarian Vizler pal. Must admit I was hoping to be ditching my boots by now for more seasonal wear. Alas, that isn’t going to happen for a while. Am so glad writing is something I can do in the warm!

Writing Tip: Back up your work to more than one place. It’s incredibly easy to forget to do it. I once lost an evening’s work thanks to a power cut which went on for ages. I managed to recall a lot of what I’d written but I was so cross with myself over this.

Now I back up to my laptop, my memory stick, a separate external hard disk, and to Dropbox. I’m probably over compensating here (!) but I’m not being caught out again on this one.

Don’t forget my author newsletter comes out on the first of each month. If you’d like to sign up for news, tips, story links and more, please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

A huge hello to all of my subscribers here.

Also subscribers are always welcome to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@allisonsymes

I usually put up a new video on here on Mondays. Well, I think it can be a great way to start the working week! Will be writing this week’s story shortly after I’ve written this post. Sunday afternoons is one of my top times for getting more flash fiction written.

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Hope your weekend is going well so far. Great to see the sun out (again! Am making the most of it too!).

Will be sharing History – Fact and Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. This topic came about as I’ve recently presented a PowerPoint on how two authors (Josephine Tey and Philippa Langley) have used fiction and non-fiction respectively to show Richard III in a different light than the usual Shakespearian version. My post will look at the joys of historical fiction and non-fiction and I will also be sharing a few of my other favourite reads. Post up on Friday.

I’ve written some historical flash pieces too which has also inspired my CFT post but the great thing with flash is, because it is character led, you can have great fun with genres here. I’ve written crime flash, ghost flash, fantasy flash, historical flash, slice of life flash and much else besides. Only limitation is that upper word count of 1000 words. But you can do a lot with 1000 words.

Flash encourages you to focus on what you really need to show a reader. That’s a good thing. No room for purple prose here so flash also helps you with editing as you learn to look for what is relevant and must stay and what isn’t.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

One of my reviews for From Light to Dark and Back Again contains the sentence ‘My favourite line in the collection – the perfect crime is the one ‘where nobody realises a crime took place’!’

Many thanks to the reviewer here. All reviews appreciated!

That story is Punish The Innocent and I loved the idea of taking the usual idea of punishing the guilty and turning things around here. Flash is a fantastic form for twist endings/humorous endings/both! I love writing this kind of story and it works out the range goes from funny to dark, depending on the nature of the twist.

I do play fair with readers though. There are always clues in the story so if you go back through it you will find how the twist fits in. This is where my outlining comes into its own because it makes sure I do place the clues in the right place to feed the twist properly. Outlines don’t have to be chapter and verse. Often for my flash pieces, it’s just a paragraph or two but it keeps me on track and is a great aid.

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It’s Monday. I’ve had most of the available weather types in one day here where I am. I have to look at the calendar to remind myself it is April! Definitely time for a story then.

Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Jam Today. Will Margery finally beat Wilma in the village show competition and just what is that on Mrs Anderson’s chocolate cake? Find out here.

I’m going to be talking about some of my favourite writing exercises for a future Chandler’s Ford Today post. Will share more on this nearer the time but I would estimate 90% of all of my flash fiction is written thanks to a prompt from an exercise!

I love writing exercises, find they challenge me and I just love the fun of responding to that challenge. I must admit I think the toughest one to do is the middle line one where you have to plan to get to that point and plan again to get to the ending. I find it easier to either start from an opening line or know where the end is thanks to having a closing line as a prompt.

Good practice to have a go at all three and the various other exercises available. I find they stretch my creativity and the possibilities can be tremendous from the different exercises available.

Had a nice surprise the other day in that WordPress notified me I have now written 1000 posts on my blog with them (which is part of my website). I don’t tend to keep a tally of things like that so it was nice to get the notification. Where has the time gone? I update my blog twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) usually.

If you want to find out more about what I’ve written here do check out my blog page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/blog/

Do check out my older posts on the blog page. Plenty of writing tips there.

You can also sign up to my newsletter on this page (just scroll down to the bottom of a post to find the Mailchimp details) as well as go directly to my landing page. (I share news, tips, links to my online stories and more here).

Am looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group later this month where I’m planning to look at genres and flash.

Have got a draft story potentially for the Bridport Prize. Hope to be looking at that again tomorrow and to be sending it in by the end of the month. (Deadline is 31st May but I do follow my own advice about taking a couple of weeks off a deadline and using that as my send in date instead. Means I don’t miss anything!). I love the way they describe flash as being “the art of just enough”. That sums up flash fiction so well.

Goodreads Author Blog – Working Out What to Read Next

Do you ever have problems working out what you’re going to read next? I must admit to being a bit “naughty” in that I don’t necessarily read in strict chronological order from my always large To Be Read pile, whether is the old school print pile or the electronic one on my Kindle!

I don’t have this issue if I’m reading a series. I’ll just follow on.

When not doing that, I will go by my mood. If I’ve just enjoyed a crime story, I may well read another one straight off the back of the first one. However, I never read more two books in a row in the same genre.

After two, I want to ring the changes a bit. At the moment, I’m on my second non-fiction book in a row so when I come to the end of that, I will go for fiction again. I’ve not decided yet what the genre will be.

In between novels, I will read short story and flash collections before resuming novel reading again. Then it will come full circle and I will be back to the non-fiction. I am keen to make sure I have a good balance of reading material and like to mix up classic and contemporary here as well.

Why limit your reading after all?

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Working Out What To Read Next https://t.co/4OUOBJryQ1 via @goodreads I discuss working out what to read next for Goodreads and share what I do so I have a mix. I like to mix up fiction, non-fiction, classic, and contemporary, ebooks, print etc. pic.twitter.com/Fkqk8gUd39
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 13, 2024

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It’s Monday. I’ve had most of the available weather types in one day. Definitely time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Jam Today. Will Margery finally beat Wilma in the village show and just what is that on Mrs Anderson’s chocolate cake? https://t.co/dOWRTik94I
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 15, 2024

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Marketing On The Move and A Commendation

April 9, 2024Leave a comment

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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 was the photo of Lady posing on our last holiday.

Hope you have had a good weekend. Have been on the tail end of Storm Kathleen here. Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing Part 2 of a fabulous interview with actress/writer, Sophie Neville, on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Be sure not to miss. It is an inspiring interview with someone who is so immersed in the creative life it is an encouragement to all.

In other news, Lady had some fun spotting some pals at a local fun dog show over the weekend, one of whom came second in their category. If ever there was a category “dog who is the best at being daft”, Lady would be a shoe-in for that, or should that be a paw in?

Facebook – General

Lady had a great start to her Tuesday by playing with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals.

Did get my story sent off to Friday Flash Fiction yesterday – they opened up to submissions again yesterday evening. Sent in a 100 worder. Good to get back to those again.

Managed to do some marketing “on the move” today. I was giving blood and part of the process is to confirm who you are, address etc. Usually you’re asked what you do too. Gets a nice chat going before you donate. So I mentioned I’m a writer, with two flash collections out and another in the pipeline, to which the NHS Blood lady made a note of my name and said she’d look me up online. Marketing doesn’t have to be scary! Some of the best marketing can come from conversations.

Has been a nice day today with lovely comments in on my recent interview with Sophie Neville on Chandler’s Ford Today. See screenshot and Part 2 of a fabulous conversation will be up on site on Friday.

Hope you have had a good start to your week. Not bad here but blustery again as I write this.

Am busy preparing blog posts and articles at the moment. Have a story I want to submit to Friday Flash Fiction when they reopen to submissions so hope to do that later this week but ahead of Friday of course!

Looking forward to taking part in a history group Zoom session this evening. I do write some historical flash but have always loved the subject of history since school days long before I took up creative writing.

Finding out what happens is a key component to writing in itself. It is what draws the readers in. It comes into history (and science) but I love things which shed light on the past. Sometimes a spark of inspiration for a story can come from that. I’ve found that to be the case for my historical flashes.

I totally understand the point of historical fiction though I only dabble in it myself. And I want the historical non-fiction I read to be gripping, entertaining, as well as informative. History should never be boring. It wasn’t for real for those going through it. It shouldn’t be in book form either!

Do I hope to write more historical pieces? Yes. As with my other flash work, I focus on the character and look at what I could say through them in my tale. I hope my portrayal of them shows a side to them which encourages empathy. Understanding what motivates people, real of fictional, is a powerful and good thing when it encourages that empathy (and a deeper appreciation for what we do have now).

Hope you have had a good weekend. Blustery but dry here. Think we’re getting the tail end of Storm Kathleen.

Looking forward to sharing Part 2 of a fabulous interview with Sophie Neville (of Swallows and Amazons fame, though she has done and continues to do so much in the creative spheres), for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Do look out for that.

A huge thank you for the congratulations coming in on my story Doing Right being Commended in the Friday Flash Fiction competition. Nice way to end the week.

Writing Tip: You’ve got to your desk, eager to write. Nothing comes to you. Don’t panic. Free write literally anything for a few minutes and/or brain storm title ideas, opening line/closing line ideas etc.

I’ve found that once I’ve started writing something other ideas, better ideas, come to me, but you do just need something to start with. The idea of just writing anything, no matter how rubbish it may seem to you, is just to warm your creative “muscles” up so those other better ideas come through. You’ve nothing to lose by trying this either.

Another good tip here is to go back through your notebooks etc where you have previously jotted down ideas. Now is the time you might put one or two these to use. The idea here is you have already jotted this idea down, now flesh it out and see what you can do with it. Again, it is to get you started on something.

Good luck and happy drafting.

Lovely surprise today (6th April 2024). Discovered my 100 word story, Doing Right, was commended in the Andrew Siderius competition recently held by Friday Flash Fiction. Many thanks to Dawn Knox for flagging that, congratulations to her too, and well done to the winners and all who where shortlisted as I mentioned yesterday over on my Facebook book page.

First time I have had a commendation here. Feeling chuffed!

Link to story here. All pet owners will get this one.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Busy day today so am later posting than normal but good to be back at the desk and writing. Need to give some thought to the Bridport Prize soon. (Closing date is end of May). Do have a story ready I feel would be suitable so I will try and take a look at that again this weekend. I will want to submit anything by early to mid May at the latest.

I don’t believe in leaving it to the last minute for one excellent reason. You’re more likely to make mistakes in your entry if you do.

Second reason – technology can go wrong so if there is an internet “blip” you want it to “not matter”. You will want to be able to try later or next day once things are fixed. If you have something like that right at the last minute to submit your story, there’s no time to have another go at submitting the same. I do believe in a safety net here.

It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube, which has an apt title for Mondays – One of Those Days. Hope you enjoy it.

If you have a flash fiction story which revolves around a secret, do play fair with your readers and ensure the secret is revealed by the end of the tale. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a “big reveal”.

In my The Past – Ready or Not? (Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I reveal my character’s secret in three words towards the end of the story (which is a sub 150 worder).

I see this as akin to Chekov’s Gun rule in that if you have a gun in the story, at some point it must go off. If you have set up any kind of expectation in your tale, you do need to follow through on it. But that follow through is huge fun to write and can create some tremendous closing lines.

Have fun with this, I do!

I enjoyed writing The Writers’ Wish List for the recently published Spring 2024 edition of Christian Writer, the journal of the Association of Christian Writers (and only available to paid up members of ACW).

One element I applied directly to flash fiction and short story writers is that, every now and again, I will come across someone who is “stuffy” about the shorter forms of fiction. Naturally my wish was people wouldn’t be like that!

I have never understood this attitude. Yes, novels are difficult to write and obviously take far more time but the short forms still need drafting, editing, crafting, and a lot of time and care still goes into doing that. Also, why restrict what you read and/or write? I love reading novels and short stories/flash fiction. Plenty of room in the world for both forms!

When I’m reading I will deliberately read a novel or work of non-fiction, then a short story or flash collection, then back to a longer form of writing again. Why restrict yourself?!

When I’m writing, my main work is in the short form but I do have longer projects on the go. Why restrict yourself here either? Yes, you will over time find what is your natural “home” but it doesn’t mean you can’t give something else a try writing wise. I find it’s fun.

Sometimes, just sometimes, a short story or flash fiction piece will pack a powerful emotional punch in ways the longer forms wouldn’t do because everything that needs to be said is said in, say, 500 words.

The great novels show you a whole world and you need the time and space to show that. That’s something the short forms can’t do.

But this is why we need all of the writing forms!

Goodreads Author Blog – What Reading Teaches You

As a writer, I’ve learned so much from what I’ve read over the years. You take in how stories work by reading loads of them.

I picked up on the Rule of Three from reading the classic fairytales, for example. I came to realise something would happen, then happen again, but on the third time there would be a different outcome.

You also get to see how stories are laid out (paragraphs, dialogue, how scene breaks work etc) just by reading how others have done this before you.

I’ve long thought writers effectively have two great joys here – their own writing and reading. The love of reading triggers the desire to write. It is also why it pays writers to read widely – classic and contemporary, fiction and non-fiction.

Ideas for your own stories are often triggered by something else you’ve read so it pays to have an “imagination pool” to fish from which is as wide and deep as possible. Reading widely, and in varied forms, does that for you.

I’ve found the Kindle has encouraged further reading in that I use it to try out books by authors new to me. I will take a “punt” on a £2.99 ebook. If I like the author’s work, I often go on to buy further paperbacks from them later. But this is all because the Kindle makes it easy to read even more works. I like that. I make a point of reading both ebooks and paperbacks in my main reading session. Love them all.

Books are wonderful things.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Lovely surprise. Found my 100 word story, Doing Right, was commended in the Andrew Siderius competition recently held by Friday Flash Fiction. Many thanks to @SunriseCalls for flagging that. First time I've had a commendation here. Feeling chuffed!https://t.co/oU1M24ONsy pic.twitter.com/6DLVi6mUcT
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 6, 2024

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: What Reading Teaches You https://t.co/FM6NDWr6J5 via @goodreads I share my thoughts on what I've learned about writing when I've read works by others. It's more than you might think too. pic.twitter.com/1WYeTTnl3z
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 6, 2024

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Read contemporary as well as classic fiction. Both will inspire you but you do need to know what is out there in the here and now. That information will be even more useful to you when you are ready to pitch something. pic.twitter.com/38sCInNUdj
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 6, 2024

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I’ve often found inspiration for a story by reading an interesting non-fiction book or article. I will come across a useful nugget and realise it could apply to a character or I could use it to make things worse for that character. So keep non-fiction in your reading diet too. pic.twitter.com/6rQ3EH6KjX
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 7, 2024

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I mix up reading genres and formats. l go from paperbacks to Kindle and from reading crime to fantasy. I combine those via Terry Pratchett’s Vimes books. Inspiration for your stories comes deep down from what you love reading. Read on. It is fun and will help your own writing. pic.twitter.com/1AA7Wk6dVY
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 8, 2024

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It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube, which has an apt title for Mondays – One of Those Days. Hope you enjoy it.https://t.co/jy57mtRatK
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 8, 2024

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Caring for Characters and Story Twists

April 2, 2024Leave a comment

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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 lovely Easter weekend. I’ve loved the church services and, separately, listening to the Classic FM Hall of Fame for 2024. (When will Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams make it to No. 1? So deserves it. You feel like you’re going back in time listening to that!).

Am so looking forward to sharing Part 1 of a very special two part interview with Sophie Neville for Chandler’s Ford Today. Sophie is best known for her role as Titty in the classic children’s film Swallows and Amazons but she has done so much else too. More to come in the interviews. Part 1 up on Friday.

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Shorter swimming sessions for the next couple of weeks due to the Easter holidays. Lady may well be getting longer walks in the afternoon, not that she’ll mind. She loved seeing her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback buddies today. Lady came back from that tired but happy (which is my standard look when I come back from a swimming session!).

Writing Tip: What is it about your characters which appeal to you the most? What makes you care about what happens to them? Sorting that out so you know will help you create characters which appeal to readers too.

Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Labradoodle pals this morning. Bank Holiday Mondays (as today is in the UK) always feel like a strange kind of Sunday to me. It was nice to see some spring weather though.

Newsletter went out this morning. No April Fool’s about that! Link to the current edition here but if you like the look of this and would like to sign up do head over to my landing page at my website. Separate link for that here.

Managed to get a fair bit of writing done over the weekend and am going through PowerPoints I’m due to present (one next week!). Am so looking forward to sharing Part 1 of a wonderful two part interview with Sophie Neville (Swallows and Amazons) for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Be sure not to miss. Sophie discusses her incredible creative life. Very inspiring.

Happy Easter! Nice to have some spring weather to go with it, though I understand the rain is due back again later, alas. Lady had a nice surprise today as she got to see her Hungarian Vizler chum at lunchtime.

When do I know a character will “work”? There’s no one single thing, to be honest, but when I can know how and why they would react in any given circumstance, that is a good sign. It shows me I’ve outlined them deeply enough.

Sometimes I will come across or think of something which will make me think Character X in Story Y would say exactly that, and this is another good sign. Sometimes I can come across something a character of mine in a story would not say and that, funnily enough, is useful as well because it then makes me think of what they would come up with instead. (I’d also know why here).

Knowing my characters well enough has been an enormous help to me. Having different ways to create characters (crucial as I am inventing characters a lot!) is invaluable. And knowing the characters gets me a long way to knowing what their stories will be and why. Story structure is not a glamorous thing but, for me, it underpins all the fiction I write.

It’s the small victories in life which really make you want to cheer at times. Today (30th March 2024) is the first day this year I’ve had my washing out on the line and got it dry! Yippee! Also happy to see my bluebells are beginning to emerge.

Many thanks to all who have subscribed to my author newsletter since last time. Welcome aboard and many thanks to the longer term subscribers too. Your support is much appreciated. (Next letter due out on 1st April – not an April Fool’s, honest!).

Writing wise, I am so looking forward to sharing Part 1 of a very special two-part interview with the lovely Sophie Neville on Chandler’s Ford Today. Sophie is still very well known for her role as Titty in the children’s classic film, Swallows and Amazons. She has gone on to have a superb career in TV (in front of and behind the camera) and in writing and has recently won awards for her scripts too.

There is so much to discuss with her (if anyone could be said to have immersed themselves in the creative life, it is Sophie) and I am so looking forward to sharing the first part next Friday, 5th April. Link up on Friday. Don’t miss!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

The joy of flash fiction and story collections is in having “bite size” reads which are so easy to dip into. I often mention using pockets of time for writing and that is a great and useful thing to do. I’ve found it has made me more productive because I’ve got ideas waiting for me to assess and then write up.

But why not use pockets of time for your reading too? I tend to use my lunch break for this but it helps me to read more and that is never going to be a bad idea!

What I like about the CafeLit and Bridge House Publishing anthologies especially is getting to read other authors in one book. That shows me whether I like their style or not and, assuming I do, it makes it far more likely I will check out their own longer works of fiction.

If you would like to know where to start, why not check out the Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop which covers the works of authors writing for Chapeltown Books too. So am not unbiased here but well produced story anthologies are a joy to read so why not check them out?

It’s Monday. Okay it’s a Bank Holiday Monday in my part of the world and we’ve even had some sunshine, hooray! Still time for a story though. Hope you enjoy Unfair, my latest on YouTube. (Short and sweet this one).

Happy Easter! Don’t forget my author newsletter is out again tomorrow. Not too late to sign up. Just head on over to https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com for that.

What I find useful in compiling my newsletter is adding bits and pieces to it throughout the month as thoughts occur to me and then editing appropriately a few days before it goes out. I also do a couple of test runs to make sure all is okay.

Flash is great to share on a newsletter too. Doesn’t take up much room(and this is another reason why I also add links to my stories on Friday Flash Fiction here as well. Easy enough to click on a story title that takes your fancy and have a quick read over a cuppa. Challenge to me? Coming up with intriguing story titles but it is good to be kept on the old writing toes here!

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My flash fiction collections, From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic, are square books. The design makes them stand out and they are ideal gift books, as someone rightly pointed out in a wonderful review for the latter.

Fabulous collection of poems and flash fiction. Some made me giggle, some made me gasp, all surprised me! I found it a real page turner, as the stories had such unexpected twists and turns! Some were actually quite moving. Highly recommend this! Makes a lovely present as well, with its (to me) unusual shape.

All of the Chapeltown flash collections are in this shape as part of an overall branding style. I think it works well though I accept I am biased (and bound to be so) here! The paperbacks are a great size to fit into pockets, bags etc so again are ideal for a train/bus ride read. Very easy to take with you (and even easier still if you go for the Kindle version of them!).

Goodreads Author Blog – Story Twists

I love twists in stories as long as they suit the character and situation. An early one I came across was in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, whom I understand received complaints about what she did here. Can’t say more without giving things away but it is a great book and I highly recommend it especially if you like twists.

I use twists a lot in my own flash fiction. For a very short tale like this, often my closing line is the twist. I have done this with the “standard” twist but have also written humorous twist endings. All good fun to do.

The tricky bit is ensuring that the twist does come across as “natural”. It must fit in with what has been revealed about the character and their situation, otherwise it will look like a “fix” to get the author out of a tight corner. My favourite twists are when I look back through the story, having read it through, and then spot the clues to the twist which is about to be revealed. Naturally I learn a good deal for my own writing studying things like that.

This is where I think writers are so lucky. To write well, we need to read well and widely. So if we ever did need an excuse to have a book in our hands, that’s it, right there, regardless of whether there is a twist or not!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Story Twists https://t.co/5HUyAaAUsU via @goodreads I look at story twists for Goodreads this week. An early favourite was in an Agatha Christie novel. For a twist to work it must fit in with the characters and situation. Hope you enjoy the post. pic.twitter.com/YUGuyoQGMn
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 30, 2024

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It’s Monday. Okay it’s a Bank Holiday Monday in my part of the world and we’ve even had some sunshine, hooray! Still time for a story though. Hope you enjoy Unfair, my latest on YouTube. (Short and sweet this one).https://t.co/y68QSxdFan
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 1, 2024

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Newsletter went out this morning. No April Fool’s about that! Link to current edition below but if you like the look of this and would like to sign up do head over to my landing page at my website. Separate link for that below.https://t.co/SAMeT8yz7k https://t.co/4PWkpgevt3
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 1, 2024

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Time Management

March 26, 2024Leave a comment

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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 Geoff Parkes for the image of me taking part in a Swanwick Open Prose Mic Night a while back.

Hope you had a lovely weekend. I had a wonderful time with family and friends celebrating my birthday. Lady had a ball too and was so tired but happily so at the end of it all. Now time to get back to the writing desk. I wonder how many characters I’ll put in awkward situations this week. It will be fun finding out! The authorial joy of causing trouble for characters shouldn’t be underestimated – I love doing it and then finding out how they deal with the mess I’ve put them in.

Facebook – General

Posting early as have a meeting later. I sometimes tweet for the Association of Christian Writers and tend to draft my tweets in advance and schedule them, as my posts there are always related to writing in some way.

For Facebook, I tend to draft in advance but then put up “live” as and when I can get to my desk. I’ve done that with this post. The drafting in advance saves me time. In my more limited times to write, I like to hit the ground running as it frees up what time I’ve got to do other smaller jobs, such as starting to draft a future blog spot. I can stop at any convenient point for something like that.

I’ve also found having limited time slots for writing sometimes helps because it makes me focus even more than I already do. Sometimes when I have longer periods in which to write, I find you can waste time working out where to start. Have done this. I don’t do so much now. I work out in advance now what I’m going to do when so I know what I’m going to be working on before I get to my desk. I find that helps me make the most of my available time slot for writing, regardless of how long that may be.

A busy start to Holy Week. Mondays are often hectic for me. It is always a pleasure to get back to my desk after hectic days. Okay, I may not get to write so much (tiredness!), but I am writing something and loving being creative. I also find it helps me unwind after said hectic day.

Later in the week I get to write much more but I’ve got used to the ebbs and flows of the writing life. Often it will be on hectic days I will return to my notebooks and look up potential ideas to write up and jot down further ideas that come to me from them, maybe even write a first draft on one or two.

Time management, I think, is an art form and one which is well worth practicing! I’ve found I get far more done by using hectic days to do smaller items of writing and then making the most of longer writing times for longer pieces of work. Even just five minutes spent writing can produce something useful for you to work up later on.

Hope your weekend has gone well. Am recovering from yesterday’s party, as is Lady. Have rarely seen her that tired but oh so happy with it. Looking forward to listening in to the new Hall of Fame on Classic FM over the Easter weekend. Will be especially listening out for the ones I voted for. One is very close to the top of the chart and I would love to see/hear it make the top spot.

It is one of those odd things that I find no trouble writing whatsoever with classical music on in the background. Anything else and it disrupts my concentration. There is something relaxing about classical I think and when I am relaxed I just get on and write. I usually find I write more too.

Writing Tip: Stories often don’t find a home first go. Put any rejected pieces aside. Give it some time and come back to them. Can you see where you could improve them? I find I usually can after a break like that. I then submit it somewhere else. I have had work published doing this so it is worth a go but give yourself the necessary distance away from the story. It helps.

Hope you have had a good day. I’ve had a fantastic time with family and friends today. Mind you, the weather was strange. Sunshine, rain, hail, we had the works. Lady had a fabulous time with my cousin’s dog, Lily. Lady is absolutely shattered tonight!

Looking forward to sharing Questions and Answers for Characters for Chandler’s Ford Today. More details later in the week and link up on Friday. After that, I will be sharing details of a very special two part interview for CFT. More nearer the time.

Also looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom next week.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again soon. To sign up for story links, news, tips etc., do head over to my website landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

When both of my flash fiction collections were accepted by Chapeltown Books, I had to come up with the strap line to go on the front covers.

For From Light to Dark and Back Again this was a collection of very short stories to suit every mood.
For Tripping the Flash Fantastic this was a carefully crafted collection of story worlds.

Now you would think, would you not, that having put books of flash fiction together, I’d have had no trouble writing the one line strap lines! Not a bit of it. It took me some time to come up with both of these.

Less is more is so true in flash fiction as a whole. It isn’t necessarily “easy” to write! Mind you, I’m not convinced there is any such thing as easy writing. What I see in works I read is the craft that has gone into these stories and I can guess how long the author would have taken to get their stories to this point. Naturally I put in a lot of crafting on my own work.

I often find I can get a first draft down relatively fast (thanks to having a helpful outline). The editing takes time. Mind you, it should take time. I set myself a deadline for getting a piece of work out somewhere if it’s not for a competition where I already know the deadline.

It’s to ensure I write my piece, rest it, edit it, rest it again, edit it again should it need it, and then submit the piece. I don’t consider a piece of work “finished” until I have sent it somewhere (or know where it will eventually go if I’m saving stories for future competitions I know are coming up or for a future book).

It’s Monday. It’s been a hectic day. Time to relax with a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – One Off. Will Vera returning to old habits scare Reg? What were those old habits anyway?

Have fun exploring the various random generators out there. I use these only to trigger starting points for story ideas. I’ve used the random number, object, pictures, phrases, and question ones, just to name a few. I then decide how I am going to use these.

The question one often makes for good title and/or theme ideas. Objects and pictures I can place into the story and I ensure they are crucial to the plot in some way. The number one I have used as a countdown, simply by turning the number into a time, or as part of an address where the action of the story takes place or where the lead characters lives/starts out from.

Phrases I tend to use as themes though occasionally I subvert one of these by changing one word. It can change the whole mood of the story I’m going to tell too. That’s fun. But do give them a go. I see these as the electronic version of the old story cubes (and I use those too).

There are also books of prompts, some of which I’ve contributed to over the years. If you want somewhere to start, I am only too happy to recommend The Book of Prompts (Chapeltown Books).

When you are writing flash fiction and short stories, you want plenty of triggers for ideas. All of these things mentioned here can contribute positively to your writing. Have fun!

When I write what I call fairytales with bite (often with humorous twist endings), I nearly always know the ending first and then work backwards to get to a logical starting point. I work out what could come from my planned ending and then take things from there. I find that approach works well.

For flash non-fiction (a lot of my blog posts could count as this), I usually know what I want the overall conclusion to be for my piece and then figure out the logical “staging posts” to get me to that conclusion.

Structure is one of those things you only notice when it is not there. When I’ve not had a proper structure in place, that has been when my stories have failed because I failed to work things out and then managed to box myself in. Has only happened twice.

So even if you don’t outline anything else, thinking about what your structure is going to be will save you a great deal of time and (editing) grief.

Goodreads Author Blog – Mixing Up Books

I like mixing up books in terms of having a wide variety of genres to read but I don’t especially like combining two types of books which were never meant to be put together (in my view). I see there is a place for zombie stories (though they’re not my cup of tea). There will always be a place for Jane Austen but putting Pride and Prejudice together with zombies to me just made me shudder when I first heard about it. Nor will I read it. I just don’t want to go there.

I also get annoyed when films rehash old stories. For me there is no improving the original The Italian Job with Michael Caine. I refuse to watch the so-called remake (and, separately, have heard indifferent reviews about it). So you see I am consistent here!

I do wonder if it is a lack of imagination going on here. Why not write your own zombies story? Why bring other characters from a much loved novel into it?

The simple answer to a lack of imagination is to read more. Then read more. Then read more again. I’ve always found reading well and widely fires up my own imagination. I then happily go and create my own characters and tales. I don’t see the fun in mish-mashes at all.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Mixing Up Books https://t.co/GzlGH4HiJo via @goodreads I share my thoughts on mixing up books from a genre blending viewpoint for this week's Goodreads post. pic.twitter.com/jTUX80MJtI
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 23, 2024

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It’s Monday. It’s been a hectic day. Time to relax with a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – One Off. Will Vera returning to old habits scare Reg? What were those old habits anyway?https://t.co/10V4IJlE0m
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 25, 2024

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Publication/Broadcast News and Author Newsletters

March 19, 2024Leave a comment

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 had a good weekend. Great start to the week with publication and ALCS payment news. Lady got her week off to a cracking start by having a good run round with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals. Hope the rest of the week continues to go well. Spotting more spring flowers out too. They cheer me up so much. I love the colours.

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Glad to share a Mixcloud link to Hannah Kate’s Spring Equinox show on North Manchester FM on Saturday. Always easier to share one link rather than two! (I had shared two links to both halves of the show over the weekend but will only share this one link here). It was great fun taking part in the flash fiction slot here and do check out the other stories. They were a good mix. Hannah’s Bookshelf is on every Saturday between 2 and 4 pm. If you like books, stories, and radio, well here is the show for you!

Separately, I will be talking about the joys of PowerPoint for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Will be sharing tips and what I’ve found useful here.

Busy night tonight. (18th March 2024 – you know how you sometimes get several things on one day, mine this week was Monday!). First post. Delighted to say I am back on CafeLit with a story called Zoom. Hope you enjoy it. Oh and I will leave you to decide if the character in this one could be in any way related to yours truly!

Second post. (Told you Monday, 18th March 2024 was busy for me!). Glad to share my latest Authors Electric post where I discuss Author Newsletters. I discuss how I approach writing mine and share some tips. Hope you find it useful.

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Hope you are having a lovely weekend. Pleased to see some sun this afternoon.

Will be back on Authors Electric tomorrow, talking about Author Newsletters. Will also have a story on CafeLit tomorrow. Gets the week off to a good start! See above. I like Mondays like Monday 18th March – lots happening!

Listening to Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens on Classic FM as I write this. (Well, I had been!). One of my favourite pieces, I always vote for it in their hall of fame chart. Also used a free to use version of it for the book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again. It is apt!

Am busy preparing some wonderful author interviews to go on Chandler’s Ford Today in due course.
It was lovely listening to Budding Betrayal on North Manchester FM live yesterday. I often have to use catch up but it was great listening to the variety of tales, all of which were spring related in some way, and it made a nice change to get to do so at the time of broadcast.

Writing Tip: I regularly have brainstorming sessions where I jot down potential ideas for titles, opening and closing lines, and so on. This is great and I find it so useful. But what do you do when the brain decides now would be a good time to give you a fabulous idea to write up but you are not in a position to write anything? I sometimes find this when I go swimming. It’s not a great time for inspiration to strike.

All I do here is repeat the idea to myself (silently!) until I can get to my phone and type myself up a quick note. I can then flesh that note out further when I have more time. What matters is getting the nugget of the idea down. Do that and you should find it will remind you of what else you thought about and then you can jot it down.

Hope you have had a good day. Delighted to hear my story Budding Betrayal on North Manchester FM in Hannah Kate’s Spring Equinox show this afternoon. Many congratulations to the other four writers who had stories on. It was a great mixture of tales! All of the stories are on the second half of the show. See single Mixcloud link further up.

What I do when I’m thinking of submitting something for broadcast is edit my story and then I record it on Zoom. I can then play it back and hear how it sounds but I can also check my timings. For Hannah Kate’s show, you send in your stories via Voicemail and you have three minutes maximum on this so your timing does have to be spot on.

As with Open Prose Mic Nights, getting your timing right is crucial but Zoom helps you here. It is also fine to come in at under the maximum time. It is never okay to go over. Word count, I find, for a three minutes slot like today’s one is usually around the 250 mark but it always pays to check as you need to allow for your own reading time here.

The playback is helpful again because I can hear whether I come across clearly or not. No garbling, rushing, or big gaps here. I also find reading out loud and playing a recording back is also great practice for future Mic Nights. Nothing to dislike here basically.

And do enjoy the stories!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I don’t always name a character in my flash tales. (I always do for my longer short stories). I sometimes do this as leaving a character as an “it” can be more scary if I’m writing a darker flash piece. But at other times the name is not the most important thing about the character. Their attitude and back story is more important to know.

An example of this is my The Past – Ready or Not? from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. The story slowly reveals what you do need to know about my character but the name didn’t matter at all!

Most of the time I do name characters of course and use those names to help readers picture them but it isn’t always needed. It is a case of knowing why you are doing (or in this case NOT doing) something which matters most. There has to be a good reason for anything to be in a story.

It’s Monday. Finally the evenings are getting lighter for longer. Having said that, it is still Monday. Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube flash tale – Next Time. Dog owners especially will relate to this one.

When I have a theme set for a competition, I take some time working out what could come from that theme. It pays. I find the first few ideas are the “obvious” ones but as I write down more possible thoughts, I find I come up with something which isn’t so obvious. I will then explore those ideas further and see if there is anything I can do with them. Often there is and I will go down this route, knowing I’m producing a story which fits the theme but, hopefully, will stand out a bit as being “different”.

If you’re going for the more obvious takes on a theme, think about what would make your characters stand out in that story. What is it unique to you which you can bring to the mix here? A striking character can transform an “obvious” storyline.

But the time taken to work out ideas, I’ve found, has saved me considerable time and grief later. When I pick the idea to write up, I already know I have thought it through, worked out any potential issues with it, and then I get on with the first draft.

Good to hear flash fiction on the radio. I enjoyed tuning in to Hannah Kate’s Spring Equinox show on North Manchester FM this afternoon (16th March 2024) and hearing five flash pieces, including my Budding Betrayal, broadcast.

Flash works well on radio. Flash has to keep to the point and to word counts. That in turn helps with timings (crucial for radio shows). When I do need a scene break in my flash tale, and I did with Budding Betrayal, I use a slight pause to indicate a change of scene is coming. Only way you can do it but it does have to be a brief pause, otherwise folk will think there’s something wrong.

All dialogue stories would work well on radio but you do need to find a way of distinguishing between your characters. Yes, you can use names but it is also handy to have one character speak in a specific way and another character to speak in another. You can use turns of phrase to good effect here.

If one character in a two character tale uses a certain word or two, we will know who they are just by the use of those words. We will also know who the other character has to be by default because they won’t use them.

For flash with its tight word count, it would pay to ensure any turn of phrase is kept short and it should be repeated (ideally once or twice maximum depending on your word count here) but, as with any good writing, it pays not to overdo it. I think flash helps here. It forces you to keep things tight. Repetition is used as a deliberately chosen effect (which to my mind is the best way to use it at all).

Goodreads Author Blog – Dialogue in Fiction

One thing writers need to be aware of is dialogue in fiction can’t match exactly what we come up with in life. Well, nobody wants to read lots of hesitations, repetitions which are not done for effect (and look like mistakes by the author), info dumps and so on. So dialogue in fiction has to “tidy up” what we would come up for real. Dialogue in fiction has to serve the needs of the characters (and, even more importantly, the readers).

The truly great stories get this spot on. You can imagine the characters speaking. What are they saying moves the story on and you are gripped by their conversation. That is the purpose of fictional dialogue.
Dialogue in fiction serves many purposes. It shares information. It reveals information from one character to another which furthers the plot. But whatever the intention of the author here, the dialogue must make us want to read on.

As readers, we need to be convinced by the dialogue the writer is sharing with us. (We have to be convinced this is what characters, as portrayed, would say if they were real).

I love writing dialogue. What I have to watch is to ensure I am putting dialogue into a story for a good reason. I could easily get my characters into conversational ping-pong. So what I do to ensure I don’t do this is ask what does this dialogue do for the story? If it helps in any way, which it should do, it stays in. Else it gets cut.

Great fictional dialogue shows you so much about the characters. In the Wodehouse stories, I can’t imagine Jeeves and Wooster speaking in any other way. The way the two speak (generally and to each other) confirms their portrayal and is so wonderfully done. That’s just to name one example.

Agatha Christie is consistent with how she gets Poirot and Miss Marple to speak. That matters too.

Consistency confirms characterisation. It is what we expect from the characters we like and loathe.

Character dialogue adds so much to the stories and books I enjoy, when done correctly. It acts as a good challenge for me to get it right with my characters too!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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🎙️ #OnAir now on Hannah's Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special:

🌼 Budding Betrayal by @AllisonSymes1
🌼 Waking Up is Never Easy by @jennyhsanders pic.twitter.com/ydDFiEtsx3
— Hannah Kate (@HannahKateish) March 16, 2024

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Delighted to hear my tale Budding Betrayal on North Manchester FM in Hannah Kate’s Spring Equinox show today. Congratulations to the others who had stories on – it was a great mix. All stories are on the second half of the show.https://t.co/Pdx5Rryx4m https://t.co/iXPuhoRqFF pic.twitter.com/5BU9otBooi
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 16, 2024

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Dialogue in Fiction https://t.co/KEBLFWEAHj via @goodreads Delighted to talk about dialogue in fiction for this week's Goodreads post. Get it right and it brings your characters to life, making them seem even more real for your readers. pic.twitter.com/e0ZU2FxdjF
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 16, 2024

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CafeLitMagazine: Zoom by Allison Symes, green tea https://t.co/Nc2J1s0OSE Delighted to say I am back on CafeLit with a story called Zoom. Hope you enjoy it. Oh and I will leave you to decide if the character in this one could be in any way related to yours truly! pic.twitter.com/v7YfRkyrQN
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 18, 2024

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Authors Electric: Author Newsletters by Allison Symes https://t.co/jw0edukyz5 Glad to share my latest Authors Electric post where I discuss Author Newsletters. I discuss how I approach writing mine and share some tips. Hope you find it useful. pic.twitter.com/mm3tq8k2rm
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 18, 2024

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It’s Monday. Finally the evenings are getting lighter for longer. Having said that, it is still Monday. Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube flash tale – Next Time. Dog owners especially will relate to this one.https://t.co/KAac8548Xq
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 18, 2024

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Missed Saturday's Spring Equinox Special on Hannah's Bookshelf, featuring seasonal flash fiction from Carmen Walton, Peter Barnes, @jennyhsanders, @AllisonSymes1 & @noodleBubble? You can #ListenAgain here: https://t.co/GQaNnBPu4J
— Hannah Kate (@HannahKateish) March 19, 2024

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Publication News and Writing Tips

March 12, 20242 Comments

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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 had a good weekend. Garden starting to look really nice with daffodils all over the place. Lady has got off to a good start to her week by having a tremendous run around with her best pal, the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Both of them tired out. Job done! Writing wise, got lots done over the weekend so pleased with that.

Facebook – General

Hope you are having a good Tuesday. Am glad it’s dried up somewhat.

Will be looking at Online Workshops for Chandler’s Ford Today this Friday. Will also share tips on how to make the most of these from the viewpoints of attendee and tutor. Hope it will prove useful.

Writing Tip: Got a competition coming up? Good. Give yourself plenty of time for it. My own approach is to draft a story, rest it for a few days, and then come back and edit it. Seeing it with fresh eyes after a reasonable gap does make all the difference in spotting errors, things you could do better etc. I send my competition entries in about ten days before the actual deadline, having carried out a final edit to ensure no pesky typos have slipped the net.

I also double check (as part of my editing) that I am following all of the guidelines issued by the organisers to the letter. Once all done, I’m drafting more stories. I like to having something resting, to be creating something new, and to be jotting ideas down for future stories/competitions I like the look of (where I’ll note down possible themes).

Publication News: Delighted to hear a recently edited story of mine has been accepted and will appear on CafeLit this time next week. Looking forward to sharing that.

Just to flag up as well Friday Flash Fiction will be running the annual Andrew Siderius competition. I hope to have a go – one week in the 100 words category and a longer flash in the longer word count section for the following week. You can enter over two weeks but can only have one go at each word count category. There is a also a poetry category so potentially you can send in three entries in total. More details to follow.

Do keep an eye out on the website for more on this but why not give it a go? Good fun to have a go at.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mums, past and present, and to all mother figures. Hugs to all who find it a difficult day for whatever reason. You are remembered.

It is both a lovely and a strange day for me as I miss both my mum and mum-in-law. My lovely mum-in-law was a second mum to me. Know I was so lucky there.

My mum would’ve been 90 this coming Wednesday. She encouraged my love of reading and taught me to read before I started school. That one is the gift which keeps on giving. She did get to see my first published story in print and my late Dad got to see my first book. There is a kind of symmetry there.

Many thanks to all who have sent in wonderful comments on Point of No Return, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. That second line has raised a few smiles!

Sometimes a line like that just comes to you and you know deep down it is a great one. Moments like that are so special for any writer and I treasure my special writing moments. And if you haven’t checked out my second line, see the link and screenshot!
Hope your weekend is going well. Lady got to see her friend, Coco, in the park today and the pair had a good run around. Nice day out there too. Even managed to give my lawn its first cut of the year (and entertained Lady by kicking her football for her as I was doing that. Makes quite a sight. One leg in, one leg out, kick her football all about etc!).

Will be looking at Online Workshops for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link up next Friday. Will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of these and sharing tips on how to make the most of them.

Writing Tip: Do read the writing magazines. I’ve often found information useful to me immediately but have just as often come back to information when I’ve had a need for it later. It happens! To start you off, do check out the March issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine (oh and remember subscribing to this is free, details on how to do so are in the magazine itself).

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

One of my favourite flash pieces is Calling the Doctor, which I used as the book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again. I’ve often changed the mood of the story in the last line or two (and still do of course!) but this one was an early story where I managed to change the mood on the last word. I’ve also found it makes a great piece to read at Open Prose Mic Nights for that reason.

I do have a lot of fun playing with story moods in flash like this. When I’m drafting a tale, I already know what mood it will be, who my character is, and a rough idea of the likely ending. Yes, sometimes that can change. It did with Calling the Doctor. It was on the editing I realised changing what my last line is to what it is now would have far more impact on a reader/viewer.

Hope you have had a good Monday. But as ever it’s story time. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – It’s Good To Be Wrong.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate and to all who remember and to all who do both, as I do.

Occasionally I write about another kind of mum – the kind who is the human mum to a dog. Well they do say talk about what you know! One of mine from From Light to Dark and Back Again is called She Did It Her Way, Kind Of.

It’s one of my longer flash pieces – right up at the 1000 words end – and it shows Jane Westbrook and her puppy, Harry, figuring out how to get along after the death of William, Jane’s husband and who would’ve been Harry’s trainer. It is one of my reflective, feel good pieces, but if there was anything I could change about it now, it would be that title. I went for this title initially as a twist on a well known phrase (doing it your way) and it does work as that but I know now, as I didn’t back then, I could’ve simplified it!

Having said that, it is a dog-related tale I’m very fond of and I suspect most dog owners would identify with it.

I was delighted to be notified by my publisher the other day they’d received a lovely review of Tripping the Flash Fantastic.

One good thing about reviewing flash fiction collections is it would be highly apt to keep reviews short! The quote below is from another short review for this book.

If you enjoy a diverse collection of stories, this is the book for you!

If you can do review books you’ve enjoyed. It means a great deal to the author to get feedback like that. And I review as much as possible myself (most writers do). Great thing – it doesn’t have to take long and is the second best thing you can do to support writers after buying their books. Thanks!

Goodreads Author Blog – World Book Day

I like the whole concept of World Book Day (which was just held on 7th March 2024). Having said that, judging by the writers I know and this goes for me too, there isn’t a day ever when a book doesn’t feature in it somewhere. Often it is more than one book too!

I like the way children are encouraged to think of/dress up as their favourite characters. Books are meant to be interactive in that they draw you into their worlds. It’s one of the aspects of reading I love most. You really can lose yourself in a good book.

I should imagine the most difficult comes from deciding which character is your favourite, which is the one to dress up as this year etc. I was never into dressing up but books have been a major feature of my life since very early days.

I have my late mother to thank for encouraging that love of reading. She taught me to read before I started school. She was moaned at for “doing it the wrong way” but I’ve never felt her way of doing it was wrong, far from it. She herself read everything from history to science fiction (H.G. Wells in particular for that) so she can’t have been doing too much wrong!

I don’t know which favourite character I would dress up if I was the right age for this. Mind you, given I am not endowed with a great height, I suspect I would end up dressing as a hobbit! (Before you ask, I don’t have hairy feet. Just want to be clear on that point!).

I hope everyone taking part had a fabulous World Book Day and it enthuses all ages for reading more until the next one comes around again.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: World Book Day https://t.co/GoyNUrXVQD via @goodreads It may be a couple of days late but I thought this week's Goodreads post from me really should focus on World Book Day. Hope you enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/Y9a7dyx93x
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 9, 2024

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Hope you have had a good Monday. But as ever it’s story time. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – It’s Good To Be Wrong.https://t.co/e1ep7rev3G
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 11, 2024

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One of my favourite flashes is Calling the Doctor. I used it as the trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again. I’ve often changed a story mood in the last line or two (and still do!) but this was an early story where the mood changed on the last word. https://t.co/6PeGgHqJyx
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 12, 2024

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Writing Tips and Writing Progress

March 5, 2024Leave a comment

Screenshot 2024-02-28 at 16-25-51 Allison Symes - The Society of Authors

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 had a great weekend. Pleased with how mine went – lots of writing and some gardening done (prefer it that way round!). More signs of spring in my garden and elsewhere – do find it cheering. More submissions sent out (in one case recorded and sent out). Good to see signs the daylight is lasting that bit longer. Makes it nicer for Lady’s evening walk.

Facebook – General

Hope you managed to avoid the heavy rain earlier today. Lady and I didn’t! Got a good soaking. March has come in like a lion, as the old proverb says. Can only hope it does go out like a lamb. Mind you, am seeing more spring flowers about so something has got the benefit of all of that rain!

I’m looking at The Task of the Opening Lines for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I like to hit the ground running with my stories and posts and will be sharing my thoughts and tips on opening lines in this post. Hope it will prove useful.

Opening lines don’t necessarily have to be the ones you started with in your first draft either. I often change mine once I’ve had chance to judge my piece objectively. I will often spot a stronger opening line further down so just move things around. Much easier to do this day and age and, yes, I did use to have to literally cut and paste. I really don’t miss that!

Writing Tip: When you’ve got a few minutes and you want to write something but don’t know what and time is short etc., why not grab a notebook and jot down some potential opening lines? What you need is a character, an action, maybe a sense of setting.

For example one of mine is ‘What gave me away?’ Maisie scowled. This is the first line from Visitor Expected (Friday Flash Fiction). You can come back at a later date and work out what could come from your draft opening lines. I like the idea of having something to come back to like this and I get to use up pockets of time for some useful writing after all.

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback girlfriends. All three dogs very happy about that.

Am making progress (finally!) on my long term project and am investigating possible homes for it when I’m ready to submit it.

Making very good progress on a fourth flash fiction book too. A lot of what I do here goes on around the backdrop of my blogging, regular story submissions etc. It means I always have something of interest to work on (I don’t like being bored, life is too short for that). There are certain things I would like to get done by the summer and am on track so far.

I also love writing the short forms of fiction because they give me a lovely imaginative “break” from the longer work I’m doing. Plus I can get those shorter pieces out and submitted and hopefully receive publication credits in the meantime too.

Nothing to dislike here but it does mean planning out my writing time. I have found that pays off. Some days I do write more than others. That’s the way of it but what I want to do is make the most of whatever time I’ve got whether it is ten minutes or four hours.

Hope today is going well for you. Lovely to see some sunshine after the frost this morning.

Looking forward to sharing some smashing author interviews on Chandler’s Ford Today in the next couple of months. More details nearer the time. It’s always a joy to host these as I find I learn so much from what other writers do. I’ve picked up lots of tips on time management for one thing – and these have paid off for me too.

Writing Tip: Put yourself inside your character’s head. What can they see and hear? Why do they feel the way they do? When you know what your character is doing and why, it simplifies writing their stories up. You will know what they would do. You will also know what they wouldn’t. Their reactions will seem like second nature to you too. All useful.

Hope you are having a good weekend. Good to see some sunshine. A huge thank you for the lovely comments coming in on my latest Friday Flash Fiction story, Visitor Expected. Am thrilled even more comments have come in since yesterday. If you haven’t had chance to check the tale out, see the link. I like the Mrs Harrises of this world. Think you will too.

My Chandler’s Ford Today post for next week is on a topic close to my heart – The Task of the Opening Lines. Especially for flash fiction, the opening line is so important. I like to hit the ground running with my openings because that helps me to make the most of my word count and it also helps to hook the reader in immediately. Link up on Friday.

Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 09-40-46 Visitor Expected by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I like to mix up the flash fiction word counts I write to because (a) it’s fun, (b) it’s a good challenge, and (c) there are a wide range of competitions out there, all of which want differing word counts. So it pays to be able to turn your hand to several of them!

Have just submitted a flash piece and am working on a sub-300 words piece for another competition. Mind you compared with what I write for Friday Flash Fiction 300 words seems a huge amount!

You do get better, over time, at judging word counts when you see something written (on paper or in screen). When I guess, I am usually within 30 words or so. But being able to visualise what different word counts look like is handy as it helps me to gauge for this story I might need three paragraphs, for another I might only need the one. So just knowing that gives me a rough story structure immediately.

It’s Monday. The heavy rain’s back. It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube -We’re Off.

Motivation is vital to the success of character portrayal in any story. In Tripping the Flash Fantastic, I have a character who is out for revenge because their boss put them on a duty they really did not want (Camping It Up). I ended the tale with their revenge carried out but if I had decided to write a longer piece here, I could have had the consequences of that revenge come home to roost for my character. That would have been as understandable and believable as the character’s initial wish for revenge.

When I do use revenge as a motive, regardless of length of story, I always ensure there is a good reason behind it. You have got to understand where your characters are coming from. You don’t have to agree with them though and I often don’t agree with mine!

I occasionally write flash in poetic form. It’s good fun to do and an interesting challenge. One example of this is Choices in Tripping the Flash Fantastic. The key point is I always work out what the story will be first and then decide whether it would suit a poetic form and, if so, which kind.

I usually go for four or five line stanzas with a simple rhyme scheme as I have a soft spot for rhyme. (I’ve read some spectacular free verse by the way but my preference always has been for rhymes).

The editing challenge here is interesting too as I have to ensure my syllable count is consistent. Where I need to change words to fit that, I still need to ensure it makes sense for the story. Basically the joins shouldn’t show!

Writing a flash piece in poetic form is an interesting writing challenge too. Why not give it a go?

Forms by Allison Symes
This writer says give poetic flash a go.
But do remember you will still need to show
A proper tale with a start, middle and end.
Check all is well with your words before you send
Your story out there into the big, bad world.

Allison Symes – 2nd March 2024

Goodreads Author Blog – Taking In Stories

One of the things I love most about stories is there are so many ways to take them in. My favourite will always be the paperback, followed by the hardback, followed jointly by ebooks and audio. I especially love audio books for long journeys and will look forward to hearing some old favourites again when I go on holiday later in the year.

But don’t forget audio itself comes in more than one medium. Stories on radio work astonishingly well, whether they are readings from books or plays (which are scripted stories). Also film and TV can share stories amazingly well.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson got members of my family into that terrific story. They would never have read the book. I had read it, loved it, and thought the film trilogy did the original justice. (Though I must admit I would have liked the films to have included what really happened to Saruman after Sauron’s fall).

I also love the fact adaptations to help breathe new life into classic books. Win-win for the written word there I think.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Taking In Stories https://t.co/Y6mCZmgpJa via @goodreads I celebrate the various ways in which we can take in stories for my Goodreads post this week. pic.twitter.com/oOykSHXqui
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 2, 2024

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It’s Monday. The heavy rain’s back. It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube -We’re Off.https://t.co/7wnwwDeYN2
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) March 4, 2024

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