Tag: Goodreads Author Blog

Publication News and Character Voice

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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 had a lovely weekend. Good one here despite the weather. Managed to get some stories submitted for competitions. Hope to look at a good competition guide I have to pick others to have a try at soon. All good for encouraging the imagination.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Murky and grey again today but not as cold as yesterday. Lady and I weren’t sorry about that.

Don’t forget I’ll be interviewing the great Gill James on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday to discuss her new book, Natascha’s Story. Gill is author, editor, and publisher and is the brains behind CafeLit, Bridge House Publishing, Chapeltown Books and more.

As well as discussing writing for the younger end of the children’s market. Gill will be sharing thoughts and advice which will be useful to any writer so do check this out when the post goes out later this week.

Writing Tip: If you’re thinking of having an author newsletter, think about what you would want to see in it if you were receiving it rather than writing it. Seeing things from the viewpoint of your audience is so useful (and for your fiction and non-fiction writing elsewhere too).

As well as the content itself, think about how you would want the newsletter to look. Keep it uncluttered but with plenty of interesting things for your reader such as text boxes, bullet points, photos (suitably sourced of course so either use your own or use a free to use photo site such as Pixabay), and white space to make it a pleasure to read.

Gaps (white space) matter because what you don’t want is a huge block of text hitting your reader in the eye. Trust me, it’s off putting and won’t make readers want to read on.

Publication News – 10th February – Freedom on CafeLit
It’s a lovely start to the week for me as I have a new story up on CafeLit called Freedom. Hope you enjoy it. Find out here if Goldilocks really is a reformed character or not.

Hope the day has gone well for you. Busy one here so it is now especially nice to be back at my desk and start writing. Have a couple of stories to review this evening ahead of submitting them for competitions.

Character Tip: How do I know when I have got my character’s voice right? It’s when I can write their dialogue knowing this is exactly what they would say given the circumstances I’ve put them in. Everything rings true.

Sure, later, I’ll tidy that dialogue up as there will be things to strengthen and correct but I will know I’ve got the voice right. This is another reason why I need to know their major trait because a lot of their attitudes and therefore what would say and think comes from that.

Another grim and drizzly day. Lady and I made it around the park in record time. Even she wasn’t sorry.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing a fabulous author interview with Gill James on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Amongst other topics, we’ll be discussing the joys and challenges behind her latest book, Natascha’s Story, which is aimed at they younger end of the children’s market. Plus Gill will be sharing wonderful writing and marketing tips plus much more besides. Do look out for this next Friday. Plenty for writers of all genres to enjoy.

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Pleased to have got stories reviewed and submitted over the weekend. This coming weekend, I hope to look through and pick a couple of other competitions to try.

Plus I will need to think about stories for competitions I usually enter soon too. With competitions coming up in May, June etc it is about now I will look through stories I’ve already drafted and check to see if any are suitable. Often I find something which is and so polish that up and send it in.

Sometimes I will think not and create something new but I do make sure I write new stories throughout the year so I always have a stock to refer to like this. I’ve found it pays (and it is lovely when I find a story which will suit a competition theme – think square peg and square hole here! Very satisfying whether or not it goes on to do anything in the competition itself. You can only give these things your best shot and you do have to be in it to have any chance of winning it).

It has been a grey murky Monday,. But I was cheered by having a story up on CafeLit today (see my other page for the link to that – see above). But of course I am also cheered whenever I share another YouTube video. Hope you like my latest on here called Proportion.

Has Glenda blown things out of proportion or have she and Dave really got a witch stuck in their chimney, broomstick and all?

 

I enjoy submitting stories regularly to Friday Flash Fiction because it has (a) got me back to writing 100 word stories regularly and (b) I like having a deadline (to be in for the following Thursday) to stick to as I find having any deadline means I am more likely to get something written and submitted. 

Competition deadlines are useful for the same reason. You know you have to meet the date to have any chance at all.

Many thanks too for the comments in on my latest story on FFF – Come Back.
It’s going to be flash fiction Saturday afternoon for me this week as I’m out at a village/church event tomorrow. I do hope the weather picks up a bit in time for that!

The challenge of flash fiction is in coming up with so many different and interesting characters. It is the bit I enjoy the most as I’ve always loved creating people for stories.

The first thing I need to know is what makes my character tick because from that I can work out whether they’ll be interesting enough to write about. It is a bit like casting the right person for the right role in a play. Get it right and it will work seamlessly. If you don’t, however, readers/audience members will find your character hard to believe/get behind. (And you as the writer will find to harder to write the story up with any enthusiasm).

When I know what makes my characters tick, I want to feel like I cannot wait to write their stories up. This is a great sign. It shows you that you do have something to work with here and you will be more inclined to get on and do it.

Certainly this has been my experience. So a little time taken out to work out the character first pays dividends, I find.

Goodreads Author Blog – Books, Books, Books

Of all the inventions created by mankind, books are one of the best. I cannot imagine a world without books. Nor do I wish to be able to do that.

Books entertain, educate, inform, can show us plenty about this world we won’t get to find out any other way (not all can travel as freely as they’d like for example), and take us to worlds which will never exist but which are fun to visit for the purposes of a story. I’m thinking Middle Earth and Discworld amongst many others for that!

I never mind about the book’s format. I just want a good story for fiction. For non-fiction I want an interesting narrative which keeps me gripped by the subject. Most of my books are paperback (my favourite format) but I cherish my hardback, audio books and ebooks just as much. All have their advantages.

I have various books I re-read during the course of a year, though for some if I have the story as a film, I will take the story in again that way. I often rewatch Hogfather by the late great Sir Terry Pratchett. I can then read another book by him or another author, having taking in a story I know I will want to take in again at the right time of year, in this case just ahead of Christmas.

But I fervently believe you have to have the books in the first place!

And if you want to check out books and authors new to you, why not check out what your local library has to offer? They are full of the most marvellous books, books, books!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Questions, ALCS, and Publication News

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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 had a nice weekend. Weather was lovely on the Sunday. Pleased my snowdrops are coming out. These are always one of the first signs of spring on the way. Had a fabulous time at the pantomime last week (oh yes I did!) and am looking forward to sharing more about that on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. It’s a joy to support local theatre too.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady had a fantastic one in that she unexpectedly got to see and play with Coco, the lovely Labradoodle. Two tired and happy dogs went home!

Writing Tip: Questions are useful for story writing.

Firstly, you can use them as a title. The fact it is a question will help intrigue readers because the story will have to answer it and there is only one way to find out if that happens – read the story.

Secondly, you can use the question as a theme for your tale so it may not appear in the text itself but you will use it as a structure to help you write it.

Thirdly, you can get your character to ask the question and then have them or another character answer it but you will see there is a structure built in right away. I like questions in stories just for that reason.

Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. It’s not my favourite day of the week though today was okay and Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal so she was pleased.

Just a quick note to writers who have articles in magazines with an ISSN number (such as Writers’ Narrative which had its February issue come out on Friday – see link below if you missed it).

Don’t forget if you are a member of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) you can list your articles here and these will add up to what ALCS will distribute in due course. More information about who ALCS are, what they do for writers, and how you can join up can be found at their website at https://www.alcs.co.uk/

A little admin and you can earn some money from articles you write for ISSN numbered magazines so do consider this.

 

Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Nice to see some sunshine. Lady and I have appreciated it when out and about.

Writing wise, I’m planning to share a review of Cinderella as performed by the excellent Chameleon Theatre Company as my post on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. There will be a fabulous author interview the week after that.

As ever, have enjoyed a big stint writing stories as my flash fiction Sunday afternoon though some inevitably end up being longer short stories. I say inevitably because sometimes a character develops and I know I need more than 1000 words in which to explore their story properly. That’s fine. I will just find a suitable market for that story in due course.

1st February – second post

Second post from me tonight is to say I’m thrilled the new edition of Writers’ Narrative has come out and the theme is on non-fiction. I have two pieces in here. One is Writing Non-Fiction: Hints and Tips and the other is Using Fictional Techniques for Non-Fiction.

The magazine is packed full of wonderful articles and useful information but don’t just take my word for it. Check it out at the link below and remember it is free to subscribe to it. Apologies link is in twice this week but it IS a fab read. Don’t just take my word for it though!

1st February – 1st post
Two posts from me on here tonight. First up, just to say my author newsletter went out today. I was looking at the idea of using popular themes for this one. Hope you find it useful.

If you don’t already subscribe, it is easy to do so. Just head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks to all of my subscribers, your support is much appreciated.

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Pleased to say I will have a new flash fiction tale on CafeLit next week. Will share more details nearer the time.

As well as writing flash fiction, I of course, read it and am currently enjoying a wonderful book full of marvellous pieces (Flash Fiction Magazine bring out book length anthologies. Well worth a look).

Naturally, you can also check out mine at my Amazon link which is https://author.to/AllisonSymesAuthorCent

It’s Monday. It has been murky. It is cold. It is still Monday. You know what that means. It is time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Mistaken Identity.

Stella was sure she’d recognized Mary but the woman insisted she was called Jane. But if Stella was right, Mary was in the wrong place in the wrong time and why is there a gunshot?

 

I often set exercises for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. Some of these I prepare my answers to in advance because sometimes it is useful to see an example already laid out. Others I write my answers to on the night because I love the adrenaline rush of writing to a prompt given with little notice. I find I just want to get on with getting a story down. I know I can improve it later.

And that is the secret to these things. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. That can come later. Just get something written to the prompt. Everyone knows this is a just a very rough first draft. Nobody gets it perfect first go. That thought has cheered me a lot over the years and it still does!

Hope you have had a good day. Cold and murky but at least the dog and I didn’t get a soaking today. We always count that as a win.

Am building up a nice compilation of stories for a potential fourth flash fiction collection. Will add to that when I enjoy my usual flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow!

Am currently resting a longer story for a competition but hope to review that and get that sent off in the next week or so. I so welcome email submissions. When I started out, everything had to go by post. Email for this kind of thing save so much time and money and you know for sure your story has reached its destination okay.

Having said that, every so often I receive a lovely letter in the post from a dear friend -and there is something so special about that. (You can’t beat postcards either).

Incidentally, I have sometimes used the letter format for a flash story. Why not give it a go and see what you can come up with? They’re fun to write. This format is also a great way of ensuring you do have a strong character voice because it is vital to have that to make this format work. You do have to know the kinds of things your character would come up with. But that is huge fun to work out!

Goodreads Author Blog – Watching Stories

I’ve just enjoyed watching a fabulous pantomime, Cinderella, staged by my excellent local amateur theatre company. It was a wonderful evening’s entertainment (oh yes it was!).

Most of the stories I enjoy I do take in via books of various formats – paperback, ebook etc – but there is a case to be made for watching stories on the stage, via film, and listening to them too via radio and audio books.

But watching stories I think is especially interesting. Is what you are seeing on the stage or via a film matching up with what you’ve already imagined if you’ve already read the book or story the production is based on?

For Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the answer to that was yes. The pantomimes are faithful to the original fairytales too though they do bring in extra characters like Buttons. But nothing spoils the original story. And that matters. In an ideal world, those who don’t read much will watch stories and maybe be tempted to check the original books out. I would like to think this happens, at least sometimes.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Link shared above. Hope you enjoy the magazine.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Creating Characters, Famous First Lines, and Writing Tips/Exercises

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope the weekend was okay. Stormy weather here – thunder, hail, the works. Perfect weather for staying inside and getting on with the writing though. Even Lady hasn’t been sorry to get back home from her walks the last couple of days or so. Am seeing more signs of spring emerging though which always cheers me.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today. I had a great swim but now it’s more than time to be back at the desk again.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out on Saturday. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Looking forward to sharing my blog post, Getting There, on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers tomorrow.

Writing Tip: Flash fiction comes in a great range of word counts and formats up to the 1000 limit. Why not have a go at a one line story? It can be done! Here is one of mine.

Glenda, not having wish granters encroaching on her patch, thank you, and having sealed the genie back in his lamp, grinned as she kicked the wretched object into the sea.
Allison Symes – 28th January 2025

Have fun drafting one-liners like this. Sometimes you could extend them for a longer story. Equally leave them as one-liners and share on posts or via your website as extra reading for your audience (but just bear in mind they will count as being published. I only share here or via my website what I am happy not to share elsewhere).

Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. Weather frightful. Caught in hail though thankfully it didn’t last long. Lady did manage to play with her pal Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, so that made the world all right for both of those two.

Very pleased with writing done over the weekend. Have sent a story off for consideration. Picked a story I wrote a while ago which I know could suit a competition. And I did manage to get plenty of blogging done too (to appear at future dates). Also enjoyed Flash Fiction Sunday. Will share my new piece for YouTube shortly over on my book page.  See further down.

Today I’ve completed a survey for the Society of Authors regarding my thoughts over AI. I don’t fill in every writing survey I am sent but this one definitely warranted my attention. They’re emailing all members about this so if your belong to the Society it might pay to look out for this. I saw it as a chance to have my say.

Stormy again here. Took Lady around the park in record time today and even she wasn’t sorry to get back home again. This is about as common as gold dust in these parts – I.e. not at all. Keep safe, everyone.

Looking forward to starting flash fiction Sunday soon. Plus one of my two story competition drafts I have now edited and I hope to submit this later on before turning my attention to the other one. And, yes the gap away did help me spot something which could be strengthened. The break away from a piece of work does pay off.

Busy week coming up but I am looking forward to seeing my local theatre group, The Chameleon Theatre Group, perform Cinderella later this week. That will be fun.

Hope the weekend is going okay.

Writing wise, I’ll be talking about Adaptations for Chandler’s Ford Today next week, ahead of my going to see an adaptation of Cinderella performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group. A review for that will follow. Am looking forward to doing that as the show, I know, will be such fun and I’ll enjoy writing the review because I try to convey something of that fun in the write up.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out again soon. I discuss all things related to flash fiction and short stories, share tips, story links and more. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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I need to create characters continually for my flash and short stories, though I do sometimes re-use some in linked tales. This is why I find a simple template useful for this. I can then add or take away from that template as I see fit which in itself helps me create characters who are not formulaic.

For example, for one template, I might “ask” my character what would they never want to do (and then almost certainly I would make them face having to do that thing in a story. Great drama).

For another one, I might “ask” what they find funny and what they don’t and again set them in a situation where this comes out and moves the story on. There will be consequences from what they find funny or not. I will make sure of that.

But in writing down the question to “ask” I find I have to answer it and I also get to start hearing my character’s voice in “their” response.

It’s Monday. It’s stormy. There has been hail. There has been a soggy dog walker (me!). Definitely time for a story then Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube -Being Careful Enough.

When you go to so much trouble to make a new life for yourself on your new world, you know you can’t be careful enough. You know there are portals out there designed to drag you straight back to what you consider to be hell. Find out here how Shiraz, who decided to name herself after a grape, fights back against all attempts to drag her “home”.

Writing Thought/Exercise: Why not have something unexpected arrive in the post, yes good old snail mail, to your character? What is it? Why is it unexpected? Is the delivery a welcome one or not?

Earlier this week I had a pleasant surprise arrive on my mat – a certificate from the National Blood people enclosing my “I’m a 75 donor” certificate and badge. Will happily plug them too – if you can give blood, why not do so? Lives are changed by it (and there are story ideas here too. You could tell a tale about the donor or recipient or both.).

Sometimes with a flash piece, I start with a title (often having picked one to work up from my notes. I use pockets of time to brainstorm ideas for titles, opening lines etc. It pays. It also means I know I can always find something I am likely to want to write up). The title often gives me clues as to the kind of character needed to fit it.

Sometimes I start with a drafted opening line which then usually inspires ideas for the title and the character to fit it.

It’s not a bad thing I mix things up like this. It is good practice for competitions given some of those give you a set opening line to work with, for one thing. For another, it keeps me on my toes and it means I have more than one way into crafting a new story.

Goodreads Author Blog – Famous First Lines

Famous first lines (such as It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) are often used to show writers how to hook your readers from the start. I like to think of it as hitting the ground running. And it I something I try to do with my flash fiction and short stories.

I know when I’m reading I want that first line to draw me in either by setting up an intriguing setting or a character whom I simply have to know more about. Only one way to do that of course – read on.

Naturally that sets a challenge to me to make sure I’m doing something similar when I’m writing. But then this is why writers do have to be good readers too. You do learn from what you read. Gives us the perfect excuse to get our heads in a book as often as possible – I like this!

Of course the best first line in the world cannot support the whole of the following story on its own – the rest has to be pretty good too – but as a way of drawing readers in, you can’t beat it. People look at book covers, the blurb, and the first line. If they like all of that, they are more likely to buy the book.

And from a reader’s viewpoint, great first lines stay with you.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Next issue due out any moment. Hope to share in next post.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The New Writing Year

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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, with the image of me holding The Best of CafeLit 13 taken by Adrian Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Pleased with writing done over that time which included writing new flash and reviewing draft short stories. Hope to submit the latter in the next couple of weeks or so. Have got my eye on other competitions to enter too. Lady has been in fine form too.

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Hope Tuesday has been okay for you. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler today (and our neighbour’s retriever) so she has had a good day. Still pretty cold here.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again before too long. It’s amazing how quickly the first of the month comes around. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com and many thanks to all who have subscribed.

I subscribe to a number of author newsletters myself. I find them useful – writers always learn from each other – as well as helping me to stay informed of what else is going on out there, writing wise. I find the world of writing infinitely fascinating and love hearing more about it and not just in my sphere.

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Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. Lady got to catch up with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today and has had a good day.

Monday is one of the days in which, due to other commitments, I don’t get to do so much writing so I use it to do “little bits and pieces” which then frees up my time later in the week, when I can have longer writing sessions.

What do I count as “little bits and pieces”? Well, adding items to my newsletter is one, finishing off a blog post is another etc. Longer writing sessions will see me write one or more flash pieces, edit a story, make submissions and so on.

It is a question of working out how to make the best use of your writing time, I think. I aim to finish most days by being pleased with what I managed to get done in the time available to me rather than beat myself up about not getting much done. It helps me cope with Mondays for a start!

Hope the weekend has gone well. Freezing again here and murky.

Glad to say I’ll be talking to fellow Swanwicker Gemma Owen-Kendall about her novel Red Daisy for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. It is a great interview. Looking forward to sharing it.

I hope there will be further author interviews throughout the year. It’s always fascinating to find out about the writing journeys of other writers. I’ve always found you can learn so much from each other this way.

I often “interview” my characters when I’m preparing a story. I find it useful to know what makes them tick and certain questions such as what is the one thing you would ask for if you could be allowed a wish to be a great way to find out more about my potential “star”. For a start, I will find out if they would ask for a selfish wish or not and that alone can reveal more about them.

Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my first post here for 2025. This time I talk about The New Writing Year.

I share how I use January, often a gloomy month, to ensure I have something to look forward to, writing wise, later in the year and discuss competitions and writing plans. This time of the year is a great time to focus on what you’d like to achieve by the end of it, I find.

Hope you find the post useful as you consider your own writing plans for the year ahead.

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I love flash fiction for many reasons but a big one is being able to set my characters in different settings, meaning I can play with genre here.

I’ve written fantasy flash, fairytale flash, historical flash, crime flash, ghost flash and much more. I like the variety.

What all of these things have to have in common though is characters who will grip a reader (not literally!). This is why I always start by working out who my characters are and I have found this pays off.

It’s Monday. It’s still cold, dark and January and, of course, Monday. Time for another story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube. This one is called To Do. Wilma takes matters into her own hands when she gets fed up with her neighbour’s boasting and she gets to complete her yearly bucket list too. Find out how and why here.

 

Will shortly be embarking on flash fiction Sunday. Also want to review a couple of stories I drafted last week. For flash and short stories, I usually find a few days is enough time to give me the necessary distance to see what needs to be fixed. The one thing I know for sure is something will have to be fixed!

I also write longer short stories though I tend to stick to between the 1001 and 2000 words mark for those. I must admit anything over 1000 words does seem lengthy to me!

Am delighted to say I will be sharing my first author interview for 2025 on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll be interviewing fellow Swanwicker (and short story and flash fiction writer) Gemma Owen-Kendall about her novel, Red Daisy, which was launched at Swanwick last year. Looking forward to sharing that.

Talking of flash fiction, Writing Magazine have a 500 words competition. See link for more information and good luck if you enter this. Deadline is 15th March 2025. If you can get hold of the current copy of the magazine, they’ve issued their competitions guide. Well worth having to hand.

Goodreads Author Blog – Why Reviews Matter

There are two things every reader can do to help authors. The first one is obviously to buy their books in whatever format you prefer (and where that’s not possible, do borrow from the library. Authors usually receive Public Lending Right – at least in the UK). The second one is to review their books here on Goodreads and/or Amazon.

Reviews matter to writers for several reasons.

Firstly, it is good (and encouraging) to know we are being read.

Secondly, it is helpful for us to know what you like about our books and yes occasionally what you dislike. All we want is for any review to be fair, as most of us accept not everyone is going to like what we do.

Thirdly, we can use the fact we have had reviews as part of our marketing.

I always check out reviews for any product I’m interested in – books or otherwise. Often, I will come across something linked to the product I’m looking into I hadn’t heard of before simply because a review for it turns up. I then check it out.

The good news is reviews do not have to be long. Some of the best ones I’ve had have been one or two lines only. What helps is in saying you liked the book (hopefully!) and what in particular stood out for you. Job done.

Do I review books myself? Oh yes. I tend to do this in batches of two or three books at a time but I keep my reviews short. (Also makes it easier for the author to use part of the review in quotes they want to share).

A good New Year’s Resolution for any reader would be to review more. As we’re a community who love books and stories, it’s a nice one to try to keep, don’t you think?

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Tips, Flash Fiction, and Marketing

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope the weekend went well. Hope the coming week does too! Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing a post on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week looking at Making the Most of Your Writing Time, which is always a relevant topic.

BookBrushImage-2025-1-14-20-2127

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It was nice it wasn’t so cold today. Instead of looking like a walking inflatable thanks to wearing so many layers when taking Lady out, I managed to look like half a walking inflatable today. It is progress!

Will be looking at Making the Most of Your Writing Time later in the week for Chandler’s Ford Today.

Busy preparing a presentation for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group next week. I love putting these together and I join in with the exercises I set on the night of the meeting. It means I get some drafts done too.

Was pleased at the weekend I managed to draft two possible short story competition entries. Will be looking at these tales again this coming weekend. Know they will need work but then that is what the editing stage is for.

 

Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad for you. I have a lovely Zoom meeting to look forward to this evening, which will be especially welcome after a hectic day.  It was!

Marketing Tip: It might sound obvious but ensure you enjoy the marketing you do. I like sharing flash fiction videos on my YouTube channel so have no problems doing that kind of marketing! I also love blogging, so I blog.

I’ve found it pays to split my time into writing and marketing so I don’t neglect either of them. So I work out what I can do based on my other commitments on any given day. I’ve found that helps with focus and I do get writing and marketing done by the end of each week. This post of course is a bit of both of those things!

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Hope you have had a good weekend.

About to start my flash fiction Sunday afternoon writing session – always look forward to this. Have a couple of short story competitions I want to have a go at so plan to start fleshing out ideas for those too. Will be good to get the old brain fired up!

Writing Tip: Good ways to get into flash stories include asking a question so your character has to answer it in some way or with a line of dialogue so a reader will want to read on to find out how that conversation finishes.

Best of all, you can combine these! See my example below.

‘What is that at the end of the street, Dora?’

All sorts of possibilities arise from that. Has Dora’s friend spotted something alien? Is the friend seeing something Dora really cannot see (or are they trying to wind Dora up for some nefarious reason)?

You could also ask a question you too would like to know the answer to and get your character to answer it! (And if you’re stuck for ideas do heck out the random question generators – these can be useful for giving you a starting point).

Have fun!

Tips will help you make the most of your writing day
Hope your Saturday has gone well. Still pretty cold around here.

Plan to get back to submitting stories to Friday Flash Fiction this weekend. Also will be writing about Making the Most of Your Writing Time for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Always a timely topic that one!

At the end of the month I’m off to see Cinderella as performed by The Chameleon Theatre Group and unlike the lead character, I do plan to be home before midnight! But The Chameleons always stage wonderful pantomimes and I am so looking forward to having many laughs at this later this month.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I sometimes write flash tales as acrostics but find these work best when I only use one or two words to form the acrostic itself. For example:-

New Year by Allison Symes

N = New Year’s Day is when my hopes are high.
E = Ending days later when normal life resumes.
W = Wendy sighed. It is the same every year so why am I surprised?

Y = Yet deep down I still feel this year should be different.
E = Even though long experience tells me otherwise.
A = And then she picked up the letter from her mat.
R = Recognizing the New Zealand address of an old friend, she opened it and a return air plane ticket fell out.

Ends
Allison Symes – 14th January 2025

Hope you enjoyed that. Acrostic tales are fun to do and make for an interesting change to the usual prose format.

Advantage to flash is setting characters anywhere

It’s Monday. It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s still January. It’s still Monday. Time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Getting On With It.

 

Still cold here but not as bad as yesterday. Am cheering myself up a bit by looking out for the early signs of spring on the way. I have a tiny primrose out in my garden. Have no idea whether it will survive the frosts but it is out.

And that reminds me of a useful character trait which I’m sure you could find a use for in stories – a character with persistence, who will get through or overcome some difficulty, no matter what the odds are against them. There are definitely story ideas from that thought and all inspired by a tiny primrose. I like this.

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Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group later this month. It’s always great fun and Zoom makes meetings like this possible where in person get-togethers are simply not an option, as is the case here.

Zoom is also useful for recording your stories and playing them back (you simply set up a meeting with yourself, press record, end the meeting and Zoom converts the recording into an mp3 file for you). I always use this facility when I’m submitting a flash tale for potential broadcast. It is the only sure way to know I have got my timing right.

Usually with these things you’re given a maximum recording time rather than a maximum word count. When I play my recordings back, I’m listening for errors in dialogue but also making sure I’m not speaking too fast.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Books For the Darker Times of Year

January can be the gloomiest month of the year. Christmas is over and it is still ages before spring turns up. It is a great time for getting more reading done though! One of the simple delights in life is curling up with a good book in a cosy chair with a hot drink or several to hand.

For me, January is definitely not the time to be reading anything gloomy in itself. I want something to make me smile or laugh (Wodehouse, Pratchett and Austen are my go-tos for this).

I also like to read plenty of short fiction (it’s so often easier to find funny short stories tor flash fiction than novels – well that’s been my experience).

But if there is anything positive to be said for January, it is a good reading month. Escaping into a world contained in the pages of a book always seems like a good idea to me but never more so than when it is dark and cold outside.

Screenshot 2025-01-11 at 17-23-00 Allison Symes's Blog - Books For The Darker Times of Year - January 11 2025 09 22 Goodreads

 

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Why I Write – Guest Blog Appearance – and Characters

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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. Many thanks to Janet Williams for the photo of me signing books – always good to share those photos! Image from the Autumn Gathering in October 2024 (an Association of Christian Writers event) was taken by me, Allison Symes, as were all screenshots taken by me.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Ghastly weather all over the UK. Very wet with some flooding here. I hope all clears up soon. Writing wise, it was good to get back to my usual flash fiction Sunday afternoon, the first of the New Year. Am also looking forward to sharing author interviews on Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. And I’m delighted to say I was on Val Penny’s blog as a guest writer looking at Why I Write. Link below.

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Facebook – General

Sorry running very late today (7th January 2025). Have had one of those days – good but busy. Lady was delighted to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal again today and I was delighted later, to have my first swim of 2025. The water seemed warm compared to the cold outside!

What one thing about creative writing do you enjoy the most?

My answer is creating characters who come to life as I flesh them out more. I love that process. It means I know I’ve got a character who has a story to share.

Okay, what other thing about creative writing do you enjoy the most?

My answer is getting the story finished, submitted, and accepted!

Best get on with things then!

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Hope the first Monday of the New Year hasn’t gone too badly. Lady got off to a good start by seeing her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals again. Avoided part of the park (think muddy ski slope and you have a good idea as to why my doing this was a good idea!).

Glad to see Writing Magazine have issued their competitions guide again. Will have a good look through at at some point soon and mark up some possibles. I find doing that is a good inventive to then get something in for said possibles!

Character Tip: Give some thought as to what you most love about your character and also what you loathe about them. Think about why you come up with the answers you do here. It will give you further insight as to what your character is made of and you are bound to find that useful as you tell your story (sorry, their story!).

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Hope you are having a good weekend. No snow here, thankfully, but it is very wet and there is flooding in the usual places around here.

Will be looking at a topic close to my heart for Chandler’s Ford Today this coming week. I’ll be discussing The Joys of Fairytales. It’s apt too as later in the month I will be going to see Cinderella, as staged by my excellent local theatre company, The Chameleon Theatre Group. Looking forward to seeing that and sharing something about my love of a classic story form on Friday.

Also glad to report there will be more author interview coming on CFT too. More details nearer the time.

4th January 2025
Many thanks to Val Penny for inviting me on to her blog today. It was a joy to talk about Why I Write. It is a great topic!

It makes you think about why you put yourself through producing work you don’t know will see the light of the day. (It’s why acceptances mean so much when you get them). You do need a thick skin and the love of story I think to be able to keep going despite setbacks (which every writer faces).

I also share something of my writing journey as that has a huge impact on why I write at all. See link.

Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 20-40-45 Why I Write by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I usually submit stories for Friday Flash Fiction over the weekend so will look forward to doing so again this coming one. It will keep me on track (though they are open for submissions again from today, 7th January).

I like to mix up my story moods for all flash I write and go from a mixture of light and dark (which directly inspired the title of my first collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again. Sums the book up well, I think).

Given fiction reflects the human condition – with all our failures and vices – I think a mixture of light and dark is appropriate for that reason too!

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6th January 2025

It’s the first Monday of the New Year. It’s dark, the weather’s ghastly, and it is still a Monday. Definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Making the Best of Things. Perhaps an apt title!

 

I get my inspiration for my flash fiction and short stories from many different sources. I like this a lot. I’ve found it pays to keep the ways you’re inspired varied as it keeps things more interesting for me too and encourages me to “raise my game”.

Naturally I’m inspired by books and stories I love written by other authors. The various prompts are a huge source of inspiration, especially if I tweak them a bit to suit my purposes better.

The proverbs and well known sayings are often great for use as themes for your stories. And ideas do occur as I’m out walking the dog. (I note them down as soon as I can on getting home again). Reading comes into all of this a lot. I’ve been inspired for stories by interesting non-fiction articles or books as I wonder what my character might make of what is in that article or book.

Ideas are all around but it is a question, I think, of expecting there to be ideas and thus to be open to spotting them. Reading does expand the mind. It can expand your own imagination too. I like that a lot too.

The one thing I consistently find is if I’m especially tired, that is when ideas can be harder to spot. So I aim to be kind to myself, get some rest, and read. I know that will fire up my own imagination again in no time, spurred on by that rest.

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Hope you have had a good day. No snow here but did have a very heavy frost. Am so thankful writing is something I get to do in the warm!

Looking forward to resuming my flash fiction Sunday afternoons tomorrow. I’ve also got a couple of short story competitions I want to enter so will try to start fleshing out ideas for those as well. Plan to send in a story for Friday Flash Fiction when they re-open next week.

Good to have my copy of Writing Magazine come through the letter box. Pleased to see Debz Hobbs-Wyatt’s piece in there. I recently interviewed her for Chandler’s Ford Today re her novel, If Crows Could Talk. I always see it as a good month when I know (or have heard of) at least four or five authors in the magazine. It is a good month this time!

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Goodreads Author Blog – Influences

Isaac Newton claimed “If I have seen further it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants”, rightly meaning he was building on what had gone before. But every single writer does this, regardless of what we write. Every reader will experience it, regardless of what you read. Why?

Simply because every author has their influences – the writers who have gone before. I have too many to mention but I especially love Pratchett, Austen, and Wodehouse (what a trio!). Every writer is inspired by what they read and readers get the benefit of that though they won’t know it directly.

Austen showed me the wonderful use of irony in fiction. Pratchett showed me fantasy and humour were a superb mix. As for Wodehouse, his mastery of the English language is sublime and his creations live on long after him. Nobody will forget Jeeves and Wooster.

Any time I enjoy a book, I am indirectly taking in what and whom the writers of those books were influenced by. I think this is a lovely thing.

Screenshot 2025-01-04 at 18-00-53 Allison Symes's Blog - Influences - January 04 2025 10 00 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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New Year, New Writing Hopes

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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.
I hope you had a lovely Christmas and may I wish you a Happy New Year! This is a longer post that normal taking in all the usual “bits and bobs” I would have put in a post had it been a normal week. Lady had a fabulous time over the break and yes Santa Paws was generous to her – no surprises there. The big surprise? The squeakers are still in her Christmas toys!

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

31st December 2024

Happy New Year! However you celebrate it, have a lovely time.

Will be sharing my website round up later this evening which will include the usual items I would have written had last week been in any way a normal week! Hope you enjoy a good read when it is up later. It is this very post!

Author newsletter out again tomorrow.

Will be off to the pantomime at the end of January (so yes I know it’s ages away, we all know how long January drags on for!). Will be seeing Cinderella as performed by my local and excellent amateur theatre company, The Chameleon Theatre Group. Know it will be a good laugh and I always have time for that! By the end of January, I will be in good need of that laugh I should think!

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Lovely to get back to seeing our park friends again. Lady loved playing with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals.

Writing wise, am slowly getting back to the usual routines, and I will be sending out my new author newsletter on 1st January though it won’t be at midnight! To sign up for writing news, tips, prompts, and more, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Will be discussing Story Tips for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

Newsletter with envelope image

29th December 2024
Pleased to be back on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with a timely post called New Year, New Hopes. Hope you find it useful.

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27th December 2024 – second post, none on 28th

Second post tonight as will be happily busy tomorrow with last of the Christmas family events. Lady will love it too and be shattered by the end of the day, as she always is with these things.

Writing Tip: I find using my old school desk diary invaluable for planning out my work, making sure posts are scheduled, I know when I have to get competition entries in by etc. Writing things down helps in that I find it “commits” me to achieving these things. Seeing something written down like that does prod me to get on with said writing!

Top Tips

I hope you have had and are continuing to have a lovely Christmas. Couple of posts from me tonight as I’m off again tomorrow. Normal service (or as close as I can get to that!) from Sunday.

First up, I’m pleased to share my Chandler’s Ford Today post for this week – New Year, New Writing Hopes. I look at the value of taking some time out at around this time of year to work out where you are with your writing and where you would like to be by the end of next year. I also share a summary of what I’ve been up to and what I’d like to achieve in 2025. I also celebrate the return of Writers’ Narrative. Hope you enjoy the post.

New Year, New Writing Hopes

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Nothing for 25th and 26th December for obvious reasons!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

31st December 2024

Happy New Year, everyone.

Looking forward to writing my first flash pieces of 2025 but at least I won’t have long to wait for that. Am loving the flash fiction related book I was given for Christmas (it’s an anthology and I recognise some of the names, which is lovely). Some stories so far were deeply moving, others made me laugh out loud. Sums up what I love about flash as a whole – I love the mixture of moods it can conjure up.

Where will your fiction take your readers

I don’t know about you but it doesn’t feel like a Monday, even though I know it is one! This post-Christmas-but-still-holiday-time does feel odd. However, it definitely means it’s time for a story. Hope you like my last one for 2024 on YouTube -Another Year. I suspect writers will identify with this one.

 

Wonderful day spent with family yesterday. Lady loved it too and came home as a very tired but happy dog!

I’ll start submitting work to Friday Flash Fiction from next week but it is so nice to be back at the desk again. Loved the break. Am loving getting back to the writing again. It’s a good place to be and flash fiction gives me a nice way into resuming work again – in writing short creative short pieces, which will get the old imagination fired up again!

Flash Fiction focuses on THE important aspect of a character's life

28th December 2024 – second post, none on 28th
What will be nice resuming my flash fiction afternoon later this weekend is it will ease me back into my writing routine nicely. Loved the few days off. Caught up with some viewing. Liked the Doctor Who and absolutely adored Wallace and Grommit. Loved spotting all the film references in that. Am beginning to think of potential competitions to have a go at soon as well. Want to start off the coming New Year on a good creative footing!

Always a joy to talk or write about flash fiction

27th December 2024

A couple of posts from me tonight given I’ve a busy but lovely day or so coming up. Will be back to my usual Sunday afternoon writing lots of flash fiction later this weekend. One of my Christmas presents was flash book related and I’m enjoying a thumping good read of that. Has given me ideas for a potential future market too so win-win there.

Quick flag up to fans of Friday Flash Fiction. They will be re-open for submissions from Tuesday 7th January 2025. See screenshot. I’ve taken the opportunity of Christmas to have a writing break here myself but know I will raring to go again sending stories in here from next week.

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Nothing for 25th and 26th December for obvious reasons!

Fairytales with Bite – Time Off

Even the fairies need a break from their wands.
It’s not just the equipment which needs a recharge.
Time to put the feet up, make non-magical brews.
As there are many evil beings at large,
A fairy godmother’s work is never done.
For now it’s time for tea and a decent iced bun.

Ends
Allison Symes – 27th December 2024

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This World and Others – Resuming Work

A break is always welcome but it can be so hard
To resume work and get back to the old routine.
But if one has no wish to be scorned or even barred
From the old fairy network, back to work you go,
Let Santa and the seven dwarves say ho ho ho.

Ends
Allison Symes – 27th December 2024

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Goodreads Author Blog – The Joys of New Books and Revisiting Old Favourites

I hope you received (and gave) plenty of book related presents over Christmas. I was delighted to receive a flash fiction related book and am enjoying reading that at the moment. There is something so special about receiving new books. But I also love the joys of revisiting old favourites. Books are for life!

I took in a lot of my favourite Christmas stories via films – Hogfather, A Christmas Carol (the definitive version by The Muppets, of course!), and The Polar Express. I never get tired of these.

A major joy of a new books is in discovering an unknown world (regardless of what genre it is) and getting to know characters new to you. The joy of old favourites is knowing these already but enjoying these things all over again. I never tire of that either!

I hope the New Year brings you plenty of opportunities to enjoy your old favourite books and to discover many new to you.

Happy reading for 2025!

Screenshot 2024-12-27 at 20-06-32 Allison Symes's Blog - The Joys of New Books and Revisiting Old Favourites - December 27 2024 12 06 Goodreads

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Happy Christmas – and Festive Writing and Reading

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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.
Spent a lovely weekend singing a lot of carols at various church services. Almost there on my Christmas prep. Also looking forward to a few days off. My next post here will be a week away – on New Year’s Eve. I hope you have a very happy Christmas and New Year.

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Facebook – General

24th December 2024 – Christmas Eve
Have a very happy Christmas, everyone. After my website round up which I will share later tonight, the next one will be next Tuesday, New Year’s Eve. I’ll share a Chandler’s Ford Today round up post on Friday but that will be about it for a while as am taking a few days off and looking forward to them! Have a lovely time.

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Glad to say I now have a single Mixcloud link to the Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM hosted by Hannah Kate on 14th December. One easy link to check out 23 great stories. My tale, Perspective, is on in the first half of the show but do enjoy a good listen. There was a great range of tales here. Perfect to listen to as you finish your present wrapping, maybe?

Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 19-43-51 Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special - 14_12_2024 by Hannah's Bookshelf Mixcloud

22nd December
Am making up for posting late yesterday by posting early today! Many apologies for forgetting to share my Authors Electric post on 18th December. I blame being caught up in Christmas prep and Southern Water for cutting off my water supply on 18th December for 36 hours, bless them (not!). Anyway, I am only too glad to share the post now and it is on a topic close to my heart – Festive Writing and Reading. Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope you have had a lovely day. Christmas can now start for me. Have just got back from a candlelit Festival of Carols and Readings which was lovely. I read out a great poem about the wise men which was new to me. (It’s called Star of Wonder by Abigail Blessing – worth checking out, made me think again about a story I know well).

Writing wise, I probably will write a short Chandler’s Ford Today post for next Friday (I love being able to schedule in advance!) and one round up post on my website probably on Christmas Eve but not much more until after Christmas. Will be catching up with friends and family and am looking forward to that.
And, yes, Lady will be spoiled rotten and has got her wish list into Santa Paws in good time.

AE - DECEMBER 2024 - FESTIVE WRITING AND READING - Best version of A Christmas Carol is the one by the Muppets

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

24th December 2024 – Christmas Eve
Good to sit down after the usual Christmas Eve prep work. Will be doing a little writing later on but then will be off for a few days. To friends, past, present and future, Happy Christmas!

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It may be Christmas Eve Eve but it is still a Monday and therefore still time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Time Off. Everyone needs some down time, especially at Christmas.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Had my church’s carols by candlelight today (yes two lots of singing in two days as I took part in another one yesterday – great fun). Our minister’s Christmas cracker jokes made us laugh and groan in equal measure. But I guess that’s the purpose of a Christmas cracker joke!

I guess you could argue it is a form of flash writing given these jokes are generally under 50 words or so but you’ll be pleased to know, for humanity’s sake, I’m not preparing to write any myself!

Am wrapping up my flash tales for this year. There will be one, maybe two, to come on my YouTube channel but that will be about it for now. I shall look forward to the break but also resuming work after Christmas. Flash is a lovely way to get back into writing again after a break given it is short. A gentle way to get back into the writing life, I think.

Advantage to flash is setting characters anywhere

Hope your Christmas prep is going well. Am almost there on mine though the early part of next week will be busy with cooking etc.

As part of my flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow, I hope to write a flash fiction piece for YouTube (to go out on Monday) but won’t be doing much more flash work now until after Christmas. I’ll be looking for competitions to enter from the New Year (but think Writing Magazine should be issuing their competitions guide again before too long . I hope so anyway. It is useful).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Happy Christmas and Lots of Lovely New Year Reading

I do hope you have had a good reading year. I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas. I hope you end up having lots of lovely New Year reading to get on with thanks to gifts under the tree! Okay you can’t disguise a book shaped present – why would you want to anyway even if you could? – but it is such fun unwrapping such lovely gifts! Naturally I got my wish list in early here!

Not sure whether I’ll be posting again here before the New Year as am looking forward to catching up with friend and family over the Christmas break but I did want to finish by saying a book isn’t just for Christmas, it’s forever.

I also wanted to say books make the perfect Christmas presents and authors and readers are the easiest people in the world to buy for!

Happy Christmas!

Screenshot 2024-12-21 at 21-03-40 Allison Symes's Blog - Happy Christmas and Lots of Lovely New Year Reading - December 21 2024 13 03 Goodreads

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Characters and Motivation

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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 Lynn Clement for the recent image taken at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event and to Janet Williams for the one taken of me at the Book Fair in October.
Hope you had a good weekend. A busy one for me with next weekend being even busier still though I suspect that will be true for most. Will be taking a few days off in Christmas week so will probably end up doing one round up post here only that week. Am wrapping up various writing things now.
Looking forward to reading a wonderful poem about the three wise men in a church service later this week. It’s one of the few times when I get to read poetry out – always a lovely thing to do (and listen to I find). There are links between flash fiction and poetry in that both focus on specific details, are looking to make impact by the specific choice of words (we think about how they sound when read out etc) , and word count is limited.

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Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today so all well there. Looking forward to resuming swimming from tomorrow. Have been poorly but also had car off road so not a great combination of circumstances. All well with car and with me now!

Character Tip: What is it about a character that makes you want to read their story? This is where studying the books you love by other authors is so helpful to you. You can work out what you like and dislike and apply that to your own creations. I know what I dislike in characters so make sure those traits don’t turn up in mine.

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Family funeral today so was out early with the dog. Lady will hopefully catch up with her pals properly later this week though she did get to see one of them on our way home (and the two dogs gave each other “muzzle snuggles” – sweet to see).

Writing wise, am busy editing and wrapping up various pieces of work because come next weekend, I know I won’t be getting much writing done!

Author newsletter will go out on 1st January (though I’m not going to promise it will be on the stroke of midnight!). I share news, tips, prompts, story links and more here so if that sounds of interest, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks to all who have signed up to the newsletter this year and to all who continue to support it. Much appreciated.

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Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Cold but dry. Lady and I have appreciated not getting soaked!

Will be sharing Bridge House Publishing Celebration and Broadcast News for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this coming week. Will also be sharing a free festive story not found elsewhere as part of this. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward to wrapping up the year with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday. Four of us had a story on Hannah Kate’s show yesterday – well done, all.

Character Tip: Actors need to know their motivation, so do your characters. Funnily enough, motivation can be something small (though it would be major to your character). So, for example, a character can be motivated to act in a certain way simply because they want to successfully carry out one petty act of revenge against someone, whereas most of us would just let something like that go.

The motivation has to make sense to your character (and to your reader – we don’t have to agree with it, mind you, and neither do you. I can think of some of my characters whom, if I could meet in real life, I would want to shout at).

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Saturday 14th December 2024
Have had a delightful afternoon listening to Three Minute Santas on North Manchester FM with Hannah Kate. A lovely range of 23 stories – loved them all. Well done, everyone, and such a great advert for festive flash fiction, I think. Hope to share a link later (and again in my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week where I’ll also share more from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event).

Writing Tip: I often get ideas for festive flash much earlier in the year so I do just dot them down then and come back and work on them at a later date. Naturally you can do this for other obvious topics (someone is bound to want a love story for February for some reason!).

Basically, when you get the idea write it down. Don’t rely on your remembering it – you won’t. I’ve lost ideas myself in not doing this. Something always comes along to distract you. But once it’s safely noted down in a notebook, or on your phone etc., you do at least know you have something to come back to to work on later.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Looking forward to an informal Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom tomorrow. It’s a lovely way to wrap up our writing year. We share festive flash pieces, have a good chat, and Christmas hats/jumpers etc are entirely optional!

I won’t be entering any further competitions this year though I was glad to get a couple of flash related ones in at the end of November/early December. Won’t know for a while how they did. Fingers crossed time!

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It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Ringing The Changes – Not. There is one person who would love an iced bun with a cherry on it but knows they cannot. Expectations and all that. Find out who and why here.

 

Has been a busy weekend. I suspect the next one will be busier still!

I did love enjoying all those festive flash pieces on Three Minute Santas yesterday – it is a great advert for the form. Many thanks, Hannah Kate. Lovely way to support short form writers.

Am busy enjoying Christmas favourite films at the moment. Watched The Muppet Christmas Carol on Friday and plan to watch The Polar Express soon (Tom Hanks is great in that). Have seen Hogfather.
Definitely time for festive stories – flash or film related!

As for hopes and plans for 2025, I’ve got a few ideas in mind. As ever for this year, I’ve written more than I thought in one direction and not quite finished other items off, though I have made good progress on them – the usual mixed bag! Will be winding down the writing from next weekend for a few days. One thing I look forward to just after Christmas is having more time to read – and I do make the most of that.

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The challenge with writing festive flash, in particular, is coming up with a new way at looking at what are familiar stories and legends. For my Perspective, broadcast on Three Minutes Santas on North Manchester FM earlier today, I took the story of the Nativity and showed how it looked through the viewpoint of the oxen, one of whom especially was a bit on the grumpy side. As ever my way in is to find the character I want to write about and then take things from there.

What appeals to me about a potential character? With a grumpy character like my oxen, I can explore why they are grumpy (and often this can lead to humour). But there has to be something in the character for me to be able to draw out.

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Goodreads Author Blog – The Reading List

I suspect if ever there is a time of year for the reading list to grow, as if it had been fed with a super speedy fertilizer, it will be the time of year just on Christmas and just afterwards. It’s a nice problem to have though and I hope your reading list grows with lots of interesting new items this year.

Now I admit any book related presents I receive at Christmas do go automatically to the top of my reading list. I think there must be an written rule somewhere that new books do go to the top of the list like that. I tend to top up my Kindle reading list in the New Year (it’s a great way to use any given vouchers etc).

One thing that doesn’t change is the variety I have on my reading list. I like a good balance of the long and short forms, non-fiction as well as fiction. I’m never short of something interesting to read – the thought of that makes me shudder. Just as well there’s no chance of that happening then – and my reading list continues to grow and thrive!

Screenshot 2024-12-14 at 16-30-49 Allison Symes's Blog - The Reading List - December 14 2024 08 30 Goodreads

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event and Three Minute Santas

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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 and Storm Darragh didn’t do too much damage where you are. Has calmed a bit today (Monday 9th December) but bitterly cold. Had a fabulous time at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event on Saturday 7th December, despite the weather, and I hope to write more about that for a Chandler’s Ford Today post for 20th December. Meantime many thanks to Debz Hobbs-Wyatt and Lynn Clement for the two selfies featured below. I interviewed Debz recently for CFT and I was Lynn’s editor on her The City of Stories (Chapeltown Books).

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Facebook – General

Wow! Am not referring to the bitterly cold wind again today (though it did make me gasp) but to the fact Hannah Kate will have 23 authors, yes 23, on her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM on Saturday, 14th December. This has to be a record but it will give plenty of wonderful stories to listen to. I’m also delighted to say I know five of the other authors who will be on the show!

Given the weather is unlikely to be much better at the end of this week, having a Saturday afternoon in listening to stories seems like a great idea to me. The show starts from 2pm. See link for more details.

Huge congratulations to all authors whose stories have been chosen. I’m looking forward to listening to all of the tales.

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special, Saturday 14 December, 2-4pm

 

Bitterly cold, though less blowy, today. Not that Lady worried. She was thrilled to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today. I was glad to get back in the warm (despite being layered up to the maximum!).

Many thanks for the lovely responses to my two posts yesterday about the Bridge House event. Much appreciated. I plan to write more about it for Chandler’s Ford Today for 20th December. This week’s post will be What I Look For In a Good Story and I heard plenty of those read out on Saturday afternoon!

Writing Prompt: Whenever I go anywhere, I use Google Maps to help me plan out best routes to my destination from Tube stations etc. Saves a lot of time. What would your characters do when going somewhere new? Are they the type to “wing it” or would they want to map things out?

What facilities would they have to be able to do something like this? Something more basic than what we have here or something far more advanced? Am sure there are stories here but also in how any maps are produced and could they be “hacked” by an enemy.

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Had a wonderful time in London yesterday. So good to see everyone again. Enjoyed listening to the author readings and taking part in the same. Train was held up on the way back because the one in front of us hit a tree on the track. It held us up for an hour which I didn’t think was too bad given the circumstances. Not sorry to be at home today though as it’s still very gusty here.

Ironically last year I ran late for the Bridge House event because of issues with the trains. This year, despite the storm, the trains were running reasonably well in my part of the world and I was one of the first to reach the Theodore Bullfrog pub. (And where more appropriate venue for a writers’ event than a pub, I ask you!).

Writing Prompt: A seasonal one too! Take one of your Christmas tree decorations. What meaning does it have for you? Then hold that thought and apply it to a character. Who gave them the decoration or did they inherit it from a loved one? What’s the story behind it?

And many thanks to Lynn Clement for taking the image below.

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Saturday 7th December 2024:  Am on my way to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event. Even managed to get an earlier train. Appreciate there are likely to be delays given the storm. Do take care out there.

Looking forward to catching up with friends, taking part in the author readings, and finding out the latest BHP news.

Will be sharing what I look for in a good story in next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I do know I will be hearing plenty of good stories today!

Update: Now back home again and I heard many marvellous tales! Many thanks to Debz Hobbs-Wyatt for the picture.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal unexpectedly today and a lovely time was had by both dogs in very chilly conditions.

Pleased to discover there are five authors I know, along with myself, who will have work on Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM on Saturday 14th December.

Do listen out for it. It will showcase some fabulous festive flash fiction. There are 23 authors involved in all, yes 23, so there will be a great range of styles and stories. And all of us had a maximum of three minutes.

The great thing with flash? None of us can go on at length. It defeats the object of the format!

Less is more, indeed.

Less is More is the theme for flash fiction writers

It’s Monday. It’s a cold one. It’s a Monday after Storm Darragh. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Reassurance.

After all, it’s always good to know someone has your back when you’re in need of reassurance, regardless of who you are.

 

Will be getting on with flash fiction Sunday afternoon shortly. Given the weather is still awful, I am so glad writing is something to be done indoors in the warm.

As well as catching up with longstanding Bridge House friends yesterday, including someone I’ve edited for them, I met up with one of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group at the Bridge House event and a dear friend from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

There is something lovely about the writing community in that we often cross paths in different ways. What united us yesterday was Bridge House and, of course, an overwhelming love for the written word. Something positive to think about on a grotty weekend weather wise I think.

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Saturday 7th December 2024: I heard plenty of excellent flash fiction pieces and extracts from longer works read out at today’s Bridge House Publishing Celebration event. Open mic reading is a fabulous way to celebrate the format.

Delighted four members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group including me will have stories broadcast on Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM next Saturday, 14th December.

Am looking forward to hearing them all. I hope to be able to share a link later including in my last CFT post before Christmas (which will be on Friday 20th December).

Many thanks to Lynn Clement, author of The City of Stories which I had the privilege of editing, for the picture below.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Book Moments

I’m sure we all have favourite book moments which “make” the whole story for us. I know I have far too many to list here though sometimes, with films, you get something which adds to the original tale.

One great example of this is the song Marley and Marley from The Muppet Christmas Carol. I still think that is the finest adaptation of Charles Dicken’s wonderful novella.

But what great films can do is add something special. This can only be done when you’ve got superb stories to work with in the first place, mind you! Am sure Dickens would be pleased and it is fabulous to think A Christmas Carol has never been out of print. I don’t think it ever will be.

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