Tag: Historical flash fiction

Character and Story Traits I Love

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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 Easter weekend. Sorry to hear about the death of Pope Francis.
Writing going well. Weather a bit of a mixed bag at the moment but that’s April in Britain for you! Lady hopes to catch up with more of her friends as the week goes on.

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Hope you have had a good day. Quiet one in the park with Lady but the weather was good and Lady had a great time running around.

Writing wise, don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out on 1st May, the first one from the new service provider. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

The next edition of Writers’ Narrative will be out before too long as well so do keep an eye out for that too.

Also have exciting writing news I cannot share yet but hope to do so soon. Good start to the week basically!

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Mixed bag weather wise today. Nasty but thankfully shortlived storm this afternoon. Lady managed to stay dry this morning and did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal so all well there.

Looking forward to seeing Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor, the latest show from The Chameleon Theatre Company, with my lovely editor, Janet Williams, later this week. It will be another Chandler’s Ford Today “works outing”. The play is one adapted from the radio and is an interactive murder mystery where the audience can interrogate the cast. Sounds fun and I will review later for CFT.

Talking of CFT, I will have another smashing author interview to share in May but more details on that nearer the time.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate. Lovely church service this morning.

Just to flag up Friday Flash Fiction are wanting submissions sent in from Mondays to Thursdays only. See link for more information.

Planning to submit my competition story next weekend a good way ahead of the deadline. Today has been busier than expected so will be spending today writing flash, editing, writing blogs etc. Lots of “bits and pieces” but I enjoy writing sessions like this. The work mounts up over the course of time too.

Hope the Easter weekend is going well for you so far. Am tuned into the Classic FM Hall of Fame chart (and have been since yesterday) as the new one is unveiled over the long weekend. Am hoping I don’t hear the three I voted for until Bank Holiday Monday! Two of mine made it to the last day of the new chart being unveiled. To quote Meatloaf, “two out of three ain’t bad”!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Honest and Dishonest Characters for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link up next Friday. After that I will be reviewing The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latest production, Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor, which I’m off to see next week. Ties in nicely with next week’s CFT post given the show is bound to have plenty of both type of characters here!

Writing Tip: Much as I love the outline, do give yourself manoeuvre room. What I mean by that is I don’t plan out every little thing about my characters or my storyline. I just need enough to get started and to have a rough ending in mind. It gives me space to work out how ideas which occur to me as I write my draft (and it happens a lot) will fit in or are better than my original thoughts and I can adjust accordingly.

I usually find if I know enough about my characters an apt story for them will occur from their outline anyway and it is why most of the time I focus on knowing my characters first. The one exception to that is if I am entering a competition with a set theme where the situation has been given to you. I then work out the kind of character which would best suit that situation.

But whether I work with the situation first or with the characters, I always give myself that manoeuvre room as better ideas occur to me. It is one of the laws of writing other better ideas will occur to you as you write your drafts but you need to have written something to generate those or so I have found. But if you have got that manoeuvre room available it is easier to put those better ideas to good use.

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Hope today has gone well for you. Submitted a flash piece yesterday. Am building up a bank of 100 word stories as I have different outlets for them and it is good to have something I know I can call on when I spot a competition I like. There are a number of 100 word competitions out there so it is worth keeping an eye on.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week too. Will be looking at writing in different genres using flash, which is something I do a lot as flash can give you more freedom than you might think. It is just the word count limit you need to watch.

It’s Monday, albeit a Bank Holiday one in the UK. Time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Waiting Game. I sometimes write historical flash fiction and this is an example of that.

What someone who could be considered to be the power behind the throne really makes of their role. It isn’t all banquets and flashy clothes. Would you do what my character is preparing to do?

 

Plenty of lovely singing at church this morning including the classic tune of Maccabeus from Handel for Thine be The Glory. This wonderful music often turns up in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, which I am enjoying this weekend. Not heard this one so far this year.

Prompt: Story thought for you. What would your characters like to sing if they could pick one tune? Why would they choose this? There will be a story behind their choice. What could you do with that?

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow. Am hoping to submit a competition entry as part of that.

When it comes to flash competitions and titles, most of the competitions don’t include the title as part of their word count allowance but there are always exceptions to the rules! I always note whether a competition allows for the title in the word count or not, along with what the overall word count is.

Where a competition does include the title as part of the word count permitted, I allow up to five words for the title. I then write to the story up to whatever word count is remaining. If I end up taking a couple of words out of the title, I can add them to the story or not, depending on whether I need a couple of extra words or not. It is always all right to come in at under the word count stated, unless a competition expressly states they want a specific word count.

Basically, it pays to check and double check the rules. Competitions do vary in their requirements and you don’t want your stories discarded due to not following these things.

It happens. But it doesn’t have to happen to you!

Goodreads Author Blog – Character and Story Traits I Love

One of the things I love about series novels is watching how the characters develop over several books. The best for me for this is the development of Sam Vimes in the much missed Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. 

The transformation in that character is astounding and so well done. Start with Guards! Guards!, work through Men at Arms (which is also a fabulous detective tale) and wind up with Raising Steam and you will see what I mean.

But thinking about this led me to consider those character traits I love to see in fiction. I love courage, honesty, working hard etc and Sam Vimes easily embodies all of those. He’s also not afraid to upset his “superiors” when he needs to do that. I have a soft spot for characters doing that. It usually is deserved!

What I’ve always loved about the classic fairytales is characters deserving of help get it. Those who are arrogant etc are usually brought down a peg or two. But with rare exceptions they do learn their lesson. Oh if only that would happen in life, yes?

One huge advantage to reading widely (across genres as well as types of fiction such as short stories, flash as well as novellas and novels) is you get to see so many more character developments and I have always loved this as a reader. It means even more to me now I’m a writer as well.

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Marketing On The Move and A Commendation

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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?

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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.

Screenshot 2024-04-09 at 10-12-58 Association of Christian Writers (Group) ACW's Allison Symes asked such great questions that this author interview brought out more than any other - ever Facebook

Chandler's Ford Today post reminder picture(1)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).

BB - Flash with a Dash for TTFFHope 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.

433964776_10161819122772053_2492553790739286847_nLovely 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.

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 14-13-48 Doing Right by Allison Symes

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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.

436968787_10161823048807053_1350110096695660263_nIt’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!

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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!

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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.

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 16-52-23 What Reading Teaches You

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Moments in Stories

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Weather still a mixture of torrential rain, sunshine, cloud, and high winds. More to come too. I am so thankful that writing is something which is usually done indoors in the warm!

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Next author newsletter due out tomorrow but there’s still time to sign up. Please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com for tips, news, story links etc.

Also due tomorrow is the start of Flash NANO where I’ll receive 30 flash fiction prompts for the whole of November. I took part for the first time last year and had a wonderful time with this. I am looking forward to more of the same! It’s a fabulous way to get some drafting done.

I think that’s the secret, if you can call it that, to this and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). See these as ways to get first drafts done. Editing can come in later. But getting those stories down is vital and these ideas can help you get off to a cracking start. You can’t edit a blank page now, can you?

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler pal, who she treats like a mother figure (and the Vizler loves it too, she loves being “boss dog” here). Managed to avoid most of the rain. Always see that as a bonus. Lady and I don’t always manage it so see it as a win when we do.

How do your characters react to the weather? Equally how does the weather affect the story? It is often used to make life more difficult for the characters (see The Lord of the Rings for more on this!) but could you use it to help your characters instead?

For example, bright sunshine will make any journey more pleasant for most of your characters but if they’re facing threats from vampires, guess who the sunshine isn’t going to help!

Perspective is an issue here too. What some characters see as helpful, others won’t though it can be interesting to explore why the latter take a negative attitude as that may well have a bearing on how well or otherwise they “do” in the story. Outcomes could change too.

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Am pleased to be back on More than Writers with my post Moments in Stories. I look at some of the memorable moments in fiction I love but also discuss whether, as a writer, you can know what these are for your stories before you’ve gone through at least one edit. I also ask why do you care about your characters enough to write their stories up at all. Hope you enjoy the post

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Hope you have had a good day. Very changeable weather today. Still the rain did make me get round to one job I often put off doing – the ritual tidying up of the desk!

Will be looking at Stories Based On Other Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Looking forward to sharing that. I love stories full stop. I have even more love for a story which is based on or inspired by another, stays true to the character/setting portrayal of the original or is upfront enough to say it is Tale X based in the Year ZZZ, but is its own tale too.

Not an easy balance to get right but it can be done. So many tales have been inspired by Pride and Prejudice, for example. Not all are set in the Regency period. Must admit though I don’t like the zombie cross one though. That just seems wrong to me. I dread to think what Jane Austen would have made of that.

Author newsletter due out again next week. I compile this during the month as news and story links come in and is great fun to put it together. I had hesitated about having one but am now glad I have gone ahead. I think it is vital to enjoy what marketing you do here. It is that enjoyment which will help keep you going.

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Hope you have had a good day. I don’t “do” Halloween (much prefer All Souls’ Day) but I have written the odd ghost story in flash fiction. Like any other character, I give good thought to the motivation behind a ghost turning up. There has to be a good reason for it.

In Tripping the Flash Fantastic, in my story Getting It Right, I write from the viewpoint of the recently murdered Richard III who is lamenting how he has been misrepresented. It gave him a chance to have his say to a modern audience! That was my motivation there.

For almost all of my historical pieces, I “allow” my characters to speak in relatively modern English so they can make themselves understood to us in the present day. Olde worlde English can be tiresome to read in huge quantities. As with accents, slang etc, a little goes a long way and I have always felt the most important thing is to get the character and their situation across in a way readers will want to follow. So the use of modern English is my one conceit here.

I have written from the viewpoint of Anne Boleyn too and it was, again, much more important to get her as my character to show you how she is feeling on the eve of her execution and to hopefully encourage sympathy for her and her plight. The Tudor English would get in the way of that, I think.

Allison Symes - Book Collection and TTFFIt’s Monday. The clocks have gone back in the UK. It’s darker earlier. There has been more heavy rain. It’s Monday. You know where I’m going with this – it’s definitely time for a story.

Hope you enjoy Numbers, my latest on YouTube, and see how my postie characters deals with the stuck up folk in Wisteria Crescent.

Many thanks for the comments coming in on Musical Neighbours, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. If you missed it, you can check it out at the link below. I love coming up with the 100-word stories (aka drabbles) for FFF. Great fun to do. And do check out the website for great reads. (My problem here is tearing myself away from the stories but that’s a good problem to have!).

Am looking forward to Flash NANO which starts on 1st November. Had a great time with this last year and out of the 30 prompts, I was able to get stories I was happy with out of most of them which is fair enough. Not every prompt will suit every writer but I had a great time responding to the challenge.

Screenshot 2023-10-27 at 09-46-42 Musical Neighbours by Allison Symes

A huge thank you for the wonderful comments coming in on my news about Gifted, the latest Bridge House Publishing anthology. Much appreciated. Am so looking forward to the BHP celebration event in December.

One of the things I love about writing flash stories is I can give the characters who deserve it their well earned comeuppance quickly! I tell you writing can be so therapeutic at times – for the author at least! But whatever kind of flash tale I write, I do have to know my character well enough to know they are going to deserve to have me drop them right in it. Then it is great fun delivering on that!

Flash works so well for twist stories and humour too. My ideal story is a flash one where a character gets their comeuppance and it is a funny one. Love reading that kind of tale too. Probably says a lot about me but one of the joys of fiction is in knowing that a lot of the time justice is done (especially in crime stories) when in life it sometimes isn’t.

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I’ve had the lovely news this week that another story of mine is out in the latest anthology by Bridge House Publishing called Gifted. My story in there is called Desperately Seeking Talent. I often submit work for anthologies and it has been a great joy many of my stories have appeared in these over the years.

But I love reading anthologies and collections as well as contributing to them. I love discovering the different styles of the writers. I was one of the winners of the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition where the writers had to write to 1000 words all on the same theme. Fifteen different writers came up with fifteen varying stories and it was amazing to see the creativity here and a joy to be part of it.

Reading anthologies and collections is also a great way to discover writers new to you. Why not use what you like about their short form work to check out their longer stories and books?

I see books like this as “mixed assortments” of stories. What is there not to like about that? I also read these books in between novels as I like to mix up reading the long form with the short form. There is so much to enjoy about both kinds of writing and I want to make sure I get plenty of reading done in both forms.

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History In Stories

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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 week. Coming up next week will be a flash fiction workshop I’m running and I am now booked in for a book fair in July. Not a bad week here then! Have a fabulous weekend. Lady has got to play with several of her friends this week so she has had a good week too.

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Am pleased to share History in Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at how history crops up in various genres of fiction and why this can encourage empathy. It also goes a long way to explaining why so often writers, including yours truly, can have interesting internet search histories!

I also look at alternative history and why you have to know the rules, in this case the history, before you can break them, or in this case invent an alternative version. I guess that is the ultimate in the “what if” game for fiction writers!

History in Stories

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Looking forward to sharing History in Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today – link up tomorrow. See above. History turns up in various genres, funnily enough, and I look at that in this post. I love reading historical works – fictional and otherwise.

History can also inspire your own stories. You look at what historical characters did way back when and figure out their motivations. You can then take that idea and use it to create a new story where you character acts from the same motivations in the present day or in the future or in another time period from the past. What would the consequence be? There would be some!

Then you could look at a character of yours acting from motivations which are the direct opposite. What would happen there?

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Glad to say I’m taking part in a local book fair in July. Am looking forward to sharing more details nearer the time. Am also running a flash fiction workshop on Zoom on Monday, 15th May. Looking forward to that.

Now looking for ideas is something we all need to do and I like to use a variety of methods here. As well as the random generators (which I sometimes use to trigger ideas for my non-fiction, I like to think about what it is I love about writing and why. That usually triggers an angle I can write about. I also think about my own writing journey and some of the pitfalls I’ve avoided and others I know about as topics for blogs can often come from sharing something about these. (I also hope they warn newer writers to be aware there are scams out there).

I think about books and stories which inspire me and why. I sometimes refer to books of ideas for writers as well. I look into what I like outside of writing because something there can inspire an idea for a character and from there a story to write up.

This is where entering competitions can help too. For short stories and flash fiction, the theme is often set and from there I can figure out how I approach this. I like to jot down different ideas which occur, rest these, then come back and write up the one that makes the most impact on me because I figure it may have the same effect on another reader/judge.

May be a graphic of studying, diary and text that says "WHAT'S NEXT Good question! One thing I've learned 1S the writing journey is a continual one."

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Pleased to share my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy The Down Side. Maybe the genie had a surprise here? See what you think. (And a huge thanks for the wonderful comments in on this one already).

Screenshot 2023-05-12 at 09-59-03 The Down Side by Allison Symes

I’m looking at History in Stories for my post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. See above. I love history so this was a particular joy to write. I’ve written some historical flash fiction.

One example of this is Not Knowing from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I take the viewpoint of Elizabeth of York, Henry VII’s queen. What matters is sticking to the known facts. Where the fiction comes in here is I imagined what I thought she would feel like knowing her uncle Richard III has just been killed, feeling understandably apprehensive for the future, but hoping all would somehow work out. That to me is reasonable supposition.

May be a graphic of text that says "The trouble with history is, unless you are writing an alternative one, you can't change the ending. MP"

Hello to all who have signed up for my newsletter since last time and a hello to all who have been with me for longer! My next author newsletter will go out on 1st June and I share news, tips, story links etc. If this sounds of interest, please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com to sign up.

Interesting thought: what would your characters put in a news letter if they could write one? What would they share? What would they keep quiet? I suspect there could be some great stories there. Will probably have a go at this myself at some point!

Fairytales with Bite – Ceremonies

I thought this was an apt topic given the UK has just seen the Coronation of King Charles III, the first such event in 70 years.

Thinking about your setting, what ceremonies would they have? Would everyone join in with them or are these things just for the privileged few? Do the ceremonies have a magical significance, a historical one, or both? Is magic used at the events themselves?
Equally do your characters have to get to a certain magical standard before they can take part in such things?

Thinking about the social status of your characters, are there different ceremonies depending on class? For example a wedding (or equivalent ceremony) would happen throughout the society you’ve created but those lower down the scale will almost certainly have to have a ceremony which is less rich in detail and therefore costs than those better off/higher up in society than they are.

What would your characters wear, eat, drink etc for such ceremonies? This would have to be significantly different from what they usually wear. Everyone would have to have some kind of “glad rags” for these.

Also, would most in society support these ceremonies or are there those who refuse to take part/support them? What would be their reasons? Is there any comeback on that? Ceremonies are often held to bring society together so what would society think about those who don’t want that?

Story ideas there I think!

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This World and Others – What do ALL your Characters Know and Why?

It has been a historic week in the UK with the Coronation of the new King so I wondered, in your setting, what would all of your characters know about their setting’s history and why? What would they be expected to know? How is their history taught? For example is magic used to bring history to life for students in a way that we would use documentaries, visits to historical sites etc to increase knowledge?

Equally are there aspects of history all of our characters know but never speak about on the grounds it is something they have to know to avoid landing themselves in it with the authorities? Authority is often keen for their peoples to know something horrid happened to Character XXX in the Year Dot because they did this or that. They’re trying to ensure it can’t happen again by frightening everybody with the knowledge here.

What codes of behaviour are expected from everybody and what happens to those who against these? Again this would be something your characters would be expected to know. They would also know the consequences of going against these. Authorities are usually pretty keen people know about that too. On a more mundane level, what do all of your characters know about traffic legislation? What do they have to contend with here that we would not?

Where characters do not know what they should do, why is this? Has anyone kept them in the dark deliberately and what are they hoping to achieve with that?

Hope you can get some good stories with these thoughts to think about.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Evergreen, Blogging, and Historically Based Flash Fiction

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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.
Getting colder again where I am but there are signs of spring about. I’ve seen my first daffodil out and even a very early crocus. My snowdrops have put in an appearance too. How would your characters think of emerging from spring in their lives? When something happens which uplifts them? Coming out of winter is cheering but you can take this metaphorically for fiction too.

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Pleased to say I am putting in an appearance on Gill James’ blog today where I talk about my contribution to Evergreen, the most recent anthology from Bridge House Publishing. Hope you enjoy it and many thanks, Gill, for inviting me on to your blog.

 

Am busy preparing a story for a competition. Hope to have that submitted soon. I will also be having a catch up interview soon too – more details nearer the time.

I write for a number of monthly blogs (and have a ball doing so too!) so pretty much with all of them, the moment I’ve put one to “bed” so to speak, I’m away drafting my piece for the following month. It gives me time to get something down, and then come back to it as I need to, and still have plenty of time for editing and submitting the blogs. It works for me!

I sometimes use the random question generators to trigger ideas for potential pieces here too – they can work for non-fiction too. When I have my brainstorming sessions for ideas for titles, blog posts etc, I am jotting down themes to explore. I then come back to these every so often and write up the ones I like most.

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Many thanks for the comments coming in on The Milk, my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction. This is one of those tales I would put in the “wry smile of recognition” category as I suspect this has happened to most of us in our time. Hope you enjoy it. This one also definitely falls in the category of “write what you know”!

Screenshot 2023-02-03 at 09-43-43 The Milk by Allison Symes

Hope you have had a good day. I’ll be chatting to YA author Richard Hardie, for Chandler’s Ford Today this coming week. Link up on Friday. Richard is also behind Authors Reach Limited. I hope to chat to other writers from that stable later in the year. Watch this space, as they say!

With the boot on the other foot so to speak, I’ve recently sent back my own answers to some excellent questions sent to me by Val Penny. More details on that nearer the time I am due to be on her website. It is always an interesting experience being both sides of the questions!

And don’t forget you can outline characters effectively by asking them a few questions too. Work out what you think you need to know. Interviewing your own creations is a good way to find out more about them. I’ve found by working out what I need to know I can then write my characters’ stories up convincingly precisely because I now know what they are and what they could be capable of doing when push comes to shove.

May be an image of text that says "WHo WHERE WHEN HoW WHY I often use these questions to help me outline a blog post or a story. Covers a lot of ground!"
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Delighted to say the February issue of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now available FREE to download on Amazon. See link to my Author Central page. Do check the magazine out – it is a wonderful read.

Screenshot 2023-02-07 at 20-52-16 Allison Symes

It’s Monday. It’s dark. It’s slowly getting lighter in the evenings – hooray – but for the moment it is still dark. It helps if you like spiders for my latest on YouTube – As Good As.

 

I sometimes write historically based flash fiction where I either take a character I’m interested in and have their flash story told from their point of view. I do this for Elizabeth of York in Not Knowing from Tripping the Flash Fantastic.

Sometimes I take an event and base my story around that, focusing on just one aspect to it, given I won’t have the word count room for anything else. Both approaches work and you could also write a story based on the viewpoint of someone connected to the historical character or event (a servant’s viewpoint for example).

It’s an interesting form to write in and I hope to do more of this. History is a wide field after all (and don’t forget there are other aspects to it such as scientific history so explore!). What does matter though is being true to the character and what is known.

If you’re going down the reasonable supposition route (as I have occasionally), there should still be plenty of historical fact around to show this is reasonable supposition based on what is known. If you’re going to change history in your fiction, you do have to make it clear from the outset this is alternative history, a “what if” kind of story, otherwise readers will feel cheated and that will switch them off.

 

Another thing flash fiction writing teaches you pretty early on is how to hit the ground running. You do have go straight into the action (even if that is revealing a thought in your character’s head). What it must be is intriguing enough so the reader will want to find out what happens. Now that’s the core factor for all fiction but it is even more crucial for flash. No time to waste. Straight in there. Job done.

Flash also teaches you how to end a story. You can’t witter on. The story has to end with some sort of “bang”. And that’s a good thing.

I keep in mind my Ideal Reader here. I always think how does this line serve the story? If it doesn’t, it’s out. I’m thinking of the impact I want my tale to have on my Ideal Reader as well.

It’s all about the focus!

May be an image of text that says "The short forms of writing encourage focus. Impact can be stronger because of the shorter word counts. WOOZ SN3T"

Goodreads Author Blog – Light Fiction

What would you say light fiction was? It’s definitely nothing to do with the weight of the book, though I would advise against dropping the three volume paperback of The Lord of the Rings on your foot (to say nothing of the hardback!).

Light fiction isn’t necessarily anything to do with genre either. I have read cosy crime which I would consider to be “light” fiction because it has amused me, entertained me, but doesn’t pretend to send a great message out to the world at large.

I love reading books “just” for entertainment (though it is my experience the writers of said works have worked very hard to get to this point. If something looks effortless, it means someone somewhere has put in years of work to get to that point).

Jane Austen is rightly considered a classic author. The messages in her book are sbutle but she delivers them through entertaining stories. I don’t want a heavy, serious read. I read to unwind or to learn something and even there, non-fiction doesn’t have to be “heavy going” either. The best books here read like novels too and, for me, are far more likely to have readers keep turning the pages to find out more.

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

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Heading North Again Soon and Frameworks in Fiction

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the photos of the wonderful view as you come into Dundee Railway station and of my table at the Brechin/Angus Book Festival. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Went to see a live comedy gig over the weekend, booked my tickets for a very special event in March, and got soaked with the dog – so a mixed bag here!

Facebook – General

Lady and I had a soaking while out this morning at the Recreation Ground but other than that it has been a good day.

Am looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group Zoom meeting tomorrow night. I’ve mentioned before that one reason I think for the growth in the popularity of flash fiction is that people read more on screens now and flash works brilliantly for that. It is also easy to screen share on Zoom!

Now when it comes to thinking of topics for blog posts, I start by looking at what I think might interest other writers. (For the moment for Chandler’s Ford Today I am writing an In Fiction series). I then think about what might encourage people to join in with their comments and I also aim for my blogs to be both useful and entertaining. I do know from years of going to writing conferences etc that a topic which grabs one writer is likely to hook in others!

And for my fiction and non-fiction work, I ask myself one vital question. What will the reader get from this? It is crucial there is something in your writing that is of benefit to them, whether it is to amuse/entertain or to give them information which will be useful for their own writing. Do that and it is far more likely people will come back to you and read more of what you do.

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Hope you have had a good Monday and happy St. Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate.

Had a hilarious time at the Mayflower Theatre last night and it was good to see the entertainment industry coming back to life too.

Am pleased to say the February 2022 edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now free to download on Amazon.

Screenshot 2022-02-15 at 20-58-34 Amazon com Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine February 2022 eBook Publishing , Goylake , Howe[...]

Am looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom on Wednesday night. Meanwhile I’ll be enjoying meeting up with the History Writers on Zoom tonight. I’ve been very grateful for how Zoom has made things possible – with both of these groups I would not be able to get to these events in person (well, maybe once a year but that would be about it).

I’ve used a number generator as the focus for my stories for Friday Flash Fiction this week and for my new YouTube video which I’ll be sharing over on my book page shortly. See further down for the link. The number generated was 64. What could I do with that? Well, pop over to my book page in a moment and pick up the link for the video and I hope to share the second part of the answer to this on Friday!

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Am posting early today as am off with better half and other family members to see Jack Dee at The Mayflower Theatre later. Has been such a long time since we were last there.

A huge thanks for the fantastic response to my post yesterday about my forthcoming trip to the Scottish Association of Writers Conference. See below.

I’ll be looking at Frameworks in Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week – link up on Friday.

A big thanks also to the response to Misunderstanding, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Feedback always appreciated.

Hope this week proves to be a good one (though Lady and I were none too impressed with the weather today – let’s just say the bedraggled look is in!)

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Thrilled to say I have booked my train tickets for the Scottish Association of Writers Conference which takes place in March (18th to 20th). See link.

Now you may well be thinking that’s all very nice, Allison, but you’re a Hampshire lass so how come you’re heading north?

(Not for the first time either, missus. Quite right as I was at the Brechin/Angus Festival in November which was great fun and I must admit my breath was taken away by the stunning view as you come into Dundee Railway Station – see pic below!).

Stunning views as I came into Dundee station

Another view as I came into Dundee.

I thought Dundee Station looked rather splendid

I thought Dundee Station was rather grand.


Well, I joined the History Writers group who are part of the SAW and indeed I will be giving a talk to them very soon via the wonders of Zoom about historical flash fiction. Very much looking forward to that. Now you may be suspecting there is probably a common link somewhere amongst all of this and there is – the lovely #WendyHJones links SAW, History Writers, and the Brechin/Angus Festival.

At the Conference in March, I will be running a flash fiction workshop. I’m also one of the judges for one of the SAW’s competitions.

So lots going on behind the scenes for me right now, all very exciting, and I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the Conference in March.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I need to know my character before I start writing up their story but I also need to know the framework of the story in which I am going to put them.

Will it be a linear narrative, a circular story, a twist in the tale, a diary format, or should I write the story in the form of a letter? (I’ve used all of those frameworks in my time and will do so again!). I’ll be looking at Frameworks in Fiction for Chandler’s Ford Today this week where I’ll discuss this further but I do find frameworks so useful. I like to have a rough road map of where I am going. And sometimes I know what the story is going to be and then have to decide which is the best way to tell it for the character I’m writing about.

I do usually write A to B but for twist endings/punchline endings, I write B to A because it is simpler to get that kind of ending down first and then work out what could have led to it. It is also a relief to know I have got my ending in place and just have to work out the starting point.

There are often several options there and this is why I use spider diagrams to help me work out which would be best. And when I say best, I am thinking best for the character and best for the future reader. It isn’t the same as what would be easiest for me, the writer, to actually do (and I always dismiss this anyway because the idea is to stretch myself and not make life easy for me or my unfortunate character I’ve chosen to drop right in it!).

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Hope you enjoy my new YouTube story, At Number 64. I’ve submitted a linked story to this for Friday Flash Fiction this week and I hope to share the link on that on Friday if I can. I am enjoying using the same theme generated for two stories per week but it is also great to have a story with connections to another one, yet both stand alone.

 

The joy of flash is having a completed bit of work to hand relatively quickly but there is a difference between “completed” and “first draft”. I can draft a story in about ten/fifteen minutes (for say a 100 to 150 word count) but I will spend considerably more time after that honing and improving that draft. And that is how it should be.

The first draft is to get the idea down. Then and only then do you look at ways of making that better. Guess what? There are always ways of making things better! But you yourself get better in spotting what can be improved and sharpened over time. You get better at knowing what your writing flaws are and then making a beeline on the first edit to get rid of those.


Hope you have had a good Saturday. I mentioned this on my main author page the other day but I will repeat it here – Amazon have a good offer on the paperback of Tripping the Flash Fantastic at the moment. See the link for more information.

Looking forward to talking about historical flash fiction at the History Writers group I’m part of on Zoom soon. Given flash is focused on characters there is no reason why some of those characters can’t live in the past! And you can use characters to explore that past too. It is something I am hoping to do more of in due course.

History is made up of so many stories, of course, and as long as you are accurate, I see no reason why you can’t explore history via fiction. After all one of my favourite books The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey led me to change my mind about Richard III and take more of an interest in his life and times. Flash illuminates briefly. Why not illuminate a small section of history?

 

Goodreads Author Blog – Visualising Characters

I started reading Dickens as a result of watching Oliver Twist on TV. The film version being shown starred Sir Alec Guinness and Oliver Reed (Fagan and Sykes). Both were brilliant and I absolutely had to read the book after seeing this.

And, again with Dickens, I loved The Muppet Christmas Carol (and still do, it’s a must see at Christmas) with Sir Michael Caine as Scrooge. What I loved best, with my reader’s and writer’s hats on, is where Gonzo acting as Dickens the narrator tells us all to go and read the original book. Quite right too!

I don’t need a film or TV adaptation to visualise a well portrayed character but where adaptations are thoughtfully done, those TV and film portrayals add something special to the book when I then go on to re-read it again. I do visualise the well cast actors. I can’t read a Poirot novel now without visualising Sir David Suchet in the role or a Miss Marple without seeing in my mind’s eye the wonderfully cast Joan HIckson.

So are there any adaptations that bring a book more to life for you? Or will you always prefer the book over any adaptation?

Scrooge is horrified to see how much glee his death will bring to others unless he changes his ways
Dark grey streets typical of Dickensian London

 

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