Tag: letters as a story format

Top Ten Tips and Letters

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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. Nice one here. Am busy on both writing and editing projects at the moment and am loving them all. I do like knowing what I’ll be working on when I get to my desk. Some days I have more time than others but I’ve learned to plan out my week so I see my writing and editing as a case of what have I got done over the course of a week, rather than judge it day by day. It also means I use the smaller pockets of time more efficiently too. I know what I’ll be saving those odd ten minutes here, ten minutes there for.

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Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Pleasant time in the park with Lady though she didn’t get to see her chums today. Hopefully will make up for that tomorrow.

Am almost at the end of re-reading the great P.G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters on my Kindle. Will have the happy dilemma of working out what to read next soon. Having read non-fiction for a while, I will almost certainly turn to something fictional and I suspect Jeeves and Wooster will be in the offing. Just sometimes I only want to read something which I know will make me laugh. Wodehouse always delivers there.

Occasionally, I’ve written short stories, even flash fiction, in the form of a letter. For flash pieces, I have needed to write up to the full word count allowed (1000) but that’s fine.

What I like about the letter format is you have two characters immediately, the writer and the letter recipient, and you can tell much about them by what is written and the attitude coming through the text. (See my Punish the Innocent from From LIght to Dark and Back Again – all I will say is there is a lot of attitude on display here and rightly so given the situation the character is in).

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Another month, another author newsletter is out there. You do spot how quickly the year goes by when you realise it is time another newsletter went out.

Writing Tip: Every so often have a brainstorming session. Write something just for the fun of it. Put one side. Then when you get one of those days when you are struggling to get into your writing, dig out your notebooks and have a look through. Pick something out and see if you can write it up further.

I use brainstorming sessions to come up with titles and opening/closing lines in particular. When I go back through my notes, I then have a choice of interesting titles or lines to use. I then jot down what could come from that title or the line I’ve picked. Before you know it I’ve got an outline and from there I’m on to my first draft. Well worth a go.

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Hard to believe it’s the end of June already. Author newsletter out again tomorrow.

Will be talking about Employing Kipling’s Serving Men for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. They’re useful for any form of writing and my post will explain more, plus share examples. Link up on Friday.

Delighted to say I’ll be going to see Bleak Expectations in July with my lovely CFT editor. This will be the latest production by The Chameleon Theatre Group and is based on the hilarious radio show from years ago on Radio 4. Yes, it does send up Dickens. Am expecting there to be lots of laughs as there were from the radio show. Looking forward to seeing and reviewing the show in due course.

Lovely to catch up with friends on Zoom last night. Looking forward to seeing them (and many other friends) in person at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in August. It’s getting nearer!
449464369_10161990168442053_4486270875338545614_nHope you are having a lovely weekend so far.

Glad to say I am back on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time my post title easily sums up my theme – Top Ten Tips! Hope you find them all useful. I know I do.

All of these I’ve picked up over time (it helps I’ve been writing since the last Thesaurus Rex, the wordy dinosaur, left the planet). I continue to use all of the tips too.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Don’t forget flash fiction lends itself well to seasonal writing. My main focus there is on festive flash and before you groan at the thought, I will say it won’t be too long before I start thinking of ideas for this year’s festive selection from me. Indeed for the magazine market those festive stories for this year have already been picked.

I have sometimes written autumn themed stories but the advantage of all seasonal writing is you can prepare them in advance. If you’re putting a collection together you could group your seasonal stories with a few tales for each period you’re writing for. Bear in mind there are seasonal writing competitions so having something stories to hand to look at and polish sounds like a good idea to me.

449776729_10161995376942053_2939031652275405182_nIt’s Monday. It’s been hectic as usual. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Traffic Jam. Those at the recent Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group will recognise this as a picture prompt I set them (the duck in the road). This is what I did with that prompt!

 

Hope your weekend has been a lovely one. Has been here. Enough going on to enjoy. Enough time to chill too – the perfect weekend as far as I’m concerned. Goes for Lady too as she’s gone off for a nap as I write this.

Flash fiction makes great use of inference due to its restricted word count but this is a huge advantage to a writer. It makes you think about what can be inferred and how you do that. It makes you think about what a reader needs to know so they can infer what you want them to infer. That last bit is also useful for crime writers when it comes to planting the old red herrings!

In my Serving Up a Treat (From Light to Dark and Back Again), I don’t spell out everything my character has gone through or what they have done. I do give enough information for anyone to work both of these things out and from there to deduce what they feel about my character.

This tale worked especially well in the first person. You can only see what my character shows you and “they” get to select what is shown. I like to take advantage of this in my flash tales. It keeps a reader wondering about my character too (and the only way to find out more is to read on of course).

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Occasionally a film or part of one inspires a flash fiction story. My The Haunting from From Light to Dark and Back Again is inspired by a certain detail in that fabulous Ealing comedy, The Ladykillers. Do watch the film if you haven’t – it is one of my must sees – and the cast and script are simply brilliant. The stageshow of this film was also very good when I saw it a few years ago.

But one detail from the heroine of this film led me to writing my story. If you’ve seen the film, you will spot what it is. If not, I hope you enjoy the story anyway. I always make sure any of my stories “stand alone” if people aren’t aware of references etc and am always appreciative when other writers have done this. If I do get the reference, it gives me additional enjoyment from the story. If not, I enjoy the story anyway.

But if you like your films, selecting a detail to inspire you like this could give you story ideas and without it being fan fiction either. There is no mention of The Ladykillers in my The Haunting. Doesn’t need to be. My story stands alone. Those who know the film will pick up the inference. Still works as a tale even if not.

Flash works so well as a format because the limited word count does mean you have to infer a lot. But you as the writer can make good use of that. Using your inspirations in this way can be a great source of further ideas for stories which will be unique to you – they’re your inspirations!

Goodreads Author Blog – Story Influences

One aspect to reading I love is when I think I can spot which stories have influenced the writer. Sometimes it is obvious to spot these. (This is especially true for the well done spoof). Sometimes the influence is portrayed in a subtle manner (and I always feel a bit pleased with myself when I spot this type).

Stories do influence us even if we’re not always conscious of it. My love of fairytales means I know I will expect justice to be done in some way (and that applies to most crime fiction too). I pick up on the Rule of Three in all manner of books and stories thanks to what I have learned from fairytales. Something happens twice. Something happens with a change on the third occasion and that change usually leads to the traditional happy ever after ending in fairytales.

Notice I say usually there. My first reading of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christen Andersen came as a shock precisely because it didn’t follow what, by then, I had come to see as the usual pattern. Andersen’s ending of this tale is appropriate for the character as he has portrayed her (which is something else I’ve picked on subconsciously thanks to my love of reading. Naturally I ensure the endings I create for my characters are appropriate to them as I have portrayed them).

So think about what books you love. What influence have they had on you? It may well be more than you thought, especially if you’re a writer too.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Please note the next edition of Writers’ Narrative will be out in 2025. The magazine has had to take a break. What I will share here is links to back copies of the magazine. First one up is the April 2024 edition on a subject close to my heart – editing. Do check these out. Plenty of excellent material to enjoy.

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine

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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 Wendy H Jones for supplying the Writers’ Narrative magazine publicity shots for the Chandler’s Ford Today interview. Many thanks to Janet Williams and Richard Hardie for the photos of me at the recent Book Fair.
It has been a busy week what with the launch of Writers’ Narrative and the recent release of The Best of CafeLit 12. Am also looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick which is coming up soon. It was also a delight to watch The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latrest production, Lilies on the Land. Review to follow in due course. In dog news, Lady has had a ball with many of her friends this week so all is well there too.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am thrilled to welcome back Wendy H Jones to Chandler’s Ford Today for an in-depth interview called Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine.

Wendy is the Editor in Chief and I am part of the editorial team. The magazine is written by writers for writers and covers all aspects of the writing world. Definitely not one to miss. Do check out the CFT post for more information (and handily there is a subscribe link in the post. Even better news, it is free to subscribe).

Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine – Interview with Wendy H Jones

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Posting early today as am off out later to see The Chameleon Theatre Group stage their latest production, Lilies on the Land, which is a play about the Women’s Land Army. Should be interesting and it covers a side of history which is often overlooked. I’ll be reviewing this for Chandler’s Ford Today next week.
Meantime, I’ll be sharing my post tomorrow where I interview Wendy H Jones about new online magazine, Writers’ Narrative. Looking forward to sharing that. See above.

Not long now either before I am off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Can’t wait to catch up with friends and meet new ones. I’m running a one hour workshop on editing here plus carrying out a couple of volunteer short sessions (pre-breakfast – people have to be keen!).

Great to see everyone at last night’s Flash Fiction Group meeting (Association of Christian Writers). Fab time had by all and there was plenty of creativity going on – well done, all and I hope you have fun with the writing exercise I set you.

Back to changeable weather today but Lady got to show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler friend so she’s had a good day and her chum never minds this.

Many thanks for the huge and great response to yesterday’s post about Writers’ Narrative magazine. I’ll be interviewing Wendy H Jones, the Editor in Chief, for Chandlers Ford Today on Friday. See above. Do look out for that. There will be plenty of insights shared and useful information about how to submit for the magazine as well. Looking forward to sharing that.

I’ll be getting my author newsletter out next week. If you would like to sign up for tips, hints, advice, news etc do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Having a Ball. Dog sympathisers will especially like this one I think. Hope you enjoy it. I had so much sympathy with my lead character (and I’m not sorry for the pun there either!).

Screenshot 2023-07-28 at 10-11-21 Having a Ball by Allison Symes

Do you like writing exercises? I love them and usually set at least one at the flash group meetings I lead for the Association of Christian Writers once a month. I find writing exercises encourage creativity, they make me think outside of my usual box(es), and I produce work I would not have otherwise have produced.

Most writing exercises suit flash fiction – such as writing to an opening or closing line. They’re also good practice for writing stories for competitions. Many of them issue a set theme, sometimes a title, and if you are used to producing things to a prompt, it is handy here.

You’re not going to be fazed by the challenge. You see it as just another prompt. Still need to produce your best work though – and I must admit I love the ongoing challenge of that.

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I was amused to receive an email today from someone I know who chose to write their missive as a flash fiction story – the writer did a great job! But I have used letters in flash fiction for more serious purposes. My Punish the Innocent from From Light to Dark and Back Again tells a story of criminality/vengeance/justice in the shape of a short letter. Letters can be a useful format in flash – you have to keep them short to make them work!

Why not give it a try? What is so important your character has to write to someone (especially if your story is set in an age where they could phone, email etc)? What would they reveal? The nice thing with this format is you can get clues as to what the receiver must be like from the way the character writes to them. That can be so telling.

What is the tone of your character’s letter? Forthright, judging, humorous? Plenty of story ideas here and I find it makes a pleasant change from writing direct prose. There is something intimate about a letter and you can get your characters to show this kind of thing too. Best not done too often – anything can look gimmicky if done too often after all , but if you want to mix up your writing, this is a good exercise to try.

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Fairytales with Bite – Food and Drink

Even the most powerful fairy godmother must take time out to recharge the batteries via food and drink. So what would she consume? Presumably not a suspiciously shiny red apple but other than that what would you feed her with? Would you base requirements on what we have here? Or would magical beings have to eat some sort of magical food and what would this be?

Would your characters prepare their own consumables or would others do this for them?

Food and drink are major parts of our lives naturally, but would your magical beings consider them to be necessary evils? What is their attitude towards having to eat/having to drink? Do they see it as tiresome, for example? Your average evil being would consider these things as a waste of time when they’ve got evil to be getting on with (while recognising they could use food and drink against their enemies).

Is there an industry devoted to producing these things and who would run this? Is government control exerted over it to make sure only what is approved can be consumed? Are there banned substances here? Why was any ban brought in?

Is there such a thing as food allergies here? What form would those take on a magical being? Which of your characters loves their food ? Which are the fussy eaters? Could envisage funny stories here – someone who is fussy has to learn not to be.

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This World and Others – The Hospitality Industry

Most of us experience various parts of the hospitality industry. I love visiting a local pub/restaurant, for example. What establishments would exist in your world? Whom would your world be hospitable to? Whom would they never offer any kind of hospitality towards? Are characters of lower standing expected to visit certain kinds of establishment, saving the best ones for the higher up? Does the hospitality industry encourage tourism in your world and who would take advantage of this?

Are the ones working in this sector respected or looked down on? How much regulation from central or local government (or both) goes on? Is food easily sourced? Does the industry have inspectors to ensure standards are maintained/improved as necessary? Who would work in the industry? Is magic allowed to be used as part of the job?

If you have personal experience of working in this sector, what could you bring into your fiction for a hospitality industry set on another planet? What problems would be the same? Which would differ?

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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