Tag: New YouTube video by Allison Symes

Ghosts and Taking Books With You

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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. Due in for a wet week or so which means back to the boot and big coat! Lady won’t worry. Writing going well. Have picked some stories to edit for competitions and hope to do that later this week.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. It’s been a wet one here with more rain to come. Mind you, it is nice to see the trees changing their leaf colours (bar the holly of course!).

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting tomorrow night. We’ll be looking at light and dark as themes.

Managed to get more writing done on my busy night, Monday, than I anticipated so I count that as a win. I managed to get a pitch off which I’d been working on for a while. Nice to tick the box on that one. Will be a while before I know what happens with it.

Have selected some stories for competitions and hope to work on those later in the week. Need to get them sent off by the end of November for one and end of the year for the other, but I will probably try and get them sent off together.

Also added more to my newsletter and continued to work on a proofing task I’m working on right now. Making good progress on that and it’s an enjoyable job too.

And the best thing about writing? It’s the perfect creative task for the indoors, accompanied by beverages and treats of choice of course!

Another hectic Monday so it must mean story time. Well, it is a good way to start the week.

Hope you like my latest tale, which first appeared on Substack yesterday – Worth It. Look out for my YouTube story as well as this links to this one. (See further down). 

If you like the fairytales, you’ll love both of them.

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Am pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my latest post, Ghosts. Well, it is apt for this time of year.

I look at favourite ghost stories, why I need to believe in the ghost as a character for them to work for me, and look at some well remembered and loved shows I enjoyed watching which feature ghosts. Most recently, that has included the series Ghosts which I thought was brilliantly done.

I also like ghost stories which make me think or encourage empathy. Ghosts don’t necessarily need to be scary after all but they should have good reasons for being in a tale at all. And yes I’ve written some flash tales featuring ghosts including in my Seeing The Other Side. Given the topic of my Authors Electric post this month, my book title seems peculiarly apt!

Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Managed to get the grass cut today and it is the start of my usual autumn workout – clearing the leaves! Still it saves trips to the gym and keeps me warm.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Questions to Ask Your Characters for next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today. I’ll be suggesting some which I use a lot and hope the post will prove to be useful.

Am looking forward to next week’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group, something Zoom makes possible. We’ll be looking at light and dark as our theme. Should have fun with that one and certainly it’s timely!

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Wet day today but when out and about with the dog (who doesn’t care about the rain), you can get to notice things around you which you might not if you were meeting up with dog walking friends (whose dogs do loathe the rain). Sounds can seem different too partly because I’m not chatting away with said dog walking friends! (Will make up for it when the weather breaks and they’re back out).

Now the use of sound is something you can use in your stories, including in flash. You can get a character to be listening out for a sound (and the reason why will be the story hook there). You can get a sudden sound to bring about a change of behaviour in your character (and again the reason why will be the interesting thing here).

I find the hardest sense to use in a story is touch, funnily enough. It’s easy enough to get a character to see, hear, smell or eat something but touch is harder, I think, to do convincingly unless you are writing something like a love story, which I don’t.

If I get a character to brush by something, I need to already have established this is the kind of thing they would do otherwise it looks too convenient. I’m not going to force a sense into a story when I can’t have it there as a natural part of my character’s life and behaviour.

Mind you, that goes for almost anything, I think.

Whatever doesn’t help the story in some way should come out.

Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today and, later on our evening work, a human chum we haven’t seen for a while who always gives her a cuddle and dog biscuits. So Lady has had a great day!

Less so for the tired humans of the household. Mondays are usually busy for us but today just seemed to be on another level. Am so glad to be at my desk writing.

And with that, I would say it’s definitely time for another story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Tip Off. It links to my Substack one too. (See above). Hope you like both of them.

Even in the fairytale world, there are behind the scenes deals here but can my business man here get the better of the Big Bad Wolf? Find out here.

 

Looking forward to getting on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. As well as my usual Substack and YouTube tales, I need to look through my stock of drafts for a couple of competitions which are coming up. The stories I’ve got in mind will be well rested by now!

Am also looking forward to catching up with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group this week.

Don’t forget it won’t be that long before my next author newsletter goes out. To sign up do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I share many of my online story links here in a kind of “one stop shop”, as well as sharing tips and news. It’s a joy to put together and a huge thank you to my subscribers for supporting me here.

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Brrr…. It has been chilly but bright today. Time for the big cardigans and hot chocolate. Mind you, I can enjoy both of those while writing so win-win here. Lady doesn’t notice unless it is a few degrees below zero of course, not that we’re there yet.

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. Have spotted another competition to have a crack at but may already have some suitable pieces drafted. Will look into that further.

It is just one reason why I love having “stories in stock”. I will often write drafts to themes I want to write about and it usually is a matter of time before that theme comes up as a competition or there is an open one and the word count I’ve written to will suit it. Win-win here too.

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Taking Books With You

It’s not that long ago when we were in holiday season. I write this in October 2026 but it was only a couple of months back the holidays were in full swing, as was the heatwave in the UK. Now I must confess for once, while I did take my Kindle with me on holiday, I was too shattered at the end of each day to use it. I focused on some writing and reading my writing magazines.

But I do like to take books with me in some way whenever I’m out and about. And if I’m at an event, as I will be again in November and December, there is every likelihood I will be bringing new books back with me! I suppose this is one reason why I am so fond of the paperback. There are so much easier to lug about compared with the hardbacks.

Books though have followed me around all of my life from childhood home to my various homes I’ve lived in as an adult. I can’t imagine there being a house without books in. Certainly should I move again, I do know my books are definitely coming with me. Will take me ages to pack them, mind you, but I see that as a good thing.

But you can take books with you metaphorically as well. One of the joys of reading, in any format, is recalling favourite lines, incidents, characters etc and the more you read, the more you can do this. I love recalling these things when I can’t have the actual books with me for whatever reason. And I guess this means one thing – we all have to read more. I don’t see any problems there!

Let’s keep reading then!

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Interview with Gill James on Seeing The Other Side – and Favourites

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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. Busy one here – lots of admin – but managed to get plenty of writing done though competitions are still going to have to wait for a bit but that’s life for you.
Looking forward to sharing a presentation on 12th October with an online group I go to and I have an interview with Gill James which went out last week. See below for more.

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Pleased to finally share my interview with Gill James about Seeing The Other Side and flash fiction. This went out last week but today is the first chance I’ve had to share it but better late than never is a good motto!

Hope you enjoy the interview. I get to answer the tricky question about whether I have a favourite in my new book, how I discovered flash fiction in the first place, and I share a tip or two for anyone wanting to write flash.

Many thanks, Gill, for the interview.

 

It’s a busy Monday and am looking forward to going to an online history group this evening, which is why I’m posting early.

Still time for a story though which I initially posted to Substack yesterday. Hope you enjoy Ten.

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Hope you’ve had a relaxing Sunday. Was a mad rush this morning but this afternoon has proved calmer.

Writing wise, I’ll be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. Looking forward to tomorrow when I am due to share a presentation for a group I go to online once a month. And I hope to get on with drafting some questions for a future Chandler’s Ford Today interview during the coming week as well.

Competition writing is again on the back boiler for the moment though I do have drafts to look at and revise so I kind of have something here (or will do once the editing gets done). There are times when you’re just on the go all of the time – I’m in one of mine right now! (I suspect things will slow down a bit in November and then speed up again as we head to the festive season).

Writing Tip: When time is short, focus on writing and reading what you can. The rest of what you’d like to do here can be done later. Prioritising what does have to be done has taken me ages to get right but I have found it worth doing and it is helping me now.

The other thing helping me is drafting bits and pieces in odd moments and coming back to them when I’m at my desk again. It means I’ve already made a start and that helps a lot because it makes me feel better – I have done something creative.

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Getting chilly here.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Fairytales and Their Impact for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. This one has been a real joy to write given fairytales continue to have a major impact on my stories. You can spot the influence! More on this in my post on Friday.

Hope to catch up with some writing pals on Zoom later this evening and cracking on with flash fiction writing tomorrow.

Dialogue Tip: I’m a great believer in keeping things simple here so I will get one character to use certain kinds of words and another one something more “lofty”.

When my flash tales often feature one character only, I already know what their background will be and that directly affects how they speak and think. Knowing your character is key. What would they say? How would they say these things?

Keep those thoughts in mind and your dialogue will be fine.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady had a fantastic puppy party with her two closest chums, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback. Later, I had a lovely swim and tonight will be happily spent writing.

Delighted to share my interview with Gill James over on my author page here. See above. I love author interviews – taking part in them and being the one to set the questions. You always learn so much from these.

But I often interview my own characters too. It’s a good technique to help me work out what I need to know so I can picture my characters and believe in them enough to feel they’ve got a story worth sharing. I’ve got to be convinced by them before anyone else can be after all!

Another hectic Monday but I’ve a lovely online meeting to look forward to this evening. Meantime it’s time for a new YouTube story. Hope you enjoy Ten For Tea.

The kid may be right to want to make amends for broken furniture but can Goldie’s Mum find enough chairs to make this work? And who on earth is coming to tea?

Haven’t shared a flash acrostic here for ages. Time to rectify that then!

F = Fun format in which to write and you can vary the word count up to 1000 words.

L = Lively writing because you haven’t got the word count room to do anything else but it is fab for your readers.

A = Assuming different identities for your characters – from humans to magical beings to dragons – and telling their stories is fun.

S = Styles of story can vary too from standard prose to acrostics to flash pieces told in poetic format to all dialogue ones.

H = Handy practice for writing exercises set at groups and workshops too; if you’re already writing flash, you’ll be used to writing to smaller word counts, which is all you have time for at these things.

We’re well into autumn here now in the UK and the weather is turning colder by the day. When I want to indicate a season in a flash tale, I will pick one detail for a character to notice.

Instead of going on about the leaves changing colour, I’ll get a character to spot the Virginia Creeper is turning to red earlier this year than it did last (which also tells you the character is observant and interested in plants). Picking the right detail conjures up more inferred information and does wonders for keeping your word count down.

What can be tricky is working out what the right detail is for your story. I try to use something which brings in at least one of the senses because it helps readers picture things, hear things, imagine the smell, touch or taste of something.

It’s all about the focus, folks.

Goodreads Author Blog – Favourites

We all have favourite things – beverages, chocolates, books and stories though for the last three I find hard to list just one thing for!

I think the characters we create should have favourite things too – it helps them seem more real. I agree with Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of The Rings about his love of potatoes. Gollum on the other hand can have the raw fish on his own!

Favourite stories stay with you all your life. My own writing is inspired by the fairytales I’ve always loved. The elements of right being done for the deserving, the villains getting their comeuppance and so on come into my stories a fair bit. Indeed it can be fun when reading another author to play “spot the influence”. You usually can spot some.

I treasure my favourite books – ones I’ve bought, inherited or have been written by friends. I think you can’t have too many favourites here!

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Character Likes and Dislikes

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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. Lovely autumnal weather here. Writing and editing work going well and Lady is continuing to have a great time with her pals, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback, but there is now a new boy to our “group”, the fantastic Flash, a black lab. The Ridgeback is especially keen on him and Lady has spotted an opportunity to have a bigger group to herd up so everyone is happy here.

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Hope today has gone well. Odd one for me as not feeling brilliant so have cancelled a few things today and have taken life that bit easier. Hope it’s just one of those 24 hour buglets.

Writing, though, is lovely because I get to sit down, I can take my time doing it, and I always feel better for having written something. I guess it’s a need to get a creative fix here.

Writing wise, I’ll be delighted to share The Chameleon Theatre Company – Review – Curtain Up for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. It is always a delight to see their shows and this was a new story to me. Find out more when the link goes up on Friday.

It has been a particularly hectic Monday so am glad to be at my desk and share stories with you.

First up tonight is the one I shared on Substack yesterday called Autumn Colours, one of my darker pieces. Hope you enjoy it.

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Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Have loved the warm autumnal weather.

Writing wise, I’m hosting an ACW online group next week plus I hope to catch up with some blogging I need to get done. My Writers’ Narrative article about Darkness in a Flash is out next week too. Not going to get around to competition drafting this weekend after all but things should ease up towards the end of next week so should get to make some progress then.

What first drew me to writing short stories and, from there, to flash fiction? I can’t pin down any one thing here. I’ve always loved fiction of all lengths but there is something so compact about short tales which makes me adore them. I like being able to read about and write a complete world in 2000 words or fewer and then move on to more! You can’t read a novel in a day (at least I can’t). I suppose it is a case of getting my story fix per day right!

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Not bad here.

Will be sharing The Chameleon Theatre Company – Review – Curtain Up for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. It wasn’t a play I’d heard of but then that is one of the joys of going to your local excellent amateur theatre company. You get to discover many wonderful plays. Review up on Friday.

Going to the theatre is just one fabulous way of taking in stories, apart from reading them. Am also fond of good film adaptations and audio books/productions. Where I’ve read the originating book first, as so many productions are based on novels and short stories, I like to see the adaptation has stuck to the book as faithfully as possible or, at the very least, to its spirit. I’ve got to feel the original novelist/short story writer would like what has been done with their works.

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Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal again today. Quiet one here as not feeling brilliant but writing is useful for taking your mind off things. Flash is great when you know you want to write something but not necessarily a lengthy piece!

I think writers do have two great joys – writing and the love of reading which got us into writing our own stories in the first place. The lovely thing with flash it is a perfect format for dipping into and I often read flash and short story collections in between reading novels. I like a good mixture of long and short fiction in my life, whether I’m reading or writing it.

I’m currently preparing some answers to questions for a blog I hope to appear on in due course (I will share the link as and when) and one brilliant question was to ask about my favourite story in Seeing The Other Side. Now I love them all, naturally, though there is one which stands out as I gave it a test run at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in 2025 where it was well received.

But with rare exceptions, most stories are great aren’t they? And the challenge of writing your own remains fun, as it should do (most of the time anyway).

It has been a non-stop Monday so am glad to be sitting down to write this. Time for another story on YouTube. This one is lighter in tone than my Substack one this week (Autumn Colours – see above) but both are written to the 50 word classic dribble word count.

Hope you enjoy Change of Plan.

No matter what world it is, there will be disagreements between mothers and daughters as to what the latter should be wearing when they go out. See what happens here on this in the fairytale world.

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. The last few weeks have seen me write plenty of 100 worders for Substack and YouTube so will be writing to a different word count today.

It’s a good idea to mix up writing to different flash fiction word count ranges as you will find competitions to suit whatever word count you are using. It’s also fun!

The dribbles (fifty worders) are great for sharing on social media. The 100 worders are good for sharing on your website/blog. Both give folk a chance to enjoy your writing style.

As ever, am looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. I shared some thoughts on getting work out there with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group earlier this week and I hope in time I’ll get to see they did get some of their flash pieces published/broadcast etc.

Am also going to an online launch for a flash fiction collection by a fellow Chapeltown Books author later this month. Always good to celebrate flash books getting out there. And don’t forget they make excellent presents!

I’ve always loved inventing characters so getting to do this all of the time for flash writing is a joy. What makes characters come to life for me is their voice. Can I imagine Character A saying the things the author has given them to say?

The answer to that should be an unqualified yes. Even where Character A says one thing but thinks something else it should be clear to the reader why this is. There it is interesting to find out whether thoughts and speech ever come together or whether what the character is really thinking finally emerges undermining what they’ve said.

But the author has done their job well there because I only have one way to find out – keep reading.

Goodreads Author Blog – Character Likes and Dislikes

We all have our likes and dislikes when it comes to characters. I love those who try to get things right, fail, try again, eventually get them right. I don’t like characters who rely on others to do all of that for them or if they are relying on the misfortunes of others to make things right for them. Doesn’t seem quite right to me.

I find it fascinating to find out more about a character as I read on and that goes for their likes and dislikes too. How will those likes and dislikes pan out during the course of the story? Could someone’s dislike of tea, say, give them problems when they’re trying to win someone over who loves the beverage? Good potential for comedy there.

A character seems to be more real to me, even when they’re the most fantastical creation, if they have likes and dislikes. I will have much more empathy for a tea drinking fairy godmother who is bemoaning the lack of time for a decent brew or two than one who just gets on with the job and shows no “humanlike” traits about them. Indeed, the latter is more likely to come across as a cardboard cut out.

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As The Dark Draws In…

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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.
Fabulous family weekend. Good time had by all. All shattered including the dog. Now back to usual writing and editing work.

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Am delighted to be back on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time I look at As The Dark Draws In, which I thought was a good topic as we head rapidly towards October.

I look at making the most of the darker, longer evenings by reading more and suggest using the theme of As The Dark Draws In for your characters. There will be plenty of story opportunities there. Most characters have to face their “dark” and either fight it or succumb to it. Either way there are consequences which your story will share.

I discuss how in the natural world, as with the Christian faith, we see the dark coming and then the light breaks through. That’s a good theme for stories too. Plus I look at being the light for others and stories encouraging empathy.

Hope you enjoy the post.

As The Dark Draws In by Allison Symes

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Hectic day, have run late all day (yes, it was one of those Mondays!), but Lady had a fabulous puppy party in the park today with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal, our neighbour’s gorgeous Golden Retriever and a handsome black lab called Flash. Four tired happy dogs went home.

As it is Monday, that does of course mean it’s story time. Hope you like my latest which went up on Substack yesterday – Four. It’s a thoughtful piece, I think.

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Had a fabulous family day yesterday. Lady had a wonderful time, including with another family dog, and was shattered by about 7 pm! (Mind you, so was I). Busy morning today too as a family member was taking a service in Salisbury and I am in the role of support for that. Great to see everyone at Salisbury again. I last saw them at my book event for Seeing The Other Side held outside their lovely church.

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly and then focusing on various bits and pieces I want to get done. This week, bar Wednesday when the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group happens, will be a quieter one. Oh and the next newsletter goes on Wednesday too.

Dialogue Tip: If you’re using slang terms or words associated with a particular region, make sure readers can pick up the meaning from context to allow for the fact not everyone will know what these things are. The use of these can be great for adding some “colour” to your character – you can guess where they’re from, at least originally, for one thing – but clarity is everything.

Will be a busy family day today so won’t be writing much and am posting early. Will be looking at Comedy in Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today which will hopefully lead nicely into a review of The Chameleon Theatre Company’s production of Curtain Up the week after.

Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday and the next day will see my next author newsletter going out.

Next weekend, I hope to resume drafting stories for competitions. All go here but this is good. No further news yet on events for Seeing The Other Side but will keep you posted. I am at the point where I know I have enough material for another book but hope over the later autumn and winter months to sit down with this and get another book ready to submit.

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Busy day again though Lady did get to see her Australian Shepherd “boyfriend” and later her Hungarian Vizler pal too. There will be a tired dog on our sofa tonight!

Writing wise, my next author newsletter goes out on Thursday. If you’d like to sign up for tips, story links and more, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks to my subscribers for your support. It is much appreciated. A lot of the writing life can be a lonely one (though I make up for that at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event and The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick every year!).

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It’s Monday, it’s storytime. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Research Purposes. Like my Substack story this week (see above), it involves the number four.

Jimmy and Gran have a disagreement on what could be construed as good research purposes. It involves chocolate. More details here.

 

Hope the weekend has gone well. Busy family one but absolutely lovely as always.
Writing wise, will be cracking on with story writing shortly and hope to get back to submitting for competitions soon too. Last couple of weeks have been especially busy. Mind you, I see this as the calm before the storm of the festive season!

Flash Fiction Tip/Prompt: Have fun inventing titles and then seeing if you can draft a flash piece around them. I often do this. Sometimes I will need to put a promising title aside to think over options but that’s fine. A promising title can make you think of characters and situations you would not otherwise have done and can be a useful way into starting another draft.

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow as always. I need to draft some more flash for competitions. There have been a couple of competitions I’ve missed this year because I’ve been busy with other things, notably Seeing The Other Side, but that has been (and continues to be) a lovely thing to be busy with!

Don’t forget to sign up for Writers’ Narrative – it is free and you receive in your inbox articles on the topic of the month from a wide range of published authors, including yours truly.

Many of my articles look at working in the shorter forms of fiction so are relevant to flash fiction and short story writers. It is a joy to write for this ezine – well worth your checking it out but don’t just take my word for it!

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Events Where Stories Are Told

I love taking part in Open Prose Mic Nights when I can and also relish being part of the audience for them. What can you dislike about events like these where you know stories are going to be told? Naturally this does help the authors too and they are great ways to engage directly with potential readers. They link back to the oral storytelling tradition too, a pleasing circle I’d say.

But I also love in stories where there are events the characters are going to because inevitably stories will be told at these things, even if it is just about what is going on in the area of the setting at the time. So many plots hinge around who meets at what event and what stories they exchange. Can you image Pride and Prejudice without the ballroom scenes, for example?

Potentially any time characters meet up anywhere in whatever setting you care to name, there will be opportunities for story sharing. Whether the characters are telling the truth or not, and how important that may be to the plot, is something else I love discovering.

But get the characters together – that’s when the story really takes off. And events give you the chance to create a memorable setting too.

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Storytelling

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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. Quiet one here but next weekend will be a different story – family do which we all love. Writing and proofreading work going well.
Lady and I popped along to a local dog show, not to take part, but to have a nose (literally in her case) and to catch up with those we know, humans and dogs. Off to see The Chameleons perform Curtain Up later this week. Should be good.

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Hope today has gone well. Lady was delighted to see her Hungarian Vizler pal again today as we saw her at the local dog show over the weekend, not that either of them took part in it!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Reading Feeding Into Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Definitely a post which was a joy to write and I’m looking forward to sharing that.

Won’t be long before my next author newsletter is due out once more. To sign up for story links, tips and more, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Character Tip: When you’re reading works by other authors, once you’ve enjoyed the story take a moment to think about what worked about the characters and what didn’t grip you so much. You can learn a great deal from what you come up with here which you can then apply to your own creations.

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Lady has had a fabulous day in that she had an early morning playtime with her Aussie Shepherd “boyfriend” and, later when out with me, she got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback “girlfriend” too. One tired but happy dog is curled up on the sofa as I write this.

Has been a busy day for me too, as Mondays always are, so am glad to get to my desk. For one thing, I sit down for a while!

And of course Monday means storytime. I share Stash, which I first posted on Substack yesterday. Hope you enjoy it. I see this one as a historical flash fiction piece.

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Lady and I popped in to see the local dog show going on at our park after church today. Got to see some pals there. This show had to be cancelled as it was originally going to be in June, during the first heatwave. Much better today. People – and their dogs – seemed to be enjoying it all.

Writing wise, I’ll be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. I hope to chat with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group soon about ways to get your work out there. One tip though is flash is easy to share via your website/author newsletter etc and gives something of value, an entertaining tale, to your followers. It also gives a flavour of your work, which is why I share stories on Substack and YouTube.

Talking of which, I ought to get on writing this week’s tales! Done and shared above and further down!

Hope the weekend has got off to a reasonable start. Not bad here. Have got around to doing some sorting out. Not a displacement activity for the writing, honest! It’s been something I’ve needed to do for a while and I feel better for doing it.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Reading Feeding Into Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. If you ever needed an excuse to read more (as if, I know!), this post may well be for you. If you love books at all, it definitely will be. Looking forward to sharing that one.

Am off to see The Chameleon Theatre Company perform Curtain Up next week. Will be going with my lovely editor from CFT. On the same day I’m off to the dentists! Lovely as they are, I will be much more keen to go and see our local amateur theatre company in action (can’t imagine why, eh?!). The company have staged some marvellous shows over the years. Review will follow on CFT in due course.

Character Tip: What makes a character come alive for you when you read the work of other authors? It can vary. Sometimes a line or two of dialogue will help you “hear” and then “picture” that character. Sometimes a physical description will be enough for you to picture them and then want to find out what they get up to.

For me, I want to hear the character talk or think. From there I pick up their attitudes. I don’t need to like those attitudes. Especially when I don’t like them, I want to find out what makes the character that way and there is only one way to find this out – I read on. But working out what makes other authors’ characters spring to life can be a huge help when you’re creating your own.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Know I’m not going to be popular saying this but I have booked my Christmas food shop slot! Yes, the year is speeding by and things like this confirm it.

What do your characters make of the passing of time in their setting? Do they regret it speeding by or does it seem to drag for them? There will be stories behind why they think the way they do here.

And if your setting is in another world where time doesn’t exist as such or there is something we’d recognise as time but which works in a different way from what we know here, again how do your characters response to this? How does it impact on their stories?

It’s another busy Monday so time to relax with a story, I think. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Family Tradition.

Gran introduces Sarah to a family tradition involving making cakes. Find out what here. I suspect we’ve all been here!

 

I suspect this is true for you too but I’m starting to get adverts etc relating to the festive season coming up in a couple of months. Now for me the timing of this too early. We haven’t had Harvest Festival, Halloween, Bonfire Night yet etc. But the thought of bad timing made me think this could be a good story prompt.

What would be a case of bad timing for your character and why? What would the consequences be (and there would be bound to be some!)? Why did your character get their timing wrong especially if it is not something they would usually do or if they were facing something or someone where they had to be punctual?

Bound to be stories to come from that thought. Now how to work out how to switch off the festive adverts for the time being…

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow and that is probably when I’m going to pick out another competition to try.

Also looking forward to catching up with writer pals on Zoom later tonight. Always good to catch up. Getting together by Zoom when other means aren’t possible is one of the few good things to come out of the pandemic, I think.

Flash Tip: When you’ve got your story down and you’re happy with the character and storyline, then and only then is the time to have a look at your word count. This ties in with your choice of phrasing because so often I’ve found I can reduce my word count a lot by simply improving my phrasing.

What matters is getting your draft down first and you will write whatever comes to mind first. It’s why I can’t stop myself writing what I know are my own wasted words but I do know I’ll get rid of them later so that’s okay.

Don’t break the flow of getting that draft down. The choice of phrasing is a fine tuning issue and that Is reason enough, I think, to treat drafting and editing as two separate things. I know I can’t combine them.

Goodreads Author Blog – Storytelling

Storytelling is one of the finest things humanity has given the world. To begin with it had to be done orally. Later came the books and serialisations in newspapers, the magazines etc. Later still came books all could access via the penny dreadfuls (it was an accurate description but they did get people reading) but, better still, via the library system.

Storytelling matters. It makes us feel human simply because it helps us empathise with others as we read what the characters get up to and wonder if, in their shoes, would we have done the same thing.

I love the way we now have so many ways to tell stories – in print, via audio and radio, on the stage (am off soon to see what I have no doubt will be another excellent production from my local amateur theatre company), on the screen (small and large. I loved the Peter Jackson adaptation of The Lord of The Rings – it brought the story to someone I know who would never read a book that size).

I like taking part in Open Prose Mic Nights when I can. It’s a great way for a writer to engage with their potential readers directly and I think it brings storytelling full circle.

I also get to “feel” (from audience reaction) to what works well, what works as I hoped, and which is okay but didn’t get such a strong reaction. That may mean the story needs more work or it just doesn’t work so well for that particular audience. Another one may react differently. You learn so much here.

And I love performing my stories here. I’d never act but performing here is the nearest I get to it and it is a fabulous way to share stories.

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WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Blog Tour for Seeing The Other Side – Days 1 & 2 – and Meeting Readers

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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. Busy one here. Lovely time at the book event for Seeing The Other Side at Salisbury URC on Saturday, new CafeLit story out on Sunday, and my blog tour starts this week too. So plenty going on. Lady has been catching up with friends she hasn’t seen much of over the holiday so all well there too.

Facebook – General

8th September 2026 – second post

Delighted to share another blog tour post today. I was interviewed by Wendy H Jones on The Nuts and Bolts of Flash Fiction as part of the tour for Seeing The Other Side.

It was wonderful answering the in-depth questions and I had great fun here. Amongst topics discussed are what drew me to flash fiction writing, why I think flash is growing in popularity as a genre (and long may that continue), and I share thoughts on first steps in writing flash too. There is much more in the interview so do check it out.

There is also another fabulous review for my new flash fiction collection so many thanks to Wendy for that and the interview.

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8th September 2026 – 1st post

Day 2 of the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side sees my book reviewed by Maressa Mortimer on her Vicarious Living website. Many thanks, Maressa, for a fabulous review.

To check the full review out and a great summary of what flash fiction is and can be do see the link. Meantime one happy author will share a snippet of that review here.

Seeing the Other Side is a great collection of Flash Fiction stories, the third in the series. Allison Symes, the author, has done a brilliant job with this third book. Although each of her books are slightly different, this new collection is varied and attractive. Seeing the Other Side is another great looking book, and as the stories are so short, it makes an ideal present or coffee table book.

Seeing the Other Side ~ Allison Symes

 

7th September – Writers’ Narrative – 1st post

Busy day today. More posts from me today too. First up is my latest article on Writers’ Narrative, where I look at The Business of Writing In The Short Fiction Forms.

I discuss why networking with other authors, as well as being great fun, can do so much with your getting to know the writing industry. You do need to know that which is relevant to your writing.

Part of the problem can be in not knowing what you need to know or knowing you need advice but have no idea where to turn for that. This is where supportive fellow authors are a real blessing. I’ve learned so much over the years from talking with other writers which has been so beneficial.

It was another author who told me about The Society of Authors and someone else mentioned The Association of Christian Writers, both of which have given me so much help and support over the years.

I also look at knowing what to expect for submissions and I share useful tips too, all of which I’ve made good use of and continue to do so.

Hope you find the post useful.

7th September – 2nd post – start of my blog tour for Seeing The Other Side

Second post tonight is to celebrate the start of my blog tour for Seeing The Other Side. Many thanks to Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog for organising everything.
It is apt she starts the tour by interviewing me about what inspired me to write my new flash fiction collection and by also sharing a splendid review. Do see the link and screenshot for more.

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7th September – 3rd post – Substack story
Third post tonight and just in case you thought I’d forgotten, given it’s Monday, it’s story time. I share The Advert which I first shared on my Substack platform yesterday. Do look out for my YouTube story which I’ll be sharing on my From Light to Dark and Back Again Facebook page because the two stories are linked.

Hope you enjoy both but first up for your delectation is The Advert.

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6th September – CafeLit story
Hope the weekend has gone well. Good to have a quieter day after being out and about yesterday. I hope to join Salisbury URC again later in the year for their Christmas Fayre. More details nearer the time.

Blog tour for Seeing The Other Side starts tomorrow, 7th September. Looking forward to that.
Meantime, I’m delighted to have another story up on CafeLit – Truth Hurts. Doesn’t it just at times? Hope you enjoy it. And now to crack on with writing more flash fiction.

5th September

Many thanks to the lovely people at Salisbury URC for enabling me to have a book event as part of their regular book stall sales. It was great to catch up with people I know from the church and, as well as making sales, it was good to chat to people passing by. It was especially encouraging seeing and chatting with folk about encouraging the love of reading as early as possible. The children’s book stall did especially well which was fantastic to see. It was encouraging too. Children do read.

I had a fantastic time and the train journey is especially nice. It goes through some beautiful scenery. I hope to join Salisbury URC again later in the year to have a table at their Christmas Fayre. Yes, I know, but it will be with us before we know it. The event happens in November and I’ll share further details nearer the time. Always nice to come home with another “gig” booked up too!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Using Autumn In Your Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I share plenty of tips and suggestions here and hope you’ll find it useful. It’s certainly timely! Link up on Friday.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

One of the joys of creative writing as a whole is you never stop learning. You always want to improve on what you do and you do with good advice and practice find the ways which work for you. This is especially true for flash fiction, I think, given you have a restricted word count to work with but that limitation can and does inspire creativity.

Flash fiction has shown me what my wasted words are, how to tighten phrases and express things in a clearer, tighter way, all with the objective of saving on the word count, but it does also have the benefit of improving your writing. I’ve found those techniques have also helped with my article and blog writing.

Flash fiction writing has made me think along the lines of what images do I want to plant in a reader’s head, how do I want to make them feel by the end of the story, and all of that means I am always writing with my audience in mind.

No bad thing that!

It has been an especially busy Monday for me given my new Writers’ Narrative article is out and the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side has also begun today. See above for all here.

But it is still Monday and around here that means it’s time for my latest story on YouTube. Hope you enjoy The Summoning. It links to my Substack tale, The Advert, which I’ve shared on my author page on Facebook. Both are inspired by one word from a prompt set by writing friend, Jennifer C Wilson. At some point I will do the prompt itself!

Meantime I hope you enjoy The Summoning.

Can there ever be a time when an advert in a paper is more effective than using some magic to bring someone back to where they need to be? Find out here.

 

Nice quiet Sunday. Lovely autumnal weather too. Will be looking at ways to use autumn in writing for my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week. Plenty of tips and prompt ideas to come from that. Have used some of these thoughts already but all of them are timeless and you can return to them again and again. Do look out for the post on Friday.

About to start flash fiction Sunday. I did get to share some stories from Seeing The Other Side at my event in Salisbury yesterday. It remains the best way to show what flash fiction is. I’m all for showing what a great format it is.

Flash Tip: I often start a flash story with dialogue but do get your character to hit the ground running with whatever it is they say. You want to create intrigue in the reader so they have to find out what follows on. The dialogue doesn’t have to be overly dramatic either.

I’d be intrigued to read on if I was to read something like ‘Jane, what have I told you about pegging your washing out properly? Your underwear is halfway to Portsmouth by now. Look outside.’

I would have to find out what Jane did or tried to do next, wouldn’t you?

Had a fantastic time at Salisbury with the URC for my book event today. I hope to write more about that for a future Chandler’s Ford Today post in a couple of weeks time.

Meantime, I look forward to having another story on CafeLit tomorrow, 6th September. It has been a while since the last one. Will try and rectify that. Hope tomorrow, as well as getting on with my usual Sunday flash fiction afternoon, to record a story for submission. Don’t want to leave it until last minute but I must admit I can’t believe where this week has gone. Did get the recording done and the story sent off. Now to wait to hear back.

And Monday sees the start of my blog tour for Seeing The Other Side. So all go on that front which is great.

Will be nice to write some more flash tomorrow though. I find it a hugely enjoyable way to finish my writing week. And you should love what you do generally because if you don’t enjoy it, why should anyone else?

Goodreads Author Blog – Meeting Readers

I was at a book event for my Seeing The Other Side recently which formed part of a wider bookstall selling good quality second hand books which raises funds for a church I know. It was great fun to take part in this and I had some wonderful conversations with people who did buy from me and others who didn’t.

What was fabulous was seeing so many still have the love of books and reading. I suppose that shouldn’t come as any surprise given we’re all on Goodreads after all but sometimes all you see in the media is depressing news about people, especially children, not reading for pleasure as much.

All I can say from my observations at the event was take this with a pinch of salt. Books and stories are still very much valued and I found that so encouraging as a writer with a love of reading I owe to my late mother.

Ebooks are appreciated – they do have their uses – but people still love the paperbacks. I hope to go back to this venue later in the year for a Christmas event and hope to meet even more readers, and maybe other authors, then.

I’ve also put in a pitch for a library talk locally to me and hope it comes off as that is also a fabulous way to meet readers and supports the library.

I think the hardest thing any lover of books and stories has, whether you write them as well or not, is trying to convey something of that joy to those who are not convinced. Always worth a go though!

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WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

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ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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New Season, New Books and Blog Tour News

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. BLOG TOUR POSTER FOR SEEING THE OTHER SIDE FROM LYNSEY ADAMS OF READING BETWEEN THE LINES BOOK VLOG. TOUR STARTS NEXT WEEK, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2026. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Finally had some proper rain. Already the grass and plants are looking better. Looking forward to my book event for Seeing The Other Side at Salisbury URC on 5th September. Am hoping the weather stays dry for that one because while I’ll be indoors, footfall is better when it isn’t wet!

Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Not bad here. Had the best swim in terms of distance since my fall. Really enjoyable. Okay, I’m not going to break any speed records right now but that wasn’t the idea and recovery continues to go well, I’m relieved to say. Being in the water has helped too.

Am delighted to share the poster for the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side. Many thanks to Lynsey Adams of Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog for this and to the lovely folks who will be hosting me soon. Am so looking forward to sharing the links.

Meantime I’ve a book event to prepare for on Saturday at Salisbury URC. Am looking forward to that too.

Also author newsletter out this morning. It’s a good reminder of how fast the year is going!
Hope to submit a story for potential broadcast later this week too.

Have enjoyed a bank holiday Monday (most of the UK bar Scotland has had one today, scary thought is the next one is Christmas!) enjoying the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame.

Delighted to hear The Lord of the Rings soundtrack came in at No. 1 again. I voted for it but do feel it has everything – classical, choral, opera, Enya and Annie Lennox. What more could you want?!

Today has been a treat for the ears and Lady had a treat too – she played with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal for the first time in a while today. Both dogs so excited to see each other. It is so sweet to see.

Author newsletter out again tomorrow. Will share some details about my blog tour for Seeing The Other Side tomorrow. Lots going on. See above.

Meantime, and as it is Monday, it’s time to share the story I put on my Substack platform yesterday. Hope you enjoy my Menace.

Who will you sympathise with – Mrs Wilkins, Mrs Lake or my narrator?

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Hope the weekend has been a good one. Good to see some rain. Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly.

Am making good progress on some proofreading work too. So looking forward to next Saturday’s book event for Seeing The Other Side at Salisbury URC. Will be writing about that for Chandler’s Ford Today this week too.

Have also got a couple of places where I’d like to submit some flash fiction so hope to start some drafts later today.

Character Tip: What makes you want to write about the character you’ve got in mind for a story? What is it about them that intrigues you? Are they “strong” enough to deliver the impact you’d like your story to have on potential readers?

I’ve mentioned before the first person the characters have to grip is you, their creator, but it is worth repeating. Usually with me I can hear a character’s voice in my head and something about their attitude/what they say is enough to make me think yes, this character has got sparkle, this one is definitely worth writing up.

Am delighted to be back on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest post, Summer Writing. Do you find your writing winds down during the summer months? I find it is a season of peaks and troughs.

I find I need to take some time out to calm the buzz I have on returning from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. A day or two later and I’m raring to go again. I don’t think the heatwave this year has helped either despite my following all the advice on hydration. There are times you need to step back and be kind to yourself. For me, summer is one of them.

I’ve always found lots of “little bits” of writing keep my creative mind “ticking over” until I’m ready for the full writing work schedule again. Writing flash helps here. I know I can get something written in, say, fifteen minutes. I feel better for having written something.

My post goes on to share ways in which you can use summer in your writing. I also associate summer with “light” so want “light” reading. Light reading I think is misnamed. Lighter reads can still look at issues but they are primarily there to entertain and I’ve never seen anything wrong with that.

Hope you enjoy the post.

Summer Writing

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Had some late news come in yesterday but am thrilled to say my Truth Hurts will be on CafeLit on Sunday, 6th September. It has been a while since I last had something on there so am pleased about this. Will share the link later this week.

Meantime why not check out the CafeLit website? Link here takes you to the Read Our Stories page. There is a great mixture here of flash fiction and short stories, across a wealth of genres, from newbie to more experienced writers. A new story appears at 4pm just in time to enjoy with tea/coffee and cake of course!

Had a lovely productive weekend writing. Have a draft ready for some polishing and then submitting later this week. Also received some good news about a CafeLit submission of mine – more on that tomorrow.

But as it is Monday, a busy one as always, it is time for my latest YouTube story. Hope you enjoy Plausible Deniability.

To be told you should master plausible deniability is one thing but does my character manage it? What cause could they have to want to do so? Find out here.

 

Have selected a competition to have a go at for some flash fiction. It’s the first time in a while I’m getting some stories out there but it has been so lovely to be focused on having a new book out and all that needs to be done around that. Thankfully, there is no use by date here though I hope to set up events relating to Seeing The Other Side later on.

Sometimes the competition theme will indicate a likely mood of a story, sometimes it is wide open, as is the case for the one I’m shortly going to be trying. So I will take a little time out to think about the mood of the story I want to write for that theme. I like to mix up writing lighter and darker stories. Suits my style and reflects my reading tastes too.

Flash Tip: It’s fun to mix up using first, second and third person for flash. I use all three, though the second is the one I use the least often. It can be highly effective though. Depends on how well your narrator comes across here so you do want a strong, interesting character to stand out here.

I found when I was writing more and more flash, I was falling into the habit of using the first person so have deliberately rebalanced to make sure I get plenty of the third person in too. Now when I’m thinking of a story, I will also convince what “voice” the story would work best in – first, second, or third. Some ideas naturally lend themselves to one so I will go with that.

How can it be almost September already? Well, that reminds me my next author newsletter will be out again next week. To sign up head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I hope to report back on how my Salisbury event goes for the October issue but plenty going on for the September one, along with my usual story links etc. The newsletter is always a joy to put together and if I have one top tip for marketing it is to enjoy what you do. It makes it more sustainable for you in the longer run. It also means it doesn’t feel like a chore.

Flash is wonderful for sharing as part of an overall marketing schedule which is why I put stories regularly on Substack and YouTube. More to come on both of those platforms tomorrow and Monday.

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GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – New Season, New Books

September is just around the corner as I write this and is very much the start of a new season. I have a soft spot for autumn. I love the changing colours of the leaves and the one good thing about the darker, longer evenings is they do give you the perfect excuse to read and/or write more! (And if you can do that while drinking scrumptious hot chocolate even better!).

September in many ways is the kick off point for new books coming out. There will be lots of events in the run up to Christmas (and I’ll be holding some too for Seeing The Other Side, which is lovely. My last launch for Tripping The Flash Fantastic was in 2020 when everything had to be online. I’ve been enjoying getting out and about in person again and hope to do more of this over the next few months).

I also can’t think of a better way to welcome in a new season than to do so with new books or with books new to you, whether you buy them or borrow them. I’ve sometimes done the latter and then loved the borrowed book so much then went on to buy my own copy.

There is never a wrong time for new books and to treasurer the older ones.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

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ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The Joys of Book Rooms/Stalls

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

Facebook – General

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

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

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

Fancy a go?

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goodreads Author Blog – The Joys of Book Rooms/Stalls

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Events

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Had a fabulous weekend. Wonderful family wedding on the Saturday. I took our church service on Sunday and it was a time of peace and quiet reflection, which I appreciated.
Have to watch the hot temperatures again this week for Lady but she’s doing well. Am so looking forward to being at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick very soon. I will be posting as and when I can while there but may do one round up post next week and that on my return.

Facebook – General

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pleased to say my author newsletter went out okay yesterday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Goodreads Author Blog – Events

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

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

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

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

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

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New Stories and Opening Lines

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Quiet one ahead of two busy ones coming up. Cooling down, even had some rain, but more is needed. Feel sorry for those fighting the wildfires.
Writing going all okay. Set up my card reader so it is ready to use – it was easier than I thought which was nice.

Facebook – General

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

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

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

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

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

Happy writing!

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Opening Lines

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

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

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

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

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

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