Tag: New YouTube video by Allison Symes

Character Memories and Publication News

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Busy one here but productive. Lady is making good progress too. Writing has gone well. Looking forward to sharing another superb author interview on Chandler’s Ford Today next month and many thanks too for the lovely likes and comments on the publication of Magi, the latest anthology from Bridge House Publishing.

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Delighted to be back on Authors Electric with my latest post Character Memories.

I look at why I think character memories make the character concerned more real for me. I also look at how memories can drive action and attitudes. I also discuss how I use memories a character might have to help me know about them even if those memories don’t end up in the story I tell about them.

Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope today has been reasonable (well, you have to make allowances for it being Monday). Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler which cheered her up no end. Lady is making good progress and I think giving it another week should see her fully okay again. We hope that will be the case anyway.

As the day went on though, I started to feel unwell and am not feeling fabulous as I write this so it will be an early night for me, I think. I will get some writing done though not as much as I might usually have done because it will cheer me up a bit. Being creative, in any form, is good for you like that. I hope a good night’s sleep will do wonders too. I guess it’s time for the bugs to make their presence felt, unfortunately.

Writing Tip: Never despair when you get those times when you can’t write much for whatever reason. It happens to most writers. I find the best way to handle this is to accept I will just do something and leave it at that until I am able to write to my normal levels.

Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Busy one here. Glad to get to Sunday afternoon and wind down a bit. Can’t believe we’ve hit the halfway stage of Flash NANO already. Will be working at today’s prompt later on.

Lady continues to improve and is feeling happier than she has done though we still need to be careful with her exercise for a while.

Had a lovely Zoom with Swanwick friends yesterday, one of whom I’ll catch up with in person at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event.

A huge thank you too for all the lovely comments and likes etc coming in on my news yesterday of Magi, the latest BHP anthology, being released. See below.

Check out an anthology for Christmas – that could catch on as a saying I think!

Hope today has gone well. Good news – Lady is improving and she got to see her best pal, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, on a short walk today. It was lovely to see how seeing her closest chum cheered Lady up a lot. Dogs are good for each other as well as us.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a review of The Business of Murder, the murder mystery play recently staged at the Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church by the wonderfully named Senior Thespians! Link up for that on Friday.

Will also on with the latest prompt from Flash NANO later today.

Publication News: But the big news is I am thrilled to say I am in print again. My story, The Family Legend, appears in Bridge House Publishing’s latest anthology, Magi. It is out today – 15th November 2025 – link below.

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Feeling better than yesterday though still not 100%. Writing has proved to be a wonderful distraction. It’s also handy it’s something which can be done in the warm given we had our first full frost overnight. Brr…

Will be working on the latest prompt from Flash NANO later. As ever, I’m enjoying the variety of prompts. It’s always a good idea to mix up the type of writing prompts you use. It keeps you on your toes. It makes you think outside of the box. Also, it’s just plain fun to have a go at different prompts, though inevitably you will end up with favourite types. I would say mine are writing to an opening line or where you have to put certain words into a story. Like those a lot.

Incidentally, if you like books of prompts, why not check out The Big Book of Prompts, published by Bridge House Publishing? I’ve contributed prompts to this book, along with dear friends from Bridge House, CafeLit and Chapeltown Books. This book gives you a prompt for every day of the year too.

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It’s Monday. It has been hectic. I feel under the weather – boo. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Outstanding Effort.

Sometimes monsters can’t believe what they’re hearing but when they win first prize for something which comes naturally to them, maybe they can hide their real attributes for a bit longer.

 

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday shortly as I draft pieces for Friday Flash Fiction, my YouTube channel, and the latest Flash NANO prompt.

I need to select some stories, already written in draft form, to look at for potential competitions. I’ve got a couple of competitions I wouldn’t mind entering before the year end. This is where regularly drafting flash helps a lot because I always have something in stock I can pull out and, after good editing and polishing, put in for a competition.

Also hope to get on with a PowerPoint for the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group.


Thrilled to have publication news again in that my story, The Family Legend, is in Bridge House Publishing’s latest anthology, Magi. Always good to have news like this!

I started writing standard length short stories, such as this one, long before I discovered the joys of flash fiction and I happily write both. Most of my standard length short stories are either in anthologies or are submitted for competitions. My flash fiction work usually ends up online or in a future collection (sometimes both!). Plus I do enter flash fiction competitions.

Many congratulations to all who are between the covers with me for Magi. It is good to see some familiar names here and I hope to meet up with at least some of you at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event next month.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Collections Acrostic

C = Collections (short stories and flash fiction) are wonderful ways to try out works by authors new to you.

O = Original stories, often on a theme, inspire so many ideas and make for a truly entertaining read.

L = Lively imaginations at work in collections to make the most of the theme.

L = Love collections for giving authors a voice and also some at least are used to raise money for charity.

E = Enter the worlds of story collections and meet many different characters.

C = Characters which grip you and often short stories and flash fiction make more of an impact because of their brevity.

T = Tension and drama aplenty in the short forms and collections bring so many of them together in one easy format.

I = Imagination let loose for readers to enjoy.

O = Options for collections usually include paperback and ebook so there will be something to suit you.

N = Nothing ventured, nothing gained – why not try story collections as gifts?

S = Story collections are perfect for dipping into when you don’t have as much time as you’d like for reading.

Go on, give them a go! You are bound to find topics and themes to suit.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Remembrance and Book Memories

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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. Blustery here. Very moving Remembrance Sunday events. One good thing about the rain was it did limit the fireworks which helped Lady. Writing and editing going well too.

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11th November 2025 – Armistice Day

Hope you have a good day. Good to remember Armistice Day today.

Writing wise, had a lovely Zoom session at a group I go to once monthly. Was a lovely way to chill after a hectic Monday (though Mondays are always that way for me for various reasons. I know I won’t get much writing done so I do write little bits and pieces I can flesh out for longer work later).

Am busy writing a review of the murder mystery play I went to with my lovely Chandler’s Ford Today editor, Janet Williams, recently. My post this week will be the review of The Ghost Train performed by The Chameleons but it was one of those weeks where Janet and I got to see two shows in three days. The next show we are likely to see will be the pantomine The Chameleons stage (and this year it is Camelot, oh yes it is).

Will also have another author interview coming up in December and I will be working on that later this week.

So all go here but in a good way.

Hope your Monday has gone well. Lady was delighted to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today, especially as the weather was dodgy. We all managed to avoid the worst though so we will take that as a win.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing my review of The Ghost Train recently performed by The Chameleon Theatre Company for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. All I knew about the play was it was written by Arnold Ridley of Dad’s Army fame. Was pleased to have seen it – great story – more in the review.

Writing Tip: When you’ve got five minutes (I know – this will become less likely as we head towards Christmas!), but can’t get to your laptop, grab the old notebook and pen and brainstorm ideas. I find writing in the old school manner like this can make the ideas flow. It also gives me something to review later when I do have more time. I’ve had plenty of story ideas doing this.

9th November – Remembrance Sunday

As ever the Remembrance Sunday service where I go to church was deeply moving. I recall my late grandfathers. One served in the Forces and then went on to be an ARP warden in London’s East End (neither easy as you can imagine); the other worked in Woolwich Arsenal (and forever getting bombed out as you can also imagine).

I also think of my late parents. Dad was too young to be evacuated immediately so went through the Blitz on London with his mum until he could be evacuated. Mum was evacuated, didn’t say much about it other than she hated it. Two generations – that is all which stands between my generation and the Second World War.

For our tomorrow, they gave their today.

Writing wise, stories which focus on remembering can be deeply moving. I like to focus on one character, one pertinent memory. This kind of story (I like to think of it as slice of life), I feel, works best when kept short and to the point. It’s where flash fiction can come into its own.

Am delighted to say the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is now available. The theme this time is Narrative Non-Fiction and my article on the topic can be found on pages 18 and 19. (I use the technique a lot in my Chandler’s Ford Today posts as well as those I write for Writers’ Narrative). Do check out the other superb articles – see the link below for more.

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11th November 2025 – Armistice Day

Looking forward to having a go at today’s Flash NANO prompt later this evening. The prompt involves the use of magic and given I love writing and reading what I call fairytales with bite, I think this prompt has my name on it!

Have been very pleased to have some lovely feedback on the stories I’ve shared on the Flash NANO Facebook page. I don’t share all of my drafts but will share ones I think will amuse. (Well, at this dark time of year and with the world in a right old state, we all need some literary cheer, yes?).

It’s Monday, a soggy and dark one where I am, and it’s time for a story. I hope you like my latest on YouTube – Memories Edited. There is a (rough!) rhyming scheme to this one. Think it will have resonance with many.

 

9th November – Remembrance Sunday

Today is Remembrance Sunday and the focus is, naturally, on the past and to the huge debt we owe to those who gave up so much for our freedoms, which should not be taken for granted.

As well as flash fiction, there is such a thing as flash non-fiction and short reflective pieces can be amazingly touching, especially when based on memories (collective and individual). I think the important thing here is, whatever your topic, to write from the heart (though that is also true for fiction).

Compassion, empathy, acknowledging the past can be very powerful themes for our writing, fictional or otherwise.

Am enjoying the range of prompts from Flash NANO so far. Yesterday’s one from me was a story told as a list involving using a number in the title. I shared a story about the struggles a cat owner has in getting to get their pet to the vet. I speak as a dog owner! Make of that what you will but it was fun to do and I will crack on with today’s prompt later on today.

Another nice angle to these prompts is they encourage me to get a story down quickly. It’s good practice for when I am set exercises at places like Swanwick. I find fast writing a really good thing to do sometimes. It makes me think on my feet and I know it’s okay to write first, edit later.

Goodreads Author Blog – Book Memories

One of the pleasures of books is as well as giving you stories and non-fiction to enjoy, they can also conjure up good memories for you. Many of my books on my shelves are written by author friends and every time I see the books I remember the story and where and whom I got the book from! I also inherited books from my much read late mother and her Dickens leather bound set always make me think of her when I see them.

When I read the classic fairytales, I am taken back to childhood memories of reading these for myself and, even further back, when my mum read the stories to me.

I think this is why physical books will always be around. They can give you tangible memories in the way a Kindle cannot, though that does have its uses. I use mine to discover authors new to me, for example, and it is great for holidays/being away etc. Physical books can be heavy to cart around but I would never be without them.

With my own flash fiction collections, the memories of having my work accepted will always be very special. Having some input into the covers is another special memory.

I also remember when I first read certain books which are firm favourites of mine.

Books are truly wonderful things.

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As I’ve shared the new November issue above, I thought I’d sneak in the October one again given it’s about short form fiction, I’m interviewed in it, and am a cover girl on it! Well, you can’t blame me really, can you? Absolute thrill to do this interview.

 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The Love of Books and Why It Matters

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Hope you had a good weekend. Busy one here in that I took in a murder mystery play, cleared a load of leaves, and got on with plenty of writing. Lady hasn’t appreciated the fireworks at all but thankfully they didn’t go on for too long.

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Hope you have had a good Tuesday. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals again today and all three of them had a great time in the park.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to welcoming Penny Rogers to Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

My Flash NANO campaign is going well so far. Looking forward to having a go at today’s prompt later on this evening.

Character Tip: What is the most important thing about your character for you? Is it how they look? Is it their attitudes? Is it something specific they’ve done (or not done) which makes life better for someone else? Bound to be story ideas there!

Hope today has gone well. Another busy Monday here though Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today. Good time had by all.

Have begun my Flash NANO campaign for a final year. This is the last one ever (boo hoo!) but I have used one of the stories I’ve drafted so far this year as my YouTube video for this week. Will share in separate post shortly. See further down under From Light to Dark and Back Again. It is great fun to take part in the challenge again though.

Writing Tip: I’ve found it useful, when responding to any prompt, to just get a draft down as quickly as I can. I then hone and polish it later after a break away from it but there is something about quick writing which I find helps make the ideas flow fast too. I like to try to capitalize on that.

Hope you have had a good weekend. The weather has been a mixed bag. Nice to see all of the autumn leaves around though. Am having to take the dog out earlier due to the clocks going back an hour recently. Fireworks season has also started. Lady isn’t keen on these, as you can imagine, but we have a good routine to help her though I wish folk would switch to the silent fireworks. You can get them more easily now.

Writing wise, I’ll be on to flash fiction Sunday afternoon/evening shortly and am looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with Penny Rogers (aka Penny Dale), a fellow Bridge House Publishing author, on Chandler’s Ford Today next week.

Am also busy preparing two reviews. I like writing these though the challenge is in ensuring you give enough away to show what a good show was performed without giving away too much of the story line.

For the very famous plays, this isn’t so much of an issue because the story line is already famous. But for lesser known plays, I don’t want to spoil the story in case people can get to see it elsewhere.

Busy day. Author newsletter out again. (1st November 2025). Cant believe where the time goes.

Had a fabulous time watching a murder mystery play at the Dovetail Centre in Chandler’s Ford today. Will review in due course but firstly on Chandler’s Ford Today, there will be a fab interview with Penny Rogers (also known as Penny Dale). Link up on Friday.

Then I’ll be reviewing Ghost Train recently performed by The Chameleons. Then I’ll review the murder mystery play I saw today. This was wonderfully called The Business of Murder (written by Mike Standing – great story line).

So there’s a lot going on and all of it fun I’m glad to say!

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Hope today has gone well. Mixed bag weather wise.

Our characters are mixed bags too. Nobody is fully perfect or evil (in most kinds of fiction). So think about what you like and dislike in your characters? What can you get from that to give you ideas for some flash pieces?

It’s Monday, a hectic, dark and damp one! Time for a story then and this week’s YouTube video from me is the result of a Flash NANO prompt for this year. This is pretty good going from me as Flash NANO only started on Saturday (1st November)! Hope you enjoy my story Back In Time.


Flash is wonderful for putting a different spin on fairytales.Indeed, it is my favourite kind of flash story to write (and read). I tend to focus on a “side” character to the main story and show something of them and have found this works best when kept short. There is no time for it to be gimmicky but it can pack a punch when it needs to do so. Fairytale flash is often wonderful for humour too and I do love short sharp tales which end with a laugh.

November is a month full of memories. I know every month is to an extent but I particularly feel this for November because of Remembrance Sunday.

So how can we use memories in our flash fiction pieces when the word count is limited? Memories often take up a lot of words when written down after all.

I’ve found the best way of managing this is to focus on one particular memory for one particular character and that is their story. Sometimes that will result in a flash piece of under 500 words but more often I’ve found I have needed 750 to 1000 words here.

Having said that, these stories can be incredibly touching and are moving to write (and I hope to read too).

Goodreads Author Blog – The Love of Books and Why It Matters

One of my most frustrating moments as a writer and reader came at a Book Fair I had a table at some years ago. The Book Fair was wonderful, I loved being with fellow writers and joy of joys, I sold books. So what was frustrating?

Simply it was when I overhead someone go past by my table and saying very loudly “I don’t like books”. I had to bite my tongue because the obvious retort to that was “why are you here then” but I figured that retort wouldn’t help.

The comment saddened me too,. What was behind the dislike? Problems with reading? Or simply they hadn’t found a genre (ore more) of books which appealed to them? Or did they simply think reading wasn’t for them?

One challenge all writers face now is having to compete with other forms of entertainment. Now I love books, I love music, I love films, and have no problem in enjoying all of these things but is it me or do people these days feel they have to stick to one creative thing they like and no more?

I am also conscious all writers owe a huge debt to those writing for children of all ages. If you can get a child hooked on to books early in life, they are likely to keep the habit of reading for pleasure going and that is what the love of books matters.

No love of books and you miss out on so many wonderful stories because they’re not all made into films! Even when they are, why not check out the original book anyway?

I do hope the forthcoming festive season will lead to more books being bought for all ages and this Christmas someone will get to discover the love of reading for the first time.

I do think that is such a special moment.

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Books When Out and About

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of St. John’s in Egham.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Busy one here. Had a wonderful time at the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering on Saturday in Egham. More to come on that in my Chandler’s Ford Today post later this week. Lady is all okay and is looking forward to catching up with her friends again this week.

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Hope you have had a good day. Bit of a mixed bag here though Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler pal and we did have some lovely walks today.

Writing wise, I’m busy preparing an other super interview coming up on Chandler’s Ford Today soon. Am interviewing fellow Bridge House Publishing author, Penny Rogers.

I love conducting interviews (and being on the receiving end). I always learn something useful from them. Mind you, I am insatiably curious about how other writers go about their work. Again, I think this is a good thing as I’ve picked up so many helpful tips along the way.

Long before I was published at all, I would read author interviews and try to figure out how I would answer similar questions if they were put to me. This is a good practice to think about. It helped me prepare for when I did face the questions! It also made me think about how I would describe my stories, again all useful stuff.

Busier day than usual by my standards for a Monday so it is a relief to get to my desk and write for a while. Lady did get to see and play with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today so that was lovely, all three had a great time.

Writing wise, it’s going to be a busy week. The rescheduled ACW Flash Fiction Group meeting will be on Wednesday and I’m off to see The Chameleons perform Ghost Train on Thursday. Am also going to another show on Saturday afternoon but I’ll write more about that later.

Writing Tip: If you’re entering competitions, give yourself enough time to draft the story, rest it for a while, come back to it for editing and still have time for a final check before submission. This does pay. I’ve found last minute things to correct before sending something in. So I plan out when I will have my draft done by, when I’ll have my editing done by and so on.

Hope you have had a fabulous weekend. I loved every moment of my time at the Association of Christian Writes Autumn Gathering yesterday. Glad of a quieter day today, mind you!

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Author News – Allison Symes – Getting Out and About with ACW for my Chandler’s Ford Today post. Link up on Friday.

The week after, I’ll be interviewing fellow Bridge House Publishing author Penny Dale (who writes as Penny Rogers) and it will be a joy to talk about her new book, Amelie at The Window.

Plenty going on then – and another author newsletter to come at the end of the week, of course.

Despite an iffy start to my journey to Egham for the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering event, I had a marvellous time.

One train cancelled on the way out and a slower journey time meant I got to the venue later than planned but I got there. It was wonderful catching up with friends in person, including some folk from the Flash Fiction Group. We don’t step outside our Zoom boxes often!

I will be writing more about this for my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week. Am looking forward to sharing that.

Meantime, don’t forget my next author newsletter is due soon. I share news, tips, links to my online stories and more. To sign up, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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When I’m using the random generators to trigger a starting point for new flash stories, I deliberately mix up the kind I use. I don’t want to just be able to use one or two favourites, no matter how useful they are. This puts me in good stead for when anyone else sets me a prompt. I’m unlikely to be thrown by it!

Talking of prompts, I’m looking forward to the next lot coming from the last Flash NANO which starts from Saturday, 1st November. Should be fun and I do relish the challenge of it.

It has been a manic Monday for me today and it’s definitely time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Neighbourliness.

What does a fairy godmother do when moaned at by her neighbour for increasing the latter’s pumpkin yields to unmanageable quantities? Find out here.

 

Will be a bit later than normal getting on with my flash fiction Sunday. It will be more of a case of a flash fiction Sunday evening. Wanted to take the dog out for her last walk of the day before the light went though I did appreciate the extra hour’s lie-in this morning thanks to the clocks going back.

Time is an interesting topic for any form of fiction and I have used it often in flash. I’ve sometimes used Time as a character. I’ve given characters limited time in which they must get something done by and more besides.

It’s a good and, aptly, timeless theme because we are all impacted by time so our characters should be too. Even time travellers would be especially if they end up where they didn’t expect to be. I’ve written two fun tales on that – you can find them in Tripping The Flash Fantastic – Mishaps and Jumping Time.

So what does time mean to your characters? Do they make the best use of it? Are there times they dread?
Plenty of food for story thought there.

Lovely to see the sunrise on my way out to the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering event today. I enjoyed the event and resuming my habit of getting on with some writing while on the train. I find I can get quite a bit done, which helps when I go home again and am too tired to write much. I see these as “flash” writing sessions! Well, the countryside goes by in a flash anyway…

Looking forward to the rescheduled Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. Glad to have caught up with some group members in person today. Always something nice getting to meet and chat with fellow writers like this.

Our topic next week will be festive flash and looking at ways to find something different to write about here. It is a question of writing something new which ties in with familiar themes here.

Oh and I got to see the sunset on the train ride home too…

Goodreads Author Blog – Books When Out and About

Now confession time. When out and about on the train, I tend to get some writing done, rather than read. This week’s post was written on my train to London for a writing event.

Do you read on the train? Do you prefer books, including books and audio, or magazines?

When I do read on the train, I tend to read magazines (easily portable and not heavy) or, on my return journey, I will start reading those books I bought at the writing event. Well, that is almost obligatory, yes?!

Do you like any train related stories? One of my favourite books from Agatha Christie is her Murder on the Orient Express. That, and her The ABC Murders, are her best Poirot tales, I think. For her Miss Marple works, the 4.50 From Paddington and Nemesis, are the best for me.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Book Buying Season

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was one photo for my Authors Electric post.
Hope the weekend went okay. Wet, windy and wild here in Hampshire. Time again for lots of soakings for the dog and me and plenty of warm towels to snuggle up with! Am so thankful writing is generally done indoors!

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Lady and I made the most of some sunshine this morning (which we were so glad to see after yesterday) and had a lovely time in the park. Even better was meeting up with her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum – zoomies followed!

Writing wise, will be working on the first part of my blog round up for this week and editing work.

Looking forward to drafting some flash pieces with the ACW Flash Fiction Group tomorrow night. (I do always set exercises but they are fun ones, honest!).

It’s also not long now before the last Flash NANO starts and am looking forward to that. I understand there will be something else from November 2026 but will have to wait and see what form that takes. I like the idea of having a month working on flash prompts though. It helps output a lot!

Lady and I set a world record time for getting around the park this morning – the weather was awful. At one point, I did think I was going to have to thumb a lift from Noah – there would have been room in the Ark for the pair of us, I’m sure.

Writing wise, am ploughing on with blogs and editing. I hope later this week to pick a story I’ve already drafted and look at it with a view to entering it in a competition.

Also looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom on Wednesday. Also looking forward to seeing some of the group at the ACW in person event on Saturday at Egham. It will be good to catch up with friends in person once again. I confidently expect to come back with more books to add to my TBR pile!

Wet and wild here in Hampshire today, unfortunately. Still in some ways it means it is the perfect day to stay inside and get on with some writing.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing a fabulous interview with local (to me) author, John Puzey, about his latest book, Captive Audience, on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. John is a stalwart member of our local amateur theatre group, The Chameleons.

Stepping into the lives of characters is nothing new for him. This book was inspired by letters from John’s father when he was a prisoner of war in World War Two. Do check out the interview especially if you have any interest at all in historical writing, fiction and non-fiction. Link up on Friday.

Pleased to be back on Authors Electric with my latest post, Book Buying Season. Well, it is timely given a certain event is only a couple of months away now. I also look at why I think this season is also Author Event Season and I hope all of these go well for anyone holding them. I have a couple of events coming up later this month and in December where I hope to sell books. I also look at the biggest challenge to all writers in this post.

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Hope today has gone okay. Not bad here. Almost time to start thinking about drafting some festive flash fiction. When I am ahead of myself, writing wise, I have been known to do this in July but not this year!).

Will have the joy of proofing a story of mine which will be in an anthology soon. Will share more news on that book before too long.

Editing a piece of flash fiction takes time. Okay, it cannot be as long as for a novel, say, obviously, but where the editing skill comes in here is working out what you can take out without spoiling the story overall. I have left pieces at a longer word count before now when I’ve felt the flow of the story works better with those “extra” words in it. I have to consider how the story flows. It’s not just about getting it to the “right” word count.

It’s Monday. It has been so stormy here – the rain has been torrential. Definitely time for a story I think. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Achievement.

The wandmaker finds out how Jill, a young fairy, earned enough money to get a wand upgrade, where Cinderella’s story comes into it all, the role of the kitchen sink, and cheery songs.

 

Time for an acrostic I think, on this wet and wild Sunday afternoon. Well, why not? Hope you enjoy this one.

F = Fantastic format for anyone who loves creating characters and a wide mixture of genres in which to put them.

L = Length is anything from a few words up to 1000 maximum and plenty of categories across the range.

A = Attitudes and actions of your characters come across clearly in this sharply written format.

S = Stories can cross time, space, dimensions known and unknown and so much more – it’s just the word count which has a limit.

H = Have fun experimenting with characters and genres here as writing flash will tighten up your other writing too, removing all fear of editing.

Hope the weekend has gone well so far. I’ve resumed my usual autumn workout in clearing up oak leaves in front of my home. We have some superb and very old oaks and I don’t mind clearing up. It keeps me warm, I love the trees, and it means I get very good value for money out of my Garden Waste collection service each year!

The changing colours of the leaves (and their falling) shows up the passing of time so well and we need to show this to an extent in our stories. We expect to see characters change in our tales, no matter how short or long the stories are, and regardless of the time span of those tales. Without the change, whether it’s due to internal or external conflict or both, there is no story after all.

Goodreads Author Blog – Story Acrostic

Haven’t written an acrostic for a while. Hope you enjoy this one.

S = Stories spring surprises with characters who keep you gripped.

T = Tall tales, flash fiction, short stories, novels, novellas – there is something for everyone across so many genres.

O = Originally stories were told in oral form but now we have print, audio, ebooks, which is all to the good, something for everyone again.

R = Re-reading favourites is always a joy, as is discovering new authors and new stories.

Y = Young or old or anywhere in between, there are stories for you.

Have a fantastic read!

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Curling Up With A Good Book

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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 for you. Okay here. Writing wise, am making good progress on my next author newsletter, have sent some pitches off last week, and am continuing to blog, edit, and write flash fiction – all good stuff. I think it’s sometimes easier to write more as we go into autumn and winter – less temptation to be outside!

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Hope today has been a good one. Lady didn’t get to see any doggie pals today but she did see some human ones so was pleased about that and is looking forward to catching up with her four legged chums tomorrow.

There is one more big flash competition I want to have a go at (deadline is the end of the year) but am hoping something I will draft for Flash NANO (which starts on 1st November) this year may prove to be a good fit for it. Will have to wait and see. What I do draft this year will be an excellent start to my fourth flash fiction collection in due course.

Hope you have had a good day. Lady’s week has got off to a flying start as she met up with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals. Lady and her Ridgeback pal has a lovely play fight, which they both loved. Given Lady is coming up 9 and her pal is 7, they are both still pups at heart.

Writing wise, one of the joys of being interviewed is of course to talk about your work and what you love about it in depth. One fabulous question I was asked by Wendy H Jones in the October 2025 issue of Writers’ Narrative was about whether short form fiction allowed for more experimentation in voice and form.

Do check out the interview for my reply (screenshot below gives a taster) but it was great to share something of what I love about the short forms of fiction and, in a separate question, what drew me to it in the first place.

Hope Sunday has been a good and peaceful one for you. Not bad here. Looking forward to starting flash fiction Sunday soon. Nice way to end the week (or begin the next one, either works!).

Writing Tip: When you come across (as you will) a story which didn’t work for you, take some time out to figure out why this was. You will learn a great deal from this.

I know there are certain types of character I don’t like having read some of them in stories which didn’t grip me at all, so I take care not to produce that kind of character myself. I’ve found it helps just as much to know what you don’t like as it does knowing what you do when it comes to your own writing.

Hope you have had a good start to your weekend. Managed to get the lawn cut (and before it shoots up too high again ) so I count that as a win.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Ending a Piece of Fiction as a nice conclusion to my mini-series started yesterday with Starting a Piece of Fiction. The new post will be up on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

It was lovely to finish the working week with a nice surprise. Naturally, I was thrilled to be one of the two Editor’s Choices for Friday Flash Fiction this week with my Finding Out the Hard Way.

Delighted Jim Bartlett was the other pick for his Safer. Many a word of truth in that one. Do check the stories out on FFF. You can be guaranteed a good read. Link below to my one which appeared yesterday.

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One tip I find useful for competitions with a specific word count (e.g. 53 words, 75 words etc – and I have come across these) is to instantly reserve up to five words for the title. I then know a rough count for the story itself.

If I end up having a shorter title, I can add a couple of words to the story. Often I don’t bother. I see having those “spare words” as a safety net to ensure I am well under the count asked for though there are places which want you to get to the exact limit. In these cases, I know immediately how many words I need to put into the story to bring it up to the right count.

It’s Monday. It’s as hectic as ever. It’s time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Giving It A Miss.

A justly beautiful tourist destination, popular with colleagues, who only visit at a certain time of year leads to my character finding out why. She isn’t planning a return visit. Find out why here.

 

It won’t be too long before I take part in the last Flash NANO. I will be sorry to see that go. I’ve found it so useful for producing 30 draft flash pieces in November for the last few years. Some of those went on to be published (and some will be in my Seeing The Other Side collection due out in May 2026).

I’m looking forward to meeting up with other members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group at the ACW in person meeting at the end of this month. It will be nice to step outside our Zoom boxes for a bit. Naturally, we will all be waving the flag for the joys of writing flash fiction!

When I write to a specific word count, as I do for Friday Flash Fiction, the additional challenge of sticking to 100 words each time is coming up with something fresh and different every time, which can still be contained in that tight word limit.

I have found it useful to focus on one character and one moment. It makes me think about what matters so much to my character it has to be written up as a story. Flash is excellent for helping you develop a real feel for what matters here and that’s a good discipline to take across to other forms of writing as well. I’ve found it useful with my blog posts and articles too.

Goodreads Author Blog – Curling Up With A Good Book

One of the joys of the autumn and winter seasons is you get to have more opportunities to curl up with a good book., Okay, I do have to go out with the dog (which is fine) but when you have the chance to just grab a book and not go out in the cold and wet, you’re going to take it, yes?

As the nights draw in, I will often turn to my favourite forms of comfort reading, which is on the lighter side of fiction. There is enough “grim” going on in the world for real for me to want to read more of it in a book, I’m afraid.

Dystopian fiction has never been my thing and it certainly isn’t now. I’m all for books which address issues because they can meet so many needs. For one thing, they can draw attention to those issues and make people think about them.

But I will admit with not having as much reading time as I would like, I am going to focus on an entertaining read. That takes in many genres, funnily enough.

For me, one definition of a good book is it is one that takes my mind off things for a short while and with characters I can root for and come to care about.

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Back issue time as I’ve shared the October 2025 edition above. Hope you also enjoy the issue below and remember it is free to subscribe.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Cover Girl Time – Allison Symes – Writers’ Narrative – October 2025 – Short Form Fiction

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Wendy H Jones and Writers’ Narrative for the magazine images. Also thanks to Wendy for images re Creativity Matters.
Hope the weekend went well. All fine here. Some debris from Storm Amy but grateful not more than that. The big news is I am finally a cover girl! Am on the front cover of Writers’ Narrative for their October 2025 edition on Short Form Fiction. Plus there is an in-depth interview between Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief, and me for this issue. Do check it out and I am always pleased to hear the short form writers being given a shout out, naturally enough. 

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today – a great time was had by all.

Managed to make the most of my limited writing time yesterday and ended up doing more than I thought. This is often the way when you haven’t much time. You make the most of what you do have and lo and behold, several jobs are ticked off your list. All good stuff.

Character Tip: Jot down a short list of characters created by other authors, say five or six names, and then write one line about why you picked these characters. Was it something about their personalities that appealed to you especially? Could you use those thoughts in your own characters?

Hope your Monday hasn’t been too chaotic. Bit of a mixed bag day for me but Lady did get to have a fabulous time in the park with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal so she’s had a good day.

Writing wise, I’ll be working on “bits and pieces” given Monday is one of those days when I don’t have so much time for writing. I often use this time to get writing admin done and draft notes for future blog posts etc. These things mount up and save me a great deal of time later.

Later in the week when I do have more writing time available, I get to work on longer pieces. I learned long ago that all writing is valuable (even if you discard a lot of it later when editing) and using whatever time you have does pay off in the long run.

Writing Tip: You have a character in mind. What would their catchphrase be? You may not use it in your story but if you can figure out what they might have as a catchphrase, that can show you more about them which could be relevant to your tale. If they come up with a humorous phrase for example, does this mean they are a funny character or do they use humour to cover up how they really feel? Could be some interesting story thoughts there.

Hope the weekend has gone well for you. A huge thank you for all the support on yesterday’s news about my interview in Writers’ Narrative and being on the front cover of the e-magazine. Much appreciated.

Looking forward to sharing Starting A Piece of Fiction on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I sometimes find the starting point tricky so will be sharing in this post some tips I’ve found useful for overcoming this issue. I hope you’ll find them useful too. Link up on Friday.

Pleased to say I’ll be interviewing John Puzey, author of Captive Audience, later in the month for CFT. Will share more news on that nearer the time. Plus there should be another author interview coming up in early November.

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The big news is I am a cover girl! The October issue of Writers’ Narrative has Short Form Fiction as its theme, a topic very close to my writing heart of course, with yours truly as the Featured Author.

I am interviewed in depth by Editor in Chief, Wendy H Jones, and this was great fun to do. As part of the interview, I share a story showing something of the flexibility of flash fiction. I’ve written across genres, and have also written poetic flash, acrostic flash, as well as the differing word count ranges up to the 1000 words limit, and much more so I share an example here.

Hope you enjoy the story and the interview.

Let’s hear it for the short form writers!

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Good to be celebrating flash fiction in the October Writers’ Narrative, which is obviously my big news of the week! But if you have never tired flash fiction before, why not give it a go?

If you have ever written any kind of writing exercise at an event, you have almost certainly written some flash as you are never given too long to respond to these exercises. The most you’re going to be able to write in the time is a 100 words or so.

So why not make it an official part of what you write? I’ve found it be fun and addictive.

It’s Monday. It’s been busy. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Some Forward Thinking. (Always a good idea this, I find!)

You’re a fairy godmother with a problem which needs to be resolved fast. You can’t use magic directly but some forward thinking, involving an unsuspecting human, should do the trick, literally. Find out how here.

 

Will be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday in a moment or two. (I did too!). Lovely way to end the week, I must say, and I get plenty of flash written. Nothing to dislike there.

If you’d like to know more about flash, including some examples of it, do head over to my landing page and sign up for my newsletter at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I regularly share tips and flash fiction stories of mine here – it makes for a good “one stop shop” to find out what I’ve written and where.

On a related topic, flash, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is Flash NANO is on again this year – see link for how to join up. This is where those who join in are given 30 prompts over the 30 days of November. You can do as many or as few as you like. I see it as a great chance to draft 30 new stories!

The bad news? This will be the final one, alas, so do sign up and give it a go while you can. I find it great fun and a good flash challenge and writing work out.

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So glad the short forms of fiction are being celebrated in the October issue of Writers’ Narrative (do see my author page on Facebook where I share the link). Also see above.

As well as reading a lot of short work, because it is the field in which I work, I love reading these stories anyway. I see them as wonderful reads in between reading lots of longer books. Indeed I see this has having a good overall “reading diet”.

Indeed my way into the love of stories and books was via the short form, the classic fairytales of which I remain fond. Many of my 1000 word pieces for Friday Flash Fiction have more than a passing nod to the fairytales.

What you read does influence what you write so it pays to read widely and well. Non-fiction has been an eye opener for me as I have found that too can spark story ideas. Who knew? Well, I didn’t until fairly recently.

Glad to have found this out though. Am always glad to have reading sources of ideas for my writing as I get to enjoy a fabulous read and then enjoy the writing up of the ideas – win-win there for sure.

Goodreads Author Blog – Light and Dark in Fiction

I guess it’s appropriate we have light and dark in fiction given our stories reflect our human condition and there’s plenty of light and dark in that. Indeed the thought of that inspired the stories in my first flash fiction collection and also gave me the title for it – From Light To Dark And Back Again.

I suppose light and dark in fiction also reflects reading moods. Certainly for me, when the seasons change and the darkness draws in ever earlier in the day, I want to read and write lighter material. Not exactly raging against the dying of the light happening here but I am trying to make my journey towards that dying light more pleasant at least!

Can’t beat Wodehouse, Austen and Pratchett here (though the latter is remarkable in that there is darkness within Discworld but it is dealt with via humour, which to me makes the points being made much more effective).

I guess we do need a balance here though if I have to tip the scales somewhere, I would tip it in favour of light fiction. I learned long ago what looks easy to read isn’t necessarily easy to write, far from it.

Time to read some more amusing stories then!

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Naturally I am thrilled to bits about the October issue but as I have shared that issue above, I will share a back issue here. Do enjoy a good read!

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Growing The Seed and Comfort Books

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was one photo from an Association of Christian Writers in person event.
Hope you had a good weekend. Great, family party orientated one here. Fabulous time had by all. Lots of laughs. Lady loves these things and is also shattered. Writing wise, it’s back to the desk and I am looking forward especially to sharing the October issue of Writers’ Narrative. See below for more.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady has – she got to see and play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback buddy today.

Looking forward to the October issue of Writers’ Narrative due out at any moment. I always look forward to the magazine coming out but this one is special because its theme is Short Form Fiction, a topic which is close to my writing heart of course.

I am the Featured Author this time and enjoyed a fabulous interview by Wendy H Jones, the magazine’s Editor in Chief. I also wrote a separate article breaking down how one of my published flash pieces works and looking at the influences behind it.

So can’t wait to share this with you. Coming soon, as they say!

Oh and my author newsletter is out again tomorrow too. Busy busy.

It’s a delight to be back on More than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest post, Growing The Seed May Take Longer than Thought.

The idea for this one came from looking at the dates in my hymn book. There is often a considerable gap between the words being written and the music for the hymn being composed. Naturally, as writers, we too can wait for longer than we would care for to see our work be accepted etc.

Hope you find the post encouraging. This phenomenon is nothing new. I find it helpful to know I’m not alone here. And, especially if you are starting out, I hope it helps to know this. I can’t think of any writer I know who has not had setbacks, rejections etc (I’ve had loads) but you press on and learn and improve and keep going. 

 

Had a fabulous time yesterday. Plenty of good company, good food, good drinks, and loads of laughs! But now back to the writing desk.

Will be getting on with flash fiction Sunday afternoon shortly. Hope to put finishing touches to my next author newsletter either today or tomorrow, ready for it to go out again on Wednesday. Having an author newsletter and/or running a monthly workshop really does show up how quickly the year flies by, or so I’ve found.

Hope to get around to looking at competition material next weekend (as do have some ready already ) but also want to draft some fresh material too. (Keeps me on my toes and I always like to have a “stock” in ready for me to look at when suitable competitions come up). There is at least one more competition I want to have an entry in for this year.

I also hope, before too long, to be drafting my festive flash fiction again (and yes it is almost time to be thinking of that again. I sometimes draft such stories in the summer but more often in the early to mid autumn so I have plenty of time to polish work up before sending it anywhere).

Hosted a family event today so posting at a different time. Am shattered thanks to having a wonderful time but then that’s how a good event should be.

Writing wise, I’ll be getting on with flash fiction Sunday tomorrow and I plan to share Things I Wish I’d Known Earlier for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. To stop that post from being far too long (!), I’ll be focusing on writing here.

Flash Fiction Tip: Always focus on the story rather than the word count. I know that sounds odd for me to say but it does matter to get the story right. I’ve sometimes written what I thought would be a 100 words story only to find it works better at 300 words, say. So I save that story for another market.

For flash, it helps to focus on one character and one important moment for them. It is more direct and can save a lot on your word count.

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Good day, less hectic than yesterday, and now time to settle in for an evening’s writing, one of my favourite times of the day.

Flash Fiction Tip: If you’re planning to write a piece which has a twist ending or a humorous punchline, jot that down first and then work out what could lead to it. I find doing this means the twist or humorous punchline comes across more naturally and is more believable to a reader.

I often have ideas for this kind of ending to a story so have found “planning backwards” works a treat here. I have my ending, I know what has immediately led to it, I work out what has led to that and before I know it I am back at the beginning of the story.


It’s another hectic Monday (after a fabulous party weekend). Time to take a little time out and enjoy a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – True Friendship.

Beth feels Mary is a true friend after Beth’s break up with her ex but is Beth being honourable here?

 

I’m delighted to share the latest – and the last – installment of Seeing The Other Side, which is being serialised on CafeLit. I hope you’ve enjoyed the stories serlalised here. Plenty more to come when the book comes out next May. This will be my my biggest flash fiction collection to date and I am so looking forward to seeing it out there. Meantime, do enjoy the last crop of stories for now.

Have hosted a family party today. Great fun. Now, have you given thought to using parties as a backdrop to your flash fiction stories? Is your character at a party for themselves or someone else? How do they feel about being there? Can the party be a moment of change for your character?

Story ideas there, I’d say. Also open to mood here. This kind of tale could be funny or tragic. Or anything in between simply due to how your character feels about being at that party.

Goodreads Author Blog – Comfort Books

Often when the weather is gloomy, or the news is grim (and right now both of those things apply), I will turn to what I consider to be my comfort books. It’s when I will often turn to Wodehouse, Pratchett, Austen, knowing I’m going to need something to make me smile.

Ironically, something to make me smile doesn’t preclude serious issues. Pratchett was a master of tackling these with humour in his Discworld series. (Do check out his Raising Steam. It has a strong take on terrorism especially that done in the name of faith).

One of the purposes of reading, for me, is to escape. I’ve never seen any harm in books written for “just entertainment”. Indeed, I feel there is a snobbery about books like this, which would include my own, and naturally I am against that. The important thing is people read. Some of my special memories are associated with books too so there is comfort in them too.

Sometimes that is just what you need.

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Fiction Acrostic and More

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope the weekend has gone well. Finally got the grass cut. Nice to see some better weather this week too – the kind of autumn days I like. Dry, a little cold, but bright. Lady loves these kinds of days too. Writing wise, plenty done over the weekend and am looking forward to the Association of Christian Writes Flash Fiction Group meeting this week too.

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Hope the day has gone well. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal today so has had a lovely time of it.

Writing wise, the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group is tomorrow. Looking forward to that. We’ll be discussing linked flash and I’ll be setting some exercise, which I plan to join in with myself as it ‘s a great way to get some extra flash fiction written! Also, I never could resist a decent writing exercise.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out before long (next week! My, does the time fly). To sign up for hints, tips and stories, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Hope Monday hasn’t been too bad. Nice clear, dry and sunny autumn day, the type Lady and I love.
Writing wise, I spend Mondays carrying out various “little bits and pieces” after what is always a hectic day for me. Often that means finishing off blog posts I will be scheduling for later in the month, editing future Chandler’s Ford Today posts and so on.

Doing this frees up sessions in the week where I have more time to write and that is when I focus on longer pieces of work, including creating stories from scratch, and investigating competitions I want to take part in (and that does take time but is well worth doing, you’ve got to be happy with where your story is going), amongst other things.

Planning out how to use your writing time does take time to begin with but I’ve found, in the long run, it saves me time and I do get more done when I look at the week as a whole. It also allows for the fact everyone has days when life gets in the way and you simply can’t write as much as you’d like. That’s okay. There is still the rest of the week (and beyond) to come.

Hope your Sunday is going well. Nice church service this morning followed by a pleasant walk in the park with Lady. And, of course, there is flash fiction Sunday afternoon, one of the highlights of my writing week.

Will be busy again with flash fiction on Wednesday evening as that will be when the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group will be held.

Am also busy preparing interview questions for a further author interview on Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. Ties in nicely with my Being Interviewed post which will be up on the site on Friday.

Character Tip: You have in mind a character but ask yourself if you could meet them in real life, would you get on with them or not? The answer to that will help you find our more about your potential character, especially if you decide you would dislike or loathe them. There will be reasons behind that, something which can come out in your story.


Hope you have had a good start to your weekend. Finally managed to get the grass cut. Relieved to have it done, it was becoming rather long.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Being Interviewed as my Chandler’s Ford Today post next week. Link up on Friday. I will be sharing thoughts on how interviewers and interviewees can prepare for these things and how to make the best of an interview too. I hope it will be of good use to people.

The post is timely too (not that this is a coincidence) because I will be sharing an interview where I am being questioned. More details before too long. Looking forward to sharing this news when I can.

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Another hectic day though a good one today so am especially pleased to get to my desk this evening. Time to relax with some words….

This is yet another advantage to flash fiction. I can draft a complete story even on those days when I don’t have much time to write. I get something creative done and that always makes me feel better. I suppose it is because I know I have written something I can polish further later on. And I do. Some of those written in this way have gone on to be published later.

Definitely worth making the most of any writing time you do have then as you can get something done, even if it is just notes for a longer session of writing later in the week. It will get you off to a flying start then.

It’s Monday. It has been as hectic as ever. Time for a story break then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Seeing The Point.

Sometimes persuading someone to do something nice as a birthday surprise takes a little emotional blackmail. Find out what and why here.

 

Pleased to share the latest batch of stories from the partial serialisation of my Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit. The serialisation ends at the end of this month. The book itself will be out in May 2026 and I am so looking forward to that, as you can imagine. Meantime, I hope you enjoy this latest batch of stories.

I have birthdays and anniversaries to recall this month and these do make good topics for flash fiction or longer short stories.

Which of your characters is celebrating either of these? Is it a significant event? What do they feel about it? Or would they rather forget about the whole thing and why is that?

Would another of your characters be organising celebrations? Are they happy to do it? What does their friendship mean here and how did the two characters get to know each other in the first place?

If the anniversary is a “state” occasion, is everyone in your setting happy to join in with it and what would it commemorate? Is everyone expected to join in regardless of how they feel about it?

Goodreads Author Blog – Fiction Acrostic

F = Fiction can take you into the fantastic or the everyday.

I = Imagination can show you worlds that can never be or more about the one we are in, thanks to fiction.

C = Characters grip you, intrigue you, terrify you, make you laugh, but they all hold your attention.

T = Testing times for those characters are what keep you reading to the end of the story – will they make it through?

I = Inventiveness by those characters is often what resolves their problems.

O = Originally, stories were told orally – our love of fiction goes back a long way.

N = Novels, novellas, flash fiction and short story collections – plenty of fiction to enjoy.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Discovering Favourite Authors

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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. Some images of me holding books were taken by Adrian Symes. One image relating to Creativity Matters was by Wendy H. Jones. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you’ve had a good weekend. Blustery and busy one here. Plenty of writing done, which is just how I like it to be. Lady and I dodging a lot of the rain but not quite all – seems fair to us.

Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Not bad here. Enjoyed my swim. Can’t believe we’re halfway through the month already. Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. That, and my monthly newsletter, tends to confirm to me how quickly time goes by.

Mind you, that would make a great theme for a story. Why does time pass quickly for your character? Are they glad of this or not? What are the reasons for them feeling the way they do about this?

Today has been one of those “could’ve been worse” days. Had a lovely time in the park with Lady. She got to see and play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle plus, last minute, Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal too. Lady was also a huge hit with my supermarket shop delivery (I loathe going into those places).

Thought I’d take advantage of the strong winds to get my washing done and it was almost finished when the heavens opened and yours truly (and washing) got a right soaking. On the plus side tonight, I know I shan’t be spontaneously combusting any time soon!

So I am very glad to get to my desk tonight and put all of that behind me.

Story Submission Tip: Don’t forget if you submit stories to Friday Flash Fiction, their submission window is now from a Monday to the end of Thursday. As well as always checking you know the rules of submission for anywhere (online or in print), do look out for the fact these do change from time to time so ensure you’re up to date. It happens (and always for good reasons).

Hope Sunday has been peaceful for you. Lady and I just managed to avoid the heavy rain today. Whether we’ll be so fortunate on her evening walk later remains to be seen.

Had a lovely Zoom session with fellow Swanwickers last night.

Am looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group later this month. Will be taking a look at linked flash.

Character Tip: If your character is grumpy one, is there a reason behind the grumpiness? Are they ill, struggling with other worries, or feel they are being put upon to much by others? Give some thought to this and you will soon have a story outline to follow up. Indeed, you could get three different ones here.

Sometimes it is the small victories which mean the most. I managed to catch a break in the changeable weather today and finished wood treating my fence. I consider this to be a win! Lady was less impressed, mind you.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Writing Competitions for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward later this evening to seeing some Swanwickers on Zoom. Always a lovely time had by all here.

Writing Prompt: I love opening line prompts so thought I would set one for you to have a go at. Hope you have fun with this.

The mirror shattered on seeing her face.

Hmm… may well have a go at that one myself!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I love the fact that I can create a flash fiction story quickly. Okay the polishing up and editing takes far longer but I can get the first draft down in no time and this is lovely because I have certain days, especially Mondays, when I can’t write a lot. So in drafting a flash tale, I know I have written something.

Being creative in any way always cheers me up. And given all writing exercises set at events and workshops are flash fiction by their nature, because you don’t have a lot of time in which to draft something, why not turn them into something you can submit somewhere?

It’s Monday. It has been a hectic, soggy one for me. Definitely time for a story then.

Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Turn Around. The inspiration for the title came from a certain Bonnie Tyler song – Total Eclipse of the Heart. The words turn around feature in that. Had no idea why I had that in mind but I know an inspiring title idea when I get one so I’ve used it. Hope you enjoy the story.

What does one anthropomorphic being do when they’ve caught another one doing something they shouldn’t? Find out here.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly the days speed by? Here we are at Sunday once again and it’s time for my flash fiction afternoon. It’s also time for me to share the latest part of the serialisation of my Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit. Hope you enjoy the latest batch of stories.
As ever, I am looking forward to flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow and I hope to share the latest installment of my Seeing The Other Side on CafeLit too. Done. See above. That serialisation stops at the end of the month and then it will be a question of waiting for the book to come out next May. I do hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far here though.

Don’t forget there is such a thing as flash non-fiction too. Many blogs might fall into this category if they’re under 500 words long. How about this for an idea? You have a story published (hooray!). Why not write a short piece sharing how you wrote it and what inspired you. That could be interesting material for your website and easy to share on social media too.

Yes, I have done this kind of thing myself and will, hopefully, be doing this again soon, but I will share more news on that when I have it.

Goodreads Author Blog – Discovering Favourite Authors

How did you discover your favourite authors? I suspect we all have several ways here.

I discovered the works of P.G. Wodehouse thanks to the television series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, as many have done. Everything about that adaptation was wonderful including the titles and theme music. So apt. (Do check it out. I suspect you may be able to fine some of this in YouTube).

I found Sir Terry Pratchett thanks to a mooch around my local independent bookshop, now sadly long gone due to retirement by the owner. But I found Jingo here. Liked the look of the cover. Bought it. I then read everything by Pratchett I could get!

As for Jane Austen, my late mum had some of her works at home and then Pride and Prejudice was set as a school read. Loved Austen ever since (with the exception of Mansfield Park).

As for The Lord of the Rings, I just knew, from what I’d heard about the books, I wanted to read it so went and got myself a copy. Wonderful.

Knowing about the books is so important and this is where libraries, authors, reading groups etc play such a wonderful role, as do the bookshops.

Let’s celebrate all of these and look forward to finding more favourite authors in the future.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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