Tag: North Manchester FM

Winter Stories

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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 all is well. Had a lovely weekend singing carols and reading/enjoying readings at two Carols by Candlelight services over the weekend. My next post here will be in a week’s time and will be a bigger round up though I am taking a few days off over Christmas and hope you are too. Do have a lovely Christmas.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals for the last time before Christmas. A good time was had by all and I suspect three lovely dogs will be thoroughly spoiled and enjoy their visit from Santa Paws.

Writing wise, I’m winding down for the Christmas break. There will be a round up post of what I write when and where on my website later this evening, brief posts tomorrow, and then I’m off for a few days.

However you spend Christmas, I do hope you have a wonderful time. I’m looking forward to the break but also to resuming writing when the break is over again. That is the lovely thing with writing. It is a wonderful thing to return to after a needed break, I find. (So unlike returning to the housework etc etc!).

Hope the day has gone well. Hectic here but Lady did get to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals and a great time was had by all three, so that was fine.

I now have the Mixcloud link to the Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM hosted by Hannah Kate recently. If you’ve not had a chance to hear the show so far, here’s your chance.

The range of stories was so good but don’t just take my word for it. Why not give the show a listen? It was great fun to take part in and listen to the other tales.

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Had a lovely time at yesterday’s Carols by Candlelight service. Romsey URC looked stunning (though I was glad not to be the one putting the candles out afterwards!). The music and singing were wonderful and truly sublime. I read the poem The Shepherds at Bethlehem which was lovely. Also loved the recitation of The Not so Perfect Christmas Tree.

Went to my church’s service this afternoon which was more informal with carols, poems and readings, and cracker jokes. A great time was had here too though in a different way! Certainly by the time we finished all of the carols we want to sing (and we sing loads, we get to request carols to sing), we are more than ready for a cuppa afterwards.

Those who went to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event earlier this month, and who kindly gave me their Christmas cracker jokes because I said our minister could do with new material, well he put it to good use this afternoon! Plenty of groans and laughs – as there should be with these things.

It will be odd not having a Chandler’s Ford Today post next week but there was no way I was posting on Boxing Day! I’ll be back on that (and other things too like flash submissions) in the New Year. The next few days will be spent getting a few writing bits and pieces done and other material written so I hit the ground running when I return to my desk properly in a week or so.

Am also looking forward to getting on with some Christmas reading too.

Hope the weekend has got off to a good start. I’m looking forward to reading a wonderful poem, The Shepherds at Bethlehem, at a Carols by Candlelight service later this evening. Poetry and flash fiction both rely on using specific words to create specific images (and to make the most of their respective word/syllable/line counts).

No Chandler’s Ford Today post from me on Boxing Day next week (now, admit it, that’s not really a surprise is it!). Will be back on CFT in the New Year. I suspect post-Christmas I will get a little writing done, especially flash pieces ready to submit later, but am looking forward to a break. Am also looking forward to seeing what arrives from my book related wish list for Christmas!

Have been enjoying singing along to the carols and other Christmas songs Classic FM have been playing. In their poll, I voted for In the Bleak Midwinter but it has to be to the Holst tune. I do think though that Christina Rossetti, with her fabulous poem, has added to Christmas, as did Charles Dickens of course with his A Christmas Carol.

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Given most of the carols tell the story of the Nativity in verse form and are well within the 1000 words limit for flash, do they count as flash stories? I think so! I think they also count as “flash poems”.

I have written the odd flash piece using rhyme and it has been fun to do but it will never be my main style. Poetry, for me, is like art – I know what I like when I come across it, appreciate it deeply, and leave those far better suited than me to write it!

Will put up a short post tomorrow and then will be off for a few days. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.It’s Monday. But it’s not just any Monday. It’s the Monday before Christmas, otherwise known as Hecticville, yes?  I do know it’s time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Action Replay.

Action replays may have been around for far longer than thought in this fun tale concerning the shepherd left behind from the trip to Bethlehem.

There won’t be any submissions to Friday Flash Fiction as a new editor takes the helm from January. A huge thank you to the founder and original editor for all of his hard work here. He knows who he is! I must thank FFF for getting me back into writing the drabbles (aka the 100 worders) regularly. They are great fun and a good challenge.

One task for early January will be to list a few competitions to enter for the first quarter of 2026. I would like to try new ones (with a good track record) this year, as well as continue to try and write more than the year before.

Naturally, I’m looking forward to the publication of Seeing The Other Side (Bridge House Publishing), my third flash collection, in May 2026. It will be lovely having another book out again. Plus I have ideas to pitch so hope to get on with those early in January and see what happens. I do know, whatever happens, the writing life isn’t a static one.

I’m pleased to say I have written more flash this year and hope to continue with that in 2026, of course. It has been mainly at the 100 words length (especially for Friday Flash Fiction) but given this was the word count which introduced me to flash at all, this does seem appropriate.

I often think of the carols as flash poems given the word count is limited (even if you do sing, like we did at church last Sunday, all eight, yes, count them eight, verses of O Come O Come Emmanuel). They tell the Christmas story in song.

When it comes to the great When Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night, when it comes to the line ‘Fear not’, said he for mighty dread had seized their troubled mind in verse two, I always think well it is no wonder, really, you can’t blame the shepherds here. Anyone would be startled!

But it is thoughts like that which can inspire some fun, festive pieces. One of mine was about a young shepherd worried about leaving the sheep behind when it came to going to Bethlehem. Fun to do.

Goodreads Author Blog – Winter Stories

In my last post prior to Christmas for Goodreads, may I take the chance to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year. I also hope you receive plenty of books as presents!

Do you associate any particular books with the winter season? I do. I always think of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe with its line always winter and never Christmas. Always struck me as sad and horrifying that.

Naturally I associate the Nativity and stories which come from it. There are some fun stories around showing the story from the viewpoint of the animals in the stable etc.

Plus I tend to think of Frodo and company trudging through the snow covered mountains in The Lord of The Rings.

Which stories do you link with winter?

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Broadcast News and Judging Stories

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Family came down to visit so had a fantastic and busy time – we went to see a local lights festival. Lady loved seeing the family too. She is very much a “people” dog! Writing and editing are going well. Will be wrapping up for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday 19th December and then will be back in the New Year.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler pal today so both dogs were pleased at that. Later on our evening walk Lady, other half and I came across her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. The two dogs were so excited to see each other, sweet to see.

Character Creation Tip: You know your own likes and dislikes. Why not take those and swap them around for potential characters?

For example, if you love sprouts, get your character to hate them and then face a situation where they have no choice but to have some of the things. Could be a good fun story there but the general point here of taking what you know (your likes and dislikes) and using them for characters should be the means of generating plenty of story ideas for you.

Have fun!

Delighted to say the bumper December issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Pleased to have two articles in here – Real Characters, Please and Why Should Fiction Writers Read Non-Fiction?

The theme of the magazine is Diversity Matters and there are plenty of fabulous articles to enjoy, all of which will help you with your own writing in some way.

Hope you enjoy the magazine, all 52 bumper pages, link below. Plenty here to keep you busy for a bit!

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Have had a fabulous weekend with family visiting. Went to see a local light festival. That was great but the parking was abysmal. Traffic guidance (which was indicated by a sign saying there was police approved traffic control) was non-existent. Once parked though, we had a great time at the event itself. It was impressive.

Oh well. Great to catch up with the family though and it won’t be too long before we meet up again which will be lovely. (A riotous time is usually had by all including the four legged members of the family).

Next weekend will be busy too as will be taking part in Carols by Candlelight services and reading a beautiful poem at one of them. Looking forward to that.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing A Year In Flashback as my last Chandler’s Ford Today post for 2025. That will be up on Friday.

I did manage to get to listen to Three Minute Santas with Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM yesterday before the family arrived. Loved all of the stories. Am looking forward to congratulating via Zoom those members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group who also had stories on here. We’ll be having a round up meeting on Wednesday sharing chat and stories, a great way to finish our year.

Character Tip: What would your character make of our Christmas celebrations, especially if they were not from this world? Could be some fun stories to write following that prompt. Have fun!

Am posting early today as am delighted to have family come down today. We’re off to see a local festive lights show this evening. Should be fun.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing my last Chandler’s Ford Today post for 2025 next Friday, 19th December. I’ll take a look back at my writing year and look ahead to the next one too.

Broadcast News: Am enjoying listening to Three Minute Santas on North Manchester FM as I post this. (Well, I was at the time, honest!). The show is hosted by Hannah Kate (as part of her Hannah’s Bookshelf programme) and I know I am going to love listening to the festive stories. There will be some from members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group, including me, too.

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special, Saturday 13 December, 2-4pm

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Flash is easy to share on social media and your website so can be an excellent marketing tool. I like to share some flash stories every so often, including the regular ones I share here, simply to show something of my writing style to potential readers. Besides which, I like doing this because it is fun!

I love it when other authors share their stories (or snippets). The tales in themselves are entertaining but you can learn so much from what other writers do. The writing community is very supportive here and I think a lot of that is because we know ideas spark other ideas. There will be never be just the one Christmas ghost story, for example (though Dickens did write a magnificent one in A Christmas Carol) but that particular famous tale will have and will continue to spark other story ideas.

What could our story ideas spark in others? I hope lots of other ideas that only those writers could come up with! I like to see this as contributing to the big world of stories out there. Also, we do build on what has gone before. I continue to be inspired by the classic fairytales for a start.

It’s Monday. It’s dark though I am enjoying seeing the Christmas lights when I walk my dog in the evening. Brightens the place up no end. Still time for a story though. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Who What When.

Discover who fell down a chimney, what happened when a collie became involved, and when this is going to happen. Hope you enjoy this fun Christmas story.

 

With my judge’s hat on, how do I pick a potential winning flash fiction story?

I look at how well the character grips me and then how do they deliver on the premise of the story. I am expecting the character to make me feel something/react to what they do (and it should be apt for the story of course). If the character stays in my mind after I’ve read the story, then that is a good sign and of course it is a challenge to me to make sure my characters do just that for my readers.

There should be heart and feeling in a story regardless of its length, I think. I’ve got to care about what happens to the characters after all.

Will be winding down the writing as we approach Christmas and intend to have a few days break. I appreciate the time off yet when I get back to my desk that’s no hardship and this is a good place to be. I am phenomenally grateful for discovering flash fiction. It is such fun to write and read.

Would like to try competitions new to me in 2026 (having ensured they’re reputable first, of course), as well as keeping up a reasonable number of entries. I do know my recent turndown is a story I would like to try and place elsewhere. Ironically, I am being a story judge myself again soon and again in February.

Does being a story judge sometimes help me with my own flash and short story contenders? It can do. I do know with my judge’s hat on I am looking for that special something which makes a story stand out. If I remember the story, that’s a good sign and it is a challenge to me to make sure my own are memorable too.

Goodreads Author Blog – Have a Lovely Reading Christmas and New Year

I hope the Christmas season brings you plenty of lovely new books to read. I put my list in early. Yes, there is always a list! There would be something wrong if I didn’t have plenty of books on my wish list.

Did you use to get annuals as part of your Christmas presents? Do you still get them even? My son used to love The Beano Annual (and yes I often took a peek or several, having loved many of the characters in there). D.C. Thomson are a fabulous publisher. My annual these days is the thoughtful The Friendship Book, which has been a yearly fixture for decades now.

As well as the books I’m looking forward to, I love the Christmas story itself. I also take part in Carols by Candlelight services and have read some wonderful poems based around the Nativity, which I hadn’t come across before. Beautiful words to read and the poems conjure up tremendous imagery, as do the carols, especially my favourite In The Bleak Midwinter (has to be the Holst tune though).

I suppose that’s what I love about words, stories, and books the most. They really do take you places through the power of your own imagination.

I’m looking forward to having my imagination re-fired by the books I find under the tree this year!

I hope to post again next week but in case that cannot happen, I will wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year and hope books to continue to play an important part in your life. I cannot imagine a world without books. Nor do I ever wish to be able to!

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Couldn’t resist putting the above magazine back in here too. This has been one of the highlights of my writing year.

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Triggering Writing Ideas

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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 Julia Pattison for taking the image of me at an editing workshop for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.
Hope you have had a good week. Lady has got to play with pals, get a soaking with yours truly, play with pals again, get another soaking – yes, one of those weeks. Pleased to say the editing workshop for the lovely people at Medway Mermaids went very well. Always enjoy running these workshops and it is good to know they are useful.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Post 2 of 2 from me tonight. Post 1 below. It’s a fact of life you can have days where there is lots going on and other days where there is nothing! Having said that, it is always fabulous to have plenty of news and posts to share.

Am pleased to share Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. It’s proved to be an apt topic given I talk on Gill James’ blog this week (see below for more) about how I took her theme of gifted for the Bridge House Publishing anthology of the same name and used it for my story in there. An idea was definitely triggered by someone else setting the theme. (This is another advantage to taking part in Flash NANO too).

Hope you enjoy the CFT post and find it useful.

Triggering Writing Ideas

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Bonus Post

Post 1 of 2 from me tonight. Many thanks to Gill James for hosting me on her blog to talk about my contribution, Desperately Seeking Talent, in the Bridge House Publishing anthology, Gifted, which is out and would make a great present for someone. Find out what I love about the short story form as well and why I took the theme of gifted the way I did with my tale. Link to blog here.

Screenshot 2023-11-17 at 10-06-01 Allison Symes talks to me today about her involvement in our Gifted anthology

My sport of choice is swimming. I go regularly and you get to spot other regulars there and start chatting usually as you come out of the pool. (One good thing about it being cold today was it did encourage me to get something of a move on in said pool!). Anyway, one of those regulars complimented me about being consistent and disciplined about my swimming. I find I have to be otherwise it would be too easy not to go, especially during the winter months.

But it occurred to me the need to be consistent is a good thing for writers too. It doesn’t matter what your routine is – writing daily, writing every other day or what have you. It is the regular turning up at your desk to get on and write which matters. It is the regularity of writing which will build up your stories, novels etc. I’ve found this to be the case and know I have submitted far more pieces than I might otherwise have done simply by being consistent. It’s an underrated quality I think.

And if you want some inspiration, I’ll be talking about Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. Great run around by both of them and a massive zoomies session to finish with. Lady came over and “flumped” down in front of me as if to say, ‘Mum, I’m done!’. Takes a lot to do that to a collie!

I’ll be looking at Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’ll be looking at some of the methods I use here and hope the post will prove to be useful. See above.

Don’t forget the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is out. The theme is on Writing Novels this time and you can find the magazine at the link below. A perfect free read packed full of fabulous advice and interviews.

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Glad to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Maisie. Does Maisie the dog know better than her owner as the world falls apart around them? Find out here. I hope you enjoy the tale and a big thank you for the comments already coming in on this one.
Screenshot 2023-11-17 at 10-04-57 Maisie by Allison SymesGlad to report Hannah Kate is having her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM again this year. Full details via link here. Do give it a go. It’s great fun.

Top Tip: When you’ve got your story ready, do record yourself on Zoom and play it back to yourself. You will pick up on things like characters stumbling over dialogue etc but also get your timing right. The stories need to be a maximum of three minutes long and I’ve found it so useful to use Zoom here as that will give you an exact timing.

Good luck! Yes, I’ll be having a go again at this myself this year and am looking forward to tackling Day 16 of Flash NANO later today.

Screenshot 2023-11-16 at 16-59-30 🎅 3 Minute Santas 2023 is Open for Submissions! 🎅

Looking forward to having a crack at today’s Flash NANO challenge later on. I have to cut something already drafted in half. I’ve done this kind of exercise before. It’s a great discipline and takes longer than you think too. This time I have to add a specified object in. That will be fun. The object in question, well let’s just say I’m going to have to find a legitimate way of working it in! It wasn’t an “obvious” object but I did work the thing into my story legitimately.

I have used objects in stories before as one kind of exercise and cut a story in half as another but this will be the first time I’ve combined these two.

If I had to nominate a favourite writing exercise, it is the opening line one. Why? Because I can work out what possibilities could come from what has been set and a character to suit it.

I then go for what I like best. It is always the one that has the most impact on me whether it makes me laugh or cry or what have you. I figure if I react like that, readers will too. It is always a good sign when you remember the impact a story has on you.

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Fairytales with Bite – Laughter

In your magical world, is there much in the way of laughter? Do magical students give their teachers many a laugh when getting things wrong as they develop their skills? And that’s just to name one example. I can easily visualise this happening. (The Harry Potter series touches on this too, especially with Ron Weasley and his wand held together with Spellotape).

Does your setting encourage its inhabitants to laugh? Are communities made up of a wide mix of species type or do the different magical types not mix at all? Where folk really don’t get on, the latter is probably the best solution, but a better one is where they do mix and they live and laugh together.

Equally is this something your characters do get on with even though the powers that be may not entirely approve?

Laughter can be a great bridge builder and comedy the source of that laughter so how does this play out in your setting? Laughter can bring about understanding.

Is there one species type that is better at producing laughter than the others? Is this a talent or is it a case everyone else laughs at them and how do they handle that? Laughter makers can also be bridge builders. How could this be put to good effect in your stories?

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This World and Others – Sources of Information

We live in an age where sources of information have never been so readily available. If you don’t know where to find something of this nature, a quick search of the internet is likely to throw up ideas as to where you can find out what you need to know. Plus there are always the reference libraries and museums often have their own libraries. I’ve spent time at a lovely steam railway exhibition looking at their displays and then having a good read in their archives.

So in your world setting, what sources of information exist? Is there an equivalent of the web? Are there papers, media etc and do these operate freely or are they limited in what they can share with the general populace?

Also how well educated are your characters because that will make a huge difference to what they can access even if there are no other restrictions? Who publishes papers and periodicals and where do they get their information from?

Think back to the history of your setting as well. What does everyone “know” (or more accurately think they know) about it? What information in archives backs this up or challenges the accepted view (hence it was archived and kept out of sight!)?

What information would your characters need to make to fulfil their stories?

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Zoom and Writing Formats

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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 all is well with you. Hectic week so far (and it’s only Tuesday as I type this!) but this is where getting to my desk to write works wonders. The moment I’m doing something remotely creative I relax – and that is a good thing! Okay the hard work comes in later when I’m editing and polishing and submitting work but the joy of getting a new story or blog post down, even though I know there is work to be done on it, is a great feeling.

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Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom tomorrow. I’m talking about Making the Most of a Zoom Workshop for Chandler’s Ford Today this week – let nobody say my timing is off! I do set homework when I run workshops (nothing to be scared off, honest!) – and yes I do it myself as well after the session I’ve led. Makes me draft some more flash pieces too!

Zoom and Powerpoint work well together

Mondays are always hectic for me (as they are for so many of us!) so it is with relief I get to my desk and get on with some writing. It is the kind of day where there isn’t a moment spare but once at my desk, I can focus on something creative and I find that relaxing.

Looking forward to being interviewed at the end of the week by Hannah Kate for her show on North Manchester FM. More details about broadcast nearer the time. (Due in early March but that will be with us before we know it).

On tiring days, I focus on flash writing and drafting blog posts etc. It’s a good use of the time I’ve got available and makes me feel as if I’ve got something useful done. That helps a lot. When I’ve a longer writing slot, that is when I go for the longer pieces and getting collections together etc.

It’s taken me a while to match writing time available to work I can do but I have found I’m more productive for doing this. It’s also more sustainable. I know I’m always going to have busy Mondays so making the best of what I’ve got here writing wise makes a great deal of sense.

Never beat yourself up on what you can’t do but focus on what you can – it is a more positive approach and will make you feel better too.

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Hope you have had a good day. I’ll be looking at Making the Most of a Zoom Workshop for next Friday’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. It’s timely as I’ll be running the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group this week on Zoom on Wednesday! I often use Zoom for family get-togethers too. It has been one of the better things to come out of the pandemic.

Am busily getting my next author newsletter ready. Do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com if you would like to sign for tips, news, useful post links, story links etc. I base my newsletter on the kind of thing I know I would want to receive in my own inbox so hope people find it useful and entertaining. That’s the aim anyway!

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It’s my turn once again on the Authors Electric blog. This time I talk about Writing Formats – Diaries and Letters. I’ve used both formats in my flash fiction writing, though have needed towards the upper limit for that to do this. Hope you enjoy the post. They’re interesting forms to tell stories in and have been used as such for a very long time. Will you give them a go?

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Since getting involved with Zoom workshops, I’ve rediscovered the joy of PowerPoint. Ideal for flash fiction presentations I must say. Short text, on a slide – yes, that works. Funny thing is I hadn’t used it in years. Good to be reacquainted with it though and am putting it to good use. I used to record my stories on good old Audacity to hear how dialogue worked etc. I now tend to use Zoom for that as it helps me with timings as well (useful if I’m submitting a piece for potential broadcast etc).

May be an image of 1 person, phone and text that says "Reading work out loud is a simple way to ind out if dialoque works as well as you thought. If you stumble, a reader will τσσ."

It’s Monday. It has been a hectic Monday. It’s still dark out there! (Well, it is where I am as I write this!). Time for a story then. This one was inspired by three images which came up on three story cubes I threw. Someone kindly gave me a set recently and I thought I’d have a go with these. Will definitely use again. Hope you enjoy Bee Happy.

It was fun writing a flash acrostic for yesterday’s post (see below), I sometimes write stories in this format too. Works well for flash fiction as acrostic stories work best when kept to either one word or two shortish ones. (I’ve occasionally written to three words such as a story of mine called Talk The Talk).

As with letter and diary formats, which I talked about for Chandler’s Ford Today, recently, (and for Authors Electric even more recently!), this kind of writing is fun to do every now and again. They all make for excellent writing exercises too as they challenge you to do something a little different. Wouldn’t want to do them all the time as (a) not always suitable for your characters and (b) you could risk it looking gimmicky. But as an occasional thing, they’re great! Why not give them a go?

May be a cartoon of text that says "I've been known to interview my characters to find out what they are capable of. Another good technique would be to write a diary from their viewpoint. What would they want to write down?"

F = Fun to write, the very short form of fiction has plenty of challenges.
L = Learning to select what a reader has to know is one of these challenges.
A = Another is in learning to select the telling detail or two which will save you a lot of description and word count as a result.
S = Still has to be a proper story with a proper beginning, middle, and ending.
H = Have fun with characters in different genres and across the word counts for flash, just don’t go above 1000 words.

May be an image of sky and text that says "Where will your fiction take your readers? This world or somewhere else?"

Goodreads Author Blog – Libraries Acrostic

L = Love your library – they’re wonderful places to explore books.
I = Imagination stretching happens right here as you explore books you might not buy/read otherwise.
B = Books, great and small; books for all.
R = Reading is encouraged and cheered on here.
A = An amazing range of book types can be found in your library – check them out.
R = Read in and out of your genre if you’re a writer; it’s not a bad idea for non-writers either!
I = Inspect sections of the library new to you and don’t forget the wonderful world of non-fiction.
E = Entertainment and education – all to be found here.
S = Support your local authors if they’re having events in the library, many do.

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL PAGE – ALLISON SYMES

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Drafts and Depth of Characterisation

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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.
Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate. (Lady has had big hugs today. Mind you, she often gets big hugs!). And it is always a great idea to celebrate our love of books and stories, regardless of what date it is on the calendar.

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Hope today has been lovely, whether you celebrate St. Valentine’s Day or not. Lady had a lovely time playing with her Aussie Shepherd friend. As ever, both dogs went home shattered but happy.

Writing Tip: Somewhere Near Infinity or Thereabouts – Never worry about a first draft being rubbish. It is part of the point of a first draft. Just get something down and then worry about editing. Terry Pratchett has a great quote on this – “the first draft is you telling yourself the story.”.

So true. You have to work out what it is before you can work out what to improve.

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Another busy Monday has sped by – hope your one hasn’t been too bad. Lady got to play with her best buddy, the lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback, so two dogs in my area were happy today!

Looking forward to being interviewed for a “catch up” session with Hannah Kate for North Manchester FM soon. More details nearer the time. A lot has happened since I was last on the show.

Later this week I’ll have another story up on CafeLit. Will be lovely to be back on there again.

Am busy getting my author newsletter up together ready for issue on 1st March. I like being able to add bits and pieces to this as I go through the month. It’s especially useful when something crops up, say, halfway through the month and it gives me a nice news item for the next edition. Mind you, the newsletter is also a good measure of how quickly the year flies by as the time for the next one comes round etc etc!

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

Brrr… it’s turned cold again though glad to see my snowdrops are now out.

Will be looking at Character Creation for Chandler’s Ford Today next time. I’ll be sharing some thoughts on what I’ve found useful here. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward to the next Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group again soon. These meetings are always great fun.

Glad to say I’ll be having another story up on CafeLit soon and it is one that started life as a Flash NANO piece too, More details later this week.

May be an image of text that says "a new Flash NANO was challenge for me late ast year. Made me stretch my writing- loved doing it."

Hope you have had a good start to your weekend. Many thanks for the comments coming in on How Nice, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. See link if you missed it. Hope you enjoy it. The title – well, you could give it marks out of ten for irony!

Screenshot 2023-02-10 at 09-38-30 How Nice! by Allison Symes

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Flash fiction is to the point though that doesn’t mean it can’t offer depth of characterisation. Far from it in fact. I’ve found because I have to choose what I show a reader, I think more carefully about what I absolutely need to show. And it is in defining what absolute is here, the depth to a portrayal comes in.

For example, if I need to show a reader a character has issues of trust (for whatever reason) I can show this via action. The character continually checks if a door is locked. They never allow people to be alone in a room etc. I can show those as two different actions in my story and readers will get the point. Definitely a lack of trust here! Dialogue/character thoughts could then show what is behind this.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "What do you, the writer, ter, think about your character and why?"
 

Monday is with us again and it’s time for another YouTube tale from me. Hope you enjoy Hidden.

 

Can you use repetition in flash fiction given its limited word count? Yes, you can. It can sometimes be useful for emphasis. I’ve used the odd word repeated as part of the same phrase in stories like Bringing Up Baby, from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I used this to give a “rhythm” to the sentence and it worked well. But it was a case of deliberate and thought out placement here which is why it worked. Sometimes I will repeat an odd word from the title and place that in the story to give a kind of “mirror” effect but again only when I can justify it and place it well.

Screenshot 2023-02-12 at 16-11-30 The Bridgetown Café Bookshop
Many of you will know I’m the flash fiction editor for Mom’s Favorite Reads. As well as the joy of writing my column (with a story to illustrate the theme), it is an absolute joy to read the stories that come in, to give them a light edit, and then see them in the next issue. What is especially nice is seeing where authors have used the telling details that really brings their stories to life.
One or two powerful pertinent details – always better than a wad of description which sends the reader to sleep!

When I’m writing my stories, I am always thinking what does the reader need to know here? If it’s not something essential out it comes. I look for telling details which make an impact too. Sometimes that can be a visual thing. Other times it is a phrase my character comes up with which is memorable but also shows something about them (such as how well or otherwise they were educated etc).

May be an image of text that says "If you are creating your own world for a story, you will need to give some details to help your readers visualise it. IfI want to write a story set in London, I do not need those details. You know what London looks like."

Goodreads Author Blog – Re-Reading

Do you make a habit of re-reading books or is it something you only do occasionally? I can sympathise with the school of thought that says life is so short, read new books, then read more new books etc. But I must admit I do re-read.

There are certain books I simply have to re-read (or in some cases re-listen to) at different times of the year. For example, I have to take in Hogfather by Terry Pratchett in the run up to Christmas. In that case I nearly always re-watch the excellent film adaptation.

The nice thing here is, as well as enjoying old favourites again, I nearly always pick up something new from the repeat reading – a bit of wonderful characterisation that I somehow hadn’t quite picked up on before. A great book can always stand being re-read.

You should be able to get more enjoyment from it each time. Here it is not a case of familiarity breeding contempt, more like familiarity breeding anticipation of more things to enjoy from a well-loved story. What is there not to like about that?!

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ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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

Snow, Anthologies, and Broadcast News

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Hannah Kate for kind permission to use her photo regarding Three Minute Santas. Very cold this week and have seen first lot of snow for the winter. Writers often talk about having “layers” to their characterisation. Right now, the one having layers around here is me!

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Busy day. Bitterly cold one too. Lady had a great day though playing with her “boyfriend”, a lovely tri-coloured Aussie Shepherd. He had the perfect coat for this weather. I did go swimming today. How can you tell when it is really cold outside? When the pool water feels like you’re swimming in a warm bath. Trust me. The water isn’t like that!

Looking forward to sharing my post on Chandler’s Ford Today about the recent Bridge House Publishing celebration event. Such fun to go to that – and lovely to have it again after the turmoil of recent years cancelling it.

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Have you made any writing plans for the New Year? I’m hoping to resume work on another long term project I’ve got in draft now I’ve submitted my third flash fiction collection to Chapeltown Books. Oh and I’ve booked for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick taking advantage of the Early Bird rate (which means I’ve paid the same as for this year’s event).

In the run up to 2023 though, I plan to continue to submit flash tales and blog posts but will slowly wind down as we reach Christmas Day. I’m looking forward to doing a lot of reading over the Christmas holidays too. And if the weather stays this cold, staying indoors to write and read seems like an even better idea than it already is!

Hope you have had a good Monday. Lady got to play with her best buddy, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, who looked very smart in her coat. I was wrapped up like the old Michelin Man. (It is not a good look!). Then their other friend joined us, the Hungarian Vizler, also looking very smart in her coat. Am so grateful writing is generally done indoors!

Broadcast News: Looking forward to sharing the link for Three Minute Santas on Hannah Kate’s show on North Manchester FM when I get the link. The show goes out on Saturday 17th December from 2pm and it is great fun listening to the variety of festive flashes here.

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 17 December, 2-4pm

Screenshot 2022-12-11 at 20-43-39 North Manchester FM Hannah's Bookshelf Saturday 17 December 2-4pm - Hannah Kate

3 Minute Santas

Had our first lot of snow today. Laid briefly too. Lady not too understanding about the fact Mum wanted to keep moving when we were out on our walks today. She wasn’t fazed at all. Mum on the other hand just wanted to keep as warm as possible. (Mind you I was doing a great impersonation of the old Michelin man – readers of a certain age will remember that one well. Let’s just say it isn’t a flattering look on anyone. I lost count of how many layers I had on!). The highest temperature reached in my part of the world was +1 and that was at midday.

Have put in my book request list for Christmas. (I don’t think I’m on Santa’s naughty list – well, I wasn’t the last time I checked – so am looking forward to book shaped presents under the tree in due course!). Have submitted my annual flash piece for a national competition so fingers crossed time again.

Don’t forget my latest story, Numbers, is up on Friday Flash Fiction.

Screenshot 2022-12-09 at 16-48-49 Numbers by Allison Symes

Hope you’ve had a good day. One benefit of raking up the leaves in front of my place is it does keep your warm! No snow in my part of the world but the frost is deep, crisp, and even.

Will be taking a look back at the recent Bridge House Publishing celebration event for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Link up on Friday. After that I hope to write up my usual festive flash piece for CFT where I’ll also take a look back at my writing year. (I hope by then I’ll be able to share the link to the Hannah Kate Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM. That show goes out on Saturday 17th December).

Writing tip: I’ve mentioned having a stock of stories before. Certain themes always crop up in competitions – love, justice, crime, and so many more. So you could prepare stories on those themes knowing you are very likely to find a home for them. Also prepare other stories because there are a lot of “open” competitions around too. I often batch cook – it saves time overall. You can batch write too – same result in terms of time!

Also it pays to have another look at stories you haven’t placed. You’re likely to have had enough time away from these to be able to judge them objectively. Is there something you can now do with them that you weren’t able to see before? Always worth another look. I’ve gone on to have work published doing this.

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I often use major traits to get into a character’s mindset. Someone who is honest – well I can then put them in situations where it would pay them to lie and see how they manage it.

Knowing the trait means I can then work out the situations they would find easy to handle and, far more interestingly, the ones they wouldn’t.

Minor traits feeding off the main one can also be great areas to explore. An honest person could be tactless as well. Why? Simply because they’re so honest they can’t tell even white lies when it would be kinder to do so. What kind of trouble could that land them in?

May be an image of text that says "Knowing my character's outlying traits means I can write about them more convincingly too."

Pleased to share my new YouTube story, Travelling Light. It is time for the Christmas puns to start! Hope you enjoy.


Hope you have had a good day (and kept warm – you can see why mulled wine is such a big hit at this time of year! Mind you, I prefer hot chocolate).

Got a flash piece off a for a competition and am looking forward to listening to Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas on 17th December. Her festive show on North Manchester FM is great fun and it is a joy to have a piece included in it again this year.

I like being able to set my characters anywhere and everywhere in flash and, of course, with festive flash, you can have great fun playing with the traditions in it. After all, Santa is known to have elves as assistants but what it they’re disgruntled with their lot etc? There is fun to be had in writing that kind of story up but you need to give thought as to what would make your elves feel this way and to how the problem here is resolved. It is what you bring to the mix here that makes your story stand out.

May be an image of sky and text that says "One advantage to flash fiction writing is I can set my characters anywhere. I do too!"

Themes for flash pieces (and often things like blog posts too) can be found via books of proverbs, random generators, and many other sources. Think of themes that would appeal to you and ask yourself why this is and can you do something with that topic for your own writing?

You can also think of themes which would appeal to your characters but not necessarily to you! Again have a look at why this might be and put yourself in your characters’ shoes. They will have good reasons for feeling the way they do about this theme.

This is where interviewing your characters is a great technique for getting to the bottom of why they feel the way they do. You do have to understand your characters. You don’t need to like them, just know where they’re coming from.

Goodreads Author Blog – Anthologies

I’ve been fortunate to be published in many anthologies including the most recent from Bridge House Publishing (Evergreen – an Anthology). It is great fun to write for these and it’s a privilege and pleasure when your story is selected.

I read anthologies too, regardless of whether my work is included or not, because I’m a firm believer in supporting the market I want to be in! Also, I want to mix up the kind of things I read. I read novels, novellas, flash, short stories, collections of the latter two categories, as well as magazines and the like. I want a good and varied reading “diet”.

Anthologies are a great way to find authors new to you and many either support charities or are produced by independent publishers who give more authors a voice. For many it is their way into being published at all. It was for me.

I also like varied moods in my stories (whether I read or write them) and in anthologies, you get this in one book so that’s another reason to love them. You can also work out the kind of writing style and mood you prefer by reading these. I tend to like a lighter touch. I’ve described my own collections as “mixed assortments” and this can apply to most anthologies too.

Even when on a single theme, you can be amazed at what the contributing authors have come up with for it. I’ve done this myself. For the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition a while back, I had to write to a set word count on a set theme. Fifteen winners (including me) wrote to those stipulations but the way all of the authors took the topic was amazing.

I often use anthologies to read in between reading novels to make sure I do mix up my reading and to help me make up my mind which genre of novel I will read next.

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Allison Symes – Book Brush Reader Hub

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