Tag: Photos as writing prompts

Light Reading

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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 scottish photo – spot the dog! 
Hope you have had a good weekend. Had a lovely week on the north-east coast of Scotland last week. Now back to normal routines though Lady is pleased to be seeing her pals again.

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Apologies this is a day later but I’m now delighted to share my latest Authors Electric post on A Change of Scene (and yes I’m talking about the same topic for Chandler’s Ford Today this week too. There is plenty of think about on this one!).

For Authors Electric, I look at how our characters would have the change of scene which would do them good and act as a pivotal story point. I also look at whether such changes of scene need to be “dramatic” or not.

Hope you enjoy the post and find it useful.

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Hope you’ve had a good start to your week. Lady was especially pleased to see her Hungarian Vizler chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, for the first time in ten days or so. Great time had by all.

Pleased to share my latest story on Substack. Hope you enjoy I Wish. It also ties in with my YouTube story for this week. See further down. Both come in at the 50 word mark. Pleased to get back to the good old dribble writing again.

Have spent the last week on the fantastic north-east coast of Scotland, enjoying the breathtaking scene and the bracing air! Now it’s time to get back to “normal” though Lady was pleased to see one of our other regulars, the wonderful Stately Stanley, over at the park today.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing A Change of Scene for Chandler’s Ford Today next week and will focus on how we handle changes of scene for our characters. More to come on Friday. After that, there will be a super interview with Esther Chilton about her latest children’s book, Myths and Magic, so plenty to look forward to on CFT.

Shortly, I’ll be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday. Later in the week I’ll have editing to return to and a PowerPoint to finish off. It’s just as well I like to be busy!

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Am on way home after a wonderful break in the north-east of Scotland. Seeing plenty of snow on the Cairngorms as we drive through the national park. Very impressive.

Writing wise, I’ll be back to my usual writing routine from tomorrow though it has been lovely doing some writing while away. Well, when you’re writing with views of mountains around you, it is a great encouragement to write. The creativity of the natural world can and does inspire writing.

I suspect some of the fantastic scenery I’ve seen this week will end up in my stories as settings.

Photos can make wonderful story prompts.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope the day has gone well. Lady caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal again today and a nice time was had by both. I enjoyed resuming my swimming today though must admit it was hard work!

Writing wise, I’ll be working on presentations, blogs and editing for the rest of this week, which I’m looking forward to doing. Always pays to enjoy your work, generally and most of the time at least.

Also hope to book my train tickets for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick soon. I’ve found it pays to book ahead and have saved money doing that but it also means one of my favourite events of the year is getting nearer. That is always a cheerful thought, especially this year when I have my Seeing The Other Side with me too.

It’s Monday. Why is it the first Monday back after a holiday is even more hectic than normal? Oh well, it’s time to unwind with a story then.

Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Working Things Out. This ties in with my Substack story this week – I Wish. Both come in at 50 words. I like to mix up my word counts every now and then and writing to a specific word count is a great writing exercise.

 

Flash fiction is also good for those short moments which are a complete story in and of themselves but which could not be expanded into a standard length short story. Indeed, it is a great writing exercise to practice writing to 50, 100, 250 words etc because the art of flash fiction is to write what has to be written in as few words as possible.

This is why it helps you improve your editing skills because you learn to go for better turns of phrase, cut out repetitions (unless you’re using it for effect but then you’re doing this knowingly), and to kill most of those wretched adverbs.

Incidentally there are always exceptions to any writing rule but for adverbs, so often you could express something without using them so why not do so and save on the word count?

Flash fiction focuses on important moments in a character’s life but what is important varies from character to character. What matters is readers can see why the moment matters.

The lovely thing with flash is those moments can be funny, sad, or what have you. I love mixing up the moods of the tales I write but then I think fiction reflects all aspects of life.

Having said that, I especially love writing the lighter stories. Life is grim enough as it is and fiction can do much to give some much needed escapism.

Goodreads Author Blog – Light Reading

I love lighter reads. They bring much needed cheer and provide escapism. For me, lighter reads include Jane Austen. I love the thought of some of the classic novels being light reads too.

What a light read isn’t is a simple read. There are plenty of depths to Pride and Prejudice, for example. A light read, for me, is an easy read with plenty going on and which keeps you gripped to the end, but it should also make you smile.

The fiction world does need the darker books but I would like to see the “seesaw” going in favour of the lighter reads. I’ve never liked lighter/genre books being looked down for not being “worthy” enough.

Entertainment is just as valid a reason to read as anything else, after all.

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WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

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ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The Power of Language

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Image Credit:  Unless otherwise stated, images are from Pixabay

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I think I may have found my favourite image for this week’s CFT post. There is so much truth in it, don’t you think?!

I look at the Power of Language and discuss rhetoric, the role of swearing, putting words INTO the language, and how flash fiction has affected how I use language. I also feel we should celebrate language, its richness and its origins. English of course notably borrows, sorry steals, from other languages and is the richer for it.

I also find proof of someone cheating at Scrabble…

Hope you enjoy! Captions over on CFT.

 

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If you ask most writers what every new writer needs, I think the answers would be something like:-

1. Comfortable working environment with good support for your back given you can be at your desk for some time.

2. A willingness to commit what time you can to writing and to accept you are in for the long haul.

3. The ability to develop a thick skin when rejections/critical feedback/bad reviews come in, as they do.

4. Pens, paper, laptop, printer, and all requisites.

5. Tea/coffee/other drink of choice which will keep you going.

6. The ability to focus.

7. Accepting rewrites (often many) are a necessary part of the process.

8. A love of books in a wide range of genres and a good reading habit.

9. A willingness to learn and improve your craft.

All of these are vital BUT I would add in:-

10. An appreciation of language and what you can do with it. Play with words, have fun with them.

(It’s not just because I talk about the Power of Language on my CFT post tonight, though it helps!).

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Questions to ask as you outline a story:-

1. What is its mood?

2. Why is it the right mood for the story?

3. What makes the lead character tick?

4. Are they the right lead character for this story? (It doesn’t always work out the way you think it will. I’ve rewritten a story from another viewpoint which proved to be far better than the one I’d originally chosen. If something doesn’t seem to be working, it may be worth looking at whether you are telling the story from the right character’s viewpoint).

5. What does the lead character want?

6. Why does it matter? (This one is crucial. The motivation has got to be strong enough to convince a reader a character would do X, Y, Z etc to obtain it).

7. What gets in the lead character’s way?

8. How are they going to overcome the obstacles? (At outlining, you may only have the vaguest idea but there should be something within the personality of your character that will make all the difference to the resolution of the story).

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I’ll be looking at the Power of Language in my CFT post later this week. I share my thoughts on rhetoric and swearing amongst other things (and there’s a good mix!). Post up on Friday.

It’s one of those topics I should have had a look at before given flash fiction writing has meant I have to concentrate on the impact of the words I use given I can’t use as many as a short story writer (1500+) or a novelist (80K or so).

I’m also looking forward to sharing a new series, What Books Mean to Me, where guest writers share their answers to three specific questions. I finish the series by answering them myself. I didn’t pick easy questions, honestly. One of them is a question all writers would want to “modify” but more on that when the series starts in October.

 

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Glad to report I will have a short story called Three Wishes up on Cafelit on Monday. Will share the link then. Yes, I’ve been flirting with the longer form of fiction but have also written new flash work this week. So a very good week then!

But I will always have a very soft spot for the flash fiction with fantasy at its heart. This is a relatively new one of mine which I hope will make it into a future collection.

And it solves a mystery too.. what DID happen to Humpty Dumpty?

I’M BORED
‘It’s up to you, I really don’t mind,’ Joe said, swinging his legs idly against the brick wall.
‘Grrr… all I asked was what would you like to do today, as a considerate friend does and as I ask every bloody day, and you still come up with that rot. Are you incapable of giving me a straight answer? I get so bored trying to come up with different things for us at least to try. It is boring sitting on this wall all the time.’
‘Then stop asking me such a stupid question then,’ and with that Joe pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall.
The mess on the pavement was impressive. Humpty had been a huge egg.
‘Not going to be bored any more, are you, Hump?’

Ends
Allison Symes – September 2019

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Do you ever use photos as writing prompts? I do occasionally (and usually use the ones in my writing diary) but there are some pictures I just know I couldn’t write about. Why?

Because I know I can’t have enough distance from the subject in the photos. Therefore I wouldn’t be able to write objectively. Without that objectivity, the story fails. I’ve got to be able to see the characters IN the picture as exactly that.

Landscapes are easier to do but if they are of places I know well or have special memories attached to them, then they’re out, again due to the lack of objectivity.

See what you can do with the ones below then. Pixabay as ever are the image suppliers here (except the ones of sunlight around a Scottish loch. I took that while on holiday earlier this year and was amazed at how the light worked on this one).

What writing triggers will help you create your new worlds? Image via Pixabay
Image by Allison Symes
Image by Allison Symes
I love walking by water – so calming. Can also inspire how you create your own world. Image by Allison Symes
Image by Allison Symes
A good photo shows light at its best. Pixabay image.
The sun setting. Pixabay image.
The moon rising. Pixabay image.

As I use first person a lot in my flash stories, I don’t use many names. When I do though, I look for something that will indicate age, class/background, their level of formality they’re likely to countenance etc. It saves on the word count too!

My parents named me thinking you couldn’t abbreviate Allison. Wrong! I never minded being called Ali (and still don’t). I deliberately gave my son a name where all the abbreviations of it we liked as much as the full name. Win-win there.

So what can you do your characters here? An Abigail is likely to be more formal than an Abby. What would you make of a George as opposed to a Georgie (and that can apply to male or female characters)?

Think of how you want your characters to come across to your reader. That should be the benchmark for you to decide on the appropriate names for your people.

The dark can seem to overcome the light but light will prevail. Image via Pixabay
Get those ideas coming! Pixabay image
What we all strive for in writing. Pixabay
Love that clock. Pexels image.
Another way of publishing…. Image via Pixabay
Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.
And have fun! Pixabay image.
Let the words flow! Image via Pixabay.
Beautiful pens. Pexels image.
Work and the muse will come. Don’t wait for it to show up first! Image via Pixabay
The medieval scrivener’s wares. Image by Allison Symes
What an upgrade from Shakespeare’s quill! Image via Pixabay
Pixabay image.

Fairytales with Bite – Character Motivation

Character motivations can cover a wide spectrum. There are the “obvious” ones of love, revenge, seeking justice etc but motivations can be more subtle than that – for example the wish to prove someone wrong.

What matters is whatever the motivation is, it is the be all and end all to your character, even if it seems to everyone else they’re making a fuss about very little.

A motivated character will do whatever it takes to get what they want and the important thing is to ensure your people are driven enough.

It’s not enough for a character to just want to stay out of trouble. But if your character goes to extraordinary lengths to stay out of trouble then  a great deal of humour or tragedy can result from that.

What could be behind that? Maybe they’ve got a bet on with a friend to stay out of trouble for six days, say, and the friend has always been right in the past but this time our hero wants to prove them wrong and is determined to do so. They’re fed up with their friend being right all the time and finally want something to go their way.

There, the motivation is powerful enough and understandable. Your readers have to get behind your character to carry on reading their adventures after all. Naturally your character’s friend will know or be able to guess at their friend’s motivation here and will do all they can to scupper any chances of success. Voila! Instant clashes and tension as you work out how your hero does or does not prove the friend wrong.

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This World and Others – The Power of Language

My CFT post this week looks at The Power of Language.  I look at this from a variety of angles, including how flash fiction has affected how I use language.  But let’s turn to this topic from the viewpoint of our stories and created worlds.

Is your created world one where everyone speaks formally? Is it one where you have to know the right language to use to be able to get anywhere in life and only certain people have that knowledge?

Is the power of language suppressed in any way? For example, does your setting allow for free speech, good access to different literature etc. How are journalists and other writers treated? With respect or are they considered threats? (Sadly, they too often are for real of course).

Where magic comes into your stories, does it have a special language all of its own? Is it widely accessible to beings of all backgrounds or again do only certain people have the knowledge? How are they stopped from controlling everything?

Some story ideas there I think!

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