Tag: publication news

Post-Swanwick and Reading Time

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Publication News

Another story, The Delivery, will be on Cafelit very soon. Will share more details and the link next time. One thing I absolutely love about writing is the thrill of being published never diminishes.

Facebook – General

I expect the post-Swanwick blues to hit me on Monday when up to neck in the daily chores once again. What will keep me going is (a) looking forward to next year’s event (can’t start that too early, can you?) and (b) cracking on with my writing goals.

There was a four letter acronym at one of the courses which I’m not going to forget in a hurry and which I won’t repeat on here. (Get On With It is a politer version!). Let’s just say it’s all the motivation I need when the blues strike!

And one of the things I love about writing is the fact it DOES take you away from the world for a bit. I always feel better after writing, whether it is a short session or longer one, and that, for me, will always be reason enough to write at all.

 

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Catching up with some reading now I’m back home again. It does seem odd NOT to be talking writing and books all the time (but for the sake of my family and friends, it is just as well!).

Have written down some goals and a rough timescale in which to achieve them. When outlining my stories, I do actually then get on and write them so am hoping the same will happen with the goals I’ve set myself. (It does seem more real putting them down on paper, which is vital).

Have some blog posts to prepare so time to get on but I’ll leave some mottoes for genre writers to consider!

Fantasy Writers – Off In a World of Our Own

Crime Writers – Desperately Seeking Someone Annoying to Kill for Next Book

Horror Writers – It is Always Fright Night

Historical Fiction – The Past IS my present (career!).

Well? Pixabay
Recharging… Pixabay
Well… again! Pixabay
What worlds can you explore in flash fiction? Pixabay
Books, books, glorious books…. Pixabay
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay
Set goals for the short, medium and long terms. Pixabay image
There is something almost mystical here. Pixabay image.
A good photo shows light at its best. Pixabay image.
Stepping into another world.. Pixbay
There be dragons. Pixabay

Delighted to say another story of mine will be up on Cafelit soon. More details later in the week.

I’ll also be sharing a few thoughts on why I love Swanwick Writers’ Summer School for CFT on Friday. I will also be looking at why writers should keep developing and honing their craft (which is only one good reason to love Swanwick as you have plenty of opportunities to do this there!).

Whether you go to conferences or not, getting out and about every now and then is a good thing for a writer. Trips out are splendid opportunities for people watching and you never know what you will come across on a visit.

One of the issues I have, given I write fairytales with bite, is it does make it difficult to find a place of direct relevance to my storytelling! I’ve yet to come across Fairyland…!😀😀 (And I am NOT the right age for Disney!).

But what I do is look for points of interest that may help feed the background of my stories later.

I went to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight a couple of years ago and came across a psaltery there. You were allowed to play its strings and the sound was beautiful. Have not used this recollection in a story yet (note the yet!). It is funny what images and sounds stick in the memory though. What I do know is those images and sounds will come in useful for stories at some point.

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Well I’ve had my Slimming World weigh in. Only half a pound on, which is my best ever result after a week at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School! Now if I could only manage that at Christmas…

One downside to writing is it that it is not conducive to exercise! Exercising the little grey cells to come up with the next blog post or story doesn’t exactly shed the calories. My main exercise is walking Lady at least three times a day (though one of those walks is her sprinting after her ball. She’s been playing lately with an 8.5 year old collie called Mobi and it has been great hearing a thundering collie gallop in perfect stereo!).

My other exercise is swimming. I did thnk when I first started swimming, I would be bound to come up with story ideas etc during it. Not a bean! Aside from ensuring I’m not in anyone’s way and getting round those who may be in mine (!), I tend not to think of much at all. But that I guess is where the relaxing side to swimming comes in. Freeing the mind for a while frees it up later to be creative again.

So many lovely forms of writing… Pixabay
Abbotswood House, home of Sir Walter Scott. Pixabay image.
Good advice here. Pixabay
Pixabay.
Great characters escape from great books! Pixabay image.
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Gladstone’s Library. Pixabay image.
Someone set a goal here of some sort! Pixabay image
The writing necessities! Pixabay image.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I was “mugged” by the dog on my return from Swanwick so I was in no doubt she WAS pleased to see me back!😃😃 Dogs are very in your face about how they feel – literally so at times. There is no pretence about them, which is one of their great strengths.

Humans… well that’s another story. We have to work out how people are feeling (or guess at it) when there are no obvious clues to work with.

How do your characters show emotion? (Not in quite the same way as my dog I presume!). Are they “open” emotionally or is it hard work to get any reaction out of them?

In a flash story, there isn’t much room for detailed emotional relationships. I tend to focus on one main character and love to show what their emotional state is via their thoughts. It is direct, saves a lot on the word count, and you as a reader see what the character really thinks (even if the character is kidding themselves).

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F = Fun to write
L = Lively character(s)
A = Action immediately
S = Stories great for ending with a twist
H = Heroes/heroines are dropped right in it from the start

F = Finite story length but you do have some choice
I = Imagination intense to make an intense story work
C = Character(s) has/have to grip you immediately.
T = Tension, yes there’s plenty of that and not a lot of space to resolve it.
I = Intensity can vary. Reflective pieces can work well but the character has to be compelling to make that successful.
O = Oh my… what is your flash tale’s “oh my” moment?
N = Narrative take? I often favour first person.

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Sparks for flash fiction ideas have come to me from:-

1. A scene in classic Ealing comedy, The Ladykillers.
2. Pride and Prejudice.
3. Historical events.
4. Fairytales including narrating from the fairy godmother’s POV
5. Frankenstein
6. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
7. St. George and the Dragon (though my take on this is not the usual one!).
8. Crime stories
9. Nursery rhymes
10. Owning a dog!

The more you can mix up where you get your sparks from, the better. The more you read and take in from different genres including non-fiction, the better. Yes, watching film can help too. (When all is said and done, you are taking in a story this way. It’s just in a visual format).

Happy ideas sparking!

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Unless I’m writing for a specific competition or market, I don’t always know what word count my flash fiction will end up being. I’ve learned not to worry about this.

I write my idea up and then see what I have to work with. I then edit it and polish it, and check the word count then. If it is close to a standard format (e.g. 110, 40, 230 etc), I will edit it to get to that point (e.g. 100, 50, 250). This makes finding a home for the piece easier to do.

If I really can’t polish the story any more, then I submit it to a market or competition which is open on word count. It really is a case of finding the right home for your story and sometimes that takes a little longer than I’d like but it is the only way I know of to increase my chances of story acceptances.

 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Time

I’ve not long got back from the fabulous Swanwick Writers’ Summer School and, naturally, I picked up some wonderful books from the Book Room here.

What I didn’t get while I was there was any time to do any reading! After a full day of courses, workshops, catching up with old friends, and making new ones, I was far too tired to do much in the way of reading.

I managed to read two magazine articles while I was there! Hmm… not much at all in six days.

Of course, this has meant my TBR pile has increased but there are worse problems in life than that one!

Having said all of that, I was taking in plenty of great material via the course presentations etc and that was the important reading I did want to focus on.

Catching up with my reading will cheer me up immensely as the post-Swanwick and back to the real world blues hit home.

There is much to be grateful for when it comes to reading!

My usual routine is to give myself enough time to read before sleeping and I will often dip into a magazine at lunchtime, say. That was out of the question while I was away but being immersed in a world totally dedicated to reading and writing stories, books, scripts, non-fiction etc. was fantastic.

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Swanwick Report 2 (This Time It’s Personal!)

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I was on way home from Swanwick as I drafted this earlier this afternoon. Not sure I’m ready to face the real world yet but the weekend will help.

Mind, it was lovely getting home to the family again, and I was mugged by Lady in a totally good way as well! One happy dog…

My CFT post this week is Making Space Part 2 and here I share thoughts and tips on this for writers. Hope you find at least some of them helpful.

Planning is key to my getting writing done at all and it pays to make space for that planning. It really does help you be more productive. Try it and see!

Image Credit:  Pixabay.  Captions on CFT.

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Publication News:  Cafelit

Busy night for me! I forgot to share this earlier this week but better late than never…

Am pleased to say my story, Life is What You Make It, went up on Cafelit on 12th August. Hope you enjoy.

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Why does Swanwick week always speed by? Glad to see sun come out in time for the Dregs Party held on the main lawn though.

Really encouraged on the non-fiction front and have written flash fiction stories too. Plenty to be getting on with when I get back home (and not just my laundry!).

The joy of writing is in being creative and discovering and enjoying new forms in which to write.

The joy of Swanwick is you know there are close to 300 people there with you who totally understand that.

Image Credit:  Swanwick pictures taken by me but a huge thank  you to Penny Blackburn for the one of me reading at the Open Prose Mic Night.

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I picked Getting Lost, Mirrored, and Test Pilot to read at the Swanwick Prose Open Mic night. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for the pic (above).

Another full day of inspiring courses and workshops. It takes a while after you get home to process all you know will be useful to you but that’s fine. Knowing what you want to do is key and coming to Swanwick can and has been helping me hone in on that.

Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
So true. Pixabay.
What we all need… Pixabay
Most writers will know how this feels… Pixabay
What worlds can you explore in flash fiction? Pixabay
Indeed! Pixabay image.
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Have three flash stories drafted as a result of Swanwick. All need polishing though. I never get as much writing done as I think I will at Swanwick, because your head (and notebooks) are full of ideas to follow up when you get back.

I also want to cherish time spent with other writers, most of whom I won’t see for another year. This is where social media is such a blessing in that it makes you able to stay in touch that way.

What was great was coming across a number of other flash fiction writers. The form is growing and that will lead to more fantastic stories. Win-win there!

Never stop… Pixabay
Most writers will know how this feels… Pixabay
Even a world populated with dragons has to make sense. Pixabay
Getting the balance right in adapting work is never easy. Pixabay image.
It’s amazing what characters can emerge from your time at a writing desk! Pixabay image.
Any resemblance to me when my printer cartridge has run out at an awkward moment MAY be coincidental. Pixabay.
Always good questions to ask. Pixabay.
The writing life. Pixabay
Ah, the bliss of reading! Pixabay image.

The nice thing with writing for competitions is if a place doesn’t get placed, you have a story you can look at again and rework and submit elsewhere.

Most of the time you won’t be placed. Does that sound depressing? Perhaps but on the assumption there’s nothing wrong with your story, other factors happen such as:-

  1. The judge has already read a story very similar to yours and, for whatever reason, the other has the edge. There’s not much you can do here other than make your work as polished as possible and try not to go for the too obvious interpretation of a theme.

  2. For open competitions especially, judges may genuinely have a preference for a particular story type or genre and yours doesn’t float their boat. Just get the work out somewhere else appropriate.

Good luck!

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I love it when flashes of inspiration strike though nobody says they have to come at convenient times, unfortunately.

My awkward-to-get-to-a-pen moments include:-

Being in the shower when a real cracker of an idea turns up.

Being on the loo when etc etc.

Being stuck in traffic and I’m driving.

Longing to write when on a train but you’re packed in so tight even an exceptionally skinny ant would have trouble finding space. {Anyone come across an obese ant? Just thought I’d ask!).

Oh well…

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Fairytales with Bite – Making Space

My CFT post this week discusses why Making Space is a great idea for writers. See http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/making-space-part-2-the-writing-view/

I believe fairytales and fantasy fills the spaces between reality and chaos. Why? Because so many tales in these genres reflect what we can be like, while others give strong moral messages. Why do we need such things?

  1. To guide us as to what our behaviour should/should not be;
  2. To show us what life could be like without kindness, gratitude etc. Would you really not want things to come right for Cinderella, for example?

As writers, we also need to give our characters space to develop in themselves and as part of the plot development. A character who doesn’t change will be of little interest to readers.

Changing direction is fine for writing too. Pixabay
And have fun! Pixabay image.
Whatever you write, enjoy it! Pixabay image
The lightbulb moment is not so easy to capture as drawing it! Pixabay
Feedback can vary in scale! Pixabay image.
The writing journey isn’t necessarily in a straight line. Pixabay
The first draft is never perfect. Pixabay image.
Pixabay image.

This World and Others – Entering Another World

You do feel as if you enter another world when you go to Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. For a week, I do! Coming out of that world again can be a wrench too.

Image Credit:  Photos of Swanwick taken by me with the exception of my reading at the Open Prose Mic Night. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for that. ALREADY SHARED ABOVE.

But going home with ideas to work on will take me back into the fantastic world of the imagination in no time. So that’s all right then!😀 The really nice thing about this?

It applies whether you write flash or other fiction and non-fiction.

When you want to escape this world for a bit, write!

Your title needs to make an impact quickly and especially if writing flash fiction as it can set mood and save you word count - PixabayThe first title idea you have may need to change later but that's okay - PixabayAnd the first thing people will want to know is the title - Pixabay918521_S.jpg

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Still room for pen and paper drafts. Pixabay

 

 

Making Space and Variety

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Publication News

Another story, Life Is What You Make It, will be up on Cafelit on 12th August. Am sharing link to my author page here but do check out the other writers on here too. There is a wonderful range of writing here.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My CFT post this week on Making Space is a two-parter and was inspired by a recent visit to the Sky Gardens in London. I had great fun spotting so many landmarks from a literally great height!

Making space to write is fundamental and, for me, this involves planning out my writing slots and how I’ll use them. I know that without the planning, I would get far less done, far less stories sent out (and less chance of acceptances too) etc.

I’ll share some tips I’ve found useful here in Part 2 of this post which will be be up on 16th August. And, yes, I’ve scheduled it! I should schedule posts more often but my problem is finding time/making the space to draft several blog posts in one go. I also do like writing posts like this “live” as it keeps me on my toes, which is never a bad thing.

The happy answer of course is to do a mixture of both but I find that I do most of my scheduling ahead of things like Swanwick or my holidays. I suspect that may be true for many of us!

Image Credit:  The images of London from the Sky Gardens were taken by Allison Symes on 27th July 2019. The other images, as ever, are from the marvellous Pixabay. Captions are on the CFT post.

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Have set up a list of tasks on Evernote for me to start drafting while on the train to Derbyshire on Saturday for the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. (Hit the ground running so to speak!).

Discovered recently the Slimming World HQ is near where I’ll be going too. Have no plans to call in (especially towards the end of next week. They do look after you very well at Swanwick!).

Will be taking a couple of projects to work on as well. How much time I get to spend on them remains to be seen but I always like to have something to work on. (I usually do get more done than I might have done at home).

Have I made up my mind about what courses/workshops I’ll go to? Of course not! Yes, I’ve a rough idea, but I know I’ll change my mind yet again before getting there! But that’s the fun of it….

Anticipate meeting up with old friends, making new ones, learning loads, and ending up with a head and notebook crammed full of ideas to work on. Now what’s NOT to like about that?

Image Credit:  Images from Swanwick taken by me. It is such a lovely place to be. A big thank you to Geoff Parkes for taking the image of me reading at the Swanwick Prose Open Mic night last year.  All other images are from Pixabay.

 

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My CFT post this week is a two-parter on Making Space. Part 1 focuses on making space in cities, making space in packing (apt given I’m about to go to Swanwick Writers’ Summer School!), and I also discuss decluttering and books.

Mind, you can probably guess what stance I take on decluttering when it comes to books.

I also share my thoughts on white space and share my favourite quote about packing/going away which always makes me laugh out loud when I re-read it. Hope it does the same for you!

Image kindly taken by Adrian Symes. It was hard not to have a fit of the giggles during photo time!
Still room for pen and paper drafts. Pixabay
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Writing regularly, even in short bursts, encourages your imaginative side to flourish. Pixabay.
So many lovely forms of writing… Pixabay
Imagination feeding the lightbulb moment. Pixabay
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay
Set goals for the short, medium and long terms. Pixabay image
The sun setting. Pixabay image.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Transformation stories can work well in flash fiction. My Getting It Right is an example of this. It is written from the viewpoint of Snow White’s evil stepmother as she transforms into the old crone. I ONLY show that moment and her thoughts on what has led to it and that’s all. It’s all that’s needed.

Flash is brilliant at making you focus on the core of the story, which is another reason I love it. I like to think of it as precision writing given every word must punch its weight to justify staying in the story.

 

Playing with words. Pixabay image.
Walking into the words maybe. Pixabay image
Lost in a world of books. Pixabay image.
Good reading – and writing to be done – here. Pixabay image.
A familiar sight to many of us. Image via Pixabay.
Puns can be visual. Pixabay image.
A great new idea makes me smile, as does this image. Pixabay image.
Preparing the blog. Image via Pixabay.
Wormhole. Pixabay image.
I’ve never read a book in these conditions, have you? Pixabay image.
Edit, edit, edit! Pixabay image.
A good writing group will help you discover this. Pixabay image.
A VERY familiar sight, alas! Pixabay image.
Your blog, your topic, your theme – just be sensible on copyright and libel issues. Image via Pixabay.

Key ingredients for a good flash fiction story:-

1. Strong leading character.
2. A focused incident/point of change. Less IS more here.
3. Dialogue (if used) or internal thoughts to be to the point.
4. Promising opening line (which can keep a reader guessing).
5. No sagging middles!
6. A powerful ending that fulfil the promise of the opening line.

Last but not least:-

7. An intriguing title which can be open to interpretation.

Why put that one last especially as I have to a title to get me started on any piece of work?

Because an intriguing title is fab but without the other six ingredients being in place, said title will fall flat.

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What makes a good flash fiction story become a great one? My thoughts on that are:-

1. The story has to make me react – a story that is meant to be funny DOES amuse me, a scary one DOES make my blood run cold etc.

2. A powerful beginning which is backed up all the way to an equally powerful ending. No “sagging bits”.

3. Unforgettable characters (whether I love to love them or loathe them).

4. I am a sucker for a good punchline, I admit, or a twist ending that I didn’t see coming. What I love with those is then going back through the story again and spotting the clues the author did put in. On first reading, I am always keen just to see how the story pans out so it easy to miss something enroute. A really great story will withstand repeated readings and will give you something new with each read too. (Sometimes that can just be an increased sense of admiration for wonderful characterisation. I love that – and of course it inspires me to “up my own game”, which is never a bad thing).

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Fairytales with Bite – Variety is the Spice of Life

Variety is the spice of the writing life. Last week’s CFT post was a review of a wonderful spoof staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group and this week I discuss Making Space.

I love variety in reading and writing. The former inspire ideas for posts and stories (and the wider you cast your net here the more opportunities you have for being inspired. Literally keep an open mind and feed your mind well with wonderful material from other writers!).  The latter keeps me on my toes. I love meeting the challenges of flash fiction and short story writing. I love meeting the challenges of non-fiction writing too.

But there’s nothing wrong with sticking to one genre if that is what you prefer to do. So how can you bring variety in here? The crucial point is to enjoy what you write, whatever it is you go in for. If you’re bored, that will show through in your writing (and I think will eventually lead you to stop writing altogether). For story writers, it is all down to characters as you can come up with so many combinations of characters and situations to write about. For me, a story is all about the character. It’s then fun to find out what happens to them.

For non-fiction, I look at themes that interest me and write articles and posts around those. One obvious theme is writing. I love reading and writing about writing (and I enjoy sharing tips I’ve found useful. I am grateful to authors who have likewise inspired and helped me here. One of the loveliest things about the writing world is, with few exceptions, it is a supportive one. You learn something, share it, someone else learns, their writing benefits and overall literature benefits too. We will always need a supply of writers across the genres and age ranges).

This feedback I like! Pixabay
Mixing with other writers has so many benefits, not least of which is it is fun! Pixabay image.
Planning your writing can save you lots of time later. Pixabay image.
Getting the balance right in adapting work is never easy. Pixabay image.
The lightbulb moment of inspiration for writers is wonderful. Pixabay image.
Recharge yourself when you need to. Your writing will be better for it. Pixabay
Whatever you write, enjoy it! Pixabay image

This World and Others – Making Space

I start a two-part series on Chandler’s Ford Today this week on Making Space and next week’s part will share some thoughts on this from a writing perspective. Meanwhile, where does making space come into your creation of characters?

I think the best way to answer that is to list what I think a truly great character needs to have. Also, it really does pay to take time out (make space) to think about your characters in advance and plan them out. It doesn’t mean you have to plan everything but you do need to know about your people in enough detail to be able to write about and for them with utter conviction. You need to decide what you need to know first!

I am convinced that when a writer writes with conviction something of that does show through in your writing and readers subconciously pick up on that. I also think they pick up when a character really doesn’t work and I know, for me, when that has happened, it is nearly always due to my not taking the time to flesh my character out properly in the first place.

So a truly great character should:-

  1. Be Memorable (and that usually means having distinctive traits a reader will love to love or love to hate. Both work but not usually in the same character!).
  2. Be someone a reader would want to identify with or be happy they’re nothing like them!
  3. Be put in situations a reader has to find out whether the character resolves or not (and how.  Failure to resolve something can ironically be a resolution of sorts. For example, a character wants to achieve a goal, they find they can’t do it, but they do achieve something positive they had not done before despite the overall “failure”. Readers will pick up on something being achieved, a positive point of change for the character, and everyone accepts not all endings are happy ones necessarily. Endings do have to be appropriate).

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PERSPECTIVE AND PUBLICATION NEWS

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Facebook – General

Hope it has cooled down where you are. I prefer a temperate climate, as does the dog. I also find it easier to focus.

Does the time of year affect what you write? I can’t say it does for me as I write a mixture of light and darker pieces throughout the year.

If the seasons do affect what you write, how can you play to the strengths of this? I would’ve thought it is probably better to work with it rather than to try to fight it, if only because you’ll feel less frustrated that way.

Analysing how you work is a good idea, whether you’re affected by the seasons or not. For me, the amount of time I have per writing session is more important and I aim to make the most of each slot. My goal is to be able to look back and feel it was a good writing session, regardless of whether I had ten minutes or three hours.

Happy writing!😊

 

Image Credit:  Generally Pixabay as usual but the Scottish beach and loch pictures were taken by me earlier this year.

A writer’s life. Pixabay,
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Image by Allison Symes
Stories link us. Pixabay.
Image by Allison Symes
Dunnet Beach by Allison Symes
It pays to set your own deadlines. I set some at least a week ahead of any competition deadline to ensure I don’t miss the real date. Pixabay

Glad to be home from a very busy day in London yesterday. Loved visiting the Sky Gardens. They were great and the views incredible. I’d never seen the Tower of London look like it was a Lego sized kit before! I guess it just goes to show perspective is everything.

Perspective is everything for your characters too and indeed for you as you write the story. Just who is your lead and why have you chosen them? Why does it matter to show their perspective and not another character‘s view of the world instead?

What is fun is to write from the perspective of a character you know you wouldn’t sympathise with in any kind of life yet alone the real one. The challenge here is to write about them convincingly despite your own antipathy to them.

Working out how to get into their head to show their reasons for being the way they are will push you into exploring how they got to be at this point in the first place. That will make for interesting characterisation for one thing. It will almost certainly increase the drama in your story too.

Images below taken by me as at 27th July 2019. It isn’t often I get to take a shot with the caption already on it! Also have fun spotting the landmarks.

Publication News

A busy day on the writing front. Glad to share the links for my ACW More Than Writers’ blog which discusses whether or not it is easier to write during the summer.

Also glad to share the link to Stolen, my latest story on Cafelit. This is the nearest I’ve got to an autobiographical story (and probably the nearest I will get I think. I identify with Sarah in this one).

The nature of this story meant I knew it wasn’t going to be a flash piece but that’s fine. The story has to be what it is. If it’s over 1000 words then so be it.

http://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/2019/07/stolen.html

http://morethanwriters.blogspot.com/…/summertime-and-writin…

 

Am sharing an extract from both More than Writers and Stolen here as a taster. Hope you enjoy.

Summertime and the Writing Is Easy…

Or not maybe… Apologies to George Gershwin for misquoting his classic (though I still prefer Rhapsody in Blue).

Do you find writing in summer easier than during the winter? The jury’s out for me here. I try to keep a consistent writing level up for most of the year because, regardless of season, there are always distractions. But there are times when I write less and I’ve learned to come to terms with that…..

Stolen

by Allison Symes

cranberry juice


I’m not going to the bloody doctors.  I couldn’t tell you how often Sarah goes on about it.  When will she take the hint?  I do know my own mind.  I swear she thinks I’m going loopy.  She says not but why else would she want me to go to the doctors when there’s nothing wrong with me?

It’s perfectly normal for older people to forget things sometimes.  Hell, she’s done so herself.  She forgot my birthday last week.  I was really hurt by that.  I was bloody annoyed when she told me my birthday is next month.  I should know my own birthday.

Oh my cup of tea has gone cold.  Did I forget to drink it?  Did I forget to put the kettle on at all and just poured cold water into my mug?  I did do that last Wednesday but I’d had a stressful time of it arguing with Sarah again and well that kind of thing is bound to make you forget odd things, isn’t it?  I didn’t tell Sarah I did this.  She’d have seen it as proof I do need to go and see Dr. Page.

Sarah keeps telling me I shouldn’t be afraid to go to the doctors.  Dr. Page is sympathetic, is bound to have treated patients with memory loss before and there is more awareness now of “mind” issues.  Sarah says this covers everything from depression to dementia.  Sarah is right on all of this but how it applies to me I couldn’t tell you.  I am perfectly healthy.  Sarah says I’m in denial.  There is something wrong when your own daughter tries to tell you what to do.

And I’m simply not having that.  Sarah ought to be pleased.  If ever there was proof I do know my own mind, this is it, surely……

Facebook – General

The challenge of writing stories like Stolen, when they pack an emotional punch, is keeping your own emotions out of it while you’re writing it. You have to put some distance between yourself and the voice of your lead character(s) so it is THEIR story coming through and not yours as the author. You also want the emotion to be authentic and not spill over into melodrama.

This is why it is crucial to put a story aside for a while before revisiting it to edit it. I’ve found it is the only way to get the necessary distance so I can judge what I’ve still got to do on the story objectively (and there is always something!).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

What is your favourite form of flash fiction? The 100-worder? The 500-worder? Funny? Darker? I love them all of course but if there is one kind that sneaks its way to the top of my list, it is the 100-worder with a humorous twist. So here goes…

Late Running

The ghost train ran straight through the station. It must make up time.

If you thought fines issued to late running train companies on earth were inadequate, you wouldn’t be disappointed here.

Miscreants were treated according to species. Ghosts were obliterated. Vampires were drained down. The rumours tonight were not good.The controllers were more foul than usual. The Boss was due to visit to check all was well…or as bad as this service was meant to be. He wouldn’t be let down by sloppy staff.

Bonemeal was mentioned.

After all, the train was run by a skeleton crew.

Ends.

Allison Symes – 27th July 2019

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Image may contain: night

If there’s anything odd going on tonight, the cat will not spill the beans.  Pixabay

Image may contain: outdoor

Speeding restrictions apply to all but there are always some who ignore the rules. Pixabay

Must ‘fess up and say I’ve got a few writing prompts to catch up with in my diary but all have the potential to make promising flash fiction stories. Will probably have a go at some of these later in the week. (I tend to get my CFT post sorted first, then resume work on fiction).

Was pleased with my Late Running story I wrote on the train yesterday. Hope you enjoyed it. I am partial to puns and they can be used in flash fiction effectively. You can’t go on at length in flash as you’d defeat the whole object of it so a short pun as a twist ending or as part of a character’s thoughts can work well.

I love writing as well as reading these but, as with most things I guess, puns etc work best when not overdone.

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My latest story on Cafelit, Stolen, isn’t a flash fiction piece, far from it. The nature of the story meant it had to go well over 1000 words but that’s fine. Not only do I keep my hand in writing a mixture of fiction, it kind of proves the point the story has to be what it has to be.

It never pays to try to cut a story so you can get it to count as flash somewhere.

The stories that work best as flash fiction are those where you want to focus on one intense moment in a character’s life and nothing else. Where there is more than one, you are better off writing a longer story to begin with, otherwise you will sell it short (and reduce your publication chances too).

http://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/2019/07/stolen.html

How can you show your readers your world? Pixabay image.
The writing journey is more likely to be full of twists and turns. Pixabay
Use weather, climate etc to reflect moods in your story but don’t overdo it. Pixabay image.
Even a world populated with dragons has to make sense. Pixabay
So true. Pixabay.
The writing journey has to be taken a step at a time. Pixabay
What kind of landscapes exist in your fictional world? Pixabay image

Time can be an awkward thing to write into flash fiction stories. Most will consist of one vital moment to a character and so the span of time where the action takes place is very short. I’ve found I’ve needed stories towards the upper limit of flash (1000 words) to be able to show action taking place across a longer time span.

For example my Rewards has a time span of one evening and the next morning while my Expecting refers to time as a character realises they haven’t heard from someone for a while.

Flash I think does work best when it is for the moment. Even when I write historical flash, I’m looking at one incident in one character’s life. Time comes into the setting I’ve chosen to use and acts as a backdrop.

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Goodreads Author Blog –

What a Good Book Can Lead To

Have you known a good book to change you?

For me, The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey has led to a huge interest in Richard III and conviction he is not guilty of the murder of The Princes in the Tower, assuming they were killed.

There is no evidence they were killed and my own view is at least one was smuggled out of the country. Richard himself was smuggled out as a boy so it would’ve been known it could be done and Henry Tudor was never able to prove where the boys were, else he would’ve done. That really would have damned Richard.

That aside, good books have expanded my view of how irony works thanks to Austen, Wodehouse, and Pratchett. Now there’s a trio for you!

Good books have expanded my ideas of what can be done in fiction, especially in fantasy. There’s a reason The Lord of the Rings is considered an epic. It is! The sheer scale and scope of the trilogy will always amaze me.

Good books open your mind and imagination.

Happy reading!

Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
I prefer tea generally and NOT hanging over the edge of a cup. Pixabay.
Ah! The joy of the edit! Pixabay.
Well? Pixabay
Pixabay.
Pixabay image.
So many lovely forms of writing… Pixabay
Make the most of your writing time. Pixabay

 

 

 

 

Controlling the Weather and Writing Prompts

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

In my CFT post Controlling the Weather I share a flash fiction story of mine which is shorter than Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s “it was a dark and stormy night”. Do see the post for the full sentence (and take a deep breath before you start too!).

I now know why Snoopy only ever quotes “it was a dark and stormy night” but no more as there wouldn’t be enough room in the caption bubble!

I rarely use the weather in flash fiction as the word count means I have to show you the pertinent detail(s) about the characters. The weather rarely comes into that!

So what would count as pertinent details then? For me these are:-

1. Something of their attitude/outlook on life (I show this via internal thought as well as dialogue).

2. Something of their setting. Setting can change the outcome of the story or have a huge influence on it, for good or bad.

3. Sometimes a brief physical description where it matters to the story. In my Pen Portrait I show Mary as a character who brushes her hair once a day whether she needed it or not. I mention her clothes and shoes would see her through a battlefield but DON’T specify what they are. I don’t think I need to do so either. Those two lines should conjure up an image of Mary well enough! It also shows something of her attitude (double whammy here!).

I’d say 1 is the most important and “where it matters to the story” is THE golden rule of fiction writing, regardless of whether you write flash stories or longer works.

Image Credit:  The magnificient Pixabay. Captions via the CFT post! Also this post was shared on From Light to Dark and Back Again as well as I thought the pertinent details relevant to that page too!

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Managed to catch up with a couple of writing prompt exercises, both of which will become flash fiction stories later. Complete contrast in moods for the exercises too but I like that. It keeps me on my toes, which of course is the idea behind said prompts.

I tend to write up these prompts in batches but that’s fine. It’s a little like not being able to stop at one crisp or what have you once you get started on them!

The nice thing about free writing like this is I know the stories aren’t perfect but that doesn’t matter at this stage. I’ve now got two more stories to work on for submission somewhere in due course and that’s great.

Guilty as charged. Pixabay.
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Well…? Pixabay
Recharge yourself when you need to. Your writing will be better for it. Pixabay
Most writers will know how this feels… Pixabay
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Pixabay.

My CFT post this week will be looking at Controlling the Weather. You can tell my other writing hat is fantasy, yes?!

I look at why controlling the weather isn’t a good idea, even if we could do it.

Also I discuss why “it was a dark and stormy night” has gone down as one of the most renowned writing cliches. (Possibly to only be beaten by “and it was all a dream”? Thoughts on that would be welcome when the link goes up on Friday).

I have to say I’ve written flash fiction stories shorter than that infamous opening line from Bulwer-Lytton and I go on to prove it in this post too! And if could control the weather for a day, what would you ask for and why? Thinking heads on in time for Friday’s post then (and those of you of a certain age will remember where that phrase comes from! Clue to those who are not: a former Doctor Who plays a scarecrow, yes really!).

PS Looks like no photos will upload tonight so apologies. Believe this is a FB issue. Hopefully normal service (and photos) will resume soon…  (NB  From Wednesday, 3rd July when FB and What’s App seemed to have an issue with photos. Glad it appears to have been resolved).

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Occasionally a story idea proves to be a better match for a standard length short story (1500 words or so) than flash fiction, which is fine. I find a suitable competition/market for that longer story and don’t try to keep it sub1000. (How do I know incidentally? It is always the character’s voice and sometimes they have more to say than I originally thought they would!).

I sometimes deliberately make myself write longer stories as the discipline of working to very small word counts AND what would be considered an industry standard is very good for you as a writer. Shaping what I’ve written to fit the most appropriate market/competition is something that will always be needed and is a useful skill to develop.

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Looks like the photos will be unavailable for a bit though I understand this is a FB/What’s App issue. Hope it’s resolved soon. Don’t envy those trying to sort it out.

Meanwhile back to good old text only.

In researching my CFT post this week about Controlling the Weather (yes, really – more on Friday when the link goes up), I looked at a very famous opening line that has gone down in the annals of Cliche and Purple Prose, so much so even Snoopy quotes it regularly.

To my surprise, I found I’ve written flash fiction stories which come in at under the word count of that opening line!

So every word counts then in a flash story? Of course but the words have all got to pull their weight. You know when the story’s right (or as much as it can ever be) when you can’t change anything or remove a word without it spoiling the story somehow. One lovely thing about flash is you know you haven’t got the room for purple prose which is a huge encouragement not to write it at all!

Fairytales with Bite – Controlling the Weather and What Writers Should Control

My CFT post looks at why Controlling the Weather isn’t a good idea even if we could do it. I also look at why “it was a dark and stormy night” has gone down as one of the all time “great” writing cliches. But can the weather play a purpose in writing? Can writers control their use of it so it is effective, rather than something that can be mocked (as that infamous opening line so often is)? What should writers control in their writing?

The weather can play a role in writing as long as it matters to the story (in terms of outcome/character development etc).  Generally speaking, it matters to the story is the most important rule in all fiction writing! Weather can also be used to reflect or contrast mood. If someone is singing in the rain, we would generally want to know why!  Interest piqued… now follow through with interesting reasons why!

What writers should seek to control in their writing should be:-

1.  Everything that is in the story has to be in there. Something would be lost in terms of character and/or plot if anything was removed. If anything could be skipped, cut it out. It is what readers/editors will skip.

2.  Their characters. Characters should be well developed and should engage with the reader (even if it is to make the reader hate them!).

3.  Dialogue.  This should reveal information/move the story onwards. Any dialogue without a purpose shouldn’t be in there.

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This World and Others –

When You Know Your World Works

There are certain pointers which will indicate your created world is working and hopefully will encourage you to develop it further.

1.  You know how the world is run. (There has to be some sort of government).

2.  You know who are the powerful and who are the downtrodden (some things are just universal!).

3.  You know the immediate setting for your story intimately. You need to be able to portray this, almost as if it were a character in its own right.

4.  You know where your characters fit into your world (and whether they fit in well or not. Do they defy convention or follow it religiously?).

5.  You have some idea of how your people survive in terms of food/water/sanitation/employment provision. I can’t think of any created world where characters don’t have to eat, be able to resource themselves etc.

Not all of these details need to make it into your story. We don’t need to know everything about politics in your world but we do need to know what matters to the story (which I think is going to be a new mantra for me but it is a useful one!).

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Other News including Publication News

Am delighted to say my story What Goes Around will be in Bridge House Publishing’s Nativity anthology later this year. What with The Art Critic and Dignity and Injustice due to be published in The Best of Cafelit 8 in December, I will have three stories in two books then! I am also still thrilled of course that The Professional was in the ebook Transforming Being, the Bridge House published ebook of the winning entries for the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition.

I have also set up an Amazon Authors Central page and these are set for the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan. Here you can find out more about the anthologies my stories have appeared in as well as about From Light to Dark and Back Again of course.

It has been a good month!

The Andromeda Galaxy. Pixabay image.
I always thought the magic wand looked a bit twee for something so powerful. Pixabay image.
Set goals for the short, medium and long terms. Pixabay image
Goals don’t have to be huge but can give you a huge sense of achievement as you tick them off. Pixabay image.
A good read means you ARE in a world of your own. Pixabay image
Playing with words. Pixabay image.
Let one creative idea spark another. Pixabay image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Good Writing Week

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Facebook – General

Do you read or write (or both) outdoors? I don’t write outside. I much prefer being at a desk for that (and right now it is beautifully cool in the study so added reason to stay in! It also means I can turn up the volume when Beethoven’s 5th comes on and I avoid annoying the neighbours so win-win).

I read outdoors sometimes, there’s nothing to beat relaxing in a nice recliner with a book in hand unless it’s doing that, knowing you’ve got a long cold drink besides you too!

I cope with colder weather better than hot (as does Lady naturally). How do your characters react to their environment and weather conditions? Do they cope with anything that can be thrown at them weather wise or do they curl up at the sight of anything more than a fine drizzle?! If you’re writing fantasy or anything other worldly, what would be standard weather conditions in your setting? How does it impact on your characters?

Hopefully you’ll find some ways to deepen your characterisation answering questions like that.

All great ideas for writing but you still need to “apply the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair” (P.G.Wodehouse). Pixabay image.
Books are so special. Pixabay
What we all need… Pixabay
Pixabay image.
Most writers will know how this feels… Pixabay
Stories link us. Pixabay.
Whatever you write, enjoy it! Pixabay image
A writer’s life. Pixabay,

A good writing week is when I can look back and see:-

1. CFT post written, images sourced, and appears on the Friday. (Only times it hasn’t appeared have been either because I’ve been away or ill and once there was a technical issue, which meant I had to post a day late).

2. Progress made on my projects, especially the novel.

3. I have either submitted work to competitions/markets or am drafting work to be sent in the near future.

4. My WordPress website round-ups have appeared on the Tuesday and Friday. I enjoy preparing these as they look like a mini magazine. I hope you enjoy them too!

It has been a good week! Do I get bored? No! Do I wish I had more writing time? Always.

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Asking questions is a great way to generate story ideas. The classic one is “What If?” of course, but Kipling’s honest serving men of What and Why and When and How and Where and Who are invaluable for outlining a story of any length.

For example:-

What are the stakes for your lead character?

Why have they got to go for the goal you’ve set?

When do they have to achieve their goal by? (The shorter the time frame the better as it means more pressure for your character).

How will they achieve their objective?

Where does your character live and what bearing does the setting have on their trying to achieve their goal?

Who opposes them and who helps?

You can adjust the above questions to suit your needs, of course, but answering these will give you an outline you can add to or change as you require.

 

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Thrilled to announce my humorous fairytale, What Goes Around, will be in the Bridge House anthology, Nativity, later this year. You can rely on me to share the link as and when I can!

Many congratulations to all of the 24 authors in the latest Bridge House book and a particular shout out to #AlysonRhodes, #PaulaRCReadman, #DawnKnox, #LindaFlynn, and #JamesBates.

I can’t wait to read all of your stories. They will be a wonderful ecletic mix!

Image below taken at a previous Bridge House event (and supplied by Paula Readman, who is on the right. Dawn Knox is in the middle).

It has been a busy few weeks with news of stories in The Best of Cafelit 8 and Transforming Being. I like weeks like this!

Paula Readman, Dawn Kentish Knox and Allison Symes and books - with kind permission from Paula Readman

Paula Readman, Dawn Kentish Knox and I celebrate where our stories have appeared! Many thanks to Paula Readman for the picture.!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am currently listening to the theme from The Incredibles on Classic FM (well I was at the time I wrote this on Facebook!). Loved the film and the music is so appropriate for it. A really good film score always stands out and hooks the watcher into the movie.

Favourite film theme? Hmm… Love The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, no surprises there. Favourite John Williams’ piece is Raiders March (though Schindler’s List is so moving). Very hard to pick out an outright favourite.

For flash fiction writing, it is the title that has to be our big hook in for readers. The title has to be appropriate and to serve the story well, just as film music must serve its movie well. So it is worth taking extra time to get it right but it’s absolutely fine to start off with something and replace it later. I often do that when a better idea occurs as I’m writing the story.

 

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Flash fiction, due to its word count restriction, works best with one character, possibly two (and there I would say that would work better with the longer forms of flash). You are looking for your character to have the strongest impact possible on the reader and having too many characters in such a short space dilutes the effect.

It’s another reason why I use first person a lot. I can get into the head of that character and they can reveal other characters for me/the reader. A good example of this is my Calling the Doctor where my character knows she is dying but it is not until the end she reveals who her doctor is. I don’t need to bring the doctor into the story at all. Do have a look at the book trailer as this is the story I chose to use on this and you’ll see why!

 

Charging up for new ideas, maybe? Pixabay image.
Online writing -v- on a line writing! Image via Pixabay
Escape with a good book. Image via Pixabay.
Indeed! Pixabay image.
This made me smile! Pixabay image.
So true. Pixabay.
Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.
FLTDBA for sale in the Swanwick Book Room. Image by Allison Symes
Could this picture inspire stories? Good fiction will take you out of the world for a while. Image via Pixabay.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.
Love this image! Image via Pixabay

Flash fiction may be short, sorry it IS short, but it still takes time to edit and ensure the words you’ve chosen are exactly the right ones to make the maximum impact on a reader.

I usually get a first draft down pretty quickly. What takes the time is re-reading (often several times) and realising this phrase here could be sharpened up if I change one word here. Equally I need to look for those phrases where if I were to cut, something of the flow of the story would be lost. I always judge whether something should stay in on its impact on me (and therefore hopefully readers) and never just on the word count alone.

I see the word count as a guide. If something works better at 200 words rather than 100, then fine, the tale stays at 200! I’ll submit it for a different competition or market. You CAN over-edit. Mixing up what you write in terms of word count is not a bad thing to do anyway and gives you plenty of practice at writing across the range flash fiction offers. Nothing to lose there then!

What worlds can you explore in flash fiction? Pixabay
Being lost in the world of your story. Pixabay image
Whenever and whatever you read, enjoy. Image via Pixabay.
Like being able to store so many books! Image via Pexels
The art of the flash (fiction). Image via Pixabay
Well…? Pixabay
A truly beautiful diary. Image via Pixabay
Generating the writing ideas. Image via Pixabay.
So true. Pixabay.
Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.

Good news on the story front as my humorous fairytale What Goes Around is due to be published in the Bridge House Nativity anthology later this year.

It is wonderful when acceptances come in but behind them is a lot of hard work, even more rejections to get stories up to standards where they are in real contention for publication etc.

Even when that is the case, you cannot know whether your Story A or someone else’s Story B will fit the theme of the chosen anthology better.

So if a story is turned down somewhere, look at it again. Is there another market/anthology it could fit? All story writing is useful experience. What you learn as you write a tale (even if it is never published) is what you build on for the next story etc. You do learn, over time, to judge that a story of yours would suit Market X over Market Y. You learn to tailor your submissions too. That increases your chances of acceptance. Note I said increases!

There are no guarantees in writing and I guess that IS guaranteed!

Preparing a talk or a flash fiction story perhaps. Image via Pixabay.
What ever writer needs. Image via Pixabay
Connections to what you read and what you write. What are yours? Image via Pixabay.
Planning your work. Image via Pixabay.
What impact do your stories have on your readers? Image via Pixabay
Flash fiction, by its nature, has to take one look at a situation to be a story but you can get quite a bit into that “one look”. Image via Pixabay.
Honest feedback is the only kind worth having. Image via Pixabay.
Let the writing flow and if music can help it along even better! Image via Pixabay
I’m not arguing with this one! Image via Pixabay.
Use personal reviews to help you generate character and story outlines. Image via Pixabay.
There can be reality behind fairytales. Image via Pixabay (and image used as part of book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again)

 

Association of Christian Writers – More than Writers –

Legacies in Writing

Do you ever think about what your writing legacy is and, as importantly, should you?

I was recently at the Winchester Writers’ Festival and at the end of the Saturday courses, there was a lovely celebration held in the University of Winchester’s chapel for the late Barbara Large, MBE, who founded the event.

Not only was that a direct support to writers across all genres, she always found time to speak to writers of all levels, when she must have had a million and one things to do. She is remembered with much love, as you can imagine.

Easier said than done but encouraging others in their writing journey benefits them and you. Pixabay

None of us can ever know where our writing journey is going to take us when we first start. As with any road, there will be cul-de-sacs, the literary equivalent of potholes tripping us up, what we thought was a helpful road sign taking us in the wrong direction with our work and so on. (I’m not aware of any literary traffic wardens though!).

The writing journey is not always straightforward.  Pixabay

So we go into the writing life with our eyes wide open and seek to encourage other writers along the way as we ourselves receive encouragement from them.  We all know the heartaches of rejections after all, but we also know publication is possible. We also know writing for your own pleasure is as valid a thing to do but I also believe we can all leave a positive legacy behind. I think it is part of our calling as writers.

None of this can come all at once but are so worth striving for. Pixabay

The writing legacy we should leave then can be summed up as follows.

1.  Aim to write to the highest standard you can manage.

Improvement is always possible. It is always desirable too. Accept your first draft will not be great. My favourite quote on this comes from Terry Pratchett who saw first drafts as “you telling yourself the story”.

It’s then a question of extracting the gold from the dross – and there will be dross and more than you’d like. Shakespeare and Dickens faced the same. We will not be exempt!

Equally true for your writing but looking for continued improvement IS good to aim for.  Pixabay

2.  Be proud of your work. Ensure you enjoy it.

You are your first audience. Once published, you will want to keep on producing work to be “out there”. You must be able to enjoy what you write over and over again. Do mix up what you write.

I love writing short stories and blog posts as well as flash fiction, but whether you write one type of material or loads, you must enjoy it all.  That enjoyment comes through in what you write. Prose the writer has loved writing has an energy all of its own. I believe readers pick up on that instinctively.

It’s a pity we can’t award ourselves these every so often for our writing but look back and see how far you’ve come. Hopefully you will find encouragement there.  Pixabay.

3.  For you to be able to look back and see how your work has improved.

Working at the craft takes time. There are no shortcuts.

Determination to keep going is important too. Stamina is needed.  Pixabay

 

This has always struck me as sensible advice but the writing journey will have its ups and downs. The ride is rarely a straightforward and smooth one but it does help to know that!  Pixabay.

Writing challenges and stretches me and is so much fun.  It is also hard work. The two go together. Wherever your writing journey takes you, enjoy the ride!

Goodreads Author Blog – Changing Books

Which books stay with you as firm favourites throughout and which only last for a specific period in your life?

I wouldn’t give you a thank you for the old Peter and Jane books again (!) but would probably still enjoy the Famous Five.

The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia, along with the classic fairytales, will always be favourites.

But the joy of reading is discovering new genres and authors. It has only been comparatively recently I’ve discovered the joys of non-fiction reading. It wasn’t as if I was particularly against it, I just hadn’t tried any.

Now it’s a regular part of my reading routine. (I like the Ben Macintyre books especially. Loved Agent Zigzag in particular). The best non-fiction uses great fictional storytelling techniques and should keep you as gripped as an epic novel.

Which books from your reading past would you change now? Which would you change them for?

Well…? Pixabay
Ah, the bliss of reading! Pixabay image.
Gollum from LOTR. More sinned against than sinning? Pixabay image.
Love reading in both formats! Pixabay image.
Gladstone’s Library. Pixabay image.
Sometimes the books come to you! Pixabay
So true. Pixabay.
Books are their own world. Pixabay

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes – and Publication News

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My CFT post this week takes a look Behind the Scenes from the viewpoints of volunteering and writing. Volunteers make such a huge difference in so many ways and what they do often goes unseen. So time for some plaudits and encouragement then.

Writers can feel all the hard work they put in as they submit stories, articles etc goes unseen too. Yes, it does, but it helps you to develop as a writer. You can’t learn from your mistakes unless you make some!

It really is how you develop but the great thing with being involved with writing groups/writing communities online is generally these are very supportive and there are ways of finding out what you need to know so you do NOT make ALL the mistakes ever known to writing kind!

Going to good writing events helps enormously here too.

Does the behind the scenes work pay off? Nobody can guarantee publication or a foolproof way to always earn from your writing but you are much more likely to achieve success (however you define it) by putting the groundwork in. As with so much in life, there are no shortcuts. The encouraging thing here is EVERY writer goes through this.

Image Credit:  The images are from the magnificent Pixabay. I particularly like the grouchy looking face in the comments box. Rumours that this resembles me when another rejection has come in are totally true.  Captions on the CFT page.

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Absolutely delighted to share the cover for Transforming Beings and the link to it on Amazon. My story, The Professional, is one of the sixteen winners of the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing competition.

Every writer all had to write to the same word count and on the same theme. This is proof you can have at least sixteen different writers produce sixteen different takes on the topic!

Am so looking forward to being at the Festival on Saturday and to taking part in the readings. Good luck to everyone who is also taking part. It will be great to catch up with you all.

Transforming Being Medium

My CFT post this week will look at what behind the scenes means in terms of volunteering, but also what it means for writers. It gives me a chance to say thanks to all those who give up their time to help others and, I hope, to encourage writers who feel they may be slogging away for years without their being any visible benefits. Link up on Friday.

In other news, as they say, work continues well on the novel and I’m fleshing out other ideas, fiction and non-fiction, for development later in the year. Want to get some more submissions out before long too.

The joy of writing? One of them is never being short of things to do!

A familiar sight to many of us. Pixabay
Pixabay image.
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
And have fun! Pixabay image.
It’s amazing what characters can emerge from your time at a writing desk! Pixabay image.
I prefer tea generally and NOT hanging over the edge of a cup. Pixabay.
Imagination feeding the lightbulb moment. Pixabay
Well…? Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Reading work out loud is a great way to hear how your story flows, whether your dialogue works properly, and so on. Once your work is out there, and you get the chance to read before an audience at events such as the Waterloo Arts Festival, Open Mic nights etc, give it a go.

You are getting to engage directly with people who love stories so your audience will be broadly sympathetic to begin with. But what is really lovely is when a part of your story which made you laugh as you wrote it generates the same response in your audience. It is a fantastic feeling.

Equally if your story generates any other response which is appropriate to that tale, then you are receiving invaluable feedback that this worked!

Writers need things like that for all the times work gets turned down. There should be an “up” side!

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Following on from my other post tonight, themes work best when open to interpretation. For example:-

Revenge is a dish best served cold – well you could come up with all sorts of ways to show whether that is true or not.

But something like Dreams, while you can get stories from that, for me this is a bit TOO open-ended.

It helps to narrow your focus on something specific so for me Fallen Dreams would be much better. There are stories to be told about how a dream could be fallen.

The other thing that comes to mind would be at least one story on how a fallen dream is overcome and doesn’t blight your character’s life. Equally, how it isn’t and it DOES blight your character (depends on whether you like sad stories I suppose!).

Have fun and play around with your themes but hone them so you have something useful to focus on and work with.

What every author would like to achieve or set, yes? Image via Pixabay
Doing something with those ideas! Pixabay image
Decisions, decisions and a not terribly helpful signpost. Image via Pixabay.
Let the ideas flow and let journeys encourage that! Image via Pixabay
No room for gobbledygook here. Image via Pixabay.
Plugging in for new ideas? Pixabay image
What wonderful worlds we can creat! Image via Pixabay.
Books are the keys to knowledge. Image via Pixabay
Ebooks and print – both have their own frustrations when it comes to publishing. Image via Pixabay
Let the words flow! Image via Pixabay.

It’s always a thrill when a story of yours is published and I’m delighted to say Transforming Beings, the ebook of the winning entries in the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition, is now available.

My The Professional is in here and my character is one I would not like to meet in life! Naturally no spoilers here…!

If you like a good mix of stories, do give this a try (and if you can review that would be fab, thanks!).

Each story had to be 1000 words max so this is at the upper end of the flash fiction spectrum but there is a great variety here.

Books like this are also a reminder you can take a topic and come up with so many themes on it. Why not try it for your own flash fiction stories?

Link and cover image further up this post. If you do read the book, please review! Thank you!

For a flash fiction story to work well, you have to be totally convinced by your lead (and usually only) character. If you’re not convinced by them, nobody else will be.

That doesn’t mean you always love said characters. I can think of some of mine I loathe and/or would dread meeting in real life were that to become possible. The important point is I DO understand and get why they are the way they are and the story wouldn’t work at all without that.

Also, I think your characters have got to make you feel something for you to be able to write their stories with conviction. Nobody fell in love or hated a cardboard cutout (well at least I haven’t!).

The advantage of a character you hate is the effect they generate on a reader. It should be that your reader will want to read on to see if said character gets the comeuppance they so richly deserve and, if so, how. All good fun to write!

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Fairytales with Bite – Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes is the topic for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week and I look at it in terms of volunteering and writing. Plaudits and encouragement needed in both I think!

For a piece of work, what would behind the scenes mean? Well, even in fiction, research can sometimes be necessary. This is especially true for any fiction which weaves real life events or people into the narrative. Facts have to be facts. (If it’s an alternative reality or history, that should be made clear at the outset). Just watch how much research you do. Research is fun but can also turn into procrastination when you should be writing. We’ve all done it…

Sometimes research can be as simple as drawing on what you know from life about likely human behaviours. You know humans can be like this in these circumstances so your characters should reflect that too.  Good fiction does reflect our humanity. Nobody said it had to flatter though!

Behind the scenes obviously includes your drafts and edits but also things like ensuring you meet the submission requirements for wherever you are sending work to, as no two places have quite the same needs here. Yes, there will be a lot in common – double line spacing, font size etc – but I take a week off any deadline for a competition to make absolutely sure I’ve got those details right as I don’t want mistakes there to disqualify my story.  (It’s not really fair when you have two equally good pieces come in to allow one that didn’t follow all the rules properly to win over one that DID).

Perseverance and patience are invaluable qualities for a writer though!

Any resemblance to me when my printer cartridge has run out at an awkward moment MAY be coincidental. Pixabay.
Most writers will know how this feels… Pixabay
Writing regularly, even in short bursts, encourages your imaginative side to flourish. Pixabay.
A familiar sight here! Pixabay
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay
Being lost in the world of your story. Pixabay image
What will this be for your writing journey? Pixabay image
What do your characters face? Pixabay image
And which is the right way?! Pixabay image.
It isn’t always clear which route you should take. Pixabay image

This World and Others – When Life Throws You Lemons

… make lemonade, as the old saying goes, but how can a writer do this? Are lemons such a bad thing anyway?

From the viewpoint of developing characters, the more lemons you throw at them the better.  Well, you do want to find out what your characters are made out of, yes? You want to find out their hidden depths, yes?  Chuck them in the deep end and have fun finding out how they get themselves out of it. If they need to resort to the help of friends to get out of said horrible deep end, what did they try to do first before calling for back up? Is the back up reliable? You want plenty of tension and drama and writing these scenes should easily produce that. You can work out later on what  you want to keep for your story and what might prove to be useful background knowledge to you only.

As a writer, when all that seems to come your way are rejections, firstly bear in mind nothing worthwhile was ever easy and, secondly, most writers go through this. Even after publication in one avenue, rejections still come in. I find it useful to look at work that has been turned down and see if I can revamp it and send it out elsewhere. Usually I can and I have had work accepted by another outlet after doing this. The important thing is not to give up but it is perfectly okay to change direction with your writing. If you decide flash fiction isn’t for you but the longer short story form is, then that’s fine. Play to your writing strengths. It is also fine to pause from writing. I generally only do this when on holiday or ill and I use the time to catch up on reading (I always have reading to catch up on!) and that helps feed the imagination beautifully.

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Brainstorming, Historical Links, and Publication News

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Really exciting week publication wise – more later.

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

I love historical links and going to events like the Fryern Funtasia on Bank Holiday Monday for CFT makes for a nice link with the medieval fairs.

What our ancestors would make of inflatable slides, train rides etc, makes the mind boggle though I suspect the Hog Roast would go down very well!

Images Credit:  Unless otherwise named, all images were taken by Allison Symes (so you know who to blame).

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Facebook – General – and Publication News

Am thrilled to bits to share more publication news following the news my two stories, Dignity and Injustice and The Art Critic, will be included in the Best of Cafelit 8 due to be launched later this year.

My story The Professional is one of the winners of this year’s Waterloo Festival Writing Competition. Yay!

I was also in last year’s Waterloo Festival ebook To Be… To Become with my story, Progressing.

The full list of Waterloo Festival Winners is below.

Irene Lofthouse Cat and Mouse
Linda Flynn Climbing Rainbows
J S Brown Disarray
Jeanne Davies Everything has changed
Helen Price Havens
Amelia Brown Heat
Laure Van Rensburg Of Salt and the Raw Flesh of Fish
Beverly Byrne Old Masters
Paula R C Readman Over The Wall
Jessica Joy Russian Doll
Sinéad Kennedy Krebs Steam
Gail Aldwin Take Your Place
Yvonne Walus The Father Daughter Club
Allison Symes The Professional
Christopher Bowles The Side of Blue
Louise Rimmer The Undermen
Hannah Retallick The Word Has It
Madeleine McDonald They Lied to Me
Michael Baez Time Will Tell

Many congratulations to all of the other writers who are winners here.

What will be lovely this year will be getting to go to the Waterloo Festival. I missed it last year due to being in the stunning far North of Scotland on holiday.

Am already keenly anticipating going to the Festival AND having the great joy of meeting up with writer friends again, well ahead of when I’d usually see them for the Bridge House Publishing event in December. Win-win in every sense then.

And it is a really happy author who can report she has had a very good writing week!

What all writers need (harmony within yourself to overcome the fear and write anyway). Pixabay.
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Ah! The joy of the edit! Pixabay.
Sometimes the words flow, other times they don’t! Pixabay
All great ideas for writing but you still need to “apply the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair” (P.G.Wodehouse). Pixabay image.
So many lovely forms of writing… Pixabay
A familiar sight! Pixabay.
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
It pays to set your own deadlines. I set some at least a week ahead of any competition deadline to ensure I don’t miss the real date. Pixabay
Imagination feeding the lightbulb moment. Pixabay

Facebook – General

I’ll be sharing a look back at the Fryern Funtasia (held on Bank Holiday) Monday for my CFT post this week.

But meanwhile, my lovely editor, Janet Williams (who founded the site to bring people together), has prepared a very different summary of it including a great selfie pic of the two of us having a fab time. Pic taken by Janet, not me.

Naturally we got to have a good chat about writing, CFT etc over a cup of tea. An outdoor editorial meeting if you like!

If anyone tells you the writing life is glamorous…

If however they tell you it is a lot of fun, then DO believe that!

http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/fryern-funtasia-6th-may-20…/

 

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, glasses, close-up and outdoor

Janet Williams, my lovely CFT editor, and I at the Fryern Funtasia.  Many thanks to Janet for kind permission to use the selfie which she took.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Have got a long car journey coming up so am I planning to draft flash fiction, blog posts etc while in transit? You bet! The time will fly by and I’ll get lots done, I hope! Naturally I am NOT driving…!

Also hope to catch up with Kindle reading and to write some reviews. All of that should take care of the motorway stint!

The lovely thing with writing is you are never short of things to while away “dead” time and drafting work is always profitable for later on, if only in terms of having more work to submit.

Pixabay.
What writing can give you over time. Pixabay.
Getting the balance right in adapting work is never easy. Pixabay image.
Encouragement can do so much to help writers here. Pixabay image.
Writing regularly, even in short bursts, encourages your imaginative side to flourish. Pixabay.

Thrilled to bits to be a winner in the Waterloo Festival again. My story The Professional will appear in an ebook compilation later in the year and I’ll be only too pleased to share further details when I have them!

The Professional is one of my longer flash fiction pieces as it comes in at just a tad under 1000 words but the thing to remember with flash is the word count has to fit the story and NOT the other way round. If a flash piece works better at 500 words than say 250, then go for the former, always. Your story and characters will be sharper and better for it. (I’d say it’d stand better chance of being published too).

When writing to a very small word count (100 words or under), then I’ve found it helpful to select the ONE moment that has to be written about in my character’s life and focus intently on that. There is no room for anything else. But the story still has to be complete in and of itself.

Get the story right in terms of what details you HAVE to include, edit to sharpen it (you will find better ways of phrasing things while keeping the same meaning), and then get it out there and see what happens. Good luck!

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How can I tell if a flash fiction story has worked, whether I’ve written it or not?

Simples to quote a certain advert. (Though if I ever see a meerkat reading or writing stories, I’ll double check what goes in my cups of tea!).

If it makes me react either in support of the character I’ve just read about/written for OR against them. Which way round it is depends on the nature of the story of course but that reaction must be there.

Sometimes the reaction can change as I read the story through. A character I thought to be a villain proves not to be etc but the reaction is there. The writer has successfully connected with me via their prose.

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Fairytales with Bite – Using Historical Links in Fiction

My latest CFT post is a review of the annual Fryern Funtasia, which is a great fun event for all ages.  What I particularly love about events like this is the ongoing links with the medieval fairs.  It was appropriate there was a Hog Roast and an archery practice range (for children) at the event which was held on Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May 2019.

Historical links can be great for inspiring story ideas.  These can range from timeslip novels to ghost stories involving historical characters (do check out the works of Jennifer C Wilson for some great examples here).

I use historical links in flash fiction as a quick way to show when a story is set.  For example, if I mentioned someone’s ruff was distinguished, you’d know from that one detail alone the tale was set in the Tudor court (Elizabeth’s).

You can also be inspired by the stories of historical characters.  Anne Boleyn inspired my Dignity and Injustice which is on Cafelit (and will be in their Best of Cafelit  8 due out later this year).

So think about how you can use history to shape your own fiction. And a character’s sense of history (their own, their country’s etc) will affect how they think and act and can add great drama to your story.

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This World and Others – Brainstorming

Following on from recent posts about writing exercises, another favourite way of generating story ideas for me is to have brainstorming sessions every so often.

I set myself a time limit and just write what comes into mind. It doesn’t matter if the ideas prove to be rubbish later on (most will be!) but out of all of that will come ideas I really can use.

I’ve found I need to give myself permission to just write freely and kick the inner editor out of the arena of my head for a while. It pays to put this writing aside and come back and look at it later with a cold, logical head. That’s where your inner editor is useful. But don’t try to free write and edit together, they really are separate processes.

If you’re not sure where to start on a brainstorming session, think of a character. Jot down anything about them – what they look like, what their habits are, what they think they are like, what others around them think they are like and so on. If it helps to use pictures to think of a character than do so. I tend not to do that. I think of a character who is awkward, for example, and look at reasons why they might be that way.

But whatever method works for you when it comes to starting a useful brainstorming session, stick with it. See what you come out with and have fun with this!

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Publication News and Starting a Story

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Facebook – General

I’m thrilled to say two of my flash stories, Dignity and Injustice, and The Art Critic, will be in the Best of Cafelit 8, which will be launched in December. All of the stories included in this book have been voted on by readers too so that makes it even more special. Thank you, everyone.

And a huge congratulations to all my fellow authors, who are as eager to see their stories in this book as I am with mine!

A special thank you to PaulaReadman for putting up the following list on Facebook earlier today. Am cheerfully swiping it to include here. Well done all!

The Best of CafeLit 8
Salisbury Plain, February 1946 by Laura Gray
No Room for Them by Dawn Knox
She Says We’ll Get There Soon by Hannah Retallick
Jeopardy in Pink,by Penny Rogers
Marking Time by Janet Howson
Rose Tinted Glass by Linda Payne
Remembrance Day by Jim Bates
Yellowjackets by James Bates
God works in mysterious ways especially at Christmas by Robin Wrigley
Goodbye My Lush by Shawn Klimek
Losing Tony by Gill James
Self Assessment by Peppy Barlow
Years & Years by Kim Martins
Airport Sandwiches by Pat Jourdan
Budgies and Bingo by Alyson Faye
Dignity and Injustice by Allison Symes
The Lady in Red by Caroline S Kent
Untrodden Snow by Paula Readman
A Walk in the Woods by Jo Deardon
Father Van Der Bosch’s Last Christmas by Robin Wrigley
Gemini Rising by Paula Readman
The First Time by Patricia Gallagher
Bats Downunder by Mehreen Ahmed
Induction Day by Janet Howson
Life Begins at the 250 Bus Stop by Jacqueline Ewers
On Time by Lisa Williams
Redemption by Richard Hough
The Art Critic by Allison Symes

And in the meantime, if you like an ecletic mix of stories in terms of mood, word count, genre etc., do check out the rest of the Cafelit series.

https://www.bookdepository.com/search…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/…/B01…/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til…

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How do you start a story? I have to know the voice of my character/narrator. Are they brusque? Are they feisty? Are they hard done by (or feel they are – of course it doesn’t mean they’re right!)?

I also have to know what their main trait is – are they brave? Selfish? Kind to animals but rotten to their fellow man?

With those two things firmly in place, I can then outline more about this character and as they come to life, I can work out the best situations to dump them in to bring out both the best and worst of their personalities.

I find the Scrivener outlining tool on their fiction template really useful for this but you can create your own. Decide on what you need to know about your character before you write them up and turn that into a template. Prep work pays!

What we all need… Pixabay
Read widely to inspire these. Pixabay
Pixabay image.
Writing regularly, even in short bursts, encourages your imaginative side to flourish. Pixabay.
The Northern Lights. Pixabay image.
Pixabay.
Warning: Writer at Work. Pixabay
Whatever you write, enjoy it! Pixabay image
How can you show your readers your world? Pixabay image.
Is your reading journey a straight run or does it twist and turn? Pixabay image.
Use weather, climate etc to reflect moods in your story but don’t overdo it. Pixabay image.
Give your readers the details they need to know about your setting. Pixabay image.
The magic of reading. Pixabay

Enjoyed the Fryern Funtasia today. Will be writing about that for CFT for Friday. Good to catch up with my lovely CFT editor, Janet Williams, too.

Other events I’m looking forward to are the Winchester Writers’ Festival and Swanwick and I hope to get along to the Waterloo Arts Festival as well. I had a piece in their writing competition ebook To Be…To Become last year.

Right at the end of the year will be the launch of The Best of Cafelit 8 in which I will have two stories. A great time is had by all who go to that!

Whatever writing events you are off to over the next few months, have a fab time!

Image Credit:  Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox for the picture of me reading at last year’s Bridge House event.

 

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How do your characters handle disappointment? Are they of the “have it all out in one almighty tantrum” school of thought or do they prefer the quiet sulk? What drives them to react the way they do?

Do they use setbacks to find different ways of overcoming problems or do they give up? (If the latter, they’re not going to be of much interest as a character, unless the giving up is temporary, they start again and go on to find better ways of doing things, which can be a great story in itself).

Give some thought as to what really motivates your characters to react the way they do. Are they reacting the way their families have always done/expect them to or rebel against that?

We’ve all felt like this! Pixabay
Encouragement can do so much to help writers here. Pixabay image.
Good question! Pixabay image.
A good adaptation will confirm images the reader has already conjured up from the original material. Pixabay image.
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay
Playing with words. Pixabay image.
A good book will illuminate some truth. Image via Pexels
What every writer needs. Image via Pexels.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Two of my flash stories, The Art Critic, and Dignity and Injustice, will be appearing in The Best of Cafelit 8 in December. Am thrilled, naturally.

Dignity and Injustice is one of my favourite historical pieces. The Art Critic is very different!

Days like this are wonderful for all sorts of reasons, not least in that it encourages you to get back on and write more flash fiction!

Congratulations to all my fellow authors, who will be appearing in the book too. A special well done to those who are appearing in print for the first time. It is such a special moment!

I am looking forward to catching up with as many of my fellow contributors as possible for a very convivial time at the launch of the book in December! As for the second picture below, well I would say that, wouldn’t I?

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The best stories reveal something about ourselves. What flash fiction does is focus on one particular point and leave the reader to draw their own conclusions, both from what has been said, and what is inferred but not spelt out.

This was one thing I loved about the plays staged by the Chameleon Theatre Group I reviewed last week. Each play had plenty of inferences. I love filling in the gaps. I just need enough information to be able to do so.

So how do you decide what IS enough information? Well, this is where the restricted word count of flash fiction can be your friend as it imposes a limit. You really do have to work out what a reader has to know to be able to make inferences and leave anything not achieving that out. Best of all, you get to decide what the reader has to know!

 

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Things flash fiction should not be:-

1. Too long! (You have up to 1K words).
2. Truncated prose. (The story must have a proper beginning, middle and end, same as with any other form of writing).
3. Too many characters. (You really don’t have the word count for them).
4. Sub plots. (As for 3 above!).
5. Too clever! (A story illuminates a moment of change, flash fiction focuses INTENSELY on one specific moment so you have to focus on what achieves that and nothing else).

It pays to set your own deadlines. I set some at least a week ahead of any competition deadline to ensure I don’t miss the real date. Pixabay
The first draft is never perfect. Pixabay image.
Ah! The joy of the edit! Pixabay.
The basic equipment! Pixabay
Working and being inspired and writing – all great things! Pixabay image.
Listening to a good course. Pixabay
It is lovely when you get those light bulb moments! Pixabay image.
Well, what will your characters do next? Pixabay image.
How will you portray your characters? In the limelight or the background? Pixabay image.
Finding time to read can be difficult but is so worth doing. Pixabay.
How many story ideas could come from an image like this? Pixabay.

Repeating a word to start consecutive sentences in story can be a great way to set a rhythm for the tale, as well as provide emphasis. I do this with Watching Myself.

I also like to use a character’s thoughts sometimes as a great way into the story. You get to see something of the character immediately that way. I do this in Rewards.

It is a good idea to mix up how you start your tales as it keeps things interesting for you (and as a result your reader) and you will get different things from varying the way you start.

Beginning with a character’s thoughts takes you right into their mindset and attitudes and a reader can begin to make conclusions from that.

Beginning with the same word in consecutive sentences sets up a “beat” and should trigger anticipation in the reader. What is important about this word? It must have some bearing on the story (and of course it will).

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Goodreads Author Blog – The Dangers of Reading

Reading is wonderful but it can also be dangerous. Why?

1. Reading widely will open your mind and challenge thoughts and ideas. That is why in repressive regimes writers and journalists have been amongst the first to suffer. It’s why I admire George Orwell. He got on the nerves of both the far left and far right! That’s the way to do it…

2. Reading widely is often the trigger for creative writing. Once the bug bites you, it doesn’t let go! The challenge of creating your own stories is a wonderful one. The challenge of trying to write better, whether it is for publication or not, makes you try to up your game. You WILL be stretched mentally and imaginatively. That is how it should be.

3. Reading across the genres will help you discover what you like and dislike or, more accurately, what you THINK you like and dislike. I’d never heard of flash fiction when I first started writing (and it wasn’t around as a form when I started reading independently!). But in coming across the form and trying it in terms of reading it as well as writing it, I’ve discovered a love of the very short story form I never anticipated developing.

Where will your reading journey take you?

How will it surprise you and are you ready to be surprised?

Have fun finding out!

The wonderful world of books and stories. Pixabay image
This is NOT the way to read work out loud! Pixabay image.
What worlds will new books show you? Pixabay
Reading immerses you in another world. Pixabay image.
Lost in a world of books. Pixabay image.
Walking into the words maybe. Pixabay image
Stories can take you to fantastic places. Pixabay image.
I wonder how many dragon stories are in here! Image via Pixabay
Unless in a thunder storm or high winds, this is a good idea! Image via Pexels
See! It is a good idea, weather permitting! Image via Pexels
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
The ultimate smartphone maybe?! Image via Pixabay
Lost in a good book. Image via Pixabay.
Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
Online writing -v- on a line writing! Image via Pixabay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dangerous Words and What Flash Fiction Isn’t

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Facebook – General – and Publication News

My flash fiction story, Dangerous Words, is now up on Cafelit. Hope you enjoy it. There’ll be another from me here on 16th March.

I love getting straight into the heads of my characters and letting them get on with it! The writing seems to flow better when I do this.  And here is the link to my page on Cafelit.  Hope you enjoy the stories!

Well, what IS your story? Image via PixabayImage via Pixabay.
Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay
Use flash fiction techniques to help you develop other forms of writing so you grow as a writer. Image via Pixabay
Some very strange creatures are in books. Image via Pixabay
Love this image! Image via Pixabay
Says it all really and applies to non-fiction equally as fiction. Image via Pixabay.
The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay
Books invite you into their world. Image via Pixabay.
The wonderful world of stories… Image via Pixabay.
Images from the magical world… Image via Pixabay

When you think about who your favourite authors are, do you stop and think about why they’ve made it on to your list of favourites?

No reader or writer worth their salt ever has one favourite author only! You are reading widely across genres to help inspire your own creativity, aren’t you?!

Besides, with such a wonderful wealth of books out there, why stick to just one genre? (I’m the same about chocolate – yes I will always prefer milk, but there’s no way I’m missing out on dark and white!).

I strongly suspect the big draw will be the characters your favourite author(s) created. A well drawn character will have you sympathising with their predicament, their hopes, the obstacles they’ve got to overcome to have any chance of realising those hopes etc.

So turn this around then and ask yourself what you can do with your characters to make readers feel all that about them. Readers should be able to identify with said predicaments and hopes (though not necessarily agree with them or the way your characters handle matters).

So true. Pixabay image.
Stepping into another world.. Pixbay
Is your reading journey a bright one? Pixabay image.
The realm of the fairytale has always fascinated me. Pixabay image.
This is NOT the way to read work out loud! Pixabay image.
Words have power, whether funny or tragic. Pixabay image.
What IS out there? Pixabay image.
Where is your setting? Pixabay image.

I’ve been sharing on Twitter some of my favourite books, the kind you have to take to the mythical desert island with you. Amongst the list are Men at Arms (Terry Pratchett), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie), and The Daughter of Time (Josephine Tey). A nice mixed bunch so far but then I’ve never seen the point of limiting your reading to just one genre.

What do I look for from a good book? An entertaining story, characters that make me want to root for them, for good to prevail over evil, and where the story can make me think as well, even better. The Daughter of Time remains, to date, the only novel to make me change my mind over something (Richard III and whether he was innocent or guilty of the murder of the Princes in the Tower).

The challenge as a writer is to create your stories in such a way they resonate with your readers long after they’ve read them. I’ve only ever read To Kill a Mockingbird once (at secondary school) but certain images and the way it made me feel against injustice remain with me to this day. I’ve not read the follow-up and I don’t know if I will but to be able to haunt your readers long after they’ve finished your book is something to aspire to, I think.

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I love getting right inside the heads of my characters when writing stories and often use that as a way to get started on a piece.

I like to think of it as hitting the ground running, because a brief incursion into the character’s mind will reveal (a) what they’re facing and (b) their attitude to it. That’s when the sparks fly!

It also means I’m showing you the story from the viewpoint of that lead character. No telling here! It does mean you’ve got to know your character well enough from the outset so you can write them convincingly but this is where outlining a few thoughts comes into its own. That outline can be as detailed or not as you want, but as long as YOU know enough to write the character, that is what matters. How to tell?

Ask yourself how your character would react to a situation you are not actually writing about for this story. Do you instantly know how they would react? If so, good. If not, you need to flesh your character out more to yourself so you can turn that no into a yes.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Delighted Dangerous Words is now up on Cafelit. I’m very fond of stories where the main character reveals a lot of what appears to be backstory but is very relevant to what they are facing at the time! I’m also very fond of stories about little old ladies who aren’t quite as innocent as they might seem to be.

How easy do I find writing flash fiction?

The simple answer is I never know when I write flash how it is going to turn out until I do it so I take an idea and run with it and see what happens.

Sometimes that idea will work better as a longer standard length short story (and that’s okay because there will be markets and competitions for it). At other times, something I thought would make a great flash fiction idea really isn’t strong enough.

Flash fiction ISN’T a diluted short story. It has to be a complete story in and of itself. It captures a moment in time (a short story can capture more than one) but it has to be a moment worth sharing! One moment finely honed. And it takes practice too. But that’s true of any form of writing.

Learning to write short will help with creating blurbs for a novel amongst other things so practising writing flash fiction I think is great for all writers to do. The editing and polishing skils you pick up over time will pay off in other writing work you do.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings – the ultimate in dangerous words is on this ring!. Pixabay image.

The writing prompt in my diary for this week was of a bird watching its potential mate carrying out a ritual wing display. (The mischievious side of me would have loved the picture to have shown the female holding up a score card – you know the marks out of 10 kind of thing – but then that’s my quirky sense of humour).

The prompt was to tie in with Valentine’s Day and I’ve drafted a flash story (in poetic form) where the female wishes she could have the special treatment more often during the rest of the year, that it wasn’t all down to mating etc, that there could be something special during the day to day effort to survive. My draft needs a lot of work (as all drafts do) but I sympathise with my character’s viewpoint here.

For all writers, the heady moments are (a) when you know you’ve created something good, (b) when you hear you’re going to be published, and (c) when the book contract (a good one obviously) turns up for you to sign! The nature of things means those heady moments are “spaced out” and we have to cope with the daily nitty gritty, which is far less “glamorous”.

The nitty gritty then for all writers is to get the writing done, get it out there, cope with the rejections that will come in, and so on.

And on that note I must get on!

No matter how strange your characters or setting, there must still be identifiable elements for a reader. Pixabay image
Characters no matter what their world should resonate with readers. Image via Pixabay
It would be a joy to research here! Pixabay image
Being lost in the world of your story. Pixabay image
Taking time to look back and then look ahead is a good thing. Pixabay image.
The universe is beautiful. Pixabay image.
How many story ideas could come from an image like this? Pixabay.
Content is indeed king. Image via Pixabay.
Good reading – and writing to be done – here. Pixabay image.
A storyteller on their travels perhaps? Pixabay image.
Your blog, your topic, your theme – just be sensible on copyright and libel issues. Image via Pixabay.
Social media has made the world a smaller place. Image via Pixabay.
Is this light the way into a new world? Pixabay image.

Does flash fiction have its limitations?

Well, there is the word count of course, but I suppose the main one would be is it is not the vehicle for an in depth character study! What it can and should do is show a reader enough about a character so they fill in the gaps themselves. It is like shining a torch and you pick up ONE thing to focus more attention on.

I’ve always loved it when writers don’t tell me every last detail. I want to be able to work things out myself and flash fiction IS the perfect vehicle for that!

Books have their own sense of time and space. Image via Pixabay.
I often jot notes with pen and paper. Pexels image.
The darkness can have its own beauty. Pixabay image.
John Ryland’s library. Pixabay image.
Fiction can take you anywhere. Image via Pixabay.
Get those ideas coming! Pixabay image
A stalwart character in the fairytales. Pixabay image.
Plugging in for new ideas? Pixabay image
There is something almost mystical here. Pixabay image.
Heading to the light. Image via Pixabay.
Someone set a goal here of some sort! Pixabay image
From Light to Dark and Back Again perhaps? Image via Pixabay (and so beautiful)
The sun setting. Pixabay image.

I really enjoy reading and writing flash fiction stories which end with a punch. Sometimes that can be literal (!) and is most satisfying when the character has deserved it (and that will be the view your readers will take too). One huge advantage of fiction is wrongs can be righted in a way they’re so often not in real life. I believe that is one reason why fairytales are always popular!

I also love the witty one-liners that can close a story. It’s good to finish a story on an “uplift” where that is appropriate. Of course the set up for that finish happens much earlier in the story and it can be as simple as showing your character has the type of attitude which will make a witty one-line retort likely. (It usually is a retort!).

Above all, it is fun, which is what writing should be after all.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Hooks into Books

I seem to have a “thing” for rhyming titles at the moment. Sure it will be a passing fad…!

What attracts you to a book? Is it the title, the blurb, the cover, or a combination of the lot?

For me, the cover draws me in but the blurb is what clinches a sale for me, whether I’m reading on Kindle or a paperback. If I like the premise of the blurb, I will “look inside” a Kindle book or look at the opening page of a paperback. If it seems to deliver, I’ll go ahead and buy.

There is no such thing as a foolproof system but this works for me!

Of course, another great hook is reading a book by an author whose works you know you like. I love series novels and my favourite of these has to be Discworld. Each book original and entertaining but there’s enough familiarity with the world to make you feel right at home as you continue to enjoy the series.

Whatever you read, enjoy!

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