Tag: radio interview

Interviews and Ideas

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush.Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Hope you have had a good start to the week. I was pleased to be back on the air over the weekend (link below) and it is also great seeing the lighter evenings. I can sometimes come back with Lady from my evening dog walk without having to use my torch! It is the little things in life which mean so much at times!

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Facebook – General

Busy day. How to tell it is cold outside? Go swimming in my local pool. It is the only time the water there feels remotely warm but it does encourage you to get a move on!

Looking forward to sharing my Catch Up – Local Author News – Allison Symes post on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. They do say write what you know!

It does pay to take stock of where you are, writing wise, every now and then. It can also help you plan ahead a bit too. And it will be nice having news to share.

What I can tell you now is that all of the things which have happened, writing wise, for me have been connected in that one thing leads to another and so on.

A writing career is built up over time and networking is nothing to be worried about. After all you’re chatting to other writers who understand your drive to write and the ups and downs of the writing life. It has been lovely when I’ve been able to share useful information for other writers. It is very much a two-way process, as it should be.


Pleased to be able to share a link to my interview on Hannah Kate’s show on North Manchester FM last Saturday but this link gives you the whole show in one go, so to speak. Further down are links to Part 1 and Part 2 of the show.

In other news, you may recall I set a theme of clearing away over on my Facebook book page (From Light to Dark and Back Again). Well, I have used the theme myself. I’ll be sharing my new YouTube story based on this topic over on my book page shortly (see further down) but my submission for Friday Flash Fiction this week was based on this too.

If an idea occurs to you, as it did when I was writing my previous Facebook post, note it down because it is the only way to be sure you’ll end up doing something with it! I am sure there must be some hidden depository somewhere where all the ideas writers forget to write down must end up (it’s where odd socks go as well) – so the only thing to do with good ideas is nail them down and write them up!

Screenshot 2023-03-01 at 16-17-49 North Manchester FM Hannah's Bookshelf Saturday 4 March 2-4pm - Hannah Kate

Hope you have had a good day. I’ll be sharing a “catch up post” with what I’ve been up to recently writing wise for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I like reading catch up posts from other authors. It is always interesting to see where someone is in their writing journey, where they have come from, and then find out where they are heading next! I find that encouraging. The writing journey isn’t meant to be a static one after all. It is also lovely having news to share!

Have spent the weekend preparing future blog posts elsewhere so pleased with that. Will be on to flash fiction writing shortly. I shared a possible theme over on my book page yesterday so will be using it that. What is nice is when a thought occurs to you for a blog post and you realise, hang on, I could get a flash fiction piece out of this as well. Doesn’t happen nearly often enough for my liking but I grab the opportunity with both hands when it does!

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

It was lovely being back on North Manchester FM today for a catch up interview with Hannah Kate. I am on the first hour of her show and the link for this is below. (I am on at about the 27 minute mark but do check out the whole show and the link to the second half of Hannah’s show as this is a wonderful celebration of books, stories, reading, and writing. What is there not to love about those things?).

Great to put in a good word for Mom’s Favorite Reads too and my title there as “flasher queen”! Please see further up for another link where you can access the show in “one go” so to speak.

May be an image of text that says "North Manchester FM 106.6 Listen Again Listen whilst connected downloading our shows is not possible. Home Hannahs Bookshelf Saturday March E 2023 Everything books, writing and publishing Categories Hannahs Bookshelf 1st hour PodHawk BBC News ABOUTME selection url some NAVIGATION 0:00 1:00:00 Return again music download any our programmes. Please do otc broadcast without express permission from home page CATEGORIES 50 и RPM 60sJuox Rewind 90s Rewind Helping History"

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Ideas can be triggered by all sorts of things. What matters here is keeping your mind alert to the possibility that something which has popped into your head is the potential for a story idea!

I’ve found ideas from a wealth of different random generators, proverbs, phrases, story cubes, an odd thought I’ve typed up for a blog post (and I’ve then realised fictional possibilities) amongst others.

What I’ve not done is keep the old notebook by the bed in case I wake up with interesting thoughts. Why? I Because when my head hits the pillow, that is it! I do know that idea can work for writers. I just know it never works for me. And it helps to be aware of that too, mainly because you will then know which sources to focus on for ideas.

May be an image of text that says "Word ordPlay I love the way writing exercises enable me to enjoy playing with words and coming up with fresh deas"

It’s Monday. It’s getting cold again. I have one crocus out in the garden and I hope the forecasted snow doesn’t flatten it! Definitely time for a story. Hope you enjoy Clearing The Air.

 

Brrr… it’s been getting cold again with more to come next week. How do your characters react to their climate? And are they cold at heart or a warm-hearted person/being of choice by the writer?! (Bear in mind this comes from someone who has written a story from the viewpoint of a mother dragon. My characters are not necessarily human!).

Interactions between characters are great ways of revealing much about them all. Character A gets on well with B but loathes C and finds it is all they can do to be polite etc. Instinctively I want to find out why that is so I read on – job done by the writer there! And these details can show up in how a character speaks, as well as through their thoughts and actions.

May be an image of text that says "Your character's mood attitude should be clear from context. Again they will be showing the readers what they need to know."

Hope you have had a good day. Spent some time clearing my desk today – it needed doing! – but it gave rise to the thought about what your characters might need to clear from their lives. Could be whom as well of course. Definitely flash (and short story) potential there I would have thought.

You could also give some thought as to what they couldn’t bear to clear away and what that is is and what would happen if they were put in a situation where they had to do that. Happy writing (and I hope to have a go at these themes myself later on in the weekend. Will report back). See above!

May be an image of text that says "You're "fizzing" with ideas? Great. Just get them down. Sharpen them later."

Goodreads Author Blog – What Makes a Good Story For You?

For me, a good story is all about whether I care about what happens to the characters or not. If I do, I will read all the way through, whether that tale is 100 words long (classic flash fiction territory, that one!), or a 100,000 words novel. I have got to find out what happens to the characters so I need to be able to identify with them in some way or, at the very least, have empathy for the position they find themselves in.

The plot works for me as long as I can believe in the characters, no matter how fantastical they are (or their setting is). I also love reading (and writing) character dialogue and thoughts which move the story on. You want to feel as if you are in that character’s head and can see exactly where they are coming from.

You want to feel what your character does. That’s the only way to avoid characters being cardboard cut-outs in my view.

Screenshot 2023-03-04 at 21-05-49 What Makes a Good Story for You

 

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

Screenshot 2023-02-24 at 21-11-57 Reader Hub Book Brush

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

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Share Your Story Summit and Musical Connections

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Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

Book signing images for From Light to Dark and Back Again were taken by my lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today, Janet Williams.

Lady looking on unimpressed as I signed Tripping the Flash Fantastic was an image taken by Adrian Symes.

Images from the Share Your Story Writing Summit provided by them to all presenters (and am thrilled to share what follows!).

Details of the summit below. Will also be issuing a bonus newsletter shortly with full details of the summit too. 

To sign up for my newsletter (with giveaway) please sign up here.

3. writers IG 2021

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today


Pleased to share my Chandler’s Ford Today post for this week. Musical Connections was a joy to write and listen to (see the post for some wonderful Youtube clips) and I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks for the great comments on this so far.

Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to share a couple of posts on topics I hope will be useful. I plan to discuss book trailers and videos and give some useful pointers for where to go for down-to-earth advice when new to the writing game (though that will still be handy for older hands given timely reminders are always helpful! I know I find them handy!).

Thrilled to bits to be taking part in the Share Your Story summit later on in the month and am looking forward to giving a Zoom talk to a WI affiliated group just ahead of when the summit starts.

Slap bang in the middle of the summit will be when my recent interview with #HannahKate will be broadcast, link to follow in due course.

So lots going on but all of it fun and that’s the way I like it!

Quick reminder that my Musical Connections post is up on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow and I hope it leads to plenty of lovely meanderings down Memory Lane. It certainly had that effect on me!

But the big news is I can now share more details of the international writing summit I’m taking part in. This is the first event of this kind I’ve taken part in as a presenter (though I have been to others as an audience member and loved them).

I will be producing a bonus newsletter with full details over the next couple of days so please sign up to my newsletter via my website (allisonsymescollectedworks.com) if you would like that.

I’m planning to produce a quick Local Author News Update post for CFT probably sometime next week outside of my usual Friday slot as well. Will flag these up as and when they’re about.

Meanwhile, the main points:-

Summit is from 18th to 23rd March 2021.

Summit is called the Share Your Story Writing Summit and features a wide range of authors and topics.

There is limited free access with 3 to 4 presenters on any one day of the summit.

Each of the days (and therefore topics on that day) is available for 24 hours only.

BUT:-

Pre-sale Early Bird Pricing – If you would like access to everything (and why not!), then between the dates of 4th to 17th March, you would pay $47 USD. There are 23 presenters and 23 workshops. That is a lot of info for not much money! Bargain…

During the summit itself – March 18th to 23rd 2021 – you can get access to everything for $67 USD.

AFTER the summit itself – March 24th 2021 onwards – You would pay $97 USD

And there is an affiliate link so I will earn a small amount of money if you go for any of the paid versions. You also get to keep the talks and there is a wealth of experience and advice here, all of which will be useful.

So it pays, literally, to get in early, folks! No surprises when I mention my topic is on flash fiction! The link takes you to the summit landing page where you can choose the free or paid for versions. See https://www.creativeu.ca/a/46030/yLSebqrq for more details.

#freesummit #summit #free #shareyourstory #creativity #write #shareyourstory2021

Am so looking forward to being part of this!



Looking forward to sharing news about the international writing summit I’m taking part in soon (from tomorrow onwards so watch this space). See above – I am rather pleased about this! I’m also looking forward to checking out the other topics on offer for this. The range is fantastic but don’t just take my word for it!

In other news, Lady had a fabulous time with her best buddy, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, this morning. You can always tell when a dog is happy when she walks home slowly, tail wagging all the way, gets home, has a drink, and then crashes out, perking up again when she senses my hubby or I are about to have lunch. It is Lady’s role to supervise us having our lunch, of course. We couldn’t possibly eat it all by ourselves.

Plenty of non-fiction work going on at the moment with talks etc., but am getting some flash fiction writing in (and producing the short story videos for Youtube upload on a regular basis helps ensure that too!). I’m starting to get material together for a third collection and that takes time but I am pleased to have made a start on that.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

As well as the writing summit, which I flagged up yesterday, I’m waving the flag for flash fiction again in mid-March via Zoom to a WI-affiliated group. On 20th March, my interview with #HannahKate for her Hannah’s Bookshelf show on North Manchester FM will be broadcast where again I wave the flag for flash and blogging, (I almost typed flag the wave just then – lovely Spoonerism I think!).

Am also drafting flash fiction pieces though I will up the pace on that work once the summit is over.

I do love the variety of writing and try to ensure I enjoy it all. That’s important. Writing and marketing are hard work but a joy and having that joy helps you keep going when times are tough.

I still have “no hears” on submitting work and I always will but I know now I can always submit that work elsewhere when I can get back to the piece in question. Nothing is wasted in writing. What you can’t re-submit somewhere, you can analyse and see if you can work out why it didn’t get placed or what have you. It does pay to do that. I’ve picked things up on a piece later I didn’t see at the time of submission and you can take what you learn there and use it to help you be more successful with other work.

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The big news, as I mentioned on my author Facebook page, is I’m taking part in an international writing summit from 18th to 23rd March 2021. My topic is Flash Fiction – Why I Love It and Why I Think Every Writer Should Try It!

More details on the summit can be found at https://www.creativeu.ca/a/46030/yLSebqrq

The summit is free but there are paid for options if you would like to be able to access all of the topics or are not sure you can actually be about on the day in question for the relevant presenters to you. Bear in mind there are 23 presenters on 23 wonderfully varied topics so I strongly suspect you would find several of the topics would be of interest!

I will be issuing a bonus newsletter about the summit sometime over the next couple of days and you can sign up to receive this, and future author newsletters from me, at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/

Allison Symes (1)

PS.  I never dreamt, when I first started writing seriously many many years ago, I would see things like the poster above. I can’t tell you how many rejections I’ve had in my time. I almost certainly could cover my walls with them had I kept them. So being open to trying new forms of writing – flash fiction in my case – has proved productive. Not giving up and developing stamina to take the setbacks on the chin also does. No short cuts but dreams can sometimes come true. (And no fairy godmother in sight either, which is a tad annoying given I write so many stories about them, but there you go!).


Always delighted to wave the flag for flash fiction and am looking forward to sharing more news on the international writing summit I’m taking part in soon where I do precisely that. (Hope to start sharing from tomorrow onwards so watch this space. There is a wonderful range of authors taking part on a lovely variety of topics so there will be something for everyone – see above and this will almost certainly be my big news for 2021, I think).

One thing I’ve found useful at “live events” such as the railway station signing I had for From Light to Dark and Back Again was it is easy to demonstrate what flash fiction is by reading some out! Entertains the public, it always give me useful practice at effectively “open prose readings”, and I’ve made sales that way too.

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Fairytales with Bite – What Counts as a Bad Week in a Magical World?

Well, what does count as a bad week in a magical world? Is it when every spell you use goes wrong no matter what you do? (See The Sorcerer’s Apprentice for more on this and with fab music too!).

Is it when there is too much magic flying about and the results are questionable to say the least? That wizard who wanted to change an annoying junior into a statue for half an hour to teach them a lesson finds it has backfired when that statue walks off complaining loudly and embarrassing him?

Now for your villains of course a bad week for everyone else would count as a good week for them. Hey, we’re villains, doing what we’re supposed to be doing. So what would they do to cause trouble for everyone else? Does it backfire on them? Does the rest of your society eventually get their revenge here?

And who decides whether it is a bad week anyway? How would your created society decide what was good and what wasn’t?

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This World and Others – What Makes Your Created World Stand Out

What makes your created world stand out so you have to write it into life? What attracts you to it? The good news is here is what attracts you here should attract other readers.

My view is your world has to have enough depth to make you want to write about it. Your characters have to be compelling but so does the setting in which you set them. So think about what would make you want to live in the place you’ve invented? Is it the magical elements? Is it the fantastic scenery free from all pollution etc?

What would a reader find that was special about your setting? What would make them want to read more about how life is lived there?

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