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Image Credits:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

Hope you have had a good weekend. Had a lovely one with family (Lady loved it and was shattered by the end of it as she usually is). Also the weekend was noted for always moving Remembrance events (as was Monday 11th).

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Cold but sunny here. Nice autumn day. Lady didn’t get to see any pals today but had a lovely run around all the same.

Writing Tip: When I get a prompt (as I am all this month with Flash NANO), I note down a few thoughts which immediately occur to me as to the direction in which I could take this. I then go with the idea I like the most because it has the most impact on me and I figure readers are likely to react the same way.

Any thought that gets a “nah” or “hmm, doesn’t float my boat” response from me gets binned. Don’t be afraid to reject your initial ideas and go with something better. Other ideas will come.

11th November – Armistice Day

The sun came out for Armistice Day today which was lovely. I always think back to my grandfathers at this time of year – one was in the Forces then, when invalided out, he became an ARP warden/fire watcher and the other worked in a reserved occupation (munitions – Woolwich Arsenal – always getting bombed out).

My father was too young to be evacuated when World War Two broke out and was only evacuated later on but he and his mum, my gran, went through the Blitz. My mother was evacuated immediately and didn’t like it. It’s a time to be grateful for what we we have, I think. One of which was my appreciating the freedom I have to watch my Lady having a huge amount of fun in the park this morning with her two best friends.

Writing wise, am pressing on with Flash NANO. Hope to do today’s prompt later on but may have to go into tomorrow given I’ve a busy but lovely evening ahead. Will also be sharing an author update for me on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I appreciate the freedom to read and write too. Still not a given even now, which is sad.

10th November – Remembrance Sunday

Moving Remembrance Sunday service today. For me, it always highlights the power of the right words to convey feelings – they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old – and the importance of taking time out to actively remember. Remembrance is an act of will.

Had a fabulous family do yesterday – so good to see everyone – and yes the dog loved it all and was shattered by early evening as I expected! She was happily shattered though.

Writing wise, will be busy with flash fiction pieces shortly, including for Flash NANO 2024. Did get these written.

Family do today. I don’t go in for predictions but can say with confidence we will all have a lovely time, Lady will love every second and be exhausted by 7pm today! It’s what happened last time. She lay in the hall and just wouldn’t move for ages. I got the “Mum, I think I’ll stay here “ look!

Will be sharing a quick update on what I’ve been up to writing wise for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. More author interviews to come towards the end of the month and going into December. Plus I’m looking forward to going to the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event which is in just under a month’s time.

Writing Tip: Want to know more about your character? Ask one simple question – ask what is their all time favourite piece of music?

The answer to that will open up more details about their background, their other tastes connected to this piece and so on. If my character picked a classical piece of music, it is unlikely I will find them at a hard rock concert unless they have no choice but to go there (it’s their job – I have written a piece on this. Good fun to put my character through the mill here! Their reactions were understandable and funny. Would have worked just as well the other way around).

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I use Book Brush to help me create my videos for YouTube. I find it easy to use and there is a nice choice of video templates for the subjects I tend to write about.

YouTube has a lovely audio library where you either don’t have to give credits or they make it easy for you to do so when you do have to and it means I can add an audio track so easily. Fun to do and another way of sharing flash fiction. Win-win!

It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Remembering. Memories come flooding back to my lovely gentleman character as he prepares to leave this life but he asks a pertinent question for us all to consider.

This weekend and tomorrow we will rightly focus on remembering. It is vital we recall the past and the sacrifices made. I do believe in the truth of the saying “those who do not remember history are destined to relive it” and the act of remembrance is designed to record our gratitude for our freedoms and to try to prevent the reliving of the horrible bits.

Writing wise, remembering is an excellent theme for stories. What one memory would your characters treasure above all else and why? There would be some wonderful story ideas to come from that, some poignant, but I could see there being room for humour too. If you give this a go, good luck.

Hope you’re having a good weekend. Later will be having a lovely time catching up with family and seeing just how tired my dog can make herself as she interacts with everyone!

Will probably have to catch up with Flash NANO Day 9 tomorrow as I won’t have much chance today and will also crack on with Day 10 so flash fiction Sunday afternoon will be busier than normal. It will also be even more fun though!

Goodreads Author Blog – Humorous Fiction

I have a very soft spot for humorous fiction, ranging from Jane Austen’s irony in Pride and Prejudice (in particular) all the way through to Wodehouse and Pratchett. Story writing is challenging enough but to make it funny as well takes a particular skill set and one I think the world could do with much more of especially now. Well, let’s be honest, 2024 has not been a great year, has it?

So books and stories which make me laugh will always go down well with me. I do wish humorous fiction was taken more seriously, funny enough. I’ve long held the view it is looked down on a bit because it “looks easy”, Big mistake there. I learned years ago if someone makes something look easy, that same someone has worked hard for years to get to that point.

For a writer to come up with funny lines for their characters, they have to know their creations inside out and ensure that what the characters speak is something which arises naturally out of the situation they’re in. Nothing must seem forced in any book. It never works.

Humour especially cannot be forced – readers literally won’t buy it. It’s the equivalent of laughing at your own jokes, which most of us don’t do.

But when a writer gets the humour right, it is sublime.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This time I share the December 2023 edition of the magazine which took as its topic Finishing Strong. I look at Finishing Strong in the Short Fiction Forms in this plus I wrote a piece about the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group, which I run on Zoom for ACW, which was the writing group of the month. Plenty to read and enjoy here.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Humorous Fiction https://t.co/bNbDAEaGbH via @goodreads I wave the flag for humorous fiction for Goodreads this week and share why I think it should be valued more. pic.twitter.com/WFbwVztuW0

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) November 9, 2024

It’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Remembering. Memories come flooding back to my lovely gentleman character as he prepares to leave this life but he asks a pertinent question for us all to consider.https://t.co/IvWF9SSESb

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) November 11, 2024