Tag: Shakespeare

Honest and Dishonest Characters

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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 week. Lady has had a fabulous time with her closest friends. I’ve had a lovely trip to the local theatre and good writing news which I hope to share before too long.

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Delighted to share Honest and Dishonest Characters for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Fun piece to write especially given literature is full of excellent examples of both types of creation. I look at some of the aspects you need to consider when creating these and share thoughts and tips. Hope you find it useful.

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24th April
Am off to see The Chameleon Theatre Group perform Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor later this evening. Will review it for Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. The audience get to interrogate the cast as part of the performance which should be good fun. Have not been to an “interactive” murder mystery play before. Looking forward to reporting back later.

I see going to plays like this as another way of taking in stories. It’s not a bad idea to try to visualise your own stories as if someone was acting them out.

It can be a good aid to ensuring your dialogue sounds right, helps you cut down description (for a play you would see this as a visual set – can your readers picture your scenes easily enough?), and will show you whether all of your characters are playing a vital role in the story or not. If one or more doesn’t seem to have “much to do”, do you really need them in the tale?

Hope you have had a good Wednesday. Lady had a fabulous time in the park with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals. Came home tired but happy.

Don’t forget my next Chandler’s Ford Today post is upon Friday when I’ll be looking at Honest and Dishonest Characters. Fun piece to write which I hope you will find useful and thoughtful. See above.

Marketing Tip: Consistency matters. I find it useful to focus on those social media outlets and marketing tasks I know I can keep going. So select what you would enjoy most and stick with that.

I like preparing an author newsletter and my YouTube videos, for example, so I have no problems being consistent with producing these. As much as possible, your marketing as well as your writing should be fun for you too. (Or as much fun as possible most of the time anyway!).

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Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Same Old Thing.

Hope you enjoy it. Good to finish the working week with an enjoyable tale I think. Do check out the rest of what is on FFF – you will have plenty of good reading here.

24th April
Hope today has gone well. Am off to see my excellent local theatre company perform an interactive murder mystery. Should be fun. Led me to think though all of our stories should be interactive in that they should engage your readers so they are gripped by the situation and world you are showing them. No pressure then!

I do believe we are our own first readers though and if I’m not gripped by my characters, I can’t honestly expect anyone else to be.

Have come across another flash competition I may have a go at which specifies a character count rather than a word one (and yes it is linked to X or Twitter as I still prefer to think of it as).

Today, 23rd April, is both the birthday and anniversary of death day for William Shakespeare. Not sure what he would have thought of flash fiction given the length of his plays! But in the wonderful writing world, there is room for all word counts and styles (which is yet another reason to love being part of the overall writing community).

Writing Thought: Why not take one of Shakespeare’s famous quotes and use it as a theme for one of your own stories, flash or otherwise? What could you make of “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” as a theme, for example? Shakespeare was right on that one but could you come up with a tale which proved otherwise?


Fairytales with Bite – Crime in the Magical World

I love the Vimes novels within the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s magnificent Discworld series. The entire canon is superb but the Vimes books stand out for me and books like Men at Arms are excellent detective stories in their own right (and the fantasy setting makes them stand out more).

So thinking about your own magical/fantasy setting, which crimes could happen with in it? Are the crimes solved by magic or with good old fashioned police work (the Pratchett approach, which for me makes the books more real).

If you use magic to solve the crimes, bear in mind the criminals would almost certainly have used crime to commit their nefarious deeds so how can more magic overcome that?

You will need to give thought as to what magic can do and not do in your setting. There should be advantages and disadvantages to using it/not using it (as this will give more issues for your characters to think about as they work out what to do and will help increase tensions in your story).

Also think about the crimes which could only be committed in a magical world, what would these be? What is done to try to prevent them? Is there any kind of magical crime prevention agency and/or a detective one? Who could police the use of magic and what powers would they have to enforce this? How did the rules for the use of magic come into being in the first place?

This World and Others – Social Issues in the Magical or Sci-Fi World

Where magic or where science beyond what we know here exists in your setting, which social issues arise from them? Do these things create a have and have not society? If so, how is that handled? Are there any attempts to make things better for the have nots? Are there classes of citizens who are gifted with this kind of magic and/or science and do they share it or hoard it?

Has your magical/scientific setting over time benefited from the developments discovered or created? If so, how? Do these benefits help all? Those with the skills – are they revered or hated? Would others in your setting have good cause to fear them?

If your setting can survey other worlds, such as Earth, are there ideas we have they do not? Would they be prepared to steal them? If so, how would they go about this without drawing attention to the fact there was was an alien invasion going on (might cause panic!) or do they not worry about that? Have they raided other worlds before?

Scientific developments especially can cause two reasons – welcome and rejection. People can fear what they don’t understand so how would your setting’s people overcome this so new developments weren’t misunderstood or misrepresented?

The trouble with misunderstanding or misrepresenting something is the panic and resulting actions from that panic which in turn could cause social issues( rioting, maybe?).

Food for story thought there I hope.

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Feedback, Local Theatre, and Reviews

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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.
Busy week this time with a trip to the theatre and running a flash fiction group online coming up. Both will be fun though.

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Posting early today as have a meeting tonight. Will also post again early for the next few days. It is just one of those weeks but at least the sun came out today and Lady got to play with her friend, a smashing Aussie Shepherd. Both dogs had a fab time.

Writing Tip: Never worry about how much time you’ve got to write. Just get something down. I’ve talked about using pockets of time before but I have to do this a lot and it does pay off. I have had several blogs drafted, stories written etc doing this. It would’ve been too easy to have missed the chance to write those things down, yet alone then go on to do something positive with them.

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Lovely start to the day (and Lady got to show off her running skills to her older pal, the lovely Hungarian Vizler we know) and then by lunchtime it was pelting it down. One thing you can say about the weather in Britain – it is variable!

Have a busy week ahead with my visit to the theatre on Thursday and running the Flash Fiction group on Zoom for the Association of Christian Writers on Wednesday. Both will be great fun. (And I know I’ll get a review out of one of them and I suspect some draft flash fiction out of the other!).

Talking of reviews, remember these don’t have to be long and they are a great way of helping an author, so do bear that in mind. One from a review of Tripping the Flash Fantastic reads “Allison Symes can pack more into 100 words than most people can into 1000. Politicians take note!”

I wonder if I can make use of that given local elections are coming up soon!

Tripping The Flash Fantastic - by night

It’s St. George’s Day today (in England) and the birthday (also probable day of death too) for William Shakespeare. Have enjoyed watching several of his works thanks to National Theatre Live. Must try and get to see more.

Watching stories (stage or film) is another great way of taking in tales. My late mother would have been pleased about this. She tried to get me into the works of the Bard for many years. Would probably wonder why it took me so long! And the basic plots are often the basis for other stories – The Lion King is loosely based on Hamlet. His stories have inspired classical music too (The Love Theme for Romeo and Juliet being just one example).

Am off to local theatre later this week to see Spring Trio by The Chameleon Theatre Group.

Have never been tempted to act though I always admire those who do this well. It always has been the story I’ve been interested in. Doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that, does it?!

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Hope you are having a nice weekend. Off out for a lovely meal out later. Looking forward to that. Nice not having to cook!

I’ll be looking at How-To Guides (writing ones) for next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I have used a few in my time and have found the ones I used (and still use) incredibly helpful. No one writer can know it all and a well written guide or two, developing networks of writer friends, and going to writing events are all invaluable for helping you learn your craft.

I use Scrivener for my writing and find both the inbuilt tutorial and the Scrivener for Dummies book by Gwen Hernandez to be great aids.

Link up for CFT post on Friday as usual.

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Many thanks for the great comments coming in on Going Home, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction.

Feedback is much appreciated, especially for the short forms of writing. In the past where I was submitting something for a competition, if there was the opportunity to get feedback, I would take it. Usually there was a small additional fee (it is something towards the judge’s time) but I took the view it was worth it to get “soundings” back on my story. I always found this useful.

Sometimes I would then resubmit the story elsewhere and had it published then, having taken on board comments made. Didn’t always take the advice given – sometimes I had good reasons for disagreeing with it. But that was still useful. It made me work out why. And then there were those times when the commentator flagged up something so useful I wondered why I hadn’t spotted it in the first place! This is the way of these things.

Screenshot 2023-04-21 at 09-47-09 Going Home by Allison Symes

It’s Monday. It has been pouring down in my part of the world. It’s getting dark early due to the weather. It’s still Monday. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube video – The Best. Not me being boastful (honest!) but see if you would do what my character does here faced with what she is facing.

One of the joys of going to things like The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, is getting to explore their wonderful Book Room! I’ve come back with flash collections and other books to enjoy many a time.

Don’t forget if you would like signed copies of either From Light to Dark and Back Again or Tripping the Flash Fantastic, please contact me and I will happily oblige! Payment is via bank transfer. Please contact me via the form on my website –https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact/.

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I was chatting about flash fiction and its benefits as part of an ACW meeting this morning. Always good to spread the word about the benefits of flash, no matter what else you write. I know it has brought on my editing skills a lot!

Sunday afternoons is often when I write a lot of flash. Always look forward to that. (I end up doing other bits and pieces on flash during the week whether I’m writing about it for blog posts or preparing for future books etc).

Above all, flash led me to having my own books published so will always love it for that alone!

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Goodreads Author Blog – What I Like about Reviews

All authors would like reviews, ideally good ones of course. What I like about reviews I read is when they give me information and a sense of what a book is about without giving away too much of it. These are the kind of reviews I try to write as well.

Other than buying a writer’s book, giving them an honest review is the second best thing you can do to help the authors in your life. We can share the fact we have had reviews in (which encourages people to take a look at those and hopefully our books too). It gives us a much needed morale boost. Bear in mind we are at our desks alone for a lot of the time. It is also a form of validation and most writers appreciate getting that every now and again.

So if you’ve read books you love, do review them. Reviews don’t have to be long. They don’t take much time to do and they really do help writers. And where better than to spread the word about the usefulness of well thought out reviews than at Goodreads?

Screenshot 2023-04-22 at 17-40-22 What I Like about Reviews

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

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ODD COMBINATIONS AND FLASH FICTION TERMS

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Again, a mixed bag for you!

Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

My latest CFT post combines two things in a review, which I never anticipated I would ever combine – the Famous Five and William Shakespeare! Yes, really.

I review Five Go Mad for Shakespeare staged by the MDG Players at the Dovetail Centre in Chandler’s Ford last Thursday. They were ably assisted by the Romsey Players with their “play within a play”, which is another nod to the Bard!

The evening was a mixture of spoofs, well known scenes from Hamlet and Macbeth, and songs. It was good fun and very well put together.

MDG NOTICEBOARD

The MDG Players cast and notice board. Image by Allison Symes

MDG NOTICEBOARD PART 2

All the seats were taken at the show. Image by Allison Symes

Programme Front

The front cover of the programme. Image by Allison Symes.

Programme - What is on offer during the show

A mixed menu of delights in the show are listed here. Image by Allison Symes

THE GAME CARDS FOR WOULD WE LIE TO YOU

The green and red cards were used for a game during the show, Image by Allison Symes.

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Went to see an April Trio of Plays by the Chameleon Theatre Company tonight. Review on CFT next week. This week will be a review of Five Go Mad For Shakespeare put on by the MDG Players last week. So yes, I’ve been out and about and seeing some wonderful plays! I like this. I like it a lot! (Hope it won’t be too long before I get to see some National Theatre Live productions again too).

Let the ideas flow and let journeys encourage that! Image via Pixabay
Books are the keys to knowledge. Image via Pixabay
Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay
Acting is a great form of creativity. Image via Pixabay.
Is the truth welcome in your fictional world? How does your community react to it?. Image via Pixabay.
Connections to what you read and what you write. What are yours? Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – General

One of the problems I face with writing is prioritising! Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today helps as I know I’m posting on Friday so I plan my posts so usually I’m carrying out final checks on Wednesday.

However, it is fitting everything else in that I’d like to do, both for fiction and non-fiction, that is the problem. The one comfort? I know I’m not alone in this. (And things like using Evernote on a phone on a train does help me get a lot more done with time that would otherwise be wasted. Just how much staring out of the window can you do?!!).

The one good thing is I am well ahead on coming up with ideas for stories for what I hope will end up being my third flash fiction collection. I’ve also drafted some of the stories out. (I hope some of them will appear online at some point).

What an upgrade from Shakespeare’s quill! Image via Pixabay
Books invite you into their world. Go! Image via Pixabay.
Great characters = great books. Image via Pixabay.
The wonderful world of writing should include non-fiction, which benefits from creative techniques too. Image via Pixabay.
Well, let’s do so by writing lots of stories! Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

There are times I wish there were better terms for flash fiction writers. We’re flashers for a start! Anyone writing 100-word stories is a drabbler and I have occasionally written at the 50-word mark too (though this has been more for my second collection which is under submission).

Therefore, this makes me a flasher, a drabbler and an occasional dribbler. Doesn’t sound good, does it?😀 Does anyone know who came up with these terms in the first place?!

Clarity is vital. Pixabay image.
Reach for those ideas. Pixabay image.
Editing – the crucial part to getting a story right. Image via Pixabay.
What wonderful worlds we can creat! Image via Pixabay.
The world is shrinking thanks to technology. Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I’ve talked before about one benefit of writing flash fiction being that it shows up your wasted words. This carries over into any other creative writing you do as you learn to look out for these wasted words and they’re the first to be cut out.

However, another huge benefit to writing flash fiction is having to write with absolute clarity. As your word count is limited, you want every word to carry its weight so your readers pick up the meaning you intended.

That clarity can (and I think should) carry over into other writing too. Also, because flash fiction really does have to be character led, it beefs up your ability to create convincing characters! They have to “lead” the story, there simply isn’t the room for an elaborate plot. But the great thing is genre isn’t an issue. I’ve written flash fiction pieces in fantasy, fairytale, crime, horror, and so on.

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Managed to draft another flash fiction piece while waiting to give blood this afternoon. Best thing to come out of the afternoon too given there was trouble with my veins and I had to come home without donating. Ah well… try again. (I cherish the thought if the National Blood Service had trouble with my veins, so would your average vampire! You have got to find the things to use them!).

That aside, I’m pleased with the progress I’m making on this batch of stories and hope to submit some more to Cafelit before long.

Can’t beat a good book or several. Image via Pixabay.
I’m not arguing with this one! Image via Pixabay.
Stories are magical and inspire other stories. Image via Pixabay.
Books should show you other worlds. Image via Pixabay.
Books should keep you gripped and that is down to the characters. Image via Pixabay
What a beautiful home for books. Image via Pixabay

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog – Childhood Books

I sometimes review local theatre productions and a recent one was called Five Go Mad for Shakespeare. Good fun, and I enjoyed the references to Enid Blyton’s adventure series, and to the Bard too.

I used to collect the Famous Five series as the local newsagent stocked them. (Those really were the days… the newsagent’s shop was big compared to the ones I come across now. Its book section was reasonably generous in size).

I loved reading the Five’s adventures and I think those books, plus the fairytale collections I had (and still have!), are the fiction volumes that have had the most affect on me. Of course, the moment I’d got my hands on the latest Five adventure, I had to read it as soon as possible. I don’t remember reading them in one sitting but I know I would’ve been ready for when the next book was due in the newsagent’s!

So what childhood books have had the most impact on you? Have you re-read them since then?

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Fairytales With Bite – Why Children’s Fiction Matters Even When You Do Not Write It

My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week is a review of a show called Five Go Mad for Shakespeare and it was good fun.  I never expected to review something that combined Enid Blyton’s Famous Five with the Bard of Avon but there you go…

This led me on to thinking about the importance of children’s fiction, even for those who do not write it.  My first loves in terms of children’s books were the classic fairytales and the Famous Five series.  I also liked Heidi, Black Beauty, and other classic children’s books.

I think it can be forgotten sometimes that anyone who, like me, writes for adults, “owes” our audience to children’s writers.  Why?  Because most people who read regularly have always read since they were children and all that changes as they become older is their tastes in books!

While I’m sure it does happen, the majority of readers don’t suddenly go into a bookshop and pick out a book to read.  They are going into stores or ordering books online because they already have a love of reading they are developing further.  That love of books nearly always starts in childhood with the classic children’s stories.

A lifelong love of reading usually starts very young. Image via Pixabay.
A children’s library. Image via Pixabay.
Picture books open up the wonderful world of stories to children. Audiences for authors literally grow with age. Image via Pixabay.
The White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Image via Pixabay.
One of my favourite series – Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Image via Pixabay,

This World and Others – What Makes a “Fully Rounded Character”?

You hear the phrase “fully rounded characters” a lot, well I have (!), but what does it actually mean? My take on this is:-

1. You can identify with the character.
2. The character has clear virtues and flaws. (This is usually why you can identify with them!).
3. The character makes mistakes and, usually, learns from them. Often they make the same mistakes more than once before they learn from them, but then so do real people!
4. Their behaviour and attitudes make sense, given the way the writer has portrayed them.
5. You can imagine how this character would live outside of the constraints of the story.
6. They interact with other characters in a way that makes sense, even if the interaction itself isn’t good. (This could be because the character really does not get on well with others or the other characters aren’t great at “people skills”).
7. The character has feelings, tastes in music, food etc so you would feel they “could be” a real person if somehow characters could come to life.
8. The character has emotional depth. Basically this means the reader can see if the character is shallow or is capable of more complex emotions and attitudes. Shallow characters can be appropriate to a story. It’s just their emotional depth isn’t very deep!
9. You can’t imagine the story without them. (Always a good sign).
10. The character has real struggles and difficulties to overcome and finds different ways of overcoming them. (Unless they are a shallow creation, they don’t give up at the first hurdle).

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