Tag: Short Form Writing

Stories In Other Forms/Top Ten Tips For Researching

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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. Mixed bag here given the weather got in the way of getting certain tasks done but hey it is February (and it isn’t January!). Lady doing well. Writing going well too and the new look Writers’ Narrative is about too. Do check it out.

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Hope today has gone well. Busy one here though it was good to get into the swimming pool today.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing my review of Camelot The Pantomime which was recently staged by my excellent local amateur theatre company, The Chameleons. It’s always a joy to go to these things and a great pleasure to write them up afterwards.

Am about to be a co-judge on a flash fiction competition for a writing group. Looking forward to reading the stories and yes judging stories can often be enlightening as to where you’ve come on your own writing journey. It can also encourage you to “up your own game” when you read high quality entries.

My first post on Writers’ Narrative is now up on Substack. I share Top Ten Tips for Researching and hope it proves useful. Remember it is free to sign up to Writers’ Narrative so do check it out. 

Hasn’t been a great Monday for me (though Lady did have a lovely time with her Hungarian Vizler pal) but what has cheered me up has been the new look Writers’ Narrative is now out. Do check it out. My articles on here will be appearing soon.

And in other news, Editor’s Choice: Friday Flash Fiction Favourites is now out on Amazon. I have a few stories in there. Looking forward to my copy arriving later this week as it will be a lovely final hurrah for what was a fabulous website.

Hope your weekend has gone well. Weather has been a mixed bag though at least it is less rainy and stormy than earlier this week!

Glad to say my author newsletter went out earlier today and the new look Writers’ Narrative is out too. Be sure to subscribe. My first posts now it is on Substack will appear later this week. One huge advantage to the platform move is it is going to make it easier for you to look up topics by title that the magazine has covered. I can imagine that being a blessing to many.

Writing Tip: When thinking of topics of your own to write about (for fiction or non-fiction), play a quick game of Word Association first and list all the words you can think of connected to your topic/theme. As you write more words down, you will find more possible connections and ideas for your piece.

31st January 2026

Well, we’ve got there. Finally it is the last day of January! Naturally February will go by in a flash as it always does. January has been a funny old month with more downs than ups this time, unfortunately. I do hope things have been better for you. On the plus side, the writing is going well and, especially when times are not as good as I’d like, I do find writing to be wonderfully therapeutic.

Writing wise, I’ll be reviewing Camelot The Pantomime which was recently staged by our excellent local amateur company, The Chameleons. That post will be live on Chandler’s Ford Today from Friday next week. It is always a pleasure to go to their shows and a joy to write the reviews.

My author newsletter will be out again tomorrow, 1st February. Writing a monthly newsletter is a literally timely reminder of how quickly the year goes by. I do sometimes use the seasons as good topics to write pieces about for the newsletter. There are calendars of events on this day out there which can also be inspirational both in terms of the event itself giving you something to write about, but those things can also suggest wider themes to write about too. Well worth checking out (and just as useful for fiction as non-fiction). For example, if a topic is about a historical event, you could just as well write a story about it as write an article.

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Flash is a wonderful vehicle for exploring ideas. Occasionally, what I think will make a great flash tale proves to need a longer word count and I find myself with a longer short story instead. That’s fine. I can find a different market for that.

But when you have a story where you want the maximum impact for the minimum amount of words, flash fiction is the way to go.

It’s Monday. It’s not been a great one for me this time. So I too definitely feel in need of a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Staying At Home.

When can a deliberately missed opportunity be the best thing of all? And does the dog agree? Find out here.

 

From the longest month ever to the shortest one but it lovely to be in February at last. I get to spot more signs of spring for one thing.

When you think of this month, certain topics spring automatically to mind as possibles to write about. Nothing wrong with the love theme but think about what you will bring to it which will make your characters and story stand out.

I know I have to care about the characters in some way for their stories to have any chance of succeeding with me and that goes for long, as well as short, form work.

Talking of short form work, it’s time I got on with Flash Fiction Sunday Afternoon!

January cannot be said to be a “flash” month given it doesn’t go quickly! Still, we’re almost there now. By the time I post this, there’ll only be a few hours to go!

My author newsletter is out again tomorrow and, amongst other things, I share an exclusive 100 word story in it. I hope to find another home for further 100 word stories in due course. The Friday Flash Fiction Editor’s Choice book is due out in February. Now out. See above. I have stories in there and will share the link once I’ve got it. Am looking forward to getting this myself. I do know from the quality of the stories on FFF the book will be an excellent representation of that.

I am still keeping Sundays as flash fiction afternoon because I still need to write plenty of material for other collections and competitions, of course. It’s also a great way to wind up the week/begin the next one (either works!) as far as I’m concerned.

Goodreads Author Blog – Stories in Other Forms

I like taking in stories in various forms – books (paperback, hardbook, ebook and audio). I listen to some (audio books and radio plays etc). I sometimes get to watch them. I include the film adaptations here including Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of The Rings.

But I also get to watch plays staged by my local and excellent amateur theatre company. I’ve just seen their most recent production, the wonderful Camelot The Pantomime, which was such fun. The joy with pantomimes is they are usually based on the classic fairytales and/or British legends so you’re reminded of those stories too.

But my local theatre company have also staged plays such as All My Sons by Arthur Miller and the stage version of Blackadder amongst many, many others. The range does go from funny to tragic and I have loved all of them. These plays have brought stories to me in a different way. Many of them I would not have taken in via any other medium. Some, such as Blackadder, I’ve seen via TV and audio. I did wonder how that would work on the stage but it was wonderfully done (and yes it included the iconic last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth).

So if you want to try stories in a different way, why not check out your local amateur theatre company? When their production is based on a book, you can then read that too after having seen it acted out for you.

MailerLite – Allison Symes – Newsletter Sign Up

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

See above links for February 2026 Writers’ Narrative. With Substack, the articles will appear every few days. But you can easily search for articles you’ve missed and so on.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Marketing On The Move and A Commendation

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of Lady posing on our last holiday.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Have been on the tail end of Storm Kathleen here. Writing wise, I’m looking forward to sharing Part 2 of a fabulous interview with actress/writer, Sophie Neville, on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Be sure not to miss. It is an inspiring interview with someone who is so immersed in the creative life it is an encouragement to all.
In other news, Lady had some fun spotting some pals at a local fun dog show over the weekend, one of whom came second in their category. If ever there was a category “dog who is the best at being daft”, Lady would be a shoe-in for that, or should that be a paw in?

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Lady had a great start to her Tuesday by playing with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals.

Did get my story sent off to Friday Flash Fiction yesterday – they opened up to submissions again yesterday evening. Sent in a 100 worder. Good to get back to those again.

Managed to do some marketing “on the move” today. I was giving blood and part of the process is to confirm who you are, address etc. Usually you’re asked what you do too. Gets a nice chat going before you donate. So I mentioned I’m a writer, with two flash collections out and another in the pipeline, to which the NHS Blood lady made a note of my name and said she’d look me up online. Marketing doesn’t have to be scary! Some of the best marketing can come from conversations.

Has been a nice day today with lovely comments in on my recent interview with Sophie Neville on Chandler’s Ford Today. See screenshot and Part 2 of a fabulous conversation will be up on site on Friday.

Screenshot 2024-04-09 at 10-12-58 Association of Christian Writers (Group) ACW's Allison Symes asked such great questions that this author interview brought out more than any other - ever Facebook

Chandler's Ford Today post reminder picture(1)Hope you have had a good start to your week. Not bad here but blustery again as I write this.

Am busy preparing blog posts and articles at the moment. Have a story I want to submit to Friday Flash Fiction when they reopen to submissions so hope to do that later this week but ahead of Friday of course!

Looking forward to taking part in a history group Zoom session this evening. I do write some historical flash but have always loved the subject of history since school days long before I took up creative writing.

Finding out what happens is a key component to writing in itself. It is what draws the readers in. It comes into history (and science) but I love things which shed light on the past. Sometimes a spark of inspiration for a story can come from that. I’ve found that to be the case for my historical flashes.

I totally understand the point of historical fiction though I only dabble in it myself. And I want the historical non-fiction I read to be gripping, entertaining, as well as informative. History should never be boring. It wasn’t for real for those going through it. It shouldn’t be in book form either!

Do I hope to write more historical pieces? Yes. As with my other flash work, I focus on the character and look at what I could say through them in my tale. I hope my portrayal of them shows a side to them which encourages empathy. Understanding what motivates people, real of fictional, is a powerful and good thing when it encourages that empathy (and a deeper appreciation for what we do have now).

BB - Flash with a Dash for TTFFHope you have had a good weekend. Blustery but dry here. Think we’re getting the tail end of Storm Kathleen.

Looking forward to sharing Part 2 of a fabulous interview with Sophie Neville (of Swallows and Amazons fame, though she has done and continues to do so much in the creative spheres), for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Do look out for that.

A huge thank you for the congratulations coming in on my story Doing Right being Commended in the Friday Flash Fiction competition. Nice way to end the week.

Writing Tip: You’ve got to your desk, eager to write. Nothing comes to you. Don’t panic. Free write literally anything for a few minutes and/or brain storm title ideas, opening line/closing line ideas etc.

I’ve found that once I’ve started writing something other ideas, better ideas, come to me, but you do just need something to start with. The idea of just writing anything, no matter how rubbish it may seem to you, is just to warm your creative “muscles” up so those other better ideas come through. You’ve nothing to lose by trying this either.

Another good tip here is to go back through your notebooks etc where you have previously jotted down ideas. Now is the time you might put one or two these to use. The idea here is you have already jotted this idea down, now flesh it out and see what you can do with it. Again, it is to get you started on something.

Good luck and happy drafting.

433964776_10161819122772053_2492553790739286847_nLovely surprise today (6th April 2024). Discovered my 100 word story, Doing Right, was commended in the Andrew Siderius competition recently held by Friday Flash Fiction. Many thanks to Dawn Knox for flagging that, congratulations to her too, and well done to the winners and all who where shortlisted as I mentioned yesterday over on my Facebook book page.

First time I have had a commendation here. Feeling chuffed!

Link to story here. All pet owners will get this one.

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 14-13-48 Doing Right by Allison Symes

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Busy day today so am later posting than normal but good to be back at the desk and writing. Need to give some thought to the Bridport Prize soon. (Closing date is end of May). Do have a story ready I feel would be suitable so I will try and take a look at that again this weekend. I will want to submit anything by early to mid May at the latest.

I don’t believe in leaving it to the last minute for one excellent reason. You’re more likely to make mistakes in your entry if you do.

Second reason – technology can go wrong so if there is an internet “blip” you want it to “not matter”. You will want to be able to try later or next day once things are fixed. If you have something like that right at the last minute to submit your story, there’s no time to have another go at submitting the same. I do believe in a safety net here.

436968787_10161823048807053_1350110096695660263_nIt’s Monday. It’s time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube, which has an apt title for Mondays – One of Those Days. Hope you enjoy it.

 

If you have a flash fiction story which revolves around a secret, do play fair with your readers and ensure the secret is revealed by the end of the tale. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a “big reveal”.

In my The Past – Ready or Not? (Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I reveal my character’s secret in three words towards the end of the story (which is a sub 150 worder).

I see this as akin to Chekov’s Gun rule in that if you have a gun in the story, at some point it must go off. If you have set up any kind of expectation in your tale, you do need to follow through on it. But that follow through is huge fun to write and can create some tremendous closing lines.

Have fun with this, I do!

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I enjoyed writing The Writers’ Wish List for the recently published Spring 2024 edition of Christian Writer, the journal of the Association of Christian Writers (and only available to paid up members of ACW).

One element I applied directly to flash fiction and short story writers is that, every now and again, I will come across someone who is “stuffy” about the shorter forms of fiction. Naturally my wish was people wouldn’t be like that!

I have never understood this attitude. Yes, novels are difficult to write and obviously take far more time but the short forms still need drafting, editing, crafting, and a lot of time and care still goes into doing that. Also, why restrict what you read and/or write? I love reading novels and short stories/flash fiction. Plenty of room in the world for both forms!

When I’m reading I will deliberately read a novel or work of non-fiction, then a short story or flash collection, then back to a longer form of writing again. Why restrict yourself?!

When I’m writing, my main work is in the short form but I do have longer projects on the go. Why restrict yourself here either? Yes, you will over time find what is your natural “home” but it doesn’t mean you can’t give something else a try writing wise. I find it’s fun.

Sometimes, just sometimes, a short story or flash fiction piece will pack a powerful emotional punch in ways the longer forms wouldn’t do because everything that needs to be said is said in, say, 500 words.

The great novels show you a whole world and you need the time and space to show that. That’s something the short forms can’t do.

But this is why we need all of the writing forms!

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Goodreads Author Blog – What Reading Teaches You

As a writer, I’ve learned so much from what I’ve read over the years. You take in how stories work by reading loads of them.

I picked up on the Rule of Three from reading the classic fairytales, for example. I came to realise something would happen, then happen again, but on the third time there would be a different outcome.

You also get to see how stories are laid out (paragraphs, dialogue, how scene breaks work etc) just by reading how others have done this before you.

I’ve long thought writers effectively have two great joys here – their own writing and reading. The love of reading triggers the desire to write. It is also why it pays writers to read widely – classic and contemporary, fiction and non-fiction.

Ideas for your own stories are often triggered by something else you’ve read so it pays to have an “imagination pool” to fish from which is as wide and deep as possible. Reading widely, and in varied forms, does that for you.

I’ve found the Kindle has encouraged further reading in that I use it to try out books by authors new to me. I will take a “punt” on a £2.99 ebook. If I like the author’s work, I often go on to buy further paperbacks from them later. But this is all because the Kindle makes it easy to read even more works. I like that. I make a point of reading both ebooks and paperbacks in my main reading session. Love them all.

Books are wonderful things.

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 16-52-23 What Reading Teaches You

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