Tag: Starting a Story

Festival News, Pockets of Time, and an Online Bookshop

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Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Hope you have had a good few days since the last post. This time, I share a new story video and exciting Festival news for later in the year. The pic below is a big clue!

Screenshot 2021-09-03 at 19-44-05 Authors events


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Had a wonderful swim this afternoon. Was able to have a longer session in the pool as we don’t have to pre-book a session any more. Loved that and it was the perfect sunny day to be in the water for a bit. (I suspect Lady would have liked to have joined me. Unlike my other collies, she isn’t fazed by water, but even if it was allowed… well let’s just say she’d cause chaos swimming up to everyone else in the pool to say hello!).

Am looking forward to sharing Part 1 of a fabulous chat with #MaressaMortimer on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

My train tickets arrived today for the first in-person event the Association of Christian Writers have held for well over a year. This will be in October and I am looking forward to seeing so many friends again. Plus in November, as I mentioned the other day, I’m off to take part in the Brechin/Angus Book Festival so plenty going on. And I strongly suspect there will be a future CFT post about that Festival from yours truly in due course!

What is the most difficult aspect of storywriting? For me, it is getting started which is why I have to have an outline of some sort to give me the kickstart that I need to get going.

Intrigue the reader
Pleased with work done over the weekend. Managed to get a story out for Friday Flash Fiction. The lovely thing with that is it won’t be long before I know whether it’s on site or not! Have also created a new story video which I’ll share over on my book page on FB shortly. Am drafting future blogs and presentation material for events later in the year. Talking of which…

I’m delighted to share the screenshot below. I’m one of the authors taking part in the Brechin/Angus Book Festival in November. More details to come nearer the time. Looking forward to this immensely. It will also be a joy because other author friends of mine are taking part in this and it will be lovely to see them in person too.

On a side note, I am going to get use out of my railcard this year! I renewed it just ahead of the lockdowns last year. Hmm…now that was a waste of time. It won’t be this year!

Screenshot 2021-09-03 at 19-44-05 Authors events

 

The writing journey is not meant to be static


It has been a lovely sunny Sunday here in Hampshire today. Much appreciated by Lady and I.

This week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post is the first part of a splendid interview with indie author, #MaressaMortimer. Maressa and I know each other thanks to the Association of Christian Writers. Maressa is the only person I know who has published a book by accident, yes really! For more details on that and for wonderful insights into life as an indie author, do check out the post later this week. Link will go up on Friday, part 2 on the following Friday.

A good use of small pockets of time is to draft blog posts. When I’m not brainstorming for ideas for stories, titles etc., I will start drafting blogs for a general audience as I know I will get to use these later on. I can then choose which market I will use them for. So never despair at having only ten minutes to write on any one day, you can still write valuable things in that time.

I’ve drafted the opening paragraphs to future blog posts, a complete flash story etc in pockets of time like that. And by having just the opening paragraphs of a blog there already, when I do have more time to get back to it, I find I “hit the ground running” with the rest of the text for that blog. Having something there to start me off encourages further creativity I find. I guess it is because it is not an entirely cold start and I have found it is worth doing.

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Hope you have had a good Saturday. Mine has ranged from going to an ACW Committee Meeting via Zoom to walking the dog to mowing the lawn and now to writing. A right old mix!

Music can trigger memories of stories. I think of that as I enjoyed listening to the Classic FM TV theme countdown on Bank Holiday Monday and many favourite memories came back – Poirot, Morse, Thunderbirds, Eye Level (Van de Valk theme), Black Beauty, Jonathan Creek (which uses Danse Macabre appropriately as its theme) – all thanks to the themes used for the shows.

Thinking of your characters, could you name their favourite TV theme? Why would they choose it? What does that choice say about them? For many of my quirky characters, quirky music such as Danse Macabre and Gershwin’s Walking the Dog would suit very well. Mind you, I think they suit me quite well too! Oh and Lady loves Walking the Dog too… can’t imagine why.

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

As well as writing flash, I love reading it – and if you want a place to check out various collections, may I recommend you pop over to the Bridgetown Cafe Bookshop.

The Chapeltown Books collections stand out thanks to being square with distinctive pictures in the middle of their “cover frame”. You will also find the short story anthologies on here too – and there are a range of options for buying too. It doesn’t just have to be through You Know Who.


Screenshot 2021-09-07 at 21-05-25 The Bridgetown Café Bookshop

Story time once again (and always a nice way to start a week I think). Hope you enjoy Wordsearch.


I’ve sometimes used objects in my opening line to a flash piece. It flags up immediately to the reader this object is important and it is often a case then of finding out why that object is important. I use boots being missing as an opening hook in my Shoplifting from From Light to Dark and Back Again. For Getting It Right I used a shiny red apple which should be an immediate flag to any lover of fairytales!

And there is such a thing as a random object generator if you need somewhere to start. The one that came up on my search engine allowed you to choose how many objects to generate so you could use all you choose or just pick the one or two you like best.

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Am looking forward to drafting more flash stories tomorrow (I often use Sundays for this) ready for submission to Friday Flash Fiction and for use on my YouTube channel in due course. All great fun to do. And if you want to check out my YouTube videos, you can do so here. More subscribers always welcome.

The nice thing about preparing the story videos is I have to think about what would work well visually. Sometimes I can’t find an appropriate video for the story I want to share so I think laterally around my character and/or setting and/or theme and I can usually find something that way.

Goodreads Author Blog – How To Books

Do you like how to books? I love the creative writing ones and have found them useful. My overall favourite is On Writing by Stephen King though I also love How Not to Write A Novel which is funny as well.

What I’m looking for in books like these is information written in a down to earth style. I don’t want jargon or complicated theories. A “kind of” how to book is The Seven Basic Plots which is a huge book but you learn so much from the way the author outlines these plots and you can see for yourself how so many films and books have used these time and again. (With good cause – a great story on a theme which is timeless is always going to work).

I’ve also found things like Scrivener for Dummies useful. A good how to book always has a decent cross-referenced index. I appreciate the art of the indexer far more now. I have read a few non-fiction books without such a thing and you do feel the lack. And every writer needs a source of advice and practical tips to help them along their writing way. I know I’ve appreciated the useful tips and hints I’ve picked up by reading a good quality how to book.

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STORIES – AND A WRITER’S THREE WISHES

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My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week will be Part 2 of my interview with crime writer, Val Penny. She discusses how much research she does and why networking is invaluable for all writers, amongst other topics. Will put the link up on Friday.

I was thinking, for my new Goodreads blog post, which went up earlier this evening, about why I love short stories and flash fiction so much. I think it may be because I’m impatient! With a novel, you have to wait for the tension to build and build… With a short story (and even more so for flash fiction), you get the impact nigh on immediately. That probably says a fair bit about me!

Let creativity spill out - image via Pixabay

Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay

Hunter's Chase book cover

Val’s latest crime novel. Image supplied by Val Penny.

The fantastic world of books must include non-fiction too - image via Pixabay

The wonderful world of writing should include non-fiction, which benefits from creative techniques too. Image via Pixabay.

Feature Image - Facts and Fiction - image via Pixabay

What writing triggers will help you create your new worlds? Image via Pixabay

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What do you find most difficult to do – start a story or finish it?

For me, it’s finding the right starting point. Once I’ve got that, I’m up and running, I know I will generally end a story on a “punch” ending (and often a twist in the tale at that). As the story progresses I can sense myself getting to that bit, so finishing a tale is usually okay. I’m the same with blog posts. Get me started and I’m away!

I try to start anything I write with a “hit the ground running” approach. I often will go straight into the main character’s head so “they” can show a potential reader what state/mood they’re in, what crisis they’re facing etc. I find that really useful.

Other opening lines can include a brief indication as to the setting, but I keep that as short as I can. Later, if I need to go back and fill in more details, I do but I am wary of too much description. In flash fiction, there’s no room for it anyway!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I created a poll a few days ago about whether an intriguing start or a twist ending was the best for a story. Please do vote if you haven’t already. I’ll discuss results in a few days’ time.

Have submitted my follow-up book to From Light and Dark and Back Again. Really glad to have that done. Would like to focus on my third book and getting more stories out there. Would like to do something with my non-fiction articles too at some point. Always good to have plenty to be getting on with!

Only wish? As ever, that I had more time. Now, this is where I could do with arranging for one of my fairy godmothers to become real and grant all writers three wishes. What would those wishes be?

1. Whatever time you need to write with NO interruptions or disruptions.

2. You will never suffer a dodgy internet connection again.

3. You will also be given as much time as you want to read whenever you want again with NO interruptions or disruptions.

Sounds good to me!

The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay
Jotting down ideas for future stories is always a good idea. Image via Pixabay
From Light to Dark and Back Again. Image by Allison Symes
Writing to screen. Am using smartphone more for this.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

What do you think is the most important part of a story, whether it is standard length or flash fiction?

I’ll leave this poll up for a few days and report back later in the week. I’ll give my view as part of that.

An intriguing start
A twist ending
This poll ends in 2 days

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog

Short Stories Pack a Punch
I’ve loved short stories for years. Flash fiction has been a fairly recent innovation and I quickly became addicted to both reading and writing it.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be published for the first time last year with Chapeltown Books for a flash fiction collection (From Light to Dark and Back Again).

Now I have nothing against the novel. You can’t beat the novel for a satisfying, longer story when all is said and done.

But sometimes you just want a glimpse into a character’s life (rather than have the whole “spiel”) and this is where short stories, and especially flash fiction, come into their own.

They really do pack a punch when you consider their limited word count. (Even the longer short story is still short when compared to your average novel).

I love to write my stories knowing they will have an impact, whether it is to hopefully make readers laugh or, if the tales are darker, to make them shudder!

The big problem with a novel is keeping impact going without it seeming artificial and ensuring the final impact happens at the right moment. It is possible to write a final scene for a book and then decide you’ve just got to add this, or that, and thaen the final impact is diluted.

You can’t really do that with short stories (and you certainly can’t for flash). You have the big, final moment and that’s it. But to me that is a huge advantage as a writer. I know when to stop then!

The images below were taken at the Bridge House celebration event last December.  We all know the value of stories!

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