Tag: Swanwick Writers Summer School

View from near where I was staying in Scotland. You wouldn't want to rush away from this. Image by Allison Symes

WHAT I’VE LEARNED SO FAR AS A WRITER

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Facebook – General

Back to the A-Z of characters and I’m at L.

L = Love. Okay there’s the obvious romantic leads, and as long as they’re interesting characters, fine, but I love (aptly!) those characters who show love beyond that. For example, the love of someone caring for a parent or spouse with dementia etc. That kind of love, for me, is deeper and more meaningful. The stresses and tensions in that kind of character should make for a great story.

M = Mentors. Do you have any in your stories? If so, do they accept being a mentor or has that, like greatness, been thrust upon them? How do they manage?

N = Nobility. Again, as with love, you can have the obvious and direct noble characters. I prefer characters like Sam Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings who are truly noble (and brave with it) in character. Are your characters truly noble like that? What brought this about?

All ideas worth exploring as you develop your characters.

 

Fiction can take you anywhere. Image via Pixabay.
Love your books! Image via Pexels
Let the words flow! Image via Pixabay.
Love a good journal! Image via Pexels
I’m not arguing with this one! Image via Pixabay.
Some of the strongest ideas have a simple theme. See A Christmas Carol as a classic example. Image via Pixabay.

If there is anything I have learned as a writer, it is to be open to (a) opportunities and (b) not to be afraid to try something different. That was how I discovered the joys of flash fiction after all. It is also how I got into blogging.

I’m currently preparing a post about Why I Blog for Chandler’s Ford Today with contributions from many writer friends. Blogging is really the modern equivalent of journal keeping – at least that is how I see it – but it is fun to do and I find it useful as a way into writing before I get on to further fiction work.

The wonderful world of writing should include non-fiction, which benefits from creative techniques too. Image via Pixabay.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com
Trusted notebook! Image via Pixabay
Some very strange creatures are in books. Image via Pixabay
Online writing -v- on a line writing! Image via Pixabay
Let those ideas flow! Image via Pixabay,
Books invite you into their world. Image via Pixabay.

Looking forward to the Hursley Park Book Fair at the weekend. Am giving a talk on flash fiction at 10.55. Am nervous and excited about it all at the same time but I guess a lot of writers feel that way!

I will be posting a shorter reminder post on Friday night on CFT about it but it is a pleasure to (a) share news about a book event, especially one I’m taking part in and (b) share news about an event which is FREE and has FREE PARKING! How often can you say that these days?

One great thing is there are lots of authors taking part across a wide range of genres so there is bound to be something to suit you. Come along and see! We’d all be pleased to see you.

Reasons to go?

 

1. Wide range of books to choose from.
2. Plenty of author talks.
3. There’s a book quiz (who doesn’t like a good quiz?).
4. The event is free and has free parking.
5. There are competitions aimed at adults and children.
6. There are also workshops.
7. You can meet the authors.
8. There will be readings.
9. There is a restaurant and bar on site.
10. Plenty of opportunities to discover writers new to you.

(Oh and if you do want to escape a certain sporting event, that’s point 11!).

The wonderful world of stories. Image via Pixabay
Notebook to hand ready for those story ideas. Image via Pexels.
My stand at the Winchester discovery Centre event. Image by Allison Symes
Hursley Park Book Fair flyer. Image kindly supplied by Glenn Salter.
I read three stories from From Light to Dark and Back Again. Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox for the picture!
Can’t beat a good book or several. Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Really looking forward to Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in August. Always learn a lot and come away inspired and reinvigorated. I find by the late summer, I need inspiring and reinvigorating!

Wrote several new flash fiction stories while travelling to and from Scotland last week. I really do bless Evernote and my smartphone. One lovely thing about being a writer is boredom is a thing of the past. There is always something to write – whether it is flash fiction, ideas for future blog and CFT posts etc. Know it will come in handy later.

Am planning to write a lot while travelling to Swanwick too! (Images below by Allison Symes). The tent image is from a Medieval Weekend I went to and is the scrivener’s tent. They used to have some of the best accommodation, something I’ll bear in mind the next time I check in anywhere!

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I like to experiment a little with flash fiction. I have written some in poem format and, in the book I’m currently putting together, have written a few stories, told from the viewpoints of members of the same family. This is a first for me but it has proved great fun to do.

Given flash fiction really does have to be character led as there’s not much room for world building, the more interesting the character, the better the story.

Am putting finishing touches to my talk on flash fiction which I will be giving at the weekend at the Hursley Park Book Fair. I’m “on” at 10.55 am on Saturday 23rd June. I prepared a draft a while ago, but as with my fiction writing, I like to come back and look at my text with fresh eyes. There is always something to pick up and tweak so it comes across better etc. You really do need a gap between first preparing something and then editing it.

The delights of the open page. Pexels image.
Back cover of FLTDBA. Image by Allison Symes
The writers’ basic kit. Image via Pixabay
Writing is rewriting. Image via Pixabay.
Chapeltown Books have a distinctive central image in a frame such as with mine. Image by Allison Symes

A sign of a good story, from the writer’s viewpoint, is when you can’t wait to write it. You get this with flash fiction too, but of course you don’t have so long to wait until you get to “the end”! 😁

Here, the trick is to look forward to writing the next one, the one after that, and so on. Manage that and you know you are on to something!

books tunnel school endless

The ultimate book tunnel? Image via Pexels

read under a tree signage hanging on branch tree

Unless in a thunder storm or high winds, this is a good idea! Image via Pexels

woman wearing grey spaghetti strap top

See! It is a good idea, weather permitting! Image via Pexels

brown clay pot on black and blue laptop

A nice clear desk (not mine!). Image via Pexels

Let creativity spill out - image via Pixabay

Let the creative process flow! Image via Pixabay

Writing directly to screen

What are the changes your characters seek to make? Are you showing your characters doing this rather than telling us? Image via Pixabay.

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog – The Joy of Paperbacks

I’ve not long got back from a wonderful break in the Far North of Scotland and I caught up with a lot of reading on my Kindle during this.

However, I also treated myself to three new paperbacks just before my break and I’m really enjoying those too, having deliberated “saved” them to start reading during my break. Why choose over an ebook or a “real” book? Be greedy, have both!

Am currently reading Peter Ackroyd’s Biography of London (fascinating way of showing a history of a city), Neil Gaiman’s View from the Cheap Seats (a collection of his non-fiction articles), and Ben Macintyres’ Double Cross. Good sized tomes all of them and a lovely read. Hope to review at a later date.

I like a good mix of things to read and am developing a real taste for well written non-fiction. Books can take you into other worlds. Sometimes the world they show you is this one but from an angle you’ve not considered before. For me, this is an acid test of a good read. A good read will enlighten you.

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KNOWING WHAT I DO NOW…

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Are there things connected with writing that you are glad you know now? This is definitely the case for me and my list would be:-

1. When offered a contract, get it checked out by the Society of Authors. I did and it stopped me entering into something that would’ve been a vanity publishing contract. I’ve never regretted not going for that (though at the time I wasn’t published elsewhere nor was there anything in the pipeline). Talking of which:-

2. Don’t be afraid to turn things down. You have got to be happy with what you are doing writing wise. And, as with so much in life, if it seems too good to be true, it is. There’s no shame in walking away from such a thing.

3. You really do need to edit on paper and not on screen. You WILL miss typos, grammatical errors etc on screen. I’m sure there must be a logical reason to this, probably based on how the brain interprets things on screen as opposed to paper. All I know for sure is when I edit on paper, I pick up far more that needs correcting (and so save myself a great deal of embarrassment in NOT submitting something with errors because I’ve not seen the wretched things and dealt with them!). It IS worth taking the time here.

What would you list here?

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Facebook – General

New story from me coming up on Cafelit on Tuesday (5th June), will share the link then. If you like dragons, it will be for you!

Am sorry to be missing the Winchester Writers’ Festival this year. Hope all who go have a wonderful time. Likewise all going to the Waterloo Arts Festival and to all of the winning authors who will be reading their stories out here, have a great time and good luck!

Am looking forward to the Hursley Park Book Fair later in June and Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in August. Much later in the year will be the annual Bridge House Publishing/Cafelit/Chapeltown Books get-together in London.

Immediate writing plans are to get more stories out to Cafelit and press on with my third flash fiction book (though I am happy with how that is going). I would like to write more non-fiction and a long term goal is to do something more with that.

Am also pleased to say a new mini-series will be coming up on Chandler’s Ford Today shortly which is about art by Graham MacLean. I was the series editor on it and it was lovely to work on. Some wonderful pictures by Graham illustrate the three part series. These will be appearing on 7th, 14th and 21st June.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Does the mood of your characters match your mood as you’re writing their stories?

Definitely not in my case and this is just as well given a lot of my flash fiction has themes of murder, revenge, poetic justice and so on! When I’m not writing on those topics, I often write about magical beings you would not want to meet, yet alone cross, or I’m writing about poignant situations.

So is all human life then in From Light to Dark and Back Again? Quite a bit of it is, yes – and a fair amount of non-human life too!

Fiction can take you anywhere. Image via Pixabay.
Reading is wonderful. Image via Pexels.
Pressing on towards the light. Image via Pixabay
The dark can seem to overcome the light but light will prevail. Image via Pixabay
What worlds could there be out here? Image via Pixabay
What lies beyond the shore…. ideas for stories? Image via Pixabay
Hard at work. Pexels image.
Where will your characters take you? 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.
Use what you know of our world and your imagination to create something really special. Image via Pixabay
Time to have another home perhaps? Good stories to be had here! Image via Pixabay
What writing triggers will help you create your new worlds? Image via Pixabay
There can be reality behind fairytales. Image via Pixabay (and image used as part of book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again)
Flash fiction, by its nature, has to take one look at a situation to be a story but you can get quite a bit into that “one look”. Image via Pixabay.
Let the writing flow and if music can help it along even better! Image via Pixabay
Fairies are definitely not twee and you do not want to come across one that has had a bad day due to Murphy’s Law affecting her. She will take it out on someone. Image via Pixabay.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

One of the most difficult things about writing flash is ensuring that it is a “proper” story and not just a piece of prose cut abruptly short. The need for a beginning, middle and end applies to whatever length of fiction you’re writing, though I suppose it is more obvious for things like novels and short stories.

This is where twist endings help a lot as you can’t go beyond that without spoiling the effect. I’ve occasionally written a flash piece as a letter (Punish the Innocent is a good example of this) and the great thing with that as a device it it has GOT to end with the sign-off (or possibly a PS at most!).

I think of the middle of the story as the “pivot point”. It is where the problem in the tale has been set out, it has got to be resolved, and your reader can see that being done in at least two different ways. (You’ve got to keep them guessing!).

The way to the magical realm perhaps? Image via Pixabay
May require help turning the pages. Pexels image.
I loved the long, light evenings in the Far North of Scotland. Image by me.
Well, what is it then? Image via Pixabay.
I write fairytales with bite. Image via Pixabay
The virtual library. These days ebooks and emagazines are available at libraries. Chandler’s Ford library are running surgeries about them. Image via Pixabay.
One of my favourite book images. They really are magical. Transportation into other worlds and around this one in a few hundred pages. Brilliant! Image via Pixabay.
Have notebook. Will jot down ideas for how to drop my characters right in it and work out how they get out of it again. Image via Pixabay.
The classic beginning for all stories… Image via Pixabay
Is a fairytale world really magical to live in for those who find it hard to keep their chin up and fit in with the rest? Image via Pixabay
Helping out especially if there’s a change of direction to navigate. Image via Pixabay.
This statue reminds me of myself when I was a lot younger. Okay I wasn’t made of stone (I’m still not!) but I did always have my head in a book. (And do so as often as I can now!). Image via Pixabay.
A good reading pile! Pexels image.

Goodreads Author Programme – Blog – Holiday Reading

I’ve recently picked up three lovely paperbacks which will be part of my holiday reading. Many thanks to generous friends and family for the book shop gift cards. I’ve finally had a chance to go and use them on:-

1. Double Cross by Ben McIntyre
2. London by Peter Ackroyd
3. View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

I love history of all sorts (and am intrigued by the idea of having a biography of a city!). The Neil Gaiman book is a collection of his non-fiction pieces and I’m really looking forward to reading that.

As ever, my trusty Kindle will also be with me on my holidays this year. I love both ebooks and paperbacks and switching between the two formats is another joy to reading as far as I’m concerned.

Now all I need to do is catch up on my reviewing!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Hopefully the Book Fair will encourage even more reading! Image via Pexels
The ultimate book tunnel? Image via Pexels
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com
Unless in a thunder storm or high winds, this is a good idea! Image via Pexels
See! It is a good idea, weather permitting! Image via Pexels
Trusted notebook! Image via Pixabay

 

 

 

 

ONE LINERS

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How can you tell when you’ve written a good one-liner for a character?

When you can’t imagine anyone other than that character saying it, when the words reflect something of that character’s state of mind/beliefs, when you know deep down the character could keep on talking like this for ages (not that you’ll need all of this for your story).

I love writing dialogue for my “people”. My problem is I can make them go on and on because I’m loving the writing of the dialogue so much. So when it comes to editing, anything that doesn’t move the story on in some way gets chopped.

I’ve still enjoyed writing the dialogue but am realistic enough to know it isn’t really needed for the story so out it goes. This is one reason why I believe writing and editing should be treated as separate tasks. When in creative mood, so to speak, are you going to be able to see the wood for the trees when it comes to working out what is really needed and what isn’t? In my case, the answer to that is “no” so I come back to my stories, after a suitable gap, so I look at them afresh and not in the “hot glow” of creativity.

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Facebook – General

My Chandler’s Ford Today post this week will be a review of the Fryern Funtasia held on Bank Holiday Monday. All the fun of the show and it was great to catch up with some old friends too. Link to go up tomorrow.

Am off on another train journey this weekend so am planning to get on with more flash fiction stories. I am averaging 3 to 4 a trip now, depending on whether I draft some thoughts for future CFT posts as well. (I often do both). Better half reminds me every so often I was the one who couldn’t see a need for a smartphone!! Oh well… (glad to be wrong on that one incidentally).

And now I’ve figured out how to use the headphones (!), I can tune into the radio too. Before you ask, I discovered I wasn’t plugging the things in properly. She SHALL have music (classical) wherever she goes (unless it is through a tunnel!).

Part of the fun of the show. Image by Allison Symes
Having fun on the seesaw. Image by Allison Symes
Practically everyone stopped off at the refreshment tent at some point. Image by Allison Symes
Fryern Funtasia sign. Image by Allison Symes
Part of the dog agility course. Image by Allison Symes

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Looking forward to taking part in writing events in the next few months. More details nearer the time of each one.

Am glad to say a copy of From Light to Dark and Back Again will be a prize in the raffle which will be part of fellow Swanwicker Elizabeth Hopkinson’s e-book launch for her Tiny Tales Virtual Launch on 13th July. More details to come nearer the time. And good luck, Elizabeth, with the launch. I loved my cyber launch, it was great fun!

I started my working life on a manual typewriter. Pexels image.
I now use a laptop. Pexels image.
I often jot notes with pen and paper. Pexels image.
Wonderful calligraphy here. Pexels image.
Love that clock. Pexels image.
Beautiful pens. Pexels image.
What stories will come from this pen? Pexels image.
Smartphones can be an asset to writing. Pexels image.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am glad to see that the Quick Reads scheme is being saved by JoJo Moyes for the next couple of years. Reading schemes are never a waste of money (how is literacy ever a bad thing?), so whoever thought scrapping this was a good idea needs their head examining.

It is one fond hope of mine that flash fiction as a whole might encourage those who might be reluctant to read bigger works. We’re not asking readers to commit to too much in one go for a start and, from my experience, once you’ve found a book you like, you look for others you’ll like too. I started off reading short stories, I progressed to longer stories and then novels of course. It is getting that initial spark, the wish to read at all, that is so important.

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A good reading pile! Pexels image.

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Doesn’t look comfortable to me. Pexels image.

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May require help turning the pages. Pexels image.

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Great topic but then I am a dog owner! Pexels image.

Allison Symes’s books on Goodreads

HAVING FUN WITH YOUR CHARACTERS AND KEEPING IT LOCAL!

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Nice combination of titles for tonight’s posts I think!

Image Credit:  Images are either from Pixabay or, where NOT stated, taken by me.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Tonight’s Chandler’s Ford Today post looks at local communities and writers and how they can help each other. I also look at the benefits to both of this and discuss sponsorship, how local events (often sponsored) can raise awareness of the writing community’s existence and encourage spending in the local area (and not just on books!).

I use Chandler’s Ford as the “model” and take the opportunity to thank a wide range of people who have been very supportive of our writing community. By community, I do mean everyone from local businesses to our fantastic Grade 2 listed library to the Age Concern Centre to the Post Office! So there’s a good old mix in there!

(I also manage to have a quick moan about Nat West closing our local branch as our shopping centre has had closures, this being the latest, yet has other shops moving in. It has been a bit of a strange time – businesses you think would stay for good now gone, others you think may not last going on for years.).

I also share news of another event on 25th November at Winchester Discovery Centre where several local authors, including yours truly, will be taking part in the Centre’s 10th-anniversary celebrations with talks, readings, etc. Should be fun and I hope to post more details later.

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Facebook – General – Part 2 – When Your Main Character Is a Wimp

What can you do when your main character turns out to be a wimp and a secondary character is “nagging you” for more of the action? I would see this as a sign your main character simply isn’t up to the task of being the lead, unless you significantly re-write them, Equally this can give you the chance to look at whether you have written the story from the right character’s viewpoint after all. You can always rewrite, promoting the secondary character in importance, and see which version of your story works best. (My money would be on the version where the secondary character “takes over”).

The magical world of the imagination. Image via Pixabay

Is your main character really up to the job of leading the story or a bit of a wimp?  Whose story is it?. Image via Pixabay

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Flash fiction is the perfect format for those lovely incidents which are not enough to make a standard length short story (usually 1500 words or so) but are worthy of being told all the same.

I’ve found it lends itself really well to laugh out loud moments and, strangely, those tales that give you a sense of something walking all over your grave. Why there is such a contrast in the mood generated I don’t really know, (of course it could just be me!), but flash fiction, for me, is all about impact. The twist in the tale ending comes into its own with flash fiction too as it is such a great way to ensure you do make that impact.

There are a lot of steps on any writer’s journey but I am pleased to say I’ve made another one. I’ve become a character in Beatrice Fishback’s novella, Winter Writerland. I met Beatrice at Swanwick this year and along with Jennifer C Wilson, Fiona Park and Val Penny, we came up with ideas for a cosy mystery, which Beatrice has now written up! The story is set in the fictional writing conference of Branwick and all four of us have given our blessing to being named characters.

Oh and before you ask even I don’t know if I’m the murderer yet. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write!😀 The novella is currently in e-book form only but there are plans for a paperback.  Amazon link below. I never thought I’d promote a book where I’m a character but that’s one great thing about the writing life. It can take you down some very interesting avenues! Good luck with the novella, Beatrice. I wonder what we’ll come up with at next year’s Swanwick!

Winter Writerland: A Daisy McFarland Mystery
A gruesome murder was inevitable, but how the death would unfold would be anyone’s guess. And the murderer’s identity? That would remain a mystery until the appropriate time…Meet Daisy McFarland, an American spinster…

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again Part 2

Sometimes even I find 100 words are not enough for the tales I want to tell. One of my favourite longer stories in From Light to Dark and Back Again is They Don’t Understand, which is a poignant character study.

The reason for the longer word count here (though it is still under 750 words) is I needed some time to establish the relationship between the two characters in the story. Without that the punchline would not have the impact I wanted it to have. So my guideline here was the impact and had I put in enough detail to support it? Yes, I had but this time it took more than 100 words to do so.

I like the flexibility of flash fiction regarding genre but I also like the fact it has sub-divisions within it so I can vary the word count I use. Whatever word count I go for, it has to be right for that story. There mustn’t be a word out of place, whether it is a 100-word tale or a 1000 word story!

My book on sale at MIBI Gift Shop. Image taken by me.
Always lovely to meet readers. Image taken by Janet Williams, editor of Chandler’s Ford Today
Flash fiction for impact. Image via Pixabay

Fairytales With Bite – Having Fun With Your Characters

Do you have fun with your characters?  There should be the initial fun of creating them, of course, but for me I think the most fun comes when they develop and mature and truly take on a life of their own.  You can look back at the earlier stages of their development and literally see how far they have come.

I also enjoy dropping my characters right in it when appropriate to do so but that probably says more about me than them.  I will claim dramatic licence though!  So yes you should have fun with your characters, especially for novel writing, you will be living with them for a long time.  Even in flash fiction writing, while you will generally go from one character to another for each story, you should still know what makes that character tick and enjoy working out how best to get that across to your readers.  If you become tired of your characters, it does show through in your writing so love them, love to hate them, enjoy writing for them, enjoy putting them through the emotional wringer etc!  It will help your writing flow and sparkle.  Characters written like this always draw me to a story.  I think it is the characters, more than anything, that makes a story unforgettable.

Talking of characters and having fun, I’ve become a character in a book, Winter Writerland, written by Beatrice Fishback.  I met her at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School this year and, along with Jennifer C Wilson, Fiona Park, Val Penny and, of course, me, the five of us came up with story ideas for a cosy mystery.  All highly enjoyable and many laughs were had at what we came up with!  Beatrice has written the story up as a novella and I’m very glad to share the link.  (Naturally all four of us have given our blessing to being characters in a book but I must admit it was a development in my writing journey I hadn’t anticipated!).  Oh and don’t ask me if I’m the murderer (a sentence I never thought I would write!).  At the moment I don’t know.  I wouldn’t say anyway.  No plot spoilers here!

Love your writing.  Your readers will love you for it.

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This World and Others – The Joys of Editing

As well as editing my own work, I sometimes edit pieces for Chandler’s Ford Today. I’m currently editing a local history mini-series, which I hope will be up on the website fairly soon. Fascinating material which just needed putting together in the right order to improve clarity. Funnily enough, it’s thrown up a few odd coincidences with my life, which I wasn’t expecting.

I love editing. I love sensing how my story or post is improving because I have taken the wasted words out. Without a decent edit (and ideally at least two to three), I know no work of mine will be accepted anywhere because I always overwrite and so have to cut out the padding. But I don’t mind doing that. I like to write down all of my ideas and then select the strongest, based on my outline. It is always a relief getting that first draft down because I then know I definitely have something to work with and experience to date tells me the edit only improves a piece.

I do think it vital though to keep the creative side away from the editing side. You need that joy of creating something new to help you get that story nailed to the screen but the sensible editing side comes later. They really are two separate tasks. How can you edit something properly that isn’t finished? So write first, edit later is my mantra and I’ve never regretted following that.

It can take a lot of self-belief to be able to call yourself this at times. Image via Pixabay
Such a familiar look. Image via Pixabay.
Where good ideas start… but good ideas need refining and editing, Image via Pixabay

Goodreads Author Programme – Quotes

I thought I’d share the link to my quotes page here.  I make no apology that, to date, the majority of quotes come from the much missed Terry Pratchett.

From Light to Dark and Back Again

Allison Symes’s books on Goodreads