Tag: The Perfect Ending

The Perfect Ending

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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. Nice one here including a pre-birthday celebration meal out with immediate family. Lovely time had by all. Lady had a great weekend too – plenty of walkies though there is also still plenty of mud. Not that she cares…

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Hope the day has gone well. Hectic here and am glad to be at my desk, sitting down to write. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals and even Daisy the gentle spaniel. Good time had by all.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. Always fun. Am not looking forward to a visit to the dentist tomorrow even though said dentist is lovely (but it is never a fun visit, is it?).

Need to start work on some stories for competitions I always enter but won’t get much chance before Sunday but I can at least be “brewing” some ideas before then. Thinking time is never wasted.

Hope your Monday has gone well. Busy as ever here but it was lovely to see Lady having a good time in the park with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals.

Writing wise, I’ll be catching up with a few writing odd jobs. I’ve long found it’s the best use of my limited writing time on a Monday night.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out again before long. To sign up for news, tips, and stories, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks to my subscribers for your continued support here – it is always appreciated.

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Hope your weekend has gone well and you enjoy the rest of it! Busy one here but good.

Writing wise, I’m back to editing again and enjoying that. Shortly, I’ll be getting on with my flash fiction Sunday afternoon, always a nice way to wind up the week. I’m focusing on 100 word stories at the moment. I do love the form, especially since they were my introduction to flash fiction in the first place. This length of story makes for a great warm up writing exercise too.

Character Tip: Think about what you like and dislike most in a character you’ve read. Think about why you have these likes and dislikes. Especially if you dislike the character, look in more depth as to why and then work out how you would’ve written the character. You learn a lot by thinking things through like this. I know I don’t like characters who come across as wishy-washy. I won’t write them. But I had to know the character type I disliked here to work out what it is I do like.

Hope the weekend has got off to a good start. Nice weather here.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Setting Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll be sharing tips here and this post will tie in nicely with my Getting The Hooks In one too as the best writing exercises “hook” the writer in to want to give them a go. Link up on Friday.

First Draft Tip: I’ve always found it useful to just get the first draft written, rest it, and then edit it later. But if that isn’t your way of doing things, I’d still recommend getting as much of your story down before polishing up anything. It has been my experience better ideas can come as I write my first draft (and the further I get on that first draft the more ideas come) so I note these down separately and look at them later when I’ve had a proper chance to evaluate them all.

But if something really does grip you get that down fast before you forget it (and you do, trust me I’ve made that mistake). You can worry about the exact placing of that idea in your story later. Also the time break once you have got your draft down does give you a chance to decide whether that red hot idea was so red hot after all. They’re not always.

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Flash fiction is especially cheering for me on those days when I seem to be chasing my tail all day because I at least get something creative drafted and when time is very short I go for the 50 or 100 worders.

But it is amazing on looking back at where I’ve used pockets of time like this for odd bits of writing just how much I’ve been able to get done. It does mount up so is worth using these times and if you’re not sure where to start when you have pockets of time like that, why not give flash fiction or flash non-fiction a go?

It has been another hectic Monday. Time to wind down at least a little with a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Bells.

What does the ringing of the church bells mean for my character? Do her memories help her? Find out here.

 

Will be beginning flash fiction Sunday shortly, a bit later than planned but life gets like that at time. What was meant to be a quiet day suddenly isn’t. But the nice thing with flash is I know I can get something written (which always makes me feel better in myself) precisely because I am committing myself to short form writing. I will get something done.

I find topics for flash fiction in various ways. Sometimes I will use the seasons, anniversaries (personal or national etc) and, at other times, I know I will want to write something light/funny so then figure out the best way to do that and which kind of character would suit me best here. I like to have a variety of ways in to writing stories. It keeps things interesting for me, and I hope my readers, and it is good to be able to respond to different writing challenges in the form of prompts etc. It means I’m not stuck. It is a question of working out which idea I want to write up on what day. Always good to have something in hand there.

As ever, I’m looking forward to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. I like putting time aside specifically to write flash (though if I get the chance to write some at other times, I do. That doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. It’s always a case of not having enough time to write as much as I’d like to but I know I’m not alone with that issue).

Am currently catching up with reading a flash anthology and am enjoying that. I love those moments when a story has an emotional impact on you and I am getting plenty of those moments with this book. I love to then re-read these and figure out how the author did it. It makes me up my game for sure. Nothing to dislike about that and I get more reading done.

Naturally, I always think about the impact I’d like my own flash pieces to have on readers. It does affect how I present my characters, indeed even the character types I need to have to successfully bring about that impact.

Writing also includes thinking time and, yes, it is useful for flash fiction too.

Goodreads Author Blog – The Perfect Ending

The perfect ending for any story or book I read or listen to must leave me feeling the characters did get what they deserved. I must also feel that not a word could be added to or taken away without it spoiling the story somehow. Those are good challenges for the writers and I’m so aware of these when writing my own stories.

The perfect ending doesn’t have to be a happy one though I admit I prefer those. But it should be appropriate to what the characters have gone through. It shouldn’t come out of nowhere. When you look back at a story, you should be able to spot the clues which indicated this ending was likely. The skill of the writers here is when you don’t see those clues the first go around or, if you do guess at it, they are still able to wrong foot you another way in that yes, the ending was X but it happened via route Y rather than route W.

Twist endings are great here and I still think you can’t get better than Roald Dahl’s short story, Lamb To The Slaughter. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it and I suspect some of you may well remember it when it was adapted for the TV series, Tales of the Unexpected. I also love this story for another reason in that you have a great plot here but also not a word could be added to or taken away from this one.

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Publication News and The Perfect Ending

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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. Week has got off to a great start with the news The Best of CafeLit 13 is now out. I have three stories in there. More below on that. Also the June issue of Writers’ Narrative is out now too. Can’t believe we’re in June already but at least the weather is stating to play along with the idea we’re due some sunshine now!

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Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals today. Three very happy dogs went home again after a lovely time in the park. Dogs know what matters!

Writing wise, I’m talking to Jenny Sanders again for Part 2 of a fabulous interview on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Her devotional book, Polished Arrows, was published recently and this week we’ll be talking about marketing, launches, the value of good supportive writing groups, and much more besides. Don’t miss! Lots of tips and useful thoughts here.

Now to give Amazon their due. I contacted them on Sunday to ask them to add The Best of CafeLit 13 to my Amazon Author Central page. I’ve found, from past experience, I need to give them the details and they add anthologies (because I’m not the publisher but am a contributing author). Anyway, it was done yesterday, well within 24 hours.

Have just added the book to my ALCS records too. I’ve found it pays to add new publications (books or articles where there is an ISSN number) as soon as I can to make sure I get it done. Will make a difference to my ALCS payment next year, which is the best incentive to get it done!

 

My three stories in The Best of CafeLit 13 are Cinnamon Comforts, Untaken, and Sweet Dreams. It’s good to be back between the covers with old friends in this anthology and I’m looking forward to catching up with their works here, as well as checking out those authors new to me. I often do read anthologies as you might expect and find them to be a fabulous way to try out works by authors new to me. If I like their work, I will often then try their longer works. This is a great way to discover new writers.

I also like to read collections of short form works in between reading novels. I like to ensure I have a good reading diet of longer works and shorter ones. Anthologies make it so much more convenient to catch up with the latter!

Also if you are writing in the short form, reading books like this can count as part of your market research. It is always good to know what is already out there and from that you can work out where you would fit in. A publisher needs to know where you’d fit in with their lists and you need to be able to show them that you can.

Publication News (as you may have gathered from the above!)

Thrilled to say The Best of CafeLit 13 is now out. I have three stories in here. Will say more about this during the next few days but just wanted to (a) share the news and (b) congratulate the other authors with work in here. Nice to see names and old friends here. Well done, all. (What is especially nice here is the stories are voted for by other CafeLit people so nobody can know their story is going to make the cut).

Will be sharing Part 2 of an in-depth conversation with Jenny Sanders for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Next time we’ll be looking at launches, marketing, and more. Link up on Friday.

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my Unwelcome News, my latest Friday Flash Fiction tale. Just who is the worst here – Melissa or Stefan? Read the tale and see what you think. Link here. (Great fun to write).

 

Delighted to say the June edition of Writers’ Narrative is now out. The theme is poetry this time and my article looks at The Links Between Flash Fiction and Poetry. There are more than you might think. I also include a flash fiction piece told in poetic form as I sometimes write stories this way and it can work well. I share some tips for doing this too.

My article is on Pages 14/15 but do check out the excellent pieces throughout. For one thing, you can find out if you know who your padawan is! Go on, you know you want to find out!

 

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Hope you have had a good day.

Something I mention to members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group is to look out for the short story competitions. Many of them either have a lower word count limit of 1000 words (making it the top end of the range for flash fiction writers but still do-able) or have a range of word counts for you to write to.

The Bridport Prize, for example, has a flash fiction category but also has a short story one. No reason why you couldn’t enter both with different tales should you wish.

Another one is the HISSAC Annual Open Short Story competition where they want short stories up to 2000 words and flash fiction up to 500. There will be other competitions out there who will do something similar. Worth watching for.

Competitions are great for making up face up to working to a deadline and if you get listed or win, even better!

447551831_10161932010872053_7782713995846695559_nIt’s Monday. It has been a sunny one too. Still Monday though. Still time for a YouTube story from me. Hope you like my Life Changing Moments. Those who came to the recent Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting will recognise this as my response to a prompt I set.

Usually when I put my YouTube videos here, they are inserted into the page  and you click and play. Not happening tonight. Please use the link above. Screenshot to just give you an idea but there is more to this story so do check the link out! Thanks.

Screenshot 2024-06-04 at 20-27-49 Life Changing Moments - YouTube

The buzz of being in print never diminishes! The Best of CafeLit 13 is now out and I have three stories included. I also enjoy getting to update my records over on the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and on Amazon. This will be a lovely job to do later this week! Done. See above but most enjoyable tasks to do!

Will be getting on with some flash fiction writing today. Nice way to spend Sunday afternoons! I do more later in the week too but there is something about Sunday afternoons which helps with focus. Well, I know it helps me.

Favourite thing about creating a character? I think it is that moment when I think “yes, I know you, I’ve got where you’re coming from” because then I know I can write from their viewpoint effectively. I understand what drives them and what mistakes they’re likely to make. Once I’ve “got” this, I can’t wait to write their stories up and that is always a good sign.

 

It’s that time of the month again – time for the author newsletter. A huge hello to those who have subscribed since last time and an enormous thanks to all who support me here. All much appreciated. The theme this time is questioning your characters, something I do all the time. It pays especially when you’re writing a lot of stories and need ways into coming up with characters all the time.

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Goodreads Author Blog – The Perfect Ending

Is there such a thing as the perfect ending to any story? The only reason I’m not sure about this is because all writers are human and we’re all fallible. No perfect writer = no perfect writing.

I know, looking back on my older stories, I can see ways of improving them thanks to things I’ve learned about writing craft and technique since that time. BUT you can improve on what you do. I can look back at those stories and know they were the best I could do at that time. So am reasonably pleased with them but am more pleased with improvements I have made since that time. Writing is always a case of developing your craft, I think.

For stories by other writers, what I look for is an appropriate ending for their characters’ stories. Yes, sometimes that ending can be ambiguous. (After all, tomorrow is another day from Gone With The Wind is a good example of that kind of ending). But it should be appropriate to all that has come before and as long as it has done that, I’m happy.

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Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them

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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. Looking forward to my interview with Hannah Kate going out on air on 4th March. Find out below how a technical hitch added useful material to my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week. Trust me, this does not happen often!

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Screenshot 2023-03-01 at 16-17-49 North Manchester FM Hannah's Bookshelf Saturday 4 March 2-4pm - Hannah Kate

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Pleased to share Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them For Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Am relieved too. There was a technical hitch earlier in the week and I had wondered if I would be able to post at all. Still, do see what use I made of this incident in the post itself. In some ways it was timely! I share my thoughts and tips on deadlines, which are a normal part of the writing life. It is just a question of how we handle these and I hope my tips prove useful. I know I have found them so.

Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them

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Hope today hasn’t been too hectic. Pleased to have another Zoom workshop booking in for May. These are great fun to prepare and do. Also got my name down for books to go into the Book Room at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in August – pays to do that early mainly because it makes sure I don’t forget to do it! So looking forward to seeing everyone at what is my writing highlight of the year.

Technical hitches are a pain, right? Well, for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week, one such thing has helped me prove a point in my text for Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them! Not something I expected either – find out how when I share the post tomorrow. Also proves material can come to you in unexpected ways. See above.

One thing I discovered early on as a writer was how much I didn’t know about the writing industry and how important it was I rectified that. I did so by joining the Society of Authors. I wanted someone expert in the field to turn to when I needed advice and that so paid off for me. They stopped me signing up with a vanity publisher which would have cost me thousands. I had no idea what vanity publishers were or even that they were out there. I know now.

Time spent in finding out about the writing industry and being prepared to ask questions is never wasted time. I’ve always seen this as steps taken to help me avoid the rogues, find out useful links and connections, and to help me develop my writing.

Never be afraid to ask awkward questions. They can save you a small fortune.

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I’ll be talking about Deadlines – How to Make the Most of Them for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I share thoughts and tips and hope people will find it useful. See above. I find deadlines useful, other writers loathe them, but I believe you can use them to help your creativity.

Glad to say the March edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now out. March sees International Women’s Day on 8th March so this issue of Mom’s celebrates women. You’ll find my flash fiction column on Page 60 and do check out the fabulous stories in based on the theme. This particular topic of Celebrating Women was great for flash non-fiction too and I was glad to see examples of that come in too.

 

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It’s Friday. It’s the end of a busy working week (for many of us). Time for another story of mine from Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy Learning The Trade where my character explains their career choice to a disappointed parent.

Screenshot 2023-03-03 at 09-59-08 Learning The Trade by Allison Symes

As well as taking part in pen Prose Mic Nights when I can (flash is ideal for these, you can’t go on for too long so that pleases the audience too!), I will read a flash piece or two as part of any workshop I run.

Why? Because it is the ideal way to demonstrate what flash can do and be. I mix up the pieces I choose. I like a mixture of funny and those which definitely are not!

Flash is a great vehicle for storytelling moods. I can mix these up along with my characters and what they get up to in my tales, which is something I love doing. I can and do set my characters, and their moods, anywhere I wish.

Flash is liberating like that. It’s only the upper word count you need to watch.

May be an image of sky and text that says "One advantage to flash fiction writing is I can set my characters anywhere. I do too!"

Pleased to share the link to Hannah Kate’s website. I’ll be on her show on Saturday (between 2 and 4 pm) on North Manchester FM. You can get to the Listen Again service via her website though I hope to have a link to share after the weekend. Naturally I’ll be spreading the word about flash fiction again!

When I was first on Hannah’s show back in 2021, I had to pick three books for inclusion in her Library at the End of Days/Apocalypse Books feature. It was hard picking the three books I had to save no matter what but it really made me think about what I picked and why. (I’d still pick the three I have too). Go and have a look at the fabulous collection of books on there. It is impressive!

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 4 March, 2-4pm

 

Fairytales with Bite – The Perfect Ending

Would you say the perfect ending was the traditional happy ever after of the fairytale world? I would say it could also be considered a new beginning. Part of me also wonders what would happen once the “magic” has worn off. Now I appreciate this kind of tale would not be aimed at children but I like alternative renditions where you see “after the happy ending” played out where people have to work things out as we have to do and this time without the intervention of the fairy godmother!

Having said that my first story in print was called A Helping Hand (Bridge House Publishing – Alternative Renditions – 2009) where I do get the fairy godmother sent back to Cinderella’s youngest stepsister because she wasn’t so unkind as the elder one. That was fun to write. I was so thrilled it was published.

So think about what would make a perfect ending for your characters. Is it really all about the magic, the glitz and the glamour, or for when all that has settled down and your characters have to get on with life by themselves?

For me the perfect ending for any story is when the loose ends are tied up. You know what has happened to the characters. The problem/conflict in the story has been resolved satisfactorily (though that doesn’t necessarily have to be happily. Some of your characters are bound not to be happy at how things turned out – the villains especially!).

But it should feel as it not another word could be added or taken away without spoiling the tale in some way, The story should linger with you too. Then you may have the perfect ending!

Alternative Renditions Small

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This World and Others – Resolutions to Conflicts

Conflict is the bedrock of storytelling. A conflict happens. Characters deal with it. There is resolution of some kind. But how does your world handle a conflict which has been imposed on it by outside sources? Is there such as thing as the United Nations? Or are conflicts always “slugged” out and whoever has the biggest army etc wins? (Must admit I find that thought depressing and limiting for storytelling reasons. If there is no hope of any other outcome, where is the story? It becomes a tragedy only at best I think. I prefer stories which have at least some prospect of hope even if it is isn’t actually delivered during the tale).

This is where knowing some of your world’s history helps. If your setting has a series of dreadful conflicts, did that lead to the founding of peace organisations and the like? Who would be behind these? How did they get these set up? There would be stories here since they would be found to face opposition from the “hawks”. That would be another conflict to resolve!

But stories like that can show so much about character, determination to do right by society as a whole etc. You could show how your world has evolved and got better thanks to having these things, despite opposition.

If your setting is facing a threat to its existence, how would it resolve that one? Would it have problems getting people to fight for it or would they be queueing up to do so? How can it deal with the threat? This is where I think a basic outline would help you to work things out.

I’m not talking about a detailed plan but notes on what your character are likely to come up with/be able to do to resolve the conflict. That kind of outline can help avoid “boxing yourself in “ as you try to work out how a character would resolve an issue. You’ve got some ideas from the get-go, even if you end up not using them as you initially jotted them down. I often find better ideas occur to me as I am writing a first draft but I do find notes a useful way to get started.

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