Tag: The writing life

The Joys of Book Rooms/Stalls

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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’ve had a good weekend. Much cooler, almost feeling autumnal now but this is most welcome. Am looking forward to the book blog tour for Seeing The Other Side in September, along with my signing event at Salisbury. I hope there will be more things to come here – more news as I have it. Glad that writing and my new editing job is going well. Like to keep busy and Lady can always help me fill my time too, I guess she sees it as her job!
Also, late news coming in, am so very sorry to hear of the death of Dolly Parton. A great singer and an even greater person. Her literacy work was amazing. Favourite songs? Hard to tell but I love Jolene, 9 to 5, her own version of I Will Always Love You (and I like Whitney Houston’s cover too), Islands in The Stream and so many more. She will be much missed.

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Hope the day has gone well. Had a gentle swim today. It was nice. Good to see some chums too. Still feeling bruised from my fall but am considerably better so hope another gentle week will put the rest to right. Thankfully, writing can be done sitting down, which helps a lot. Standing desks definitely wouldn’t be for me right now.

Writing wise, I’m getting back into my pre-Swanwick routine. Have prepared some non-fiction pieces and scheduled those ready to appear later this month/early September. Have almost finished drafting my September newsletter. Would like to have a crack at a flash competition this weekend I think. It’s been a while since I last had a go at one. Always good to keep your hand in!

Want to resume working on my long term non-fiction project later on in the autumn. Picked up some useful thoughts for it while at Swanwick and want to put them into practice but know I need to clear my diary a bit for that and October is likely to be the earliest for that.

Mind you, that will be here before we know it. It’s a matter of time before we see the adverts for the festive chocolates and it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re already out, says she, sighing heavily!

Hope you’ve had a good start to the working week. Not bad here. Cooler and pleasanter, both Lady and I appreciated that.

But it is Monday so it’s time for my story which I first shared on Substack yesterday. Hope you enjoy First Home. If you think to do lists are a good idea but struggle to stick with them, this one may resonate.

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Hope the weekend has been a good one. Much easier walking the dog now the temperature has gone down a few notches!

Will be working on flash fiction Sunday shortly. Good to be back to that again. Had a lovely chat on Zoom with fellow writers last night. Great way to spend a Saturday evening.

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

Newsletter Tip: I make a point of sharing tips which will be of use to other writers in mine (and even more so when I have lots of news to share about what I’m up to, as is the case at the moment). I want readers to find the newsletters useful as I know the majority of my subscribers are fellow writers.

I will sometimes share links to articles I’ve written elsewhere given these can be a good summary of the topic for the month for the newsletter. And I do this because I subscribe to a number of author newsletters myself. Love them and these kind of “useful bits” for readers is what drew me into them in the first place and keeps me subscribed to them.

I’ve found it pays to draft the newsletter a bit at a time as the month goes on so there is no rush to get it out on your chosen date. I draft a lot of things as I go during the month as it is so it made sense to do this for the newsletter too.

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Will be nice to have a quiet weekend. August has been pretty hectic though the combination of a family wedding and The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick is a smashing one!

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at The Joy of Responding To and Setting Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Plenty of tips as you’d expect. Link up on Friday.

Writing exercises are great for stretching the creative mind. Many of mine end up as finished work, published in print or online or both. Others I know I won’t take further but I am never sorry to have had a go at the challenge in question.

Sometimes it is a case of this particular exercise not being the best for me but until I gave it a go, I wouldn’t know. Sometimes even there the spark of the idea I had I can use in another story. Little is wasted in writing. It might take a while for you to use it but the prospect is there.

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Nice time in the park with Lady earlier though I suspect we’ll catch up with human and doggy friends once the new school term starts. Holiday times can be a bit odd like this. You don’t see your usual crowd. You do see people you wouldn’t normally come across.

And a bell in the back of my head is telling me there are flash fiction stories to be written about that thought!

Fancy a go?

Meantime I’m looking forward to taking part in some writing exercises I’ve set with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group tomorrow. I sometimes draft an exercise response in advance to give an example but I don’t always do this. Sometimes I write live on the night with the others which I hope to be doing again tomorrow. It’s good fun!

It’s Monday but at least it isn’t as hot and sticky as it was a couple of weeks back. Still time for a story though. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Perfect Recipe.

Mum has found the perfect recipe for a cherished family dish but will a certain blonde brat agree? Find out here.

 

One of the joys of having fun with what Vistaprint has to offer writers is getting to update my business card. It is one of the most useful things a writer can have on their book event table. People do take them and I attribute spikes in my Kindle sales to people taking these and looking up my books later on.

I’ve taken the chance to have thumbnails of all three flash collections of mine on my updated card, plus my latest author photo, plus my website details on the front. On the back I’ve gone for a simplified version of where you can find me online.

As well as sharing them at my recent book launch at Swanwick, I’ve had opportunities to give them out elsewhere since then including on the train home from Derbyshire. I do usually keep some on me on the “just in case” principle. It has been nice to act on that principle recently!

Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group this coming week too. Have set some fun exercises and plan to do them myself on the night.

It’s a great way to get more flash written and I love “live” writing exercises. Always an enjoyable challenge.

Am looking forward to joining the good folk at Salisbury URC for my book signing event there on Saturday 5th September from 10.00 am to 12.30. See the link for more info.

Am pleased to say September will be a busy month as the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side also happens then from 7th to 13th September. More details to come on that.

I hope to set up some local (to me) events but will come back on that as and when I have something set up. Having my own card reader now is going to make life easier here.

Looking forward, as always, to flash fiction Sunday tomorrow. Am so glad I responded to the CafeLit 100 words challenge all those years ago. Three books later…

Saturday September 5th, 10am-12.30 Meet the author

Goodreads Author Blog – The Joys of Book Rooms/Stalls

I’ve not long returned from one of the highlights of my writing year – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. This year was even more special as I had my book launch for my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side, there. It was a huge success. I sold two-thirds of my stock at the event.

Later the same day, I took part in an Open Prose Mic Night, read from my new book, and then discovered the next day in the Swanwick Book Room, the rest of my stock had been sold. I’d also sold copies of my earlier flash collections, From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping The Flash Fantastic. To say I was thrilled would be a considerable understatement.

I make a point, when at events, of always going to their book room/stalls etc. As well as contributing to what is on offer, such things give me a good chance to browse the works of other authors. I nearly always come away with purchases and love getting them signed for me by the authors in question.

Much as I find the ebook useful, this is where I think the paperback will always win. There is something special about getting a signed copy of a book from its author (and even more special when you’re doing the signing on one of your books – I wish I could bottle that feeling!).

I’ll be having a signing event at Salisbury URC on Saturday 5th September to celebrate my new book. They have a regular book stall there and it will be good to support that (and their coffee shop) as well as have my signing event.

Books and book rooms bring people together and, as an author, I relish the chance to chat with potential readers too. Books and stories are special. Chatting to readers directly is also very special and I hope promotes the written word more too.

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Favourite Aspects of Stories

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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 great weekend. Lovely one here. Very warm so keeping Lady in the cool as much as possible but we have especially enjoyed woodland walks. Writing and editing going well. It has been nice being able to have my office doors open long into the evening over the last few days. Coolness helps the brain I find!

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Even hotter day so Lady has stayed at home more. One brief session out this morning, she’ll have another later, but being in the (relatively) cool and shade is the order for the rest of this week.

The pavement test is useful and a potential life saver. I tested the ground outside the leisure centre where I swim just as I came home from there today. You’re supposed to be able to hold your hand on the pavement for a good fifteen seconds. I didn’t manage two. No going out for Lady this afternoon then. So be careful, folks. Thankfully our garden has plenty of shrubs and shade so Lady has enjoyed some time out there.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group tomorrow.

And I’ve seen the draft of my book cover for Seeing The Other Side. Very exciting, more news to come on this later.

Writing Tip: Finding it hard to concentrate in this current heatwave? Keep drinks to hand (ideally non-alcoholic – you want refreshment here, honest!). Write in short stints. Break. Write again. And do give flash fiction a go – but then I’m bound to say that!

Another hot day so limited exercise for Lady. She is pretty sensible and stays in the shade. Unlike my previous two dogs, I don’t need to persuade her to drink water either – she goes for it, the other two I had to bribe them to get them to have any. Still, where we are, we have woods near by and my house is north facing, all of which is helping a lot right now. Hope you are keeping your cool where you are.

Shared my latest Substack story on that platform yesterday. Here’s your chance to see it here. Hope you enjoy Make Your Mind Up. A lot of dog owners will identify with this one and I hope it raises a smile or two.

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Hope the weekend is going well with you. Very hot here. Lady staying out of it.

Writing wise, I’m looking forward to getting on with flash fiction Sunday shortly. Am keeping the office nice and cool – it is bliss to be in here. I also have a board my laptop rests on which has an inbuilt fan. It’s useful when the weather is this hot.

The editing work is going well too.

There won’t be a post from me this month on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, as ACW is moving the platform for this. I hope to be back in June on this and hope and pray the transfer goes well.

It’s a gloriously sunny day here today (23rd May) but you’ll be glad to know Lady is keeping things nice and cool.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a fabulous interview with fellow Swanwicker, Esther Chilton, for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. She’ll be discussing her second book in her six part Saffy’s Secret Quest series which is called Myths and Magic. Plenty of useful thoughts for all writers here. Do look out for that next week.

As well as the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week, I’m looking forward to revisiting The Dorset Museum in Dorchester with editing colleagues. We went to a Jane Austen exhibition here last year which was great. This time, we’re looking at the life and times of Thomas Hardy, someone I admit I’ve never read. I expect that will change! Naturally I’m looking forward to getting some writing done on the train trip here.

Oh and one joy of turning the big 60 in March is discovering I now qualify for the Senior Railcard which gives me discounts on train trips for the whole country and not just my network. Am planning to put this to good use! Plenty of opportunities for trips out, making notes on my trips and drafting some flash fiction – all good to me!

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As I mentioned over on my author page, I have seen the draft cover for Seeing The Other Side. Looking forward to being able to share that in due course. Seeing the cover, albeit as a draft at this stage, brings it home this really is happening and you don’t lose the thrill of being published. I just wish I could bottle the feeling to be able to imbibe it during those times when the writing life is on the tougher side.

But this is why it is important to celebrate your small wins as well as your larger ones. The smaller wins mount up over time, for one thing. For another, just getting anything out there which is your creation is so special and should always be celebrated.

It’s a hot Bank Holiday Monday in the UK today (25th May 2026) but for me the important point is it still a Monday and that means story time. I hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – A Canine Wish. There is a dog theme this week, what with my Substack story too, but I hope you enjoy both tales or should that be tails?

 

Am enjoying sharing stories on Substack as well as YouTube. Substack has proved surprisingly easy to you, which is always welcome, because there nearly always are teething issues as you get used to a new website, form of social media etc.

Have got my entry in for The Bridport Prize. The deadline is the end of May so there is still time if you fancy trying this. Hope to pick another competition to try next weekend.

I’ve been returning to the good old dribble, the 50 words story, for Substack and YouTube recently and hope to continue with this.

Hope the weekend has got off to a good start. It’s a long weekend here in the UK given Monday is a Bank Holiday. (To me, Monday is Monday but there you go).

Hope to resume looking for flash fiction competitions to have a crack at from next weekend as I’m busy editing as well as writing at the moment and, of course, it won’t be that long now before Seeing The Other Side comes out. There will be plenty to do when it is out! Having said that, this kind of work is such a joy to do.

I will be cracking on with my usual flash fiction Sunday tomorrow though, which is always a great way to end the week/start the next one (delete as you see fit! I see Sunday as the end of a week but know not everyone does).

GOODREADS AUTHOR BLOG – Favourite Aspects of Stories

I love all aspects to stories but some do stand out more for me as I suspect they do for most people. One favourite aspect is dialogue between the characters. Having been intrigued by the story’s opening, this is the point where the characters start to come to life for me and it is here I am keen to find out what happens to them.

Dialogue reveals so much about character attitude, as well as revealing aspects of back story, and I think that is why I am always gripped by well written examples of this. Well written for me is when it reveals what I need to know and I feel not a word could be added or taken away without losing something important.

I must admit when it comes to writing my own tales, I have to make sure I don’t get into “conversational ping pong”. It is huge fun to write but not necessarily for a reader to read and it is what they need which has to come first.

I so want to get behind a character to root for them whether it is to succeed or fail (the latter generally for villains). I want the ending of the story to deliver on its premise. I want to feel that yes, this was the right ending for these characters and their circumstances.

I guess what I am saying here is I really do want a good read! Well, I’m not alone on that wish, am I?

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Light Reading

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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 one scottish photo – spot the dog! 
Hope you have had a good weekend. Had a lovely week on the north-east coast of Scotland last week. Now back to normal routines though Lady is pleased to be seeing her pals again.

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Apologies this is a day later but I’m now delighted to share my latest Authors Electric post on A Change of Scene (and yes I’m talking about the same topic for Chandler’s Ford Today this week too. There is plenty of think about on this one!).

For Authors Electric, I look at how our characters would have the change of scene which would do them good and act as a pivotal story point. I also look at whether such changes of scene need to be “dramatic” or not.

Hope you enjoy the post and find it useful.

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Hope you’ve had a good start to your week. Lady was especially pleased to see her Hungarian Vizler chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, for the first time in ten days or so. Great time had by all.

Pleased to share my latest story on Substack. Hope you enjoy I Wish. It also ties in with my YouTube story for this week. See further down. Both come in at the 50 word mark. Pleased to get back to the good old dribble writing again.

Have spent the last week on the fantastic north-east coast of Scotland, enjoying the breathtaking scene and the bracing air! Now it’s time to get back to “normal” though Lady was pleased to see one of our other regulars, the wonderful Stately Stanley, over at the park today.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing A Change of Scene for Chandler’s Ford Today next week and will focus on how we handle changes of scene for our characters. More to come on Friday. After that, there will be a super interview with Esther Chilton about her latest children’s book, Myths and Magic, so plenty to look forward to on CFT.

Shortly, I’ll be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday. Later in the week I’ll have editing to return to and a PowerPoint to finish off. It’s just as well I like to be busy!

Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Am on way home after a wonderful break in the north-east of Scotland. Seeing plenty of snow on the Cairngorms as we drive through the national park. Very impressive.

Writing wise, I’ll be back to my usual writing routine from tomorrow though it has been lovely doing some writing while away. Well, when you’re writing with views of mountains around you, it is a great encouragement to write. The creativity of the natural world can and does inspire writing.

I suspect some of the fantastic scenery I’ve seen this week will end up in my stories as settings.

Photos can make wonderful story prompts.

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Hope the day has gone well. Lady caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal again today and a nice time was had by both. I enjoyed resuming my swimming today though must admit it was hard work!

Writing wise, I’ll be working on presentations, blogs and editing for the rest of this week, which I’m looking forward to doing. Always pays to enjoy your work, generally and most of the time at least.

Also hope to book my train tickets for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick soon. I’ve found it pays to book ahead and have saved money doing that but it also means one of my favourite events of the year is getting nearer. That is always a cheerful thought, especially this year when I have my Seeing The Other Side with me too.

It’s Monday. Why is it the first Monday back after a holiday is even more hectic than normal? Oh well, it’s time to unwind with a story then.

Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Working Things Out. This ties in with my Substack story this week – I Wish. Both come in at 50 words. I like to mix up my word counts every now and then and writing to a specific word count is a great writing exercise.

 

Flash fiction is also good for those short moments which are a complete story in and of themselves but which could not be expanded into a standard length short story. Indeed, it is a great writing exercise to practice writing to 50, 100, 250 words etc because the art of flash fiction is to write what has to be written in as few words as possible.

This is why it helps you improve your editing skills because you learn to go for better turns of phrase, cut out repetitions (unless you’re using it for effect but then you’re doing this knowingly), and to kill most of those wretched adverbs.

Incidentally there are always exceptions to any writing rule but for adverbs, so often you could express something without using them so why not do so and save on the word count?

Flash fiction focuses on important moments in a character’s life but what is important varies from character to character. What matters is readers can see why the moment matters.

The lovely thing with flash is those moments can be funny, sad, or what have you. I love mixing up the moods of the tales I write but then I think fiction reflects all aspects of life.

Having said that, I especially love writing the lighter stories. Life is grim enough as it is and fiction can do much to give some much needed escapism.

Goodreads Author Blog – Light Reading

I love lighter reads. They bring much needed cheer and provide escapism. For me, lighter reads include Jane Austen. I love the thought of some of the classic novels being light reads too.

What a light read isn’t is a simple read. There are plenty of depths to Pride and Prejudice, for example. A light read, for me, is an easy read with plenty going on and which keeps you gripped to the end, but it should also make you smile.

The fiction world does need the darker books but I would like to see the “seesaw” going in favour of the lighter reads. I’ve never liked lighter/genre books being looked down for not being “worthy” enough.

Entertainment is just as valid a reason to read as anything else, after all.

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Story Inspiration

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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 the first full week back after the Christmas and New Year break has gone well. Lady has been pleased to catch up with her friends. Weather is what you’d expect for January! Writing and editing are going well and I have booked my big writing event for later in the year, which has cheered me no end.

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Hope your Friday has been a good one. Lady saw her Hungarian Vizler pal and her Aussie Shepherd boyfriend, who, by far, had the best coat of anyone for coping with the bitter weather today.

Writing wise, I’m pleased to share Story Inspiration for Chandler’s Ford Today this week and hope you will find it useful. I look at various useful “hunting grounds” where inspiration is likely to strike (and has done for me many times). These include books of lists, prompts, Kipling’s honest serving men and much more besides.

I hope you find these thoughts useful to encourage your own inspiration as it never does any harm to encourage that as much as possible.

Happy writing.

Story Inspiration

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Hope today has gone okay. Bad weather coming in this evening as I write this. Keep safe. Lady saw her two chums, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback, again today. Thankfully it was only light rain this morning. I don’t think any of the dogs would’ve been that sorry to get back indoors again.

Writing wise, I’m sharing Story Inspiration on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. I hope it will prove useful as I share some good ways to find inspiration. I always feel it is better to hunt for it than wait for it to come to you. There are various good “hunting grounds” for inspiration, some of which I’ll be sharing tomorrow, and which I hope will add to your “store” of places to look for sources of story ideas.

Hope today has gone well. Lady saw her best buddies, the Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback, today. Ice and snow pretty much gone, just in time for the storm to come in tomorrow! Oh well, at least the temperature has gone up somewhat.

Writing wise, am looking forward to meeting up again later in the month with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group. We’ll be looking at Ways and Paths as a topic. Plenty of story ideas to come from that and I hope we will start drafting some on the evening.

Also have a story to get on and draft for a future submission. Plus I’m beginning to go though the Writing Magazine Competition Guide for possible places to try.

Looking forward to joining in with another ACW genre group online this evening. It’s always good fun and a great chance to socialise. Zoom continues to be a blessing when you can’t get together with other writers in person. Though I am looking forward to my big annual event in August – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick – as well. Thinking about that cheers up a gloomy January for me somewhat!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My way into flash fiction writing was the 100 word story, also known as the drabble. CafeLit issued their 100 word challenge and I responded to it and haven’t looked back since.

Flash Tip: I’ve often found the best way into writing a 100 worder is to focus on the ending first. How do I want the story to end – with a laugh or with something else which will move readers in other ways? Is a line of dialogue to bring the story to an end the right way to go or should I finish the tale with an “event” which must finish the tale?

Once I have a rough idea of the likely ending, I can work backwards from there to the likely beginning. Knowing a likely ending also shows me the likely lead character who will be finishing the story. I can then work out more about them.

Having the tight word count means I have to only focus on that which is relevant but this is a good thing. I’ve found writing the 100 worders does encourage tighter writing elsewhere and helps me fight any tendency to indulge in purple prose.

As well as flash fiction, there is such a thing as flash non-fiction. Many blogs would count as this given often they come in at about the 500 words mark.

But have you given thought to writing a short piece sharing how you came to write one particular story, say? This would be of interest to other writers and your readers. Works best when kept tight but could give you excellent additional material to add to your website/blog.

Counts as part of your overall marketing, of course, as well.

Glad it’s warming up a bit outside. Spotted a primrose out in my garden just around Christmas time. Is still out. Seems to have survived the frosts and snow – at least so far. (Am putting the qualifier in because I recently said we hadn’t had any snow and, guess what, overnight we got some so I don’t want anything happening to that poor little primrose!).

Now, we all face tricky conditions at time but this can be fabulous for our characters. It is perhaps just as well they cannot tell their creators what they think of them for this. I do love dropping mine in the mire as much as I can.

So what traits do your characters have to help them handle the situations you put them in? Are they already resourceful or do they have to learn how to be so? Many great story thoughts to come from that, I think.

Traits are an invaluable way of gauging a character. You could also use them to figure out how they could develop others.

For example, if your character’s main trait is honesty, would they develop bravery to ensure honesty in their world continued? Would they fight to save what was good in their world and stop it from being obliterated by the greedy?

(And if anyone’s thinking there are parallels with what’s going on here right now, you’d be right but we can use some of this at least as inspiration for story ideas. When you know what’s driving someone, you can get stories out of that).

Fairytales With Bite – Resuming Normal Life

It always takes a little while to resume normal life after any kind of break and perhaps more so after a break like the Christmas/New Year one. Am slowly resuming normality myself!

But how would your characters get back to what is normal for them? How long would that take them and what does count as normal for them? What kind of breaks would they expect to be as part of their overall life?

What official breaks does everyone in your setting have to take? Are they appreciated or resented? Could the events themselves be “commercially exploited” (and that does tend to lead to resentment in some quarters)?

Do any of your characters use official breaks to get out of something they ought to be doing? Does that work or does it cause further problems later on? Does anyone resent having to resume normal life again?
Could enemies of your setting use the break to cause havoc and how would they do this?

Story ideas there, for sure.

This World and Others – Routines

I must admit I do like routines. I have one for my writing and have had this for years. Every so often I adjust it to take in new writing/editing work etc but, on the whole, I’ve found it useful to help me make the best of the time I have available for writing and/or editing on any one day. But I know not everyone likes routines. There are many who would find them restrictive.

What would your characters make of routines? Are there those who thrive on them (and if so, how)? Are there others who would feel routines are like straitjackets? What would happen if you have a character of each type stuck together and they have to work out some sort of routine to get them though to the time when they’re free to do their own thing again?

Does your setting have a routine in terms of characters have to work at certain times, relax at certain times etc? What would its views be on those who don’t follow the general pattern here? Could a setting with a fixed routine face enemies who would exploit the disadvantages of being too rigid? What would the enemies be seeking to exploit on your setting itself?

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Short Story Collections

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Image Credits:-
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Hope all is well. How can it be almost December already? Lady has had a good time this week with her two closest chums and we’ve managed to avoid some of the wet weather. (Nobody avoids it all!). Writing is going well and I have just sent in a piece for the Hannah Kate Three Minute Santas show coming up soon. Whether it’s picked or not, I know Christmas has begun when I send that in and also at church when we light the first Advent candle.

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Am pleased to share Short Story Collections on Chandler’s Ford Today this week.

I look at the advantages of these from the viewpoints of both readers and writers plus share tips on writing to set themes. Most anthologies I’ve come across do set themes and writing to these is also useful competition for story competitions anyway.

I also (naturally) take the chance to flag up Magi, the latest anthology from Bridge House Publishing. My story, The Family Legend, is in there. Hope you find the post useful.

Short Story Collections

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Despite it being a grey, drizzly day today, Lady had a lovely time in the park with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback pals.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Short Story Collections for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. As well as discussing the many advantages to reading such things, I share tips on making the most of set themes as most anthologies do set themes. Link up tomorrow. See above.

Bridge House Publishing always set one in keeping for the time of the year their annual anthology comes out (now basically!). Am looking forward to their annual celebration event which is coming up in early December.

Talking of stories, I’ve just had a turn down so will have another look at that story and see if I can work on it and send it somewhere else. I’ve also picked two stories for another competition (where I can send in two pieces for one fee, these are worth looking out for as you get two bites of the cherry) and have started editing those. Am looking to submit these in a week or so I think.

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Hope today has gone well. Pretty cold here – the frost was crisp and deep and even! (No sign of King Wenceslas yet though). Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler pal today – nice time had by both.

Writing wise, am looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting later tonight. Am also hoping to go over my draft story as well so I’m ready to submit that by the end of this week, sooner if possible. Done!

Plus I’m looking forward to having a go at today’s Flash NANO challenge. Am also working on a super author interview I’m looking forward to sharing on Chandler’s Ford Today soon.

Character Tip: You know all of those little niggles we all have and which are far more annoying than they ought to be? Why not write them out of your system and get your characters to have them! How would your characters handle them – like you do, better than you, worse than you? Whatever you go for here, there will be story ideas.


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I finish the week with a light, delicious story on Friday Flash Fiction – Cakes. Hope you enjoy it. Many thanks for the comments coming in on this one already. I think folk like my choices of cakes in this story! See what you think.

What does every published author want other than people to buy and read their books? Why, reviews of course! I treasure mine and a lovely quote from a review of Tripping The Flash Fantastic reads:-

The storytelling was beautiful in so few words which takes the talent and skill of a practiced author.

Many thanks to my reviewer there but I mention this because with Christmas coming up and most of us are going to have some book related presents (we are, aren’t we?), then another present you can give the author is to put a review up. They don’t have to be long but help us all a lot. So please do consider doing this.

I should add I read reviews myself regularly and not just for books so they do make an impact.

Meantime if you want to find a copy of Tripping the Flash Fantastic (and why wouldn’t you!), do check out the link below.


Flash fiction is wonderful for those moments which are complete stories in themselves but too short to be part of anything else. So if you have scenes that cannot form part of your longer work but which you are reluctant to discard, can you turn them into short, sharp flash pieces instead?

The challenge of flash is always to still have a complete story in and of itself within a restricted word count. I love that challenge. I often start with my ending and then work out where the pivot point has to be and from where what at the start would lead to that pivot point. It means I have a structure in place and it makes it far more likely my story will “work”.

I also like the challenge of writing to different word counts within flash. It’s also good practice for entering flash competitions given these come in at different word counts.

I think what you get better at, over time, is working out this story would work best at 100 words while another needs 500 or more.

Fairytales with Bite – Seasonal Magic

Every season, I think, has a kind of magic of its own. For spring, it is the new growth. For summer it is the lovely weather (usually!) and seeing the trees in full bloom. For autumn it is the changing colour of the leaves. For winter, I do enjoy seeing the silhouettes of the trees against the sunset. This often looks magnificent.

But I suppose if we were to pick one season and associate something special with it, it is now in the run up to Christmas and the end of the year. For me, as a Christian, Christmas obviously has a lot of significance but I do appreciate the other side of the festivities too. I love the Christmas films for example (and The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best retelling of Dickens’ classic in my view).

When it comes to your magical setting, what would count as magic, seasonal or otherwise, for them? What would stand out as special for your characters? Also is certain types of magic only used at certain times of year and, if so, what is it and why the restriction on its use? There will be stories behind those thoughts.

Would your setting’s natural world encourage the use (or disuse) of certain types of magic? Would geography/geology directly impact on what kind of magic could be used and when (and possibly how much as well)?

How do your characters adjust to being able to use certain powers only at certain times of the year (or other time period you use)? Does anyone try to cheat this and, if so, what would the consequences be? There are always consequences!

This World and Others – Waters

I love waters in all their varieties – peaceful streams, lakes and rivers, as well as the sea. I think there is a sense of eternity to be felt when I walk along a beach and look at the sea. I guess there is a sense of timelessness here. Is there anything like this in your magical setting?

What kinds of waters would your world have? Would they be anything like we have here? If not, what would your characters drink (I can’t imagine any character not needing to at some point)? Are the waters or equivalent in your world treasured or have they become polluted (perhaps by too much magic entering it)?

Is water supply an issue? If it is, how does your setting overcome this? Has climate change (or the equivalent in your setting) been responsible for this and can it be reversed? Or is water treasured so much its uses are protected and nobody dares goes against this?

Who would manage the waters on behalf of the overall population? Would this be a government managed resource or otherwise? Could your characters be “held to ransom” by whoever does control the waters? Could that be used to restrict the use of magic against whoever does the controlling?

Good story thoughts there, I think.

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Allison Symes – Local Author News – Seeing The Other Side

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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. Photo of me with Creativity Matters taken by Adrian Symes. Anolther Creativity Matters image was kindly supplied by Wendy H. Jones. Screenshots were taken by me, Allison Symes, as was of part of my contribution to Creativity Matters. Great book. Do check it out. A huge thank you to my lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today for a couple of the photos I use in my post this week.
Hope the week has gone well. Cooler here but much pleasanter for the dog and me. Had a lovely Association of Christian Writers Flash Group meeting on Zoom. Other writing and editing going well.

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Hope you’ve had a good Friday. Lady had a lovely time with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal this morning, long before the weather turned hot again. I was glad of a good swim later on as well. So refreshing.

Delighted to share my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post which is Allison Symes – Local Author News – Seeing The Other Side.

This post shares more about what you can expect from my third flash fiction collection which comes out in May 2026 (though I am looking forward to sharing the partial serialisation of it from this July onwards). I also discuss putting a collection together and thinking ahead to book launches.

Allison Symes – Local Author News – Seeing The Other Side

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Today (26th June) would have been Dad’s 88th birthday. He’s been gone for eight years now. Can’t imagine where the time has gone.

Lady had a lovely time in the park today with her Hungarian Vizler chum. Both dogs are much appreciating the cooler weather though we will have to watch things on Monday when it is due to heat up again.

Lady didn’t miss the afternoon walks I had to cancel last week because things were too hot. The pavement test is my guide here. Hold your hand on a spot of concrete, tarmac etc where it gets direct sunlight and hold your hand there for several seconds (I go for 20, you do need a reasonable amount of time to be sure if things are okay or not). If it is uncomfortable for you (and it was last for me week!), it’s uncomfortable for your dog. It’s just not worth risking burnt paws and Lady and I happily stayed at home in the shade.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Allison Symes – Local Author News – Seeing the Other Side for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow where I will share more about my forthcoming book. Looking forward to sharing that. See above. Plus am looking forward to a friend’s online book launch in just over a month’s time too. Plenty going on I’m glad to say.

Am thankful writing is something I can easily do in the shade!

In other news, writing and editing are coming along well. Am also looking forward to going to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick later this summer. It’s not so far away now.

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to see Daisy, a gentle older spaniel today. We meet up with her and her owner sometimes and it was lovely seeing them both again today.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom later on.
Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Allison Symes – Local Author News – Seeing The Other Side for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See further up.

Will be thinking of another story competition to try soon as I’ve spotted a 750 words one (which comes nicely into flash territory). Will probably have a look at this at the weekend but I am keeping to the promise I made to myself this year I will try and get more work out there.

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It’s Friday. It’s getting hot again in my part of the world. Time for a story to finish the working week with then. Hope you like my latest on Friday Flash Fiction – Name Calling. Mark should have realised discretion is the better part of valour – find out why here.
Had a lovely evening with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group last night. (Held on 25th June 2025). Good to see everyone. The topic was Perspectives and I was looking at the use of 1st/2nd/3rd person usage in flash fiction. Naturally I set exercises too though we ran out of time to do all of them.

What I found interesting was I wrote a piece for the 1st person exercise. I then rewrote it for the second person exercise. I think the second person usage one is better. More direct. More emotional impact too. Will have a look at this at a later date and maybe submit it somewhere. Good fun to do.

Second person can be a challenge though I think it works well in the short forms precisely because they are short.

I was impressed by the group’s output here though. All great work.

I mentioned this briefly over on my main author page on Facebook, but do bear in mind there are 750 word stories competitions out there (I’ve just spotted one) which don’t market themselves as flash fiction but it is what they are. It is worth keeping an eye out on all short story competitions because some of those will also allow stories from 1000 words onwards so flash fiction writers could have a go at these.

Plus there are plenty of flash fiction competitions which do market themselves as such so why not try some? I have found writing for competitions a great way to improve skills in writing to deadlines, meeting publisher requirements and much more.

Also, to quote a certain supermarket, you do have to be in it to win it.

Fairytales with Bite – Truth Tellers

Truth tellers ought to be welcome in society but they so often are not. There are numerous reasons for this, including truth tellers exposing corruption or refusing to join in with it. You could take that thought and apply it to your own setting.

What would count as corruption in your magical setting? Could it be as simple as refusing to use magic and using what we would know as scientific techniques instead? It can take a brave soul to be the one who puts their head above the parapet.

How does truth get disseminated in your setting? Can it be shared on public media (social or otherwise),or in print, or on the air? What would be truth to your setting but alien to ours?

Who gets to decide what the truth is at all? If this means suppressing the actual truth how does that get done and who carries out the orders? Could you have a character who defies carrying out said orders? Do they get away with it?

When truth is suppressed, how does it eventually get out and what are the consequences?

Story ideas there for sure.

This World and Others – Species

How many species are there in your setting? Do you focus on the main ones? What roles would the minor ones have in your setting? How do they “service” the major species – or is everyone kept apart with each kind doing their own thing for the good of the world as a whole?

Are species recognised as such or do your creations not categorize in this way? What would those in your setting make of other worlds, including ours? Are there some alien species they would never have anything to do with and why have they concluded this? (In a story I’ve written for a competition recently, I have my character reveal magical characters in their setting see Earth as backwards precisely because we don’t have magic).

Do the different species get on with each other or is it a case of each kind only having anything to do with others, with those of their own kind?

How has your world changed/evolved to accommodate the different species here? Did anything unexpected happen? Have the species been forced to co-operate?

Good story ideas there, I hope.

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Book Reviews, Editing, and Writing Superpowers

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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 the weekend went well. Good to be back in the garden again. Lawn grateful I was I think! Pleased to see lovely foxgloves in flower too. Writing wise, am pretty much back to my normal routine and enjoying that. Lady, as ever, appreciates the company of her pals at the park. We appreciate the little things in life. They’re often more important to you than you might think. Know this is true for me and the dog!

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Soggy one here in Hampshire though Lady was delighted to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal again. Both dogs had a lovely time in the park before the rain set in.

Writing wise, will have further editing work coming up shortly. Looking forward to starting on that.

There will also be a bonus Chandler’s Ford Today post on Saturday this week from me as I’m publicizing The Chameleons’ Open Evening on 7th June. They’re celebrating their 60th anniversary this year and are inviting people to see what they do (and where they need volunteers) on and off the stage.

Plus I will be looking at History and Stories in my usual Friday night slot where I look at the links between history and stories and why I love both. (Nice link here as The Chameleons have acted out many wonderful stories, some of them history based, over their 60 years on the stage).

Stories, whether as prose or plays, can explore history and shed new insights on it.

Bank holiday here today in my part of the world. Lady was thrilled to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals today. We either see all we know on a bank holiday or nobody at all – there is no middle ground!

Had a quick look at the random question generator I use every so often to trigger story ideas. Usually the question gives me the theme I write to (and my characters answer the question, it literally is the story).

The question which came up tonight was if you could have one superpower what would it be? Now that is a fabulous question and I’m sure an article or two could be written around it but I wondered about answering it for this post from a writing viewpoint.

So which writing superpower would I like to have? I think it would be the ability to keep writing, no matter what. I wouldn’t ask to write perfectly from the get go because I think a lot of excellent stories come about thanks to having decent editing work done on them.

But to keep going whenever and whatever the circumstances, that would be a good thing to have. It isn’t always easy to do this so having a superpower boosting me here would be most welcome.

Hope the weekend is proving to be a good one for you. Cut the lawn yesterday. Desperately needed doing. Looking much better now and it was a great workout for me!

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again too. (I know. I can hardly believe is is almost June either). You can sign up at my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Writing wise, I’m working on a longer short story as well as my usual flash work at the moment. Have put final touches to my presentation for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group for Wednesday. Now done! Will be back to blogging and editing shortly. I do like a good mix of things to do!

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Have got to the end of the first week back from our wonderful Northumberland break. Always tough, the first week back from any kind of break but hey I’m there so now it is a case of onwards and upwards.

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at History and Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I love history. I love stories. History is full of stories. It’s a gem of a topic to write about! I’ve also found reading historical fiction has led to me reading historical non-fiction too but more on this in my post on Friday.

Character Tip: Remember it isn’t compulsory to like the characters you create, far from it, but you do need to know what drives and motivates them so you can write their stories up with understanding of where they are coming from and why.

For villains, you do need to look at why they have become that way. Not all of that will make it into your finished tale but enough should so readers can see why they’re being the way they are too.

If, say, your villain is driven by the need to make money a line of dialogue with another character or their own thought showing their need for enough money will create that understanding.

Readers (and you) still don’t need to approve of how they go about things here.

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Hope today has been a good one. Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group tomorrow. The topic is Tens. Looking forward to seeing everyone then. Zoom has made more things possible including writing groups like this one.

Am hoping to go an in-person ACW meeting later this year but have to book it first. Hope to do that in next couple of days. I like a good mixture of in person and online events. In a world which is far from perfect, why not have the best of both worlds when it comes to meeting with other writers?

Flash is also wonderful to share in any kind of workshop and/or writing group given it is short. I’ve always found stories illustrate points well. People remember the stories. (This is nothing new, far from it. Jesus did this with parables. Aesop did it with his fables too. All would count as flash fiction as we know it now).


It’s a Bank Holiday Monday where I am but it is still Monday. Time for a story then and I hope you like my latest on YouTube – Mixing It Up.

What harm could it do to mix up the dragons’ magical foodstuff and give it to the butterflies instead? George thinks it will be okay but is he right to do so?

 

Titles are important for any story (or article come to that) given they’re the first hook to entice a reader into reading your work. 

For flash fiction, I try and use mine to do some “heavy lifting” in terms of indicating to a reader the tale’s probable mood without using up any of my precious word count. (Most flash competitions don’t include the title in the limit they set you but there are always exceptions so do check).

I also use titles as a brainstorming exercise. It’s fun to do too. Why not give it a try?

Writing Exercise: Give yourself five minutes. Jot down as many three to five word titles as you can in that time. It helps to think along the lines of Subject and Action (a refusal to act will count as an action). Also consider Subject and Job.

You are looking for two immediate hooks here. People will want to know about your subject depending on what action or job you’ve given them in the title.

For example, how about George, the Butterfly Tamer, as an idea. I would immediately want to know who George is, how can anyone tame butterflies, and why does anything think it is needed. The story would reveal the answer to those questions but I’ve got to read it to find out. Job done by the author there I think! Do see my YouTube story for this week too – see above. I wrote this post first then decided to write the story up with just the title to go with. Good fun to do.

I’ve also found when I do this exercise once I get started, a whole raft of other ideas come. Later, I will review my title lists and the ones which still appeal to me are the ones I will write up. But this exercise is definitely worth trying. Hope you have fun with it.

Looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group on Zoom on Wednesday. Have set what I hope will be an intriguing theme (Tens – what would you make of that?) Alas, I’m not telling all here, but it is fun coming up with different ideas for these meetings and, of course, a good challenge to me.

Whatever you write, doing something different every now and then is a good challenge and will help sharpen up your other writing – or at least I’ve found that to be the case. It’s another good reason to enter story competitions every now and then (but do check the competition background out first and ensure you’re happy with it). Again, it makes you do something different, you are often set the prompt and it is a good challenge to see what you can do with it.

(Am also pleased because when I relax I play with words too. Have today got the word rewrites out in my phone’s equivalent of Scrabble. All seven tiles out so I get the bonus points too. Apt word for a writer and editor, I think!).

Goodreads Author Blog – Book Reviews

Do you read book reviews? I do. As a writer myself, I appreciate the reviews which come in on my books but I also like to write reviews on works by other authors. Other than buying the book itself, reviewing is probably the next best way to support authors. I keep my reviews short and would put in a plea to review when you can. It helps more than you know.

I try to review the moment I’ve finished a book whether it’s on Kindle or in print. Otherwise, I know I may well forget to do it. Life getting in the way and all of that…

The best reviews give a good flavour of what the book is about without giving too much away. The good news is they don’t have to be long to be effective.

Why not review the book you are currently reading? Doesn’t have to be a contemporary one either (though that obviously does help current authors) but there’s nothing to stop you giving your thoughts on a classic work either. I know I still find those useful for the classics I’ve not yet got around to reading.

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Review – The Chameleons – Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor

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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. A huge thank you to those lovely people at The Chameleons (especially Daisy Wilkins) for their kind permission to use their wonderful photos in my CFT post this week. Also thanks to various Swanwick friends for taking various photos of me book signing etc at that wonderful place!
Hope you have had a good week. Has been a good one here weather and writing wise. New issue of Writers’ Narrative is out, I have writing news, and am relieved my first author newsletter went out okay on the new service provider. Always a bit of a nerve wracking moment this! Think it looks good too as I took the opportunity to freshen up the newsletter look. See screenshot below.

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Am delighted to share my review of Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor, which was recently performed by my local excellent amateur theatre company, The Chameleons. Hope you enjoy the post. It was a joy to see the show and to write about it.

The Chameleons are also celebrating their 60th anniversary this year so will be having an open evening later in the year for locals to find out more. I hope to get along to that in due course.

Review – The Chameleons – Sudden Death at Thornbury Manor

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Delighted to share the May 2025 issue of Writers’ Narrative which has the theme of Worldbuilding. My article in here is on Worldbuilding and the Shorter Fiction Forms. Do check out the excellent range of articles and interviews here. Have a great read (and remember it is free to subscribe as well. What’s not to like there?).

 

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Another glorious day and Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals so it was just perfect for her. I also enjoyed a fantastic swim today – perfect conditions for it. I can’t always say that!

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group later this evening. It was a good session!

Author newsletter out again tomorrow (how can it be almost May already?).

Have a story I want to get out for a competition at the weekend and am working on edits for another one. Managed to get the edits done and sent the story back to the publisher.

Last but definitely not least, look out for the next issue of Writers’ Narrative, It is due out very soon. I wasn’t wrong, was I?  See above! I will share the link when I have it. 

Meantime do check out the back issues which you can find via the publisher’s link. Plenty of great and useful reading here.
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Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my The Camera Never Lies. This is a good example of my writing to a well known phrase and seeing what I can do with it. Hope you like this one.

Lady had a lovely time in the park with her Hungarian Vizler pal. I had another fantastic swim today too.

Had a good session at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group last night on Zoom.

Writing News: In other news, I’m pleased to announce I am now the ACW Flash Fiction Adviser. Paid up ACW members (and those who buy the quarterly magazine, Christian Writer) will see details of all of the advisers, including me in there. Looking forward to sitting down with Christian Writer which came through my letter box today. (1st May 2025).

Lovely day today. I don’t always use the weather and the mood it can generate to help me with my stories though occasionally I have. More often, I’ve written darker pieces on beautiful spring days and lighter hearted tales on dark wintry ones. That of course may just be me being quirky and writing “against” the prevailing mood from the weather!

I focus much more on the mood of my characters and why they are in that state in the first place. There is always something! Great stories can result from exploring that, especially if the cause turns out to be other characters, as it so often is!

Fairytales with Bite – Wishes

I suspect Cinderella might have one specific wish when her fairy godmother deigned to turn up. She would have wished said godmother had turned up a lot earlier than she did. A lot of upset would have been avoided to put it mildly! I’ve wondered if good old Cinders, prior to her wedding, could look at her rats, lizards etc in quite the same way again when they were returned to their normal forms. (You could also wonder if the animals saw her in the same light too!).

If you have characters doling out the wishes are they able/allowed to grant their own? If not (and I would hope not as you can see the corruption possibilities immediately!), when they do need a wish granted, who would they turn to and why? Is this official or does your character have to go the “back streets” route here and are they found out?

Are there rules about what characters can wish for? Is anything banned outright?

If your world setting is able to survey what other worlds do, can they copy the other worlds’ “sciences” and adapt them to their own magical world? It could look like magic there and be ordinary “run of the mill” stuff on the world they’ve copied it from. Could anything go wrong with this? Or does the magical world get new material they can genuinely use? Is there anyone who wishes they’d found this sooner?!

Also ask what would be the downside to wishes being granted or withheld? There could be some interesting story thoughts here. Would be bound to generate reactions and therefore actions in your characters.

This World and Others – Work and Recreation for the Magically Inclined

What would work look like for your magical characters? For example, do they create the spells they use or are they reliant on the work of others long before them to give them the material they need here? If they develop spells themselves, how do they do this? Are they reliant on natural materials in their world to create these things (think witches and eye of newt! Have always felt sorry for the newts here)?

Or do they use things like metalwork, woodwork etc to create their implements and other things they need to work with and use them to make anything else needed?

When it comes to time off, what do your magical characters do? After a long day working, granting wishes, what would your average fairy godmother like to do when she can hang up the old wand for the evening?

Are there “clubs” for the magically inclined to relax and recuperate or would your characters just prefer to be at home? Would they use magic to help them with domestic chores ore are they only too glad to leave the magic behind after a hard working day?

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Changes In Your Reading

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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. Images of me with books I’ve written or have been in were taken by Adrian Symes. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, though one especially useful screenshot was kindly supplied by fellow Swanwicker, Christine Miller.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Nice one here. Writing wise, am making good progress on my competition story and am pleased to say there will be a fabulous author interview coming up in May on Chandler’s Ford Today about historical short stories. Meantime, Lady continues to have a fabulous time in the park with her pals so all is well in her world.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady and I had a lovely time in the park, hope to catch up with friends (doggy and human) tomorrow.

Pain In The Neck Time: Just want to say a huge thank you to Christine Miller and Joy Wood for warning me some one seems to be trying to impersonate me on Facebook because “Allison Symes” has apparently sent out friendship requests.

Problem with that is these requests have gone out to people I am already friends with in person and online!

The good news is I have taken the necessary actions with Facebook and have now added a two step verification process, which I would recommend to all.

Word to the wise: My account has my picture on it. The fake one does not. See screenshot (and thanks to Christine for sending this to me). I never accept friendship requests from anyone who does not show their picture. I want to see who people are. It’s a good thing to watch out for. I also check my friends list every so often. It’s how I know when I get a duplicate request from someone else.

Also annoyingly I get friendship requests from the usual suspects of tragically widowed US Generals and the same name for the profile comes up time and again. I’ve just blocked a certain Mr SJT again.

So be careful, folks! And I’m so grateful for the support from other writers here. We do have to “put ourselves” out there to a certain extent and of course that can make us more susceptible to this kind of scam.

It is a right pain in the neck though! Am looking forward to getting on with some proper writing later – will cheer me up no end. And I am starting to cheer up putting this very post together!

This one above definitely NOT the original and the best!

(No room for false modesty here. No time for scammers or would be scammers at all though).

Hope you have had a good start to the week. Not bad here. Lady got to play with Coco the lovely Labradoodle and her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal this morning so she thinks Monday has been fabulous. Her owner does not necessarily share that view about Mondays though I am looking forward to what will be a great Zoom group later this evening.

Writing Tip: You really cannot edit a blank page so try not to worry if you don’t have a lot of time to write. I never do on a Monday. It is a question of doing what you can and I’ve always found five minutes of writing makes me feel as if I have done something creative, which in itself gives me a boost. When I can do more than that, even better naturally but those five minutes here and there build up. I have completed articles and stories this way.

Lovely church service, had some rain though Lady and I managed to miss most of it.

Writing wise, I’m busy preparing my PowerPoint for the next Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom later this month. Am also busy preparing my first newsletter to come out on the new newsletter email service provider. Am taking the opportunity to spruce up the look of the newsletter too.

Will be starting flash fiction Sunday shortly. Have a competition in mind for one piece I want to work on today. It’s one I drafted a while ago but I know where it could do with strengthening so will get on with that. I do take comfort from the fact I can’t think of any writer who ever wrote the perfect first draft. I know I won’t be the one to ever change that!

Hope your weekend is going well. Have been out in the garden. Nice to have lunch out there with the other half and the dog. Don’t do this nearly often enough. Delighted the camellia at the front which I pruned back is out in full bloom and looking marvellous (and better than before for having had that prune, much like my stories are so much better when I’ve given them a decent editing!).

Writing wise, I’ll be looking at Working Out What You Need to Know For Character Creation for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday, which I hope you will find useful.

As ever, looking forward to flash fiction Sunday for me tomorrow, especially this week after “writing admin” though I am glad to say the newsletter service provider changeover seems to be sorted. I will know for sure on 1st May when I send the first newsletter out on the new system but all is set up as it should be. Am glad to have that done.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting later this month on Zoom. We will be looking at playing with genres in flash. Should be fun. I’ve set some interesting exercises I’m looking forward to sharing with folks later.

Am currently resting a piece for a flash competition I always have a go at but want to get this submitted by the end of the month, which I should get done.

Flash Tip: It’s a good idea to practice writing to 100, 250, 300 and 500 words for flash competitions. These are some of the most popular categories I regularly come across. At least one is bound to suit you!

It’s Monday again. Time for a story from me. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Timing.

Steve, the new postie, thinks Dave is an exceptionally helpful colleague but is he right to do so? Find out here.

 

Hope the weekend has been a good one for you. Nice one here. Family over on Friday night, gardening yesterday which I enjoyed because it was productive (I cannot always say this for my efforts in the garden!), and, naturally, flash fiction Sunday afternoon for me. Am also working on a piece for a competition.

One of my favourite moments when writing flash is when I know I’ve got the ending right. It will be something to make you laugh, make you think, or be a “punch in the gut” style ending, all of which I love reading in stories as well as writing these myself. But knowing I have produced the required ending is always a satisfactory moment.

What makes for a great flash fiction story? For me, the answer to that is when you have read a flash piece where you feel not one word could be added to it. You also feel not one word could be taken away. And that can happen at ten words, fifty, 100 etc.

I find nearly always it is the character which grips me which leads to stories like this. And not just for flash fiction.

This is why, for me, a way into creating stories of my own is always to start with the character and work out why I have to write about them. What is it about them which fascinates me because it will be that which is more likely to fascinate a reader?

I find it is a good place to start.

Goodreads Author Blog – Changes in Your Reading

What changes in your reading have you noticed over the years? For me, there have been two major changes.

One is happily reading ebooks on my Kindle. I held out against having one for a long time because I will always love paperbacks but do find the Kindle useful especially when I’m away. Gives me far more room in my suitcase and I don’t have to fret about only being able to take so many books with me. I can have as many as I want on the Kindle!

The other major change is happily reading non-fiction. Fiction will always be my first love for too many reasons to say here but I have discovered the joys of non-fiction reading and only wish I’d discovered those sooner than I have done. Still, better late than never!

During lockdown, that dreadful time, I was focusing on reading humorous or other lighter works and found those to be therapeutic. I still do this when the news is especially grim so am back to the lighter works again now.

Am currently reading a wonderful book of writers’ quotes and a collection of flash stories (though some of those aren’t light in tone but in fiction I have no issues with that. I suppose that is because I know it isn’t real life. What I can’t cope with when life is grim are dystopian works though I do understand the market for them).

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Author Interviews

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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. Book Fair images taken by Janet Williams. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a great weekend. Nice one here. Making good progress on the writing. Significant editing done too. Hope the week ahead continues to go well for us all. There are more signs of spring appearing all the time too, which always cheers me up.

Facebook – General

Pleased to share my latest post on Authors Electric. This time I look at Author Interviews. It is a great joy to be on both the receiving and setting end of these, given I’ve appeared on other writers’ blogs, have been on podcasts, and, of course, I set many writers questions over at Chandler’s Ford Today.

I discuss how I’ve used author interviews to help me on my own journey to becoming a published writer and how I continue to find such interviews engaging and informative. Hope you find the post useful and thought provoking.

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Hope you’ve had a good day. Hectic here but it was good to see Lady playing with her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals earlier this morning.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a fabulous interview with Joy Wood on Chandler’s Ford Today post on Friday. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my Authors Electric post about Author Interviews. See above. Not a coincidence this one!

Hoping to get an article finished and sent off later this evening plus I hope to work on my presentation for the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group later this month. Am almost there on it.

Had a productive weekend but Mondays are always one of those days when I don’t get so much writing done due to commitments elsewhere so I use Mondays to do little bits and pieces. These things mount up.

Hope the weekend has been a good one. Nice to see more sunshine.

Writing wise I’ll be getting on with Flash Fiction Sunday shortly. Later I have editing to crack on with and a presentation to add more to so I will be happily out of mischief for the rest of the day, no problem!

Also have just heard will be off to a murder mystery my local amateur theatre group is performing in April. Will be going to this with my lovely editor from Chandler’s Ford Today. Looking forward to that already. Plus I will have a writing Zoom to go to in early April as well as so plenty going on.

Character Tip: This is where writing what you know can help you in the creation of your characters. We know what we like and dislike in other people so let’s put that to good use as we invent our own people/beings of choice.

We understand what can make people angry, for example, so how can you tap into that when writing an angry character of your own? Look at the reasons why people have the attitudes they do.

There will be something you can use for your fictional creations from that. Understanding motivation helps so much here I think.

Hope you have had a good start to the weekend. Managed to get washing out and dried on the line today – yes, I know it’s sad but it is a win, honestly! Also lots of daffodils now out in one of my borders – daffodils always make me smile as I see them as pretty cheery plants, and they also remind me of Wordsworth.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a fabulous interview with Joy Wood on Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Do look out for that on Friday. The interview is packed full of useful thoughts and tips and you can also find out how and why competition slogans had an impact on her writing life. Looking forward to sharing that and hopefully catching up with Joy again in person at Swanwick later this year.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Lady had a fabulous time in the park today with her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle. Great time had by all. Hopefully more of the same will take place tomorrow!

I haven’t used dogs much in my flash fiction tales and short stories. I tend to focus on characters who are human or fantastical in some way though my YouTube story this week, Temptation, is one for dog owners to enjoy especially.

But there is nothing to stop us using the qualities most dog owners appreciate in their pets (loyalty, love, faithfulness, mischief making, just being fun to be around etc!) in other types of character for our stories. Just a thought.

To quote The Bangles, it has indeed been a Manic Monday and it is time to share another story of mine on YouTube. Hope you like the short but sweet Temptation. Dogs and their owners will especially appreciate this one.

Temptation can attack anyone or anything but especially, in some cases, where cooked chicken is involved.

 

Both of my flash fiction collections with Chapeltown Books have titles which indicate something of their genre and/or mood. From Light to Dark and Back Again very much flags up the mood of the stories. Tripping the Flash Fantastic indicates the genre (flash and fantastic tales/fantasy).

Did I have either of those titles when I began compiling my books for submission? No! Both had alternative working titles. The titles I ended up with came to mind as I was drafting and editing. This happens so I no longer worry about it. I find I have to have a working title for anything I write but am not worried if it ends up changing. I think I just need a placeholder and I work with that.

Most of the time when ideas for alternative titles come up, they are better than the original but it doesn’t always work out that way. When it doesn’t I simply stay with what I first came up with. I always ask myself what kind of impact the title has on me (and therefore on a likely reader) and the strongest impact is always the one I go with.

Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday afternoon tomorrow. Friday Flash Fiction is about to run their annual Andrew Siderius competition so do look out for this. I hope to have a go.

Also looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting later in the month. Will be looking at editing flash fiction for this one. One massive benefit to flash fiction writing is you do learn to improve your editing skills considerably and that can then filter across to other forms of writing you do. I’ve found this to be the case.

Goodreads Author Blog – Books and Their Moods

Now it’s no secret the books I read often depend on what mood I’m in. When life is grim (and the news even more so), then I will usually go for humorous reads such as works by Wodehouse, Pratchett, and Austen, something I know will make me smile basically. I see it as having something lighter to counterbalance the darker side of life.

But books too have their moods and certain genres play on this to good effect – horror, crime, and thrillers, all indicate the moods of their stories to name but a few.

Now I’m one of those readers where I don’t want the mood the book to match my mood. I like that counterbalance though there are books I will always read regardless of what mood I’m in. For example, I will always find time to re-read Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time (which is a fabulous book and the only novel to make me change my view on a historical person, in this case Richard III).

So which books do you use to lighten your mood? Which ones do you read regardless of mood of book or your own mood?

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