Tag: This World and Others

Reading Feeding Into Writing

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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.
Busy but fun week. Went to see Curtain Up performed by The Chameleon Theatre Company. Review to follow on Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. Lots of writing done. Plus will be having a family do at the weekend – the dog loves these so I expect a very tired Lady on the Sunday!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Hope you have had a good day. Quiet one in the park but Lady and I had a lovely time. Gorgeous autumn weather at the moment too. We’re making the most of that.

Lovely to catch up with my editor from Chandler’s Ford Today last night when we went to see Curtain Up staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company. Review to follow in a couple of weeks.

Talking of CFT, I’m pleased to share Reading Feeding Into Writing for this week’s post. Given this combines two of my favourite things, writing and reading, you can imagine this was an especial joy to write. I look at past inspirations, love of stories (as this is the gift which keeps on giving), and analysing stories written by others so you can work out what you like and dislike and apply that to your own creations. I also suggest some useful questions to ask yourself here.

Hope you find the post a good read and useful.

Happy reading and writing!

Reading Feeding Into Writing

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady had a fabulous time with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal today. Both dogs had a great run and came home tired but happy.

Writing wise I’m sharing Reading Feeding Into Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on that tomorrow. See above.

Next week I’ll be meeting again with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group and the next issue of my newsletter will be out (I know, I know, how can it be so close to October already?).

Tonight though I’m off to see The Chameleons perform Curtain Up. Looking forward to this. They always stage excellent productions and this is a comedy, which ticks all of the right boxes for me. I could do with a laugh basically!

Hope today has gone well. Quiet one in the park though a lovely autumnal day, the kind Lady and I like best.

Writing wise, hope to get various bits and pieces written tonight as I won’t be writing much tomorrow. I’m off tomorrow night to see The Chameleon Theatre Company perform Curtain Up, which looks fun. Will be nice to catch up with my lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today here too as we usually see our local amateur theatre company’s productions together. It makes for a great evening out. Review to follow in due course. Watching plays is another fabulous way to take in stories too!

Talking of reviews, every author including me greatly values these. As well as the obvious validation aspect, we can use quotes from the reviews in further marketing. I hope to do this soon with some of the fabulous reviews I received during the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side though I suspect this may need to wait a week or so.

The next few days will be especially busy but I would put a call out for more reviews to go up on the usual sites because this is the second best thing you can do for any writer, other than buy their book.

The great thing is reviews don’t have to be long – a line or two is fine.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Busy but fun family day coming up tomorrow so will get back to flash fiction writing on Sunday. I suspect I may have to have a crack at further competitions from later next week. I have a definite one in mind, which I usually have a crack at, that I definitely want to do before the end of the year, which is racing towards us. (I know!).

Flash Fiction Tip: There is lot to be said for keeping it simple. It helps with word count. Keeping it simple will mean going for two direct words rather than five, for example.

Having said that, I sometimes want to write a character who does go “around the houses” when they speak. I can show them being long winded in the first couple of lines of dialogue they say. After that I can get them to “tail off” or have another character interrupt them (because by that time the other character will get how long winded this character is and will want to interrupt them or risk being bored by them all night).

I’ve had one of those days today where I’ve not had time to do much, I’ve had lots of things on, and the front door would probably have been better as a set of revolving doors. It is, to quote my dear mum, one of those days where I’m meeting myself going backwards.

So not much time to write today either but this is where flash can come into its own because I can either write about it as I am here or get a couple of lines down which might be a promising opening to a new story. Snippets of time to write mount up so it is worth using them to write something.

Years ago, when I had some caring responsibilities, I found ten minutes writing here, another ten minutes there could often be the only writing I could do in a day. But over the course of just a week, I found I could get a story drafted, maybe two.

And I found because I knew time was limited I just got to my desk and hit the ground running so to speak. Sometimes a lack of time can do wonders for your focus.

Am looking forward to catching up with the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. We’ll be looking at various ways in which to get our flash pieces “out there”.

Building up publication credits with your short form writing can also help when submitting queries for longer work to publishers and/or agents because it shows them (a) you take your writing seriously, a track record does mean something, and (b) someone else decided they liked your work enough to publish it. Well worth doing.

I’ve been pleased over recent years to see more flash competitions about and even some of the short story ones allow submissions at 1000 words so there are options. The biggest issue is picking which competitions to try because you’re unlikely to get to do them all.

But as ever always check out the background of the competition and make sure you’re happy before sending anything. It pays to do your homework there. Once you’ve found the competitions which are right for you and are “sound”, good luck! You to have to be in it to have any chance of winning it after all.

Fairytales With Bite – Guest Lists

Guest lists and who should/shouldn’t be on them are not the easiest things to handle. Even in the fairytales, this isn’t always correctly done – see Sleeping Beauty for the classic example of that. Even when right not to invite someone, as in that case, surely basic precautions should have been taken to avoid the “revenge of the uninvited” scenario! Mind you, I guess that would have meant no story…

Thinking about your characters, who would they want to have on the guest lists of their special events? Who would they never invite and why? Bound to be story thoughts there.

Also what kind of special events would your characters have or like to be able to have? If they do manage to have their events, what would they do if the uninvited turn up? There’s bound to be someone wanting to cause a scene for your character here – what is behind all of that? Is your character right to feel the way they do or not here? Could the uninvited have justified reason to be upset with your character?

For important state like events, who would be on the guest lists for those? Who would your governing authorities not want to see turn up?

Also who gets the job of compiling guest lists? It’s not an easy one. It’s too easy to upset someone without meaning to either with this. So could your character be given this job as a test for them? If they can handle this well, could they then go on to handle even more important jobs?

Plenty of story thoughts there, I think.

This World and Others – Ceremonials

In your setting, what kind of ceremonials does it have? Does this depend on the “country” in your world or is it a one world government kind of system? Are the ceremonials used to commemorate things deemed important to remember (such as our Remembrance Day events)?

Ceremonials tend to be stately and formal but could your setting have a kind which is less so? I’m thinking along the lines of a “friendly ceremonial” for, say, youngsters becoming adults, doing well in exams etc, and all done publicly deliberately to encourage others to follow the same route in life.

What is the history behind the ceremonials? Does anyone object to them? What would happen to them if they did so publicly? Would they be going against general public opinion or are they on track with the public but not with the government and they are the ones prepared to speak out, no matter what?

Again, story ideas there, happy writing!

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Celebrating Books and Blog Tours and Book Events

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

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. Weather changeable but Lady has caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal this week and I’m doing better with my swimming. Writing and proofing work continuing to keep me busy but that is how I like it so all well there!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

18th September 2026 

Second blog post from me tonight is my regularly Friday night Chandler’s Ford Today post. This week I look at Blog Tours and Book Events, both of which have been uppermost on my mind recently! I look at the advantages of these for writers, share tips, plus I share links to all the blogs I was on recently for my tour with Seeing The Other Side.

Again, a huge thank you to all who hosted me and to Lynsey Adams of Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog for organising things so well.

Hope you find the post useful. Even if this isn’t for you yet (and I stress the yet), it may become so later. I remain grateful for all of the writing advice I receive earlier on in my writing life which is so much a help to me now.

Blog Tours and Book Events

1

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

18th September 2026 – Authors Electric

It’s double blog day for me today. First up tonight is my latest post on Authors Electric on Celebrating Books. As you can imagine, this one was a particular joy to write. There is never a time where you shouldn’t celebrate books either!

I look at reluctant readers, my hopes the shorter fiction forms might help draw them into reading, and there’s a word of encouragement too. It isn’t all doom and gloom on the getting the younger generation to read front, far from it. More in the post on that.

Hope you enjoy the post before then celebrating by reading more books! (Okay, okay, I’m biased here but it is a good thing to be biased about, yes?).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope today has gone well. Quiet one here but lovely all the same. Sometimes you just need that, right?

It will be a double blog day from me tomorrow as, not only will I have my Chandler’s Ford Today post to share, I’ll also be sharing my Authors Electric post. Plenty of thoughts and tips from both, which I hope will prove useful. See above for both.

I’m not sure what my greatest joy from storytelling as a writer and a reader is as I think there are so many, but one which would be pretty high on my list would be the way great stories take you into others worlds (including this one funnily enough) and into characters.

Stories can be fabulous for generating empathy as you read and understand a character. Other worlds can show you what life is like on the other side (a theme I have shown in my Seeing The Other Side – there is a reason for the title!).

Reading does so much for your vocabulary and is a fabulous way to keep your brain active. Writing also does this and I know I enjoy the challenge of coming up with new creations and situations in which to put them.

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady was delighted to catch up with her Hungarian Vizler pal and I was, as ever, pleased with the lovely job done on my hair by the fantastic Hannah. A good day here then and some sunshine too.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Blog Tours and Book Events for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.  See above. As well as summarising recent events for me regarding Seeing The Other Side, I’ll be sharing useful thoughts and tips on the advantages of these things for writers. I hope if they don’t prove useful for you now, they will do later. (I’ve been so grateful for advice received like this earlier in my writing life, which is paying dividends for me now).

Have signed the recent Society of Authors petition regarding AI and author rights.

Am also currently trying to set up some events local to me regarding my new flash fiction collection. Fingers crossed time.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope the week has been a good one. Not bad here. Calmer after the excitement of the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side naturally but the breather is welcome too. I do hope to have other events for the book and will share when I have news (though it is unlikely to be before October now, not that this is so far away now).

Hope to pick a competition to have a go at over the weekend if I can. Next few days will be especially busy – family stuff coming up (all good!). But I do want to get back into sending things in for competition. It’s the single best way I know of practising writing to deadlines and that comes in handy in other areas of the writing life too.

The 100 word flash fiction piece, also known as the drabble, will always be my favourite form in which to write because it is what introduced me to flash fiction. It should have come with a warning those – this form is addictive! I found having discovered I could write to 100 words, could I do it again, again, again etc. Could I write to 50 words? Could I write exactly to the 1000 words upper limit?

Flash demands you’re exact so you have to consider word choice well. Have my characters shared what they needed to in the most appropriate way for their type and the story in the word count required?

Thinking about word choices has stood me in good stead for my other writing and my editing work. I find I almost automatically want to cut words which aren’t adding anything of real value – see what I did there?

With flash fiction, I find the best way in is to start with the character. Who are they? What do they want? Why must I tell their story? That is such a good foundation for any length of story.

Just as people come in all shapes and sizes, so do characters and writers can have fun with that. Indeed, you don’t even have to stick to the human race, I often don’t, but I do have to understand why my characters are the way they are. Otherwise I can’t write about them with any kind of conviction. I have to believe in my characters. I don’t necessarily have to like them or agree with them.

I’ve also found with such a wide variety of potential characters, a wide range of plots come with them. Some might say that’s handy. Some might say it’s coincidence. I don’t. I’ve long believed characters drive the plot rather than the other way around. Certainly that thought has worked, and continues to work, for me.

Fairytales With Bite – Secrets

Secrets are fun to write stories around. I’ve written many flash pieces and short tales where a secret is revealed or someone is covering up something they don’t want anyone else to know.

But it doesn’t have to be a great dramatic secret. A wish to avoid embarrassment can be enough of a motive to keep something secret, even if it is harmless or would seem to be to most. It would be the fact is isn’t unimportant to the secret keeper here which matters and which will drive the story – will they be found out? If so, what are the consequences? If they get away with it, how do they do so and what are the consequences from that?

In the fairytale world, secrets can revolved around someone’s magical abilities. Would someone try to keep quiet just how magical they are and what are their motivations here? Is it to surprise someone else (in a good way or not) or are they worried if the full extent of their powers are known, they might be pressurized to use them (and if so for whom and how)? Good story ideas would come from those thoughts.

The magical setting you’ve created may well have secrets of its own. Are there areas where magic can’t be performed because of something that happened there centuries ago? How would that be found out and, once this secret was discovered, how would it challenge your characters? I could see this discovery coming at an awkward moment and not being especially good news for your characters.

Secrets can be deadly, especially so in a magical setting. Again, plenty to write about there, I think.

This World and Others – Surveillance

Hand in hand with secrets can come the need for surveillance. In a magical setting, how could this be done effectively by the authorities given most, if not all, characters will have magical powers which could well include at least some element of mind reading?

Would your authorities have to resort to what we know as technology to get around that? Equally can they limit how much mind reading powers your characters can have to try to prevent any rebellions against them?

Which characters would your authorities want to keep under surveillance and why? Are the reasons justified? Have mistakes been made in the past thanks to surveillance not being carried out?

Do the “ordinary” characters in your setting know they are under surveillance – the government makes it clear they watch everyone – or are they unaware? How would this affect daily lives in your setting?

Food for thought there!

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Using Autumn In Your Writing and More Blog Tour News

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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. Lady has caught up with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal twice. The blog tour for Seeing The Other Side has gone so well so far, even inspiring some fan art. There’s a first! More below.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

It has been another busy day on the blog front but more on that in other posts. I’ll start this evening with my usual Friday evening link to this week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post.

This time I look at Using Autumn In Your Writing and I share plenty of ideas for how you can do that, including using the senses with the season in mind. I also look at using autumn as a setting and autumn memories and little details. The latter can have such a powerful impact on a tale. It is often what readers remember. I discuss how time changes everything in this season and there are story ideas to be had from that thought alone.

I hope the thoughts here prompt many story ideas for you. It was an especial joy creating the pictures in Book Brush for this one. Autumn is a lovely season and the images reflect that.

Using Autumn In Your Writing

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

11th September – latest on blog tour – Anita D Hunt

Next up on the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side is fellow Swanwicker, Anita D Hunt, with a smashing review. Will just share a short extract here. Naturally I’m very pleased about it!

Seeing The Other Side is a varied collection of short fiction that demonstrates just how many directions a story can take when the author has only a limited space in which to tell it.

There is plenty of variety here, both in subject matter and tone. Some stories are light-hearted and amusing, while others take a darker turn, and there are plenty of opportunities for the reader to see situations and characters from a different perspective — very much in keeping with the title.

Many thanks, Anita.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

10th September – Donna Morfett

Today’s review for the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side comes from Donna Morfett via Instagram. Sadly I’m not on that platform but I have two links to share including to a Facebook link. It is a great review and I was especially pleased with the following extract from it.

This is quite the eclectic collection of flash fiction…. A wide range of topics covered including fairytales and seemingly ordinary encounters… I dipped in and out of it over time and always came away smiling. What better review could I give?

Many thanks, Donna.

In other news, don’t forget my Chandler’s Ford Today post is up tomorrow. I will be discussing Using Autumn In Your Writing. My posts are timely! I’ll be sharing thoughts as to how you can use the season for your writing and I hope you do end up writing many stories as a result. I hope to as well! See above.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

9th September – Vanessa Knipe blog for me and the fan art!

Second blog post for Seeing The Other Side comes from Vanessa Knipe via her The Grass Is Greener blog and I can claim a first here. For the first time I’ve inspired some fan art! Am thrilled by that but to find out what it is and why Vanessa did it, you will have to click on the link.

Meantime here is an extract with which, naturally, I’m very pleased!

Review of Seeing the Other Side

What is it about?
In a book with no overarching theme, there’s something for everyone and for every mood. This is a book of Flash Fiction. Each piece is very short and yet still contains a complete story. I admire people who can write Flash Fiction. To me, it’s one of the hardest formats. Each word has to carry the weight of the story. There can be no redundancy. No having an off day in word choice.
So, it’s all very short?

Allison Symes in Seeing the Other Side is a master of the format. Every story has all a reader could want to reach a satisfying end.

Are stories this short worth the effort?
Very much so. They can be a quick mood booster…. The collection is an eclectic mix of fantasy and science fiction that works well together.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

9th September – Sheena McLeod
Day 3 of the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side has two wonderful reviews from Sheena McLeod and Vanessa Knipe. First up this evening is the link to the review from Sheena via her blog called All About Books.

To say I’m delighted with the review is an understatement! Do check it out via the link. Meantime, I’m especially fond of this extract from the review. No prizes for guessing why!

Allison is a master of the short story – each one feels complete, with a beginning, a middle, and often a surprise ending, spanning a range of moods.

I grew up on Roald Dahl’s short story collections and have loved short stories ever since. Though in a shorter-form flash fiction format, Allison Symes delivers everything I look for.

Allison Symes knows her craft. She writes in vivid prose that makes every word count. I recommend this collection to anyone who wants to read or write flash fiction. I now eagerly await her next collection.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

11th September 2026
Another busy day but a good one. More on the blog tour (see my author page on that) with more to come on the weekend. The tour finishes on Sunday and I am so pleased with how it has gone. Also it is a fabulous way to flag up flash fiction generally, I think. The tour has been another way to bring it to people’s attention.

Flash is made up of moments in character lives. I have a soft spot for the funnier side of that but there is room for the thoughtful and darker too. I write all of that. Flash stories can have so much impact because they are so short. There can be no dilution of any emotional impact.

Sometimes I will write a story based around a character’s memories. Naturally those have to be gripping enough to keep folk reading but this kind of story does wonders for encouraging empathy.

And can’t we all do with much more of that in this world?

Hope today has gone well. Lady had a smashing time in the park with her Hungarian Vizler and Rhodesian Ridgeback chums. Hopefully there’ll be more of the same tomorrow. All three dogs missed each other during the heatwave.

So thrilled to have another smashing review in for Seeing The Other Side. See my Facebook author page for more on that. (Or just see above!). I hope to write a Chandler’s Ford Today post soon about the advantages of a good blog tour from an author’s viewpoint and to have a one stop shop with the links where my book has been featured.

Am so pleased flash fiction is being celebrated in this way. It is a great format and does wonders for your writing.

Flash Tip: Focus on the story first (and for me that always means leading with the character). Once you know what the story is, you can then work out how to improve phrasing etc which will also help with your word count.

Lovely day in the park today with Lady. She had a fabulous play session with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. Both went home tired and happy. Job done there then.

Delighted to share two smashing reviews for Seeing The Other Side on my Facebook author page here. (See above). Looking forward to seeing what comes next. Would I do a blog tour like this again? You bet.

In other news, I’ll be sharing Using Autumn In Your Writing for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’ll share tips and thoughts here. I expect I’ll end up using some of these for some flash pieces in due course! Again, see above.

Fairytales with Bite – Magical Touring

I’m currently having a wonderful “magical” book blog tour with my Seeing The Other Side and that inspired this topic, which I hope will trigger story ideas.

In your magical setting, are your characters expected to stay within certain areas or is magical touring encouraged? If generally your characters do stay put, can they tour other parts of your world when they have the equivalent of our holidays? Where would they usually be and which places would they like to tour? Is transportation magical and/or accessible to all? Are there places your characters would never wish to tour and why? There will be stories behind that!

Would your setting have the equivalent of a magical tourist board or a company who arranges tours for others? I could see there being stories here, especially if things went wrong. Those could be tragic or humorous depending on your character and set up. There could be stories set around the employees here as well as around those who use the services provided.

I must admit when I’m on my holidays I do like to have a good look around at the area in which I’m staying. Do your characters do the same? Have they developed favourite places to go over the years? Have they got to know some of the characters who live in the places they visit?

Again, there could be good stories here.

This World and Others – Exploring Other Worlds

Does your setting have relationships with other worlds at all or does it keep itself to itself? Would other worlds want to develop relationships with them and how welcome or otherwise would that be?

If your setting is an open one, can any of your characters explore other worlds on their own account or do they have to do so via “official means”? Are there worlds their home planet bans them from visiting?

What good or otherwise comes out of your characters exploring other worlds? There could be plenty of potential for diplomatic incidents. There could be plenty of potential for bridge building between worlds and species here.

How would your characters get to explore other worlds? Would they use spacecraft, whether similar to our own or not? Would they use portals or a combination of these things?

Plenty of thoughts to unpack there which could lead to stories.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Out and About in Salisbury

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

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. IMAGES OF ME AT A LOCAL BOOK FAIR WERE TAKEN BY MY LOVELY EDITOR AT CHANDLER’S FORD TODAY, JANET WILLIAMS.
Hope all is well. Am slowly resuming normal swimming in terms of distance – am about 80% there. Lady has seen her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal this week so is well pleased with that, as was the Ridgeback.
Looking forward to my book event for Seeing The Other Side at Salisbury URC tomorrow, 5th September. Hope to report back on that later.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Hope the day has gone well. Lady caught up with her Hungarian Vizler chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle. Hasn’t seen either in ages. All three dogs had a super time.

Writing wise, I’m pleased to share Out and About In Salisbury for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. It flags up my writing event at Salisbury URC tomorrow, Saturday 5th September, and celebrates Salisbury itself to an extent. It is a lovely city to visit.

Hope to report back at a later date on how the event tomorrow goes though I hope the Salisbury URC, their book stall and coffee shop and I all do well! I do know it will be fun! And if you are in the city, do pop by and say hello.

Out and About in Salisbury

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Am thrilled to be able to share the following Facebook reel created by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog ahead of my blog tour for Seeing The Other Side. That kicks off from next week from 7th September.

Meantime I have also just sent in a pitch to give a talk at my local library after an interesting chat with them yesterday. Fingers crossed time! Would so love to do something here.

I’ll be sharing Out and About in Salisbury for Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow, giving details of my book event at the URC on Saturday. It is all go but in a good way. See above.

Hope the day has gone well. Popped up to my local library. Hope to pitch an author talk to them – they were interested so fingers crossed. Blog tour for Seeing The Other Side starts next week too.

Will be hosting an online group for the Association of Christian Writers later this evening. Was delighted to see in the latest Christian Writer a friend of mine has joined them and got his book in there. Mine has gone out via the ACW newsletter. Hope it gets into the magazine too in due course. It’s a useful membership perk!

Writing wise, am busy blogging and drafting and proofreading, as well as marketing, so not sure of things to be getting on with but I like this. I love the variety. Keeps me on my creative toes and that’s never a bad thing. Filled in the feedback form for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick today too. Did appreciate being able to have my book launch there. It was useful.

Marketing Tip: Start small, build up. Find things you know you’ll enjoy doing. I like sharing stories so will always find ways to do that, for example. Carve out marketing time away from your writing time. I say that because you want to enjoy your writing. Without that you would have nothing to market anyway. You also don’t want to resent marketing eating up your writing time either.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Looking forward to tomorrow’s event (5th September) at Salisbury URC for Seeing The Other Side. Next week will be blog tour week for the book and I look forward to sharing the various links. Have now got my pitch into my local library for a talk there but have no idea how long it will be before I hear back but as the saying goes, if you don’t ask etc etc.

I hope over the weekend to submit my story for potential broadcast and on Sunday 6th September I’ll have another story up on CafeLit, which will be lovely.

Flash Tip: Know your character. Know what makes them stand out for you. That aspect of them will resonate with your readers too. You want to feel as if I’ve got to write this character’s story up. If they grip you like that, they will grip others. It’s why I swear by jotting down a few thoughts as to a potential character. I’ve mentioned before I like traits because they are a good way in to likely attitudes and behaviours. You can do a lot with that.

Lady has had a great day, having had a wonderful playtime in the park with her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum. The grass is also coming back! It’s much nicer to walk on and it’s fabulous seeing some green reappear.

Writing wise, as well as various things connected to Seeing The Other Side going on right now, I hope to submit a story for potential broadcast over the weekend. Happy with the piece. Just need to send it in.

I always record stories for this kind of thing on Zoom and play them back but doing this also means I know I can’t go over the allotted time span. I know what the time allowed is (three to five minutes usually) and I know what Zoom is telling me I’ve come in at! I also hear how the story sounds and whether I stumble or not. All useful stuff.

There’s also a story I need to edit considerably but hope to work on this over the weekend as well.

Always pleased to have plenty to do.

Flash fiction was something I found by accident.
But it made me a published author with books to my name.
Not every writing accident is a bad one!
The writing life should be seen, I think, as a long term game.
Allison Symes – 2nd September 2026

I’ve learned over time to be open to trying new forms of writing which is how I got into short stories and flash fiction at all. But I had to be willing to give it a go and take the view what did I have to lose?

I take the same view with competitions. Give it my best shot and send something suitable in. If I am shortlisted or win, brilliant. If not, at least I knew I tried. And, as I’ve mentioned before, when I’ve looked at work again, I’ve had another edit on it and gone on to have it published second time around.

There are no shortcuts in writing but there is plenty of support on the way. It’s the biggest thing I love about the writing community. With rare exceptions, it is supportive.

Fairytales With Bite – Musical Magic

Had a fabulous time earlier this week listening to the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame. I suspect many take in classical music without realising it. Enjoy a Spielberg film? Composer will almost certainly be John Williams. I’ve always understood classical to be music which uses all of the sections of the orchestra and most film music does and to great effect too.

I love a wide range of music and think it is truly magical but would this apply in your setting and to your characters? Good music can take you out of yourself but would your characters ever want that? If not, why not?

What would the music be like in your magical setting? Similar to ours or literally like nothing on Earth? Would your setting/characters copy musical styles from Earth once they became aware of them? Could our music be one thing which might make them think better of us and could change a course of action they’d been planning to follow?

Story ideas there for sure.

This World and Others – Appreciation of The Arts

I love music, especially classical. I love poetry especially when it is read to me at Poetry Open Mic Nights. I love writing and reading, especially flash fiction and short stories. I love wonderful paintings (but am of the school of thought I know what I like when I see it). Generally, I appreciate the arts for what they can give us and those who practice the arts. I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the behind the scenes work and practice over years which must happen here.

But how do your characters appreciate the arts? Do they appreciate them at all or think they’re just for the “snobs”? What art forms are there in your setting? Could comparisons be made with what we have here or would they be far beyond us here in terms of scale, technical ability etc?

Do they have art forms which can only be on their setting due to its nature/your characters’ natures? What would humans make of these if they discovered your setting?

Can art help improve relationships between species? Could an appreciation of the arts change behaviours, attitudes, promote understanding etc?

Again there are story ideas there.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES –  NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Joy of Responding To and Setting Writing Exercises

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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. Have resumed gentle swimming after my fall. Seems to be helping. Lady has caught up with one of her friends this week and I’m looking forward to my book signing in Salisbury next week. All go but I like it that way.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to share The Joy of Setting and Responding to Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Naturally I put this into practice for this week’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group!

I list my favourite writing exercises, what I have got out of giving them a go (published work in many cases for one), and share plenty of useful tips for getting the most of any exercises you’re set.

I also look at life on the other side of the fence here in that setting writing exercises is a great way to make you think outside of your usual “comfort box”. You want something you know people can do but will also be a challenge (and they’re a challenge to me too because I ensure I do them too, it’s a great way to get more flash written).

Hope you find the post useful, whichever side of the writing exercise fence you are on. I regularly switch sides here!

The Joy of Responding to and Setting Writing Exercises

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Nice day. Another gentle swim today went well.

Writing wise, I’m pleased to share a link to Hannah Ruth Retallick’s Substack post about If You Keep Missing Writing Errors, Try This. All sound, sensible stuff and something every writer needs. Many thanks to her for a shout out to me for a tip I share here. It’s one I’ve often shared here but it bears repeating.

One thing I was chatting about last night with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group was to write first, edit later, and to see the two things as separate, different creative tasks. This ties in nicely with Hannah’s post because if you do give yourself the time away from a piece before coming back to edit it, you are much more likely to pick up on the mistakes. Time away does help and while you’re resting a piece, you can of course be drafting another one!

As for draft writing, the group and I drafted some flash fiction pieces last night. Naturally I’m resting mine for the moment!

Talking of writing exercises, which I love, my Chandler’s Ford Today post tomorrow will focus on The Joy of Setting and Responding To Writing Exercises. I’ll be sharing plenty of useful thoughts here so watch out for it. See above.

Hope the day has gone well. Lady was delighted to catch up with her Hungarian Vizler pal today. The dogs haven’t seen much of each other recently thanks to the summer holidays and the heatwave so this was nice to see.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing The Joy of Setting And Responding To Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. See above.

Talking of writing exercises, I have set some for tonight’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group and yes I plan to have a go too.

And I’m getting lots of spam emails regarding Seeing The Other Side. Am deleting the lot. Only thing to do. Talking of the new book, I hope to share news about the blog tour for it before too long so watch this space.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope your day has gone well. Had some proper rain earlier. I got caught in it on the way back from an appointment. Was torn between wishing it had held off for ten more minutes or delighted it had come down at all! I suspect I might get a flash fiction story from a character caught in the rain at some point…!

Want to draft a flash piece over the weekend to submit to Hannah Kate’s show on North Manchester FM in due course. As the weather has started to turn autumnal, it is timely her call for stories for her Autumn Equinox show is timely.

Looking forward to being in Salisbury next weekend for my book event for Seeing The Other Side and not long after that there will be the blog tour. Plenty going on.

Had a lovely evening with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group yesterday. Many thanks, folks. Yes, we did draft some flash pieces. I hope to return to mine in a few days or so. One nice thing about groups like this is we all share news which is amazingly handy at times.

One such bit of news came from Jenny Sanders who highlighted the fact Hannah Kate of North Manchester FM is looking for flash stories for her Autumn Equinox show. See the link for more details but I’ll be looking at having a go at this later this week. The show itself goes out on Saturday 19th September but the deadline is by midnight on Monday 14th September.

Top Tip: When I submit stories to Hannah Kate’s show and I’ve polished them up as much as I can, I record them on Zoom. I hear how they sound. I can make sure I’m not speaking too fast or too slow. And Zoom gives you the timing of your recording so you can’t get that wrong. I’ve also found a word count of about 150 words or thereabouts works well here.

Autumn Equinox Stories Wanted for Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

 

Flash is remarkably flexible given its restricted word count. I think a major factor in this is it has to be character led (as you have little room for much in the way of description so the characters have to show everything).

Characters can be put into any situation and time. I have a lot of fun here which is why I’ll always recommend flash for all writers even if it’s never your main work. I think it is a no-brainer for anyone who loves creating characters.

The discipline of writing to a tight word count pays off for other forms of writing. I’ve found this to be the case for my blogging, for example. It is much tighter now than it used to be.

Fairytales With Bite – Pride Before A Fall

We all know the saying. It’s a great theme for a story. Sadly it proved to be true literally for me last week when I took a tumble. Thankfully only painful bruising but my ego took a bit of a tumble too. (I tripped over a service cover in the pavement – these things are never level and I just didn’t lift my foot high enough).

In the magical world, how could pride come before a fall? I’ve written flash pieces on this where an arrogant younger magical being is shown she is not the be all and end all by a much older, wiser magical being. Good fun to do.

But you could show pride in a magical development by the society as a whole only for the thing to go horribly wrong. What would the consequences be? Would your society be honest, admit to it and clear up the mess or would they try and cover up the fact anything went wrong at all?

Good story possibilities there, especially since I think if they went for the cover up route, there would be bound to be a whistleblower somewhere, concerned about public safety perhaps?

Happy writing!

This World and Others – Necessity is the Mother of Invention

You may have noticed I’ve got a bit of a thing about old sayings this week. But they do make great themes for stories and, in many cases, can be used for titles too. These sayings are timeless so your story ideas shouldn’t date either.

In a magical world, you could have fun writing about what needs to be invented and why, whether the thing is invented or not and who by and what problems they had to overcome, and whether anyone else tries to stop the invention. Plenty of story ideas there.

I must admit I have a soft spot for stories when the most unlikely being comes up with something useful. I guess that is a hangover from my love of the fairytales where the most unlikely character often turns out to be the hero.

So what would your world need to invent? Would it invent something to stop it having to copy something from a planet they despised such as our own dear home? How well or otherwise do things work out?

As for the creative minds behind all of this, are they respected, feared, mocked or what have you? Not everyone appreciates geniuses and even they do it’s often after someone’s life time. Could that happen in your setting?

Food for thought there.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Swanwick 2026 and Book Launch for Seeing The Other Side

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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.
Many thanks to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, Gemma Owen-Kendall, Liz Pacey and Babs Trevitt for images from Swanwick which feature in my Chandler’s Ford Post this week.
Hope you’ve had a good week. I’ve spent some of it thinking back to what I was doing at Swanwick the previous week! Been lovely to get out and about with the dog and to go swimmimg again. Also, hooray, we’ve had some rain here and it is a lot cooler.
Next big event for me will be the book signing for Seeing The Other Side in Salisbury on 5th September and not long after that there will be a blog tour for the book. All good!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Now this was a post I’ve been looking forward to sharing. My post on Chandler’s Ford Today this week is Swanwick 2026 and Book Launch for Seeing The Other Side.

I celebrate both events in this post and I share a mini diary of what courses I went to on which day. That alone will show the wide variety of topics on offer and there were many more I could easily have chosen.

Plus I celebrate the thought of catching up with writing friends, which is the focus for many a Swanwicker when we get back to The Hayes again.

I look at the launch, the benefits of it being held at the school, and how taking part in Open Prose Mic Nights can help with book sales too, as well as being great fun to take part in and listen to.

Hope you enjoy the post.

Swanwick 2026 and Book Launch for Seeing The Other Side

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope today has gone well. Was on the final leg of my journey home from Swanwick this time last week. (Thursday 13th August – one of the hottest days ever for travelling!).

Delighted to say Seeing The Other Side is now available through Waterstones. Just spotted it on there. Am also looking forward to my signing event at Salisbury URC on Saturday 5th September.

Writing wise, I’m also busy with editing work, as well as the writing. I may well try to draft something for a competition over the weekend. It’s time I put my hat in the ring for one of those again.

Writing Tip: Schedule as much as you can, it takes the pressure off. I use quieter periods during the week to draft future articles etc and, once done, get them scheduled. I put a note in my diary a week or so before it is due to go out to just run though the posts again. There are always little things to pick up and correct.

For fiction, use the quieter times to draft flash and short stories. The time away from them will help you see them again with fresh eyes and again should help you pick up errors. While you can’t schedule stories as such, you can do a lot of prep work which then frees up time for a thorough edit (rather than a rushed one) later.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hope your day has gone well. Not bad here. Gentle swim earlier.

Will be sharing Swanwick 2026 and Book Launch for Seeing The Other Side on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Looking forward to sharing that as it is a celebratory post for both sides of that equation! See above.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group next week. It was good there was a contingent from ACW at Swanwick.

Don’t forget it won’t be that long before my next author newsletter is out. Writing one of these is a sure fire way of spotting how quickly the year passes! To sign up head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I share tips, news, story links and more here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Having a quiet end to the week, which is proving soothing. Mind you, not that I allow my characters to have a soothing time of it, far from it. As well as loving creating characters, I do enjoy dropping them right in the mire and then finding out what they do to get out of it again. The best characters will find a way out.

Having said that, I don’t drop my characters in it for the sake of it. The situation they face is something well within the bounds of likelihood given who they are, where they are and so on. Everything should seem as if it could be true even if it is set in a galaxy or other world far far away etc.

It is the characters who have to be believable in terms of their attitudes, behaviours and their reactions.

Such fun to create, mind you!

Pleasant day and a quiet one. Was an idiot earlier in the week and had a fall. All okay but am feeling somewhat (a) bruised and (b) sorry for myself so am focusing on writing. It takes the mind off other matters. Writing is useful like that at times. It’s also nice not to have to go anywhere but I do wish there’d been a better reason behind it! I hope to resume things like swimming next week.

Plodding on (literally in my case!), am pleased to be resuming my normal writing routine. Sometimes after a break it can be hard to get back to normal again, but not this time. It’s like putting on the perfect pair of gloves – am straight back into what I’d usually do again. And a break can be useful to help recharge the batteries, inspire you (as was the case for me with Swanwick) and more. All of that can be used to help your writing for the longer term.

It helps a lot to think about your writing in the longer term. I’ve found it easier to cope with rejections by taking the longer term view, for one thing, because I know now something which is rejected today may, with work, be accepted by someone else later. That has happened to me a fair bit. It helps to know often rejections aren’t due to what’s wrong with your work but because the market has recently accepted something similar or they’ve gone off a certain theme for a while.

Mind you, after a break, it still pays you to look at the piece again. What can be done to improve it? What alternative markets could there be?

Good luck!

I have various ways into starting a piece of flash fiction. Sometimes I know the character first and therefore the kind of situation which would suit them best. Sometimes I know the theme and then work out what kind of character would best suit it.

Sometimes, of course, I’m giving a topic to write to so I list what could come from that and then go with the one which makes me really want to write the tale up. I use prompts of all kinds.

My focus though is on the character. For me they make or break a story. If I’m gripped by them, I’ll read on no matter who or what they are, where they are based, how many claws they have etc.

Creating characters has always been a great love of mine and in short form fiction, you get to do this a lot. Match made in heaven I’d say.

Fairytales With Bite – A Fairytale Event

What would characters in your magical setting consider to be a fairytale event? What would the fairies themselves consider to be worthy of note, given the magical business is their daily bread and butter, so to speak?

What one character would consider to be a fairytale event would be thought of in opposite terms for another character. So why the opposing views and which one would be right given they can’t both be?

Now I’ve just returned from what I consider to be a fairytale event, The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick which was made even more special this year given I had the launch there for my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side. These moments stand out in a writing life because you know they happen every so often. They cannot by their nature be everyday things.

So what would be magical moments for your characters and why do they feel this way? Was it something they’ve had to work for or has someone else helped them? (In my case it was both. I wrote the book obviously but the school organising launches was a real blessing for me and the other eleven authors who had launches there this year).

How often could these magical moments happen for your characters or are they always one-offs? Also, is there someone who wants to crash the party here? There’s always a jealous one somewhere in the fairytales. Good source for story ideas though.

This World and Others – Events in the Magical Realms

What events would your magical realm hold? Are they similar to events held elsewhere – on magical worlds or not – or are the events you share in your setting unique to that setting? What do your characters make of the events? Is it compulsory for all to go to these things and, if so, how is that enforced, given there is bound to be a rebel or two somewhere?

Are there historical connections to the events your world holds? We have things like Remembrance Sunday. What would your world want to commemorate? What would it definitely want to forget?

Would your characters take part in your world’s equivalent of re-enactments? The best ones of those are spectacularly good and do bring history home to people so what would your world do to ensure the “right message” got through here.

And when the events are over, and folk are returning to their normal life, do they ever consider what the events meant to them or are they just glad the whole thing is over?

Not everybody likes a show and there are story ideas there too.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Writing Events and How To Make The Most of Them

Leave a comment

 

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 were most of the photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Many thanks to the School and Gemma Owen-Kendall for the shot of me at my launch.
Super duper bumper post from me this time as it was easier to write daily Facebook posts and collATE them here while I was away in Derbyshire. There was little time to do much else. Back to normal next week.
Talking of Derbyshire, I had a fabulous time at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. So good to catch up with friends again and chat to new people too and, as ever, I learned so much from the courses. Creative writing is good for you here – it keeps you learning and developing and that is so good for us in many ways.
Delighted my launch for Seeing The Other Side was a resounding success. More news on that below. And, yes, I was mugged by the dog when I returned home!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to share Writing Events and How To Make The Most of Them for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Could I think of the title for this one when on the train home from Swanwick yesterday? No! Still, I hope you enjoy the post.

I’ll talk more specifically about The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and my book launch there for next week’s post but this one looks at what you can get in terms of helping you to develop as a writer when going to events.

My only regret here is I didn’t start going to them sooner than I did. I’ve made so many friends, especially at Swanwick, and have learned so much which has helped me in my writing journey. I continue to learn for that journey. The lovely thing about creative writing is it is an ongoing challenge. It’s very good for the old brain just due to that.

I discuss some of the advantages of going to good creative writing events (and have no doubt you’ll find more yourself). I look at how to make the most going to these things. Now this includes what may seem like basic advice but I remember being a newbie writer and you don’t always think of things like this. You’re going to the event. You’re beginning to think do I know what I’m doing here as I don’t know any other writers etc etc. How I do know? Guess what I thought when I was preparing to go to my first event.

I also discuss having a one line “statement” ready to share with folks who ask you what you are writing. It helps to have that to hand. You should then find you ask them about their work and before you know it a good conversation has got going.

But having something to hand in the back of your mind so you know what you will say when asked is such a confidence booster.

Hope you find the post useful.

Writing Events and How to Make the Most of Them

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

13th August 2026

Am on way home as I write this. Had a fabulous time at Swanwick. Many thanks to the Committee and all of the volunteers. Already looking forward to being back next year.

A huge thanks to all who supported my launch for Seeing The Other Side. Having launches at the Summer School is a great opportunity for all those having them. It would be harder to find a more sympathetic audience than at Swanwick.

Looking forward to seeing the family later. It will be back to business almost immediately on getting home. My Chandler’s Ford Today post will be up tomorrow – more details then. Did I draft and schedule ahead of Swanwick? You bet. Am I trying to recall the title right now and failing? You bet! Ah the delights of the writing life!

Nightmare journey home. Just missed train I was meant to be on. East Midlands Railway had to run slower due to the heat so I reached London later than planned. Want to give a shout out to Kofi at the Waterloo ticket office as when I explained, he just stamped my ticket and said I could get the next. No fee either. It always pays to ask rather than assume and he was lovely. Need more like that. Thankfully delay should only be about 30 minutes but it does mean I’ll see Lady later than planned. On the plus side the air con on the train is bliss!

12th August

So many who come to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick will say or think along the lines of where has the time gone? How come we are at our last full day here already? I’m not an exception here.

Found Simon Whaley’s The Business of Writing session informative and useful. Likewise, the two part course run by Bettina von Cossell on writing non-fiction books. Will be heading off to the second part of that this afternoon.

A huge thank you to the School. I’ve had a wonderful time. Many thanks to all who supported my Seeing The Other Side launch. I’m thrilled to say I sold out here. Being able to launch here is a fab opportunity.

Looking forward to seeing the family again tomorrow but not relishing so much resuming the domestic duties! I do expect to be mugged by my dog though on my return.

11th August

Enjoyed a great session before and after tea break time about submitting non-fiction work to traditional publishers. This was led by Dr Jacqueline Jeynes. I do have a non-fiction project on the go so this course was timely too.

Am looking forward to Liz Pacey’s session on Reading, Writing and Absolutely No ‘Rithmetic. Sounds fun. Liz l, like me, is a member of the Association of Christian Writers.

Have enjoyed signing copies of Seeing The Other Side for people since the launch. It is always a special moment when you’re asked about this. You also learn to treasure special moments in the writing life.

Also spotted the cute moorhen youngsters yesterday. No pictures alas as they move fast when they want to but the grounds here are lovely. They’re in remarkably good condition given the heatwave.

10th August

For once it’s a .Monday I don’t mind because I’m at Swanwick. Will resume sharing stories on Substack and YouTube next week.

The Simon Hall course on AI For Authors was intriguing and insightful. Found it cleared misconceptions for one thing. So glad I went to this one. This afternoon I’ll be back at Viv Brown’s course on Writing for UK Magazines.

Many thanks to Babs Trevitt for the image of me reading from Seeing The Other Side at the Open Prose Mic Night yesterday. Good fun to do. My three pieces went down well. And I loved listening to all of the other tales. Well done, all. Great entertainment.

9th August

Well, Swanwick has got off to a cracking start. Plenty of ideas sparking from Julia Pattison’s Lift Up Your Pens session first thing. After breakfast, I loved Viv Brown’s writing for print magazine course today. More to come on that course too later in the week. I plan to immerse myself in world building with Francesca Tyer this afternoon and later to look at real life humour in stories with Ian Fisermanis.

But the big news is I’m thrilled my launch of Seeing The Other Side went so well. Have sold two-thirds of what I brought up here. A huge thank you to Gemma Owen-Kendall for being launch coordinator and to all who are running/assisting with the Book Shop. Other than the bar, I suspect the Book Room is the favourite place for Swanwickers to be! Guess why I think that!

8th August

Am writing this on the first leg of my journey to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I change at Waterloo, get to St. Pancras and then get another train to Derby. From there, the school lays on a coach to take delegates to the lovely Hayes country house. That will be my home for the next few days.

I’m so looking forward to catching up with writer friends I only see I person here. Am looking forward to the courses, workshops, after dinner speakers and entertainment. I really will be immersed in the writing world.

I’ll be leading a short devotional session called Lift Up Your Hearts on Monday. It’s a lovely peaceful start to busy creative days. I’m only sorry I can’t get to the short service on Sunday lunchtime as that is when my book launch for Seeing The Other Side will be.

Saddest thing? Realising my dog knew something was up this morning as she was more clingy than usual. I do know she’ll be spoiled rotten while I’m away though. She always is.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Had a lovely surprise yesterday on returning from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I’ve received my first review for Seeing The Other Side and so pleased it is a good one. Many thanks to my reviewer. Also pleased Amazon are now giving sensible delivery dates on the paperback.

It was lovely seeing flash represented more in the Swanwick Book Room. Every writer has their own style which is one reason why stories in general are fascinating to read. No two writers will go about a creative writing task in exactly the same way. When the Waterloo Prize was run some years ago, all writers had to stick to the same theme and word count. There were fifteen winners for each book which came out on the theme of transform/transforming. I was one of them. Yet all of us came up with such different stories.

It is what you bring to the mix which makes a story stand out and never more so than for flash fiction. The limited word count means you do have to be more creative with your word usage and it so strengthens a story when done well.

13th August

Am on way home from Derby. This will be the last post I write on a train for a bit. I hope to do this again when I go to Salisbury on 5th September for a signing event for Seeing The Other Side.

I’ll be at the United Reformed Church for this. They have a monthly book stall event which also supports their coffee shop. Books and tea/coffee are always a winning combo! If you’re in Salisbury then, I’d be delighted to see you.

And it can be amazing how much writing you can do while on the train!

12th August

So good to wave the flash fiction flag this week at Swanwick. It even got a mention on the Lingo Bingo cards some of us played on the Saturday night. It was a good icebreaker.

I also read three pieces from Seeing The Other Side at the Open Prose Mic Night. Flash works brilliantly for Mic nights. It’s a great advert for the form too.

What I think has been so special this week is how we all celebrate writing in all of its forms. Long may that continue well after we get home from Swanwick.

11th August

Have enjoyed chatting to people who’ve asked me about flash fiction. It’s always good to wave the flag for a great writing format.

You learn to cut words again and again and to not be sentimental about what has to come out of your work when it is not doing something for it. It’s a crucial skill and one which applies to all writing forms.

10th August

Ernest Hemingway’s classic six word story, For sale, baby shoes, never worn, formed part of my Lift Up Your Hearts session this morning and was referred to in Simon Hall’s course too. Less is more, indeed! We were set a six word exercise by Simon too.

Why not give the following a try:-

Six word stories
Twenty-five word stories
Seventy-five tales (useful for Paragraph Planet)
And the good old drabble, the classic 100 worder.

All fun to do.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

9th August

So thrilled the launch for Seeing The Other Side went so well. I hope to write more about that and Swanwick for a future Chandler’s Ford Today post.

Was so pleased to see flash fiction represented so well in the Swanwick Book Room too. Flash is a fabulous format, especially if you enjoy creating characters. That has long been my favourite form of storytelling.

8th August

I hope to wave the flag for flash fiction (and short stories) while I’m at Swanwick. I hope to catch up with fellow Bridge House Publishing/CafeLit/Chapeltown authors at Swanwick too. I may even get some draft flash pieces written.

One such draft began life as a writing exercise set by Simon Hall at Swanwick a few years back. It has been polished and edited and is now in Seeing The Other Side. Just because something is “just” an exercise, it doesn’t mean it has to stay that way!

Fairytales With Bite – Travelling

I’ve not long come back from my annual wonderful world of writing week spent at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick at The Hayes Christian Conference Centre. A fabulous time is had by all and writers come from all over the country, and sometimes further afield as was the case this year, to get here. So a lot of travelling is done! Sometimes travelling is a pleasure and at other times it isn’t. Travelling in a heatwave has its issues.

So let’s think about your magical characters and their setting. How is travelling done in your world? Are there magical transportation systems or is magic kept out of that? What do your characters think about travelling? What places would they love to go to and why? Which would they rather avoid and why? Story ideas there for sure.

If your world has magical and non-magical transportation systems, why were two systems developed? One obvious answer would be to keep the non-magical firmly in their place. But could there be advantages to the non-magical variant the magical one cannot copy or access? Did not having that power mean non-magical characters had to be more inventive and creative in the things they use for travel (and you could extend that idea out to other areas of life too).

Definitely story ideas there!

This World and Others – Professional Gatherings

I see The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick as a chance to “continually professionally develop” (not an easy thing to say quickly, at least not for me!). It is the ethos behind the school.

Writers learn, improve their skills, develop new areas of writing interest or enhance the ones they’re already interested in. A great deal of fun is had too at the school. Why should professional gatherings always be deadly dull? It doesn’t encourage learning for one thing. And the really nice thing here is all of this is for writers who are starting out, who are developing their craft, who are published or not and so on.

So in your magical setting, what would your characters do to “continually professionally develop”? Where would they go? What could they learn? What kind of exams would they face? Are the opportunities available for all? Are standards high? Who monitors that?

How has your character benefited from the professional development they have already had? What would they like to develop further? Could anything or anyone get in the way?

Again, definite story ideas there.

Mailerlite – allison symes – newsletter sign up

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Author Interview – Val Penny – Murder in Gilmerton

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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 few days. So looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Will be writing one big blog post on Friday 14th August and will do daily Facebook posts but there won’t be much time to write more while away.
Will be too busy (a) learning from the courses, (b) catching up with friends I only see online the rest of the year, (c) socialising with said friends, (d) enjoying my book launch for Seeing The Other Side and (e) knowing my fellas will be fine, wondering how the dog is doing!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am delighted to share a fabulous interview with Val Penny on Chandler’s Ford Today this week called Author Interview – Val Penny – Murder at Gilmerton.

I’m a great believer in having titles which “do as they say on the tin”. It’s a reference to the old Ronseal advert which always claimed “it does what it says on the tin”. Keep it clear and to the point!

Anyway, in this in depth conversation, Val brings us up to date with what has been going on in her writing life since she was last on CFT, not least of which is her move to Joffe Books. We also discuss back story (for series characters and one-off characters, who in Val’s books are often the victims), whether Val can read crime while she is writing her own or not, the advantages of using an area you know well as your setting and much, much more.

Plenty to enjoy here and, as ever, there are useful tips too.

Hope you enjoy the post and good luck with Murder in Gilmerton, Val.

Author Interview – Val Penny – Murder in Gilmerton

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lovely swim, my last one this side of Swanwick.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Author Interview – Val Penny – Murder at Gilmerton on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above.

Val shares the changes in her writing and publishing life since she was last on CFT and there are plenty of useful thoughts and tips too. Be sure not to miss it, especially if you love crime fiction. Val’s books are a tremendous read but don’t just take my word for it. Check them out after seeing what she has to say about her new release on CFT. Link up tomorrow.

Now I hope to post daily from Swanwick but I will be having a big round up blog via my website after I get back. It will be easier as I mentioned yesterday. I’ll also resume my Substack and YouTube stories after Swanwick but hope to get some drafts down while there.

I do hope to come back buzzing with inspiration, mind you!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope today has gone well. Lady was overjoyed to run around with Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, this morning. Must be a good month since we last met up.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a smashing interview with Val Penny about Murder in Gilmerton for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Do look out for that. Again, see above.

Have packed for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. As I go up by train, I can’t leave this until the last minute but it is good to have it done. Will be posting as and when next week and certain things I will probably leave until I get home again such as my Sunday stories and WordPress round up. Will resume those on my return. To be honest by the time you’ve been to the courses and workshops, caught up with pals, made new pals, enjoyed the evening entertainment, there’s not a lot of energy left for writing!

Naturally am so looking forward to my launch for Seeing The Other Side on Sunday too. Will be a busy and fun few days in the run up to Swanwick, while I am there, and catching up with everything on my return. It is a joy though! (I also anticipate being mugged by the dog on my return too – it’s what she usually does).

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s a busy Friday on the article front as my latest post on Writers’ Narrative, Is It Time For Your Characters To Get Away From It All, is also out today.

I look at the advantages of sending your characters away from their usual setting and share some favourite books of mine which have done just that.

Yes, for individual short stories and flash fiction, it is still possible to send a character away on vacation. You simply make it clear somewhere in the narrative they’re not in their usual location.

I look at using holidays as backdrops (which is why they can work so well in any length of tale), I share tips on how to best make use of holiday settings, and I set you a couple of questions which I hope will prove to be a good starting point for your own stories.

Hope you enjoy the post and you and your characters enjoy your holidays!

I’ve mentioned before I like to mix up the moods of the stories I write. Now this isn’t just down to how I’m feeling. I will often write a cheery piece when I feel anything but cheery. It can help and it does take my mind off things for a bit. Writing can be therapeutic like that at times. But I also think this is a reflection of life in general. It is a mix of moods. So how about this for some story ideas?

Theme Tip: Pick a well known proverb or saying and write two stories on it – one to be cheery, one to be anything but cheery (though that still leaves you a good range to choose from). This also makes for a great writing exercise. And if you’re stuck for the proverbs, use the random generators – the phrase one would be good for this.

Hope to draft some flash fiction pieces while I’m at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick shortly but will probably not get to share any on Substack or YouTube until after what is one of the major highlights of my writing year. Mind you, Swanwick is also a great opportunity to wave the flag for flash fiction, which I’m always glad to do.

Am also looking forward to the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side which will be from 7th to 13th September. More news later on that but it is the first time I’m having an “official” blog tour. It also makes a lovely change for me to be on the other side of the fence here as I do often support such tours for other authors so it’s nice to be able to join in myself!

Fairytales with Bite – Magical Get Togethers

I’m shortly going to head off to what I consider to be a magical get together – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. It is one of the major highlights of my writing year and there is something magical about being able to spend time with writing friends, learning more about the industry, and just being immersed totally in the writing life for a few days.

For your magical characters/setting, what would count as a magical get together when magic, for them, is such an everyday thing? What would it take to make something stand out as special to them? Could it be an event where magic is specifically not allowed and everything is done “manually”?

What could happen against the backdrop of a magical get together which could not happen in ordinary life and who would want to take advantage of such a thing to cause that happening? What are they hoping to achieve? I could see some magical crime stories going on there!

Also, what one character would consider magical, another may think was humdrum. Why the difference in opinion? Who is right? Again there could be story ideas to explore from fleshing this out more – I could see there being clashes between the characters here.

This World and Others – Leaving The World Behind For a While

When I go to my big annual writing event in Derbyshire, which I will be heading to shortly, I get to leave the world behind for a while. For a few days I am immersed in the wonderful world of writing and I love it.

Am I glad to get back to reality again? Yes. Aside from being back with the family again, I am also keen to get to my desk again to write up those ideas I had while I was away. There are various ways to get away from it all for a bit and we are in holiday season as I write this.

So what would your magical/sci-fi characters do when they want to leave their worlds behind for a while (as we all do from time to time)? How easy or otherwise do they find shrugging off their responsibilities for a while? Does the break refresh them or do they come back, wanting to get away from it all on a more permanent basis? Plenty of story ideas there.

Even if the break is a normal holiday one, where would your characters go? How would it differ from their normal environment and is is the differences which draw them here? Do they try to introduce those differences to their home worlds? What kind of outcome/fall out would there be from this as there would be reactions!

Again, story ideas there.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK  

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Reworking Stories

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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 few days. Cooling down a bit for which Lady and I are grateful. Just over a week to go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick as I write this – so looking forward to it.
More behind the scenes admin going on with Seeing The Other Side too including the fact it is now up on the online bookshop for the Association of Christian Writers. Having your books on there is a perk of membership and it is so nice to have my new one there.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Reworking Stories on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at why all writers have to accept the need to rework and why I believe getting your draft down, resting it, and then having another look at it later is such a good idea.

For short form writers, the rest period doesn’t necessarily need to be that long, but you do need to get out of “creator mode” and in more analytical “editor mode”. How long that takes will depend on the length of your work but it is the best way I know to give myself enough distance to be able to judge a piece of writing objectively enough.

On the plus side our laptops and PCs do make reworking easier to do. I did use to have to paste and cut literally. It wasn’t fun! I also look at the challenge to the writer here and it really is a question of ensuring you can judge your work objectively. I also share tips for reworking stories I continue to find useful.

Hope you find the post helpful.

Reworking Stories

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lady briefly saw her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal earlier – both dogs delighted to be reunited briefly. I was out early for an early swim which was lovely. Am thankful it isn’t as hot as yesterday but it’s still a bit too warm for my (and Lady’s) liking. Feel very sorry for the wildfire fighters.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Reworking Stories on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above. Mind you, even if you just write non-fiction, reworking your drafts comes into play for you too. I share thoughts and tips.

After that I’ll be interviewing Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, who also knows more than a thing or two about reworking stories! Indeed, I can’t think of any author who hasn’t had to rework something and often more than once. I do know that’s the case for me. Hope you’ll find tomorrow’s post useful.

And my next author newsletter is out on Saturday too. Plenty of news to share this time.

Pleased to share my latest post on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time I discuss Getting Together with Other Writers, which is apt as it is just over a week or so before I head to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

I share something of what I’ve learned over many years of meeting up with other writers, not least of which is making many fabulous friends. That alone is reason to go to writing events when you can (and the online ones are also valuable here).

Hope you enjoy the post and you have a great time at any events you go to over the next few months. If you’re plucking up courage to go to one, I would say go for it because we were all nervous newbies for these things. I remember my first event years ago on the Isle of Wight but I ended up having a lovely time and I met the lady who went on to become my publisher many years later. Neither of us could have known at the time.

It is amazing what you can learn from a writing event and, talking of which, I’m also looking forward to meeting up with members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group later this evening. That was good fun too!

Getting Together With Other Writers

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope the day has gone well. Won’t be writing much (if at all) tomorrow given I’ll be at a family wedding. It has been a long time since we last had one of those…

Don’t forget my author newsletter is out again tomorrow. A huge thank you to my subscribers for their support. I share news, tips, and more including story links so you get to have a good read. To sign up head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

What has been especially nice about the newsletter about to go out is having much more news to share. It’s always wonderful to share publication news and I am so glad Seeing The Other Side is now out there.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Nice task today. I’ve been preparing the copies of Seeing The Other Side I’ll be taking to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in just over a week’s time. Some jobs you just don’t mind doing…!

Am also getting on with further “admin” for my new book, the results of which I hope to be able to share later on.

Incidentally, if you are thinking of getting the paperback via a certain online retailer, please ignore their delivery date guidelines. You will get the book quicker than they say. All that happens here is they receive the order for the book, they let the publishers know, it gets sent on to the printers, and lo and behold a couple of days later you will get your book.

I should add the online retailer does do this for all of the independent presses and it can be a pain. What I think is forgotten is with print on demand, which all of my books are, is there is no stock as such. You just order and pay and then you get your book. At worst case, it may be a day or two later but that should be all.

This way of working is also greener because you’re not printing more than is needed. Neither are there warehousing or distribution costs as such. It is a huge factor in what makes the independent press viable.

The ebook, of course, you will get immediately.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Delighted to say my Seeing The Other Side is now on the Association of Christian Writers online bookshop. It is one of the perks of being an ACW member and one which is appreciated.

Many thanks to the ACW webmaster, Annmarie Miles, for making this happen. And do check out the ACW bookshop. There is a huge range of fiction, non-fiction and devotional works on there, representing very well what ACW members write. We are a broad church, aptly enough.

Seeing the Other Side

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fairytales With Bite – Ending The Beginning

When and how do your magical characters take off, so to speak? Where is the point where they have ended their training and are ready to start the magical life “properly”? How do they get on? There could be some good stories around rookie mistakes here. Bound to be some. Most professions will have these so why not the magical ones?

Are your characters glad to leave the training behind and get on with their lives or are they nervous about it? What support do they have? Are they willing to avail themselves of that support?

Where your characters have had training, do the institutions concerned follow up on their previous students or leave them to it? Are they ever proud of their former students? Also, would they have something like mature students? Learning is life long after all (or should be).

In the case of a quest story, where is the point when the story really takes off, the characters know there is no going back, they have to press on to whatever conclusion awaits them?

At some point, the beginning has to end. It will be here your characters begin to mature and come into their own lives. Same as for us, really, but there could be great stories here.

This World and Others – Society Forming

Does your setting focus on a magical or a science-fiction like basis? Or could the two co-exist? Why has your society developed in the way it has, whichever route it has chosen to be the predominant way through for most of their citizens?

What are the advantages to your society forming the way it has? Have there been any aspects it has regretted “dumping”, presumably out of necessity to develop what was the most important things for the society to function in the desired way?

Talking of which, who did make the decisions to take the society in a certain direction? Which of your characters (present or in the past backstory) decided this world will be a magical or science based one? Were they ever challenged? Were their decisions right or not? There would be good stories here.

I could see if characters were unhappy in the way the society was heading, they might want to try to change that. It happens here after all and both fantasy and science fiction reflect humanity with all of its merits and woes.

If your society is mainly a magical one, how would a character who wants to go down the science route as we would know it do this? Would they be ostracised or encouraged? (Some might see the point in having a balance at both magic and science, especially if you know there are things magic cannot do).

Interesting thoughts to explore, I hope.

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK  

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Summer Reading

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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 all is well. This week has been dog friends reunion week as Lady has caught up with her two closest chums. All of the dogs were delighted by this.
Writing is going well and I can confirm I will be having a blog tour for Seeing The Other Side which is likely to be in September.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Delighted to share Summer Reading on Chandler’s Ford Today this week. A light post for a lighter time of year, I think.

I ask what you would think of as the perfect summer read, share some of my thoughts on that, and discuss holiday books. I also put in a shout for flash fiction and short story anthologies, perfect for when perhaps you haven’t as much time to read as you’d like as you fit in reading around everything else including holiday schedules.

I discuss reading time and reading outside (which I should do more often) and celebrate the fact books are great value and explain why.

I also hope the recent announcement of Queen Camilla’s gift to Year 6/P6 children will encourage further reading. More than half the battle is getting people, of all ages, to read for pleasure and it is when you start that, you are in with any chance of keeping what is a fabulous habit going.

Hope you enjoy the post and do share your summer reads in the comments box.

Summer Reading

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Hope your day has gone well. Lady caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal again today and I managed another in person book sale (not to the Vizler before you ask though she is a very intelligent dog!).

Writing wise, I’m sharing Summer Reading as my Chandler’s Ford Today post tomorrow. Hopefully it will prove to be a good summer read! See above.

Have carried out some more admin for Seeing The Other Side. It has been a while since I put in an order with a well known printing firm! Fun to do, mind you.

And it won’t be long before my August newsletter goes out. To sign up for news (and I do have quite a bit this time!), tips, story links and more, do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

As ever, a huge thanks for the support.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Another lovely and cooler day. Lady saw her Rhodesian Ridgeback chum again today and both dogs had a great time. Lady is somewhat tired, but in a good way.

Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Summer Reading on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above. In early August, I’ll be sharing another super interview. And I hope to write up about this year’s The Writer’s Summer School, Swanwick and my book launch for Seeing The Other Side later in August. It may be the summer holidays but there’s still plenty going on.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to read one of my stories from Seeing The Other Side at my Slimming World group yesterday, with the consultant’s blessing. The story, Spring, relates to Slimming World though anyone who has ever had someone scupper their slimming plans, intentionally or otherwise, will identify with this tale. Am glad to say the reading went down very well and it was fun to do.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I like mixing up the mood of the flash and short stories I write. Mind you, this reflects the thought I like to mix up the mood of what I like to read. I love humorous fiction but appreciate the need to see the other side of life in my other fictional reading at times. It keeps a good balance, I think. Equally I don’t want grim all the time!

Reading does inspire a lot of what I write from the classic fairytales onwards. Reading widely in and out of your genre, including non-fiction, feeds the imagination more than you often realise. I’ve drafted many stories where I realise afterwards where the influence came from. Often it is from a story I read a while ago which has come into my subconscious and has either inspired how I’ve developed my character or their setting.

So read more and be inspired more!

Flash is wonderful as a writing exercise. It is a great “warm up act” for those writing in the longer forms. It can also be a lovely “mini break” from those longer forms. But it can also be a published form in its own right, as I can testify.

Sometimes I’ve taken a flash piece and then expanded it into a longer short story (two different markets here). It is a remarkably flexible form despite the upper word count limit.

And of course I’ll always appreciate it as it has given me a way into having published books with my name on them out there. I am so glad I responded to the CafeLit challenge all those years ago to produce a story in 100 words! I guess this is also an object lesson in being open to trying new forms of writing, sometimes at least.

I hope to start looking again at flash fiction competitions after I go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in August though I do know of one already I am probably going to try given I’ve had a go before. Good deadline on it too – I have until the end of the year!

I also plan to start getting a fourth collection together, probably later in the autumn as I have the material. It will be a question of honing that material and editing it thoroughly before I even think of submitting it and that stage always takes longer than you think. So my thought is to start work on this probably in October.

I’ve various things coming up between now and then, family and book related, but having a new book out does make you keen to get another one “on the go”!

Fairytales with Bite – Magical Characters

I love writing about magical characters. My favourites are dragons who will not let anything or anyone disturb them and their nest and fairy godmothers who happily dispense justice on the arrogant or prove they’re not over the hill yet, thank you. Great fun to write about but it isn’t the magical element which attracts me most here. It’s the attitude!

Mind you, combine that attitude with magical powers and the sparks can really fly and I love reading, as well as writing, stories which shows this.

I do think your character has to be special enough for you to want to write their story up. The magic they have is just one aspect of their overall personality which they use or misuse, according to your plot. I also like magical characters who work hard to improve their powers, just as we have to work hard to have any chance of passing exams etc. I think that kind of thing makes them more relatable.

I don’t want characters who just fire off magic just because they can (and the same goes for our world where there are those who would just fire weapons because they can). There have to be reasons why they would just do – the essence of the story will be found in those reasons why, I think.

This World and Others – What is a Normal Magical Life?

Just what is a normal magical life?

For any non-magical being, the magical world is going to seem odd. It has sources of power not known elsewhere. To those who live in such settings though, magic wouldn’t be odd at all. There would be “normal” magical usages and those times when it isn’t being used correctly for whatever reason. A good reason would be someone abusing the magical system to gain further power for themselves. We do it here too. We just don’t use magic to do it.

So give some thought then if you are using a magical setting, what your characters would consider normal. What would be the signs to them something was going awry? To most of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings, a good sign would be Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry not coming back from a walk. It would’ve been noticed they hadn’t come back.

For the characters themselves, when would they realise they might to improve on their magical skills because trouble is coming? How quickly could they do this? Also give some thought to someone using magic when they wouldn’t usually use power like that. It rarely bodes well!

If you have a non-magical being living permanently or otherwise in a magical setting, what would they get used to as being part of a normal magical life? How would they recognise when something was wrong?

Story ideas there for sure!

MAILERLITE – ALLISON SYMES – NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WRITERS’ NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ALLISON SYMES ON SUBSTACK 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

This slideshow requires JavaScript.