Tag: Trying Hard by Allison Symes

Facebook, Flash Fiction, and Foreshadowing

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Image Credit:
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.
Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.
Hope you have had a good few days. Managed to work in some alliteration for this post (but have no plans to work my way through the alphabet!).

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Facebook – General

4th and 5th October
Given Facebook was down for a lot of 4th October (UK), I thought I would just share one extended post today covering 4th and 5th. Am glad all is now back up and running properly though.

4th October
Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play her best buddie, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, today. Their other pal, Coco, a lovely Labradoodle, also turned up so it ended up being a real “puppy party”. A lovely time was had by all but you don’t want to get in the way when the dogs are running! It was nicely timed too as it poured down for most of the afternoon.

As I prepare this post, Facebook is down so I have no idea when I’ll be posting this. Hope everything is sorted out soon.

Also glad to say the October issue of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now out. I talk about light and dark for my flash fiction column this time and there are some wonderful stories in on the theme. Do check it out. (Also glad to see my two flash collections are in under the section of books by MFR Authors – and there’s a whole range here so if you’re looking for somewhere to start to check new books out, do try here!).

 

5th October
I guess outages such as the one that happened to Facebook etc yesterday remind us of how dependent we can be on these things. I do like the social aspect to social media. I don’t like the negative sides which turn up but where social media is at its best is where it can encourage, share good news stories, and yes help with writing tips and advice and that kind of thing. Anything which helps encourage creativity basically.

And I do like Facebook and Twitter as both can be useful for sharing flash fiction stories. Twitter is a great place for me to share my Youtube videos as I don’t tend to put much commentary with these. Far better to let the video speak for itself! But I suppose one thing to come from last night is it probably pays to have two social media platforms you are comfortable with using. Okay, there is nothing you can do when both are hit by an event but where, in a lot of cases, it is only one that has been “taken out”, you can at least still use the other.

 

Well, at least the weather was better today! We all seemed to spend most of last night drying out, dog included.

Looking forward to going to the Association of Christian Writers’ writing event on Saturday. So that will be two trips on the train within three months! (And I’ve already saved what I paid out on my railcard for the two trips had so far – the other one was for Swanwick of course).

I hope to write about the benefits of one day events for Chandler’s Ford Today in due course. Watch this space as they say. (This week’s post will be the use of sayings in creative writing. I’ve had several stories published which either use a well known saying as a title or a theme or sometimes both).

 

All of us were soaked to the skin at differing points today, including the dog, though she fluffs up beautifully when she dries out! Not a good day in Hampshire, that’s for sure.

Delighted to see lovely comments coming in for my Trying Hard on #FridayFlashFiction. Will Sarah finally make things up to her neighbour? Follow the link to find out. It is great fun writing these drabbles again. The 100-worders were how I discovered flash fiction thanks to CafeLit issuing their 100-word challenge.

Looking forward to sharing my next Chandler’s Ford Today post too. I’ll be looking at sayings and their use in creative writing. This is a topic I should’ve written about before really as I use sayings a fair bit for my flash fiction work. Link to come on Friday.

Screenshot 2021-10-01 at 18-59-48 Trying Hard, by Allison Symes

Using sayings can boost your creativity

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

4th and 5th October
Given the Facebook outage on 4th October (UK), I thought I’d share two posts in one here for 4th and 5th October respectively.

4th October
Facebook is out as I write this so will post as soon as I can. Am glad to share my latest YouTube short story video. Hope you enjoy this one – Satisfying. Does Miskrelda come out tops in the village magical championships or does the old witch still have plenty of tricks to play?

5th October
It does feel unnerving to be offline when you don’t want to be! Glad everything now up and running again on Facebook etc. I know there can be down sides to social media but there are up sides too, especially bringing people together and hopefully sharing a little entertainment too. Hope you enjoy my latest story video, Satisfying.

Flash fiction works well on social media given its limited word count, of course. And sharing stories like this I hope will draw people into my website (https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com) to find out more what I do writing wise and where. Social media is meant to be sociable after all. And sharing stories and books and that kind of thing is one of the most lovely social activities there is. As well as being a writer I am of course a reader and love it when authors share extracts and a little about their writing process. I always learn from this – and it is fun to read.

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Can foreshadowing happen in a tight word count as is the requirement for flash fiction? Oh yes. I tend to plant “clues” in the opening line or two so that by the end of the story (often a paragraph or two later), a reader can see how that “clue” mattered. Sometimes foreshadowing can be done by a word or two.

In my Vegetables are Good For You, I use the words “garlic” and “Transylvanian” in the first line. If you’re wondering if vampires come into this somewhere, you’re going to have to read the story to find out (!) but I’ve definitely foreshadowed something here!

As is so often the case for the very short form of fiction, it is a question of picking out the right detail you need a reader to know. You can then work out how to foreshadow this. It is a case of setting things up nicely and ensures your readers don’t feel cheated.

(And it is even more fun when you can foreshadow but still put in a twist at the end, I love doing that. Readers might guess where you’re heading but can’t know until they read the story and you can still surprise them. But when they look back at the story again, they should then see the foreshadowing given does lead logically to the point where you’ve taken them at the end).

 

Characters learning from their mistakes and going on to do better makes a great theme for stories. I’ve used it for flash tales – Judgement Day and The Past – Ready or Not? from Tripping the Flash Fantastic to name a couple. I tend to show the mistake early on and the rest of the story shows how the character has moved on. And change is what all stories are about.

We read to find out what happens so something must happen! A character who doesn’t learn will only make the same mistakes (and worse) and these can be frustrating to read about. You want to scream at the character “come on, learn from this” so I try to ensure nobody can say that about the characters I come up with.

 

Goodreads Author Blog – Books on Your Wish List

Do you have a Book Wish List? I have two a year – one for the period leading up to my birthday and the other leading up to Christmas. Family and friends of book lovers should appreciate us really. We are so easy to buy for. Just follow our list(s)!

I try to get a list together for Christmas in November. That’s early enough. I’ve got some thoughts already for books I’d like to be on that list – not that I am surprised by this. I tend to make a mental note throughout the year of “possibles”! (I also refuse to believe I’m the only one who does that). And I like an annual, yes even at my age. (The Friendship Book before you ask).

Ebooks I tend to buy as I want them (and I do use this format for trying out authors new to me). Audio books are something I tend to give as presents to others.

But however you like your books, I hope you have plenty of them on your Wish List. And, best of all, books are so easy to wrap. Okay, you can’t hide what they are (not unless you really go overboard with the wrapping) but seeing a book-shaped present under the Christmas tree is always a great joy for me and has been for more years than I care to recall.

Now, hands up time. I buy books for others. Who has a quick peek before wrapping said gifts up, ensuring that the recipient would never guess of course? Yes, me too, and it usually leads me to adding another book or several to my own Wish List!

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Pinch, Punch, The First of The Month and Trying Hard

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Image Credit:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.
Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Fiona Park for the fab photo of my signing copies of Tripping the Flash Fantastic at Swanwick 2021.
Hope you have had a good week. Not bad here. New story out and a new More than Writers blog post which has attracted a fair few comments but then I did ask about people’s Writing Niggles. It seems to have hit a spot!

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Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today

It’s that time of the week again and time for my Chandler’s Ford Today post. This week’s one is called Pinch, Punch, The First of the Month. I look at what the first of the month means for me, writing wise. I also look at the origin of the saying and ask why white rabbits are considered lucky. Any thoughts on that? If so pop a comment over on the CFT page. This post will tie in nicely with next week’s one where I’ll be taking a look at sayings and their uses in creative writing.

Pinch, Punch, The First of the Month

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A huge thanks for the wonderful comments coming in on my More Than Writers blog spot yesterday. See further down. My post about Writing Niggles obviously hit a sore spot or several! Mind you, the one comfort here is we all have writing niggles. It is working out a way of (a) managing them and (b) limiting the irritation they can cause you that are the tricky bits to get right.

My post tomorrow for Chandler’s Ford Today is all about Pinch, Punch The First of the Month. I look at what the first of the month means for me now (author newsletter send out day!). I also look at the origin of this strange phase (which will also tie in with my post on the 8th October as I will be talking about sayings and their uses in fiction and non-fiction).

Oh and is it just me or have the light levels in the evening just plummeted into complete darkness so far this autumn? There has been no gradual fading of the light. It looks as if someone has gone in and taken the bulb out! Dark by 7.30 pm… I wasn’t expecting that until much later into October.

It’s my turn on the More Than Writers blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This month I talk about Writing Niggles and it is a rare writer indeed that doesn’t have at least one. I share some of mine (yes, some!) and solutions I have found that have helped me. A huge thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments on this subject which have come in already.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to share my latest story on #FridayFlashFiction. Will my hapless Sarah finally make things right with her neighbour in Trying Hard?

Screenshot 2021-10-01 at 18-59-48 Trying Hard, by Allison Symes

One of the biggest things flash fiction has done for me as a writer is to help me understand what “show, don’t tell” means in practice. It took me ages to get my head around that.

Because I have to write to a tight word count, I have no room for “extras” and showing a scene rather than telling it can take up a fair bit of said word count. I’ve found it helpful to focus on one thing I have to show a reader for a story that is 500 words or less. I’ll show two for 500 to 1000 words. So I have to work out what is the most important thing to show a reader and focus on that alone. That in turn does help me keep my word count down.

I’ve mentioned before my “she wears a red coat” and “she wears a moth-eaten red coat” as these are great examples of tight writing and how one word can change perspective. I don’t need to tell you my character is poor in the second example. I’ve shown you (and hyphenated words, since they count as one word for flash fiction, are the flash writer’s best friend). So think of ways in which you could show something.

Anger – character slamming something.

Sadness – character being asked by another character something along the lines of “what’s up with you?” and then getting the first character to sob.

Happiness – Showing your character walking jauntily, whistling a cheery tune etc.

So you can show a mood quickly. Setting can be done with the selective use of detail. A poor house can be shown as characters moaning about the roof leaking again etc. Think about what you want to show and then what words you can use to do that. Always pick the strongest. A roof leaking is far more powerful than characters moaning about how poor they are. Readers do pick things up on context (I love doing this). We just need to give them the right clues so they can.

BookBrushImage-2021-9-30-20-354Just to flag up the paperback of Tripping the Flash Fantastic is currently on offer on Amazon. See link for more.

Will also be sending out my author newsletter on 1st October. I share tips, prompts, flash stories here (and these are often exclusive to newsletter readers) as well as my news. Do head over to my website (the landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com where the landing page takes you straight through to the sign-up. There is a giveaway too.

Fairytales with Bite – Seasonal Magic

Do your magical characters use their powers more at certain times of year or spread the use evenly throughout the twelve months? In your fictional setting, do certain seasons encourage the use of magic or, conversely, limit it? In the darker times of year, is magic more difficult? Is there any link to available light levels and when there is light, is it easier for a character to “produce the goods” when it comes to using their powers?

Do physical weaknesses limit magical use? After all, we are prone to colds, the flu etc more in the winter months and that affects how we “perform” so could your characters be affected by something similar?
Also, can your characters adapt their spells to match the time of year? For example, when it is dark and gloomy, are they on call for “lift me up” charms to help get people through these times? (For me a cup of hot chocolate, a cosy home, classical music, and a good book would do this for me nicely!).

Are your people expected to produce more magic at certain times of year? If magic can be equated to energy, are they on call to produce more of this at certain times of year to help keep their environment “going”? (Think Monsters Inc where the monsters need energy from children’s screams and then run into problems when they find youngsters aren’t so easily scared any more).

How do the seasons affect your people? In good ways or negatively and how could that change the outcome of your stories (or do your people “compensate” and, if so, how? What matters here is that you know how things work here even if you don’t need to share all of that with your readers.

You inevitably won’t share it all but you could have a character exploiting weaknesses here to their advantage. You would need to know what they are exploiting, how, and what would be the outcome? Also could the exploited hit back by using your natural world against whoever is trying to pull this trick off?).

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This World and Others – Seasons

I love the seasons. See some of the above pics for proof! The last one with the summer house is from my garden earlier this year. There is beauty to be found in each, even in winter (and there I also have the delicious compensations of hot chocolate, a cosy home etc to enjoy). Okay, so we have the four, but what does your created world have? More or less? Same as ours or totally different?

How do the seasons work in your created world? Especially if you have magical characters, is there anything they can do to influence how the seasons work and, if so, how? What would they gain from this?

Seasons tie in with celebrations too so what seasonal events would your world hold? Why are these things special to them?

As for the climate, can it compare with ours or is yours worse or better? How do your characters manage the ups and downs of the seasons and the climate?

There are seasons in life too. How do your stories reflect this in your characters, especially as they age? Have they learned anything useful from their younger years (especially what not to do) that benefits them now? Do they appreciate the season of “maturity” or do they resent not being young any more?

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