The Joys and Pitfalls of Writing Research

May 19, 2023Leave 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. Photos of Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to colleagues who took images of me on my phone about to run the workshop on editing there in 2022.

Hope you have had a good week. Loved running the workshop on Monday. I’ve had some lovely feedback on that too. Weekend will be a bit odd. On Sunday it will be the anniversary of my Dad’s passing (six years) and I’ll be ordained as an elder in my church. Mixed emotions especially as he would’ve loved to have seen that service (as would my mum and late in-laws). Lady and I have relished the emergence of consistent sunshine this week though. Not before time we think!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to be back on Chandler’s Ford Today. My post this week is called The Joys and Pitfalls of Writing Research. All writers need to carry out research (yes it goes for fiction too) but the advantages we have now are easier access to a wider range of material and a greater appreciation of keeping and treasuring records of the past.

Hope you find the post useful. I share tips on researching and useful questions to ask yourself as you do. It is too easy to get sidetracked on to an interesting section of research which is not needed for your story or article.

The Joys and Pitfalls of Writing Research

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It’s my turn to be on Authors Electric and this time I talk about Story Shapes. What do I mean by that? Well, I often use linear shapes in my writing – a straight sharing of a story where I start at A and finish at Z, but I also write circular ones too. This is where my end line repeats the opening line (or has strong echoes of it). The repetition is deliberate and works so well for poignant stories. But can shapes apply to blogs too? Check out my post and see what you think. Hope you enjoy it.

Another lovely day here and Lady got to play with three of her girlfriends today – the Rhodesian Ridgeback, the Hungarian Vizler, and a lovely Labradoodle. Very much a girls morning out in the park!

Am pleased to say I’ll be running a one hour workshop at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, in August. I’ll be looking at editing from both sides of the fence given I’ve been edited and have been editing at the same time at different points in my career. For more details on the school, do see their website.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the lovely comments coming in already on News, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. If you’ve ever had round robin letters, you may well sympathise with my character, Wilma, in this one!

Hope you have had a nice day. Lady got to show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler chum so Lady definitely has had a good day. (And her pal never minds the showing off so all well there).

I’m talking about The Joys and Pitfalls of Writing Research for Chandler’s Ford Today (link up tomorrow). See above. Do I need to research for my flash pieces? Simply, yes and often.

For a crime flash tale, I might need to find out what poisonous plants would be found in a garden (and I have researched that one!). For historical flash pieces, I need to get dates etc right if I use them. I sometimes need to know if something was available at a certain time period.

Research comes into fiction, as well as non-fiction, writing in all sorts of ways and it is great we have a wider range of materials available for research purposes. More in my post tomorrow.

But bear in mind a story has to ring true for a reader even if it is set in a bizarre setting. Using facts from what we know here on Earth (especially for world building) can help give that sense of “this could be real if this world existed somewhere”. So yes research is needed for fantasy too!

Many thanks to Medway Mermaids, the writing group I presented my flash fiction workshop to on Monday for some wonderful feedback. Very much appreciated.

“It was comprehensive and informative, giving writers an excellent guide to the art of writing short fiction”.

Now that is a quote I am proud to share!

One problem all authors have is that most of the time we work alone. We don’t always know how our work is going down with others. So feedback is useful (and it is something I appreciate from Friday Flash Fiction as well).

Fairytales with Bite – Inspiration

What inspires your characters to take the actions they do in your stories? Is it a question they have no choice but to do whatever it is you’ve set them – it is life or death for them here – or because they are motivated to help someone else in need of help? (Sam Gamgee did not have to go with Frodo in The Lord of the Rings. It is just as well that he did).

When your fairy godmother is looking for a suitable spell or to create something suitable to help a client, what inspires her? Does she base her creation on years of experience, stick strictly to the books, or is happy to add her own special ingredients given she knows they’ll give her magic that bit of “kick” she feels her client needs?

What inspires your characters to keep going when it would be the easiest thing for them to give up and go home? (And even more so when they could go home and nobody would blame them!).

Also think about what inspires you from the classic fairytales. For me, a big one here is seeing wrong being righted as we all know that so often doesn’t happen in life, unfortunately. But the thought of that inspires me to write my own fairytales with bite where I can ensure wrong definitely is righted! Good fun to do too!

This World and Others – The Creative Industries

Industry can sometimes seem as if it is a negative word. It conjures up images for me of factories and works back in the Victoria era where conditions were often not that great.

On a more positive note, we talk about the creative industries. What does your setting have in the way of these? Are the arts celebrated? Do they bring in significant income for your world? (They do for the UK, for instance).

What creative industries would your characters be involved in? Are they involved in these willingly or is it expected of them because they’re following a a family or tribal tradition? The kind of thing which goes “your grandfather was a musician, your father was too, so guess what you’re doing!” There is potential for humour here if the unfortunate character really cannot play a note no matter how hard they try.

What is the attitude of your setting’s governments to the creative industries? Do they welcome them or view them with suspicion given they can be a vehicle for free expression? What would happen if there are clashes here? Who would win? On the face of it you might think it would be the powers that be and in the immediate term that might be the case. But the creative industries live on for centuries. People look back at events. Views change and the arts can help change them so I wouldn’t see this a s a clear cut thing at all.

Do your characters take part in the creative industries just for fun? If so, what is their main work and how do they find the arts helps them?

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

What do you like about your characters? What do you dislike? I’ve found quizzing my characters a useful aid.

If I know they loathe toffee because they once broke a tooth on it, for example, I can write convincingly about their fear of dentists. I know what drives that fear! pic.twitter.com/Lh74XcQQ1j
— ACW (@ACW1971) May 18, 2023

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Authors Electric: Story Shapes by Allison Symes https://t.co/VabJtxtzc8 What do I mean by Story Shapes? Well, I often use linear shapes in my writing where I start at A and finish at Z. I also write circular pieces. But can shapes apply to blogs too? See my post for more. pic.twitter.com/VXjGYMiNfp
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 18, 2023

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Knowing your motivation is not just for actors. It is so useful for you to know for your characters. What motivates one wouldn’t do for another.

Sometimes motivations can be petty. That alone can reveal more about your character’s attitudes, state of mind etc. pic.twitter.com/rxu2nYqBvH
— ACW (@ACW1971) May 19, 2023

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News, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/pgjeDrGvAg Many thanks for the lovely comments coming in already on News, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. If you’ve ever had round robin letters, you may well sympathise with my character, Wilma, in this one! pic.twitter.com/u8VRePW2qn
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 19, 2023

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The Joys and Pitfalls of Writing Research https://t.co/p2QGTTMbIV Pleased to be on CFT with my new post. All writers research. The advantages we have now are easier access to a wider range of material and a greater appreciation of records. I share tips on researching here too.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 19, 2023

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Workshops and The Joy of Reading

May 16, 2023Leave 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.

Hope you had a great weekend. Lovely start to the week – the flash fiction workshop I ran went well. Hope it has inspired a few people! And we finally have some spring sunshine here.

Facebook – General

The final edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is now out – this is the June edition. I talk about Summer Fun for my flash fiction column which you will find on Page 54. See what you make of my character and how she defines what summer fun is for her in my story here. Also check out the other excellent flash pieces. Don’t forget the magazine is free to download and it is a splendid read. Look out for further magazine news later.

Screenshot 2023-05-16 at 16-45-45 Mom's Favorite Reads June 2023 Issue

Screenshot 2023-05-16 at 16-46-17 Mom's Favorite Reads June 2023 Issue

Screenshot 2023-05-16 at 16-47-07 Mom's Favorite Reads June 2023 Issue

Hope you have had a good day. More sunshine – hooray! Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback buddy again and our mutual friend, the lovely Hungarian Vizler we know, came out too. The dogs had a fab time. Not a bad start to the working week for me either. Have had some nice news in which I hope to share later. Also looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop tonight.

I am a great believer in prep work, whether it is for a workshop, or an outline for a story or blog. I’ve found it always pays. Can help calm nerves too. And the nice thing with prep work is you get to decide how much of it you need to do.

I don’t plan out every single thing, just enough to get me started. For a workshop I do a broad outline. Often ideas will come to me as I’m drafting and I can add those ideas in if I think they will suit. Sometimes an idea occurs and I realise that could form the basis of another workshop and that’s great. It is a strange thing that ideas occur when you’re writing something else. I know now to jot these things down immediately and look at them again in the cold light of day later.

Lovely sunny day here today and Lady got to play with her best buddy, the lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback, in a play date neither expected! Both dogs went home tired and happy. Job done there then. Hope the good weather lasts. Have had so much rain I’m worried about getting rust!

Will be talking about The Joys and Pitfalls of Writing Research for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. Research comes into all sorts of writing, including fiction. Link up on Friday.

Looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop tomorrow. Always great fun to do. Once lovely thing about writing flash is the skills I’ve learned doing this apply to and have benefits for my other forms of writing as well.

Many thanks to #JenniferCWilson for sharing my Chandler’s Ford Today post about History in Stories. Her Kindred Spirits series mixes history with ghost stories. Do check the books out.

Many thanks also for the wonderful comments continuing to come in on my The Down Side, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. In case you missed it, you can check it out here.

Glad to say I did the final checks on my competition entry story and have now submitted that. I’ve stuck to my usual deadline of about two weeks away from the official deadline given. I have found that pays off so often. There is always something last minute to correct even though I had already gone through it with a fine tooth comb long before this point.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for for the views coming in on The Last Letter, my latest YouTube video. I think Aunt Agnes clicked with people. I know she did with me.

Had a lovely time with the Medway Mermaids writing group last night with the flash fiction workshop I ran. It was great to see everyone, to share something of the joys of writing flash, and how it helps with other forms of writing too. For one thing, it has cured me of any fear of editing whatsoever!

It’s Monday. It’s NOT a Bank Holiday in the UK (though don’t panic another one is coming up soon!). It is still time for a story and if you’ve ever had round robin letters, you will probably sympathise with my Aunt Agnes character in this one. Hope you enjoy The Last Letter.

I’m running a flash fiction workshop tomorrow online. One thing I do with these is share a couple of pieces and then break down how I wrote them. Why? Simply because when I’ve read interviews with authors doing this, I’ve learned so much from their breakdowns. I have literally seen the point of why they have done something a certain way.

Sometimes the technique here is something I can use or adapt for my work. Sometimes it isn’t but I still see why something was done in the way it was and I can work out whether it suits me or not. Also bear in mind something might come to suit your style of work later.

Hope you have had a good day. Nice to see some sun out today. Got to have lunch out in the garden with my better half and the dog. It’s only the second time we’ve been able to do this so far this year. Hope we get to do so more often!

Looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop on Monday. Always great fun to do. This one will be on Zoom but I love doing these online and in person. The latter just has to be “do-able” in terms of distance. I’m taking part in a book fair in July and hope to share some of what flash is and can be by getting to read a couple of pieces. It can and has helped my sales!

I need to get back to using some of the random generators I use less often. This is partly to keep my hand in but also it is a good idea to mix up the types of generator and other ideas triggers you use anyway.

Goodreads Author Blog – The Joy of Reading

As a writer, I’m well aware of the advice that to write well, you need to read well. This is true. We are all inspired by our own love of reading as well as by ideas that come to us as we read something else. (I’ve known that happen when I’m reading non-fiction). But the joy of reading goes beyond that. The reason I write is I love stories. How do I know I do? Because I read loads of them!

I love reading in my genre (flash fiction/short stories) and outside of that. I like reading contemporary as well as classic fiction and non-fiction. Reading takes you outside of this world for a while. I can forget my problems, pressures etc for a while. I find joy in knowing I’m supporting the industry I am part of (even though it is in a small way). I want to be entertained by someone else’s words while hoping mine may entertain someone else in turn.

As life is so short, I won’t waste time on a story or book that doesn’t grip me fairly quickly but I will read across genres and love doing so. As a writer, I can also learn, subconsciously by reading, how stories are set out, what the balance of dialogue to narrative usually is and so on. But even without the help for my own writing, I would read anyway.

I just love stories. It is that simple.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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This is a great post to read during #HistFicMay – and a huge thank you to @AllisonSymes1 for giving me and the Kindred Spirits gang a shout out!#amreading #HistoricalFiction https://t.co/RcAXJkrw16
— Jennifer C. Wilson: Historical fiction with spirit (@inkjunkie1984) May 12, 2023

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: The Joy of Reading https://t.co/v9phB0i1VP via @goodreads
I celebrate the joy of reading in this week's post for Goodreads. I look at how it helps me as a writer but how I would keep on reading regardless. pic.twitter.com/VuMolc7C9B
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 13, 2023

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It’s Monday. It’s NOT a Bank Holiday in the UK (though don’t panic another is coming soon!). It is still time for a story. If you've ever had round robin letters, you will sympathise with my Aunt Agnes character in this. Hope you enjoy The Last Letter. https://t.co/xSr1w6EWeX
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 15, 2023

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'I have left you a book on good manners.' This line made me smile! https://t.co/ykH2vJYwie
— ACW (@ACW1971) May 15, 2023

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History In Stories

May 12, 2023Leave 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.

Hope you have had a good week. Coming up next week will be a flash fiction workshop I’m running and I am now booked in for a book fair in July. Not a bad week here then! Have a fabulous weekend. Lady has got to play with several of her friends this week so she has had a good week too.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am pleased to share History in Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at how history crops up in various genres of fiction and why this can encourage empathy. It also goes a long way to explaining why so often writers, including yours truly, can have interesting internet search histories!

I also look at alternative history and why you have to know the rules, in this case the history, before you can break them, or in this case invent an alternative version. I guess that is the ultimate in the “what if” game for fiction writers!

History in Stories

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Looking forward to sharing History in Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today – link up tomorrow. See above. History turns up in various genres, funnily enough, and I look at that in this post. I love reading historical works – fictional and otherwise.

History can also inspire your own stories. You look at what historical characters did way back when and figure out their motivations. You can then take that idea and use it to create a new story where you character acts from the same motivations in the present day or in the future or in another time period from the past. What would the consequence be? There would be some!

Then you could look at a character of yours acting from motivations which are the direct opposite. What would happen there?

Glad to say I’m taking part in a local book fair in July. Am looking forward to sharing more details nearer the time. Am also running a flash fiction workshop on Zoom on Monday, 15th May. Looking forward to that.

Now looking for ideas is something we all need to do and I like to use a variety of methods here. As well as the random generators (which I sometimes use to trigger ideas for my non-fiction, I like to think about what it is I love about writing and why. That usually triggers an angle I can write about. I also think about my own writing journey and some of the pitfalls I’ve avoided and others I know about as topics for blogs can often come from sharing something about these. (I also hope they warn newer writers to be aware there are scams out there).

I think about books and stories which inspire me and why. I sometimes refer to books of ideas for writers as well. I look into what I like outside of writing because something there can inspire an idea for a character and from there a story to write up.

This is where entering competitions can help too. For short stories and flash fiction, the theme is often set and from there I can figure out how I approach this. I like to jot down different ideas which occur, rest these, then come back and write up the one that makes the most impact on me because I figure it may have the same effect on another reader/judge.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to share my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy The Down Side. Maybe the genie had a surprise here? See what you think. (And a huge thanks for the wonderful comments in on this one already).

I’m looking at History in Stories for my post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. See above. I love history so this was a particular joy to write. I’ve written some historical flash fiction.

One example of this is Not Knowing from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I take the viewpoint of Elizabeth of York, Henry VII’s queen. What matters is sticking to the known facts. Where the fiction comes in here is I imagined what I thought she would feel like knowing her uncle Richard III has just been killed, feeling understandably apprehensive for the future, but hoping all would somehow work out. That to me is reasonable supposition.

Hello to all who have signed up for my newsletter since last time and a hello to all who have been with me for longer! My next author newsletter will go out on 1st June and I share news, tips, story links etc. If this sounds of interest, please head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com to sign up.

Interesting thought: what would your characters put in a news letter if they could write one? What would they share? What would they keep quiet? I suspect there could be some great stories there. Will probably have a go at this myself at some point!

Let one creative writing idea generate others - Pixabay

Fairytales with Bite – Ceremonies

I thought this was an apt topic given the UK has just seen the Coronation of King Charles III, the first such event in 70 years.

Thinking about your setting, what ceremonies would they have? Would everyone join in with them or are these things just for the privileged few? Do the ceremonies have a magical significance, a historical one, or both? Is magic used at the events themselves?
Equally do your characters have to get to a certain magical standard before they can take part in such things?

Thinking about the social status of your characters, are there different ceremonies depending on class? For example a wedding (or equivalent ceremony) would happen throughout the society you’ve created but those lower down the scale will almost certainly have to have a ceremony which is less rich in detail and therefore costs than those better off/higher up in society than they are.

What would your characters wear, eat, drink etc for such ceremonies? This would have to be significantly different from what they usually wear. Everyone would have to have some kind of “glad rags” for these.

Also, would most in society support these ceremonies or are there those who refuse to take part/support them? What would be their reasons? Is there any comeback on that? Ceremonies are often held to bring society together so what would society think about those who don’t want that?

Story ideas there I think!

This World and Others – What do ALL your Characters Know and Why?

It has been a historic week in the UK with the Coronation of the new King so I wondered, in your setting, what would all of your characters know about their setting’s history and why? What would they be expected to know? How is their history taught? For example is magic used to bring history to life for students in a way that we would use documentaries, visits to historical sites etc to increase knowledge?

Equally are there aspects of history all of our characters know but never speak about on the grounds it is something they have to know to avoid landing themselves in it with the authorities? Authority is often keen for their peoples to know something horrid happened to Character XXX in the Year Dot because they did this or that. They’re trying to ensure it can’t happen again by frightening everybody with the knowledge here.

What codes of behaviour are expected from everybody and what happens to those who against these? Again this would be something your characters would be expected to know. They would also know the consequences of going against these. Authorities are usually pretty keen people know about that too. On a more mundane level, what do all of your characters know about traffic legislation? What do they have to contend with here that we would not?

Where characters do not know what they should do, why is this? Has anyone kept them in the dark deliberately and what are they hoping to achieve with that?

Hope you can get some good stories with these thoughts to think about.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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The Down Side, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/JX3hIYaQx2 Pleased to share my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Hope you enjoy The Down Side. Maybe the genie had a surprise here? See what you think. (Thanks for the great comments in on this one already). pic.twitter.com/1zd5M1E9NG
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 12, 2023

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History in Stories https://t.co/4SV542XDBp Am pleased to share History in Stories for CFT this week. I look at how history crops up in various genres of fiction, why this can encourage empathy, and why so many writers, including me, can have interesting internet search histories!
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 12, 2023

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Starting Conversation and Events as Backdrops

May 9, 2023Leave 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.

Loved watching the Coronation of King Charles III over the weekend. Loved the Concert too. Liked the balance of music – old and new. Now I write with classical music on in the background. I find it relaxes me and when I am relaxed I write more. Do you write/read with music on in the background or not?

Facebook – General

Lady had a lovely run around with her Aussie Shepherd gentlemen friend today – before the rain hit I’m glad to say. Good time had by both.

Looking forward to sharing History In Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. It’s a lovely topic to write about. A huge thanks to for all the lovely comments which have come in so far on Starting Conversation, my latest on Friday Flash Fiction. This one clearly hit a chord with people!

Doing anything creative is good for the mind and soul. I think, and it is a joy to come up with stories and blogs. Am almost there on my competition entry. Am currently resting it. Will look at it again in a few days for my final check and then submit it I hope.

Lady got to see her pal, the lovely Hungarian Vizler. Got out at the right time too. The rain was heavier later. Am now watching the Coronation Concert on catch up. Enjoying what I’ve seen so far. Loved the Coronation Choir. And the combination of the Royal Ballet, Royal Opera, The Royal Colleges of Music and Art for the sonnet from Romeo and Juliet was wonderful. Certain things are timeless – Shakespeare is one of them. My late mother would have wondered why it took me so long to find that out. I got into Shakespeare late but at all thanks to National Theatre Live. Must try and get to some more of those.

Writing Tip: Give yourself more time than you think you need to get a story ready for submission to a competition. There is always something last minute you need to change. I get around that last minute business by making my last minute about a week to ten days ahead of the official deadline. Works for me. Am practicing what I preach here as I hope to get my entry in for a well known competition soon.

Pleased to say I’ve had the joy of proofreading my entry for The Best of CafeLit 12 and getting that back to Bridge House Publishing. That is always a joyous job to do!

Hope you have had a good day. Nice to see the sun come out. Mind you, it was raining for the last Coronation so maybe this is a British tradition being upheld again.

Looking forward to giving another flash fiction workshop in just over a week’s time. Zoom is a blessing here (though I am happy to do in person workshops too as long as the distance is “do-able” for me). I love going to workshops too and always learn something useful from them. Sometimes it can be a case of you getting to see something from a new angle and that can help transform your writing or take it to another level. Have had direct experience of that.

It’s difficult to say what the single most important piece of writing advice is but the one I’ve consistently found to be the most helpful is to write first, then edit later. I did try editing my work as I went along when I first started out but quickly realised I was boxing myself in. It’s when someone else said about editing later and it’s okay for the first draft to be rubbish that I changed my approach here. I have never regretted doing so. The nice thing with this tip is it is useful whether you’re a planner or a pantser. Just get that story down. Tidying up can happen later.

Loved watching the Coronation. Found the service deeply moving. Pity about the weather but I guess the rain does make this a peculiarly British event! Not going to let rain get in the way. Favourite moment: other than the crowning in itself, I loved the conductor of the orchestra in the Abbey. He was almost throwing himself into his work. Reminded me of the late Sir Patrick Moore’s exuberance when playing the xylophone (younger readers may need to look that one up). I love people who clearly love their job!

I’ll be chatting about history in another way for my post for Chandler’s Ford Today next week. I’ll be looking at History in Stories and it is amazing how often this comes up and not just in the obvious historical fiction category either. Looking forward to sharing that next Friday.

Many thanks for more wonderful comments coming in on Starting Conversation, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. In case you missed it, do check out the link below (and the other stories on that site – it’s a great read).

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Strange day weather wise here – sun, rain, thunder, sun again. I don’t use the weather a lot in my stories. Just as well really. If I used a British day in my flash stories, after a day like today, I’d probably be using up a lot of my word count limit!

I am also wary of anything that could read like boring description. The art of description is for it to come alive in your reader’s mind so, for me, showing how a character is effected by weather conditions is far more interesting than writing about the weather itself.

It’s Monday. Okay, it’s a special Bank Holiday Monday after the Coronation of King Charles III. Still time for a story though (and aptly too given he wrote The Old Man of Lochnagar, which I remember being read by HRH as he was then on Jackanory, a UK children’s story programme).

Hope you enjoy One Go. Would you do what my character does here?

I’ve always loathed any kind of bullying and sometimes my stories can reflect that. In Tripping the Flash Fantastic, I had a great deal of fun with my story Enough is Enough which shows someone who has struggled with her weight taking matters into her own hands and finding her own way of responding to those who’d made her life a misery. Am not necessarily endorsing my character’s actions by the way but I do understand where she is coming from and that is crucial for whatever kind of character you write. You’ve got to know where they come from. Then your readers will.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Coronation of King Charles III today turns up in stories as a kind of historical backdrop. Certainly readers will be able to date the timing of the story accurately! And yes historical events themselves can be written up as fiction or can be referred to by characters as part of their stories. None of us live in a vacuum. Character don’t either so referring to their past events or what may be for them current events makes sense.

For flash fiction writers, using a historical event makes an excellent shortcut for staging your story. There is so much you wouldn’t have to say. Think of the word count saved!

I could refer to today’s events without having to tell you all that went on or what my characters were likely to be wearing etc. I could pick specific moments to show you through my characters but you would work out what was going on around them without me having to spell it out. You’d have an idea of the era/event already. One of the tricks of flash, if I can call it that, is to tap into what can be inferred and use that to save the word count for what a reader cannot work out.

Goodreads Author Blog – Commemorative Reading

I thought this was an apt topic for the week of the Coronation of King Charles III. I read commemorative reading every now and then. For example, I enjoyed Andrew Marr’s book Diamond Queen, which was brought out to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth.

I enjoyed the commemorative programme for the Coronation of King Charles. Lots of interesting historical pieces in there but then I am a fan of historical works, fiction and non-fiction.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is the only novel that has ever made me change my mind about a real historical figure – in this case Richard III. It’s a short volume. The narrative is based on a detective confined to hospital and he does a “theoretical investigation”. Well worth checking out. Triggered my reading more about Richard III too.

Commemorative reading places you in time and can act as research material. I can use this for inventing characters for my own stories. I can set them against a particular time period and have some of the reading material to hand to help me flesh out details my readers would need to know.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

liked Allison Symes's blog post: Commemorative Reading https://t.co/NLivx9JXWb via @goodreads I look at commemorative reading for Goodreads this week and share how it can be used to help with writing stories too. pic.twitter.com/hGwjQjDQRz
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 6, 2023

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It’s a special Bank Holiday Monday after King Charles' Coronation. Still time for a story (and aptly given he wrote The Old Man of Lochnagar, which I recall was read by HRH as he was on Jackanory).Hope you enjoy One Go. Would you do what my character does?https://t.co/7XH8c3Prwg
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 8, 2023

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Review – Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group

May 5, 2023Leave 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. A huge thank you to The Chameleon Theatre Group for sharing their pictures for my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week.

Hope you have had a good week. Am looking forward to watching the Coronation on 6th May. I discuss below how pictures, including those of crowd scenes, can be used to inspire ideas for stories. I expect some tales may well emerge from this weekend’s events! Hope you find the tips useful.

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

It is a real joy to share Review – Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group as my Chandler’s Ford Today post for this week. My lovely editor, Janet Williams, and I went to see the trio of plays just over a week ago and were thoroughly entertained by the mixture of comedy and drama on offer. This is one of the pleasures of live theatre – you get to see some real gems. I also look at twists in this post as these came up a lot in these plays. Hope you enjoy the flavour of the evening I’ve shared here. It was lovely to write it!

Review: Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group

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Had a nice surprise today in that I was given a nice plug on Write On, Rosemary Johnson’s blog. Rosemary and I know each other though the Association of Christian Writers but this plug came out of the blue. Thanks, Rosemary. Am so glad the writing prompts are proving useful.

I use prompts all the time (and have contributed to some books of prompts published by Bridge House Publishing) and find them to be a great way to trigger story ideas. Occasionally I’ve used things like the random question or theme generator to trigger an idea for a blog post.

What I do find pays is mixing up the type I use. It keeps me on my toes (never a bad thing that!) and it makes you think in different ways too. When I took part in Flash NANO last year, one prompt I’d not tried before was writing a story in the form of a police report. What happened? I had great fun writing the story and it ended up being broadcast on Hannah Kate’s Three Minutes Santas show on North Manchester FM last December. I call that a win!

It has been a gloriously sunny day here today. Lady and I appreciated it. Lady appreciated playing with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal too. Good time had by all.

Looking forward to sharing my review of Spring Trio on Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Always enjoy seeing The Chameleon Theatre Group at work. Like the mixture of comedies and dramas. More on Friday. See above.

Talking of reviews, don’t forget these help authors so if there is a book you’ve loved, do drop a quick line to say so in the usual places.

Had a nice surprise yesterday. I receive the Bridge House Publishing newsletter and in that is a link to CafeLit. I discovered my story, Untaken, was the fourth most read on CafeLit in April. Well done to those above and below me here! Very nice viewing figures. That was lovely to know so many thanks, #GillJames, for sharing that.

Screenshot 2023-05-03 at 19-51-34 Latest news form CafeLit and the Creative Cafe Project

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Am pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Starting Conversation. The Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group may well recognise this as my response to a prompt I set them recently! A huge thank you also for the wonderful comments coming in on this tale already.

One kind of prompt I should try and use more often is the picture one. You can do this with objects and put them in a story. You can also use pictures of landscapes and wonder who would live there. Crowd scenes are good too as you can pick an individual out to base your character on and then write about them or write a story about why the crowd are gathered. (I suspect there may be Coronation stories coming up here!).

You can use your own photos too and set your character in the scene they show. What would your character be doing? What are they trying to achieve? Is the scene they’re in a help or a hindrance? Two characters could see a scene in opposite ways. What conflict could that lead to and how is is resolved?

Looking forward to giving a flash fiction workshop in a couple of weeks time to a writing group. Always fun to do! And it’s another example of Zoom making things possible. Where transport/distance means in person isn’t viable, Zoom is the answer! I’ve loved the fact that this has got me back into using PowerPoint again. I hadn’t used it in years until Zoom transformed things here. Given PowerPoint and bullet points go hand in hand, it’s ideal for flash. Well, I’ve got to write to a short word count, yes?

Fairytales with Bite – Job Hunting

How do your characters find jobs in your magical setting? Or it is literally a question of stepping into a dead fairy godmother’s shoes here? Not even fairy godmothers go on for ever (magical accidents and dragons can happen to the best of them) so I assume your setting would allow for training to happen to bring up the next generation. Would employment automatically follow that training?

For other roles, consider who else might work in a training establishment. Someone would need to cook, clean, prepare magical ingredients etc. How would these people get their work? Is it a question of who you know here?

For the non-magical beings in your story, what work would they do? How easy or otherwise would it be for them to find gainful employment?

Equally is your character being hunted for a job they really don’t want to do? Can they get out of it? If not, how do they manage?
Story idea potential there I think. (This is where we can use our knowledge of the working world to flesh out our story world and that can be useful. Dreadful bosses/colleagues can occur in fiction as well as in life – as can good ones).

This World and Others – Employment Types

What kind of employment can your world offer your characters? Is it similar to what we have here or something specific that could only happen in your setting? What kind of tools/equipment /technology would your characters be expected to be able to use? What are these things for? And are jobs allocated on merit or on status?

So could there be a character who would love to do Job X but knows they can’t because they’re from a certain social class which never does a job like that. Could they be the one to break the mould here?

Is employment divided between, say, magical and non-magical or is it just down to the job itself? For the latter, you could have, say, clerks working for the government who do have magical skills and those who do not. How would they get on? Would the magical abilities come in useful at work at all and that is why they are employed here? Do the non-magical lot have special qualities/skills which compensate here and are useful in another way?

What would count as manual labour? What would be considered “high end” employment? Do employment types change over time? (Not much call for abacus makers in our day and age, for example. Technology changes employment so much).

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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I wrote about taking stock for More than Writers recently and it is something our characters should do too. When they mess up (as they will), what makes them take stock? How do they turn things around? That is the story. That is what grips us as readers. pic.twitter.com/6lswuCXlqN
— ACW (@ACW1971) May 5, 2023

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Starting Conversation, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/RPL9cvjTit Pleased to be on FFF with Starting Conversation. The ACW Flash Fiction Group may recognise this as my response to a prompt I set recently! Thanks for the lovely comments on this tale already. pic.twitter.com/ca6KvTYMAL
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 5, 2023

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Review: Spring Trio – The Chameleon Theatre Group https://t.co/ZTgNLF4yHt It is a joy to share my review for CFT this week. My lovely editor, Janet Williams, and I went to see the trio of plays just over a week ago and were thoroughly entertained by the mix of comedy and drama.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 5, 2023

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Taking Stock

May 2, 2023Leave 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.

Hope you have had a good week. Enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend here. More to come this month too. Doesn’t affect the writing. I usually write in the evenings. Do you have a good time of day for writing? I prefer to write when I know I’ve got most of what else I have to do behind me for the day.

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Lady had a good run round with her Aussie Shepherd friend this morning. I swam 100 lengths in my local pool today in a personal best time. Lady and I shall sleep well tonight! I did think when I resumed swimming seriously I would use the time in the pool to think out story lines, blog ideas etc. Not a bit of it. The mind goes blank. Mind you, that can be relaxing so maybe it is not a bad thing.

Reading Tip (makes a change, yes?): Mix up what you read in terms of format as well as genre. I like to mix up reading paperbacks with reading magazines and ebooks. I mix up fiction with non-fiction. Within fiction, I mix up humorous writing with crime fiction with contemporary with classic etc. It makes for an interesting reading life. That in turn inspires the writing too so win-win here.

I like the month of May. More evidence that spring is with us (usually, she says hastily!). My late grandmother was called May. Charming lady. Charming name. Charming month.

Author newsletter went out this morning. Am looking forward to sharing my review of Spring Trio staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group which I went to on Thursday. Post will be up on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. The combination of plays was interesting. Good twists too. And as a friend said you can’t beat good local live theatre. For me, it’s a fantastic and different way of taking in stories – what’s not to love there?

Wow, the end of another month already. Don’t forget my author newsletter goes out on the first of each month. If you’d like to sign up head over to my website landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

I have an exclusive story this time as well and I also break down how I wrote this. I know from having read interviews with authors where they’ve done this, you can learn so much from that technique. I hope you find it entertaining and useful. So look out for my latest missive in your inbox tomorrow!

A huge hello to all who have signed up and those who have done so recently.

Completely off topic, my better half recently redecorated the office in which I work. Has done a grand job. I am still sorting out the boxes of stuff I had on my desk. Who knew I had so much clutter on there? Well, me now! Am determined to keep desk decluttered. Wish me luck!

Glad to say it’s my turn on More than Writers, the blog spot from the Association of Christian Writers. This time I look at Taking Stock and why doing this every so often can give you the encouragement to keep going. We all need that kind of encouragement from time to time. Hope you find the post helpful.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I was talking about Reading Moods on Goodreads this week and this is where reading flash collections has an advantage. Short story anthologies share this advantage too. And yes I am biased given I have a foot in both camps but the bliss of these is you can mix up your reading mood within the covers of one book! I deliberately mixed up the mood of my stories in my two flash collections as I wanted to give a good flavour of what flash fiction is and can be. Good short story anthologies do the same thing. And as I’ve mentioned before, these books give you a chance to try out the works of authors new to you.

It’s Monday. Okay here in the UK it’s a Bank Holiday Monday but it’s still time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Circles.

Had a lovely time at the ACW Flash Fiction group on Wednesday. I always set exercises for these things and jot down ideas, along with the group, on the night of the meeting. I love live writing like that and everyone came up with ideas to work up later. I am hoping some at least will go and submit their finished pieces somewhere. Now have a few ideas to work up for story submissions. Win-win there!

This is where practicing writing to different prompts helps. It means you’re not fazed by whatever it is you’re set. Even if you haven’t done the actual kind of exercise before, you will know you can write to exercises and prompts because you’ve already got the practice in. It does pay off, honest!

Hope you have had a good day. Loved my trip out to the theatre on Thursday night (which consisted of three plays, more on that in a future Chandler’s Ford Today post). Mind you, there are always moments in a theatrical production which could be turned into a flash fiction story!

Flash focuses on one important moment for a character and in any great play, there are loads of those stand out moments which, individually, could be explored in prose. With a play you have to go on to the next moment and then the next one until you get to the end.

I often outline my character first and that will give me a good idea of the kind of situation they’re likely to find themselves in and from there I can work out what their most important moment is to write about.

Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Moods

Does your mood change what you were planning on reading? When life is especially grim, I will often turn to humorous works for sheer escapism. Indeed, I think humorous writing has a major role to play here. Funnily enough, the cosier end of the crime market can have a similar effect.

I have to be in a reasonably upbeat mood to begin with to cope with anything grim reading wise. That decision is backed by the fact I only have so much time in which to read so I want to make sure I enjoy what I do read! For non-fiction, if I’m reading history (as I currently am with 1000 Years of Annoying the French by Stephen Clarke), I find mood matters less.

Regardless of mood, whatever I read, I want to “zip” along and finish my reading session feeling I could have carried on reading all night if it wasn’t for the need to get some sleep!

So over to you then. Do you find you have to be in the right mood to read at all? (Not a problem with me – I will read, it is just a question of what I read). Do you find your mood dictates what you read (as it can do for me)? Or is it a question of working your way through your To Be Read pile methodically?

MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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On our More than Writers' blog today @AllisonSymes1 invites us to look back over our writing journeyshttps://t.co/1LpZYlvdVX
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 29, 2023

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More than Writers: Taking Stock by Allison Symes https://t.co/ku3jr2jrsH Glad to say it’s my turn on More than Writers, the blog spot from the Association of Christian Writers. I look at Taking Stock and why doing this every so often can give you the encouragement to keep going. pic.twitter.com/1w0Rcxo7ET
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 29, 2023

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Reading Moods https://t.co/URoQ5Gs0Tp via @goodreads I look at how my mood can change what I read when at times, whether it is the same for non-fiction as for fiction, and ask you for your comments. pic.twitter.com/nXagT97N3G
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 29, 2023

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It’s Monday. Okay here in the UK it’s a Bank Holiday Monday but it’s still time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Circles.https://t.co/r92oJTkcUd
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) May 1, 2023

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How To Guides

April 28, 20231 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.

Hope you have had a good week. I had a fabulous trip out to my local theatre company’s latest production and ran a flash fiction workshop. Weather still all over the place but Lady has got to play with some of her best pals. So a good week then!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Wow, it’s Friday again already, and time to share my Chandler’s Ford Today post. This week I’m looking at How To Guides and I share some of the writing ones I have used (and in many cases continue to refer to). I look at how the need for specific guides changes as your writing progresses and share some thoughts on what makes a good guide for me. Do share details of any guides you’ve found helpful in the CFT comments box.

How To Guides

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I was talking about how to make the best of themes as part of my topic for the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group last night. It pays to practice writing to themes – why? Because the classic themes come up time and again. Anything that doesn’t fit into a themed competition can always be saved for an open one.

Lady had a fabulous time playing with her best buddie, the lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback, today. Both dogs had a fabulous time. You should hear them run – it really is a thundering gallop!

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Zoom this evening. It is great fun thinking of topics to discuss and then working out what exercises we can do related to these. We all get some drafts done and it has been lovely when people have gone on to have work published online and broadcast later. More power to the (flash) pens/laptops!

Also looking forward to my theatre trip tomorrow and to sharing my post on How To Guides on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above.

Advantage to flash is setting characters anywhere

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Glad to say the May edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is already out and what a cracking read it is. The theme this time was sailing and you can see how I used that for my flash fiction column on Page 56. Do check out the excellent stories which came in as a result of my challenge as well. Given it is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, that gives you plenty of time for a great read and several cups of tea/coffee while you do so – now that is what I call a good use of weekend time.

Screenshot 2023-04-28 at 19-47-14 My first document

Screenshot 2023-04-28 at 19-47-53 My first document

Screenshot 2023-04-28 at 19-48-07 My first document

Screenshot 2023-04-28 at 19-47-34 My first document

Flash fiction competitions come in many forms but the common ones are the 100 worders, the 300, and the 500 kinds so it is worth practicing writing to those different word counts. You can know these will come up regularly. For my collections, I wanted to have a good mix of all the different (and standard) word counts here including the 750 and the 1000 worders. I felt (and still feel) having a god representation of the different word counts in flash made a good advert for the form overall. I think it also shows the form has more flexibility than might be thought – it is only the upper word count you have to watch.

I use random generators a lot as you know and I sometimes use the same thing generated for two stories. I invent different characters for the tales and will often ensure one is a humorous piece and the other isn’t. You really wouldn’t know they were based on the same underlying idea unless I told you! I just send these to two different markets or save one for my YouTube channel.

But I equally use two generators for two different ideas entirely. Then I can keep the mood the same if I wish to do so. I sometimes expand the number of parameters I set when using the generators (or in the case of story cubes I roll more than one of them!). There is plenty you can do with these things and they are a great source to find ideas, something just to get the creative sparks off to a good start.

Fairytales with Bite – Endings

E = Expect the unexpected as not every fairytale has the classic happy ever after ending.
N = Never underestimate the “drab” character – they will almost certainly have an important role to bring the story to a good ending.
D = Do or dare – this will occur just ahead of the ending – something has to happen to bring that ending about.
I = Imagination – your characters may well imagine the ending they’d like but will they get that or something much better?
N = Narrators can guide the readers in some fairytales and you can find out what they make of the ending (have written some of these myself).
G = Good usually triumphs over evil as an ending here but I welcome that – would like to see it happen in real life more often to be honest (and maybe it is one of the comforts of the fairytale as a whole).
S = Stories need a satisfactory ending – it has to work for the characters and the set up of the story – but it doesn’t need to be a happy one (though I admit I prefer them!).

This World and Others – Changes

C= Characters and changes and causes and consequences – the bedrocks of any story in whatever setting.
H= How your characters handle changes will reveal much about them but also drive the story -not everyone reacts well.
A= Attitudes will determine how a character reacts to change – those who love routine will find changes harder to cope with.
N= Negative attitudes to change can lead to negative actions – what would that lead to in your story?
G= Great characters will find ways of dealing with changes and the consequences which come from them.
E= Every setting, every fantasy world, must develop and change whether it is in terms of technology, how they treat others, etc. What triggers the changes? Are the settings better because of the changes and if so how?
S= Stubbornness – there will always be those characters who resist change for various reasons (one of which is fear of change itself). How would they impact on your story?

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Seasonal writing – for you or not? I write some (I love festive flash fiction) but that’s about all. The nice thing here is I can prepare this well in advance so I have something ready to submit at the proper time. pic.twitter.com/82vHmQce5O
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 26, 2023

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If there is a particular season you love writing about, do prepare as much as you can in advance. Certain things about that season won’t change. It’s a question of finding a fresh angle so you can write a fresh piece about it. pic.twitter.com/sksGBgiL4N
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 27, 2023

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Jotting down ideas for seasonal writing throughout the year is a good idea. Another is to jot down all you can think of in relation to the season you like to write about. It will be there you may well find the fresh angle you need for this year’s piece. pic.twitter.com/4BKqD48wZ0
— ACW (@ACW1971) April 28, 2023

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The May edition of Mom’s Favorite Reads is already out and what a cracking read it is. The theme was sailing. You can see how I used that for my flash fiction column on Page 56. Check out the excellent stories which came in due to my challenge as well. https://t.co/eDMOO9OrFy pic.twitter.com/TOcGOXkI2B
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 28, 2023

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How To Guides https://t.co/c3s9x18Nzi Wow, it’s Friday again, and time to share my CFT post. I’m looking at How To Guides and share some writing ones I've used. I look at how the need for guides changes as your writing progresses and share thoughts on what makes a good guide.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 28, 2023

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Feedback, Local Theatre, and Reviews

April 25, 2023Leave 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.

Busy week this time with a trip to the theatre and running a flash fiction group online coming up. Both will be fun though.

Facebook – General

Posting early today as have a meeting tonight. Will also post again early for the next few days. It is just one of those weeks but at least the sun came out today and Lady got to play with her friend, a smashing Aussie Shepherd. Both dogs had a fab time.

Writing Tip: Never worry about how much time you’ve got to write. Just get something down. I’ve talked about using pockets of time before but I have to do this a lot and it does pay off. I have had several blogs drafted, stories written etc doing this. It would’ve been too easy to have missed the chance to write those things down, yet alone then go on to do something positive with them.

Lovely start to the day (and Lady got to show off her running skills to her older pal, the lovely Hungarian Vizler we know) and then by lunchtime it was pelting it down. One thing you can say about the weather in Britain – it is variable!

Have a busy week ahead with my visit to the theatre on Thursday and running the Flash Fiction group on Zoom for the Association of Christian Writers on Wednesday. Both will be great fun. (And I know I’ll get a review out of one of them and I suspect some draft flash fiction out of the other!).

Talking of reviews, remember these don’t have to be long and they are a great way of helping an author, so do bear that in mind. One from a review of Tripping the Flash Fantastic reads “Allison Symes can pack more into 100 words than most people can into 1000. Politicians take note!”

I wonder if I can make use of that given local elections are coming up soon!

It’s St. George’s Day today (in England) and the birthday (also probable day of death too) for William Shakespeare. Have enjoyed watching several of his works thanks to National Theatre Live. Must try and get to see more.

Watching stories (stage or film) is another great way of taking in tales. My late mother would have been pleased about this. She tried to get me into the works of the Bard for many years. Would probably wonder why it took me so long! And the basic plots are often the basis for other stories – The Lion King is loosely based on Hamlet. His stories have inspired classical music too (The Love Theme for Romeo and Juliet being just one example).

Am off to local theatre later this week to see Spring Trio by The Chameleon Theatre Group.

Have never been tempted to act though I always admire those who do this well. It always has been the story I’ve been interested in. Doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that, does it?!

Hope you are having a nice weekend. Off out for a lovely meal out later. Looking forward to that. Nice not having to cook!

I’ll be looking at How-To Guides (writing ones) for next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post. I have used a few in my time and have found the ones I used (and still use) incredibly helpful. No one writer can know it all and a well written guide or two, developing networks of writer friends, and going to writing events are all invaluable for helping you learn your craft.

I use Scrivener for my writing and find both the inbuilt tutorial and the Scrivener for Dummies book by Gwen Hernandez to be great aids.

Link up for CFT post on Friday as usual.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the great comments coming in on Going Home, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction.

Feedback is much appreciated, especially for the short forms of writing. In the past where I was submitting something for a competition, if there was the opportunity to get feedback, I would take it. Usually there was a small additional fee (it is something towards the judge’s time) but I took the view it was worth it to get “soundings” back on my story. I always found this useful.

Sometimes I would then resubmit the story elsewhere and had it published then, having taken on board comments made. Didn’t always take the advice given – sometimes I had good reasons for disagreeing with it. But that was still useful. It made me work out why. And then there were those times when the commentator flagged up something so useful I wondered why I hadn’t spotted it in the first place! This is the way of these things.

It’s Monday. It has been pouring down in my part of the world. It’s getting dark early due to the weather. It’s still Monday. Definitely time for a story then. Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube video – The Best. Not me being boastful (honest!) but see if you would do what my character does here faced with what she is facing.

One of the joys of going to things like The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, is getting to explore their wonderful Book Room! I’ve come back with flash collections and other books to enjoy many a time.

Don’t forget if you would like signed copies of either From Light to Dark and Back Again or Tripping the Flash Fantastic, please contact me and I will happily oblige! Payment is via bank transfer. Please contact me via the form on my website –https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact/.

Contact

I was chatting about flash fiction and its benefits as part of an ACW meeting this morning. Always good to spread the word about the benefits of flash, no matter what else you write. I know it has brought on my editing skills a lot!

Sunday afternoons is often when I write a lot of flash. Always look forward to that. (I end up doing other bits and pieces on flash during the week whether I’m writing about it for blog posts or preparing for future books etc).

Above all, flash led me to having my own books published so will always love it for that alone!

Goodreads Author Blog – What I Like about Reviews

All authors would like reviews, ideally good ones of course. What I like about reviews I read is when they give me information and a sense of what a book is about without giving away too much of it. These are the kind of reviews I try to write as well.

Other than buying a writer’s book, giving them an honest review is the second best thing you can do to help the authors in your life. We can share the fact we have had reviews in (which encourages people to take a look at those and hopefully our books too). It gives us a much needed morale boost. Bear in mind we are at our desks alone for a lot of the time. It is also a form of validation and most writers appreciate getting that every now and again.

So if you’ve read books you love, do review them. Reviews don’t have to be long. They don’t take much time to do and they really do help writers. And where better than to spread the word about the usefulness of well thought out reviews than at Goodreads?

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

liked Allison Symes's blog post: What I Like about Reviews https://t.co/6P66fEAyBv via @goodreads I share why reviews are so useful for writers. And it something readers can do to supporting writing friends. pic.twitter.com/HbuyeE7HRc
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 22, 2023

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It’s Monday. It has poured down. It’s getting dark early. It’s still Monday. Time for a story. Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube video – The Best. Not me being boastful (honest!) but would you do what my character does here faced with what she is facing?https://t.co/zUSOrcm9AG
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 24, 2023

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Book Recommendations

April 21, 2023Leave 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.

Not a bad week. Have had lovely spring weather. And I get to talk about Book Recommendations for Chandler’s Ford Today this week – always something I’m happy to talk about. Lady hasn’t seen quite so many of her friends this week so will be hoping for better I suspect next week!

Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

It’s that time of the week once again – time for my Chandler’s Ford Today post. This time I’m talking about Book Recommendations and I share my criteria for my recommending any book to anyone. I also share what I would recommend at the moment (book recommendations are always updated!) and I discuss why I would recommend a series to writers. As ever, comments are welcome on the CFT page.

Book Recommendations

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Lovely day today – able to switch from good old mac to a body warmer. Will probably chuck it down tomorrow. Apologies if it does!

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting on Zoom next week. Always fun and I get to draft flash pieces during this too! Yes, I do set homework but I also do it (not in advance either) so again it helps me get more flash pieces written. I can work out what to do with them later on. I will find homes eventually and I also build up pieces for inclusion in a future collection.

I’ve found over time little is wasted in writing. Stories I haven’t been able to place I have rewritten or taken a character out and reused the character. You learn from what doesn’t work as well as from what does, which is another reason why I feel even rejections are not wasted experiences. Doesn’t stop them hurting at times. But you can learn from them.

Hope you have had a good day. Will be looking at Book Recommendations for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. See above. Looking forward to sharing that. I’ll be setting out my criteria before I recommend a book to anyone. One nice bonus to going to writer events is you end up with a load of book recommendations made to you so no danger whatsoever of running out of things to read. (Perish that thought!).

I’ll be off soon to see The Chameleon Theatre Group perform their latest production. Aptly called Spring Trio, this will consist of three one act plays. Looking forward to seeing that and it will be another Chandler’s Ford Today “works outing” given my lovely editor will be going as well. Review to follow in due course.

Writing Tip: Forget word counts. Is that odd for a flash fiction writer to say? Not really. Get your story or blog down first, then worry about the tidying up. Then worry about what the word count is – and sort accordingly. You really do need to work out what it is you are saying first, then worry about how many words you can use to do just that.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It’s the end of the week so time for another story of mine on Friday Flash Fiction. I hope you enjoy Going Home. Lovely to see some great comments coming in on this one already. Thanks, folks!

Looking forward to a flash workshop I’ll be running in May. That one will be on Zoom (which is a fabulous word to get out in Scrabble by the way. Have only done it once. Got it on a treble word score and scored over 90 with it. My bragging rights are definitely word related!).

I love online and in person workshops, whether I am running them or going to them. Have learned plenty from both kinds.

Don’t forget my author newsletter will be out again soon (1st May). To sign up for tips, news, story links etc., do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com – and a huge hello to all who have already signed up. It is good to have you aboard!

Must admit I do love picking out pieces to read at Open Prose Mic Nights and the like. I like to mix up the mood as well as the word count of the stories I pick for this. I also mix them up altogether for other occasions so I don’t just read the same ones. I also practice reading these and will often use Zoom to play back my readings so I can hear how they sound. I’ve found that facility so useful and it means I can ensure I get my timings right.

You usually have up to five minutes for these things. People don’t mind you coming in at under that time. What they don’t want is you going over it. Nor do you want to unintentionally irritate other performers doing that. And it is a good practice to get into for those times when you might want to submit a story for broadcasting. You will know how long time wise your story is and again ensure you fit in with the broadcaster’s requirements here. More likely to get a second bite of the cherry if you fit in!

Fairytales with Bite – Twists

To my mind, all fairytales have twists in them. The “harmless old lady” who turns out to be a powerful magical being in disguise so watch how you treat them or she will make you pay is one of my favourite twists here. Fairytales taught me early on that it isn’t a good idea to judge by appearances alone. Plus the stories are full of unexpected/unlikely heroes/heroines who make the story work Like that aspect a lot too. A girl in rags isn’t usually considered to be a heroine but the world of the fairytale turns expectations upside down.

How can you make use of that for your stories? What would nobody expect your character to be able to do (inbuilt prejudices?) and they then go on to do them? What would be the consequences? Could these be humorous or tragic?

Regardless of what you write, when you use twists, they must be reasonable for the characters, your setting, and the story line. I find it helpful to work out what my twist will be first, then figure out how that could come about “naturally” in my story line. I think of this as working from B to A! (But it does work. Well worth trying. It means I know my twist is logical and makes sense).

This World and Others – Setting Scenes

With my flash fiction, due to its limited word count, I tend to use selected details which will conjure up a wider picture of my setting in the reader’s mind. If I set a story in an alien world, I will use one or two details to show the setting cannot be on Earth/is definitely an alien world but I don’t go into chapter and verse. I will show you an alien who can make himself shrink so he can hide in a ping pong ball (and I have done this!). The fact the alien can shrink into that shows you that this creature is not of this world and probably needs to find better places in which to hide. (Yes, the tale was a humorous one. It is my oddest setting to date).

For longer stories, I’ve got the room to share a little bit more detail but I still try to avoid big swathes of description. I would rather show you my character spilling the tea out of her cheap crockery (rather than tell you this was in a drab lounge because you can imply if the crockery is cheap, where she is living is likely to be as well). I try to work out the details a reader couldn’t guess and ensure those facts go in – the rest they can and will work out. I love doing this myself when I’m reading works by other writers. I love being able to picture the scene without every little detail being “spoon fed” to me. I want to work some things out but need the right clues to do it.

As for twists, as mentioned in Fairytales with Bite above, I will ensure the right clues are put earlier on in the story so when the twist does come, readers can look back and see that yes, this twist could happen because the seeds were sown for it in paragraph three or what have you. (This where working out what the twist is first pays dividends and help me set my scenes more convincingly too).

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Going Home, by Allison Symes – Friday Flash Fiction https://t.co/E9dwaHJc1C It’s the end of the week so time for another story of mine on Friday Flash Fiction. I hope you enjoy Going Home. Lovely to see some great comments coming in on this one already. Thanks, folks! pic.twitter.com/FGHebkrhqi
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 21, 2023

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Book Recommendations https://t.co/vdSD2GwIzC It’s time for my CFT post about Book Recommendations. I share my criteria for recommending any book and what I would recommend at the moment (book recommendations are always updated!) and discuss why I'd recommend a series to writers.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 21, 2023

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Writing To A Theme and Dragon Duty

April 18, 2023Leave 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.

Hope you are well. Had a lovely weekend away at the ACW Committee Retreat. Lady not happy I went. Was overjoyed when I got back! Now back to the usual routines, writing and otherwise. Spring weather seems to be more settled now. Am hoping that won’t prove to be a case of famous last words!

Facebook – General

Regular blog posting is a good indication of how quickly time passes by! Can’t believe we’re at the 18th already and it is my turn once again on the Authors Electric blog. This time I talk about Writing to a Theme.

This is something I do a lot for my blog posts here and elsewhere (I set them), to other places where the theme is set for me, including competitions. Hope you find the post helpful.

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After a busy weekend, it has been a busy Monday! Start as you mean to go on, perhaps?

Will be scheduling a story for my YouTube channel so it appears tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing that. Spent a lot of my train journey home yesterday drafting different pieces – will find homes for them in due course. I often do draft potential blog pieces/stories like this because I know I can use them at a later date. I don’t usually edit pieces on journeys like that. I just want to get something written and save the editing for when I‘m back at my desk again. I see journey time as bonus writing time.

On way home from the Committee Retreat (Association of Christian Writers). Plan to do reasonable amount of writing on the trains home. Never short of things to draft here!

It was lovely to be back at The Hayes, Swanwick. Due to be back in August for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

This weekend I stayed in the Main House for the first time. Very nice and I literally got some steps in going up and down the stairs.

Will be talking about Book Recommendations for Chandler’s Ford Today. Link up on Friday.

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Am currently at the Committee Retreat for the Association of Christian Writers. Good to see everyone again. Getting to stay at The Hayes, Swanwick again which is lovely.

Between us the Committee represents Christians writing for the secular market (I’m included here) and those who do write for the Christian market. There are novelists across different genres, article writers, short story and flash fiction people (yes I count here but am not the only one I’m pleased to say).

We are in a way a microcosm of the wider writing world. Not sure what my colleagues will make of being referred to like that (!) but I think it is an excellent thing. The writing world is huge and the variety amazing. With both my reader and writer hats on, I love that.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I may be a day late (thanks to being away at the weekend) but there is always time for a story on a Tuesday as well as a Monday! Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube tale – Dragon Duty.

The day after you get back from anywhere is always a toughie as you try to resume your normal routines (whether they be writing, domestic, or in my case both!). This is where writing in the short form is a lovely bonus. If I get, say, 200 words written today, that may be a complete story for me (or I am well on my way to a useful blog post).

Never worry about only writing a “little”. These “little” bits and pieces mount up over time. It’s how I ended up putting two collections (and now a third) together. Also it’s not as if you could write a novel in “one go” anyway. All writing does need building up, you do get to the end. It’s not a race and I would rather write something than nothing.

I won’t beat myself up because I could only write a little rather than my standard amount (and I deliberately don’t work out my average word count. I just write and enjoy the process – mostly. I say mostly because we all get days when we’d far rather be doing something else but I always feel better for getting something creative done and for me that creativity is in the writing).

Many thanks for the great comments coming in for Making Her Day, my latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction. Much appreciated.
Plan to write and submit pieces as usual this week for FFF and my YouTube channel but will be a day later than usual. Hope to draft both on my way back from my weekend away. I bless Evernote!

Writing flash helps with other formats too. I’m not going to be fazed by having to write 500 words for an article, say, given I often write to that word count for stories.

I also know editing is vital no matter what word count you write to as there is no such thing as a perfect first draft. What you do get with that draft is a basic story which needs strengthening but that can be done later. You can’t strengthen the unwritten!

Flash has taught me to be specific with word usage and that is useful elsewhere too.

Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Away From Home

I usually take my Kindle with me for trips. Gives me choice. Saves weight. Gives me packing room for other things too.
But for my trip to the Commitee Retreat for the Association of Christian Writers, where I am as this goes out, I left my reader at home. Why?

Because I’m currently engrossed with two different paperbacks I couldn’t bear to leave behind.

One is 1000 Years of Annoying the French, which is funny and informative (written by Stephen Clarke).

The other is The Continuing Times of Isabella M Smugge (written by Ruth Leigh). This is funny and moving.

Plan to continue to make progress on these while away. Do think two decent sized paperbacks is a good limit for books in a case though!

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

MOM’S FAVORITE READS LINK – CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE INCLUDING MY FLASH FICTION COLUMN HERE –

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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liked Allison Symes's blog post: Reading Away From Home https://t.co/C0EdPCCzcx via @goodreads I share why, for once, I haven't taken my Kindle away with me. Hope you enjoy. pic.twitter.com/MKUVNnpEFo
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 15, 2023

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I may be a day late (thanks to being away at the weekend) but there is always time for a story on a Tuesday as well as a Monday! Hope you enjoy my latest YouTube tale – Dragon Duty.https://t.co/BUZcbEXZhl
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 18, 2023

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Authors Electric: Writing to a Theme by Allison Symes https://t.co/sd8tkCCsDF It's my turn again on Authors Electric. This time I talk about Writing to a Theme. I do this a lot for my blog posts (I set them), to other places where the theme is set for me, including competitions.
— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) April 18, 2023

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