Tag: Writers’ Narrative

Handling Rejections and Book Recommendations – Yay or Nay?

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Image of me at the Book Fair was taken by Richard Hardie. Makes an excellent publicity shot!
Hope you have had a good weekend. Not bad here. Writing going well and looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting next week. Love preparing material for that. Love meeting up with everyone on line. There is a great creative buzz. Hope your own creative buzz is going well!

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Many thanks for the wonderful comments on my post yesterday when I talked about having a story turned down and then what I plan to do as a result. See below.

One good thing – the rejection has led to a positive and, I hope, helpful post on Facebook so I count that as a win! I have often had stories turned down – it does indeed happen to all writers – but again have often reworked a piece and had it accepted later on.

I’ve also got on and written more stories, many of which are published now, some still not. It is very much a case of onwards and upwards and can I make this story better and get it out somewhere else? The important thing is not giving up.

As I write in the short form, I always have to invent characters. I’ll be looking at some ways of doing this in my Chandler’s Ford Today post this week called Ways into Creating Characters. I do love self explanatory titles! I’ll be discussing why stories are character led and why a writer needs to know their characters well. Link up on Friday.

 

Had a story turned down today. Will look at it again (probably over the weekend), see if I can improve it, and try and find another home for it. Sometimes I’ve gone on to have work published that way.

This is all part and parcel of the writing life and it doesn’t bother me now the way it would’ve done when I started writing seriously. This is because I know now, in a way I didn’t way back when, this happens to all writers, you have to be submitting material to have any chance of acceptances, and there is nothing to stop me trying again with the turned down piece. Waste not, want not.

Do bear in mind there are all sorts of reasons for a piece to be turned down. Sometimes it is because a market (including things like the online story websites) have just had stories in and accepted on a similar theme to yours. You can’t know this. But you can get your story out again to somewhere suitable that hasn’t been inundated with stories on said similar theme.

Sometimes your story doesn’t suit the mood an editor/publisher is looking for at the time you submit the piece. That happens too.

Best thing is to carry on writing, review your turned down piece and see if you can find another home for it. It is very satisfying when you can.

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It’s my turn once again on Authors Electric. This time my topic is Book Recommendations – Yay or Nay?

I discuss my policies on reviewing books and what I do with books on writing I’ve found especially useful. I also look at getting into a book after hearing it read on radio, adapted for TV etc., as these can be great means to introduce the original books to people.

Hope you enjoy the post.

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Hope you are having a good weekend. Don’t forget the next issue of Writers’ Narrative will be out before long. Meantime, you can catch up with the current issue below.

Reading quality writing magazines is a huge help to your own writing. I’ve learned so many tips over the years doing this and every single one has helped my writing in some way. I also love finding things out about other areas of writing I’m not involved in at all.

This is partly because I love everything to do with creative writing but also because you never know when those areas of writing might become relevant to you after all.

I hadn’t heard of flash fiction when I started writing seriously for publication. I found out about it, gave it a go, two books later (and with a third in the pipeline), I am glad I discovered it!

But this is where a good quality writing magazine comes into its own. It can show you these aspects of writing. It’s then up to you whether you explore them further or not. Even if you don’t do so immediately, you may come back to these later but you have to know about them first.

And from a reader’s viewpoint, you get to discover authors new to you too.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

One of the most overlooked jobs when putting a flash fiction/short story collection together is sorting out the index. It is a vital job though and worth taking your time over.

I was changing my running order for both of my flash collections (From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic) so this was the last thing I did before sending my manuscript off. There were further changes after that but thankfully mainly on the text. But having the index worked out meant it was easier to change things around when I still needed to work on that. The art of indexing is much underrated I think!

With the books published, those indexes are still handy to me to remind me of what I’ve had published where. The indexes were also useful for helping me ensure my story titles weren’t sounding all the same. I didn’t want them all starting with the magic word “the”! It is easy to do that. I like variety in my titles in how they sound, word count length, and the kind of hook I hope they deliver.

Allison Symes - Flash Fiction CollectionsIt has been a long tiring Monday. The forecast isn’t great. It’s still Monday. Time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – A Good Margin. Never cross old ladies is the motto of this one – find out why here.

 

After a very wet start to the day, Sunday has brightened up nicely. Many thanks for the comments coming in on Wrong Turn, my latest story on Friday Flash Fiction. Much appreciated.

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting on Zoom later in the month. Always good fun. Coming up with topics is a great brain stretcher for me and, yes, I do have a go at the prompts I set. Sometimes I will do the odd one or two in advance and use as examples. I’ve found, when I’ve been on the receiving end, I’ve appreciated examples being set. It encourages my imagination to get going.

Many of the prompts I prepare for these meetings, though, I write on the night with the others. I love live writing exercises and want to join in myself. I find it gets the adrenalin and the imagination flowing. Nothing to dislike here! Tidying the draft up etc can happen much later (and does).

Raw writing if you like but there is a joy and energy to just creating something like that and knowing the other work can be returned to later on. Right now I am just letting my imagination play and I love that.

Screenshot 2024-02-16 at 09-51-34 Wrong Turn by Allison Symes

Flash fiction takes away one reason people can give for not reading – they don’t have the time! Hmm…

I would hope the development of flash fiction encourages more reading in fact. Why? Simply because the authors, including yours truly, are not asking people to commit to too much in one go. I would hope that would encourage people to read more flash fiction across the word count ranges, go on to read short stories, novellas, novels etc.

From a writing viewpoint, flash has taught me the meaning of show, don’t tell. I can’t waffle on either because I’d use up my word count too fast. So it is an excellent discipline to practice writing flash even if it is never your main form of writing.

Flash Fiction focuses on THE important aspect of a character's life

Goodreads Author Blog – Series Books or Stand Alones?

Do you prefer series books or stand alones? Naturally, I am sure most of us would say we love both of these forms of novel. I certainly do. But both have their own advantages.

In series books, you have the advantage of following characters over the course of several novels and see them develop. My favourite example is the Discworld series by the much missed Terry Pratchett. The Vimes books within this show him going from a drunk to a phenomenally brave man with a wife (the brilliant Lady Sybil, who is a great role model) and child and how he transforms the City Watch into a decent police unit.

But there are some books where a writer says all they have to say about a character in one gripping story and they’re right not to carry that on.

I don’t know if this series/stand alone debate particularly refers to crime fiction (as the Vimes books are crime novels set in a fantasy world so cross crime/fantasy/humour and to fabulous effect). Certainly if an author is new to me, I will only read one book of theirs, see how I get on, and then go on to read the others in their series or not as the case may be.

If you have series or stand alone recommendations, do share!

Meantime I carry on very happily reading both kinds.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Review: The Sleeping Beauty and Publication News

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you goes as ever to The Chameleon Theatre Company for supplying the photos for my review of their pantomime for Chandler’s Ford Today this week.
Hope you have had a good week. Author newsletter out this week, as is the super duper bumper issue of Writers’ Narrative for January and February 2024. Plus I review The Sleeping Beauty pantomime for Chandler’s Ford Today. Lady has seen her friends all week so she has had a great time too and I’ve spotted first daffodils out. Spring is on its way at least here in the UK.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

So pleased to share my review of The Sleeping Beauty recently performed by The Chameleon Theatre Company. Great show. Wonderful performances and The Chameleons prepare all their own sets too.

My review looks at the classic ingredients for a perfect pantomime. Did The Chameleons deliver on these? You can find out via the link – oh yes, you can!

Review: The Chameleon Theatre Company – The Sleeping Beauty

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Author newsletter out today, I’m glad to say. Given it is a Leap Year this time around I shared 29 tips/prompts which I hope my subscribers find useful.

Will be sharing my review of The Sleeping Beauty as staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company on Chandler’s Ford Today. Link up tomorrow (see above) and I hope the review reflects the fun of pantomime. It was a great laugh when I went to see the show last week. This is always a sign of a great pantomime wonderfully performed.

Have two stories to work on and submit over the next day or so. Have also got a number of possible competitions to check out in the Writing Magazine guide that came with the February issue. Looking forward to checking these out.

Screenshot 2024-02-01 at 17-32-50 Allison Symes - February 2024 - Leaping Into FlashDelighted to say the super-duper double issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine is now out covering January and February 2024. Lots to read with plenty of superb interviews and advice. Hope you enjoy it (see link below).

I have two pieces in here. I talk about New Beginnings for Characters on Page 14 and ask Flash Fiction Romance – Is It Possible? on page 40. But to find out the answer to that question, do check out the magazine.

If you haven’t already subscribed, there are links to do this within the edition itself. It means you won’t miss an issue and it will come straight to your inbox. Happy reading!

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Delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest drabble, Down Time. Find out why a robot would like to dream here and what it tries to smuggle into its shed on its down time.

Screenshot 2024-02-02 at 09-52-13 Down Time by Allison Symes

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her youngest friend, Coco, the small Labradoodle today. Both dogs happy. Coco did not want to go home. I guess that’s a good sign!

Flash fiction has many joys to it, including being able to write in different genres and moods with it, but it is also adaptable when it comes to working out what you do with your finished pieces.

Some of mine are reserved for future collections. Others are sent in for competitions. Others go to Friday Flash Fiction and still more on to my YouTube channel. Flash is easy to share as part of your marketing. It shows what you do and, hopefully, gives some entertainment for potential/actual readers. I find the dribbles and drabbles (the 50 and 100 worders respectively) work best for this.

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Pleased to be talking about flash fiction again in the double issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine where I look at Flash Fiction Romance – Is It Possible? (Check out the link to find out more).

One of the joys of flash fiction is it has to be character led, as you haven’t got the word count room for lots of description, and you can set said characters wherever and whenever you want. I love doing this. I’ve written crime fiction, historical fiction, monologues, fantasy flash fiction etc. I’ve written from the viewpoint of a mother dragon and from an alien curled up inside a ping pong ball! Had a ball writing both of these two as you can probably imagine.

The only limitation is that upper word count limit of 1000 words but there is plenty you can do effectively up to that word count. Some of my most poignant stories come in at this count or under (see They Don’t Understand in From Light to Dark and Back Again and The Pink Rose in Tripping the Flash Fantastic).

Fairytales with Bite – Character Ambitions

What ambitions do your characters have? Where magic is involved in your setting, is it a question of your characters getting any magical powers at all or is it a case they wish to top up on what they already have?

Would their ambitions be easy to achieve because they’re expected to have ambitions like that and there is a clear career path, or would they have to fight to get to where they want to be? If magic is restricted to only those of a certain background, how would those of other backgrounds get access to magic? Who breaks the barriers and how do they do it?

If your characters fulfil their ambitions, does this bring them what they were looking for, or are they left feeling let down, frustrated even? If the ambition is a “good” one, what is your character hoping to do by achieving it and are they seeking this “good” ambition for its own sake, for others, or just for themselves?

Are character ambitions limited to whatever class your characters are in? Is there only so much a character could hope to achieve because of their background? When it comes to limitations, who brought them in and why? Were there logical reasons for stopping a certain kind of character achieving something others are allowed to achieve?

Good potential for stories there! Characters who break the moulds set on them by others are always fun to write and there is no lack of tension and conflict, which means there has to be some sort of resolution as well. Pretty much an inbuilt story structure going on here.

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This World and Others – Types of Character

One of the fun sides of world building is working out what kinds of character you will have populating it. Are they based on human biology or on something different? Give some thought as to whether your characters will determine the kind of geographical location they can live in or whether the latter dictates the kind of the characters you have to invent who can live there.

A water based world, for example, is likely to have aquatic creatures, which may or may not be the stars of your stories or may threaten/be helpful to your other characters who are the lead, as the case may be. In a water world, would your characters, assuming they are roughly humanoid, be expected to swim and do they have features we do not? For example, would they have gills and fins attached to a human like body?

Also give some thought as to type of character based on intellectual ability or the complete lack of it.

What kind of characters to you need to bring your setting to life? For any setting to seem plausible to a reader, you need to show something of how it works and one great way to do that is by showing your characters at home in their environment as part of the story.

If they’re on a journey, what transport would they use, for example? In showing, say, they can hire flying cars, readers will assume there is a whole industry behind producing said flying cars, which immediately highlights your setting as being reasonably well developed.

Where you have different types of character, you can also show how well or otherwise they get on, what the politics between the different types are and how this affects your characters, amongst other things. (There will be a history behind whether types of characters get on with each other or not so you can imply/show some of that history. If an outsider queries why Character Type A does not get on with Character Type B, a third one can reveal it was because of the war in the year 18,006 and Character Type B’s people committed atrocities. You don’t have to give a lot of information. My example here would be a line or two in a conversation between two characters).

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Allison Symes – Festive Writing and Round Up 2023

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you to all who shared pictures from the Bridge House Publishing celebration event with me – full details in the Chandler’s Ford Today post – but thanks, all!
Hope you have had a good week. Almost there with Christmas preparations. Loving joining in with the carols when played on Classic FM. (For the record my favourite carol is In The Bleak Midwinter but it has to be the Holst setting). Lady has got to play with a few chums this week and a new terrier pal called Freddie so she has had a good week.
Am winding down now for Christmas so my next round up post after this one will be on Friday, 29th December. For some reason I’m not going to be about to do one next Tuesday, Boxing Day! So that leaves me to wish you all a most blissful and happy Christmas and hopefully catch up with you again on the 29th.

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It’s always a joy to write the pre-Christmas round up post for Chandler’s Ford Today. This week in my Festive Writing And Round Up 2023, I report on the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event, the Three Minutes Santa show hosted by Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM, and I share some festive flash with you too. Hope you enjoy the post.

Allison Symes – Festive Writing and Round Up 2023

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Making more progress on Christmas prep work so that’s good. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal today. Two happy and tired dogs went home. Just what the doggy doctor ordered then!

Will be sharing a festive writing and events round up post for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow plus I will be sharing festive flash as part of the post. I’ll also be sharing my write up of the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event as part of this too and the links to the Three Minute Santas show which went out last weekend. See above. You can see from the pics what a good time everyone had at the BHP event!

Looking a little further ahead, I will not be posting on 25th and 26th December for reasons which now escape me (!) and timings will vary as I disappear to have fabulous times with friends and family. I very much hope you get to do the same!

Meantime more writing and Christmas prep to do so best crack on!

Hope you’ve had a good day. More Christmas prep done today so am making progress at least. Lady got to play with her pal, Coco, and then later with a friendly terrier called Freddie. Good time was had by all.

Looking forward to sharing my festive post for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Also looking forward to the Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom tonight for the Association of Christian Writers. Will be catching up on news. Christmas jumpers are optional. Will be good fun with or without said jumper! Am so pleased a number of us had festive flash broadcast last weekend on the Three Minute Santas show hosted by Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM. Hope we can keep this going!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Will be resuming submitting stories to Friday Flash Fiction in the New Year given they are taking a well earned break after running their Christmas competition. Many congratulations to the winner and those who were listed.

I’ll probably share a flash fiction tale on my YouTube channel sometime next week but in the meantime if you would like to check out my other stories on there, you can do so at https://www.youtube.com/@allisonsymes

Festive flash is obviously a hot topic for me at the moment but the one thing I am always keen to avoid is any sense of tweeness. I’ve never liked it in any form of writing and, so help me, will not be guilty of it myself!

What I look to do is either write something which will make people smile/laugh (always a worthy aim, that!) or to give pause for thought (time for reflection at this time of year is also a good thing I find).

Will be taking a break over Christmas but will be sharing some of my festive flash for this year in my Chandler’s Ford Today post. Link up on that tomorrow plus I’ll be talking about the recent Bridge House event and sharing the links to the Hannah Kate radio show. So if you like festive flash, as I hope you do, please look out for that post tomorrow. See above.

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I do hope to create some festive flash after Christmas and before New Year but is likely to be just on my YouTube channel and on a different day. Will flag it if I get around to doing this.

Don’t forget the December issue of Writers’ Narrative is out and the theme is Finishing Strong. Well, it is an apt topic for the end of the year, is it not?

If you haven’t read it yet, you can check it out here.

Fairytales With Bite – Is Magic The Be All and End All?

The simple answer to that question is no. Magic can’t be the be all and end all, else all conflicts and problems in stories would be resolved by a quick wave of the magic wand. No drama in that!

Magic should be seen as a tool to be used wisely and where there are no alternatives. I believe that is its use in fairytales. Cinderella did need magical help to get to the ball for example. There were no alternatives.

I also like to see magic as having consequences (on the grounds any form of power has consequences if it is used for good or for ill).

So give some thought as to how your characters use magic, what they do instead of using magic, and what consequences they face when they do use it. For example, does using magic drain their mental powers (which could also have a major impact on what else they go on to do in the story).

Consequences should be something they’re aware of (or become so fast) as I would feel it a little unfair if the character didn’t know (or find out quickly). Also if they know what the consequences are it gives them the chance to go for other options and that will make for a more interesting story. A reader will also know when they do use magical power it is because they have no other choice.

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This World and Others – “Usual” Magic

What would your setting consider to be “usual” magic – I.e. what most in your setting would expect to see used on a regular basis? For example, is magic used where we use engineering? What we consider ordinary household gadgets such as the washing machine, would these be seen as magical in your setting or very basic?

Who would be the usual practitioners of any kind of magic? Are any species in your setting banned from using it? If so who, why, and is that ban enforced? What would happen if someone defied it?

Within your setting, what categories of magic exist? Can all species access magic to improve lives in their communities? Is some magic considered only to be used by the more important beings? (You can guess who brought that rule in!).

Are any restrictions placed on the use of any kind of magic for the benefit of the whole setting? Generally you don’t want beings firing magic at each other all the time and causing chaos. So what restrictions exist to prevent that from happening? What magic is considered acceptable to be used all the time?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Screenshot 2023-12-05 at 21-13-46 The December Magazine isHere

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Broadcast News and Interviews

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for the image of me at Swanwick 2023. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you had a good weekend. Had a lovely trip out to the West Country with other half and Lady plus a meal out with family which was great. Have had great writing news which I hope to talk more about in the New Year. Meantime, I have a story being broadcast soon and another one on CafeLit soon. So it has not been a bad few days!

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Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Right old mix weather wise today.

Am looking forward to welcoming Rosemary Johnson to Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday to talk about her book Wodka, or Tea With Milk. Her novel is set against the backdrop of the Solidarity movement. Now to me this seems this was only on the news yesterday but that definitely is an “age thing” on my part!

Rosemary will be sharing something of the joys and challenges of her road to publication as well. Great interview – do look out for it.

Talking of interviews, do bear in mind this can be a useful technique for finding out more about your characters to help you picture them well enough to write their stories up.

For my flash fiction, I find only a couple of pertinent questions are enough to help me picture my characters. Good questions to ask include things like what is your major trait and why do you think you have this one? A character has to open up to answer those properly. These can’t be Yes/No answers. Give it a go and see how you get on. I find it useful.


Am thrilled to say my story This Is The Partnership will be broadcast by Hannah Kate on her Three Minute Santas show on Saturday, 16th December between 2 and 4 pm. The link gives more information. I hope to share the link to the show itself early next week.

Huge congratulations to all of the other writers whose stories are being included in the show. I spied some familiar names (Rosemary Johnson and Jenny Sanders) too. Well done all!

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 16 December, 2-4pm

Screenshot 2023-12-12 at 20-20-02 North Manchester FM Hannah's Bookshelf Saturday 16 December 2-4pm - Hannah Kate

Pleased to say I’ll be on CafeLit later this coming week. More details nearer the time. Publication news is always lovely!

Have also had some great writing news elsewhere but hope to talk more about that in the New Year. I will just say it’s a great way to come towards the end of this writing year though!

Don’t forget the December issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Packed full of great information and interviews, it is an enjoyable and useful read for any writer. Do check it out. Link below.

 Hope you have had a good day so far. Went down to Dorset with other half and the dog. Blustery but dry and it was fabulous to see West Bay again. Lady loves these trips out. Thankfully all three of our dogs have been good travellers. It helps, in Lady’s case, that she is a very nosy dog so the chance to explore somewhere different is always welcome!

In writing news, I am delighted to say I will be interviewing Rosemary Johnson, whose debut novel, Wodka, or Tea with Milk, came out earlier this year. She will be talking to me about her road to publication and shares some of her writing frustrations as well as her writing joys. We have all had our fair share of the former and would like far more of the latter! Looking forward to sharing this interview on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

But one writing joy I am glad to share is that my festive flash fiction piece, This Is The Partnership, will be broadcast by Hannah Kate on her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM on 16th December (between 2 and 4 pm). Am looking forward to sharing the link for this later.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am so thrilled to be on the Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas show this coming Saturday with my flash tale, This Is The Partnership. Am so pleased people I know will also be on that show too. Will be sharing links, probably early next week.

This will be the third year in a row I have had a story on here and I am delighted there is a home for festive flash fiction. It is worth celebrating. It is huge fun to write and to listen to. Am looking forward to tuning in myself on Saturday. It is another way to have stories read to you after all!

Screenshot 2023-12-12 at 20-30-40 3 Minute Santas - Hannah Kate

It’s Monday. It’s dark. I can’t put on the Christmas lights early enough! It’s still Monday. It’s time for a story then. My latest on YouTube is called Satellite Navigation and I make no apology for the pun! Hope you enjoy the story.

 

One of the joys of anthologies and collections is they are perfect books for dipping into. They are also great when you know you haven’t got a lot of time for reading but want to keep your reading “going”. They’re also fabulous for introducing you to authors new to you.

I’ve been in a number of anthologies over many years now as well as having my two flash fiction collections out there. To find out more do visit my Amazon Author Central page.

Am always happy to sign books for people so please contact me via my website at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/contact for more information.

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Screenshot 2023-12-12 at 20-34-53 Allison Symes books biography latest update

Sometimes I will use a well known phrase in the story. In The Power of Suggestion (Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I use a well known phrase as the penultimate line (and in case you’re wondering, the line reads There is a sucker born every minute).

Sometimes well known phrases suggest story ideas or a character for whom that phrase would indeed be the mot juste. I then flesh out the idea or the character more, depending on which thought arrived with me first!

If you’ve got a book of proverbs, keep hold of it! It is worth dipping into every now and then as I have had many a story idea this way. The phrases and proverbs have the advantage of being timeless truths which readers will always identify with.

For example, there’s a sucker born every minute is always going to be true, is it not?! It is a question of your story revealing who your sucker is and what they fell for. I must admit I love that kind of story. It’s good fun to give a character deserving of if their overdue comeuppance. In my case, the sucker did have it coming.

I do like poetic justice tales. Maybe this is a function of fiction. We often don’t see justice in life. We can see it in stories. We can also see why someone might act in a certain way. This can act as both triggering empathy but also as a warning not to go that way ourselves. I am sure the fairytales were meant as warnings in a lot of cases.

Tripping The Flash Fantastic - by night

Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Christmas Stories

There are always wonderful Christmas stories. I love the Nativity. I also love A Christmas Carol. The redemption theme will always be timeless. I am not at all surprised this wonderful work by Charles Dickens has never been out of print. I can’t see it ever going so either.

There are stories in the carols themselves. The First Nowell tells the Nativity pretty much from start to finish. Gabriel’s Message focuses on the Annunciation. While Shepherds Watched focuses on the shepherds and We Three Kings does the same for the wise men. (Yes I have sung the traditional and alternative versions of these!). The only carol I don’t really get is The Holly and the Ivy.

Film wise, I love the story of The Polar Express. I see that as a great all age story. It’s not twee (which I think Miracle on 34th Street is). And then there is the much missed Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. Time to watch and/or read that again very soon!

Plus as I mentioned last week there is always the wonderful post Christmas reading to do. Christmas is full of stories. Not all of them are of good cheer (see King Herod for more on that) but the majority are and I find that to be a wonderful boost at a dark and cold time of year.

Screenshot 2023-12-09 at 16-48-41 Favourite Christmas Stories

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Triggering Writing Ideas

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for taking the image of me at an editing workshop for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.
Hope you have had a good week. Lady has got to play with pals, get a soaking with yours truly, play with pals again, get another soaking – yes, one of those weeks. Pleased to say the editing workshop for the lovely people at Medway Mermaids went very well. Always enjoy running these workshops and it is good to know they are useful.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Post 2 of 2 from me tonight. Post 1 below. It’s a fact of life you can have days where there is lots going on and other days where there is nothing! Having said that, it is always fabulous to have plenty of news and posts to share.

Am pleased to share Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. It’s proved to be an apt topic given I talk on Gill James’ blog this week (see below for more) about how I took her theme of gifted for the Bridge House Publishing anthology of the same name and used it for my story in there. An idea was definitely triggered by someone else setting the theme. (This is another advantage to taking part in Flash NANO too).

Hope you enjoy the CFT post and find it useful.

Triggering Writing Ideas

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Bonus Post

Post 1 of 2 from me tonight. Many thanks to Gill James for hosting me on her blog to talk about my contribution, Desperately Seeking Talent, in the Bridge House Publishing anthology, Gifted, which is out and would make a great present for someone. Find out what I love about the short story form as well and why I took the theme of gifted the way I did with my tale. Link to blog here.

Screenshot 2023-11-17 at 10-06-01 Allison Symes talks to me today about her involvement in our Gifted anthology

My sport of choice is swimming. I go regularly and you get to spot other regulars there and start chatting usually as you come out of the pool. (One good thing about it being cold today was it did encourage me to get something of a move on in said pool!). Anyway, one of those regulars complimented me about being consistent and disciplined about my swimming. I find I have to be otherwise it would be too easy not to go, especially during the winter months.

But it occurred to me the need to be consistent is a good thing for writers too. It doesn’t matter what your routine is – writing daily, writing every other day or what have you. It is the regular turning up at your desk to get on and write which matters. It is the regularity of writing which will build up your stories, novels etc. I’ve found this to be the case and know I have submitted far more pieces than I might otherwise have done simply by being consistent. It’s an underrated quality I think.

And if you want some inspiration, I’ll be talking about Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above.

 

Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her Rhodesian Ridgeback pal. Great run around by both of them and a massive zoomies session to finish with. Lady came over and “flumped” down in front of me as if to say, ‘Mum, I’m done!’. Takes a lot to do that to a collie!

I’ll be looking at Triggering Writing Ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. I’ll be looking at some of the methods I use here and hope the post will prove to be useful. See above.

Don’t forget the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is out. The theme is on Writing Novels this time and you can find the magazine at the link below. A perfect free read packed full of fabulous advice and interviews.

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Glad to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Maisie. Does Maisie the dog know better than her owner as the world falls apart around them? Find out here. I hope you enjoy the tale and a big thank you for the comments already coming in on this one.
Screenshot 2023-11-17 at 10-04-57 Maisie by Allison SymesGlad to report Hannah Kate is having her Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM again this year. Full details via link here. Do give it a go. It’s great fun.

Top Tip: When you’ve got your story ready, do record yourself on Zoom and play it back to yourself. You will pick up on things like characters stumbling over dialogue etc but also get your timing right. The stories need to be a maximum of three minutes long and I’ve found it so useful to use Zoom here as that will give you an exact timing.

Good luck! Yes, I’ll be having a go again at this myself this year and am looking forward to tackling Day 16 of Flash NANO later today.

Screenshot 2023-11-16 at 16-59-30 🎅 3 Minute Santas 2023 is Open for Submissions! 🎅

Looking forward to having a crack at today’s Flash NANO challenge later on. I have to cut something already drafted in half. I’ve done this kind of exercise before. It’s a great discipline and takes longer than you think too. This time I have to add a specified object in. That will be fun. The object in question, well let’s just say I’m going to have to find a legitimate way of working it in! It wasn’t an “obvious” object but I did work the thing into my story legitimately.

I have used objects in stories before as one kind of exercise and cut a story in half as another but this will be the first time I’ve combined these two.

If I had to nominate a favourite writing exercise, it is the opening line one. Why? Because I can work out what possibilities could come from what has been set and a character to suit it.

I then go for what I like best. It is always the one that has the most impact on me whether it makes me laugh or cry or what have you. I figure if I react like that, readers will too. It is always a good sign when you remember the impact a story has on you.

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Fairytales with Bite – Laughter

In your magical world, is there much in the way of laughter? Do magical students give their teachers many a laugh when getting things wrong as they develop their skills? And that’s just to name one example. I can easily visualise this happening. (The Harry Potter series touches on this too, especially with Ron Weasley and his wand held together with Spellotape).

Does your setting encourage its inhabitants to laugh? Are communities made up of a wide mix of species type or do the different magical types not mix at all? Where folk really don’t get on, the latter is probably the best solution, but a better one is where they do mix and they live and laugh together.

Equally is this something your characters do get on with even though the powers that be may not entirely approve?

Laughter can be a great bridge builder and comedy the source of that laughter so how does this play out in your setting? Laughter can bring about understanding.

Is there one species type that is better at producing laughter than the others? Is this a talent or is it a case everyone else laughs at them and how do they handle that? Laughter makers can also be bridge builders. How could this be put to good effect in your stories?

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This World and Others – Sources of Information

We live in an age where sources of information have never been so readily available. If you don’t know where to find something of this nature, a quick search of the internet is likely to throw up ideas as to where you can find out what you need to know. Plus there are always the reference libraries and museums often have their own libraries. I’ve spent time at a lovely steam railway exhibition looking at their displays and then having a good read in their archives.

So in your world setting, what sources of information exist? Is there an equivalent of the web? Are there papers, media etc and do these operate freely or are they limited in what they can share with the general populace?

Also how well educated are your characters because that will make a huge difference to what they can access even if there are no other restrictions? Who publishes papers and periodicals and where do they get their information from?

Think back to the history of your setting as well. What does everyone “know” (or more accurately think they know) about it? What information in archives backs this up or challenges the accepted view (hence it was archived and kept out of sight!)?

What information would your characters need to make to fulfil their stories?

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Question Time, A Birthday, and Flash NANO progress

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Photo of Lady taken by Adrian Symes. This is Lady’s natural chilled out look!
Hope you had a good weekend. One positive thing about the rain was it did reduce the number of fireworks – Lady and I are not sorry about that. Also Lady had her birthday and she prefers NOT to celebrate with fireworks. Extra treats go down a treat, so to speak!

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Facebook – General

Glad to say today has been a better day. Sunshine nice too.

Don’t forget the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. The theme is about writing novels and I discuss (on Page 58) what I learned from writing mine. Mine is still unpublished. I hope to return to it at some point. Writing flash has taught me so much about editing and sharpening prose so I am sure I can apply those skills to the novel. As ever, the magazine is packed full of useful information. Do check it out.

Meanwhile I am making good progress with Flash NANO 2023 and look forward to tackling today’s challenge a bit later on. Such a great way to get more flash tales written.

 

Not a great start to my week – it has been one of those Mondays. Lady had the better time of it running around with her best mate, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, this morning. Still, Monday is only one day of the week, thankfully.

Had a fabulous writing session yesterday. Drafted a few flash pieces. The one from the Flash NANO prompt I then submitted to CafeLit. Will report back on what happens with that. Will be sharing my YouTube video over on my book page on Facebook shortly. See below. And I managed to submit something to Friday Flash Fiction too.

I do find writing amazingly therapeutic at times. My session tonight will help me unwind and relax as well as help me be creative. That is good for the soul and creative mind, I find. Hope you find that too. To do something creative and switch off the cares of the day is a good thing.

399885770_766323215507542_5265065045265636181_nNice to see some sunshine. Lady appreciated it too.

Knew this would happen but it never fails to make me smile. Amazon have kindly informed me today I might be interested in Gifted (Bridge House Publishing) when they know I have a story in there!

How do they know? Because they do update my Amazon Author Central page quickly when I let them know I’ve got work out in an anthology and I have to state my contribution to it. (I usually give them story title, page number etc as well as it makes it quicker for them to find me). They are very good on sorting this out for me (see screenshot below). As with the last one, The Best of CafeLit 12, they updated my page within a couple of hours which is all very commendable.

So yes, Amazon, I am interested in Gifted! I’m interested in all of the books on my Amazon Author Central page!

Screenshot 2023-11-05 at 15-09-47 Allison Symes
It’s Lady’s 7th birthday today. We can’t believe where the time has gone either. Lady is the only one of the three rescue collies we’ve had where we do know her birthday as it was on the Dogs Trust paperwork given to us when we adopted her. She enjoyed her usual muddy afternoon walk with my other half today. Downside? Lady has to have a bath. Plus side? Lady doesn’t mind baths. She also sees being towelled down as a chance for a cuddle and she dries quickly. Unlike us I should add!

On to writing matters, am thoroughly enjoying the Flash NANO challenges so far. Will have a crack at today’s one later on. So far, the prompts are not the kind I have come across before either and I relish that. Keeps me on my toes and all that.

I will be looking at The Importance of Remembering for Chandler’s Ford Today next week.

There are a number of flash pieces I want to draft for online websites and competitions so will crack on with those too though this is where Flash NANO comes in so useful. Last year, I was able to use some of the pieces I drafted for this later on, once edited and strengthened of course, and one ended up being broadcast on North Manchester FM on the Three Minutes Santa show hosted by Hannah Kate. Would love to do that again – nothing ventured, nothing gained after all!

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Am enjoying Flash NANO 2023 so much. Great to read the stories people share here. Feedback is always useful. Am varying the word count on mine. My lowest so far is just over 100 words, the highest to date is close to 400 words but this is the flash range where I feel most at home so am not surprised by this.

I write to the story/character demands and worry about the word count later. When writing for, say, Friday Flash Fiction, when I know I will want to write to 100 words, I work out the character and situation which will inevitably be a short sharp piece. What would work best for this?

I always end up writing over 100 words to begin with but the editing process is where I find better ways of phrasing things. It’s amazing what just doing that can do to your word count!

399329835_766882848784912_6869709463164798539_nIt’s Monday. It’s been stressful. I get Mondays like that every now and then. So definitely time for a story then. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Question Time. This one is based on a question from a random question generator – what was the best compliment you’ve ever received? I’ve got my character to answer that one. Find out what she says and, more importantly, what she does here.

 

Finding the Pet Classics show on Classic FM very soothing. It helps Lady too. Please, folks, if you do go for fireworks, why not go for the no noise ones? You can get these from Asda now and you won’t upset wildlife, pets etc. It is really the colour and spectacle which is the “thing” with fireworks. Or it always was with me when I was a kid anyway. Oh and the jacket potatoes of course. Can’t go wrong with those!

I must admit the only kind of flashes I really like these days are the ones I write myself or read on Friday Flash Fiction, in collections etc. And if I choose to write a scary flash, as I occasionally do, I know my dog isn’t going to be worried by it!

Talking of flashes, many thanks for the comments coming in on Manners Maketh The Fairy. Link here if you missed the story.
Screenshot 2023-11-03 at 10-14-06 Manners Maketh The Fairy by Allison SymesHope you have had a good day. Am enjoying listening to the special pet friendly show on Classic FM at the moment. Lady is busy squeaking her ball (on her 7th birthday) so is clearly not fazed by anything!

One of the things I love about flash (and there are many as you know) is I can’t get bogged down in too much description. There are advantages to having a limited word count! What I want description to do, in whatever I read, is give me a sense of place and why it matters to the story. If it matters, I will read on because I will want to find out how it matters.

If I think description is just waffle, I will skip reading it and jump to where the action is but more likely I will just stop reading. Everything about a story, regardless of its length, has to be there for a good reason. When it is, I read every single word!

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Goodreads Author Blog – Comfort Reading

I love reading for many reasons but I can’t deny a big reason is books and stories are so often a comfort read, especially in times when the news is unremittingly grim. Even when reading crime novels, there can be the comfort of knowing the murderer is not going to get away with it. Justice will be served in some form.

I’ve mentioned before I tend to turn to humorous writing for comfort reading – Pratchett and Wodehouse especially. When I don’t feel like reading anything “heavy”, I will also turn to the flash fiction and short story collections. For the latter, it is also a case for me of reading in the field I’m working in so win-win there.

While I don’t read much in the way of romance fiction, I do understand its appeal. Why shouldn’t people have the comfort of a happy ever after/happy for now ending? (I understand the latter by the way but much prefer the former but then I’ve always loved the fairytales!).

So what would you class as comfort reading? Is is a particular author, book, or type of book, or just the act of reading in and of itself?

Screenshot 2023-11-04 at 20-07-06 Comfort Reading

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Stories Based On Other Stories

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good week. Very stormy on Wednesday night/Thursday. Glad things are settling down now. But on the fabulous news front (and there so needs to be one!), I’ve started my Flash NANO 2023 “campaign”, my copies of Gifted (the Bridge House Publishing anthology) have arrived, and the fantastic November issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Its theme is writing novels. More details below.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Hope you have had a good day. Am talking about one of my favourite topics – stories – for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I discuss Stories Based on Stories.

So many wonderful tales (book, plays, adaptations etc) have come into being thanks to inspiration from previous ones. We build on what has gone before. Writers need to be inspired and it is our own love of books and stories which does this. I also look at the advantages and disadvantages of stories based on other stories.

Hope you enjoy the post. All of my posts here are a joy to write but some are just that little bit more joyous. This is one of those.

Stories Based On Stories

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Sympathies to all affected by the horrendous weather in the UK today. Have seen some horrible pictures from places I know well in Dorset.

On a much happier note, I’ll be sharing Stories Based on Other Stories for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up tomorrow. See above. It’s always a joy to talk about stories and so many wonderful ones have been inspired by previous ones. I like to think of that as building on solid foundations.

Talking of books, don’t forget reviews are a great way to help authors. Reviews don’t have to be long either so if there is a writer whose work you have loved, do send a review in. It’s encouraging for one thing. Given writers spend so much time at their desks, encouragement like that is always welcome!

Part of a lovely review for From Light to Dark and Back Again reads ‘A thoroughly enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages’ but that does make a complete review in and of itself. It also encourages me a lot!

Am pleased to say the November edition of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Link below. The theme this month is novels (appropriately given November is NaNoWriMo time).

My article is on page 58 and I discuss what I learned when writing my first novel, though to date that remains unpublished. It was a fabulous learning experience though and what I learned has gone on to help me with my other forms of writing. If you are willing to learn, little is wasted in writing. I speak from experience there. And do check out the whole magazine for a wonderful range of in depth articles packed full of advice. It is a joy to be part of the team working on this.

For those of you who receive my monthly newsletter which went out earlier today, I hope to share a double link in my next one (out on 1st December) to cover the November and December issues of Writers’ Narrative. In the meantime, do check out a fabulous read below.

In other news, as they say, I’ve received my first Flash NANO challenge for 2023. Looking forward to working on that! Good luck and happy writing to all who are taking part in this and NaNoWriMo.

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Delighted to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with Manners Maketh The Fairy. Hope you enjoy this. It is one of what I call my fairytales with bite. This one has an environmental theme to it as well.

Screenshot 2023-11-03 at 10-14-06 Manners Maketh The Fairy by Allison Symes

Will be cracking on with the Day 2 challenge of Flash NANO 2023 shortly. Now since done and good fun it was too! I love the variety of prompts. Good way to kickstart the old imagination. Some of last year’s flash pieces will form part of my third flash fiction collection in due course.

I’ve always enjoyed those moments in stories (especially in film) where I know I’m going to be able to recall it years later. The great thing with flash stories is they are those complete moments. Short form writing can have far more of an impact due to its limited word count and flash fiction writers especially can use that to work out what kind of impact they want their latest tale to have. Then it’s a case of making the most of the word count you’ve got to play with.

396714200_764034269069770_9199351449952028100_nThere are some days when I have a quiet writing day. There are other days when loads of things happen at once. Today is one of the latter.

Firstly, the November issue of Writers’ Narrative is out and focuses on novels. Link shared on my main Facebook page (and above!).

Secondly, my author newsletter went out today. The subscribe link to Writers’ Narrative is in this. If you’re not already a subscriber, I highly recommend signing up and it is free!

Thirdly, my copies of Gifted, the latest anthology from Bridge House Publishing arrived today. My story, Desperately Seeking Talent, is in there. The joy of opening a box of books from your publisher never diminishes!

Does it make the hard work, the years of rejections and learning the craft (which is an ongoing process), all worth it?

Oh yes!

Fairytales With Bite – The Environment

Whatever your setting, there will be an environment. Some will be much nicer than others! What is the attitude of your characters to their environment? Do they care about it? Has damage been done to it they’re trying to rectify?

If the environment is generally sound, how do your characters contribute to it being so good? Are there laws in place banning certain activities or insisting certain ones are carried out?

In a magical setting, think about the energy your magical characters have. Where do they get this from? Even if it is from within themselves, what affect does their using it have on the outside world? Do they have to be careful with how much of it they use and/or where?

What creatures would live in your setting’s environment and what would be your characters’ relationship to these? If magic has done damage to certain parts of your setting, how did that happen (presumably magical wars/industrial kind of accidents are two ideas that occur to me here)? What is being done to correct that damage? Or are those areas left alone and is that the right thing to do? What would what passes for nature on your world do to correct things if left alone to get on with it?

How does the environment, which includes all manner of things from air quality to transportation, have a bearing on what your characters can and cannot do?

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This World and Others – Agencies

What kind of agencies exist in your setting? These can include environmental agencies (see Fairytales with Bite above) to agencies who care for elderly magical beings who need looking after in their latter days. And who almost certainly are grateful to be still alive to be looked after given most magical worlds are not exactly friendly to their inhabitants. Well, you can hardly call a place friendly when dealing with dragons is a daily, hazardous, occupation, yes?

Also you could think here of stories involving magic which went wrong and damage had to be undone somehow. There would be stories here. This might explain why you have elderly magical beings. They would have to be phenomenally good at their craft to survive, yes?

Every world will need some sort of government and even if you focus on one area, who would be in charge of that and how did they come to power? Do they rule well or badly? What agencies do they use to help their peoples (or to suppress them)? What kind of characters would work in these things?

I think in a magical setting there would have to be some agreement as to what was allowed and what was not to avoid chaos. So which agencies would set these rules and how do they ensure they are adhered to by everyone? The risk of not having rules is any powerful wizard worthy of the name would almost certainly ensure they became your setting’s dictator. See Sauron in The Lord of the Rings for more on this!

Also on a more peaceful setting, how do the agencies work with each other as there would inevitably be some overlap? There always is with any kind of agency. An environmental one would have to work with other agencies responsible for caring for specific aspects of the environment.

We in the UK for example have a Forestry Commission. We have water boards. Both are responsible for the environment but in different ways. When the water agencies need trees clearing to clear waterways, they would have to work with the forestry body. And that’s just one example. Where you have the need for co-operation, the prospect of conflict of interest arises and there would be interesting stories there in working out how to resolve these and what your characters do.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

Screenshot 2023-11-01 at 16-23-41 Writers' Narrative eMagazine November 2023

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Questioning Characters and Flash NANO

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All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo from the lovely Kielder Viaduct in Northumberland.
Why is the first week after a holiday so tough to get through?! Has been lovely catching up with friends again (and Lady would say the same if she could). Autumn well and truly here now as the temperature plummets. I like crisp autumn days though. It’s the cold, wet ones I could do without!

Resized Kielder Viaduct view image

Facebook – General

Hope you have had a good day. Managed to get a good weight loss after my week away thanks to plenty of good fresh Northumberland air and loads of walking. Temperature has plummeted at home but I guess I am already acclimatised to it!

When do you know a story is special to you? For me, it is when the characters stand out and I can easily quote lines from the tale. I’ll be talking more about this in my More than Writers post for the Association of Christian Writers later this month.

Meantime, I’ll be talking about Books on the Radio for Authors Electric tomorrow and will share the link then. Books are meant to be read and listened to, I think. I cherish memories of being read to as a child.

My love of books started right there (and is one reason why I was thrilled my late mother got to see my first story in print and, later, my late father got to see From Light to Dark and Back Again). Radio is a fabulous way of keeping the oral storytelling tradition going too.

Don’t forget to check out the October issue of Writers’ Narrative. As the nights draw in earlier, what more encouragement do you need to settle in for a great read?

 

I’m pleased to say Jennifer C Wilson will be back on Chandler’s Ford Today this week talking about The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops. She leads the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle and their anthology, Black Coal, White Sands, has recently been released. More about this on Friday but she will be sharing lots of wonderful advice on what to look for in a writing group if you are considering joining one. Am looking forward to sharing this – I know it will be useful to many.

I mentioned yesterday I’d be writing about Scene Setting as well for CFT. (See post below). That I hope to post on 27th October. So plenty of good things coming up!

I must admit that writing regular columns, whether they’re weekly or monthly, soon shows me how quickly the year is passing!

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Have spent the day catching up with various things after our break. Nice to get Lady back to her usual park walk and play. She loved it too. Managed to get some writing done too last night though back to normal routine today.

I plan to look at Scene Setting for Chandler’s Ford Today soon. One bit of sad news is that The Chameleon Theatre Group have had to cancel their production of Wyrd Sisters. I do hope they can come back to this at another time as I know they’d perform it brilliantly (and the story itself is so good). Their next production will be the pantomime in January. My wait to see a Discworld play goes on a bit longer then!

Anyone watching their weight may well sympathise with my character, Shelley, in Lucky Thirteen, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. If my Slimming World consultant is reading this, I was not guilty of this on my recent holiday, honest!
Screenshot 2023-10-13 at 15-50-30 Lucky Thirteen by Allison SymesNow home from a great holiday in Northumberland. Very grateful for good weather too. Loved all the walking. Lady loved it too though was very tired each night. Mind you, we averaged a 5-6 miles walk each day. It is good to be home again though too.

Do you send your characters on holiday or enjoy reading works by other writers who do? I must admit I don’t do this myself but my favourite book along these lines is probably Nemesis by Agatha Christie. It’s amazing what Miss Marple can ferret out when sent on a coach trip!

Many thanks to those who took part in my recent poll over a topic for the next Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting later this month. Votes noted and will be honoured! Next topic will be Marketing Your Flash Fiction.

Always a joy to talk or write about flash fiction

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

I’ll be taking part again in Flash NANO which starts on 1st November. I did this last year and ended up with thirty new stories, some of which I have since worked on and submitted to online websites and to Hannah Kate’s festive flash fiction show. Find out more about Flash NANO at Nancy Stohlman’s website below.

I had a ball drafting my thirty stories last year and am looking forward to repeating that experience this time! Unlike NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where you write 50,000 words over the month of November, with Flash NANO you are given a prompt for each day of the month.

I found it useful to draft something each day and then I came back later when I had more time to finish pieces off. Sometimes I completed the first draft on the same day but what matters here is getting something down. I also found the range of prompts interesting too, some of which I had done before, others I had not.

If you’re interested in flash fiction, I strongly recommend giving this a try because even if you can’t do it for the whole of November, you will still get more stories written.

 

It’s Monday. It’s my first Monday back after a much appreciated holiday. It’s cold. It’s still Monday. Time for a story then. My latest on YouTube is The View and is loosely inspired by my recent break. Hope you enjoy it.

 

I mentioned yesterday (see below) I ask questions about/of my characters but I also quiz myself when I’m outlining a story. I want to ensure I am committed to the idea and that it is as strong as I first thought. So I ask myself what mood I want the story to be, which character would serve that best and why, and whether it is going to be a 100 word story, such as I write for Friday Flash Fiction) or a longer flash piece/short story.

I look at why I want to write the story too. For example, if I want to write a funny one, is it because an idea has come to me that would work well humorously or do I want to write something to cheer myself (and hopefully others) up. Both views are fine but I need to be clear in my own mind as to why I am writing the story this way.

Then, with my characters quizzed too, off I go with the first draft. One joy of flash writing though is this process doesn’t take long but I have found, once done, I get that first draft done more quickly too.

Where will your fiction take your readers
Some questions I ask about/of my characters as I outline them include:-

1. What is your major trait and, more importantly, why? What kind of trouble could this lead you into?
2. What would you never do and why?
3. What do you want from life and why?
4. What drives you?

For a flash piece, my answers to these are kept short. If I was writing a longer piece, I would extend those answers as I would need further information. The joy of questions like these are their adaptability to whatever you’re writing. I find it is a question of working out what you need to know.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Kindle

My favourite book format is the paperback but must admit you can’t beat the Kindle for when going on holiday. No more worries about how many books I can take with me. Also takes less room in the suitcase.

I recently finished Churchill’s Wizards on Kindle. Great read. Interesting look at trickery used against Nazi Germany.

Books like this (and non-fiction generally) often work brilliantly as ebooks, thanks to indexes acting as hyperlinks, making looking something up a doddle.

I also like being able to adjust fonts and font sizes and display on ebooks. What I need to remember to do when at home is mix up my reading to include the Kindle more so I don’t just use it when away.

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My flash collections are available in Kindle and paperback

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Broadcast News, Writers’ Narrative, and Dates

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Image Credits:- All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you had a good weekend. It was lovely being back on Hannah Kate’s Bookshelf show on North Manchester FM on Saturday. Flash and radio/audio formats work so well together. And if you like horror, do check out the latest issue of Writers’ Narrative – link further down. Lady has had a good start to her week too, getting to play with her best girlfriends.

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Facebook – General

Another meeting this evening so another early post from me. Trust you have had a good day. I’m talking about Quizzing Your Characters for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Find out why I do this and why it has paid me to do it then. Will also be talking about Autumnal Writing for More than Writers (the Association of Christian Writers blog spot) on the same day. Plenty of tips in both blogs.

Why are blogs like London buses? None for a while and then two come along at once!

Looking forward to the Flash Fiction group meeting on Wednesday for the Association of Christian Writers. We’ll be looking at opening and closing lines, vital for any form of writing. For flash fiction, because of the form’s brevity, these lines carry even more weight. So well worth looking at what makes these work and practicing writing them then.

Often when I edit, I realise a better opening line than the one I first put down is a little further on in the text. That’s fine. I change the opening line accordingly. And, as ever, I am thinking about the impact on the reader here.

Easy to miss things editing on screen though there are things you can do to help mitigate that

Pleased to say the latest issue (the October 2023 edition) of Writers’ Narrative is out and given Halloween is not too far away, this magazine focuses on horror as a topic. There is a wealth of information and tips here plus author interviews.

I talk about The Telling Details here. I look at why it pays to work out what is going to be scary in your story and why. Also I discuss why your “star” here should be as fully thought out and rounded as the “good guys”. Horror takes many forms and it doesn’t have to be all guts and gore.

One of the scariest films I’ve watched is Duel which doesn’t show the “enemy”, there is a complete lack of guts and gore, but builds up the tension as the film goes on. It always keep me riveted to the edge of my seat and I know the film! There is a lot to learn from films for writers in any genre.

Hope you enjoy the magazine. Do check it out (and details of how to sign up for it – for free – are in the magazine itself – see Page 40).

Today would have been the 63rd wedding anniversary for my late parents and yesterday would have been the 94th birthday of my late mother-in-law so a strange weekend in some senses. All much missed, along with many others.

Occasionally a story idea will occur to me which is loosely based on truth. One of these is The Pink Rose in Tripping the Flash Fantastic. I do have artificial pink roses on my desk which had been originally given to my mother on behalf of various members of the family. They had been kept in her care home in a place she could see them.

Don’t forget symbolism can have a powerful impact in stories too. So if you have a character with a special fondness for roses, for example, why not explore why that is and what do other characters make of it? Could that special fondness be used to help the character or against them (and who would want to do the latter)? Food for thought there.

Roses remain one of my favourite flowers

Delighted to be taking part in the Autumn Equinox special on Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM today. My story, The Natural Look, is on during Part 2 of the two hour show but do check out the whole programme. It is a joy for those who love the written word and stories work so well on radio/audio formats.

Part 1 – https://podcast.canstream.co.uk/manchesterfm/index.php?id=49866

Part 2 – https://podcast.canstream.co.uk/manchesterfm/index.php?id=49867

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Well, you can tell it is autumn here in the UK because my central heating came on over the weekend and, with it, comes that unmistakable aroma of hot dust! Thankfully that soon goes and you will gather from this I don’t like dusting.

I have every sympathy with the poem Dust If You Must by Rose Milligan. Do look it up. It’s a great read. (I totally get why you need to keep kitchen, bathroom clean etc. I even don’t mind hoovering but dusting…argh! Also Lady is scared of the cobweb brush I use. She runs away whenever I get that out. Mind you, she doesn’t like spiders much. My first dog ate them, my second one considered them beneath her notice, and Lady decides to take herself out of any room a spider happens to be in!).

What do your characters dislike so much they would go out of their way to avoid? What led them to develop that dislike? Do other characters mock them or are they sympathetic?

Now being the kindly soul I am I would be unable to resist the temptation here to ensure my character does have to face up to their dislike in the story I put them in, even if that’s not the main part of the tale. I’d use this as something they’d have to overcome on the way to their final goal. It would be fun finding out how they would manage.

You can then decide if your character overcomes that dislike so it doesn’t bother them again or they just cope with it for the story because they have no choice (naturally you would ensure that being the kindly soul you are!) but resume their dislike once the story is over. Here I would imply that is the case.

Oh and apologies for forgetting to do this yesterday. Despite it being Tuesday, we can still have a story, can we not? Hope you like my latest on YouTube – The Anniversary.

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Hope you have had a good day. Lady got to play with her two best girlfriends today. All three dogs went home tired but happy.

Will be talking about Quizzing Your Characters for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Yes, I do quiz my characters for my flash fiction. I have to know where my characters are coming from and why (and this is where knowing their major trait is useful because that reveals so much.

If I know someone is honest, I can put them into a situation where they have to face up to being dishonest – how would they cope with that?). I share thoughts and tips. It is a question of working out what you need to know before you write your stories up.

Given my focus on reading stories is always on the character, when it comes to writing tales, my focus is again on the characters. I have to care about them to want to read on to find out what they do.
Link up on Friday (and it will be a double blog post as well this week given I am also on More Than Writers, the Association of Christian Writers blog spot on the same day. For them, I will be talking about Autumnal Writing. Plenty of tips in both blogs. Looking forward to sharing them both).

I have interviewed characters before now

Do dates have any meaning for your characters? It doesn’t necessarily need to be an anniversary or a birthday. Such a date could be linked to a historical event they care about.

For many of us 22nd August 1485 has meaning given it is the date of the Battle of Bosworth where Richard III was killed, the last English monarch to be slain in battle. But in a fantasy or sci-fi story, does your setting have dates in the way we understand them and, if so (or your setting has something similar), what dates would have meaning there and why?

How do your characters respond to such dates and can it change the outcome of their stories?

The most important anniversary - 11th November

So pleased to be sharing the joys of flash fiction again on Hannah’s Bookshelf (hosted by Hannah Kate) on North Manchester FM. Links shared over on my Facebook author page

Flash works brilliantly on radio (and audio generally) because it is so short. As well as being an ideal bus stop read, it is a great quick listen as well. Flash is great as a discipline for a writer, not only because you learn to write tight and edit ruthlessly, but because you have to find ideas and keep on coming up with ideas. I will be sharing some tips on how I keep on finding ideas in my author newsletter (due out on 1st October). You can sign up to that at my website landing page. 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Young Adult Books

Just to show how old I am, Young Adult books weren’t really a thing as I grew up. Honest. There were children’s books. Then you went straight into adult fiction. I would’ve loved the YA category when I was growing up.

Mind you, I’ve made up for this since. I have read YA books and loved them. Some of the children’s books I read at the time (or could have read if I had got around to it then!) may well count as YA now. Where would you put Watership Down or The Hobbit for example?

So I think having this category is a great idea. It makes sense to have a natural progression from younger age range books to YA to adult and, as I say, I still like reading YA books now and again. Great books can always be re-read. The Tiffany Aching books from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld would count as YA. I’ve read them as part of the overall Discworld canon and while I will always prefer characters like Sam Vimes, I did enjoy these books too. Certainly wasn’t going to let my ripe age stop me reading them!

Screenshot 2023-09-23 at 18-01-45 Young Adult Books

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
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Getting Lines Right

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good week. Had a lovely trip out with other half and the dog on Friday. Did us all the world of good. Looking forward to running a flash fiction workshop for a writing group on Saturday. Plenty of editing work done too so a good week here.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Pleased to share Getting Lines Right for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. I look at opening lines and suggest ways to create memorable ones. Hope you find it useful.

Getting Lines Right

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Must admit the temperatures have come back to the level the dog and I prefer – early 20s. Starting to see the autumn leaf colour change. There is a fair amount of Virgina Creeper in my part of the world and it is lovely seeing that turn to red at this time of year. Mind you, the wildflower meadow in our park is still in full bloom so summer hasn’t quite had its last hurrah.

Am looking at Getting Lines Right on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow (see above) and will run a flash fiction workshop on Saturday morning on Zoom.

Writers’ Narrative will be out again before too long. Written by writers for writers it is packed full of information. If you want to sign up to make sure you get the forthcoming October issue (and future ones of course) do sign up at http://subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

 

Lady got to play with the lovely Coco, Kyaha, and Kitima today. Fabulous “puppy” party had by all. Three happy but tired dogs went home. It is lovely watching them being so pleased to see each other.

Looking forward to sharing Getting Lines Right for Chandler’s Ford Today later this week. Will be looking at opening lines especially. Hope it will prove useful to people. Opening lines are crucial hooks for any form of writing but for the short forms especially flash, they really do have to punch their weight. I’ll be sharing some thoughts and tips in my post on Friday. See above.

When I am writing my first draft, I jot down what I think will be a good opening line but I inevitably end up changing parts of it later when I realise with the character in mind, a better opening line would be this rather than what I started with. That’s fine. I just need something to kick me off and I expect to change things. What matters for me always is getting started. The fine tuning happens later.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

My latest tale on Friday Flash Fiction is Time Travel. Hope you find it moving. My sympathies here are with both characters.

Screenshot 2023-09-15 at 19-00-56 Time Travel by Allison Symes

I sometimes start a flash fiction piece (and indeed a longer short story) by asking a question or getting my character to do so. It is an excellent hook to lure the reader in because that question has to be answered in some way by the end of the work. So story structure is set up as well here – win-win as far as I’m concerned.

The question has to intrigue in some way (and I look more at this in my Chandler’s Ford Today post on Getting Lines Right which will be live tomorrow – see above). But this can be a simple intrigue.

In my The Recruit (from Tripping the Flash Fantastic), I get my character to ask Can Jim do this? The story then takes off from there given the intrigue is what the answer to that question is, who is Jim, and why does this matter.

BB - Flash with a Dash for TTFF
I often read some examples of my published flash fiction work when I run a workshop on flash. I do this and then break down how I wrote these pieces. When I’ve read author interviews where they do this, I found I learned so much from it.

Understanding why someone has done something with their writing is a great way of working out whether that would work for you or whether with slight adjustments to the technique, you can get something which would suit what you do. I know I have learned so much this way. It’s a fun way to learn too as you get to listen to or read stories too!

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Fairytales with Bite – Magical Malpractice

In your setting, what would count as magical malpractice? If you had a world run by old style evil witches, would they consider any magic used to help others or overturn evil to be magical malpractice?

In a world where there is a balance between evil and good magical powers, what rules does each side stick to (mainly to prevent their world falling apart altogether. For me, that would be the only reason the evil side would agree to any such rules. If their own survival depended on doing so, you would think twice about wrecking that, wouldn’t you?).

How would each side govern its own? What would a fairy godmother, say, have to do to be seriously out of step with her colleagues and her ultimate boss? What would her punishment be? Losing one’s wings could take on a whole new meaning here.

Likewise on the evil side, what punishment would there be for someone who stepped out of line there? It is mind boggling to think what would count as being out of line but there would be something – mainly challenging the boss for power I would have thought.

But there would be a great story in working out how that could happen, what happened to be the being trying it, and if they were being what we would know as a stalking horse for someone else.

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This World and Others – Accountability

Who is accountable for what in your magical setting? Ultimately there will be some “head of state” but what about lower down? How is your world governed? Do “ordinary” beings get to have any say in how this is done?

When things need to change, as inevitably they do from time to time, how is this done? Peacefully or by violent overthrow? Would this mirror what we know here (given we have both types of change of government on our planet)?

In more “ordinary” settings, such as in towns and villages, is there a system of local government? How are things done? Who is responsible for ensuring these things get done? This can take in everything from ensuring people/beings get to eat (and therefore dealing with supplies) to managing the local Council budget. If money isn’t used, what would be?

Where folks have got power, is there a way of ensuring they use these things properly? Even the smallest of villages will have some sort of pecking order. In a magical setting, does the magic help things run more smoothly or make things more difficult? If magic goes wrong, how would that change the running of things? Who would be held responsible for things going wrong?

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