Tag: Writers’ Narrative

Autumnal Joys

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were some of the photos in my CFT post.
It has been a right mixed bag weather wise this week. Autumn definitely coming in a bit early but that makes my Chandler’s Ford Today post timely. I’m sharing about Autumnal Joys this time.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Author newsletter out today. Getting these ready monthly is a great way to discover how quickly the year is going! Many thanks and a huge welcome to those who signed up at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Good to have you aboard. A big hello to all of my longer term subscribers too and many thanks for your continued support. Much appreciated.

Am pleased to share Autumnal Joys, my latest post for Chandler’s Ford Today. I share an autumnal story in this too which I hope you enjoy. I chat about the joys of the season and have a brief look ahead to writing “things” coming up over the next couple of months or so. Hope you enjoy the post.

Autumnal Joys

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Glad to say I’ll be running a workshop on editing later in the year. Am looking forward to doing that. Flash fiction has helped me so much with editing as I have learned to spot my wasted words and cut them out. That in turn helps with other forms of writing I do.

Am chatting about Autumnal Joys for Chandler’s Ford Today this week – link up tomorrow. See above.
Author newsletter is also out again tomorrow.

Pleased to see reviews coming in for The Best of CafeLit 12. Book reviews do help authors so please consider leaving one. They don’t have to be long either. Other than buying the books themselves, leaving reviews is one of the best things you can do to support writers.

Hope you have had a good day. I was delighted The Lord of the Rings soundtrack did make it to the number one spot on the Classic FM chart on Bank Holiday Monday. Love the book(s) – I have the trilogy in one huge paperback so I guess that counts as one for me! Love the films, love the music, fantastic casting.

Writing Tip: Give some thought as to what makes your character a hero. What makes them care about the outcome of a situation? Is it a life or death one or do they simply not want evil to prosper, even if they could stay out of the situation? What beliefs drive them? How did they develop these?

I’ve long thought Sam Gamgee is a classic modest, understated hero in The Lord of the Rings. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. His friendship with Frodo drives him on. But you can see all of that in the portrayal and we want our characters’ positive attributes to be clear to a reader without spelling everything out.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Two lovely bits of news to share. Firstly, I will be on the Hannah Kate show on North Manchester FM tomorrow (2nd September 2023). I’m taking part in her What Am I Reading slot and share some thoughts on books I’ve recently read. Fun thing to do!

The link below enables you to listen online regardless of where you are. Will be handy for me as I often have to listen later than the scheduled time but that’s fine (and it is so useful being able to do that).

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

 

Secondly, I’m back on Friday Flash Fiction with my tale A New Leaf. Hope you like it. Am so pleased it has been made Editor‘s Choice this week too. Lovely way to end the working week.

I’ve chatted before about reading your work out loud because it is a great way to pick up on things that look good written down but which do not necessarily “read well”. This technique is something I’ve developed due to taking part in Open Prose Mic Nights. Naturally I want to rehearse what I plan to read and I have picked up things to improve in those rehearsals.

Another reason I’ve developed this is because sometimes I submit stories for broadcast so I need to know how long they are in terms of time. I read them out and record them on Zoom to give me the time but in playing that recording back, again I get to hear what works and what may need a rewrite because it didn’t flow as well as I thought originally.

371858468_723117366494794_1995778043819982131_nDon’t forget that, despite the September date on the cover, that issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out. Written by writers for writers, it is a great read. Do check it out. Given this issue is about marketing, it will benefit you, no matter what you write.

I must admit flash fiction is an asset to marketing. How? Because it is easy for me to share a story (often via my YouTube channel) which acts as a marker for what else I do. It also advertises flash in general and I hope gives readers/viewers an entertaining short tale. Win-win there.

 

Fairytales with Bite – Magical History

In your magical world setting, what role does history play in how your characters interact with each other or what the ruling government allows in terms of magic or not? Are witches strictly forbidden from trying to stick kids in an oven, for example?

Also, does your world have the same fairytale knowledge we h ave or are their tales different? What would these be if so and is there any similarity with the tales we know here? I believe there are various versions of Cinderella, for example, across different cultures and histories here so something like that could be the case in your setting.

What lessons have been learned from history in your setting? Have people learned the hard way what you could do with magic which you really should not have found out? What were the consequences? Has it affected the physical geography of your setting? (Am thinking along the lines of climate change here. Has there been a magical equivalent in your world?).

Are your characters trying to learn from history and, if so, are they successful? Are they better at what they do than their forebears would have been precisely because they have learned from prior mistakes? Are there lessons they should have learned but have not and what are the consequences there? Plenty of story thoughts here.

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This World and Others – Settings

One of the things I love most about fantasy is the setting. The Lord of the Rings, to my mind, can’t be beaten here. I so wanted to live in Rivendell!

The advantage of the films is you could see a re-creation of that. The advantage of the books is you get to picture it for yourself (and yes I think the films got it right).

What I also love about the books is the descriptions came in at the right time and broke up the drama. I found I did need something to break up the pace and of course the setting description literally set the scene for the next drama. Neither did the description go on for too long. There’s much to learn from that.

The other thing to note is not having everything all at once. Information is drip fed into the story. We didn’t need to know about Rivendell until the hobbits got there.

So think about what a reader would need to know about your setting. What makes it stand out? What do your characters love about it? What would they change if they could and why? I love outlines. Even for my shortest flash fiction tales (100 words usually, sometimes 50), I jot down a line or two about what I think I need to know about the character and where they are likely to be to make the story work.

For longer pieces, it would pay to work out how your setting will work. You don’t want to box yourself in later when you find you said characters rely on machines for transport in a world where machines are not known. That’s an extreme example but I have come across oddities where characteristics, even names change, when I’ve judged stories. It’s even easier to do that with a setting if you forget a pertinent detail.

I find an outline helps me approach my first draft with more confidence too because I know roughly where I am going. Having a setting outline means you know your world. That will help you to picture it and your characters in it more effectively.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Writing Believable Characters and Writers’ Narrative Magazine

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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. Images from Writers’ Narrative magazine kindly supplied by Editor in Chief, Wendy H Jones.
Hope you have had a good weekend. Back to the kind of sunny weather you expect from August. Thrilled to say the September issue of Writers’ Narrative is now out – full details below. Don’t miss it. It truly is a great read and the theme is marketing. Is there any writer for whom that topic is not appropriate? I think not.

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Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Lovely to be back swimming today. The downside to writing is it can encourage the development of Writer’s Spreading Bottom, which is never a pretty sight. Walking the dog and going swimming helps!

Writing Tip: having regular time set aside for writing will help you produce more. I can never do 9 to 5 but there are hours I can do so I do them! I also see it as confirming to myself writing is important so book time for it. I think the regularity trains my brain into realising this is writing time (as opposed to editing time, say) so it encourages me to get on with it.

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Delighted to say the September issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine is now out. The theme this time is marketing and the magazine is packed full of useful information. Pleased to say I have two articles in here – Marketing Your Books and Writing for Online Magazines.

Link to the actual magazine is below.

 

To ensure you don’t miss a copy you need to subscribe (for free) here – http://subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

Oh and it is a fabulous read but don’t just take my word for it – do check it out.

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Sorry the Lionesses lost but well done to them for doing so much for women’s football and congratulations to Spain too. Am not a huge football fan I admit but I do love a good story. No surprises there. And it is a cracking story that two teams got to the Women’s World Cup final for the first time.

Favourite sporting moment for me was when Andy Murray won Wimbledon for the first time. As well as enjoying tennis, this was special because I rang Dad the moment Murray won. Dad was an avid tennis fan and he was so overjoyed the 70 year duck had been broken here. (I suspect the Duke of Kent who was then President of the Lawn Tennis Association felt similarly!).

It was a lovely moment because we’d not long had to put Mum into care as her dementia had taken a real hold by now and there was no way that could be managed at home. This moment – a shared joy over the phone with Dad was special to us both especially after such a difficult time. Yes, we were delighted when Murray did it again!

Talking of stories and how to create them, I will be looking at Writing Exercises for Chandler’s Ford Today later on next week. Labour of love writing this one! Link up on Friday.

Chandler's Ford Today post reminder picture(1)


Many thanks to Val Penny for inviting me on to her blog today. I’m talking about Writing Believable Characters. I create characters a lot for my flash fiction and short stories. I’ve alway believed the story is driven by characters readers can get behind. So it was lovely to talk about this topic with Val. Hope you find the post useful.

Screenshot 2023-08-22 at 20-12-42 Creating Believable Characters by Allison SymesVal Penny at Swanwick - photo by Allison Symes

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Sometimes a phrase will pop into my head and I get with that an inkling of the kind of character who would say it. Instant outline right there. Often I will use that phrase as my opening line as it is always something to intrigue. Would like this to happen more often, it’s useful.

Dialogue is a great way to open a story. You get a couple of characters immediately (unless you have someone talking to themselves. That can intrigue. I would want to know why they’re doing it.). You also get a sense of character attitude and likely premise coming up. They are likely to discuss what has just happened as the story opens or what they think might be about to happen.

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Bonus post tonight. Not going to forget it’s Monday. It’s time for a new story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Getting the Message.

 

As part of the flash fiction group I lead, we share competition/market news we come across. The good news is there are loads of flash fiction competitions, certainly many more than when I discovered flash as a format. Indeed I don’t think it is possible for one writer to know them all but this is where writers help one another. Others have told me about sites like Friday Flash Fiction and CafeLit for example. Have been very glad of that information!

I must admit this is where I find a writing magazine helpful as it flags up competitions and markets to me. I also follow some writing groups on social media and these can be great sources of information. I see it as part of my marketing keeping up together (as much as I can) with this information.

Talking of marketing, the latest issue (September) of Writers’ Narrative is now out and the theme this month is on that topic so do check it out. Link to the actual magazine here (but do subscribe – it’s free and in the magazine itself is information showing you how to do this. Check the box on Page 33 entitled Subscriber News).

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Sometimes it can be fun to put something unexpected in a story title. One of my favourites from Tripping the Flash Fantastic is called The Terrified Dragon. Well, you have got to read on and find out what on earth (or other realm) could make a dragon terrified? That’s the idea of course. The hook is right there in the title.

I have judged competitions where writers have not used a title even though the title was not part of the word count. Please don’t do this. A title is your first hook for a reader and you can use it to set mood and genre. It’s a golden opportunity for writers without using up your previous word count in a restricted form like flash fiction. Don’t waste that opportunity.

I find I have to have a working title as I write my first draft. Sometimes a better title idea comes along, I make a note of it and decide which is better later on. I also find having a title is a great way to get me started. I guess it is because deep down I know a story has to have a title so let’s start with that then!

Tripping The Flash Fantastic - by night

Looking forward to the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom next week. Always good to talk about and write flash fiction And I am sure we will get some useful writing done in this session. We usually do and I am so pleased some have gone on to have their work published online and broadcast too. Keep it up, folks! I get to do more writing too. Will be looking at seasonal writing this time.

When is the best time to write anything? Depends on the writer. For me, it is in the afternoon and evenings. Mornings are pretty much out for me. What matters though is getting into a regular habit of writing.

I find that regularity spurs me on. You decide on the regularity of course. Once a week stuck to is far better than every day for a week and then you don’t write again, say. I’ve learned not to overlook those odd pockets of time we all get. They’re perfect for drafting down ideas I can return to when I’ve got more time at my desk. It also means I hit the ground running when I am back at my desk. I like that aspect.

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Goodreads Author Blog – Favourite Short Stories

Confession time, I don’t have an overall favourite short story. I love too many of them to pick an outright favourite. But the classic fairy tales are amongst them. I also love the short stories of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, as well as being a fan of their longer works. Sometimes a story is better told in the short form – I admire those writers who can do both.

I make a point of mixing up what I read in terms of genre but I also do so for word count. I deliberately read short story collections and flash fiction anthologies in amongst my novels and long form non-fiction books. I think a mix is good for you!

I will often use a short story or flash collection to decide what genre of novel I will be reading next. I don’t strictly read to order on my To Be Read pile. Does anyone? I go with what I fancy reading and work my way through! But the short story and flash collections can help me work out what I do fancy reading next!

Screenshot 2023-08-19 at 19-57-43 Favourite Short Stories

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Getting the Most From an In Person Workshop

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Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of my books in the Swanwick Book Room. Almost every author does this! Many thanks to Julia Pattison and Janet Williams for pictures of me at Swanwick and the Book Fair respectively.
Hope you have had a good week. Mine has got better as the week has gone on. Nice to be back out walking the dog and she has been glad to be seeing her dog friends again. Our wildflower meadow is looking especially nice right now – see photo below taken by me. (Oh and it’s double blog time as well as both my CFT and Authors Electric posts came out on Friday, 18th August 2023).

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Authors Electric
Double blog post Friday today! First up, it’s my turn on Authors Electric. I’m discussing Book Fairs and Writing Retreats. The last month has seen me happily busy with both! I share some thoughts on editing too given I was running a workshop on that for the writing retreat I was on.

Hope you find the thoughts there useful especially as I discuss how to give the Procrastination Monster and the Imposter Fiend a very hard time indeed.

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Chandler’s Ford Today

The second of my two blogs out today is my usual weekly one for Chandler’s Ford Today. This time I look at Getting the Most from an In Person Workshop and I hope you find the thoughts here useful. I share what I look for in a workshop like this whether I run or go to them.

Getting the Most From An In Person Workshop

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It’s been a week since I returned home from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Fabulous time. Glad to be home but also miss Swanwick dreadfully! Will be looking at Getting the Most from an In Person Workshop for Chandler’s Ford Today – link up tomorrow. See above.

Am also looking forward to the return of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group meeting on Zoom next week. Will be glad to see you good people! Am sure we will get some useful writing done too.

Writing Tip: Plan ahead for markets you’ve got in mind. Entering competitions is good practice for this (and if you get listed or win, even better!). They get you used to deadlines for a start.

But many markets, especially those that are seasonally based, will be thinking months ahead of the season in question. One positive thing here is these seasons come round, literally time and again, so you can always plan a story for another year if you miss the current one.

I do write, for example, festive flash fiction as and when throughout the year. Sometimes I find a home for it in the same year. Sometimes it waits for another year but I do know I’ve got something. I also try to build up a small stock of stories for seasonal use given I know the season will come around again. (Doesn’t have to be the obvious calendar based seasons either. Bear in mind there are holiday seasons for winter and summer. There are seasons in sport etc.).

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Pleased to say the September issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine will be out in the last week of August. Do watch out for it. Am pleased to share tasters in the photos below. Be sure not to miss out. The topic this time will be marketing and the magazine is packed full of useful information for any and every writer.

Am practicing what I preach here too. My Chandler’s Ford Today post will be about Getting the Most from an In Person Workshop. Having just run one at Swanwick now I am marketing the idea of going to them and running them. I’ll be sharing useful tips for getting the most out of workshops whatever side of the desk you are on (and always giving self explanatory post titles is a good marketing start!). Link up on Friday. See above.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Nothing from me on Friday Flash Fiction this time though I hope to rectify it soon but why not treat yourself to a read of some wonderful stories here. Also please note there is a change of deadline for submissions here – see top of page on link and screenshot.

Screenshot 2023-08-18 at 17-24-00 100-Word Stories


It’s worth keeping an eye out on the writing competitions for ideas for themes, even if you don’t enter the competitions themselves. I’ve done this a few times when I’ve spotted the competition too late to enter it but like the look of the theme and think I can use that. I do too.

Proverbs can make great themes and often the topic they suggest will come up time and again so is worth writing stories about. For example, take the proverb a stitch in time saves nine. You can have various characters in situations and settings showing that to be true. (I used this as a a title for a story in Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Proverbs are versatile like this). You could use that proverb as the basis for a love story, a crime one and so on.

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Just to flag up there’s an offer on Amazon at the moment on the paperback of From Light to Dark and Back Again. Check out the link below.

When writing flash pieces, I focus on my character as I’ve got to know where they’re coming from (and what is behind that. This is where knowing their major trait and likely attitudes coming from it is so helpful). It is then a question of working out whether I will then use the first person or the third.

I try to mix this up. I have used first person more with flash as it is so immediate but I don’t want to use it all the time. It is not always the best option. I have to figure out what would work best for my character and their situation. But this is good fun!

And for my collections, I had a fabulous time putting the stories together. I hope that comes through in the tales themselves.


Fairytales with Bite – Magical Services For Hire

In your setting, is everyone magical? If not, are there services which people can buy in as and when they need them? Who would run these services? Are there any standards services have to stick to (and what would be the consequences if they didn’t?). What kind of character would need to buy in a service? Is it easy to get the services needed?

If the services doesn’t deliver, is there room for redress? How could a non-magical character get justice here against someone who has conned them? How did your setting develop the need to be able to hire services out? Can the government use these services for their own ends – or is this a way of controlling who can access these things?

Name an industry and you can name a con artist connected with it. There is even more scope for this with a magical industry! But this could form the basis of humorous stories, especially if the con artist is forced to change their ways. If a customer turns out to be someone they know or someone they would like to get to know better, could they still con them?

Where you have things like magical shops, what would they stock? How do they obtain their products? Are products tried and tested? And think about your customers. Why is someone in need of these things? Does the services they buy in make a difference to their mission and if so how? If not, was it a question of bringing in these things as a kind of confidence boost? Also, did it work?

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This World and Others – Guilds and Commercial Bodies

If you have a magical industry, are there guilds and other commercial bodies which control the running of these things? (Best fantasy guilds of all time are the ones Terry Pratchett has in his Discworld series incidentally!). Who would run these things? Are they answerable to the government or do they control the politicians?

Who set the guilds/commercial bodies up in the first place? Did they come into being by consent or were there unpleasant historical episodes which led to them being formed? Did those who control them have to fight their way to the top? Do they still have to fight to stay at the top?

How can people join the builds/commercial bodies? Do they offer apprenticeships? Are there preferred organisations here? Are there ones which people only go for because they literally have no choice? Are the guilds/commercial bodies the same as they they started or have they had to adapt? Were changes welcomed? What rules do they have to stand by? What rules do they find are useful (even if not legally enforceable?).

How does commerce come into the lives of your characters? Does it help them or get in their way?
Thinking about these things can help you picture your world as all settings will need to have employers and employees. Where you have got those you have a financial system of sorts behind them. This is where the guilds could come in and there could be good stories to be written about what goes on within their organisations.

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

September issue due out in last week of August.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

 

 

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Housekeeping, Editing, and Paper Cuts

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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. It’s always a case of coming back down to earth with a bump after my wonderful week at Swanwick but there is writing to be done so off I go! (And I can already start my countdown to Swanwick 2024).

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Facebook – General

Every so often I take the opportunity to do some housekeeping on my website.Often it is to update the anthologies on my books page etc but today I’ve updated my Author Services page on my website. See link below. I’ve added in details about my work on Writers’ Narrative magazine, the editing services I offer, and also the kinds of talks/workshops I run. Very much behind the scenes writing work but necessary all the same.

Writing Tip: Do include the work you do on your website etc as part of your writing work for the good reason it is. Writers need to have a shop window where we can show people what we do so keeping your website up together is an important part of your overall writing work. Make sure the website has material you yourself would find useful. Putting yourself in the head of your ideal audience is a good idea here. Think about what they need to know. Think about what they would find useful if they came across it in your website.

Author Services – Allison Symes

 

Glad to report the notes for my Swanwick workshop are now up on the site – Editing From Both Sides of the Fence. This is one of the lovely bonuses from The Writers’ Summer School. After the school itself, delegates can access the course notes even for those workshops and courses they didn’t go to. I’ve made good use of this myself and will continue to do so.

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Don’t forget my next author newsletter will be out on 1st September, which will be here almost before we know it. To sign up for tips, hints, as well as news and useful links, do sign up at my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Many thanks for those who signed up at my editing workshop at Swanwick during the last week. I have now added you on to the list. I have also sent out a separate email to flag up the email address linked with my account with my newsletter service provider has now changed. Just for information only. For those of you who have been with me for some time here, I just didn’t want you puzzling over why the next newsletter is linked to a different email address!

Writing wise, I will be looking at making the most of an in person workshop for Chandler’s Ford Today later this coming week. I hope that will prove useful. Naturally that post is directly inspired by my time at Swanwick!

Newsletter with envelope image

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my Diary of a Swanwicker post for Chandler’s Ford Today post yesterday. All of my CFT posts are labours of love but there was something special about this one. There is something very special about The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. For more information, check out their website.

I’m working away on a flash piece I want to submit to a competition by the middle of this month or thereabouts. The deadline is for the end of the month but those at my editing workshop will have heard me mention I always do take off time from the official deadline and make the brought forward date my deadline instead.

It is my final chance to check for typos etc and then I submit it. It helps me beat procrastination too and that can be the curse of many a writer. (Many thanks also to those who have signed up for my author newsletter while at Swanwick. I will be adding you on to the list very soon).

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. I strongly suspect all who were at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick are thinking back to what they were doing at this time last week. I know I have been!

(Today I have got a good excuse. I was running my editing workshop last Tuesday. A huge thank you to all who came and supported that. There was a great turnout and it has reminded me to update my Author Services page on my website so that’s good too!).

Writing flash has meant I’ve lost all fear of editing. I see it as an essential tool to make my work better and give it a more of a chance out there – and so it has proved. Having a strict word count has meant I do have to cut out all unnecessary words and that habit carries over into my other writing.

Sometimes I have a character who is wordy but I flag that up as part of their portrayal early on. There my editing would be to give them a style of speech which suits them. So in their case I would get them to talk about “meandering around the Recreation Ground” rather than to say “I walked across the park”. But I could cut words out from around them to give them the word count room in which to do this. I don’t do this often and the character has to be strong enough to justify me doing it.

But editing has to be apt for the character you’re writing and even in wordy creations there will be ways to tighten up what you’ve given them to say.

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It’s my first Monday back after Swanwick. I don’t know about you but I definitely need a story. Hope you enjoy my latest on YouTube – Paper Cut.

 

There won’t be any story from me this coming week on Friday Flash Fiction this week given they are closed for submissions at the moment. They’ve just run a competition so understandably want a break. Good luck to all who have entered the competition. However, do check the website out anyway. I’ve shared the link to the 100 word story section. You’ll be in for a very good read and will pick up a good feel of what flash fiction can do and be at this word count. So well worth checking out. Update:  I believe FFF are now reopen for the 100 word stories but I will be submitting material again at the weekend. Still check the site out though – it is a great read.

367450875_712376190902245_8080882626496330576_nScreenshot 2023-08-11 at 11-01-33 The Lakes by Allison Symes

As I write a lot of flash and short stories, I am always on the look out for sources of ideas. I use a variety of ways here – the random generators, which I’ve talked about many times. I have used (and still use) books of prompts (and have contributed to some). I also use story cubes. I am also inspired by books and characters by other writers, things I’ve seen on film or TV or heard on the radio.

Music can inspire too. I love to ask questions, my favourite probably being the old “what if” one. And going to workshops such as the ones at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick can also inspire ideas whether or not the workshop leader issues prompts themselves (and many do).

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Goodreads Author Blog – Selling Books, Buying Books

Understandably all writers want to sell their books. But what got us into writing in the first place? Our love of reading books by other authors!

I’ve just come back from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and had the great joy of selling some of mine. I came back with an interesting selection of titles which have gone on my To Be Read pile. I have started on a couple of them. Am loving what I have read so far and am looking forward to tackling the rest in due course.

The bonus for writers is we get to do two things we love – write our own stories and read other stories. This probably explains why most authors are not rich! It also helps a lot if you can arrange to have plenty of shelves.

I do know there is nothing else I would rather do – write (and hopefully sell) my own books and buy books from others. The written word (including via audio books and ebooks) is glorious. It is a great joy to me to have a book shelf dedicated to books written by friends of mine and signed by them. I am adding to my collection here too. Such a pleasure to do that!

Separately I have a section for the two flash fiction collections I’ve written and the anthologies I’ve contributed to over the years as well. It’s always a joy to add to that too.

Conclusion? Can’t have enough book shelves in my life but it is a nice problem to have.

Screenshot 2023-08-12 at 20-38-15 Selling Books Buying Books20230805_164239

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK 

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The September issue will be available during the last week of August. It is packed full of useful information.

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine

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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 Wendy H Jones for supplying the Writers’ Narrative magazine publicity shots for the Chandler’s Ford Today interview. Many thanks to Janet Williams and Richard Hardie for the photos of me at the recent Book Fair.
It has been a busy week what with the launch of Writers’ Narrative and the recent release of The Best of CafeLit 12. Am also looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick which is coming up soon. It was also a delight to watch The Chameleon Theatre Group’s latrest production, Lilies on the Land. Review to follow in due course. In dog news, Lady has had a ball with many of her friends this week so all is well there too.

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Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today

Am thrilled to welcome back Wendy H Jones to Chandler’s Ford Today for an in-depth interview called Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine.

Wendy is the Editor in Chief and I am part of the editorial team. The magazine is written by writers for writers and covers all aspects of the writing world. Definitely not one to miss. Do check out the CFT post for more information (and handily there is a subscribe link in the post. Even better news, it is free to subscribe).

Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine – Interview with Wendy H Jones

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Posting early today as am off out later to see The Chameleon Theatre Group stage their latest production, Lilies on the Land, which is a play about the Women’s Land Army. Should be interesting and it covers a side of history which is often overlooked. I’ll be reviewing this for Chandler’s Ford Today next week.
Meantime, I’ll be sharing my post tomorrow where I interview Wendy H Jones about new online magazine, Writers’ Narrative. Looking forward to sharing that. See above.

Not long now either before I am off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Can’t wait to catch up with friends and meet new ones. I’m running a one hour workshop on editing here plus carrying out a couple of volunteer short sessions (pre-breakfast – people have to be keen!).

Great to see everyone at last night’s Flash Fiction Group meeting (Association of Christian Writers). Fab time had by all and there was plenty of creativity going on – well done, all and I hope you have fun with the writing exercise I set you.

Back to changeable weather today but Lady got to show off in front of her Hungarian Vizler friend so she’s had a good day and her chum never minds this.

Many thanks for the huge and great response to yesterday’s post about Writers’ Narrative magazine. I’ll be interviewing Wendy H Jones, the Editor in Chief, for Chandlers Ford Today on Friday. See above. Do look out for that. There will be plenty of insights shared and useful information about how to submit for the magazine as well. Looking forward to sharing that.

I’ll be getting my author newsletter out next week. If you would like to sign up for tips, hints, advice, news etc do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Pleased to be back on Friday Flash Fiction with my latest tale, Having a Ball. Dog sympathisers will especially like this one I think. Hope you enjoy it. I had so much sympathy with my lead character (and I’m not sorry for the pun there either!).

Screenshot 2023-07-28 at 10-11-21 Having a Ball by Allison Symes

Do you like writing exercises? I love them and usually set at least one at the flash group meetings I lead for the Association of Christian Writers once a month. I find writing exercises encourage creativity, they make me think outside of my usual box(es), and I produce work I would not have otherwise have produced.

Most writing exercises suit flash fiction – such as writing to an opening or closing line. They’re also good practice for writing stories for competitions. Many of them issue a set theme, sometimes a title, and if you are used to producing things to a prompt, it is handy here.

You’re not going to be fazed by the challenge. You see it as just another prompt. Still need to produce your best work though – and I must admit I love the ongoing challenge of that.

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I was amused to receive an email today from someone I know who chose to write their missive as a flash fiction story – the writer did a great job! But I have used letters in flash fiction for more serious purposes. My Punish the Innocent from From Light to Dark and Back Again tells a story of criminality/vengeance/justice in the shape of a short letter. Letters can be a useful format in flash – you have to keep them short to make them work!

Why not give it a try? What is so important your character has to write to someone (especially if your story is set in an age where they could phone, email etc)? What would they reveal? The nice thing with this format is you can get clues as to what the receiver must be like from the way the character writes to them. That can be so telling.

What is the tone of your character’s letter? Forthright, judging, humorous? Plenty of story ideas here and I find it makes a pleasant change from writing direct prose. There is something intimate about a letter and you can get your characters to show this kind of thing too. Best not done too often – anything can look gimmicky if done too often after all , but if you want to mix up your writing, this is a good exercise to try.

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Fairytales with Bite – Food and Drink

Even the most powerful fairy godmother must take time out to recharge the batteries via food and drink. So what would she consume? Presumably not a suspiciously shiny red apple but other than that what would you feed her with? Would you base requirements on what we have here? Or would magical beings have to eat some sort of magical food and what would this be?

Would your characters prepare their own consumables or would others do this for them?

Food and drink are major parts of our lives naturally, but would your magical beings consider them to be necessary evils? What is their attitude towards having to eat/having to drink? Do they see it as tiresome, for example? Your average evil being would consider these things as a waste of time when they’ve got evil to be getting on with (while recognising they could use food and drink against their enemies).

Is there an industry devoted to producing these things and who would run this? Is government control exerted over it to make sure only what is approved can be consumed? Are there banned substances here? Why was any ban brought in?

Is there such a thing as food allergies here? What form would those take on a magical being? Which of your characters loves their food ? Which are the fussy eaters? Could envisage funny stories here – someone who is fussy has to learn not to be.

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This World and Others – The Hospitality Industry

Most of us experience various parts of the hospitality industry. I love visiting a local pub/restaurant, for example. What establishments would exist in your world? Whom would your world be hospitable to? Whom would they never offer any kind of hospitality towards? Are characters of lower standing expected to visit certain kinds of establishment, saving the best ones for the higher up? Does the hospitality industry encourage tourism in your world and who would take advantage of this?

Are the ones working in this sector respected or looked down on? How much regulation from central or local government (or both) goes on? Is food easily sourced? Does the industry have inspectors to ensure standards are maintained/improved as necessary? Who would work in the industry? Is magic allowed to be used as part of the job?

If you have personal experience of working in this sector, what could you bring into your fiction for a hospitality industry set on another planet? What problems would be the same? Which would differ?

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WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Publication News – Writers’ Narrative – and Writing to Unwind

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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. Images for Writers’ Narrative magazine used in the Chandler’s Ford Today post and on my Facebook posts were kindly supplied by Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief. The Feature Image is based on an image supplied by Wendy too. Many thanks also to Richard Hardie for taking the picture of me at the recent Book Fair.
Hope you had a lovely weekend. Had a family to to celebrate my other half’s significant birthday – good time had by all, despite the weather. Lady loved it all. And it was lovely to be able to share more publication news just before the weekend too.

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Facebook – General

Am thrilled to say the first issue of Writers’ Narrative magazine is now out there. It’s a fabulous read for any writer (and written by writers who understand what people are seeking in this kind of magazine). I talk about Boosting Your Writing with Flash Fiction but there is an astounding range of articles in here. And the magazine has already hit the No. 1 spot in the US on Amazon. It was a real pleasure to receive the magazine in my inbox this morning – and you can receive it this way too. Just see the link.

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Hope you have had a good start to the week. Mondays are always hectic but it is nice to get to that point of the day where I can write for a while. Bliss and I find it invigorating and a great way to unwind at the same time, strange as that may sound. Writing satisfies a need to be creative. This is especially great after a day of doing more mundane things.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone at the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group meeting on Wednesday. I am glad to say several have had pieces on Friday Flash Fiction which is fabulous. Flash fiction writing, I find, comes into its own when I don’t have as much time as I would like to write. I still can get something down!

May be an image of text that says "Learning to go with the flow takes time but you will be happier for doing so."As well as sharing the wonderful news The Best of CafeLit 12 is now out (with my story Jubilee on page 110 – guess who looked!), I get to do some authorial housekeeping. I’ve updated my Amazon Author Central Page – I will give Amazon their due here. I put the request in and literally minutes later the book was up on my page. Can’t fault that.

Updating books on Goodreads is more tricky though – I’ve sent a request in but don’t know when I’ll hear on that. Am less impressed. I’ve never found updating anything on that site easy.

I’ve updated the books page on my website (see link – I’ve got the books page as my home page – I think there is something apt about that. Books always make me think of home and the lovely volumes I have here!).

Oh and I’ve got the book listed with ALCS (Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society). As a member of the Society of Authors, I get to be part of ALCS for free but it doesn’t cost much to join and your membership fee is taken from your first payment. Just the once too. You pay once and that’s it.

Adding my books on to my ALCS list means I will get something from my contribution to this book in due course from them. It is worth adding on your books (but they can’t do ebooks). Well worth investigating if you’ve got books out (or contributions to print anthologies etc).

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Had a family do today. Great time had by all. Lady loves it when we have guests around. They all make a huge fuss of her and treats are involved too so what’s not to like?

Am so looking forward to sharing next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post – Welcome to Writers’ Narrative Magazine. I’m talking with Editor in Chief, Wendy H Jones, for this one. Amongst other topics will be how you can subscribe to this free magazine and how to submit articles for consideration.

The first (August) edition is out during next week (25th July, just ahead of my post). See above. Trust me, there is plenty of good reading here. I am privileged to be part of the editorial team here. Naturally I am also contributing articles! If you would like to sign up now, to ensure you don’t miss a single thing, you can do so at the link here.

Writers' Narrative

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Delighted to be talking about how writing flash fiction can boost your writing overall for the first issue of Writers’ Narrative, which came out today.

I will also be focusing on flash fiction for tomorrow’s meeting of the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction group on Zoom.

This is a good example of why it is important to love what you write. All writers need to market their work (else how else will people know about it?) so it is vital you enjoy what you do to (a) help you keep going with this and (b) talk about your writing love with conviction. It does show.

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The good old notebook is still useful for Zoom workshop attendees

It’s Monday. It’s been wet, dark at times, more like an autumn day than a summer one, wet, and it is still Monday. Time for another YouTube story from me then. Hope you enjoy my latest called Celebrating though my character Sheila is celebrating alone. Find out why here.

 

Sunday afternoon is flash fiction writing time for me and is something I look forward to immensely. I’m also looking forward to the next meeting of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group on Wednesday evening.

My story, Jubilee, in the recently released The Best of CafeLit 12 is a piece of flash work. Yes, it is about the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. So much seems to have happened since then, yes?

Events like this can act as time markers for fiction – most people remember where they were/what they were doing at these things so that can save you a lot of description and gives a setting immediately. (And nobody, who saw it, is going to forget the marvellous sketch with Paddington either!).

CafeLit12 MediumHad a lovely time at the family do held earlier today. We don’t let the weather get in our way! Just as well too given it poured down all day….

The first edition of Writers’ Narrative magazine is out online next week and I’ll be taking about flash fiction in that. See above. Am excited about this as the magazine really is fabulous.

Talking of which, I am thrilled to have a flash fiction piece of mine, Jubilee, out in the recently released The Best of CafeLit 12. Many congratulations to all of the other writers in this lovely collection. Great mix of stories and authors here. Do check it out. Good read guaranteed!

 

Goodreads Author Blog – Publication News and Being Read

Am thrilled to have another story out, Jubilee, in the recently released The Best of CafeLit 12. The buzz of being published never dies! It’s a continuing joy to know your work is being read.

I regularly mix up what I read. I will read novels, non-fiction, fiction across most genres, but I also make sure I include the short form (short stories and flash fiction). Okay, I’m biased because I write short stories and flash fiction, but they are just as every bit a valid an art form as the novel. You cherish all of these things, I think.

The advantage of the short forms of fiction is they are perfect for those without much time to read or who do not have the confidence to read bigger works.

The shorter forms are ways of showing there is something out there for all reading needs. Not everyone wants to read a huge novel, at least to begin with, Maybe they’ll get to that later once they‘ve had confidence in reading built up (and the short forms can help a lot there). Sometimes a story is best told in fewer words and it genuinely works better at 10,000 words, say, rather than standard novel length of about 100,000.

What I love is there is plenty of choice out there and I will always wave the flag for the shorter forms of reading. They can be a great way into reading altogether.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES
As well as selling my books, I was selling books I've contributed to - those went well too

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Must admit I do not like the new X symbol for Twitter. I liked the bird! Is staying here for the time being at least.

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Books Which Work and Those Which Don’t

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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 weekend. Not bad here. Glad to spread good news about the forthcoming monthly online magazine, Writers’ Narrative. This is written by writers for writers and the first issue will be out soon. More details below. Am very pleased to be part of this. (Images kindly provided for Writers’ Narrative by Wendy H Jones, Editor in Chief).

Facebook – General

Am pleased to be back on Authors Electric once more. This month I talk about Books Which Work and Those Which Don’t. I do love titles which get to the heart of the matter! Hope you enjoy the post.

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Back to the changeable weather today but Lady got to see her Hungarian Vizler friend so was very happy with that.

Will be looking at Websites – Why A Writer Needs One for Chandler’s Ford Today this week. Link up on Friday. Looking forward to the next Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Group meeting next week too.

The countdown to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick starts about now. Well, at least it does for me! So looking forward to catching up with friends and making new ones and the workshops are always an inspiration.

I’m chatting about Books Which Work and Those That Don’t for Authors Electric – link up tomorrow. See above.

May be a graphic of 1 person and text that says "The writing life is addictive but fun. The support of other writers makes a huge difference."Better day weather wise today though was thankful to avoid most of the rain yesterday. Still our park is looking much better than it had done. The grass is looking like grass as opposed to straw.

Many thanks for the comments coming in on my post yesterday about Writers’ Narrative. Much appreciated. I’ll be sharing a fabulous interview with editor in chief, Wendy H Jones, about the new writing magazine, in a couple of weeks time on Chandler’s Ford Today.

Meantime I’ll be looking at websites and useful material for them for the post coming up on CFT this coming week. Hope you will find both posts useful. More on each nearer the time.

15th July – Val Penny blog tour
So pleased to be part of Val Penny’s book blog tour to link in with the re-release of Hunter’s Blood. The tour is organised by Lynsey Adams but do check the tour out. And good luck, Val.
Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 20-42-30 Reading Between the Lines Online Book PR15th July – second post
Am pleased to share more news about Writers’ Narrative, the forthcoming new online writing magazine. Written by writers for writers. The first issue will be out soon and the best way to ensure you don’t miss an edition is to subscribe to it. Best news of all – this is free – do see the link (and meet the team as well while there). The magazine will be a monthly one and packed full of advice and aspects of the writing world you will not want to miss. Oh and check out the cover on the first one – it’s fabulous.

Writers' Narrative

 

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the great comments coming in on The Neighbours, my most recent tale on Friday Flash Fiction. This is the only tale I’ve written which is inspired by Shakespeare, Terry Pratchett, and the female characters from long running sitcom, The Last of the Summer Wine. It’s a good mix though! If you missed it, do check out the link.

(Oh and many congratulations to other members of the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group for having work on here this week as well. Always good to see that).

Screenshot 2023-07-14 at 10-10-17 The Neighbours by Allison Symes

It’s Monday. I just about rescued my washing in time from a heavy downpour when the forecast said there would be no rain. (Have always felt the forecast is more like an intelligent bet – and sometimes it does not pay off!). Time for a story. Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Porridge.

 

I’ve mentioned before that telling details, which includes having a hook-them-in title, are crucial components for flash stories. With no room for much in the way of description, you do have to show only what your readers what they need to know and leave it there. The rest can be implied.

This is where using the senses can come in handy. Rather than get my character to wear a drab coat, I would get them to wear a beige one. It is specific. Beige is considered a drab colour. Job done there.

Sometimes for locations you can use sound to imply where a character has to be. If they’re listening to a wide variety of bird song, they’re unlikely to be in the middle of a big city. Other little details can then flesh this out such as the character relishing the sound of walking through crunchy leaves etc (and that gives you the season too without you having to say so).

Naming a street, say, would imply the character has to be in at least a village.

It pays then to work out what your reader has to know and then work out how you can show that through your character’s actions and thoughts.

May be an image of text that says "What's Next? A good hook will make your reader want to find this one out!"

As promised, more news about Writers’ Narrative. I am one of the team behind the magazine (the editor in chief is Wendy H Jones) and the magazine is packed full of wonderful information and advice no writer is going to want to miss and much more besides. Good news! You can subscribe to the free magazine here. The first issue will be out soon. It is a pleasure and privilege to be working on this. (Oh and naturally I’m talking about flash fiction in the first issue). You can subscribe for free here.

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Goodreads Author Blog – All The Fun of the Book Fair

I was thrilled to take part in a Book Fair local to me last weekend. It was the first one in the venue chosen (and the venue was excellent). It was fantastic to see a wide range of authors covering so many different tastes in books and age ranges too.

Non-fiction (travel journeys) was well represented too. The organisers counted well over 100 people in attendance and there was a constant footfall flow all afternoon. This is highly encouraging. There is hope this event will become an annual one. For obvious reasons, I hope it does too.

But I also saw it as encouraging that people still love books. They want to see what their local authors are coming out with. If you have an event like this coming up near you, do go if you can. You may well be pleasantly surprised at the wealth of reading material on offer. I was – and I was taking part!

Also great to see these events back again. The last one I took part in was before the pandemic – that seems like a world away now – though I have run workshops, gone to conferences etc since. Good to see the book fairs back too now! This was something I was especially pleased about as our bookshops are now several miles away so having the books come to the locality will always be a fantastic idea.

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AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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This tweet came as a nice surprise! Thank you. Jacci Gooding! Also have been very busy on the Twitter front this week – that bird has been tweeting a lot from my end!

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