Tag: Writing to a theme

Writing To A Theme and Dragon Duty

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

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

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

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

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

May be a graphic of text that says "Making time to write can be difficult. |carve out slots SƠ know will get something done. pays. II III XII I XI A XL"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "The writing life is addictive but fun. The support of other writers makes a huge difference."

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

 

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

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

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

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

Screenshot 2023-04-14 at 17-27-12 Making Her Day by Allison Symes

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

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

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

May be a graphic of text that says "Flash fiction illuminates briefly -it is a great form for a lighthearted piece. These often work best when kept short."

Goodreads Author Blog – Reading Away From Home

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

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

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

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

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

Screenshot 2023-04-15 at 17-43-23 Reading Away From Home

 

ALLISON SYMES – BOOK BRUSH READER HUB

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

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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QUIZZING YOUR CHARACTERS AND WRITING FRUSTRATIONS

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This is kind of a catch up post on my Facebook items this week.  Will share my Chandler’s Ford Today post tomorrow where I have the first part of a fab interview with crime writer, Val Penny.  In the meantime:-

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If you could ask your characters, especially your main leads, just one question, what would it be? I think my question would be to ask what drives them. When I’m creating new people, I like to know what their main characteristic is and I then go back to find out why it is that particular one.

If a character is brave, what led them to discover they had that quality? There could be some interesting stories there. Also, are they really as brave as they think? Is the declaring themselves brave merely their own judgement or is it something others have said of them?

So one question will lead to others, which is how it should be and how you will really find out what your people are made of.

Microphone - image via Pixabay

Quizzing your characters can help you get the best out of them! Image via Pixabay

A blank page can take you anywhere writing wise, image via Pixabay

A blank page can take you anywhere in writing. Image via Pixabay.

One thing that has been true throughout history is the need for a good edit! Image via Pixabay

The joy of editing but a major part of my writing rituals is to always keep this separate from creative writing. Image via Pixabay

Shakespeare had his quill, modern writers have their laptops. Image via Pixabay.

Such a familiar look. Image via Pixabay.

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What is your chief factor in choosing the main character you have for your stories?

I love quirky characters but for me that in itself is not enough. The character has to have a certain amount of drive so that they are prepared to fight for what they want and/or to overcome anything their life throws at them. (Trust me, I tend to throw a great deal at my people, it’s fun and I’m just like that!).

I don’t like goody-goody characters, they never come across as realistic, and there must be at least some redeeming quality about my characters. I’m looking for something any reader can “root” for as they read my character’s story.

 

Typical of the main track at Jermyns Lane

What kind of journey will your characters go on? Image by Allison Symes

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I love walking by water – so calming. Can also inspire how you create your own world. Image by Allison Symes

Good historical fiction will conjure up a sense of the world in which it is set - image via Pixabay

Or not as the case may be! My fiction is quirky!Image via Pixabay.

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Let your stories have impact. Image via Pixabay

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I’m currently (and finally!) putting the finishing touches to what I hope will be my second book, which I hope to submit shortly. I sometimes think the hardest thing to make yourself do is to put the work aside for a while so you really do come back to it and read it, as if for the first time. It does pay to do this though. I find it is the only way to read the stories as if a reader would.

If you don’t leave enough time before coming back to the work again, you will find yourself still in “editor mode” and will want to change this word here, that word there and not because they really need changing. You need to give yourself time to switch off that “editor mode” and put it back in its box for when it is needed, which is after you have got that first draft down.

Reading the book as a reader would means no editing. Yes, sure, I make notes of anything I spot that I think might need sorting out but I do that as a totally separate task. Also, at this stage, I have already gone through that process so now it really is just a case of reading (and hopefully finding you enjoy it because if you don’t, nobody else will!).

 

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The trouble with writing flash fiction
Is it can cause a lot of friction.
Do you need fifty or seventy-five
Words to make your story come alive?
Bad luck to me here, oh dearie me
I do need one hundred words, you see.
But I understand this is okay
It is just the story format’s way
To have so many different word lengths
Meaning people can write to their strengths.
So dribble away at fifty words
I’ll drabble and be amongst the nerds
One hundred words it will be for me
Nothing less will do for me, you see.

ALLISON SYMES – 31ST JANUARY 2018

The great irony is I’ve counted the words here as coming in at 99! (And I refuse to add “Ends” to make up the “ton” – that would be cheating!).

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One of my main writing frustrations is having lots of lovely ideas to work on but not having nearly as much time as I’d like to get on with them! But then I know I’m not alone in that.

I’m trying to focus more on mini-goals at the moment. I’ve made a couple of diary notes to remind me to submit work to X here and again later on. I have found if I write down plans, whether they are long term or short, I am more likely to achieve them!

Incidentally, flash fiction may be very short but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re fast to write. They still need editing and crafting every much as a longer story.

A checklist can be useful for quizzing your characters. Image via Pixabay.
How do you use your writiing time most effectively? Image by Allison Symes
Sound advice. Image via Pixabay
Preparing a talk or a flash fiction story perhaps. Image via Pixabay.

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What is the one thing that makes you proud or ashamed of your characters and why? Is your hero secretly a bit of a wimp and you really prefer your villain? (You would not be the first writer that’s happened to!).

If you could give one bit of advice to your characters, what would it be and why have you chosen this? Does it say more about you than the character?

I like to have a reasonable knowledge of what makes my characters tick before I start writing for them but deliberately don’t fill in each and every detail. I want to have the fun of discovery as well as their story emerges.

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I think there has to be balance in fiction. The reason for my book’s title is it does reflect most moods. I find I write funny tales for a while (I’ve always had a very soft spot for humorous fiction) and then HAVE to write something darker in tone as a contrast. So it was right my book should reflect all that I write.

Equally, I can only do grim in small doses (flash fiction is brilliant for that!) before I find I’m writing tales that are less grim, then funny ones again.

I think it is inescapable that fiction will reflect on you, the writer, to a certain extent, whether it is the moods of the stories reflecting your moods or whether the main character has your virtues or vices (or both!).

Fiction is strengthened when backed by fact. Image via Pixabay
Is your story light or dark? Image via Pixabay
Could this picture inspire stories? Good fiction will take you out of the world for a while. Image via Pixabay.
Escape with a good book, it’s good for you! Image via Pixabay
There can be reality behind fairytales. Image via Pixabay (and image used as part of book trailer for From Light to Dark and Back Again)

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This post comes about as a result of a conversation I joined in with earlier today online.

I don’t usually write a collection of stories to a specific theme but what I found with writing From Light to Dark and Back Again is that groups of themes emerged from the tales I gathered together.

There are the rough justice stories (Punish the Innocent), the creepy ones (Why Stop Now?), as well as the twisted fairytales (Collector’s Piece). Now given all stories reveal something about the writer, I’m not going into details as to what I think my themes make me! Probably best not to go there.

I find it much easier to write to a theme for an individual story for a competition. Not sure why that is, but maybe it is because I’m only committing to writing one tale at a time for such things.

Paula Readman, Dawn Kentish Knox and I celebrate where our stories have appeared! Many thanks to Paula Readman for the picture.!
From Light to Dark and Back Again. Image by Allison Symes
Enjoy what you write and read! Image by Allison Symes
My book on sale in a local gift shop. Image taken by Allison Symes

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What influences you the most when you write your own stories? I think with me it has to be the books from my past and my present. You do learn how a writer sets out their work, uses grammar etc, as you read their short stories and novels. You also develop a feel for the rhythm of the language used (and I know that has influenced how I do this, though that is a good thing).

With regard to characters, what influences me most is knowing all of them have to justify their places in my stories. They don’t necessarily have to be strong. Weak characters can be interesting as (a) they can become strong and you can explore that journey or (b) they betray a stronger lead character because you always apply the pressure where the chain is most likely to break.

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