Tag: writing when tired

Relatable Characters

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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. Lovely one here and even more spring flowers emerging. Good to see. Lady enjoying the better weather too. Busy on the writing front but had a productive weekend, which always pleases me.

Facebook – General

Hope you’ve had a good day. Another lovely sunny one here.

Looking forward to going to an Association of Christian Writers Zoom session tonight. The talk sounds interesting.

Won’t be getting much writing done today due to that but I do go to these things, when they’re of interest, when I can. I see all of this as part of what you do when learning your craft, looking to develop further etc. Investment in time for your writing is seldom wasted.

Plus it will be lovely to see ACW friends online again! One of the aspects of the writing life I love is the social side to it – online and in person.

Another lovely day and Lady got to see her Rhodesian Ridgeback and Hungarian Vizler pals today so win-win all around there. How come it is the end of March already?

Author newsletter out again tomorrow. Will be looking at humour as my topic this time.

Writing Tip: You’re tired. It’s been a hectic day. (Mondays always are for me). The thought of writing much seems to fog your already tired brain. So focus instead on writing little bits.

It’s what I use Mondays for with my writing. I add bits to my newsletter, start drafting blogs and flash pieces (but with no pressure to get these things completed that same day). I see this as building up my stock of material I will complete later on.

And the funny thing? I always feel better for having written those little bits. Creativity is good for you, even in small amounts.

Another lovely sunny day with a promising week ahead. Lady and I plan to enjoy as much of that as we can. Will be “zooming” around again this week as I have an online ACW event to attend on Tuesday evening and will be hosting another ACW group on Wednesday which is one I usually go to for a good old chat about all things science fiction and fantasy related.

Will be sharing What Makes a Story Work on Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday.

Author newsletter is out again on Tuesday, of course. If you would like to know more about flash fiction and discover tips and story links do head over to my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Character Thought: What is the one thing you know your character wouldn’t dream of doing in normal circumstances but you then make them face it? What would their response be? It’s absolutely fine to drop your creations in the mire! I find it great fun but this could, of course, just be me!

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Am delighted to be back on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers, with my latest post – Relatable Characters. I share thoughts on why my favourite Easter stories resonate with me and also share tips on how we can create our own relatable characters. Hope you find the post useful.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope the day has gone well. Nice one here.

Character Tip: In getting to know your character before writing their story up, think about what would be a nice day for them and why. What would be a horrible day and why?

Both of these things have to have a reasonable chance of happening in your story. Think further about how they would handle each type of day and what that reveals about them. There will be insights here you will be able to use in your story. Your characterisation will be deeper and better for it too.

It’s a lovely sunny Monday but it has been hectic for me and it is still Monday when all is said and done. I share Garfield the cartoon cat’s attitude towards disliking Mondays in general. Time for another story from me on YouTube then. Hope you like my latest here – Craving.

What could my character be hiding in her food shopping she really cannot explain, especially since at her age she should know better? Find out here.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend. Happy Mothering Sunday to those who celebrate. Looking forward to flash fiction Sunday as ever. It’s a nice way to wind down after a busy week and I get more stories written – win-win there!

Most of the competitions I send flash pieces into don’t count the title as part of the overall word count you’re allowed. I am always pleased about this! It helps – a lot! 

But a useful tip for those places which do count the word title as part of the overall count is to reserve three to five words for your title. If you end up using less what you have “left over” could be used for the story itself if you need that.

Hope you are having a good weekend. Pleased to be out in the garden for a bit. Mowed the lawn and kicked the football for the dog. It does make quite a sight but it keeps Lady happy and away from the lawnmower. Am sure she sees it as an outdoor vacuum cleaner (which she also still sees as “the enemy”). I had hoped she’d have grown out of that but alas no!

Looking forward to catching up with friends on Zoom later on.

Writing wise, I’m a fair way towards another flash fiction collection in terms of word count. (Don’t yet know when the third one will be out but I have had the nod on it). Have a couple of stories I want to look at tomorrow as part of my flash fiction Sunday as I have competitions in mind for these. Both stories have now had the required “rest time” so I should be able to read them as a reader would. It’s the only way I find works for me which helps me spot the flaws. Then I can do something about said flaws!

Goodreads Author Blog – Beginnings

While true every story has to have a beginning, a middle, and an end, the beginning is what writers tend to focus on because we know readers won’t get to the middle yet alone the end if the beginning doesn’t grip them enough. No pressure then!

Also many of us study classic opening lines (from say Pride and Prejudice, 1984 and many more) to help us learn our craft here.

I know what I look for in a beginning, when I am reading, is to have a sense of setting and who the lead character is likely to be. I love stories which start with dialogue as that is like eavesdropping on an interesting conversation (here I can do this legitimately!). You also get a sense of the two or more characters involved in that conversation.

Basically, there has to be something which engages my interest immediately so have that “must know what happens next” moment.

With my own stories, my beginnings are rarely exactly the same as I first drafted them. When I come back and edit I can see how I can strengthen them so I do. Every word matters. I have to look for maximum impact on a reader. Hopefully that means they go on to have a great beginning with my stories and then discover what else those tales contain.

Every writer in history has had to do this. It is why the classics are the classics. Their beginnings have stood the test of time. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if as you read this, you can think of your own favourite beginnings to stories. I’ve done so in writing this.

Of course, I don’t think you can ever beat the classic fairytale opening of Once Upon A Time. That got me into reading fairytales, fantasy, and reading in general so plenty to like there!

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

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Snow, Stories, Patience, and Fish

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Image Credit:-

All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated.

Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

Image of Lady wondering why I’m excited about a box of books was taken by Adrian Symes

An interesting title choice I think – see below for how these link up. Two of them are to do with stories I’ve produced this week!

 

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Many thanks for the great responses to my post yesterday.

Happily drafting more stories for what I hope will be my third flash fiction collection. I’m almost there at the word count requirement but know the draft needs a heavy edit (or several) so plenty still to do there.

Am also revising my non-fiction project. Generally happy with it but am tweaking at the moment. Next stage there will be to draw up a list of publishers I want to approach with it. Am hoping to get that out for submission in the next couple of months or so and I’d love to be able to submit the third flash book by the end of the year. Yes, that is my 2021 taken care of nicely!

I find once I get started on a writing session, it is like someone has fired the starting gun and off I go. It can be the getting started that can be tricky, especially if you’re tired etc as I mentioned yesterday.

My tip here is be gentle on yourself, don’t commit to too much, and on days when I feel like that, I focus on small amounts of writing I can polish up later. There will be places for a 100 or 200 word story later, that’s for sure, and I feel better for having got something down I know I can send off later.

Still no snow today so that’s promising! (I know, I know! Famous last words and all that. We’ll see!).

Not impressed with the recent wintry conditions in the UK. Image created in Book Brush using a Pixabay photo.

Snow again this morning. Other than that, it has been an okay but busy Monday. Hope you have had a good day.

Glad to hear Just a Minute on the air again. It’s not the first time they’ve used guest presenters but it is odd that the much missed Nicholas Parsons is no longer part of this wonderful game.

I’ve mentioned before I tend to write less on a Monday given it is one of my busiest days and tiredness takes its toll. But that’s fine. I know I’ll make up for it during the rest of the week. I don’t set myself a word count per day. I just want to write daily and there will be some fluctuations. It is a case of going with the flow. And that’s fine too but it has taken me some time to get to that point and to learn not to be too hard on myself.

 

Lady helps out! Image by Adrian Symes.


Still can’t believe how cold it is. Doesn’t feel like April at all. Oh and we had snow again today. Thankfully not for long but I suspect it will still be a while before our heating goes off!

Writing wise, I start my new Chandler’s Ford Today series on Friday. Called Judging a Book By Its Cover, this three-part series will see a range of guest authors and myself share our latest covers and talk about what we think of these. We also share some useful tips. Looking forward to sharing that later in the week.

Don’t forget I do have an author newsletter now. I send this out monthly and share exclusive stories and writing tips here. To find out more sign up (and receive a free giveaway) at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Am busy preparing the newsletter for May, working on my third flash fiction book, and editing my non-fiction project.

And the best thing of all about writing?

I get to write in the warm!

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Delighted to say I have another piece, Patience, up on Friday Flash Fiction. Day late sharing (sorry!) but if you like your stories on the darker side, this is one for you. And it is good to be writing drabbles again. Some of my most recent flash pieces have been on the longer side so it is great to be back to my first flash love here. After all it was the CafeLit 100 word challenge that drew me into writing flash at all!

Lady has had a good day. Got to see her best buddie, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, on our way back home from the park so on a convenient corner, well out of the way of anyone, the two dogs had a playfight – as you do. Two tired and very happy dogs went home! (Would love to know how dogs can chew each other’s ears without causing any damage incidentally).

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Many thanks for the views on my Fish Out of Water story video which I posted yesterday. (Coming up below!). These mini-tales are great fun to write and then put into a video format like this. I like to mix up the mood of what I produce here and it was more than time for a lighter piece.

Incidentally, talking of mood, I should add that character mood does not necessarily match author mood. This is just as well for (a) all my author friends who write crime, (b) all my author friends who write horror, and (c) me when I’m having an off day! Also, thinking of some of the characters I’ve come out with in my time, it is just as well my mood would never match theirs!

Never assume a character’s mood is the same as their author’s one! Image created in Book Brush using a Pixabay photo.


Hope you enjoy my latest story video on Youtube. Fish Out of Water is one of my lighter tales. Well it is From Light to Dark and Back Again here! Also pleased to say I’ll be having another story on CafeLit next week, which will be one of my longer flash tales. More details on that nearer the time but it’s lovely to have an acceptance at the start of the working week!

 


One thing I am loving about submitting drabbles to #FridayFlashFiction is the feedback on my stories. Many thanks, everyone, for that. For my latest story, Patience, I have deliberately not specified the creature that is the “lead” in this.

This isn’t a word count issue, funnily enough. I am going for effect here. One of my earliest introductions to horror was the film Duel which I think was the first directed by a certain S. Spielberg Esq. It works because the plot is simple, scary, and you never see the enemy. I think it would have lost something had we been able to see who the enemy was.

This is another reason why I don’t always give a gender to the non-human creatures that turn up in my stories from time to time. “It” for me conveys a sense of horror when used in this context. 

 

Sometimes the creature in a story is best left unspecified. Doing that can be a more scary effect for a reader than if you spell everything out.

Hope you’ve had a good Saturday. Still cold!

When do I know a flash story is going to “work”? When I know the characters convince me is the answer to that. If they convince me, they should convince other readers. And to convince myself, I’ve got to want to read their story and find out what happens! How can that be for the person who wrote the story?

Simple. I put the story aside for a while and then come back to it after a week or so. Only then can I look at it with fresh eyes and assess it as a beta reader might.

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Goodreads Author Blog – The Greatest Characters

The greatest characters in any story are for me the ones where I’ve got to find out what happens to them. Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings is an obvious one for me here, as was Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (especially after the sacrifice scene).

But characters who back up the main leads grip me too. I have a very soft spot for Sam (and Frodo would have failed in his mission without him). I also have a soft spot for Lucy in the Narnia Chronicles.

Any great character, for me, is one where I can identify with them in some way. They’re not perfect. Good. Neither am I. They have virtues I aspire to and flaws I’m glad I don’t have as well as some I know I do! But they come across as fully created beings I want to find out more about even if they’re not human.

Great characters for me include Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Sam Vimes and Granny Weatherwax throughout Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (though he makes my skin crawl with his miserly ways at the start of the story).

Great characters can also be redeemed as Scrooge shows and the theme of redemption is a powerful one.

So who would you nominate as your greatest characters?

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The Writing Life – and Publication News

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Image Credit:  As ever, all images, unless stated, are from Pixabay

 

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I thought I would look at what reading non-fiction has done for me.

I was a huge fan of the Simon Schama History of Britain TV series so got the books too. They are a fascinating read both in terms of content and how they are structured. Lots of useful pointers there for a writer.

I love guide books. Whenever I visit a historical place, I always get the guide book (and usually a nice pen too!). I learn so much from the contents but also from the human interest stories that often form part of these and how they fit into the factual narrative. Again, things to learn about blending material there.

I sometimes read specific books around a subject but I also love dipping into encyclopedias and other reference books (Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a favourite) and seeing what I find out! It is a lot of fun exploring avenues here and makes you think along ways you wouldn’t have planned. Ideas for stories and blog posts do spark from doing things like this. Give it a go. If nothing else, you expand your reading!

I doubt if they’d let you put your feet up with a good book in here. Pixabay
Why look despondent in a library? I wouldn’t. Pixabay
So true. Pixabay.
Books are their own world. Pixabay
Hope you have lovely books as presents! Pixabay image
A book worm’s idea of heaven and picture books will be in here! Pixabay image
What worlds can you explore in flash fiction? Pixabay
FLTDBA in NZ. Image kindly supplied by Raewyn Berry
Sometimes the books come to you! Pixabay
Another gorgeous library. I love pics like this.
Well… Pixabay

Pleased to bits to have my first review for From Light to Dark and Back Again on Amazon.com – the simplest thing people can do to support authors is to review their books. Reviews don’t have to be long either. Honesty about what you liked (or didn’t) is key.

So please, please review!

Also pleased to say that the Kindle version of The Best of Cafelit 8 is now available. There will be a paperback later in the year. My flash stories Dignity and Injustice and The Art Critic are here. The book is now on my Author Central page.

Last but not least, I’ve finally sent off a pitch for an idea I’ve been working on. Got to have the old hat in the ring after all to be a contender!

Do I still get nervous about submitting new work? Oh yes. Do rejections still leave me feeling flat? Oh yes. But, over time, you do get used to this being a normal part of a writer’s life. You do dust yourself down, look at your idea again, think about reworking it and so on.

Sometimes when an answer is no, the real answer is not yet or not here. What you can’t know when you submit material is whether similiar ideas have been received by whoever it is you’re submitting work to and so, of course, they can’t have something that is too like work they’ve already accepted. Park the idea, revisit it later, and if you can think of a suitable alternative market, go for it. The worst that can happen is they say no but, even after all the years I’ve been writing, you still have to fight the nerves and get that work out there!

Of course, you can’t beat the feeling when you receive acceptances! I only wish I could bottle it.

Open Prose Mic Night Swanwick 2019 - image by Penny Blackburn

I read The Art Critic at Swanwick earlier this year. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for the picture.

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Love having my creations around me! Image by Adrian Symes

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My flash fiction collection. Image taken by Allison Symes.

that lightbulb moment is a wonderful one for writers - pixabay

The lightbulb moment of inspiration for writers is wonderful. Pixabay image.

much easier to cut and paste and edit on one of these - pixabay

Write to screen but edit on paper. Pixabay image.

Glad to report The Best of Cafelit 8 is now up on my Amazon Author Page (see link above). Looks good on there! (Am also looking forward to the paperback coming out later in the year and the Bridge House Publishing event in December. Always good fun).

How do you find writing works for you when you’re tired? I find that shorter pieces of writing perk me up and I save the marathon sprints for when I have more energy. I do get ratty if I can’t write at all as those nearest to me would testify.

I have got to write something creative even if it is just the outline for a flash fiction story. Having said that, once I get started, I find the creative instinct takes over and often I’ll get to the end of a session having written more than I thought I would. So that cheers me up no end. Mondays ARE the worst day of the week for me for this. Do you have any bugbear writing days? How do you manage them?

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My favourite part of writing is when I’m drafting a character’s thoughts. Why? Because I can get the character to show something of themselves without them being aware of it! It is the reader who will make judgements about the character based on what they read of their thoughts and actions.

I also like writing thoughts because they can be a great way of a character revealing what they think of themselves and what they feel other characters think about them. They don’t have to be right on either of these! (There’s potential for comedy or tragedy there).

Also characters will think things they would never say out loud to anyone else (just as we do) and there can be fun to had there as a reader “watches” a character struggle to keep their real feelings for another character hidden.

If you think someone is a dingbat but they’re your boss, you’re going to think twice about saying so AND know you’ll have to suppress how you really feel to make sure nothing embarrassing unwittingly is “let out”.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Do the seasons affect what you write? I can’t say I’ve noticed anything here but I can imagine it may be easier to write a darker tale when all is dark and gloomy outside. (You’ve at least got the atmospheric setting for it!).

Having said that, I often write cheerier stories during the darker months because I like something to cheer me up and I figure readers would like that too!

From a practical viewpoint, when the weather is awful, the lure of being at my desk in the warm with hot drinks on the go is too tempting to resist so I don’t! There is much to be said for bad weather increasing productivity!

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Managed to do some writing while I was away in glorious Northumberland for a week. As well as my blog posts, I’ve drafted two new flash fiction stories (of the circa 500 words variety. I know, that’s going on a bit by my standards! Good fun to write though).

Pleased to say The Best of Cafelit 8 is now out on Kindle. It is now on my Amazon Author Central page (see links shared earlier). My flash tales Dignity and Injustice and The Art Critic are in there. Very different moods too just on those two stories. What I love about the Cafelit collections is the range of styles and moods of tales they have. (Paperback will be out later in the year).

I’m a great advocate of short story and flash fiction collections for the obvious reason I am sometimes in them (!) but also because they are a fabulous way to get a feel for a writer’s work. Give them a go!

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I was away last week in gorgeous Northumberland and the scenery was amazing. The dog loved the stunning coastline and we all did plenty of walking.

I don’t usually go in for a lot of descriptions in my stories. There isn’t the room for them in flash fiction but if I ever set a story on a windswept beach with stunning views, then you can take it I was referring to either Dunnet in Scotland (right on the top edge of the country) or Duridge Bay in Northumberland! Would love to revisit both places next year.

Where setting is invaluable for a writer is where it is almost a character in its own right. Check out the crime writing series for great examples of these (Morse = Oxford is probably the best known). Mordor hangs over Frodo Baggins long before he gets anywhere near it. The latter is a great example as the very name Mordor implies dread and darkness. Well it does for me anyway.

(Oh and for Part 3 of my What Books Mean to Me series on Chandler’s Ford Today this week I will be featuring, amongst others, two Scottish crime writers who very much use their settings as a vital part of their stories. More later in the week).

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What is your favourite kind of character?

I like characters that can surprise me even though I created them.

I like characters who might seem a bit dodgy but really do have good hearts. (It may be a cliche but it’s one I love. I also think we need far more good hearted people in this world – can we ever have enough of them? I think not).

I love characters who can make me laugh. The character who is good at one-liners will always go down well with me, even if they’re a villain. (‘And cancel Christmas’ – Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a great example of that kind of character).

I love the underdog who becomes the hero/heroine. I like supporting characters who understand their role is to support the lead and don’t resent that. (Sam Gamgee of The Lord of the Rings and Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series are great examples there).

So what kind of characters do you really love to read about and, better still, write for?

 

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Goodreads Author Blog – Holiday Reading

I drafted this just as I was packing up to come home from a fabulous week in Northumberland. Lots of walking and wonderful scenery.

As ever, I took lots to read, read some of it, and fell asleep far too quickly.

My best opportunities for reading came before an evening meal and even then I had to fight the urge to nod off. I blame the gloriously fresh northern air!

I mixed up the reading I did do. Naturally I took the Kindle, magazines, and paperbacks.

Do you find you read more or less when away?

I don’t usually buy specific holiday reading as I see holiday time as a chance to reduce my To Be Read pile a bit. It’s another matter whether I’m successful or not!

What matters though is whether you can read for five minutes a day or five hours a day, you ARE reading!

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