I make a point of mixing up what I read in terms of genre and type of story. So as well as reading novels, I read novellas and, naturally for me, flash fiction and short story collections.
As some of you will know, I discovered flash fiction by accident. It is easily the happiest writing accident I have ever had/am likely to have and I’m grateful for it. Two published books later with a third accepted – well, it’s the kind of accident any writer would welcome.
CafeLit, with whom I’d been published for a while, issued a 100 word challenge and I gave it a go, discovered the form is addictive and I’ve not looked back.
[Read more…] about Top Flash Fiction Writing Tips and the Benefits
It was a joy to welcome Jenny Sanders to Chandler’s Ford Today last week. She and I have crossed paths many times thanks to our connections via the Association of Christian Writers, online magazine Mom’s Favorite Reads, and flash fiction.
This week, Jenny tells us more about her writing journey, including how she discovered flash fiction, and shares her thoughts on the most challenging aspects of creating a story or an article. Plenty to learn from here so, once more, over to Jenny.
Further to last week where I discussed the frustrations of publishing, it is my pleasure to share my interview with another writer taking the independent press route. Please “meet” fellow Chapeltown Books author, Gail Aldwin. Also many thanks to her for supplying the images for this interview. [Read more…] about Travelling by Bus around the World and Inspirational Flash Fiction – Introducing Gail Aldwin
I am thrilled to announce my debut flash fiction collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again, has now been published by Chapeltown Books. It is available in paperback and in Kindle format via Amazon and, of course, directly from me but more on that later.
The stories range from 100 words tales to 500 words to 750 and there are one or two which just creep in as flash fiction, being just under the 1000 words limit. This is generally recognized as the cutting off point between flash and standard short story lengths. [Read more…] about Published – My Debut Flash Fiction Collection
I thought I’d finish for this year with some light-hearted seasonal limericks and flash fiction pieces. Hope you enjoy them.
I also hope you had plenty of books (in print or electronically) for Christmas and you are happily working your way through them! [Read more…] about Seasonal Limericks and Flash Fiction
Have you heard of Flash Fiction?
Flash fiction is any story that has a maximum of 1,000 words. It is also known as micro fiction, postcard fiction, short short story (though that is a mouthful!) and sudden fiction. [Read more…] about Flash Fiction – What is it?
It is hard to believe, sometimes at least, just how quickly another year has gone by. I make a point of taking some time out to review how my writing year has gone and what I’d like to see happen in the next one. I’ve found writing things down for this makes it more likely I will take at least some steps to try and achieve what is on my writing wish list.
Given last week’s post looked at Starting a Piece of Fiction, I thought it would be apt to write about ending the said piece of fiction. The beginning of a story has to set up interesting characters and a good premise to hook the reader in, but the ending must deliver on this.
I’ve often found starting a piece of fiction can be more problematic than finishing a first draft. How come? Knowing where to start is a crucial component to any story and every writer knows the opening lines, especially the first one itself, have to be strong enough to hook the readers in to want to read the rest of the tale. So no pressure then!
This may be a strange question for a fiction writer to ask but it’s not a bad thing to look into as it ties in closely with why write at all. I believe the creative arts as a whole are worth celebrating and supporting. Fiction writers, though, have the chance to show reflections on humanity’s behaviour all through the medium of entertaining stories.
It’s been a busy time of late. As well as going to the Association of Christian Writers (ACW) Autumn Gathering event in Rugby, literally the following week I was at The Hilt, taking part in the Book Fair.
I was pleased to see this back and while it was quieter than last year, it was great to meet writers from last year, meet new authors, and have a good chat with those I’ve known for a while, including our own Richard Hardie who was promoting his new book, Remember Remember, the third in his Temporal Detective Agency series for YA readers. (I’ve not been a YA for some considerable time but still love books like these and see no reason why my age should preclude me from reading them!).
It was such a pleasure to welcome back Jenny Sanders to Chandler’s Ford Today last week where we discussed her new devotional book, Polished Arrows. Devotionals are a specialised form of writing and she discussed the joys and challenges she faces here.
This week, Jenny is sharing thoughts on marketing and book launches. There are some great tips here for any writer thinking along these lines which may prove useful to you.
It’s a pleasure to welcome Jenny Sanders back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Jenny and I are connected through the Association of Christian Writers. We have written for Mom’s Favourite Reads. We now write regularly for Writers’ Narrative (on which I am also a copy editor. Good news – it is free to subscribe to – see the link for more).
As well as her children’s fiction, Jenny writes articles on writing. She also writes non-fiction books (Christian devotionals) and her latest is due out today, 31st May 2024. Her Polished Arrows is a follow up to her first non-fiction book, Spiritual Feasting, (both published by Instant Apostle).
I’m always interested in how writers combine writing fiction with non-fiction. The disciplines are different so managing to meet the demands of both is an interesting challenge.
Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure and privilege of presenting to an online history group a PowerPoint on Josephine Tey (author of The Daughter of Time) and Philippa Langley (co-author, with Michael Jones, of The Search for Richard III: The King’s Grave, and, more recently, The Princes in the Tower, where she is sole author).
I’ve often used time in fiction. I’ve sometimes used Time as a character. I sometimes have a story where a character has a certain amount of time in which to achieve their objective. I’ve also written from the viewpoint of time travelling aliens (as you do!). I’ve written the odd story as a diary format and even timed the entries written by the narrator. I’ve also written historical flash fiction where the setting is back in time. All great fun to do.
My, how does the time fly! It’s time for some festive flash fiction and news about my writing year. It’s been a busy but fun one.
Your lead character is the star of your story. Their actions are a result of needing something (to fulfil a quest is one example) but there are obstacles. This includes other characters who are not there to make life easy. Cause and consequence; conflict and resolution – these are the foundations of any story. Your lead character drives the action.
Cheating a bit here, are we, Allison? Maybe!
I knew X would be a tricky letter for an alphabetical series on fiction! Options were X-Ray Vision and Other Specialist Skills in Fiction. Or X-Rated in Fiction. The latter was out. Not to my taste. Not my field. Not for a family friendly online magazine! I think X-Ray vision is cheating as it limits the genres I can talk about! Just how often will X-ray vision crop up in our stories?
So (e)xcellence in fiction it is and I hope you send comments in about what you think counts as this in your book (pun intended!). Is it the plots. the characters, or the author’s style?
Now this topic could easily fill a book or several so this post can only be a brief overview. I focus on a few things which I have found so useful.
