I remember as a child sometimes being allowed to mix up whatever Mum was preparing in her big brown earthenware bowl and not just for Stir Up Sunday.
But writers need to mix things up too. Why and how?
The Chameleons Say Hello – Part 1
The Chameleon Theatre Group have been posting a series of small interviews. They and I thought it a good idea to compile these in some articles for CFT. Hope you enjoy! These will hopefully be spread out over a few weeks between each one. Many thanks as ever to The Chameleons for the photos.
Oh and don’t forget that when you go to one of their excellent productions and take part in things like the raffle, proceeds go to a nominated charity. So have a great night out and support a good cause at the same time. Now that’s the kind of multitasking I’ve always got time for!
And now over to The Chameleons for Part 1 in what we hope will be an enjoyable series.
Local Author News: Richard Hardie and Introducing Francesca Tyer
I’m pleased to share a news update from local author, Richard Hardie, and to introduce new Authors Reach author, Francesca Tyer.
Richard and Francesca have celebrated World Book Day in the best way imaginable – by talking about books and stories to school children. Encourage a love of reading in the young, hopefully that love will stay with them for life. (I know it did for me!) See both links for World Book Day to find out more. . See Richard’s report below.
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Landmarks With Meaning
What are your favourite landmarks and why have you chosen them?
Introducing Paula Readman: What Books Mean to Her
Paula Readman and I have publishers in common. We’ve both been published by Bridge House Publishing and Cafelit. We’ve shared the great joy recently of both of us having two stories in The Best of Cafelit 8 and also a story each in Nativity, the most recent books published by Bridge House. Naturally we are both keen on the independent small presses!
Paula is going from strength to strength and is starting 2020 off in great style with a recently released novella and a short story collection to come later in the year but more on that in a moment.
I learned a long time ago if someone makes something look easy, that same someone will have worked very hard for years to get to that point. This is true for Paula and she’ll share more about this too.
[Read more…] about Introducing Paula Readman: What Books Mean to Her
The Long and The Short of It – Reading
The major joys of reading are:-
1. There is at least one form to suit everyone – short fiction, long, or anything in between, and non-fiction with its infinite variety of forms from the essay to the book.
2. There is at least one genre to suit everyone – fantasy, non-fiction (think of the wealth of topics in this alone!), historical, crime etc.
3. Reading is one of the forms of escapism I love most; the other is music. Even when reading non-fiction, you are escaping the cares of the world temporarily to find out what you need to know or to improve your knowledge of the topic you’re reading.
Spring Approaches
I know January seemed to last for ever. It always does. I’ve never understood why some months have five weeks and others only four. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to have the same number of weeks per month and perhaps have thirteen months a year? On the plus side, it does mean February will fly by, bringing us into March and the start of that wonderful season, Spring.
The link takes you to a site which explains the historical reasons for the months as we know them, but I still think it is bizarre you can have five Sundays in some months and others get the “bog standard” four! To my mind, something hasn’t been “divvied up” properly.
Local Author News – Allison Symes – Podcast Interview by Wendy H. Jones
Further to my CFT post about Interviews on Friday, I am delighted to share the link with a podcast interview of yours truly by Scottish crime writer, Wendy H Jones.
Wendy has started a new podcast called The Writing and Marketing Show and it does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak. (Her podcast host is Buzzsprout – love that name!).
Naturally I am talking about my great love, flash fiction. I also share some thoughts on competitions and other tips I hope will prove useful to people. I’m Episode 4 – How to Write Flash Fiction – but do check the other episodes out. If you want insights into the writing world, this show is a great place for that. The link at the end of this post will take you straight into the Flash Fiction episode but there is an All Episodes link on the top left hand corner of that page to take you to the others.
Episodes come out on Wednesdays. I use Stitcher for listening to podcasts, which is something new to me, but, given I’ve always loved radio, is a natural progression. I’m mainly using a phone app for this but have used it on my PC too. I always like flexibility of form!
A big thank you to Wendy for inviting me on to her show. It was my first experience of being interviewed for a podcast and it was great fun to take part, though both of us were afflicted by the dreaded lurgy. Still as the old saying goes, the show must go on!
Episode 4 – How to Write Flash Fiction
Related Post:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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Interviews
There are interviews and there are interviews. I don’t think anyone likes going for the job related ones, necessary though they are. I think they can be some of the most stressful situations most of us will face at at some point (or have done).
Writing Interviews
In my line interviews are wonderful. When I interview authors for CFT, I like to discover what inspires their writing and for guests to share tips. The writing community is a supportive one and we all learn from one another.
Interviews are also a a great opportunity to give “shout outs” to writers whose work we love. Every writer has to do their own publicity and marketing. As a certain supermarket would say, “every little helps”.
Interviews can show readers what influences their favourite authors (and I love reading writer interviews on those grounds alone. Every writer is also a reader. We all have our favourite writers. Finding out what inspires them is always fascinating to me. I also end up expanding my To Be Read list!).
Many thanks to all who have interviewed me (and yes I am available for bookings but not for panto. I leave the latter to the wonderful people at The Chameleon Theatre Group!).
One thing most writers learn early on is we never stop learning and you never know when a particular tip is going to prove to be useful to you too. I’ve discovered new competitions and markets thanks to colleagues both directly and via interviews they’ve given.
Being On The Receiving End of an Interview
Sometimes I’m on the other end of the interview, which is always great fun (see links at the end of this post), and have been again this week. The crime writer, Wendy H Jones, who writes, amongst many other things, the DI Shona McKenzie series, has interviewed me about flash fiction for her podcast, The Writing and Marketing Show. The show will go live next Wednesday, 12th February and I’ll share further details in a short Local Author News post sometime next week.
It was great fun to take part in this and many thanks to Wendy for inviting me on to her show.
My big worries for being interviewed by Wendy? I was recovering from a cold and was hoping my voice wouldn’t give out! Secondly, I’d given Lady her big Kong toy with treats to find in it in the hope it would keep her quiet for the duration of the interview which was done over the PC. Technology is a wonderful thing but it does nothing for woofing dogs!
I don’t know how many authors have to worry about keeping their border collie quiet during an interview but I am one of them! The great irony is Lady isn’t a big barker as such, she usually saves that for the postie etc, but I know how Murphy’s Law for Writers works and I wasn’t taking any chances here!
Was I successful? Yes, Lady was a very good girl BUT Murphy’s Law for Writers did kick in. Just as Wendy and I were getting on with the recording, I started coughing! Now I had thought to drink plenty before the interview so my throat didn’t dry out but lesson learned here: always have a glass of water to hand during the interview should you need it.
I was talking with Wendy, about my great love, flash fiction, and it was such a pleasure to do so. The secret when talking about something you love is to show why you are keen. It remains my belief that, regardless of what type of writing people do, flash fiction should come into it somewhere. Why? Because it teaches you so much about the craft of writing, especially editing and placement of words, but for more on that, do give the podcast a listen next week
When I Set the Questions
I’m looking forward to sharing more interviews with authors later in the year but for those, and ones I’ve already carried out, what I aim for is to ask a series of questions that will encourage my guest to talk and expand on the topic I’ve set them. What you don’t want are simple Yes/No answers.
So this is where the research into your guest comes in! Most authors have an Amazon Author Central page now (and I am going to be very cheeky and put mine in here).
So it is easy enough to check out an author’s back catalogue and get a feel for their writing from that. Naturally you are very welcome to browse mine!
The best research though, certainly the most fun part, is reading some of your guests’ books and stories. All writers know you need to read well to inspire your own imagination, it is literally feeding your mind, but where I had been falling short is in reading contemporary fiction. I don’t have that issue any more!
Indeed it is a great pleasure to have a shelf full of books at home written by friends and I look forward to expanding on that collection in due course! If said books are not on my physical book shelves, they are on my my electronic ones. No worries about overloading your shelving capacity on the Kindle!
The research itself will inevitably trigger ideas for further questions. What I try to achieve is make it feel as if a reader is eavesdropping on an interesting conversation between interviewer and interviewee. For writing ones, this is a great opportunity to share information and, sometimes sound warnings against dodgy competitions and the like. I am aware now of how much I would’ve liked to have known when I was starting out so it is a great pleasure to pass useful information like that on. I am a great believer in paying it forwards and backwards. I’ve had the benefit of this and know how useful it is.
I am always happy when I find out a new writer has been warned off vanity publishers, rip off competitions and the like. The trouble is when you are starting out you really don’t know what to look for, yet alone where. Writer interviews can be a great help there.
Also I know, as I’ve done this, enjoying an interesting writer interview makes it far more likely you’ll check their Facebook page out. A scroll down their posts may well also reveal useful hints and tips – I do on mine and loads of authors do this, but again when starting out you need a way in to finding what you need to know.
Further along the writing road, writer interviews give people ideas as to the sort of questions they might face one day, when they too have books out etc., and you can start preparing for that. It is never too early to do that kind of prep incidentally.
What I think makes for a good interview
A good interview is never about the interviewer. The interviewer’s job is to encourage their guest to open up and share interesting insights as to their work. A good guest will respond well to those questions and expand on them.
For example, if I’m asked to say how I discovered flash fiction writing, I can give a straight factual answer, but I would then lead on into saying why I love the form and what some of its advantages are.
Why is a brilliant question for an interviewer to ask. You can’t give a Yes/No answer to that one. There has to be some sort of explanation and that should trigger further questions and lo and behold you have a great conversation going.
When Interviews Go Wrong
Of course interviews can end up going horribly wrong. I suspect many of you will remember this one.
I strongly suspect neither Jeremy Paxman nor Michael Howard expected this would become a comedy moment in interviewing!
Having said that, this one was meant to be funny!
One of James Herriott’s wonderful books was It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet. There is a case to be made, I think, for having something called It Shouldn’t Happen to An Interviewer!
General Etiquette
I loathe it with a guest is rude to their interviewer. Likewise, I loathe it when the interviewer is clearly trying to get their agenda across and doesn’t give their guest a chance to speak properly. (It is one reason why I avoid political interviews. The day I want my blood pressure to go up significantly will be the day I tune in…). As for guests, you should try to answer the interviewer’s question. It does say more about you if you don’t, as Mr H no doubt discovered.
Getting the balance right in an interview isn’t easy. I like interviews that open up a window into the world of the interviewee and I should enjoy what I see there. Ideally I’ll learn something interesting too. Is the day of the interview over given so much is done online these days? No. The style and format might change but that’s all.
Podcasting for example is becoming ever more popular. The mission to entertain and explain is a good one to follow, whether it is in print, using audio or video etc., and not one that should go out of fashion. Nobody can know all that there is to know and interviews are a great way of expanding your knowledge.
Where I’ve Been Interviewed
A big thank you to Jacci Gooding, Jennifer C Wilson, and Val Penny for their interviews of me. I share the links below.
https://jaccigoodingauthor.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/interviewing-allison/
https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com/2019/09/24/spotlight-relishing-flash-fiction-with-allison-symes/
https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com/2017/10/08/falling-into-flash-fiction/
https://bookreviewstoday.info/2019/01/09/the-5-questions-about-my-writing-by-guest-author-allison-symes/
https://bookreviewstoday.info/2018/07/18/my-writing-and-me-by-guest-author-allison-symes/
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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Review: Chameleon Theatre Group – Atlantis – The Panto
Image Credit: A big thank you to The Chameleon Theatre Group for kind permission to use their excellent photos. The images of the programme cover and the cast (from the pantomime programme) were taken by Allison Symes.
What do Camille Saint-Saens, Eddie Cochran, Queen, Bob Marley, and Sir Elton John have in common?
Not an awful lot, you may be thinking, but they did all have their music included in Atlantis – The Panto, which was recently staged by the ever excellent Chameleon Theatre Group.
I’ll share a song list later but the answer to my question tells you the music for the show was an eclectic mix, as it should be. There should be something for everyone to enjoy in a panto musically as well as in the jokes and storyline.
Atlantis – The Panto was written by Paul Reakes. It ran at the Ritchie Hall from Friday 17th – Saturday 25th January 2020, and was directed by Sheila Hardiman.
Janet and I went on Thursday, 24th January and a great time was had by all, one of many signs of a wonderful panto. I’ll share a few more signs later.
[Read more…] about Review: Chameleon Theatre Group – Atlantis – The Panto
Time Away
Time away from usual routines is a necessity. Whether it is for holidays, taking time out to go for a really good walk with the dog, time to think, to take a metaphorical deep breath and refresh your batteries, is vital.
Numbers Into Writing Will Go
Numbers in writing? What role do they play? In maths, obviously, but writing?
What possible role could they play in fiction, say? Surely there it is about the prose, how well the characters are created etc. Numbers turn up all over the place in writing.
Incidentally, the inspiration for the title comes from an old phrase hammered into me when I was learning division many moons ago at school. I had to look for numbers that “would go” into another number – e.g. 2 into 4 will go (twice!) and say 2 into 5 will go (twice but with 1 left over). Anyone else remember that style of teaching?
On to the use of numbers in fiction then…
Winter Trips
Image Credit: All pictures were taken by Allison Symes.
Do you enjoy days out over the winter months? I do.
Okay, I prefer them when it is not howling a gale and pouring down with rain, but there are usually enough of such winter days where I can get out and about fairly easily.
What I find the hardest to cope with is the lack of light at this time of year. It makes me feel tired so much earlier in the evening which can be a pain! I am looking forward to the longer evenings and it won’t be that long before we start noticing the evenings are gradually extending.
Beginnings
Happy New Year!
Letting Time Get On With It
I must admit the days when I saw the New Year in are long gone… I take the view now Time can get on without me nicely thank you while I have a decent sleep! After all, it does for the rest of the year.
What the New Year brings me is a new calendar and I usually go for a Border Collie one. The one I’ve got for 2020 has a picture of my favourite breed of dog for every day of the year, guaranteed to put a smile on my face every day of the year too!
It’s That Time of Year Again…
I hope 2019, despite all the upheaval, has been reasonably good for you and 2020 may prove to be better still. My favourite gag I’ve heard so far on the theme of the New Year is:
Why are shortsighted people looking forward to next year?
Answer: Because they will finally have 2020 vision”.
Okay… that one’s never going to win any awards…
As ever the last year seems to have flown by and it’s time to take a look at how things went, writing wise, this year.
What Makes A Good Story
How do you decide something is a good story? Do you judge that by the genre or by the quality of the characters?
For me, the latter is by far the most important criterion. Really good characters stay with you long after you’ve finished reading or listening to the story.
Friends and Traditions
This is the time of year when many traditions are upheld, of course, but I think the best involve getting together with friends to celebrate something you have in common.
For me, this winning combination works so well with the Bridge House Celebration Event held this year at St. John’s Church, Waterloo, in London on Saturday, 7th December 2019.
Trains
I love the train. I think it is one of the best inventions and I’ve throughly enjoyed trips on them and connected to them.
Progress and Success and How to Judge Them
My Oxford Compact dictionary defines progress as forward movement, advance, development, improvement and almost everyone seeks it in many areas of life. Despite the straightforward definition, it can be hard to define if you’ve achieved progress. Not everything can be measured… Even when it can be, progress can genuinely be slow. What matters overall is that there is some!
As for success, the dictionary defines it as accomplishment of aim, favourable outcome, attainment of wealth/fame etc.
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Why I Love History
I set a word count for my CFT posts. For this one it was vital. Why? Because I can go on at length about this topic!
Many an author loves history because history IS a story (of a nation, of individuals who changed a nation’s fate etc) and it can come into their stories too.
I also believe there is truth in the phrase if a nation forgets its history, it is destined to re-live it. I can think of several episodes in British history which are best kept to the pages of a history book!
And, of course, it is why we have Remembrance/Armistice Day. It is important to remember. We should learn the lessons of history. Sadly we so often don’t. But that’s not history’s fault. It is ours.