Chandler's Ford Today

Allison Symes

Fairytales and Pantomime

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Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Thought you would want to know, given the topic for this week’s post, that the font used in my Book Brush pictures is actually called Aladin! How apt! (Yes, US spelling here).

By the time this post goes out, Janet and I will have seen the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group, their annual pantomime. This time they have staged the classic fairytale, Sleeping Beauty.

I hope to share my review next week but thought I would look at the links between the classic fairytales and pantomime. They do seem like a match made in heaven – or at least a match made for the boards.

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Newsletter Tips

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Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

In the last two years, I’ve set up a monthly author newsletter, using the free Mailchimp plan to do so. As they say, other mailing programs are available (the other hugely popular one is MailerLite though there are others out there).

Given there is always plenty to do as a writer from getting those first drafts down to editing to getting your work out there somehow, and, of course, marketing, why bother with an author newsletter at all?

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New Year, New Writing Format for Val Penny

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Writers often mix up their writing formats. It keeps us versatile and is fun. It is fabulous for readers too.

One author who has done this again recently is Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, who is best known for her DCI Hunter Wilson series (also called the Edinburgh Crime Mysteries). Her latest book, Hunter’s Christmas and Other Stories, is Val’s first collection of short stories. It stars her lead character but also others, including characters new to Val herself.

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The Joys of Writing Dialogue

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Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

I love creating new characters and stories. The challenge is ongoing to come up with situations and people/other beings of choice which will hopefully grip me first and, later on, readers (hopefully).

But my favourite thing to write is dialogue. I literally put words into my characters’ mouths. That in itself is fun but it is when you get the words exactly right for the kind of character you’ve created, that is a wonderful feeling. It confirms I’ve got my character portrayal right.

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Approaching A New Year

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Image Credits:-
Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshot of December 2023 Writers’ Narrative magazine taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Images of me at the Book Fair at The Hilt taken by Richard Hardie – thanks, Richard. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for the photo of me at my editing workshop in Swanwick in August 2023.

First and foremost, may I start by wishing you all a Happy New Year.

How do you approach a new year? I think it is safe to say, given how 2020 turned out, many of us may approach the new time period with some trepidation. I know I do. But if I look at this from writing and reading viewpoints, the outlook is far more sunny!

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Allison Symes – Festive Writing and Round Up 2023

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Image Credits:-
A few this time! A huge thank you to Paula R.C. Readman, Debz Brown, Gill James, Nicole Fitton, Hannah Ruth Retallick, and Lynn Clement for supplying images of me reading at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event. Other photos from that event were taken by yours truly, Allison Symes, as were the screenshots. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. (Always tricky taking publicity shots of yourself as you’re trying to do the actual publicity work!).

There are a few things which have become almost like traditions for me in the run up to Christmas. Certainly they are lovely ways of finishing my writing year.

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Introducing Rosemary Johnson – Wodka, or Tea with Milk: The Road to Publication

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Rosemary Johnson for supplying the original images of Poland, author and book cover pics, which I’ve adjusted a little using Book Brush. Other images were created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It is always lovely to hear of friends’ publication news. I am so pleased to welcome Rosemary Johnson to Chandler’s Ford Today to share something of her writing journey with us, why persistence is such a useful quality in writing, and to tell us more about her book Wodka,or Tea With Milk.

Did you know that anything above fifty years old counts as historical now? That puts me in the historical “bin” for a start but for fiction, this applies to settings. The idea behind this is to take readers out of the events of their lifetime.

Rosemary’s book is set against the backdrop of the Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s and is just “outside” the historical fiction category if you follow the 50 years “rule”. Given I remember watching the news about Solidarity, I would have sworn it was long enough ago to count as historical but apparently not quite, again if you follow the 50 years “rule”.

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Remember, Remember: Author Interview – Richard Hardie

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Image Credits:-  
Many thanks to Richard Hardie for supplying author pics and book cover shots. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of Richard Hardie at the Book Fair at The Hilt in 2023. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Authors Reach logos taken from previous CFT articles (again thanks to Richard for those).

Back in February, I had the pleasure of interviewing Richard Hardie about his forthcoming book, Remember, Remember, the third in his Temporal Detective Series.

The series is aimed at Young Adults. I am glad to say that many of us who no longer quality in that category, and have been excluded for some time, also find these books a fantastic and enjoyable read. One of the joys of Young Adult fiction is that it makes an excellent gateway into adult fiction – and that gateway can work both ways!

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Editing Tips

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Image Credits:-
Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. A huge thank you to Julia Pattison for taking the image of me at my editing workshop at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Screenshot taken by me, Allison Symes. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

I love editing, almost as much as I love creative writing. There is nothing to beat the initial creative spark and the satisfaction of getting your draft down on screen or paper (though I admit I’ve written directly to screen for some time now). But editing that work, improving it, giving it a much better chance “out there” is also a joy.

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Triggering Writing Ideas

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Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One image directly from Pixabay.

As I write a lot of flash fiction and short stories, as well as posts like this, I always need to find ways of coming up with ideas. It is also sensible to have a variety of methods to find ideas because (a) it keeps things interesting for you as the writer and (b) you don’t run the risk of becoming stale.

Why the latter? If you only use one or two methods to trigger ideas, at some point you will find the well you draw from dries up! Your wells of inspiration need to be topped up continually and using different ways to come up with ideas helps with that. Also this approach gives you spare wells! That to my mind is always a good idea in itself. It also keeps you on your creative toes, which is another good thing.

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The Importance of Remembering

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Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One image directly from Pixabay and used on previous CFT post.

Remembering matters. There are some things we dare not forget. I believe in the truth of the saying those who forget history are destined to relive it. It is an honour and privilege to join in with the Acts of Remembrance for Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. The television and radio coverage is moving (as it should be).

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Stories Based On Stories

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Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Images of book covers from Bridge House Publishing. Many thanks to Dawn Kentish Knox and Paula R C Readman for their images of me at previous Bridge House Publishing Celebration events. Am looking forward to trying to get some more photos – the event is a great way to celebrate books out.

I was sorry to hear The Chameleon Theatre Group had to cancel their production of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters (based on the play written by Stephen Briggs who wrote the Discworld plays with Terry Pratchett’s blessing).

As well as looking forward to seeing my first Discworld play, I was especially looking forward to this story as it is a strong one and a classic example of a wonderful tale based on another one. Wyrd Sisters is based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth but with the Discworld version, it is the witches (Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick) who are the heroines.

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Scene Setting

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Image Credits: Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Northumberland photo taken by me, Allison Symes. Images of my book covers from Chapeltown Books.

Scene setting is one of the invisible “tools” a writer uses to make a convincing story though it can apply to non-fiction work too. What it involves is working out what a reader needs to know and then figuring out the best way of getting that across.

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Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – The Joy of Writing Groups and Workshops

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Jennifer C Wilson for author/book/writing circle pictures. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots and images from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is with great pleasure I welcome back Jennifer C Wilson to Chandler’s Ford Today. Jennifer is the writer of the Kindred Spirits series which crosses history with ghost stories. She also writes historical and romantic fiction (The Warrior’s Prize, The Last Plantagenet amongst others) and has written non-fiction book too (A Novel Approach). She has also contributed to many anthologies.

Jennifer also runs a writing group – the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle (NTWC) – so for this post, we will look at the joys and hard work behind doing that and why groups can be so beneficial to writers, regardless of where they are “at” in their writing journey. There is also a National Association of Writers’ Groups – individuals as well as groups can join. I share the link further down.

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Author Interview: Val Penny – Hunter’s Secret, Advice on Writing a Series, and Blog Tours

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Image Credits:- Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Many thanks to Val Penny for supplying book and author photos and some fabulous shots of Edinburgh. Photos of The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is always a joy to welcome authors to Chandler’s Ford Today and it is especially lovely to welcome back Scottish crime writer, Val Penny. I interviewed Val in June. She is a busy soul with a new book out and a new role at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick as well.

She also has huge experience of blog tours which form a major marketing “foundation” for many authors when it comes to launching new books. More on that shortly. Val’s latest book is Hunter’s Secret, the latest in her fabulous DCI Hunter Wilson series (also known as the Edinburgh Crime Mysteries so no prizes for guessing where the setting is!).

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The Writing Community

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Image Credits:-
Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Many thanks to Julia Pattison for taking the image of me at my editing workshop at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Many thanks to Wendy H Jones for supplying the Writers’ Narrative image (which I’ve added text to). Screenshot taken by me, Allison Symes.

One of the joys of the writing community is it is supportive. Given most of the time you are at your desk, writing alone, having your fair share of rejections or not hearing back on competition entries and so on, that support is wonderful and vital. We all need a lift at times.

As well as writing events and conferences, which are fabulous ways to get to know other writers, there are a number of writing communities online. There are monthly groups which meet up in person such as the Hampshire Writers’ Society, which meets in Winchester.

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Quizzing Your Characters

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Image Credits:-
Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshot re Hannah Kate’s Hannah’s Bookshelf show on North Manchester FM was taken by me, Allison Symes.

I can guess what you’re thinking. How can you quiz characters, which are literally figments of my imagination?

Fair point but I find it a useful way to work out what my characters are made of before I put them into a story. I need to know who they are before I work out what they’re going to be getting up to in my flash fiction or short stories.

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Favourite Supporting Characters

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Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One image directly from Pixabay.

Supporting characters in stories have much the same role as supporting actors do. Without them, the story is incomplete. They add richness and depth to a story too, especially if they are involved in the sub-plots in novellas and novels. But their task is to either help or hinder the lead characters in their task. They don’t overshadow the leading character either.

For a villainous character, their supporting character can help increase the difficulties faced by the hero/heroine. That in turn increases the tension in the story and the risks of failure for the hero/heroine. For a more noble character, their supporting characters can help them achieve their objective quicker and limit the risks faced by the lead and increase their chances of success.

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Getting Lines Right

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Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Writers are often advised, rightly so, to study renowned books with famous opening lines. The idea is to demonstrate an excellent opening line which will hook the reader with an intriguing premise, an interesting character and/or setting, and so the reader will read on to find out what happens.

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