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Journeys in Fiction

March 18, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Some images directly from Pixabay. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos and one photo from Allison Symes.

This post is timely because by the time this goes out I will be up in Scotland again for the Scottish Association of Writers’ Conference. I’m running a flash fiction workshop there and have judged one of their competitions (the Margaret McConnell Woman’s Short Story).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I hope to interrupt my In Fiction series to report back on how things went soon. And yes I loved the train journey (Waterloo, King’s Cross, Edinburgh, Croy) – the scenery on much of the route is amazing. It’s the second time I’ve been up to Scotland in the last few months as I was at the Brechin and Angus Book Festival back in November.

[Read more…] about Journeys in Fiction

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Tags: am reading, am writing, characterisation, creative writing, internal journeys, journeys in fiction, point of change, questions

Imagery In Fiction

March 11, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images supplied by Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

They say that a picture is a thousand words but don’t discount those words. For one thing, one thousand words is a flash fiction story! An artist paints with oils, watercolours etc., whereas a writer paints with words. And those words can make a powerful impact on readers.

By inventing characters readers can identify with, we can use those characters to convey deep truths in what we get them to say and how we get them to act. We can also use those characters as representations. Allegorical tales are the classical example of this.

[Read more…] about Imagery In Fiction

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Tags: am reading, am writing, book covers, fiction, imagery, painting with words, red herrings, specific details

A Poem by John Roedel – “In the face of war, I’m so small – yet, love is so big.”

March 4, 2022 By Janet Williams 3 Comments

Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay

Recently a friend shared this poem by John Roedel. What an incredible poem. It moves me so deeply.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, I hope this poem gives you hope and comfort.

In the face of war, we feel helpless. We can’t do many things. Yet we can love. We can become a force of peace in the world. Thank you John Roedel for this beautiful, eloquent poem.

I can’t make the
world be peaceful
I can’t stall tanks
from roaring down streets
I can’t prevent children
from having to hide in bunkers
I can’t convince the news to
stop turning war into a video game
I can’t silence the sound of bombs
tearing neighborhoods apart
I can’t transform a guided missile
into a bouquet of flowers
I can’t make a warmonger
have an ounce of empathy

[Read more…] about A Poem by John Roedel – “In the face of war, I’m so small – yet, love is so big.”

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Tags: creative writing, good neighbours, hope, poetry

Human Behaviour In Fiction

March 4, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

One aspect of fiction, whatever its genre or length, is it does reflect on our behaviour. It isn’t flattering either, most of the time. The classic fairytales, for example, call evil out for what it is and the kind of evil shown in them (such as cruelty to step children) is something we see only far too often for real.

Stories tell us what we know. Even in the most fantastical of settings, there will be something we can identify with (otherwise, why would we read such things?).

And human behaviour is the direct reason for any story. We use stories to try to make sense of the world we know (and perhaps more than ever in crisis times such as the one we’re going through now with the situation in Ukraine).

[Read more…] about Human Behaviour In Fiction

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Tags: am writing, big themes, characters, creative writing, fairytales, fiction, heroes, human behaviour in fiction, stories, villains

March Gardening Tips by Wellie

March 3, 2022 By Wellie Leave a Comment

bloom image by Pexels via Pixabay

Dead head daffodils as they fade, but allow the foliage to die down naturally.

Plant in the garden any forced bulbs that you had growing indoors such as hyacinths and daffodils so that they can add more colour to your garden next year. Feed borders with a general purpose fertiliser, but feed acid loving shrubs such as azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias with an ericaceous fertiliser.

bloom image by Pexels via Pixabay [Read more…] about March Gardening Tips by Wellie

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Tags: Chandler’s Ford community, gardening, gardening tips, hobby, how-to, nature

Geography in Fiction

February 25, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Geography may seem unglamorous but it plays a major role in many great stories. The Lord of the Rings would not work without its geography of The Shire, Rohan, Gondor and, of course, Mordor. (I’ve always loved the map at the start of the book too).

Wuthering Heights wouldn’t be the same without its geography and The Hound of the Baskervilles would not work nearly so well if the story wasn’t set in a bleak setting (to intensify the mystery as to what the hound is given it’s easier to hide something monstrous on a moor!).

[Read more…] about Geography in Fiction

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Tags: am reading, am writing, changing role of geography in fiction, cli-fi. fiction, geographical impact on stories, geography in fiction, implying setting, settings

Frameworks in Fiction

February 18, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images directly from Pixabay.

The definition of framework is an essential supporting structure of a building, vehicle, or object. Well, that can be extended out to include stories. They need a structure to make them work.

[Read more…] about Frameworks in Fiction

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Tags: am writing, creative writing, fiction, frameworks, planning your writing

Reducing Waste – local zero-waste shops

February 17, 2022 By chippy minton 3 Comments

Has it ever crossed your mind that a lot of waste is not needed?  Well, obviously it’s not needed; that’s why it’s waste!  I don’t mean that. What I mean is that it wasn’t really needed in the first place.

Take tea for example.  Loose or bags.  It comes in a carton, but when we get it home from the supermarket, we pour it into a caddy and throw the carton away.  It’s served its purpose; it is of no more use to us.  It doesn’t even have cards for us to collect any more.

Or liquid soap – and other cleaning products.  When empty, we replace with a new bottle, and throw the old one away.  OK, we’re careful to put it in the recycling bin, but that still uses energy.  And you can’t recycle the trigger mechanism.

Wouldn’t it be so much better if we could just refill our tea caddies and soap dispensers, and cut out the unnecessary packaging? [Read more…] about Reducing Waste – local zero-waste shops

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Tags: environment, local businesses, recycling, shopping

parkrun rewards for persistence

February 13, 2022 By chippy minton Leave a Comment

unofficial 250 parkrun tee shirt

Almost 7 years since my first parkrun (though parkrun was suspended for 70 weeks of that time), I have recently completed my 250th parkrun.  That’s 250 Saturdays, plus a few Christmas Days and New Year’s Days, that I’ve got up early enough to run 5km at 09:00 am.

unofficial 250 parkrun tee shirt
Chippy models his home-made celebratory shirt before his 250th parkrun

That’s some persistence – and a milestone.  But a milestone that is easy to achieve.  All you have to do is keep going back. [Read more…] about parkrun rewards for persistence

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Tags: community, Eastleigh, Eastleigh parkrun, health, sports

Endings in Fiction

February 11, 2022 By Allison Symes 7 Comments

Image Credit:  Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos though some are direct from Pixabay.

A story of whatever length has to have an opening which hooks the reader in but the closing line must deliver on the promise of the set-up at the start of the tale. Weak endings leave a reader feeling cheated (aka the “why did I bother reading that” scenario and no writer wants that).

[Read more…] about Endings in Fiction

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Tags: am reading, am writing, circular stories, classic stories, creative writing, fiction, impact on readers, linear stories, story endings, twist endings

Dialogue in Fiction

February 4, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Dialogue is something I love writing though I use it more in short stories (1500 words plus) than in my flash fiction (1000 words maximum).

[Read more…] about Dialogue in Fiction

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Tags: am writing, characterisation, creative writing, dialogue, internal dialogue, use of swearing by characters

February Gardening Tips by Wellie

February 3, 2022 By Wellie Leave a Comment

Bulbous and tuberous plants kept in containers over winter can get damp and rot. Pots of dahlias, agapanthus and lilies should be stacked on their sides, one on top of the other, in a cold greenhouse to stop moisture getting into the roots. When the weather improves in February or March, stand them the right way up, water well and start them growing again.

Dahlias image by emkanicepic via Pixabay
Dahlias image by emkanicepic via Pixabay

Cut back herbaceous perennials and deciduous grasses left for winter interest before new growth commences. Prune shrubs hard such as Cornus and Salix grown for winter coloured stems. Winter flowering jasmine can be pruned after it has finished flowering. Prune Wisteria and Campsis by cutting back side shoots to 2 or 3 buds. Prune late summer flowering shrubs such as Buddleja, Lavatera and Fuchsia hard. [Read more…] about February Gardening Tips by Wellie

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Tags: Chandler’s Ford community, gardening, gardening tips, hobby, how-to, nature

Year of the Tiger – Celebrating Friendship

January 31, 2022 By Janet Williams 4 Comments

For those of you who celebrate Chinese New Year, I wish you good luck, happiness and health in the New Year.

In the past two weeks I had afternoon tea with Allison Symes, had coffee with Mike Sedgwick at Dovetail Cafe, and on Saturday, I had a Chinese New Year meal with chippy minton and his wife Annie in Eastleigh. Of course I also saw chippy’s unique gnome in his front garden.

 

gnome restoration 11
Chippy’s treasured gnome

 

Our New Year meal
Our New Year meal

[Read more…] about Year of the Tiger – Celebrating Friendship

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Tags: Chinese, Chinese New Year, community, culture, entertainment, music, tradition

Updates to the Highway Code

January 28, 2022 By chippy minton 2 Comments

highway code updates

The latest version of The Highway Code is being published tomorrow (29 January).  There are (depending on which report you read), 8 new rules and 49 updated rules – but some of these updates are to clarify wording and/or where one underlying principle affects more than one rule.

highway code updates

Of course, much of the Highway Code is a guide rather than prescriptive.  However, to paraphrase the opening paragraph of the first Highway Code: “although breaking any of these rules is not in itself an offence, it will make it so hot for you that you won’t know the difference.” [Read more…] about Updates to the Highway Code

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Tags: cycling, driving, highway code, Traffic

Character Types in Fiction

January 28, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images direct from Pixabay.

I’m sure this topic could go on for several weeks but I thought a whistlestop tour of some of the major character types you’re likely to come across would be fun.

[Read more…] about Character Types in Fiction

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Tags: am reading, am writing, author take, books, character types, creative writing, fiction, genre fiction, heroes, minor characters, stories, villains

Should Real Tigers be Used as Props?

January 24, 2022 By Janet Williams 2 Comments

Should real tigers be used in commercial adverts?

Gucci has used real tigers in their recent adverts celebrating the Year of the Tiger. It seems the tigers have been trained or tamed to be used as props, accessories, and friendly pets. These adverts really have reminded me of the adorable tiger and his friendship with the little girl Sophie, in The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.

Should real tigers be used in commercial adverts?
Should real tigers be used in commercial adverts?

In the commercial adverts, actual tigers roamed the scenes, and joined a group of friends for high tea, in various spaces of a luxurious, retro-style hotel. See this report. [Read more…] about Should Real Tigers be Used as Props?

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Tags: Chinese, Chinese New Year, community, culture, entertainment, event, history, tradition

A Story about Tiger

January 23, 2022 By Janet Williams 7 Comments

Image of a tiger by JL G from Pixabay.

As the Lunar New Year (Tuesday, 1 February 2022) is just around the corner, I thought I would share little stories about tiger as it’s going to the the Year of the Tiger.

In the west, the tigers I’m most familiar with are Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, and Hobbes, Calvin’s stuffed tiger and best friend. These are friendly tigers.

The tigers in the Chinese context seem to be mighty and ferocious. They are not there to ‘be kind’ or friendly.

Image of a tiger by JL G from Pixabay.
Image credit: Image of a tiger by JL G from Pixabay.

Here is a widely known story between a fox and a tiger in the idiom 狐假虎威(hú jiǎ hǔ wēi): [Read more…] about A Story about Tiger

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Tags: Chinese, Chinese New Year, community, culture, entertainment, event, history, tradition

2022 Chinese New Year Celebration in Southampton – Sunday 30/1/2022 at Westquay Shopping Centre

January 22, 2022 By SO53 News 5 Comments

The 2022 Chinese New Year Celebration in Southampton will be on Sunday 30/1/2022 at Westquay Shopping Centre, from 11am to 3pm.

The Chinese Association of Southampton and the University of Southampton Confucius Institute once again bring the traditional Chinese New Year celebration to Southampton to welcome the Year of the Tiger 2022.

Chinese New Year 2022 falls on Tuesday, the 1st of February 2022. The celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on the 15th of February.

Southampton Celebrating Chinese New Year 2022
Southampton Celebrating Chinese New Year 2022

Year of the Tiger – from 01.02.2022 – 21.01.2023

[Read more…] about 2022 Chinese New Year Celebration in Southampton – Sunday 30/1/2022 at Westquay Shopping Centre

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Tags: Chinese, Chinese New Year, community, culture, entertainment, event, history, music, Southampton, tradition

Best Friends in Fiction

January 21, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Best friends, often otherwise known as sidekicks, have an invaluable role to play in fiction. They shore up, sometimes literally, the lead character who is struggling with their task. The most famous example of this is Sam Gamgee from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings who did carry both Frodo Baggins and the Ring of Power for a while as the story progressed.

Best friends are there for moral support too and to be a sounding ground for the lead character. Well, we all need someone to sound off with at times, right? And characters in stories reflect us and our behaviour and attitudes (for good and ill), so this aspect is important.

[Read more…] about Best Friends in Fiction

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Tags: best friends in fiction, characteristics of lead and sidekick characters, classic detective fiction, Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee, Hastings and Poirot, Holmes and Watson, Jeeves and Wooster, Morse and Lewis, P.G. Wodehouse, sidekick characters, spotting the sidekick character, The Lord of the Rings

Gnomadic Restoration

January 17, 2022 By chippy minton 9 Comments

gnome restoration 07

I’ve been doing my own version of The Repair Shop this week.

Many years ago, when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, a neighbour gave us two unpainted concrete gnomes.  Despite my mother’s protestations, my father cleaned them up, gave them a lick of paint, and found a home for them in the garden.  They became part of the family.  We even named them after the neighbours (affectionally, I hasten to add).  One of the signs of spring was “the time to get the gnomes out of shed”.

two gnomes - black and white image
This is the oldest photo I have of the Chippy family gnomes. I’m not sure why it is black and white – I’m pretty sure colour film was in common use when it was taken!

So, fast forward half a century, and one of the gnomes is now in my safe keeping.  The other, alas, suffered a tragic and fatal encounter with a patio several years ago.

Although my father carefully repainted them every year or two, I have never done so.  The gnome was beginning to look a little shabby.

gnome restoration 01

gnome restoration 02

Time for some renovation.

First off, after a good clean and scrape of loose paint, a bit of skull reconstructive surgery was required.

gnome restoration 03

gnome restoration 04

With most of the paint removed, I had to work out what was what by the shape of the concrete.  I started with the traditional red top.

gnome restoration 05

It was then that I noticed the bow at the back, indicating an apron.  So the blue paint came out for that.

gnome restoration 06

Green trousers and a brown log to sit on followed

gnome restoration 07

And finally, the face, hands and trug

gnome restoration 07

gnome restoration 08

He’s now ready to go back outside and protect the garden from whatever it is that gnomes protect gardens from.  I think he deserves a prominent position, such as near the water butt.

gnome restoration 11

gnome restoration 12

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Tags: arts and crafts, gardening
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