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Author Interview: Jenny Sanders The Polished Arrows of Non-Fiction Writing – Part 1

May 31, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jenny Sanders for supplying book and author pictures. Other images from Unsplash and Pixabay (forwarded by Jenny Sanders). Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

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.

Tags: Association of Christian Writers, Christian writing, devotional writing, hybrid publishers, Instant Apostle, Jenny Sanders, non-fiction writing, Polished Arrows

Decisions

May 24, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Every story focuses on a decision. At some point a character has to choose whether or not to act on a situation they’re facing. What they decide to do has immense consequences for that story.

[Read more…] about Decisions

Tags: am writing, character decision, creative writing, decisions in writing, marketing, networking, social media, writing career decisions, writing community

Journeys

May 17, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

By the time this goes live on Chandler’s Ford Today, I shall be packing up after a lovely holiday in Scotland with my husband and Lady and preparing to have a long journey home again. So with that in mind, I thought I would look at journeys in writing.

[Read more…] about Journeys

Tags: am writing, creative writing, journeys in fiction, journeys in non-fiction, the character journey, The Lord of the Rings, the writing journey

Questions and Answers In Writing

May 10, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Questions are something I often use in my writing. For my non-fiction work, they often act as an underlying theme. I have been known to use them as titles too. For fiction, again I use them for titles and themes. In this case though I am getting my character(s) to answer the question. In my non-fiction work I’m answering it through the conclusion I come to at the end but I show my “workings” along the way.

Tags: am writing, beginnings middles and ends, creative writing, fiction, non-fiction, questions and answers as structure, questions in fiction, questions in non-fiction, structure

Fryern Funtasia Chandler’s Ford 2024

May 6, 2024 By Janet Williams 3 Comments

Once again Fryern Funtasia was held during the May Bank Holiday Monday, at Fryern Recreation Ground. Did you have a good time? Yes we did despite the rain.

You can imagine the organisation of this event was a mammoth task and it was so wonderful to see so many people and animals, and so many stalls, games, and activities.

Some children sang some songs about the ‘sunshine’ and don’t we love these children from Fryern schools?

Thanks to Chandler’s Ford Parish Council and Event sponsors – TMT Legal Services are supporting this year’s event, along with
National Lottery Community Fund,
Infinity Playgrounds,
Dripool Ltd,
Vitaplay
and A&A.
(Source – Chandler’s Ford Parish Council)

Below are some photos taken before the rain. Let’s start with some animals –

Tags: Chandler's Ford Parish Council, Chandler’s Ford community, charity, community, days out, Eastleigh Borough Council, event, Fryern Funtasia, Fryern Recreation Ground, fundraising, local interest, Methodist Church, review, social

Review: The Chameleon Theatre Group – Waiting For Gateaux

May 3, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

A huge thank you to The Chameleons as ever for kind permission to use their excellent photos. Screenshots from The Chameleons’ Facebook page and website were taken by me, Allison Symes. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Also a huge thank you to Katrina Lush for kind permission to use her photo of the Slimming World Yes You Can sign placed next to The Chameleons’ Waiting For Gateaux sign at Ritchie Hall recently. Katrina, like me, is a member of the Slimming World group that meets here. This photo went up on the local SW Facebook page and gave us all a huge laugh. I think it is excellent product placement for Slimming World and The Chameleons.

It was a joy to be back at the Ritchie Hall with Janet to see the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Company. Their latest show, Waiting for Gateaux, intrigued me the moment I heard about it. My first thought was this must be more fun than Waiting for Godot. I was right. I was surprised though to find a story behind the laughs which was often moving. More on that shortly.

Tags: amateur theatre, local theatre, Ritchie Hall, The Chameleon Theatre Group, Waiting For Gateaux

My Top Five Writing Exercises

April 26, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I love writing exercises as I’ve shared before in previous posts (see Related Posts below). Writing exercises encourage lateral thinking. I’ve had far more story ideas thanks to using these.

You can get used to thinking in certain ways for your next idea (especially for short form writing where you need to constantly invent things) so it can be easy to become “bored” or to run out of inspiration. You don’t want it to be a case of same old, same old here.

So mixing up how you approach writing stories is a good idea. It keeps you on your creative toes as well which is never a bad thing.

Tags: am writing, creative writing, writing advice, writing exercises

History – Fact and Fiction

April 19, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Images created via Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images directly from Pixabay. My book cover image from Chapeltown Books.

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).

Tags: Agent ZigZag, am reading, am writing, Ben Macintyre. Operation Mincemeat. Double Cross, checking research, historical fiction, historical non-fiction, history, Josephine Tey, making history interesting, Philippa Langley. The Princes in the Tower. historical flash fiction, research, The Daughter of Time

Author Interview – Sophie Neville – A Creative Life on Water, In Film, and In Writing – Part 2

April 12, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Sophie Neville for supplying book and author pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or are images supplied by Sophie Neville or are from Pixabay directly or are from the CFT archives. Screenshot taken by me, Allison Symes. Images from Sophie Neville’s website are used with her express and kind permission. Thank you, Sophie.

It’s a joy to welcome back Sophie Neville to Chandler’s Ford Today. If anyone could be said to have a life immersed in creativity, it is Sophie Neville. She has starred in films (best known role was Titty in Swallows and Amazons which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year); she has been on television in front of and behind the camera; she is an artist with many exhibitions to her name; and she is an award winning script writer.

That is only a brief summary! Do check out her news, YouTube and social media links, all of which are at the bottom of this interview.

Tags: Funnily Enough, Sophie Neville, Sophie Neville artwork, Swallows and Amazons, the creative life, themes in stories, writing about chronic fatigue, writing books, writing scripts, writing tips

Author Interview: Sophie Neville – A Creative Life on Water, in Film, and in Writing – Part 1

April 5, 2024 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Sophie Neville for supplying book and author pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or are from Pixabay directly. Images from Sophie Neville’s website are used with her express and kind permission. Thank you, Sophie.

It is a huge pleasure to welcome fellow member of the Association of Christian Writers, Sophie Neville, to Chandler’s Ford Today. Sophie is best known for her role as Titty in Swallows and Amazons, that well loved children’s film classic. She went on to appear in The Two Ronnies, Doctor Who, Animal Magic, Songs of Praise, Crossroads, and Nationwide, and these are just a few of her TV and film credits. For a full listing do visit her website.

I remember Swallows and Amazons and The Two Ronnies in particular. I loved their Charley Farley and Piggy Malone, in which Sophie appeared. For full details of Sophie’s extensive TV and film work, do check out the link.

Tags: author interview, Sophie Neville, Sophie Neville and her writing career, Sophie Neville and television work, Swallows and Amazons

Questions and Answers for Characters

March 29, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images

As I write a lot of stories, I have to find ways to continually invent characters. One useful way of doing this is to outline my characters (rather than the plot) as by knowing more about them, I can figure out what trouble I can land them in – such fun! Plots come from that. Outlines don’t have to be long. It is a question of working out what you need to know. That will vary from writer to writer.

Tags: am writing, characterisation, creative writing, knowing your characters, outlining characters, questions and answers for characters, telling details for characters, template for characters, writing advice

PowerPoint

March 22, 2024 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

Linking back to last week’s post on Online Workshops I thought I’d take a look at PowerPoint in more detail. I used PowerPoint a lot in the late 1980s/early 1990s and then forgot all about it until Zoom came into my working life.

[Read more…] about PowerPoint

Tags: am writing, creative writing, making the most of PowerPoint, outlining, PowerPoint, presentations, slideshows, using PowerPoint for Zoom meetings, writing advice

Online Workshops

March 15, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I don’t know about you but these days I split time into two categories – pre-pandemic and post-same. I recently ran a workshop for the Association of Christian Writers’ Flash Fiction Group on leap years. One thing coming from that was in recalling the last Leap Year Day was 29th February 2020! Much has changed since then, hasn’t it?!

One positive thing to come from the pandemic was the increasing use of video conferencing via Zoom and the like. It made certain events possible. Ironically it has led to paying gigs for me as workshops. I hope that continues!

[Read more…] about Online Workshops

Tags: am writing, creative writing, making the most of online workshops, online workshop tips, online workshops, writing advice, Zoom

The Task of the Opening Lines

March 8, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Every part of a story or article, of whatever length, has its role to play but the most important is the opening line. Unless readers get past that, the rest won’t be read. So what does any opening line need to do to encourage people to keep reading?

Tags: am writing, changing opening lines, creative writing, fiction, hooks, impact of opening lines, intriguing the reader, non-fiction, opening lines, opening lines as writing exercises, questions, writing advice, writing exercises

Light Writing

March 1, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

The best light works do not lay their themes on with the proverbial trowel. As you read the marvellous prose and get behind those characters, you will pick up the themes almost by osmosis. There is no lecturing. You are left to follow the characters on their journey.

[Read more…] about Light Writing

Tags: am writing, books, creative writing, Discworld, genre, Jeeves and Wooster, light writing, P.G. Wodehouse, reading, style, Terry Pratchett, themes, tone, writing craft

Ways Into Creating Characters

February 23, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

Writers of short form fiction, including flash, need to find reliable, sustainable ways of inventing characters. Stories are character led. We’re writing a lot of stories. So we need to create a lot of characters, especially over the course of say a year.

Tags: am writing, characterisation, creative writing, ways into creating characters, writing advice, writing tips

Writing Themes and Saints’ Days

February 16, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Does the title of this post sound like a strange combination? It’s not as odd as you might think. I thought this would be a good topic given we have just had St. Valentine’s Day. That saint’s day alone triggers obvious writing themes – love and sacrifice, the latter especially so if you write a non-fiction account of St. Valentine’s life.

Tags: am writing, creative writing, fiction, imagination, lateral thinking, non-fiction, saints days, themes, using saints days for themes, writing advice

Planning Out Your Writing

February 9, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I’m a great believer in planning out my writing for various reasons.

Planning out what I write when means I don’t miss deadlines. This is vital for posts such as this but also for short story and flash fiction competitions.

Tags: creating characters, creative writing, meeting deadlines, outlining, planning your writing, writing advice

Review: The Chameleon Theatre Company – The Sleeping Beauty

February 2, 2024 By Allison Symes 4 Comments

Image Credits: Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. A huge thank you to The Chameleons for kind permission to use their photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is always a joy to go and see productions staged by The Chameleon Theatre Company. Their pantomimes are always full of laughs and that hasn’t changed for their latest one based on the classic tale of The Sleeping Beauty.

This version of the story was written by Norman Robbins who wrote many pantomimes based on traditional stories. To find out more do check out the website for him. The Chameleons have performed nine of his scripts, the most they’ve put on by any pantomime writer. This includes The Dragon of Wantley, which I reviewed here a couple of years ago.

Tags: amateur theatre, fairytale, pantomime, Ritchie Hall, The Chameleon Theatre Company, The Sleeping Beauty

Fairytales and Pantomime

January 26, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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.

Tags: amateur theatre, entertainment, fairytales, love of theatre, pantomime, pantomime Dames, Principal Boy, slapstick, Sleeping Beauty, The Chameleon Theatre Group

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jenny Sanders for supplying book and author pictures. Other images from Unsplash and Pixabay (forwarded by Jenny Sanders). Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

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Image Credits:-

A huge thank you to The Chameleons as ever for kind permission to use their excellent photos. Screenshots from The Chameleons’ Facebook page and website were taken by me, Allison Symes. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

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

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Image Credits:-

Images created via Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images directly from Pixabay. My book cover image from Chapeltown Books.

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Image Credits:-

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Sophie Neville for supplying book and author pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or are from Pixabay directly. Images from Sophie Neville’s website are used with her express and kind permission. Thank you, Sophie.

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

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Image Credits: Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. A huge thank you to The Chameleons for kind permission to use their photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

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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).

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