• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chandler's Ford Today

  • Home
  • About
    • About Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research
  • Blog
    • Blogging Tips
  • Event
    • Upcoming Events
  • Community
    • Groups
    • Churches
    • Schools
    • GP Surgeries
    • Leisure
    • Library
    • Charities
      • Eastleigh Basics Bank
      • Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler’s Ford
    • Fair Trade
      • Traidcraft stalls in Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford Parish Council
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Site Policies
  • Site Archive
    • Site Archive 2018
    • Site Archive 2017
    • Site Archive 2016
    • Site Archive 2015

am writing

Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction

July 1, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

Now you might think one of these has an obvious place in any kind of creative writing and the other definitely not.

On the face of it, quite right too. Ironically, though there can be a place for some judicially placed verbosity but more on that shortly.

Verbs are, of course, part of the writer’s creative toolbox, along with the various component parts of our language. I use them to trigger story ideas. How?

[Read more…] about Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, character traits, characterisation, creative writing, fiction, outlining, verbosity, verbs, writing advice

Underlining in Fiction

June 24, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

What do I mean about underlining in fiction?

Simply it’s how to emphasize a point to a reader without repeating yourself. It will be as the reader looks back at the story they will realise certain points were emphasized without them being aware of it. Otherwise known as planting information!

[Read more…] about Underlining in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, creative writing, inference, planting clues, tips, underlining in fiction, writing advice

The Rule of Three In Fiction

June 17, 2022 By Allison Symes 4 Comments

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

The Rule of Three is a classic in all fiction. It is one of the basic building blocks for successful story writing. It’s not new. Think about Jesus talking about the parable of The Good Samaritan. Two people walk by on the other side from the poor robbed man. The third one, the Samaritan, not only stops but helps the victim.

[Read more…] about The Rule of Three In Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am reading, am writing, classic fairytales. The Good Samaritan, creative writing, creativity, story structure, The Rule of Three, the three act structure

Settings and Simplicity in Fiction

June 3, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

Setting often act like characters. Many stories wouldn’t work without their settings. It is as true for The Lord of the Rings and the Discworld series, as it is for Wuthering Heights and A Christmas Carol. Can you imagine the latter happening outside of London, for example? Writers can exploit settings to get more from their tales/characters.

[Read more…] about Settings and Simplicity in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, characterisation, characters, clarity, creative writing, settings, simple writing

Reading, Rhythms, and Resolutions in Fiction

May 27, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

Now there’s an interesting combination of topics for the letter R in my In Fiction series.

[Read more…] about Reading, Rhythms, and Resolutions in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am reading, am writing, books, creative writing, reading, resolutions, rhythms, stories

Questions In Fiction

May 20, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I use questions a lot in my storytelling and, to a certain extent, for blogs like this. How? Well, it is appropriate I set a question to start this piece!

[Read more…] about Questions In Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, creative writing, questions, questions as story structure, using questions to set themes and titles

Paragraphs and Punctuation in Fiction

May 13, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

Paragraphs and punctuation may not be the most immediate things to spring to mind for the letter P in my In Fiction series but they have important roles to play in creative writing.

[Read more…] about Paragraphs and Punctuation in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, competitions, creative writing, grammar, house style. publishers, paragraphs, punctuation

Originality in Fiction

April 29, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

Is there such a thing as original fiction? Hmm… you may think that’s an odd question for me to ask and the answer to that must be “yes”.

[Read more…] about Originality in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am reading, am writing, author voice, creative writing, fiction, finding your writing style, non-fiction, originality in fiction

Names In Fiction

April 22, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:  Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Some directly from Pixabay. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

Names are as important in fiction as they are to us in life. Names give us a sense of who we are. They are a major part of our identity and names can reveal so much about ourselves.

Names can indicate someone’s likely social class, whether they’re traditionalists or not, and something of their family background too. Writers can play on that to help add depth to their characterisation. Names can also indicate the genre of a book. Well, you’re not going to find the likes of Frodo Baggins turn up in a Jane Austen novel, are you?

[Read more…] about Names In Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, creative writing, fiction, inspiration for names for characters, naming characters, non-fiction, writing advice, writing tips

Making Characters Real In Fiction

April 15, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

It is the irony of all fiction writing that, while everyone knows the stories are made up, people want characters they can believe.

These characters must be true to life so a story writer’s job is to make their characters seem real enough that, if the situation could happen in reality, these would be the characters who would also exist in reality.

[Read more…] about Making Characters Real In Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, characterisation, characters, creative writing, realistic characters

Laughter in Fiction

April 8, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Laughter is one of the great joys of life and it has a huge range. This is reflected in fiction too. There are the laugh out loud stories, those wonderful moments of irony, slapstick, the great one-liners and so on. What matters in stories is that humour arises naturally out of the characters and the situations the writer has put them in (and often the greater the height from which the author has dropped their characters in it, the better).

Forcing humour never works. Something is funny or not, as the case may be. When I interviewed Fran Hill and Ruth Leigh on this topic, their insights showed how difficult writing writing humour can be though both ladies manage it magnificently despite writing in different genres. Fran writes memoir with humour. Ruth writes women’s fiction with humour.

[Read more…] about Laughter in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am reading, am writing, characterisation, creative writing, funny lines, humorous fiction, P.G. Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett

Kindness and Killing in Fiction

April 1, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

My topic this time for the In Fiction series is a study in contrasts.

Kindness and killing feature heavily in fiction, the latter particularly in the crime and horror genres. Kindness turns up in the classic fairytales and in fantasy and will often be those moments in a story when our hero/heroine has to rely on someone else to help them through a difficult time. It is that break, that help, which enables them to go on and successfully complete their quest etc.

This acts as a reminder to us that no man is an island, we all need help and kindness at times, and that kindness can reinvigorate us. Fiction should reflect that.

[Read more…] about Kindness and Killing in Fiction

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am reading, am writing, books, character motivations, crime, fairytales, horror, killing, kindness, kindness rewarded, stories

At The Scottish Association of Writers Conference

March 25, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-
Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books/Bridge House Publishing. Photos from the Scottish Association of Writers Conference taken by me, Allison Symes.

I’ve recently returned from the Scottish Association of Writers (SAW) conference, which was held at the Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld from 18th to 20th March 2022.

How come a Hampshire based lass ended up here? Two reasons really:-

1. I am a member of History Writers, an online group only meeting once a month on Zoom. This group is affiliated to SAW. I gave a talk to them this month on historical flash fiction. I have written some historically based pieces, hope to do more, and have a general interest in history anyway.

2. Wendy H Jones! I know Wendy thanks to the Association of Christian Writers and she is president of SAW. She also set up the History Writers group. Now I’ve mentioned the importance of networking as you make wonderful writing friends and opportunities can arise too. Let nobody say I don’t take my own advice!

Wendy H Jones. Image kindly supplied by her.

Wendy invited me to judge one of SAW’S competitions – the Margaret McConnell Woman’s Short Story – and to run a flash fiction workshop. I was only too pleased to accept.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[Read more…] about At The Scottish Association of Writers Conference

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: Allison Symes, am writing, competition judging, flash fiction, flash fiction workshop, networking, Scottish Association of Writers, writing conference

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am reading, am writing, book covers, fiction, imagery, painting with words, red herrings, specific details

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, big themes, characters, creative writing, fairytales, fiction, heroes, human behaviour in fiction, stories, villains

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, creative writing, fiction, frameworks, planning your writing

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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
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

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email
Tags: am writing, characterisation, creative writing, dialogue, internal dialogue, use of swearing by characters
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Chandler's Ford Today blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

999, 111, 101, 112? Emergency Numbers You Must Know
101 Things to Put into Room 101
Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction
Home
First Aider and First Responder
Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler's Ford
David Beckham's Chinese Tattoo
101 Things to Put into Room 101 - Part 7 - The Final Leg
Chandler’s Ford from the 1980s – Part 2
Upcoming Events

Categories

Tags

arts and crafts books Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford Today Chandler’s Ford community charity Christianity Christmas church community creative writing culture Eastleigh Eastleigh Borough Council education entertainment event family fundraising gardening gardening tips good neighbours Hiltingbury Hiltingbury Road history hobby how-to interview Joan Adamson Joan Adelaide Goater local businesses local interest memory Methodist Church music nature news reading review social storytelling theatre travel Winchester Road writing

Recent Comments

  • Allison Symes on Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction
  • Mike Sedgwick on Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction
  • Martin medley on Mr Kipling – Exceedingly Good Memories
  • Hugh Benham on Platinum Jubilee Flower Festival at St Martin in the Wood Church
  • Allison Symes on Platinum Jubilee Flower Festival at St Martin in the Wood Church
  • Allison Symes on The Rule of Three In Fiction

Regular Writers and Contributors

Janet Williams Allison Symes Mike Sedgwick Rick Goater Doug Clews chippy minton Martin Napier Roger White Andy Vining Gopi Chandroth Nicola Slade Wellie Roger Clark Ray Fishman Hazel Bateman SO53 News

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

Reviews of local performances and places

Reviews of local performances and places

Copyright © 2022 Chandler's Ford Today. WordPress. Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.