am writing

What You Need to Know About Character Creation

April 18, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

As I write a lot of flash fiction and short stories, I need to create a lot of characters. I do re-use some but not many compared to the numbers I’ve created in total. My characters often have one story in them, though occasionally one may play a “bit part” role in another tale.

For me, any good story of whatever length is all about what happens and, specifically, what happens to the lead character. I must know what happens to them. I must care about what happens too, even if they’re a villain and I am hoping their evil plans will fail. I also need to know whose story it is.

Tags: am reading, am writing, character attitudes, character creation, characterisation, creating characters, creative writing, dialogue, fiction, flash fiction, positive and negative sides to traits in characters, short stories, situations, what you need to know when creating characters

What Makes A Story Work

April 4, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images

You take in what makes a story work subconsciously. Even as a child, when I read the classic fairytales, I knew on the third time of something occurring, there would be a different result leading to the happy ever after ending. I had no idea that was the Rule of Three in action. I just knew if this didn’t happen, there was something wrong with the story. I also knew early on I had to want to find out what happened to the characters so there had to be something interesting about them to grab my attention (and just as importantly keep my attention going).

Tags: am reading, am writing, beginnings middles and ends, creative writing, description, dialogue, fiction, keeping the reader interested, learning from what you read, understanding characters, what makes a story work

Springtime in Words and Music

March 28, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

Springtime is one of my favourite times of the year. The other one is autumn, funnily enough. I like both ends of the spectrum. Life as it begins and life as it begins to ebb and fade.

I love spotting the Virginia Creeper in our area and seeing it change colour from red to green and back again. Lovely plant. As I walk the dog it is great to spot the crocuses and other spring flowers emerging, though I am a little saddened my snowdrops have now finished.

It is great being able to walk Lady in the early evening and still be in daylight when only a month or so ago, the same time would have seen me coming back home with her in the dark. It also means we can put her light up collar away for a bit. It is odd walking with a glow in the dark dog (at least around her collar!) though she doesn’t care.

Tags: am writing, Canon in D, creative writing, Four Seasons, ideas for using spring in writing, Kenneth Grahame, P.G. Wodehouse, Pachelbel, spring, spring related books, Vivaldi

Writing Competition Tips

March 14, 2025 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

I’ve had the privilege of being listed in competitions, being one of a selection of winners for a competition, and have since gone on to judge short story and flash fiction competitions.

The joy of a reputable writing competition is, if you win or are listed, you have something invaluable to add to your writing CV. They can be great ways to build up that CV. It shows an agent or publisher someone else decided your work was publication worthy. It can also show a commitment to your writing.

Tags: am writing, building on your writing CV, checking your writing competition entry, creative writing, follow the rules, writing competition tips, Writing Magazine

The Benefits of Writing Exercises

March 7, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I’m regularly on both sides of the writing exercise equation as I do them often and set them too. I run a monthly flash fiction group on Zoom for the Association of Christian Writers which is great fun and I set exercises as part of the topic for the evening.

I also have been to many workshops and courses and continue to do so (especially The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which I’m looking forward to going to again this year). Inevitably writing exercises are set in these things.

There is a huge variety of writing exercises to try. I’ve developed some firm favourites which I often use to inspire ideas for stories I submit to places such as Friday Flash Fiction, where I have a 100 word story published most weeks.

Tags: am writing, building a writing track record, creative writing, developing as a writer, fiction, flash fiction, short stories, writing exercises

The Writer’s Wish List

February 28, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos, with some directly from Pixabay.

Picture the scene. You discover this dodgy lamp. You polish it. A genie appears and grants you the ability, as a writer, to create your own wish list. You can have five items on it. Better still, all of those wishes will be granted. The only rule here is no wish should be harmful. You think fair enough and then compile what you would wish for.

So what would I choose and why?

Tags: AI and creative writing, am reading, am writing, handling rejections, learning your writing craft, useful writing information, writer's wish list, writing journey, writing scams, writing sources

The Positives and Negatives of Adaptations

January 31, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Somes images are directly from Pixabay.

Many of our favourite stories are adapted for the stage, radio, television, and film and any or all of those combinations in some cases. It is unusual for any story to go “direct” into another medium. Nearly always cuts and changes do have to be made to suit the needs of the medium the story will “go into” or to make the best use of the things those mediums can bring to the tale which the printed word in itself won’t do. Sound effects especially, the use of appropriate music, and much more can add so much to an adapted tale.

Tags: adaptations, am writing, fairytales, film adaptations, pantomime, radio adaptations, TV adaptations

Author Interview: Introducing Gemma Owen-Kendall

January 24, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog and Gemma Owen-Kendall for supplying author and book cover pics including from her launch for Red Daisy at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Other images created in Book Brush using images from Lynsey, Gemma or Pixabay. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the photos of the grounds from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.

As you know, one of my highlights of my writing year is to go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick held at The Hayes in Derbyshire in August. As well as enjoying the fabulous workshops and courses (and having had the privilege of leading some there too), the other biggest joy is in getting to meet other authors.

Why? Because it is so liberating to share the joy of creative writing with others who “get it”. There is no need to explain why you write here. We just do and we share many tips and tales of our writing lives with each other during this event.

In 2024, Gemma Owen-Kendall got to launch her debut novel, Red Daisy, published by SpellBound Books, at The Writers’ Summer School in their wonderful Book Room.

Many congratulations, Gemma, on this and welcome to Chandler’s Ford Today. It is always a joy and privilege to discuss writing journeys with other authors here but before I put some questions to Gemma, please find below her author bio and a blurb for Red Daisy. This interview is part of a book blog tour organised by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines Book Vlog.

Tags: am writing, author interview, characters, creative writing, debut novel, editing, fairytales, fiction, flash fiction, Gemma Owen-Kendall, Innocent Times, marketing, novels, Red Daisy, short stories, SpellBound Books Limited, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, writing groups, writing journey

Making the Most of Your Writing Time

January 17, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Making the most of writing time is always a timely topic. Every writer will have their own answer to this.

Tags: am reading, am writing, creative writing, making the most of your writing time, planning your writing, productivity

Story Tips

January 3, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I catch up with a lot of stories during the Advent and Christmas periods but not always via books (of any format).

[Read more…] about Story Tips

Tags: am reading, am writing, characters, creative writing, learning your writing craft, story writing tips, writing advice

New Year, New Writing Hopes

December 27, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the two photos from The Hayes, Swanwick from 2024.

I know it is a little early but Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2025 proves to be a good year. It would be nice to have less grim news but I think that may be something I will have to put on a wish list somewhere.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group, editing, evaluating your writing, Happy New Year, having a writing agenda, new writing year, story competition judging, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, the writing journey, workshops

Bridge House Publishing Celebration and Broadcasting News

December 20, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

One image created in Book Brush using a photo taken by Lynn Clement and a screenshot taken by me, Allison Symes. Other images from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event were taken by Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Lynn Clement, and me, Allison Symes. One image from CFT archives. Two other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It’s a lovely way to finish my Chandler’s Ford Today posts for Christmas by sharing festive related writing news.

Tags: Allison Symes, am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group, author update, Bridge House Publishing Celebration event, Christmas story by Allison Symes, festive flash fiction, Friday Flash Fiction Christmas Competition, Hannah Kate, networking, North Manchester FM, Tact by Allison Symes, The Best of CafeLit 13, Theodore Bullfrog, Three Minute Santas flash fiction show

What I Look For In A Good Story

December 13, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Everyone has their own tastes in books and stories, of course. The publishing and literary world would not be so interesting and extensive if we all read the same thing. Genres would disappear and creative imagination would be limited to whatever it was we all read. But there are elements in books and stories which cross all genres. These are the things I look out for whenever I read any kind of story, regardless of its word count.

Tags: am reading, am writing, books, characters, flash fiction by Allison Symes, gripping reads, long fiction, plots, short fiction, stories

Top Flash Fiction Writing Tips and the Benefits

November 22, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:- Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for taking the images of me at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick 2024. Many thanks to Gill James for taking the image of me reading at the 2023 Bridge House Publishing Celebration event (and it was a cold day!).

As some of you will know, I discovered flash fiction by accident. It is easily the happiest writing accident I have ever had/am likely to have and I’m grateful for it. Two published books later with a third accepted – well, it’s the kind of accident any writer would welcome.

CafeLit, with whom I’d been published for a while, issued a 100 word challenge and I gave it a go, discovered the form is addictive and I’ve not looked back.

Tags: Allison Symes, am writing, benefits of writing flash fiction, characters, creative writing, editing, flash fiction, flash fiction tips, marketing, tight writing, writing advice

Behind The Curtain with Anita D Hunt

September 27, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Lynsey Adams for supplying book cover, blog tour, and author pics. Many thanks to Anita D Hunt for supplying images from Cornwall relating to Behind The Curtain. Images of Anita from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by Keith Hinchy. Other Swanwick images were taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the screenshot of Anita’s fascinating memory workbooks. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images with some directly from Pixabay.

It is with great pleasure I welcome debut novelist and fellow Swanwicker, Anita D Hunt, to Chandler’s Ford Today. Anita’s novel, Behind the Curtain, is a domestic noir published by SpellBound Books.

The novel was launched at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick following its release in paperback on 2nd August. Anita had the joy of signing copies in the Book Room, almost literally hot off the press.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Anita D Hunt. Behind The Curtain, author inspiration, blurbs, book blog tours, book launch, Cornwall Writers, creating characters, crime fiction, domestic noir, Lynsey Adams, marketing, Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog, Spellbound Books, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, themes, writing groups, writing journey

Catching Up with Ruth Leigh – The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge

September 20, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Ruth Leigh for supplying author pic and book cover images. Images from the British Christian Writing Conference were kindly supplied by Social Shapes. Screenshots were taken by me, Allison Symes. Other images were created in Book Brush using Pixabay images and/or book cover shots from Ruth. Some images are directly from Pixabay.

I’m pleased to welcome back Ruth Leigh to Chandler’s Ford Today. Ruth and I are members of the Association of Christian Writers. Last time we talked, Ruth had three books out in her funny and touching Isabella M Smugge series.

Today, 20th September 2024, will see the release of her fourth novel featuring her heroine – The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge. Congratulations, Ruth. Little beats the buzz of being published.

Tags: am writing, Association of Christian Writers, author interview, book launch tips, British Christian Writers Conference, Christian fiction, creative writing, fiction, humorous fiction, independent publishing, Instant Apostle, Jane Austen, Resolute Books, Ruth Leigh, series fiction, The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge, writing advice

Story Judging

September 6, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images

Later this month, I’ll have the great joy of judging a flash fiction competition for a Scottish writing group (all done via the wonders of email). I enjoy judging and have learned much from the process of doing so in that it has helped me to improve my own work for judging by someone else.

[Read more…] about Story Judging

Tags: am writing, creative writing, story judging, tips for authors, writing advice, writing competitions

Random Generators

August 30, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I often use a wide variety of random generators because I need various ways to trigger ideas for characters and stories. Having these different ways of being able to create tales is useful. Mixing up what I use is also good for keeping me on my creative toes!

I see random generators as the modern equivalent of story cubes (I use those too!). I also use books of prompts (and have contributed to some), proverbs and well known sayings (sometimes I subvert these to generate even more tales) but, by far, the method I use most often is the random generator.

[Read more…] about Random Generators

Tags: am writing, creative writing, fiction, non-fiction, prompts, random generators. triggering ideas, story cubes, The Big Book of Prompts, writing aids

Swanwick 2024

August 23, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jen Wilson, Penny Blackburn, Val Penny, Keith Hinchy, and June Webber for images from Swanwick. Other images from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by yours truly, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using my photos.

When this post goes out, I will be back home, having recently enjoyed another lovely week at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which is based at The Hayes, Derbyshire. This week sees me immersed in the world of writing, which is just one of many reasons I adore going. It is also the place from where the only German prisoner of war from World War Two successfully escaped and fled back to Germany.

On the writing front, delegates are free to choose which courses and workshops they go to and there is a wide range of topics to choose from too. There is something to suit everyone, no matter where they are at in their writing journeys.

There are four part and two part courses to choose from, as well as the one hour workshops, plus I find I always learn something useful, as well as enjoying being entertained, by the after dinner guest speakers, who are all renowned in their fields.

[Read more…] about Swanwick 2024

Tags: am reading, am writing, Continuing Professional Development, courses, creative writing, networking, residential writing school, The Hayes, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, workshops

Making the Most of a Writing Event

July 19, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots and photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you to Julia Patterson for taking the image of me leading my editing workshop at the 2023 Swanwick.

I’m shortly off on my travels again to a major highlight of my writing year, The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in lovely Derbyshire. I meet up with friends I only see online for the rest of the year (though that is wonderful).

Indeed, one writer I plan to be catching up at Swanwick is Val Penny, author of the DI Hunter Wilson series, whom I’ll be interviewing here again next week. I hope to write more about Swanwick for a later post here but I am running a two part course called Editing as a Writer, Editing as a Competition Judge, which I’m looking forward to presenting.

I thought it might be useful to share some tips as to how to make the most of any writing event you might go to, whether it is a week long residential one like Swanwick, or a single day event. (I am hoping to get to another of those soon too run by the Association of Christian Writers).

Tags: am writing, Continuing Professional Development, courses, creative writing, networking, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, workshops, writing career development, writing events

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Many thanks to Jen Wilson, Penny Blackburn, Val Penny, Keith Hinchy, and June Webber for images from Swanwick. Other images from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by yours truly, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using my photos.

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