creating characters

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

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

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

Diaries and Letters

January 6, 2023 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos (with one image directly from Pixabay). Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

Have you ever kept a diary? Did you use to/still do enjoy writing and receiving letters in the post? The answer to both those questions is yes from me.

I keep a diary to help me stay on track of what I write when (and to remind me to get my author newsletter out, note down workshop dates etc). I also keep, as part of the same diary, notes on how my writing is going and whether I was pleased or not with the previous day’s writing efforts.

[Read more…] about Diaries and Letters

Tags: am reading, am writing, creating characters, creative writing, diaries, letters, writing advice, writing formats

creating characters

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

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

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Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos (with one image directly from Pixabay). Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

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