creative writing

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

Writing Fitness

July 12, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

One disadvantage to the writing life is it is a sedentary one. I compensate by walking the dog and swimming, though not at the same time! As well as being aware of the need to compensate for a stationary job, there are other ways in which writers need to think about their fitness. This post outlines some of those.

[Read more…] about Writing Fitness

Tags: am writing, creative writing, looking after yourself as you write, the writing life, ups and downs of writing, writing advice, writing community, writing fitness, writing support

Employing Kipling’s Serving Men

July 5, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), renowned writer and poet, came up with his “serving men” which are an inspiration to all writers. Part of his poem on the subject reads:-

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

Do check out the full version via the link to The Kipling Society.

I would add in the question of “what if” as a useful addition to these six. How can all writers benefit from these questions? Let’s take a look.

Tags: asking what if in writing, creative writing, Kipling's serving men, Rudyard Kipling, using questions to outline, writing outlines, writing structures

Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – 31 Days of Writing

June 21, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jennifer C Wilson for her author shot and book cover shots. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

It is a great pleasure to welcome back Jennifer C Wilson to Chandler’s Ford Today. Jennifer’s new book, published today, is 31 Days of Writing, which will be so useful to a wide range of writers.

Amazon Buy Link – Pre-order link

31 Days of Writing buy link:

Blurb for 31 Days of Writing

31 Days of Writing draws on the prompts and exercises from seven years of North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. Whether you’re wanting to build scenes for a work-in-progress, or generate ideas for short stories/poems, there’s something for everyone in this collection, to keep the inspiration flowing for a month of writing…

Tags: 31 Days of Writing, A Novel Approach, Black Coals White Sand, creative writing, creative writing guides, Jennifer C Wilson, North Tyneside Writers' Circle, publishing via Amazon, self publishing, The Writers' Summer School at Swanwick, workshops, writing advice, writing groups, writing prompts

Having a Superpower

June 14, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

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

I run a monthly Zoom workshop on flash fiction writing for the Association of Christian Writers. It is great fun to do and the online aspect helps so much as the members live several hundreds of miles apart so we could never get together in person.

I usually set a monthly theme and then set exercises based on that. Sometimes I will prepare an answer to an exercise to show as an example but most of the time I will write on the night of the meeting with the other members.

[Read more…] about Having a Superpower

Tags: am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group, creative writing, limiting character powers and why, live writing, problems with fictional superpowers, setting writing exercises, superpowers, writing exercises

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

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

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

The Joys of Writing Dialogue

January 5, 2024 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

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

I love creating new characters and stories. The challenge is ongoing to come up with situations and people/other beings of choice which will hopefully grip me first and, later on, readers (hopefully).

But my favourite thing to write is dialogue. I literally put words into my characters’ mouths. That in itself is fun but it is when you get the words exactly right for the kind of character you’ve created, that is a wonderful feeling. It confirms I’ve got my character portrayal right.

Tags: accents, am writing, characterisation, conversational ping-pong, creative writing, dialogue in fiction, fictional dialogue, slang

Allison Symes – Festive Writing and Round Up 2023

December 22, 2023 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:-

A few this time! A huge thank you to Paula R.C. Readman, Debz Brown, Gill James, Nicole Fitton, Hannah Ruth Retallick, and Lynn Clement for supplying images of me reading at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event. Other photos from that event were taken by yours truly, Allison Symes, as were the screenshots. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. (Always tricky taking publicity shots of yourself as you’re trying to do the actual publicity work!).

There are a few things which have become almost like traditions for me in the run up to Christmas. Certainly they are lovely ways of finishing my writing year.

Tags: Allison Symes, am writing, Bridge House Publishing Celebration event, broadcast news, Cafelit, creative writing, festive flash fiction, Friday Flash Fiction, Hannah Kate, I Do I Don't by Allison Symes, North Manchester FM, publication news, The Christmas Tree Fairy by Allison Symes, Three Minute Santas flash fiction show, writing competitions

Introducing Rosemary Johnson – Wodka, or Tea with Milk: The Road to Publication

December 15, 2023 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Rosemary Johnson for supplying the original images of Poland, author and book cover pics, which I’ve adjusted a little using Book Brush. Other images were created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It is always lovely to hear of friends’ publication news. I am so pleased to welcome Rosemary Johnson to Chandler’s Ford Today to share something of her writing journey with us, why persistence is such a useful quality in writing, and to tell us more about her book Wodka,or Tea With Milk.

Did you know that anything above fifty years old counts as historical now? That puts me in the historical “bin” for a start but for fiction, this applies to settings. The idea behind this is to take readers out of the events of their lifetime.

Rosemary’s book is set against the backdrop of the Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s and is just “outside” the historical fiction category if you follow the 50 years “rule”. Given I remember watching the news about Solidarity, I would have sworn it was long enough ago to count as historical but apparently not quite, again if you follow the 50 years “rule”.

Tags: Association of Christian Writers, author interview, book release, creative writing, modern historical fiction, publication news, Rosemary Johnson, The Conrad Press, the road to publication, Wodka or Tea With Milk

« Previous Page

creative writing

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.

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jennifer C Wilson for her author shot and book cover shots. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

Blurb for 31 Days of Writing

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

Share this:

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

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

Share this:

Image Credits:-

Share this:

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Rosemary Johnson for supplying the original images of Poland, author and book cover pics, which I’ve adjusted a little using Book Brush. Other images were created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Share this: