Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "chapeltown-books"
Short Stories Pack a Punch
I've loved short stories for years. Flash fiction has been a fairly recent innovation and I quickly became addicted to both reading and writing it.
As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be published for the first time last year with Chapeltown Books for a flash fiction collection (From Light to Dark and Back Again).
Now I have nothing against the novel. You can't beat the novel for a satisfying, longer story when all is said and done.
But sometimes you just want a glimpse into a character's life (rather than have the whole "spiel") and this is where short stories, and especially flash fiction, come into their own.
They really do pack a punch when you consider their limited word count. (Even the longer short story is still short when compared to your average novel).
I love to write my stories knowing they will have an impact, whether it is to hopefully make readers laugh or, if the tales are darker, to make them shudder!
The big problem with a novel is keeping impact going without it seeming artificial and ensuring the final impact happens at the right moment. It is possible to write a final scene for a book and then decide you've just got to add this, or that, and thaen the final impact is diluted.
You can't really do that with short stories (and you certainly can't for flash). You have the big, final moment and that's it. But to me that is a huge advantage as a writer. I know when to stop then!
As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be published for the first time last year with Chapeltown Books for a flash fiction collection (From Light to Dark and Back Again).
Now I have nothing against the novel. You can't beat the novel for a satisfying, longer story when all is said and done.
But sometimes you just want a glimpse into a character's life (rather than have the whole "spiel") and this is where short stories, and especially flash fiction, come into their own.
They really do pack a punch when you consider their limited word count. (Even the longer short story is still short when compared to your average novel).
I love to write my stories knowing they will have an impact, whether it is to hopefully make readers laugh or, if the tales are darker, to make them shudder!
The big problem with a novel is keeping impact going without it seeming artificial and ensuring the final impact happens at the right moment. It is possible to write a final scene for a book and then decide you've just got to add this, or that, and thaen the final impact is diluted.
You can't really do that with short stories (and you certainly can't for flash). You have the big, final moment and that's it. But to me that is a huge advantage as a writer. I know when to stop then!
Being Read To
When was the last time you were read to as an adult?
For me, that was this afternoon - 1st December 2018 - but more on that in a moment.
I have, as I hope you have, many fond memories of being read to as a child. It instilled a life long love of books in me at a very early age. Thanks to Beatrix Potter, I learned the meaning of the word "soporific" early on too! Good books can do wonders for your vocabulary.
This afternoon I was at the Bridge House/Cafelit/Chapeltown Books celebration event. My favourite time was listening to published works being read out by fellow authors (and I read some too). Let's just say there are some characters I heard about today I am so glad I can never meet in life. One in particular had a penchant for getting away with... well to say more would give the plot away! Oh and I wouldn't want to meet all of MY characters either!
But it was such a joy just sitting back and listening. I love audio books but there is nothing to beat hearing an author read out their own work. Dickens was definitely on to something there! I don't know quite what it is but, even in a tale that has you gripped to the edge of your seat, there is something soothing in being read to.
For me, that was this afternoon - 1st December 2018 - but more on that in a moment.
I have, as I hope you have, many fond memories of being read to as a child. It instilled a life long love of books in me at a very early age. Thanks to Beatrix Potter, I learned the meaning of the word "soporific" early on too! Good books can do wonders for your vocabulary.
This afternoon I was at the Bridge House/Cafelit/Chapeltown Books celebration event. My favourite time was listening to published works being read out by fellow authors (and I read some too). Let's just say there are some characters I heard about today I am so glad I can never meet in life. One in particular had a penchant for getting away with... well to say more would give the plot away! Oh and I wouldn't want to meet all of MY characters either!
But it was such a joy just sitting back and listening. I love audio books but there is nothing to beat hearing an author read out their own work. Dickens was definitely on to something there! I don't know quite what it is but, even in a tale that has you gripped to the edge of your seat, there is something soothing in being read to.
