Allison Symes's Blog, page 4
March 1, 2025
Characters and Development
One of the things I love about reading series novels is you can see how characters develop over time.
The master on this for me was Sir Terry Pratchett with his Discworld novels. The development of Sam Vimes is magnificent.
Start with Guards! Guards! and work your way through to Raising Steam. Men at Arms is an excellent police procedural as well as a funny fantasy and I think it is where you see Vimes come into his own so much more.
Now for short stories and flash fiction this kind of development is harder to do because you literally have far less of a word count to do this in but it is possible.
You can have linked flash fiction/short stories where the same character turns up in more than one story, for example.
Each flash piece/short story must stand alone but when you read the two more more together you should be able to see how the character has developed, whether it is for good or not.
The advantage to the novel is you can see how the character develops over the course of one novel. A lot can and does happen over one book and even more in a series.
But whatever type of fiction you go for, it should be the characters who grab you and make you keep on reading. I know they do for me. I want to see how they develop and change even if I don’t always agree with how they do so.
The master on this for me was Sir Terry Pratchett with his Discworld novels. The development of Sam Vimes is magnificent.
Start with Guards! Guards! and work your way through to Raising Steam. Men at Arms is an excellent police procedural as well as a funny fantasy and I think it is where you see Vimes come into his own so much more.
Now for short stories and flash fiction this kind of development is harder to do because you literally have far less of a word count to do this in but it is possible.
You can have linked flash fiction/short stories where the same character turns up in more than one story, for example.
Each flash piece/short story must stand alone but when you read the two more more together you should be able to see how the character has developed, whether it is for good or not.
The advantage to the novel is you can see how the character develops over the course of one novel. A lot can and does happen over one book and even more in a series.
But whatever type of fiction you go for, it should be the characters who grab you and make you keep on reading. I know they do for me. I want to see how they develop and change even if I don’t always agree with how they do so.
February 22, 2025
Story Endings
A story doesn’t keep its implied promise of a good read until a reader reaches the end of it and then even the magic words The End are no guarantee it was a satisfying read.
A great story ending ties up loose ends and has an appropriate conclusion for the characters involved. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a happy ending but it does have to be “right” for what we have come to know of the characters and the plot line. It has to “fit”.
Otherwise a reader will feel “jarred” by that ending and will wonder whether the book or story was worth their time reading it after all, something no author wants to encourage.
Sometimes when I write my short stories and flash fiction, I have the closing line immediately. I have sometimes entered competitions where they give you the closing line and you then work out what must have come before that.
I enjoy this exercise. It makes me think from B to A rather than A to B. I deliberately make myself start stories this way first every so often to encourage my own creative thinking.
The huge advantage of course is I know what the ending is going to be. I have an outline (a very rough one) from that alone.
I like to read books and stories where I feel the ending couldn’t have been different from the ones which have been given. To me that is a successful story.
A great story ending ties up loose ends and has an appropriate conclusion for the characters involved. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a happy ending but it does have to be “right” for what we have come to know of the characters and the plot line. It has to “fit”.
Otherwise a reader will feel “jarred” by that ending and will wonder whether the book or story was worth their time reading it after all, something no author wants to encourage.
Sometimes when I write my short stories and flash fiction, I have the closing line immediately. I have sometimes entered competitions where they give you the closing line and you then work out what must have come before that.
I enjoy this exercise. It makes me think from B to A rather than A to B. I deliberately make myself start stories this way first every so often to encourage my own creative thinking.
The huge advantage of course is I know what the ending is going to be. I have an outline (a very rough one) from that alone.
I like to read books and stories where I feel the ending couldn’t have been different from the ones which have been given. To me that is a successful story.
February 15, 2025
Flash Fiction
My main writing work is in the field of flash fiction where the longest any story can be is 1000 words. You can pack a lot of characterisation and drama into that limit.
As well as having individual pieces published online and in print anthologies, I have two collections of flash fiction books out with a third in the pipeline.
The advantage of flash fiction is you get a short sharp read and it can have a huge impact on you because it is so short. It is undiluted fiction, if you like.
Probably the best known of all flash fiction stories is Ernest Hemingway’s famous For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
There is a world world behind those few words. Very much punch to the gut storytelling there.
I make a point of reading flash fiction and short story collections in between reading loner works. I want to read from as wide a field as possible and I will always put in a huge plug for the shorter forms of fiction, just as I am doing here!
It isn’t just because I’m published in these forms, honest. Do check out the collections. There are so many fabulous stories to find out there and word count shouldn’t come into your reading choices, I think.
I also think reading long and short forms of writing makes for an interesting reading “diet” for you. I know I love mine!
As well as having individual pieces published online and in print anthologies, I have two collections of flash fiction books out with a third in the pipeline.
The advantage of flash fiction is you get a short sharp read and it can have a huge impact on you because it is so short. It is undiluted fiction, if you like.
Probably the best known of all flash fiction stories is Ernest Hemingway’s famous For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
There is a world world behind those few words. Very much punch to the gut storytelling there.
I make a point of reading flash fiction and short story collections in between reading loner works. I want to read from as wide a field as possible and I will always put in a huge plug for the shorter forms of fiction, just as I am doing here!
It isn’t just because I’m published in these forms, honest. Do check out the collections. There are so many fabulous stories to find out there and word count shouldn’t come into your reading choices, I think.
I also think reading long and short forms of writing makes for an interesting reading “diet” for you. I know I love mine!
February 8, 2025
Books, Books, Books
Of all the inventions created by mankind, books are one of the best. I cannot imagine a world without books. Nor do I wish to be able to do that.
Books entertain, educate, inform, can show us plenty about this world we won’t get to find out any other way (not all can travel as freely as they’d like for example), and take us to worlds which will never exist but which are fun to visit for the purposes of a story. I’m thinking Middle Earth and Discworld amongst many others for that!
I never mind about the book’s format. I just want a good story for fiction. For non-fiction I want an interesting narrative which keeps me gripped by the subject.
Most of my books are paperback (my favourite format) but I cherish my hardback, audio books and ebooks just as much. All have their advantages.
I have various books I re-read during the course of a year,(though for some if I have the story as a film, I will take the story in again that way.
I often rewatch Hogfather by the late great Sir Terry Pratchett. I can then read another book by him or another author, having taking in a story I know I will want to take in again at the right time of year, in this case just ahead of Christmas.
But I fervently believe you have to have the books in the first place!
And if you want to check out books and authors new to you, why not check out what your local library has to offer? They are full of the most marvellous books, books, books!
Books entertain, educate, inform, can show us plenty about this world we won’t get to find out any other way (not all can travel as freely as they’d like for example), and take us to worlds which will never exist but which are fun to visit for the purposes of a story. I’m thinking Middle Earth and Discworld amongst many others for that!
I never mind about the book’s format. I just want a good story for fiction. For non-fiction I want an interesting narrative which keeps me gripped by the subject.
Most of my books are paperback (my favourite format) but I cherish my hardback, audio books and ebooks just as much. All have their advantages.
I have various books I re-read during the course of a year,(though for some if I have the story as a film, I will take the story in again that way.
I often rewatch Hogfather by the late great Sir Terry Pratchett. I can then read another book by him or another author, having taking in a story I know I will want to take in again at the right time of year, in this case just ahead of Christmas.
But I fervently believe you have to have the books in the first place!
And if you want to check out books and authors new to you, why not check out what your local library has to offer? They are full of the most marvellous books, books, books!
February 1, 2025
Watching Stories
I’ve just enjoyed watching a fabulous pantomime, Cinderella , staged by my excellent local amateur theatre company. It was a
wonderful evening’s entertainment (oh yes it was!).
Most of the stories I enjoy I do take in via books of various formats - paperback, ebook etc - but there is a case to be made for watching stories on the stage, via film, and listening to them too via radio and audio books.
But watching stories I think is especially interesting. Is what you are seeing on the stage or via a film matching up with what you’ve already imagined if you’ve already read the book or story the production is based on?
For Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the answer to that was yes. The pantomimes are faithful to the original fairytales too though they do bring in extra characters like Buttons. But nothing spoils the original story. And that matters.
In an ideal world, those who don’t read much will watch stories and maybe be tempted to check the original books out. I would like to think this happens, at least sometimes.
wonderful evening’s entertainment (oh yes it was!).
Most of the stories I enjoy I do take in via books of various formats - paperback, ebook etc - but there is a case to be made for watching stories on the stage, via film, and listening to them too via radio and audio books.
But watching stories I think is especially interesting. Is what you are seeing on the stage or via a film matching up with what you’ve already imagined if you’ve already read the book or story the production is based on?
For Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the answer to that was yes. The pantomimes are faithful to the original fairytales too though they do bring in extra characters like Buttons. But nothing spoils the original story. And that matters.
In an ideal world, those who don’t read much will watch stories and maybe be tempted to check the original books out. I would like to think this happens, at least sometimes.
January 25, 2025
Famous First Lines
Famous first lines (such as "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) are often used to show writers how to hook your readers from the start.
I like to think of it as hitting the ground running. And it I something I try to do with my flash fiction and short stories.
I know when I’m reading I want that first line to draw me in either by setting up an intriguing setting or a character whom I simply have to know more about. Only one way to do that of course - read on.
Naturally that sets a challenge to me to make sure I’m doing something similar when I’m writing. But then this is why writers do have to be good readers too. You do learn from what you read. Gives us the perfect excuse to get our heads in a book as often as possible - I like this!
Of course the best first line in the world cannot support the whole of the following story on its own - the rest has to be pretty good too - but as a way of drawing readers in, you can’t beat it.
People look at book covers, the blurb, and the first line. If they like all of that, they are more likely to buy the book.
And from a reader’s viewpoint, great first lines stay with you.
I like to think of it as hitting the ground running. And it I something I try to do with my flash fiction and short stories.
I know when I’m reading I want that first line to draw me in either by setting up an intriguing setting or a character whom I simply have to know more about. Only one way to do that of course - read on.
Naturally that sets a challenge to me to make sure I’m doing something similar when I’m writing. But then this is why writers do have to be good readers too. You do learn from what you read. Gives us the perfect excuse to get our heads in a book as often as possible - I like this!
Of course the best first line in the world cannot support the whole of the following story on its own - the rest has to be pretty good too - but as a way of drawing readers in, you can’t beat it.
People look at book covers, the blurb, and the first line. If they like all of that, they are more likely to buy the book.
And from a reader’s viewpoint, great first lines stay with you.
January 18, 2025
Why Reviews Matter
There are two things every reader can do to help authors.
The first one is obviously to buy their books in whatever format you prefer (and where that’s not possible, do borrow from the library. Authors usually receive Public Lending Right - at least in the UK).
The second one is to review their books here on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
Reviews matter to writers for several reasons.
Firstly, it is good (and encouraging) to know we are being read.
Secondly, it is helpful for us to know what you like about our books and yes occasionally what you dislike. All we want is for any review to be fair, as most of us accept not everyone is going to like what we do.
Thirdly, we can use the fact we have had reviews as part of our marketing.
I always check out reviews for any product I’m interested in - books or otherwise. Often, I will come across something linked to the product I’m looking into I hadn’t heard of before simply because a review for it turns up. I then check it out.
The good news is reviews do not have to be long. Some of the best ones I’ve had have been one or two lines only. What helps is in saying you liked the book (hopefully!) and what in particular stood out for you. Job done.
Do I review books myself? Oh yes. I tend to do this in batches of two or three books at a time but I keep my reviews short. (Also makes it easier for the author to use part of the review in quotes they want to share).
A good New Year’s Resolution for any reader would be to review more. As we’re a community who love books and stories, it’s a nice one to try to keep, don’t you think?
The first one is obviously to buy their books in whatever format you prefer (and where that’s not possible, do borrow from the library. Authors usually receive Public Lending Right - at least in the UK).
The second one is to review their books here on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
Reviews matter to writers for several reasons.
Firstly, it is good (and encouraging) to know we are being read.
Secondly, it is helpful for us to know what you like about our books and yes occasionally what you dislike. All we want is for any review to be fair, as most of us accept not everyone is going to like what we do.
Thirdly, we can use the fact we have had reviews as part of our marketing.
I always check out reviews for any product I’m interested in - books or otherwise. Often, I will come across something linked to the product I’m looking into I hadn’t heard of before simply because a review for it turns up. I then check it out.
The good news is reviews do not have to be long. Some of the best ones I’ve had have been one or two lines only. What helps is in saying you liked the book (hopefully!) and what in particular stood out for you. Job done.
Do I review books myself? Oh yes. I tend to do this in batches of two or three books at a time but I keep my reviews short. (Also makes it easier for the author to use part of the review in quotes they want to share).
A good New Year’s Resolution for any reader would be to review more. As we’re a community who love books and stories, it’s a nice one to try to keep, don’t you think?
January 11, 2025
Books For The Darker Times of Year
January can be the gloomiest month of the year. Christmas is over and it is still ages before spring turns up. It is a great time for getting more reading done though!
One of the simple delights in life is curling up with a good book in a cosy chair with a hot drink or several to hand.
For me, January is definitely not the time to be reading anything gloomy in itself. I want something to make me smile or laugh (Wodehouse, Pratchett and Austen are my go-tos for this).
I also like to read plenty of short fiction (it’s so often easier to find funny short stories tor flash fiction than novels - well that’s been my experience).
But if there is anything positive to be said for January, it is a good reading month. Escaping into a world contained in the pages of a book always seems like a good idea to me but never more so than when it is dark and cold outside.
One of the simple delights in life is curling up with a good book in a cosy chair with a hot drink or several to hand.
For me, January is definitely not the time to be reading anything gloomy in itself. I want something to make me smile or laugh (Wodehouse, Pratchett and Austen are my go-tos for this).
I also like to read plenty of short fiction (it’s so often easier to find funny short stories tor flash fiction than novels - well that’s been my experience).
But if there is anything positive to be said for January, it is a good reading month. Escaping into a world contained in the pages of a book always seems like a good idea to me but never more so than when it is dark and cold outside.
January 4, 2025
Influences
Isaac Newton claimed “If I have seen further it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants”, rightly meaning he was building on what had gone before.
But every single writer does this, regardless of what we write.
Every reader will experience it, regardless of what you read. Why?
Simply because every author has their influences - the writers who have gone before.
I have too many to mention but I especially love Pratchett, Austen, and Wodehouse (what a trio!).
Every writer is inspired by what they read and readers get the benefit of that though they won’t know it directly.
Austen showed me the wonderful use of irony in fiction. Pratchett showed me fantasy and humour were a superb mix. As for Wodehouse, his mastery of the English language is sublime and his creations live on long after him. Nobody will forget Jeeves and Wooster.
Any time I enjoy a book, I am indirectly taking in what and whom the writers of those books were influenced by. I think this is a lovely thing.
But every single writer does this, regardless of what we write.
Every reader will experience it, regardless of what you read. Why?
Simply because every author has their influences - the writers who have gone before.
I have too many to mention but I especially love Pratchett, Austen, and Wodehouse (what a trio!).
Every writer is inspired by what they read and readers get the benefit of that though they won’t know it directly.
Austen showed me the wonderful use of irony in fiction. Pratchett showed me fantasy and humour were a superb mix. As for Wodehouse, his mastery of the English language is sublime and his creations live on long after him. Nobody will forget Jeeves and Wooster.
Any time I enjoy a book, I am indirectly taking in what and whom the writers of those books were influenced by. I think this is a lovely thing.
December 27, 2024
The Joys of New Books and Revisiting Old Favourites
I hope you received (and gave) plenty of book related presents over Christmas.
I was delighted to receive a flash fiction related book and am enjoying reading that at the moment.
There is something so special about receiving new books. But I also love the joys of revisiting old favourites. Books are for life!
I took in a lot of my favourite Christmas stories via films - Hogfather, A Christmas Carol (the definitive version by The Muppets, of course!), and The Polar Express. I never get tired of these.
A major joy of a new books is in discovering an unknown world (regardless of what genre it is) and getting to know characters new to you.
The joy of old favourites is knowing these already but enjoying these things all over again. I never tire of that either!
I hope the New Year brings you plenty of opportunities to enjoy your old favourite books and to discover many new to you.
Happy reading for 2025!
I was delighted to receive a flash fiction related book and am enjoying reading that at the moment.
There is something so special about receiving new books. But I also love the joys of revisiting old favourites. Books are for life!
I took in a lot of my favourite Christmas stories via films - Hogfather, A Christmas Carol (the definitive version by The Muppets, of course!), and The Polar Express. I never get tired of these.
A major joy of a new books is in discovering an unknown world (regardless of what genre it is) and getting to know characters new to you.
The joy of old favourites is knowing these already but enjoying these things all over again. I never tire of that either!
I hope the New Year brings you plenty of opportunities to enjoy your old favourite books and to discover many new to you.
Happy reading for 2025!
