I'm thrilled to welcome Allison Symes to Troutie McFish Tales today, to tell us more about her love of writing and to pass on some excellent tips. Welcome, Allison!
WHY I LOVE WRITING
Many thanks, Mandy, for inviting me to
guest blog. I’m Allison Symes and, like
Mandy, am published by Chapeltown Books.
My flash fiction collection, From
Light to Dark and Back Again, was the first in their series of single
author collections. Mandy’s Brightly Coloured Horses has recently been released by Chapeltown. I also write non-fiction, mainly for
Chandler’s Ford Today, an online community magazine. So why do I love writing?
Why I love fiction (especially flash)
For me, fiction is the ultimate form of
escapism. Characters intrigue, settings haunt, and I can choose happy, sad or
ambivalent endings. Never let it be said
books don’t reflect life! Fiction can get at truths straight facts can’t always
do. A great example of this is Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time, which changed my mind about Richard III and
Henry VII. (Great book - a combination
of historical fiction and a cosy mystery - highly recommend).
My love of stories always meant I’ve
enjoyed writing them. I used to love
“composition” at school and never had any trouble inventing stories. It only occurred much later I could carry on
doing this! I fell into flash fiction by
accident. I’d been writing short stories
for a while when online publisher Cafelit issued their 100-word challenge. I decided to give it a go, discovered I loved
this and ended up being published for flash fiction, which was something I’d
never anticipated. I’ve been published
in print and online by Bridge House Publishing, Cafelit and now Chapeltown
Books. You never get over the thrill of
being published, which is lovely.
Why I love non-fiction
A writer friend told me about Chandler’s
Ford Today. The editor, the marvellous Janet Williams, created this to bring
people in Chandler’s Ford together, as it is one of those sprawling towns with
no central hub. What Chandler’s Ford
Today has done has brought together, amongst others, the writing community in
terms of writing articles of interest for it. CFT also features a regular
gardening spot, social and natural history, arts and books related posts (many
of which I write), and shares bulletins from local bodies such as the police
force and Councils. (The latter can be
useful when the snow disrupts things, as it has done so much this year).
Writing for CFT is a labour of love
(there is no money in online magazines!) but through it I’ve met other
writers. We’ve formed a group and last
year ran a book fair together, had a book stand at a local show (something not
featured there before), and held an event at the Winchester Discovery
Centre. I’ve also met people I would
not have met otherwise, discovered a fantastic amateur theatre company, and
have learned to craft articles, work with an editor and work to deadlines. The latter of course are all useful and
transferable writing skills. Late last
year for the first time I edited a series by someone else, helping them to
transfer notes into a three part series.
It was a steep but good learning curve (for both of us!). Just recently I took part in a Q&A panel
on journalism, with my angle being on writing for online community magazines,
and that was an interesting experience too.
I do get feedback on my posts and have
found out about writing events I would not have done otherwise. Indeed, I’ll be taking part in a Book Fair
later this year which someone told me about as a result of reading one of my
CFT posts.
I love the variety of what I write, I
never get bored, and my only real wish is for more time! Is there any writer who hasn’t wanted more
time?
Oh and as well as my book coming out last
year, I was a named character in a book too (with my blessing I should
add!). If you like cosy mysteries check
out Winter Writerland by Beatrice
Fishback. I’m not going to say if I was
the murderer or not!
My Top Tips
Be open to trying different styles of
writing. You may discover, as I did, a
form you love and have a flair for.
Read, read, read. I know every writer says this but it is
true. You do learn from what others have
done. (Sometimes it is what to NOT
do!). I’d say read classics and
contemporary, fiction and non-fiction.
The latter can be incredibly useful for sparking off fiction ideas,
funnily enough.
Never edit on screen. I have no idea why this is but you miss
things. Paper shows errors up much more
clearly.
Read your work out loud (and maybe record
it via Audacity). You can hear how your
story works as you read it out. (Playing
it back again is even better. I tend to
do this for longer short stories, rather than flash, which is easier to just
read out loud repeatedly). You will pick
up where you stumble over dialogue. The
moment you do, you know that’s an area you need to rewrite. If you stumble over it, your reader will too.
Use “dead time” to write. I use
an app on my phone (Evernote) to draft out flash fiction pieces, blog posts
etc, whenever I’m on the train. I
drafted three flash fiction pieces when I was waiting at the garage for my car
to have an air bag refitted (it was a manufacturer recall) and I felt miffed
when they called me. I was well into the writing zone and hadn’t wanted to leave it!!
