Facebook – General
Had a great time at the Hursley Park Book Fair today. Good number of visitors, chatted to people, sold some books, and my talk on flash fiction went well (albeit to a small audience). All positives to build on, I’m glad to say, and that’s also true for the Book Fair itself. I very much hope it becomes a regular event in the calendar.
It was lovely catching up with some writer friends too. I’ll be writing a fuller review for Chandler’s Ford Today later. Pics are from the sports hall at the venue, and the theatre where people gave talks etc. Nice place.
Many thanks to all who came and checked out the Hursley Park Book Fair. It was great fun and it was lovely to chat to people about the joys of flash fiction. It was also lovely to meet fellow authors.
I will be posting a review of the Fair up in a couple of weeks’ time on Chandler’s Ford Today but I want a little time to elapse before I do this. Exactly as I do with writing a story in fact – write it, leave it for a bit, edit it looking at the piece with a fresh pair of eyes and post/submit it!
Favourite moment from the Fair? To the lovely lady who bought a copy of From Light to Dark and Back Again and then came back to me later in the afternoon. She wanted to show me one of my 100-worders that had made her laugh out loud (and yes it was meant to!). Now that IS a review!
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Introduced a few people to the delights of flash fiction at the Hursley Park Book Fair today. What was lovely was when one person came back to me, having had time to dip into From Light to Dark and Back Again, and wanting to tell me she’d laughed out loud at one particular story! Now isn’t that the kind of feedback most of us writers want?!
One of the nice things about giving a talk on flash fiction, as I did yesterday at the Hursley Park Book Fair, is that reading some is often the best way to show what it is. And you get to choose what to read out! The 100-worders tend to work best.
One question I was asked was about the different forms of flash and whether the crafting was the same. Yes, it is, whether you write a 50-word or 500-word flash fiction story.
While you have more room for manoeuvre in the latter obviously, you still have to make every word count. Every word must serve a purpose in being in the story. (One of my guiding principles is write what I need to write and then get out! Anything you can cut without losing the story should be cut as it clearly isn’t necessary).
And yes you can have flash fiction written as a poem, I’ve written some of these myself, but you still need to put in the time on the editing. I find I tend to write my stories quickly, which is great, but it is the editing and the looking at how I can phrase things better to have a more powerful impact on the reader is where the time really gets eaten up.
Goodreads Author Programme – Blog – Reading Out Loud
Do you ever read stories out loud when you are on your own? (I accept if you do this on the Tube, the bus, or what have you, you WILL get some funny looks, so probably best not go there! If you’re driving, stick to audio books for your sake and everyone else’s!).
I’m thinking of those times when you’re curled up at home with a cup or glass of something nice and have got a lovely book on the go.
I’m also not talking about reading to children (though this is one of the best things you can ever do as a parent. I cherish my love of books and stories, thanks to my mother doing this for me when I was a child. It was a great joy to share the joy of this with my son as he was growing up. Guess what, he loves books, though in totally different areas to me, which is fab.).
I sometimes read my own work out loud, record it, and play it back on something like Audacity to hear how my dialogue sounds. Does it sound natural? Am I tripping over something etc?
But why not read out loud with books you are reading for pleasure when you’re on your own? Why? I think you pick up nuances as you hear how the prose sounds. I think it can give you a deeper appreciation of how well the words have been put together. And there is something about reading out loud that calls to mind where we get our storytelling from – the oral tradition – so very much a case of revisiting our roots here.
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- Another way of publishing…. Image via Pixabay
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- Reviews can have global reach. Most impact I think can often be local to the writer.
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- Notebook to hand ready for those story ideas. Image via Pexels.
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- The delights of a cosy read. Pexels image
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- Some very strange creatures are in books. Image via Pixabay
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- Great characters = great books. Image via Pixabay.
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- Books are fabulous, whatever the format. Image via Pixabay.
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- I don’t always write directly to screen. Image via Pixabay
Chandler’s Ford Today – Graham MacLean Art Series
I acted as series editor on this. Am glad to share the links to all three parts of the series now. If you would like to know a bit more about art, the media used, and some of the most well known artists, do have a look at these. Graham’s own artwork is used throughout the series and is stunning. See what you think.
http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/graham-maclean-on-art-part-1-why-i-love-art/
http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/graham-maclean-on-art-part-2-media-used-in-painting/
http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/graham-maclean-on-art-part-3-my-favourite-artists/
The Mekong River At Phnom Penh , Cambodia Oil painting. Just one of Graham MacLean’s fantastic artworks. Look at that light! Image kindly supplied by Graham MacLean
Pi Toi O Fishing Village NT Hong Kong – image and original painting by Graham MacLean
The wild Croatian coastline outside Dubrovnik. Painting and image by Graham MacLean
These are just some of my favourite paintings by Graham. There are many more fabulous pictures in the three part series.
Allison Symes: Collected Works 