How did you interpret the word “Gifted”?
I took the
meaning to be talented. That in turn led me to wonder about having a story
about a character who has talent but is also horribly accident prone. It is
clear she needs to find her true calling and without doing too much damage in
the meantime. Her boss’s assistant is petrified of what my character can do but
the boss finds uses for it.
My
character is indeed gifted but not in the way she, or those closest to her,
anticipated. The nice thing was this lent itself nicely to a humorous tale,
which I always love writing. I love open themes like "gifted" because you can
take something like this in so many different directions.
How did you find out about our call for
submission?
By
attending the Bridge House Publishing celebration
event in London last year where the theme was announced. I then looked out for
the submission date via the website. Having said that, knowing what the theme
was so early did mean I could get drafting something earlier. I always
appreciate things like that. Gave me more time to polish my draft up too before
I had something ready to submit.
What are the merits for you of the short story
form?
Short
stories are wonderful forms in their own right. They capture moments. They give
the pay-off so much more quickly than a novel can. They tell tales which, at
best, would be a scene in a longer work and, just as likely, would not make it
into a book at all.
I enjoy
writing a mixture of flash fiction (1000 words or fewer) and short stories
(1001 words plus). I like being able to write different genres in these forms.
I’ve written humorous tales, crime ones, ghostly types, and have loved being
able to “play” with writing in the first person and the third in the shorter
form.
It’s always
a joy submitting stories (and even a bigger one when they’re accepted). I love
the challenge of continually coming up with interesting characters and
situations. Keeps me on my writing toes!
Tell us a little about you as a writer?
As well as
writing flash fiction/short stories, I blog regularly. I write weekly for online magazine, Chandler’s Ford Today, often on topics of interest to writers, and
I often interview authors too. I blog for
Authors Electric and More than
Writers, the blog spot for the Association
of Christian Writers.
I write for
and am part of the editorial team for Writers’
Narrative, which is written by writers for writers.
I also run
flash fiction and editing workshops.
I was one
of the winners of the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition three years in
a row. I was impressed with how the fifteen winners each year came up with such
different stories when we were all writing to the same theme and word count.
I have had
my flash stories broadcast on North
Manchester FM on the Three Minutes
Santa show hosted by Hannah Kate and often have 100-word stories published
on Friday Flash Fiction.
Do you have any more forthcoming publications
or events?
I have
submitted my third flash fiction collection to Chapeltown Books and am happily drafting a fourth. I am taking part
in Flash NANO again where, for the
month of November, I am given thirty prompts, one a day, to respond to - am
finding this fun and challenging as I did last year. I also love the whole idea
of having thirty new stories to edit and polish after November! You are also
encouraged to post on the Facebook page
associated with this how you are doing and, if you wish, excerpts of your drafts.
Great way to interact with other writers.
Am looking
forward to the Bridge House Publishing celebration
event in London in December. I hope to be back at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick next year. In 2023 I ran a
workshop there and am hoping to get to do that again.
Author Bio
Allison
Symes, who loves reading and writing quirky fiction, is published by Chapeltown Books, CafeLit, and Bridge House Publishing. Her flash
fiction collections, Tripping The Flash
Fantastic and From Light to Dark and
Back Again are out in Kindle and paperback.
Website: https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/
Books: http://author.to/AllisonSymesAuthorCent
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@allisonsymes
No comments:
Post a Comment