Side Benefits of Writing by Allison Symes

Side Benefits of Writing

by Allison Symes

Coming Out of My Shell

I’m not an extrovert, far from it, but one side benefit of writing is that it has brought me out of my shell. I’ve had the joy (and continue to do so) of making friends across the writing genres and have deeply appreciated their support for launches etc.

When I was starting out as a writer, the thought of networking terrified me. That monster, Imposter Syndrome, would raise its ugly head and tell me I could not do this. I got fed up with said monster. I started going to writing conferences, just to attend the classes you understand so I could learn my craft. I hadn’t planned on talking to anyone. I was too nervous for that. That thought fell apart at the first tea break time. Why? Because everyone loves a natter over a cup of tea or coffee and what do writers like to chat about? What they’re writing, what you’re writing, the publishing industry, competitions, markets etc. And we all learn from each other here. No one writer can know it all.

So the moment I cottoned on to the fact that networking simply means talking about what you love - writing - with other people who understand your “obsession” with it because they’re obsessed too and you can learn useful things from each other… well the barriers crashed.

It’s my experience that 99% of all writers, once asked what they write, will happily tell you and then ask you what you’re writing. Before you know it, you’ve got a good conversation going and you’re well on your way to making wonderful writing buddies for life. Now what is there not to like about that? I have literally only come across the odd writer who is happy to talk about what they do but won’t engage with you.

Fine, I’m not having a repeat conversation with them then.

Writing is about engagement. We’re seeking to engage readers with our stories and articles. It is a two -way process so, for me, it is pretty pointless not engaging with fellow writers. Writers are not in competition with each other. Even if we write in the same genre, our style is our own. Our voice is our own.

I can only write as Allison Symes. I can prove this too. I’ve had the joy of being one of the winners of the Waterloo Arts Festival Writing Competition three years in a row. For each year, a different theme was set. The winning writers had to work to 1000 words maximum and clearly show the theme. We all did. Fifteen different writers came up with

fifteen different stories at 1000 words on the appropriate theme each year. The styles and moods of the stories were different. The range of imagination was amazing. I found that encouraging. I’ve also found out about markets such as CafeLit from other writers. That in turn led me to discovering flash fiction and being published in the form. I’m now giving Zoom talks on flash fiction, and my writer’s journey, and that was something I hadn’t anticipated when I started out. Just as well I’ve come out of my shell a bit I think.

So, over to this month’s flash fiction challenge then and I will base it on the above.

Theme: Coming Out of Your Shell

Flash fiction can be a wonderful vehicle for character studies precisely because these are at their best when kept short. You don’t want your characters rabbiting on about every aspect of their lives. They, and you, just need to focus on what matters. So with a theme like that, you can write about a character who does precisely that. What happens when they do come out of their shell? Do those around them welcome it or resent it? Equally you could take it that a character refuses to do so despite it being in their best interests. What would the consequences of that be?

Just to start you off here is my take on the theme and I suggest writing to no more than 300 words. This kind of story is best kept short and sweet. My story here is effectively a slice of life story.

Emerging by Allison Symes

It was a struggle but it must be done. It was easier to stay put but she knew she must break through. Some things were just ingrained, as if programmed. Best get it over and done with though she wondered what she would look like after all this time cocooned.

It was not as if she could ask her mother. Mother never stayed around and one day too she would not stay around for her offspring. It was just the way it was. She wondered if she would be beautiful. Was there any way to find out? Well other than the

obvious way… if someone from the opposite sex approached, that would be a good indication, she supposed.

She stretched again. She felt the cocoon begin to break. Best to go on now the process had started. It seemed to take forever but on emerging and as she stretched her wings, she felt it was worth it. She’d not had wings before. She wished she didn’t feel so sticky but stretching out in the sunshine felt blissful. If only she could stay like this for ever…

She smiled to herself. Being a butterfly was all about change. But she’d only gone and done it. She hoped somewhere Mother would be proud. Books: http://author.to/AllisonSymesAuthorCent.

Her Youtube channel, with book trailers and story videos, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCPCiePD4p_vWp4bz2d80SJA/ With her non-fiction hat on, Allison blogs for online magazine, Chandler’s Ford Today, often on topics of interest to writers. Her weekly column can be found at http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/author/allisonsymes/

Allison also blogs for Authors Electric and More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers.

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. She has been a winner of the Waterloo Arts Festival writing competition three years in a row where the brief was to write to a set theme to a 1000 words maximum. Website: https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/

Coming out of my shell by Sylva Fae

'Workplace Bullying’, the words boldly glared out from the leaflet a colleague slipped into my hand. I quickly shoved it into my handbag, just having it was causing my cheeks to flush. "A few of us are considering taking action," Suze whispered, subtly flicking her eyes towards the tyrant in question. I followed her gaze; the feeling of dread and loathing flooded my body as I took in the false smile plastered across the face I'd come to hate.

My heartbeat quickened as I considered what taking action might mean. Workplace bullying, though? Children get bullied not forty-year-olds in a professional environment. It sounded ludicrous to call it that, but what was it? Unfair demands, excluded from team emails, not being informed about important meetings, which (deliberately?) took place on my only afternoon off – was this bullying? “Jane! Stand up!” Her sneering snarl cut through my musing. My heart thudded, flooding my cheeks with beetroot red. Tentatively, I rose on jelly legs. “Bored already? You can go first with your presentation then.”

Presentation? What presentation? “But of course you can’t, because you didn’t attend my meeting yesterday. It was about staff slacking off and not pulling their weight – that sound familiar, Jane? The last words were spat out, then replaced with a smirk. Yes, this was bullying. All around, colleagues looked on, some embarrassed, some sending sympathetic glances, but all glad it wasn’t them. “You will stay late to work on your presentation. Now sit down.”

Suze surreptitiously patted my leg – a silent show of support. Something snapped inside me, I swallowed down the rising nausea and reached into my handbag… “No, Joanne.” A collective gasp filled the silence, and all eyes turned to see Joanne’s ugly, incredulous glare. “I’ll do my presentation now,” I said brandishing the leaflet. “It’s on workplace bullying; it’s about cruel bosses who treat their staff unfairly – that sound familiar, Joanne?”

Coming out of my shell by Joy Margetts

The wait has been excruciating. I’ve been feeling so trapped and irritated by it all. Waiting to have my moment in the sun. I know I will reach my full potential then. I will be seen for what I am. I will shine brightly and be admired by all. There will be a moment; I was made for it and it will come. It might be under a dazzling chandelier in a fine ballroom, or it might be in the reflection of a flickering candle on a romance filled night. I might stand alone, or I might stand with others. At least my bid for freedom starts here - in the safe brown hands of a smiling Pearl Diver.