Author: L. M. Montes
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Wielding Words
Your pen (or keyboard) is your sword, and the words are the blood that’s shed as a result of wielding your words onto the page. Words have impact. It doesn’t matter what that impact is. Whether they create horror, harshness, love, peace, or fear; they have impact. You are the person in charge of creating that impact. So what kind of thrust to you want to use to create that impact?
You can make something everyday appear abnormal, or you could choose something abnormal or bazaar to appear normal or everyday. It’s all in the words you choose. How you wield your words is up to you. It’s your story, your voice, your personality. Write the words you want to write the way YOU want to write them.
Types of Conflict (Part 6): Person vs. Supernatural
This is when the main character finds himself/herself going up against a vengeful god/being or other supernatural force. A ghost comes to mind here.
Who hasn’t read a good ghost story or seen a spooky movie? This conflict deals with man versus something other worldly. Yes, that means ghosts/spirits. The Amityville Horror Movies are great examples. Do you like ghost stories? I do. To a point. I’d rather watch one that read one though.
Book Examples with Man vs. Supernatural Conflict
1. Seven Sisters (book series) by M. L. Bullock (I highly recommend this series).
2. The Amityville Horror
3. Prodigal by Judy K. Walker
4. The Vanished Series by B. B. Griffith
5. The Ripper by Jon F. Merz
Types of Conflict (Part 5): Person vs. Self
This type of conflict is between a character and their inner self. Don’t we go through this type of struggle on a regular basis?
Examples include:
1. Lack of self-confidence
2. The feeling of guilt when you do something against what you normally would do.
3. Love conflict: When you hurt someone you love.
4. The struggle of having to do something you don’t want to do but have to do. A great example of this is in Lord of the Rings when Frodo struggles with his destiny of having to destroy the ring.
Other Movie Examples of Man vs. Self
1. Buzz Lightyear in the first Toy Story movie. He’s a toy but doesn’t realize he’s a toy.
2. In the movie UP, Carl Fedricksen the grumpy old man is cynical and struggles with the cynicism that has encompassed him and the adventurous spirit he once was.
3. Tangled. Rapunzel struggles with wanting to stay in the tower or defy her mother and venture outside and leave the tower.
The Face of Two by L. M. Montes
Sweet word candy speaks,
from which my heart now gains warmth,
laying on sand at sea.
I now embrace night,
a knife sings from a sweet sheath,
stabbing with a bite.
Tomorrow’s Gift by L. M. Montes
I went about my day,
then evening came to sit,
wait I did for night so say,
I’ll send your soul adrift.
Tomorrow, we’re promised naught,
just knowledge it could be,
so in limbo I am caught,
afloat with you and me.
At last the morn breaks through,
the sun reflects the dew,
all seems right,
with sun so bright,
then life quick ran askew.
Homeless by L. M. Montes
Pants, hung low,
Gray, dusty, old hair, in a frizz,
Faded drooping, sunken blue eyes,
A frown so downward cast,
Where is my home?
I do not know,
I do not care,
I am so alone.
But do I care?
I do not know,
Here in my cardboard box
I sit in drunken moan.
My tears, stain my face,
People look at me in disgrace.
Sadness, consumes me,
Surrounds me, covers me.
Slowly, I look up,
I see the riches of allies,
The food of homeless kings,
The rot of days gone by,
Dwelling close,
The stench so wry.
What do I do?
I do not know,
I do not care,
I am so alone.
But do I care?
I do not know,
Here in my card board box
My mind, it runs to go.
The Mud-mire of Writing
Do you get stuck in places within your story/manuscript? Do you sit and wonder what went wrong during the writing of your story after everything had been going so smoothly? Why did you get stuck all of a sudden? Why the brick wall that popped up and hit you head on?
Maybe it has to do with information being in the wrong place. As you know, a novel/story is broken down into three acts with act two being broken down into two parts (the chase and the attack). What happens when you are writing and part of what you wrote should be in another act and not the one you are currently writing in? You get stuck. The story is no longer clear in your mind. The result is, you sit in front of your manuscript wondering what to write next, or you try to figure out what happened that put a stopper in your otherwise smooth writing experience. The answer could be, part of what you wrote belongs in another act. So, try to move your text in question by trying in out in another act. If it is something that belongs in act three, and you have not written act three yet, save it off to the side for later.
Another answer is that it does belong in the act you are currently writing, but it is in the wrong chapter. For example, for a couple weeks I was stuck on a couple of back to back chapters. The story was making no sense to me. The clarity was not there, and up to that point it had been. Then I realized that one of those chapters belonged in front of a chapter three chapters up, so I moved it. This particular chapter had two scenes in it. Both had the same two characters in it, but time elapsed between the first scene and the second. When I moved the chapter up three chapters, everything began to make more sense. Then, when I started reading the second scene within the moved chapter, it made no sense anymore. I sat and played around with the chapter in my head and after about five minutes, I realized that the second scene within that chapter belonged in another chapter further down, so I moved the second scene in that chapter down two chapters and put it as a second scene within its new chapter. A-HA!!! Now everything made sense.
So, next time you get stuck, before you delete and start over, move your text around.
Villanelle II by L. M. Montes
Dancing along the grass of day
The breeze does waltz in step,
Whistling a song in a joyous way.
Sandy beaches, lush and light, on you I lay,
Arms of waves roll in with gentle stretch,
Dancing along the grass of day.
Cliffs afar loom as if to say,
Do not climb me now you little wretch,
Whistling a song in a joyous way.
Horizons brag a darkening sun that lays,
Adrift and buoyant and sleep is next,
Dancing along the grass of day.
Clouds aloft do witness in dismay,
All that was and is on oceans decks,
Whistling a song in a joyous way.
For you I give this rose in May,
With a ring of old and I thee wed,
Whistling a song in a joyous way,
Dancing along the grass of day.
by L. M. Montes
The Love of Writing
Do you love writing? What kind of writing to you enjoy most? I enjoy writing fiction. I wouldn’t mind writing non-fiction, but then I can’t delve into the creative aspects that is so much a part of fiction.
If you love to write, what do you love about it? For me it’s relaxing. Not only that, but I like the writing high when I’ve written something that brings the story home. When I read a book, any book, I am reminded of the love for the writing craft that other authors have. I can see this in their writing. The attention to detail, the well developed characters, the setting(s), interwoven story lines, and much much more. Of course, none of these details runs off the top of authors’ heads. Much thought is given to every aspect of writing a story.
When I visit Twitter, I feel the joy in every author I follow as they talk about their books. Their love of writing comes through their words.
Love your characters. Breathe your story. Embrace your writing. If you love to write? Write. You don’t necessarily have to write a book. You might enjoy writing short stories, or non-fiction.
