WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

What Makes a Good Villain (Part 1)

Posted on October 3, 2021October 2, 2021 by L. M. Montes

Never underestimate your villain. They are more clever than you think they are. Creating them goes beyond having them do bad nasty things to your main character. Oh no. They go much deeper than that. They must know your MC well in order to know how to act against them. Part of the villain getting to know your MC means they must get to their weaknesses, AND they are well gifted at getting to know this information, AND they will know exactly how to use it against them.

Your villain is the architect of the inciting incident and the stories plot twists that follow. Their job is to create tension. Think of them as the mudslingers. They throw everything they can think of to thwart your MC.

Fiction

Word Selection

Posted on October 1, 2021 by L. M. Montes

How picky are you with your words, when you write? Do you have to choose just the right ones in order for you to move on? Or do you belt them out there onto the page and rework them later? The first way can stop you up and prevent you from making headway at a steady pace. Because what happens is this: a creative idea for your story may have popped into your head, and you might forget it by the time you’re finished making your wording what you ultimately want it to be.

Get the words on paper first along with your ideas and worry about making them just perfectly right later. You can also make notes for yourself along the way about what you want to go back and fix. Your draft will still be there waiting for you.

Have a great weekend everyone, and God Bless 🙏

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A Cruise Apart

Posted on September 28, 2021 by L. M. Montes

A Cruise Apart

Characterization

Voice

Posted on September 21, 2021 by L. M. Montes

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

When I am reading a work of fiction, I hear the voices of the character in my mind. No, I don’t hear voices literally. I imagine I hear them. That’s quite different. But, when I hear each of them as I’m reading, they all sound different. I hear them that way because the author did such a good job with creating a voice for each individual character that they all sound different.

So how do we make our fictional characters sound different? It comes down to choice of words and how those words are said. I think body language/facial expression also plays a part in that it helps with how the words are intended when spoken on the page in your dialogue. Think of their character too. Is how they speak out of character for them. If so, why?

Look at the different ways to say something.

Example:
“You heard that? Really? I didn’t think I was that loud,” said Bill.

“Hey ya. Serious now, ya’ll hear that? How? Not like I was ‘at loud or nothin,” said Bill.

Play around with your words. See your character in your mind. Imagine them talking. How are they saying what their saying?

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The Blame Game

Posted on September 21, 2021 by L. M. Montes

When do we cast blame? When do we seek to find the one responsible? Is it when something bad happens as a result of someone releasing something that shouldn’t have been released? Or, is it when someone invents something that benefits the world. Which scenario gets the most attention? The negative or the positive?

Lately, I have been hearing, seeing, and watching about who is to blame for the release of this nasty virus. I’m tired of that mantra. Seriously, I am. I think many others are sick of it as well. The truth is…well…God knows who and where it came from. He knows the truth. Those responsible know the truth as well. We can play this blame game all day long. It won’t solve anything. What it does accomplish is making people angry which leads to nonsensical crap that makes some want to commit violence. As I said…the ones responsible know who they are. They will be held accountable one day. Let’s leave it at that.

This virus is here. Let’s deal with that and come up with a way to fix it (somehow). I’m not a scientist, so my prayers are with those who are. I pray they are honest enough to figure out how to squash this virus once and for all. To God be all the power and glory. He is our refuge. I pray for good health throughout the world. In Jesus Holy name I pray. Amen.

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That Silver Lining

Posted on September 13, 2021 by L. M. Montes

That Silver Lining

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Astoria, Oregon, United States of America

Posted on September 9, 2021September 7, 2021 by L. M. Montes

Fiction

New Information

Posted on September 8, 2021September 7, 2021 by L. M. Montes

I’ve read that, when you get to Act III of writing your novel, you are not supposed to add any new information. But I’ve also read that it’s ok to break the rules of writing if it’s done well. So, do you add new information after Act III or not? I say, if it works use it. Then again, before you use it, run it by some beta readers (those who critique your work before you publish it) and get their feedback first. After all, you don’t want to push your reader fans away by disappointing them.