Social – Page 12 – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

A Personal Starting Point Biography

Posted on February 2, 2023February 2, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Ever since I read a short story my elder sister wrote when I was a pre-teen, I wanted to write stories. Then I began reading mystery books for young adults and wanted to write even more. There was just one problem. I didn’t know how to go about doing that. At the time I didn’t understand there was a process or a particular structure in regards to writing a story let alone writing a book. After all, I was only 10.

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In high school in one of my English classes, we were assigned to write a short story. Now, I don’t remember what the lesson was surrounding this assignment or if the teacher taught us an in depth lesson on how to write one, but I wrote one. My mom praised it and thought the world of it. I, however, was more critical of it. I felt there was more I needed to know. As I recall, I could have done more with my characters and added more conflict and/or suspense. I don’t remember what grade I received for the story, but I know it was a passing grade. I wouldn’t get back to writing creatively until my late 20’s.

During my hiatus the yearning to write a book was ever present in my mind. So between raising kids and a family, I read how to books on writing fiction. I tried to set pen to paper and start a but it fizzled out. The time wasn’t right. I had three kids (boys) and a husband, so that’s where my mind was at. My husband was in the Army, and, at one point, he was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield/Desert Storm. His safety and the care of my three boys was first on my mind. At that time I still wanted to write a book, but I lacked the materials and opportunity to do so. That was ok. I was young and had plenty of time for writing later. In the meantime I lived life. Little did I know, it was only the beginning.

Ohhh the stories I could tell from that point onward…..

Social

Pretend

Posted on January 30, 2023January 29, 2023 by L. M. Montes

When I was a kid, my sister and I would play pretend all the time. I loved those times because we didn’t have a care in the world. We didn’t have the responsibility of grown ups yet. The freedom to dream stuff up while we played brought about so much enjoyment. Then as we grew older our interests changed (obviously). I remember, too, as a kid, not wanting to grow up because it meant taking on responsibilities outside of being fun. I think many of you can relate. Then, when I did get older, I wanted those not so fun responsibilities. Why? Because it meant a whole different kind of fun. But the pretend didn’t go away. Not really. It changed course by coming in the form of story telling and poetry writing.

Writing fiction and creating poetry gave me that same playful satisfaction that playing pretend as a child had. But not everyone writes. We’re all different and, therefore, we enjoy different things. I have one friend who loves to fish and goes on fishing expeditions by himself. It’s a time for him to relax and regroup. Plus it gives that time to allow his mind to take in the beauty of where his is. If feeds his soul.

What is your pretend time? What is your enjoyment? If you don’t have anything that frees up your mind and body from the day’s stressors, find something. If you can’t figure out what that something is, try different things. For me, as mentioned above, it’s my writing.