Emotions – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

Description: Nip and Tuck

Posted on September 20, 2023 by L. M. Montes

In a previous article I wrote on August 14, 2023 entitled, Description and Setting, I spoke about the importance of using description to give the reader a picture; whether seen, heard, or felt. I also made mention of the fact you shouldn’t over describe. Write your seen first then do some ‘nip and tuck’ afterward. Below you will find a list of some ‘nip and tuck’ ideas.

Description Type	Nip and Tuck
I viewed the mountains on the horizon.	The dark, grayish mountains hovered on the horizon with daggered peaks draped with snow.
Ella walked down the dark street at night.	The night sky’s cloud cover rendered Ella’s surroundings along the lone gravel road an inky black and thick with a dewy mist.
The front yard was well kept.	Dawn continued strolling down the sidewalk peering at the house number of each. She’d never been to Sandy’s house before. Most of the front yards sported grass in need of a cut. Then she spied the right house. It had to be, since the front lawn stood out like an outdoor museum. She stopped in front of it, glanced at the house number, and smiled. Yup, this was it.
My elbow hurt.	I bent my arm, and a sharp, stabbing pain screamed at me.
I opened the old door.	The ancient door snarled in defiance, as I opened it.
The two friends fought.	Wild fists flew, as Danny and Eric continued their reckless battle.
The nightmare bothered me.	I lifted the spoonful of cereal to my mouth but stopped midway. The tap, tap, tap, that echoed inside my nightmare continued to hold me hostage. I jumped at the sudden pounding on the back door.

As you can see in the examples above, your descriptions don’t need to be long at all. As long as they are effective enough to get the job done. Like I mentioned in my previous article, Description and Setting, have someone else read it and give you feedback.

Emotions

Identifying with Characters

Posted on July 12, 2023 by L. M. Montes

When I’m reading a book, I like to be able to identify with the main character(s), empathize, get to know them, and miss them when the book is finished. This means the author must create them in such a way that they become ‘real’ to the reader. I know, that might sound silly to some, but it isn’t.

To start, the main character(s) is introduced at the beginning of the book (typically in chapter one). Then, throughout the book this same character will or should convey their feelings. Now this should be done in such a way that not only tells the reader how they’re feeling without literally telling them but also show how they’re feeling. This humanizes them and makes them real to us (the reader). (See linked article at the end of this post)

Throwing situations at your main character that draws out these emotions is the key. BUT make sure the emotion(s) fit the situation. You don’t want your male who is madly in love with his girl friend to lack in devastation if she breaks it off with him. This will cause us readers to roll our eyes. You don’t want that.

You want to hook your readers not repel them. Do everything you can to draw them in to your story world with your characters by their side. Make them your readers’ best friend.

For more on character emotions, please refer to my blog post Emotions from April 28, 2021.

Action Words, Emotions

Narrative

Posted on July 7, 2023 by L. M. Montes

When reading a book, I enjoy the story’s visuals brought on by the author’s well crafted writing. Narration can be boring if it isn’t spiced up with words that get the readers attention. Believe me, I’ve read some books that were boring in parts because there wasn’t any ‘flavoring particles’ in the narration. It was just relaying information. I get that information must be conveyed to the reader somehow, but there’s a way to tell/show that entices the reader to keep reading. Make it interesting.

Keep linking verbs to a minimum and use action verbs instead.
Use words that depict feeling. Example: The hammering continued its incessant bang, bang, until I my teeth ground. I shot out of my chair, stomped to the window, and opened my mouth to scream at the culprit wielding the damn thing. But then it stopped. Everyday for the last week someone next door hammered like that all day. Yet, when asked what they were working on, the answer was “not a damn thing.”

Below is a paragraph taken from my second book entitled The Cross’s Key. The character’s name whose point of view this paragraph is from is Kyle. He’s in another realm called Between Time, and he’s looking for a particular cave.

‘As he walked, thoughts of his last conversation with Nadira haunted him. Didn’t she have confidence in him? What if something did happen to him here, and the Quivicar was out of reach? How would he get a message to her? He glanced at his left palm. The Quivicar sat nice and mesh with the inside of his hand, an anomaly that occurred when it was in use, so it was unlikely to move. The edges of the inner workings of the artifact glowed a feint golden light.’

However you make your narration interesting, whether using action verbs, words conveying emotion, or by any other means is up to you. But keep your reader turning pages.

Emotions

The Dark

Posted on June 28, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Standing in the dark, does your imagination run wild? Yes? Good…let it. It will serve you well. Add to that the pack of tense, fearful emotions felt at the time. Remember the experience as you’re living it. Then write it down to use it later in a story.

Emotions

Story Tension

Posted on May 23, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Tension within a story is the sense that something ominous/foreboding is around the corner. What are some ways you can create tension within your story?

Forms of Tension

Increase conflict between your characters.
Make the situation worse for your character(s). Ahh, the tension of the task. Don’t make what your characters have to do easy. Don’t allow them to get what they want right away.
There is tension in surprise. Readers like to be surprised, whether it’s good or bad. Prolong it. Keep stringing them along until just the right time.
Create an air of mystery. We all love a mystery.

Emotions

Character Reactions within a Story

Posted on May 8, 2023 by L. M. Montes

When throwing the unexpected at your characters, it’s important for those characters to react in a way that’s realistic to the situation. If you don’t, the reader is going to end up rolling their eyes or pause in their reading and scratch their head in wonder, which you don’t want. You want your readers to be into your story and to keep going with it. Worse, they could put the story down and never finish reading it.

If you aren’t sure if your characters’ reactions aren’t what they should be, have someone else, like a test/beta reader, read it first before publishing it to the world. Get their feedback. It’s important.

Examples:

Unrealistic: A couple of your characters, let’s say to John and Kevin, are out hunting Big Foot, a.k.a. Sasquatch. They are walking through the forest at night then hear the snap of twigs. They stop and look around. Sasquatch jumps out in front of them and they start laughing.

Realistic: The same characters scream, when Sasquatch jumps out at them, and they run. (Be more creative with their terror besides screaming and running. But you get the idea.)

Unrealistic: One of your characters teleports for the first time in their life and they react as though they’ve been doing it all their life. (Trust me, that’s not a realistic reaction.)

Realistic: The same character teleports for the first time in their life and feels feint afterwards. (Here again, get creative with this.)

Overall, you want your readers to enjoy and take in the story you took so much time and care to write. You want them to experience it and feel it. So don’t ruin that experience for them by causing them to roll their eyes or put the book down.

Emotions

Adding Humor

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by L. M. Montes

It’s said that in fiction there must be a pet-the-dog moment. These are times within the story where the protagonist (main character), pets a dog (or other vulnerable creature). What this does is sympathizes your main character. At the same time, if the the pet-the-dog moment is done just right, it will add suspense to the scene or the story as a whole. I have done this with the books I’ve written/published. But…..

I like to also add some humor, kind of sprinkled here and there. What this does is show your MC has a sense of humor as well. In addition, it should also add to your scene (see example below the next paragraph).

Below is an example of humor from my new novel The Cross’s Key. My main character, Kyle Stevens, is trying to glean information from one of the other characters who is being rather difficult or evasive. He does a good job of getting what he wants, while creating humor for the reader at he same time.

Why did you not ask it that way before?”

“My other three brothers would have understood what I was asking,” Kyle spat out. “Now, answer my question. Unless you don’t know. If that’s the case, admit you’re ignorant and send me on my way.” The increase in irritation caused his abdomen to rumble. The result was a noise he hadn’t intended.

“Really, you chose now to pass wind?”

Realizing Jarron must be trying to get on his nerves, Kyle relaxed and chose not to play that game anymore. “Yes, I chose now to pass wind, and I’ll continue to do so unless you answer my question.” For a minute, no one spoke. Then, “I can do this all day,” responded Kyle with a cheesy grin.

Do you have to do this every time? No. Only when I feel the need for it. At the same time, I want my readers to get a chuckle/giggle while they’re reading. s

Emotions

The Tension Factor

Posted on May 21, 2022 by L. M. Montes

Components of creating tension:

An opposing force
Unanswered question or questions created by the situation or by other characters within the story and keeps readers asking more questions thereby raising their curiosity
Danger, fear, or conflict
Increased danger, fear, or conflict that ebbs and flows as the story moves along
Engaging characters with opposing goals

If you’re having difficulty coming up with specific ideas that will create tension/suspense, think of it this way, play on your main character’s fears. Make them as uncomfortable and fearful as possible. Throw the works at them. Just don’t forget to give them the courage to work through that fear and accomplish the story’s goals.

Emotions, Fiction

Conveying Anger

Posted on November 18, 2021 by L. M. Montes

I talked about emotions in previous posts in months past, but today I’m going to focus on one of them. Anger. I’ve said it before, you don’t merely want to tell the reader that your character is angry. You want the reader to FEEL the anger…right off the page.

Bad Example:
Dan was angry at the sight of his girlfriend in the arms of another guy.

Good Example:
Dan stopped short and did a double take, as he passed through the student union on his way back to his dorm. It couldn’t be her. No, no. His eyes betrayed him. After all, he saw the back of her head. It could be any girl. His brain wanted to leave but his feet stood glued in place, and his eyes were pealed on that one girl. Was it her? Was it Ann? Then, as if in slow motion, the girl turned her head, her eyes stopping on his. She smiled, then leaned in toward the strange guy and kissed him full on. A heat swelled within his chest. Why was she doing this? If she wanted to break up with him, she could have said something instead of this show. The heat within continued to swell and his nostrils pulsed. Before he knew it he was upon the both of them. His fists clenched to his sides.