Characters – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

Believable Characters

Image• Posted on April 11, 2024April 9, 2024 by L. M. Montes

Journaling

Posted on January 16, 2024 by L. M. Montes

Keeping a journal is important when writing a book. I have one for each book I’ve written. How do they help? They’re a great place to write down your ideas for your story, characters, setting, random thoughts and ideas, and much more. When you get stuck, and you will, you can refer back to it for help in getting those gears running smoothly again.

Some of you might think this information is rather obvious. To a seasoned writer, it is. But those of you who may be starting out will find this helpful. At some point the ideas you’re going to have about your story will come smashing down on your brain, and you will want to put them somewhere. A journal will help.

Characterization

Traces

Posted on August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by L. M. Montes

When you’ve depicted a character so well within a story that traces of them are left behind in the reader’s heart, mind, and soul.

Scenes

Flashbacks

Posted on August 9, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Have you ever read a story that had a flashback, and it left you wondering why the flashback was used? Simply put, if your flashback doesn’t drive your plot forward in any way; or if it doesn’t build your characters, don’t use it. Flashbacks should be used sparingly. They must serve a purpose or you risk the reader getting bored. What happens when readers get bored? They put the story/book down.

Writing

Story Strengthening

Posted on July 18, 2023 by L. M. Montes

If you are a writer, whether you write fiction or nonfiction, learn about what adds strength to your writing. There is a difference between what strengthens your writing, the do’s and don’ts (which are finite), and what works for you (writing methods that work for you and are comfortable for you). Strengthening your writing means drawing your reader into your story, essay, research, etc., and keeping them there. You don’t want your readers to be half with you. I’ll pick on fictional writing here. See the list below.

DO’s/DON’TS:

Create strong characters your readers can relate to (see numbers 11 and 12 below for more details).
Be direct. By this I mean use action verbs not adverbs (see my posts from April 12, 2023 Adverbs and Your Writing, and from April 19, 2023 The Opposite Side of Adverb Usage for more information on this subject).
Use the three act structure for fictional stories. Story Structure–Demystified by Larry Brooks will help you learn where to put in your story what you write. Trust me…you want to read this book.
Be relevant. This means to make sure that what you put into your scenes has something to do with your story. There is nothing more boring than reading a book and being bored because what you’re reading has nothing to do with the story. Readers can figure out real quick when there’s information in a scene that doesn’t need to be there.
Edit, edit, edit. Edit your book/story first, then give it to an editor to do the rest. Trust me, too many mistakes will cause the reader to put the book/story down, not finish it, and/or give you a bad review.
Ensure your story has conflict. Conflict ensures the turning of pages.
Setting. The one thing you don’t want your readers to do is ask, “Where are they”, or “What do the surroundings look like”. Be sure to include where the story is taking place and describe it. You want your readers to ‘see’ where the story is taking place.
Don’t be predictable. Add some twists and turns, you know…unexpected story surprises. Have fun with this.
Learn how to write dialogue. Yes, this can be messed up if not done correctly.
Use of clichés. Don’t use them.
Unrealistic characters. Creating credible characters who’s motives, actions, and backstories is important if you want your readers to relate to them.
Unlikable characters. Your protagonists must be likable, and if they aren’t completely likeable, then they should be relatable. Create some kind of commonality through emotions or use of humanity. Here again, it’s about connecting your characters to your readers, so your readers will care about what happens to them (characters),whether it is the protagonist or villain.

Of course there are more, but this is a good ‘meat and potatoes’ list. Learn as you go.

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.

Characterization, Plot/Story

Backstory or Bust

Posted on July 5, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Your main character’s backstory, or history, is presented in the first act. Sometimes in act 2 but never in act 3. The bulk of it gets inserted in act 1. I like to think of the backstory as a spring board for what is to come. Will all of it have a bearing on the main story? No. Some of it will work toward the reader getting to know your character and even creating empathy for your character within the reader. But how do you introduce backstory, and what will your character’s backstory be? I will tell you how I did it, and you can take it from there.

So far, I have had to create backstory for three main characters. Once in book 1, once in book 2, and now in book 3. Each time I accomplished this, I did it a different way. In book 1 I used a flashback and introspection with the main character to convey her personal history. By doing this, the reader gained insight into the main character’s state of mind and the relationship she had with her mother. It also conveyed insight into her past behaviors. Where did I get her backstory from? I used a little of my own history and embellished it.

In book 2, we meet Kyle Stevens as our main character. For his backstory, I presented it in a vision he had while in another realm. So, he was actually seeing a memory being played out in front of him. Mixed in with it were memories he had no idea he had. Everything he saw in that vision played an active role in the story to come, physically and mentally. Later in act 2 more backstory is peppered throughout but sparingly. Remember that. Kyle’s history just jumped at me as I was writing it. I made it up as I was going along. That’s a rare thing. I had so much fun writing book 2. Can you tell?

Now, I am in the middle of writing book 3. John Cummings is now the main character. He was a side character in books 1 and 2, but we never gained any real detailed information about him. Until now. The way I present his backstory to the reader is through verbal means. In other words, he has to tell the love of his life about his past. So this time it comes out in a way that’s straight forward. The back story for book 3 I am still working out. I have a journal I write notes in, so this morning as I was working on my manuscript, I got to the part where John is to tell Maggie about his past. I had an idea, but it wasn’t coming clear (not like it did for Kyle in book2). So I sat thinking about John and the other players in the story and the events thus far. Ideas started to click but not to the point where I could make it up as I went along, as before. So I pulled out my journal and jotted down notes about John’s history. That’s where I’m at with that at this point.

Do you have to do what I did? No. You can if you choose, but take my ideas and use them as springboards to other ideas you may come up with. We’re all different and do things in ways that work for us.

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.

Characterization

There’s Always that One

Posted on June 3, 2022 by L. M. Montes

How many times have you been part of a group or team where there is at least one person who has to be a stickler for keeping things on track? They correct you if they feel you’re wrong, and/or make sure everything is done right. I think it’s a rule of life that every group has to have someone like this in their life in order to keep everyone on track whether it’s their job or not (I’m laughing here, because I know people like this). These people can (but not always) cause tension in your story. So if you want to spice things up a bit, included one of these types of characters within your story.