Creative Writing – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

Character Depth

Posted on July 24, 2026 by L. M. Montes

When creating fictional characters, so many details needed in building them exist. So, how do you choose what traits to give them externally and internally? Let’s focus on the internal, for now. In the reading a work of fiction for pleasure, part of what pulls me in is the depth of character of the protagonist. Their emotional response to the people and events going on around them, their thoughts, and their actions taken all play a role in achieving this.

Emotions:

Do: Tears skated down her cheeks. Don’t: She cried.
The goal here is to allow the reader to feel right along with the character. You want to pull them in. The first example does this.

Do: Sam backflipped, shot his arms into the air, and danced. Don’t: Sam was excited.

Actions:

Do: Gwen sat on the park bench and waited. Her hands rested either side of her knees, tapping out a nervous rhythm. She checked her watch, continued tapping, checked her watch again, and continued tapping. Why was he late?

Don’t: Gwen sat on the bench tapping her fingers

In the first example we get a clear picture that Gwen is nervous about her meeting with a man. In the second example we don’t know why she is there. Her actions don’t indicate whether she is nervous, relaxed, or happy.

Thoughts:

Do: My heart ached, watching him go. Would he be back? Would he find another? Would he get killed? I knew these long missions away from home was part of his job. One would think I’d be used to this by now. Maybe some do. But a nagging pit in the well of my stomach sat lying in wait each time he went on assignment.

Don’t: I didn’t like him leaving on assignment.

Clearly the first example paints a deeper picture of what she’s going through. Her situation carries quite a bit of emotional baggage and fear. It is conveyed to the reader. The second example tells us nothing.

Think of creating character depth this way:

How can I cast a line into the character and pull out a wealth of emotions, thoughts, and actions that will pull the reader in, make them care, and turn pages?

Setting Map

Image• Posted on November 1, 2025October 31, 2025 by L. M. Montes

motivation

Music and Writing

Posted on May 22, 2025May 22, 2025 by L. M. Montes

Sometimes we need an extra push while we write that ramps up our creative juices. For me, I listen to music while I write. The music I listen to depends on the type of scene I am writing. Mostly , I listen to instrumental music, but there are times I include lyrical pieces. Here’s a list of music I listen to when I write.

The Sound of Silence by Disturbed (Cyril Remix)
Hero by Alan Walker & Sasha Alex Sloan
Pilgrim by Enya
Heart over Mind by Alan Walker & Daya
Welcome to Walkerworld by Alan Walker
Fantasy Music – Daydream Mix by CacnaPaul
Dragon Empress by BrunuhVille
The Realm of the Fallen King (feat. Sharm) by BrunuhVille

Fiction

A Thousand Miles from Nowhere by K. McMahill

Posted on August 29, 2024March 28, 2025 by L. M. Montes

When was the last time you smelled a rose,
when was that last time you smelt that sweet smell of morning dew or grass after a rain? What would you do if there was one more day, like a last sunset on the winter fire, wishing I had one more day?

Being a thousand miles from nowhere
not knowing where I’ll be tomorrow,
waking up to bruises on my memory. Blood stains all around, the smell of iron and sulfur surrounding me a thousand miles from nowhere…

not knowing who I’ll be.

I try not to call out in the night to the dream that calls my name a thousand miles away. Burning of the bodies is the same every time, burying the pain in the old cold heart, while being a thousand miles away. Wishing and hoping for it to rain like hell, dreaming of a bad day of fishing, wishing I had one more day. Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I weep not knowing why, like I’m dead…but…alive trying to ride but end up falling…

The whiskey can’t bring me back, and I can’t drink it away. I pricked my thumb on the rose I was smelling to see if I still bleed…a thousand miles from nowhere.

Characterization

Blocks of Knowledge

Posted on August 17, 2024 by L. M. Montes

Think of your main character as you would a lump of clay. At first that’s all they are, someone ready for molding and maneuvering into whoever you want them to be. People are complex, so there is much information that goes into creating them. First think of the different types of qualities, traits, and information needed for a character’s creation. Then break that information down into categorical blocks. Then fill in each block with the type of information assigned to it. Please see the example below.

Fiction, Short Stories

Mysterious Encounter: The Dark Abyss by L. M. Montes (Part I)

Posted on August 15, 2024August 15, 2024 by L. M. Montes

The flat landscape lay empty. My night vision goggles guided me through the black of night while I ran for my life. The only sound penetrating the silence was my own puffs of breath. My lungs burned with the inhalation of air and adrenaline combination. The fleeting flash of a shadow slid by in my periphery on the right then another on the left.

I stopped and swept the terrain in front of me then to the rear, but there was no movement. Then I cocked my head and crinkled my brows when the ground in front of me moved. I was standing still, so this shouldn’t have happened. It led down now into a dark abyss. I couldn’t see into the depths below, even with my night vision goggles donned. I turned around, facing behind me again, ran two steps, and skidded to a sliding skid then tumbled down a steep slope. Not thinking to check the rest of the ground me, I assumed the rest was flat. Now, I fell on my butt, skidding downward. I pushed backwards with my hands and feet, but all that did was delay the inevitable. I rolled onto my stomach, scrambling upward. In that moment four dark figures with spikes protruding from the circumference of their heads stood at the mouth of the hole.

Anger heated my insides, and I jammed my fist into the dirt. The result drove it in six inches, so I used the indentation as a hand-hold, stopping my fall. I repeated same action with my left boot. Now, as I stood, pasting myself to the side of the slope, I gazed up again at the rim of the hole. But the four dark figures were gone.

A light high in the sky moved toward me, gaining in strength. I tore off my night vision goggles and continued staring at it. Its source came into view. It was a bright, glowing orb. It stopped above the hole, sunk lower in the sky as though staring at me, then it lifted back into the atmosphere, and shot away.

The ground beneath me lifted, becoming flat once more. The quiet air around me was deafening. I sat up, donned the night vision goggles again, and swiveled my head in all directions but saw no one. I tore off the goggles and stood, breathing hard and heart pounding. Then a pinch in my left side snapped my hand up, covering where I felt it. I leaned to the left, staggered a couple steps, and slumped to my knees. Something slick and sticky oozed. Dizziness played with my vision. I peered down, and a dark liquid covered my hand. Something hard slammed into my back. I hit the ground face down. Then someone struck the side of my head and darkness took over.

To be continued

Story Collage Idea

Image• Posted on March 12, 2024 by L. M. Montes

Writing

Be the Wind

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

Every major change of seasons blows in or out with a type of wind. It’s a force of nature we can’t deny, but we can certainly be a part of. We watch as leaves turn beautiful colors at the end of summer/beginning of autumn, as leaves blow away and leave tree limbs naked and snow takes their place, as snow melts and buds grow anew once more, and as buds flourish into stunning arrays of lush green leaves of all shapes and flowers into color beauties painted by God.

You, too, can be a force of nature with your writing. “Paint” your words across the page as the mood or wind strikes or blows. You can be as strong a force with winds up to hurricane strength with your words, or you can be a gentle breeze depending on what it is your are writing. The choice is yours.

Poetry

Dive In by L. M. Montes

Posted on October 4, 2023May 12, 2024 by L. M. Montes

Dive in, to the words,
paint them using your mind
as they travel through your eyes,
plummet down your neck,
across to each shoulder,
float along your arms
to fingertips,
brushing their way across
paper and screen,
and morphing  stories
from idea to creative means.