Fiction – Page 3 – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

The Veil of Time

Tora Jasper arrives home in East Tawas, Michigan after a long drive from Norfolk, Virginia. Doing so reminds her of the tragedy that befell her parents a year ago, so she doesn’t want to stay too long. She wants to finish with her parents’ affairs and get back to Virginia. However, her friend and fate have different plans for her, so she stays…. for now. But, while going through her parents’ belongings, she uncovers a discovery that turns her world upside down.

In the meantime, she meets Kyle Stevens and John Cummings and discovers her connection to them goes beyond the here and now. Through them she soon discovers more clues that lead not only to more secrets about her family and herself but also to a whole other world and a quest to go with it. The journey won’t be easy. Her adversary, the Black Mamba, is there at every turn threatening her whole existence. It isn’t just him but the darkness he represents. She finds a calm in the darkness, and it scares her.

Will Kyle help her stay in the light and be the protector he claims to be, or will she succumb to the darkness? After all, he has his own secrets. At first, it goes well, but when Tora, Kyle, and John hit a snag, something goes very wrong. Soon they are in a race against time.

The Cross’s Key

The fate of Kyle Stevens hangs in the balance after blacking out in the Cave of Treasures and waking up to find himself in another realm and an historical event playing out in front of him. The horror brings him to his knees. Then an elusive and long forgotten relic from his past presents itself again, reminding him of unfinished business. Just when he thought life couldn’t get worse, memories he didn’t know he had, surface, along with a life or death quest he must undertake.

But the evil angel, Lord Ladonnis, has another plan for Kyle, one that could cost him his soul.

Kyle loves his teaching career and his life the way it is, but the more he ignores the quest, the closer Lord Ladonnis gets and the more his past and present collide.

Time Series

Fiction

Out Now

Posted on February 9, 2024 by L. M. Montes

For those of you who have seen and read my short stories I posted on this blog in the past, as you know, I deleted them off of here so I could put them all together into a collection and publish them. Well…..I published my collection of short stories. They came available on Amazon today February 9, 2024. The link is below.

However, I slightly changed some of the stories that had been on this blog. Plus, I added new short stories never published on this sight. I hope you check them out. Have fun reading.

This collection of short stories holds a mixture of fantasy, mystery, and intrigue, so dive into some mind-gripping strangeness that will leave you scratching your head and wondering. Find out what happens when you are never happy with what you have in The Moving Room. Be careful, you just might find out you’re someone else in Time’s Illusion. Have you ever seen eyes in a pool, and they’re following you? You will in Lights of Fantasy. Sometimes treasures are meant to stay hidden in Time’s Wind. Jump into these and other fantastical stories. Your fate awaits you.

Starts

Story Starters Part II

Posted on October 16, 2023April 28, 2026 by L. M. Montes

On July 15, 2020 I posted an article entitled Story Starters. In that article I talked mostly about the What If statement, and many examples were given. One example mentioned was: what if you stumble upon your parents who aren’t your parents but they look like them? In this article I would like to give you a variation of the What If statement.

Maybe the What If statements aren’t the way you come up with story ideas. That’s ok. We’re all different. Here’s another way you can do that without using the What If.

Setting	Character	Action	Disaster
A Farm	Jeff (the owner)	He’s milking the cow	He receives word that his brother died. He has no brother…
A high school classroom	The teacher	She is teach a math class	She is arrested.
A park	Mr. John’s and his dog	He is walking his dog	A random woman accuses him of breaking into her house.

You can see by reading the above examples, there’s much you can do with these general statements. The sky is the limit. But my point here is that the table above (and maybe you’d rather not use a table) is just one way of organizing your thoughts. The way each idea is stated is done in such a way that you can mix and match them. Instead of the teacher being arrested, Mr. John’s could get arrested in the park as he’s walking his dog. You see how this way is more versatile?

Feel free to use any and all ideas I present on this blog. Happy writing. Have fun.

Writing

Writing Advice and Pointers

Posted on September 16, 2023 by L. M. Montes

There are those individuals out there who charge for the information they give out on writing. You know, pay a fee and you can get writing pointers and tips on how to write a book, etc… That’s all well and good if that is what they want to do. They have every right to do that. However, I don’t believe in doing that unless I am publishing a book on the subject. That is the only way I will charge for the writing tips and information I give out. LOL, I don’t want to write a book about that. I enjoy what I do here on this blog. My published books are fiction for the most part. I have a book of poems published as well.

That being said, if you have any questions at all about anything having to do with writing fiction, please ask me.

Writing

So…You Want to Write a Book

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

You want to write a book, but you don’t know where to start. First of all, the whole process from beginning to end will take a while. I’m not saying that to scare you away. I’m just being realistic. The upside to this is you will finish if you stick to it. Do not back down. Take a break, yes, but don’t get discouraged. The ideas and creativity will come and go. Jesus is my inspiration. Without Him my efforts are meh.

All that being said, what do you do first? Well, there are some things one must think about and decide on before sitting down at the computer to write. Those things come in the form of questions to answer first and/or things to think about. You will find them below.

Do you want to write fiction or nonfiction?
In what genre do you want to write? If you want to write fantasy, what type of fantasy? High/epic fantasy? Low fantasy? Magical realism? Sword and sorcery? Dark fantasy? Fables? Fairy tales? Superhero fiction? Be specific. If you want to write a romance, there are quite a few of those, too. I just decided to pick on fantasy at the moment.
Who is your reader? Young adult? Children? Older adults? Adults?
Why are you writing the book?
Learn the three act structure of a book (fiction).
Get to know your characters.
Ask yourself ‘what if’ questions. This will help you with creating your story and give you something to build it around.
Decide on the best time of day to write and write everyday.
Explore ideas.
Loosen up your writing and relax.

As you can see from this list, there is much to think about. Relax, take your time with it, and about all…have fun.

Action Words

Other Words for ‘Walk’

Posted on August 3, 2023 by L. M. Montes

There are times in our writing a story when we want to use another word for walk, especially if we want to depict a certain way the character is walking. If the character is angry, we don’t want them to walk away. Instead we might want them to walk away angry, but what words can we use to depict the action and at the same time convey the emotion the character is feeling. Simple, don’t use the word ‘walk’. Use something else. You will find a list of other words for walk along with the emotions they represent.

Angrily
stomp
tramp
careen
stalk
flounder
skulk

Relaxed/Sadness
stroll
saunter
amble
wander
meander
ramble
traipse
dally

Excited
skip
prance
with quick steps
trot
hasten

Confidence
parade
sashay
swank
flounce
stride
stalk

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.

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.

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.

Characterization, Writing

What Works

Posted on July 3, 2023 by L. M. Montes

If you’ve chosen to be a writer, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, you will see quite a few books and articles regarding the do’s and don’ts if you want to be successful. I’m here to tell you there is no hard and fast rule you must follow to be a definite success. What I will tell you is to read what others have tried in the past and try it. If it works for you, continue using it. If not, either tweak it to your liking or stop using it. We are all different writers with different writing styles. What works for one writer will not work for another.

Example: Characterization
Some writers like to make a detailed personality sketch of their characters. This is a great idea because you can use it to refer back to, while writing your story. Does every author/writer have to do this in order to create great characters that come alive and stand out? Certainly not. You might be the writer/author who would prefer to make a video about your character. How you do this is up to you, of course. Or, you might make it up as you go along. Hey, whatever works for you and creates memorable characters.

Don’t stress yourself out by trying to write how others write and whether or not you’re getting it just right. Use their strategies, but use them in YOUR OWN way.