Tag: Short story

Posted in Prompts

A Fear I Overcame

Posted on by L. M. Montes

When I was in the Navy Reserves, I took a course called Firefighting and Damage Control at the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Long Island. If any of you have been there, you know where I am talking about. The course was two weeks long with the first week covering firefighting and the second week covering damage control. The first week consisted of a lot of classroom instruction (Monday – Thursday), then Friday was hands on. Now keep in mind I was a novice at this. I had seen firefighting on TV shows, but I was never part of the act in real life. Until that course. Yes, I was nervous, fearful, and Oh My Gosh all wrapped into one emotion. The key is not letting that show.

The hands on consisted of various scenarios. In each scenario we had to put out a fire in a different type of environment as it pertained to Naval situations. For some scenarios we worked with a partner, and for others we were put into teams of six. My fear at that time was claustrophobia. Let’s just say it isn’t my fear anymore.

Let me explain. This school had a small Navy ship built into the pavement for training purposes. The galley (kitchen) was below the surface. The stairwell to get to it was painted black. The fire (Yes, there really was one, albite it being controlled) was in the kitchen. My team of six headed down the stairs (keep in mind that if we didn’t do any of these scenarios, we didn’t pass the course). I was in the middle of the line of sailors heading down the stairs. We got halfway down. It grew darker. The walls closed in. I froze, slapped my hands on the walls on either side of the stairwell, turned and ran back up the steps. When I reached the top, my instructor asked, “What’s the problem?” To which I replied, “Claustrophobia.” He told me to relax and breath. He didn’t force me to go down. After all, I did have a choice. But I needed to pass that course. That fact kept slapping me in my head more than anything. So I said, “I have to do this. I’m going down.” And I did. I trotted down the stairs, met my team mates who where fighting the kitchen fire, took hold of the hose and did what I was supposed to do.

I know I made this sound like the decision was easy at the end when I decided to finish the scenario. But, trust me, it wasn’t. The fear of failing won out in the end. We put the fire out and passed.

Posted in Prompts

Long Life

Posted on by L. M. Montes

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

The idea of living a very long life would make for a great fictional story. You’re giving me ideas. Hmmmm. I feel a short story itching at my brain.

My New Short Stories Page

I have created a new page for my short stories. There you will find all of my short stories listed with all of their parts. As I was going through all of my posts, I realized how difficult it might be for my readers to find all parts to my short stories due to the fact that I write them in parts. Add to that the fact that I wait a few days before posting another part, making it hard to find for readers new to my blog. SO…..what I did was create a page for just my short stories. I will still post them in parts every few days as usual on my blog. BUT at the same time I will also post a part on the short stories page so all parts can be read without the thrill of the hunt through over 500 other blog posts. You can find my short stories page by clicking the button below.

https://lmmontes777.com/short-stories-by-l-m-montes/
Posted in Fiction

The Story Within

Posted on by L. M. Montes

Everyone has a story within themselves. One that’s either dying to get out or one that wants to stay hidden. If you decide to tell your story, tell it. If you want it to remain hidden then do that. But there are two ways to let it stay hidden. You could leave it alone and do nothing at all, or you could tell it but weave it with fiction. No one will ever know. You will know, but no one else will. That is the beauty of fiction.

Pretend

Have you ever played pretend when you were a kid? If so, shuffle through your mental library of pretend scenarios and expand it into a story. This could be a short story or novel. Just an idea in case you need something to write about.

Romance

Maybe you had a romance that ended on a bad note. You would like to write about that, but you don’t want anyone to know. Well, who has to know it was your experience?

Trouble

Maybe you or someone you know got into some trouble. Ohhhh the intrigue that could come from a story such as this. Embellish and expand on it. Create a fictional detective series that centers around it.

Whatever stories lie within that computer bank living inside of your head, use them if you’re so inclined. That is, if you enjoy the art of writing. If not, leave them alone.

Posted in Characterization

Character Flaws

Posted on by L. M. Montes

What holds you back? What is one of your character traits that works against you more often than you care to admit.

Are you:

  • Stubborn
  • Anxious
  • Naïve
  • Arrogant
  • Selfish
  • Paranoid
  • Gullible

When I was younger, and for many years, I was very naïve. I hadn’t had the experiential knowledge of many things that would have allowed me to make the correct decisions. In other words, I hadn’t learned anything about life. Worse yet, it took me a while to get past that naivety. Some individuals learn life’s lessons quicker because they are willing to rely on new information without letting their own opinions get in the way. Well…I wasn’t one of those people. I had a stubborness to me which made me more headstrong than most. The result is that I didn’t listen to good advice. Because I didn’t listen, I ended up hurt (not physically, but a lesson learned type of thing). It cost me financially at one point. That was one instance. Another example came in the form of a relationship. I became involved with someone I had no business getting involved with. I let my heart guide me and not my common sense and certainly not the advice of others to the contrary.

I should have listened to what others were saying. I should have listened to that conscience of mine. But I didn’t. I truly though I knew better. I learned my lessons in the end, but it took a long time to get to that point. It shouldn’t have taken that long, but it did. The silver lining came when I FINALLY learned. When I learned my lesson, that’s when things started to change for the better. I now knew how to avoid those missteps. I knew what to look for. My story changed and the ending was GREAT.

My character flaws at the beginning were naivety and stubborness. Over the course of my life (or story), I was presented with challenges that created setbacks based on my own behavior (character flaws). In the middle of it all, once I ended up hurt, these instances made me rethink what I was doing. I was able to go back in my mind and go over what wasn’t working, THEN I was better able to correct and attack my issues head on and take them in a more positive direction by changing my behavior. THIS IS THE PATH YOU MUST TAKE YOUR CHARACTERS ON when you are writing you story/novel/book. The character flaw(s) in your main character is a large part of what carries them on their journey throughout the story. If they don’t learn anything by the end of the book, how are they able to overcome the antagonist?

Posted in Fiction

Legs

Posted on by L. M. Montes

(How many of you can relate to a story like this?)

I laughed at the comedy on TV. It was welcoming because I hadn’t gotten into a program in a long time.

Work, crafts, writing, they all had taken my time lately. But that’s ok. I’d rather do those things than spend all of my time watching television. A good brain workout doing other things than TV was better anyway. Then it happened.

The brown, hairy, eight legged thing revealed itself as I threw my head back in laughter once again. Damn, there was always something that had to spoil the fun. And just when no one else was here to kill it for me. I pursed my lips together wondering how I was going to do this. The way I saw it, I had one of two choices. I could sit and stare at it until my husband got home…….six hours from now, or I could face this and get it myself. Neither option appealed to me. Of all the places it could be, the ceiling. The only choice I had was the fly swatter.

With the fly swatter in hand, I steadied it below where said spider was. I was still too short. Damn! I trudged over to the step stool and placed it just to the right of where that ugly thing sat. I stepped up. Now I was too close. I shot out a breath. “Well, this has to be done for my own peace of mind.” I looked up and hunkered down out of its way just in case it fell. I didn’t want it dropping on me. Steadying the fly swatter just below the spider, I paused. Then, smack. But, instead of pulling the fly swatter away, I left it there, moving it back and forth to make sure I had killed it.

I stepped down off the stool and released the fly swatter at the same time. Peering down at the brown blob on top of it, I breathed a sigh of relief.