Write – Page 3 – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

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.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Poetry

Mistaken by L. M. Montes

Posted on July 1, 2023 by L. M. Montes

I strolled along in the park one day
enjoying a floral scene,
until a tap on my shoulder I felt
compelled me to turn around,
it was a man with reddened face
who hurled words with daggered grace,
I turned do leave but hit the ground
when me he tripped and there he dwelt,
“Sir, why do you have to be so mean,
I am not the person whose name you say.”

Photo by Torsten Kellermann on Pexels.com

Writing

Writing Like Others

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

Have you ever observed someone else do something very well and wished you could do that just like them? I’m a writer, so I’ll pick on writing. There are some pretty talented writers out there. J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen, just to name a few, are some them. We would all like to write like them. Truth be told, no one can write like them because no one else is them. I am me, so I can only write like me. You are you, so you can only write like you. We are all different, thank God. If we all wrote like the each other, stories would be pretty boring. What we can do is improve our writing to be the best us we can be.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

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.

Poetry

Oceanic Symphony by L. M. Montes

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

In the roar of the ocean
the waves whisper–
breezes tickle–
feathering their way
over waters so vast,
conducting a symphony
so loud yet so fair.

Poetry

In Your Pocket by L. M. Montes

Posted on May 24, 2023May 23, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Where is yourself
that you hide
in your pocket?

Are you guided
by a helping hand
from a friend?

Do you not trust
but instead
hide from others?

Rise above your
defenses holding
you down.

Be strong within
but cautious
and not put down.

Sing your strengths
with embellishment
all around.

The inner you
will prosper
and not drown.

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.

Scenes

Starting a Scene

Posted on May 22, 2023May 22, 2023 by L. M. Montes

In fiction, there are 5 ways to start a scene

With Action– Hook the reader by providing something about the character. Maybe their past, choices they’ve made, their desires. It will depend on the story you’re writing. Make sure it flows with the plot.

With Summary– Not all writing within a story is showing. There are times you need to tell, too. This is where that comes in. When necessary, and when the story calls for it, begin a scene with some expository writing. Make sure it’s relevant and prepares the reader for forthcoming events.

Introduce Your Narrator– What you’re doing here is introducing your narrator to your readers. Open readers up to the narrator’s mind. What makes them interesting?

With Scene Setting– Describe a scene. I like to call this introducing what’s coming with visual flavoring particles. What you’re doing here is giving the reader a visual setup of the environment within the scene that will then lead to the action/reaction within it. It’s setting the stage, in other words. You’re just doing it with description.

With Dialogue– There is nothing like starting a scene with tense dialogue or, what I call, inviting dialogue. It’s the type of dialogue that invites the reader into it to become a part. It’s done in such a way that engrosses the reader, and they won’t put your story down.

Which of the above you choose to begin your scenes will depend upon your story and its the flow.