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.
Oceanic Symphony by L. M. Montes
Tag: Writing
Character Arc
In reality we all go through our own personal growth. It’s called life. In a story our main characters go through their own personal growth. It’s called a character arc. With all of the mistakes we make, most of us learn from them and move on to the right path. Along the way we hit another snag, we learn (hopefully), and continue on. Because we learned our lessons from the past, if we’re hit with the same situation again, we’ll know how to handle it the right way. We grow from our experiences.
But here’s the thing. Our lessons in real time are learned over the course of a lifetime, which can be years. In a book the character arc for the main character progresses for the life of the story/book. Think of it of as a cycle of sorts or a path. The character starts out at point A then moves to point B by way of various experiences, conflicts, decisions, and mistakes. From point B they move forward using what they learned to get to point C. They go through more challenges and are faced with more fears. Then they reach point D. By the end of the book they’ve gone through some changes personally and overcame their fatal flaw. Growth. If your main character goes through each of the points in the character arc cycle without showing any kind of growth, there’s something wrong. There must be growth.
A character arc that has a fascinating and compelling character arc will have characters overcoming challenges and facing fears as the story unfolds. The outcome? Personal growth, much like how people in real life obtain personal growth.
In Your Pocket 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.
Story Tension
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.
Learning Blowout
If you are in the beginning stages of learning how to write fiction, DO NOT…I repeat… DO NOT inundate yourself with too much information at one time. You will get overwhelmed and risk putting out that learning “flame”. Take one topic, for example characterization, and learn a little about it each day. Take small bites. Trust me on this. Also, taking fiction writing class works just as well.
Starting a Scene
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.
The Time Series
You’re Inner Story
Write like yourself and not like other people as they would write it. Only YOU can write the story inside of you.
Character Reactions within a Story
When throwing the unexpected at your characters, it’s important for those characters to react in a way that’s realistic to the situation. If you don’t, the reader is going to end up rolling their eyes or pause in their reading and scratch their head in wonder, which you don’t want. You want your readers to be into your story and to keep going with it. Worse, they could put the story down and never finish reading it.
If you aren’t sure if your characters’ reactions aren’t what they should be, have someone else, like a test/beta reader, read it first before publishing it to the world. Get their feedback. It’s important.
Examples:
Unrealistic: A couple of your characters, let’s say to John and Kevin, are out hunting Big Foot, a.k.a. Sasquatch. They are walking through the forest at night then hear the snap of twigs. They stop and look around. Sasquatch jumps out in front of them and they start laughing.
Realistic: The same characters scream, when Sasquatch jumps out at them, and they run. (Be more creative with their terror besides screaming and running. But you get the idea.)
Unrealistic: One of your characters teleports for the first time in their life and they react as though they’ve been doing it all their life. (Trust me, that’s not a realistic reaction.)
Realistic: The same character teleports for the first time in their life and feels feint afterwards. (Here again, get creative with this.)
Overall, you want your readers to enjoy and take in the story you took so much time and care to write. You want them to experience it and feel it. So don’t ruin that experience for them by causing them to roll their eyes or put the book down.
Pinkish Hues by L. M. Montes
Pinkish hues of gradient splendor
spread your colored robes so free,
across the sky a dance you render
for such souls who yearn to see.
A vacuumed hush with mists of dusk
whisper songs of silence floating,
nature’s calm and slowness brusque
gives way to darkness’ dewy coating.
Nighttime shines with speckled lights’
canopy gently dotting ebony skies,
moonlight hovers beams so tight
commanding coverage until rise.
Morning rays o’er the horizon render
with arms caressing soft and free,
pinkish hues of gradient splendor
for such souls who yearn to see.
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 