We were lucky to catch up with L. M. Montes recently and have shared our conversation below.

L. M. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I believe there are three important factors involved when it comes to being successful: patience, perseverance, and learning. I have experienced all three of these in the journey of my writing career. I started writing my first novel in 1999. I finished it in 2019. During that twenty year period, I put my manuscript down many times, as I was also juggling a full-time teaching career, being in the military, school, and family. Add to that, learning the structure of a novel took time. At one point half of my manuscript was deleted because my computer went down. As a result, I put my manuscript away and vowed never to go back to it. A friend of mine told me I would eventually and to not give up. I told him he was wrong. He wasn’t. I couldn’t stay away. I persevered and went back to it months later and ended up starting the whole thing over again. I am not a patient person by any means, so through all of that I managed to find some by gaining inner strength through others who believed in me. I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to be an author, and I wanted it bad enough to stick with it, even though it took twenty years to finish. I don’t give up easily. My second book only took me three years to write. By the time I started book 2, I had learned bunches about the process of writing a book, story structure, managing a career and family in the meantime, and learning from mistakes made.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When I was around the age of 13, I read a story my eldest sister wrote in a journal. It was a story about a girl who went to spend the summer with her grandpa. It was such a heart warming story, and it made me think of our own grandpa. This story ignited the flame within me to write stories, too. So in my teen years I learned the craft of writing short stories. When I reached my early twenties, I took a hiatus from writing to start a family and didn’t pick it back up until may late twenties when I started college. It was then that I shifted into writing poetry. During that time, however; writing a novel itched at me and rested snuggly in my mind. I remained hesitant to start writing a novel though because I didn’t have a story, and I wasn’t sure how to put one together. Then a friend of mine suggested I write a romance using real life experiences. That’s when the ideas began to spark, so I started putting something together. Then I hit a road block, and the story I had come up with felt stale. I took it to my college fiction writing professor and let him read what I had to that point. When he finished, he suggested adding a touch of fantasy to it. All at once my mind could see the story. The ideas flowed and never stopped coming. Plus, I changed my genre from romance to Christian Urban Fantasy. It was the best decision I made.

What sets me apart from others in my field is that I am a very analytical person. My mind goes in many directions when it comes to impending possibilities with the stories I create. My stories have very strange aspects to them. Right now I am not only working on my third novel, but I am also putting together a collection of my short stories. If you like the Twilight Zone type stories, these have that quality.

I am most proud of the journey I have been on since I started writing way back when. I reached my goal of writing that first book. At one point if felt as if I’d never reach it. But I did. Now I have new goals. To me, part of life is about creating new goals for oneself and working toward them.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect for me is when I am in the middle of writing a scene, I’m in that zone, and the ideas flow like rapid fire. The story is coming together, and my adrenaline starts flowing. It’s an a-ha moment if you will. It takes my breath away so to speak. When my readers experience that same feeling while reading it then let me know afterwards, it adds to that rewarding feeling. That indicates to me I’ve done my job.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I first started my creative writing journey, I wish I had known the three act structure to novel writing. Back then I had many resources detailing the parts of a story, such as setting, description, character development, story arc, character arc, just to name a few; but putting all of that together without a solid structure made the process during that time daunting. Then, I came across a headline online that said, “What bestselling authors know about story structure that others do not.” I clicked on that headline and was taken to a twenty-five page booklet that talked about the three act structure. I read the booklet, and my story became clear in my mind. It was a game changer for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lmmontes777.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lmmontes777
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LMontes223
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-montes-564614183/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/L_Montes223

Image Credits
Canva.com Lisa Montes Michael Montes Cheryl Greenlee