Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.
I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.
Here are my rules of writing:
1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
A scene outline is a means of writing a novel where each scene follows the other with a scene input from the previous scene and a scene output that leads to the next scene. The scenes don't necessarily have to follow directly in time and place, however they generally follow the storyline of the protagonist.
A storyline outline is a means of writing a novel where the author develops a scene outline for more than one character and bases the plot on one or more of these storyline scenes. This allows the scenes to focus on more than the protagonist. This is a very difficult means of writing. There is a strong chance of confusing your readers.
Whether you write with a scene outline or a storyline outline, you must properly develop your scenes. All novels are developed from scenes and each scene has a design similar to a novel. Every successful novel has the following basic parts:
1. The beginning
2. The rising action
3. The Climax
4. The falling action
5. The dénouement
Every scene has these parts:
1. The setting (where, what, who, when, how)
2. The connection (input)
3. The tension development
4. The release
5. The output
There are lots of approaches to scene setting. That means there are about a million plus ways you can set a scene. The main point is you have to clearly get across the where, when, who, what, and how.
Here is another example of scene setting from the novel, Aksinya. I'm giving you examples from the book so you can see different ways of introducing and writing a scene. In each snippet, you get the scene setting, the tension and release, and the input and output. This isn't true of every example, but the pieces should be there, and I've been trying to identify for you when all the pieces aren't evident. You can use these ideas to guide your own writing. Make sure you set the scene properly, then make everything come to life through the narration and conversation.
The scene setting is simple and gives time, place, and characters. We again are building the tension in the novel from the climax. This requires a slow buildup. We introduce at the proper intervals, the parts of the Ecclisia as well as information about the members of the Ecclesia. We should guess that they are important secondary characters who will have a very important role to play in the rest of the novel.
In the morning,
when Ekaterina went to get Aksinya, Aksinya was already awake. She prayed the rosary around her neck. The moment the door opened, Aksinya jumped to
her feet. Ekaterina asked, “Are you
ready?”
Aksinya nodded.
They walked together
to the kitchen. Ekaterina took a breath,
“How is the burn on your chest?”
“It stings.”
“Does it pain you
much?”
Aksinya nodded.
“I will check it
for you today.”
“Thank you.”
“Today I will show
you how to make kasha and tea. We have
milk and honey so it will be very good.
We will eat as well as the patriarch in Moscow
Aksinya’s lips
curled up a little at that.
In the kitchen,
Aksinya carefully followed Ekaterina’s instructions and stood and stirred the
kasha while the tea seeped. Ekaterina
started with fresh tea leaves and prepared a very potent brew. Throughout the day, she could then make fresh
tea by diluting the concentrated tea with boiling water. Aksinya watched what Ekaterina did. Finally she remarked, “Lady Natalya never
made tea like that for me.”
Ekaterina laughed,
“She probably made you English tea. If
we had a samovar, we could have tea any time we wanted all day long. As it is, we will have to heat water at noon
and for supper. Now put everything on
the table.”
Aksinya raised her
head.
“Just put it on
the table,” Ekaterina smiled.
The moment Aksinya
finished placing the food on the table, Father Makar and Father Dobrushin
magically appeared. They sat down in
their usual seats and then Ekaterina and Aksinya.
Father Makar
offered a blessing and they crossed themselves.
Ekaterina served them from the large pot on the table. Aksinya poured the tea into the large
mugs. Father Makar took a long drink of
the tea. He ate the kasha with relish.
Aksinya sipped her
tea and sniffed at the kasha.
Father Makar
asked, “Anything wrong, Countess?”
Aksinya didn’t
look up, “I’ve never had anything like this before.” She took a bite of the kasha.
Father Makar
finished his bowl, “Well that’s all we have until supper. It’ll stick to your ribs.”
Aksinya slowly
devoured the buckwheat groat porridge.
She washed it down with the very strong tea. When she was finished, she took her bowl and
mug to the dish tub and laid them inside.
She put water on to heat to wash the morning dishes.
Ekaterina took her
arm, “Let the water heat. We’ll do the
dishes later. It is time now for the
morning prayers.”
Aksinya followed
Ekaterina into the Ecclesia. She paused
at the door for a moment, but didn’t feel any pain. Instead, she felt her spirit leap when she
passed through the doorway. She was
surprised to see so many people in the hard seats. Most of them knelt in front of the pews with
their heads bowed. Father Makar and
Father Dobrushin stood behind the rail at the back and also prayed. Ekaterina led Aksinya to a rank of padded
seats at the side. She gave a smile,
“Being the Matushka of the Ecclesia has some privileges. She knelt on the padded kneeler in front of
the seat, and Aksinya copied her.
Right at seven,
Father Makar started the service. They
celebrated the morning prayers without communion. Father Dobrushin helped him and lectured the
readings. Father Makar gave a very short
homily. At the end, they sang a hymn and
Father Makar announced the blessing. The
people left and Ekaterina led Aksinya back to the kitchen. The water was hot by then and Ekaterina made
tea while Aksinya poured boiling water into the dish tub and mixed in some
cooler water and lye soup to wash the dishes.
Ekaterina put more water on to boil, “On wash day, we get all the tea we
want. The water has to keep boiling all
day, you see.”
Aksinya’s lips
turned up at that. She didn’t glance up,
“What do Father Makar and Father Dobrushin do during the day?”
“They visit the
parishioners who are sick or have needs.
They pray with people and take communion to those who can’t get
out. They go to the train station when
we hear that refugees are coming in.”
“How would they
find out about the Lady Natalya?”
Ekaterina sighed,
“They would check with the hospitals and the doctors we know. They would check with the police. The authorities have been very good to us
here. They will check with the school…”
“Sacré Coeur?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think they
would check at my house?”
“Makar told me he
went there first…”
“And?”
“There was no one
at home.”
Aksinya let out
her breath.
Ekaterina
whispered, “Have you heard from the demon?”
Aksinya shook her
head.
“Thank God for
that blessing,” Ekaterina crossed herself, “I don’t know what I would do if you
said you had seen him in here.”
“He would not like
it here.”
“That is doubly
good for us.”
“Yes.”
They spent the
rest of the day doing the wash. They had
a break at noon when Father Makar and Father Dobrushin conducted the noon
prayers with communion. The Ecclesia was
filled. Aksinya and Ekaterina communed,
and Aksinya was amazed that she could take the bread and wine mixture without
nausea. They drank tea in the afternoon
and finished the wash. When all the
laundry was hung in the weak sunlight behind the rectory, they cleaned the
Ecclesia.
Ekaterina remarked,
“Usually, on wash day, I don’t have time to get to the Ecclesia, but today with
your help, we were finished early.”
They
didn’t finish cleaning the Ecclesia.
Around five, Ekaterina took Aksinya back into the kitchen and Aksinya
peeled potatoes and cut onions.
Ekaterina put the vegetables with some thin slices of bacon in a pot and
left it to cook while they went to evening prayers. The Ecclesia was almost as full as in the
morning. Ekaterina and Aksinya sat in
their seats to the side. She sent
Aksinya back once to check the food on the stove. They all ate together after evening prayers
and Aksinya went to bed. She fell asleep
with the prayers of the rosary still on her lips.
The tension is being build slowly with foreshadowing and developments from information outside the Ecclesia. Aksinya is obsessed with Natalya. She doesn't want to be patient, but she doesn't have much choice. We see Aksinya assimilating into a new environment--into the environment of the Ecclesia.
The following is a question asked by one of my readers. I'm going to address this over time: I am awaiting for you to write a detailed installment on identifying, and targeting your audience, or audiences...ie, multi-layered story, for various audiences...like CS Lewis did. JustTake care, and keep up the writing; I am enjoying it, and learning a lot. ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.
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