18 December 2021, Writing - part xx807 Writing a Novel, Using Children Setting Plots in Scenes, Example
Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the
internet, but my primary publisher has gone out of business—they couldn’t
succeed in the past business and publishing environment. I’ll keep you
informed, but I need a new publisher.
More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com. Check out my novels—I think
you’ll really enjoy them.
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.
Today’s Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my
writing websites http://www.sisteroflight.com/.
The four plus one basic rules I
employ when writing:
1. Don’t confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don’t show (or tell) everything.
4a. Show what can
be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.
These are the steps I use to write a novel including the
five discrete parts of a novel:
1.
Design the initial scene
2. Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist,
protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)
a.
Research as required
b.
Develop the initial setting
c.
Develop the characters
d.
Identify the telic flaw (internal
and external)
3. Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied
setting, implied characters, implied action movement)
4. Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)
5. Write the climax scene
6. Write the falling action scene(s)
7.
Write the dénouement scene
I
finished writing my 29th novel, working title, Detective, potential
title Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective. The theme statement is: Lady Azure Rose Wishart,
the Chancellor of the Fae, supernatural detective, and all around dangerous
girl, finds love, solves cases, breaks heads, and plays golf.
Here is the cover proposal for Blue
Rose: Enchantment and the Detective.
|
|
|
Cover
Proposal |
The
most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you
have to move to the rising action. I
am continuing to write on my 30th novel, working title Red Sonja. I finished my 29th novel, working
title Detective. I’m planning to start on number 31, working
title Shifter.
How to begin a novel.
Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea. I usually encapsulate such an idea with a
theme statement. Since I’m writing a new
novel, we need a new theme statement.
Here is an initial cut.
For novel 30: Red
Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test
pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.
For novel 31: Deirdre
and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover
difficult mysteries, people, and events.
For Novel 32: Shiggy
Tash finds a lost girl in the isolated Scottish safe house her organization
gives her for her latest assignment: Rose Craigie has nothing, is alone, and
needs someone or something to rescue and acknowledge her as a human being.
Here is the
scene development outline:
1. Scene
input (comes from the previous scene output or is an initial scene)
2. Write the
scene setting (place, time, stuff, and characters)
3. Imagine
the output, creative elements, plot, telic flaw resolution (climax) and develop
the tension and release.
4. Write the
scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.
5. Write the
release
6. Write the
kicker
Today: Why don’t we go back to the basics and just writing a
novel? I can tell you what I do, and
show you how I go about putting a novel together. We can start with developing an idea then
move into the details of the writing.
To start a
novel, I picture an initial scene. I may
start from a protagonist or just launch into mental development of an initial
scene. I get the idea for an initial
scene from all kinds of sources. To help
get the creative juices flowing, let’s look at the initial scene.
1.
Meeting between the protagonist and the antagonist or the
protagonist’s helper
2.
Action point in the plot
3. Buildup to an exciting scene
4.
Indirect introduction of the
protagonist
Ideas. We need
ideas. Ideas allow us to figure out the
protagonist and the telic flaw. Ideas
don’t come fully armed from the mind of Zeus.
We need to cultivate ideas.
1.
Read novels.
2. Fill your mind with good stuff—basically the stuff you want
to write about.
3. Figure out what will build ideas in your mind and what will
kill ideas in your mind.
4. Study.
5. Teach.
6. Make the catharsis.
7.
Write.
The development of ideas is based on study and research, but
it is also based on creativity. Creativity
is the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to present old ideas in
a new form. It is a reflection of
something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the
intellect). Creativity requires
consuming, thinking, and producing.
If we have filled our mind with all kinds of information and
ideas, we are ready to become creative.
Creativity means the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to
present old ideas in a new form.
Literally, we are seeing the world in a new way, or actually, we are
seeing some part of the world in a new way.
I’ve worked through creativity and the protagonist. The ultimate point is that if you properly
develop your protagonist, you have created your novel. This moves us on to plots and initial
scenes. As I noted, if you have a
protagonist, you have a novel. The
reason is that a protagonist comes with a telic flaw, and a telic flaw provides
a plot and theme. If you have a
protagonist, that gives you a telic flaw, a plot, and a theme. I will also argue this gives you an initial
scene as well.
So, we worked extensively on the protagonist. I gave you many examples great, bad, and
average. Most of these were from
classics, but I also used my own novels and protagonists as examples. Here’s my plan.
1.
The protagonist comes with a telic
flaw – the telic flaw isn’t necessarily a flaw in the protagonist, but rather a
flaw in the world of the protagonist that only the Romantic protagonist can
resolve.
2.
The telic
flaw determines the plot.
3. The telic flaw determines the theme.
4. The telic flaw and the protagonist determines the initial
scene.
5. The protagonist and the telic flaw determines the initial
setting.
6. Plot examples from great classic plots.
7. Plot examples from mediocre classic plots.
8. Plot examples from my novels.
9. Creativity and the telic flaw and plots.
10.
Writer’s
block as a problem of continuing the plot.
Every great or good protagonist comes with their own telic
flaw. I showed how this worked with my
own writing and novels. Let’s go over it
in terms of the plot.
This is all about the telic flaw. Every protagonist and every novel must come
with a telic flaw. They are the same
telic flaw. That telic flaw can be external,
internal or both.
We found that a self-discovery telic flaw or a personal
success telic flaw can potentially take a generic plot. We should be able to get an idea for the plot
purely from the protagonist, telic flaw and setting. All of these are interlaced and bring us our
plot.
For a great plot, the resolution of the telic flaw has to be
a surprise to the protagonist and to the reader. This is both the measure and the goal. As I noted before, for a great plot, the
author needs to make the telic flaw resolution appear to be impossible, but
then it becomes inevitable in the climax.
There is much more to this.
I evaluated the plots from the list of 112 classics and
categorized them according to the following scale:
Overall (o) – These are the three overall plots we defined above:
redemption, achievement, and revelation.
Achievement (a) – There are plots that fall under the idea of the
achievement plot.
Quality (q)
– These are plots based on a personal or character quality.
Setting (s)
– These are plots based on a setting.
Item (i)
– These are plots based on an item.
I looked at each novel and pulled out the plot types, the telic flaw,
plotline, and the theme of the novel. I didn’t make a list of the themes,
but we identified the telic flaw as internal and external and by plot
type. This generally gives the plotline.
Overall (o)
1. Redemption (o) – 17i, 7e, 23ei, 8 – 49%
2. Revelation (o) –2e, 64, 1i – 60%
3. Achievement (o) – 16e, 19ei, 4i, 43 – 73%
Achievement (a)
1. Detective or mystery (a) – 56, 1e – 51%
2. Revenge or vengeance (a) –3ie, 3e, 45 – 46%
3. Zero to hero (a) – 29 – 26%
4. Romance (a) –1ie, 41 – 37%
5. Coming of age (a) –1ei, 25 – 23%
6. Progress of technology (a) – 6 – 5%
7. Discovery (a) – 3ie, 57 – 54%
8. Money (a) – 2e, 26 – 25%
9. Spoiled child (a) – 7 – 6%
10. Legal (a) – 5 – 4%
11. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
12. Self-discovery (a) – 3i, 12 – 13%
13. Guilt or Crime (a) – 32 – 29%
14. Proselytizing (a) – 4 – 4%
15. Reason (a) – 10, 1ie – 10%
16. Escape (a) – 1ie, 23 – 21%
17. Knowledge or Skill (a) – 26 – 23%
18. Secrets (a) – 21 – 19%
Quality (q)
1. Messiah (q) – 10 – 9%
2. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
3. Rejected love (rejection) (q) – 1ei, 21 –
20%
4. Miscommunication (q) – 8 – 7%
5. Love triangle (q) – 14 – 12%
6. Betrayal (q) – 1i, 1ie, 46 – 43%
7. Blood will out or fate (q) –1i, 1e, 26 – 25%
8. Psychological (q) –1i, 45 – 41%
9. Magic (q) – 8 – 7%
10. Mistaken identity (q) – 18 – 16%
11. Illness (q) – 1e, 19 – 18%
12. Anti-hero (q) – 6 – 5%
13. Immorality (q) – 3i, 8 – 10%
14. Satire (q) – 10 – 9%
15. Camaraderie (q) – 19 – 17%
16. Curse (q) – 4 – 4%
17. Insanity (q) – 8 – 7%
18. Mentor (q) – 12 – 11%
Setting (s)
1. End of the World (s) – 3 – 3%
2. War (s) – 20 – 18%
3. Anti-war (s) –2 – 2%
4. Travel (s) –1e, 62 – 56%
5. Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8%
6. Horror (s) – 15 – 13%
7. Children (s) – 24 – 21%
8. Historical (s) – 19 – 17%
9. School (s) – 11 – 10%
10. Parallel (s) – 4 – 4%
11. Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%
12. Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%
13. Prison (s) – 2 – 2%
Item (i)
1. Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42%
So, what is it about writer’s block? Many if not most authors and writers will
complain about writer’s block. When I
was a younger author, I would get writer’s block very often, but I’ve
discovered something very important about writer’s block. Writer’s block is a function of the plot and
not the protagonist. The correction or
resolution of writer’s block comes from centering our writing on the
protagonist instead of the plot. This is
what I’d really like to get into as a topic.
Here is an outline of how we will approach this.
1.
Problems
with a plot focus
2. Correcting with a protagonist focus
3. How to figure out a plot with a protagonist focus
4. Writing development
5. Fixing or blowing through problems with writing
6. How to write to prevent writer’s block
7. The Scene Outline
8. Exercises
9. Examples
10.
Conclusions
The novel is the revelation of the protagonist and the scenes,
not the plots, are the process of that revelation. In fact, the plots are really part of the
scenes. Now, some plots interact beyond
and between one scene, but this is the real point we should address. What really is the plot and how is the plot
connected to the scene and the telic flaw.
I didn’t want to address the scenes yet, so let’s start with
the plot(s). In the first place, we have
a telic flaw. This is the problem the protagonist must resolve. In a comedy, the protagonist overcomes the
telic flaw, while in the tragedy, the telic flaw overcomes the protagonist. Where is the plot? That’s a great question.
Almost every novel is a revelation of the protagonist. The author uses various plots and nudges the
novel toward the telic flaw resolution. What
about these plots, and how can we create, invent, and/or use them?
Except for the protagonist, the telic flaw is the most
important point of any novel. It’s so
important that most people don’t even know what it is, yet it is the key point
of every novel, and as I’ve noted over and over, the telic flaw is a
characteristic of the protagonist. The
protagonist owns the telic flaw. Just
like Harry Potty and Voldermort. Voldermort happens to be the overall
antagonist as well as the telic flaw of all the Harry Potty novels. Then there are the plots.
Now, the plot or plots are the means of the telic flaw
resolution and they are the means of tension and release development in the
scenes. They are also the means of the
development of the rising action to the climax of the novel. They are parts, but look at the other parts.
Mainly, we have the scenes.
The scenes are cohesive parts of a novel. They are the building blocks of a novel. Yes, scenes are made of paragraphs,
sentences, and words, but you can’t have a novel without scenes. As I noted in the outline of writing a novel:
1.
Design the initial scene
2. Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist,
protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)
a.
Research as required
b.
Develop the initial setting
c.
Develop the characters
d.
Identify the telic flaw (internal
and external)
3. Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied
setting, implied characters, implied action movement)
4. Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)
5. Write the climax scene
6. Write the falling action scene(s)
7.
Write the dénouement scene
So, I have a telic flaw, and I know there are scenes. Each scene is filled with tension and
release. The tension and release are the
plot(s). In fact, the tension and
release are the plots. This is the
trick, and this is where we want to go.
We need to develop tension and release in the scenes and this happens to
be the plots.
In the development of a scene, we start with the output of
the previous scene. The author then
needs to design the output of that scene.
For example, in the Harry Potty travel scenes, the output of the
previous scene is that Harry Potty must go from London to Hogwarts. That becomes the input for the travel
scene. The output for the travel scene
is that Harry arrives at Hogwarts.
Anything else is purely for tension and release. The author then provides other plots in the
scene to create tension and release.
The focus of writing any novel is the scene. The scene is all about tension and
release. The tension and release comes
from the plots. This is how we bring the
plots into the scenes and into a novel. This
means that as an author, we have the scene input and output of the scene, we
need to choose plots to then write and install in the scene.
We have five types of plots: overall, achievement, setting,
quality, and item. From these plots, we
note that, in the scene, achievement, quality, and item can be set into many
scenes. Setting can be used as the
setting of the scene, however, there is generally less control over these
plots. In other words, when we move into
the scene, the setting is usually already set.
The other types of plots give us the opportunity to build
tension and release in a scene. In
general, it is difficult to demonstrate this without delving deeply into
examples. Instead, let’s review the
potential plots and see how we might use them.
We choose plots based on three things.
First, is the input and output of the scene. Second, is the telic flaw resolution. Third, is the tension and release of the
scene.
Setting (s)
1. End of the World (s) – 3 – 3%
2. War (s) – 20 – 18%
3. Anti-war (s) –2 – 2%
4. Travel (s) –1e, 62 – 56%
5. Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8%
6. Horror (s) – 15 – 13%
7. Children (s) – 24 – 21%
8. Historical (s) – 19 – 17%
9. School (s) – 11 – 10%
10. Parallel (s) – 4 – 4%
11. Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%
12. Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%
13. Prison (s) – 2 – 2%
Item (i)
1. Article
(i) – 1e, 46 – 42%
Achievement plots are easy to apply
to scenes and to overall novels. Some
quality plots lend themselves very well to scenes and some do not. Still, just like the achievement plots, we
can pick and choose them based on our overall plot(s) to power the novel and
our scenes. Then, there are setting
plots.
As I mentioned before, we want to
pick our plots first based on the input and output of the scene, second, the
telic flaw resolution, and third, the tension and release of the scene.
Setting plots are based on the
setting of the novel or the scene. Now,
here we have a slight conundrum. There
are obviously some setting plots we might not be able to use in a scene. I will try to place each of them in a scene,
but I can’t guarantee we can be successful.
Let’s look at the children setting
plot. The children plot is not a
children’s or kids setting plot. This is
a plot that once it began in the Victorian Era took off and never looked
back. The children’s setting plot is
only about 21 percent of the classics but that is only because many of the
classics came before the advent of the children’s setting plot.
You did realize there was actually
a time when children were just considered small adults. They were even picture as small adults. This idea had to change first with the idea
that children were not small adults but rather a different type of being—a
growing, learning, and inexperienced human who required nurturing, and second
the idea of the importance of the family.
This idea, once it took hold, became a very important part of society as
well as literature.
Take a look at A Christmas Carol. In this novel, we see the idealization of the
family in many times and places. Thus,
Bob Cratchit and his wife lead a brood of children from their son who is being
apprenticed to Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim is
seen as a child who needs protection and yet who provides spiritual
strength. We see Scrooge’s nephew and
his wife, a young and new family without children. They are like children newly entered into
adulthood by becoming a family. Finally,
we see the elder family represented by Scrooge’s mentor who takes care of his
apprentices like his own children.
Once the idea of the family had
solidified in society, culture, and literature, now all the writer has to do is
to bring the family into the mix of the novel.
The way to do this is by parental association. For this, I need a parent and a child or a
child stand in.
The children setting plot isn’t
just about kids and youth. It is a plot
about any level of child situated in some degree of family. This is a very powerful and important plot.
It is so important, I’m not certain
I can convey to you just how important it is.
I might have to use some examples from my own writing, but let me see if
I can, at least, give you an idea of how we can use this in a scene as well as
an overall plot. To help us the scene
outline.
Here is the scene outline.
1. Scene input (comes from the
previous scene output or is an initial scene)
2. Write the
scene setting (place, time, stuff, and characters)
3. Imagine
the output, creative elements, plot, telic flaw resolution (climax) and develop
the tension and release.
4. Write the
scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.
5. Write the
release
6. Write the
kicker
There are three distinct ways to
invoke the children setting plot. Let me
mention them, explain them, then let’s see how we can place them into a scene.
The first should be obvious. I can bring a child into the plot. This usually makes the novel an overall
children plot, however, not always. In
the racist novel Gone with the Wind, a child is introduced in the last
third of the novel. The child dies, and
that’s it. This is the use of a child
setting plot in a few scenes. I’ll not
hold up the use of the child plot in Gone with the Wind as a great
children’s setting plot, but it is an example.
In other novels, such as The Swiss Family Robinson, the children
a not just critical to the plot, but they are the plot. The raising and maturing of the children
becomes the overall plot of the novel.
This is the usual use of this type of plot, but isn’t the only use. The point is mainly the children and their
immaturity or immaturity. Take for
example, The Lord of the Flies where the children are immature, immoral,
and unreal. There are two other ways to
look at children or introduce children into literature.
The next is the adopted child. This is usually a young or youth character or
plot. The point is the acceptance of a
child who is not a member of a family into the family as an equal to any other
child of the family. We see this in Silas
Marner where the child is brought up by Silas as if she were his own. By the way, Eliot in this novel provided us
with a very powerful overall children setting plot.
The last is the sufficient
child. This is the child who is off the
payroll and self-sufficient. This child
has a place in a novel as the benefactor and helper of the parent, grandparent,
or other relation. We see this with
Scrooge’s nephew. In fact, we see all
three types of children plots in A Christmas Carol.
In looking at these three plots:
kids, adopted, and sufficient, we see all kinds of levels and degrees of plots
based on these ideas and children. I use
them all the time in my literature. The
question is then how to use them in scenes?
I’d say, Dickens gave us the best
example in A Christmas Carol. In
general, his novel is not an overall children’s plot. He brings the children into the scenes in
their three types and uses them to propel the narrative and finally resolve the
telic flaw. They are not overall
children’s plots, but rather used in the scenes to great effect.
Definitely, Dickens gives us the
way to use children setting plots in scenes.
His use of children is pretty masterful especially for the times. I don’t necessarily agree with the way he
presented these children all the time, but his use of children in scenes and in
overall plots is very good. This is how I would recommend you use children in
your novels too.
I’ll give you an example of a
children’s plot in a scene. This is from
my novel, Ghost Ship: Shadowed Vale.
In this scene Mara has snuck onto a shuttle from the Regia Anglorum and
is planning to spend the time with her sister and her friend. Nikita and Alex are going to present a paper
on the planet Nior.
Alex and Nikita descended to the
surface of Nior on the first shuttle off the Regia. They were both talking about the presentation
during the whole trip. Nikita didn’t
have time to feel anxious about not flying the shuttle. After they landed and taxied to parking,
Master Larsen opened the shuttle door and Alex and Nikita headed to the
airstairs. Nior lay near the edge of a
planetary life zone. The air outside was
filled with freezing mist. It was near
twilight, but the sky was already dark.
It was nearly always dark on Nior.
Clouds perpetually filled the skies and reached almost to ground
level. The bright lights of the terminal
were barely visible through the mist.
Luckily Alex and Nikita didn’t have to try to walk to the terminal. A gravvehicle came to the base of the airstairs. That was their ride into the capital city of
Both Alex and Nikita pulled their
collars up. Alex stared at the swirling
mist, “I wish I had something heavier than a light shipsuit.”
Nikita shivered.
They didn’t expect to have to be out
in the weather too much, but this was different than the normal climate controlled
environment they were used to.
Nior was cold. The major facilities of the planet Nior
ringed the equator. Except for that thin
zone of relatively comfortable climate, much of the environment was similar to
arctic tundra—most of it almost too cold for human habitation, and kept just
livable by the warming shield of thick clouds that blanketed the entire planet.
Nikita stopped at the base of the
steps. Alex came right behind her. They both carried shippacks. The driver and a well dressed woman exited
the gravvehicle.
The woman approached them from the
passenger side, “Good day, gentle ones.
I assume you are Master Protania and Journeyman Porson.”
Alex and Nikita nodded.
“I’m Professor Pikous from the Nior
Technical Institute. I’m here to take
you to the University Hotel and ensure your comfort while you’re here.”
A voice called from behind them,
“Great. Hi, Professor Pikous. I’m Mara Protania.”
Alex and Nikita were
dumbfounded. They stood as though turned
to stone. Mara wore a warm coat with a
furry hood.
Professor Pikous bent toward Mara,
“Hello, little one. Are you’re the
daughter of our guests? I wasn’t
informed that you were coming.”
Mara pointed, “Nope, that’s my sister
and Alex is my friend.”
Alex and Nikita were freezing. Nikita turned without a word and ran up the
airstairs, “Master Larsen, Master Larsen.”
“I thought you met your greeter. What’s up.”
“Mara’s up. What’s she doing here?”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“She’s on the manifest and listed
with you.”
“No way.”
Master Larsen shrugged.
“Please, Master Larsen. Take her back with you, now. You can’t leave her here with us.”
“Sorry, Nikita. I can’t.
This is the last shuttle until tomorrow.
We aren’t going back to the ship until later in the day tomorrow.”
“Can’t you look after her until
then?”
“I have an all male crew. I could—are you sure you want that?”
“No.
No, I’ll have to take her with us.”
“Sorry.”
Nikita shivered all the way down the
airstairs. Alex and Mara were already
seated in the back of the gravvehicle.
The driver opened the door for
Nikita, and she stepped in. Professor
Pikous sat across from them. Mara was at
the far side of the vehicle with Alex between Nikita and her. That was a good thing for Mara. She might be outside of Nikita’s reach, but
Nikita sent her a few choice mental admonitions. Mara just looked smug.
Professor Pikous asked, “Is
everything all right. We didn’t expect
your sister, but she is welcome. You
look cold.” She handed a warm coat to
Nikita. “We understand that most of our
visitors are not prepared for our climate.
Take this with you to remind you of us.”
Alex already wore his. Mara in
her warm coat just looked smug.
“Thank you. Are you sure it’s okay if Mara is here?”
“Certainly, Master Protania.”
Professor Pikous gave a signal and
the driver lifted the vehicle and headed off the spaceport and into the
city. It was hard to tell that the sun
had set because there was no natural light at all. In spite of that, the city was brightly
illuminated with high power lights and advertisements. The effect within the mist was close and
dreamlike. There was no way to keep
their bearings. All references were gone
in the similarities and glare.
Everything dripped water and a light freezing rain dusted their gravvehicle. Professor Pikous gave a running commentary
about the city and its history. Nikita
barely listened. Mara absorbed it. After a while, the vehicle came into a very
large drive before a blazing building.
They arrived at the front and doormen helped them from the vehicle and
took their luggage from the boot. The
driver had loaded their luggage while Nikita was talking with Master
Larsen. Inside, the building was brightly
lit and warm.
Professor Pikous led them, followed
by bellhops, to a large bank of elevators.
She took them up to the top floor and a wonderful suite of rooms. The outer walls were clear ceriplast like
crystal. The furniture was wood, and
rich fabrics covered the floors and walls.
No where that they looked could they see anything artificial. Professor Pikous handed Alex and Nikita each
a laser key. The chief bellhop produced
one for Mara. This extra key the
professor also handed to Mara. Professor
Pikous opened her hands, “Gentle ones and little one, I hope your stay is very
comfortable. You may refresh
yourselves. Dinner will be served in
your suite in about an hour. I have
provided information in your data accounts here at the University Hotel. You can address them using your
computers. If you need me, just press
the virtual button that will load or call me directly at the account I
provided. Tomorrow, at city dawn, I will
convey you to the
Mara spoke for them, “Thank you
Professor Pikous. Already you have
brought comfort and warmth to us.”
The professor smiled in pleasure at
the use of the formulaic response.
When the Professor was out of the
door, Mara started, “You two are idiots.
You really should study the culture and climate a little before going
planetside.”
Nikita was in no frame of mind to
listen, “Mara, Mara, just what are you doing here?”
Mara grinned, “I asked you in the
library what about me, and I didn’t like your answer. Kita, shouldn’t you call mom and dad and tell
them I’m okay?”
“I should, but I suspect you already
did.”
“Yeah, I did. I just wanted to hear mom yell at you about
it.”
“Why would she yell at me?”
“I told her it was your idea.”
Nikita was on the commline in
minutes. It took her and Alex a while to
find the device—it was hidden so well in the room. Finally, after Nikita explained everything to
Natana and Den, Natana just threw up her hands, “Keep her for now. She shouldn’t get into too much trouble. Tell her I’ll punish her severely when she
gets home.”
“I heard that,” yelled Mara.
The commline went dark.
Mara came over to Nikita, but not too
close, “Now I can keep my eye on you and Alex.
They gave you a room together.”
“They gave us a room with separate
bedrooms—that’s not the same thing.”
“In this culture it is. They assumed you were together—you know
married. The separate rooms are just out
of courtesy in case they were wrong.
Where do I sleep?”
“On the floor.”
“I’ll sleep with Alex since you won’t
be a fit companion.”
“You’ll sleep with me, Mara.”
“You don’t have to get huffy about
it.”
Dinner came. It was very pleasant, very big, and very
long.
At the first course, Mara sat and ate
just a little of each thing. Nikita
asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”
Mara shook her head, “You’re just a
dummy, Kita. This is the first
course. In a full Nior dinner there are
seven. They are all this big and they
expect you to eat a little of each dish.
I told you that you should have studied the culture and the climate.”
Nikita snarled, “Okay, we didn’t have
the time to look it up, sorry. Why don’t
you help us then?”
“Okay, I will.” From that point on Mara provided some key
information about the culture of Nior.
It did help prevent some embarrassment.
“By the way, Mara,” asked Alex, “Just
how did you arrive here with us?”
“I swiped the Shuttle Section codes
out of Kita’s memory, and Gigi cut me an access chip.”
Nikita put her head on the table,
“Why are you telling me this. Is this a
trick?”
“I don’t mind telling you because you
can’t keep me from doing it anytime I want.
You can’t wear that blanker every moment of the day. When you take it off—zap I have it all.”
“Not everything, Mara. Please tell me you don’t look at everything.”
“I could, but I don’t. I have to let you have some privacy, Kita.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I should thank you
at all. Wait, Mara, you just said the
word…”
Alex was equally alarmed, “You
shouldn’t mention that Mara.”
Nikita didn’t speak, ‘Mara, don’t
ever say that word in the open again.’
“I turned on the isolation circuit
before dinner. You don’t have to worry
about your little illegal secret. This
culture is very strongly privacy based; they won’t eavesdrop on an isolation
sphere.”
“Hope you’re right. Just don’t say anything about it ever again,
please Mara.”
“You don’t have to tell me
twice. I don’t want my sister in jail.”
“Mara!”
Alex and Nikita ate too much. Dessert was equally large, but only Mara
enjoyed it. They spent a comfortable
night, nonetheless.
We’ll look at the next setting plot
tomorrow.
In the end, we can figure out what makes a work have a great
plot and theme, and apply this to our writing.
The beginning of creativity is study and effort. We can use this to extrapolate to
creativity. In addition, we need to look
at recording ideas and working with ideas.
More
tomorrow.
For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.ancientlight.com/
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com
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