17 August 2022, Writing - part xxx049 Writing a Novel, We are Refining the Protagonist, Powering Through, Release in the Scene an 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
I could easily write: if you develop a great protagonist,
the writing will come. That’s basically
what I do, but I know that doesn’t work for the inexperienced and the young
writer.
Writing is really exhausting when you are first
starting. The problem, as I see it is
getting into the rhythm of the writing.
When a writer is in the rhythm, the writing seems to come easily, when
they aren’t, who knows what you might get.
When I was a younger writer, I found many times I had no
idea where I was going or what was going on in my writing. Today, I realize the problem was with my
protagonist, and also with my plot development.
Let’s lump those together and call them writing development.
Below, I’ve left up the outline for the protagonist. This is what you need to develop to build a
proper protagonist.
1.
Define the initial scene
2. At the same time as the above—fit a protagonist into the
initial scene. That means the minimum
of:
a.
Telic flaw
b.
Approximate age
c.
Approximate social degree
d.
Sex
3. Refine the protagonist
a.
Physical description
b.
Background – history of the
protagonist
i.
Birth
ii.
Setting
iii.
Life
iv.
Education
v.
Work
vi.
Profession
vii.
Family
c.
Setting – current
i.
Life
ii.
Setting
iii.
Work
d.
Name
4. Refine the details of the protagonist
a.
Emotional description (never to be
shared directly)
b.
Mental description (never to be
shared directly)
c.
Likes and dislikes (never to be
shared directly)
5. Telic flaw resolution
a.
Changes required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
i.
Physical changes
ii.
Emotional changes
iii.
Mental changes
b.
Alliances required for the
protagonist to resolve the telic flaw
c.
Enemies required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
d.
Plots required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
e.
Obstacles that must be overcome for
the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw
Now, if you slavishly follow this outline for the protagonist, it will not
guarantee you a great or even a good protagonist. What it will give you is a protagonist
detailed enough to write about. I’ve
covered the idea of the great protagonist before. I’ll state again, and you should review what
I’ve written, you need a good Romantic protagonist.
The protagonist is developed simultaneously, in my mind with the initial
scene. There are other means to begin
your writing development, but I don’t, and I’ve shown you the pitfalls I’ve
discovered when using other methods or starting places. That doesn’t mean you can’t come at this
writing development from another standpoint.
Here are the four, in order of precedence, means of approaching the initial
scene. I have used all four in published
works. I recommend only the first two. The others can work, but they are not as good
at producing a great initial scene. This
is the first step, in my book, to writing development. As I wrote, it doesn’t matter how you got to
this point, this is where writing development begins. The list:
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
I think the proper organization and approach to the writing
itself is the best solution to writer’s black.
That’s why I spend so much time on the protagonist, scenes, and novel
development. I’m not an outline
writer—that is, I don’t like to write from an outline. You don’t have to be that organized. We aren’t writing technical papers here—we
are writing fiction.
So, the proper organization from my standpoint is the
organization that allows you the greatest latitude to write something really
good. That’s what writing development is
all about. Couple that with the
understanding of how to put together a scene, and you have enough organization
to write a great novel. Add to that the
protagonist, and you have everything.
If you remember, the novel is the revelation of the
protagonist, that’s really all you need—along with the organization.
If you are organized in this fashion, I see potential
success in the future. However, I know
everyone gets to the point where they say, “I can’t get any further.” Yeap, that happened to me why I was a
younger, less experienced writer. It
doesn’t happen anymore. The reason is
this: I fix or blow through problems with writing.
It doesn’t matter what the problem is. In writing, if you know the tricks, you can
always fix or blow through your writing problems. This isn’t a great single sentence description,
but I’ll try to explain just what I mean.
What I will do is look at the writing development and
especially, the scene development. We
will apply that to the protagonist development to get into the writing.
If you are stuck at the beginning, in other words, you
haven’t written anything yet, that is definitely a problem of protagonist
development and the initial scene. I
won’t go back over everything we have explored before, but we will start at the
beginning, and figure out how to solve the problem of writer’s block from the
initial creativity. Let’s use an outline
like this (this is a type of technical paper).
1.
Initial ideas (protagonist, initial
scene, and telic flaw)
2. The scene
3. Review and editing
4. Notes
5. Exercises
6. Ideas
7.
Picking up the pieces
We are moving on from the very beginning. I’m going to assume you have an idea with a
protagonist, an antagonist, a telic flaw, an initial setting, and an initial
scene. This is all you need to start a
novel. I showed you how to get to the
initial scene. I will also help you to
write it. I hope you have made it this
far. Usually, people get an idea for a
book and start writing. The problem
isn’t necessarily at the beginning but rather as the novel unfolds, they lose
the strength of their initial enthusiasm.
The muse is gone. I want to get
the muse moving. To kick it in the
backside and keep the creative and writing process going. That’s how we will get rid of writer’s block. The next stage is the scene.
We need to power through the scene writing process. By this, I mean, we must use the scene
development outline to force the writing to continue—that is a means to get rid
of writer’s block. So, here is the scene development outline repeated:
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
If you are writing the initial scene, you don’t technically
have a scene input. You are totally
dependent on creativity here. That is
what I took so much time with the initial scene, both past and present. You gotta have an initial scene. Most writers don’t have a problem with
this. They might have a lame or bad
initial scene, but they have an initial scene.
That’s why I tried to give careful help on how to get to that
scene. The rest is gravy—kind of.
You can have writer’s block at any time, but if you follow
the scene outline, you should be able to power through especially with a good
initial scene. You don’t have to have a
great initial scene—you just need an initial scene. Further, you don’t have to have it
written—yet. Let’s go through the scene
outline and see how to write the initial as well as all the other scenes in
your novel.
Write the release
We have the following elements, or we are planning to use the following
elements.
1.
Scene setting – setting elements
2.
Output – comes from the input
3.
Creative elements – promoted from the setting elements
4.
Plot – promoted from the creative elements
5.
Telic flaw – basis of everything
6.
Tension and release – the creative nature of the scene
You don’t have to have everyone of these to start writing, but with these
you can easily write a scene. I have, in
every case shown you how to generate these, but the real trick and the end
result is writing the scene. This is
where people’s writer’s block seems to kick in.
We have the basic pieces we need to write the scene—all the elements or
parts of the elements above. We have
reviewed our notes, the previous scene, and our ideas for this scene. As we can see, we have the general outcome
(output) of the scene. Now, we need to
write it in such a way that it is entertaining and exciting. Entertaining and exciting requires some
degree of conflict.
I’ve written about this before, and we are truly moving into the creative
action in writing. Not to say all the
parts of writing aren’t creative, but the other parts are self-evident, writing
the tension in the scene is imagination and creativity, and that’s about
it.
After you have built up the tension in the scene, usually through some type
or degree of conflict, you need to release it.
The idea of the scene with tension and release is similar to the idea of
a novel with rising action and climax.
We use a different term to delineate between the scene and the novel.
The reason is that the scene can have many tension building segments and many
tension release points. One is usually sufficient,
but in many complex scenes the tension might be building for many reasons only
to be released at more than one point.
You can also have many tension increasing elements followed by a single
blowup release. It is further possible
to have a single tension building segment followed by multiple releases in the
same scene. You can also draw tension
across scenes. Ultimately, the climax is
a tension development across many scenes that has a singular release at the
climax. This release resolved the telic flaw
of the novel.
With all these options, what do we do?
The answer is simple, just write.
I can’t give you any formulas for any tension and release because scenes
can be as varied as novels and short stories.
In fact, a good scene can usually be made into a good short story
because the tension equates to some type of rising action, and the release
equates to a mini-climax. Let’s not
mistake the release for the climax—that isn’t the point of the scene
release. That’s why we use different terminology
and that’s why we emphasize the release nature of the scene release.
In any novel, the scene release, except in the climax scene should not
provide any resolution of the telic flaw.
We can provide all kinds of small or large victories to the protagonist,
but really, we want the climax to be unexpected until it is inevitable. Usually, the tension and release isn’t
totally unexpected. This is really
difficult to show without some kind of example.
I’ll try to give you some.
My favorite example is usually the Christmas party tension, instead, I’ll
start with an Essie example. This comes
from Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si.
On
Monday afternoon, a large black Bentley drove up to the front door of Mrs.
Lyons’ cottage. A rather severe looking
woman stepped out first. She didn’t wait
for the driver to open the door for her.
[tension development based on the action of the character and the
unknown]
Essie
and Mrs. Lyons awaited Claire and Seasaìdh’s arrival in the garden. When they heard the automobile’s tires crunch
up the drive, Essie ran around the side of the house, and Mrs. Lyons walked
through the house. [tension development based on action and the unknown]
Essie
arrived first and stood quietly observing everything. She stood close to the cottage and almost
disappeared into the background.
The
woman by the automobile waited a moment before she walked to the cottage
door. She glanced about, and in spite of
the background or perhaps because of it, her eyes immediately found Essie. The woman possessed a very plain face with
many freckles. Her hair looked nearly
white, but still showed red highlights.
She pulled it back into a severe bun.
The woman smiled, and her face changed, everything changed. Her brows rose, and her lips turned gently
upward. A touch of hardness still
remained in it, but she appeared very pleasant now. [tension development with a
description that builds tension about the character]
Essie
moved unconsciously toward the woman. [tension development through action]
The
woman moved toward Essie. The woman put
her hands out as if tasting the air with them.
She opened her mouth as if allowing the world to better enter her heart
and soul. The woman bent slightly and
put out her hand, “I am Seasaìdh, and just who are you?’ [tension development
with description]
Essie
reached out her hand and touched Seasaìdh proffered fingers. Seasaìdh’s hands looked rough and red. [
tension development with description and mystery]
Seasaìdh’s
eyes opened wide at Essie’s touch. She
didn’t say anything. She didn’t make
another move. Perhaps her fingers
trembled slightly. She stared at Essie.
[tension development through character description]
Essie
raised her eyes to Seasaìdh for a moment, but then pulled them back to the
ground, “I’m Essie Lyons.” [tension development through character action]
Seasaìdh
held her smile, “Essie you are. I’d no
idea Aunt Tilly had a relation living with her.”
“I’m
her daughter.”
Seasaìdh’s
eyes opened a touch wider, “Her daughter, you say. Then Essie Lyons, whatever your origins, we
shall be fast friends—I know it.” [tension development through revelation]
“Friends? I’ve never had a friend before.” [tension development
through revelation]
Seasaìdh’s
smile widened, “Then you may start with me.”
Seasaìdh wrapped her rough strong fingers around Essie’s small delicate
ones. She gently led Essie to the
Bentley. At that moment, at one side,
the front door of the cottage opened, and from the other, a small girl with
flaming red hair rushed around the back of the automobile.
Mrs.
Lyons stood in the doorway.
The
little girl stopped suddenly. She stared
at Essie then she moved her eyes with a glance at Mrs. Lyons then Seasaìdh, and
finally back to Essie. She pointed her
finger, “Just who is that, Aunt Tilly?” [tension development through dialog]
Seasaìdh
led Essie to the little girl. She really
wasn’t that little. For a seven year
old, Claire was quite tall—she stood more than four feet tall. In comparison though, Essie appeared very
small—she was not quite five feet. Both Seasaìdh
and Mrs. Lyons were tall women.
Claire
took a small step forward and repeated, “Aunt Tilly, who is that person?”
[tension development through repetition]
Essie
hid slightly behind Seasaìdh. Mrs. Lyons
swept from the house and came down the lawn.
Before she could arrive there, Seasaìdh drew Essie forward, “Claire,
this is Aunt Tilly’s daughter, Essie Lyons.”
Claire
looked Essie up and down. Essie kept her
eyes carefully on something else. Claire
put her hands on her hips and cocked her head, “You, Essie, just how old are
you?” [tension development through dialog]
Essie
wasn’t sure what to say. She thought a
moment, “I don’t know how old I am.”
Claire’s
eyes slitted, “Well then what year or form are you in?”
Essie’s
quiet voice asked, “What is a form? I
don’t know what a year means like that.”
“For
crying out loud, year in school—what year have you completed in school? Years are one through eleven. The sixth form includes years twelve and
thirteen. Obviously, you are not in the
sixth form, or you would understand this.” [tension development through dialog]
Essie
stared at her feet, “I haven’t gone to school…”
“Not
gone to school. Really, I say, you look
at least…,” Claire looked her up and down, “at least twelve, and you haven’t
gone to school?”
Mrs.
Lyons finally reached them, “Claire that is enough. I’ll tell you about Essie later. Don’t badger her.”
Claire
turned toward Mrs. Lyons and stuck out her hand, “Good day, Aunt Tilly.”
“Welcome
to Lyonshall, Claire, and you too Seasaìdh.
I see you’ve already met Essie.”
Claire
turned slightly toward Essie, “I’ve met her, but we haven’t been properly
introduced.”
Seasaìdh
frowned, “Claire, I gave you an introduction.”
Claire
moved toward Essie. She stuck out her
hand, “I’m Claire Davis.”
Essie
looked at the girl’s outstretched hand.
She slowly put out her hand.
Before she could fully extend it, Claire grasped it. Essie jumped. [tension development through
action]
Claire’s
lips moved up in a mischievous grin, “And you are Essie Lyons. Very nice to meet you, Essie.”
Claire
let go and Essie stared at her hand.
Claire
sniffed, “Aunt Seasaìdh and Aunt Tilly, you can’t fool me with that one. Aunt Tilly is much too old to have a
child. How can you, Essie Lyons be Aunt
Tilly’s daughter?”
Aunt
Tilly let out a sigh, “Come inside Seasaìdh and Claire. I told you I would inform you all about
Essie.” [tension development through potential revelation]
Claire
cocked her head again.
Aunt
Tilly started toward the door, “Come along Essie. Seasaìdh, tell your driver to bring your
things to the guest rooms.”
Seasaìdh
smiled, “Yes, Aunt Tilly.”
They
all went up to the door to see Claire and Seasaìdh’s things placed in the two
furthest guest rooms.
Inside,
Claire asked, “Won’t I be staying in the first room?”
Aunt
Tilly didn’t look back, “That’s Essie’s room now. You’ll have the room across from your Aunt Seasaìdh.”
Claire
pursed her lips. [tension development through expectation denied, you realize
Claire’s expectations have been changed]
Mrs.
Lyons led them all into the parlor while the driver carried their bags into the
proper rooms. Seasaìdh supervised.
When
Mrs. Lyons entered the parlor, she stated, “Essie, please prepare tea for
everyone.”
Essie
turned and walked to the kitchen.
Mrs.
Lyons sat in her wingback chair, and Claire sat on the sofa.
Mrs.
Lyons crossed her arms, “Let’s get this out immediately Claire.”
Claire
crossed her arms, “Let’s.”
Mrs.
Lyons glared at the girl, “The first is this, Miss Claire Davis. Essie is my adopted daughter. She is a very special child. You must do your best to help her learn.”
“What
do you mean exactly about help her learn, Aunt Tilly?”
“Just
what I said. Essie has not ever been to
school. She is just learning to
read. I want you to read to her and help
her.”
Claire’s
mouth fell open. Her eyes sparkled, “I
can teach her?”
“Yes—you
may teach her. In fact, I expect you to
teach her, and to be a kind instructor to her.”
Claire
pressed her hands together. Her eyes
still sparkled, “I will be kind, and I shall teach her. I’ll be like her sister.” [the previous is a
tension development. This is a small tension
release]
Mrs.
Lyons smiled behind her hand, “You do that.”
Claire’s
smile slipped, and she glanced out of the sides of her eyes at Mrs. Lyons, “Do
you think she will listen to me?” [tension development through indetermination]
Mrs.
Lyons sounded stern, “Yes. Yes, she will
listen to you—as long as you have something to teach her, and as long as you
are kind to her. Listen very closely to
me, Claire. Essie is a very special
child, and she is my child. I’ll let you
have a part in helping her learn, but only if you can be kind to her.”
Claire
crossed her heart and raised her hand, “I swear, cross my heart, to be kind to
her.”
“You’d
better. I’ll be watching you.” [tension
development through implied threat]
They
heard Seasaìdh let the driver out through the front door, “Thanks Tom. Come back and pick us up in two weeks.”
“Yes,
ma’am.”
Seasaìdh
stepped into the parlor. She sat in the
opposite wingback chair, “I heard you discussing Essie—have you already told
all?”
Mrs.
Lyons eased back into her chair a little more, “Not all. Claire and I were just discussing how she
would be helping me during this visit.”
Seasaìdh
twisted her lips to the side and glanced at Claire, “Really.”
Claire
looked smug, “Really.”
“Well
good that. I’m not sure what I’ll do to
keep myself busy. This is the first
vacation I’ve taken since I started at the church.”
Mrs.
Lyons nodded, “You should’ve taken a break before now.”
“That’s
what Father Malloy said.”
“I’ve
lost track. How many years has it been?”
Seasaìdh
smiled a little crookedly, “Twenty years.”
“Twenty
years! Has it been that long? Then again twenty seems to be a bit short--”
“Well,
perhaps more like thirty years—I’d still be at it if the good Father hadn’t
computerized the books.” She looked a
little sheepish, “I came up on the red scale for vacation time.”
“I
should say so. Why only two weeks?”
“Well
since Mrs. Rowle retired, I’ve been the staff super. I really shouldn’t be away as long as two
weeks.”
Mrs.
Lyons shook her head, “You should, and you should enjoy yourself while you’re
here. What would you like to do?”
Seasaìdh
rolled her eyes, “I dunna what to do with myself if I’m not cleaning.”
Claire
laughed, “Aunt Seasaìdh always sounds more Scottish when she gets upset.”
Seasaìdh
frowned, “Oh, that’s how you can all tell.”
“Yes
it is. We still play the K and S game,
you know.”
Mrs.
Lyons turned her head as if she hadn’t heard aright, “The K and S game? What’s that?” [tension development through
revelations]
Claire
let out a mysterious grin, “The Klava and Sveta game.”
Mrs.
Lyons brow raised, “What on earth is the Klava and Sveta game?”
Claire
leaned forward, “It is where you watch for Aunt Seasaìdh and report her
position and activities during the day.
It is all part of the training…”
Mrs.
Lyons pursed her lips together, “Wherever did you hear any of this?”
Claire
shrugged, “We learned about it from the second years…it’s been part of the
school since Aunt Klava and Aunt Sveta attended there. You should hear all the stories about
them…they were amazing.”
Mrs.
Lyons rolled her eyes, “I’ve heard all the stories. Every one.
I heard them direct from the mouths of the perpetrators, usually the day
they happened.”
“Did
you know about the time Aunt Sveta broke into the British Museum and almost
died?”
“Well,
it didn’t exactly happen that way. Your
Aunt Seasaìdh and I were there.”
Essie
brought in the tea things on the large platter.
She carefully placed the platter on the table.
Mrs.
Lyons nodded, “Thank you Essie. You may
pour the tea.”
Claire
plucked her lower lip, “You let her serve?”
Mrs.
Lyons squinted her eyes at Claire, “She is my daughter, and she may serve the
tea in our house.” [this is a slight release]
Claire
sat back slightly chagrined.
Essie
poured the tea and offered biscuits to everyone.
After
Essie served everyone, Mrs. Lyons sipped her tea, “We were discussing what Seasaìdh
can do with herself during her two week vacation.”
Seasaìdh
asked, “Do you have any cleaning that needs doing?”
Mrs.
Lyons glared, “Seasaìdh, you shall do no cleaning—not a single lick. Claire and Essie may clean. You shall not.”
Seasaìdh’s
shoulders fell, “Then I dun know what to do with myself at all.”
Essie
cocked her head, “You might read to me and tell me stories—that is, if you
would like.”
Claire
half-stood, “But that’s my job.”
Mrs.
Lyons waved her back down, “That is indeed your job, Claire. Perhaps when you are reading to yourself or
entertaining yourself, you might instruct Aunt Seasaìdh to read to Essie and
entertain her.”
Seasaìdh’s
face glowed, “Might I really entertain Essie?” [these are releases from the
tension developed earlier in the scene]
Claire
looked a bit put out, “I shall instruct you, Aunt Seasaìdh as to when your help
is required. Otherwise, I shall aid
Essie with her studies.”
Essie
put her hands together, “Thank you, Claire.
Thank you, Aunt Seasaìdh.”
Seasaìdh
sipped her tea, “What I would like to know, is how Essie came to be your
daughter, Aunt Tilly.”
Everyone
suddenly froze.
Aunt
Tilly returned her teacup to its saucer, “Essie was abandoned, and I decided to
give her a family and a place to live.
It is as simple as that.”
Into
her tea, Seasaìdh whispered, “It isn’t as simple as that…”
Mrs.
Lyons raised her head, “What did you say, Seasaìdh?”
“Twas
noth’n. I’m happy she is here to help
you. We’ve been worried about you liv’n
alone out here.” [tension development, notice the change in accent]
“Tush,
you needn’t worry about me at all. I
have Essie and Essie has me.”
Claire
bit into a biscuit, “Why doesn’t Essie eat any biscuits. Doesn’t she like them?”
Essie
smiled, “I’ve eaten enough for now. I’m
happy with just tea.”
“But
your tea is all milk.”
Essie’s
smile broadened, “I like milk.”
Claire’s
brow creased, “I see.”
Mrs.
Lyons folded her hands, “When we’ve finished our tea, Essie and I will help you
get settled and then we’ll walk to the village for dinner.”
Claire’s
head jerked up, “At the Royal George pub?”
“Yes,
at the Royal George pub.”
Claire
gave a little cheer. [tension release]
We can see how we build tension in this
scene. This is a pretty nonenergetic
scene with just small releasees all through.
There is no great release, and no very strong tension development. The reason this is a good example because
this scene produces great entertainment without high levels of action and with
only light but reveling dialog.
All of this can and will reduce writer’s
block. I do all these things as a matter
of course in my writing. This is just
some of the basics of writing. It’s the
kinds of ideas they never taught me in school.
We will continue to move along in the list of how
of get rid of writer’s block.
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.
F or 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
fiction, theme, plot, story,
storyline, character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book,
writing, information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic
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