18 August 2022, Writing - part xxx050 Writing a Novel, We are Refining the Protagonist, Powering Through, more Release in the Scene
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.
|
|
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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.
What I wanted to show you with this example is
that tension can be subtle and still effective and release can be subtle and
yet effective. I love intellectual and
situational tension with a similar release.
I also like more action oriented tension and release as well. I should show you an example of that kind of
tension and release.
Usually, we save the really powerful tension and
release for the climax, but an action oriented or a really powerful novel can
have scenes filled with strong tension and release. I’ll give you an example from a novel I haven’t
completed yet.
This example comes from a novel I haven’t
finished or even edited much. The working
title is called Rose. This isn’t the climax,
but it is very action oriented.
Finally
one night, Rose sensed Shiggy before she felt a sudden shake of her shoulder,
“Rose, dear, it’s time.” Shiggy was
standing over her bed. She wore a black
sweater, pants, and watch cap. She held
out a dark pair of pants, sweater, cap, and blouse, “Put these on, and come
down with your boots and coat.”
Rose
nodded half asleep. She got up and put
on the clothing, then came down the stairs.
Shiggy was sitting at the table while Airgead, looking slightly frazzled
set eggs and bangers down for two.
Rose
nodded to Airgead. She sat and ate.
Shiggy
pronounced, “Rose, do not let any of your Fae friends attend us. You must keep them away. It’s for their own good and yours. The merfolk will be active, and I don’t want
any of them caught up in our work either.”
Rose
nodded. She glanced at the clock in the
kitchen. It read two in the morning,
“I’ll do what I can.”
“You
will do. There is no might. We will confront some very desperate humans,
and I don’t wish any Fae encounters or difficulties.”
“Yes,
Ms. Tash.”
Shiggy
smiled, “I’ll brief you on the way.”
After
they ate, Shiggy led Rose out to her old Triumph. She carried a black pack on her back, and
placed it in the back seat, “Get into the passenger’s side.”
Rose
complied, and Shiggy started the car and headed out of the drive onto the B9064. She turned right toward the port, but continued
past the ferry dock and the buildings.
When they were well away, Shiggy started, “The freighter is in the
channel at this moment, and the Russian ships are approaching from the east.”
“How
do you know this?”
Shiggy
grinned into the darkness, “Surveillance from British and American satellites. I get the feeds directly. Here’s what we shall do. I’ve a rubber raft in the boot. We’ll fill it and use it to get to the
freighter. We have plenty of time before
the Russian ships arrive. Before they do,
we shall be in charge of the freighter.
You handle the crew, and I’ll take care of the captain and his
officers. Your job is to prevent any
untoward accidents. Once I have control
of the ship, I’ll contact the British Navy and the Coastguard.”
“Why
not just alert them to come now?”
“Silly
child. The moment the crew sees any sign
of the British government, they’ll drop their cargo overboard and high-tail it
out of here. You promised the
merfolk. I don’t want any environmental
issues. That is, the Crown doesn’t want
any issues, and I want to capture and stop the Chinese and the Russians. Surely you understand why.”
Rose
nodded.
“I
can’t see your response.”
“Yes,
Ms. Tash.”
“Very
good. If there are any problems, you
return to the shore and contact Robyn’s parents. Just so you know, the Navy and the Coastguard
are already on alert. Robyn’s parents
will receive a message in the next hour.”
“What
if you have troubles?”
“You
just handle your job. I’ll take care of
myself.”
“What
if I have any troubles?”
“I
trust you, Rose. That’s your test.”
Rose
settled more deeply in the hard Triumph’s seat.
They
traveled around the island road. There
was no moon at all and the clouds lay close and dark. In the faint glow of the horizon and the sea,
Rose could just make out a large ship in the channel between Rousay and
Egilsay. The ship must have had a very
shallow draft, it sat in the deepest part of the channel and appeared to be
unmoving.
Shiggy
brought the Triumph to a point just between the large turn at the Rousay
primary school and the Brun of Cruar.
She turned down a hardball road that led to a farmhouse. Before she cut down the road, Shiggy shut off
the car’s lights and continued in nearly absolute darkness. Rose noticed, she had put on a pair of
googles that glowed a faint white.
Before the farmhouse, Shiggy turned off the engine, but the car
continued to move nearly silently in the darkness beside one of the large
barns. At the end of the barn, the
ground became fields, and there, Shiggy stopped the car and got out. The lights inside the car didn’t turn on when
she opened the door. Rose quickly got
out on her side. Her eyes slowly became
acclimated to the darkness.
Shiggy
whispered, “I know you can see in the dark Miss Tash. Use your skills or you will be at a great
disadvantage here.”
Rose
licked her lips, but applied a bit of glamour to her sight.
Shiggy
whispered again, “I saw you lick your lips, but I shall ignore it for
now.” Shiggy went to the boot and pulled
out a black rectangular object and a couple of paddles, “Grab the other side.”
Rose
grasped a canvas handle on her side of the object and Shiggy, with her backpack
made a jogging run toward the dark sea.
Rose was compelled to follow. At
the rocky beach, Shiggy put the object into the water and pulled a handle. Rose stepped back as the raft began to
inflate. It made a slight hissing sound
while it filled, and Shiggy threw her one of the paddles. Shiggy’s head came up, “They are
gathering. I can feel them. Tell them to get lost, or I’ll bring out some
iron.”
Rose
had felt the Fae before that. She sent
out a warning, and sensed them back off.
They didn’t like the dark or the sea, but they were always curious about
strange goings on—especially in the dark.
They were land based Fae. Rose
also felt some of the sea folk. She sent
them a casting as well, but they were all too willing to stay away from the
ship and from them. She felt only
assurance and relief from the sea.
When
the raft was fully inflated, Shiggy pushed it the rest of the way into the
water. She whispered, “Get in.” Rose stepped into the raft, and Shiggy pushed
it off into the water. With a couple of quiet
steps, she got in herself. Shiggy must
have been very accomplished and familiar with these kinds of operations, Rose
felt barely any motion when Shiggy jumped in, while it had rocked and tettered
until Rose could get to the front and sit.
When
Shiggy settled at the back of the raft, she hissed, “Paddle toward the
ship. I’ll guide us, you just give me a
little help. I’ll tell you when to
change sides. Give us a little cover
with your glamour, and seek ahead for anyone on the ship.”
All
this was new to Rose, but she gamely paddled trying to make as little noise as
Shiggy did. The raft glided out into the
deeper water, and quickly approached the large shadow in the channel.
Rose
whispered back, “Couldn’t they see us with their night equipment?”
“Duh,
that’s why you need to give us some cover.
They aren’t usually as well equipped as we are, but just make certain.”
Rose
felt that surely Shiggy didn’t need her help that much. She cast out and ahead, and covered them with
a little glamour darkness.
“Don’t
forget to paddle.”
Rose
dipped her paddle back into the water.
“What
do you sense?”
“There
are ten crew members on the other side of the ship. On the side with the cranes. There are four in the high part at the
back. They are all looking toward
Egilsay. There are four others inside the
ship, below.”
“You
are good. I like having you about, Miss
Tash. You’re better than radar—perhaps
Rose radar.”
Shiggy
steered them to the side of the ship where an aft anchor chain ran into the
sea. She used a magnetic device she
placed against the hull to hold the raft in place. Shiggy whispered, “Hold tight. I’ll climb up and let a ladder down for you.”
Rose
nodded, but Shiggy couldn’t see her, and she was already scaling the anchor
chain. Rose swallowed. She knew Shiggy was very adept and strong, but
climbing like that almost seemed miraculous to her. After a very short time, a canvas black rope
ladder with loops set about every two feet came snaking down the side of the
ship toward her. Rose took a deep breath
and began to climb. It wasn’t very
difficult, but she hadn’t ever done this before. She reached the top of the ship more quickly
than she thought possible, and Shiggy grabbed her by the back of her pants and
hauled her up over the gunwales. Shiggy
knelt in the shadows. She had an
automatic weapon on her back, and still wore the goggles. She put her mouth close to Rose’s ear, “I’m
going to the bridge. That’s where you
sensed the officers. Are they still
there? Don’t speak, just move your
head.”
Rose
nodded. Shiggy was touching her head,
“I’ll leave you. Move to where you can
take care of the crew. Keep them from
using the cranes or any other action that might be suspicious. I’m for the bridge. They shouldn’t be armed. Not the crew.
The officers possibly.”
Then
Shiggy was gone, and Rose was left kneeling at the side of the gunwale. She wondered if Shiggy really needed her at
all, but she crouched and began to move toward the center of the ship. Shiggy was invisible to her eyes even with
Fae sensitivity and glamour, but she could sense her as she moved toward the
high area at the back of the ship.
Rose
wasn’t entirely sure what to do. She
knew generally how to do what Shiggy desired, but she hadn’t tried it on so
many or with such direct effort. She
cast forward toward the crewmembers. The
ones on the deck were all straining into the darkness looking for something—the
approaching Russian boats, she guessed.
Shiggy would likely have used explosives and some physical means to stop
the cranes or the cargo operations, Rose didn’t have anything, but glamour and
her mind. She let out a touch and
allowed her glamour to contact the crewmen at the controls of the cranes. She didn’t want to hurt them, so she made
their hands go numb. She hoped they
would think it was from the cold. The
others stood around large boxes of the cargo.
They had brought them up on deck to allow a quick transfer. Rose touched their thoughts and made them to
feel warmth from the boxes. She placed
in their thoughts that the boxes were breached and possibly radioactive. She heard and felt them move unconsciously
away from the cargo. At that moment, a
cry came from the bridge of the ship, and all the crew members turned their
attention there. They were not armed,
but Rose felt men with weapons on the bridge.
She sensed only two there who were still active. Shiggy must have knocked out, or Rose
swallowed, killed, two of them.
The
crewmen began to mummer when they heard the shout from the bridge. They began moving in that direction. That was away form the cranes and the cargo,
so Rose felt good about that, but then a shot rang out from the bridge. Only one of the men at the back were still
moving and sensible. Suddenly, a cry in
Chinese came from the bridge, and a man staggard from there toward the middle
of the ship. He fell. The men tried to move toward the bridge, but
Rose sent a cast of fear at them all.
They moved back. Boats were
approaching the ship first from the east and suddenly from all directions. Rose could feel them. They were too many people to note
individually, but she realized that they were many and of different
nationalities. She could detect the
strangeness of some and the familiarity of others.
Without
any warning, lights blazed from many of the smaller boats around them. A loud number of claxons began to go
off. Rose heard her name, “Rose, Rose,
get over here immediately.”
Rose
felt Shiggy near the back of the ship, and still in a crouch, she moved back
down the gunwale toward the place they entered the ship. Shiggy was crouched by the side of the
gunwale, “Stay down Miss Tash. This is
most dangerous part of our operation.”
Shiggy pushed her head down.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted from below.
She heard bullets ricochet off the sides of the ship and then the cries
of men. In a few moments, it was all
over.
Shiggy
was trembling, and Rose thought that odd.
Shiggy’s voice was a little strained, “Just sit tight, Miss Tash. It’s not quite over yet.
Rose
felt a sticky wetness on her face when Shiggy moved her hand. She moved a little.
Shiggy
whispered, “Don’t move.”
There
was a sudden hail from below. It sounded
like Chinese. Then another hail in
English, “This is the British Navy. Put
down your weapons and raise your hands.
We are boarding your ships.” That
was followed by a hail in what sounded like Russian.
Shiggy
yelled, “Two British subjects are on board.”
Rose
asked, “Are you injured?”
“Just
a little. Stay down until the excitement
is over.” Then Shiggy without any
warning, collapsed into Rose’s arms.
Rose
didn’t know what to do. She started to
snivel, just a bit, then bit her lip.
She touched wetness, and felt up Shiggy’s arm until she came on a deep flowing
wound. Blinded by the lights and the
shadows, she put her hand over the cut and pressed. That wasn’t very effective, so she pulled off
her cap and placed it over the spot and held even tighter. She though she noted the blood flowed
less. Then a couple of armed British marines
swept over the gunwale. When they spotted
the two of them and turned their weapons on them, but Rose cried out, “Please
don’t shoot. We’re the ones who called
you.”
The
men were armed with automatic weapons and wore googles like Shiggy’s but pushed
up on their foreheads. One of them,
ordered, “Down on the deck.”
Rose
wailed, “I can’t she’s injured and bleeding.”
A
British officer came over the gunwale with a couple of more marines. He wore no rank, but Rose could tell by his
demeanor, and she recognized it in his presence. He flashed a powerful torch on Shiggy and
Rose, “Men, move toward the crew. These
are the ones we were told to look for.”
“Yes,
sir,” almost in unison, and they jogged toward the crew who were now laying
flat on the deck.
Rose’s
voice sounded desperate, “Please sir, Ms. Tash is injured. We need help right away.”
The
officer made a call on his radio, then headed forward.
One
of the marines remained back beside Rose and Shiggy. He flashed his torch up and down Shiggy, then
handed it to Rose, “Keep pressure against that wound, and shine the light
here.”
She
did.
The soldier brought out a heavy bandage
and cut the sleeve off Shiggy’s arm while Rose still held her cap tightly
against Shiggy’s arm. The soldier
ordered, “Let go of her arm, now.”
Rose let go and dark blood began flowing
down Shiggy’s arm again. The soldier
applied something to the open wound then pressed his thick bandage to it. He tied it very tightly. Then sat back and took back his torch. He flashed it again up and down Shiggy. Then up and down Rose. He moved it back to the bandage and noted the
amount of blood saturation. Rose could feel in the smile in his voice, “I think
she will be okay. If I’m not here when
they pick her up, tell the doc or the medic that I applied CELOX with wound
seal and cyanoacrylate. They won’t be
able to remove the bandage without an unsealer, and they might need to use an
anticoagulant. Can you remember that.
Rose stammered, “Yyyes.”
The man gave a nod, “I didn’t see any
other wounds, and you seem okay.”
“I’m alright.”
“Then wait here until they can evacuate
your friend,” he turned and ran to the center of the ship.
When the marine left, Rose grasped Shiggy
and held her close. Shiggy felt
cold. Rose was cold. All around her, she saw the soldiers putting
zip ties on the captured crewmembers. A
couple of officers or at least one officer and one sergeant were overseeing the
men. She counted ten of them total on
the Chinese freighter. Below, she heard
more British voices, and she heard Russian voices. The men on the other small ships were being
secured.
When the action was over, the soldiers
all stood back with their weapons trained on their prisoners. The lights all around the freighter and from
the ships below came on and moved upward so they illuminated everything. As her eyes became accustomed to the
brightness, Rose could see all around them.
A man dressed in a dark blue British
naval uniform stepped on board with a small group of sailors and another
officer. He sent the other officer
toward the bridge and the sailors to their stations. The marine officer noted each with a
nod. That officer came immediately over
to him and saluted, “Skipper, this ship is secured.”
“Very good lieutenant. Where is Major Tash?”
“Major Tash?”
“Yes, lieutenant. You were instructed to secure and protect
Major Tash and her assistant. Where are
they?”
“Do you mean the two operatives we were
alerted about, sir?”
“Just so.”
The lieutenant pointed to where Rose and
Shiggy lay next to the gunwale, “The last I saw them, sir, they were at the
gunwale when we came aboard. One of them
was injured.”
The skipper grasped the lieutenant by his
tactical harness and dragged him to where Rose and Shiggy sat, “You took care
of the situation, did you not?”
The lieutenant’s voice sounded a little
strained, “My medic treated her wounds.
They should be safe right here.”
He flashed his torch toward Shiggy and Rose. The torch was really unnecessary, the lights
all around them were bright enough to illuminate everything. The officer went to one knee beside Shiggy
and Rose, “Are you Major Tash?”
Rose bit her lip, “No sir, I’m Rose
Tash. This is Shiggy Tash. She’s hurt.”
The skipper looked around at the deck,
“She’s lost a bit of blood.” He stood,
“Lieutenant, these women are the first off.
Get a stretcher immediately. I
want Major Tash in the sick bay, now. He
called on his radio.
It didn’t take very long at all. Four sailors ran across a boarding ramp from
the largest British ship now connected to the freighter. They carried a stretcher. One of the men was an officer and other a
medic of some kind. The officer directed
them and they took Shiggy from Rose’s arms and gently laid her on the
stretcher. With a simple order, the
sailors lifted the stretcher as thought they were perfectly trained and moved
quickly back across the boarding ramp.
Rose trailed them across the ramp.
She kept following. No one really
talked to her or asked her any more questions.
Everyone seemed as if they weren’t supposed to say anything or ask
anything. She wished Shiggy was
conscious. Rose wondered what was going
to happen to her.
When they arrived at the sick bay. At least it looked like a sick bay to Rose,
she opened her mouth, “The soldier told me.
He applied CELOX with wound seal and cyanoacrylate. You won’t be able to remove the bandage
without an unsealer, and you might need to use an anticoagulant.”
The officer, he seemed like a doctor to
Rose, nodded, “Very good. Just what I
needed to know.” He looked over Shiggy’s
wound and checked out the rest of her.
“I think she can travel safely.
Heart and blood pressure are good.
No signs of shock. Just this
wound and some trauma. I’m going to give
her a sedative and a pain killer.” He
gave Shiggy a couple of injections, then he wrote a note that he put in a
folder and then attached another to her sweater next to the wound. After that, he leaned back and glanced at
Rose, “You seem pretty young to be involved in this kind of work. Are you alright?”
Rose sucked on her lower lip, “I am,
sir.”
“Do you need anything? Food, drink, a bunk.”
“No, sir.
I’ll just wait with Ms. Tash. If
that’s alright with you.”
“We are at your service, Ms.?”
“Miss Tash.”
“Really?”
The skipper came in at that moment, “No
more questions, Doc.”
The doctor’s brow rose.
The skipper continued, “Is Major Tash
able to travel?”
The doctor nodded, “Yes, she’s stable.”
The skipper raised his chin, “The
helicopter’s ready. Let’s get them both
up on deck.”
The stretcher crew came back for
Shiggy. Rose followed them up to the
back deck of the ship. The sun still lay
well below the horizon. They lifted
Shiggy on her stretcher into the back of a grey camouflaged Westland Super Lynx
helicopter. The medic came on board and
began strapping the stretcher down. He
sat on the side with Shiggy. One of the
sailors lifted Rose up into the helicopter and the helicopter crewmember in the
back took a moment from strapping the stretcher down at his end, to point at a
seat on the other side for Rose. He
tossed her a headset. When he was
finished with the stretcher, he came over and helped Rose strap in. He plugged in Rose’s headset and asked, “Can
you hear me?” He showed Rose how to
press the talk button.
Rose responded, “I can hear you.” She smiled.
“I’m Leading Rate Davies. Welcome aboard.” He turned forward, “Pilot, our guests are
strapped down and ready to go. The ship
is secure.” He turned back around,
“What’s your name?”
The pilot called over the intercom, “No
questions allowed, Davies.”
“Yes, sir.” He gave Rose an apologetic grin and shrugged
his shoulders. He took a seat between
the pilot and the copilot. The
helicopter rose up from the ship’s aft deck.
Rose finally got a view of all the action
and ships below. She saw a large British
warship. She wasn’t sure of the class,
but she had seen pictures before in her training. It looked like a frigate. The helicopter they were riding in wasn’t a
passenger helicopter at all. It looked
completely like a war machine. The
frigate was attached to the freighter.
From above, Shiggy could see part of the reason they had to attack it
the way they did. The freighter was a
hydrofoil. She could make out the side
wings. That’s why it could safely enter
the channel, and why Shiggy was worried it could get away before the British Navy
could stop it. All around the freighter lay
smaller fast boats. The black ones where
all pulled together into a ragged clump.
Rose guessed they were the Russian ships. Around them floated camouflaged small fast
ships and some larger ships decorated in orange and white. Rose guessed they were part of the British
Navy and Coastguard contingent. Then the
helicopter began to move back and then up.
In a few moments, it was moving fast across the Orkneys and toward
Scotland.
I’ll
identify the tension and the release for you next.
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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