Writing Ideas - Writing Historical Fiction, part 7 Into the Past

25 July 2013, Writing Ideas - Writing Historical Fiction, part 7 Into the Past

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four 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.

All right, we are moving into the realm of esoterics. The question is what is the point of historical fiction? To answer this question we need to look at the three aspects of a novel: storyline, plot, and theme. Obviously, for any novel, the storyline has to convey some degree of adventure or mystery--entertainment, remember entertain your readers. In a historical fiction novel, the storyline must convey the entertaining aspects of the life or portion of the life of your characters in a way that is entertaining to your readers. Therefore, the storyline must be steeped in the times. This is where the true voice of the times and culture come out. This is where you must be completely true to the historical times and place. The storyline may be contrived, but not the setting and thinking of your characters. The historical view is contained within the storyline. So what about the plot? The plot is the pattern of events that make up the larger narrative. In the plot, you must also hold to the basic historical view of the times that is conveyed in the storyline, but there is a larger point in it. The storyline must be made up of real elements, elements that are not out of place in the times of your novel. The plot may not stray from historical accuracy, but the pattern of events may not be from history at all. You might follow a character little known in the history of the world or who is a complete fabrication. The events of the storyline are real in terms of the past, the plot may deviate, not in history, but in the overall pattern of events, because, ultimately, your theme will hopefully not be the same as any other novel. In fact, your theme will hopefully be unique to your time and views. That is the point of the theme and that is the point of a historical novel. You convey to your readers a theme that is wholly yours and wholly your time, but that is wrapped perfectly in a historical plot and storyline.

Let's be very clear, your theme cannot be a convenient fiction to get across your personal message. For example, historical fiction is likely not the best means to get across an anti-religious theme. To do so would compromise the storyline and plot. Historical fiction is likely not the best way to get across many modern ideas--they are too foreign to the past. Many themes have been plumbed a little too much in historical fiction, and some are just trite. For example, an anti-slavery theme would be great for the 1800s but a little overwrought today. An anti-patriarchal theme would fit in the early 1900s, but not so much in the 21st century. A closer novel to today would better convey these themes. The most powerful themes for historical fiction are comparative themes. Those that draw comparisons from the past and lure the reader into the past to then spit them back up into the real world with a piece of the golden fleece or a golden apple in their hands. The greater the differences and the greater the comparisons, the more powerfully the theme can draw and affect your readers. So, examples...

Dana-ana http://www.dana-ana.com/ is a historical fiction themed novel in a modern setting--it likely would not count as historical fiction. It pulls a character from the past into the modern world and allows the readers to see, by comparison, the strengths and weaknesses of the Anglo-Saxon culture. Especially, the religious fervor of Dana-ana becomes apparent. The direct comparison is to the view of religion in the modern world. The difference is the way Dana-ana goes about her experience of life, love, and religion. The theme is about redemption.

Aegypt http://www.aegyptnovel.com/ is a historical fiction novel in a historical setting--1926. Its theme asks ultimate questions about what might be true. It puts up four competing arguments. First, is truth only in what we believe? Second, is truth only in what we perceive? Third, is truth only in what we know? Fourth, is truth only in what we can understand? This is the theme.  The storyline and the plot are very different because it is not a philosophical treatise, it is a fiction novel. The point of the novel is to use historical comparisons to bring up and answer these questions in the mind of the reader.

Centurion http://www.centurionnovel.com/ is a historical fiction novel that follows the life of a known historical person, the Centurion who executed Christ. It posits a very historically based theme about the difference between belief and truth. The point it asks of the reader is why would the Centurion at the foot of the cross say, "Surely this was the son of God." This is the theme of the novel.

So in historical fiction, the theme may be historically based, or not. The storyline and plot must be historically based. 

For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.

Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 10

14 July 2013, Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 10

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

This topic is by no means complete. There is so much more to delve into just about starting a novel, but I think it is time to clean this topic up a little and move on to another. So I'll finish with this. First, the four 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.
The last rule has a double implication--it implies "show don't tell." This is, of course, the basic rule of writing--show don't tell. Arlo Guthrie's book, A Field Guide to Fiction Writing, is easily the writer's manual on this topic. I won't go into anymore details today.

The second point that I haven't touched on yet is the idea itself. If you want to write a novel, you need a novel length idea--an inspiration. No cheating. Although it can be a good exercise, it doesn't do to take your favorite author, movie, program, novel, or anything else and write a similar novel. It is silly to think you can be successful by copying any work and producing something similar. To be your novel, the ideas have to be novel. The problems with many works today is they are too similar to other works, they have a voice that is too like other works, or they are so trivial, they are meaningless. That's the other side of the coin. A work that has a trivial theme, plot, or storyline is not going to be successful and will likely not get published in the first place. The question of what is "trivial" is a difficult one. I can tell you that if you have more than one unique miraculous incident in your novel, it is likely trivial. We call these a deus ex machina, a god machine. A novel can spin from a singular unique setting or event, but when they keep happening, the work's credibility becomes a question. For example, although I don't buy it and few readers will (unless you absolutely build it properly) love at first sight is a cliched and deus ex moment. A novel based on "love at first sight" might have a chance in the hands of an absolutely expert writer, but the theme is so old and has been used so much that no one will believe it today. Further, if the theme and plot of such a novel isn't "love at first sight," any other unique event that propels the novel will become trite and unbelievable. Your novel can't become trite. Unique events can flow from one another in the novel based on the singular circumstances developed in the novel, but those must come logically from the others.

Example from Dana-ana http://www.Dana-ana.com/. Dana-ana is about a girl who acts like an Anglo-Saxon maiden although she lives in the modern world. The plot is basically wrapped in a question: who really is Dana-ana? It is a revelation novel. That is, it reveals more and more through the characters to the point where everyone, at the end, finally gets just who is Dana-ana. The storyline develops around this revelation. The unique point of the book is Dana-ana herself--everything in the novel flows from this simple evidence. Everything becomes explicitly concrete because of who Dana-ana is. The reader is grounded and funnelled into the story because of this singular point. Further, the theme is about redemption. It is the redemption of Dana-ana herself and the redemption of those around her. Why does Dana-ana need redemption? That is bound up in who Dana-ana really is. So, you can see, a single unique existence propels the novel. There are magic and somewhat miraculous happenings in Dana-ana, but it is a fantasy-like novel with a fantastic plot. Those magic and miraculous happenings are not unique in the structure of the novel--just as future technology is not unique in a science fiction novel. When the basis is future technology or magic, the events are no longer unique, they are common, but that is a topic worth more discussion.

I hope this short 10 part explanation of how I start to write a novel was helpful. I think I'll talk more about inspiration tomorrow. Until then...

Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 9, Excitement in Scenes

13 July 2013, Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 9, Excitement in Scenes

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

This topic is by no means complete. There is so much more to delve into just about starting a novel, but I think it is time to clean this topic up a little and move on to another. So I'll finish with this. First, the four 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.

The last rule has a double implication--it implies "show don't tell." This is, of course, the basic rule of writing--show don't tell. Arlo Guthrie's book, A Field Guide to Fiction Writing, is easily the writer's manual on this topic. I won't go into anymore details today.

I wrote before, a scene must center around some event that is exciting.  Excitement is how you entertain and hold your reader's attention.  To build a scene that is exciting, you must imagine your characters involved in some event that drives the storyline, plot, and theme.  The scenes cannot be out of place to the storyline, plot, or theme, and they must fit your characters.  No scene, event within a scene, or piece of a scene can be extraneous or out of place.  Each bit, piece, and description must further the novel.  If, when you edit your writing, you find any piece that you can remove that will not affect the storyline, plot, or theme, then remove it.  This is something that is always interesting to me.  Many writers tell me when they edit, their writing length decreases.  Whenever I edit, the length of my manuscripts increase.  I always discover places I can improve and explain better.  I find places where I didn't provide sufficient description.  I rarely find scenes or events that are extraneous.  The reason for this is that I outline in scenes, and I center each scene in an event that propels the storyline.

The main question is, how do you invent or develop exciting events?  Much of that is a writer's experience.  Just as writing well comes from much writing, event or idea development comes from both writing and life experience.  I would add that reading can provide many ideas for exciting events.  Let me show you the outline of scenes for the first chapter of Dana-ana www.Dana-ana.com:

 1.  Dana gets beat up: input, stealing lunches; output, she's knocked out.  You should be able to see the explicit excitement and action in this scene.  The pathetic character of Dana will not fight back (we find later that she can't fight back).

2.  Dana in the infirmary: input, Dana knocked out; output, Byron escorts her home.  Here the specific pieces driving the scene are Byron carrying her to the infirmary, the confrontation with the school nurse (we find out more about Dana; Dana broke into the infirmary safe before), Dana gains and loses consciousness a couple of times, Dana tries to get out of the infirmary on her own, Byron has to help her, she doesn't want his help...

3.  Dana's tarpaper house: input, Byron escorts her home; output, Byron goes home.  The action here is the walk to her house (lots of description), seeing the tarpaper house, describing the tarpaper house, realization that Dana has nothing, Dana washes Byron's feet to welcome him to her house (okay, here is where the storyline, plot, and theme really kick off.  If you didn't think Dana was odd to begin with, the moment she welcomes Byron to her house by washing his feet, your alarm bells should be going off.  She is obviously showing an action that is outside of a modern norm--yet this fits in the perspective of the novel and the action), Dana is hungry, Byron shares his lunch with her, Dana won't eat the food unless it is gifted to her in her real name (another cultural indicator), Byron discovers her heal name, she eats the food he gives her, Byron goes back to school.
Three scenes, three exciting events to develop one chapter.  That isn't too hard.  In this context the scenes flow one from the other.  You can read the entire chapter at www.GoddessNovel.com.  You can also see other examples of my writing at www.ldalford.com or read my books.

See more writing secrets at www.ldalford.com.

For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.

Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 7, Sequence of and in Scenes

11 July 2013, Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 7, Sequence of and in Scenes

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

Sequence within and of scenes is an interesting question. What I mean by sequence is the time based formation of the action and of the scenes. This applies to time within the context of the novel as well as your writing. Let's take them separately. First, time sequence in and of scenes. You could experiment with non-sequential based time flow in a scene, but I don't do that. I do like to use scenes in some novels to go back into the past (potentially into the future), but I like to keep these separated as scenes. You don't have to, but one of my main concerns in writing is to not confuse my readers. As an aside, here are two of my main rules of writing: entertain your readers and don't confuse them. Scenes where the time or time sequence moves around will confuse your readers, so unless you really know what you are doing--don't. Likewise, you can take the reader to the past or future with a scene. You can have overlapping time between scenes, but use caution. This is where clear description is necessary. You have to ground your readers in the scene. Put that down as a basic rule too: ground your reader in each scene. For example, I do like to intersperse scenes that take the reader out of the main storyline into another storyline that parallels the plot. In Dana-ana, http://www.goddessnovel.com/, this means following the action of other characters for a scene and then jumping back to the original storyline. Everything still supports the plot and the theme, it is just showing the reader new information from a different point of view (POV, point of view, is a whole other topic). As long as you don't confuse your reader, these segues are great for them. They build a level of excitement and at the same time make your readers long to get back to the main storyline. Here's an example:

[end of scene with Macintyres (Dana's adopted family) after she left--Dana is the she]“She left of her own free will. I don’t think she’s coming back.”

[Beginning of the next scene--double break to set it off. The first step is the setting]
Mata Hainsworth [already introduced in the novel earlier] leaned against the wall at the back of the Wellington Hotel. The fog was thick that evening. At his side stood two other men dressed in suits. One of them also carried a pouch at his side. He was short and had foxy features. The man with the pouch glanced around the corner of the building, “So Dana-ana made a blood vow to this boy.”

Mata laughed, “Yes she did. I heard every word. It seems her young man was already half convinced to dump her. My little confession just pushed him over the top.”

“She took it hard.”

“She’s in love, the little slut. It’s just as we hoped, she cast her blood when he released her and swore a blood oath.”

“So all we need to do now is tempt her little master to an accident, and she’ll do a death dance.”

The other man in the suit spoke up. He was very tall and broad shouldered. He seemed almost too large to be a normal person. His face and every other part of him that showed outside his clothing was very hairy, “You know it’s not as easy as that, Ailean. There are precautions we must take. Plus we need to lure them to a place she was restricted from—one of her ancient places of power. We must insure no interference from Ceridwen or the rest of the courts.”

“You are a spoilsport, Mahon.”

He held his nose and growled. The growl sounded distinctively animal-like, “And you two both stink so much of magic, you’re lucky I stick around to help you. I want to gag right now.”

“We all serve the same master, Mahon. You don’t have to get snotty.”

“Where is the girl anyway?”

Mata replied, “She’s searching for food in the bin on the other side of the building. That’s why I had us meet here.”

“Good, I don’t want her to ever detect us. She’ll smell you two a mile away. We have to prevent any interference from Ceridwen. She swore to protect Dana-ana’s life. Dana-ana must give up her life willingly, otherwise, Ceridwen becomes involved.”

Ailean nodded, “That’s been the plan all along. Tell us something we don’t know.”

Mahon stared at him and lifted a thick lip, “If our master allowed me, I’d crush you puny human.”

Ailean started to sweat, “Well he hasn’t, so tell us what the plans are.”

“We are arranging a conflagration. We only want to target Dana-ana through the boy. That’s the difficult part. The details are still being attended to.”

“Will there be a place for magic?”

“Yes, very much. It will be a necessary part of the planning.”

“Good. When we get our revenge, Dana-ana needs to know just who pulled the trigger. That’s what will make it sweet. She must die slowly, very slowly. It would be best if while she did, the stink of magic would gag her, and she would drown in her own vomit.”

“Our master would like that very much. Perhaps it can be arranged.”

“It might be pleasant for her to be ravished just prior to the event.”

“You ask for too much, Mata. If she were ravished, that would surely bring Ceridwen and Dana-ana’s sisters down on our heads. You do not want that, I assure you.”

“Perhaps we could get the boy to do it. Ailaen’s skill is seduction magic.”

“That might be useful, but don’t plan too much. We are just putting the details together now. The most important part was her blood oath.”

“You figure out how to get them alone together, and we’ll ensure the boy rapes her.”

“I’ll warn you only once. Whatever you do, do not let it cause a failure of our plans. Our master wants her dead. That will roil the courts and Ceridwen. You want revenge. All our goals align with her death. If she doesn’t die, no one will be happy, especially our master.”
[End of scene-double break]

[Return to the main plot line]
On Wednesday, as Gwen left the hotel, she caught a glimpse of Dana. She grabbed her mother’s arm, “Mom, Dana’s following us.”

The above is an example of somewhat parallel storyline scenes. The the scene is separate and gives the reader a glimpse of what is happening outside of the knowledge of the major characters. This is a very effective method to build tension and excitement. Note the beginning of both scenes, the main one I show you and the beginning of the next, firmly ground the reader right away. A single sentence or paragraph is all that is necessary, but it is necessary.

Now the second part, about writing your scenes non-sequentially. Sometimes you might be tempted to write one of the most exciting scenes that you envisioned in your scene outline before you get to it in your writing. In other words as you are writing your novel, you might want to write some of the more exciting parts of it first and get to the rest later. That might work for some, but I advise you--don't do it. Don't do it for two reasons. First, if certain scenes aren't exciting to you, they won't be exciting to your readers. Second, I've found that the few times I've done this, I had to completely dump or revise the whole chapter or scene. The reason is that writing a novel is a process, the characters and your understanding of the plot grows with the writing. Usually when I finally write up to the point I already wrote, the circumstances of the input and sometimes the scene output have changed and the characters and plot have subtly changed. The previous writing of the scene is stale or out of place, and I have to completely write it again. This is what I explained about on Centurion www.CenturionNovel.com. The short story I originally wrote that to a degree spurred the novel could not fit at all into the novel. The characters were different and the circumstances (inputs and outputs) were different. So my advice is to not write out of sequence, but this is not a rule for everyone. Plus, if you do write in time sequence, you can later move the scenes around, if necessary, to fit the way the plot demands--if you need to. Tomorrow, I'll talk about more subtle means to work with your characters in scenes. 

See more writing secrets at www.ldalford.com.

For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.

Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 6, Outlining in Scenes

10 July 2013, Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 6, Outlining in Scenes

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

I use scenes to outline the development of each chapter. I also focus a chapter on a scene or scenes. I unimaginatively write in chapters and aim for 20 pages or about 5000 to 6000 words per chapter. This may not be the best way to write a novel, but it works for me. I don't necessarily recommend using my technique of using a chapter length as a goal, but I do recommend using scenes as the center point and outline of the chapter.

Now here is how you focus your writing in scenes. First, you must develop a theme for your novel. I've written about themes before, and I will eventually get to it here one day. Suffice to say, the theme must be somewhat universal, and it must not be trivial. It doesn't have to be to save the world, but it should speak broadly and powerfully. Once you have a theme (it should be written or in some way cohesive in your mind), you can move to the next step.

Second, imagine the actions of your characters. Imagine generally the exciting and interesting scenes that will paint them and your novel within the theme. This is where you begin to design the plot and the storyline. I have been using the terms plot and storyline independently but together since the beginning because, to me, these are two very separate things. The plot is the pattern of events that make up the larger narrative, specifically it is the scenes put together cohesively to make the story that supports the theme. The storyline is the entertaining line of events that make up the narrative. Whoa, what's the difference. The difference, in my mind is the theme. I never want the theme to get in the way of the story. This preoccupation with the storyline prevents this problem for me. I first of all want my writing to be entertaining. I don't intend to beat the reader with the theme, I want the theme to come out naturally as part of the plot as directed by the storyline. My example is Shakespeare. You know each of the plays has an underlying theme, the purpose of the play, overall, is to bring out this theme, but the author doesn't beat the theme over your head. The first purpose of the plays is to entertain. A reader who reads your work and is entertained will get the theme. The reader who is not entertained will put down your work and walk away. No read, no get the theme. Your readers have to first read and enjoy your work.

Third, start to figure out how to get the action of each scene down on paper. To keep this from being overwhelming, outline by scene with a general goal toward some resolution. If you have a general resolution in mind, the novel will grow toward that resolution. Usually, your theme supports this resolution. For example, without giving everything away, I knew Dana-ana would be a novel of discovery. Dana-ana has a great and horrible secret that she is prevented from sharing. She doesn't want to share it because it is so horrible. Because of her secret, groups seek to punish her and demand her death. The resolution is when she must face this horrible secret. Now, she confronts her secret at multiple levels: personally (with Byron and his family), individually (with herself), legally (she was punished for her actions), physically (others want her life because of her secret), and mentally (I don't tell you, you see the effects on her). The novel drives to the conclusion that brings all these together. This may sound very difficult. It is if you try to go at it as a whole. Don't. I wrote each scene as an entertaining piece that drove toward the conclusion. The scenes each had their input, event, and output. These all pointed toward the conclusion. Let me give you an example of this scene outlining. First scene, input Dana stole lunches, event the fight, output Dana knocked out. Second scene, input Dana knocked out, event Byron gets help for Dana, output Byron escorts Dana to her home. Third scene, input Byron escorts Dana to her home, event Dana washes Byron's feet and speaks for the first time, output Byron leaves Dana's house--end of chapter. First chapter ends cleanly and I need a new input for the first scene of the next chapter. Second chapter first scene input is Byron notices Dana in homeroom and speaks to her... The scenes continue from there. In every case, I try to provide an entertaining episode that drives the overall plot and theme. The scenes are the storyline. Tomorrow, I'll give you more on developing scenes. 

See more writing secrets at www.ldalford.com.

For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.

Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 5, Scene Building

9 July 2013, Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 5, Scene Building

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

I like to drive a scene through conversation. You can see in yesterday's example, I used a snippet of conversation between Byron and an anonymous girl to introduce Dana (Diana). This is the power of conversation. You can express many, many ideas without a single word of narrative or description. For example, instead of telling us, she is crying, you can have another character state, "There's no need to cry." In that single string of words, I told you something about the girl, she is crying, and about the observer. Let's look at Dana-ana as an example of the conversation driving the first scene. My comments are in [].

[Dan and Jack are bit characters. There is no reason to break the action to give them much description.] Dan held Diana’s arm. [Here is the input to the scene, Dana is stealing lunches] He put his pimply face in hers and yelled [I don't like to ever use said. I want to use more descriptive words or show the actions of the speakers], “Thought you could just take it, didn’t you?” He twisted her arm and Diana flinched. She turned slightly until Jack’s hold on her hair stopped her.

Byron took a step forward, “What’s up Dan, Jack?” [We see Byron reluctantly get involved. His actions show he isn't really interesting in saving Dana, but rather he feels compelled to prevent the other students from hurting her too much.]

Dan glanced quickly up at Byron. His eye twitched, “Don’t interfere Macintyre. She stole Sherrill’s lunch. We’re sure she took Jane’s the day before. She’s been taking lunches since the beginning of school. We just finally caught her at it this time.”

“How’d you do that?”

Dan twisted Diana’s hand around and squeezed it open. “Take a look,” he grinned, “red handed.”

Diana’s hand was stained blue.

“Put that powder from the last chemistry lab on the handle,” he showed his teeth again, “add a little water, and the blue hand shows who touched it.” [Here is the proof that Dana is stealing lunches. The other character, Dan, just showed it to the reader and explained how--no need of narrative.]

Byron put out his arm, “That’s enough, Dan, Jack. Just tell her to keep her hands off other people’s lunches and let her go.” [Sounds reasonable, but in the next bit of dialog, Jack explains why Byron doesn't understand the problem of Dana.]

Jack shook his head, “That won’t be enough for her. She’ll do it again unless we teach her a good lesson.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Sherrill has to get her piece, and Jane.” [Sherrill and Jane are bit characters, no need to break the action to describe them.]

Byron glanced at Jane then Sherrill. Jane shook her head. Sherrill tossed her hair, “That’s enough for me. She didn’t get my lunch. Diana, you keep your hands off my stuff—you hear?” [Sherrill's response is due to Byron's intimidation. No need to tell you how he affects them, but rather show you the results. The dialog explains it all.]

Dan had Diana’s arm behind her back, and Jack twisted her head back with her hair. Her face was turned upwards and her eyes were squeezed shut.

Byron addressed the girl, “What do you say, Diana?” [This is ironic because we find out Dana will not respond. This also indicates how little Byron knows Dana.]

Dan twisted her arm a little more. Diana flinched. Dan squinted, “She won’t say anything. She never says anything. Just slinks around and steals stuff.” He turned a little more toward Sherrill, which twisted Diana’s arm a bit more. Byron thought her arm looked close to breaking—still Diana didn’t make a sound. Dan nodded to Sherrill, “Sherrill, pop her one. That’s your right and that’ll teach her.”

Sherrill stepped forward, took a look at Byron, and stepped back, “You do it. I’m done.”

Without any warning, Jack pulled back his fist and tugged Diana’s hair toward it. His fist met her cheek with a crack, and she sagged forward. Dan’s hold was the only thing that kept her from falling flat on her face. He released her arm, and she flopped forward into the dirt. [This is the output of the scene and the input to the next scene--Dana is knocked out.]

Sherrill scowled, “She didn’t admit to anything. Pants her. That’ll teach her.” [Once Dana is entirely helpless, the cruelty of the students comes out. This gives us insight into them and shows us what they think about Dana.]

Dan reached down and grabbed the back of Diana’s pants. She didn’t have a belt on. He tugged down and half bared her buttocks. Byron moved quickly, “That’s enough Dan. You made your point.”

Sherrill laughed, “She doesn’t have any underwear on.” She pointed, “Look at that. I thought she was low, but I had no idea she was like that.” [we find out more about Dana]

At the edges of the crowd a call went up, “Teacher. Beat it.” [The result of this announcement should be obvious.]

The input into the next scene is Dana is knocked out cold and Byron takes her to the infirmary. Whew, lots of notes. I could give you even more.

Here is the development of the scene from beginning to end. First the input, Dana is stealing lunches and she was caught. She is about to be beaten for it. The action revolves around this and the dialog tells you what is happening and gives you insight into the characters. Mainly, in terms of plot and storyline, this is the beginning of the introduction of Dana and Byron. This is the event that first brings them into contact with each other. The event is somewhat commonplace and not out of place for the characters. Neither Dana nor Byron want to be there and neither are interested in each other. Circumstances simply bring them together and the bond between them is Byron's attempt to help her in light of the actions against her. The output from this scene is Dana is knocked out. The input to the next scene is also this event. As the reader, you can start to imagine the next scene, but the details have not been revealed yet. The point of these scenes in the storyline is to build a pretext for Byron's interaction with Dana. In the real world people don't just meet each other and interact without some degree of connection. Interaction is a process and this process gives play to future and other potential interactions. The point of this and the rest of the scenes in the first chapter are to give a reason for Byron's interest in Dana. There is much more to building scenes. I'll give some more examples tomorrow.

See more writing secrets at www.ldalford.com.

For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.

Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 3

7 July 2013, Writing Ideas - How I Start a Novel Part 3

Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

It would be impossible for me to tell you everything you need to know to write a scene. There is already a lot of great writing on this specific subject. What I will try to do is tell you how I write a scene. First, I need an input and an output. The scene has to have something that is the cause of it--that is the input. It has to have an end with a potential transition to the next scene--that is the output. You can see the input is driven by the previous scene transition (or by another earlier scene transition--your scenes don't necessarily have to be back to back in time). So to start a novel, your first scene must have an implied or explained transition from the imagined scene before. You detail this at some point in the novel or the first scene, but that's getting into the details--I'll stick a little higher than that for now. You could call the input to the scene the "why" of the scene. The "why" is necessary, but the most important part of a scene is the "what." The what of a scene is what happens to entertain the reader and drive the plot. I develop a scene around this singular "what." The "what" can be an event, a revelation, a conversation, an adventure, a joke, whatever. The most important key is that the "what" must be entertaining to your reader. It should draw emotion and or excitement. For example, in the first scene of Dana-ana, www.Dana-ana.com, the main character Dana is accused of stealing lunches and is about to be beaten for it. There is the excitement. The reader has no idea who this Dana-ana person is, but already the novel jumps into adventure and danger. Within the scene, I deliver all kinds of information to the reader explaining the "why" and the "what." That's what is so great about a scene--in it you show the reader what is going on, but at the same time, you can reveal important information for the plot and theme of the novel. So, the most important thing to me in writing is to entertain my reader--the scene is the mode I employ. Each scene must be entertaining. If it is not entertaining, there is no purpose in the writing. I'll go into more detail tomorrow on the scene.

See more writing secrets at www.ldalford.com.

For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.

Development - Rules of Writing, Characters of Centurion, Tension

24 August 2012, Development - Rules of Writing, Characters of Centurion, Tension

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

All language is symbols. Therefore it shouldn't surprise you that your writing should include higher level symbols. What are higher level symbols? I mentioned before the cross as a symbol. The cross is a higher level symbol--a symbol that doesn't depend on language. Symbols can be ready made or author made symbols. Some symbols are a mix.

I wrote that one way to choose which storylines to show is to pick those storylines which form scenes with the highest degree of tension.  Remember, tension in a scene is the element which gives excitement and entertainment to a scene. 

In general, you chose the storylines by the interaction of the protagonist with the plot.  This isn't always true.  For example, in my unpublished novel, Dana-ana, there is an important scene where the antagonist speaks to a couple of minor characters about Dana-ana.  The tension and power of this scene is that the antagonist and minor characters are discussing how they will destroy Dana-ana.  The reason this is such a powerful scene is that the reader has a vague idea that there is some kind of conspiracy against Dana-ana, but there is no real proof until this scene.  Suddenly, the reader discovers that Dana-ana is in real trouble.  All the woes of Dana-ana come into focus in a scene that doesn't include Dana-ana at all.

This is the important point here.  In Dana-ana, this specific scene does not include Dana-ana at all.  The scene is all about Dana-ana, but there is no Dana-ana in the scene.  The tension is that Dana-ana and her friends have no idea that she is in this level of danger.  The reader knows Dana-ana is in grave danger--they don't know the exact type of danger, but they know it is terrible.  This is the tension I am talking about.  By writing a scene that includes the antagonist and two minor characters and not the protagonist, the tension of the novel increases significantly, and information is shown to the reader that is not available to Dana-ana or her friends. There is more to choosing which storylines to show.

There is much more to writing without confusing your readers. I'll write about that tomorrow. The following is a question asked by one of my readers. I'm going to address this over time: Please elaborate on scene, theme, plot, character development in a new novel creation....ie, the framework, the development, order if operation, the level of detail, guidelines, rule of thumb, tricks, traps and techniques. To what extent do you outline the historic context, culture, mannerism, speech, dress and thought process of the main characters, in a historic novel...in order to maintain integrity, and gradually (help) reveal attributes of a character in the story, or otherwise clarify the plot, scene, transition, tension or resolution?

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonorhttp://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Rules of Writing, Characters of Centurion, Plot and Theme

16 August 2012, Development - Rules of Writing, Characters of Centurion, Plot and Theme

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

All language is symbols. Therefore it shouldn't surprise you that your writing should include higher level symbols. What are higher level symbols? I mentioned before the cross as a symbol. The cross is a higher level symbol--a symbol that doesn't depend on language. Symbols can be ready made or author made symbols. Some symbols are a mix.

The development of a character comes directly out of the theme.  That is, the development of all the characters in your novel comes directly out of the theme.  In a novel, there should be nothing extraneous.  Every character has a reason.  Every character must support the theme.  Every characters must be necessary to the plot.  Did you get the difference here?  Not every character is necessary to the theme, but every character is necessary to the plot.  In a perfect world, and in your novels, you should attempt to have every character necessary to the theme as well.  Let me show you the difference.

My unpublished novel, Dana-ana, is about a girl who thinks she is an Anglo-Saxon maiden in the modern world.  She will not speak to people unless properly approached, but she is in a modern high school.  The theme is about an Anglo-Saxon maiden in the modern world--there is much more to the theme, but that is sufficient for now.  In the initial scene, Dana-ana is being attacked by students because of her strangeness and because they accuse her of stealing lunches.  In this scene I have four tertiary characters--two boys and two girls.  The boys are attacking Dana-ana on the behalf of the girls. 

In this scene, I could have had one boy and one girl or one boy and two girls or two boys and one girl.  I could have had the main contention be that Dana-ana stole something other than lunches or stole some food other than their lunches.  We find that the theme requires Dana-ana to have some power over the natural world--I chose food as part of her power.  The plot develops this idea.  The characters all support the theme, but I made them necessary to the plot because of my choices from the plot.  In this case, you can see, the characters support the theme, but are necessary to the plot.

What this means is that in a cohesive plot, you can't change the details once they are established.  This is a critical difference between the plot and the theme.  Many plots can support the same theme.  Or said another way, you can develop many different plots from a theme.  Once you write, your plot and theme must be cohesive and the characters are the glue that binds it all together.  More, tomorrow.
There is much more to writing without confusing your readers. I'll write about that tomorrow. The following is a question asked by one of my readers. I'm going to address this over time: Please elaborate on scene, theme, plot, character development in a new novel creation....ie, the framework, the development, order if operation, the level of detail, guidelines, rule of thumb, tricks, traps and techniques. To what extent do you outline the historic context, culture, mannerism, speech, dress and thought process of the main characters, in a historic novel...in order to maintain integrity, and gradually (help) reveal attributes of a character in the story, or otherwise clarify the plot, scene, transition, tension or resolution?

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Writing a Novel, How I Start part 10

This topic is by no means complete.  There is so much more to delve into just about starting a novel, but I think it is time to clean this topic up a little and move on to another.  So I'll finish with this.  First, the four 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.
The last rule has a double implication--it implies "show don't tell."  This is, of course, the basic rule of writing--show don't tell.  Arlo Guthrie's book, A Field Guide to Fiction Writing, is easily the writer's manual on this topic.  I won't go into anymore details today.

The second point that I haven't touched on yet is the idea itself.  If you want to write a novel, you need a novel length idea--an inspiration.  No cheating.  Although it can be a good exercise, it doesn't do to take your favorite author, movie, program, novel, or anything else and write a similar novel.  It is silly to think you can be successful by copying any work and producing something similar.  To be your novel, the ideas have to be novel.  The problems with many works today is they are too similar to other works, they have a voice that is too like other works, or they are so trivial, they are meaningless.  That's the other side of the coin.  A work that has a trivial theme, plot, or storyline is not going to be successful and will likely not get published in the first place.  The question of what is "trivial" is a difficult one.  I can tell you that if you have more than one unique miraculous incident in your novel, it is likely trivial.  We call these a deus ex machina, a god machine.  A novel can spin from a singular unique setting or event, but when they keep happening, the work's credibility becomes a question.  For example, although I don't buy it and few readers will (unless you absolutely build it properly) love at first sight is a cliched and deus ex moment.  A novel based on "love at first sight" might have a chance in the hands of an absolute expert writer, but the theme is so old and has been used so much that no one will believe it today.  Further, if the theme and plot of such a novel isn't "love at first sight," any other unique event that propels the novel will become trite and unbelievable.  Your novel can't become trite.  Unique events can flow from one another in the novel based on the singular circumstances developed in the novel, but those must come logically from the others.

Example from Dana-ana http://www.goddessnovel.com/.  Dana-ana is about a girl who acts like an Anglo-Saxon maiden although she lives in the modern world.  The plot is basically wrapped in a question:  who really is Dana-ana?  It is a revelation novel.  That is, it reveals more and more through the characters to the point where everyone, at the end, finally gets just who is Dana-ana.  The storyline develops around this revelation.  The unique point of the book is Dana-ana herself--everything in the novel flows from this simple evidence.  Everything becomes explicitly concrete because of who Dana-ana is.  The reader is grounded and funnelled into the story because of this singular point.  Further, the theme is about redemption.  It is the redemption of Dana-ana herself and the redemption of those around her.  Why does Dana-ana need redemption?  That is bound up in who Dana-ana really is.  So, you can see, a single unique existence propels the novel.  There are magic and somewhat miraculous happenings in Dana-ana, but it is a fantasy-like novel with a fantastic plot.  Those magic and miraculous happenings are not unique in the structure of the novel--just as future technology is not unique in a science fiction novel.  When the basis is future technology or magic, the events are no longer unique, they are common, but that is a topic worth more discussion.

I hope this short 10 part explanation of how I start to write a novel was helpful.  I think I'll talk more about inspiration tomorrow.  Until then...

Excitement in Scenes, How I Start part 9

I wrote before, a scene must center around some event that is exciting.  Excitement is how you entertain and hold your reader's attention.  To build a scene that is exciting, you must imagine your characters involved in some event that drives the storyline, plot, and theme.  The scenes cannot be out of place to the storyline, plot, or theme, and they must fit your characters.  No scene, event within a scene, or piece of a scene can be extraneous or out of place.  Each bit, piece, and description must further the novel.  If, when you edit your writing, you find any piece that you can remove that will not affect the storyline, plot, or theme, then remove it.  This is something that is always interesting to me.  Many writers tell me when they edit, their writing length decreases.  Whenever I edit, the length of my manuscripts increase.  I always discover places I can improve and explain better.  I find places where I didn't provide sufficient description.  I rarely find scenes or events that are extraneous.  The reason for this is that I outline in scenes, and I center each scene in an event that propels the storyline. 

The main question is, how do you invent or develop exciting events?  Much of that is a writer's experience.  Just as writing well comes from much writing, event or idea development comes from both writing and life experience.  I would add that reading can provide many ideas for exciting events.  Let me show you the outline of scenes for the first chapter of Dana-ana www.GoddessNovel.com:
1.  Dana gets beat up: input, stealing lunches; output, she's knocked out.  You should be able to see the explicit excitement and action in this scene.  The pathetic character of Dana will not fight back (we find later that she can't fight back).
2.  Dana in the infirmary: input, Dana knocked out; output, Byron escorts her home.  Here the specific pieces driving the scene are Byron carrying her to the infirmary, the confrontation with the school nurse (we find out more about Dana; Dana broke into the infirmary safe before), Dana gains and loses consciousness a couple of times, Dana tries to get out of the infirmary on her own, Byron has to help her, she doesn't want his help...
3.  Dana's tarpaper house: input, Byron escorts her home; output, Byron goes home.  The action here is the walk to her house (lots of description), seeing the tarpaper house, describing the tarpaper house, realization that Dana has nothing, Dana washes Byron's feet to welcome him to her house (okay, here is where the storyline, plot, and theme really kick off.  If you didn't think Dana was odd to begin with, the moment she welcomes Byron to her house by washing his feet, your alarm bells should be going off.  She is obviously showing an action that is outside of a modern norm--yet this fits in the perspective of the novel and the action), Dana is hungry, Byron shares his lunch with her, Dana won't eat the food unless it is gifted to her in her real name (another cultural indicator), Byron discovers her heal name, she eats the food he gives her, Byron goes back to school.
Three scenes, three exciting events to develop one chapter.  That isn't too hard.  In this context the scenes flow one from the other.  You can read the entire chapter at www.GoddessNovel.com.  You can also see other examples of my writing at www.ldalford.com or read my books.

Scene Building, How I Start part 5

I like to drive a scene through conversation.  You can see in yesterday's example, I used a snippet of conversation between Byron and an anonymous girl to introduce Dana (Diana).  This is the power of conversation. You can express many, many ideas without a single word of narrative or description.  For example, instead of telling us, she is crying, you can have another character state, "There's no need to cry."  In that single string of words, I told you something about the girl, she is crying, and about the observer.  Let's look at Dana-ana as an example of the conversation driving the first scene.  My comments are in [].

[Dan and Jack are bit characters. There is no reason to break the action to give them much description.] Dan held Diana’s arm. [Here is the input to the scene, Dana is stealing lunches] He put his pimply face in hers and yelled [I don't like to ever use said.  I want to use more descriptive words or show the actions of the speakers], “Thought you could just take it, didn’t you?” He twisted her arm and Diana flinched. She turned slightly until Jack’s hold on her hair stopped her.

Byron took a step forward, “What’s up Dan, Jack?” [We see Byron reluctantly get involved.  His actions show he isn't really interesting in saving Dana, but rather he feels compelled to prevent the other students from hurting her too much.] 

Dan glanced quickly up at Byron. His eye twitched, “Don’t interfere Macintyre. She stole Sherrill’s lunch. We’re sure she took Jane’s the day before. She’s been taking lunches since the beginning of school. We just finally caught her at it this time.”

“How’d you do that?”

Dan twisted Diana’s hand around and squeezed it open. “Take a look,” he grinned, “red handed.”

Diana’s hand was stained blue.

“Put that powder from the last chemistry lab on the handle,” he showed his teeth again, “add a little water, and the blue hand shows who touched it.” [Here is the proof that Dana is stealing lunches.  The other character, Dan, just showed it to the reader and explained how--no need of narrative.]

Byron put out his arm, “That’s enough, Dan, Jack. Just tell her to keep her hands off other people’s lunches and let her go.” [Sounds reasonable, but in the next bit of dialog, Jack explains why Byron doesn't understand the problem of Dana.]

Jack shook his head, “That won’t be enough for her. She’ll do it again unless we teach her a good lesson.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Sherrill has to get her piece, and Jane.” [Sherrill and Jane are bit characters, no need to break the action to describe them.]

Byron glanced at Jane then Sherrill. Jane shook her head. Sherrill tossed her hair, “That’s enough for me. She didn’t get my lunch. Diana, you keep your hands off my stuff—you hear?” [Sherrill's response is due to Byron's intimidation.  No need to tell you how he affects them, but rather show you the results.  The dialog explains it all.]

Dan had Diana’s arm behind her back, and Jack twisted her head back with her hair. Her face was turned upwards and her eyes were squeezed shut.

Byron addressed the girl, “What do you say, Diana?” [This is ironic because we find out Dana will not respond.  This also indicates how little Byron knows Dana.]

Dan twisted her arm a little more. Diana flinched. Dan squinted, “She won’t say anything. She never says anything. Just slinks around and steals stuff.”  He turned a little more toward Sherrill, which twisted Diana’s arm a bit more. Byron thought her arm looked close to breaking—still Diana didn’t make a sound. Dan nodded to Sherrill, “Sherrill, pop her one. That’s your right and that’ll teach her.”

Sherrill stepped forward, took a look at Byron, and stepped back, “You do it. I’m done.” 

Without any warning, Jack pulled back his fist and tugged Diana’s hair toward it. His fist met her cheek with a crack, and she sagged forward. Dan’s hold was the only thing that kept her from falling flat on her face. He released her arm, and she flopped forward into the dirt. [This is the output of the scene and the input to the next scene--Dana is knocked out.] 

Sherrill scowled, “She didn’t admit to anything. Pants her. That’ll teach her.” [Once Dana is entirely helpless, the cruelty of the students comes out.  This gives us insight into them and shows us what they think about Dana.]

Dan reached down and grabbed the back of Diana’s pants. She didn’t have a belt on. He tugged down and half bared her buttocks. Byron moved quickly, “That’s enough Dan. You made your point.”

Sherrill laughed, “She doesn’t have any underwear on.” She pointed, “Look at that. I thought she was low, but I had no idea she was like that.” [we find out more about Dana]

At the edges of the crowd a call went up, “Teacher. Beat it.” [The result of this announcement should be obvious.]

The input into the next scene is Dana is knocked out cold and Byron takes her to the infirmary.  Whew, lots of notes. I could give you even more.

Here is the development of the scene from beginning to end.  First the input, Dana is stealing lunches and she was caught. She is about to be beaten for it.  The action revolves around this and the dialog tells you what is happening and gives you insight into the characters.  Mainly, in terms of plot and storyline, this is the beginning of the introduction of Dana and Byron.  This is the event that first brings them into contact with each other.  The event is somewhat commonplace and not out of place for the characters.  Neither Dana nor Byron want to be there and neither are interested in each other.  Circumstances simply bring them together and the bond between them is Byron's attempt to help her in light of the actions against her.  The output from this scene is Dana is knocked out.  The input to the next scene is also this event.  As the reader, you can start to imagine the next scene, but the details have not been revealed yet.  The point of these scenes in the storyline is to build a pretext for Byron's interaction with Dana.  In the real world people don't just meet each other and interact without some degree of connection.  Interaction is a process and this process gives play to future and other potential interactions.  The point of this and the rest of the scenes in the first chapter are to give a reason for Byron's interest in Dana.  There is much more to building scenes.  I'll give some more examples tomorrow.