This is the beginning of chapter 8. I set up Aksinya in her house. Now we see the progression of her sin and some very important connections. The first is the Freifrau...
The week continued for Aksinya and Natalya without great problems. The demon led them every night to the house across the street. As yet, he made no other demands on Aksinya. The cellar workroom remained unused for now. The demon didn’t even ask Aksinya to go down to it again.
Chapel was a daily chore. With Natalya beside her, Aksinya could endure it, but it was not pleasant for her. Aksinya spent her time in the evenings working with Natalya on her German. Aksinya’s work in her classes suffered, but the sisters didn’t seem to expect much from a countess anyway. They didn’t praise her, but they didn’t berate her either. Only Sister Margarethe, in German class, seemed to show Aksinya any special attention. No matter what Aksinya did, Sister Margarethe praised her. Aksinya thought, perhaps her German was truly improving because she worked with Natalya so much.
On Friday afternoon, Freiherr Bockmann’s coupe, the covered carriage, came for Aksinya and Natalya. The Freifrau Bockmann herself sat in the coupe. For the weekend, Aksinya and Natalya had taken clothing from the house across the street. They wore something other than their Sacré Coeur uniforms now. Aksinya was dressed like a countess. Natalya like a lady-in-waiting. Both of their jewelry was much more elegant than that which would have been expected any student to wear.
Freifrau Bockmann’s eyes widened when she saw them. She descended from the carriage and curtsied to Aksinya. Then, she greeted both the girls with a kiss. The Reverend Mother came out of the school to see them off. Frau Drescher stood as an after thought in the shadows near the gymnasium’s door.
The Reverend Mother curtsied to Freifrau Bockmann. It was a deep curtsy that included Aksinya, “Freifrau Bockmann, the Countess and Lady Natalya have started well. We are glad you decided to take them under your wing for their social training during the weekends.”
Freifrau Bockmann was effusive, “Thank you, Reverend Mother. I will return them Sunday evening. Please don’t expect them for dinner.”
“Yes, Freifrau Bockmann.”
With the drivers help, they climbed into the carriage. After they were inside, Freifrau Bockmann tapped the ceiling of the carriage with the top of her cane and the driver started the horses moving.
This is the setup of the entire chapter, and this is the means to convey to you the basis of a continuing of action in the novel. The week continued... then we see their week abbreviated to show only the important parts. This is a writing technique to move the writing in time and to give the reader the expectation of what is happening without going into great detail. Detail is left for important parts. The key takings here is the cellar remains unused, the chapel, Natalya and German class. Watch the sister and German class closely.
So Freifrau Bockmann comes herself to pick up Aksinya and Natalya. You can see the small details. The coupe, the girls are dressed in finery and with jewelry. This is what gets the attention of Freifrau Bockmann. They are wearing clothing and jewelry, especially jewelry she didn't expect them to have. She has no idea about the house. The Reverend Mother can't miss the opportunity to greet the Freifrau or see Aksinya off. She is kind, but she is political and wise. She praises the Freifrau in a manner the Freifrau can't ignore. The point of all this is so I can detail for you what Aksinya and Natalya are about for the weekend. At the end of this piece, I give you a little color to show how the world worked at this time. That is the way to tell the driver to start the horses.
Showing posts with label chapter introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chapter introduction. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
A New Novel, Part 67 Scene Setting beginning of Chapter 7
Okay, okay, I know I usually give you more than a paragraph. I'm not being stingy--this is the beginning of a chapter and there is first the scene setting for the chapter and the details that are necessary for the reader. In other words, in one paragraph I will set the scene, introduce the chapter, and foreshadow a lot of events. So here it is. Pay attention.
Natalya woke Aksinya in the early morning. She served her tea, dressed her in the uniform of Sacré Coeur, and arranged her hair. Aksinya fit very primly into her clothing. The severe uniform of Sacré Coeur didn’t improve her figure at all. The cut made her look more boyish than usual. Her hair simply turned her features from those of a maiden to those of a lovely boy. Natalya carefully steered her away from the mirrors in their room and bath. Natalya, on the other hand, appeared like a especially proper and beautiful young woman. Her figure was very evident even in the unflattering uniform. Natalya put on her baggy sweater to cover her curves—she hoped Aksinya wouldn’t notice.
Scene setting means the writer tells us where, when, who, what, and how. Not necessarily in any particular order. I spent the whole of the last chapter setting the place for you, the where. We start with when, early morning, and notice, Natalya woke Aksinya. I don't tell you, but can't you imagine Natalya already woke very early to prepare herself, then woke Aksinya. The where is in the second sentence, Sacré Coeur, you knew this from the waking, but this little bit reminds you of a couple of things: first, remember the tea preparation in the room and second, the uniform? These little things are intended to reset the scene for you. This is all the where. So we have the when and the where. The who is right at the beginning: Aksinya and Natalya. The what is that they are preparing for school I don't tell you that--I know you can put it together. Then the how--the how is what wraps everything together. You see, I am really showing you the how from the beginning. It is the how that Natalya prepares Aksinya for school, but in that short how--two whole sentences, I already showed you the entire scene and I set the players in it. This is scene setting. This is exactly how it is supposed to be done and should and must be done especially at the beginning of a new scene. Now let's set the chapter.
To set a chapter, the author needs to put into play the introductory events or ideas that foreshadow at least some parts of it. The beginning is in the setting of the scene, but I begin to set the chapter before that is done. Look at the last part of the second sentence--and arranged her hair. We can't ever get away from Aksinya's hair. The hair is the image or symbol of her contract to the demon. She can't be allowed to forget and neither can you. You know already, from what I revealed in the scene setting, that this chapter will be about the school. It is all domestic, but then to the point.
Aksinya's clothing. This is obviously an image for the chapter--how she fits into the school. Look at the description. She fit primly because Natalya did the fitting, but it makes Aksinya look like a boy and her hair doesn't help anything. This is a definite foreshadowing. Kind Natalya steers Aksinya away from the mirrors. Remember Aksinya's pain and the mirrors before. Aksinya, we know keeps away from mirrors because of how she perceives her lack of beauty. Natalya gets it. Then we get to Natalya.
Aksinya never picks up on Natalya's evident beauty, but we do. Aksinya, as a true aristocrat doesn't notice many things like this, but we see it because I show it to you. Natalya goes out of her way to make certain that Aksinya doesn't notice. We aren't certain Aksinya would ever notice such a thing--especially at this point.
Still, here we are, the chapter introduction in a nutshell. Aksinya should fit into the school as well as she fits the uniform, and Natalya will try to fit and will stand out anyway. Natalya will do anything to help Aksinya, but we knew that already. I'm not going to reveal the foreshadowing at this point, let's let that be a surprise, shall we, but you might guess at a little. There are lots of juicy hints.
Natalya woke Aksinya in the early morning. She served her tea, dressed her in the uniform of Sacré Coeur, and arranged her hair. Aksinya fit very primly into her clothing. The severe uniform of Sacré Coeur didn’t improve her figure at all. The cut made her look more boyish than usual. Her hair simply turned her features from those of a maiden to those of a lovely boy. Natalya carefully steered her away from the mirrors in their room and bath. Natalya, on the other hand, appeared like a especially proper and beautiful young woman. Her figure was very evident even in the unflattering uniform. Natalya put on her baggy sweater to cover her curves—she hoped Aksinya wouldn’t notice.
Scene setting means the writer tells us where, when, who, what, and how. Not necessarily in any particular order. I spent the whole of the last chapter setting the place for you, the where. We start with when, early morning, and notice, Natalya woke Aksinya. I don't tell you, but can't you imagine Natalya already woke very early to prepare herself, then woke Aksinya. The where is in the second sentence, Sacré Coeur, you knew this from the waking, but this little bit reminds you of a couple of things: first, remember the tea preparation in the room and second, the uniform? These little things are intended to reset the scene for you. This is all the where. So we have the when and the where. The who is right at the beginning: Aksinya and Natalya. The what is that they are preparing for school I don't tell you that--I know you can put it together. Then the how--the how is what wraps everything together. You see, I am really showing you the how from the beginning. It is the how that Natalya prepares Aksinya for school, but in that short how--two whole sentences, I already showed you the entire scene and I set the players in it. This is scene setting. This is exactly how it is supposed to be done and should and must be done especially at the beginning of a new scene. Now let's set the chapter.
To set a chapter, the author needs to put into play the introductory events or ideas that foreshadow at least some parts of it. The beginning is in the setting of the scene, but I begin to set the chapter before that is done. Look at the last part of the second sentence--and arranged her hair. We can't ever get away from Aksinya's hair. The hair is the image or symbol of her contract to the demon. She can't be allowed to forget and neither can you. You know already, from what I revealed in the scene setting, that this chapter will be about the school. It is all domestic, but then to the point.
Aksinya's clothing. This is obviously an image for the chapter--how she fits into the school. Look at the description. She fit primly because Natalya did the fitting, but it makes Aksinya look like a boy and her hair doesn't help anything. This is a definite foreshadowing. Kind Natalya steers Aksinya away from the mirrors. Remember Aksinya's pain and the mirrors before. Aksinya, we know keeps away from mirrors because of how she perceives her lack of beauty. Natalya gets it. Then we get to Natalya.
Aksinya never picks up on Natalya's evident beauty, but we do. Aksinya, as a true aristocrat doesn't notice many things like this, but we see it because I show it to you. Natalya goes out of her way to make certain that Aksinya doesn't notice. We aren't certain Aksinya would ever notice such a thing--especially at this point.
Still, here we are, the chapter introduction in a nutshell. Aksinya should fit into the school as well as she fits the uniform, and Natalya will try to fit and will stand out anyway. Natalya will do anything to help Aksinya, but we knew that already. I'm not going to reveal the foreshadowing at this point, let's let that be a surprise, shall we, but you might guess at a little. There are lots of juicy hints.
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