Night cloaked the earth in a robe of darkness. Creaking in protest, the trees swayed beneath the blow of the wind. Branches protruded into the path, their arms reaching for anything in their way. Lucrious fitted an arrow to his string, breath puffing at his lips. It would not be long now...he could hear her footsteps in the distance....
So begins my latest work, The Blood of the Lamb. It is one of my favorite plot lines so far and probably the best I've produced in a while.
While I'm explaining to you a bit about this book, I want to show you a little bit of what I do. By now everyone should know that writing a novel takes more than just sitting down to write. It also takes dedication, perseverance, adn the ability to survive the arduous tasks of creating characters as well as a good story.
First, as a fledgling novel, this book was just a certain snapshot of two lovers, brought together by some divine providence to a woodland path in the middle of the rain. That's how many of my story ideas come to me- very random scenes that just happen to pop into my head and say, "Hey! I'm your next bestseller- write me!"
But sometimes I don't begin work right away because I'm writing another book. However, sooner or later, something convinces me to write my novel idea.
This time, it was a bit more dramatic than others. My friends and I went to the midnight showing of Prince Caspian, and, naturally, that fired my desire to begin work on the very fantasy/adventure/romance idea that had been brooding in my mind for weeks.
The next step I tried (which works well for individual scene-plotting), was setting dialogue to that particular part. At this time in the process, the writer gets to begin experimenting with the whys and hows of the story. Why in the world would a girl and boy be crazy enough to be getting their elegant clothing sopping wet?
It's not exactly an intellectually intelligent question, but it's a start. And you'd be surprised at what can happen. For instance, one of the answers to a question aroused by an early-on scene was that my hero should find out that my heroine is engaged to his evil brother. And that would lead me to the question why is she engaged? How did he find out? Or even, why did she hide it from him?
A whole new list of possibilities opens up. Of course, I won't use every possible answer (and by the time the book is hopefully out into the world, that part may have been edited out), but I will pick what I believe is best for the story and interests the reader.
That brings another important topic to my mind- interest. It's vital to the survival of many books, since readers are less likely to finish a novel which holds no interest for them. How do you supply that interest?
Let's think about it this way. My hero and heroine, who fall in love even though they are prince and princess of two countries who are at war with one another, are on a mission to destroy a brooding evil that is silently preparing to devastate both countries. How would you like it if, on the first try, my two leads achieved their goal? It most likely wouldn't be the book you'd be telling all of your friends to read, would it?
Of course not! Readers read to experience the hurdles of life and worry how the characters are going to get over them, not to have the full story served on a platter in chapter 1. So, what I try to do in my stories is heighten the tension with each advancing plot part. What if my heroine is trapped in a cell awaiting her execution and her only hope is her best friend...who betrays her by giving away the plot to free her, as well as valuable information, to the enemy?
See how it works? Now the poor girl is in a cell all alone, her plans discovered, awaiting her execution, and not knowing who she can trust. And on top of that, her opponents are about to crush everything she's worked so hard to gain! So, what does she do about it?
That would be my next question, but I think you get the point of this little lesson. I hope that through this you have had a glance at just some of the hard work that goes into writing. Well, it's late and I should go. Hopefully, I'll be getting some more about this book on here. See you then!
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