To Outline or not to Outline

One of the questions I get asked most often is how I put my stories together. The easiest answer is to say I outline but, what does that entail? An outline can be as obscure or as clear as you wish, it depends on the writer. For me, the story is already in my head, so being able to slow down and annotate it is the key. Here are two examples from my TSC Sangre del unico (which was first named “A Traitor Amongst Us”). The first is the earliest of what my outlines looked like followed by the final outline I used to create TSC I.

first
A TRAITOR AMONGST US

Chapter One

Revelation 19:11
(550 CE)

God comes down from heaven to battle Gog/Satan who rides a dragon. With him is Zadoc who was as if Ezekiel. And with him are the armies and the Kings of those armies. Those who he deceived and who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped it’s image. God throw Satan into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Zadoc escapes.

Enter Delgado
(1420 CE)
The only living ancestor to King Solomon, (per prophecy). 20 yrs. Old

One-Thousand Years Pass (as prophesied to Ezekiel)
(1550 CE)

CHAPTER 2
Delgado and Sarah travel down the Nahe river until their first stop in Rockenhausen. Once there the following happen.
They meet the Monk Xavier Benedicto-Monk of the Knights Templer who was sent to this church 80 yrs before with a message for Delgado. The monk blurts out with a proverb from Luke, (this is Solomon).
Then reads a part of the prophecy:

“And out of the north comes the only permitted access to my book. For he shall be of King’s blood and carry the mark of the savior. He shall take thy received gifts and unlock my holdings which sit at the base of the mount Zugspitze. Overcome the imposter he must for if the blood if Israel falls so shall the world.”

~~~
last
Chapter One

1. Aaron: Templer on a mission
a. Blas, Captain of the Order of Knights Templer receives a message from Lord Aaron via the page Hernan de Peraza. Aaron was summoned by the scholars of the Temple of Solomon
b. Daniel, 19th Priest of Solomon reveals the Prophecy to them and relates the story of Gog.
c. Daniel instructs them on what to do and reveals Delgado de la Sol, the one chosen to carry out the work of God. He also reveals the plot against Jan Hess and how his death, though wrong, must occur.
d. Delgado lives within the borders of the King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, Sigsmund, son of Charles IV. He is the son of a Master Smithy who has since died. He is a respected young man within the community of Bad Kreuznach. In 1414, he is chosen to represent the city at the Council of Constance, which was called by Pope Gregory XII XXIII to end the Great Schism. A duty he reluctantly takes.

2. The Council of Constance
a. Pope Gregory XII XXIII calls for the Council of Constance and convinces the Emperor and King, Sigsmund, that he must participate in order to lead by example.
b. The King invites all the royalty of Europe. Over 18,000 converge on the city of Constance.

3. Prague, Czechoslovakia
a. Jan Huss is summoned to the Council of Constance.
b. He receives Salvas-Conductus from the King and Emperor.
c. Hess enters Constance on November 3, 1414 and has his censures removed from him.
d. Hess is imprisoned by the Pope at the Castle of Gottlieheim.

4. Bad Kreuznach, Germany
a. Delgado and his wife Sara are tending to his mothers church when knights in armor arrive in the city.
b. Delgado and Sara go down and meet the visitors who are Lord Ayala, Lord Aaron, and Lord Saavedra. They are there to relay that the Kings of Spain wish his attendance at the Council of Constance
c. Delgado’s mother comes to Aaron and speaks to him about the mission/prophecy.
d. Delgado and Sara leave BK and follow the map given by Aaron.

5. Rockenhausen
a. Once in the city of Rockenhausen, they meet the monk Xavier Benedicto, who has information for him.
b. They eat dinner and sleep overnight at the church.
c. Delgado dreams of Aaron and the great battle between God and Gog. The dream changes to Zadoc and he has a conversation with him in his head. He knows Zadoc is on his way there and that they must leave. He does not know how he knows but he does.
d. They leave and three days later as they camped on the river Rhine, Delgado mind is opened to watch the entrance of Zadoc at Rockenhausen as well as the battle with Benedicto.

Details are the key to unlock my writing.  Like King, the way that I detail makes the reader feel as if they’re in the middle of a movie.  That is not me saying that, that is every person who has offered a review in one way or another.  It was me, and my intention to put the reader there….so…mission accomplished.  Now let’s do it even better!

I just noticed that in even that earliest document, the quote at the bottom made it into the book and even into book II. I knew where I wanted to go, I just had to figure out how to get there.

So, is this the only way? No.

The correct way? One of them.

The only way? No way!

You see I am also a screenwriter and, while it may seem screenplays are not as involved as a novel, this is not true. It is much harder to tell a story beginning (act I), middle (act II) and end (act III) in 90 pages then it is in 322. This is an example of an “outline” for my screenplay “Charlie Martels” which finished out at about 110 pages. This section is Act I of III.

I. Nags Head, NC – 2014 A.D.
1. meet Charlie Martels and family
2. meet Amanda Connors
3. High School
4. French Class
5. Bullying
6. The Storm
7. St. Malo France – 732 A.D.
8. Charlie on the beach
9. Bertrada of Laon
10. The Prince of Austrasia
11. Charles Martel & Pippen The Short
12. Saxons Invade

Whichever way you decide to tell your story, the one thing to remember is that it’s your story. I wasn’t told how to do it, I figured it out on my own and in retrospect, that was a pretty cool way to do it. My training, (and now I know this about nearly every writer out there) was reading. I am a voracious reader even as a child. My first book, at about age 10, was The Exorcist. No wonder Stephen King is one who I try to emulate. The other, which I discovered while serving in the US Army in Germany, was the now deceased David Eddings and his Belgariad Series which began publication in 1982.

D.R. Pedraza is a Novelist, Screenwriter and Songwriter living in San Antonio, Texas. He is the CEO of DB Media Entertainment and is beginning work on Book III of the Solomon Chronicles Series.

 

From The Writers Eye

Welcome to the initial posting of my new blog, From The Writers Eye. I will be writing on well… writing and the everyday life of a working artist. I have been living on only my writing since November of 2008. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been fulfilling.

A little about myself. I am a second generation American born in Laredo, Texas. My father was a teacher and worked in that field in one way or another his entire career and my mother was in the insurance business her entire career. Both have since passed on, but both played their role in my later career as a writer.

My ancestory includes some very famous people of the 14^th and 15^th centuries to include Statesman, Historian, Poet, Chronicler, Chancellor and Courtier Don Pedro Lopez de Ayala. Don Pedro was also a warrior, fighting next to King Henry at the Battle of Najera, and was captured by The Black Prince. He was released in 1378. That story would later pop up in my first novel.

My creativity was sparked in Jr. High school, Mark Twain to be exact, and it was sparked by Ms. Brenda Foley, a young, energetic teacher who really cared about her students. I dedicated my first book to her. Recently, after releasing my second novel of the Solomon Chronicles Series, Revisions, she sent me an email and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I shared some of it.

“David,
I downloaded your book and look forward to reading the sequel to SC. You have tapped into your creativity and are generating music, words, and films. You are amazing.”

An amazing feeling after reading that, I can tell you.

Since November of 2008, and sometimes with my business/writing partner, musician Michael Guerra, my company, DB Media Entertainment has

• held a music festival which included four Grammy Award winning acts

• released two novels

• was a part of the debut record for The Michael Guerra Band

• written, produced and or directed five films

• opened D.R. Pedraza Music Publishing under BMI

Not bad for a guy who got through two years of college. To this day, I cannot explain how these stories come to me. How they play like movies in my head and how the urge to get them out and on paper grew through the years.

I will use this blog to espouse on writing in general and updates on The Solomon Chronicles.

Thanks for stopping by!