Here's one chapter from the prequel. I've got a nice draft of it already written that I'm planning to bring to WriteOn Joliet Thursday night.
I didn't use every element here (if you can decipher it, perfectly clear to me), but it gave me the skeleton and the memory jogs I needed to write the chapter. Even Mr. Doctorow couldn't deny this is writing. ;)
BTW, this outline built up over time. I have less developed ones, such as this one:
Before the Blood Kellen’s Story Chapter 1: Ashes
CHAPTER 1: ASHES. Background of Kellen’s life. Who his
parents were and what happened to father and grandfather.
Kellen’s early years, up to meeting John and offering
successs. Then learns of John’s engagement to Bryony Marseilles. (30,000) Kleen
only new hardship and privation. Childhodo home, knocked up the neighbor’s
girl, married her, and she faithfully produced a new offspring every nine to
ten months. Some lived, some didn’t, but it was all the same to Kellen. There
were still too many mouths to feed.
CHAPTER 1: ASHES.
Back story of Kellen’s parents. Where is his grandfather and
father. Both died in 30 year war or the events leading up to it. Describe it
with history.
Geography and history of the area. Who were Kellen’s
parents? What was their history? Poor people? Landowners that lost it? Create a
background for them.
Father is killed.
Name glanced at name and rested her hand on her swollen
belly.
Before the Blood. John’s Story. Chapter 2: Tasting
Immortality
Grows up with chubby Nora, name her parents. Mom is cook,
dad is driver.
CHAPTER 2: TASTING IMMORTALITY. John’s earliest years. Fell
asleep as a toddler to the drones of Hail Mary’s while his mother fingered her
rosary beads by the flickering firelight.. Altar boy to high Roman masses
Father strict and cold; mother gentle and herb-growing. Mr resp all that is
good and pure int eh world; father judgment and high standada , discipline, but
father set his sights aas the armk he would reach and surpass. Delighted with a
3 year old delight at how make grown servants scurry to honor his every beck
and call. Mr. played piano as part of her training, but John had a natural
instinct for the instrument from an early age. Took a whooping for crying on
about some trifle. Developed a hatred and rivalry for father after that. Learns
that Granny Spencer knows about poisons as she scuttles abtu cottage bring her
her dinner which she eats like a wild naimal, wipes mouth back of sleeve, warns
him to stay away from bryony, invasive, to gardens, to stock, to hyuman,
beautiful to behyuold but deadly to ingest. Ave Maria.
(Reserach God and his sattriutes. Harder ones belong to Dad,
softer ones to mom. She also grows lots of plnts and herbs, so when he is sick
she is also the god that heals. FAther rep the scinetici rational part of God;
mother reps the myseery. open to latenertiv eforms of healing because of mom. )
(Reserach famous composers of the 19th cnetury.
find one musicians from the day to visit Spencer Inn,
rpaise Joohn’s music, catch John’s soul afire to write and play for a living.)
SCENE 1
Lede with a dream of descending into hell and encountering
Satan. Description of Abbott
Wakes in a panic. Sees nursery fire, drone of mother praying
rosary by firelight
Look round the romm, describe, drone of mr payrin roasy
firelight. Gazed out the window and saw his star (decribe how looking for him,
hwo looked, desdription).
same dream with variations. spometimes god, sometimes the
devil, but nightly occurance (tyhen what).
for long time confused father with either the devil or god. for young
John, really was the same thing. (Both were (descrbe authrztic and fear of
punbhsmetn). For living within his father's domain had steeped within John an
acute sensitivity to the supreme and eternal.
Omnipotence of God: his father
Through that, John learned the authority and power of the
Son of God. (nanny, etc.)/
Majesty of God:
Attended church when father was in town. The cathedral was
like home, cold, stone, and beautiful, but for John, only its music was alive
and uplifted the soul. His father stood beside him, immobile save for singing
those beautiful words, and John wondered if they cut deeply into him to stir
something inside him, of if his father really had no clue.
Angels and ministering spirits his mother, the closest John
ever came to the love of God.
Not sure if he even wishes to tell her because of her
fragility that grows with each chapter as she becomes more elusive and
reclusive. She totally supports him in his choices. She is the angel of his
life, and an even more ethereal presence in the house. Her suite is a sanctuary
of the after-life, full of flowers, herbs, fine furnishings, pastels, whites,
splashes of color.
Lived life close to god, felt the glory of absolute power
(harder attribtues of god in his father) and the more bentiful majestic parts
of God. Descibr parties and daily life.Through nanny, all his mneed were met,
like th caretaker of GodDescribe his day and how those attributes come to play.
the impressions tha came ot his mind adn ho whe was unable to vrebalize them. staeyd
dint ehnursery and ate his meals there at spencer’s inn ate at the table. what
John’s daily routnie was lke. at home and Knew he ahd a str looknig otu fo
rhim. Noticed that with tehasusarnc ecold make servant sbeck to his lap and
acall (foudn out by acc when gave one an order one dayu).
Long before john reached his father’s stature he already
know the secret of his father’s pwoer. not his height but his moeny. Knew now
that the that the secret of his
omnipotence lay not in his height, but in his influence and wealth. But if dad
rep the devil and the absolute power and authority of God then his mother
personified grace, love and mercy. and why.
Mostly, however, John knew music.
Know he knew music. His mothe rsang bedtime hymns,
especially Irish ones, an playe dthe piao at his father’s house for
ntertainmetn. the chanting of latin at st patrick’s Catherdarl (work Irish
element in there someheree-father’s mtoher was a calkins). DESDRIBE church and
what masses ther w wer elike. Decribte ht eold pastor (use exisitn desdriptiona
dn names, if possible from the website’s church history) church, likehome was
orderly. everytign happened in graceful orderly processions it wa salway the
asme predictbale, lvoely,
Rarely ill, but his father freqnely was with the doc being
claled in for one thign or antoher. Lucetta was the angle of thenight moving
slieltn aroudn and it seeme dher medicine did jas well s the docs. wodnered why
not just skip altogether and cut staright to the quick. Caretaking God nanny:
all came togther provide a glimpse of God in john’s life. Toeverythign apurose
udner the sun...or star.
SCENE 3:
Asked mother abtu ti at bedtime whil ehse wa slistneing ot
his paryers (list teh prayers they said kneeling by his bedside). How did he
ntoice the star ? Oftene looked for it when?Mother take shim by hadn to woindoe poitn sit out and tells the
stoyr of his sister, now na agnel in heaven, is reathcin gov er him.
Yet if John was to cite any favorite early memory, it was
summer holiday he had spent at Spencer
Inn with his mother, when
he discovered the secret of his own godliness.
Research hsi mmeory of driving rher and his fist imprssion
of the inn. how arrived to a late, hurried dinner and being put to bed by his
mother, a starnge and rare occurance indeed. slept without nightmares (commentaryP)
and rose to (the sweetness of the coutnry describe). learned to ride horeses and to cook.
Breakfast and the rst of ht eday. how no
one seemed to be ther eto serve him only. how he spent the day. Visiting Granny
Spencer. Describe in details her abode—including herbs, her appearance, what
they did there, and John’s reaction to her.
Describe moonbathing,
• What is your motto?
(favorite muttering)
SCENE 4:
Something about helping in the garden, something about
VINES, and a beware of a poisonous vine will be his destruction. Mutter, sppoky
prediction, perhaps in verse. predicting his obsession with Bryony and how it
would be his downfall.
SCENE 5:
But th sheer magic wa after dinner, after Bible. Recalle
dthe story of (pick one that will fit the mood and gvive a differnet view of
God than he alrady knew) when gathered
in the parlor to play. this was a different music than the carefully
crafted compositions he heard at home.
How grandfather played. How mtoher palyed. whaty
they played togtheer. How john longed to
touch those keys. Not impuslve; everythgi happedn in its timne, for
reason and for purpse WHAT IS THE INCITNG
ICNCDENT THAT MAKES JOHN PLAY?
Grandrther’s reaction to his playing. From that poitn
foreard, John given full and fre acces to the pinao, not just at night. Spent
that entire summer compsonig and playing, etiher from ear, memory, or thte
inner workkings of his mind. All the impressions that hard to verbalize came
flowing through his fingertips and onto the keys.
Life had a differne torderlies abot it. more lfuid, mor
espontanaous. gave john the room he neede do crate music. cold nto be at th
epano all theitme, btu when not, wa sthnkign music. Even the ??? served at
dinner ahd its own musicla qulaity (descirb) nature had a musicla qulaity,
mother had musical auwolity, emtoions had musicla uwlity granndy did animals
did, peooel at Spenci Inn did. Describe guests and what they sounded like.
Played and composed heedless of fatigue, hugner, thirst until pants damp and
more than once made a scarmbling dash for the outhouse.
Given an order by mother never to mentinit in hosue, that be
their secret abtou this music. John agreed, never realizing at the time that
making music was something inherent inside him. Rather, thoguth it was part of
the atmosphere surroudnign the magical coutnrside that surrounded
Spencer Inn.
For several summers, this is what John did dnad how he
lived. During the cold NY winters, lived in an envirnemtn as cold and austere
as the environmetn, house, adn his father was. In the summer, ran free iwn
warmth and sunshine.
The followign sumerm, each summer made progress and haewt
John wa splaying. Everetee, greatly neouctege ,bgout o ut sheet music and
bougth others for John to play. The Inn became
know for john’s music and atrtradte gusts to play.
john utned seven adn now tasted immortality for the fist
tme, the true bodya dn blood of Chriats udne the species of bread and iwne.
Neve rdoutbed what he ate and rank was relaly
his rator adn John love dhaving he divine suring throuhg his very body
and touching all he touched. SEved at the later and thrille dto be close to wher
tehemyseroius of life ocuurred and became fasincated with thepwoer that the
pridsdt had to turn oridinary braed and wine into the god that create dthe
univers and healed it into place by a single owrd.
SCENE 6:
Anothe summer passed as usual.
that summer John turned seven, a most notewory visitor came
to Spencer Inn. (famous composer of the day). It
was ???, who listened most intently to John’s musica dn said. theboy
that night, john pndered all the fmaous man had said.
Rseovled dto do thwat mde pldege.
SCENE 7:
When returned, realized for the first time how short and
less intimidating his father was. Arrvied to sern displae mother wanteing ot
hsow off son’s gifts. John played eager to show his father and win his approvel
but father was cold adn heartles sabotu John’s abilties. Queitly: very quaint,
but lacking practicality for one destined to become a banker.
Crushed, despite the fact his father was short, but mother
came to rescue and defended John. Double blow to the boy: lacked father’s
approval and wasn’t strong enough to stand up to him. All at once, John
resolved not live nder his father’s rule, but to one day establish his own
ingdome. By disappoving his music, Abbott had unqwittingly set himsel fup
against his son as a rival. John would not oppose him yet, but he woujld one
day soon.
In the meantime,
woudl set abotu thebueisns of begining his own kidgome, his own legacy, and one
that did not include, now and forver, the need for his father’s position and money.
