This is the sixth in a series of posts where I document the complete process of writing a novella - Day By Day!
INTRODUCTION
I am documenting (via my blog) the complete start to finish experience of writing a novella that I will be releasing for FREE once it is written.
I will be writing approximately 900 words per day and I will post each day's writing the following morning, unedited, on my blog. This means you get to see my draft with all its original spelling mistakes, bad grammar, and clumsy sentences
The timeline for the experiment is as follows:
- Plotting, Characters and Scene Outlines - April 1to April 20 - COMPLETE
- First Draft Manuscript - April 21 to May 18 - IN PROGRESS
- First Manuscript Edits - July 1to July 5
- Reader Proofs - July 6 to July 25
- Final Manuscript Edits - July 26to July 31
STATUS
Today's Date: April 24th
Progress: Day 3 complete. Following is the day's writing...
CHAPTER TWO
Bramwel dropped the whip onto his bed and walked across the room to look out of the window. In the distance he could see the edge of the forest that eventually led to the great plains. He sighed. One day he would be allowed to travel through the forest, just like his father did. In the meantime he would just have to be content with teaching the sclavas good manners.
He turned his head back toward the whip and smiled. Five lashes should be enough to teach that young girl a lesson. He had hoped it would be Ryann he had found. If it had been her he would have given her ten. Well maybe eight. He didn’t want to make her too sick to attend to him.
Bramwel looked down at the ground below his window. There were a couple of men walking across the courtyard, leading a horse and cart. No doubt his father was having some select provisions delivered. Perhaps it was even something special for their dinner. He licked his lips. “What have you got there?” he shouted down. The two men gazed up at him but said nothing and carried on walking. Typical. The ignorance of these people was beyond belief. How did his father put up with it? When he was old enough to be the master he would teach them all some respect. He smiled again. Just like he had with the girl. Yes, his whip taught respect.
He crossed back over to his bed and picked up his whip. Turning on the balls of his feet he released it, aiming at the far side of the room. A wooden figure fell from a table and hit the floor. “Excellent,” he said to himself. “Soon I will be able to hit splinters at five paces.”
Bramwel walked over to the wooden figure, retrieved it from the floor and placed it back on the table. He picked up one of the books that was sitting next to it and carried it back toward his bed. Study. He could almost hear his father’s voice as he opened the book. But studying was boring. Who needed to know about the history of Walthern and the treaties of the different countries? There would be time for that when he was older. But he was young now and he needed this time to do other, more interesting, things. Like explore. Surely every fourteen year-old boy got the chance to explore?. And if they didn’t then they were busy fighting battles, working for an army. Even his father had boys in his army, but so far Bramwel had been forbidden the chance to travel with him.
He threw the book across the room and flopped back on his bed. Why wasn’t he allowed to fight as well? He could handle a sword. He could even handle a spear. And a whip; well everyone knew just how well he could handle a whip. It just wasn’t fair. He could be a great leader if only his father would give him a chance. There’s plenty of time for all that later, his father always chided. No son of mine goes into battle unprepared. That’s all his father ever said to him when he asked about fighting alongside him. And in the meantime he was supposed to study all these books and learn about a thousand different things.
Bramwel hurriedly got to his feet as he heard a knock at his door. “Enter,” he called out.
A young boy peered into the room, too afraid to fully enter. “Your father, the Lord, would like you to go to him, sir.”
“Now?” Bramwel shouted, taking a few steps toward the boy.
“Now, sir,” the boy replied, before disappearing from sight again and pulling the door shut behind him.
“What is so important that my father wishes to see me at this time of the evening?” Bramwel muttered to himself as he checked to make sure he was looking his best. “Probably just some report about a battle far away.” He picked up the book and replaced it on the table, before opening his bedroom door and walking down the corridor toward the great room where no doubt his father was waiting.
“You wanted to see me, father?” he asked as he crossed over toward the fireplace where his father was standing.
“Sit down, Bram,” Lord Cala said, pointing at a battered hide-covered chair. He waited until his son was seated before he spoke again. “And how went your studying today?”
Bramwel fidgeted a little in his chair. “It went well, sir.”
“Indeed? I heard you had time to whip a sclava girl earlier?”
“She was poking around in one of our guest rooms. She had no right to be there.”
“Indeed,” Lord Cala said again. “And so you took it upon yourself to mete out the punishment?”
Bramwel stared at the floor.
“Well? Have you nothing to say for yourself?”
“I…”
“Silence. I do not need an answer. It will only be another of your excuses.” Lord Cala walked over toward Bramwel and stopped within slapping distance and raised his arm. “Do I need to remind you who make the decisions in this household?”
“No, sir,” Bramwel said, cowering a little lower in his chair.
“And tell me of your studies. What did you learn today?” Lord Cala waited patiently as Bramwel tried to think of something to say. “As I thought.” He reached his arm back a little more before swinging it through the air and connecting with the side of Bramwel’s face. Then he hit him again, and paused as his son covered his face and started to whimper. “You are no man, Bram. You are still a boy. Get out of my sight and go back to your room.” He stepped back from his son and turned toward the door of the great room. “And I suggest you spend some time actually studying tonight or else there will be more punishments for you in the morning.”
Bramwel wiped a tear from his eye as he listened to his father’s footsteps disappearing into the distance.
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