Friday, September 28, 2012

PROCESS: Version Two

Mojourner saw a structure in the first raw brain-dump, and said it could be refined with a repeated within-without tension.  Small, expositive verb - big, muscular action.  This is where that observation has taken me so far:

Clovis I came to the throne at fifteen, and erupted to fame vanquishing Rome's power in Gaul.  He lived in childhood under the shadows of the reputation of a scandalous mother and profligate father; and launched his reputation - his legend - with an act of revenge so spectacular, the tale is told to this day.  At last, he forged a dynasty by deceiving his allies and killing his own kin.  Yet Clovis’ power was balanced on his faith in God ... and his religion was inspired by the love of the magnificent Queen Clotilde.
Clovis yearned, from his accession, for more than his father’s small kingdom.  His parents’ sins instilled in him a discipline which became an ambition so wide he built from it the very foundation of the Frankish empire.  His abiding love of the Catholic Clotilde led him to conversion, which set the course of politics and faith in Europe for a thousand years.  With four sons and indomitable will, Clovis began a dynasty and set forth the law.  He was famed for his piety and a bloodthirsty nature ... yet few can say who he truly was ...
The Ax and the Vase creates and recreates Clovis’ story, his world, his fame - and his infamy.  It is the product of fascination, years of research, and the urgent need to understand and to tell this great, gripping story.



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