So I have a species I want to introduce in my story (who don't really look like humans), but I'm at a loss as to how to naturally present them. The very beginning starts off as the two MC's village is being massacred, so I'm trying to find a way to present it without it being out of place. The narration is third person....omniscient? It's not attached to any of the characters, it tells of what is happening (in this case specifically to the two MCs). The race looks animal-peoplish, so there's a bit to describe there, but I want to present it naturally and have it flow with everything.
Question: Is this new race new only to the reader or are they also new to the poor victims in the village? Is this the first time they ever see these beings as well?
The villagers are of this race, and they're being killed off by invading humans (though introducing the humans should be easier, heheh).
Ok, understood. Even in 3rd person omniscient, though, you should be able to recount to us the impressions the humans have of these beings as they encounter them. I would think that humans encountering such beings would naturally attempt to make connections with creatures already familiar to them, even if clearly these beings are not those creatures. Not only is the natural, but it also allows the reader to make connections and draw from imagery they already possess, rather than have to give a detailed (and skip-over-able) description of the creatures from tip to toe. Later, as the story evolves, you can refine the image by passes.
Actually the MCs (and the villagers) are from this other race, the humans are wiping them out under orders (and in this world, it's very colonial-esque, where non-humans are considered no better than game by humans, and in other cases flat out despised). I'm actually not sure how omniscient I'm writing, as I'm speaking of the children (the two MCs) and their experiences but giving humans almost a monstrous treatment. I might even end up being forced out of omniscient as it's getting hard to avoid writing personally to the characters themselves. EDIT: That and I think I lack any skills in writing omniscient, I seem to just be gravitating towards personal. EDIT 2: Dang, it's looking like it's gonna be third person personal. I intended for this story to be very character driven, and I'm not feeling the strength of the characters in omniscient. My original draft had it personal, looks like it's gonna stay that way. Will have to see how I can shoehorn it in.