Development - The Scene in the Creative Process

8 March 2012, Development - The Scene in the Creative Process

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little. I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel. Over the last year, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Now we have a picture.  In the picture there is Aksinya with all her baggage, Asmodeus with his history, and the initial scene.  This picture forms the basis for the first scene in the novel.  In my development of a novel, I build this first scene as the focus of the entire novel.  Of course there are many things a single picture can't convey.  For example, the theme of the novel.  You might guess that the theme is a logical expansion of this initial picture.

With the picture of a demon and a sorceress, the theme could go many ways.  You could have a theme like Faust, a man who was willing to give his soul to a demon for wealth and power.  You could have the theme of a sorceress who called a demon to accomplish evil.  These themes were already used or seemed too trite to me.  Instead, I wanted a theme based on temptation and a main character who called a demon for moral reasons.  Aksinya called Asmodeus to protect her family from the Red Russians, the Bolsheviks.  Instead, she was too late and her family was murdered. 

The theme is then the actions of the demon through temptation.  Aksinya isn't necessarily a good person, but she never intended to use the demon for evil.  In spite of this, the demon's purpose is temptation and evil.  Already, we see the tension that will begin with the first scene in the novel.
We'll look more at the creative process in Aksinya tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.