Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.
Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, 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 beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.
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.
The four basic rules I employ when writing:
1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
I wrote before, that to be inspired, I write http://www.ldalford.com/, but you knew there had to be more to it than that--didn't you? There is. I'm not sure exactly what inspiration is. I just get ideas. When I get an idea, I write it down. Some are mundane. Some are more than mundane. I turn them all into writing. The point is, when I get an idea, I write it down. That way I won't loose it. I keep a couple of idea books around. One I carry everywhere, and the other one is by my bed. If I get an idea in the middle of the night, I write it down. I have a list of Military Aviation Adventures I will write about. The list comes from my experiences in military aviation. When I remember an experience, I add it to the list. The list is about 200 ideas long--enough for 200 short pieces (3000 to 6000 words each). When I read the paper, if I get worked up about some item of news, I don't seethe about it--I write it down in an essay or opinion piece. Many of these pieces will never be published, but I write them anyway. The point is to be inspired by life and record that inspiration. Imagine your life as exciting and inspiring. Imagine your characters and your writing as exciting and inspiring. This is how you develop ideas and get them on paper.
Another point that likely requires an even longer post: I don't write about myself. Even when I am the main character in a Military Aviation Adventure http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/, I don't write about myself. I'm not living vicariously through my own writing. I don't try to make myself the hero of my fiction. This is something many authors don't seem to understand. They are all about turning their mundane persons into an exciting fictional character. If they do, their characters aren't real and everyone can tell. That's why blog writers and writers who convey themselves with all their faults are more popular than those who don't. Of course some blog writers and self aggrandisers make up the stuff to sound more pathetic. They should stick to fiction. This is why I say--don't write about yourself. My old self who lived those Military Aviation Adventures is much different than the self I am today. I don't write about myself. More than that, though my opinions and ideas surely come through in my writing, that is not wholly my intent. My intent is only to get the theme through to the reader in an entertaining fashion. I don't really want to put up a soapbox and have my characters pontificate my opinions. I put words in the mouths of my characters that I don't agree with. I don't like some of my characters. I don't like some of the characteristics of my heroes and heroines. I don't write about myself; I give life to characters who are entertaining and who appear real. They are separate and different from the me I imagine, or they wouldn't be real--they would just be clones of the mental me. Maybe I should develop this point in more depth tomorrow.
For more information, you can visit my author site www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com, www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, thefoxshonor, aseasonofhonor.
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