Announcement: There is action on my new novels. The publisher renamed the series--they are still working on the name. I provided suggestions as did one of my prepub readers. Now the individual books will be given single names: Leora, Leila, Russia, Lumiere', China, Sveta, and Klava--at least these are some of the suggestions. They are also working on a single theme for the covers. 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 plus one 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.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.
All novels have five discrete parts:
1. The initial scene (the beginning)
2. The rising action
3. The climax
4. The falling action
5. The dénouement
The theme statement of this new novel is: An agent of the organization becomes involved with a vampire girl during a mission, she becomes dependent on the agent, and she is redeemed.
The point of a novel in general and the rising action specifically is the revelation of the characters (especially the major characters). Characters are not developed in a novel--they are developed by the author and then revealed in the novel. Some characteristics of a character might change, but the telic change (the change that drives the theme and climax of the novel) belongs only to the protagonist. In general, we say, the protagonist is the only character who has a telic change. That doesn't mean that other characters might not grow or show some change in a novel, but rather the primary change belongs to the protagonist. If another character has a telic change, you chose the wrong character to write about.
Characters are developed prior to writing the novel and are revealed in the novel. I've heard the term character development my whole writing life. I think this is a misunderstanding by many teachers and educators who don't understand writing a novel. It may appear during the rising action, that the characters develop or that the author is developing a character, but for a writer this is not true at all. An author develops the characters before she writes about them. In the novel, the characters are revealed. All the development has been done, the author's job after developing them is to reveal them to the reader.
More tomorrow.
For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com
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