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.
As scenes play out in the rising action, the author has the opportunity for the characters to converse. Much of the power in the conversations is characters revelation. I was making the point of scene input and output in the development of the story. This is the method I use when writing. The scenes progress from the initial scene. The second scene is of George in the hospital. The next scene is when he returns to his flat and writes his report. I write about real characters--a large point of covert work is reports. With George's report, we learn even more about his character. There is no way he can report that a vampire asked for his blood, and he gave it. There is no way he can write that he was dying, and the vampire's actions gave him life. We see a direct tension in the plot and storyline. This tension is intentional. The tension helps us understand George Mardling and shows us his work.
When George shows up for his next assignment, his partner, Dave is surprised. His assignment is surprised that George was out "with a cold." In the continuation of scenes, we see the buildup of the work George does--this is character revelation at its best. We also see increasing tension with the Chinese embassy. This is a plot build-up to provide a future crises.
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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