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.
Of course, the big event that the rising action is building to is a second meeting with the vampire. In the novel sufficient time must past (28 days, one lunar cycle to be exact). Additionally, we need to learn about George and his work. I have to reveal certain facts about the world and the events in the world. We meet Dave and Stewart. We learn about the organization. We begin to get hints about a special part of the organization that is called "stele." The point in all of this is to give information to the reader through showing and not telling. When Stewart, George, and Dave have their weekly staff meeting, we learn more about their work and the organization. Their conversation brings this out. We also learn about these three men. We see their motivations, and how they work. During the assignments, we see directly how George and Dave do their jobs. We see how the intelligence system works. We find out that the Polish Police and government are supporting these British operations. During this time, we are also building up to Christmas. The season is Advent. The weather is cold, and the embassies are having Christmas parties. Into this subtext, we reinject our vampire.
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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