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.
In developing physical characteristics in a character, I look for a couple of things. First, I use real people, but I don't use usual people. I use unusual people. I look for the unique. One of my favorite examples is the pony faced girl in my novel Hestia (unpublished). I really saw such a girl. I don't know what her personality or character was like--I don't care. I took the physical and put it whole in my novel.
This is the point about the physical. You want to take unique and interesting people and depict them in your novels. The readers will usually turn them into what they want and imagine, so when you develop a character, you need to make them have characteristics that can't be mistaken, and depending on the type of character, you need to make their physical attributes marry the novel theme, plot, and storyline.
What about the vampire? I made the vampire be a wonderfully beautiful girl. She is so beautiful that many think she is the most beautiful person they have seen. At the same time, she has a pointed long tongue and fangs. In pure vampire mode, she is even less beautiful. You can see the point here, I hope. The character is notably beautiful, but has characteristics that few humans could call beautiful. This is an important factor because such descriptions drive your readers imagination. A character who is beautiful is just another character. A character who is beautiful with fangs and a pointed tongue is something else entirely.
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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