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.
Do not choose the names for your characters haphazardly or randomly. Match the names to the characters. I would go so far as to advise you to make the names have meanings within the context of the theme of the novel. Why not? Great authors from the past did exactly this. They didn't want their educated readers to miss the theme points. A great sounding and fitting name that has further meaning provides a powerful pointer to the theme of the novel. I agree the theme should be more obvious than that, but why not make the overall novel fit the theme--including the names of the main characters. It is an important point to make certain your character names fit the context of your novel. I written about this before. So, how do you go about matching a character and a name?
I mentioned yesterday, that I picked the name George because it is strongly British and has associations with the British Saint and the Knights of the Red Cross. I chose Mardling because it is also uniquely British and tied strongly to the land of Britain--it comes from a place name and from the female Madeline. This sets George Mardling strongly tied to Britain and the British lands--and that's my point. It does have to do with the theme. I promised another example, but that will have to wait.
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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