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.
I'm writing about Aristotle's pathos and tension in character development. Pathos in literature is the quality of creating emotion in your readers. A pathetic character is one that evokes emotion. I generally try to develop a protagonist and/or a protagonist's helper character who strongly evokes an emotional response in my readers. I would like to present and evolve every scene such that the scene and the interaction of the characters creates strong emotion. The point of this kind of writing is to get your readers to be enveloped by the writing. In my opinion, the first step is to build a pathetic character. If you start with a character people want to love and feel sorry for, you will have a much easier job putting your character in scenes that evoke emotion in your readers. If I start a scene with a bedraggled, hungry, dirty, girl vampire and I tell you her hunt was just ruined, you can't help feeling for her. In spite of the potential horror you might feel about a vampire or anything else, if I can make you see such a person in your mind's eye through my writing, I have won half the battle in sucking you into the writing and holding you there.
If I take an agent who is suddenly wounded and dying, a person who appeals to you--if I can make you see such a person and understand their regret and suffering, I can hold you in the world of the writing. This is the power of pathos. Imagine a hunting girl vampire and a wounded agent who accidentally ruined her hunt. We begin to move from pathos to wonder and mystery--and tension.
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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