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 use scenes to write my novels. In the simplest case of writing in scenes, you begin with an initial scene. The initial scene gives you an output which becomes the input to the next scene and so on through the novel. Each scene provides an output which becomes an input to the next scene. At this juncture, I am diving into the actual scene development--that is how to write a scene. I have been showing you how I develop characters that I then reveal in the novel. Remember, a novel is all about character revelation. The revelation comes through the scenes--that is why scene development is a critical part of writing a novel. The scene development is what becomes your storyline which is the overall story, the overall story elements is the plot, and the focus of everything is the theme of the novel.
The first step in a scene is the input. Except for the first scene, every succeeding scene has an automatic input (there are variations, but this is the simplest). The input to the first scene is determined by the theme. I already went over this in some detail. Each scene has its input. The next step in scene writing and development is the setting. The first step in any scene is setting the scene. I've written extensively about this too. This usually comes out of the input, but must be stated in the beginning of the scene. As an example, you can't have a play without the setting--it's impossible. You can't have a scene without a setting--it is possible to write, but impossible as literature. Many writers miss this critical point in writing a scene. You must tell your readers the when, where, who, what, and finally how. The how is the storyline in the scene. This is where the tension lies.
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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