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.
Excitement and entertainment are the focus of all successful writing. I mean, really, there might be some literary garbage that won a few awards, but no one will ever read that is neither entertaining or exciting. If you what your novel to be read and to be successful, it must be both entertaining and exciting. That's just to start.
The means of making a novel exciting and entertaining is tension and release. The climax of a novel is just an outgrowth of the tension and release development throughout the entire rising action. If you can't write strong tension into a scene, there is no way you can write a good climax. So you might as well start practicing. Here's how to write a strong tension filled scene.
First, imagine the scene and the interaction of your characters. Decide on a specific turning point in the scene, a climax of the scene. For example, if your characters are engaged in a conversation, then the peak of the point of the conversation should be the climax. So, if the conversation is about making plans, the peak of the conversation should be the completion of the plans. At the same time, you want to interject some tension into the writing. This might be a disagreement about he plans. It could be a second agenda by one of the speakers. If could be a secret or a hidden point about a character or the plans. Something should move the scene more than just communicating about plans. Perhaps the characters are in love, or they are falling out of love. Maybe they are discovering they are in love, or one is discovering he is in love with the other. The point is that while you are conveying a conversation about plans, your characters should be involved somehow in a scene that conveys excitement and entertainment. If you aren't brining out the bongo drums and the hula skirts, then you better figure some means of making a simple planning session an exciting planning session.
The second step is to write the scene with that tension and release throughout.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment