Announcement: I heard from my publisher that my Aegypt novels will continued to be titled Ancient Light and that the next two books will be called Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness. These were the original titles. They will be released individually and as a 3 in 1 volume. I saw the proposed cover. 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 my newest novel, Valeska, is this: An agent of the organization becomes involved with a vampire girl during a mission, she becomes dependent on the agent, and she is redeemed.
Here is my proposed cover for Valeska:
I was lucky to have a very good education in writing paragraphs. Once you get the concept of the paragraph down, you can begin to put them together. In some advanced paragraphs concepts, some writers will suggest your paragraphs introduce the idea or though to the paragraph, have a body of text (sentences) to expand on the idea, and a conclusion/connection to the next paragraph. This is not a bad idea. If you find your writing isn't as cohesive as it should be, you might try this method of paragraph development--it certainly can't hurt. I'll describe the details.
I already mentioned that the first sentence must introduce the subject (idea/thought) behind the paragraph. The rest of the sentences build on this thought (subject). The end sentence of the paragraph should sum up the idea and provide a connection to the next paragraph. The connection does not need to be overt, but direct connection isn't a poor way to write.
If you notice, this input/output method of writing a paragraph is similar to the input/output method I espouse for scene writing. Writing is a system of building blocks for expression. The building blocks begin with words, goes to phrases, then sentences, then paragraphs, then scenes, then chapters, and finally novels. Each building block has rules and techniques for putting them together. Some writers advocate freedom from rules, but you can't really write with "freedom from rules." I'll tell you why.
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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