Announcement: I received the proofs and a three-day deadline to give comments. One of my regular prepub readers and I went through the three book. I was able to correct some second edition issues in Aegypt. The proposed cover and info can be found at www.ancientlight.com. I'll keep you updated. I should have three new books out soon.
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:
The purpose of a novel is to reveal the protagonist and usually the protagonist's helper, the author needs to place them in circumstance that allows them to reveal themselves. The means can be conversation, exploration, discovery, other's conversation, confession, accidental discovery.
What is truth? See rule four above (Don't show (or tell) everything.). The world of the novel must feel like the real world. Not everything in the real world is known--and neither is everything in the world of the novel. In the first place, it would be impossible to show everything, but on the other hand, there is no need to show everything, and every need to keep secrets. When I say keep secrets, I mean those parts of the novel that never need to be told or said or that never need to be revealed. Other's conversation is a means of revealing information that would otherwise never be said out loud in a novel.
For example, your protagonist has emotional issues. You can (and should) show these emotional issues though the actions of your protagonist. If you are writing in the first person, you could show the mental trauma and problems of your character, but you would rarely if ever, even in first person, have your protagonist remark about their own emotional issues. Real people don't recognize, or rarely recognize, these kinds of problems in themselves. The solution is "other's conversation."
You could show a conversation between two of your protagonist's friends (or enemies) and have them discuss the emotional state of your protagonist. This develops pathos and allows the reader to see into the heart of the protagonist (at least from the observations of others).
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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