Announcement: My editor sent a round of emails last night concerning the back cover materials. That included the book teaser and the author bio. They looked good. They also sent the covers for the individual novels. I'll put up the covers when I can. The proposed 3 in1 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.
There are three ways to know truth: the scientific method, the historical-witness method, and logic. So, if you didn't already guess, I teach classes in the scientific method, the legal historical method, and logic. You can find my classes on You-tube.
The first evidentiary test is the bibliographical test. This test relates to the quality and accuracy of the text itself. It really doesn't tell us anything about the contents or claims of the document. However, claims of authenticity go down sharply when a document that has been entirely unknown suddenly appears. Numerous manuscript copies that are close to the original define the authenticity--that lack brings the document's antecedents quickly into question.
There are two other evidentiary tests. The next is the internal test. The internal test looks at the document's claims and contents. All written evidence must pass the bibliographical tests. Once it has passed that test, a document claims are accepted unless contradicted. So, if a document claims to be a first person account, it is always accepted as a first person account unless there is another overriding claim or problem. For example, a document that passes the bibliographical tests, but has internal contradictions or incoherent parts might be rejected to a degree. Remember, if the document passes the bibliographical tests, it must have some strength as an historical document. A document such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead is a book with good bibliographical antecedents. We have 7 extant copies that are all wildly variant. They are from different eras. They do not claim to be historical but rather to be spells used by the dead to enter the afterlife. In this regard, the Egyptian Book of the Dead is a quatriary source. It is not history in any way shape or form.
On the other hand, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is a primary source document that does recount some miracles and sacrifices. It is considered a primary historical document. We have a few copies and those are about 1000 years from the original. It internally claims to have been written by Marcus Aurelius and also that it is a history of his thoughts. There is another test for historical documents.
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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