Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore. Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com. Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.
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. The three tests used for all documentary evidence in history are: the bibliographical test, the internal test, and the external test. Let's see how we can use these tests.
If you remember the mathematical proofs you had to do in geometry, you know how to develop a logical proof. You start with definitions. It looks like this:
1. Define the terms
2. State assumptions
3. Produce proof
4. Logical conclusion
The ancient Greeks recognized that you can't ever know a person's truth thoughts or emotions. Even if a person told you they were happy, they could be lying. Even if a person told you they would do something, they could be lying. The scientific method and the legal-historical method can't help us with thoughts and emotions. You can't ever trust a person to accurately report what they are thinking or what they are feeling. This was especially important in the culture of the ancient Greeks because they lived in a culture that encouraged ambivalence and hubris. To the Greeks, knowing the truth was paramount, but their society was strongly based on not telling the absolute truth. They believed that logic could give them insight into the thoughts and feelings of others.
You recognize that too--it is a concept I write about in this blog all the time. When words, appearance, and actions don't match, you recognize there is a problem between a person's thoughts and feelings and reality. If a man says he loves you and then abuses you, you should recognize there is a disconnect between his thoughts and actions. This is where the Greeks would bring logic into play. First define the terms. Unconditional love means placing the happiness and comfort of one before the other. Abuse means saying untruthful things or using force to get your way. Second, assumptions. If the person being evaluated is usually truthful, you might assume they are telling the truth. On the other hand, if the person is routinely untruthful, you might assume they are lying. Third, produce the proof. An easy one is this: the man says he has unconditional love, but when he comes home every night he beats me. The logical conclusion is easy--the man is lying. A harder one is this: the man says he has unconditional love for me, but he says unkind things to me. What are the unkind things--do they constitute abuse? For example, if the man says, I don't like your toga. Is that abuse? I think not--that is simply a comment that might be true. On the other hand constant berating about something could constitute abuse--especially if it is not true. The house is clean, but the man constantly harps on how unclean it is. Conclusion--the man is lying.
The Greeks believed they could take any circumstance and though logical proof determine the truth or falsehood of the event. There is much more to this.
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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