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.
More to the point of proof and truth is what we see in mystery novels. I assert that every novel should be filled with mystery--the biggest mystery is the revelation of the protagonist. Even the plot of every novel is filled with mystery--what will happen next. Our usual conception of a mystery novel is one where a detective (of some sort) investigates a crime (of some sort), and resolves the mystery through evidence and deductive or inductive reasoning. Here, to a degree, is really the form of every novel--this is a mystery theme. Most novels are not necessarily "mystery" novels, but every novel includes mystery, and I propose that the greater the mystery, the greater the power of the novel.
For example, Aksinya, I gave you this entire novel, so it is easy for me to use it as an example. There is no mystery about why Aksinya called the demon in the first place, but there are mysteries throughout the novel. The obvious question is who really is Aksinya and how did she get her powers. The second is, what will the demon do, and within this context is how will the demon tempt Aksinya next. The temptation by the demon is a recurring idea in the novel. This is an important concept that the novel is built around, but the entertainment value is part of the mystery I'm writing about. The anticipation of the reader is what this is all about. In Aksinya, I give clues to each successive temptation--many of them come directly out of the mouth of the demon, but they are so unbelievable, Aksinya can't believe them. For example, the young man, Ernst, who falls in love with Aksinya--was a setup by the demon. Aksinya is tempted and takes Ernst's love hook line and sinker, but the mystery is about how the man knew about Aksinya and what it means. We discover in the theme climax, that the demon set up Ernst as a temptation for Aksinya and Ernst and used Aksinya's lady-in-waiting to seduce Ernst and ruin the potential love and engagement. All these are mysteries and secrets that are revealed through the plot of the novel. Although Aksinya is not a classical "mystery" novel, it is full of mystery. The elements to prove truth are used throughout to give strength to the novel and the mysteries.
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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