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: while on assignment in Gdansk, Poland, 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 theme determines the climax--so, the first step in writing a novel is to determine the theme. This is what I advise, but this isn't what I always do. If you read my other blogs, you know I am writing now about the current novel I'm writing. I explained that I don't fully know the theme or the climax. I'm sneaking up on the climax. As long as the writing is cohesive and not extraneous, there is no reason why you can't write a novel this way. I wouldn't recommend it on the first or even the fifth go. Once you get a good feel for how to write a novel, a little freedom is okay. When you are first starting, you'll find you need to trim a lot to get rid of the extra stuff.
I recommend starting with a theme and writing toward it. This means the general form of the climax is known. For example, in Valeska, you know she must become dependent and be redeemed. Both of these are very open and indeterminate ideas. For the dependent part, I determined she would be his companion and friend. This is not a climax concept. It was easy to write and lent itself well to the overall plot and storyline. I made Valeska like the agent's sister--when woman becomes, George's love interest, Valeska isn't jealous, the other woman is. The interaction between characters made the work very entertaining.
Redeemed, from the standpoint of climax, is the operative term. The question then is, what is redeemed? In our culture, the word and concept "redeemed" has many deep connotations. I decided that redeemed would have a spiritual and social meaning. The vampire Valeska was a person companionless. She meets George who accepts her for who she is. She meets, Leila and Scaith who also accept her for who she is. Leila loves George and aids in Valeska's redemption. This sounds easy--it wasn't. The novel is all about trust and friendship with a hearty bit of detective work, fun, and mayhem added in. I'll write about how I'm sneaking up on the climax of my latest novel.
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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