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 design of the climax comes directly out of the theme. The climax also completes the revelation of the characters in some way. In the simplest example, the character's real identity is revealed--not like Superman, but like Oliver Twist. The entire plot in Oliver Twist is that Oliver, in spite of being cast into the basement of society, is still heir apparent of his real birth social position. The theme is similar. The character revelation of Oliver Twist is to determine just who Oliver Twist is. The climax combines the old and new skills Oliver has learned to reveal his true nature and his true origins. Simple--right?
Not simple at all in the context of the novel. No synopsis of any novel can fully convey the strength and beauty of the plot, theme, and storyline. Most synopses fall flat. This is why it becomes more and more difficult to categorize and describe modern novels. It also becomes more and more difficult to make movies of some novels. It is easier to make a movie about a young adult novel because the themes and the plot is much more simple. It is very easy to make a movie from a comic book (graphic novel) because the theme and plot is generally simple. Did you ever wonder why really great (adult level) books usually have poor movies or movies that are less than stellar? Here's the answer, and it will get worse in the future. Movies will be able to make almost endless special effects, weapons, and explosions, but they will become more and more detached from great literature. The attempt to make Atlas Shrugged into a movie demonstrates this problem well. The theme is held constant. The plot is simplified. The storyline is notably different than the book. That's not to say plot elements are not there--they are, but the storyline must be changed and interpreted to make the movie fit the novel. The power of the novelist can't be conveyed as well as the novel. The climax should still be intact, but notably--if a novel is a revelation of the developed character, and the climax is the resolution including the revelation resolution, the climax of any movie can't fully convey the climax of any complex 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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