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 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.
This theme statement lends itself well to each part of the development of a novel. Note, there is a setting, an initial scene, protagonist, protagonist helper, antagonist, and the climax is obvious. Let's talk about each.
More small digression: I'm now on a demo tour in the AT-6 to Paraguay. I'm writing from Paraguay.
I mentioned that I like to let a novel write itself. The point of this is not to force the writing in one way or another, but to build the world from the setting. The details come out of the writing itself.
What I mean by writing itself is that I provide the theme, plot, setting, and characters then let them act in the storyline to develop the climax. I was using a spaceship as an example of how the setting itself creates the world, and how the development of the world of the novel designs the parts of the world.
In this case, I need a spaceship--a shuttle to be exact. I have space shuttles in many of my other science fiction novels. It so happens, I know a reasonable amount about real space vehicle and shuttles--at least enough to describe potential shuttle operations. For my earlier novels, I developed a heavy lifting shuttle the uses hydrogen fuel as the propellant, and compressed atmosphere, when available as the oxidant. These shuttles only go to the very reaches of the atmosphere and for low earth orbital operations, they store some of the atmosphere to burn with the hydrogen. Basically, these shuttles have large hydrogen jet engines for very high altitude and near space operations, but they also operate well in the atmosphere.
For Escape, I backed up the science a little. The heavy lifting shuttle in this new novel uses the same basic idea of a hydrogen jet engine, but it only has one engine and it is used mainly for high earth cargo operations--as opposed to orbital operations. There are more details that I left out about this specific shuttle, but they are unnecessary to the storyline.
By the way, Merry Christmas--this is my gift to you: more about shuttles and spacecraft.
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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