Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 378, more Entertainment Scenes Developing Tension in the Rising Action

23 April 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 378, more Entertainment Scenes Developing Tension in the Rising Action

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  More 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.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

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 shuttle pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer.  Lilly is my 24th novel.

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action.  I've just started on the next major run-through of my novel, Escape.

I'm an advocate of using the/a scene input/output method to drive the rising action--in fact, to write any novel. 

Short digression:  I'm writing from Wichita, Kansas back from the world tour. 

Scene input (easy), scene output (a little harder), scene setting (basic stuff)--now to the hard part--creativity.

When I develop the creativity for a scene, I start with the characters.  I imagine the end state of the scene (the scene output)--that's basically where the plot is going.  I imagine how the characters will interact and how they can interact in a way that is entertaining.  For example, the next scene in Lilly, Tolinka plays a trick on Lilly.  It isn't a nasty trick, but it cuts to the core of Lilly's world.  Tolinka hacks Lilly's computer and takes her homework.  Tilinka gives it back, but this causes a huge fight between them that only Dane can referee. 

The homework and fight scene is fun and entertaining, but the next scene is even more delicious.  In that scene, Lilly gets back at Tolinka with her own tricks.  To write that scene, I imagined every trick Lilly could play against Tolinka.  My list was something like this, bath, nudity, Dane's nudity, dog food, dogwood, etc.  In Tolinka's culture, nudity is very personal--in the culture of Lilly's Japanese shrine, nudity is a function of bathing.  Bathing, in Tolinka's culture is very personal--not so in Lilly's adopted culture.  The dog references are just cheap shots, but the point is to make a trick--a trick the reader and Tolinka are not expecting.  With all these ideas on ways to make the scene entertaining, the point then is to write the scene.  You can see, the basis for making the scene entertaining is creativity.  The writing of the scene using the creative ideas is tension and release.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:

http://www.ancientlight.com/
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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