Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 389, more the True Creativity and Entertainment in Scenes Developing the Rising Action

4 May 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 389, more the True Creativity and Entertainment in Scenes Developing 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. 

Scene development:
1.  Scene input (easy)
2.  Scene output (a little harder)
3.  Scene setting (basic stuff)
4.  Creativity (creative elements of the scene)
5.  Tension (development of creative elements to build excitement)
6.  Release (climax of creative elements)

I can immediately discern three ways to invoke creativity:

1.  History extrapolation
2.  Technological extrapolation
3.  Intellectual extrapolation

Creativity is like an extrapolation of what has been.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  I mentioned yesterday that creativity requires true study and true reading.  I'll explain.

Creativity requires work.  Just like writing requires work.  I have learned that no matter who you are until you write about one million words, you will not have the skill to write well enough to be published.  That fits with the Outliers average of about 15,000 to 20,000 hours of experience to reach a level of professional in almost any field.  If you want to be a writer, you need to write.  If you want to develop creativity for your writing, you need to study.

Study is the primary basis for creativity.  Here is a basic question in creativity.  If you don't know what is already in your field of endeavor, how will you know what is new (creative) or not.  When I started my doctoral studies, the first step was a review of papers on the subject to discover an area of study that had either not been looked at or that had not been fully explored.  If that is what a doctoral student must do, then in writing, to know the new (creative) mustn't you study that area of knowledge or writing.  Doesn't that mean you should spend hour, days, weeks, months, and years of study so you can know your area of writing well and so you can then develop the creative out of it.

Just look at Leonardo Da Vinci.  He studied and worked at study all his life.  This is how you begin if you want to be creative--no one is born creative, can't happen. 

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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