Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 408, more Thinking Technology Imagination Creativity and Entertainment in Scenes Developing the Rising Action

23 May 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 408, more Thinking Technology Imagination 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).  Creativity requires true study and true reading. 

In my world and in my opinion, creativity comes out of work--the work of study and thinking.  Reading is simply a means of study.  I hold to Plato's (Socrates') kathartic view of creativity.  The creator (artist) immerses himself in great knowledge, art, literature, science, ideas, music, poetry and creates inspiration.  I was originally going to write "waits for inspiration."  I think waiting is part of the process, but taking the steps to create art (like writing) is an active process and not an inactive process. 

Taking the concept of the kathartic view, you fill yourself with all kinds of great knowledge (and feelings to an extent) and you purge them through your art.  Look, I didn't invent it, the Greeks did--the concept is truly a picture of eating, processing, and producing.  In terms of art, that would be consuming knowledge, thinking, and producing.  The Greeks viewed this as a continual active process of the psuche (mind).  Consuming is active.  Thinking is active.  Producing is active.

Producing is active.  You don't wait for ideas to happen--you make them happen.  Now, I will tell you, I am cooking up another great novel idea right now--I just don't want it to come to fruition right away.  The reason is I'm completing some editing on previous novels, and I don't want to start on number 26 right away.  If I did, I would sit and write.  The act of producing a novel is writing.  If you want to create writing, you have to write.  Consume, think, produce...

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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