Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 426, more Logical Laws of Magic Creativity and Entertainment in Scenes Developing the Rising Action

10 June 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 426, more Logical Laws of Magic 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 consuming, thinking, and producing. 

For the purpose of explaining about logic and creativity, I'll explain in detail about the development of a logical framework for sorcery and magic.  Novelists don't show the actual anything--if you want that take a picture.  The novelist is an artist who sees a vision of the world he shares through words.  Those words must be logical or there is no communication of the vision.  This is the problem of James Joyce, by the way.  James Joyce's works convey nothing not in logic or from the world.  His vision is not communicated.  Or if it is communicated it is not an entertaining vision.  No one reads something they can't understand and no one enjoys something they can't understand. 

Your goal is first entertainment.  To achieve entertainment, your writing must be understood, and it must show the reader a vision of the world outside of their normal understanding.  Thus magic must fit into a logical framework.  This is true of anything and everything you might write about.  An illogical framework cannot convey understanding and therefore, no entertainment.  Your job is entertainment.

So, if we are building a framework of magic, you don't have to tell your readers exactly how the magic works--you simply have to provide a system of cause and effect that defines the magic.  That system of cause and effect must always be the same: same effort and events (acts) in, the same results.  That is a function of logic.  Now, you can make it like the moon trick your teacher used all the time in first grade--that is, the obvious may not be the true cause and effect.  Then you have a mystery to solve.  Mysteries are great.  The true cause and effect must eventually come to light to make the system logical.  

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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