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 26th novel, working title, Shape, is
this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry
and rehabilitates her.
Here is the cover proposal for Escape
from Freedom. Escape is my 25th 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'm on my first editing run-through of Shape.
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. Historical 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.
One of my blog readers posed these
questions. I'll use the next few weeks to answer them.
13. Tone - how tone is created
through diction, rhythm, sentence construction, sound effects, images created
by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in sentence, the inflections of the
silent or spoken voice, etc.
14. Mannerism suggested by
speech
15. Style
16. Distinct manner of writing
or speaking you employ, and why (like Pinter's style includes gaps, silences,
non-sequitors, and fragments while Chekhov's includes 'apparent'
inconclusiveness).
Moving on to 13. 13.
Tone - how tone is created through diction, rhythm, sentence construction,
sound effects, images created by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in
sentence, the inflections of the silent or spoken voice, etc.
If tone is the feel of the writing,
the author must start first with what tone he wants to convey.
The second method of developing tone is through tension and
release. Before I give anymore examples,
let’s look at the specific tools used to create tone in tension and release
(these can also be used in the scene setting).
I like the list from the question—it is nearly exhaustive: diction, rhythm, sentence construction, sound
effects, images created by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in sentence,
the inflections of the silent or spoken voice, etc. Why don’t we look at each of these tools?
If tension and release is used as the primary means of
developing tone in the scene, then the diction and the rhythm in the scene are
both very subtle compared to the storyline that builds to the tension and
release. This can be said of many of the
tools used to develop tone. Ultimately
these subtleties together with the storyline produce tone. And there is the rub.
Tone is not simply the use of the proper tools to build an
atmosphere in a scene. Tone is a subtle
quality that has more to do with storyline and tension and release than simple
or subtle tools. Here is an example of
tone development in a scene:
The yells of
students burst from the halls and classrooms and pressed into the yard. Byron
Macintyre was carried along with the crowd. He just wanted to get to lunch. He rolled his eyes and kept up with the
moving mob. The halls of their old school
building were not very wide, and the lockers on either side made them
smaller. The high school didn’t have
that many students, but when they were all out of class and moving in one
direction, it was nearly impossible to travel anywhere else. Byron figured he would just wait until he
could get outside the doors, then he could duck back to his locker, the
cafeteria, and then the library.
Byron
was tall, but he still couldn’t see what was going on ahead. Out of exasperation, he yelled over the noise
of the crowd, “What’s going on?”
From
beside him, one of the sophomore girls laughed, “It’s that girl Diana. The stinky skank, who wears crappy clothes.”
Yeah,
Byron knew about Diana. Everyone knew
about Diana. She was never very far from
trouble with teachers, students, or parents.
She didn’t have any friends, but she usually kept a low profile.
Sure enough, when
Byron spilled out into the yard with the other students, Jack had Diana by her
long stringy hair. Diana was tall, but
there wasn’t much to her. She was skinny
and lanky. Her clothing was always plain
and usually dirty. She had on ragged
blue jeans and a plain white shirt. The
shirt was slightly threadbare. She
didn’t have much up top, but you could tell she didn’t wear a bra—probably
didn’t think she needed one. Her long
black hair covered her face, but there wasn’t much to that either. Her face wasn’t hard to look at, but usually
she hid it in her hair by keeping her face down. She wasn’t making a sound, but a lot of
others were. Byron pushed his way to the
front.
Dan
held Diana’s arm. He put his pimply face
in hers and yelled, “Thought you could just take it, didn’t you?” He twisted her arm and Diana flinched. She turned slightly until Jack’s hold on her
hair stopped her.
Byron
took a step forward, “What’s up Dan, Jack?”
Dan
glanced quickly up at Byron. His eye
twitched, “Don’t interfere Macintyre.
She stole Sherrill’s lunch. We’re
sure she took Jane’s the day before.
She’s been taking lunches since the beginning of school. We just finally caught her at it this time.”
“How’d
you do that?”
Dan
twisted Diana’s hand around and squeezed it open. “Take a look,” he grinned, “red handed.”
Diana’s
hand was stained blue.
“Put
that powder from the last chemistry lab on the handle,” he showed his teeth
again, “add a little water, and the blue hand shows who touched it.”
Byron
put out his arm, “That’s enough, Dan, Jack.
Just tell her to keep her hands off other people’s lunches and let her
go.”
Jack
shook his head, “That won’t be enough for her.
She’ll do it again unless we teach her a good lesson.”
“What
did you have in mind?”
“Sherrill
has to get her piece, and Jane.”
Byron
glanced at Jane then Sherrill. Jane
shook her head. Sherrill tossed her
hair, “That’s enough for me. She didn’t
get my lunch. Diana, you keep your hands
off my stuff—you hear?”
Dan
had Diana’s arm behind her back, and Jack twisted her head back with her
hair. Her face was turned upwards and
her eyes were squeezed shut.
Byron
addressed the girl, “What do you say, Diana?”
Dan
twisted her arm a little more. Diana
flinched. Dan squinted, “She won’t say
anything. She never says anything. Just slinks around and steals stuff.” He turned a little more toward Sherrill,
which twisted Diana’s arm a bit more.
Byron thought her arm looked close to breaking—still Diana didn’t make a
sound. Dan nodded to Sherrill, “Sherrill,
pop her one. That’s your right and
that’ll teach her.”
Sherrill
stepped forward, took a look at Byron, and stepped back, “You do it. I’m done.”
Without
any warning, Jack pulled back his fist and tugged Diana’s hair toward it. His fist met her cheek with a crack, and she
sagged forward. Dan’s hold was the only
thing that kept her from falling flat on her face. He released her arm, and she flopped forward
into the dirt.
Sherrill
scowled, “She didn’t admit to anything.
Pants her. That’ll teach her.”
Dan
reached down and grabbed the back of Diana’s pants. She didn’t have a belt on. He tugged down and half bared her
buttocks. Byron moved quickly, “That’s
enough Dan. You made your point.”
Sherrill
laughed, “She doesn’t have any underwear on.”
She pointed, “Look at that. I
thought she was low, but I had no idea she was like that.”
At
the edges of the crowd a call went up, “Teacher. Beat it.”
The
group began to quickly disperse. Jack,
Dan, Sherrill, and Jane were instantly gone.
Byron knelt next to Diana. He
tugged her pants back up and rolled her over.
He hadn’t been this close to her before.
Her face was thin and pale—Byron couldn’t tell how much was her own
complexion and how much was due to shock or injury. A bruise already formed on her cheek. She was breathing raggedly. Her white shirt was dirty and stained. The seam at her shoulder had ripped and
showed her bare shoulder. Byron grimaced
when he looked at her face. He put his
arm behind her neck and pulled her into a sitting position. Her head lolled on his shoulder.
This example comes from my currently unpublished novel, Dana-ana: Enchantment and the Maiden. This is the initial scene. There is multiple tension and release in this
scene. The first is the confrontation to
“Diana” being knocked out. The second is
the attempt to pants her. The third is
the coming of the teacher. Look at this
scene. Note the tone in the scene. Tomorrow, I’ll review the diction and the
rhythm in the scene to show how it supports the tone, and I’ll look at the tone
of the overall scene.
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
fiction, theme, plot, story, storyline,
character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book, writing,
information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic
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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