Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 760, more Theme Setting

10 May 2016, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 760, more Theme Setting

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.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

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, proposed title, Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

I just started writing my 27^th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  This might need some tweaking.  The theme statement is: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.  

Here is the cover proposal for Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si.  Essie is my 26th 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 editing many of my novels using comments from my primary reader.  I finished my 27^th novel, working title Claire.  I’m working on marketing materials.

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)

 

How to begin a novel.  Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea.  I usually encapsulate such an idea with a theme statement.  Here’s the theme statement from Sorcha.

 

Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.

 

For the setting, we are in Britain, and I am writing about two fictional, but real world based Military Intelligence offices.  One is the Organization and the other is the Stela branch of the Organization.  There is more.

 

Of course, all of Britain is free range for the novel.  Anything in Britain is usable and can be included.  This makes some things easy and some hard.  The easy is, Britain is rather small, but large enough to have a lot of special places.  The difficult is that I don’t live in Britain now.  The internet, my past experience, and my travels will keep this updated.

 

Then where in Britain.  The Organization is easy because it has actual places where MI19 was based during WWII.  Stela is part of the Organization.  I’ve used these places in my other novels, so I already have them set up, and I’ve written about them.  For the initial scene and Sorcha’s place, I created something entirely new—kind of.

 

In a couple of my other novels, I have the Grove of the Ancients where Ceridwen holds court.  Just where is this grove?  In my other novels, I don’t say where just that it is in Britain somewhere.  In Sorcha, I placed the Grove in Sherwood Forest.  This seemed like such a neat location, I decided that Sorcha should live in a house in Sherwood Forest called Sherwood House.  This house was built by Robor, the Celtic god of the Oak for Sorcha and her work.  Robor is also the Celtic God who takes care of the great Oak and the Grove.  Do you see how all this fits together?  This is the main setting for Sorcha and comes out of the theme statement.  Not every idea is in the theme statement, but as I develop the setting, I build it from the theme statement.      

 

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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