Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 815, Climax Examples, Twilight Lamb

4 July 2016, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 815, Climax Examples, Twilight Lamb

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 finished 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 started writing my 28^th novel, working title Red Sonja. 

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.  Since I’m writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.  Here is an initial cut.

 

Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.

 

I’m writing about how to develop the climax of a novel.  I’m giving examples from my published and yet to be published novels.  I’ll try not to introduce spoilers.  You can’t read some of these novels yet, but it’s worth writing about the process of developing the climax for them.  I have two contracted novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness.  These are supposed to be published in a three-in-one with Aegypt and individually.  The economy has delayed their publication.  These first three novels are called Ancient Light.  They include Aegypt, Sister of Light, and Sister of Darkness.  In addition to the Ancient Light novels, I’ve written some other novels. 

 

The Ghost Ship Chronicles are a set of five science fiction novels centered around a single theme idea.  The novel started as one, but the theme idea was so large, it kind of took on a life of its own.  I don’t like trilogies or other super long novels in multiple volumes.  I wrote these novels to be stand alone, but provided an introduction to each to bring the reader up to date.  You could read these novels separately, but they all drive to a common problem and theme.

 

The common theme of The Ghost Ship Chronicles is that Den Protania picked up a new soul.  For some reason, the soul from the Athelstan Cying was necessary in the current age.  Den’s mind is the mind of an ancient psionic warrior.  His friend, now wife Natana Kern is also caught up in his misadventures and something is affecting her soul too. 

 

The second novel is Twilight Lamb.  In this novel, Den and Nata have married and are not quite settled in their work on the family trader ship Twilight Lamb.  The discovered an enemy in Athelstan Cying, a group who is trying to us pionics to effect politics in the Galactic Republic.  The name of the group is the Athenian Charter.  Den and Nata are investigating this group. 

 

In Twilight Lamb, the Athenian Charter uses a space liner to decoy the Twilight Lamb into an ambush in space.  While Den and Nata are off the ship, it is captured.  Now they must regain the Twilight Lamb and save their families. 

 

Den is still the protagonist of this novel.  His external telic flaw is still that he is not exactly who he seems.  This is an unresolvable telic flaw—thus the potential length of the plot.  His internal telic flaw is his lack of purpose.  In the first novel, this was partially resolved.  In this novel, the expected climax is that Den and Nata recover the Twilight Lamb.  The unexpected resolution is what this means to the telic flaw and to the plot.  There must be action—this is kinda obvious if you are trying to take back a spaceship from a pirate.

 

I’ll move to my science fiction unpublished novels.  I’ll look at the Ghost Ship Chronicles.  We’ll inspect Regia Anglorum next.           

     

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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