30 March 2017, Writing Ideas
- New Novel, part x83, Creative Elements in Scenes, Plot Devices, Judicial
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
I
finished writing my 27th 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 Sorcha:
Enchantment and the Curse.
 |
|
Cover
Proposal
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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 28th novel, working title Red Sonja. I’m also working on my 29th novel,
working title School.
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: transition from input to output focused on the telic
flaw resolution)
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.
For novel 28: 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.
For novel 29: Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie
and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the
problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.
These are the steps I use to write a
novel:
1.
Design the initial scene
2.
Develop a theme statement (initial
setting, protagonist, protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)
a.
Research as required
b.
Develop the initial setting
c.
Develop the characters
d.
Identify the telic flaw (internal
and external)
3.
Write the initial scene (identify
the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)
4.
Write the next scene(s) to the
climax (rising action)
5.
Write the climax scene
6.
Write the falling action scene(s)
7.
Write the dénouement scene
Here is the beginning of the scene
development method from the outline:
1.
Scene input (comes from the previous
scene output or is an initial scene)
2.
Write the scene setting (place,
time, stuff, and characters)
3.
Imagine the output, creative
elements, plot, telic flaw resolution (climax) and develop the tension and
release.
4.
Write the scene using the output and
creative elements to build the tension.
5.
Write the release
6.
Write the kicker
Below is a list of plot
devices. I’m less interested in a plot
device than I am in a creative element that drives a plot device. In fact, some of these plot devices are not
good for anyone’s writing. If we
remember, the purpose of fiction writing is entertainment, we will perhaps
begin to see how we can use these plot devices to entertain. If we focus on creative elements that drive
plot devices, we can begin to see how to make our writing truly entertaining. I’ll leave up the list and we’ll contemplate
creative elements to produce these plot devices.
Deus ex machina (a machination, or act of god; lit.
“god out of the machine”)
Flashback (or analeptic reference)
Story within a story (Hypodiegesis)
Third attempt
Secrets
Judicial Setting – Current discussion.
Legal argument
Prophecy
Two way love
Three way love (love rival)
Rival
Celebrity (Rise to fame)
Rise to riches
Military (Device or Organization manipulation)
School (Training) (Skill Development)
Supernatural
Comeback
Retrieval
Taboo
Impossible Crime
Human god
Revolution
Games
Silent witness
Secret king
Messiah
Hidden skills
Fantasy Land (Time Travel, Space Travel)
End of the --- (World, Culture, Society)
Resistance (Nonresistance)
Utopia (anti-utopia)
Fashion
Augmented Human (Robot) (Society)
Mind Switching (Soul Switching)
Unreliable character
Incarceration (imprisonment)
Judicial Setting: here is my definition – judicial setting is the use of legal practice and legal settings to further a plot.
Judicial
setting is indeed a plot device. It can
drive an entire plot, like Perry Mason, To
Kill a Mockingbird, or the whole host of modern crime or legal shows, or it
can be a simple plot device such as in my novels or in The Cain Mutiny. I’m not
sure why more authors don’t use the judicial setting. It may be because they are uncomfortable with
law or the legal system, or they just don’t recognize this as a plot device. Using the judicial setting does require
research, but the use in movies and television shows should indicate that it is
a usable and reachable plot device.
The
judicial setting is driven by certain creative elements. The basic is a legal idea or score. For example, your character has broken the
law or appears to have broken the law.
The only reconciliation, or a useful reconciliation is the judicial
setting. At the lowest level, the police
become involved and your character is exonerated or charged. The next level is a trial or a
dismissal. Beyond that you have a
conviction or guilty of innocent. Of
course you can move a step further to incarceration, but that is another plot
device, and I added it to the list. As
an aside, many authors skip the judicial setting and just give it a footnote to
move to the incarceration stage—The Count
of Monte Christo for example.
I
like to use the judicial setting. It can
be simplified to the legal argument, which I also just added. I won’t define that here. Again, in the judicial setting, the author
uses legal concepts, ideas, and settings to forward the plot. The legal can be a trial of any kind. Just to show you the bounds of the judicial
setting, I’ll give you three examples, one a judicial trial, one a courtly
trial, and the other an ecclesiastical trial.
From
Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer:
The King County Courthouse courtroom was not
packed by any measure of the imagination.
The building itself was low modern and dower with wide thin windows and
a brick façade. The courtroom wasn’t much
better. The interior was decked out in
Twentieth Century style with cheap paneling and expensive woodwork where you
couldn’t miss it. It was laid out like
most American courtrooms. The judge sat
at a wooden podium at the front with the jury box on the right side. The bailiff and police guards stood at the
left side. A fine wooden witness stand
connected to the judge’s podium. Two heavy
wooden tables lay at the front of the room before the judge. A low wooden rail separated the tables from
the public gallery. There, wooden bench
seats like church pews trailed back to the courtroom’s main door.
The prosecuting attorney sat at the table on
the right side and the defending attorney on the left side. The four defendants sat at the table with the
defending attorney. Lilly, Dane, Phelia,
and Jeff, along with the responding police officers were the witnesses. They sat in the gallery. The judge sat behind his high wooden desk
with the court reporter in front of him and a computer transcriber.
The trial moved slowly through the
preliminaries. Finally, the bailiff
called Lilly as the first witness. The
prosecuting attorney asked her to describe the events of the evening in question. She did.
Then the defending attorney cross examined her, “Ms. Grant.”
“Yes.”
“Is there any reason my clients might want to
attack you and Mr. Vale that night?”
Lilly didn’t pause, “I hacked Mr. Martin’s
FastMart account.”
Jeff glanced up suddenly and whispered, “That’s
the first I heard of that…”
“So you provoked Mr. Martin and his friends.”
The prosecuting attorney stood, “Objection—no
simple provocation deserves assault and battery.”
The defending attorney glanced at the judge,
“If Ms. Grant can be shown to be a questionable witness, her testimony should
be thrown out.”
The judge rubbed his chin, “There is more
evidence than just her witness, but you may continue with your questioning.”
The defending attorney turned immediately back
to Lilly, “Are you a proficient hacker?”
The prosecuting attorney stood again,
“Objection, Ms. Grant isn’t on trial here.”
“If Ms. Grant can be shown to be in the
commission of a felony, then my clients’ actions might be perceived as legal
under the law.”
The judge picked up an evidence folder,
“According to the medical report, Ms. Grant and Mr. Vale received substantial
injuries. How can that be justified by
even any non-violent felony?”
“Self defense.
I propose that Ms. Grant and Mr. Vale have been lying in their
affidavits to hide their illicit activities.”
The judge’s brow rose, “Illicit activities?”
The defending attorney glanced at his notes,
“I’d like to suspend Ms. Grant’s cross-examination and call another witness for
the moment.”
Judge Kelsey took a deep breath, “I’m not sure
where this is going, Mr. Liam, but I will allow the suspension and for you to
call your witness.” He glanced at Lilly,
“Ms. Grant, you may return to your seat.
You are still considered under oath—for now.”
Lilly
hopped out of the witness seat and sat back beside Dane in the gallery.
Lilly
and Dane were assaulted by four young men.
They were both injured. The trial
isn’t about Lilly or Dane, but the prosecuting attorney is making it about them
because Lilly did hack one of the men’s account. This comes out in the trial. This is a judicial setting that most readers
are familiar with. Now to the court trail
setting.
This
is from Warrior of Darkness:
Klava
and Niul walked side by side down the middle of the sacred grove of the
Celts. Scáth had dressed them both. Klava
wore the same dress she had when she came here before. It fit her a bit differently. Her belly poked the black fabric out at the
front. Scáth had made it fit properly,
but Klava thought it still looked odd.
She thought it accentuated her belly rather than deemphasized it. Niul wore a black shirt and pants in a similar
style. He simply calked it up to Scáth’s
idiosyncrasies and Klava’s preferences.
Scáth stepped right behind them also in black.
The grove was a marvelous place. The sunlight reflected through the trees as
though it were the middle of the day.
The leaves formed a peppering of light and dark on the grass covered
ground. A slight wind moved the leaves
and the temperature was comfortable.
Niul noted strange creatures and beings on either side. He didn’t dare turn to look at them too
closely. Klava hung on his arm and when
he slowed too much, she tugged on him, “Don’t stare, Niul.”
“What are they?” he whispered.
“I’ll explain it to you later…”
“There may not be any later, Lamb.”
Klava clung more tightly to him.
At the end of the grove stood an enormous
oak tree. On it sat Kathrin. The tree formed the impression of a
throne. Around this oak and Kathrin
stood many stately beings. Right beside
Kathrin was a very tall woman. On her
other side was James. Aleksandr stood at
James left. He held a large sword and a
book. Lumière held to Aleksandr. She did not lift her face.
James and Aleksandr’s clothing was fine
and modern, but many of those around the throne wore very ancient styles of
clothing. Kathrin wore a gown of
dazzling white with a silver belt, and a silver caldron sat at her feet.
When Klava had approached to within about
two meters, she halted and curtsied.
Niul bowed. Klava didn’t wait for
an invitation, “Mother, Ceridwen, let’s get this over with. Just pronounce your judgment and end it all.”
The gods and goddesses around the throne
murmured. Aife stepped forward to say
something, but before she could, Kathrin raised her hand, “I was promised that
the court would give you a new hearing.
That is my right as the Great Lady.
Why are you rushing this, Klava?”
Klava nodded but she didn’t remain quiet,
“Mother, the last time this hearing brought shame and embarrassment to you, to
your court, and to me. I do not wish you
or your court to face anymore shame.”
“What about you, daughter?”
“I already told you, I am guilty. I claim guilt to every crime you accuse
me. I will not oppose you.”
Britannia interjected, “Yet you did oppose
the judgment of the courts. You stepped
foot on the Celtic lands when you had been banished by these courts.” Aife nodded energetically.
“Then, I am guilty of that too.”
Kathrin’s eyes flashed, “Tell them why you
violated your banishment.”
“Is that a command?”
“Yes, I, Ceridwen, insist that you inform
the courts why you violated their pronouncement.”
Klava shrugged, “It will do no good, but
my warrior had been captured by the PIRA.
They threatened his life. I could
not leave him. I am bound to him. I still broke the law you placed on me. I am guilty.”
“Is this your warrior?”
“Yes.
This is Niul Ríoghbhardán O'Dwyer.
He is my chosen warrior.”
“You still have not wedded him.”
“We are contracted in agreement to
wed. I likely will not have the
opportunity to wed him. I will die
before then, but by ancient contract, we are wed.”
Brigitta stepped forward, “Great Lady, may
I speak?”
Here,
we had a judicial setting that is like those of the ancient courts. The author isn’t bound to write a judicial
setting from the standpoint of lawyers and modern judges. Kings, queens, and other nobility as well as
the gods and goddesses hold court—like the Greek, Roman, or other gods. For another type of judicial setting let’s
look at Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon:
Frau Becker
reluctantly let go of Aksinya’s hand and moved behind her.
After a few
minutes, Inquisitor Esposito entered. He
did not sit. He nodded toward
Aksinya. Moments later, the
Archinquisitor Gallo came in from the door at the side of the altar. Everyone stood. The Archinquisitor glared at Aksinya then
bowed to the altar and immediately began an ascension prayer in Latin. He led the court in a general confession and
absolved them. He led them in the
Apostolic Creed. Then he sat down and
signaled for everyone to be seated.
The Archinquisitor
brought out a paper, “Alleged Countess Aksinya Andreiovna Golitsyna…”
Aksinya
interrupted, “I am not an alleged Countess.
I am the Countess Aksinya
Andreiovna Golitsyna.”
“You are not
allowed to speak until you are called upon.”
“I am not an
alleged Countess. I am the Countess Aksinya Andreiovna Golitsyna.”
“Little girl, you
are already prejudicing this court against you.”
“That may be so,
but I insist that you address me by my proper title.”
“Your identity is
one of the questions before this court, but if you fail to hold your tongue, I
will have you bound and gagged.”
“That is your
prerogative, but I also have the right to be addressed properly by this court.”
The Archinquisitor
turned to Inquisitor Esposito, “Instruct the Fraulein in the proper decorum of
the court.”
Aksinya glared at
him, “This is the first issue before the court.
If you can’t identify me properly then what kind of trial can this be?”
“I warned you
once, little girl. I will have you bound
and gagged.”
Inquisitor
Esposito stammered, “If it pleases the Archinquisitor, the promotor fiscalis should first establish the
identity of the accused.”
The Archinquisitor frowned at him, “Very
well. This is not the usual procedure,
but I will take the advice of the advocatus reorum and first prove the
identity of the accused.” He faced
Aksinya, “Little girl, what is your baptized name? I know it is not Aksinya Andreiovna Golitsyna.”
Aksinya nodded,
“What you say is true. My baptized name
is not, Aksinya Andreiovna Golitsyna.”
The courtroom let
out a sound between a gasp and a groan.
The Archinquisitor
smiled, “Then what is your baptized name?”
“My baptized name
is Aksinya Georgovna Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov.”
The Archinquisitor
glared at her, “Preposterous.”
Aksinya stared him
down, “My father was Grand Duke George Alexandrovich Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. He died of tuberculosis before I was born. My mother was Princess Nina Vladimirovna
Golitsyna, nee Bockmann. She later
married my adopted father Count Andrei Nikolaevich Golitsyna. I was given my adopted father’s name and all
rights to the name by him.”
A whisper started
in the courtroom, “She claims to be a princess.”
The Archinquisitor
half stood, “Quiet in the courtroom.
Preposterous, I say. You claim
first to be a Countess and now to be a Romanov Princess.” He slowly lowered himself back into the
Bishop’s seat.
“I am a Romanov
Princess and a Countess and I insist on being addressed properly.”
This
is a snippet of an ecclesiastical trial.
The piece I gave you also points to the idea of the legal argument. I’ll provide an idea—every judicial setting
should encompass legal arguments. In
other words, one of the primary creative elements and a plot device incorporated
in a judicial setting is a legal argument.
The author has not only the opportunity, but the obligation to include a
legal argument in such a setting.
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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