29 April 2017, Writing Ideas
- New Novel, part x113, Creative Elements in Scenes, Plot Devices, Incarceration
(imprisonment)
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
|
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
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) – Current discussion.
Valuable item
Identification
Contest
Search
War
Brotherhood (sisterhood) (camaraderie)
Crime
Theater
One way love
Incarceration (imprisonment): here is my definition – Incarceration (imprisonment) is the use of captivity to further a plot.
Incarceration
is a great plot device—think The Prisoner
of Zenda, The Man in the Iron Mask,
The Count of Monte Christo, The Little Princess, The Hungry Games, Harry Potty (some of the books), and there’s many many more. If you will note, incarceration can be
individual, communal, or national. A
novel about the Soviet Union, We the
Living for example is about the incarceration of an entire people. So is Henri
Tod. The prisoner can be held by
walls as in the first three or by culture, society, or fear as in The Little Princess. The captivity can be self-inflicted or
forced. In Harry Potty it is
self-inflicted and forced. Harry is kept
in a safe house in one novel and held captive in Hogwarts in most of the
novels. How much is self and how much is
forced?
Incarceration
is a wonderful plot device. I’ve used it
in many shapes and forms in my novels. I’ve
written about whole nations under the captivity of communism. I’ve written about individuals properly in
captivity for crimes or mistaken identity or crime. I’ve had characters in almost every degree of
imprisonment or captivity for many reasons.
Don’t get me wrong, I just don’t throw in into a novel for no reason,
but if you have a reason, why not? Here
are a couple of examples.
Here
is an example from my writing from Athelstan
Cying.
They drove to the outskirts of
the city where forested hillsides and almost fully concealed villas blanked the
area. The roads seemed almost random and
ran without apparent destination. They
transported Den and Natana to a large ancient house covered with ivy and
surrounded by thick vegetation. The thin
man and Ari conducted them to the front entrance of the building.
At
the first knock, a man who appeared like a university professor opened the
door. He was medium height with thick
curling hair and a long straight face.
His hair was partially covered by a hat and under it Den could just make
out a wire mesh shield. He nervously
motioned them all inside.
The
room was pleasant and archaic with a heavy fireplace on one side and
comfortable furniture all around it. Dr.
Fleisher motioned for them to sit.
He
turned to the thin man, “I received your message. Quite a catch, Heald. Two talents for me to study.”
“This
one is quite dangerous.”
“Who,
the man?”
“Yes
he knocked out three men using psyonic force alone.”
“The
shields seem to keep him at bay.”
“Yes,
they should. The technology is ancient
empire. What of the job?”
The
thin man’s lips tightened into a straight line, “It didn’t work, but we think
these two interfered.”
“Nonsense,
the organic security computers should have been easy to crack. That is unless they knew ahead of time
exactly what we were planning.”
“Jorg
couldn’t get the lock system to sequence.
The girl set off the detector in the shield.”
“I’m
sure the girl was just responding to the signal in the organic computer scrambler. I told you anyone nearby who was sensitive
would be affected.”
“What
about the boy?”
“Have
you asked them? That seems an obvious
question.”
Heald
mumbled something inarticulate.
Dr.
Fleisher looked at Den then Natana, “Are you working for the police?”
Den
answered, “No.”
“Why
do two unusually strong talents happen to be walking around together. Are you a psy team?”
“If
you mean a trained team, no. We are from
the same ship, and they will be looking for us.”
“Other
talents?”
“Not
as obvious.”
“I
doubt they will find you. That’s why we
wear the shields. They provide a double
purpose, but the primary is to prevent the police from finding us with their
seekers.”
“Seekers?”
asked Den.
“The
police on Neuterra use organic seekers to home in on those identified through
their brain scans. These are limited
talent powered organics rather than humans.
I don’t often get human talents to study. This should be very good. I’m working on a number of advanced devices
that require refinement.”
“What
do you want with us?”
“I
thought I made that clear, I want to study your talent, then…”
“Then
what?” asked Natana a little overloud.
“Well,
after that I won’t need you anymore.
Ari, take them to the holding cell in the basement. We already risked too much with them out in
the open like this.”
Ari
jerked his pistol at Den, “Move.”
Heald
and Ari led them through the kitchen down a thin set of stairs to a bright
basement laboratory. Well kept
workbenches and equipment filled almost every bit of the space. A zone without any equipment encircled a
single cell that stood in the far corner.
The cell was made of an open latticework of thick ceriplast wire that
completely enclosed it on every side including the floor. It stood against two walls while the top and
two sides were open. A single door with
a complex electronic lock was installed on one side. Cameras and equipment pointed from every
direction at the cell. The basement was
completely enclosed, except for the narrow steps that led to the upper floor,
not even a window broke the seamless ceriplast walls.
Den
had not marked any point where Natana and he could try to escape, and he
couldn’t think of anything to do now.
Accelerator pistols covered them the whole time, and their assailants were
protected with mental shields. He could
think of no way to get away. Natana and
he stepped into the cell, and Ari slammed the door behind them. After Dr. Fleisher checked the lock, he
flipped on a switch, and the three returned to the house above.
As
soon as the Dr. threw the switch, a heavy mental darkness closed in over Den
and Natana. As well as being physical
prisoners, they were completely cut off from outside psyonic energy, but they
could still communicate together mentally.
Above,
we have Den and Natana being held by criminals and an evil scientist to
discover the basis of their psionic talents.
This is a forced incarceration by the bad guys. This is always good for excitement and
entertainment. You can basically see how
it fits into the novel and it makes sense.
Why not put your main characters into a deadly and dangerous
situation. That’s what action oriented
science fiction is all about.
This
second example is from School. This
chapter hasn’t been edited much—there may be errors. Sorcha and Deirdre were captured by the
police. They actually didn’t do anything
wrong—they were set up. Still, the
excitement and the entertainment is that they police captured them and
incarcerated them until a judge let them go.
Sorcha
and Deirdre sat in a holding cell in orange jumpsuits. They had taken their clothing and strip
searched them. Luckily, it was
policewomen. Unluckily it was
policewoman. They hadn’t missed any nook
or cranny. Deirdre still felt dirty from
the experience. Her knuckles were still
bloody, and her mind was in a daze.
Sorcha
sat quietly on the bunk. They hadn’t
said much to one another. They knew they
were under surveillance. After what
seemed like hours, two policewomen came to the cell. The first, a sergeant by her rank, held a
baton. She motioned toward Sorcha and
Deirdre, “Stand up and step back from the door.”
Sorcha
and Deirdre complied.
“Drop
your suits.”
Sorcha
and Deirdre unzipped them and let them fall to their knees.
“Turn
around, and bend over.”
They
did.
“Put
out your hands, and don’t move.”
Deirdre
heard the cell door open. One
policewoman came to her and pulled her hands behind her back and lashed her
wrists together with a zip tie. The
woman turned her around, “Move slowly and carefully. I saw your video. Quite the fighter you are. Dangerous in the extreme.”
The
policewomen marched them through the cell door and down an open corridor
through another locked door. They took
them to the side and into a stark room with a metal table in the middle. The table and the chairs were bolted to the
floor. Two chairs sat on the other
side. A single chair sat on the side
near the door. The woman sat Deirdre and
Sorcha in the two chairs on the other side.
The first one raised her baton, “Don’t move from this chair. We are watching everything you do in
here. It’s all on the record.”
One
of the policewomen stepped out, and Luna came in.
The
remaining policewoman moved to the door, “Are you certain you don’t want us
with you? These two are very dangerous.”
Luna
drawled, “I know they are. I saw the
video.”
The
policewoman laughed, “Likely everyone in Britain has seen it. How it got into the hands of the media, I
have no idea.”
Luna
motioned to the woman, “I’ll be all right alone with them. You are recording everything here, aren’t
you?”
“Yes,
ma’am.”
Luna
sighed. She frowned, “Good.” She sat in the chair, “Inform me immediately
when they are released to my custody.”
“Yes,
ma’am.”
The
policewoman exited the door and closed it.
Luna
discretely touched her lips, “Now Ms. Calloway and Ms. Weir, I need to inform
you about some things. I’ll get the
entire story later, but I’d like you to know exactly where we stand. The first is that your entire altercation was
recorded on video. In addition, Ms. Weir
and Ms. Calloway’s records have been made available to the press. The video is very interesting. It shows Ms. Calloway exiting a building in
the woods while pulling her pants and knickers up. She is seen attacking a teacher with her fists
and feet. Ms. Weir joins the fun and
appears to be beating the fallen teacher.
That’s exactly what the video shows.
It is very detailed. Detailed
enough that the news had to pixilate Ms. Calloway’s more delicate parts.”
Deirdre
didn’t say anything. She blushed a
brilliant shade of crimson.
Sorcha
didn’t speak.
Luna
touched her lips, “We’ll discuss this at our leisure, and we should have plenty
of time for leisure. You will not be
returning to Wycombe.”
Deirdre
almost said something. She leaned forward
then back. Hot tears filled her eyes.
Sorcha
asked, “How are Tim and Chris?”
“Not
much worse for wear. You both did quite
a job on them. I assume it was you. They were released from hospital. They weren’t happy. They were very confused.”
Deirdre
kept her head down, “I will not say it was us.”
Luna
tapped her lips again.
The
door to the room opened. The sergeant
policewoman looked in, “The judge released them to your custody. Not sure why you would want them, but that’s
that.”
Luna
stood, “Yes, that’s that.”
The
policewomen led Sorcha and Deirdre to a room where they could retrieve their
clothing. They released the zip ties and
stood over them while they put back on their knickers, vests, sweaters, slacks,
and coats.
The
sergeant remarked, “There isn’t much to you girls. Surprised you could do that much damage to a
couple of strong boys and a fully grown woman, but wild ones are like that.”
Deirdre
and Sorcha followed Luna out of the police station and to her Triumph. She put them in the back, like usual and
headed into London.
Deirdre
asked, “Are we going to see mother?”
“Yes. Mother and father.”
“You
might as well kill me now. This is the
end.”
Luna
laughed, “It isn’t quite the end, but I’m certain you may not appreciate the
results.”
If
you notice, part of the entertainment about incarceration is the setting. Not many of us have the opportunity to be
incarcerated for any reason. I had the
opportunity through five different Air Force survival and captivity (torture)
trainings. The descriptions are fun and
entertaining in themselves and add to the scene, plus all the terrible stuff
prisoners have to go through. For the
bad people, this is great. For the not
as bad, this is terrible. For your
readers, this is just perfect.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment