4 April 2017, Writing Ideas
- New Novel, part x88, Creative Elements in Scenes, Plot Devices, Rival
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 – Current
discussion.
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)
Rival: here is my definition – rival is the use of competition of any type to further a plot.
You
can have a love rival that is usually two or three way love. You can have a rival in any type of
competition. For example, The Hunger Games was filled with
rivalries of all types. It included a
three-way love that was a love rivalry plus competitive rivalries, political
rivalries, social rivalries, even familial rivalries. Rivalries are a powerful plot device. I recommend their use especially in competitive
situations. Competition comes in many
varieties. For example, you can have academic,
sports, capitalistic, magic (Hogwarts), sorcery, flying, military, leadership,
and all competition. Don’t sell this
plot device short. In any competitive setting
all you need to do is provide a rival to your protagonist and you immediately
have a rival plot device in action. The
use of this plot device can bring very powerful entertainment value to your
novel. Just think of the Harry Potty
novels. The author uses rivalry almost
too much as a plot device. Everyone is a
rival for everyone else. Snape is even a
rival for Harry’s dead dad in academics, magic, and love. Too bad he gets it.
In any
case, use rivalry, the rival plot device in your novels when appropriate. I’m not sure I have a good example from my
writing. I’ll just leave up the example
from yesterday—that’s a love rival, oh well.
From
Khione: Enchantment and the Fox:
A little later, Jason, Jennifer, and Yumi
brought their trays over to where Pearce and Khione sat. They took their normal places around the low
table. After a while, Jennifer asked,
“Hey Pearce, I’ve got a couple of tickets to a movie on Saturday. Would you like to go with me?”
Pearce glanced up from his notes. He tapped his pencil on his lips and thought
a moment, “Next weekend’s a three-day, I have to visit my parents.”
Jennifer looked unhappy.
“Could I get a rain check?”
Jennifer licked her lips, “Sure, I guess.”
“I’m sorry.
I can’t leave to visit them during Thanksgiving, and I promised I come
see them. There aren’t any classes on
Monday or Friday.”
Khione piped up, “Is that a date? Did Jennifer ask for a date?”
Jason laughed, “That is a date. Hey, Jen, you aren’t asking Khione to come
too, are you?”
Jennifer scowled at him, “Of course not.”
Jason continued, “Are you taking Khione to
visit your parents? That sounds
serious.”
Pearce thought a moment more, “I really hadn’t
thought about it. I guess I’ll take
Khione.”
Jennifer shook her head.
Khione smiled, “I’d like to go.”
Jennifer scowled again, “I’m sure you would.”
Yumi touched her arm, “I’m certain Khione
doesn’t know what that means.”
Jennifer wasn’t mollified, “Yeah, sure.”
Jason wasn’t about to be put off, “Do you know
what it means to meet the parents, Khione?”
Khione gave a puzzled look.
Pearce scowled this time, “I don’t mean
anything by it. It would be good for
Khione to see how normal people live.”
“Yeah,” Jennifer looked down.
“Yeah,” Jason smiled.
In Khione, I use three way love, a love rivalry
that includes Khione, Jennifer, and Pearce.
Pearce is the love interest.
Khione falls in love with Pearce slowly as she gets to know him. Jennifer has been pursuing Pearce for almost a
year in college. Pearce is unobservant of
Jennifer especially. Through the entire
novel, the reader slowly gets the message.
The scene portion I gave you was more to the point than most. Jennifer wants to ask Pearce to a movie, but
Pearce has plans to take Khione to visit his parents. Like all love rivalry, there is confusion,
attempts at communication (mostly that don’t work), miscommunication, and
all. I advise using a love rival to
spice up any novel where you have an obtuse character—no that’s not right. Some plots and themes accommodate this type
of plot device better than others. I
wouldn’t have used it in Sorcha, it would
have been a detractor. In Khione, it is a powerful part of the
plot development. As I wrote, competitive
theme novels work better for the rival plot device.
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