5 May 2017, Writing Ideas - New
Novel, part x119, Creative Elements in Scenes, Plot Devices, Brotherhood
(sisterhood) (camaraderie)
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
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)
Valuable item
Identification
Contest
Search
War
Brotherhood (sisterhood) (camaraderie) – Current discussion.
Crime
Theater
One way love
Brotherhood (sisterhood) (camaraderie): here is my definition – Brotherhood (sisterhood) (camaraderie) is the use of a non-romantic close relationship to further a plot.
This
plot device is very clear in my mind right now because it forms an important
part of School. In School,
the relationship between Deirdre and Sorcha becomes closer and closer. Sorcha is Deirdre’s first and best
friend. Deirdre is definitely the
closest person Sorcha has ever known.
Their relationship starts with fisticuffs and ends with sisterhood. They grow closer and closer in the novel and
their own secrets become known to each other and the reader. I think this is a great power in this plot
device. Human relationships have become
oddly perverted in the modern era. In the
past, they seemed much more varied and robust.
I think many people are looking for this closeness without sex or
romance. The closeness of human trust
and interaction outside of the sphere of anything else.
This
plot device is used routinely in early novels.
It is seen in many novels, but not celebrated quite as strongly in
modern novels. If you look at Dickens,
the Bronte Sisters, George Elliot, The
Little Princess, The Secret Garden,
and all. In these novels, you see people
either in or building close relationships.
They are dependent on others for their health, happiness, and spiritual
goodness. These relationships depict
strong friendships. The reason I didn’t
call this plot device friendship is because the idea of brotherhood is much
more than friendship. Who might die for
a friend? Many would die for a
brother. Friendship is not a strong plot
device—it can be entertaining, but the most powerful relationship, by far, is
the bond of brothers or sisters. This
bond is the basis for the perfection of love.
I’ve
used this idea of brother and sisterhood in many of my novels. I think many readers want to see this
closeness because it is unusual to find in the real world. When people trust each other completely, that
provides a wonderful basis for interaction in a novel. I’ll provide some examples.
Here
is an example from Sorcha:
Shiggy sat and read in Sveta’s sunroom
when Sorcha finally returned to Lyon’s House.
The moment Shiggy heard the front door open, she jumped up and ran to
the foyer. Sorcha stood with her coat
half off, Harold helped her with it. She
wore the same dress she had on two days ago.
Bloody stains and streaks marked it.
Her eyes looked red, tired, and swollen.
Shiggy
didn’t need to think or say anything.
She ran to Sorcha and put her arms around her. And she didn’t let go.
Sorcha
let out a gentle smile and held Shiggy for a while. She stroked her hair. After a bit, she tried to push Shiggy away,
but Shiggy wasn’t budging. Sorcha unlocked
Shiggy’s arms and held them, “Shiggy. I
missed you too. Let me look at
you.” Shiggy still didn’t speak. She let herself be pushed a step back. Sorcha looked her up and down, “Do I need to
check your weapons? Your
underclothing? Come help me bathe and
dress.” She took Shiggy’s hand.
Shiggy
didn’t move, “Where’s Dustin?”
“Dustin
is in hospital. He’s recovering.”
“Is
he really all right?”
Sorcha
let out a tense smile, “Dustin is well.
He is recovering. Right now, you
and William are my problems.”
Sveta
followed by William entered the foyer.
Sveta stepped toward Sorcha, but Sorcha raised her hand, “Aunt Sveta,
I’m not ready for an audience right now.
I will let you know, Dustin is well.
Let me bathe and dress. I’ll be
down with Shiggy for lunch in just a moment.”
Sveta
twisted her hands in agitation, but she nodded.
Without
a word, in a turnabout, Shiggy tugged Sorcha up the stairs to Sorcha’s
room. When the door closed, Shiggy put
her arms around Sorcha again.
Sorcha
held her, “Shiggy. I know you are needy,
but it’s all right now.”
Shiggy
pressed her face into Sorcha’s chest, “This isn’t for me.”
“You
think I need to be held?”
“Yes. Sveta and Angel are watching me like
hawks. I needed William to hold me more,
but they wouldn’t let him.”
Angel
glanced out of Shiggy’s hair, “That isn’t fair at all. You were seducing him.”
Sorcha
let out a little laugh, “That’s new for you Shiggy. I say bravo.”
Angel
let out an angry squeak.
Shiggy
held Sorcha tighter, “I know you couldn’t hold Dustin.”
“What
makes you think I wanted to?”
“You
screamed and you cried for him. I
thought he was dead because of me. I don’t
want you to hate me.”
“Hate
you, Shiggy. This isn’t about you at
all.”
“It’s
about my curse. My curse caused all
this.”
Sorcha
bopped Shiggy on the back of the head, but her voice sounded gentle, “You’re
just a ditz, Shiggy. Your curse doesn’t
bring misfortune, your lack of judgement brings misfortune. That’s your curse. You didn’t cause Dustin to be shot and
neither did your curse. You saved him
and us, Shiggy.”
“I…I
saved you?”
Sorcha
held Shiggy closer, “I’m very proud of you.
You saved us. You did well. Your judgement was good—the misfortune
happened to be that the bobbies and plonks arrived when they did. A little latter and I might have done
something about it. As it is, we have a
serious record problem at the moment.
Now let me go so I can bathe. I’m
a mess.”
Shiggy
reluctantly stepped back, but she didn’t move too far from Sorcha, and she
didn’t leave the room.
Sorcha
stripped off her clothing, and tossed it to the floor. Shiggy picked it up and put in in Sorcha’s
dirty clothing bag. Sorcha started the
shower and stepped in. Shiggy sat on the
counter outside. When Sorcha stepped
out, Shiggy handed her a towel, “Do you want me to help you dry off?”
“This
really upset you—didn’t it?” Sorcha
didn’t wait for a response, “Lay out underwear and clothing for me.”
Shiggy
was already moving, “Sultry and sexy?”
“No,
like you’re wearing.”
“Sveta
asked me to stop seducing William.”
“I
see. Where you?”
“I
wanted to. I came close. He said he loves me.”
“Angel
stopped you?”
“Angel
and Mrs. Long.”
“Yeah,
they would do that.”
Angel
stuck out her tongue. Sorcha stepped
over and flicked it.
Sorcha
looked over Shiggy’s choices. She
started putting them on, “Angel. I want
you to leave and go downstairs.”
“Leave?”
Angel squeaked.
“Leave
right now, or I will make life very painful for you.”
“You
wouldn’t.”
“I
would. I want to speak to Shiggy
alone. Now, spit spot go do some fairy
thing someplace else in the house.”
Sorcha turned a glare on her, “It’s only for a few minutes. We’ll be down soon. Go, keep an eye on William. I’m sure he’s contemplating stealing some of
Shiggy’s panties.”
Angel
grumbled, but she kicked up off Shiggy’s shoulder and streaked across the room
then out the door.
Sorcha
listened for a moment, “She’s gone. What
I wanted to tell you is that Dustin said he loves me.”
Shiggy
pressed her hands together, “I told you, William said he loves me too.”
“Before
or after you tried to seduce him.” That
sounded a little muffled as Sorcha pulled her fresh dress over her head.
Shiggy
flopped down on the bed, “I made him turn and not look at me while he said it.”
“Ah,
to take out the glamour and the fae marks…did it work?”
Shiggy
shrugged, “He said he loves me—he didn’t say the m-word. Durfin said men must use the m-word or they
don’t really mean love.” Shiggy made
quote marks with her fingers.
Sorcha
sat on the bed next to Shiggy and began working on her hair, “What if I told
you Dustin asked me to marry him?”
Shiggy
smiled, “That sounds very nice to me.
You should marry him before something else happens.”
“Something
else like what?”
“I’m
cursed remember…”
“I
told you, it doesn’t work like that. I
took his proposal on advisement. He
meant to ask me on Sunday.”
Shiggy
wrinkled her nose, “It was on Sunday.”
“Ah,
my days are all messed up. He gave me a
ring.”
Shiggy
sat up, “May I see it? Why aren’t you
wearing it?”
“I
told you—I’m thinking about it.”
“I
don’t think you should think about it too long.
I think you should marry him. I
like him very much.”
Sorcha
leaned on her arm, “That’s the problem.
I think I love him. What happens
if something happens…?”
“That’s
what I was saying.”
Sorcha
grabbed Shiggy’s hands, “What if William asked you to marry him—what would you
say?”
“I’d
say yes. I love him, and I like him
too. He protects me. He entertains me. Why not live with him. It would make everything much more
convenient.”
“You
wouldn’t worry about losing him or harming him or other problems?”
“I
already worry about all that—perhaps too much...”
“Yes—I
do too—about Dustin.” Sorcha finished
her hair and started on her makeup, “Shiggy, don’t say a word of this
conversation to anyone.”
“No,
ma’am. I didn’t intend to.”
“Good.”
When
Sorcha was ready, they walked down to Sveta’s sunroom. William sat in a reading posture, but obvious
expectation. Sveta looked up. Sorcha dropped to the sofa, “Aunt Sveta, I’m
starving. Could we have luncheon while
you tell me what you have done about Shiggy and William’s problem.”
This
is an enchantment novel and on contract yet.
You can see that Sorcha and Shiggy’s relationship has moved from adversaries
to friends and to some degree sisters.
They support each other in the face of great difficulty. This is what I mean by sisterhood. They fight as well—that’s part of the fun and
entertainment.
Here’s
another example from School:
When
they returned to Pitt. Deidre and Sorcha
retired to their room. Sorcha took the
lead. She had to move out of the way so Deirdre
could unlock the door. Once they stood
inside, Sorcha turned and faced Deirdre.
Her eyes looked like sparks in the brightly lighted room, “Now what will
we do?”
“I
thought you were going to kill me in my sleep.”
Sorcha
held her fists low, “It’s far too late for that now.”
“What
did the Headmistress tell you?”
“I
am to make an appointment to see her and the vice headmistress before the
beginning of the next semester. You know
what that means, don’t you?”
Deirdre
shook her head.
“It
means they will check my records. They
will discover, if they haven’t already, that a Sorcha Weir has never been
properly enrolled, has not paid the fees, and is not a proper student. They will search for Sorcha Weir and find she
is an escapee from Her Majesty’s
Prison Aylesbury. They’ll send the constabulary
for me, and I’ll be rotting away in Aylesbury before the beginning of the first
class here.” Her fists and her lip
trembled.
Deirdre stepped forward to embrace her.
Sorcha put up her hands, “Don’t touch
me. Don’t come near me, Deirdre
Calloway. All I want to do at this
moment is beat you. You’ve ruined my
life.”
Deirdre stopped. She pressed her lips to one side then the
other, “I’ve been thinking about this all evening. You did ruin my dinner, by the way, and upset
my evening with Mr. MacLeod. My feelings
should count for something.”
Sorcha angrily lifted her lip.
Deirdre smirked, “If I did that, they’d
think I was about to have a fit.”
“I am about to have a fit. I’m completely narked at you…at you and at
the world. At the moment, there is absolutely
no hope for me.”
Deirdre rubbed her face, “I think there is
more hope than you think.”
“What are you talking about?”
Deirdre took another step toward Sorcha.
“I told you not to come near me. I really could kill you at this moment.”
Deidre answered softly, “Let’s think about
this logically. The Headmistress just
gave you three awards. The Headmaster of
Eton wanted to toast you. You will be
mentioned in the Eton Chronicle and the Wycombe Abbey Gazette. The school will lose face if they dismiss
you.”
Sorcha sniffled, “You really don’t get
it. I’m a criminal. The moment they discover that, they won’t
allow me to continue. They can’t allow
me to continue—it would dishonor the school.”
Deirdre stopped. She put down her arms, “In that case, there
is nothing else to do. I really hate to
do it.”
“Whatever are you talking about?”
“We will just have to beg a pardon from
the Queen.”
Sorcha’s eyes widened for a moment, then
she began to laugh a little hysterically.
Deirdre rushed up to her and grabbed her and held on.
Sorcha tried to get away, “Let go of
me. Let go. I told you not to touch me.”
“I’m not touching you. I’m holding you.”
“Well, I don’t like it. You’re barmy and a pikey nutter. What do you mean a pardon from the
Queen? Are you just going to sally up to
her and ask, please give a pardon to Ms. Weir?
The Queen will tell you, off with her head. And that’s what I should do with you. Off with your head.”
Deidre held tightly to Sorcha, “I hate to
do this, but I know it will work. I just
need to ask my mother.”
“I thought your mother had never spoken a
civil word to you.”
Deirdre still held on tight, “She
hasn’t. I think she hates me, but if I
beg her, she can make it happen.”
Sorcha stopped struggling, “Really? Are you telling the truth? Would you really do that for me?”
“I told you, I’d stick with you to the
end. I promised. I hate to ask mother, but I’ll do it.” Deidre sighed again, “She would be happy for
me to come begging to her. There would
likely be consequences and promises, but for you—I’m willing.”
Sorcha sucked her lower lip for a
moment. It trembled violently, then she
let go. It wasn’t a small cry, it was a
torrent. She bawled.
Deirdre held her close and grimaced.
She imagined her mother, and what she would have to do to gain something
like a pardon and help for Sorcha.
Even
with sisters, they fight and have problems.
Sorcha has a great problem—she is attending Wycombe Abby secretly. No one knows except Deirdre. Deirdre has the ability to help Sorcha—or she
thinks she does. At this point, she
would do anything to help her friend, her best friend. This is the type of powerful relationship I
like to cultivate in my novels.
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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