8 May 2017, Writing Ideas - New
Novel, part x122, Creative Elements in Scenes, Plot Devices, One Way Love
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)
Crime
Theater
One way love – Current discussion.
One way love: here is my definition – One way love is the use of an unrequited or unreturned romance to further a plot.
One
way love is sometime called unrequited love.
It is especially prevalent as a plot device in Asian literature. It is a wonderful and can be a very powerful
plot device. It is not used as much in
Western literature because of the potential outcomes. Unrequited love can have an outcome of
requited love. In that case the plot
devices still stands but it really wasn’t unrequited. It was in the mind of one or both of the
characters. There is the other
problem. If it is in the mind, then your
character better be talking to himself or herself a lot or you’re telling and
not showing. Then there is that other
problem. Unrequited love can only exist
in an environment of lack of or unclear communication and substantial ethical filial
piety. These exist in buckets in all
Asian cultures I’ve experienced. It has
a real problem being sustained in a Western culture or society. I’ll explain in a moment, but I need to write
the most painful reason it isn’t used in much Western literature. The top reason is that if it is truly unrequited
love, you don’t get a happy ending.
There is scope for an eventual happy ending, but someone is going home
alone.
So,
what makes unrequited love so hard in a Western culture? It can exist, and I’ve used it in a couple of
novels. The problem is that the approach
to these issues in the West is that the one who loves tells the one who is
loved and that’s usually all she wrote. You
can play an ambivalent response into an entire novel, but usually one character
rejects the other and that is the end—unless you have a stalker. The stalker model turns your unrequited lover
into a crazy head—that’s about the end.
So, the problem with this plot device, and I love this plot device, is
that it can end in a tragedy, someone gets hurt, it can turn your character
into a crazy head, it can cause your writing to turn into too much telling, and
it is hard to sustain.
In
any case, I have used this plot device with great results in a couple of novels,
and I will use it again if I need it.
Here is an example.
Here
is an example from Aksinya: Enchantment
and the Deamon:
Natalya glanced at
Aksinya. Aksinya nodded to her. Natalya sat in the chair, and Ernst led
Aksinya to the end of the sunroom. The
small room was like an enclosed balcony.
The outer wall was glass and overlooked a courtyard within the interior
of the building. A low stone wall stood
at the end as though the balcony had once been open, but the glass had been
added later. He rested against the edge
and held Aksinya’s hands. She pulled her
hands from his and leaned on the top of the wall. The top was unfinished stone with some
crumbling mortar in between. She picked
at the loose pieces of it, “What did you wish to say to me that you couldn’t
say in the ballroom?”
“The reason I am
so interested in you.”
Aksinya toyed with
the mortar, “I was about to tell you… you are interested only because of the
sorcery. I understand that.”
He stared out at
the darkened courtyard, “It isn’t the sorcery.”
Aksinya picked at
the mortar a little more fiercely, “It has always been about the sorcery.”
“Why are you
trying to tell me how I feel about you?”
“It is
obvious. It is because of the
sorcery. Isn’t that what you told me
before?”
Ernst grabbed her
hands and made her look at him, “It is obvious that I love you.”
Aksinya tried to
pull her hands out of his and turned her face away, “It is obvious because of
the sorcery. Don’t bring in such ideas
as love.”
“I’m telling you,
Aksinya. It isn’t the sorcery. I love you.”
“You…you used my
name.”
“Sorry, I’m
telling you, it isn’t the sorcery. It
never was the sorcery. That was just an excuse
I used to get close to you.”
“You said you were
trying to accomplish sorcery, and you wanted me to teach you.”
“I lied.”
“You said my
courtier told you about me.”
“I heard about you
from your uncle. He pointed me to your
courtier. I don’t know why the subject
of sorcery came up with him. I have been
studying it. I have been completely
unsuccessful. I know I can’t really do
it. It requires a faith in the world I
don’t have.”
“So you took my
book just to get me to go to the ballet with you.”
“Your courtier
said there was no other way to convince you.
I wanted to get to know you. You
are an astonishing person. In my mind, you
are a perfect woman.”
Aksinya mumbled,
“Ha, you know nothing about me.”
“But I do know a
lot about you now. Everything I know, I
love.” Ernst pulled Aksinya closer to
him, “Listen to me Aksinya. I want you
to be mine.”
She trembled and
tried to pull away, “What do you mean by that?”
“I want you to
marry me.” He pulled her close again and
put his lips on hers. Aksinya allowed
him to kiss her. She sunk into his
embrace. They stood there for what
seemed like to Aksinya for a long time. Slowly
he let her go, and she settled back with her feet solidly on the ground.
Natalya rushed
from the other room. She grabbed Aksinya
by the arm and tried to pull her away from Ernst, “Get back Ernst von
Taaffe. I know impropriety when I see
it. That was much too forward. Let her go.”
She punched at the young man.
Ernst let go of
Aksinya’s hands, and she fell back a step.
She stared at Ernst with dawning realization, “You…you kissed me.”
“Mistress, you
should have slapped him. Otherwise, he
will be encouraged…”
Aksinya closed her
eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, “No, Natalya. I wish to speak with him further.”
“I will stand
right here between you.”
“No,” Akisnya’s
voice softened, “No, please, Lady Natalya.
Just let me speak with him a moment more. I shall stand away from him, and he shall not
touch me again.”
“Only if he promises...”
Ernst growled, “I
will promise for now.”
Aksinya pleaded,
“You see, Lady Natalya, he promised.
Allow me to speak to him for a little longer after that you and I will
retire for the evening.”
Natalya scowled at
Ernst. She glanced at Aksinya from the
sides of her eyes, “Very well, mistress.
But he must stand on one side of the room and you on the other. I shall be watching.” She pointed at Ernst, “If you make a single
move toward her, sir, I shall scream for her aunt and uncle and tell them
everything.”
Ernst moved to the
end of the enclosed balcony, “Lady Natalya, you need not fear. I will not attempt to molest your mistress
again.”
Natalya glanced at
Aksinya. Aksinya hastily moved to the
other end of the balcony. They waited
for Natalya to return to her seat.
Aksinya bent
forward a little toward Ernst. She
whispered and tried to get her voice to carry to him, “You…you kissed me.”
Ernst kept his
voice low, “I have wanted to kiss you for a long time.”
She touched her
lips, “Why?”
“Because I love
you.”
“What will you
gain by loving me?”
Ernst smiled, “I desire
you. That is all. I love you.
Do you love me?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Then I’m sorry I
was so forward, but I’m not sorry I kissed you.
I would hope to continue to woo you.
I want you to marry me.” He
pulled a small box from his coat pocket, “I have a ring for you. I would like to give it to you tonight.”
“For me? Then you are serious?”
“Why would you
think I wasn’t serious?”
“What about your
father, and his wish for you to join his business?”
“I told him
tonight that I would join the firm. I
made arrangements with him to begin to work the following Monday. I will still be able to escort you to dinner
and the opera on Wednesday. Didn’t you
understand me? Even if you will not make
up your mind tonight, I will continue to see you and entertain you. I will pursue you until your answer is
yes. You have no other suitors?”
Aksinya shook her
head.
“You don’t have
another lover?”
Aksinya shook her
head.
Ernst’s voice
softened, “Then there are no others ahead of me. I have no competition.”
“But I have never
imagined someone loving me before.”
Ernst shook his
head, “Why should a man not love you.
You are beautiful and intelligent.
Your deportment and social skills are excellent. You enjoy all the past times I enjoy. Why should I not want to share my life with
you?”
Aksinya stared out
into the darkness and whispered, “This is a temptation to me. It is surely a temptation.” She spoke more loudly, “Did Anatov
Aznabaev put you up to this?”
“Your
courtier? I haven’t seen him in a long
time.”
“Have
you been engaging in sorcery?”
Ernst
put up his hand, “Not since I met you. I
realized then, I could not achieve any of it.
I told you already, I don’t have the skills or the power to do it. I want to give you this ring.”
Aksinya
raised her eyes to his, “I’m not sure of what I will answer to you. I’m not certain if I love you.”
“Isn’t
it enough if I love you? I swear I will
give you everything in my power.”
Aksinya
cried, “Do not swear. Do not swear
anything to me. Don’t use those words
around me. Don’t you realize how
dangerous that is?”
“Dangerous
to swear what I am truly willing to do?
I do swear it. I swear to Aksinya
that I love her, will do anything I can for her, and will marry her.”
Aksinya
pressed her hands over her ears, “Don’t swear.
It is enough to say you will do it, but do not swear it.”
“Will
you accept my ring?”
“I
cannot—not yet.”
“Will
you accept my love?”
“I
must think on this—it is too difficult for me to decide right now. My mind is in turmoil.”
“Will
you allow me to continue to court you?”
Aksinya
sighed, “Will you kiss me again?”
“I
will, but only if the Lady Natalya will not scream.”
Aksinya
turned a little toward Natalya, “Lady Natalya, I wish to allow Ernst to kiss me
again. Will you please let him?”
“Kiss him? You should hit him.”
“I wish to kiss
him. Please allow me. I shall not ask for more than one tonight,
but I would like to kiss him once more.”
Natalya’s anger
was evident on her face, “I shall turn around for ten seconds. By the time I have counted to ten, I expect
you to be at my side. If you are not, I
shall certainly yell for your aunt and uncle.”
“Thank you, Lady
Natalya.” Aksinya didn’t wait to see if
Natalya turned, she ran to Ernst and put her arms around his neck. She clumsily brought her lips to his and
lingered there in a measured kiss. He
put his arms around her and held her tightly.
They parted at eight seconds and Aksinya ran to Natalya’s side. Natalya noted Aksinya beside her with an
impatient nod and began walking. Aksinya
glanced back at Ernst. His eyes lingered
on her. They did not leave her the
entire time until she lost sight of him when she exited the parlor.
Ernst
loves Aksinya. She isn’t sure she loves
him. Actually she may, but she likely
does not. This is the ambivalence I
wrote about above. You can use this to
keep the one sided love moving forward for a long time. In this case, Natalya with the help of the
daemon Asmodeus destroys any chance for Aksinya to love Ernst. This is unfortunate, but this is the way one
sided love is supposed to turn out. On
the other hand, the author can gradually move the character toward love.
Here’s
another example from The Ghost Ship
Chronicles: Shadowed Vale:
Nikita
found she needed Alex’s help right away.
The moment she and Natana began psy training, Nikita’s sensitivity to
Natana’s mind exploded. There was little
Natana could hide from Nikita, and Natana broadcast a lot. She broadcast in a very narrow band; it
didn’t affect anyone else, even those who were sensitive, but her frequency was
right on Nikita’s main wavelength, and blocking was very difficult, especially
during sleep. Natana promised things
would get better, and they did with training, but not fast enough for
Nikita. Nikita couldn’t sleep. Natana and Mara along with a strange third
mind Nikita couldn’t place invaded Nikita’s thoughts and kept her awake and
aware. Distance and Natana’s awake mind
helped. Nikita started taking naps at
each shift transition, but that wasn’t enough either.
Since
Nikita couldn’t sleep, she studied shuttle and astrogation, and when she tired
of that, she explored the files Gigi had taken from Den and Natana’s computers
a long time ago. Those files informed
Nikita a lot more about Den and Natana’s small crusade and their investigations
into the Athenian Charter as well as their other clandestine psy
operations. After a couple of tortured
sevendays, Nikita came across the files describing ancient psy technologies,
and there she discovered a solution to her Natana broadcast problem. Nikita was at Alex Porson’s door the next
first shift.
Edaline
answered the tone, “Oh, hi Nikita. Are
you all right. You look a little tired.”
“Yeah,
I’m all right. Is Alex here…?”
“Sure,
come on in. I’ll get him.”
“No
need. He’s in his room right?”
“Yeah,
mom might not like you going there by yourself.”
“It’s
okay. I don’t have any romantic
inclinations.”
“Sure,”
Edaline eyed Nikita strangely.
Nikita
waved at the other members of the Porson family and went straight to Alex’s
room. She knocked on the door, “Alex,
it’s Nikita. I need to speak to you.”
The
door slid open, “Come on in.”
Nikita
entered. She shut the door behind her
and locked it.
Alex
stepped to the back of his room, “My mom isn’t going to like that Nikita.”
“Your
mom’s thoughts right now are not important to me. I need you to make something for me. I need it right away.”
“What
is it?”
Nikita
handed him a chip, “The plans are all on this.
I’ll pay you whatever it costs plus profit. I just need it.”
“What
is it?”
“It’s
a psy blanker.”
“No
kidding?”
“No
kidding.”
“That
might be kind of an illegal item under conformed law.”
“Since
when has law meant anything to you, Alex?”
“Since
I started to become an engineer under Master Stewart. That was your idea, Nikita.”
“Listen
to me Alex,” a dark frown crossed her features, “If you make this for me, I’d
be willing to teach you astrogation.”
A
look of longing moved Alex’s mouth only a moment, “No way.” He glanced down, “Then was then, now is
now. I know what I want. That’s your fault too.”
“Yeah,
my fault. I really need this Alex. Please make it for me.”
“There’s
no money in it, Nikita.”
“I
told you already—I’ll pay you.”
“It’s
that important to you?”
“Yeah,
it is. Don’t ask why.”
Alex
let out a big sigh, “I’m taking a big risk for you, Nikita.”
“I
know that—don’t take advantage of me because I ask you for this. No one else could do this or would do this
for me.”
“I’ll
do it. What else can I make—that is
legal.”
“I
haven’t had time or the ability to think about it Alex.”
“Now,
you will.”
“Wha…?”
“That’ll
be my pay, Nikita. I’m no good thinking
these things up. I need ideas. You have great ideas. You owe me at least two ideas for this
thing.”
Nikita
smiled, “I can do that—two ideas.”
“Two
is all I ask.”
“Good.”
There
was a heavy knock on Alex’s door. Alex’s
mom’s voice came through the door and the intercom, “Alex Porson, open that
door right now.”
Nikita
went to the door, unlocked, and opened it.
She stood in the opening, “Sorry to bother you, Master Porson. My business is complete with Alex. I won’t bother him again this shift.”
“Uh,”
Elaina Porson replied. She moved
slightly to the side.
Nikita
slipped by her, “Sorry again.”
Elaina
Porson led Nikita to the door, “Is everything all right, Nikita.”
“It
is now, Master Porson.”
Master
Porson let Nikita out of the cabin door.
As it shut, Nikita heard her yell, “Alex Porson, just what did you do to
that sweet girl…”
Maybe
not the best example. This relationship
is completely one sided for most of the novel, but it slowly grows. Alex loves Nikita. Nikita, at first, hates Alex, but slowly she
warms to him. Alex has issues, and Nikita
has issues. They somehow end up working
together very well. Their animosity turns
to love. This is a rally fun novel, and
this is one of the reasons I like this plot device so much. You can always take one sided love and turn
it into mutual love. It takes a lot of
work and careful writing, but I love those kinds of 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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