Writing - part x181, Novel Form, Scene Tension and Release

6 July 2017, Writing - part x181, Novel Form, Scene Tension and Release

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.

These are the steps I use to write a novel including the five discrete parts of 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

I finished writing my 28^th novel, working title, School, potential title Deirdre: Enchantment and the School.  The theme statement is: 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.  

Here is the cover proposal for Deirdre: Enchantment and the School. 

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I continued writing my 29^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 28^th novel, working title School.  If you noticed, I started on number 28, but finished number 29 (in the starting sequence—it’s actually higher than that).  I adjusted the numbering.  I do keep everything clear in my records.  I’ll be providing information on the marketing materials and editing.

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 29:  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.

 

This is the classical form for writing a successful 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 (protagonist, antagonist, and optionally the protagonist’s helper)

d.      Identify the telic flaw of the protagonist (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

              

The protagonist and the telic flaw are tied permanently together.  The novel plot is completely dependent on the protagonist and the protagonist’s telic flaw.  They are inseparable.  This is likely the most critical concept about any normal (classical) form novel. 

 

Here are the parts of a normal (classical) novel:

 

1.      The Initial scene (identify the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)

2.      The Rising action scenes

3.      The Climax scene

4.      The Falling action scene(s)

5.      The Dénouement scene

              

So, how do you write a rich and powerful initial scene?  Let’s start from a theme statement.  Here is an example from my latest novel:

 

The theme statement for Deirdre: Enchantment and the School is: 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.

 

Here is the scene development 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

          

If you have the characters (protagonist, protagonist’s helper, and antagonist), the initial setting, the telic flaw (from the protagonist), a plot idea, the theme action, then you are ready to write the initial scene.  I would state that since you have a protagonist, the telic flaw, a plot idea, and the theme action, you have about everything—what you might be lacking is the tension and release cycle in the initial scene.

 

I will interject, with a telic flaw, a plot idea, and a theme action, you should be able to build tension to a sufficient but incomplete release in the initial scene—or not, if you don’t understand what I’m writing about. 

 

Let’s look at tension and release in any scene and apply it to the initial scene.  I gave an example yesterday of the details from a plot into a scene.  We’ll start generally and then apply the theme statement from School above. 

 

Every scene must have a tension and release cycle within it.  This is sometimes referred to as the climax and resolution of the scene.  I don’t like these terms at all.  First, because they imply a single climax in a scene, and second, because they imply a resolution (complete release).  The novel should and must resolve the telic flaw of the protagonist and whit must occur in the climax scene, but there is no climax resolution in any other scene.  If you even approach a climax resolution (a telic flaw resolution) in any other scene than the climax scene, you will ruin your novel.  (I will leave the option that you can have separate internal and external telic flaw resolutions in separate scenes, but that is a very complex style and type of novel development.  You can see an example in Aksinya). 

 

In any case, every scene must have at least one tension and release cycle and potentially more.  The tension and release can be overlapping or serial.  Tension and release is peripheral, but supporting to the overall telic flaw resolution in the novel.  Tension and release is always directly and if multiple might also be indirectly related to the input and output of the scene.  To prevent confusion, the primary tension and release cycle must support the input to the output of the scene, other tension and release events can be indirectly connected.

 

So what is tension and release?  The input to the output of the scene directs to a degree the tension and release, however, the author in developing tension and release is interjecting action oriented creative elements in a scene.  So, let’s look at a scene, the initial scene from School.  The input is Deirdre goes to Wycombe Abbey School.  The output is that Deirdre meets Sorcha, the girl secretly attending Wycombe.  In the scene, we see Deirdre has issues with people and with unruly conduct.  That is building tension.  We then see, when Deirdre meets Sorcha, that she can see through Sorcha’s use of glamour to hide her clothing.  That is building tension.  We get a small release when Deirdre is confronted by a teacher.  The tension was Deirdre’s issues, the release is the teacher’s involvement—the release is not complete because this is the internal telic flaw of the protagonist.  We see more tension building when Deirdre demands Sorcha’s name.  The release is Sorcha agrees and swears.  The final tension building event is the immediate build-up to the fight and the fight.  This is a strong tension build-up that has been going on since the beginning of the scene.  This is also an unexpected event that is the fight.  Deirdre beats Sorcha and is physically held by a teacher.  The defeat of Sorcha is a release and the capture of Deirdre is the beginning of a new tension development.  Deirdre meets Luna is then a huge tension building.  The final release is Deirdre being led to her boarding house. 

 

In this scene each tension and release supports the overall telic flaw resolution, but doesn’t come close to resolving that telic flaw.  Each tension and release increases excitement and gives entertainment.  The tensions and releases are written to build excitement and entertainment in the scene.  They all lead to the output—Deirdre meets Sorcha.  There is a little more to this and the next scene, but to be very specific and as simplistic as possible in this example—the purpose of each tension and release is to support the output of the scene but also to provide excitement and entertainment.  In this scene, most of the tension and release directly supports the output; however, you could argue that some of it, although not gratuitous, supports more or less strongly the overall build up to the telic flaw resolution.  I’ll throw a little curve to you.  As long as the tension and release cycles in the scene overall supports the telic flaw resolution and the output of the scene, make it a gratuitous as you like.  I could have added more meetings and more elements in this initial scene from School.  The reason I didn’t is to prevent dilution of the strong tension and release cycles in the scene.  I could have made the scene a little more complex.  The only reason I didn’t was to give it the greatest excitement and entertainment value possible. 

 

Entertainment and excitement are the primary elements of every scene—this is the overall goal of every scene.  I would say, in consideration of the support of the telic flaw resolution and the output of the scene, the primary purpose of any scene is excitement and entertainment.     

 

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  

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