Writing - part x277, Novel Form, Surprise and Tension

10 October 2017, Writing - part x277, Novel Form, Surprise and Tension

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. 

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 your scenes.

 

Here is an example of developing or building tension and release in a scene.  This example is from Shadow of Darkness an Ancient Light novel.  We are moving toward the climax of the novel and of the revelation of the protagonist.  At this point, Stalin is dead and Beria is in the basements of the MVD (predecessor of the KGB).  Sveta is fleeing.  She goes with Aleksandr.  Now, the revelation.

 

I haven’t shown you much of this part of the novel.  I held mostly to the historical part and not to the part that involved Sveta’s flashbacks, Oba, or time in Berlin.  I intentionally left this part out, but I can’t leva you in the dark anymore.  At this point, I won’t go back to provide you all the information, but I will remark, that this is one of the great secrets Sveta relearned about herself. 

 

In this scene, we see she reveals some part of it to Aleksandr.  In the novel, this is not made completely clear to the reader until this point.                    

 

Here is the scene:        

 

        Mother Marya took Sveta’s cloak and fur hat off their pegs, “Don’t forget these.  The days will not always be warm like this.  Sveta put the cloak over her arm and held the hat.  They turned around, and Sveta stepped through the postern and out of the Novodevichy Convent, likely for the very last time.  They heard the door close and lock behind them.

        Aleksandr slung Sveta’s bag over his shoulder, “Now where?”

        “To your flat.” 

        Aleksandr paused a moment then started walking.  Sveta followed.  Aleksandr spoke over his shoulder, “They will find you there.  It will be one of the first places they will look.”  Without turning around, Aleksandr offered Sveta his arm.

        She took hold of his arm and held it with a frantic grip, “At this moment, my office and I am nothing to them.  They may be concerned when I don’t show tomorrow—will they look for me?  Probably not.  After a couple of days?  Perhaps—I could be sick.  After a week—yes.  Where will they go?  First to my driver.  I left her at the convent he will say.  They will ask at the convent.  They will only ask, at first.  Their questions will be full of unspoken consequences, but they will only ask—at first.  Mother Abbess and Mother Marya will say, we don’t know where she has gone.  We thought she was at work.  This will confuse them.  They will know of the defections from my office to the American Embassy.  They will think I have gone there.  That’s exactly what they would have done.  The investigation of the embassies for me will take a few days of intelligence gathering.  After they conclude I am not in the most likely locations, they will start searching the less likely.  Where do you look for a novice nun?  The Mother Abbess and Mother Marya will attest to my goodness and faith.  That is what matters to the sisters.  They will search the convent and the churches.  They will search among the faithful.  Your flat will not be the last place they will look, but it is not at the top of their list.  Why look for a novice nun in a man’s apartment?  I have never been there before.  They will not be quick to search—even if my office touched it, the university is considered a necessary evil to the Soviet.”

        Aleksandr spoke softly, “Svetochka, you forget, I am one of the faithful.”

        Sveta gave a great sigh, “I still have at least a week.”

        The smile was in his voice, “I can entertain you for a week.  That will be pleasant.”

        Sveta’s voice rose, “This will not be pleasant for you at all, Sasha.  Now is the time for you to learn who I really am.”

        He glanced, amused, down at her, “I think I know who you are.”

        “This is the beginning of your lesson.”  Sveta spoke a strange and harsh language, “Oba, Oba come here.”  Aleksandr could not understand any of her words.

        A heavy voice filled with dignity came from just behind them.  Aleksandr’s head swiveled around.  He could not see anyone or understand the words.  They were like Sveta’s, a strange and harsh sound.  Oba spoke to Sveta, “Mistress, I do not wish to show myself to this mortal man.”

        Sveta answered in Russian, “Speak the barbarian tongue, Oba.  I know you have learned it.”

        Oba’s voice came from behind them again this time in a rough broken Russian, “I speak it, but not well.”

        “Show yourself, Oba.  I order it.”

        Oba stepped up beside Sveta.  His steps were absolutely silent.  He moved with a stealth and swiftness that shocked Aleksandr.  The man was tall and sported a very dignified and thin face.  He appeared like a general or a minister, but he wore old clothing—a mix of Russian uniforms and other pieces.  He had no coat and carried a large sack over his back.  His face was smooth and his lips dark and ragged.

        Sveta’s voice was wild, “Sasha, meet my servant and protector, Oba.”

        Aleksandr stared at Sveta, “Sveta, who is this person?”

        “I told you.  You don’t know who I am.  You have forced me to prove it.  Oba is angry that I let you see him—that I am revealing this much about my true self.  You are angry, and you don’t know why: jealousy, fear, astonishment.  I assure you, you will be much more angry with me and shocked before sunset tomorrow.”

        Aleksandr’s voice was subdued, “Why are you doing this, Svetochka?”

        She held more tightly to his arm, “Because this is the truth.  You said you love me.  You will love me no more—this I guarantee you.  The truth about anyone is a terrible thing.  The truth about me is more than that, it is revolting.”  Sveta sucked in a ragged breath, “Sasha, you are getting tired.  Give Oba my bag.  That is one of his pleasures and his purpose.”

        Oba held out his free hand.  Sheepishly and unhappily Aleksandr handed the bag to him.  Oba smiled with his strange mouth.  Sveta handed Oba her cloak and hat.

        Sveta grasped Aleksandr’s arm even tighter, “I am sorry you have to see this, Sasha, but I have no one else to depend on.  I have no friends other than you, and soon you also will no longer be my friend.”

        Aleksandr made a noncommittal sound in his throat, but that only made Sveta laugh.  The walk to Aleksandr’s flat was long and the night was warm.  Sveta was stumbling by the time they arrived at stark dark apartment building that housed the single male teachers at the University of Moscow.  Aleksandr helped Sveta up the steps.  On the other side, Oba automatically steadied her flagging steps.  At the top of the stairs, Aleksandr guided them through the dark hallway to his door.  He fumbled at the lock and opened the door.  He turned on the light.  It was a single uncovered bulb that barely dispelled the darkness.  The room was very small.  It lay against an outside wall with only a small shuttered window.  Aleksandr opened the window to allow a little air circulation.  The room was furnished with an unmade single bed, a desk covered with books and papers, and a wooden chair.  The floor was the typical poor Soviet concrete that was flaking.  By the time they entered the room, Sveta was already asleep.  Aleksandr laid her on the bed and pulled off her shoes.  Oba watched him suspiciously.

        Aleksandr pulled off his coat and hung it up.  He grabbed a pile of blankets from the corner and laid them on the floor, “This is all the bed I can offer you and me.  I gave the only one I have to Sveta.”  Aleksandr turned off the light and lay down.  Oba leaned his back against the closed door.  He kept his sack and Sveta’s bag just beside him.  Until he finally fell into exhausted sleep, Aleksandr watched Oba’s open eyes and vigilant scrutiny.

 

Oba is an undead creature who was made to protect and serve the Goddess of Darkness.  Sveta inherited this being from her aunt, the Goddess of Darkness.  Sveta’s greatest secrets will be revealed in this part of the novel as we climb to the climax. 

 

The revelation of the protagonist is the most important part of any novel—this revelation begins with the initial scene.  You really don’t get many points for a wonderful climax.   What readers really want is a powerful revelation filled with mystery and secrets.  If you don’t believe me, just look at the interest and sales of Harry Potty.  The novels are not that great and the climax is kind of contrived, but not that bad.  What excites and entertains readers is the mysteries of Harry himself and his friends.  The revelation of Harry Potty is the entire reason for all of the novels. 

 

In this scene, Sveta is beginning to show Aleksandr who she really is.  If you note, I specified, she is showing, and so is the author.  There is no telling here.  The entire revelation is shown.  Show and don’t tell.

   

I’ll give you more examples.

 

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