Writing - part x288, Novel Form, Dénouement Inter-scene Tension

21 October 2017, Writing - part x288, Novel Form, Dénouement Inter-scene 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.  Aleksandr and Sveta are facing a hearing in the US State Department.  Their friends and relations (from the past) are seated outside waiting the results.  They could be sent back to the Soviet Union (likely as a prisoner exchange) to certain death.

 

I use interlaced scenes here to build tension.  This is a great tension building tool.  This can be used in any novel at an appropriate place.  I started this interlacing set of scenes a while ago—actually at the beginning of the dénouement.  We are deeply into it now and will get deeper.                                

 

Here is the scene:        

 

        Bruce and Tilly Lyons and George and Marie Hastings stood in the north hall outside the State Department hearing room. 

        They all fidgeted although the men held papers in their hands and the ladies spoke quietly to one another.  Finally Tilly called to Bruce, “Bruce, what can be taking them so long in there?  Lumière is a British and a French citizen, this hearing should be cut and dried.”

        He shrugged, “Maybe the problem is her friend.  They requested simultaneous hearings.  They usually only do that for husbands and wives.”

        Marie plucked at her lip, “Could she be married?”

        Bruce made a face, “Not according to our records.”

        Tilly stood right in front of Bruce and pulled away his paper, “Bruce, find out what is going on in there.”

         He made another face, “I have a friend in the department who should be able to check on what is taking so long.  I’ll see.”

        In a few minutes Bruce returned, “It doesn’t look too good for her.”

        Tilly and Marie stepped right up to him, “What do you mean?”

        “They are tying her to the Communist Party and the Soviet State.”  He opened his hands, “She is about to be deported.”

        Marie covered her face, and Tilly wrapped her arms around her.  Tilly pursed her lips, “Bruce, you can’t let that happen.  Can’t you make a call?”

        Bruce pulled out his silver cigarette case, “I can do better than that.”

 

I hate to make the Americans look bad, but really, I worked in this business for a long time and our intelligence structures are really bad especially compared to our enemies and allies.  Anyone who has read The Ugly American or any real world spy novels or accounts from the period can tell you how we screwed up much of our relations and information.  

 

I understand why we got there, I don’t like what it sometimes caused.  In this novel, I tried to show how the US and British systems worked or didn’t work together.  I also tried to show the tension in the US Government and our allies.  If you remember many Soviet infiltrators are in the US State Department at this time.  I don’t really get much into that, but that is a real problem for getting to the bottom of Soviet information and information from Soviet defectors.    

   

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  

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