31 January 2018, Writing - part
x390, Novel Form, Designing a Plot from a Character, Poor Characters
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 28th 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.
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 29th novel, working title Red Sonja. I finished my 28th 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.
For novel 30: Lady Azure Rose Wishart, the Chancellor of
the Fae, supernatural detective, and all around dangerous girl, finds love,
solves cases, breaks heads, and plays golf.
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.
With
a protagonist, a telic flaw, a theme statement, and an initial setting, I’m
ready to begin a novel. I’ll move to the
telic flaw for the novel. Since I am
going to provide the first chapter as a teaser any way, I might as well show
you the initial scene.
Here
is the theme statement as a reminder:
Lady
Azure Rose Wishart, the Chancellor of the Fae, supernatural detective, and all
around dangerous girl, finds love, solves cases, breaks heads, and plays golf.
With
a single scene—the initial scene (along with the characters, setting, and the
telic flaw), you have enough to write an entire novel. This was the wonderful discovery I made by
the time I wrote my eighth novel.
In
writing thirty novels, this is what I’ve discovered about developing a plot:
1.
Protagonist and setting are used to
design an exciting and entertaining
2.
Initial scene which provides a
3.
Scene output and a theme question based
on the telic flaw of the protagonist
a.
The scene output leads to the next
scene
b.
The theme question provides a basis for
the plot
4.
The scene outline provides the
continuing scenes and the theme question focuses the plot
5.
Resolving the theme question (telic
flaw) resolves the plot
Today: If I have a romantic
character who is pathos building, I can build a plot based on the revelation of
the protagonist. This is flat out how I
write a novel. I do want to write a
little more about protagonists and characters in general.
So
have you ever been disappointed by a character?
I have certain expectations about characters especially protagonists. We want our protagonists to improve. We want them to go from zero to hero. In many cases, this is the telic flaw of a
novel.
The
revelation of the protagonist is the wonderful part of the plot, because, in my
mind as I get to know the protagonist better, I want to love the protagonist
more. As the protagonist refines and
improves, I am entertained. As the
protagonist succeeds, I cheer. One of my
strongest characters improvement novel is Warrior
of Light. In this novel, my
protagonist, Daniel Long goes from a language loving schoolboy to a action
loving man. He goes to the British
Officer Training School at Sandhurst and uses his skills in very powerful and
unexpected ways.
He
becomes a stalwart officer. This reminds
me of one of my favorite novels, Starship
Troopers. The protagonist, Johnny Rico, goes from high school graduate to
officer in the “Space Marines.” These
novels epitomize the best part of every novel that is we want and expect the protagonist
to go from zero to hero. In western
literature, they do this through improvement and education. They gradually improve and, in the extreme,
move from kid to man or woman. I love
these types of novels, and I write these types of novels.
I
will point out that some foreign literature and plot concepts don’t move this
way. You find this mostly in Japanese
and Chinese or other Asian writing. You
find it less often in Korean writing, but Korean style is almost on its own
compared to the lower Asian plots.
In
many Asian plots you either see unattributable change or subtle change. In many Asian plots the change is brought
about by another character. I offer you
this information as a caution and to provide more source possibilities. For example, in most Western literature, the protagonist
improves dues to his or her own motivation and work. In Eastern sources many times the change is
spiritual or mental rather than physical—this is what I mean when I write
unattribuatble. In some cases, the
change is caused by the interaction with another. The ones I am not as enamored with are those
where the character changes little or only subtly. In other words, the protagonist doesn’t go
from zero to hero, they go from zero to more than zero. This is acceptable in Eastern plots, but not
so much in Western ones.
This
is my opinion. I just can’t get that excited
by a character who doesn’t eventually break out of his or herself and
succeed. Many subtle or little change
Eastern characters are fun and exciting characters, but you just want them to
have success and stop failing.
Eventually, they achieve the resolution to the telic flaw, but many
times that resolution isn’t due to them.
Okay,
this is a view of different types of approaches to plots. The reason is I want to help you write plots
that will appeal to a broad audience.
The examples should help you see is a strong character in a strong
plot. From my standpoint a character who
goes from zero to hero is my favorite. I
like to read these kinds of novels and I like to write these kinds of
novels. Going back full circle, a
character who is romantic and pathetic is my model.
As
an aside, Asian characters many times are strongly pathetic. Asian plots can provide this as an
example. Asian characters are not
usually romantic, although you can find some, and they are usually excellent. Most are not a mix. I have seen a few, and I like the result in
an Asian plot very much. However, the
best approach to what is typically called character development in the novel is
zero to hero.
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
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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