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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Writing - part x390, Novel Form, Designing a Plot from a Character, Poor Characters

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
 
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 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:

fiction, theme, plot, story, storyline, character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book, writing, information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic

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