17 February 2018, Writing
- part x407, Novel Form, Designing a Plot from a Character, Short Story
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. I’m going to put the zero to hero plot
development method into an outline form like the above.
1.
Develop a great protagonist
(romantic and pathetic)
2.
Determine a zero point for the
protagonist
3.
Determine a hero point for the
protagonist
4.
Figure a means (plot) to get the
protagonist first to zero and then to hero
5.
Determine a telic flaw that conjoins
the plot and the protagonist’s development from zero to hero
Here’s
what I’m trying to do for you. I’d like
to give you ideas that help you develop a plot.
In the first technique, we used a protagonist, a setting, and a theme
idea to build an initial scene. This is
my chosen technique for writing a novel.
The
second idea I presented you was zero to hero.
We design a protagonist worth writing about and project the zero of the protagonist
and the hero of the protagonist. We
develop a telic flaw for the protagonist and the novel. Then we write the protagonist to a zero and
then to a hero while resolving the telic flaw.
Easy as pie.
There
are also a couple of other means of plot development. I don’t recommend them, but they exist. That is the short story and the scene
expansion method.
Let’s
look at the short story means for novel plot development. There is more to this than might meet the
eye. In the aggregate, the short story
method means the author has written enough short stories to produce a normal
length novel. The trick is to modify the
short stories to fit the theme of the novel.
Ray Bradbury and George R. R. Martin both have used this method to write
novels. A great example is The Martian Chronicles and Dandelion Wine from Ray Bradbury and Tuff Voyaging from Martin.
The
astute reader will say, the short story method is great but how do you write a
great short story? Well you need a plot for
each short story. Ah, that’s it. How do you produce a plot for a short
story? There are about three ways.
One
method that I seriously don’t suggest is the “it suddenly came to me”
method. I’ve found that this method
doesn’t work, and in any case, you can’t control it. Even if you sit and try to think of a
cohesive plot for a short story, you usually can’t do it. I don’t use this method, and I wouldn’t
recommend it. I will say that if a
sudden idea came to me for a short story or a novel, I’d write it down in my
journal and think about developing it.
The
next method is the story method. Everyone
has stories or anecdotes they can share in writing. I keep a list of events in my life that would
make great stories. I have written many “short
stories” this way, and you can read them at www.wingsoverkansas.com. If you have a story to tell—tell the
story. Most people can generate many
short stories this way. You might still
ask, how do we develop a fiction short story this way, and secondarily, how do
we get to the plot of a short story. The
answer to the first is easy. To turn a
nonfiction short story into a fiction short story just change the
circumstances, setting, and characters.
For example, if you write a nonfiction short about an aircraft trip,
turn it into a space flight trip.
The
second problem of how to write a short story from a story idea. This is also the third means of getting a
short story plot idea. This is easier
than it looks. With the idea all you
need it to use the scene development outline.
If you don’t have an idea, just start with a setting and make them do
something.
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
The
idea should provide you with the input and the output—everything else is
gravy. This moves us to the next method—the
scene expansion method.
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
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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