Writing - part x601, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, Picking a Topic

30 August 2018, Writing - part x601, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, Picking a Topic

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but my primary publisher has gone out of business—they couldn’t succeed in the past business and publishing environment.  I'll keep you informed, but I need a new publisher.  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 29^th novel, working title, Detective, potential title Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective.  The theme statement is: 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.  

Here is the cover proposal for Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective. 

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I am continuing to write on my 30^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 29^th novel, working title Detective.  I’m planning to start on number 31, working title Shifter. 

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 30:  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 31:  TBD 

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

          

Today:  Suspension of disbelief is the characteristic of writing that pulls the reader into the world of the novel in such a way that the reader would rather face the world of the novel rather than the real world—at least while reading.  If this occurs while not reading, it is potentially a mental problem.  To achieve the suspension of disbelief your writing has to meet some basic criteria and contain some strong inspiration.  If you want to call the inspiration creativity, that works too.  Here is a list of the basic criteria to hope to achieve some degree of suspension of disbelief. 

1.      Reasonably written in standard English

2.      No glaring logical fallacies

3.      Reasoned worldview

4.      Creative and interesting topic

5.      A Plot

6.      Entertaining

7.      POV

We saw how the topic of the writing can potentially hold the reader in the suspension of disbelief.  So, the question becomes, which topics will work best? 

The point to remember is that poor writing, no matter the topic will either not cause the suspension of disbelief or will push the reader out of the suspension of disbelief.  To see which topics are better than others we need to look at two sources.  The first the unique and the second is topics or ideas that tip young adult literature. 

I’ll look at the second first.  Harry Potty is one of those young adult genre novels that has a topic that is just too rich and unusual to not enjoy.  The whole idea of magic in the modern world is a very entertaining and interesting topic.  If you look over the current vita of young adult writing, you see ideas (topics) will all kinds of interesting magic and dystopian topics.  I’m not saying that you should necessarily become a young adult writer or that you should necessarily copy the young adult penchant for the unusual, but the topic itself can be the draw and the power in the novel.  Young adult literature tends to go too far for reason and logic to follow, but it still produces engaging and entertaining works.  The engaging and entertaining topics in these works goes a long way to suspend the disbelief of its readers.  No wonder, the readers are less sophisticated and certainly less mature.  The topic, to a degree, must be unusual and engaging to suspend the disbelief of the audience.  At the same time, the audience is less able to discern the problems with the topic and ideas in these novels.  Where an adult reader might scoff or laugh, the young adult reader will be captivated.  This comes around to the point of the focus of adult versus young adult writing.

In both adult and young adult writing, the revelation of the protagonist is the point of the novel.  However, in young adult novels, the topic or ideas regarding the protagonist are as important as the protagonist.  In adult writing, properly, the telic flaw of the protagonist is the most important point.  In other words, in the young adult sphere, the worldview and topics of the worldview are almost more important than the protagonist and the protagonist’s telic flaw.  In an adult novel, the protagonist and the protagonist’s flaw are always the most important consideration.

You can see this with Harry Potty.  The conclusion of each novel is important, but all the frosting or fluff around the character and the magic are more important than even the climax of the novels.  The characters of Harry Potty are not just romantic, they are superheroes and messiahs—Harry is unstoppable and though incompetent, he is a living force in the novels.  Adult novels are not this way.  They might have romantic characters, but the characters are humans or are at least vulnerable and face life threatening consequences. 

This is ultimately one of the great differences between modern young adult and adult literature.  One is topic or idea centric and the other is protagonist centric.  The ideas of the unique and unusual still govern the idea that a great topic can help suspend disbelief.  We’ll look at that next.                      

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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