Writing - part x746, Writing a Novel, Theme Statements

22 January 2019, Writing - part x746, Writing a Novel, Theme Statements

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:  Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events. 

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:  Why don’t we go back to the basics and just writing a novel?  I can tell you what I do, and show you how I go about putting a novel together.  We can start with developing an idea then move into the details of the writing. 

My latest focus has been the setting of the novel.  I was writing about circumstances available to the author but not commonly used by authors—that is the use of time and especially holidays in a novel.  Settings are a very important part of any novel, but for the moment, let’s go a little further back to the theme statement.

My mentor Roz Young suggested that the author should write a theme statement for any novel they are writing.  This was somewhat of a puzzle to me for a long time.  She never gave me any direction on how to write a theme statement.  Perhaps in the past people were trained in writing or just wrote theme statements.  I’m not so sure.  Let’s think about this for a little.

If I asked you to describe a novel, you would likely write a statement of the plot or some of the main plot points.  I’m not sure anyone considers the theme of a novel much beyond, a love theme, an adventure theme, a political theme, a conflict theme, an appearance switching theme.  This kind of identification is insufficient to describe a novel in any way.  It might be the theme, but it is meaningless.  Then what is a sufficient theme statement.

First of all, we need something we can use.  We don’t need the plot, in fact, the plot, at this moment might be completely amorphous.  I don’t usually have a complete idea of my plot when I begin to write a novel.  I always start with the initial scene and the protagonist.  This is how my novels begin, so to speak. 

So, when I start a novel, I don’t have a complete plot.  I have an idea for the telic flaw of the novel or at least the initial conflict, which is about the same.  I have an idea of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the protagonist helper.  I usually have an idea of the initial setting.  Let’s be more specific.  When I begin to write a novel, I start with a protagonist and an initial conflict.  I develop the protagonist and the initial setting, and I develop an initial scene.  The initial scene propels the novel.

Therefore, when I start a novel, I can express the protagonist, the antagonist, the initial setting, and the initial scene.  Some have called this an initial plot statement, but it doesn’t express the plot at all.  I call it the theme statement because it reflects the theme, required characters, the initial setting, and an abbreviation of the telic flaw—this is all you need to begin a novel.  I’ll get  to the details 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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