Writing - part x771, Writing a Novel, Protagonist in the Initial Scene, Introspection and the Positive Antagonist

16 February 2019, Writing - part x771, Writing a Novel, Protagonist in the Initial Scene, Introspection and the Positive Antagonist

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. 

To start a novel, I picture an initial scene.  I may start from a protagonist or just launch into mental development of an initial scene.  I get the idea for an initial scene from all kinds of sources.  To help get the creative juices flowing, let’s look at the initial scene. 

1.     Meeting between the protagonist and the antagonist or the protagonist’s helper

2.     Action point in the plot

3.     Buildup to an exciting scene

4.     Indirect introduction of the protagonist

The protagonist is the novel and the initial scene.  If you look at the four basic types of initial scenes, you see the reflection of the protagonist in each one.  If you noticed my examples yesterday, I expressed the scene idea, but none were completely independent of the protagonist.  Indeed, in most cases, I get an idea with a protagonist.  The protagonist is incomplete, but a sketch to begin with.  You can start with a protagonist, but in my opinion, as we see above, the protagonist is never completely independent from the initial scene.  As the ideas above imply, we can start with the characters, specifically the protagonist, antagonist or protagonist’s helper, and develop an initial scene. 

If we start with a protagonist, we need some kind of guide.  Here is a general guide for developing a modern protagonist.  We’ll look at examples and explain the ideas.

1.        Normal person (not wealthy, noble, or privileged)

2.      Loves to read

3.      Loves to learn

4.     Unique skill(s), power(s) and/or learning

5.      Pathos (poor, homeless, abused, friendless, ill)

6.     Individualistic and independent

7.      Introspective

8.     Leader

9.     Naturally good

10.  Rejection of the urban

11.   Rejection of the modern

12.  Appeal to the imagination

Individualistic and independent comes out of skills, powers, and/or learning—this means the protagonist has a reason for introspection, or rather, we have a reason to understand the protagonist’s thoughts.  The problem is showing the mind of the protagonist—you can’t tell, you must show.  This becomes the conundrum in Romantic literature.  How do we show the introspective mind of the protagonist?

I just wanted to mention this idea again.  I haven’t really tried it, but I’d like to.  The protagonist is defined as the force or individual who acts to prevent the protagonist from achieving the resolution of the telic flaw.  The antagonist is viewed as always adversarial, but we see novels where the protagonist intentionally doesn’t want to resolve the telic flaw, for example, A Christmas Carol. 

In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is the protagonist.  The telic flaw is that if Scrooge doesn’t change, Scrooge will be confined in death to roam the world tied to his riches.  The problem is that Scrooge does not want to change.  He indicates some desire, but is forced by the spirits to confront himself and his past.  Scrooge is a reluctant protagonist—he doesn’t really want to resolve the telic flaw.  If it was up to Scrooge, he would sit at home with no change at all.  This is not normal for a protagonist.

In most novels, the protagonist has a great and driving desire to resolve the telic flaw.  They are driven to resolve it.  This is the purpose of the protagonist.  The question, in terms of Scrooge, is the antagonist.  Usually, the protagonist’s helper is the agent that assists the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw of the novel.  In the case of Scrooge, we have three direct protagonist’s helpers and multiple indirect protagonist’s helpers.  All these are helping Scrooge achieve the resolution of the telic flaw.  The problem is the greatest impediment to Scrooge and the resolution of the telic flaw is Scrooge himself. 

You might conclude that Scrooge is both the antagonist and the protagonist.  I’m not sure how to put this together.  I’d say that this is kind of impossible.  What we have are positive antagonists or a single positive antagonist.  We have a novel where the antagonist (the force opposing Scrooge) is actually attempting to get the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw.

We might simply use the definition of the antagonist above and state that Scrooge himself is both the protagonist and the antagonist, but I think we don’t need to go to this extreme.  What we see in A Christmas Carol is a novel that is significantly different from most others.  The reluctant protagonist is not really interested in resolving the telic flaw.  There isn’t really a defined antagonist, but rather we see a positive antagonist who is trying to thwart the protagonist by getting the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw.

I think this is a really great idea, and I’d like to write a novel in this model.  I’d like to develop a truly reluctant protagonist with a positive antagonist who aids the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw.  I’m still thinking about how to accomplish this, but I think it is a very interesting idea.      

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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