Writing - part x829, Writing a Novel, Changing World and Reflecting Social Construction

15 April 2019, Writing - part x829, Writing a Novel, Changing World and Reflecting Social Construction

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. 

Let’s look at a subject that is really ignored in the modern era.  I’m not certain how much this can help your current writing.  I would argue that theoretically, this subject can really help those who write historical and futuristic fiction.  It depends on how your write your historical and futuristic fiction.  There are two ways to write historical fiction—let’s look at this.

The first and most common way to write historical fiction is to write a novel that projects modern ideas and history as historical ideas and history.  In other words to present modern ideas and historical ideas as the same.  I think this is perhaps the most egregious and perverse means of presenting a false view of history.  The author is either completely ignorant of the past, is intentionally attempting to education people in a false view of history, or both.  The real historical world is very different both culturally and socially from our current world.  The true author attempts to convey this in historical writing.

The second and less common means of historical writing is to actually incorporate the past into a novel to convey the actual way people thought and acted in the past.  This approach actually goes back into time to give a complete view of the way the people thought and acted.  To this end, let’s look at how the world changed and how people thought in the past.  This is more of a historical look at the world for the purpose of understanding how the world worked in the past and how people thought and acted.  We’ll use historical information to see what concerned affected their lives. Here is a list of potential issues.  We’ll look at them in detail:

1.   Vocabulary

2.   Ideas

3.   Social construction

4.   Culture

5.   Politics

6.   History

7.   Language

8.   Common knowledge

9.   Common sense

10. Reflected culture

11. Reflected history

12. Reflected society

13. Truth

14. Food

15. Weapons

16. Transportation

17. Communication

18. Writing 

The point of social constructs is that every society has a social construct.  You might note that every society has a real social construct and an idealized social construct.  Or perhaps you could call it a real social construct and an imagined social construct.  The difference can be interesting.  For example, our favorite social construct to hate is the so-called patriarchy.  As I noted yesterday, social constructs are dependent on law, government, and the ability to wield power.  Social constructs are always based in protection and the ability to protect.  As social constructions change, sometimes individuals in the social constructs don’t realize how much they have changed especially based in the need to protect and the ability to protect.

For example, laws in most modern (Western) countries are completely sexually equal.  In other words, the laws for men and women are the same.  Unless you can actually discover a law that is not the same for men and women there is no place to complain.  For example, a law that requires women to wear a top and not men.  On the other hand, a law that requires men to be judged more stringently concerning divorce and custody or for sexual assault.  These might be viewed as sexually unbalanced.  Such laws are rare and don’t indicate any evidence of the social construct.  A law that supports a social construct is one that prevents women or men from voting, driving, owning property or other restrictions based on sex.  Likewise, laws that prevent different complexions of people from the same protections would be evidence of laws that support a social construct.

Governments can be measured from the same standpoint as law.  Governments that apply justice or laws differently dependent on complexion, sex, religion, or origin.  Then there is the ability to protect.

Laws, restrictions, regulations, or application of laws that prevent individuals from defending themselves against attackers or that prevent individuals from owning, using, and carrying weapons equal to the government, are also means of establishing a social construct.  These social constructs can also be political constructs or political systems.  For example, prior to World War II, the national and international socialists ensured the power of their governments by registering, outlawing, and confiscating guns.  This is a classic method that results in the obvious social constructs found in the ancient world.  This is why disarming a populace results in anarchy and social constructs based in might makes right.  This should be an obvious observation from history.

The reason these concepts about social constructs are important is that in our novels, we need to provide real, reflected, or created settings based on these real social constructs.  Okay, okay, you can write a real or reflected imagined social construct, but I don’t recommend it.  An imagined social construct just makes the writer look stupid.  I’ve seen it too often for it to be reasonable.

For example, the social construct in the ancient world is almost always patriarchy.  This isn’t a sin, it’s not a conspiracy, it’s simply based on protecting families and strength.  No one in these cultures would think them unfair, unjust, or incorrect.  They wouldn’t know any better, but no one in those cultures would want to be raped, harmed, enslaved, or killed.  This is a historical reality.  Too many modern writers want to interject their personal views on these societies.  And on the other side, too many modern writers want to imagine a social construct conspiracy in the modern world. 

Let’s just write based on history and reality.  Reflection can provide an imagined view, but the reality is part of the power of the writer.  In other worlds, writers should understand when they are providing a reflected or real view, and when they provide a created worldview, they should base that worldview in reality.  You might disagree with reality, but you should know where you are varying and why the social construct is the way it is.  In any case, we can move from this to culture.              

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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