Writing - part x847, Writing a Novel, Changing World and Dialects

3 May 2019, Writing - part x847, Writing a Novel, Changing World and Dialects

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 

There is so much more to write about history and the changes to human culture through history, but I’ll move on to the next subject, language.

Not speaking the correct language in the ancient world could get you killed.  Cultures could only mingle where cultures were allowed to mingle—that was the beginning of the marketplace.  What about internal cultures.  To be very clear—in the ancient world and perhaps in some places today, speaking the wrong dialect could get you killed. 

It perhaps would not lead to your death, but the impression it might bring could be a cultural or social death.  We all live with dialects within our culture and language.  In general, our overall culture is defined by language and by location.  Many nations have English as their official language, but their dialects, cultures, and societies separate the people in these nations by degrees.

For example, people from England speak an entirely different dialect of English than people from the USA.  People within England speak significantly different dialects of English than others in that country.  In London town, many different and differing dialects define the people and their cultures.  Among those from England, Oxford accents define a person, their society, wealth, and culture.  In the USA, the Ivy League accent at one time defined a person, their society, their wealth, and their culture.  This is less true today, but not for history and literature.

Today, defining a person by their Oxford or Ivy League accents are very specific markers of person, society, wealth, and culture.  It is a stereotype.  You might respond by stating humans should not be defined by stereotypes, and I would respond—good luck.  All humanity and society is defined by stereotypes.  This is a characteristic of people.  The moment you define a person using any term at all but especially a means or way of speaking, you are invoking a stereotype.  What you do with that stereotype develops your writing and your novel.

For example, if I write the character spoke with a southern accent.  You get a picture in your head.  Each added nugget of description adds to that stereotype and definition of the character.  You can take this two ways.

In the first, the stereotype is simple, obvious, and natural.  A person with a strong southern accent must be from the south in the USA.  This is a regional and direct association—it is still a stereotype.

In the second, the stereotype of no less real, but it is based on historical ideas, bias, and knowledge.  A person with a strong southern accent might be a supporter of white nationalism, or a black person who is a civil rights leader, or a white person who is a civil rights supporter.  The supposition comes with further description or the actions and words of the character.

Still, some stereotypes are so embedded in cultures there is little likelihood that strenuous descriptions or actions will change them.  The image of the Irish or the Scots.  Specifically, I mean the negative stereotype of the Irish, and the stubborn stereotype of the Scotsman.  These are historical and in many cases untrue, but the moment an author invokes the image, the damage is done.  If you intend this image, that is a great use of the concept.  If you don’t mean it, you need to find a way of reducing the consequences, changing the focus, or redefining the image.  I can assure you they each have their own problems.

The point.  Internal and external cultural indicators define humans and human societies.  These are realities.  If you intend to make such a statement or description very good—if you don’t, then rethink your character or your description.  All I can do is point out these realities to you.  Most specifically, you can write your work to accentuate or reduce these intercultural realities.  I recommend using them—they produce better, stronger, and more realistic characters.  Otherwise, you are simply fighting to remind your reader exactly who your characters are.                      

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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