Writing - part x874, Writing a Novel, Changing World and Truth

30 May 2019, Writing - part x874, Writing a Novel, Changing World and Truth

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 s 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 

From the ancient Greeks and propagated through civilization, we have three means to prove truth: the historical-legal method for non-repeatable events, the scientific method for repeatable events, and logic for the non-measurable (like math).

These three means to know truth interact and support each other.  For example, I mentioned before how the historical-legal method is used to record and report scientific method results.  In addition, logic, through deduction, is used to support both the historical-legal and the scientific method.  Mathematics, which is completely based in logic, is used to support both other methods.

You can use these methods to prove all kinds of things in human existence.  All of our history, technology, theology, and philosophy is based on these three methods.  What is astounding is that these are barely taught in the modern era.  There is some degree of emphasis on the scientific method, but little to zero emphasis on the limitations of the scientific method.  For example, because the scientific method can’t be used for anything other than repeatable events, it can’t be used to prove history. 

You might ask, can’t science be used to prove some history?  Yes, but the scientific method and science are two different things.  Science is the study of the world and its makeup.  The scientific method is the means to prove repeatable events.  I can use science to prove certain historical events by using the historical-legal method.  For example, if I wanted to prove what you ate for lunch, I could either ask you to keep a record (eye witness) or I could pump your stomach.  The historical-legal method, in both cases would provide the necessary answer.  On the other hand, if I wanted to measure your resting heartrate, I could do that too using the scientific method.  However, that measure would apply only to you.  I’d have to make a lot more experiments to prove it for all of humans, and then I’d have to segregate people by age, health, weight, origin, and all.

On the other hand, if I wanted to measure the acceleration due to gravity, I could do that in an afternoon.  The scientific method is very important to determining empirical results, but notice what it can’t prove—the non-repeatable.  For example, the beginning of anything—unless there is more than one beginning.  The end of anything—unless there is more than one end.  It certainly can’t prove any accidental and non-repeatable events in science or history.  So, evolution can’t be proven by the scientific method.  Scientists use empirical means through the scientific method to help make some determinations of age—carbon dating, for example—but evolution is not caused by repeatable events.  Evolution is caused by unique accidental changes in animal and plant DNA that makes the offspring more survivable.  It is unpredictable and non-repeatable.  Likewise, the beginning of the universe is not repeatable.

Since the theorization of the Big Bang, scientists gave up on the eternal universe theory.  If the universe has a distinct beginning, then the universe must have a beginning.  A beginning means there must be a telic (initial) cause.  I use the term telic intentionally because “telic cause” is the name the Greeks gave to the definition of god or God.  According to science, the Big Bang proves there must be a telic cause—the Greeks would say that proves there must be a God. 

What is so interesting about this is that science proves there must be a God.  I noted before that Emmanuel Kant also proved through philosophy that there must be a God.  We could also look into the historical-legal method to see if there is any assertion of the proof of a God there.  The Greek said there was, but I’ll leave that to you.

My point is this.  We have three means to know truth.  Those means can be used from the mundane to the amazing—from what you ate for lunch to rocket ships to the moon.  From the history of the world to a computer in your pocket.  These are evidence and marks of the use of the three methods to know truth.  A human with these tools can understand and conquer the world and universe.  The wise individual can be led and lead with them.  The educated person can use and train others in them.  The writer can be aware and use them in the development of amazing writing.  Is this useful?  Only to those who want to know.

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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