Writing - part xx012 Writing a Novel, Notes

15 October 2019, Writing - part xx012 Writing a Novel, Notes

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 websites 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

Perhaps I should go back and look again at the initial scene—maybe, I’ll cover that again as part of looking at the rising action.  The reason is that I’m writing a rising action in a novel right now.

That gets us back to the protagonist—complexity makes the protagonist and the telic flaw one and the same. 

I wrote that I don’t use outlines, and I told you I would tell you what I use instead of an outline, but I forgot to tell you.  So let’s look at that today.  This is all related to the protagonist and the telic flaw.

If you remember, a novel is always the revelation of the protagonist, and the telic flaw is the problem that must be resolved by the protagonist in the novel.  We can therefore plan our novel in two ways.  There appears to be two means, but there is really only one.  We’ll see.

When I write you develop your protagonist, you write notes about:

1.     Name

2.     Background

3.     Education

4.     Appearance

5.     Work

6.     Wealth

7.     Skills

8.     Mind

9.     Likes

10.  Dislikes

11.  Opinions

12.  Honor

13.  Life

14.  Thoughts

15.  Telic flaw

Finally, you write notes about the telic flaw of the protagonist.  Now, remember, the telic flaw is not necessarily a flaw in the protagonist.  The telic flaw is the problem the protagonist must resolve in the novel.  Notice, no matter what the novel or the telic flaw—it belongs to the protagonist.  The telic flaw is a characteristic of the protagonist.  It is not necessarily a flaw of or in the protagonist.

Thus, if my telic flaw is a mystery, the protagonist must resolve the mystery to resolve the telic flaw of the novel.  The protagonist owns the telic flaw.  In a Romantic (not romance) novel, the protagonist is the only person in the universe who can resolve the telic flaw of the novel.  The telic flaw can also be a flaw in the protagonist.

For example, in a redemption based novel, rags to riches, zero to hero, evil to good, wimp to savior, in most cases, the protagonist must resolve a problem in themselves to resolve the telic flaw of the novel.  This is very clear in many adult novels, but not in so much in children’s and young adult novels.  The telic flaw is usually not as interwoven in children’s and young adult novels. That isn’t always true, but normally in action based novels which usually includes children and young adults, the telic flaw is simply a problem to be resolved and not a personal problem or issue.  You can see some very complex young adult or rather at the time, older children’s novels in the Victorian and early Romantic Era that darkly and deeply intertwine the telic flaw with the problems of issues of the protagonist. 

The reasons for this should be obvious, we have a society that usually doesn’t wish to tell children their problems are caused by their own foolishness and actions.  Adults are not coddled. Adults know their own problems are caused by their own actions and foolishness—that’s the price of maturity.  Plus, this makes for the very best plots. 

Now that we have tied the telic flaw to the protagonist—to whatever degree you have designed it, the point is to write, plan, or outline a plan for the revelation of the telic flaw resolution.   

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  

fiction, theme, plot, story, storyline, character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book, writing, information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic