Writing - part xx018 Writing a Novel, Tension and Release

21 October 2019, Writing - part xx018 Writing a Novel, Tension and Release

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

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.  

The means is to craft each scene.  The goal is the telic flaw resolution.  The way to craft a scene is to take the output from the previous scene, use that as the input, predict or plan the output of the scene, and then plan the tension and release development (the contents of the scene) that goes from the input to the output.  This is as complex as it sounds.  This is what I will attempt to explain.

How do you craft a scene?  First, you must start with 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

 

The tension and release are what make the scene.  What I mean is this, you can just write a scene, but a scene is like a novel.  In a novel, we have the initial scene which leads into the rising action to the climax.  A novel further has a falling action and a dénouement. 

A scene doesn’t necessarily need a falling action, but the dénouement of a scene is the kicker.  Let’s look at the scene.

A scene has an input and a setting, this is equivalent to the initial scene in a novel.  The rising action is the tension development and the release is the climax of the scene.  I use these terms to help you understand the ideas.  The climax of a scene is very different than the climax of a novel.  This is why we use the terms tension and release.  All scenes, no matter how simple or short should have a definitive tension and release.  If you think of the scene development in terms of tension development with a release, this should help you write great scenes.  What you would like to ask is what does this tension development and release look like?

We know what the climax of a novel looks like.  The climax resolves the telic flaw of the novel.  The release does not necessary resolve the telic flaw of the scene or the novel.  In the case of the climax scene, the scene tension and release do resolve the telic flaw of the novel.  The climax of the novel is the climax of the novel.  Each scene from the initial scene to the dénouement scene must include tension and release, but obviously not to the degree of the climax scene.  Your question is likely, what does a climax look like?

The resolution of the perfect climax is unexpected, but in retrospect predictable.  The perfect release is similar.  For example, let’s look at a mystery novel.  The resolution of the mystery happens in the climax.  Every other scene supports the resolution of the climax and the revelation of the protagonist.  In every scene, we expect to see the protagonist working forward to resolve the mystery.  You can plan to write these scenes in many ways.  To be successful as an author, you need to make every scene exciting and tension building.  There we go—entertainment.

The purpose of the novel is entertainment; therefore, you must ensure every scene in the novel is entertaining.  In the example of a mystery novel, let’s propose a scene where the protagonist confronts the police concerning the mystery.  The author must look at the scene, telic flaw, and the creative elements in the scene and craft the scene.  Tension and release is the point of crafting the scene. 

In this case, as an author, you should take your characters, your creative elements, the setting, and the point of the scene and figure how to make the scene exciting and provide a climax-like release.  I write climax-like to try to qualify the concept of the release.  For example, the climax of a confrontation with the police could end in many ways depending on the characters and the novel.  I happen to have just written this type of novel and I can provide some examples of just this type of scene. 

In general, unless the characters are criminals or the police are criminals, we don’t expect the release of the scene to be a fight or gunplay.  We can expect anything from help and a positive relationship or denial of help and a negative response—plus anything in between.  The point of tension and release is to properly design the scene for entertainment.  Let’s say the release of the scene is help and positive.  To build tension, we begin the scene with tension that the police authority has no desire to help the protagonist.  The tension development in the scene is the protagonist convincing the police authority to help him or her.  The release is when the authority relents and provides the information the protagonist requires.

If you are wise and skilled author, you will write this scene with a tension that appears to be impossible to overcome, but the arguments of the protagonist are so convincing that the police authority comes to agree with your character.  There are infinite ways you can write this type of scene with all kinds of entertaining and appropriate outcomes based on your telic flaw.  Perhaps an example would be appropriate.           

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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