23 October 2019, Writing - part
xx020 Writing a Novel, Another Tension and Release Example
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 29th 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 30th novel, working
title Red Sonja. I finished my 29th 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.
Here is a scene from my novel, Lady Wishart: Enchantment and the Detective. Take a look at the scene for all the elements
of scene development. This is the scene
that follows yesterday’s example. Of
note, look at how the creative elements from the previous scene are interjected
into this scene. The idea of protecting
Miss Rose’ clothing and in fact, her always white clothing are a continuing
idea in the novel. There is a reason she
dresses as she does. This is part of her
personality and part of her character—there is an actual reason in addition to
her likes and personality.
When
they stepped out on the pavement outside the teashop, a light rain had fallen
leaving the streets damp. La Cross took
a look at the dirty streets and gutters and hailed a cab instead of
walking. Ms. Morris stifled a laugh. Usually they would walk the few blocks to the
Bank of London branch of the Bank of England.
When
they arrived, La Cross gave his arm to Miss Rose to ensure she had no mishaps
while she negotiated the pavement to the glass front of the Bank. The pristine white of Miss Rose’s overcoat
and dress wasn’t sullied at all. By her
movements, Ms. Morris understood that Miss Rose was both very aware of her
surroundings and her clothing.
A
bank official, one of the vice presidents, took them up to the offices marked
with police tape. A couple of bobbies
stood outside the closed door to a locked office. Blood stained shoe prints soiled the blue and
white carpet that led into the room.
When
they arrived, Miss Rose immediately took over, “La Cross, have the policemen
move to either side of the door.” She
pulled off her white overcoat and handed it to La Cross.
La
Cross accepted the coat before he realized what he had done. He made a motion to the policemen while
keeping the coat well away from the floor.
The policemen moved to either side.
He handed the overcoat to Ms. Morris, who hung it on a clothes tree at the
side.
Miss
Rose hiked up her silk and lace dress a couple of inches and moved to the
doorway. The door bore a sign, Bank
Manager. On the right side was a name
plate, Mr. Benjamin Price, “Whose tracks are these?”
La
Cross moved beside her. In a slightly
strained voice he answered, “The floor inside is covered with blood. These were likely made by those who
discovered the body”
“And
those who inspected the premises afterward, I would guess. A little shoddy, that. In the future, I expect you to protect the
entire scene before I arrive.”
La
Cross made a face, but didn’t say anything.
Miss
Rose knelt and inspected the carpet. She
looked over the door, and with her hands behind her back examined the door
handle, “I suspect this has been unlocked and opened multiple times. You’ve taken fingerprints, but too many
touched the handle and the keys to gather much evidence. Who discovered the body?”
La
Cross forced between clenched teeth, “The bank manager’s secretary originally
unlocked the door. He didn’t notice any
bloody footprints when he did. He stated
that there were no indications of blood on the handle, the floor, or the
door. The secretary unlocked the door,
but the door was bolt locked on the inside.”
Miss
Rose smiled, “Then who opened the door?”
“They
originally called the super. He had to
break open the door. Until then, no one
realized it was a case of murder.”
“Very
well. Give me the secretary’s keys.”
La
Cross handed her a large set of keys.
Miss
Rose examined them, “Who else has keys to this door?”
“The
bank manager, they were still in his pocket, the super and the secretary.”
“No
one else?”
“Not
that we can tell.”
“That
is the first order of business. I assume
you have begun a search for anyone else who has a key to this office.”
“We
have, but no luck so far. The question
is how and who locked the bolt on the inside—it doesn’t have a key to the
outside at all.”
Miss
Rose smiled. She took the keys in her
gloved hand, “The question is why did the bank allow this manager to have a
bolt on his door—a bolt that could not be unlocked.”
La
Cross put up his hand, “If you will, Miss Rose.” He held out a pair of purple forensic gloves
to her.
Miss
Rose pulled off her white gloves and put on the forensic pair, “Very kind of
you. My gloves are sufficient to prevent
contaminating the scene, but they do cost a few pounds to replace.”
La
Cross looked up at the ceiling, “Miss Rose, as the bank president explained to
us, the bank manager, Mr. Price, reviewed many materials after hours and
required privacy and security when doing so.”
Miss
Rose put the key in the lock and opened the door. She pushed it open while remaining solidly on
the outside. She examined the broken
frame across from the bolt lock. She
glanced over the floor. The room was
elegantly furnished in white and blue with chrome highlights. A lightly stained wooden desk with chrome
feet and corners stood on the right side.
On the left stood a couple of light blue upholstered chairs also with
chrome legs and arms. A white and blue
couch sat between them and a chrome and glass tea table between the sitting
area and the desk.
At
the desk sat a man. He leaned back in
the desk chair. His face was caught in
rigor mortis. He likely once appeared
handsome, but not anymore. The left side
of his face was coated in dried blood.
Miss
Rose examined the entire room for a long while.
She studied the floor. After a
moment, she asked, “What about the reports of fog from the room? The tabloids were quite insistent about it.”
La
Cross shuffled his feet, “The secretary, super, and guards reported an immense
amount of fog that flowed from under the door.
That’s what originally attracted their attention last night.”
“And
when they broke down the door?”
“A
large amount of fog filled the office.”
“How
much?”
“Waist
height. It took a while to
dissipate. I saw it myself when I was
here.”
“Did
you now?” Miss Rose took a step into the
room. She kept her dress well away from
any of the furniture. All the time, her
eyes swept across the carpeted floor, “All these footprints were made by your
policemen, the secretary, forensics, and whoever else happened to investigate
the scene, am I correct?”
“As
a matter of fact, yes. According to the
super, the secretary, guards, and the bank president, there were no bloody
footprints anywhere in the room before then.”
Miss
Rose laughed, “So, we have a strange fog that filled the room. No foot prints, though the floor was
saturated with blood.” She had made her
way around the desk to the right side of the corpse, “And here on the neck, in
the jugular, we have twin puncture marks.”
She smiled, “Puncture marks, fog, no foot prints, a bolt locked door…,”
she glanced up at La Cross, “That’s where you got the idea about a vampire.”
La
Cross looked uncomfortable, “I never said anything about a vampire.”
“Of
course.” Miss Rose continued, “The body
has been moved. The original position
was lying face left side on the desk.”
“Yes
it was.”
“His
hand is still on the desk. Where is the
teacup it held?”
La
Cross puffed out his cheeks, “There was no teacup in his hand.”
“It
held a teacup—look at the shape of his hand.
There is spilled tea or some other brown liquid on the desk there on the
left side. It flows up to the edge of
the blood. There is also unusual
staining on the right side of this man’s head.
You will find residue of tea in his hair and on his face.”
La
Cross rubbed his chin, “Miss Rose, what does tea have to do with anything?”
“Did
any other bank employees fail to show up for work today?”
“We
didn’t check.”
“I
did, but you don’t have to. Shall I
solve this crime for you Chief Inspector La Cross?”
The
Chief Inspector turned red for a moment then blasted out, “Very well, Miss
Rose, solve the crime.”
Miss
Rose moved back slightly from the desk, “You will find that Ms. Marjory
Phillips did not come to work this morning because she didn’t leave last
night.”
“Ms.
Marjory Phillips? Who is she, and how do
you know this?”
“When
I first heard about your case, I knew you would be in a tizzy and ask for my
help. I simply reviewed the list of bank
employees… and those who did not come in to work this morning. Ms. Marjory Phillips was a nurse prior to
seeking employment with the Bank of London.
She wasn’t a very good nurse in any sense of the word. She was caught up with some narcotic
improprieties, but fired from her last position for other improprieties. Mr. Price was also known for his discrete or
indiscrete activities—let’s call them improprieties. That’s why he had a bolt lock installed on
his door. Mr. Price hired Ms. Phillips
himself even though he knew of her indiscretions.”
“Really,
Miss Rose. How do you know all this?”
Miss
Rose brought her eyes up to La Cross’, “Really, La Cross, the real question is
why the Bank President didn’t tell you about this before I did.”
La
Cross puffed out his cheeks again.
Miss
Rose rolled her eyes, “Ms. Phillips was not entirely pleased with Mr.
Price. He apparently coerced her
attentions and kept a few other women on the side. Last night, Ms. Phillips, who had finally
achieved a secure position with the bank, decided to remove the source of her
coercion and put an end to his blackmail.”
“This
is all conjecture on your part.”
“Conjecture? Ms. Phillips served Mr. Price a cup of tea
containing a sedative. When you analyze
the tea, you will find in it a large enough dose of barbiturates to quickly put
out a man of Mr. Price’s size and weight.
I know exactly what it will be because Ms. Phillips retained a
prescription for sleeping pills. She
renewed the prescription early this week for just this purpose.”
La
Cross put out his hands, “We will analyze the brown liquid, but you are simply
guessing, Miss Rose.”
The
lady’s eyes flashed, “I am not finished, La Cross.” Miss Rose moved a little further toward the
back of the office. A large window
looked out on the London cityscape. The
blinds were closed and little light came in from the outside. She opened the blinds and inspected the floor
near the back of the office, “Mr. Price drank the drugged tea and laid his head
on the desk. That’s when Ms. Phillips
murdered him.”
“Murdered
him with what?”
“Ah,
our little drug aware nurse knew something about modern science as well. She once worked in hospital with liquid
nitrogen and carbon dioxide ice. If you
will note the burns at the edges of the puncture marks on his neck. They were caused by carbon dioxide ice. Two splinters of ice attached to a surgical
tool and rammed into his neck. Our
little nurse made a little mistake. She
meant to puncture his veins, but she accidentally put her murder tool through
his artery. In any case, Mr. Price bled
out, and she was drenched in blood. She
also meant to place a towel under the door to mask the carbon dioxide fog and
give herself time to escape. Two small
mistakes. She was covered with blood
with no way to clean up, and suddenly Mr. Price’s secretary was banging on the
door. At that point, she might have
tried to escape, but she had a better idea.”
La
Cross raised an eyebrow.
Miss
Rose felt along the wall and made a positive sound when her hand ran over a
knob, “If you look closely, the lever to open the coat closet has blood on
it. Your forensics and investigators
missed this last night. In addition,
there are bare footprints leading from the pooled blood into the closet.”
La
Cross crossed the room with a stride. He
stood towering over Miss Rose.
Miss
Rose motioned him back, “At the moment, there is nothing to concern yourself
about. I haven’t finished my
investigation.”
La
Cross took a step back, “But there could be some danger.”
“There
was a while ago, but not at the moment, because Ms. Phillips made a third
mistake. Criminals, especially the
unprofessional ones, tend to be sloppy in their planning and their execution.” Miss Rose unlatched the coat closet
door. A gout of carbon dioxide fog
flowed into the room, and a small panel opened to display clothing arranged on
hangars. “You should have realized that
modern offices always have closets. They
usually have powder rooms too, but not this one. The door was hidden in the paneled wall.”
Miss
Rose pulled out a couple of hangars with lingerie on them, “Mr. Price liked his
play.”
La
Cross pushed past Miss Rose and pulled the coats and other clothing to the
side, “Where is Ms. Phillips?”
“Ah,
I told you, that was her third mistake.
Mr. Price kept more than clothing in his closet.”
“How
could you know that?”
Miss
Rose centered La Cross with her stare, “You don’t understand much about these
types of men, do you?”
Ms.
Morris tisk-tisked. She knew the Chief
Inspector wanted to say: “more than you, girly,” but he didn’t. He sucked in his cheeks.
Miss
Rose pointed to the floor, “There is the cooler, there’s still a bit of dry
ice, carbon dioxide ice to be exact in it.”
She pointed, “And, there is the towel poor Ms. Phillips wanted to use
for the door.”
“Why
didn’t she?”
Miss
Rose crinkled her eyes at the Chief Inspector, “I thought that might be
obvious. She was giddy with her
success. Mr. Price was lying insensate
and dying on his desk. The closet was
already opened. She was wearing something
succulent from his collection. She
opened the cooler and the billows of carbon dioxide fog began to fill up the
room. She likely poured the remainder of
the hot tea on it and perhaps some alcohol—that would make it sublime
faster. You can see the brown tea in the
chest, there is the teapot, and an empty bottle of vodka.”
La
Cross looked like he wanted to grab Miss Rose by the arms and shake her. He kept his hands and arms stiffly at his
side.
“Ms.
Phillips was giddy with her success, and she wanted to end the man’s life as
quickly as possible. Reason left
her. She took the tool she had already
prepared for the deed—there is the plastic bag she placed it on top of the dry
ice to keep the dry ice nails from adhering to the block. She went to her blackmailing lover and forced
the spikes into his neck. She was astute
enough to go for the pulse at his throat, but as I told you, that was a
mistake. You can see where the fan of
blood hit her and not the floor. I think
I pointed that out before. Dripping in
blood, excited with her success, she heard the secretary at the door. She ran to the closet and hid.”
“Then
where is she?”
Miss
Rose bent at her knees in a very ladylike fashion. She pressed a latch at the bottom of the
closet. The body of a young woman
dressed in provocative shear panties and bra and drenched in dried blood rolled
out onto the floor of the closet.”
La
Cross gave a startled gasp and stepped back.
The rest of the spectators gasped.
La
Cross stepped forward again and bent down.
Miss
Rose raised her hand, “If you hoped to save Ms. Phillips, you are many hours
too late. If you had called me right
away, she might still be alive.
Unfortunately, her third mistake killed her.”
“What
do you mean?”
“Carbon
dioxide is not poisonous, but it is heavier than air and when Ms. Price closed
herself in the cabinet at the bottom of the closet, the air was already
saturated. She drowned peacefully in the
gas because it displaced the oxygen.”
Miss Rose stood. She brushed her
gloved hands together, and stepped back from the coat closet, “Case closed.”
Miss
Rose strode through the room and then out of the door. Ms. Morris followed her. They stood together at the side as policemen
and the forensic crew the chief inspector called rushed into the room.
While
they stood there, Miss Rose pulled off the colored forensic gloves and tossed
them to the floor. She dug within her
white purse and pulled out a box of John Player Special cigarettes. As Ms. Morris watched in horror, the young
woman lit a cigarette with a gold embossed lighter and took a deep draw.
Ms.
Morris licked her lips, “I’m certain smoking is not permitted in this
building.”
“Don’t
be shocked, Ms. Morris. I deserve a
cigarette for this one. If it was in my
contract, I’d charge you for it. A
little tobacco smoke after aeriated blood and dry ice fog won’t hurt a
soul.” Miss Rose pulled a portable
ashtray from her purse and knocked the ashes into it.
Ms.
Morris looked down. She tried to keep
herself a little in front of Miss Rose as the bank employees began to seek the
source of the tobacco smoke.
After
a few minutes, La Cross stepped out of the office. He glanced at Miss Rose and Ms. Morris and
scrunched up his nose.
Before he
could say anything, Miss Rose flicked the butt of her JPS into the potable
ashtray and returned it to her purse, “La Cross, you owe me a Guinness, and two
thousand pounds.”
In this scene, we see the results of
the negotiated plans of the previous scene.
The tension and release development in this scene is solving the crime
that looks like the work of a vampire and the interaction and actions of Miss
Rose. Remember, Miss Rose is the
protagonist of the novel. The novel is
the revelation of her life. The tension
development is pretty obvious and strong.
It is the build up to the very powerful release in the solution of the
crime. This is a release similar to a
climax of a novel. This scene is perhaps
a perfect example of tension and release development. The reason is that it is complete to a degree
in itself.
There are other and many parts of
this novel that connect to other scenes and to the telic flaw of the novel, but
this scene is a pure tension development to a hard and conclusive release. Not all scenes have such a clean
release. Let’s talk about the telic flaw
of the novel.
The telic flaw of the novel is that
Miss Rose wishes to regain her estate.
To achieve this, she has hung out her shingle as a supernatural
detective. She is earning money by
investigating crimes for New Scotland Yard—or this is her goal. The above scene shows why Chief Inspector La
Cross hires her and keeps hiring her to investigate odd crimes for him. There is much more to this novel, but each
scene is crafted to drive to the resolution of the telic flaw—Miss Rose wants
to regain her estate.
Each scene is crafted and developed
just like the two examples I showed you.
Each one has a distinct tension development to a release. The telic flaw is tied directly to each scene’s
tension and release. Notice, they are
tied directly, but that doesn’t mean they refer directly to the telic flaw—in fact,
the telic flaw of the overall novel is not revealed until a few chapters
later. So, you don’t have to refer to
the telic flaw while you address it directly.
Perhaps the question is what does it mean to directly address the telic
flaw.
Notice the kicker as well—it’s the
last paragraph in the scene.
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
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
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