Writing - part xx104 Writing a Novel, Creativity Portfolio

15 January 2020, Writing - part xx104 Writing a Novel, Creativity Portfolio

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

Ideas.  We need ideas.  Ideas allow us to figure out the protagonist and the telic flaw.  Ideas don’t come fully armed from the mind of Zeus.  We need to cultivate ideas. 

1.     Read novels. 

2.     Fill your mind with good stuff—basically the stuff you want to write about. 

3.     Figure out what will build ideas in your mind and what will kill ideas in your mind.

4.     Study.

5.     Teach. 

6.     Make the catharsis. 

7.     Write.

The development of ideas is based on study and research, but it is also based on creativity.  Creativity is the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to present old ideas in a new form.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  Creativity requires consuming, thinking, and producing.

If creativity, especially in writing, is caused by writing—then we better get writing.  Write-on.  Yes, so what does this writing for creativity look like? 

Developing creativity is all about writing.  Well, there are the other six actions you should accomplish.  Then write.  Many ask, what should I write about?  I understand this.  If you don’t know what to write about, then what do you write about?  Random stuff?  Nah.

Let’s write about stuff that will help us both write better and that will build up our writing portfolio. 

If you want to be a writer, you’ve got to have been writing for a while.  If you haven’t, then why do you want to be a writer?  Individuals usually want to write because they love to read and they want to create the type of writing they have learned to love.  I hope you have some kind of list of writing already.  If you don’t, here is what to do.

If you haven’t been writing you need to start.  Start with paragraphs.  If you don’t know how to write a paragraph, then you must learn this skill first.  I’ve written about writing paragraphs in the past.  I’ll give you the basic outline again.

1.     Topic sentence

2.     Body explaining the topic

3.     Conclusion and connection to the next paragraph (you can leave off the connection to the next paragraph if your paragraph is a standalone).

Start with writing paragraphs.  I suggest you write settings and descriptions.  For example, just pick a fun and interesting outdoor setting with a building.  Describe the setting in a paragraph.  Next describe the building in a paragraph.  Then expand your setting into the building.  Describe the entry to the building, and use separate paragraphs to describe each of the rooms in the building.  Use about 100 to 300 words in your descriptive paragraphs.  Try to make them interesting and entertaining.  After describing the rooms in the building, start describing characters.  You don’t have to develop any characters, just describe some characters for your building physically.  Describe their features, size, shape, clothing, and mannerisms.  These are things we can see on the stage of the novel.  Next write a paragraph showing your characters doing something.  Continue to write paragraphs until you feel comfortable writing them.  In a perfect world, it would be a great idea to have someone review and correct your paragraphs.  This is usually what you get in a school or educational setting.  In any case, you need to learn to write strong paragraphs.  Next to scenes.

Once you have perfected (or become reasonably good at) writing paragraphs, you need to expand to scenes.  I’m going to list the scene outline repeated from above.     

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

In the beginning, we will write standalone scenes.  Notice, if you wrote some paragraphs, you have settings and characters.  Start your first scene with the exterior of the building and a single character.  You already have the setting for the exterior and the setting for the character.  All you need to do now is write a scene where the character approaches the building and enters it.  This is a simple scene, but it’s the beginning of writing scenes.  I’ll give you more tomorrow.

Whatever you do, get your writing into electronic files.  We should also write about formatting too.  In any case, tomorrow, I’ll give you ideas about what to put in your portfolio.    

The most important step in creativity may be to just write.  This begins another chapter in this discussion of creativity—notes, records, and documenting.

I need to get to the point of extrapolating creativity, and also finish the thought about event horizon and worldview.   

The beginning of creativity is study and effort.  We can use this to extrapolate to creativity.  In addition, we need to look at recording ideas and working with ideas.     

    

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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