Writing - part xx136 Writing a Novel, Art is adding Beauty

16 February 2020, Writing - part xx136 Writing a Novel, Art is adding Beauty

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 we have filled our mind with all kinds of information and ideas, we are ready to become creative.  Creativity means the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to present old ideas in a new form.  Literally, we are seeing the world in a new way, or actually, we are seeing some part of the world in a new way.  Let’s look at an example.

The writer must create like an artist with the manipulation of writing (language) in the world through hard work to present something that is not natural, common, or previously existing in the world, and adds beauty to the world and humanity.

Art must add beauty to the world and humanity.  It must be beautiful or it isn’t art.  Just like it must be entertaining or it isn’t fiction.  I guess you could write if it isn’t entertaining, it isn’t art.  This would accommodate all art forms. 

Many people have been erroneously taught that there is no definition of art.  Of course there is.  For example here is a definition from the dictionary:

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

Notice that this definition doesn’t really include writing, plays, film, or architecture.  Notice also that this is a pretty bad definition.  For example, the application of human creative skill and imagination is science and engineering.  Science and engineering isn’t really the opposite of art, but it is usually viewed as an opposite of art.  Art is usually considered nonutilitarian.  Crafts are usually considered a mixture of the utilitarian and art. 

This definition doesn’t consider effort, the non-natural, the uncommon, and the existing.  For example, without this, I could simply state that a sunset is art.  I can assure you, a sunset is not art.  A sunset is common, natural, requires no human work or action, it is previously existing.  It is certainly beautiful, but beauty isn’t art. 

Part of the definition is right—human creative skill and imagination.  The problem is the focus of that human creative skill and imagination.  As I noted, it must add beauty to the world and humanity.  I can assure you, if you use this definition, you can easily define and determine good art.  You can equally define good writing and determine good writing.  The question is what is beauty?  Here is a definition:

A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.

As I wrote, I like to put entertainment in place of beauty when writing about fiction.  Obviously, the definition of beauty is written from the aesthetic of sight.  This is both wrong and incorrect.  Beauty can be revealed through all senses including touch, smell (food, cooking, natural smells) and taste (food and cooking), hearing (music), in addition to sight.

Also, obviously, in sight, qualities such as shape, color, and/or form are those that define the beauty.  For each of the other senses, we need to find other qualities.  For example for hearing (music), you might include tonality, meter, rhythm, and volume just to name a few.  Likewise, in writing, we need another set of qualities that define the beauty (or entertainment) of the writing.

This is exactly what we have been looking at as ideas in writing.  Fiction is all about entertainment.  What makes writing entertaining?  We’ve looked at pathos (emotion evoked in the reader), writing skills (quality of writing), tension and release in scenes, characters, settings, action, and dialog.  There are characteristics that make writing entertaining.  Here’s another list from Jeff Lyons at https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/write-better-the-7-qualities-of-high-concept-stories

1.High level of entertainment value

2.High degree of originality

3.Born from a “what if” question

4.Highly visual

5.Clear emotional focus

6.Inclusion of some truly unique element

7.Mass audience appeal (to a broad general audience, or a large niche market).

You notice he put entertainment first.  I like his list, and I want to look at it more closely.

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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