30 May 2020, Writing - part xx240
Writing a Novel, Protagonists Plots and Theme Alan Fisher
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.
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
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.
So, modern characters must look like
the reader’s impression of the protagonist.
This is an interesting problem as culture and society change as does the
impression of the readers.
Here is the list of characteristics
for great protagonists (this is based on the concept of a Romantic protagonist):
1.
Hero, independent, and
individualistic – characters who truly risk their lives for others.
2.
From the common ilk – as opposed to
the nobility and wealth.
3.
Educated – both seeking education
and study and loving to read and learn.
4.
Focus on the inner world of the protagonist
– the mind and motivation of the protagonist.
5.
Celebration of nature, beauty, and
imagination – the expression of the mind of the protagonist.
6.
Rejection of industrialization and
social convention – from urban to rural.
7.
Idealization of woman, children, and
rural life.
8.
Inclusion of supernatural or
mythological elements.
9.
Inclusion of historical elements.
10. Frequent use of personification.
11. Emphasis on individual experience of the sublime.
12. Discovery and skills—the protagonist finds his or her
special skills and abilities and uses them to resolve the telic flaw.
13. The readers agree with the mind (thoughts and decisions) of
the protagonist
I added the last statement, but
really this last statement is a direct reflection of 4, 11, and 12.
My ultimate point is that first I
develop a great protagonist and the plot and theme of the novel I want to write
comes directly out of that protagonist.
Every great protagonist comes with his or her own telic flaw.
Yesterday, I gave you an example of
Azure Rose from my novel, Blue Rose:
Enchantment and the Detective. I
showed how she was a Romantic protagonist and how she herself resulted in a
plot and theme for the novel. In other
words, I didn’t develop a plot or a theme first, I developed a great
protagonist and found the telic flaw, plot, and theme from her revelation. Azure Rose came with a plot and a theme. I’ve done this before and at the risk of
repeating myself, I’ll do this a couple of more times or more. Here is a list of my completed novels and
protagonists:
A Season of Honor (Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox III), published, Shawn du Locke
The Fox’s Honor (Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox II), published, Devon Rathenberg
The End of Honor (Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox I), published, John-Mark
Antebellum,
not published, Heather Sybil Roberts
Aegypt, published,
Paul Bolong
Centurion,
published, Centurion Abenadar
Athelstan Cying,
not published, Den Protania
Twilight Lamb,
not published, Den Protania
Regia Anglorum,
not published, Nikita Protania
The Second Mission,
published, Alan Fisher
Sister of Light,
not published, Leora Bolang
Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth, not published, Angela Matheson
Sister of Darkness,
not published, Leora Bolang
Shadow of Darkness,
not published, Lumière Bolang
Shadow of Light,
not published, Lumière Bolang
Children of Light and Darkness, not published, Kathrin McClellan
Warrior of Light,
not published, Daniel Long
Shadowed Vale,
not published, Nikita Protania
Warrior of Darkness,
not published, Klava Calloway
Dana-ana: Enchantment and the Maiden, not published, Byron Macintyre
Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon, not published, Aksinya
Khione: Enchantment and the Fox, not published, Khione
Valeska: Enchantment and the Vampire, not published, George Mardling
Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer, not published, Lilly
Escape from Freedom,
not published, Scott Phillips
Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, not published, Essie
Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse, not published, Shiggy
Deirdre: Enchantment and the School, not published, Deirdre Calloway
Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective, not published, Azure Rose
The Second Mission,
is currently published by Xulon. Since
my regular publisher went out of business, this may be the only one of my
published novels that is still available.
The protagonist of this novel is Alan Fisher. Alan Fisher is not as excellent an example of
how a protagonist defines the telic flaw, plot, and theme. The reason is because this was one of my
earlier novels. I think it is still a
great novel—entertaining. The problem with
the protagonist is that he was developed for the telic flaw, the plot, and the
theme. From Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth on, I really discovered a different
and more effective way to write.
In any case, just who is Alan Fisher? Alan Fisher is a scientist. I don’t really define what kind of scientist,
but at the beginning of the novel, he is working at White Sands range in a
safety tower very close to the site of the first atomic bomb detonation. Although Alan Fisher is the protagonist, the
protagonist’s helper, Sophia is the real driver of the action and entertainment
in the novel. This makes this novel more
in line with many novels where the protagonist is in the action, but the focus
of the novel isn’t on the protagonist as much as another character.
Still, Alan Fisher is the
protagonist and the most important character in the novel. The reason Sophia is so important is that she
is the time traveler and Alan Fisher is the accidental time traveler.
Yes, Alan Fisher gets accidentally
pulled back into the second human interaction in time. Sophia has trained for ten years to become a
woman who actually lived in the time of Socrates (around 399 BC). The purpose of this one year mission is to
observe the final dialogs and record the death of Socrates. The reason for this mission and its importance
is to see how accurate ancient accounts were as records. Plato recorded Socrates dialogs—the question
is their accuracy. By the way, the first
mission in time was to observe the last year of Christ’s ministry and His death
and potential resurrection.
Alan Fisher gets pulled back into
time to experience the world of the ancient Greeks and the last year of
Socrates life. In the novel, it’s a
science fiction novel, I give you multiple modern translations of ancient Greek
documents including most of the last five Socratic dialogs in context to the
life and death of Socrates. I think this
is a bargain. You also get to experience
the ancient Greek world through the eyes of a modern person. I think that is wonderful as well. Let’s look at Alan Fisher as a Romantic
protagonist.
Alan Fisher is not a hero, but he
learns to become one. His time in the ancient
world and his survival as well as the survival of Sophia and her mission. He isn’t as independent or individualistic as
a normal Romantic protagonist. He is pretty
much a normal protagonist. He is from
the common. His life and background aren’t
that important in the context of the novel.
He is educated and so is Sophia.
The concept of informal education is very important in the novel. The
focus is definitely on the inner world of the protagonist. In some ways, the inner world is all Alan
Fisher has until he really learns the language and the times. The celebration of nature, beauty, and
imagination are locked and loaded into the view of the world from the modern to
the ancient. Although the ancient world
has cities and Athens is the focus of The
Second Mission, the rural is a large part of even the urban. The idealization of woman, not so much children,
and rural life is consistent in the novel.
Unlike most of my novels, there are no supernatural or mythological
elements—there are historical and history based elements. The translations are very worthwhile to the
modern scholar. The emphasis on
individual experience of the sublime is consistent in this novel based on the
first mission. I’ll leave it at
that. The novel isn’t so much involved
with the discovery of skills as the learning of skills to survive.
Let’s look at the telic flaw, plot,
and theme. In the first case, Alan
Fisher does define the telic flaw. It is how to get back to his time. Sophia tells Alan Fisher repeatedly, the
mission is for a year, she can’t go back, and he can’t either. She isn’t sure he can be sent back to his
time at all.
The plot isn’t as connected to the
telic flaw as most of my novels. The
telic flaw is the hinge pin of the novel, but the plot is about living and
surviving in ancient Greece 399 BC. The
theme is about loyalty and responsibility.
Alan Fisher does indeed define the telic flaw, the plot, and the theme,
but can’t you feel the very different vibe from this novel description and
protagonist? I like the novel, but it is
one of my early novels—and it’s published.
I hope you can see that the entire
plot, telic flaw, and theme came out of the development of this character. This is exactly what I mean when I write that
the plot, theme, and telic flaw comes directly out of the protagonist.
Ultimately, the point is that we
need to keep our readers content and pleased with our characters while
presenting the revelation of the protagonist and the plot.
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
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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