24 June 2021, Writing - part xx629 Writing a Novel, Plots and Classics, Robert Louis Stevenson
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.
For Novel 32: Shiggy
Tash finds a lost girl in the isolated Scottish safe house her organization
gives her for her latest assignment: Rose Craigie has nothing, is alone, and
needs someone or something to rescue and acknowledge her as a human being.
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.
I’ve worked through creativity and the protagonist. The ultimate point is that if you properly
develop your protagonist, you have created your novel. This moves us on to plots and initial
scenes. As I noted, if you have a
protagonist, you have a novel. The
reason is that a protagonist comes with a telic flaw, and a telic flaw provides
a plot and theme. If you have a
protagonist, that gives you a telic flaw, a plot, and a theme. I will also argue this gives you an initial
scene as well.
So, we worked extensively on the protagonist. I gave you many examples great, bad, and
average. Most of these were from
classics, but I also used my own novels and protagonists as examples. Here’s my plan.
1.
The protagonist comes with a telic
flaw – the telic flaw isn’t necessarily a flaw in the protagonist, but rather a
flaw in the world of the protagonist that only the Romantic protagonist can
resolve.
2.
The telic
flaw determines the plot.
3. The telic flaw determines the theme.
4. The telic flaw and the protagonist determines the initial
scene.
5. The protagonist and the telic flaw determines the initial
setting.
6. Plot examples from great classic plots.
7. Plot examples from mediocre classic plots.
8. Plot examples from my novels.
9. Creativity and the telic flaw and plots.
10.
Writer’s block as a problem of continuing
the plot.
Every great or good protagonist comes with their own telic
flaw. I showed how this worked with my
own writing and novels. Let’s go over it
in terms of the plot.
This is all about the telic flaw. Every protagonist and every novel must come
with a telic flaw. They are the same telic
flaw. That telic flaw can be external,
internal or both.
We found that a self-discovery telic flaw or a personal
success telic flaw can potentially take a generic plot. We should be able to get an idea for the plot
purely from the protagonist, telic flaw and setting. All of these are interlaced and bring us our
plot.
For a great plot, the resolution of the telic flaw has to be
a surprise to the protagonist and to the reader. This is both the measure and the goal. As I noted before, for a great plot, the
author needs to make the telic flaw resolution appear to be impossible, but
then it happens. There is much more to
this.
Here is our list of 112 classics. I told you this is a compilation of lists
from various sources. These are all true
classics in most every genre of literature.
What I’m going to do now is look at the list and evaluate if they
include a Romantic protagonist or a Romantic plot. Second, I’m going to mark those that are true
classic novels with an asterisk.
*80 The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson – Romantic protagonist and
Romantic plot.
*82 Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson – Somewhat Romantic
protagonist and Romantic plot.
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert – No Romantic protagonist or Romantic
plot.
86 For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemmingway – No Romantic protagonist or
Romantic plot.
*87 Tarzan – Edger Rice Burroughs – Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad – Somewhat Romantic protagonist and no
Romantic plot.
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery – Somewhat Romantic
protagonist and no Romantic plot.
*93 Huckleberry Fin – Mark Twain – Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams – Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
*95 Gulliver’s Travels - Jonathan Swift – No Romantic protagonist or
Romantic plot.
*96 Matilda – Roald Dahl – Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl – Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
*100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo –
Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
*101 The Once and Future King – T.H. White – Somewhat Romantic protagonist
and Romantic plot.
*102 The Deerslayer – James Fenimore Cooper – Romantic protagonist and
Romantic plot.
104 Ben Hur – Lew Wallace – Romantic
protagonist and Romantic plot.
105 The Robe – Lloyd C. Douglas –
Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
106 The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan – No Romantic protagonist or
Romantic plot.
*109 The Call of the Wild – Jack London –
Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
*110 Stand on Zanzibar – John Brunner – No Romantic protagonist or Romantic
plot.
*111 The Shockwave Rider – John Brunner –
Romantic protagonist and Romantic plot.
I evaluated the list of plots and categorized them according
to the following scale:
Overall (o) – These are the three overall plots we defined above:
redemption, achievement, and revelation.
Achievement (a) – There are plots that fall under the idea of the
achievement plot.
Quality (q)
– These are plots based on a personal or character quality.
Setting (s)
– These are plots based on a setting.
Item (i)
– These are plots based on an item.
I looked at each novel and pulled out the plot types, the telic flaw,
plotline, and the theme of the novel. I didn’t make a list of the themes,
but we identified the telic flaw as internal and external and by plot
type. This generally gives the plotline.
Overall (o)
1. Redemption (o) – 17i, 7e, 23ei, 8 – 49%
2. Revelation (o) –2e, 64, 1i – 60%
3. Achievement (o) – 16e, 19ei, 4i, 43 – 73%
Achievement (a)
1. Detective or mystery (a) – 56, 1e – 51%
2. Revenge or vengeance (a) –3ie, 3e, 45 – 46%
3. Zero to hero (a) – 29 – 26%
4. Romance (a) –1ie, 41 – 37%
5. Coming of age (a) –1ei, 25 – 23%
6. Progress of technology (a) – 6 – 5%
7. Discovery (a) – 3ie, 57 – 54%
8. Money (a) – 2e, 26 – 25%
9. Spoiled child (a) – 7 – 6%
10. Legal (a) – 5 – 4%
11. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
12. Self-discovery (a) – 3i, 12 – 13%
13. Guilt or Crime (a) – 32 – 29%
14. Proselytizing (a) – 4 – 4%
15. Reason (a) – 10, 1ie – 10%
16. Escape (a) – 1ie, 23 – 21%
17. Knowledge or Skill (a) – 26 – 23%
18. Secrets (a) – 21 – 19%
Quality (q)
1. Messiah (q) – 10 – 9%
2. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
3. Rejected love (rejection) (q) – 1ei, 21 –
20%
4. Miscommunication (q) – 8 – 7%
5. Love triangle (q) – 14 – 12%
6. Betrayal (q) – 1i, 1ie, 46 – 43%
7. Blood will out or fate (q) –1i, 1e, 26 – 25%
8. Psychological (q) –1i, 45 – 41%
9. Magic (q) – 8 – 7%
10. Mistaken identity (q) – 18 – 16%
11. Illness (q) – 1e, 19 – 18%
12. Anti-hero (q) – 6 – 5%
13. Immorality (q) – 3i, 8 – 10%
14. Satire (q) – 10 – 9%
15. Camaraderie (q) – 19 – 17%
16. Curse (q) – 4 – 4%
17. Insanity (q) – 8 – 7%
18. Mentor (q) – 12 – 11%
Setting (s)
1. End of the World (s) – 3 – 3%
2. War (s) – 20 – 18%
3. Anti-war (s) –2 – 2%
4. Travel (s) –1e, 62 – 56%
5. Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8%
6. Horror (s) – 15 – 13%
7. Children (s) – 24 – 21%
8. Historical (s) – 19 – 17%
9. School (s) – 11 – 10%
10. Parallel (s) – 4 – 4%
11. Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%
12. Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%
13. Prison (s) – 2 – 2%
Item (i)
1. Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42%
I’d like to willow down the list of classics to some true
entertaining classics. We’ll then look
at these in more details.
Let’s do a little comparison between these classic works and
evaluate them. Here is how we will
evaluate them:
1.
Are they entertaining?
2. Would you read it again?
3. How’s the protagonist?
4. How’s the plot?
5. How does it relate to actual human values and life?
6. Did the author write in a way that makes this work truly
unique?
7.
Is this work important to humanity
and to the future?
During the Victorian Era a few amazing writers were breaking
the mold of the domestic Victorian plot and actually producing protagonists and
novels that completely entertained real people.
This very small group were the vanguards for the greatest works of the
Twentieth Century. By that, I don’t mean
any of the naturalists or the realists.
I mean that group I call the modern Romantic Era. You know all the novels you love to read and
reread.
I’ll repeat, The British Broadcasting Corporation loves pretentious
Victorian authors. Unfortunately, they
can’t tell the difference between good and poor Victorian authors. In fact, the proof of this is found with
Robert Louis Stevenson.
Here is an author who’s works rolled down into children’s classics. You do realize when adult novels become youth
and children’s classics there are very important reasons. The first is they are entertaining. The second is the works represent the times
and expectations for adults and children.
The third is that children can enjoy them both read by adults and read
to themselves. Try that with Vanity
Fair and see where it gets you.
*80 The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson – Romantic protagonist and
Romantic plot.
*82 Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson – Somewhat Romantic
protagonist and Romantic plot.
I left both of the Robert Louis Stevenson novels I put on
the list on the list. Both Treasure
Island and The Black Arrow are novels worth acknowledging as
classics and encouraging adults and children.
They are encouraging because of their entertainment value, protagonists,
and plots.
The Black Arrow
is the better of these two novels. It is
in many ways unique. It shows the story
of Richard Shelton during the War of the Roses.
This in many ways is a very complex novel incorporating very complicated
and complex ideas. Richard is about to
lose his property and possibly his life because his guardian murdered Richard’s
father to take control of his family’s property and name. Richard must escape his guardian and make his
own way during a particularly dangerous time in British history. He joins with the outlaw group, the Black
Arrows. Meanwhile, Joanna Sedley is also
under the control of Richard’s guardian.
She is disguised as a boy to allow her freedom of movement and
escape. As I noted, this is a very
complex and well put together novel which communicates the problems and
politics of the period well.
Treasure Island
is much more familiar to most readers.
They read this novel in school or for entertainment as a child or
youth. Treasure Island shows the
story of Jim Hawkins and his adult friends as they search for pirate’s
gold. Unfortunately, the pirates have
infiltrated the ship’s crew and are planning mutiny and theft of that same
treasure. There is good old, Long John
Silver, an old pirate and the whole bunch to contend with. This is a rousing adventure for anyone.
Let’s evaluate these novels according to the criteria.
1. Are they entertaining?
2. Would you read it again?
3. How many movies/plays are there of the novel?
4. How’s the protagonist?
5. How’s the plot?
6. How does it relate to actual human values and life?
7. Did the author write in a way that makes this work truly
unique?
8.
Is this work important to humanity
and to the future?
Both Treasure Island and The Black Arrow are
highly entertaining novels. Although
they were peddled to youth and boys, they are novels of great import. They represent the adventure and adventurous
nature of youth. Like most adventure
novels, they have youthful protagonists.
I’ve read Treasure Island more times than I can
count, and I’ve read The Black Arrow at least three times. The reason is that I read Treasure Island as
a child. It is the type of novel you
read and reread. I would have done the
same with The Black Arrow, but I didn’t have it available to me. I have read most of RLS novels and some of
his more obscure writings. I should have
added Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to
the list of classics. RLS should have at
least as many novels as Dickens on the list.
Treasure Island
may be the most adapted novel in history.
Some a quite good. The
protagonist is usually too young however.
The novel is really a coming of age plot with an older teen especially by
modern standards. The novel unfortunately
is usually viewed as a child’s novel and not as a classic in itself. There are quite a few adaptations of The Black
Arrow but I’ve not seen a single one.
This is a very powerful novel that deserves a great movie.
Jim Hawkins is not as strong a Romantic protagonist as Richard
Shelton. Richard is a young man who has
been trained in the skills of knighthood.
This places him from the “common” and gives him skills fitting to
succeed as the protagonist. Richard isn’t
really from the “common” but as I’ve noted before, in historical literature,
the authors take the lower end of the stratus of the aristocracy and make them
the modern middle class. This is a good
technique. In any case, Richard is an
excellent example of the modern Romantic protagonist. Jim, on the other hand, has no real skills to
speak of. This is sad since he could
have had some based on his background and experience. For example, RLS could have made Jim well
thought of as a cabin boy because of his experience in the Inn. He really didn’t. Jim is portrayed as an inexperienced and untrained
youth. This isn’t far from reality, but
the classic Romantic protagonist has some skill of skills that sets him or her apart
form the norm. This just isn’t the way Treasure
Island is written. Jim is still a
protagonist head and tales above many from the same era.
The plot of The Black Arrow is also much more a Romantic
plot than Treasure Island we do get some degree of the impossible
developed in Treasure Island, but The Black Arrow keeps the
reader on the edge of his or her seat with continual treats to the recovery of
Joanna. This is slightly diluted in Treasure
Island due to the nature of the treasure.
However, both of these novels are standouts especially during the period
(the Victorian Era). In a time when the
best you could hop for is domestic Victorian, a lot of adventure with real
heroes was certainly much more appealing.
The next generation, and their values are perhaps the most important
human values possible. Both of these
novels are coming of age novels. They
are not teaching novels in that they are properly about entertainment and not
about education, but out of them comes the ideals for youth to strive
toward. Who doesn’t want to win the day
and be the hero of the tale or in real life?
This is what these novels show us.
As adults, we seek this type of entertainment and example. As children, we need to see what success and
courage looks like. These are absolute
human values that grasp a person as many of the classics do not.
The uniqueness in RLS novels is first, they are heroic in
the domestic Victorian world. This was
so counter cultural that Lewis Carroll had to hide his heroes in fantasy dream
sequences. RLS was not afraid to promote
human courage and heroics in an age when such things wer considered dirty and
below the aristocracy. Much too good for
the common. This is also why I should have
included Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the classics list. This novel, more than any other, shows the
power of RLS as a creative and powerful writer.
RLS novels launched a thousand others, but J and H launched an entire
genre and new idea in human thought.
RLS and all his novels were indeed the future of all
writing. People really do reject the
naturalism and realism of the early Twentieth Century while novels in the form
of those by RLS are what every reader wants to read. Almost every modern bestseller is of a form
similar to RLS’s novels. Certainly every
great movie.
We’ll look at Gustave Flaubert next.
In the end, we can figure out what makes a work have a great
plot and theme, and apply this to our writing.
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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