Writing - part xx649 Writing a Novel, Plots and My Novels, A Season of Honor

 14 July 2021, Writing - part xx649 Writing a Novel, Plots and My Novels, A Season of Honor

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 21^st 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. 

 

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. 

 

I evaluated the plots from the list of 112 classics 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%

Here is a list of my novels:

 

1*	SF	A Season of Honor (Honor III)	1986	P 08
2	1		30-Oct	Nov
2*	SF	The Fox’s Honor (Honor II)	1989	P 08
3	2		2-May	Oct
3	SF	The End of Honor (Honor I)	1995	P 08
9	3		13-Jul	Jul
4	HF	Antebellum	1991	*
4	4		7-Feb
5*	F	Aegypt	1992	P 08
5	5		16-Jun	Jan
6*	HF	Centurion	1995	P 08
8	6		1-Feb	Jan
7a*	SF	Athelstan Cying	1992	A
6	7		26-Sep
8 15	SF	Twilight Lamb	2007	A
7b*	8		8-Aug
9 16	SF	Regia Anglorum	2007	A
7c	17		23-Nov
10*	SF	The Second Mission*	1996	P 03
10	9		13-Nov	Aug
11	Fan	Illidin	1977	I
1			Sep
12	F	Sister of Light	1997	C
11	10		16-Aug
13	F	House	1994	I
7			23-Dec
14	F	Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth	2006	*
13	11		28-Dec
15	Fan	Aramis	2006	I
12			27-Apr
16	HF	Japan		I
14
17	F	Sister of Darkness	2008	C
17	12		3-Jun
18	F	Shadow of Darkness	2008	A
18	13		14-Sep
19	F	Shadow of Light	2008	A
tt5t	14		24-Oct
20	F	Children of Light and Darkness	2008	A
20	15		1-Dec
21	F	Warrior of Light	2009	A
21	16		1-Feb
22	HF	Praetorian
22
23 23	SF	Shadowed Vale	2009	A
	18		10-May
24 24	SF	Ddraig Goch	2009	W
			25-Aug
25	F	Warrior of Darkness	2009	*
25	19		29-Oct
26	F	Dana-ana: Enchantment and the Maiden	2010	*
26	20		10-Jun
27	F	Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon	2010	A
27	21		1-Nov
28	F	Khione: Enchantment and the Fox	2011	*
28	22		1-Mar
29	F	Valeska: Enchantment and the Vampire	2013	*
29	23		26-Nov
30	F	Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer	2014	*
30	24		1-May
31	SF	Escape from Freedom	2014	*
31	25		2-Oct
32	F	Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si	2015	*
32	26		1-May
33	F	Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse	2016	*
33	27		1-Mar
34	F	Red Sonja	2016	W
34	XX		1-Mar
35	F	Deirdre: Enchantment and the School	2016	*
35	28		1-Jul
36	F	Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective	2018	*
36	29		1-Jul
37	F	Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warriors	2018	*
37			1-Jul
38	F	Rose: Enchantment and the Flower	2021	*
38			1-Mar

 

A Season of Honor was the first novel I completed.  It wasn’t the first novel I started writing.  It was also the sixth novel of mine that was published.  It is the third novel in the Chronicles of the Dragon and Fox series published by Oaktara.  Unfortunately, Oaktara is no longer around.  You can still find A Season of Honor around, but I’m afraid you can’t get a new copy.

 

A Season of Honor is science fiction about a defamed nobleman who is contracted to take a very important noble woman to her wedding on the planet Imperial.  The noble woman is important because she is the only child of the Count and County of Acier a very wealthy planet which is kept under control of the Empire through keeping it’s leader a Count and thus unable to own battleship class starships.  The nobleman is Baron Shawn du Locke and the main problem is that Elina Acier, the woman Shawn must take to her wedding looks exactly like Lady Lyral Neuterra, Shawn’s dead betrothed.  A Season of Honor is all about the clandestine movement of the Lady Elina Acier from Acier to the Imperial planet—meanwhile, Shawn is falling in love with the lady, and the lady with him.

 

Let’s evaluate the plots.

Overall (o)

1.     Redemption (o) – 17i, 7e, 23ei, 8 – 49%  Yes, there is a very strong redemption plot.  It’s all about the redemption of Shawn, who believes his action led to his previous betrothed, the redemption of Acier from the Empire, and the redemption of Elina who wants some choice in her life and love.

2.     Revelation (o) –2e, 64, 1i – 60%  The revelation is that of Shawn du Locke and his backstory as well as the very complex circumstances in the Human Galactic Empire.

3.     Achievement (o) – 16e, 19ei, 4i, 43 – 73%  The achievement is to bring Elina to the Imperial planet.  The Romantic plot development is that the real achievement is the love of Elina and Shawn.  This love is impossible and unreconcilable.  The real achievement of the plot is to make this impossible occur—which it does. 

Achievement (a)

1.     Detective or mystery (a) – 56, 1e – 51% The mystery in this novel is just who is Shawn du Locke.  Elina seeks the answer to this mystery.  There is, in addition, the mystery of who is making attempts on Elina’s life.

2.     Revenge or vengeance (a) –3ie, 3e, 45 – 46%  Shawm du Locke desires vengeance as does Elina and her father Count Acier.  They all want vengeance on the Emperor.  The Emperor wants Acier and the wealth and power of that planet.

3.     Zero to hero (a) – 29 – 26%  The setup is perfect because Shawn is at a near total zero.  He has been an exile for many years and is just now able to travel freely.  The point is to turn him into a hero.

4.     Romance (a) –1ie, 41 – 37%  Oh yes, this is a total romance setup.

5.     Coming of age (a) –1ei, 25 – 23%  None of that.

6.     Progress of technology (a) – 6 – 5%  Not so much as the technology of science fiction in the future.

7.     Discovery (a) – 3ie, 57 – 54%  The discovery plot is tied to the mystery plot as I noted before.

8.     Money (a) – 2e, 26 – 25%  Wealth is one of the plot settings but not really one of the plot drivers.

9.     Spoiled child (a) – 7 – 6%  Nope.

10.  Legal (a) – 5 – 4%  Yes, the legal plot is part of the means of resolving the impossible problems of the Romantic plot.  Shawn has to discover some means to free Elina and her planet from their obligations to the Empire.  This all has to do with legal contracts and the logic as well as history in the Human Galactic Empire.

11.  Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%  Nope.

12.  Self-discovery (a) – 3i, 12 – 13%  If you count self-discovery as determining if you are in love or coming to grips with your circumstances and situation, then yes and yes.

13.  Guilt or Crime (a) – 32 – 29%  Shawn du Locke is driven by the idea that his actions led to the death of Lyral.  She was executed.  The Emperor is guilty of many murders and indiscretions.

14.  Proselytizing (a) – 4 – 4%  Nope.

15.  Reason (a) – 10, 1ie – 10%  Yes, logic is required to turn the tables on the Emperor through the contract agreements as well as Imperial history.

16.  Escape (a)  – 1ie, 23 – 21%  Yes, Elina and Shawn must escape the clutches of the Emperor to survive.

17.  Knowledge or Skill (a) – 26 – 23%  Yes, this is part of the mystery as well as the reconciling circumstances.

18.  Secrets (a) – 21 – 19%  Yes, secrets everywhere.  From allies to enemies, this is the problem with empires and systems of nobility, you can’t tell who your enemies and friends are.

Quality (q)

1.     Messiah (q) – 10 – 9%  Nope.

2.     Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%  Nope.

3.     Rejected love (rejection) (q) – 1ei, 21 – 20%  A little, but not much.  Elina falls in love and Shawn falls in love—there is always some degree of denial in this wonderful undertaking.

4.     Miscommunication (q) – 8 – 7%  Not really.

5.     Love triangle (q) – 14 – 12%  Not really.

6.     Betrayal (q) – 1i, 1ie, 46 – 43%  Oh yes, the Empire and others are betraying Shawn and Elina.  Why don’t the bad guys have a problem with betrayal?

7.     Blood will out or fate (q) –1i, 1e, 26 – 25%  Nope.

8.     Psychological (q) –1i, 45 – 41%  Kinda a little.

9.     Magic (q) – 8 – 7%  Nope.

10.  Mistaken identity (q) – 18 – 16%  Perhaps hidden identity with Shawn.

11.  Illness (q) – 1e, 19 – 18%  A small part of the plot has to do with Shawn after he is poisoned by an agent of the Empire.

12.  Anti-hero (q) – 6 – 5%  Nope.

13.  Immorality (q) – 3i, 8 – 10%  Nope, unless you are talking about the Emperor.

14.  Satire (q) – 10 – 9%  Not really.

15.  Camaraderie (q) – 19 – 17%  Yes, between Shawn and Elina’s other protectors and in the end, between Shawn and Elina and their supporters.

16.  Curse (q) – 4 – 4%  Nope.

17.  Insanity (q) – 8 – 7%  Nope.

18.  Mentor (q) – 12 – 11%  Nope.

Setting (s)

1.     End of the World (s) – 3 – 3%  Nope.

2.     War (s) – 20 – 18%  Nope.

3.     Anti-war (s) –2 – 2%  Nope.

4.     Travel (s) –1e, 62 – 56%  Yes, the entire plot is about travel from Acier to the Imperial planet with stops in between.

5.     Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8%  Kinda, with the current  Emperor and Empire.

6.     Horror (s) – 15 – 13%  Not really.

7.     Children (s) – 24 – 21%  Nope.

8.     Historical (s) – 19 – 17%  Nope.  Unless you count Imperial history, but that’s really not what this means.

9.     School (s) – 11 – 10%  Nope.

10.  Parallel (s) – 4 – 4%  Nope.

11.  Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%  Nope.

12.  Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%  Nope.  Unless you count science fiction.

13.  Prison (s) – 2 – 2%  There is an element of this from Shawn’s exile.

Item (i)

1.  Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42%  The article is Elina and her contract, but that isn’t precisely what we usually mean by an article.  Elina really becomes an article in the context of the plot, but she is also a fully cogent actor in the overall plot of the novel.  Elina represents the contract and her own planet in the context of the contract.  This contract is the thing Shawn must revise legally and logically to resolve the entire telic flaw of the novel.  In addition, Shawn must make the contract stick with the Emperor and the Empire.

 

That’s all the plots in A Season of Honor.  Next, I’ll get into the way the plots interact and other details.

 

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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