25 July 2021, Writing - part xx660 Writing a Novel, Plots and My Novels, more on Centurion
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
Since I'm writing about Centurion, here is the cover:
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.
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 |
Centurion was my first novel published by Oaktara. Unfortunately, Oaktara is out of business. Centurion is a regular historical
fiction novel. I highly researched it
and used the knowledge I gleaned from researching The Second Mission in
ancient Greek to study primary sources in Greek and translations in Latin. I do ancient Greek but not Latin.
Centurion
was my second historical novel. It is
set just before the First Century and until 33 AD. It covers the life of the Centurion who
executed Jesus Christ. This is a highly
researched novel about the Roman Legion, but uses the time and incidents in the
time of Christ as the main plotline.
Here is the blurb and some other information:
A longing heart.
An unlikely friendship.
Love...and the bitterest of betrayals.
Who was the man ordered to crucify Christ?
What did he witness that led him to proclaim, “This was
surely the Son of God?”
Traditionally, we named him, the Centurion Abenadar, and we
know almost nothing about him. The
novel, Centurion, gives life to Centurion Abenadar.
Abenadar’s life is based on primary source documents about
the Roman Legion. Abenadar was close enough to the Procurator of Judea, Pontius
Pilate, that Pilate trusted him with the responsibility of the controversial
and potentially explosive crucifixion of Christ. At the same time, Abenadar was a man to whom
Pilate effortlessly gave the dirty work of the crucifixion, the execution for
which Pilate himself would not take responsibility.
Centurion casts Abenadar as the bastard child of the Roman
ambassador to the court of Herod the Great.
Abenadar’s mother was a Judean girl, the Roman ambassador’s
concubine. When the ambassador returned
to Rome, he left her pregnant, and in disgrace.
The girl returned to her home in Nazareth of Galilee. She named her son, Abenadar, after his
father.
Abenadar’s father did not leave him with nothing—he granted
his son Roman citizenship. When Abenadar
accepted his legacy, he also discovered a place in the Roman Legion stationed
in Galilee. Abenadar found in the legion
and Roman citizenship a boon and a curse.
From his mother’s training in Herod’s court, Abenadar spoke and read
Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and from the taint of his father’s legacy and his
hard childhood, Abenadar learned to be a cunning fighter. The legion honed these skills. Centurion maps the rise of Abenadar through
the ranks and units in Palestine until he is a chief advisor and one of the
lead Centurions in Jerusalem. In this
capacity, he both advised Pilate and became the vehicle to enact Pilate’s
decree.
Abenadar was more than a Centurion; he was also half
Judean. His abilities derived from his
understanding and communication with the people of Judea. But Abenadar was a man, not a piece of
cardboard—all the forces in his life shaped and formed him. He fervently trusted in God—and in the
legion. When he accidentally rescued a
prostitute, Ruth, in the streets of Jerusalem, he redeemed her—for
himself. Ruth was a destitute girl; the
death of her parents forced her into her past life. After Abenadar took her in, she lived a
semblance of the life she was raised to lead.
Life with Ruth changed Abenadar.
He returned to the Judean practice of his youth, and through Ruth’s
faith, Abenadar’s life became connected to the new prophet—Jesus.
Abenadar experienced the events in the city of Jerusalem
from inside the court of Pilate and from the city streets. When Jesus was brought before Pilate,
Abenadar became his interpreter and translator.
When Pilate gave Jesus over to the Priests, he instructed Abenadar to crucify
Jesus.
Through Abenadar’s eyes, Centurion reveals the crucifixion
and the resurrection. Abenadar’s greatest fear was that he would lose Ruth, for
she believed the message of the prophet he must execute. But Abenadar misjudged Ruth’s love and her
faith. And he misjudged how his
experience of the Christ would change him.
Let’s evaluate the plots.
Overall (o)
1. Redemption (o) – 17i, 7e, 23ei, 8 – 49% The Centurion Abenadar needs redemption. He is the child of a Roman Ambassador and a
Jewish woman, a concubine. He is hated
by his own people, the Romans, and the Greeks, but he can converse with them
all. He wants love and acceptance, but
can’t find that even as he climbs the ranks to a Centurion.
2. Revelation (o) –2e, 64, 1i – 60% The life of Abenadar and the training and
life of the Roman Legions is revealed in exquisite detail. This is a major part of the entertainment and
development of the novel.
3. Achievement (o) – 16e, 19ei, 4i, 43 – 73% The achievement plots are about love,
promotions, and positions as well as acceptance.
Achievement (a)
1. Detective or mystery (a) – 56, 1e – 51% There
is some mystery about who attacks Adenadar, about Ruth, about Jesus, and about
figuring out problems in Jerusalem.
2. Revenge or vengeance (a) –3ie, 3e, 45 – 46% Actually, the opposite. There are some seeking vengeance against Abenadar,
but it’s a subplot.
3. Zero to hero (a) – 29 – 26% Very strongly with Abenadar.
4. Romance (a) –1ie, 41 – 37% Yes, very strong. Abenadar saves a woman of the streets and
gives her a home. She becomes part of
his connection to Jesus.
5. Coming of age (a) –1ei, 25 – 23% Yes, to an extent.
6. Progress of technology (a) – 6 – 5% Not really.
7. Discovery (a) – 3ie, 57 – 54% About the Roman Legion and training to be a
Legionnaire
8. Money (a) – 2e, 26 – 25% Yes, to some degree with the other soldiers.
9. Spoiled child (a) – 7 – 6% Nope.
10. Legal (a) – 5 – 4% Not
really.
11. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
Nope.
12. Self-discovery (a) – 3i, 12 – 13% The self-discovery and coming of age is the
same plot. The characters are adults and
not children.
13. Guilt or Crime (a) – 32 – 29%
Abenadar has guilt about his circumstances and life. This is part of the problem of redemption and
especially about his life as a Jew.
14. Proselytizing (a) – 4 – 4%
Nope.
15. Reason (a) – 10, 1ie – 10%
Yes, Much of Abenadar’s power as a leader comes from his intellect. This drives the novel.
16. Escape (a) – 1ie, 23 – 21% Only figurative.
17. Knowledge or Skill (a) – 26 – 23% Knowledge and skill as a leader and a soldier
are very important. These allow Abenadar
to be promoted.
18. Secrets (a) – 21 – 19%
Not really.
Quality (q)
1. Messiah (q) – 10 – 9% Nope.
2. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16% Nope.
3. Rejected love (rejection) (q) – 1ei, 21 –
20% Yes, a little, but not very strong.
4. Miscommunication (q) – 8 – 7% Not really.
5. Love triangle (q) – 14 – 12% Nope.
6. Betrayal (q) – 1i, 1ie, 46 – 43% There is a degree of betrayal with Christ and
Abenadar, but it only comes from Abenadar’s feelings and ideas.
7. Blood will out or fate (q) –1i, 1e, 26 – 25% Nope.
8. Psychological (q) –1i, 45 – 41% There is a very strong psychological component
in this novel. The conflicted mind and
heart of Abenadar as well as Ruth are very important in the novel.
9. Magic (q) – 8 – 7% Nope.
10. Mistaken identity (q) – 18 – 16% Nope.
11. Illness (q) – 1e, 19 – 18%
Yes, Abenadar is injured and this creates two important turning points
in the novel.
12. Anti-hero (q) – 6 – 5%
Nope.
13. Immorality (q) – 3i, 8 – 10%
Some with Abenadar’s life in the Legion compared to his Jewish
background.
14. Satire (q) – 10 – 9%
Not really.
15. Camaraderie (q) – 19 – 17%
Yes, between the Legionnaires.
16. Curse (q) – 4 – 4% Nope.
17. Insanity (q) – 8 – 7% Nope.
18. Mentor (q) – 12 – 11% Yes,
very strongly between Abenadar and his mentors.
Setting (s)
1. End of the World (s) – 3 – 3% Nope.
2. War (s) – 20 – 18% Yes and battles.
3. Anti-war (s) –2 – 2% Nope.
4. Travel (s) –1e, 62 – 56% Yes, extensively to battles and within the
Levant.
5. Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8% Nope.
6. Horror (s) – 15 – 13% Not really.
7. Children (s) – 24 – 21% Nope.
8. Historical (s) – 19 – 17% This is a full on historical novel with great
details you won’t find in most novels of its time.
9. School (s) – 11 – 10% Training in the Legion.
10. Parallel (s) – 4 – 4% Nope.
11. Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%
Nope.
12. Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%
Nope.
13. Prison (s) – 2 – 2% Nope.
Item (i)
1. Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42% Yes to a degree. The legion plume and some other items that
mark the Legion and the Legionnaires are important in the plots.
Centurion
is a novel I wrote to immerse the reader in the times and place. The purpose of it is to show the reader
history in an entertaining way. That’s
the overall purpose for any novel, entertainment.
That’s all that I need write about the novel in
general. Specifically, we need to look
at how to make a historical novel entertaining.
You might think that just the relating of the historical information
in this format would be entertaining enough.
I’m not sure about that. Plenty
of autobiographies and biographies are terribly boring, and many historical
papers are boring. What makes a
historical novel entertaining?
First of all, the revelation of the protagonist is the main
point of the writing. In Centurion,
I showed the early connection of Abenadar with Jesus while growing up in Nazareth. Part of the purpose was the connection, but
the other more entertaining part was to show a contrast between the Jewish
peasants and the Romans and political leaders.
With a peasant from Nazareth, I could explain his growth and the
incidents that a Roman would know, but a Jewish boy would not. In addition, I had scope to explain what a
Jewish person would know, but a Roman would not. When I write explain, I mean show. I show you through action narrative and
dialog what Abenadar is learning and conversely what his new Roman friends are
learning.
With the acceptance of Abenadar as a Roman and then into the
Legion, I can show you how a Legionnaire is inducted and starts in a legion. I can additionally, show you how they are
trained and live. This to me is
entertaining. It fully immerses the
reader in the life and times of Abenadar.
Part of this story and immersion is how he gains rank and
how he wins accolades. These require
going to battle and surviving. Abenadar
excels as a trainer and with the sword.
These are important weapons for the Legions. In addition, Abenadar learns to be a leader.
In the novel, I show how Abenadar’s language skills aid him
and his comrades. I show his interaction
with the Jewish community in Jerusalem, and with Pilate. Abenadar also has a love problem. He is ostracized from the Jews because of his
Roman blood, but also from the Romans because of his Jewish blood. He wants love, but lives in a world where
only prostitutes are available to him, and he is a moral man who does not wish
to sully himself with prostitutes.
Part of the novel is about this very problem. Abenadar rescues a woman from the streets and
out of prostitution. He finds in Ruth a
friend. This also gives impetus for Ruth’s
connection to Jesus as well as Abenadar’s travels with Ruth around and outside
of Jerusalem.
There are always problems in the Legion based on jealously
and greed. Abenadar must conquer all
these problems. The main point, is that
although the climax of this novel is about Christ, most of the novel is about
Abenadar and the Legion. I show the
entire situation from the standpoint of the Romans with a strong touch of the
Orthodox as in Jewish thought. I think
that these are unusual to most readers and to most educated people. I wrote this novel to understand just these
points, and I wanted to make the learning of it entertaining and exciting.
Of course the overall subject matter is also interesting and
exciting to most readers just because of the topic and the historical realistic
nature of the writing.
I recommend Centurion to you. It is entertaining and exciting, and gives
you a new and different perspective of a subject, person, and time. For those who aren’t familiar, it is an
excellent introduction. For those who are
experts, it is an entirely new way of looking at the subject. In every case, the reader will not be
disappointed.
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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