Writing - part xx703 Writing a Novel, Plots and My Novels, more on Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse

 5 September 2021, Writing - part xx703 Writing a Novel, Plots and My Novels, more on Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse

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

    Since I'm writing about Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse, here is the proposed cover:

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

 

Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse came from the idea of a person who was a total screwup, but who kept getting moved from intelligence office to intelligence office until she had no other place to go.  I used the modern idea of the generation of people who have been treated with ribbons and awards all their lives for doing basically nothing.  Combine that with a government agency, rules, and laws that force the agency to continue training or move a person instead of cashiering them, and you have Shiggy.

 

Shiggy is the protagonist for my novel Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  Shiggy is cursed, but you might have guessed that.  Shiggys problem really isn’t that she is cursed as much as she is the problem.  In the novel, Shiggy starts with British officer training, but accidentally kneecaps her shooting instructor.  Before that, she exposes her graduate students to nuclear materials.  After Sandhurst and failure at military training, Shiggy is inducted into the Chemical department in the MI structure.  She accidentally introduces nerve gas into the lab.  No one dies, but she is shipped to the next office over for training and so on.  Shiggy basically goes through training in every speciality in the MI structure before Sorcha gets her.  That’s when things get interesting and the novel begins.

 

Here is some of the information on the novel:

 

Shiggaion Tash is a screw-up.  Not your run of the mill screw-up, rather, she is a truly royal screw-up.  From the botched experiment in her graduate class at Oxford, where she exposed all her students to a radionuclide, to blowing the kneecap off her pistol range instructor at Sandhurst, Shiggaion is a screw-up.  What’s worse is Sandhurst, sent her to Military Intelligence (MI) science where she released nerve gas and sent an entire floor to hospital.  From there science sent her to section VIII, Clandestine Communications where she broadcast classified operational codes to Britain’s enemies.  Section VIII sent her to Section V, counter-espionage reports, where she designed an organizational database system that lost all the reports.  Section V moved her on to Section VII, Economic Intelligence.  There, she dumped a load of contraband in the Thames.  Section VII pushed her into Section N, a section that exploits the contents of foreign diplomatic bags.  Shiggaion accidentally lost her identification badge inside a diplomatic pouch and caused an international incident.  Section N passed her to Section D, Political Covert Actions and Paramilitary Operations.  There, she wrecked an SUV and sent her teammates to hospital.  Finally, Section D gave her over to Hostage Rescue.  During a hostage recovery exercise Shiggaion accidently shot a hostage.  It was a laser scored exercise, but she did make a mark—someone else did too.  One of the instructors shot Shiggaion in the left buttocks with a tranq round.

Shaggaion woke strapped to a medical table with a pain in her left cheek and a drug induced headache.  She also has to go--badly.  Shiggaion can’t imagine such treatment.  Shiggaion’s cries finally provoke a response.  Sorcha Davis throws open the door, threatens Shiggaion with bodily harm, and christens her—Shiggy.  To survive, indeed to be able to relieve her bladder, and to prevent bodily harm, Shiggy must acquiesce to Sorcha’s demands and accept her new name.  She must do much more than that.  Shiggy must acknowledge and admit to all her previous lapses of judgement and take responsibility for them.

Thus begins the training of Shiggy Tash.  Sorcha dresses her, arms her (simulated weapons at first), trains her, punishes her, demeans her, and fashions her into a lady.  All for the purpose, so says Sorcha, to make Shiggy a sensual and sexy spy who can woo the hearts of men and woman.  Shiggy looks like a ditz—a very beautiful ditz after Sorcha is done, but a ditz.  Sorcha needs an intelligent ditz who doesn’t look like a dangerous person or a spy at all.  Shiggy isn’t so sure, plus there is much more to this business than simple or not so simple spying.

Sorcha tells her that they are part of Stela, an organization in British Intelligence that protects the UK from supernatural beings and events.  Shiggy doesn’t believe in the supernatural and now she must work with it—she even meets some supernatural beings.  What’s to become of Shiggy now?

Let’s evaluate the plots.

Overall (o)

1.     Redemption (o) – 17i, 7e, 23ei, 8 – 49%  Shiggy is your classic redemption protagonist.  She needs redemption from herself.  What Shiggy needs is to grow up and take responsibility.  In this way, she is just like everyone else who needs to grow up, but there is more to Shiggy and to her issues.  Shiggy is a cursed person.  She needs some special redemption, thus her own book in my Enchantment series.  There is more.              

2.     Revelation (o) –2e, 64, 1i – 60%  The revelation is especially entertaining because we get to go around with Shiggy and Sorcha and she special people all engaged with Stele.  Stele is the group that investigates and protects England from the supernatural.  I can’t imagine a more interesting piece of revelation.       

3.     Achievement (o) – 16e, 19ei, 4i, 43 – 73%  Shiggy’s success is to become something other than a screwup.  There is more along this road, but that’s basically it.   

Achievement (a)

1.     Detective or mystery (a) – 56, 1e – 51% The mystery of the novel is just who Sorcha and Stele is.  This is in addition to how they operate.    

2.     Revenge or vengeance (a) –3ie, 3e, 45 – 46%  Shiggy attempts to take revenge on Sorcha, but she is always unsuccessful.  This is a funny part of the novel.  

3.     Zero to hero (a) – 29 – 26%  Shiggy is a full on zero to hero.

4.     Romance (a) –1ie, 41 – 37%  Nope.  Yes, there is double romance.  Sorcha engages in some events and dates so Shiggy can learn.  Her driver and muscle are smitten with Sorcha and Shiggy.   

5.     Coming of age (a) –1ei, 25 – 23%  You could call this a type of coming of age—it is definitely self-discovery.

6.     Progress of technology (a) – 6 – 5%  Nope.

7.     Discovery (a) – 3ie, 57 – 54%  This entire novel is about discovery for Shiggy from cover to cover.

8.     Money (a) – 2e, 26 – 25%  Money is a limited plot in the novel.  Mostly, Sorcha uses it to motivate Shiggy.    

9.     Spoiled child (a) – 7 – 6%  Shiggy is a real spoiled adult.  

10.  Legal (a) – 5 – 4%  Yes, to a medium degree. 

11.  Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%  Nope. 

12.  Self-discovery (a) – 3i, 12 – 13%  There is a very strong element of self-discovery for the characters in this novel.

13.  Guilt or Crime (a) – 32 – 29%  Shiggy causes problems for which she is forced to feel guilt..

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

15.  Reason (a) – 10, 1ie – 10%  Yes, the resolution all comes through reason.

16.  Escape (a)  – 1ie, 23 – 21%  Yes, Shiggy keeps trying to escape Sorcha.

17.  Knowledge or Skill (a) – 26 – 23%  Knowledge and skills are the tools that are used and that they are learning.

18.  Secrets (a) – 21 – 19%  This novel is filled with secrets and revealed secrets.

Quality (q)

1.     Messiah (q) – 10 – 9%  Nope.

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

3.     Rejected love (rejection) (q) – 1ei, 21 – 20%  To a degree, Shiggy has problems understanding her power and limits..

4.     Miscommunication (q) – 8 – 7%  To some degree.

5.     Love triangle (q) – 14 – 12%  Nope.

6.     Betrayal (q) – 1i, 1ie, 46 – 43%  Nope.

7.     Blood will out or fate (q) –1i, 1e, 26 – 25%  Yes, to a degree Shiggy’s curse is caused by birth.

8.     Psychological (q) –1i, 45 – 41%  This is a psychological novel on many levels. 

9.     Magic (q) – 8 – 7%  To some degree.

10.  Mistaken identity (q) – 18 – 16%  Nope.

11.  Illness (q) – 1e, 19 – 18%  Nope.

12.  Anti-hero (q) – 6 – 5%  Nope.

13.  Immorality (q) – 3i, 8 – 10%  Nope.

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

15.  Camaraderie (q) – 19 – 17%  Yes, there is a large degree of moving camaraderie based on associations and groups.

16.  Curse (q) – 4 – 4%  Nope. 

17.  Insanity (q) – 8 – 7%  Nope.

18.  Mentor (q) – 12 – 11%  Yes, very strongly with Sorcha for Shiggy.

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%  All around Britain and the world.

5.     Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8%  Nope.

6.     Horror (s) – 15 – 13%  Nope.

7.     Children (s) – 24 – 21%  Some small exposure.

8.     Historical (s) – 19 – 17%  Yes, modern era.

9.     School (s) – 11 – 10%  Yes, Shiggy is trained by Sorcha .

10.  Parallel (s) – 4 – 4%  Nope.

11.  Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%  Nope.

12.  Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%  Kind of with Sherwood.

13.  Prison (s) – 2 – 2%  Nope.

Item (i)

1.  Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42%  Yes, items play some role.

 

With Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse I really wasn’t making fun of millennials.  I know many millennials who are fine and well rained people, but there really is a problem with an entire generation raised to believe nothing is their fault and that they will get trophies and ribbons for doing nothing but showing up.  Thus cometh Shiggy.  Shiggy is the stereotype of the bad millennial.  And that’s the point, she is redeemed in the end from her problems. 

 

All in all, I see Shiggy as an entertaining and to a degree a comedy.  I see all my novels as both classic comedies (the protagonist overcomes the telic flaw) as well as popular comedies (they are supposed to have funny aspects to them).  Shiggy is just one of these.  In addition, I truly made Shiggy an actual millennial.  She has no appreciation for the spiritual or the supernatural.  With my novels, you know that can’t stand.

 

I didn’t call Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse a parallel or an allegory.  It isn’t an allegory, but it could be considered a type of parallel.  The point is that Shiggy, like many in her generation, doesn’t believe in the supernatural or the spiritual.  The point of the novel from a plot standpoint is to bring Shiggy face to face with both. 

 

Sorcha isn’t the protagonist, Shiggy is, but I called the novel after the protagonist’s helper.  Sorcha works for the Stele branch in the Organization.  Sorcha is aware of the supernatural and she works with supernatural creatures, but she is not supernatural.  Sorcha is just very good at being an intelligence operative and field agent.  Her operations mainly have to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction.  She is basically the WMD specialist for Stele and the Organization.  She accomplishes operations that no one else is supposed to know about or handle.  Perhaps real people like this don’t exist, they should.  At the same time, Sorcha uses the supernatural to bolster and aid her work.

 

Shiggy makes the acquaintance of multiple supernatural beings.  The obvious point in my writing is to point Shiggy and the reader to the existence of the supernatural and the spiritual.  I write in a reflected worldview just like Bram Stoker.  My point is entertainment, and I find the supernatural and the spiritual entertaining. 

 

Shiggy is one of my favorite protagonists.  Mainly because she is clueless at first, but very smart.  There are many very smart but clueless people out there.  I don’t care if they just are entertained by my novels, but if they see any real human truth in them as well as being entertained, that’s the absolute point.  In fact, entertainment is all about creating a world of imagination that when revealed excites and entertains—sorry, no other word really explains the idea of entertainment.  We are entertained when we are sad at a tragedy and glad in a comedy.  I’ve written before that entertainment is the pathos reaction to the protagonist.  I think this still stands, but entertainment is a very complex idea.  My goal is solely to entertain.  The means of entertaining are the tools that excite, amuse, and beguile the reader.  We can never forget this as authors.

 

So Shiggy is looking for success and finds it in discipline—this charity to show.     

 

Next, we’ll look in greater depth at Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.

 

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/
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