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Thursday, October 27, 2022

Writing - part xxx120 Writing a Novel, Romantic Protagonist, Common and Rural

27 October 2022, Writing - part xxx120 Writing a Novel, Romantic Protagonist, Common and Rural   

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:  Let me tell you a little about writing.  Writing isn’t so much a hobby, a career, or a pastime.  Writing is a habit and an obsession.  We who love to write love to write. 

 

If you love to write, the problem is gaining the skills to write well.  We want to write well enough to have others enjoy our writing.  This is important.  No one writes just for themselves the idea is absolutely irrational and silly.  I can prove why.

 

In the first place, the purpose of writing is communication—that’s the only purpose.  Writing is the abstract communication of the mind through symbols.  As time goes by, we as writers gain more and better tools and our readers gain more and better appreciation for those tools and skills—even if they have no idea what they are. 

 

We are in the modern era.  In this time, the action and dialog style along with the push of technology forced novels into the form of third person, past tense, action and dialog style, implying the future.  This is the modern style of the novel.  I also showed how the end of literature created the reflected worldview.  We have three possible worldviews for a novel: the real, the reflected, and the created.  I choose to work in the reflected worldview.

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

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.

 

With that said, where should we go?  Should I delve into ideas and creativity again, or should we just move into the novel again?  Should I develop a new protagonist, which, we know, will result in a new novel.  I’ve got an idea, but it went stale.  Let’s look at the outline for a novel again:

 

1.      The initial scene

2.     The rising action scenes

3.     The climax scene

4.     The falling action scene(s)

5.     The dénouement scene(s)

    

The initial scene is the most important scene and part of any novel.  To get to the initial scene, you don’t need a plot, you need a protagonist.

 

Let’s be very clear.  You can start with a plot, a protagonist, an idea, or an idea for an initial scene.  The easiest and most controlled method is to start with a protagonist.  As I’ve written over and over, a protagonist must come with a telic flaw.  I think it is impossible to have a protagonist without a telic flaw, but I suppose you could develop a completely lackluster protagonist without any telic flaw connected to them. 

 

Here is my list for the characteristics of a Romantic protagonist.  I am not very happy with most of the lists I have found.  So, I will start with a classic list from the literature and then translate them to what they really mean.  This is the refined list.  Take a look.

 

1. Some power or ability outside the norm of society that the character develops to resolve the telic flaw.

2. Set of beliefs (morals and ideals) that are different than normal culture or society’s.

3. Courageous

4. Power (skills and abilities) and leadership that are outside of the normal society.

5. Introspective

6. Travel plot

7. Melancholy

8. Overwhelming desire to change and grow—to develop four and one.

9. Pathos developed because the character does not fit the cultural mold.  From the common.

10. Regret when they can’t follow their own moral compass.

11. Self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral compass.

12. Pathos bearing because he or she is estranged from family or normal society by death, exclusion for some reason, or self-isolation due to three above.

13. From the common and potentially the rural.

14. Love interest

 

Here’s what I want to do or how I want to place these on a protagonist:

 

1. Some power or ability outside the norm of society that the character develops to resolve the telic flaw.

 

This may be the most important characteristic of the Romantic protagonist.  The Romantic protagonist needs some skill or power that they can develop outside of the norm of humanity.  This doesn’t make them inhuman, but rather makes them a normal human with some extraordinary capability that they develop into something very powerful and special. 

 

This skill can be as simple as intelligence, martial arts, shooting, weapons use, magic, miracles, chemistry, reasoning skill, or any others.  To be the most effective for a Romantic protagonist, this skill should not be common but the Romantic protagonist should develop themselves to be the best in the world.  Or at least, capable enough to astound others and differentiate themselves while also being able to resolve the telic flaw due to their expertise.  This is simpler than it sounds.

 

Let me give an example.  Form Rose, the novel I’m working on right now.  Rose has been turned into the most perfect aristocrat possible.  This was simple for her due to her personality, but she worked for about a month to develop the skills required.  Luckily, these skills are really dependent on both high wealth as well as personality or acting skill.  The personality and acting skill is exactly the skill that makes Rose unique.  Rose also has other skills, but this is the one I’m examining at the moment. 

 

Rose has a very special skill related to her personality that she can act with a high level of perfection at almost any endeavor she wishes.  In other words, she can fit in perfectly or stand out perfectly.  This skill is not necessarily unique in humanity, but for Rose and in the worldview and setting of the novel, it pretty much is.  In other words, Rose is acting nearly a prefect part of an aristocratic girl.  She can for many reasons, but mainly nearly unrestricted wealth. 

 

Because of her wealth, or apparent wealth, she can use her acting skills and personality to create the perfect part. 

 

I will develop this for another character as part of this evaluation and protagonist development, but I’m not ready to provide one yet.  Instead, I’ll give another example.

 

My character Lilly from Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer, is a computer hardware and software genius.  She is also a math genius, but that is a direct relation to being a hardware and software expert.  She became this way because she worked most of her life writing game software and building game hardware to try to fit in with the kids in school.  This is a very deep character, but you can see that her skills and abilities are very unique, and she has developed them through extensive effort.

 

That’s exactly what we are aiming for.  I’ll go through the rest of these first before beginning the development of a new character. 

 

2. Set of beliefs (morals and ideals) that are different than normal culture or society’s.

 

Let’s start in on this and we will finish it tomorrow.  This doesn’t mean the character is some wacko or evil or immoral.  For example, the modern world is pretty immoral.  Therefore, a character who is church going or highly moral would be considered different than the normal culture. 

 

I’m leaving up breadcrumbs on purpose. 

 

In the Victorian Era, the normal protagonist was church-going, moral, ethical, and even knew which fork to use.  The western world has changed.  The chance you will find a protagonist who goes to church, who is moral, ethical, and who can sit at a formal dinner is highly unlikely.  Our society has gone to the barbarians.  Today, the most common protagonist is amoral, unchurched, usually atheistic or agnostic, and can’t even set a table much less use the proper utensils during dinner.  This means the Romantic protagonist in the modern world to meet this characteristic would be church-going, moral, ethical, and well trained socially.  This is your new Romantic protagonist. 

 

I’m all in on this.  We are writing and providing protagonists who are different than the society and culture.  In this regard, they must be different.  Let me tell you a little about this.  When you lived in the Victorian culture, you felt safe in your culture and a little excitement with a Romantic protagonist who was a little counter cultural was a great thing—you loved it.

 

We are in a modern era.  When all the people around you are not sure about God, unethical to some degree, immoral to some other degree, and can’t even follow basic human culture, you are certainly uncomfortable.  I know.  I know.  You likely say, these people are not necessarily immoral or unethical.  I can assure you compared to the normal human society 100 years ago, the average person today is certainly immoral and unethical.  That’s what makes a Romantic protagonist so powerful.

 

When you are confronted with the squishy, a person who knows their way in the world and can be assured to act in a certain manner is much more safe and comfortable than one who is not.  Do you need an example?  Now every person might be a potentially bad person, that’s proof text enough to my point, but let’s presume we have a friend who is not God-fearing and who is known to be kind of loose around women.  Let’s also presume we have another friend who goes to church every Sunday and prides themselves on being a virgin.  Who would you trust to drive across the country with your girlfriend or even your children.  As I noted, anyone can turn out to be a cad, but those who are not known to be cads usually continue in their good ethics and those who are usually continue in their caddish behavior.  That’s the way the world is.

 

The point is that today, a moral and ethical person or the perfect Victorian would be a Romantic Protagonist.  The reason is that they are counter cultural.  That wouldn’t be true in a novel set in the 1950s.  Therefore, the worldview of the novel and the event horizon of the novel is a critical factor in determining the mind and ethics of the Romantic protagonist.  We will definitely need to address this when developing a character.

 

3. Courageous

 

This is where we will go next.  This is an absolute characteristic and not like the previous.

 

I’ve written before about the basics of characters.  The reason we like or love a protagonist is basically because we agree with them.  This is a question of rationalism and the author and not necessarily the protagonist.  For example, who could ever like an aristocratic messiah who is bratty to his friends and enemies?  That’s Harry Potty, if you didn’t know.  We like Harry Potty not for who he really is, an aristocratic messiah who is bratty to his friend and enemies, but because the author presents such a character in a way that mostly children can adore him. 

 

We really want to love the protagonist, and the main reason we love them isn’t because we see ourselves in them, but because they act as we would like to act in a similar situation.  For example, in a terse disagreement with a friend or a not so friend, sometimes, we would just like to let it go and let it out, but we don’t.  That’s not because we aren’t courageous, but because we know the ramifications socially and culturally—so we keep our mouths shut.  In a novel, this kind of character is mostly a wimp.  The protagonist says what we wish we could say.  That doesn’t mean the protagonist gets away with it.  There are always social and cultural repercussions for speaking one’s mind, but the great author makes it all work out—like it usually can’t in real life.

 

This reminds me of Victorian and oriental literature where things can’t and many times aren’t said, but those miscommunications or lack of communication creates all the social and plot friction in the writing.  If you don’t believe me, just read almost any novel or fiction from the East.  Compare that to Victorian literature.  That which can’t and won’t be said becomes the nexus for many of these works.  That’s not a bad thing at all.  I think Western authors can gain some real understanding about creating social and cultural friction through miscommunication.  That means lack of communication.  Many times, it is what you don’t say as well as what you do say.

 

Now, back to courage.  The Romantic protagonist accomplishes actions based on the courage to overcome the society and the culture.  They are counter-cultural.  This is their power as a character.  All Romantic protagonists are counter-cultural to some degree.  The point of courage is that they have the conviction of their beliefs, and they are willing to accomplish them generally no matter the repercussions. 

 

The points we will get to for the Romantic protagonist is also regret and self-criticism.  This regret and self-criticism is one of the author’s tools that allows them to present the Romantic protagonist as a real and not a totally ideal character.  They do make mistakes—they may not speak up when they should.  They will always act with courage, but they may have reasons to regret their behavior and their actions.

 

Let me note one other thing about courage.  As I wrote, the point of loving the protagonist comes form the protagonist not being like the reader, but being like the reader wants to be.  If your protagonist does something that is unacceptable to the reader, read that as that the writer or author does not explain or make out as rational and reasonable to the reader, then the reader’s view of the protagonist will change in a very negative manner. 

 

Yes, a protagonist can do something wrong, bad, and immoral—if the writer makes those actions seem rational and reasonable from the standpoint of the protagonist.  But beware.  You need to really make it work and seem rational and reasonable—what the reader would do themselves if they were in a similar situation.  If not, you might as well kiss your protagonist goodbye. 

 

Placing the protagonist and especially the Romantic protagonist in a situation where they must make a very difficult and controversial decision is great writing.  Letting them act like an irrational or unreasonable person will ruin them. 

 

I’ll end with an example of this.  Harry Potty goes down fast in my mind when he isolates himself from his friends and has his teenage angst stage in the middle novels.  I don’t like him then, and it is obvious that someone got Rowling back on the hard and fast because although she didn’t ruin her protagonist, I think she did him great damage.  Those are the least readable of her books and mostly because I don’t like who Harry is in them. 

 

You must have your protagonist appear to be rational and reasonable.  This is especially true with a Romantic protagonist.  You would like your protagonist to be loved or at least liked by your readers.  Courage is a very important characteristic for the Romantic protagonist.  It is what the reader wants to be like.    

 

4. Power (skills and abilities) and leadership that are outside of the normal society.

 

We will look at this next.  The important point about this comes from characteristic number one above.  This is the basis of the strength of the Romantic protagonist as a character.  You can think of this from the normal great leader to much much more.  The much much more is what we want to look at.

 

5. Introspective

 

There is a significant problem with this very important characteristic.  Moving from the Victorian Era into that of the common use of the Romantic protagonist, we see a very important change in writing.  Although the Victorian characters did think internally about themselves and their actions, they did so through telling.  The author used either the omniscient narrator or pure telling through some type of narration to tell us the mind of the protagonist.  Then the Romantic protagonist came along with modern showing.

 

Showing is so effective that the world of writing uses it as a measure of effectivity.  At the same time, the Romantic protagonist must be introspective—how can you show the mind of the protagonist?  This is the greatest problem of this era.  Some writers just give up and tell.  You can see this in a lot of writing.  What the author must do is find a means to express the mind of the protagonist without telling.  How can you do this?

 

The fact that a Romantic protagonist is introspective is an undeniable fact.  The means of expressing this is more difficult with showing.  What you must do is a mix of showing the actions of the protagonist and though dialog allowing the protagonist the opportunity to express their mind.  This is exactly why I use a protagonist’s helper in almost all my writing.

 

The protagonist’s helper is a character that allows the protagonist to express themselves in a conversational and protected dialog.  You can use other types of characters, but the protagonist’s helper is the closest to the protagonist, and gives the best chance of open communication. 

 

So, we need an introspective protagonist, but this also means we need a protagonist’s helper or some means to let our protagonist speak their mind.  This means we are already looking at some degree of other characteristics for our Romantic protagonist.

 

6. Travel plot

 

Yes, Romantic protagonists have some degree of wanderlust.  I intentionally forced Rose to travel, but a travel plot of some kind should be a characteristic of the Romantic protagonist.  We’ll look at this next. 

 

Wanderlust seems like a conflict with the country and common of the Romantic protagonist.  To a degree it is, but there is a reality of this for the Romantic protagonist.  We aren’t talking about the Asian view of the spiritual search for oneself formed by a physical wandering in the world, but it’s close. 

 

The Romantic protagonist is a seeker.  We can see how the Romantic protagonist is seeking his or her unique ability or abilities.  Many times these don’t require a travel plot or a wanderlust, but part of the power of the Romantic protagonist is to take their skills into the world to actually use them. 

 

The picture of the power of the Romantic protagonist is to gain their special skills for example in the common and the country.  I’ll give a simple example.  We have a country person who is fully trained or training in a specific skill—let’s say horticulture. The Romantic protagonist is a perfect farmer not just knowing the basics or the advanced skills but rather the in depth and secret skills of horticulture.  The Romantic protagonist wants to take their skills to a higher level.  That usually means travel and further education or travel and study of some type. 

 

The point and the power of the travel plot is both to push the Romantic protagonist forward but also to move the plot forward.  This is part of the strengths of the Romantic protagonist.    

 

7. Melancholy

 

What about melancholy?  Just what does this mean for the protagonist?  This is a character trait that we can use to great effect.

First, we should ask want is melancholy.  Here is the Miriam-Webster dictionary definition of the noun.

 

1adepression of spirits DEJECTION great outbursts of creativity alternate with feelings of extreme melancholy— Brenda Lane Richardson Mitchell sounds utterly alone in her melancholy, turning the sadness into tender art.— Rolling Stone

bpensive mood a fine romantic kind of a melancholy on the fading of the year— Richard Holmes One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair, and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy.— Arthur Conan Doyle

2aMELANCHOLIA sense 1

barchaic an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression

carchaic BLACK BILE

Let’s not let this characteristic get too far into the weeds or the calla lilies.  Melancholy in the sense of the Romantic protagonist means a pensive mood. 

 

I don’t like the idea that the Romantic protagonist or character has a melancholia similar to schizophrenia.  We are not writing about 1a with depression and dejection followed by moments or times of outbursts of creativity.  The Romantic protagonist is a fixed character.  That’s not to mean you can’t develop such a character—that is schizophrenic, but the usual Romantic protagonist is just melancholy in the sense of 1b a pensive mood.

 

This is a Victorian measurement or observation.  The common Victorian was a person of social and cultural neutrality.  That is, they maintained an even strain all the time.  A stiff upper lip—if you like.  Crying and emotion was not allowed—including pensive reflection.  The Romantic protagonist is always pensive and reflective.  That doesn’t mean they can’t have any other emotions, feelings, or reactions, but their reaction should not be effusive or over the top.  That is in general.  Leave such reactions to others.  Our Romantic protagonist is not necessarily deadpan, but they are controlled, controlled and refined.  At the same time, their minds are always at work.  They are pensive and serious.  Sometimes when serious is not called for.

 

You want dry wit and a great straight-man, look for the Romantic protagonist. 

 

Now, lets qualify this well.  The most powerful scene in any Romantic plot based novel is when and if the Romantic protagonist feels they must exercise their anger or emotions.  Usually, we see anger followed by decisive action.  The Romantic protagonist is well controlled until the point when they can and should not be.  This is one of the major endearing points of the Romantic protagonist.

They keep their cool when we (the reader) would not, and finally go to war when the reader knows they certainly should.  This goes back to the rational and reasonable. 

 

We don’t like people who fly off the handle at every thing.  We don’t like people who are overly emotional.  We want people to be controlled, but to fight and react appropriately when the circumstances require it.  This is one of the most powerful tension and release developments in a scene or a novel. 

 

Here’s where we are.  Our Romantic protagonist is pensive, thinking, and controlled.  We will use that to build tension and release in the novel.  

 

8. Overwhelming desire to change and grow—to develop four and one.

 

This is a very important quality for the Romantic protagonist and ties directly into power and skills.  This can be used in novel or extra novel.

 

Here are one and four from the list.

 

1. Some power or ability outside the norm of society that the character develops to resolve the telic flaw.

4. Power (skills and abilities) and leadership that are outside of the normal society.

 

These are perhaps the most important qualities of the Romantic protagonist with one caveat—the Romantic protagonist comes from the common and not the wealthy or the aristocratic.  They are not born into their positions, they develop their skills and abilities and their positions from nothing.  This is the true power of the Romantic.

 

Thus, we can say the Romantic protagonist is driven.  This is the overwhelming desire to change or grow.  The Romantic protagonist has some skill or ability that they develop such that they are the only being in the world who can overcome the telic flaw of the novel.  This is an abiding characteristic of the Romantic protagonist. 

 

Why is this important?  The power of this driving influence in the Romantic protagonist is that they are like most readers.  Most readers believe that with enough effort, they can be anything they want or achieve anything they desire.  This is patently untrue, but novels and especially Romantic novels give this impression.  How many readers really made this happen?  This is the American dream, and I can officially state that anyone who has come from the common—not wealthy or aristocratic and found success has actually succeeded and most of them have succeeded by being driven to their success.  This is a self-motivated success and a self-motivated desire. 

 

Romantic novels are fairy tales but so are every comedy (where the protagonist overcomes the telic flaw) based novel.  The fairy tales are just bigger and brighter and cleaner than the experience of real life.  That is exactly what we see in all novels, but the Romantic novel makes this more clear than ever.

 

In the Romantic novel, we expect the Romantic protagonist to develop some skill to an astonishing level.  They are driven to do so.  They then take that specific skill and use it to resolve the telic flaw.  Do you want an example?

 

Harry Potty is an example, not a great one, but an example.  He starts as the common—an abused child who lives under the stairs.  He has a skill, magic.  He is invited to go to a school for Wizards.  In reality, this is a Victorian blood will out novel, but the author probably intended to present a Romantic protagonist.  Harry learns to be a great wizard.  Now, unlike our true Romantic protagonist, Harry isn’t driven by this.  We aren’t exactly sure how he even gains the skills to be a great wizard.  He kind of just has them—that’s blood will out, the aristocratic plot.

 

In any case, in an actual Romantic protagonist, we have a character who has some skill and is driven to be the best in the world at it.  They do achieve this best ever and then use that skill to resolve the telic flaw.

 

A better Romantic protagonist example is Flavia de Luca.  She has learned numerous skills, but she is a genius at Chemistry.  She was driven to learn as a child, and has reached a level of astonishing capability.  She uses this skill to resolve the telic flaw in every novel about her.  This is a true Romantic protagonist.  Even though she was born to aristocracy, she is being driven to the common.  This is a very interesting theme in the novel.  She as an aristocrat has an important role to fulfill while her family is being driven into penury.  Very good Romantic protagonist, but the wrapper is a little different.

 

In any case, the Romantic protagonist is driven to achieve and to develop their skill to the highest degree. 

 

9. Pathos developed because the character does not fit the cultural mold.  From the common.

 

This is very important and a growth out of the Victorian Era.  There is much to this, and we will look at it next.

 

The Victorian Era was filled with blood will out plots because that was their culture.  They presumed, very incorrectly, that those born with wealth and position were more blessed mentally and in capability than the normal or common people.  This was in some regard true under a starvation culture when the poor and common got less than half the protein and calories of the wealthy and aristocratic, but when Britain and the USA (the USA first of every nation) began to move out of a starvation culture, lo and behold, the poor and common with plenty of protein and calories were just as smart and just as athletic as the wealthy and well born.

 

There was a revolution in literature.  Through the entire Victorian Era and before, the charity (scholarship) students and the common students were the villains an the antagonists.  They were the interlopers who should not be in the refined boarding schools and colleges.  They were hated and bullied and called all kinds of names, and no one cared.  Suddenly, with the end of starvation culture in the West, the common and scholarship students became the heroes and the protagonists of all the novels about boarding schools and education.  Why would this happen.

 

This was the Romantic protagonist revolution.  In the same period, the common and poor had nearly sudden access to penny novels and books.  They began to go to school and to college.  There were many religious societies and groups who actively promoted these people in education, and they were successful.  So successful that they generally took all the awards and won all the accolades—at least in novels and literature.  How well they really did is all up for study because, at the time, the wealthy and the connected did everything they could to prevent awards and accolades.  It’s even in the novels from the time.

 

The biggest deal about this change from the blood will out, Victorian protagonist, to the Romantic protagonist, is that this was a real change in the society and culture.  The poor and common were taking their places alongside the wealthy and aristocratic and the wealth and aristocratic could not hold their seats.

 

We saw and see today the adulation of the person who is poor or common who then achieves greatness.  This is almost a trope in general literature.  It is a wonderful pathos developing trope.  We even see the fake commoner in literature, for example Harry Potty.  Harry Potty is an aristocratic messiah, but he is made out to be a common, abused, and poor person, until he isn’t.

 

In the normal Romantic protagonist, we have a person who is common and poor who then achieves well beyond any normal capability.  That person usually does not fit the common mold of society.

 

In the modern world and modern novels, we see strong pathos development with Romantic protagonists, by setting them as really poor, abused, bullied, and just common or worse.  This is exactly what most readers want and crave.  The modern reader wants to see people like them thrive through their own special skills.

 

This is why we see such a plethora of those with all kinds of diverse or presumed to be the underprivileged as protagonists in novels.  Unfortunately, many of these are really not as underprivileged as they seem, and the general pollution has caught on to the truth that just because someone claims to be part of a disaffected class, they aren’t necessarily.  The poor are still the poor and the greatest story isn’t some rarified middle class person of a certain type being the Romantic protagonist, but rather the really disaffected and poor who wants to work very hard to achieve. 

 

In every case for the Romantic protagonist, achievement is the result of hard work and not fate, special programs, affirmative action, or any other social program.  The real Romantic protagonist is the poor person who breaks out of their problems and the common through hard work—this is usually called the American Dream, but can go by numerous other appellations.  Whatever you want to call it, this is the ideal of success for the Romantic protagonist.  This is also the basis for the telic flaw resolution—that is their hard work and determination to succeed.   

 

10. Regret and self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral compass.

 

Pensive and melancholy—you can’t get away from the spiritual in terms of both physical and moral failings.  This is a very important aspect of our Romantic protagonist.  We’ll look at this next.

 

I put regret and self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral compass together.  I should have put them together form the beginning.  These are not the same but they are similar. 

 

Regret means the Romantic protagonist shows and reacts with outside action when they can’t achieve their goals.  That doesn’t mean they fail—it means they fail to meet their own goals. 

 

Self-criticism means the Romantic protagonist shows and reacts with inside action when they can’t achieve their goals.  Again, this isn’t failure—unless you mean on a progressive level.  Let’s get into this.

 

The power of the Romantic protagonist is to have a strong moral compass which is usually based on their skill to some degree.  Thus, let’s presume the Romantic protagonist has a skill of study and education.  The field matters a lot.  So, let’s just say our Romantic protagonist is an expert in inorganic chemistry.  That’s like Flavia de Luca.  I’ll just call this Romantic protagonist our Romantic protagonist or something like that.

 

The Romantic protagonist whose skill and desire is organic chemistry is driven to know and be the best chemist in the world.  This is the goal and the point.  This Romantic protagonist will use his or her knowledge and special skills in chemistry to resolve the telic flaw.  In the case of Flavia, she solves murders. 

 

Our Romantic protagonist is driven to learn and to be the best chemist ever.  This is his or her moral compass.  Sometimes you wonder if this Romantic protagonist would resort to murder to forward their knowledge and abilities.  Note, that is exactly what Flavia does.  She specializes in poisons, and is constantly referring to them and their effects. 

 

What happens when our Romantic protagonist chemist makes a mistake or fails to remember or fails to achieve to make the chemistry work out properly.  This would also be when he or she fails to achieve the level, goal, or position of knowledge they set or desired? 

 

The answer is easily regret which makes them act outward, and self-criticism which makes them act inwardly.  We know this Romantic protagonist will be disappointed in him or herself because he or she failed to achieve in the field of chemistry. 

 

If you haven’t noticed, regret and self-criticism are powerful means to drive the world of the Romantic protagonist.  This is good for pathos and to drive the Romantic protagonist in the plot. 

 

If you remember that the Romantic protagonist bases their life and moral compass on the skills and abilities that define them, you can see how powerful this can be.  In addition, although I used the example of inorganic chemistry for a skill, you could have something a little less strange or dynamic culturally.  For example, the special skill of our Romantic protagonist could be ethics or kindness.  This should shape the Romantic protagonist in very normal but still important ways.  For example, if the Romantic protagonist failed in some way to be kind or moral within the strictures of that morality.  For example, the Romantic protagonist failed to go to Mass when they usually did.  That would interject regret and self-criticism into the plot.  This allows the author to generate pathos in ways that are not usual or that can affect the readers significantly. 

 

You see this all the time in very well written or produced movies, shows, as well an novels.  For example, most readers would not get too excited about the fact the inorganic chemistry protagonist got less than a 100% on a chemistry test.  If the writer properly conveys how devastating this is to the Romantic protagonist, then pathos has been built.  Many readers could care less about a person going to Mass.  If the writer properly conveys the regret and self-criticism of the Romantic protagonist who feels compelled to go to Mass, then pathos has been developed.  As I noted, regret and self-criticism are tools to develop pathos in the plot.

 

11. Pathos bearing because he or she is estranged from family or normal society by death, exclusion for some reason, or self-isolation due to three above.

 

There are other means to develop pathos with a Romantic protagonist.  Many of these characteristics can be designed into the Romantic protagonist.  In fact, we shall look at this and eventually develop a Romantic protagonist who has all this designed in.

 

Just what is pathos, and why is it important?  Pathos is what all writing, fiction, and entertainment is about.  Pathos is the power of all writing and entertainment.  Most specifically, it is the emotions the reader or spectators experience.  Pathos is the proper emotions the reader or spectators experience.  Bathos is an improper emotion the reader or spectators experience.

 

For example, if the writer meant for the reader or playgoer or movie watcher to experience sadness and instead they break in laughter, that is bathos.  There are many examples of this especially in movies.  I can remember many supposedly serious movies in serious scenes especially in Star Dreck movies where the scene was supposed to be tense and sad, and everyone, except the super nerds broke out in snickers.  Science fiction authors in movie town don’t understand pathos or how to develop pathos well.  Proper emotional response is critical to correct writing; therefore, proper pathos development is necessary for effective and powerful writing.

 

How do you develop pathos?  It really helps to start with a pathos developing character.  This is a very important feature for a strong Romantic protagonist.  I’ll give you my recommendations, and you fit them to your Romantic protagonist.

 

As I noted in the statement for eleven, “he or she is estranged from family or normal society by death, exclusion for some reason, or self-isolation due to three above.”  This is a general statement, but can fit any pathos developing character.  Estranged means separated physically, socially, or culturally.  Let me point out that separated in the near past is very different from separated today.  The current generations are too connected to family and each other.  It’s almost smothering.  In the near past, when people traveled the globe, they rarely expected to communicate more than about once a month and that through letters.  Today, people can communicate via voice and video from nearly anywhere in the world.  Children have anxiety caused by separation of days and weeks.  In the near past, people could go on assignment in a foreign country and only connect on a yearly or less basis.  In the not as near past, people could be separated by years and yeas without any communication.  It was not unusual for war brides from Japan and Germany to never communicate with their original families. 

 

Whatever, the world is not estranged by place or time—that is physically.  It can easily be estranged socially or culturally.  It can also be estranged by death.

 

The Romantic protagonist in the modern and the past can easily be estranged by death, socially, or culturally.  In the past, you can also use general physical isolation through travel.  Let’s look mainly at death, socially, and culturally.  These are usually the most effective.

 

I wrote before, orphans make great Romantic protagonists.  This is physical estrangement through death.  You can make this work in many ways.  Today, you can also use death and separation from other loved ones, for example lovers, children, siblings, spouses, and all.  The easiest however is parents.  A Romantic protagonist who has lost their parents is already pathos bearing especially as a child or youth.  You can also go as far as young adult, but be cautious.  The reason for a Romantic protagonist’s issues or problems should not come out of estrangement.  They can, but you must use caution.  Estrangement should not be an excuse, only a character key that makes the reader feel unhappy or sad concerning the circumstances of the Romantic protagonist.

 

Other estrangements come naturally to the Romantic protagonist for example, in the Victorian, early, Romantic protagonist, estrangement from the orthodoxy of the church could provide some pathos not because the Romantic protagonist was ungodly or unchurched, but because they might not hold to the specific strictures of the orthodox church.  As I noted, in the modern world, the Romantic protagonist would most likely be the orthodox and their family the unchurched or less orthodox. 

 

Cultural estrangement was very common in the early Romantic protagonists with marriages outside of wealth or position.  Also in professions or activities that were considered unorthodox.  For example, women in typical men’s work.  These are less effective today for estrangement or pathos, but one thing hasn’t changed much.  Pathos can be generated by poverty, abuse, hunger, or forced isolation.  These can be used for either sex, but females tend to generate more pathos for all of this.  This is one reason I’ve been using female protagonists or protagonist’s helpers a lot in my latest novels.  A female can provide many pathos development circumstances that males can’t even in our enlightened societies.  Just think about it, and be cautious in your protagonist development.  A burly, handsome, make does not generate the same pathos as a hungry abused male or female.  You develop the Romantic protagonist based on the telic flaw or provide the pathos developing Romantic protagonist to make a strong telic flaw.  It’s all in the telic flaw and in the Romantic protagonist.

 

Pathos development in the novel itself is critical for a powerful novel, but remember, it isn’t the emotions or feelings of the characters, but rather the emotions and feelings of the reader that matter.  I’ve read and seen multiple scenes where there is no sadness in the events of the show or novel, and the readers or viewers are bawling.  This is true pathos development.

     

 

12. From the common and potentially the rural.

 

We touched this a little in nine above, but there is more to this.  Let’s evaluate this a little more in depth, next.

 

The Victoria Era was characterized by the urban and the new.  Technology was the thing and steampunk is the reflection of this today.  If you realize this, the movement of the counter-cultural Romantic protagonist should obviously hail from the rural.  This was the back to nature movement before there was even some kind of modern Gaia worship.

 

To the Victorian, the advent of the technological and the industrial was the beginning of common wealth creation, and they were right about that, but the Romantic protagonist found both skills and power in his or her foundations and that happened to be the rural. 

 

How does this play out in our writing?  This doesn’t mean the Romantic protagonist must be a country bumpkin.  It doesn’t even mean the Romantic protagonist must desire or place the rural over the urban or suburban.  It simply means that the Romantic protagonist is supposed to represent the commonsense heart and mind of the rural, and also that his or her skills and abilities are linked to the rural.  What does that mean.

 

Linking to the rural is a kind of code word.  It can mean to want to return to the rural as away from the technological, but it also means to revive the ideas of the old and ancient.  Most specifically, it means to return to the spiritual and the supernatural.

 

The Victorina and the modern eras are in large measure a rejection of the spiritual and the supernatural.  The Romantic protagonist lives in the spiritual and the supernatural.  They don’t necessarily reject technology, but they also accept the world as more than the physical and the technological.  In fact, some of the greatest power of the Romantic protagonist is the movement to a reflected worldview as opposed to a real worldview.  This gives legs to the power of the Romantic protagonist.  It allows their special skills and abilities even though they are tied to technology. 

 

So, here we are with the ability to move a novel into the reflected worldview as well as to develop new powers and skills in our Romantic protagonist.  These are very powerful for any novel.

 

The Romantic protagonist is also from the common.  This may be the next most important point of the Romantic protagonist.  The Romantic protagonist comes from the common and not wealth or position.  This is because in the beginning, the only readers in the Victorian Era were the wealthy and the aristocratic.  As the poor and common learned to read and penny novels became available (actually chapters for a penny), the entire blood will out plot and character idea was rejected by these new readers. 

 

In the Victorian Era only the wealthy and the aristocratic were considered capable of anything other than manual labor.  As the poor and common began to compete with the wealthy and the aristocratic, lo and behold, the poor and common were just as intelligent and just as capable.  The Romantic protagonist was the result, and the Romantic protagonist comes out of the common.

 

The Romantic protagonist is the person who comes to school on a scholarship and wipes the floor with the wealthy and aristocratic.  This is both a plot and a character trait.  This is also a characteristic that readers love.     

 

13. Love interest

 

You can always introduce a love interest for any protagonist, but the love interest of the Romantic protagonist is a much different thing.  We’ll look at that next.

 

We need a Romantic protagonist.

    

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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