17 April 2023, Writing - part xxx291 Writing a Novel, A New Male Romantic Protagonist, Details, Belief
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 30th novel, working title, Rose,
potential title Rose: Enchantment and the
Flower. The theme statement is: 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 cover proposal for Rose:
Enchantment and the Flower.
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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. Writing number 31, working title Shifter. I just finished 32nd novel, Rose.
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 is the protagonist development list. We are going to use this list to develop a
Romantic protagonist. With the following
outline in mind, we will build a Romantic protagonist.
1.
Define the initial scene
2. At the same time as the above—fit a protagonist into the
initial scene. That means the minimum
of:
a.
Telic flaw
b.
Approximate age
c.
Approximate social degree
d.
Sex
3. Refine the protagonist
a.
Physical description
b.
Background – history of the
protagonist
i. Birth
ii. Setting
iii. Life
iv. Education
v. Work
vi. Profession
vii. Family
c.
Setting – current
i. Life
ii. Setting
iii. Work
d.
Name
4. Refine the details of the protagonist
a.
Emotional description (never to be
shared directly)
b.
Mental description (never to be
shared directly)
c.
Likes and dislikes (never to be
shared directly)
5. Telic flaw resolution
a.
Changes required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
i. Physical changes
ii. Emotional changes
iii. Mental changes
b.
Alliances required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
c.
Enemies required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
d.
Plots required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
e.
Obstacles that must be overcome for
the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw
I’ll repeat. I just
finished up Rose, and I want to finish up Cassandra. I’m moving in that direction.
This is where I’m going.
I need to finish up Cassandra, and that’s what I’m going to do. That might take a month or so. At the same time, I want to write a follow-on
to Rose. Basically, I want to
finish up Rose, and resolve the overall telic flaw introduced in the
first novel. To do this, I need a
new protagonist. I could use Rose, and I
was thinking about this, but my readers suggested I should keep the number of
male and female protagonists about equal.
Not sure why, but I did get a great idea for an initial scene and for a
protagonist. I’ve been developing this
protagonist for my short form blog, but I can move some of that development
here and make some comments on it.
Here is the protagonist development list. We are going to use this list to develop a
Romantic protagonist. With the following
outline in mind, we will build a Romantic protagonist. I removed the breadcrumbs from the blog just
to make it easier to read. Here’s what
we have left.
a.
Plots required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw - What I should really do is go through the list of classic
plots and pick those I would like to include in the novel. Maybe I’ll do just that.
b.
Obstacles that must be overcome for
the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw
Here is the list of classic plots from the list of over 100
greatest novels and books in English.
What we discovered is that novels are never a single plot—they are
multiple plots that fit together to eventually resolve the telic flaw. If you can grasp this, you can pick plots to
enhance and develop the entertainment in your novels. That’s what I want to do here. I’ll look at the plots and see what I can put
into this novel as well as try to develop more ideas for the development of the
novel and the protagonist.
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)
Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42% - The article or item plot is one of the
most powerful and the best plot ever. It
is also an easy and entertaining plot to add to any novel. All you need is something, an article. It can even be a MacGuffin. What’s that, and what’s the difference?
In the first place,
an article or item plot is when we interject any thing (item) as an important
part of the tension and release of a scene or any thing (item) added as a part
of the telic flaw resolution. For
example, if the criminal used a pistol to shoot the victim, then the pistol is
usually a great item important to the scenes and the telic flaw
resolution.
The pistol is just a
simple type of article. There are many
many other types of things we can add to a plot. For example, you can add in a crystal skull
(one of the Indiana Jones movies), an idol (the first Indian Jones movie), a jewel
(The Moonstone), a little statue (The Maltese Falcon), and many
many others. In some cases these are
MacGuffins and in others they are real article plots. What’s the difference?
In an actual article
plot, the article, like a pistol is used to cause or further the action—lead to
the resolution of the telic flaw. In the
case of a MacGuffin, the article just furthers the resolution of the telic flaw
or the tension and release in the scene without actually doing anything. The crystal skull, the Maltese Falcon, and
the jewel in The Moonstone are all MacGuffins. Then what isn’t a MacGuffin? When the article is used to further the telic
flaw resolution. These are the types of
articles I love to interact into the novel.
With a reflected worldview this is easy to do. Let me give you some examples from my
writing.
In Essie:
Enchantment and the Aos Si, Essie comes with a silver cage (to hold her), a
small book (filled with the glamour spells she can use), a stick with a stone
embedded in it (her crown). These items
are very important to the telic flaw resolution and to Essie. They are used in the novel to unlock the secrets
about Essie and for Essie to eventually take her proper place. These articles and their use are critical to
the novel. The use part makes them not
be MacGuffins.
In my novel, Valeska:
Enchantment and the Vampire, George, the protagonist, receives an enchanted
dagger that originally was owned by King Arthur. George uses the dagger in the telic flaw
resolution.
In my newest novel, Cassandra:
Enchantment and the Warriors, one of the characters has a ring and a cross
from her mother. The ring is part of the
telic flaw resolution. There are other
articles brought into play as part of the climax of the novel. Many of these items are not magical or filled
with glamour.
So, what about Seoirse? In general, we don’t just add stuff
willy-nilly to a novel, but sometimes with the writing comes ideas and items
that just fit and make the novel. These
types of articles just fit the purpose at the time. You can’t just have your characters discover
a magic sword on the ground as part of the climax. That’s a deus ex machina (god machine). You can put together a long train of
development from the beginning about a sword that might be in a certain
place. Have your characters research and
search for it. Discover it. Examine and discover its powers. Finally, use it in the climax. This is exactly what I do in some degree with
the ring in Cassandra.
For Seoirse, I
haven’t thought that far. I’d like to
interject some article that brings Seoirse and Rose closer together. Seoirse’s mother has the book, a special
staff, and some special books and stuff at the family estate. Perhaps these can be weaved into the novel. We shall see.
In any case, especially for a reflected worldview novel, the article
plot is a great plot to use. It is one
of the most useful and easiest to introduce.
If you need an article, just throw one in.
c.
Obstacles
that must be overcome for the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw – This is the last main
point of part of the development of the Romantic protagonist. We shall look at some details of the
characteristics of the Romantic protagonist next, but at the moment, I want to
address the last part of developing a protagonist.
This entire section
has been specifically on how to develop a protagonist and not just a Romantic
protagonist. The next part will be about
how to make a protagonist a Romantic protagonist.
The final point is to
define the obstacles the protagonist must overcome to resolve the telic
flaw. This will wrap up this section
about a basic protagonist. Of course,
none of this information is shared with the reader except in the context of the
novel itself. This is indeed perhaps the
greatest of all the spoilers. I can tell
you straight out because I haven’t really thought about it much.
Seoirse will need to
win Rose’s trust. That is the first
point. Also, I was developing Rose for a
singular purpose from the beginning.
Rose is my character whom I wanted to become the guardian of the next
incarnation of Ceridwen in the world.
A little explanation. In my other novels, I used Kathrin Calloway
as Ceridwen the incarnation of the great goddess Ceridwen. Ceridwen is the great goddess of all the
Gaelic and Celtic peoples. She is the
goddess who is a maiden, a mother, and the crone in time. She died in my worldview and is always
replaced to be born, live, and then die again.
When Ceridwen is gone, there is no leadership for the people and the
courts of humans, the gods, and the Fae.
I’ve been developing Rose to raise Ceridwen. In addition, Shiggy was given the authority
to sit on the Oaken throne of Ceridwen.
That’s in another novel. In any
case, this is what I want as the main point and resolution of Seoirse. Rose becomes the keeper of the toddler
Ceridwen and Seoirse becomes the love and marries Rose. They live in Viera Lodge in the Orkney
Islands. That’s my goal. I’ll see how far I get to it and what I’ll do
to get there. In general, I’d like the
ending to be very complex and require the cultivation of all the little
goddesses. Perhaps with a great conflict
between them and some rogue gods. We
shall see.
Seoirse will need to overcome
Rose, that is gain her trust. He will
need to help Rose meet her needs and requirements. He will need to work with teachers and others
to get everything I want for Rose to accomplish. That’s what needs to be the goal in this
novel. That’s my plan anyway.
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 – What power or ability should Seoirse
have that he develops and that allows him to resolve the telic flaw of the
novel? Great question. I’ve really waited to define this. I’m not certain entirely what I want to do
with it. Let’s start with the whys and wherefores,
then see what Seoirse might need and use.
First to the whys and
wherefores. The Romantic protagonist
always must have a power or skill that they develop through difficulty and hard
work. This power or skill is then used
to resolve the telic flaw. In fact, this
power or skill is the specific thing that makes the telic flaw resolution go
from impossible to inevitable. Let me
give you some examples.
The first and most
obvious is Harry Potty. His special
skill and power is magic. Unfortunately,
our author, in the case of Harry Potty, doesn’t really give us a very well
developed or exciting development of Harry’s magical skills. She does to some degree for Hermione but not
Harry. Hermione’s development is also
off stage, but we can see the results and the author refers to her hard work
over and over. In a really well written
and powerful Romantic novel, the protagonist is usually shown discovering then
carefully developing the skill over time.
There are also very effective novels where the skill development is off
stage. I’ll give you a great example.
In Anne McCaffrey’s
Dragonsong and Dragonsinger, the protagonist, Menoly, has developed her harper
and songcrafter skills off stage and before the novel, but the author
constantly reminds us of them. Those
skills become the entire power in the novel for her transformation and the
telic flaw resolution. The question then
is how do I want to work this with Seoirse?
I’m thinking that he
should discover and develop his skills in the novel. I think that they should be the skill of the
Keeper of the Book of the Fae. Perhaps
he should discover that he has the skill, but then work with Rose to perfect it
and then to steal the book. That would
cause a great plot development. It would
pretty much bring on the telic flaw resolution I’m looking for.
The writing of this
type of development and the plots involved is very important and a work of just
writing and thinking over and over about the characters and how they live and
develop as persons. We shall see.
2. Set of beliefs (morals and ideals) that are different
than normal culture or society’s – In the near past, the easiest way to
play this was to make the protagonist mostly progressive and open. Usually, in some cases antithetical to religion
or open to other religions than the norm in the current culture or
society. This isn’t to say that Romantic
protagonists are intentionally anti-religious or not religious, but rather,
like most modern characters, the authors tend to ignore religion entirely. I’m not into that.
I realize when about
80% of your readers acknowledge God and at least 50% of them go to some type of
religious service, then most of your readers are interested and dedicated to
religion. Why ignore it. That’s where the modern Romantic protagonist
can shine.
If we expect the
Romantic protagonist to have a set of beliefs that are different than the
normal culture or society’s then why not give the Romantic protagonist a full
on set of beliefs. Since I write in the
reflected worldview, I find this easy to do.
I like to build my
Romantic protagonist as a person with a full set of strong beliefs. I like to set them in a Catholic or an
Orthodox circumstance of religion, because I think both Catholic and Orthodox
are viewed by most readers as pretty neutral and safe. They happen to be beliefs and religions that
are seen as milk toast by many readers.
Why not use them as the backdrop for a Romantic character. This allows the use of religious imagery and
ideas in the context of the novel. Let
me explain.
In my reflected
worldview, I use the Gaelic or Celtic myth that the Fae (Fairies) are the
angels who were neutral during the fight in the heavens. That pretty much places the novel into some
type of religious context immediately.
If there are fallen angels as the Fae, then there are unfallen angels,
and in many cases, my characters and protagonists can see them. Why would you not subscribe to a set of
beliefs if they are evident to you. This
is the basis for most of my novels, not to bring in a religious point, but to
build a logical reflected worldview—one that includes religion. What about Seoirse?
Here is what I plan
to do. Rose has been trained in the
ideas of religion, but she hasn’t really been shown to be involved. I think I’ll have Seoirse get her more
involved. I’ll give Seoirse a fine set
of values and beliefs. From the very
beginning, we shall see that he is a valiant and moral young man. I’ll tie those to his ideas and beliefs. This will get Rose thinking and help move the
telic flaw resolution. In addition, it
will excite a core of ideas for the reader and within the novel itself. As I noted, about 80% of your readers believe
in God, while 50% or more actively worship God.
That means a large core of your audience will like some degree of
encouragement and interest in Godly things.
A little Catholic or Orthodox symbols, ideas, and imagery can’t hurt and
will excite your readers. Plus, the
entire idea of the Romantic protagonist standing up against the immoral and
wrong always provide entertainment and excitement to your readers.
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
The Novel: theme statement.
Let’s use this list, again, to design a new
protagonist. That’s exactly what I’m
going to do.
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
fiction, theme, plot, story, storyline,
character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book, writing,
information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic
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