16 August 2023, Writing - part xxx412 Writing a Novel, Seoirse, Marketing Materials, 1000 Word Synopsis
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 31st novel, working title, Cassandra,
potential title Cassandra: Enchantment
and the Warriors. The theme
statement is: Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school
where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events.
Here is the cover proposal for Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warriors:
|
|
|
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.
For novel 33, Book girl: Siobhàn Shaw is Morven McLean’s savior—they
are both attending Kilgraston School in Scotland when Morven loses everything,
her wealth, position, and friends, and Siobhàn Shaw is the only one left to
befriend and help her discover the one thing that might save Morven’s family
and existence.
For novel 34: Seoirse
is assigned to be Rose’s protector and helper at Monmouth while Rose deals with
five goddesses and schoolwork; unfortunately Seoirse has fallen in love with
Rose.
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.
I’m now writing Seoirse, and since I retired from my day job,
I’m back to a chapter a day. I could
likely write two chapters a day, but my brain gets tired. I think it’s important to report again on how
to write a novel. Let’s start at the
beginning.
I already developed the protagonist for this novel: Seoirse Séamas
Wishart. That is his name in
Gaelic. His common or English name is
George James Wishart. Why the
difference. It all has to do with the
worldview of my novels. The worldview is
reflected and therefore the supernatural exists. We are mainly writing about the common and
mythical supernatural in the world. I’d
like to say that whatever the basis for the usual supernatural in human thought
exists in the reflected worldview of this and my novels. Thus there are vampires, werewolves, fairies,
the Fae courts, dragons, gods, goddesses, and other mythical creatures. They aren’t the world. They world of my novels is the world you see
around you. The supernatural aspects are
generally unseen, unknown, and rare.
They exist like the supernatural exists in the world today: generally
unseen, unknown, and rare. That’s the
basis of the world in my novels.
This is where I am with Seoirse. I’ve been writing a chapter a day. That means I’ll likely have a completed novel
in less than a month. That’s what I
usually do when I have an idea and a novel to write. I’m also writing pretty exclusively when I
should be working on a publisher or an agent.
I’ve titled my most recent novel, Seoirse: Enchantment
and the Assignment. I think it’s
time to start on the marketing materials.
I’m still editing, but I’m reaching the end stages of that. I know I went through marketing materials not
that long ago with Rose, but that seems like the right way to go, plus,
that will force me to work on them—I’d really rather be editing. That’s the most fun for me. Reading your own work and fixing the large
and small details to make it as perfect as possible is the best part ever of
writing. I’d have to say, writing it in
the first place is a close second, but when you see the completed novel on your
screen, and you experience the interplay of characters and plot, that’s makes
life worth living and writing worth writing.
I do need to write this again. I write to entertain. The number one person I’m trying to entertain
is me. If my novels aren’t entertaining
to me, how can they be entertaining to anyone else. Further, I write what I love to read. When I produce a novel, it’s because I love the
ideas in the novel. I craft it to be as entertaining
and exciting as possible. Now, on to
marketing materials. Here’s the basic
format I use. I’ll explain this as I go
and as I populate it.
Title of Work:
Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment
Author(s) Name:
L. D. Alford
Type: Either Screenplay or Book
Book
Length: Either # of words for books, or #
of pages for screenplays
130,790 words
Keywords and Market Focus:
Fiction, military, military training,
intelligence operations, adventure, supernatural, Fae, fairy, Scotland, Rousay,
Britain, United Kingdom, Monmouth, MI6, goddess, Dagda, organization, the King;
will fascinate anyone interested in mystery, intelligence operations, and the
Fae—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy mystery and magic realism
novels.
Genre:
Magic Realism
Mystery
Author
Bio: Approximately 120 words
The finest entertainment in fiction
is an escape into a real and inviting world—so asserts L. D. Alford, a novelist
who explores with originality those cultures and societies we think we already
know. He builds tales that make ancient
and modern people real to us. His
stories uniquely explore the connections between present events, history, and
the future—he combines them with threads of reality that bring his fiction
alive. L. D. Alford is familiar with
technology and cultures—he earned a B.S. in Chemistry, an M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering, a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, and is a graduate of Air War
College, USAF Test Pilot School, and Air Command and Staff College. He is widely traveled and has spent long
periods in Europe, Asia, and Central America.
L. D. Alford is an author who combines intimate scientific and cultural
knowledge into fiction worlds that breathe reality.
Synopsis: Approximately 1000 Words
Seoirse
Wishart, the handsome, accomplished, witty and gentle second son of Lady Azure
Wishart, Chancellor of the Book of the Fae, graduated from Eton and is on his
way to Cranwell to achieve his dream to become a pilot officer in the British
Air Force and eventually the Chancellor of the Book of the Fae. Unfortunately, his boss, Ms. O’Dwyer calls
him to a special meeting. Seoirse works
for the Organization, a group under the MI structure, and for Stele, the branch
under the Organization that protects Britian from the supernatural.
The very special
meeting is all about Lady Rose Tash, who is also present. Rose is half-Fae, wondrously beautiful, a
lady of the Fae, and elevated by the King to be the Lady Tash. She is the only person in the world who can handle
certain supernatural girls under Stela training at Monmouth Haberdasher’s
School for Girls in Wales. Rose
encountered some difficulties during her last semester at Monmouth while caring
for Robyn. Robyn is an accidental
Goddess of Light and a precocious nine-year-old.
During the last
semester, the Chinese Communists attempted to capture Rose. An emergency recall thwarted them but took
Rose out of commission for a month. That
problem was resolved, but Ms. O’Dwyer wants Seoirse as Rose’s protector and
handler. That isn’t the end of both their
problems.
Also, at
Monmouth, for oversight are four other dangerous girls: Sophie, Phoebe, Sveta,
and Klava. Sveta and Klava are the
future Goddesses of Light and Darkness, and Sveta has the beak about everything. The brilliant but immature, Robyn has been
incessantly jabbing at Sveta. The
situation and Rose’s assignment is to take care of these five girls, get them
through their year of schooling, and prevent them from harming themselves or
others. If Rose can accomplish this, she
can have her house and property back. Seoirse
must oversee Rose.
All begins
reasonably well, and Rose engages her aristocratic tea party strategy. It worked with Robyn and their class last
semester, it should work with these girls.
Only it doesn’t. Sveta discovered
the truth about Rose: her background, her assignment, her training, and her
weaknesses. The anger of dozens of years
bubbles out of Sveta, and she attacks Rose.
When Robyn steps in to protect Rose, Sveta takes the opportunity to rid
herself of Robyn. That’s when Klava, the
sister Sveta abused all her life, acts to stop Sveta and Robyn. That’s also when Rose moves to save them
all. Rose stops and protects, all of
them. In the process, her hands and arms
are injured and her clothing is burned completely away.
Rose lost
everything—she was injured, the classroom was ruined, and all her plans,
literally, burned up in Sveta and Robyn’s fire.
She runs away and causes one of the greatest catastrophes in Stela’s
history—the loss of one of their most powerful and dangerous agents. That’s where Seoirse comes in.
He must find
and return Rose. He must also figure out
how she and the Organization can succeed.
It isn’t just about five dangerous girls anymore—it’s about the most
powerful half-Fae being who can control them.
Seoirse finds Rose
on the Caledonian Sleeper. She’s using
glamour to hide and happens to be in the same state as when she left. He brings clothing and a fake ID for
her. Seoirse takes Rose captive. They travel back to London where Ms. O’Dwyer renegotiates
Rose’s contract.
In the
aftermath of the incident at Monmouth, Rose takes every piece of advice Seoirse
provided. She makes Sveta her vassal and
renames her. She forces the other girls
to change their lives. She sets up
training for them through Seoirse and the Organization. She creates a new military training program—one
she knows these rejects from previous Stela training will covet and desire. Rose is their leader and overseer. Seoirse is the conduit and the means. At the same time, Seoirse has fallen in love
with Rose. He wants to be her
boyfriend. Meanwhile, Rose is trying to
make everyone’s dreams come true. She’s
willing to take any pain and suffering on herself to achieve her goals and
theirs.
Rose and
Seoirse take the five dangerous girls to the Isle of Shadows for training in
military and intelligence subjects. At
the same time Rose has worked out training for Seoirse. He doesn’t fully understand everything Rose
means for him to do, but she’ll beat that into him.
The training
goes well, but there are complications.
How can there not be with five dangerous girls and their very dangerous
trainer? Seoirse just has to keep it all
it control. In the end, two field trips
go well, and the dangerous girls are on their way to success at school and with
others. Then the real crisis occurs.
During a visit to
Briarashe, Rose demands Lady Wishart allow her to marry Seoirse and make him
the Chancellor of the Book of the Fae. They
quarrel. Rose steals the Book of the Fae,
and that unleashes another crisis. Lady
Wishart demands a trial.
Seoirse escorts
Rose to the gathering of the Gaelic gods and the Fae to determine the succession
the Book of the Fae. During this
encounter, Rose is found to have stolen the Book. Her right hand and arm are injured from
illegally writing Seoirse in as the Chancellor of the Book. Meanwhile, when Rose throws herself at the
mercy of the Courts, Titania, the Queen of the Fae makes a startling
confession. Rose is her illegitimate
child, a Princess of the Fae. That
doesn’t resolve all the problems, but Lady Wishart agrees to allow Seoirse to
continue as the Chancellor of the Book, Rose may marry him in the proper time,
but Rose must face a bare bottom spanking as decreed by King Oberon. For stealing the Book and writing in it, ten
swats to be applied by Seoirse. When the
punishment is complete, so is this tale, but there is obviously more in store
for Rose and Seoirse.
For almost every submission you
make, you will need some type of synopsis.
I say, just go for the jugular and write the ones you’ll need. The first, for me, is the longest and the
easiest to write. The reason is, for me,
going shorter is easier than going longer.
I suggest writing the 1000 word
synopsis first. Because it is the
longest, you don’t need to worry much about the word count until you get ready
to finalize it. My first draft of this
synopsis was 1,340 words. I had to shave
it down by 340 words. It wasn’t easy,
but it wasn’t hard either. Now, about
writing the synopsis.
I’d like to think I’m an expert in
writing a novel. I haven’t had a bestseller
yet, but I’m still working toward that goal.
Although I think I’ve got what it takes to write novels with six published,
two that were on contract, and a total of 32 completed, the synopsis isn’t my forte. What does a publisher or an agent want in a
synopsis, really? I’ve read all their advice
and suggestions, but unless a publisher actually give you some corrections or
help, how do you know exactly what they want.
They say they want an idea of the main
plot of the novel to the resolution, and they want a feel for the protagonist
and the antagonist. In fact, here is a
quote from a well-accepted source:
A novel synopsis should include:
your premise/hook, the overall plot (all of the major plot points), an
introduction to your main characters, plot twists and spoilers, and character
development arcs.
I don’t necessarily disagree, but I
can assure you, you will not be able to achieve this with any reasonable
synopsis for a 100,000 word novel. What
can you achieve?
If you look at my novel synopsis for
Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment you will see, it starts with the
protagonist (main character). It
continues to the initial scene and the protagonist’s helper. The initial scene is what they mean by hook/premise. That should make everything clear, at least
from that standpoint.
So, I always start with the
protagonist, that is Seoirse for this novel.
I give enough information to bring in the reader and set up for the initial
scene. In this novel, the initial scene
is a meeting. That’s a little bit of a letdown,
I understand well, but it is also the meeting of the protagonist and the protagonist’s
helper (of antagonist). The initial
scene sets the assignment for Seoirse and for Rose.
Now, they want all the major plot
points. If you can do that in a synopsis,
it would be the size of one of those cheaters for the classics—like fifty pages
or more. What they obviously mean by
major plot points are those places where the plot shifts or moves in the
direction of the resolution. Here’s an
example from the synopsis I wrote:
Major Plot Points:
1.
Seoirse
meets Rose in the meeting about their assignment
2.
The
details of the assignment – that’s the initial scene (Rose must look after the
five dangerous girls, and Seoirse must support her)
3.
Rose
tries the strategy that worked last semester, and it fails terribly – Rose runs
away
4.
Seoirse
finds and returns Rose plus gives her advice on training the girls—use a military
strategy
5.
Rose
uses the military strategy to train the girls
6.
Rose,
from almost the beginning wants to make Seoirse’s dreams come true, just as she
is making the girls dreams come true
7.
Rose
steals the Book of the Fae
8.
That
causes the climax of the novel—remember, this novel is about Seoirse even
though it’s also Rose’s assignment
Point being, you might has many plot
points, but the major ones are what we are looking for.
Again, if you put in all the
characters development arcs and the spoilers, I’m not certain a synopsis could
contain a 100,000 word novel. In any
case, they are telling you to not hold back the spoilers or the resolution of
the plot. This isn’t a teaser, it’s a
synopsis so a potential publisher or agent can assess the potential for your
work. You obviously want to excite the
reader.
That’s something the little quote
above misses completely—you want your synopsis to be filled with some excitement
and entertainment. Don’t waste words,
but put the ones you use in as exciting and entertaining a fashion as
possible. Remember, you are telling a
synopsis instead of showing. I hate that
part about the synopsis, but you want to convey the excitement and entertainment
of your work.
That’s about all I know about a good
synopsis. I’ll show you how I cut them
down and get into more details, next.
Synopsis: Approximately 500 Words
Synopsis: Approximately 200 Words
Concept
of the Work: Approximately 250 Words
Registration:
WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.
None
Other
Information: If you have more work, a website,
anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.
Blue Rose:
Enchantment and the Detective www.LumiereNovel.com,
the child of a Fae is discovered and trained to become a powerful asset in
British supernatural intelligence.
Deirdre: Enchantment and the School www.HestiaNovel.com, the child of a Fae
secretly attends a girl’s boarding school until Deirdre discovers her.
Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse www.GoddessoftheHearth.com, a
cursed woman becomes a deadly spy at the hands of a dangerous mistress.
Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si www.HearthGoddess.com, a matron rescues
and educates the Queen of the fae.
Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer www.GoddessofLightNovel.com, a
math genius girl gets a boyfriend and becomes a Japanese goddess.
Valeska: Enchantment and the Vampire www.GoddessofDarkness.com, a
British agent accidentally becomes involved with a vampire.
Khione: Enchantment and the Fox www.GoddessNovel.com, a graduate student
discovers a demigoddess in modern
Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon www.AksinyaNovel.com, a Russian princess
calls a demon to protect her family.
Dana-ana: Enchantment of the Maiden www.Dana-ana.com, the mystery of Dana-ana Goewyn.
Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth www.EnchantmentoftheHearth.com,
the misadventures of archeologists in modern Greece.
Antebellum www.AntebellumNovel.com
the mystery of a house that has been missing since the American Civil War and
the girl who is called to it.
The Second Mission
www.TheSecondMission.com is a
historical fiction novel about ancient
Centurion www.CenturionNovel.com published
January 2008 and Aegypt www.AegyptNovel.com also published in
January 2008 are historical fiction novels from OakTara Fiction www.OakTara.com
The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox is a science
fiction series published by OakTara Fiction
The End of Honor (published, July 2008) www.TheEndofHonor.com
The Fox’s Honor (published Oct 2008) www.TheFoxsHonor.com
A Season of Honor (published Nov 2008) www.ASeasonofHonor.com
Ancient Light is a suspense series published by Broadstreet,
Eleutheria, September 2014 in a three-in-one www.AncientLight.com.
Aegypt (second edition published by
OakTara Fiction, 2014) www.Aegypt.com
Sister of Light (published by OakTara
Fiction, 2014) www.SisterofLight.com
Sister of Darkness (published by OakTara
Fiction, 2014) www.SisterofDarkness.com
More information is available at www.ldalford.com
L.D. Alford has more than 70 technical papers published in
international journals on flight test, military policy, flight safety, space,
and cyberwar. His military aviation
writing is featured as Military Aviation Adventures on www.wingsoverkansas.com.
Reviewer’s
quotes.
1. No more than 3 sentences about the content of
your manuscript.
2. One sentence about successful works similar
to yours.
3. No more than 2 sentences about yourself. (use
3rd person)
L. D. Alford is a novelist whose writing uniquely explores
the connections between present events and history—he combines them with
threads of reality that bring the supernatural alive.
Dr. Alford is a scientist and widely traveled author who combines
intimate scientific and cultural knowledge into fiction worlds that breathe
reality.
4. No more than 2 sentences that include
“other,” i.e. any reasons, relationships, or other factors that might make your
work more attractive.
Rose:
Enchantment and the Flower continues the magic realism themes
introduced in L.D. Alford’s Enchantment and
Ancient Light novels. It is a standalone novel.
Rose: Enchantment and the
Flower is exciting magical realism mystery fiction from the
celebrated author of Blue Rose: Enchantment and
the Detective, Deirdre: Enchantment and the School, Sorcha: Enchantment
and the Curse, Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer, Valeska: Enchantment and the Vampire, Khione: Enchantment and the Fox,
Dana-ana: Enchantment of the Maiden,
Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth, Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon,
Antebellum, and published novels: Centurion, Aegypt, The End of
Honor, The Fox’s Honor, A Season of Honor, Sister of Light, and Sister
of Darkness.
I left in generic information which I’ll likely modify a
little in the development of the marketing materials. I’ll go over each second and try to be
consistent with what I’ve written before, but who knows what jewels a little creativity
will produce.
I want to write another book based on Rose and Seoirse, and
the topic will be the raising of Ceridwen—at least that’s my plan. We shall see.
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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