02 October 2023, Writing - part xxx459 Writing a Novel, Building a Protagonist, male Pathos
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.
I finished writing my 34th
novel (actually my 32nd completed novel), Seoirse, potential
title Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment. The theme statement is: 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 cover
proposal for Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment:
|
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 finished writing number 31, working title Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warrior. I just finished my 32nd novel and
33rd novel: Rose: Enchantment and the Flower, and Seoirse:
Enchantment and the Assignment.
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 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.
For novel 35: Eoghan and Aine, TBD
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.
My main focus, at the moment, is
marketing my novels. That specifically
means submissions. I’m aiming for agents
because if I can get an agent, I think that might give me more contacts with
publishers plus a let up in the business.
I would like to write another novel, but I’m holding off and editing one
of my older novels Shadow of Darkness.
I thought that novel would have fit perfectly with one potential agent
who said they were looking for Jewish based and non-Western mythology in
fantasy. That’s exactly what Shadow
of Darkness is, but they passed on it.
In any case, I’m looking for an agent who will fall in love with my
writing and then promote it to publishers.
That’s the goal.
The dependency I’d like to present in a
new novel is similar to Valeska but one where the protagonist falls
romantically in love with the focus. The
question is the focus.
Now, I’m looking and researching for a being
or character who would fit the needs of the book I’m proposing.
Don’t modify known settings, people, or
history unless you are writing alternate history. Modify, at will, those things that are not
known or recorded in history. That comes
to a very important point about historical fiction, even reflected worldview
historical fiction. That is that history
doesn’t record much of the mundane we wish to include in our novels.
If I’m going to develop a protagonist,
I need to bring out the protagonist outline.
I’ve got it somewhere in my writing—I just have to find it.
I
guess I’ll start with the Romantic part of the protagonist. Then I’ll move to the more specific pieces of
the protagonist. Most precisely, I’m
looking at the list of potential characters from my list of characters in my
other novels.
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.
I have
Áine as the potential focus of the novel.
She’s a Celtic goddess. This
focus isn’t set yet, but I need a protagonist, and I need to develop and design
one. I’m contemplating a son of the Stuarts
and the Calloways. Here’s the
information from my notes.
Elaina actually Evir Elisabeth Stuart, Gaelic:
Eamhair Ealasaid Stiùbhartach – The girl: she was blond with grey-blue
eyes and a very Nordic or Norman look.
Her long hair was tied in a tight French weave. She was tall and looked mature—much more
mature than Sorcha or Deirdre.
Old Raleigh
bike with a basket and a bell - an old Raleigh welded-steel frame girl’s
bicycle
Elaina actually Evir Elisabeth Stuart, Gaelic:
Eamhair Ealasaid Stiùbhartach g. Oxford
b. 1975 late to Wycombe Abbey a special student of Luna’s was being groomed for
work in Stela and the Organization. He specialty
is with the Fae. They are bound to her
because of her nobility and background.
She is not Fae but commands the Fae to some degree.
m.
James (Seumas) Donaidh Calloway b. 1971
c.
Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach)
c.
Aife (Eva) Eamhair (Evir) Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach)
2. Set
of beliefs (morals and ideals) that are different than normal culture or
society’s.
He knows
the Fae, the creatures of the land, angels, the God, and the gods and goddesses
of the land. That gives him a moral
basis centered on an orthodox belief.
His family goes to church and practices all the strong tenants of
Christianity.
3.
Courageous
Still,
Eoghan and his sister gained some degree of training their mother and father
never expected. Eoghan is a park ranger
with the Scottish National Park authority.
He was taught at their special training in law enforcement and all its attendant
training. The British military taught
many of his courses, especially in hand to hand, weapons, and the
wilderness. He knows more than his
mother would like, and he is strongly attracted to this life and this
training. He would like to be part of
the military and has had overtures. He
is naturally courageous and naturally good.
Then he finds Aine, and she will give him a purpose for his special
skills.
4.
Power (skills and abilities) and leadership that are outside of the normal
society.
Just
be aware, it must have to do with the use of their powers of charm and
sensitivity in relation to leadership.
That’s the ticket.
5. Introspective
Eoghan
must be an introspective character. We
have a protagonist’s helper to aid him in expressing his mind, but he won’t let
out much or as much as Aine wants and that will help drive the novel. Remember, in writing a novel, secrets are your
best friend.
6.
Travel plot
I don’t
expect a really powerful travel plot like I provided in Rose and Seoirse, but
we need to get Eoghan and Aine into the regular world and into regular society—that’s
where the differences and the interactions with people and each other can
really play out. Plus, there is no way
after about 1500 or more years in a crypt that Aine wants to remain holed up in
a rural or wilderness area. She’s for
society and culture, plus part of the real fun in the novel is for them both to
have new and exciting experiences together.
The travel plot makes all this possible.
7.
Melancholy
Eoghan
is like his mother Elaina and his sister.
They are all touched by their mother’s and family’s depreciation of
their aristocracy. They lost all in the
game of promotion and house. They lost
in the game of thrones, so to speak, but they all have charm and sensitivity to
the Fae and beings of the land. That
makes them powerful in their own way, but powerless in society. This is what we will change in Eoghan. That’s one aspect of the novel’s telic flaw.
8.
Overwhelming desire to change and grow—to develop four and one.
This
is the desire that will consume and empower Eoghan. This is what will drive him and Aine forward
in the novel. He will have special
skills, but the reader will realize that it isn’t the skill but the dedication
and work behind the skill that leads to Eoghan’s success.
9.
Pathos developed because the character does not fit the cultural
mold. From the common.
Pathos
is what drives all the power in any novel.
Pathos is the emotions the audience or your readers feel. In some ways pathos has nothing to do with
the emotions of the characters or anything else in the novel or the story or plot
of the novel.
I’ve written
this before, and I’ll keep writing it:
the emotions of your protagonist or characters are meaningless in the
context of any novel, what matters is the emotions driven by the novel into the
readers. Your characters could be
weeping their eyes out, but if the emotion or tension in the scene doesn’t
resonate with your readers, there will be no emotion, no pathos. Characters don’t have pathos only the audience
has pathos. Further, the protagonist
might be completely blank-faced, but the reader could be crying their eyes out
because of the situation or the emotional background driven by the tension of the
scene. That is exactly what you want in any
novel. You want the emotional situation,
the tension in the scene to drive the emotions of your readers. That is pathos. That is the power of the novel.
Now, I’ve
never completely connected the tension in the scene to the pathos of the scene,
but there it is. That’s the purpose and the
point of tension and release. In fact,
the idea conveyed by release is one of relief, but the reality is that the
release in a scene might be one of tears for the reader. As I noted, you can have a totally
unemotional set of characters driving deep seated emotions in your
readers. At the same time, you can have
all kinds of emotions in your characters that don’t resonate at all with your
readers. That is called bathos, and it
is the death of any piece of art. Bathos
is exactly what we don’t want, but all kinds of writers of novels, screenplays,
and plays try to excite the emotions of the audience through the emotions of
the characters. This is a terrible
idea. It is what produces bathos. So, how do we excite those emotions in our
readers? How do we develop pathos?
I’ll
drag out my favorite example of Sara Crew from The Little Princess. It’s a kids novel, but one of the best
examples of pathos development in all of literature. My go to example is the hot cross buns and the
urchin. Sara Crew has lost her fortune and
is being abused daily. She is going out
in all kinds of weather and the London winter weather is terrible. She has holes in her shoes and no coat. She is starving and cold and finds a silver
tuppence in the mud of the street. Sara
takes it to the closest shop, a bread shop, to see if anyone has lost the
coin. On the stoop is a starving child
in rags. Sara buys six buns with the
tuppence and gives five to the urchin child.
Sara isn’t emotional about the situation at all. The urchin isn’t emotional—she gets to
eat. The shopkeep is astounded because
the cold and starting Sara bought buns for a beggar child. The emotional response is all in the reader
and not in the characters. Not a tear is
shed by any of the characters. Sara is
sad because she is still hungry, but she is glad she could help another. The urchin is glad because the shopkeep
invites her in to warm her toes. The
shopkeep is amazed at the kindness of Sara and it drives her to help the beggar. The reader is sobbing, not in reflection to
the emotions of the characters, but in reflection to the pathos generated by
the scene.
Likewise,
my other favorite example is the climax from Dragonsong. In this scene Menoly is discovered by the Master
Harper. The emotions in the scene are
sad and glad and all muted, but the reader can’t help but laugh and cry at the
same time. It isn’t in reflection of the
emotions of the characters, but of the pathos generated in the scene.
Pathos
is what we desire as authors. Now, how
do we use the Romantic protagonist to develop pathos. I’m writing now about Eoghan. Usually, we want a female protagonist who is
abused, hungry, poor, and whatever other negatives and emotion developers we
can. Females are much better as a
protagonist at developing pathos in a reader, but we can still use a male character
to develop pathos, but we must come at it from a different standpoint.
Usually,
males don’t generate pathos when they are hungry, abused, or poor. The reason is we expect male characters to be
resourceful and hard working. It’s an
archetype in human thought and not just a stereotype. You might think you can change the world’s
view of male and female, but as an author, you can’t change the world by
building bathos. You must aim for pathos,
so be wary of archetypes and stereotypes and I don’t mean don’t use them. Be cautious that you understand what your
character’s situation and background will do to the appraisal of your readers. This is such an important point, I think I’ll
continue it next.
With
certain characters, you can naturally develop pathos just by presenting them to
your readers. This is a result of the culture
and society, and, as an author, you better hope this never changes. When I developed Rose for my novel Rose:
Enchantment and the Flower I provided a protagonist who was forgotten,
abused, hungry, and isolated. All these provided
a character who naturally generated pathos because the character was
female. I doubt if a male character
could have provided the same degree or perhaps much of any pathos at all. Likewise, a male could not get away with the solutions
or the designs that Rose could. She used
the tea-party method to bring ladies together.
Such a method would never work for males and would not appeal to males.
However,
in Seoirse, Rose used the military training method as suggested by Seoirse
to work with and influence the ladies she was charged with developing and
helping. This method would work with
both males and females. It appeals to
both. Part of the point of the novel, Seoirse,
was to show how this method could and might work for Rose. The big question here is how do we develop
pathos in a male based novel that is with a male protagonist.
I
showed you that males don’t generate pathos in the same ways as females. The problem, for males, is that we and almost
all cultures see males as not needing protection or help. They expect males to be resourceful and
capable, that is self-reliant. If you
aren’t happy with this view of society, don’t blame humanity because humanity
is not the problem, but the natural world is. In other words, males and females are
different.
How do
we develop pathos in males as a character and as the protagonist. In Seoirse, the pathos came from him being
civilized by Rose. The subjugation of
males by females through civilization and love is one of the most powerful
methods of pathos development. The
reason is that males are happy to put themselves under females because of love
and desire. This dependency is the
template for male pathos. However, female
dependency isn’t the only way to develop male pathos.
The
other very powerful method of developing male dependency is occupationally and
in training. For example, when a male
puts themselves under the authority of training or in their occupation, that
provides a great means of pathos development.
Are you seeing a parallel here or perhaps a comparable situation?
Male pathos
is based in the males placing themselves under some dependency while female
pathos while similar can be designed by their situation. In other words, female pathos is situational while
male dependency is based in their actions.
This is a very important point.
I will
point out that female pathos can be generated the same way as male dependency,
the example is the Sara Crew example.
That same scene would work, less effectively with a male, but would
still work. The pathos, in this case, is
based on the actions of the character. So,
how we want to design the pathos in Eoghan is with dependency on Aine and dependency
on his work and schooling or training.
Do you
see how this will work? For males, we
need to break them down to build them up.
Aine will do this herself. With
females, we take their state and build them from it. You might notice, these are somewhat similar,
but not the same. In Seoirse, I
had Rose use the break them down to build them up method with females—and it
worked well. It developed pathos.
In
Aine, I intend for Aine to break down Eoghan and build him back as she
desires. Their relationship will provide
the pathos development. The situation of
Aine, herself will provide some strong pathos.
We will see that Eoghan needs to provide help, protection, and support to
Aine. This will develop and define their
relationship.
So, to
summarize about the Romantic protagonist and pathos. For males and females, dependency based on
people, work, training, and strong human goodness will develop pathos. The character must subjugate themselves to these
circumstances and individuals. We see
this as providing an proper emotional sense in the character. The power of this dependency and the emotion
of the response is based on the circumstances and the skill of the author. For females, the situation of their circumstances
will also develop pathos, but not so much for males. In fact, for male characters, I would not
depend on any situation to develop pathos.
I would not depend on it, but I will point out, pathos can be developed
for male characters situationally. They
are rarer, but the skilled author might design such a tension and release.
For
female more than male protagonists, you can develop situational pathos. For males and females, dependency based on
people, work, training, and strong human goodness will develop pathos. The character must subjugate themselves to these
circumstances and individuals. So, how
will I develop pathos in Eoghan?
The
plan is to use Aine as the means. She is
the focus, and the very best way to produce male pathos is through dependency or
self-subjugation to a person, work, training, or human goodness. This comes directly from the example of Sara
Crew and perhaps the most powerful pathos scene in any literature. In that scene, there is little emotion from
the characters, but Sara subjugates her own hunger and feelings so an urchin, a
poor child, can eat bread. She provides
from her lack for another. The cascading
affect of her actions aren’t enormous, but they build so in the end of the
novel, we see the result of her small but very poignant action. We want to do the same with Eoghan.
How
can we develop pathos with Eoghan? Aine
will provide some of the situational pathos.
She will start as captive, naked, physically harmed, and will change due
to Eoghan’s actions. He will release
her, clothe her, console her, and guide her back to his home. On the way, they will converse and Eoghan
will disclose about his life and his desires.
Aine will want to reward him and make his dreams come true. In some ways, this is similar to Rose and her
interaction with Seoirse. Rose is partly
Fae and desires to make Seoirse’s dreams come true. This is a feature of the Fae, and especially
of Fae royalty.
I’d
like to make Aine endearing, and Eoghan slightly smitten. He has never met a woman like her
before. She has met men like Eoghan, but
Aine has never been interested in this type of needy man. Eoghan will be a different type of character
and will interact with Aine is a little differently than she is used to or he
is used to. Again, how do we build this
dependency and pathos with Eoghan. My
answer is to have him defer to Aine as a woman and not as a goddess or a
queen. This will make Aine fall for him,
and will drive the pathos of the novel.
I’m
sure there are other ways to develop this pathos in the novel. For Rose and in Seoirse, I used some other
methods and means based on Rose’s qualities and skills to develop pathos. In general, I used dependency and the
military situation in Seoirse to build pathos.
This is easy with females, but a little less easy with males. With females, the pathos becomes
situational. For men, the pathos is
dependency based. I’m planning and
building a male protagonist, so these are important considerations. With Seoirse, I could play off the female development
of pathos and the male pathos. I think
this is a great means of designing pathos.
I might be able to do this for Eoghan with Aine too.
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 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. Before I get to that, I want to
write another novel about dependency as a theme. 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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