19 October 2023, Writing - part xxx476 Writing a Novel, Building a Protagonist, Fitting, Refining the Protagonist, Background
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,
a Scottish National Park Authority Ranger, while handing a supernatural problem
in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park discovers the crypt of Aine and
accidentally releases her into the world; Eoghan wants more from the world and
Aine desires a new life and perhaps love.
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.
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.
In the
end, Eoghan might regret some of his actions and the results of his
actions. This creates a situation that
provides tension and release. It also
continues the tension and release in what is called a sequel by some
writers.
11.
Self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral compass.
In any
case, self-criticism will be a characteristic of Eoghan, and it will drive Aine
crazy. Aine will be from an era where
people made decisions based on life and death.
She isn’t used to second guessing.
I can imagine one of their discussions.
To
solve a problem, she says just kill someone or something. Eoghan says no, and that astounds her. Perhaps she will need to learn to be
self-critiquing.
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.
I will
point out that with many and normal Romantic protagonists, the exclusion and
self-isolation is intentional and permanent.
They desire it. The exclusion and
self-isolation caused by being an orphan or a partial orphan are also permanent
and tend to develop automatic pathos in the reader for the Romantic
protagonist. I won’t use this for
Eoghan.
13.
From the common and potentially the rural.
In any
case, we want our Romantic protagonist to be out of the common. We can work this in many ways, but the
ultimate point is to convince the reader that the Romantic protagonist is just
like them and not really special at all.
14.
Love interest
So,
we’ll have a great setup for this novel, this Romantic protagonist, and this
protagonist’s helper. What will really
be fun is seeing Aine totally outside her comfort zone for many reasons trying
to win over Eoghan. I need to think on
the details, but that’s what I’m thinking.
She’ll try all the wiles she knows and all the wiles she can figure out.
Meanwhile,
Eoghan will want her to be mellow and gentle, but that’s not her way. Can these lovebirds recover from each
other? Can they find love? Will Aine have her way with Eoghan, or will she
chicken out. We shall see. That’s what a love interest is all
about.
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 – I’m developing the initial
scene, and I’m building it in my mind. Here’s
what I’m thinking. Eoghan is a hard-working,
isolated, and very skilled man. His job
is taking care of the supernatural issues in the National Parks of Scotland and
Britian. He has been assigned a case
from his mother through Stela. Stela is
the group under “the Organization” that handles protecting Britian from the
supernatural. I should note there is a
significant system, not large in numbers, but high in power and connections to
do just this. They are under the Crown
and by “the Organization.” Eoghan’s
mother, Eliana is a real recluse who works for the Crown and who has
aristocratic roots, but from an old line of royalty of the British. She is touched. That means she has the power of charm and
sensitivity to the supernatural. That’s
why she’s in charge of the part of Stela that handles small issues of supernatural
problems. She works at home and investigates
so others can handle the problems in the field.
That’s what Eoghan does. Eoghan’s
sister wants to do work similar to Eoghan.
So far she’s not allowed.
Now,
for the initial scene, Eoghan has been sent to Loch Lomond and The Trossachs
National Park near Glasgow and Stirling to handle a supernatural nuisance. I think I’ll make this a very dangerous kind
of Scottish Fae. Eoghan has to apply
some strength and power against this creature.
In the end, he will be injured, but he will discover a hidden old
Anglo-Saxon graveyard with an inscription and a crypt. The creature will lead him there and his
injury with the power he has to exert will allow him to find the place. Perhaps to protect himself he’ll need to escape
to this hidden oasis of protection.
There
Eoghan will find the inscription and the crypt.
The injured and escaping Eoghan finds an ancient and secret Anglo-Saxon
graveyard in the wilds of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. There, Eoghan finds the inscription and a
crypt. Of course, since he has nothing
better to do—he’s waiting for the dangerous Fae creature or creature of the
land to go away.
When
he inspects the inscription, he finds he can read it. He and his family are experts at languages
and especially ancient British languages, actually Gaelic and Celtic
languages. This is one of the skills of
Stela and a trained skill of Eoghan and his family. This comes from a deep and long running
training and experience of these families.
Because
Eoghan can understand the inscription, and I think I’ll make it an ancient but
kind of obvious Anglo-Saxon joke or riddle.
They really liked their jokes and tricks. The joke will be at Aine’s expense and saying
a curse or making fun of her will result in her being released from a spell
holding her. Then Eoghan will have to
rescue her from the crypt.
Aine
is an interesting being and focus. She
is an unbound goddess. This means she
has some life and some death. She is a being
with fettered powers who is not fully human but not fully a goddess. She is a being made to point to the eternal
and to the real Dagda. The Dagda is the
Celtic and Gaelic name for God. Part of
Aine’s problem is that she was made and then captured and interned before the
revelation of the Son of God. This is
something she will experience and learn in this novel. This is a recurring theme in my novels of
this type. This fits directly into the
mind and knowledge of Eoghan. If you
remember, as a Romantic protagonist, he has a moral compass and a ethos based
on Christianity. This will meet Aine’s
needs like nothing else and will endear her to Eoghan. Also, Eoghan will he a good teacher and
helper.
The
final part of this initial scene will be Aine and Eoghan’s trek back through
the wilderness. They will have to defeat
the creature of the land and make their way back to Eoghan’s home. There the creature of the land will become an
issue, and we shall see other interactions that force Aine and Eoghan to move
forward.
2. At the
same time as the above—fit a protagonist into the initial
scene. That means the minimum of:
a. Telic
flaw – I already wrote the theme statement for this novel. Here it is:
Eoghan, a Scottish National Park Authority
Ranger, while handing a supernatural problem in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs
National Park discovers the crypt of Aine and accidentally releases her into
the world; Eoghan wants more from the world and Aine desires a new life and
perhaps love.
To make a theme statement, we need a
protagonist—that’s Eoghan. We also need
an antagonist or a protagonist’s helper—that’s Aine. We have an initial setting—that’s the Loch
Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
We also have a telic flaw—that’s Eoghan wants more from the world and
Aine desires a new life and perhaps love.
There is the telic flaw.
When I get ready to write this novel, I’ll
start with the initial scene, but the entire focus of the novel will be the
resolution of the telic flaw. To achieve
this, we need to define Eoghan and Aine in the context of the novel and their
world—that’s the novel.
That’s the way a Romantic protagonist works,
and the main part of the resolution is the introspection and the mind of the
protagonist. We show this with action
and through dialog, and that’s the purpose of the protagonist’s helper.
A theme statement defines the novel and
especially the initial scene of the novel.
This also sets up the telic flaw.
I like to write a theme statement before I write a novel.
My writing mentor Roz Young was all into
themes and theme statements. She
understood them explicitly from her education and life experience. She was one of the Greatest Generation, as
they have been called. I think her ideas
about a theme and her idea of a theme statement were very different than we use
today. As I’ve written, I’m not certain
anyone can really define the theme of a novel.
Novels are filled with different plots and different themes. Roz’s view of a theme was different than what
we might think today. I wrote a theme
statement for Roz when I was working on Aegypt. I’m not sure that theme statement was very
helpful or useful. Here’s the theme I
wrote for Roz for Aegypt:
Theme: How do men
react to the spiritual when it is revealed to them plainly, and how do we
communicate those thoughts across centuries and drawing rooms?
She also wanted a plot statement. Here it is:
Plot: A foreign
legion lieutenant discovers the Egyptian goddesses of good and evil in an
ancient tomb; they are brought to life
when the tomb is opened, and their 4000 year old conflict begins again.
The problem with both of these is they are
really not very helpful. I don’t have a
theme statement in the sense I write now for Aegypt. The closest is the plot statement above. That’s actually a theme statement in my
books. As I wrote, I’m not so much into
the idea of a singular theme for any novel.
In fact, can you really define or write a simple theme statement, in the
sense of above, for any novel you’ve read?
I’d say no you can’t. You can try
to express a statement about a general theme, but it’s really almost impossible
to write a unified statement of theme for any novel. It’s like making a statement that the theme
of War and Peace is about war and peace—kind of silly, right? Or how about this, Pride and Prejudice is
about love, or Pride and Prejudice is about pride and prejudice. The very idea of this kind of
characterization is silly. That’s why I
write, the best we can achieve, and the most helpful statement we can have is
what I call a theme statement. Like the one I repeat below:
Eoghan, a Scottish National Park Authority
Ranger, while handing a supernatural problem in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs
National Park discovers the crypt of Aine and accidentally releases her into
the world; Eoghan wants more from the world and Aine desires a new life and
perhaps love.
You might argue that this is more of a plot
statement, but I do think that’s the best we can do for a novel. I do use this “theme statement” to help me
define and write my novels.
b. Approximate
age – I already wrote that Eoghan is between 19 and 21. I think I settled on 20. Here’s the details:
m. 2005 James (Seumas) Donaidh Calloway b. 1971 m. at 34
y. 2028 57 y.
c.
b. 2008 Jan Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) – 2028, 20 y.
c.
b. 2012 Aife (Eva) Eamhair (Evir) Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) – 2028, 16 y.
Aine
appears about 16 y.
c. Approximate
social degree – you might wonder about social degree or social position. Why would that be important? When we are developing out protagonist and
especially a Romantic protagonist, the social degree is very important and
specifically from the standpoint of fitting into the telic flaw, plot, and
initial scene.
If you remember, one of the abiding
characteristics of a Romantic protagonist is from the common. They come from a lower social level
background. Now, in the modern world, we
can play with this a little bit. The
point of this is two-fold. The first
point is that the Romantic protagonist should start as a common person. What we historically call the common
man. This provides the shared values and
position with most readers. The author
uses this basis to raise the Romantic protagonist to some degree of
success. This is usually part of the
climax or results in the climax.
The second point is the development of
pathos through position and setting. The
Romantic protagonist starts in a pathos condition. They are poor, abused, unaccepted, unknown,
unloved, and all. In the end, they
should be the opposite or at least parts of their life should be redeemed and
improved. Here’s what we can do in the
modern era.
As you note, my Romantic protagonist,
Eoghan is from an aristocratic background, but still middle class or
lower. His family holds no official
positions of power or aristocracy. They
are just from an aristocratic background, but one not accepted or acknowledged. This does appeal to modern readers who see
this as them. They too could be related
to aristocrats but with no inheritance or acknowledgement. I think this works really well in modern
writing. At the same time, Eoghan comes
from the middle class in wealth, position, work, and family. I’m not repeating myself.
I’m noting that Eoghan is just a regular
guy. His family has some doubtful aristocratic
connections, but no wealth or position.
This leads to where he is right now.
He does have some skills and powers that came from his background, but
this is a classic trope in a Romantic protagonist and Romantic novels. This also appeals to readers. You can see how many if not most readers
really latched on to Harry Potty even though he was a born messiah with really
acknowledged aristocratic parents, and had powers beyond any human
imagination. He started abused, poor,
unaccepted, friendless, and unknown. The
reality was very different, and when he entered the world of magic, all that
came out in a non-Romantic fashion.
Still readers liked this because it was the basics of the Romantic
protagonist.
For Eoghan, he will be from an interesting
background that allows him some opportunities, but most of them will be due to
himself and not his background. This is
why I’d like to get Rose involved. Rose
has wealth and position, and she will know who should be her friends.
d. Sex –
the sex of a character has a significant affect on the novel and the
development of the character. I’m sure
you can see the most obvious results or effects. In the modern world, these seem to have more
to do with sex and sexual attraction than with anything really important. Yes, romance is important, but it’s really
important in a romance novel or a novel with a romance theme and genre, but not
necessarily in other novels. However,
the sex of the protagonist and especially the Romantic protagonist has a
significant effect on the pathos development and the novel itself.
In terms of pathos development, a female
character and especially a female protagonist can produce pathos just by the
circumstances of existence. The classic pre-modern
trope is the woman or girl who has been promised in marriage to another. This immediately produces a pathos situation
in the mind of the reader. On the other
hand, a male in the same situation does not create the same pathos
response. The reader expects the woman
to be rescued or to gain relief, while the reader expects the man to either
face his situation or do something about it.
The same is true of the modern protagonist.
A female protagonist who is hungry, poor,
abused, captive, and all is a total pathos developer. A male is not. Readers expect males to be able to fight or
escape their circumstances while they expect females to not. This is a cultural and social situation and
not really a problem. It provides a
great basis for an author who takes advantage of these circumstances. I do routinely. I produce female protagonists whom I know
will generate great pathos in the reader just be their circumstances. I don’t expect male protagonists to do the
same. This comes down to Eoghan.
Eoghan is from the common in terms of
wealth, real position, and work. This is
a beginning state. He doesn’t really
lack much, but he desires more. The
pathos generation for a male protagonist is usually his actions in the
world. We expect males to take the world
by the tail and try to succeed. Their
dedication to the goals of the circumstances are what generate the pathos in
the reader for the male protagonist.
Thus, Eoghan will gain traction by how he treats and interacts with
Aine. It’s his actions especially when
put upon by others that develop his pathos in a reader. I think this is a very important point for
the writer to understand about male and female characters. Pathos is a very important part of writing
and especially novels.
Let’s write a little about pathos. Pathos is what a reader feels about a
character. It isn’t the emotions of the character
but rather the emotions of the reader.
This is the effect we wish to have on out readers. We want to specifically control the emotive
response of those who read our writing.
You can’t do this directly. In
fact, direct manipulation of an audience usually results in bathos rather than
pathos. Bathos is where a reader
experiences an incorrect emotion while reading.
You see bathos when the audience laughs during a tense and emotional
scene in a movie or a play. Pathos is
the correct response of the reader or audience to a situation, while bathos is
the incorrect response.
As I wrote, pathos can never be directly
engaged. For example, having your
characters sit around and cry about something is the surest way to bathos,
however, having your protagonist face a trying and important emotional issue
without shedding a tear can have your readers reaching for the tissues. If you remember, pathos is the entire point
of tension and release and the novel itself, you are on the right track. The selection of the sex of your protagonist
and especially of a Romantic protagonist can have a great effect on your novel.
2. Refine the protagonist – this is really the fun part of
protagonist and Romantic protagonist development. I should really interject, I’m writing to you
from 11,000 feet talking to Albuquerque Center on the way back to Wichita. I was stuck in Reno with an electrical
problem for three days, but everything is better now. Still, at this point in Romantic protagonist
development, we should understand the protagonist, the antagonist, the
protagonist’s helper and some other characters.
We know the initial scene, and we can build a Romantic protagonist based
on their physical characteristics.
Those
physical characteristics are listed below.
These are characteristics that are revealed through the novel. We don’t vomit them forth when we introduce
the protagonist. In fact, we might hold
some of these close and reveal them at just the right time.
Every
overall plot in some degree is a revelation plot. That might sound weird, but in the three
overall plot types, the revelation plot was the first developed and the most
common in the classics. It shouldn’t be
surprising that the revelation plot comes up in every novel. It’s just one of the common plots. I intend this novel to be a modern redemption
plot, but we’ll eventually get to that.
Let me mention that most modern and especially Romantic novels are
redemption plots. A redemption plot is
simply a plot where the protagonist goes through some change to resolve the
telic flaw. This is especially suited to
the Romantic protagonist and a Romantic novel because, as you know, the
Romantic protagonist is all about discovering and developing their special
skills and abilities to eventually resolve the telic flaw. That’s what readers love about a Romantic
protagonist and a Romantic novel.
Now
back to refining the protagonist. With
any protagonist, there are characteristics which can be shared and those that
can never be shared. Those that can be
shared are the physical and life characteristics. Those are all the ones listed below. We will get to those that may never be shared
but only shown later.
You
can see the initial characteristic of the protagonist is his or her physical
description. This is vomited forth when
the character is introduced. This
defines the way the character looks plus some other characteristics that we
shall see. This is a very important
characteristic and perhaps the most important about the protagonist. I’m not in favor of the limited or zero
description of the protagonist that has become popular today. In fact, I think one of the most egregious
problems with modern writing is the lack of sufficient description. I go by the Arlo Guthrerie rule of thumb of
300 words of descriptoin for every major setting and character and 100 words of
description for every minor setting and character. We’ll see how all this works eventually, but
for now, we are refining the protagonist with the stuff we can show immediately
through description.
a. Physical description
Eoghan (Owen)
Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) was a young man of average stature,
height, and build. He was so average you
might miss him in the crowd except he was a man no one could miss. His bearing wasn’t really different from most
other men, but you couldn’t miss him in any group. His height wasn’t taller than others, he was
average, but for some reason he always stood out. His face was pleasant and somewhat
nondescript, but it wasn’t nondescript at all.
It was striking in the most unstriking fashion. He just looked regal while seeming completely
normal. Women couldn’t keep from looking
at him, and men all wanted to be his friend.
They flocked around him, but never hid him or overwhelmed him. All the time, he seemed like the calmest and
most reasonable person. He was the
person you wanted to invite for any reason, tea, a meal, a game, a walk—just
being near him was calming and wonderful.
Even when words didn’t pass from his lips, the time was delightful. Men wanted to hear his voice and women to
touch his hand. His voice was
unimpressive and quiet, but filled with promises and strength. It was as if every word that came out of his
mouth bolstered and strengthened even when he didn’t say something erudite or
when he remarked about the weather. It
was uncanny and soothing, never unnerving or worrisome. Even his name, Eoghan Ragnall Stuart felt
noble while sounding so unnormally normal.
If you called him by his Anglicized name Owen Ragnall Calloway, it still
sounded noble but normal. And then his
smile was always encompassing, but unassuming.
It had a slightly gloomy bent as if he took even happiness and
jovialness in a sober and thoughtful way so even the most lame jokes became
important and intelligent even when they weren’t. Eoghan was always the life of the party, but
unfortunately, he didn’t attend many parties at all. He was too busy as a Scottish National Park
Authority Ranger handling small difficulties for the Crown and Stela.
This might need some work, but above is
the physical description, with a little more, of Eoghan. I’m relatively happy with it, but I’ll work
on it a bit more. The point here is that
without telling, I’m showing you a lot about the life, looks, and personality
of Eoghan. He is unusually unusual in a
very usual way. That’s the point of his
charm skill and power. We’ll get more
into this as we develop more of the character.
b. Background
– history of the protagonist – Someone wrote once that a protagonist (and in
fact, any character in any well written novel) is like an iceberg. The reader only sees and knows ten percent about
the character. Presumably, the author
knows about the rest of the ninety percent.
This is absolute truth and is a challenge to the author. The knowledge of the protagonist (and the
other characters) by the author should be very large compared to what is
revealed in the novel. This goes back to
the revelation plot.
Every novel is a revelation and a
revelation plot to some degree. The
author is revealing the plot, the characters, and the other aspects of the
novel. That doesn’t necessarily make a revelation
plot, but it shows just how connected revelation is to the novel, any novel.
So, we need to develop the ninety percent
of the protagonist the readers don’t see and might never know. As an example, I rarely mention the birthdays
of my characters. Unless there is some
reason to refer to their actual day of birth or perhaps to celebrate their
birthday, there is no reason to mention it.
Therefore, although you don’t need to develop it, you might want to figure
out their actual birthday. What I do is
to get their month and year of birth.
That’s usually enough, but this is like many other points about a
character. You should definitely know
more about them than you present in the novel, and you definitely need to fully
develop your characters.
You don’t need to write it all down, but
you might as well. One of the most important
things I’ve learned about writing is to make notes when you write so you don’t
mess up your novel with conflicting information. For example, if you write that your character
has red hair, and then describe their beautiful blond hari later, you will have
a real problem. Let’s hope you or your
editor catches it. This is one of the
real killer problems that will knock your readers out of the suspension of
disbelief.
So, remember, we need to develop our
characters to a much greater degree than we express in our novels. I’ll show how this works as we move along.
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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