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Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Writing - part xxx886 Scene Outline, Novel Outline, Sister of Light

 03 December 2024, Writing - part xxx886 Scene Outline, Novel Outline, Sister of Light

Announcement: I still need a new publisher.  However, I’ve taken the step to republish my previously published novels.  I’m starting with Centurion, and we’ll see from there.  Since previously published novels have little chance of publication in the market (unless they are huge best sellers), I might as well get those older novels back out.  I’m going through Amazon Publishing, and I’ll pass the information on to you.

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 two 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.

6. The initial scene is the most important scene.

 

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 the third edition of Centurion:




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)

   

I went through the scene outline to show you how to approach writing a scene.  I think it is relatively simple—that doesn’t mean it is easy, but once you know the basics of writing a scene, with the right elements, you can write a great scene.  If you can write a great scene, you can potentially write an initial scene, the rising action scenes, the climax scene, a falling action scene, and a dénouement.  That means, if you can write a scene, you can write a novel. 

Now, to get to a novel, and to a great scene, you need a great protagonist.  I recommended a Romantic protagonist.  The reason is the Romantic protagonist is my favorite type and generally, the favorite of most readers.  In fact, I don’t know of a single reader who doesn’t love a great Romantic protagonist, or even a close to Romantic protagonist.  I point out Harry Potty who has become one of the most popular protagonists in history and is very close to a Romantic protagonist.  I think he’d even be more popular if he was a full on Romantic protagonist.  Just a thought.

With a fully developed Romantic protagonist, writing a scene is pretty easy and writing a novel is relatively easy.  In my short form blog, I’m going over the telic flaw from the protagonist and how it pertains to the novel and how it comes from the development of the protagonist.  Perhaps this idea of the telic flaw belonging to the protagonist is the most important factor in novel development.  This is why I write that the first step in writing a novel is the Romantic protagonist development.  I’ll consider if I should give you the basics and telic flaw from the design of the protagonist, like I’m doing in my short form blog.  I’ll try to expand this idea to help bring out the concept of the initial scene.  I’ve done this before, but I’ll try to give you something new out of this, next.

As I wrote before, the telic flaw for the novel comes from the protagonist.  In addition, the protagonist defines all kinds of things issues and in time, the setting, the place, and all.  As I wrote, the protagonist defines all these things in the novel.  The novel and the telic flaw of the novel comes directly from the protagonist.

I could go through all my protagonists and define the telic flaw from that protagonist for you.  I think I did this before.  Perhaps I should do it again.  That might be a very worthwhile set of examples.  I’ll think about it.  You see the list of novels above.  I think I’ll use my list of novels from the first to the last I’ve finished.  That’s next.

A Season of Honor:  This was the first novel I wrote.  The very Romantic protagonist is Baron Shaun du Locke.  Shaun has a lengthy history that I developed for the novel and actually that I used to write the two other novels in the series, The End of Honor and The Fox’s Honor.  Shaun du Locke was a prince who was deposed because he fell in love with the wrong woman—a power his brother could not allow, and she was executed.  It’s not incorrect to say that Shaun was haunted by this action and the loss of the Lady Lyral Neuterra.  The problem is that Shaun was contracted to take Lyral’s cousin and near twin, Elaina Acier to her arranged marriage on the Imperial Capital planet Arienth.

There is the telic flaw of the novel.  Shaun must deliver Elina to Arienth, but the woman in question looks like his lost love, and of course, he is falling in love again.  It’s not just how Eliana looks but it is her personality and skill as a noblewoman. 

If you notice, the telic flaw for the novel comes directly out of the protagonist.  It isn’t really a flaw in the protagonist, but rather a flaw in the world of the protagonist, and a flaw he must rectify (resolve).  This is exactly what I mean by the protagonist beings the telic flaw of the novel with them.  I’ll look at The Fox’s Honor, next.  

The Fox’s Honor stars Devon Rathenberg as its Romantic protagonist.  Devon is in the succession but from another branch of the imperial family so considered outside it.  He is the Emperor’s chief of intelligence, the Fox.  In this capacity, Devon has devised a plan to save the Emperor, the Human Galactic Empire, and the people of the empire.  He must die to reveal the Emperor’s enemies and the nobles who have been conspiring against the power of the Emperor.

However, Devon has fallen in love with a lady, the Lady Tamar Falkeep.  Tamar happens to be on the planet where Devon must cause his own death through losing a duel, thus, Devon will state his love to the Lady and carry out his mission.  You see the telic flaw that comes with this character, right?

Devon’s telic flaw (the novel’s telic flaw) is that Devon must die to revel the Empire’s enemies and yet he is compelled to confess his love to Lady Tamar.  Tamar is enraged and follows the knight when he fights and loses the duel on purpose, but she can’t let him die.  She saves his life and forces him to live.  As you can see, the telic flaw for the novel, the loss of Devon’s honor comes directly out of the protagonist.  Tamar is the protagonist’s helper.  The end result is a massive clandestine operation and then a military operation for Devon and Tamar to get back their honor and their lands.  I’ll move on to The End of Honor, next.

The End of Honor is an unusual novel.  It starts with the death of the protagonist’s helper and the protagonist is nowhere to be seen.  The protagonist is Prince John-Mark who is Baron Shaun du Locke in A Season of Honor.  Prince John-Mark is the second son of the Emperor and falls in love with the Lady Lyral Neuterra.  He works long and hard to be able to win the hand of the lady, but the alliances and the match is seen as a threat to the power of the Emperor’s first son.  Do you see the telic flaw here?

The telic flaw that John-Mark brings to the table is that he is really in love with Lyral, but the entire Human Galactic Empire thinks John-Mark is seeking Imperial power.  In any case, his actions and love sparks a civil war in the Human Galactic Empire.  It’s a war his brother begins with the assassination of the Emperor and the execution of Lyral Neuterra.  There you go, the protagonist, John-Mark comes with his own telic flaw and that’s the telic flaw of the novel.  The telic flaw is a civil war in the Empire—the resolution is the end of this war.  I’ll move on to Antebellum, next.

Antebellum is about the south in 1965 and the 1860s.  The protagonist is Heather Roberts.  She is a hard-working and industrious girl who wants to go to college, but whose family is dirt poor and not interested in educating girls.  Heather is deeply involved and has many friends in her community.  The greatest mystery of that community is about the Robert’s plantation house, Belle Fleur.  The house disappeared near the end of the civil war and hasn’t been seen since.  In addition, Heather’s namesake Syble Heather Roberts disappeared with the house at the same time.  Then, in the initial scene, Heather finds and enters the house, but the house suddenly disappears and can’t be found. 

You can see the telic flaw for Heather and the novel is this house, Belle Fleur and the mystery of the house and Syble Heather Roberts.  This is indeed the problem Heather must resolve in the novel.  Pretty simple.  The protagonist defines the telic flaw, and comes with a telic flaw—that’s what makes the novel.  I should mention that this novel shows the plantation house bit by bit as Heather investigate the mystery.  I’ll look at Aegypt, next.

Aegypt is the first novel in my Ancient Light novel series.  That was the name the publisher and I came up with for the series.  The first novel was published, Aegypt, and the next two Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness were on contract with a trilogy of these three novels planned.  You can still see this information on the internet, but alas, my publisher went out of business, and I was left high and dry. 

In Aegypt, the protagonist is Paul Bolang.  Paul is a lieutenant in the French Foreign Legion and a man who loves warfare.  He was university trained in Egyptian Archeology and is a language expert and expert in Egyptian hieroglyphics.  You can see that Paul is a Romantic protagonist.  Paul discovers the foundation of an Egyptian temple in front of Fort Saint, a Foreign Legion outpost in Tunesia.  Paul calls for an archeological expedition, and one comes from England and Oxford.  The temple foundation hides a tomb and a great mystery and ancient secret. 

Do you see the telic flaw that Paul owns in the novel?  The telic flaw of Aegypt is the mystery of the tomb below the foundation.  The archologists explore the tomb and cause a host of problems and more mysteries as well as unusual deaths. 

The very Romantic protagonist, Paul Bolang comes along with a telic flaw, or you might write that he finds the telic flaw of the novel as part of his life and history.  That’s exactly how this works.  Even if the telic flaw doesn’t just tag along with the protagonist, it is discovered, found, or presented to the protagonist.  For example, in a detective or mystery novel, many times the protagonist is presented a problem to resolve: a crime, a mystery, a secret, and all.  This is another way the telic flaw tags along with the protagonist.  Next is Centurion.

Centurion is a regularly published novel, but my publisher went out of business.  In fact, all the novels I’ve written about in the list about the telic flaw have been regularly published.  I’m looking for a new publisher, but as my author friend pointed out to me—no one is looking to republish anything that isn’t already a bestseller.  Therefore, I’m having Centurion republished by Amazon.  That’s an entirely different problem and account.  I will share in the future.  Let’s get back to Centurion.

The protagonist and a Romantic protagonist in Centurion is Abenadar.  Abenadar is a half-Roman, half-Jew whose mother was the concubine of the Roman ambassador to King Herod Agrippa.  This is important because the moment Abenadar is acknowledged as a Roman citizen, he joins the legion and begins his training as a legionnaire.  The entire novel is about Abenadar’s life as a legionnaire and his advancement to Centurion.  Along the way, we do get to see the historical Jesus because Abenadar is the Centurion assigned the crucifixion of Jesus. 

The telic flaw of the novel is relatively simple—it is the advancement of Abenadar as a legionnaire and his life as a Centurion.  The main problem is that he is a half-Roman which is a real problem because Abenadar is a great leader and politician. 

In some ways this novel is just a classic revelation of the protagonist.  The climax just happens to reflect an important historical event.  This is a very common historical novel setup.  This is also my bestselling novel.  I hope people can continue to enjoy reading it in the third edition.  I’ll move to Athelstan Cying, next.

Athelstan Cying is another of my science fiction novels.  In this novel, we start with the spirit of a powerful psionic master who is miraculously still around after a millennia.  He is trapped on the ship, Athelstan Cying which was used by the rogue psionics to escape their prison by the Reps on the Imperial Capital of Arienth.  The Family Trader ship, Twilight Lamb discovers the Athelstan Cying and goes to explore and salvage it.  On the Twilight Lamb, we are introduced to Den Protania.  Den is a failure on the Twilight Lamb and in the Family Traders.  He is studying in Shuttle, but failed already in Astrogation and Command.  Den is the Captain’s son, but he is headed toward being left planet side.

When the Twilight Lamb’s salvage crew boards the Athelstan Cying, Den is part of the crew.  He disregards his orders and causes an accident where he is impaled on ship structure.  The spirit tries to save Den, but ends up stuck in Den’s body.  We now have the very Romantic protagonist—a new soul inside the body of a failing Family Trader.  You should be able to spot the telic flaw just from this short explanation.  I’ll make it clearer.

Den, as a member of the Twilight Lamb needs to change and change radically.  Bring into this the capitalistic nature of the Family Traders who expect their crew members to pay back to the ship their costs of life and training.  Den is in a deep hole made deeper by his rescue and fault during the salvage operation of the Athelstan Cying.  The goal of the new soul in Den is to succeed and become an active and prosperous member of the crew.  At the same time, he must keep his soul and new attributes as well as his new mind secret from the rest of the crew.  Who could imagine such a thing?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Natana Kern who was Den’s chief rival on the Twilight Lamb is also a trained Journeyman in psionics and psychiatry.  She is assigned to “help” Den after the disaster and to recommend to the Ship’s Council what to do about Den.  She discovers his strange new soul and identity.  Instead of turning him in, she decides to help him because of the psionic information she can get from him as well as the fact Den has become a new man, and the type of man Natana always wanted him to be. 

The telic flaw of the novel, and the telic flaw brought by the protagonist is this resolve to succeed on the Twilight Lamb as well as to make things right for all the suffering and problems Den has caused in the Trader Family.

Yes, this is a complex problem and a complex science fiction novel.  It ends up being a fun novel full of entertainment, excitement, and a little romance.  As I wrote, the protagonist defines the telic flaw just by existing.  I’ll move on to the next Ghostship Chronicles novel, Twilight Lamb.

I’m not finished with Den and Natana.  This novel, Twilight Lamb takes the next step in their lives—together.  We still have Den with the soul of an ancient psionic master and Natana, a super genius astrogator, but by this time, Den has become a Journeyman in Command, Astrogation, and Shuttle.  Those were the three areas he studied before and three journeyman ranks is unheard of in the Trader Families.  Because of Den’s success, the ship grants him some boons.  He still has his debt, but they allow him and Natana to wed. 

At the end of the previous novel, Athelstan Cying, Den and Natana were attacked and imprisoned by the group called the Athenian Charter.  This is a political and criminal group using psionics for crime and to influence planetary governments.  Den and Natana want to investigate and identify this group.  Twilight Lamb is all about the intrigue and investigation that Den and Natana are accomplishing.  Do you see the telic flaw?

The telic flaw for Twilight Lamb is the investigation of the Athenian Charter as well as Den and Natana’s continued revealed life on the Family Trader ship.  You can see exactly how the telic flaw comes out of the protagonist and in this case, the protagonist’s helper.  They are both psionic experts who use their skills to work against the Athenian Charter.  I’ll look at Regia Anglorum, next.     

At the end of Twilight Lamb, Den and Natana save the ship (Twilight Lamb) from a hijacking from a civilian liner, the Regia Anglorum.  In the end, Den and Natana are allowed to take over the command of the Regia Anglorum.  In the novel, Regia Anglorum, Den and Natana are no longer the protagonist and the protagonist’s helper—I introduce a new character, Nikita.  Nikita is the child of a performer and a Family Trader member.  She was left by her father, and her mother dies—so Nikita was left alone on the streets of Carnival on the planet El Reshad. 

The first voyage of the Regia Anglorum includes El Reshad as a trading point.  Nikita is a psionic genius and has been using psionic powers since she was a child, for survival.  When Natana goes planetside to El Reshad, she notes Nikita and her power.  She is able to contact the child and eventually convinces her to join the Family Traders.  Sounds like the end of things—a happy solution.  Actually, this is a protagonist revelation novel.  We get acquainted with Nikita, but we know nothing about her.  She knows little about herself.  She has wonderful skills (Romantic protagonist) and especially psionic skills, but she is still a child who looks about eight but is really over eleven.  The novel is all about how Nikita integrates into the Family Traders and into the ship.  So, you can see exactly how the telic flaw follows the protagonist. 

Let me give you an aside.  This novel allows me to show my readers the world of The Ghostship Chronicles in a way the other novels couldn’t that is through the integration of Nikita, I show their education system, their finance system, their apprenticeship system, and their ship, especially the inside.  Plus, Nikita is a great character.  This is a great example of a revelation type novel and a self-discovery as well as a coming of age type novel.  It really isn’t a young adult novel, but that’s okay, I think adults and young adults will love it.  The point is that this is the type of novel where the mystery of the protagonist drives the telic flaw of the novel.  Unusual, not that unusual in science fiction, but not super common in the modern world of literature.  I’ll move on to The Second Mission, next.

The Second Mission is a partner published novel and still available for purchase.  The protagonist is a scientist for the United State’s Nuclear Studies, Alan FisherAlan happens to be standing at the wrong place when future people are sending an agent back into time on the second time travel mission.  Alan happens to be standing at exactly the same location the future time travel is occurring, but in the past, and that means Alan is pulled back into time with the legitimate time traveler, Sophia. 

Sophia’s job is to live in Athens 400 to 399 BC and record the words and world of Socrates to allow the future to evaluate how closely his words are to Plato’s recordings (writing) of them in the Socratic Dialogs.  The telic flaw should be obvious, and it comes directly from Alan.  Alan must first work to survive in the world of Athens Greece during 400 to 399 BC.  He must be an asset for Sophia.  Plus, he needs to figure out some way to return to his time. 

You can see how the telic flaw comes directly with and from Alan.  Sophia is the protagonist’s helper, and this isn’t the first novel I wrote with a protagonist’s helper from the beginning of the novel.  As an add, this novel includes my modern translations of the last five Socratic dialogs put into more modern speech and for more modern understanding—context to the dialog.  I also put the entire Greek culture and the death of Socrates into a context the reader can understand.  It’s a fun book.  I’ll move on to, Sister of Light.

Sister of Light is the second novel in the Ancient Light series and the novel following AegyptAegypt and Sister of Light were both regularly published, but Sister of Light didn’t make it to the marketplace.  My publisher went out of business.  The novels were on contract to be published individually and as a trilogy.  So is life.

Sister of Light follows Paul and Leora Bolang as they make a life in the 1920s and 1930s in France and the USA.  Leroa is the protagonist of this novel. She is also a goddess of light revived by a cabalistic spell devised by her sister, the goddess of darkness.  The goddess of light is a being who has limited powers in the world, but most of them have to do with light and life.  The goddess of darkness is all about death and darkness.  The problem is that from Aegypt, although the body of the goddess of darkness was destroyed, her Ka or soul still remains in the real world and still can negatively affect mankind.  Leora and Paul do some work to prevent her actions in the world, but Leora doesn’t really get involved until the goddess of darkness begins to directly attack them.  The goddess of darkness takes Paul prisoner because she is trying to get an offering formula back, the offering formula of the goddess of darkness and Osirus.

That’s really more information than you need to get to the telic flaw.  The telic flaw is that Leora and Paul simply want to live their lives in peace, but the goddess of darkness intends to make their lives hell on earth.  Leora must fight her sister and attempt to remove her from existence.  In that light, this is a pretty simple telic flaw, but developed over two novels, then three when we get to Sister of Darkness.  We’ll get there, but Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth is next.      

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  

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