Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 905, Publishing, Learning to Write, Purpose and Entertainment

3 October 2016, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 905, Publishing, Learning to Write, Purpose and Entertainment  

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to 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.

All novels have five discrete parts:

1.  The initial scene (the beginning)

2.  The rising action

3.  The climax

4.  The falling action

5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 26th novel, working title, Shape, proposed title, Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

I finished writing my 27^th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  This might need some tweaking.  The theme statement is: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.  

Here is the cover proposal for Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si.  Essie is my 26th novel.

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I started writing my 28^th novel, working title Red Sonja. 

I'm an advocate of using the/a scene input/output method to drive the rising action--in fact, to write any novel. 

Scene development:

1.  Scene input (easy)

2.  Scene output (a little harder)

3.  Scene setting (basic stuff)

4.  Creativity (creative elements of the scene)

5.  Tension (development of creative elements to build excitement)

6.  Release (climax of creative elements)

 

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.

 

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.

 

These are the steps I use to write 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

 

What is your strategy as a writer?  What are your goals as a writer?  The purpose of writing is communication.  That’s all.  The purpose of writing fiction is to entertain.  You don’t have to take my word for it—we can prove it.  Let’s go back to the beginning of fiction.  The bard and the skalds developed fiction in poems and epics: Beowulf, The Odyssey, The Iliad, The Aeneid, and all.  There are many written pieces of epic poetry from the ancient world.  These were originally developed orally, and written down as compositions once literacy caught up with them.  They represented the greatest art and being of the cultures they came from—or so said those cultures.  They were made for the purpose of entertainment.  They were tales from the annuls of time recited by a skilled bard or skald to entertain.  Their initial purpose was just of entertain.  Their purpose in later times was to remember the heroes, enemies, and events of the past, but we can’t ever forget, their initial purpose was entertainment.  The purpose of fiction is to entertain.

 

Here is my chance to express again how the writer should view his novels.  A novel is not ever written to teach, preach, philosophize, proselytize, educate, etc.  These may be characteristics, but they can’t be the purpose.  Let’s think about this.  As a writer, do you want your novel to be read or not read?  If you said read, you are thinking correctly.  If your novel is not read, none of the ideas you wrote into it will ever be taken in or thought about.  On the other hand, if your novel is read, people will be able to cogitate on your thoughts and ideas.  People read novels to be entertained—there is no other purpose.  They can easily read histories for history or technical papers for science.  The can read philosophies for philosophy.  They need fiction and novels for entertainment.  No one will read an unentertaining novel—not unless they are forced somehow.

 

I hope this is clear.  As authors, we want to communicate through our writing.  The communication is entertainment.  This is our goal and this is the purpose of novels.  Anything else is a freebie.  Think carefully about this however—if your purpose is not to entertain, the chances of failure as a writer are very high.        

      

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

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 904, Publishing, Learning to Write, Entertainment

2 October 2016, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 904, Publishing, Learning to Write, Entertainment  

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to 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.

All novels have five discrete parts:

1.  The initial scene (the beginning)

2.  The rising action

3.  The climax

4.  The falling action

5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 26th novel, working title, Shape, proposed title, Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

I finished writing my 27^th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  This might need some tweaking.  The theme statement is: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.  

Here is the cover proposal for Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si.  Essie is my 26th novel.

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I started writing my 28^th novel, working title Red Sonja. 

I'm an advocate of using the/a scene input/output method to drive the rising action--in fact, to write any novel. 

Scene development:

1.  Scene input (easy)

2.  Scene output (a little harder)

3.  Scene setting (basic stuff)

4.  Creativity (creative elements of the scene)

5.  Tension (development of creative elements to build excitement)

6.  Release (climax of creative elements)

 

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.

 

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.

 

These are the steps I use to write 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

 

What is your strategy as a writer?  What are your goals as a writer?  I’ve heard from some that they write for themselves.  I’ve heard from others that they write for therapy.  That’s sweet.  As long as these types of people stay out of the marketplace of writing and ideas—all is well.  They hopefully won’t self-publish.  I don’t want to disparage anyone’s goals that don’t interfere with mine. 

 

Let’s look at writing from a philosophical standpoint.  The only purpose for writing is to communicate.  This should be obvious, but sometimes obvious doesn’t resonate with the modernly educated.  Writing is a means of communication.  Writing is also a much poorer means of communication than conversation.  However, the study of language shows us that a written language allows the development of words and ideas outside the normal sphere of human conception.  In other words, human thinking expands with the invention of the written word. As the Greeks noted, writing allows the concept of forms.  For example, the word “chair” stands as a conceptual form for all chairs.  A literate person sees the word chair (a form) and not an individual chair.  A preliterate person can only imagine a specific chair—they have no word concept for “chair.”  Chair can’t be a form to them.  This also means the preliterate can’t imagine concepts that are only forms (don’t have analogues in the real world).  Love is a form.  It can’t be described by a physical action or a physical thing.  Sex is an action.  Kissing is an action.  Love is a form.  A preliterate person can’t imagine the concept of love.  That is why most early languages have no world or love or very specific words that migrated to mean love.  Note, Hebrew has no world for love.  Greek delineates the specific type of love with ten separate words.  Very euphemistic modern languages like Japanese have developed a word for love that can mean many different relationships based on context.  Likewise English, also euphemistic, has a word “love” that can mean a host of ideas.

 

Writing is about communication.  It allows us to communicate ideas that can’t be verbalized directly from our experience.  If you realize this concept about writing, then you must understand writing can be accomplished for yourself or for therapy, but that is a completely untenable use of writing.  Writing is for communication, and if it is not used for communication, it is not used for its ultimate purpose.  It is like looking at a wonderful dinner and smearing it all over yourself for therapy or yourself.  It may feel good when you are a baby, but it doesn’t achieve the purpose of dinner at any age or in any context.  Writing is about communication.  Next entertainment.

      

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

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 903, Publishing, Learning to Write, Focus

1 October 2016, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 903, Publishing, Learning to Write, Focus  

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to 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.

All novels have five discrete parts:

1.  The initial scene (the beginning)

2.  The rising action

3.  The climax

4.  The falling action

5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 26th novel, working title, Shape, proposed title, Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

I finished writing my 27^th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  This might need some tweaking.  The theme statement is: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.  

Here is the cover proposal for Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si.  Essie is my 26th novel.

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I started writing my 28^th novel, working title Red Sonja. 

I'm an advocate of using the/a scene input/output method to drive the rising action--in fact, to write any novel. 

Scene development:

1.  Scene input (easy)

2.  Scene output (a little harder)

3.  Scene setting (basic stuff)

4.  Creativity (creative elements of the scene)

5.  Tension (development of creative elements to build excitement)

6.  Release (climax of creative elements)

 

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.

 

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.

 

These are the steps I use to write 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

 

What is your strategy as a writer?  What are your goals as a writer?  Initially, my goal was simply to write a novel.  Everyone thinks they are writing a “great” novel—your first one rarely is.  I don’t believe in the idea of a person writing a single novel that is suddenly published and becomes an immediate bestseller.  That’s a Cinderella story, but Cinderella is a fairytale.  I do believe someone can spend years writing essays, short stories, news articles, technical articles, and possibly write an acceptable piece of long fiction.  There are examples of journalists who do just that.  Ray Bradbury and G. R. R. Martin are short story authors who broke into novels with related short stories put together in a novel.  W. F. Buckley was an essayist who broke into writing novels.  There are a couple of examples of writers who wrote one great American novel that became a bestseller and they never wrote again.  To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, and Gone with the Wind are three very famous novels that fill this imaginary area.  I suggest the authors either wrote much before their debut novel, had lots of editorial help, or perhaps something more sinister.  Really, fairytales are fiction and fiction is many times not as weird as real life.

 

The reality is this—if you don’t write about one million words of fiction (or other writing) your chance of being a professional writer is about nil.  This is the number that equates to about 15,000 hours of effort in writing.  This is about 10, 100,000 word novels.  If you haven’t written this much, get started.  You do get credit for technical papers, essays, short stories, articles, and etc.  You don’t get credit for watching TV, playing video games, or messing with your phone. 

 

To be successful in writing you must write—your focus must be writing.  The second piece is entertainment.     

      

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