Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 566, Long Sentence Length Q and A

28 October 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 566, Long Sentence Length Q and A

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.

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, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

Here is the cover proposal for Escape from Freedom.  Escape is my 25th 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'm on my first editing run-through of Shape.

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)

I can immediately discern three ways to invoke creativity:

1.  History extrapolation

2.  Technological extrapolation

3.  Intellectual extrapolation

Creativity is like an extrapolation of what has been.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  Creativity requires consuming, thinking, and producing. 

One of my blog readers posed these questions.  I'll use the next few weeks to answer them.

1.  Conflict/tension between characters

2.  Character presentation (appearance, speech, behavior, gestures, actions)

3.  Change, complexity of relationship, and relation to issues/theme

4.  Evolving vs static character

5.  Language and style

6.  Verbal, gesture, action

7.  Words employed

8.  Sentence length

9.  Complexity

10.  Type of grammar

11.  Diction

12.  Field of reference or allusion

13.  Tone - how tone is created through diction, rhythm, sentence construction, sound effects, images created by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in sentence, the inflections of the silent or spoken voice, etc.

14.  Mannerism suggest by speech

15.  Style

16.  Distinct manner of writing or speaking you employ, and why (like Pinter's style includes gaps, silences, non-sequitors, and fragments while Chekhov's includes 'apparent' inconclusiveness).

Moving on to 8. 8.  Sentence length

I want to tie sentence length to pacing and tension and release.  Most simply, short pacing requires short sentences and long pacing requires long sentences.  This is too much of a simplification, but it will do for now. 

The main point is tension and release.  Tension and release is related directly to pacing, and the true answer to sentence length is how pacing is related to tension and release.  Are you familiar with comedic pacing?  Pacing in a novel is very similar to the pacing in a joke.  Get the pacing wrong and the joke falls flat.  This is the same with pacing and tension and release in a novel.

If you remember, tension and release is the cycle of entertainment in each scene.  In a scene, the tension grows and is released, it grows and is released—this cycle can continue over and over in a single scene or as a singularity in a scene.  In any case, the release is like the punchline in a joke—get the pacing wrong and the release, like the joke goes flat.  This is a very difficult concept to fully describe or to show.  The reader will almost immediately note the lack of strong tension development and release.  As long as tension and release is in action, usually lack of proper pacing is the fault when the release feels flat.  I’m going to try to give you an example.  I think this piece that shows a very powerful release has the proper pacing.  Note the use of long and short sentences to provide the pacing.

Constable Wyght jumped out of his automobile.  He didn’t have a pistol, didn’t own one.  Mrs. Lyons pointed with the barrel at the men in front of her, “These men accosted and assaulted me and my grandchild, Essie.”

Constable Wyght grimaced, “That’s a pretty strong charge Mrs. Lyons.  Please lower your pistol.  I know you have the proper registrations to keep one, but firing it produces special ramifications for me.  Especially if you injured someone.”

Ellis Morfran glanced at Mrs. Lyons, “Constable, I am happy to go back to your offices with you and explain the situation entire.  This was all an unfortunate mistake.  Mrs. Lyons was concerned about her granddaughter’s safety.  We were simply trying to help them.”

Constable Wyght didn’t look very convinced, “Really?”

Mrs. Lyons cleared and safed her pistol, “Really.  I was a bit overwrought.  Mr. Morfran is right.  We simply had a misunderstanding—that is all.” 

“A misunderstanding.  It appears as if a man was injured.”

Mrs. Morfran and Mrs. Lyons both said at the same time between clenched teeth, “No one was intentionally injured—it was all an accident.”

“Then Mr. Morfran and Mrs. Lyons would you both please come to my office, and I shall take your statements.  I must explain the circumstances—especially of a weapon’s firing.  By the way, does this have anything to do with the missing person you reported Mr. Morfran?”

“It does and it does not.”

“What is that supposed to mean.”  Constable Wyght glared, “All of you come to my office—I definitely need your statements.”      

Mrs. Lyons took a long look at the back of her house as the door to the constable’s automobile closed behind her.

Now, I will change this short piece to mess up the pacing.

Constable Wyght jumped out of his automobile.  He didn’t have a pistol, didn’t own one.  He couldn’t stand the detestable things, and wasn’t about to forgive anyone who used one in his shire.   Mrs. Lyons pointed with the barrel at the men in front of her, “These men accosted and assaulted me and my grandchild, Essie, and I simply can’t abide the idea that they might get away with something like that.”

Constable Wyght grimaced, “That’s a pretty strong charge Mrs. Lyons.  Please, carefully lower your pistol where I can see it.  I know you have the proper registrations to keep one, but firing it produces special ramifications for me.  Especially if you injured someone.”

Ellis Morfran glanced at Mrs. Lyons, “Constable, I am happy to go back to your offices with you and explain the situation entire.  This was all an unfortunate mistake.  Mrs. Lyons was concerned about her granddaughter’s safety.  We were simply trying to help them.”

Constable Wyght didn’t look very convinced, “Really?  I find that very hard to believe, especially since you are standing there in a threatening manner.”

Mrs. Lyons cleared and safed her pistol, “Really, I was a bit overwrought and over excited.  I made a mountain out of a molehill.  Mr. Morfran is completely right about the entire incident.  We simply had a terrible and unfortunate misunderstanding—that is all.” 

“A misunderstanding.  It appears as if a man was injured, and you shot him.”

Mrs. Morfran and Mrs. Lyons both said at the same time between clenched teeth, “No one was intentionally injured—it was all an accident.”

“Then Mr. Morfran and Mrs. Lyons would you both please come to my office, and I shall take your statements.  I must explain the circumstances—especially of a weapon’s firing.  By the way, does this have anything to do with the missing person you reported Mr. Morfran?”

“It does and it does not.”

“What is that supposed to mean.”  Constable Wyght glared, “All of you come to my office—I definitely need your statements.”      

Mrs. Lyons took a long look at the back of her house as the door to the constable’s automobile closed behind her.        

Okay, I tried to intentionally ruin the pacing to mess up the release in this short piece.  The release is action oriented and requires tight and close pacing with short sentences for reaction and some medium sentences from the constable for direction.  If you make the sentences and the explanations too long, the pacing goes and the release cycle becomes really messed up.  Read the two again and see which one you like best.

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 565, more on Sentence Length Q and A

27 October 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 565, more on Sentence Length Q and A

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.

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, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

Here is the cover proposal for Escape from Freedom.  Escape is my 25th 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'm on my first editing run-through of Shape.

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)

I can immediately discern three ways to invoke creativity:

1.  History extrapolation

2.  Technological extrapolation

3.  Intellectual extrapolation

Creativity is like an extrapolation of what has been.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  Creativity requires consuming, thinking, and producing. 

One of my blog readers posed these questions.  I'll use the next few weeks to answer them.

1.  Conflict/tension between characters

2.  Character presentation (appearance, speech, behavior, gestures, actions)

3.  Change, complexity of relationship, and relation to issues/theme

4.  Evolving vs static character

5.  Language and style

6.  Verbal, gesture, action

7.  Words employed

8.  Sentence length

9.  Complexity

10.  Type of grammar

11.  Diction

12.  Field of reference or allusion

13.  Tone - how tone is created through diction, rhythm, sentence construction, sound effects, images created by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in sentence, the inflections of the silent or spoken voice, etc.

14.  Mannerism suggest by speech

15.  Style

16.  Distinct manner of writing or speaking you employ, and why (like Pinter's style includes gaps, silences, non-sequitors, and fragments while Chekhov's includes 'apparent' inconclusiveness).

Moving on to 8. 8.  Sentence length

Can you write a good sentence?  Do you understand the parts of speech?  We can get very deep into grammar here.  I’m not certain I want to.  Really, if you didn’t learn it in school—you must study this very very important area.  Building a proper sentence is the basis for all writing in any language.  How can we begin to express sentence length if the writer can’t write a proper sentence?  So, assuming you have this requisite skill, let’s talk about the length of sentences generally.

Short sentences.  The shortest sentence you can have is a noun and a verb.  Most properly, you must have a nominative noun.  An example: she ran.  Third person past tense is our most favored tense and person for novels—here is a proper short sentence.  The subject matter is correct for a short sentence.  In general, when the action is hot and fast, the writer wants short terse writing—usually meaning short terse sentences.  She ran.  He screamed.  She hit.  He punched.  When the action is fast and furious, generally, so should the writing be.  This isn’t always true.

Your pacing should be more a function of tension and release than simple sentence length to action.  In other words, pacing may mean a short terse sentence bracketed by long narrative.  On the other hand, if the pacing needs short sentences, by all means use short sentences.  If the pacing requires long sentences, use long sentences.  The question is then, what is the pacing. 

I started with action and moved to pacing.  There is an obvious difference.  Usually, action means tight pacing—but not always.  Sometimes, events, even action oriented events come with very long pacing.  An example is lovemaking.  It may have a lot of action, with plenty of passion, however, the pacing might be very long and draw out or it might be frenzied and quick.

A fight scene could have very taunt and quick pacing—a space battle might be long with very long pacing.  More down to earth, a sea battle with sailing ships might be very long and drawn out, with sequences of quick action.  The main idea is look at the pacing.  Tension and release should match with the pacing.       

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 564, Sentence Length Q and A

26 October 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 564, Sentence Length Q and A

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.

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, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

Here is the cover proposal for Escape from Freedom.  Escape is my 25th 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'm on my first editing run-through of Shape.

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)

I can immediately discern three ways to invoke creativity:

1.  History extrapolation

2.  Technological extrapolation

3.  Intellectual extrapolation

Creativity is like an extrapolation of what has been.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  Creativity requires consuming, thinking, and producing. 

One of my blog readers posed these questions.  I'll use the next few weeks to answer them.

1.  Conflict/tension between characters

2.  Character presentation (appearance, speech, behavior, gestures, actions)

3.  Change, complexity of relationship, and relation to issues/theme

4.  Evolving vs static character

5.  Language and style

6.  Verbal, gesture, action

7.  Words employed

8.  Sentence length

9.  Complexity

10.  Type of grammar

11.  Diction

12.  Field of reference or allusion

13.  Tone - how tone is created through diction, rhythm, sentence construction, sound effects, images created by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in sentence, the inflections of the silent or spoken voice, etc.

14.  Mannerism suggest by speech

15.  Style

16.  Distinct manner of writing or speaking you employ, and why (like Pinter's style includes gaps, silences, non-sequitors, and fragments while Chekhov's includes 'apparent' inconclusiveness).

Moving on to 8. 8.  Sentence length

Sentence length can be addressed from a very complex standpoint.  I think it is a little simpler than that.  The first point in sentence length is this—no run-ons.  Whatever you do or learn as a writer, learn the proper from of grammar for a sentence and for an independent clause.  An independent clause has a noun and a verb.  A sentence likewise.  The point is to either use a comma and conjunction or a semi-colon to separate independent clauses.  The semi-colon is pretty much defunct in modern fiction.  Instead, in fiction, we use the double dash (em dash) or an ellipsis.  The double dash is most appropriate and is used in fiction in place of a semi-colon.  That doesn’t mean a semi-colon is out of place—it just means a double dash is preferred. 

The reason the double dash is preferred is because it lends a longer natural break in the writing than a semi-colon.  The semi-colon is supposed to provide a break in the text—a breath, if you like.  The double dash gives a natural breath or break between the independent clauses.  You can see a similar break…when an ellipsis is used.  The ellipsis is considered to confer an even longer break than the double dash and is preferable when indicating that longer breath. 

My ultimate point is this—you must understand the grammar of the sentence, and for novel writing, the grammar of the independent clause.  To many this is basic stuff.  For the barely educated, this is new.  Modern schools have given up on grammar and especially complex grammar for fiction or technical writing.  You must understand grammar before you have any hope as an author.  If you don’t understand the grammar of the sentence, you will not be able to make the complex sentences required to write fiction.  Note, the problem isn’t the short sentences (or it usually isn’t).  Most can write: Dick loves Jane or Jane hits Dick.  Short sentences are necessary, but more than that, the identification of the parts of speech in every sentence, and the development of complex, multi-clause, sentences is necessary to fiction writing.  If you don’t believe me, take a look at some of the first sentences or paragraphs of many early Twentieth Century novels.  The Once and Future King for example.  

The first step in understanding sentence length is to understand how to write good sentences.      

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