29 March 2025, Writing - part xxxx002 Scene Outline, Novel Outline, Initial Scene Design, still more Building an Antagonist
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’ll go back to the idea of the initial
scene. This is the most important and
pivotal scene in any novel. This is the
scene that sells your novel. This is the
scene that sets your novel. No novel can
exist or even be written without a tight and well developed initial scene. Much of the reason for this are the elements
of the scene which encapsulate the entertainment and scope of the novel. Most specifically, the protagonist is the
main element of the novel and of this scene.
What I’ve looked at in detail about the initial
scene is the scene development beginning with the protagonist. I’ve also looked at the protagonist’s helper
and I suggest incorporating a protagonist’s helper when you can. In addition, I looked at the antagonist, but
not really in terms of the initial scene.
If I left the impression that I don’t think an antagonist is necessary
or important in a modern novel, that is wrong.
I just want to emphasize that the modern novel is the revelation of the
protagonist. The antagonist is a very
important part of any novel, but the revelation of the protagonist always takes
the lead. The antagonist provides the
foil to the protagonist, and most specifically, the antagonist is the character
who tries to prevent the resolution of the telic flaw by the protagonist. Let’s look at this concept in more detail.
The telic flaw is the problem in the world of the
protagonist. The world of the
protagonist is the setting for the novel, in whatever detail required. In a comedy, the protagonist resolved the
telic flaw of the novel. We say, the
protagonist overcomes the telic flaw. In
the case of a tragedy, the opposite is true, the telic flaw overcomes the
protagonist. In the case of the
antagonist. The antagonist attempts to
prevent the protagonist from overcoming the telic flaw. In a comedy, the antagonist fails—the
protagonist overcomes the telic flaw. In
a tragedy, the antagonist succeeds—the protagonist is overcome by the telic
flaw. In every case, it’s the
protagonist that matters and not the antagonist. Ever thought about this? You can’t ever swap the antagonist and the
protagonist. That’s what I need to look
at, next.
Why don’t we look in more depth at the
antagonist. I think it is very important
to note the connection of the antagonist to the telic flaw. This makes very clear the difference between
the antagonist and the protagonist. For
example, in the simplest example of an antagonist, we have a character who is
the telic flaw in the novel. This is
basically the example of the detective where the criminal is the
antagonist. The criminal is the cause of
the telic flaw and the target of the protagonist. In this case, there is no way the antagonist
and the protagonist can ever be confused or misidentified. However, I will note that a classic trop of Asian
literature is to turn the protagonist into the cause of the telic flaw. This is less common in modern Western
literature, but it is a great plot device.
The protagonist still can’t be mistaken or confused with the
antagonist—everyone, that is the readers still note the protagonist isn’t the
cause of the telic flaw, but the false accusations and incriminations are epic.
Typically and classically, the antagonist is in
some measure the cause of the telic flaw of the novel and of the protagonist,
although in modern literature, this isn’t always true and in terms of
definitions is not true. What I mean by
that is that the telic flaw belongs to the protagonist regardless of the
antagonist. The telic flaw might include
the antagonist, but since the novel is the revelation of the protagonist, the
telic flaw and telic flaw resolution are many times independent of the
antagonist. The antagonist will and must
oppose the resolution of the telic flaw, but that in itself means the two are
independent—not so the protagonist and the telic flaw.
Does this sound complicated and difficult? It is in some ways and in others it is
not. Perhaps the best way to approach
this entire situation is to just develop an antagonist for your novel. It’s a good habit anyway. If you have an antagonist, you can always
develop the initial scene as the initial meeting of the protagonist with the
antagonist. I recommend the initial
meeting of the protagonist with the protagonist’s helper, but either meeting is
a great initial scene.
In either case, you have to have a
protagonist. In the separate cases, you
need a protagonist’s helper or an antagonist.
I find the development of the protagonist’s helper to be more
entertaining, although some writers and observers will note that the
development of a multifaceted and indepth antagonist is a stronger
position. That’s where I might
disagree. Perhaps this is what we should
look at. I’ve never really explored the
development of an antagonist. There are
some reasons for this. We might look at
them as well.
I’ve really never sat down with the intent of
developing an antagonist. I’ve never
felt the need, but I think it’s an interesting idea. The reason it isn’t as important, in my mind,
as the protagonist is because the novel is the revelation of the
protagonist. The antagonist isn’t really
as important a character. If you
remember the place of the antagonist, it is to attempt to prevent the
resolution of the telic flaw. We can
make a pretty powerful antagonist, but to what end? The antagonist is not the reason a reader
reads a novel. At the best the
antagonist gets killed in some spectacular and just way that makes the reader
happy. At the worst, the antagonist is
sent into a world of potential redemption, but we know will never be
redeemed. I’ve read very terrible novels
where the antagonist was raised to the protagonist, but in the end, you hoped
they would just die and get the novel and the antagonist over with. An antagonist is not a good being, person, or
entity. The antagonist is at worst a
speedbump and at best a truly worthy foe who everyone wants dead. This whole modern notion of the good antagonist
is a misplaced idea. If you want to
write about an evil protagonist, go ahead, but that isn’t an antagonist at
all. Personally, I think the idea of the
anti-hero or the bad protagonist is a bad idea anyway. If readers dislike your protagonist, they will
dislike your novel. I advise a
protagonist readers can love. If they
love your protagonist, they might love your novel. If they love your novel, they might make it a
bestseller. Just say’n. Now, on to the antagonist.
The antagonist is a different beast than a
protagonist. They are reviled, and you
can make them as reviled as you desire.
One of the classical Eastern tropes is the betrayal. The betrayal plot is a classic and found in
many great works. I’m not as much a fan
of the betrayal plot, but the betrayer is one of the most reviled of all
antagonists. They appear to be a friend
and sometimes the protagonist’s helper to the protagonist, but end up betraying
the protagonist. I like to keep these
types of antagonists at arms length. My Honor
novels, the Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox, which are regularly
published (although my publisher went out of business) might still be available
to you. In these novels, the Prince’s
brother Perodus-Mark is the antagonist and a betrayer. He betrayed his family and the Human Galactic
Empire. His betrayal is horrific and
murderous. In the end, people and
planets were grossly harmed by his actions.
The protagonist was willing to give up his life and honor to defeat this
betrayal. Thus the Honor themes. I keep the antagonist at arms length because
he is so horrible and evil. The novels
are not about him, but about the great fight against him. Still he is the villain, yet he is not the
telic flaw. He is the antagonist. I guess I should look at this in depth.
As we contemplate a good antagonist, we should
definitely start thinking about a villain.
For a detective or a crime novel, this is easy—we need a criminal. Modern criminals tend to be wimpy whiney
brats who fall into crime because of evil society. This is a modern trope, but completely
false. If you know anything about real criminals,
they are horrible human beings created by their mothers or fathers or their
culture who abuse animals and children.
You might think they just don’t have a good upbringing, but they would
say their upbringing is the basis for their life and actions—they have great
self-esteem and harm others for fun. Real
criminals are immoral, evil, and perverse.
This is why it was so easy, in the past, to develop a great antagonist
for your protagonist. In fact, a good
antagonist just has to be an evil, immoral, and perverse human being.
You can make your antagonist the telic flaw, just
have them commit the crime the protagonist just resolve or the problem the
protagonist must resolve. That’s
easy. You can also make them the impediment
to the resolution of the telic flaw.
They can be the politician, the shop owner, the manager, the corporate
owner, the bully, and all who stands in the way of the protagonist. You can also move the antagonist into a
higher sphere. They can be the king,
dictator, prince, princess, count, duke, terrorist, congressman, senator,
president, or whatever who stands in the way of out intrepid protagonist. You can leave them as evil, or you can make
them have good reasons, or less than good reasons for their activities. I’ll explain.
One of my favorite approaches to writing is to
take a past protagonist and use them as an antagonist. In these novels, the antagonist isn’t evil,
immoral, or criminal—in most cases, they are good, effective, and close to the
protagonist. In some cases, they just
oppose the ideals or the approach of the protagonist. In other cases, they are mistaken about what
they are doing. For example, in Essie:
Enchantment and the Aos Si, the antagonist is Kathrin, the Celtic and
Gaelic goddess over all. Kathrin isn’t
evil or bad in any sense—she was tricked by the Fae courts (most particularly
the Welsh Fae Court) to capture and keep the Aos Si in captivity. Kathrin has no idea who the Aos Si really was
nor of the request of the Fae Courts.
The end was not pretty at all, but the Aos Si is a peculiar being who
does not retaliate or take revenge. In
the end Kathrin must acknowledge her fault and make amends to the Aos Si. This is really my favorite type of
antagonist. It is the antagonist who can
b redeemed because there is some great fault that must be repaired in the
world.
I also play Kathrin as an antagonist like a
mother can be an antagonist. Kathrin is
a goddess, but even goddesses make mistakes.
In a couple of my novels, Kathrin isn’t making any mistakes, she is
acting in her proper role, but that role holds back her children or those who
know her. This is intentional. In some cases, I use Kathrin as a positive antagonist—that
is an antagonist who goads the protagonist to act and to achieve the telic flaw
resolution. This is a very powerful way
to develop and use an antagonist.
These methods are much more powerful ways of
designing and developing an antagonist for a novel. I think they produce a powerful type of
novel. I should describe this kind of
novel and feel in a novel as opposed to other styles.
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
