Announcement: We are in the countdown phase for the publication of my new novels. The date on the internet is 1 September. We will see how close we come, or if the publishers meet the deadline. My Aegypt novels will be titled Ancient Light, and the next two books will be called Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness. These were the original titles. They will be released individually and as a 3 in 1 volume. The proposed cover and info can be found at www.ancientlight.com. I'll keep you updated.
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.
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 newest novel, Valeska, is this: An agent of the organization becomes involved with a vampire girl during a mission, she becomes dependent on the agent, and she is redeemed.
Here is my proposed cover for Valeska:
If you are well read and love to read, you may have a chance at writing. Notice the requirements for writing are to love to read and to be well read. If you are missing either, you don't have a chance. When I write, well read, I don't mean you have read modern kid or adult novels. I mean that you have read the classics. The classics are novels written before about 1960 and still in print. Go to the classics section of a bookstore--if you can find one, or check a list for classics. Don't be fooled by the kind of stuff they are trying to sell as "classics" in college or school. Some is there for political correctness reasons and some is there for social justice reasons--no ideology produces good writing (or classics) because ideology is the opposite of the point in writing.
Writing is all about entertaining. Writing is not about provoking, spreading, influencing, or pursuing an ideology. If what you read is not entertaining, it is not good writing. My favorite example of bad writing is James Joyce. James Joyce is about as interesting to read as a Picasso is to look at. James Joyce is not an entertaining writer. If you haven't read James Joyce, you should so you understand what you shouldn't write. James Joyce's novels are usually included in lists of classics. Few would call his writing understandable, entertaining, or meaningful. This is an example of lack of understanding of what writing is all about and what good writing is all about.
Writing is about entertaining. So, once you have all the skills of writing down, your writing is supposed to be entertaining. The type of writing you find entertaining (what you read), you should attempt to imitate. Not copy, but imitate the style and skills of the writers you admire. This is what I have been getting at about writing. I've been trying to give you some type of standard to base your reading and writing on. The problem is that if you don't base your writing on "great" novels, you will not produce very high quality writing.
More tomorrow.
For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
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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