15 December 2017, Writing
- part x343, Novel Form, Secrets in Novels, A Season of Honor
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.
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 28th novel, working title, School, potential
title Deirdre: Enchantment and the School. The theme statement is: Sorcha, the abandoned
child of an Unseelie and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school
where she meets the problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.
Here is the cover proposal for Deirdre:
Enchantment and the School.
The most important scene in any
novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising
action. I continued writing my 29th novel, working title Red Sonja. I finished my 28th novel, working
title School. If you noticed, I started on number 28, but
finished number 29 (in the starting sequence—it’s actually higher than
that). I adjusted the numbering. I do keep everything clear in my
records.
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 29: 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 30: Lady Azure Rose Wishart, the Chancellor of
the Fae, supernatural detective, and all around dangerous girl, finds love,
solves cases, breaks heads, and plays golf.
This
is the classical form for writing a successful 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 (protagonist,
antagonist, and optionally the protagonist’s helper)
d.
Identify the telic flaw of the
protagonist (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
The
protagonist and the telic flaw are tied permanently together. The novel plot is completely dependent on the
protagonist and the protagonist’s telic flaw.
They are inseparable. This is
likely the most critical concept about any normal (classical) form novel.
Here
are the parts of a normal (classical) novel:
1.
The Initial scene (identify the
output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)
2.
The Rising action scenes
3.
The Climax scene
4.
The Falling action scene(s)
5.
The Dénouement scene
So,
how do you write a rich and powerful initial scene? Let’s start from a theme statement. Here is an example from my latest novel:
The
theme statement for Deirdre: Enchantment
and the School is: Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie and a human,
secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the problem child
Deirdre and is redeemed.
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
If
you have the characters (protagonist, protagonist’s helper, and antagonist),
the initial setting, the telic flaw (from the protagonist), a plot idea, the
theme action, then you are ready to write the initial scene. I would state that since you have a protagonist,
the telic flaw, a plot idea, and the theme action, you have about
everything—what you might be lacking is the tension and release cycle in your scenes.
The
release part of the scene development cycle is similar to a punchline. This is the point at which the tension of the
scene is released. The complete tension
is never released until the climax of the novel, but the tension of the scene
is released to some degree at this point.
I’m
still addressing conflict and release from the standpoint of scenes, but I
thought it might provide a good example to look at secrets in my novels. If you remember, there are two basic types of
secrets in a novel. The first is the
plot revelation. The revelation of the
plot and the protagonist are secrets until they are revealed in the novel. This is the number one basic element of
secret in a novel. This secret is
unknown to the characters and the readers until it is revealed.
The
second type of secret is the secrets of the protagonist or other major
character. These are secrets known to
the readers, but not known to other characters in the context of the
novel. These are revealed (or not
revealed) through the plot. I write not
reveled because these secrets may remain secrets from no one, a few, or all in
the context of a novel. The writer uses
the revelation of these secrets to create tension and release and to drive to
the climax.
I’ll
write a little about my science fiction novels.
I write science fiction that is set in the far future. I have a series that is in publication called
The Chronicles of the Dragon and the
Fox. This isn’t a trilogy, but a set
of series novels. What this means is
that you can read the novels separately without the others. You can also read them together because they
share characters and events. The third
novel is A Season of Honor.
The
background for these novels is that to conquer the planets in other solar
systems, early explorers and colonists were genetically enhanced for specific
fields. One of those fields was leadership. Due to genetic capability, the culture and
society of the galaxy developed into a feudal style government that I loosely
based on the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture.
Thus
the Human Galactic Empire was stable because the leaders were truly capable and
designed to lead specific planets and people.
The novels cover a problem in the leadership of the Human Galactic
Empire caused by fighting in the Imperial Family.
A Season of Honor returns to Prince John-Mark ten years later. At the end of The End of Honor, John-Mark gave up his title, his position, and
his name to end the conflict. He is now
Baron Shaun du Locke, and he is honor bound to take the Lady Elina Acier to the
Empire’s capital on Arienth to wed a duke’s son.
The
great character secret in this novel is that Elina Acier could be the twin of
Lyral Neuterra. Lyral Neuterra was
Prince John-Mark’s love who was executed by the new Emperor Perodus and which
started the last great conflict in the Human Galactic Empire.
Baron
Shaun du Locke is required to take a woman who looks exactly like the lost love
of his life to her wedding. Elina doesn’t
realize this and neither does anyone else.
The reader knows.
The
plot secret is that the current emperor wants to have Elina killed before she
can get to the capital. The reasons are
political and deeply embedded in the laws of the Empire. The Emperor must do everything he can to stop
Elina from aligning herself with a Ducal family. Shaun doesn’t want to allow Elina to marry
another. The climax is a huge dustup
with the Emperor.
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
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
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