Writing - part x608, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, Plot and Telic Flaw

6 September 2018, Writing - part x608, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, Plot and Telic Flaw

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but my primary publisher has gone out of business—they couldn’t succeed in the past business and publishing environment.  I'll keep you informed, but I need a new publisher.  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 29^th novel, working title, Detective, potential title Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective.  The theme statement is: 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.  

Here is the cover proposal for Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective. 

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 30^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 29^th novel, working title Detective.  I’m planning to start on number 31, working title Shifter. 

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 31:  TBD 

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:  Suspension of disbelief is the characteristic of writing that pulls the reader into the world of the novel in such a way that the reader would rather face the world of the novel rather than the real world—at least while reading.  If this occurs while not reading, it is potentially a mental problem.  To achieve the suspension of disbelief your writing has to meet some basic criteria and contain some strong inspiration.  If you want to call the inspiration creativity, that works too.  Here is a list of the basic criteria to hope to achieve some degree of suspension of disbelief. 

1.      Reasonably written in standard English

2.      No glaring logical fallacies

3.      Reasoned worldview

4.      Creative and interesting topic

5.      A Plot

6.      Entertaining

7.      POV

The telic flaw is the problem the protagonist must resolve.  The expectation of most writing and especially romantic fiction is that the protagonist uniquely is the only person, at least in the worldview of the novel, who can resolve the telic flaw.

Is the telic flaw a flaw?  The telic flaw is a flaw in the world of the novel or whatever literature we are talking about.  However, the term telic flaw reminds us that as much a flaw in the world of the novel, there is a flaw in the world of the protagonist.  The protagonist must resolve the problem of the telic flaw to resolve the problem of the novel.  The term also reminds us that the telic flaw is a characteristic of the protagonist.  This means it can’t be separated from the protagonist.

In mature sophisticated writing, the protagonist is always bound indelibly to the telic flaw of the novel and the problem in the world of the novel.  I use the example of the detective novel to make this clear—let me use it again.

In a detective novel, the telic flaw is the crime or to be most specific to resolve the mystery or crime caused by the antagonist.  Usually, the criminal is the antagonist.  I wrote my, yet unpublished novel, Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective as an example of this type of novel. 

The protagonist in Blue Rose is Azure Rose Wishart.  Azure Rose is a supernatural detective and the telic flaw of the novel is a supernatural crime that she must solve.  Likewise, like any mature novel, there is much more to it.  Although the telic flaw of the novel is the supernatural crime, Azure Rose has more problems many of which are tied directly to the supernatural and the supernatural crime.  Azure must resolve her personal problems to resolve the supernatural crime telic flaw.  Also, when Azure Rose solves the crime, she will possibly resolve some of her own problems.

You can see this in many complex mature novels.  Just look at Agatha Christi novels, they usually aren’t so simple as the detective must resolve his own problems to solve the crime, but that is floating in the mix.  What about the classic of Dashiell Hammett's novels, where the protagonist detective always must resolve some personal or physical issue to resolve the crome.

Suddenly, the detective theme became very complex.  You can write a kids or a young adult novel with little emotional or mental interaction between the telic flaw and the protagonist, but that’s going to be difficult too.  The problem of the protagonist is always the problem of the novel.  The telic flaw of the novel is always the telic flaw of the protagonist.  This problem drives to the bones of the protagonist and the novel—or it isn’t really worth solving.         

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  

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