Writing - part x656, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, POV

24 October 2018, Writing - part x656, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, POV

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

Still in Dornach Scotland for golf, castles, and scotch, of course.  Perhaps I can throw in some United Kingdom observations.

Point of view (POV) can be one of greatest distractors for a reader.  Most broadly, POV is the point of view in the writing.  It is not just the narrative point of view—it is the focused point of view.  What does this mean?  For example, if I am writing like this:

Tamar put up with the doctors ministrations.  She didn’t say anything untoward to him.

The doctor took one look at Tamar and realized she wasn’t being absolutely truthful with him.

This is a change of point of view from Tamar to the doctor.  Most of the time, your publisher’s editor will point these POV issues to you, and want you to fix them.  Usually, the only way to fix them is to get rid of the offending POV.  You can change the writing in some cases back to the proper POV, but realize this could significantly affect a novel.

Usually, we say you should hold to the same POV for an entire scene before you change it.  I’ll go for that, and add in some more.  You know those novels with more than one protagonist?  Or those novels that switch POV between chapters or scenes? They drive me crazy.  I can barely stand the novels that switch POV or that have more than one protagonist.  Usually, I really like one plot line or one of the protagonists—I don’t care about the other one.  Many times, readers will feel the same—I always wonder why an editor or a publisher would accept such a novel.

In any case, holding to a singular protagonist and POV to me is very important.  About POV and suspension of disbelief—the reason your publisher’s editor wants you to write it out is invariably when a reader hits the change of POV, you’ve lost them.  Change of POV to most readers is like a speed bump.  A speed bump in the middle of a scene or chapter is terrible—a speed bump at the beginning of a chapter, is a nuisance.  Many readers don’t like it, but they will put up with it, and since a chapter is like a breath, a change of POV here is less of a problem.

If you are going to need a change of POV, I recommend the beginning of a scene or a chapter.  There are very important and legitimate times to make a POV change.  In some cases, you need to show the protagonist from the eyes of another.  In other cases, you might want to express plot details the protagonist can never know.  Keep these to a minimum, and use them when they are necessary.  Such a change and such a scene can significantly improve showing and move a plot well.                            

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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