Writing - part x793, Writing a Novel, Imagination and Pathos

10 March 2019, Writing - part x793, Writing a Novel, Imagination and Pathos

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:  Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events. 

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:  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. 

To start a novel, I picture an initial scene.  I may start from a protagonist or just launch into mental development of an initial scene.  I get the idea for an initial scene from all kinds of sources.  To help get the creative juices flowing, let’s look at the initial scene. 

1.     Meeting between the protagonist and the antagonist or the protagonist’s helper

2.     Action point in the plot

3.     Buildup to an exciting scene

4.     Indirect introduction of the protagonist

The protagonist is the novel and the initial scene.  If you look at the four basic types of initial scenes, you see the reflection of the protagonist in each one.  If you noticed my examples yesterday, I expressed the scene idea, but none were completely independent of the protagonist.  Indeed, in most cases, I get an idea with a protagonist.  The protagonist is incomplete, but a sketch to begin with.  You can start with a protagonist, but in my opinion, as we see above, the protagonist is never completely independent from the initial scene.  As the ideas above imply, we can start with the characters, specifically the protagonist, antagonist or protagonist’s helper, and develop an initial scene. 

If we start with a protagonist, we need some kind of guide.  Here is a general guide for developing a modern protagonist.  We’ll look at examples and explain the ideas.

1.        Normal person (not wealthy, noble, or privileged)

2.      Loves to read

3.      Loves to learn

4.     Unique skill(s), power(s) and/or learning

5.      Pathos (poor, homeless, abused, friendless, ill)

6.     Individualistic and independent

7.      Introspective

8.     Leader

9.     Naturally good

10.  Rejection of the urban

11.   Rejection of the modern

12.  Appeal to the imagination

This focus on imagination is what brought the Romantic protagonist from the common through knowledge and education to skills, powers, and learning.  The imagination is the key that turns the Romantic protagonist into the Romantic protagonist—the only being in the world who can accomplish the telic flaw of their novel.

Pathos is one of the most powerful features of the Romantic protagonist.  If you remember, the plot of almost every novel is zero to hero or hero to zero.  The zero is usually a pathos situation.  This isn’t the exact opposite of the Victorian protagonist, but you can see the differences.

For example, Oliver Twist is a Victorian protagonist.  He starts at zero, in a pathos state.  He is poor, abused, an orphan, discarded by society and all.  However, he is a Victorian protagonist—the reality is that he was born into wealth and he just needs to sift to his level.  The “sift” to his level is that his family and friends rescue him from his zero state.

Sara Crew from A Little Princess is in a similar pickle.  Her father died leaving her in penury—down to zero.  She is born and has the characteristics of the aristocratic—her mentor just needs to find her and lift her back into her state of perfection and privilege.  

The Romantic protagonist is a much different.  A Romantic protagonist might start or be brought down into pathos, but their imagination drives them to develop skills, powers, and learning that lift them out of pathos.  They might have help (protagonist’s helper) to pull themselves out of pathos, but they do the heavy lifting.  They acquire or develop the skills, powers, and learning that sets them apart and that brings them from the zero of pathos.

Typically, the Romantic protagonist either recognizes or comes to realize his or her pathos situation and then remedies it.  In my novel Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer, Lilly falls in love with Dane.  Her pathos existence suddenly becomes less desirable to her, and she changes it.  Dane also helps her—he’s the protagonist’s helper, but the real change is in Lilly.  Lilly never used her skills to bring her out of her poverty—she didn’t know any better.

Likewise, in Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, Essie is a fully pathos creature.  Mrs. Lyons, the protagonist’s helper, lets Essie see a different side of her existence and makes Essie change.  Essie is the one actually making the change, but Mrs. Lyons is the facilitator.

In Starship Troopers, we see Johnny Rico in a funk due to poor leadership and discipline.  This causes him to use his imagination to want to acquire the skills to become a leader.  The process is slow, and we generally call all these types of novels, development plots—the protagonist develops themselves.  Most Romantic plots are some type of development: zero to hero.

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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