Writing - part x836, Writing a Novel, Changing World, and Politics

22 April 2019, Writing - part x836, Writing a Novel, Changing World, and Politics

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. 

Let’s look at a subject that is really ignored in the modern era.  I’m not certain how much this can help your current writing.  I would argue that theoretically, this subject can really help those who write historical and futuristic fiction.  It depends on how your write your historical and futuristic fiction.  There are two ways to write historical fiction—let’s look at this.

The first and most common way to write historical fiction is to write a novel that projects modern ideas and history as historical ideas and history.  In other words to present modern ideas and historical ideas as the same.  I think this is perhaps the most egregious and perverse means of presenting a false view of history.  The author is either completely ignorant of the past, is intentionally attempting to education people in a false view of history, or both.  The real historical world is very different both culturally and socially from our current world.  The true author attempts to convey this in historical writing.

The second and less common means of historical writing is to actually incorporate the past into a novel to convey the actual way people thought and acted in the past.  This approach actually goes back into time to give a complete view of the way the people thought and acted.  To this end, let’s look at how the world changed and how people thought in the past.  This is more of a historical look at the world for the purpose of understanding how the world worked in the past and how people thought and acted.  We’ll use historical information to see what concerned affected their lives. Here is a list of potential issues.  We’ll look at them in detail:

1.   Vocabulary

2.   Ideas

3.   Social construction

4.   Culture

5.   Politics

6.   History

7.   Language

8.   Common knowledge

9.   Common sense

10. Reflected culture

11. Reflected history

12. Reflected society

13. Truth

14. Food

15. Weapons

16. Transportation

17. Communication

18. Writing 

Politics is a plot device as opposed to a setting.  Culture is a setting, and clash of cultures a plot device.  I love to interject politics into my writing.  How can you do that and survive?  The point is to interject politics as a social or cultural construct or as a simple plot device.  In other words, not to write about a clash of politics or political ideas.  Now, there are novels that have and can do this, just because it isn’t my game or favorite type of plot doesn’t mean you can’t use it.

The most important thing to realize is that politics exist and they change radically with time.  However, they might not change quite as radically as you think. 

The problem of using politics as a plot is that usually the politics is so complex and interwoven in the times that it is very difficult to work with it from a dispassionate view and no matter where you stand, you will likely upset some of your readers.  I’ll posit as an example the US and the US Civil War.

The Democrat Party was the party of slavery and state’s rights and power over that of equality and the power of the Federal government.  Even this point will irritate some readers who don’t know much about history or who reflect one party or the other today.  The point is that the views of the founders were significantly different from the views of the Democratic Party, completely supporting slavery and not supporting Federal power, and the Republican Party opposing slavery and wishing to reconcile the slaves with the freedom of the founders and the Constitution.  In any case, for this reason, I usually don’t touch American politics.  You can see evidence of the mention of politics in many novels, but unless the focus is politics, most novels steer away from any details.

The way I love to interject politics is through foreign politics and settings.  For example, I use France and Britain as settings for my novels.  These countries and their politics are rarely understood by my readers, but for those who do understand, I like to throw in little touches of political information and jokes.  That’s the point in developing realism and historicity, by presenting a joke and relating it to my characters and the politics of the times.  What this does for your writing is provides intimacy and gives an insight into the complexities of the society and culture.  In any case, I don’t use politics very often in my novels, but I think it is very important for all writers to understand about politics and the world.

I’m likely repeating, but historically, politics is one of the fastest changing and least important in immediacy, but the most important long term.  That is unless you are talking about war.  Politics is likely the quickest means to war.  Still, this might make great sources and direction for building a conflict for the plot of the novel.  I will note that in George Orwell’s novel 1984, there is very little about the actual politics—perhaps this reflects a single party.  The world of 1984 is horrible not because of the politic, but because of the politics that brought it about.  You see this in the actual French Revolution.  The politics in immediacy were not that important.  The result of the politics led to the death of thousands and perhaps millions from the French Republic and resulting wars.  Perhaps this would be the focus for a great novel.

Tiny political issues, compromises, and defeats can result in far reaching and horrific results.  Others like the USA Civil War or the USA Revolution can result in wonderful freedoms and ends.

However you use politics in your writing, it changes and evolves significantly over time, and it is sometimes difficult to explain and use properly.        

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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