Writing - part x921, Writing a Novel, Future War Technology

16 July 2019, Writing - part x921, Writing a Novel, Future War Technology

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 websites 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. Money

16. Weapons and warfare

17. Transportation

18. Communication

19. Writing

20. Education

It’s become very popular to write using dystopian plots, themes, and settings.  In addition, science fiction plots, themes, and settings have almost become a secret infiltrator in modern novels. 

All kinds of technology can be used in warfare.  All kinds of weapons, sensors, jammers, communications, and software will be used in future warfare and in future societies.  To get to this new technology, you need to be able to extrapolate based on modern science and equipment.

Start with what you know.  For example, guns.  Guns are projectile firing units.  Guns come in all kinds of sizes and uses.  The purpose for guns is to destroy the enemy’s equipment and personnel.  There are basically three approaches to projectiles—they are either fired in large amounts, heavy projectiles, or high speed projectiles.  Multiples of these are force multipliers and are better. 

In extrapolating to new projectile weapons, all you need to do is project any or all of the three.  You can apply other information as well.  For example, we know the GAU-8 is a 30mm multibarreled weapon that is built into the A-10 aircraft.  Its main purpose is to destroy tanks.  It has a high rate of fire, uranium tipped heavy bullets, and uses chemical means for fire which causes supersonic bullet speeds.  So, fast, heavy, and high rate of fire.  Let’s extrapolate.

You can postulate a higher speed means of projecting the projectiles.  If you remember 1/2mv^2, you know speed is much more destructive than mass.  Faster is much better than heavy.  If I use a linear accelerator instead of chemical means, I can get speeds up to Mach 20 or so.  You can extrapolate this.  You could use Mach 5 or on up.  It doesn’t matter much.  When I accelerate any projectile to about Mach 5, the projectile turns to plasma in the atmosphere.  That is because of friction and chemical interaction.  A plasma, when it hits any metal or almost any surface like a tank, will penetrate at near sun hot temperatures.  It isn’t very good for the vehicle or the operators. 

This sounds like a great weapon and it is.  The problem today is that we don’t have a means to produce electricity at a level required to power such a weapon.  The extrapolator could figure out a great solution.  Just more efficient generators and huge engines are one simple solution.  Other means might be using special chemical electrical reactions, or other electrochemical reactions or mechanisms.  The writer doesn’t have to design a system that will actually work, but rather that will practically work.  It only has to work on paper. 

The point for the author is to think this system through.  A little thinking will lead to a wonderful extrapolated weapon system.  In addition, once the author develops a weapon system, all he or she has to do is fit the system to the needs of the situation or the plot of the novel.  For example, take the linear accelerator slug thrower and upsize it to a large army support weapon.  You need to design a vehicle for it, but that’s pretty simple.  Or you could downsize it to a size for a smaller squad level vehicle.  How about a personal weapon based on the idea.  This gets a little more difficult.  You might need to provide an electrical chemical means to accelerate the projectile, but it’s fiction.  You could design a system that requires the soldier to be attached to the electrical source.  Or you might design a system that is independent.  You just have to figure out how the system might work and provide a logical and rational means for it to work. 

Some authors don’t describe anything, but I write hard science fiction, so I describe everything.  What I mean is some authors just describe the general affects and qualities of the weapon and no details.  I like to read more details than that, but it’s a good means to bring it into your writing.

The point is to extrapolate weapons based on current and known systems.  This is the beginning of developing future systems and ideas.                  

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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