Writing - part xx054 Writing a Novel, Characters and Pathos, Death

26 November 2019, Writing - part xx054 Writing a Novel, Characters and Pathos, Death

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

Perhaps I should go back and look again at the initial scene—maybe, I’ll cover that again as part of looking at the rising action.  The reason is that I’m writing a rising action in a novel right now.

That gets us back to the protagonist—complexity makes the protagonist and the telic flaw one and the same. 

The novel is a revelation of the protagonist.  The telic flaw is connected directly to the protagonist.  The plot is the revelation of the telic flaw.  This connects the protagonist to the plot and the telic flaw.  The point is that to plan a novel, I simply need to plan the revelation of the protagonist.  To accomplish this, you need to develop a protagonist.

When I write you develop your protagonist, you write notes about:

1.     Name

2.     Background

3.     Education

4.     Appearance

5.     Work

6.     Wealth

7.     Skills

8.     Mind

9.     Likes

10.  Dislikes

11.  Opinions

12.  Honor

13.  Life

14.  Thoughts

15.  Telic flaw

I design a protagonist around the initial scene.  This is the way I write a novel.  This isn’t the only way to write a novel, but it is the way I have discovered to write well-conceived and powerful novels.  This goes back to the initial scene. 

Above, I gave you four options for developing the initial scene.  Yesterday, I told you to take two off.  Authors have used three and four, but they don’t produce the kinds of exciting initial scenes we want.  Here’s the list again.

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

Let’s plan to put one and two together.  Let’s also focus on the other characteristics of the initial scene.  Notice that first, the initial scene must include the protagonist.  This should be obvious, but let’s go down the list.  I’m looking at background and pathos.

Looking at the classic pathos developing scene from A Little Princess, the emotions of the characters are not very strong, but the reader is significantly affected by the circumstances and situation.  How can this be?  More specifically, what are the characteristics of a scene or of a characters that builds pathos?

A character is pathos building who through no fault of their own is:

1.     hungry

2.     sad

3.     abused

4.     an orphan

5.     penniless

6.     abandoned

7.     cold

8.     injured

9.     falsely convicted or accused

10.  desiring for information

11.  education

12.  to read

13.  a child

14.  a female

15.  beauty

16.  loss of a child

17.  general loss

18.  friendless

19.  alone

20.  afraid

21.  helpless

22.  isolated

The antagonist or less positively, the circumstances of the setting, produces suffering and misfortune in the protagonist and this results in pity and fear in the reader.  This is the formula for the development of pathos in any fictional work.

Ultimately, humans have three basic questions.  Why am I here?  What is my purpose?  Where will I go?  Answering these questions is not the purpose of fiction or novels.  However, these have the purpose of developing pathos.  These are the questions and the ideas that develop pathos in human thought.  The purpose of novels isn’t to answer these questions.  The purpose for novels is to use these questions or the ideas behind these questions to develop pathos.  How does this work?

Where am I going?  This is the question that drives tragedy and the threat of death.  It is a critical question, and can generate secular as well as informed pathos.  The problem and the power of secular pathos is death.  In a secular world, death is all there is to look forward to.  This is also a pathos developer.  You get to the point of the Greek tragedies. 

In a Greek tragedy, the death of the protagonist is the tragedy.  This is because in classical Greek thought, the protagonist is going to Hades.  Later, Greek thought and the mysterium brought the Elysian fields into the mix.  Even later, the idea of reincarnation took over in the Greek mystriums and Gnosticism which meant you went to the Elysian fields for a while and then were reborn.  Where ever you were in the classical Greek world, you either went to Hades, made your way to the Elysian Fields, and were eventually were reborn, or you were stuck in Hades forever.  No wonder the Greeks accepted the message of Christianity so readily. 

Back to secularism.  The Greeks were not a secular society at all, but like most pantheonic pagan societies, death was indeed a personal as well as a communal tragedy.  Christianity changed this radically. 

In the Christian worldview, death, for the believer leads to paradise.  This means that ultimately, death isn’t a personal tragedy it is only a communal and possibly an individual tragedy.  The problem with death in this worldview is when it prevents the accomplishment of the end desire or problem of the protagonist.  This is a tragedy.  When the protagonist can’t resolve the telic flaw that is a tragedy.  In secular tragedy, the telic flaw usually results in the death of the protagonist.  In any case, pathos comes directly out of this problem for the protagonist.

This is what makes tragedy so powerful in pathos.  For example, in Romeo and Juliette as well as in West Side Story, the protagonists are prevented from living out their love.  In the end, both and one die.  For Romeo and Juliette, the tragedy is for their families—their love continues through death, but their families lose their children and inheritors.  In West Side Story, the tragedy is that one dies and the two are separated for ever.  Romeo and Juliette is a Christian tragedy.  The message is, their love is more powerful than death.  West Side Story is a secular tragedy.  The message is they are dead and so is their love.  It’s the end of everything.

In both plays, the family and community is left to clean up the problems.  In both plays, death is the end and the development of pathos, but you can see how these are different.  The pity and fear that drives the pathos is similar, but still different.  Even the point of the deaths and tragedy is different. 

In Romeo and Juliette, the lovers are driven to death because they are willing to die for each other.  This is the key to almost all non-secular tragedy.  The protagonists are willing to give up their lives for some higher purpose.  Their lives are worth less to them than that higher purpose.  The tragedy is not the death, but rather that death was the resolution of the telic flaw.  For example, in Romeo and Juliette, the telic flaw is their love.  They can’t continue to be in love without death.  The higher cause is love, and they are willing to die for it and each other.

In West Side Story, the male protagonist is shot while seeking his lover.  She accepts his death, and for the community is willing to die (be convicted of the crime of murder) to protect her family and community.  Think carefully about this.  The female character is not dying for a higher good.  She is dying to protect her family and community.  This is almost the opposite message of Romeo and Juliette.  In fact, the death of Maria is a meaningless death.  It isn’t for any higher cause, but it does build pathos.  The pathos in West Side Story is a very different pity and fear from that in Romeo and Juliette.  The telic flaw isn’t much different, the end is.

I’m in favor of both, but one has much greater importance in literature and art.  Both are wonderful and powerful, but you’ll have to make up your own mind which you would hold at a higher level of art.  This is the reason I like comedy better than tragedy.  Neither Romeo and Juliette nor West Side Story resolves the telic flaw.  Great for tragedy, but not for comedy.  Great for art, but not for life.  We want a resolution that helps us as well as entertains us.  Death isn’t that entertaining.  As far as pathos goes, there is certainly pathos, but there is no resolution—except death.

Give me comedy for this reason alone.  “Where am I going?” is a question that can be used in comedy as well as tragedy.       

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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