19 January 2022, Writing - part xx839 Writing a Novel, more Refining the Protagonist
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 29th 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.
|
|
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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 30th novel, working
title Red Sonja. I finished my 29th 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.
For Novel 32: Shiggy
Tash finds a lost girl in the isolated Scottish safe house her organization
gives her for her latest assignment: Rose Craigie has nothing, is alone, and
needs someone or something to rescue and acknowledge her as a human being.
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
Ideas. We need
ideas. Ideas allow us to figure out the
protagonist and the telic flaw. Ideas
don’t come fully armed from the mind of Zeus.
We need to cultivate ideas.
1.
Read novels.
2. Fill your mind with good stuff—basically the stuff you want
to write about.
3. Figure out what will build ideas in your mind and what will
kill ideas in your mind.
4. Study.
5. Teach.
6. Make the catharsis.
7.
Write.
The development of ideas is based on study and research, but
it is also based on creativity. Creativity
is the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to present old ideas in
a new form. It is a reflection of
something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the
intellect). Creativity requires
consuming, thinking, and producing.
If we have filled our mind with all kinds of information and
ideas, we are ready to become creative.
Creativity means the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to
present old ideas in a new form.
Literally, we are seeing the world in a new way, or actually, we are
seeing some part of the world in a new way.
I’ve worked through creativity and the protagonist. The ultimate point is that if you properly
develop your protagonist, you have created your novel. This moves us on to plots and initial
scenes. As I noted, if you have a
protagonist, you have a novel. The
reason is that a protagonist comes with a telic flaw, and a telic flaw provides
a plot and theme. If you have a
protagonist, that gives you a telic flaw, a plot, and a theme. I will also argue this gives you an initial
scene as well.
So, we worked extensively on the protagonist. I gave you many examples great, bad, and
average. Most of these were from
classics, but I also used my own novels and protagonists as examples. Here’s my plan.
1.
The protagonist comes with a telic
flaw – the telic flaw isn’t necessarily a flaw in the protagonist, but rather a
flaw in the world of the protagonist that only the Romantic protagonist can
resolve.
2.
The telic
flaw determines the plot.
3. The telic flaw determines the theme.
4. The telic flaw and the protagonist determines the initial
scene.
5. The protagonist and the telic flaw determines the initial
setting.
6. Plot examples from great classic plots.
7. Plot examples from mediocre classic plots.
8. Plot examples from my novels.
9. Creativity and the telic flaw and plots.
10.
Writer’s
block as a problem of continuing the plot.
Every great or good protagonist comes with their own telic
flaw. I showed how this worked with my
own writing and novels. Let’s go over it
in terms of the plot.
This is all about the telic flaw. Every protagonist and every novel must come
with a telic flaw. They are the same
telic flaw. That telic flaw can be
external, internal or both.
We found that a self-discovery telic flaw or a personal
success telic flaw can potentially take a generic plot. We should be able to get an idea for the plot
purely from the protagonist, telic flaw and setting. All of these are interlaced and bring us our
plot.
For a great plot, the resolution of the telic flaw has to be
a surprise to the protagonist and to the reader. This is both the measure and the goal. As I noted before, for a great plot, the
author needs to make the telic flaw resolution appear to be impossible, but
then it becomes inevitable in the climax.
There is much more to this.
I evaluated the plots from the list of 112 classics and
categorized them according to the following scale:
Overall (o) – These are the three overall plots we defined above:
redemption, achievement, and revelation.
Achievement (a) – There are plots that fall under the idea of the
achievement plot.
Quality (q)
– These are plots based on a personal or character quality.
Setting (s)
– These are plots based on a setting.
Item (i)
– These are plots based on an item.
I looked at each novel and pulled out the plot types, the telic flaw,
plotline, and the theme of the novel. I didn’t make a list of the themes,
but we identified the telic flaw as internal and external and by plot
type. This generally gives the plotline.
Overall (o)
1. Redemption (o) – 17i, 7e, 23ei, 8 – 49%
2. Revelation (o) –2e, 64, 1i – 60%
3. Achievement (o) – 16e, 19ei, 4i, 43 – 73%
Achievement (a)
1. Detective or mystery (a) – 56, 1e – 51%
2. Revenge or vengeance (a) –3ie, 3e, 45 – 46%
3. Zero to hero (a) – 29 – 26%
4. Romance (a) –1ie, 41 – 37%
5. Coming of age (a) –1ei, 25 – 23%
6. Progress of technology (a) – 6 – 5%
7. Discovery (a) – 3ie, 57 – 54%
8. Money (a) – 2e, 26 – 25%
9. Spoiled child (a) – 7 – 6%
10. Legal (a) – 5 – 4%
11. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
12. Self-discovery (a) – 3i, 12 – 13%
13. Guilt or Crime (a) – 32 – 29%
14. Proselytizing (a) – 4 – 4%
15. Reason (a) – 10, 1ie – 10%
16. Escape (a) – 1ie, 23 – 21%
17. Knowledge or Skill (a) – 26 – 23%
18. Secrets (a) – 21 – 19%
Quality (q)
1. Messiah (q) – 10 – 9%
2. Adultery (qa) – 18 – 16%
3. Rejected love (rejection) (q) – 1ei, 21 –
20%
4. Miscommunication (q) – 8 – 7%
5. Love triangle (q) – 14 – 12%
6. Betrayal (q) – 1i, 1ie, 46 – 43%
7. Blood will out or fate (q) –1i, 1e, 26 – 25%
8. Psychological (q) –1i, 45 – 41%
9. Magic (q) – 8 – 7%
10. Mistaken identity (q) – 18 – 16%
11. Illness (q) – 1e, 19 – 18%
12. Anti-hero (q) – 6 – 5%
13. Immorality (q) – 3i, 8 – 10%
14. Satire (q) – 10 – 9%
15. Camaraderie (q) – 19 – 17%
16. Curse (q) – 4 – 4%
17. Insanity (q) – 8 – 7%
18. Mentor (q) – 12 – 11%
Setting (s)
1. End of the World (s) – 3 – 3%
2. War (s) – 20 – 18%
3. Anti-war (s) –2 – 2%
4. Travel (s) –1e, 62 – 56%
5. Totalitarian (s) – 1e, 8 – 8%
6. Horror (s) – 15 – 13%
7. Children (s) – 24 – 21%
8. Historical (s) – 19 – 17%
9. School (s) – 11 – 10%
10. Parallel (s) – 4 – 4%
11. Allegory (s) – 10 – 9%
12. Fantasy world (s) – 5 – 4%
13. Prison (s) – 2 – 2%
Item (i)
1. Article (i) – 1e, 46 – 42%
So, what is it about writer’s block? Many if not most authors and writers will
complain about writer’s block. When I
was a younger author, I would get writer’s block very often, but I’ve
discovered something very important about writer’s block. Writer’s block is a function of the plot and
not the protagonist. The correction or
resolution of writer’s block comes from centering our writing on the
protagonist instead of the plot. This is
what I’d really like to get into as a topic.
Here is an outline of how we will approach this.
1.
Problems with a plot focus
2. Correcting with a protagonist focus
3. How to figure out a plot with a protagonist focus
4. Writing development
5. Fixing or blowing through problems with writing
6. How to write to prevent writer’s block
7. The Scene Outline
8. Exercises
9. Examples
10.
Conclusions
I’ve been spending an enormous amount of time with plots;
however, plots, many times, are the problem of writer’s block. How’s that?
Let’s go back to the beginning about novels, plots,
characters, and all that.
We start with this: the novel is the revelation of the
protagonist. That means we have a
protagonist to reveal, and we have developed our protagonist. This is very important—that is the development
of the protagonist.
The idea of the revelation of the protagonist includes plots,
setting, narrative, action, and dialog—it includes everything. The problem is that first you have to have a protagonist.
I don’t think I’m going to give you another example of the
development of a protagonist. What I
will do is give an outline of the development of the protagonist .
Here’s a sketch of just that. I
haven’t tried to do this before, so there might be some development as we
do. Also, this is how I develop a
protagonist.
1.
Define the initial scene
2. At the same time as the above—fit a protagonist into the
initial scene. That means the minimum of:
a.
Telic flaw
b.
Approximate age
c.
Approximate social degree
d.
Sex
3. Refine the protagonist
a.
Physical description
b.
Background – history of the
protagonist
i. Birth
ii. Setting
iii. Life
iv. Education
v. Work
vi. Profession
vii. Family
c.
Setting – current
i. Life
ii. Setting
iii. Work
d.
Name
4. Refine the details of the protagonist
a.
Emotional description (never to be
shared directly)
b.
Mental description (never to be
shared directly)
c.
Likes and dislikes (never to be
shared directly)
5. Telic flaw resolution
a.
Changes required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
i. Physical changes
ii. Emotional changes
iii. Mental changes
b.
Alliances required for the
protagonist to resolve the telic flaw
c.
Enemies required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
d.
Plots required for the protagonist
to resolve the telic flaw
e.
Obstacles that must be overcome for
the protagonist to resolve the telic flaw
In my novel, Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer, I envisioned
an initial scene where a super genius hacker girl who was impoverished so she
could go to school, was caught using another person’s account credits and was
saved by the protagonist helper. That’s
the initial scene.
1.
Define the initial scene - a super
genius hacker girl who was impoverished so she could go to school, was caught
using another person’s account credits and was saved by the protagonist helper.
2. At the same time as the above—fit a protagonist into the
initial scene. That means the minimum of:
a.
Telic flaw – redemption (reformation)
of the protagonist
b.
Approximate age - 16
c.
Approximate social degree –
impoverished and likely homeless
d.
Sex - female
3. Refine the protagonist
a.
Physical description
b.
Background – history of the
protagonist
i. Birth
ii. Setting
iii. Life
iv. Education
v. Work
vi. Profession
vii. Family
c.
Setting – current
i. Life
ii. Setting
iii. Work
d.
Name
We have the initial scene and the basics that fit the
protagonist into the initial scene. Now,
we refine the protagonist, and the first step is the physical description.
Here is how I describe Lilly:
She looked terrible, especially for this part of the city. She wore a baggy old sweatshirt and an
over-large pair of worn-out, not stone-washed, jeans. She had a ragged backpack on her back. Her hair was matted and her clothing filthy. Her face and hands always looked clean, but
Dane couldn’t vouch for the rest of her.
He never got close enough to smell her—he figured that would be much too
close. He only knew her from his side of
the cash register. She carried an
inexpensive tablet computer in one hand, and her shopping in the crook of her
arm. The tablet had a broken screen and
was taped across one corner. Dane was
surprised it worked.
This is just the initial description. Here is a more detailed description from the
novel:
Under the lights of the restaurant, Dane got a better look at
her. She was really petite for her
height, and she wasn’t all that tall.
She looked undernourished. Her
face was thin and kind of plain. Her
eyes were very large and blue. They
looked like an almost transparently blue.
Her cheek was turning a dark shade of purple already. Dane guessed that was where Billy hit
her. He didn’t think it was that
hard. Her hair was long and kept falling
into her eyes. It was blond, but how
blond was hard to tell—the dirt and, he guessed, grease discolored it. Her eyebrows were so light they were almost
invisible, so her hair must be really dirty.
Dane looked at her hands again.
They were clean and the nails were clean. That was odd.
When he was close to her, he did note she had a scent. It wasn’t that bad a scent, but it was like a
mix of dirty clothing and unwashed body.
He asked quietly, “How old are you?”
Additionally, I love to add an extra description later in
the novel. Here’s what I did with Lilly:
When they arrived at Mortvedt Library, Dane found them a place
before the large windows. It was still
early--they staked out a couch for themselves.
Lilly sat next to Dane and he noticed she didn’t stink quite as badly as
she had before. There was still the
smell of over-worn clothing and rotten tennis shoes, but her hair was somewhat
clean and her body didn’t waft of old locker and sweat. Her hair was almost golden blond—a
translucent color like her eyebrows.
Their computers came on the moment they raised the screens. They logged on almost immediately. There was no break that Dane could
detect. He asked, “How did you get the
wireless to respond so fast?”
And here too:
Dane found his black silver and gold embroidered hō and the white
hakama on their frame. He quickly
stripped out of his clothing and put them on.
He took his shaku from its peg and he was ready. It took Kuro a little longer to prepare
Lilly. When Kuro finished, Lilly’s hair
and face had been made up wonderfully.
Her white-blond hair was curled and bound in a noshi around one side of
her head and then over her shoulder. She
wore an ornament in her hair on the opposite side that depicted a gold and a
silver dragon intertwined. Her face was
made up so her eyes looked larger than ever.
Kuro hadn’t put any whitening on her face because she was so pale to
begin with. Kuro masked the light scar
of the cut on the left side of Lilly’s face.
Dane found himself staring in spite of himself.
With the physical description, we can move on the
development of the protagonist.
a.
Background – history of the
protagonist
i. Birth
ii. Setting
iii. Life
iv. Education
v. Work
vi. Profession
vii. Family
With a physical description, we are able to begin working
out details about he protagonist’s life, background, and history. For example, Lilly is very pale and has
white-blond hair. She has pale blue
eyes. I developed her character for the
Pacific Northwest and Pacific Lutheran University because the Norwegian
community is very strong there. I also
wanted to contrast her Christian background with the Japanese Shinto background
I present in the novel. This is a
contrast that I think is enchanting, entertaining, and exciting. That’s why I used it.
If I were to describe Lilly as black skinned or with a ruddy
complexion, her background would be entirely different. I could make a light skinned protagonist from
Africa, or a dark skinned protagonist from Africa. The point is the description drives their
background.
In fact, my protagonist Leora from my Ancient Light novels
is a dark skinned Egyptian from ancient Egypt.
She is African. This drives her
background. As I noted, she is from
ancient Egypt. The description drives
the background and the history. Now, you
might say, why not develop the background first and then the physical description. Sure, you can do that, but it isn’t as easy
as developing the character in your mind, then applying or developing a
background for him or her. That’s just
what I did with Lilly.
So let’s get on with refining Lilly. I showed you her physical description. We know her age, so in the context of the novel,
we know her birth. What I haven’t shared
with you is that Lilly was born by a mother who is notably beautiful but a
prostitute and a drug abuser and pusher.
That is her birth. She was born
in Seattle. That’s a piece of background
that I noted already—that is that she is of Norwegian extraction from the Pacific
Northwest. I also set her at Pacific
Lutheran University. That’s my
undergraduate university. I did this
because I was familiar with the school, and I wanted to use the Japanese, American,
Christian, and Native-American influence of the area in the novel.
So notice, I’m already delving into the setting. More on that next.
In the end, we can figure out what makes a work have a great
plot and theme, and apply this to our writing.
The beginning of creativity is study and effort. We can use this to extrapolate to
creativity. In addition, we need to look
at recording ideas and working with 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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