25 January 2022, Writing - part xx845 Writing a Novel, more We are Refining the Protagonist, more Name
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.
|
|
|
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.
Setting – current
i.
Life
ii.
Setting
iii.
Work
b.
Name
Like I wrote, my novel, Lilly: Enchantment and the
Computer, the telic flaw is the redemption of Lilly. I already wrote about Lilly’s past and
present. Now, we need a name.
You might ask, why wait so long to give the character a name? The first thing is this. Names especially in novels need to be fit and
matched to the character. This is for
all characters and not just the protagonist.
Many of my reviewers, especially other authors note that my names really
match my characters well. The reason is
because of the care I take with the names.
The first step in determining a name is to fit the name to the times and
the culture (society).
Here's what you must do.
Make a search or research into common names during the times and place of
your character. This is why the
background and setting of the character are necessary. You need the names to match the times. Thus, if you set your protagonist in
Victorian England, and they are English, you can’t name them with a name that
does not fit in Victorian England. If
you do, you are ignoring historical accuracy, and you will break the second
major rule of naming. Likewise, if you
set your protagonist in Germany during the Fifteenth Century, you need to
choose a name from that time and culture.
All of this name fitting is easier than ever today. You might have to research some earlier
cultures and times, but normally a search on the internet for times and place
will give you a list. For general
character names, this list is perfect unless you need to fit the name to the
character. We’ll get to that.
Second most important point about names is they must not
distract from the character or the writing.
I know you have seen these types of characters especially in movies and
junk books. The name of the protagonist
or other character completely ruins the feel of the novel or the movie. Some character names are annoying. If you are trying for this, more power to
you, but you will risk pushing your readers out of the suspension of
disbelief. Usually, a good editor will
tell you to fix a character’s name. You generally
find terrible names in inexperienced or self-published authors’ work. A good editor will not it and a good
publisher’s editor will make you change it.
That is unless you have a fantastic argument. I’ve never heard an argument that good.
I’ll leave the above breadcrumbs on the first and second
point of naming. Let’s look at the next.
Third, fit the name to the person, and fourth, names are handles and shouldn’t
be confusing.
Every name has a meaning even if you didn’t know that. Some names are given with this knowledge, and
some names are just given. In every
case, I always give the name based on the background, times, and setting of the
person. What this means is determining
the person and setting an appropriate name on them that has meaning within the
context of the time, history, and the novel itself. Here is a description about how I developed
the name for my character Rose.
That requires development of her parents and relations. This is how I’m going to do it. First, I researched a place in north Scotland. That place is Viera Lodge in the Orkney
Islands. This is a real place and I have
pictures and diagrams of the building.
It is reputed to be haunted, but we can make that stuff up. It is currently unoccupied and on the
market. The last people who I can
determine lived in the house were Mary Craigie and her husband Paterson, but
they died in the early Twentieth Century.
I can’t determine who owns the property, but let’s assume some relation
of this family. Their names don’t matter
than much and can be put into play when necessary. I’ll use the name Craigie for the girl and
for her family. We can always make up
some relational background within the village and Parish.
I’ve also researched the girl’s background based on her
birth from a garden Fae and a man. The
garden Fae can be Desert Rose. I chose
this Fae because the desert rose is a poisonous flower. I’ve used this imagery before in my novels
with a Seelie Fae (good Fae) who has some negative background. The desert rose is poisonous but not just the
flower. The entire plant is deadly
poisonous and puts out poison when touched.
This will fit our character perfectly.
Her name is Rose Craigie. Just
saying this name is interesting and the antecedents are very interesting. Her father can be James Sinclair. Her mother Desert Rose. Her grand mother and father might as well be
Ann and Hugh Sinclair. Although her
father did raise her for a while, her mother gave her the name. So our girl could be Rose Sinclair or Rose
Craigie. I’m setting this up as a secret
and a mystery in the novel. It will be
used as a red herring to draw attention from the facts and confuse the
protagonist’s helper. Setting up secrets
is always a very good idea.
Just remember this, every name has a meaning, and the best
way to set a character in their place and setting is to give them a name that
means something and that fits their personality, setting, time, and place. Then there is the fourth idea about not
making names confusing.
I think names should not be too confusing either. Even if they are foreign names, the reader
should be able to understand and pronounce the name using normal English (or whatever
language you are writing in). You don’t
know how important this is. If you
really want to confuse and upset your readers, give them a name that is
completely not pronounceable or understandable.
In my novel, Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse, the protagonist
was named Shiggaion. In Israeli, the
name means - a song of trouble or comfort.
The name Shiggaion originated as an Israeli name. The name Shiggaion is
most often used as a girl name or female name. I gave her this name for this purpose:
The
woman nodded, “Good. No delay that
time. First, introductions. My name is really immaterial to you, but I
will tell you, it is Sorcha Davis. I go
by Claire to my friends and associates—Sorcha to my very intimate friends. You were Shiggaion Tash. Why your British parents gave you such a
silly appellation, we will never know, but they did. I will call you Shiggy. You will be known as Shig to others.”
Shiggy
looked down, “Why Shig and Shiggy?”
As
quick as lightning, Sorcha grabbed the ash wand and slapped it against Shiggy’s
knuckles.
Shiggy
let out a cry and clasped her hands together off the table.
Sorcha
raised the rod, “Shiggy. Immediately
place your hands on the top of this table.
I did not give you leave to remove them.”
With
an involuntary whimper, Shiggy placed her hands on the table again. A red mark lifted along her knuckles.
“Unless
I instruct you otherwise, you will always address me as ma’am no matter who is
present or where we are. You will begin
every sentence with that title.”
“Ma’am,
yes.”
Sorcha
allowed herself a tight smile that turned grim very quickly. She tapped the wand against the table, “That
kind of behavior is why you are here at this moment. Try again—I will not allow the use of stilted
English. Judgement is your problem,
Shiggy. My job is to teach you good
judgement.”
“Yes,
ma’am.”
“Now,
why Shig and Shiggy. The reason should
be obvious even to you. Your entire
life, you have insisted on being called Shiggaion. This name is an abomination and hard for most
English speakers to say—yet you are English.
You have not answered to any nicknames or abbreviations—therefore, I
have graced you with a couple of nicknames.
I think both of these will be enough out of character for you that no
one will ever guess your actual name.
You will not use Tash. It is a
common enough British name, but not for you anymore. You are not to identify yourself as such in
the future. If you do, your value to me
will go to zero, and your life will likely end.
Do I make myself clear?”
What I did was to give Shiggy a terrible name that nearly
immediately gets changed to Shiggy, a fun and easy to use name. Notice the name of Shiggaion has a very
negative connotation in every way.
The name, Lilly went through less iterations and
development, but I used the same logic in applying the name to her. It has meaning and from her family (mother)
we have Lilly Lin Grant. That’s it and
that’s what I do every time I set a name on a protagonist and on a character.
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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