16 October 2022, Writing - part xxx109 Writing a Novel, 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: Let me tell
you a little about writing. Writing
isn’t so much a hobby, a career, or a pastime.
Writing is a habit and an obsession.
We who love to write love to write.
If you love
to write, the problem is gaining the skills to write well. We want to write well enough to have others
enjoy our writing. This is
important. No one writes just for
themselves the idea is absolutely irrational and silly. I can prove why.
In the first
place, the purpose of writing is communication—that’s the only purpose. Writing is the abstract communication of the
mind through symbols. As time goes by,
we as writers gain more and better tools and our readers gain more and better
appreciation for those tools and skills—even if they have no idea what they
are.
We are in
the modern era. In this time, the action
and dialog style along with the push of technology forced novels into the form
of third person, past tense, action and dialog style, implying the future. This is the modern style of the novel. I also showed how the end of literature
created the reflected worldview. We have
three possible worldviews for a novel: the real, the reflected, and the
created. I choose to work in the reflected
worldview.
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.
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.
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.
With that said, where should we go? Should I delve into ideas and creativity
again, or should we just move into the novel again? Should I develop a new protagonist, which, we
know, will result in a new novel. I’ve
got an idea, but it went stale. Let’s
look at the outline for a novel again:
1.
The initial scene
2.
The rising action scenes
3.
The climax scene
4.
The falling action scene(s)
5.
The dénouement
scene(s)
The initial scene is the most important scene and part of
any novel. To get to the initial scene,
you don’t need a plot, you need a protagonist.
Let’s be very clear.
You can start with a plot, a protagonist, an idea, or an idea for an initial
scene. The easiest and most controlled
method is to start with a protagonist. As
I’ve written over and over, a protagonist must come with a telic flaw. I think it is impossible to have a
protagonist without a telic flaw, but I suppose you could develop a completely lackluster
protagonist without any telic flaw connected to them.
Here is my list for the characteristics of a Romantic protagonist. I am not very happy with most of the lists I
have found. So, I will start with a
classic list from the literature and then translate them to what they really
mean. Here is the list based on some classical
sources:
1. Placed outside the structure of civilization
2. Represents the force of physical nature
3. Amoral
4. Ruthless
5. With a sense of power and often leadership, that society
has impoverished itself by rejecting
6. Introspection
7. Triumph of the individual over the "restraints of
theological and social conventions"
8. Wanderlust
9. Melancholy
10. Misanthropy
11. Alienation
12. Isolation
13. Regret for their actions
14. Self-criticism
15. Estranged from a more grounded, realist biological
family
16. Leading a rural, solitary life
17. Long-suffering love interest, him or herself victimized
by the hero's rebellious tendencies, with their fates intertwined for decades,
sometimes from their youths to their deaths.
What do these characteristics mean?
1. Placed outside the structure of civilization – a force of
nature usually with some power or ability outside the norm of society.
2. Represents the force of physical nature - Bingo
3. Amoral – not immoral, but in the sense of a morality
based on a higher point or purpose.
Usually, this comes out as a rejection of social norms. The guy or gal who breaks the rules.
4. Ruthless – Willing to act as necessary to achieve his or
her goals as well as the goals of the group or society
5. With a sense of power and often leadership, that society
has impoverished itself by rejecting – yes, but it is usually the general
society that has rejected this character.
6. Introspection - definitely
7. Triumph of the individual over the "restraints of
theological and social conventions" – This is very similar to the first
few statements.
8. Wanderlust – yes and no.
A Romantic protagonist can be willing to settle, but likes to travel.
9. Melancholy – yes.
10. Misanthropy – this is incorrect. The Romantic protagonist usually doesn’t like
him or herself. They are all for
humanity, but want to be a better human.
11. Alienation – Yes, from society but not from their group.
12. Isolation – Yes, to a degree, again in society, but not
from their group.
13. Regret for their actions – those that were not based on
the character’s moral compass.
14. Self-criticism – for actions not grounded in his or her
own morality.
15. Estranged from a more grounded, realist biological
family – pathos bearing because he or she is estranged by death, exclusion for
some reason, or self-isolation due to three above.
16. Leading a rural, solitary life – generally, but can be
isolated in a suburban environment.
17. Long-suffering love interest, him or herself victimized
by the hero's rebellious tendencies, with their fates intertwined for decades,
sometimes from their youths to their deaths—means he or she can also be a
romance type character.
Let’s try to make this clearer for our own use and
development:
1. Some power or ability outside the norm of society that
the character develops to resolve the telic flaw.
2. Same as one
3. Has a morality not based in societal or cultural
norms. This means that in a moral
society, the character might be a real rule breaker, but in an immoral society,
the character would be a highly moral person.
The character has a set of moral and ideals that are different than
society’s. In general, this means they
have a set of morals and ideals based on something different than society’s
4. Willing to act as necessary to achieve his or her goals
as well as the goals of the group or society
5. Power and leadership that is outside of the normal
society.
6. Introspection - definitely
7. Repeat of three
8. Travel plot
9. Melancholy
10. The Romantic protagonist usually doesn’t like him or
herself—overwhelming desire to change and grow.
11. Pathos developed because the character does not fit the cultural
mold. From the common.
12. Same as eleven.
13. Regret when they can’t follow their own moral compass.
14. Self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral
compass.
15. Pathos bearing because he or she is estranged by death,
exclusion for some reason, or self-isolation due to three above.
16. From the common and potentially the rural.
17. Love interest
I want to refine this one more step:
1. Some power or ability outside the norm of society that
the character develops to resolve the telic flaw.
2. Set of beliefs (morals and ideals) that are different
than normal culture or society’s.
3. Courageous
4. Power (skills and abilities) and leadership that is
outside of the normal society.
5. Introspective
6. Travel plot
7. Melancholy
8. Overwhelming desire to change and grow—to develop four
and one.
9. Pathos developed because the character does not fit the cultural
mold. From the common.
10. Regret when they can’t follow their own moral compass.
11. Self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral
compass.
12. Pathos bearing because he or she is estranged from
family or normal society by death, exclusion for some reason, or self-isolation
due to three above.
13. From the common and potentially the rural.
14. Love interest
Let’s see what we can do with this next.
We need a Romantic protagonist.
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
fiction, theme, plot, story,
storyline, character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book,
writing, information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic
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