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Friday, November 3, 2023

Writing - part xxx491 Writing a Novel, Building a Protagonist, Fitting, Refining the Protagonist, Details, Emotional

03 November 2023, Writing - part xxx491 Writing a Novel, Building a Protagonist, Fitting, Refining the Protagonist, Details, Emotional

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 31st novel, working title, Cassandra, potential title Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warriors.  The theme statement is: Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events.

 

I finished writing my 34th novel (actually my 32nd completed novel), Seoirse, potential title Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment.  The theme statement is: Seoirse is assigned to be Rose’s protector and helper at Monmouth while Rose deals with five goddesses and schoolwork; unfortunately, Seoirse has fallen in love with Rose.     

Here is the cover proposal for Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment




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 finished writing number 31, working title Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warrior.  I just finished my 32nd novel and 33rd novel: Rose: Enchantment and the Flower, and Seoirse: Enchantment and the Assignment.

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 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.

 

For novel 33, Book girl:  Siobhàn Shaw is Morven McLean’s savior—they are both attending Kilgraston School in Scotland when Morven loses everything, her wealth, position, and friends, and Siobhàn Shaw is the only one left to befriend and help her discover the one thing that might save Morven’s family and existence.

 

For novel 34:  Seoirse is assigned to be Rose’s protector and helper at Monmouth while Rose deals with five goddesses and schoolwork; unfortunately, Seoirse has fallen in love with Rose.

 

For novel 35: Eoghan, a Scottish National Park Authority Ranger, while handing a supernatural problem in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park discovers the crypt of Aine and accidentally releases her into the world; Eoghan wants more from the world and Aine desires a new life and perhaps love.

 

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.

 

My main focus, at the moment, is marketing my novels.  That specifically means submissions.  I’m aiming for agents because if I can get an agent, I think that might give me more contacts with publishers plus a let up in the business.  I would like to write another novel, but I’m holding off and editing one of my older novels Shadow of Darkness.  I thought that novel would have fit perfectly with one potential agent who said they were looking for Jewish based and non-Western mythology in fantasy.  That’s exactly what Shadow of Darkness is, but they passed on it.  In any case, I’m looking for an agent who will fall in love with my writing and then promote it to publishers.  That’s the goal.

 

The dependency I’d like to present in a new novel is similar to Valeska but one where the protagonist falls romantically in love with the focus.  The question is the focus. 

 

Now, I’m looking and researching for a being or character who would fit the needs of the book I’m proposing.

 

Don’t modify known settings, people, or history unless you are writing alternate history.  Modify, at will, those things that are not known or recorded in history.  That comes to a very important point about historical fiction, even reflected worldview historical fiction.  That is that history doesn’t record much of the mundane we wish to include in our novels. 

 

If I’m going to develop a protagonist, I need to bring out the protagonist outline.  I’ve got it somewhere in my writing—I just have to find it.

 

I guess I’ll start with the Romantic part of the protagonist.  Then I’ll move to the more specific pieces of the protagonist.  Most precisely, I’m looking at the list of potential characters from my list of characters in my other novels.

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.  This is the refined list.  Take a look.

1. Some power or ability outside the norm of society that the character develops to resolve the telic flaw.

I have Áine as the potential focus of the novel.  She’s a Celtic goddess.  This focus isn’t set yet, but I need a protagonist, and I need to develop and design one.  I’m contemplating a son of the Stuarts and the Calloways.  Here’s the information from my notes.

 

Elaina actually Evir Elisabeth Stuart,  Gaelic:  Eamhair Ealasaid Stiùbhartach – The girl: she was blond with grey-blue eyes and a very Nordic or Norman look.  Her long hair was tied in a tight French weave.  She was tall and looked mature—much more mature than Sorcha or Deirdre.

            Old Raleigh bike with a basket and a bell - an old Raleigh welded-steel frame girl’s bicycle

Elaina actually Evir Elisabeth Stuart,  Gaelic:  Eamhair Ealasaid Stiùbhartach  g. Oxford b. 1975 late to Wycombe Abbey a special student of Luna’s was being groomed for work in Stela and the Organization.  He specialty is with the Fae.  They are bound to her because of her nobility and background.  She is not Fae but commands the Fae to some degree. 

                                    m. James (Seumas) Donaidh Calloway b. 1971 

                                                            c. Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach)

                                                            c. Aife (Eva) Eamhair (Evir) Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach)

So, my protagonist Eoghan will have the very special skills of charm and sensitivity to the creatures of the land.  He won’t have any other general powers of glamour. 

2. Set of beliefs (morals and ideals) that are different than normal culture or society’s.

He knows the Fae, the creatures of the land, angels, the God, and the gods and goddesses of the land.  That gives him a moral basis centered on an orthodox belief.  His family goes to church and practices all the strong tenants of Christianity. 

3. Courageous

Still, Eoghan and his sister gained some degree of training their mother and father never expected.  Eoghan is a park ranger with the Scottish National Park authority.  He was taught at their special training in law enforcement and all its attendant training.  The British military taught many of his courses, especially in hand to hand, weapons, and the wilderness.  He knows more than his mother would like, and he is strongly attracted to this life and this training.  He would like to be part of the military and has had overtures.  He is naturally courageous and naturally good.  Then he finds Aine, and she will give him a purpose for his special skills.

4. Power (skills and abilities) and leadership that are outside of the normal society.

Just be aware, it must have to do with the use of their powers of charm and sensitivity in relation to leadership.  That’s the ticket.   

5. Introspective

Eoghan must be an introspective character.  We have a protagonist’s helper to aid him in expressing his mind, but he won’t let out much or as much as Aine wants and that will help drive the novel.  Remember, in writing a novel, secrets are your best friend.   

6. Travel plot

I don’t expect a really powerful travel plot like I provided in Rose and Seoirse, but we need to get Eoghan and Aine into the regular world and into regular society—that’s where the differences and the interactions with people and each other can really play out.  Plus, there is no way after about 1500 or more years in a crypt that Aine wants to remain holed up in a rural or wilderness area.  She’s for society and culture, plus part of the real fun in the novel is for them both to have new and exciting experiences together.  The travel plot makes all this possible.

7. Melancholy

Eoghan is like his mother Elaina and his sister.  They are all touched by their mother’s and family’s depreciation of their aristocracy.  They lost all in the game of promotion and house.  They lost in the game of thrones, so to speak, but they all have charm and sensitivity to the Fae and beings of the land.  That makes them powerful in their own way, but powerless in society.  This is what we will change in Eoghan.  That’s one aspect of the novel’s telic flaw.      

8. Overwhelming desire to change and grow—to develop four and one.

This is the desire that will consume and empower Eoghan.  This is what will drive him and Aine forward in the novel.  He will have special skills, but the reader will realize that it isn’t the skill but the dedication and work behind the skill that leads to Eoghan’s success.    

9. Pathos developed because the character does not fit the cultural mold.  From the common.

I’m sure there are other ways to develop this pathos in the novel.  For Rose and in Seoirse, I used some other methods and means based on Rose’s qualities and skills to develop pathos.  In general, I used dependency and the military situation in Seoirse to build pathos.  This is easy with females, but a little less easy with males.  With females, the pathos becomes situational.  For men, the pathos is dependency based.  I’m planning and building a male protagonist, so these are important considerations.  With Seoirse, I could play off the female development of pathos and the male pathos.  I think this is a great means of designing pathos.  I might be able to do this for Eoghan with Aine too.              

10. Regret when they can’t follow their own moral compass.

In the end, Eoghan might regret some of his actions and the results of his actions.  This creates a situation that provides tension and release.  It also continues the tension and release in what is called a sequel by some writers. 

11. Self-criticism when they can’t follow their own moral compass.

In any case, self-criticism will be a characteristic of Eoghan, and it will drive Aine crazy.  Aine will be from an era where people made decisions based on life and death.  She isn’t used to second guessing.  I can imagine one of their discussions. 

To solve a problem, she says just kill someone or something.  Eoghan says no, and that astounds her.  Perhaps she will need to learn to be self-critiquing.   

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.

I will point out that with many and normal Romantic protagonists, the exclusion and self-isolation is intentional and permanent.  They desire it.  The exclusion and self-isolation caused by being an orphan or a partial orphan are also permanent and tend to develop automatic pathos in the reader for the Romantic protagonist.  I won’t use this for Eoghan. 

13. From the common and potentially the rural.

In any case, we want our Romantic protagonist to be out of the common.  We can work this in many ways, but the ultimate point is to convince the reader that the Romantic protagonist is just like them and not really special at all.

14. Love interest

So, we’ll have a great setup for this novel, this Romantic protagonist, and this protagonist’s helper.  What will really be fun is seeing Aine totally outside her comfort zone for many reasons trying to win over Eoghan.  I need to think on the details, but that’s what I’m thinking.  She’ll try all the wiles she knows and all the wiles she can figure out.

Meanwhile, Eoghan will want her to be mellow and gentle, but that’s not her way.  Can these lovebirds recover from each other?  Can they find love?  Will Aine have her way with Eoghan, or will she chicken out.  We shall see.  That’s what a love interest is all about. 

Here is the protagonist development list.  We are going to use this list to develop a Romantic protagonist.  With the following outline in mind, we will build a Romantic protagonist. 

1.     Define the initial scene – I’m developing the initial scene, and I’m building it in my mind.  Here’s what I’m thinking.  Eoghan is a hard-working, isolated, and very skilled man.  His job is taking care of the supernatural issues in the National Parks of Scotland and Britian.  He has been assigned a case from his mother through Stela.  Stela is the group under “the Organization” that handles protecting Britian from the supernatural.  I should note there is a significant system, not large in numbers, but high in power and connections to do just this.  They are under the Crown and by “the Organization.”  Eoghan’s mother, Eliana is a real recluse who works for the Crown and who has aristocratic roots, but from an old line of royalty of the British.  She is touched.  That means she has the power of charm and sensitivity to the supernatural.  That’s why she’s in charge of the part of Stela that handles small issues of supernatural problems.  She works at home and investigates so others can handle the problems in the field.  That’s what Eoghan does.  Eoghan’s sister wants to do work similar to Eoghan.  So far she’s not allowed. 

Now, for the initial scene, Eoghan has been sent to Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park near Glasgow and Stirling to handle a supernatural nuisance.  I think I’ll make this a very dangerous kind of Scottish Fae.  Eoghan has to apply some strength and power against this creature.  In the end, he will be injured, but he will discover a hidden old Anglo-Saxon graveyard with an inscription and a crypt.  The creature will lead him there and his injury with the power he has to exert will allow him to find the place.  Perhaps to protect himself he’ll need to escape to this hidden oasis of protection. 

There Eoghan will find the inscription and the crypt.  The injured and escaping Eoghan finds an ancient and secret Anglo-Saxon graveyard in the wilds of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.  There, Eoghan finds the inscription and a crypt.  Of course, since he has nothing better to do—he’s waiting for the dangerous Fae creature or creature of the land to go away.

When he inspects the inscription, he finds he can read it.  He and his family are experts at languages and especially ancient British languages, actually Gaelic and Celtic languages.  This is one of the skills of Stela and a trained skill of Eoghan and his family.  This comes from a deep and long running training and experience of these families. 

Because Eoghan can understand the inscription, and I think I’ll make it an ancient but kind of obvious Anglo-Saxon joke or riddle.  They really liked their jokes and tricks.  The joke will be at Aine’s expense and saying a curse or making fun of her will result in her being released from a spell holding her.  Then Eoghan will have to rescue her from the crypt. 

Aine is an interesting being and focus.  She is an unbound goddess.  This means she has some life and some death.  She is a being with fettered powers who is not fully human but not fully a goddess.  She is a being made to point to the eternal and to the real Dagda.  The Dagda is the Celtic and Gaelic name for God.  Part of Aine’s problem is that she was made and then captured and interned before the revelation of the Son of God.  This is something she will experience and learn in this novel.  This is a recurring theme in my novels of this type.  This fits directly into the mind and knowledge of Eoghan.  If you remember, as a Romantic protagonist, he has a moral compass and a ethos based on Christianity.  This will meet Aine’s needs like nothing else and will endear her to Eoghan.  Also, Eoghan will he a good teacher and helper.

The final part of this initial scene will be Aine and Eoghan’s trek back through the wilderness.  They will have to defeat the creature of the land and make their way back to Eoghan’s home.  There the creature of the land will become an issue, and we shall see other interactions that force Aine and Eoghan to move forward.

2.     At the same time as the above—fit a protagonist into the initial scene.  That means the minimum of:

a.      Telic flaw – I already wrote the theme statement for this novel.  Here it is:

 

Eoghan, a Scottish National Park Authority Ranger, while handing a supernatural problem in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park discovers the crypt of Aine and accidentally releases her into the world; Eoghan wants more from the world and Aine desires a new life and perhaps love.

 

b.     Approximate age – I already wrote that Eoghan is between 19 and 21.  I think I settled on 20.  Here’s the details:                        

m. 2005 James (Seumas) Donaidh Calloway b. 1971 m. at 34 y.  2028 57 y. 

                                                            c. b. 2008 Jan Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) – 2028, 20 y.

                                                            c. b. 2012 Aife (Eva) Eamhair (Evir) Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) – 2028, 16 y.

                                                            Aine appears about 16 y.

c.      Approximate social degree

 

      For Eoghan, he will be from an interesting background that allows him some opportunities, but most of them will be due to himself and not his background.  This is why I’d like to get Rose involved.  Rose has wealth and position, and she will know who should be her friends. 

    

d.     Sex - male

 

      As I wrote, pathos can never be directly engaged.  For example, having your characters sit around and cry about something is the surest way to bathos, however, having your protagonist face a trying and important emotional issue without shedding a tear can have your readers reaching for the tissues.  If you remember, pathos is the entire point of tension and release and the novel itself, you are on the right track.  The selection of the sex of your protagonist and especially of a Romantic protagonist can have a great effect on your novel.

2.     Refine the protagonist

You can see the initial characteristic of the protagonist is his or her physical description.  This is vomited forth when the character is introduced.  This defines the way the character looks plus some other characteristics that we shall see.  This is a very important characteristic and perhaps the most important about the protagonist.  I’m not in favor of the limited or zero description of the protagonist that has become popular today.  In fact, I think one of the most egregious problems with modern writing is the lack of sufficient description.  I go by the Arlo Guthrerie rule of thumb of 300 words of description for every major setting and character and 100 words of description for every minor setting and character.  We’ll see how all this works eventually, but for now, we are refining the protagonist with the stuff we can show immediately through description.     

a.      Physical description

 

Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) was a young man of average stature, height, and build.  He was so average you might miss him in the crowd except he was a man no one could miss.  His bearing wasn’t really different from most other men, but you couldn’t miss him in any group.  His height wasn’t taller than others, he was average, but for some reason he always stood out.  His face was pleasant and somewhat nondescript, but it wasn’t nondescript at all.  It was striking in the most unstriking fashion.  He just looked regal while seeming completely normal.  Women couldn’t keep from looking at him, and men all wanted to be his friend.  They flocked around him, but never hid him or overwhelmed him.  All the time, he seemed like the calmest and most reasonable person.  He was the person you wanted to invite for any reason, tea, a meal, a game, a walk—just being near him was calming and wonderful.  Even when words didn’t pass from his lips, the time was delightful.  Men wanted to hear his voice and women to touch his hand.  His voice was unimpressive and quiet, but filled with promises and strength.  It was as if every word that came out of his mouth bolstered and strengthened even when he didn’t say something erudite or when he remarked about the weather.  It was uncanny and soothing, never unnerving or worrisome.  Even his name, Eoghan Ragnall Stuart felt noble while sounding so unnormally normal.  If you called him by his Anglicized name Owen Ronald Calloway, it still sounded noble but normal.  And then his smile was always encompassing, but unassuming.  It had a slightly gloomy bent as if he took even happiness and jovialness in a sober and thoughtful way so even the most lame jokes became important and intelligent even when they weren’t.  Eoghan was always the life of the party, but unfortunately, he didn’t attend many parties at all.  He was too busy as a Scottish National Park Authority Ranger handling small difficulties for the Crown and Stela.

       

b.     Background – history of the protagonist

 

      You don’t need to write it all down, but you might as well.  One of the most important things I’ve learned about writing is to make notes when you write so you don’t mess up your novel with conflicting information.  For example, if you write that your character has red hair, and then describe their beautiful blond hari later, you will have a real problem.  Let’s hope you or your editor catches it.  This is one of the real killer problems that will knock your readers out of the suspension of disbelief.

 

      i.     Birth

m. 2005 James (Seumas) Donaidh Calloway b. 1971 m. at 34 y.  2028 57 y. 

                                                            c. b. 2008 Jan Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) – 2028, 20 y.

                                                            c. b. 2012 Aife (Eva) Eamhair (Evir) Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) – 2028, 16 y.

                                                            Aine appears about 16 y.

                                                                                                                                    I have more than just Eoghan listed here.  I’ve pegged his birth at January 2008.  At this point, I don’t think I need more fidelity.  If the actual date comes up, I’ll likely put it at 23 January.  That’s kind of a joke or an author’s input.  My birthday happens to be about that time.  When I need an actual date in any novel, I just use some month with the 23rd day.  That always makes things easy.  Why not, if the actual date is not based in history or the fidelity isn’t important.  Now, once you establish a date like that, you need to base the rest of the time, when necessary on it.  In this case, I don’t think I’ll have to.  If I need a second date, I usually use another date from my history and family.  It has no purpose except to give a specific date to an event—especially an event that really doesn’t need that kind of precision. 

                                                ii.     Setting – the setting for this novel is in Scotland and most specifically Stirling between Glascow and Edinburgh.  Eoghan and his family live on the outskirts of Stirling in a cottage with three bedrooms, a parlor, a kitchen and dining area, and a secret office.  There is a garage that started life as a barn with plenty of room for at least two cars and some extra space and a guest room above it.  I should get to the description—I’ll do that in detail when I write the novel.  The main point is that Eoghan’s parents are slightly isolated because they want to be.  Eoghan’s mother dislikes the effect she has on others and secludes herself away from society because of it.  His father is somewhat similar.  He doesn’t like attention either—he got too much of it as a child, and he works in a nondescript office in Glascow for the Organization.  His main job is organizing and managing the Organization operatives and agents working in Scotland.  It’s an important job, and usually a quite one.  It might get a bit frenzied when Aine shows up with Eoghan. 

 

                                    Eoghan’s mother works in the secret office.  She has enough internet speed and connections to do her job very well.  She is an expert in her field which is detecting and declaring the jobs Stela must handle in Scotland.  She works mostly by herself, but gets help from the main office.  Usually, there isn’t any help, the main office sends her information and she makes the decisions.  It has been very helpful for her to use Eoghan to handle many of the suburban problems.  She was frazzled when she had to interview and assign agents to the work.  Now, she does it through the computer, text (iphones), and email.  She can speak directly to her son when necessary. 

 

                                    Perhaps I’m getting too much into the family already.  I’ll get more about it when we get to family.  This is mainly the setting part.  I think we have enough details, but I’ll proceed to the initial scene setting.  This is Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park near Glasgow and Stirling.  This is one of two current Scottish national parks.  It’s a scenic area with some wilderness.  It has some real hidden gems and hidden places.  One will be the place Eoghan finds the Cemetery and crypt.  We’ll describe this area and the places when we begin with the novel.  There are some great pictures to use and I’ve been to the general area before.  It will be in the height of summer.  Next, we’ll write about Eoghan and his life.

 

                                              iii.     Life

 

                                    Eoghan’s room is in a cottage near Stirling.  The cottage is old and small so his room must be old and small.  There is a door that opens into a sitting area with a large dormer that forms a sitting area.  The dormer has three windows with a built in seat that also acts as storage.  Across from the dormer is a single bed and at the foot of the bed, closest to the door is a desk and chair.  The walls are all covered with drawers at the middle and built in cabinets at the bottom and top.  The only open wall space is on the wall with the desk the sloped walls beside the dormer and the ceiling.  Therefore, there isn’t anything hanging on the walls except an old scouting poster above the desk.  This is in a handmade frame with awards encircling it nearly completely.  It’s so filled with awards from scouting and wilderness events.  Everything is neat and tidy.  Everything is in its place. 

 

                                    If you open the cabinet doors you will find books on book about the wilds and animals of Scotland.  If you open the drawers you will find all kinds of collections of animals, insects, and birds of Scotland.  You won’t find any clothing.  You will find some gear, knives, and equipment.  You would have to open the large drawers built into and under the bed to find Eoghan’s clothing neatly laid and folded into place.  He and his siter does everything to take care of themselves and their things.  He basically built most of the storage and washes all his clothing.  He and his sister make the meals.  That tells us a lot about Eoghan just looking at his room and his life.

  

                                               iv.     Education

 

                                    What did Eoghan’s education look like?  I’ll posit that he had a very normal education except that he was educated and trained by his mother and father in his special skills and abilities.  In general, this means he learned language skills from both in the fashion of his father’s family.  The Calloways educated their family in languages through their use in the home.  The Calloway family knew many Asian languages, but they passed to their families Celtic, Gaelic, Welsh, Anglo-Saxon, French, German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.  The normal languages found in British Grammer School and private schools are Latin, French, and German.  The others are based on the family background and trade.  Their trade is in languages and politics.  I need to explain a little about the Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach) families.

                                   

                                    So, for Eoghan, I’ll posit that he has been in private schools from the beginning.  The same for his sister.  If I need to, I’ll produce the school names, but the real turn for Eoghan is that while all his classmates went on to university, Eoghan chose to go into the Scottish National Park Authority.  This surprised his friends, but not his family.  He was already working part time with the National Park Authority.  That’s to be covered in the work subject area.       

 

                                                v.     Work

 

                                    Eoghan really liked the scouts and the military type discipline there.  He loves the wilderness and the work he does in rounding up and encouraging the Fae to play nice with humans.  He would really like to be involved with the military, he just doesn’t know about it and how to go about it.  In spite of his education and his opportunities, he didn’t fully comprehend the possibilities that were open to him, and he isn’t necessarily stuck in his current job—he just likes it.  He can’t imagine another job that would get him what he really wonts, but he hasn’t met many in the military.  I intend for that to change.  He will meet Rose and Seoirse.  

 

                                               vi.     Profession

 

                                    Eoghan, on the other hand, is quiet and subdued—the quiet kind of leader who you are happy to entrust yourself with.  This is a different type of leadership, one I never broke out before in just this way.  Bruce Lyons was this type of leader.  He had been wounded in the past and was a very hands-on but entrusted leader.  I really didn’t build much on this because I didn’t write any novels where he was the protagonist.  He was always a supporting character.  Eoghan will be the protagonist and Aine his prod.  This will be similar to Tilly and Bruce.  Tilly was my very Tigerish character.  Aine will be more manipulative and just as bouncy as Tilly.  She’ll be a girl with a heart of gold who wants her man to be the very best for her and for the world.  I see Eoghan as a man in the military who fits in the Special Operations and Special Missions field and who becomes the leader of an organization like the Organization.  This is where many of my leaders go.  The main point for me is to drive them in the writing into those positions.  I’m running about five years ahead of the world.  We shall see where that gets us.

  

                                             vii.     Family

        

b.     Setting – current – In looking at the background of Eoghan, we’ve touched on the modern and current setting of Eoghan.  I’ll mention again, his parents, Eoghan and his sister Eva live in a small cottage in Stirling, Scottland.  He works for the Scottish National Park Authority and handles special problems for them.  His mother sets up the work.  In fact, she identifies the Fae issues or gets the information for them from Stela in the Organization.  The big deal here is that Eoghan works for the Organization and Stela whether he knows it directly or not.  In fact, I might just have him be ignorant of the entire situation about the Organization and Stela.  What would be luscious is to have Seoirse or Rose explain to him, Aine, and Eva about these organizations in the British intelligence structure. 

 

I really do have much more to do in the actual development of the character(s), protagonist and setting, but part of this outline, is just that, it’s an outline.  I have all the real details I need, for example, to describe the characters and the settings.  What does that mean?

 

Well, unbeknownst to you, I researched a place for their cottage and I already noted about the place they live.  All I have to do now, is either imagine it or find a picture and describe it.  That’s what I recommend to you.  For very important settings, like houses and such, I just look for the place I want, then I describe it to the best of my creative ability.  I might add a little bit here and there.  That’s what I’ll do for Eoghan’s house.  I’ll find a proper picture of a typical Scottish cottage in the woods, and I’ll describe it in the novel.  I’ll do the same with the people.

 

Let’s write about describing people.  In the first place, normal people make terrible characters and descriptions.  Even the most beautiful or handsome or the most interesting are generally not the stuff of legend and novels.  The best thing to do is imagine and tack together your protagonist.  I like to look for the unusual or very interesting in characters.  I suspect, I’ll look for the most righteously Irish looking girl for Aine.  I’ll take her description from myth and try to find the most outlandish and amazingly Celtic girl to make her.  I’d like her to not look like a modern person thinks of as beautiful or perfect. 

 

Ever seen any pictures of people from the classical eras of painting and art?  The people don’t look anything like our idea of beauty today.  Every remember Twiggy?  She was the supper skinny model from the 1960s.  She looked emaciated, but for a few years that was the perception of beauty in the eyes of the illuminate. 

 

One of the most interesting ideas in historically based literature and especially reflected worldview is the way the world, people, and their ideas have changed over time.  Fully grown and full sized Fae women and men are much shorter and smaller than modern women and men.  That’s because they are very long lived and their forms were made when the world and humanity was smaller.  Likewise, a creature from the past like a vampire might appear much different than we could imagine simply because of the time difference and the society and culture the creature came out of.

 

I think I’d like Aine to look like a beauty from her times, which means she might not be very appealing to many modern people.  Her looks might be very Celtic, but very Celtic might be very different than the modern ideal of beauty.  This little tension and this little bit of difference is one of the powers of this type of writing.  The point is to build entertainment through these differences and intricacies.   

                                                  i.     Life

                                                ii.     Setting

                                              iii.     Work

d.     Name - Eoghan (Owen) Ragnall (Ronald) Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach)

 

      I waited until now to write about Eoghan’s name.  Let’s start with his first name: Eoghan:

 

The boy's name Eoghan \e(o)-ghan\ is pronounced Ohn/Own. It is of Gaelic origin, and its meaning is "born of yew (tree); youth". In Irish legend, Eóghan was the name of one of the two sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages (the other was Conall). Anglicised forms of the name are Ewan, Euan, Ewen (mainly used in Scotland), Owen and Eugene. It is not etymologically related to the names Eóin or Owen.

 

This isn’t all: 

 

      Gaelic Baby Names Meaning:

In Gaelic Baby Names the meaning of the name Eoghan is: Young fighter.

 

Greek Baby Names Meaning:

In Greek Baby Names the meaning of the name Eoghan is: Well-born. Famous bearer: Prince Eugene of Savoy; American playwright Eugene O'Neill.

 

Irish Baby Names Meaning:

In Irish Baby Names the meaning of the name Eoghan is: God's gift. From a Gaelic word for youth. Also a.

 

Scottish Baby Names Meaning:

In Scottish Baby Names the meaning of the name Eoghan is: Young; youth.

 

Comes from an old Irish word and means “born of the yew tree.” In Northern Ireland the name Eoghan is found in Tir Eoghan, County Tyrone or “The Land of Eoghan” and is often accompanied by Roe in memory of the Irish patriot Eoghan Roe (“Red Eoghan”) O’Neill who won a great battle over the British at Benburb in 1646.

 

One of the reasons I chose this name is the many meanings and the many connections to different cultures—especially the Gaelic and Celtic cultures.  The meanings are a little different in each one.  In addition, Eoghan has connections in Greek as well as the ancient British languages.  If you didn’t notice, the pronunciation is a little different based on Gaelic, Celtic, or Greek.  I also want to use this as an idea in the novel.  The meanings of the name will come into play, but that’s just how I like to use the names of my characters.  The name gives the reader insight into the character and especially the background of the character.  Notice also there is an Anglicized equivalent.  This is also important.

 

Let’s look at his middle name, Ragnall:

 

Ragnall, Raghnall, Raonall, and Raonull are masculine personal names or given names in several Gaelic languages.

 

Ragnall occurs in Old Irish, and Middle Irish/Middle Gaelic. It is a Gaelicised form of the Old Norse Røgnvaldr, Rǫgnvaldr, Rögnvaldr. This Old Norse name is composed of two elements: regin, meaning "(German) Gods"; and valr, meaning "powerful".[5] It has also been suggested that Ragnall could also represent the Old Norse Ragnarr as well. Ragnall can be Anglicised as Ranald and Ronald, and Latinised as Reginald, Reginaldus.

 

The modern spelling is Raghnall in Scottish Gaelic and either Raghnall or Raonull in Irish. Anglicised forms of Raghnall include: Ranald, Rannal, and Ronald.

 

The final -ll sound of the Gaelic names are de-vocalized, and to non-Gaelic-speakers this suggests -d sound. In this way the name is similar to the various forms of the Gaelic Domhnall, which can be Anglicised as Donald.

 

The name Ragnall comes from old Norse languages that actually mean decisive ruler. The meaning of Ragnall is beside the point in many cases because it would have been given to the firstborn son of a family. It is a name that has lived on in a few spellings, and you still find it used in Scandinavia today.

 

Yes, I wanted an Anglo-Saxon connection.  Notice, there is an Anglicized equivalent, Ronald.  With his first name, we have a meaning of: born of yew (tree); youth, freedom, and young fighter along with decisive ruler and gift of the gods.  These pair well with his last names: Calloway/Stuart (Stiùbhartach).

 

Stuart and Stewart are clan names and the names of the royal house of Scottland.  That’s where Elaina comes from.  Stiùbhartach is the origin of the clan and the name Stuart.  This is the classical name.  So, we have a protagonist whose Gaelic name is:

 

Eoghan Ragnall Stuart (Stiùbhartach) his formal name has the Stiùbhartach as the family name.

 

His Anglicized name is:

 

Owen Ronald Calloway/Stuart

 

The Calloway stays because that is his father’s name.  So, in Britan proper, he would be:

 

Owen Ronald Calloway

 

Now, you might ask, why the different names and why use them?  I’ll get to that, next.

 

About names.  I’m in the air on my way to Southeast Texas.  I’m flying myself.  Now, about names.

 

In my novels, the name matches the characters and especially the protagonist.  The names have a historical meaning and reason as well as a personal mening and reason.  Therefore, Eoghan Ragnall Stuart has a meaning in history.  This is what a reflected worldview is all about.  The reader should be able to look up the name and the history of the family and gain some degree of information about that name and family.  The Stuarts are the royal family of Scottland.  That should tell you something about Eoghan.  In addition, although I’m not a fan of the idea of right of kings, I am a fan of the idea that different humans and families have certain powers granted to them by the Dagda (God).  This is exclusively a reflected worldview.  The idea of such powers is religated to myth and history, but it could be true.  In the past, and even now many people believe in such things.  That’s the reflected worldview.  In addition, I named my children for specific historical and classical reasons—why shouldn’t a child or any person have a handpicked name that means something important for their lives.  Even if they don’t live up to the dream of their names—that name has meaning, and in the reflected worldview, it has an important meaning.

 

Eoghan means born of yew and youth, also well-born and God’s gift.  Historically, and in myth it has meanings beyond just the name.  In addition, it sounds so Scottish with an Irish touch.  That’s because it is an ancient Gaelic and Celtic name.  That’s the point.  It will sit well with Aine.  Already, I wrote that Aine will be smitten by this young man Eoghan.  How can she not be?  He will release her from an over thousand year captivity.  How can you not love the person who did that.  In addition, Eoghan is good looking and charismatic.  Aine will be as Irish as Irish and Celtic can be.  She will be not beautiful by today’s standards, but beautiful by her times standards, therefore, she will think she is beautiful.  I need to eventually write her description, but I know she will be too short for the modern world.  She will be too skinny, and too brash, and too outspoken.  She will be dangerous with and without a weapon, and she will wield power—the power of Aine.  I need to define that too.

 

Now, about Ragnall.  I wanted a name that ties Eoghan to the way past, and Ragnall is a Gaelic and Celtic but comes from the Norse connections to the cultures.  The name means “powerful god.”  Aine will also understand this, plus I get to give Eoghan a modern name too.  The anglicized names. 

 

The reason for two sets of names is so that I can legitimately give my characters aliases based on their historically based names.  I can also use their father and mother’s names to refer to them professionally and in the peerage. 

 

Although Eoghan isn’t really a member of the aristocracy, he has aristocratic connections through his family.  This provides the common with a secret.  Here’s how it works.  In the real world, everyone wishes they had some connection to the aristocracy.  In the European nations, this is more prevalent than in the New World, but still, people in the New World long to have some connection to royalty.  This makes them special even if they aren’t.  In a novel like this, we can take a protagonist who is common and make him special by connecting him to the aristocracy.  I did this with Rose and Seoirse, and it was really fun.  Eoghan will have less connection to the aristocracy, but the small touch is enough to excite your readers.  Especially when the primary doesn’t acknowledge the fact much at all. 

 

There is much more about names, but that’s probably enough for now.  Suffice to say, the names of all your characters are important, but for the protagonist, I find it to be a critical aspect for them.  This is part of the reflected worldview.  What is really fun to me is the idea a reader might look up the names and find out all about them.  In addition, I’ll mention the meanings and tie them into the novel and plots.      

3.     Refine the details of the protagonist – these are secrets.  If you remember only to show and not to tell you will have no problems with this.  However, since so many inexperienced writers and some experienced writers do seem to have a telling problem I’ll write more about it.  I’ll give you some secret details about Eoghan in further notes.  For example, Eoghan is really a very great and honorable man.  He is always respectful to ladies and to other men.  These are secrets in that I shall never express them directly in any description.  We might make sideways expressions that say something similar, but I will never directly tell you about his internals, only his externals. 

 

Some writers might say that if you write he or she was like, that is a telling description.  It is not.  That is simply a figure of speech and a great way to express a description.  Showing us what a person feels is also not telling.  For example, writing that she wrinkled her nose at the smell is definitely a description that shows us the effects of the smell.  If you write, it tasted like chicken, that is a little more problematic, but if she or he says “it tasted like chicken,” that is definitely showing through dialog.  Here’s my basic rule for showing and not telling.

 

If it is a description of anything physical, that is showing.

If it is stated in a dialog, it is showing. 

 

I know you want some examples.  Of description:

Her eyes were wet.

He smiled.

She touched her lips.

He frowned.

She kissed him.

He gave her a kiss.

These all show something or other.  The reason may be in the context, but the point is that these are descriptions that show outwardly the inward feelings of the person.  What about dialog.

 

She exclaimed, “This snake tastes just like chicken.”

He snarled, “It’s because I like you.”

She waved her hand, “It’s just a scrape.”

He lifted his head, “I smell something terrible.”

She shuddered, “That really makes me feel bad.”

He moved his mouth, “You’re making me feel uncomfortable.”

 

These are all examples of showing and not telling.  Notice, we are giving some very strongly internal information through dialog.  I see no problem with this at all.  Her’s a very specific one I could write about Eoghan.

 

She smiled, “Eoghan is always very nice to everyone.  He’s just a sweet guy.”

 

This is telling through the lips of another character.  How does the reader know this is truth—the reader doesn’t unless we know more about the character who said it.  The big deal is that we can express this type of information through dialog, but never through description.  I don’t want to give you an example of telling, just examples of showing.  It should be enough to write show and don’t tell, and then to describe this as description or dialog.  We’ll get into the secrets that can never be told, next. 

a.      Emotional description (never to be shared directly) – here’s just one of those big secrets that can (you read that right, can) never be shared.  This is why I’m not in favor of first person novels.  The author can’t help but tell us all about what the protagonist thinks and is thinking—that’s the way first person works.  When you are writing in I, me, my, mine, and myself (if you aren’t familiar as you should be with first person), there is no way you can keep the mind (including the emotions) of the protagonist a secret, but for good writing, you must.  Therefore, my advice is to ditch the first person in novels.  Yeah, some people really enjoy it, especially the young adult crowd—that should tell you something.  For me, and for the classics and for the best writing environment, and the most enjoyable, the third person past tense implying the future of current is the best style of writing.  This is the modern style and allows the writer to keep great secrets about the protagonist.  That’s the point.  Now, to the emotional make up of Eoghan.

 

Eoghan, if you didn’t notice is a quiet, responsible, honorable, strong, decent, hard-working, gentle, quiet, thoughtful, and studious man.  I didn’t write about his special skills as emotional points because he has some negatives.  These come from his mother and partially from his father.  Let me list them:

 

Eoghan from a negative emotional standpoint is: standoffish, uncomfortable around strangers and the outgoing, quiet, formal, intentionally a wallflower, not forthright (that doesn’t mean he isn’t honest.)  The fact that he isn’t forthright means he puts others ahead of himself all the time, which can be a real problem.  For example, a forthright person would tell Aine right away that her ideas are bad.  Eoghan would accept Aine’s ideas and wait for them to fail, at the same time formulating some way to make them work out.  I’ll try to portray this very complex emotional piece for Eoghan, but I think you can see just how interesting and important this will be.  This will be especially interesting when Aine figures out just what he is doing.  That’s what makes this emotional expression such a great secret and such a great thing to hide from the reader until the principles figure it out.  Do you see just how great this is?

 

If we were using the first person or we vomited forth the emotional being of the protagonist, this wouldn’t be very powerful or interesting at all.  Since no one, not even Aine or maybe Eoghan fully understands his own mental and emotional makeup, this creates a perfect situation for revelation.  We will observe Eoghan’s response to Aine over and over, until she finally gets it.  That revelation about Eoghan will lead to a great revelation about herself.  She will know that her personality is overbearing and overcontrolling when it shouldn’t be—that won’t be a climax or resolution event for the telic flaw, but it will bring them closer and her closer to Eoghan.  This is a psychological aspect of this kind of novel.  By the way, all modern novels had some degree of psychological plot in them—they can’t help it.  The third person, however, allows the author to control the narrative and the power of the revelation abut any psychological aspects—that’s the way it should be.  Then there is the mental description (also a secret).    

b.     Mental description (never to be shared directly)

c.      Likes and dislikes (never to be shared directly)

4.     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

 

I want to write another book based on Rose and Seoirse, and the topic will be the raising of Ceridwen—at least that’s my plan.  Before I get to that, I want to write another novel about dependency as a theme.  We shall see.

 

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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