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Monday, May 13, 2024

Writing - part xxx683 Writing a Novel to Entertain, The Real World

13 May 2024, Writing - part xxx683 Writing a Novel to Entertain, The Real World

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 two 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.

6. The initial scene is the most important scene.

 

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.

So, where do we get great ideas to write about.  We need entertaining ideas, or we need ideas we can turn into entertainment.  Just look at Shakespeare, he has some really revolutionary ideas which he turns into entertainment, and he has some really old ideas which he still turns into entertainment.  Some rake made the comment that there are only so many plots, and that artists just reuse the old ones in a newer framework.  That may be true, but I don’t agree with it at all.  I’ve read novels that were unique, and I’ve written novels that were unique.  New plots and new ideas are always possible, but one point that is correct, the new comes from the old.

The new ideas come from the old ideas.  The new plots come from the old plots.  You could also write that new characters come from old characters, but there is much more going on with characters.  We’ll look at that.  At the moment, let’s contemplate new ideas coming from old ideas. 

This statement is completely true and indicative of reality.  It’s also why there can really be new ideas and new plots, and new concepts in writing.  Ideas are evolutionary. 

Did you get that?  Ideas are evolutionary.  I have an interesting example that explains the concept of ideas as well as imagination.  Let’s see if it fits.  Not that long ago, a scientist had an idea—could he reproduce a simple appliance from base materials?  You’d think that would be easy, especially with our knowledge and technology.  This scientist decided to make a toaster from basic materials.  He worked diligently on this project for a year.  His conclusions were that it is impossible to reproduce certain steps in the development of products to make a toaster.  The main problems were refining the metals and making the plastic type materials required for electricity.  There were so many holes in the stream of knowledge from the past, that each required a leap of information that just didn’t exist anymore.  I hope some other scientist tries this project again sometime, but it’s likely a one off.  There might be a possibility of developing an appliance from scratch.  I think it might be possible.  Now, how does this fit into ideas.

Modern plots and ideas for plots are like the appliance.  They have been through thousands of years of development to give us those novels and ideas in current use.  Luckily, we can read many of them, but also many old plots seem strange or even antiquated to our minds.  The classic, fate plot in Greek and other ancient literature finds its way into an occasional novel in the modern era, but very few.  Likewise, the classic “blood will out” plot finds its way into the modern occasionally, it’s deep in Harry Potty, but it’s still rare.  All the plots we have come from the past and are made new by their use, and then authors create new type of plots and plots.  The magic realism plot is an old new idea.  It comes out of fantasy, but it’s still quite new.  There is much more to this.  I’ll continue, next.

I’m of a mind that there really are new ideas available to be discovered.  Just like in science and engineering.  I experienced one very memorable meeting with DARPA when I was designing low speed aircraft for them.  One of their people stated, “There’s nothing new to invent in low speed aerodynamics.”  I beg to differ.  In fact, was the guy even listening to my presentation.  I was presenting an entirely new and pretty revolutionary idea to improve low speed aircraft in general.  It was literally a new idea in aerodynamics.  In any case, writing and plots are the same.

Yes, there may or may not be any new plots to be developed, but even a basic plot like a romance plot can have infinite variations based on the characters, setup, setting, and circumstances.  This is what I mean when I state the theme is a statement rather than a word or idea.  The theme or plot might be love, but there is much more to a theme than a word, and that move us to theme.

I’m not sure the idea of a theme in the classic sense is very worthwhile.  I mean what does a single word theme really mean?  Sure you can have a theme of betrayal or love, but that’s simply a description and not a plot or any really worthwhile reflection of any novel.  This is why I advocate for a theme statement.  Some call this a plot statement, but I state, what’s the difference? 

The classic joke about novels is that you are writing the great American novel.  This begs the question on all fronts.  What is a great American plot, or a great American theme, or a great American anything.  I’ll tell you a secret about what the great American novel really was.

Oh, I should go for that, next.  I’ll give you a hint—it had to do with the invention of the modern Romantic protagonist.

The great American novel is a trope in American and likely the world’s thoughts.  It indicates a very special kind of novel, but just what is it?  The great American novel is an idea that found it’s place in the late Victorian Era—that is the end of the Nineteen and the beginning of the Twentieth Century.  The world was changing greatly.  It was the time of the common man as opposed to the aristocracy. 

From the beginning of the middle class, wealth was becoming less of a phenomena of the aristocrats and more a phenomena of business.  The industrial era made this even more true.  In most societies, you had old wealth and new wealth.  In the USA, few started with much and what they had and owned generally came from the sweat of their brows.  Something else made the New World and especially the USA different than most of the rest of the world.  That was the ownership of property.  In the past, all the property was owned by the royalty and granted to the common person.  All the goods produced belonged to the monarch and not the person on the property.  In the USA, it was much different than this. 

In the USA, the person owned the property and whatever it produced.  The government took their tax, but, in general, what the property owner produced belonged to them, and this created great wealth.  The new wealthy in America were the farmers, cattlemen, shop owners, and factory owners.  This groups grew larger and larger into a bursting middle class.  The ownership of property is what caused this great transfer of wealth from the aristocratic to the common.  The Old World only began seeing this type of rise of the common person when the old aristocratic structures were ended and people could own property.  The ownership of property is the key to wealth and prosperity, and in America, the American dream was taking shape.  The common person was becoming wealthy through hard work and diligence—that is the American dream, by the way.  The tribal record of this success was the great American novel.  Such novels celebrated the success of the common person in America, and these novels found a strong foothold in the Old World.

Along with this great American novel came the Romantic protagonist.  I’ll get to that, next.

The protagonists of the Victorian Era and earlier were generally the well to do or the aristocratic.  This was a feature because most of the reading public were wealthy or aristocratic and the authors were simply reflecting their audience.  No one wanted to read about the poor or common achieving because in most cultures that was impossible—except in the USA. 

In the USA, the common person was achieving and making inroads into the world, plus many readers were poor, but educated well enough to read.  What was happening in the USA and the rest of the first world was that many of the poor finally had enough food to match the wealthy and aristocratic.  Their intellects were equal if not better and they were driven to succeed.  They began doing so.  As the number of readers from the common increased as well as the authors and the success of these people increased, the market for books changed from the wealthy and the aristocratic to the common.  This caused the protagonists and the plots to change.

Before this time, the late Victorian Era, many if not most of the protagonists were the wealth and aristocratic.  Just look at our Sara Crew for an example.  Most of Dickens works show a similar type of protagonist and plot.  In fact, the basic plot of most of these works is “blood will out.”  In the blood will out plot, the protagonist might have been born from a wealthy or aristocratic family but raised in a common situation.  Eventually, their skills and abilities show them to be from wealth or the aristocracy, therefore blood will out.  The inherent quality of their birth right makes them successful.  Just look at Oliver Twist for an example.  In other Dickens novels, the opposite of blood will out shows itself with the failure of the protagonist to succeed as in Bleak House.

This change in audiences and in the authors showed itself in plot where instead of being the antagonist, the common and poor became the protagonists.  The wealthy and aristocratic became the antagonists and foils of their common protagonists.  This essentially became the Romantic protagonist.  I’ll explain more, next.

One of the major characteristics of the Romantic protagonist is that they come from the common.  They are not from wealth or the aristocracy.  Their special skills don’t come from wealth or from aristocracy—they come from hard work even if they are somewhat innate.  For example, the Romantic protagonist might be very intelligent, but many intelligent people don’t reach their maximum potential or even some degree of that potential.  The Romantic protagonist is the student who works every hour of every day on their knowledge and enhancing their intelligence.  They spend more time than any normal person to perfect and gain their special skill.  This is directly analogous to the concept of the American dream. 

The idea of the American dream is that any person can be successful with hard work and dedication.  The Romantic protagonist is propelled by hard work and determination.  They achieve their success through hard work and dedication.  This is exactly what the American dream and the great American novel are all about—the common person achieving success because of hard work and determination.  This is the idea that pushed writing out of the Victorian Era and out of the idea of blood will out.

It's actually interesting that we seem to be moving back into an era in writing where individuals are fated rather than in control of themselves and their environment.  The idea of being fated is a very old and ancient world idea that comes out of animism and Pantheonic paganism.  It really isn’t a modern world idea.  It should be surprising that modern people would fall into this ancient trope unless they had the mind of the ancients.  Perhaps I should look at this, next.

There is more to the Romantic protagonist than coming from the common, and in fact, you can have a Romantic protagonist who is not from the common—if you do, you usually must bring them to the common (in some way) for a good zero to hero plot.  As I noted, there are other characteristics of the Romantic protagonist, most notably, a Romantic protagonist always has developed some skill to the highest or greatest human capability, and this skill is what makes them able to resolve the telic flaw.

If you think about it, this is the concept of the American dream generalized.  The concept of the American dream is that the protagonist develops some skill to the point of achievement.  For example, Henery Ford with the development of managerial and factory skills that allow him to create an empire of automobiles.  Or the Rockefellers able to turn properties into productive industry and so on.  The original Romantic characters were like this because that fit the idea of the common to the American dream, but the Romantic protagonist transformed and the skills became more elaborate and personal especially as this type of character hit science fiction. 

The Romantic protagonist made whole types of literature and genres possible. 

Now, I wrote that I’d like to look at the trend of modern literature back to the fated plot and blood will out.  The opposite of the American dream is the idea of fate and aristocracy.  This is indeed an old world idea mostly based on paganism and right of kings.  No one should even suppose this type of thought in the modern world.  However, if you want to know the truth, Christianity is what moved human thought away from fate and a further extension of Christianity, self rule, away from the right of kings.  It was all Christianity’s fault. 

In a post Christian world, we should not be amazed that people are returning to fate and right of kings.  Almost every other religion and system of government (other than a republic) is based on the idea of fate and right of rule.  The right of rule part isn’t just an aristocracy anymore but rather wealth, knowledge, intelligence, or success based.  You can see this with the religion of celebrity.  Celebrities aren’t really that smart, some aren’t that good looking, they are charismatic and sometimes good in their own way, but would anyone want them to rule?  A whole host of fans certainly have made many celebrities their little g gods.  They are ruled in one way or another.  The same is true of other celebrities and many imagine these are fated to rule or fated to have wealth and power.  The opposite is true—fate has nothing to do with it.  Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is part of the formula for success, but in general, the very wealthy or very powerful gained their power and wealth through the wise use of their resources and connections.  This is true on every level and almost anyone can achieve the same result or similar results—plus there are many ways to achieve.  The very wealthy or powerful usually discovered some new capability, skill, device, or idea that sold well in the marketplace of ideas. 

I give you Bill Gates.  If you have read Outliers, you know that Bill was able to develop his programing skills at a very important time in computer invention and development.  He designed Microsoft for the IBM machines and sold millions of copies of his operating system.  Apple was similar.  Bill was bright, but not a graduate of college when he achieved his success.  As Gladwell wrote in Outliers, Bill was at the right place at the right time and worked very hard to design the perfect product for the market.  There was luck, but no fate involved.  Anyone theoretically could have achieved what Bill did if they were wiling to take the risks he took.  That’s pretty much the key to success.  I’ll look at this, next.

I’m a bit concerned with the acceptance of modern readers of failure or at least the return to the weak protagonist with a fate or blood will out plot.  Especially bad is the blood will out plot injected in a fated worldview.  The reason this is a problem is because it produces terrible and uninteresting writing. 

Most people in my generation love the Romantic protagonists of the classics and of modern writing.  They grew up with Robert Louis Stevenson and the Victorians which primed them for the true Romantics of science fiction and fantasy.  They read the so called modern classics and pretty much ignored them, but binged on Harry Potty.

Just so you know, Harry Potty isn’t really a Romantic protagonist, he’s close, but is definitely a blood will out and fated protagonist.  Which shows you can have a little success and reasonable writing with this modern protagonist.  I just don’t recommend them, and I don’t like them. 

Let me circle back to the American dream.  This is very important because it is the art and literature that propelled the American society into greatness.  You see foreign copiers of this very dream.  For example, C.S. Forester wrote about Hornblower, the British equivalent of the American Dream (there are many more examples).  Hornblower is likely a character who couldn’t and didn’t exist in the Britian of the times.  It was highly unlikely that a common born son would enter the British navy as a midshipman and work to the level of Captain and Admiral.  This was indeed the American dream projected on the Napoleonic Era.  If it wasn’t true, it should be true.  Hard work and the development of one’s skills to the peak level should naturally result in success and great success.  As I’ve noted, this is the American dream.

This tall has followed with almost every billionaire and millionaire in America and the free world.  If you look at the third world and at the man despotisms and non-republics, you will find that only those in high political positions and from the wealthy families are themselves wealthy.  In China, only CCP (Communist Chinese Party) membership will result in wealthy and power.  On the other hand, just a purview of the wealthy in Forbes will show you the egalitarian power of the first world.  Yes, there are inheritors of wealth on the list of the most wealthy, but Bill Gates, Rowling, Goldberg, and on and on all started from the common, from the humble middle and lower class, and now are billionaires beyond the imagining of many.  It isn’t really beyond imagining—it’s what happens when human capital meets with ideas and hard work.  All of these people worked very hard with their great skills, and some great idea, and turned it into wealth.  These are jus the top tier.  I know many wealthy people who achieved similar results, just not in the billion range.  They aren’t as well known, but they were successful and they achieved through hard work and the development of their skills.  That’s not to say that everyone succeeds or that everyone will succeed.  There are many who pour their lives into work that they will never be successful in.  I’ll explain, next.

I know many artists, writers, dancers, musicians, and singers.  They are my friends and in fact, I have acted for professional and amateur companies as well as sang and been a musician for amateur and professional groups.  In addition, I’m a published author.  However, a also have a profession and a career.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  The first is that I’m really good at my profession and career.  I do love it as much if not more than my other accomplishments.  Plus, I’m not willing to dedicate my time and energy into more than writing, at the moment.  Writing is my hobby and my love.  My career was and is my main skills and accomplishments.  I’d like to turn my hobby of writing into a productive endeavor, and I thought I had until my publisher went out of business.  I’m working on that part, but here is my main point.

We live in a world with incredible time and resources available to us.  We are like the wealthy Victorians even if we have a profession and career.  That is we have the time available to take advantage of all our skills and abilities—if we use our time wisely. 

People ask me all the time, how do you have the time to write, act, and teach classes (along with Greek and Anglo-Saxon translations)?  My answer is I don’t watch TV.  Which is true.  I haven’t watched TV since college.  I have lots of time to spend on what I really love to do. 

When I was selling my house in North Carolina, my real estate person was a lady who was also an artist.  She said she didn’t have time for her art.  She wanted to invest 100% of her time into art.  I couldn’t help but be sad for her.  She will never reach that point ever.  No matter how much to love your art (whatever it is) you can’t spend 100% of your time in it.  In fact, the snippets of time we can gather to do our art many times makes our art sweeter and better.  I point you to Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell.  In this short novel, the protagonist sought to be a writer.  He worked in a bookstore and barely made enough to feed himself—the idea of the starving artist.  He did little work and was always too tired and run down to write.  The great change in his life occurred when he accepted a position as an ad writer for his girlfriend’s father’s company.  This took his time, but he time he had left over was time he could spend writing.  He found that his writing life took off when it was only part of his overall work and became a part of his life that was produced from snippets and stolen hours.  It was a part of him but only a part.  I think this is the answer to success for many especially in the art of writing or even artistry like painting and such. 

That real estate person should have reveled in her work and stolen time to paint.  I reveled in my work and stole time to write.  This is how we as modern artists especially in some fields like writing really succeed.  You can read many life experiences of authors and find a similar story.  In fact, one of the main ways writers gain the experience to write is through their careers and experiences.  I’ll look at that, next.        

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  

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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