04 October 2026, Writing - part xxxx556 The Novel, Enchantment Novels
Announcement: I
still need a new publisher. However, I’ve taken the step to republish my
previously published novels. I’m starting with Centurion, and
we’ll see from there. Since previously published novels have little
chance of publication in the market (unless they are huge best sellers), I
might as well get those older novels back out. I’m going through Amazon
Publishing, and I’ll pass the information on to you.
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 the third edition of Centurion:
|
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.
I want to start with these definitions as
a premise for writing.
1. Write to entertain
2. Write using the
common outline for a novel
3. Develop a telic flaw,
a protagonist, an antagonist, and plan to resolve the telic flaw.
4. Start with an initial
scene.
5. Develop and define a
modern protagonist: you get a telic flaw, a potential protagonist’s helper, and
a potential initial scene from the development.
6. Write to reveal the
protagonist.
And here is the scene:
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
I’m working on finishing my latest novel
number 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.
I cleaned up the breadcrumbs. I reached a point where I think it’s a good
idea to segway to a new topic. I
mentioned a new book I want to independently publish, Aksinya: Enchantment
and the Daemon. I am working on that
using my author friend’s recommendations for the publishing. I also did finish the first draft and an edit
for Bookgirl. I do need to complete the marketing
data for Bookgirl. I need to stop
calling the novel Bookgirl. I’ve titled
it Anu: Enchantment of the Goddess.
How I went from Bookgirl to Anu is a story on its own. I haven’t checked the title yet, but I think the
Enchantment titles are still safe.
Perhaps I should mention how I got there.
Back when I first started seriously
writing novels, the first three were science fiction. They were later regularly published as the Chronicles
of the Dragon and the Fox. They are
a trilogy of The End of Honor, The Fox’s Honor, and A Season
of Honor. They are about honor, ha
ha. They are also set in the far future
and very exciting and adventurous—mostly about space warfare. They deserve a better showing in the future,
and I might republish them. My first
bout with republishing has not been the best.
Amazon Publishing and I’m not sure any independent or partner publishing
is any good. Xulon did well for me and
my novel The Second Mission, but I think Xulon is too steeped in the
religious publishing part of the business for my novels.
My novels are not religious, but they do
incorporate religious ideas in a unique way.
I consider them mainstream and my audience is mainstream. Even my novel Centurion, although it
is about the Centurion who crucified Christ, is not really as much a religious
novel as a history novel. I intend for
the nonreligious and those who like history to read it. Christian groups and marketing generally
rejected Centurion because it is too earthy and realistic for them. As I wrote, more a history than a
supernatural excursion in religion. Of
course my science fiction doesn’t really include any religion, although I’d
like to change that. I really need to
rewrite the second science fiction series I’ve written called the Ghostship
Chronicles. The ideas in it are
based on psionics, but I’d like to bring in more religion just like Alexi
Panishin, Fank Herbert, and Jack Vance did to connect the present to the future
through some religious ideas, mostly Christianity. The very idea is intriguing and interesting
to me. I think it would tickle my
readers and potentially empower the novels even more.
I got to the Enchantment novels
because of Aegypt. I wrote Aegypt
early as a horror/suspense novel. Today,
suspense is considered a dead genre, at least for now. You can’t even use the word when describing a
novel for publishing or marketing. It’s
likely overused and will come back soon enough.
It’s like the word literary.
Don’t even touch it. Literary is
considered a dead classification and genre for writing. Even the classics, which are dying mostly
because people can’t and won’t read are dying as literary. In any case, I wrote Aegypt and if
became a series when my regular publisher go ahold of it. They wanted the next two novels: Goddess
of Light and Goddess of Darkness.
They renamed them to Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness
for their audience and publishing niche.
I was happy with that, I was on contract for a trilogy and two new
separate books—then my published went out of business. I was still writing. Between the time the books were contracted
and the final gasp of my publisher I had written seven Aegypt
novels. The series was called Ancient
Light by my publisher. During the
time I was happily writing my Ancient Light novels based on the fact my
publisher wanted them all—I had some other inspirations. Most of these were based on the world of Ancient
Light but off track for the main drive of Ancient Light. What does that mean? Ancient Light was a series based on
two goddesses who were brought back to life from about 2000 BC or so. One was the Goddess of Light and the other
the Goddess of Darkness. In the series,
I followed these goddesses in their fight for and against humanity. The children of the Goddess of Light, Leroa,
and her warrior, Paul Bolong, continued the fight with different foes, but all
supernatural.
In the new series of novels, I call the Enchantment
novels, I took the supernatural ideas and the world of Ancient Light and
expanded the fight to other characters and in different ways—thus I arrived at Anu:
Enchantment of the Goddess from Bookgirl.
Perhaps I can give you more about this and the ideas around the Enchantment
series.
I started writing the Enchantment series
with Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth.
I even used some of my commentators from my blog to help me with the
title. I wanted to begin a series
roughly connected to Ancient Light, but not completely connected with Ancient
Light. I would use the organizations
and some of the characters, but I wanted to play in different places and with
different ideas. I figured that the
concept from Ancient Light would have enough legs to support a new and different
series—and I was right.
What is the basis for Ancient Light you
might ask? In Ancient Light I
asked the question about bringing real goddesses from the past into the present. I did and defined their lives and interactions
in the world, but that brought up a question that I played with in Sister of
Darkness. If real goddesses existed
in the past, then what happened to the gods and goddesses that lived back
then. I introduced Leora to the gods and
goddesses of Britain who still existed, and who worked to protect Britian in
the dark days of World War Two. Sister
of Darkness was all about World War Two.
I brought in the gods and goddesses from the past into the present and
the times. I also developed the idea
that the kings and queens of certain nations, that still had kings and queens,
knew of the gods and goddesses and still helped balance their nation with the
courts of the land. These ideas filtered
through Ancient Light as the basis for the novels, but I kept the gods
and goddesses rather tightly bound to the Celts and the Gaelic peoples and
generally to Britain.
With Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth,
I moved the world of Ancient Light to Greece. I developed the idea that certain Greek gods
and goddesses as well as certain Greek demigods still existed. I created a world within the real based on
the mythology of the Greeks to make a modern time mystery and novel. In Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth,
Hestia, the goddess of the hearth is accidently called into the modern world by
an archeologist. This leads to some very
interesting problems for the archeology dig and the four members of the
dig. It also gives a problem for Hestia
who just wants to be returned to her eternal contemplation of the hearth in Olympus. I mix the modern and the ancient world where
the characters discover that the Orthodox church has been working mostly with
demigods from the beginning. The problem
with demigods for the Greeks is that there are so many of them and their being
is encapsulated in an item rather than in their bodies. Control of the item gives control over the
demigod. I use this as a metaphor as
well as an idea for the novel. While the
characters are trying to resolve Hestia’s problem, they are also trying to
resolve the protagonist, Angela’s problem, and the problem of the demigods and
demigoddesses. Everything revolves
around the control of the people by the old gods, and Hestia is helping to
oppose that. It’s a fun and short novel
filled with entertainment and excitement.
You can see it is in many wants different from the Ancient Light novels
but still carries a similar theme. This
is exactly what I intended to do with my Enchantment series. It allowed me to explore new ideas with
similar themes, but to expand into different parts of the supernatural. I’ll explain that about Anu and bring
in the novel I’d like to independently publish next, Aksinya.
There’s more.
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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