Development - Initial Beginnings

21 October 2012, Development - Initial Beginnings

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here are my rules of writing:

1. Entertain your readers.
2. Don't confuse your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

From creative idea to theme to focused theme, these define the major characters.  The development of the major characters produces storylines and potential settings for the novel.  The initial intersection of the storylines gives possible beginning points for the novel. 

Aksinya is the perfect example of this.  The theme of Akisnya is about a woman who is redeemed from sorcery and the demon she called.  The demon, Asmodeus, was created at some point in the existence of the world.  Aksinya was born in 1900.  The first intersection of their storylines (lives) occurs when Aksinya calls Asmodeus and makes a contract with him.  The setting is Aksinya's family estate in Russia.  The time is set by the incidents in Aksinya's life.  The exact place is set by Aksinya's sorcery and isolation.  The event is the sorcery Aksinya accomplishes to call and contract Asmodeus. 

You couldn't ask for a much better first scene--you have the protagonist and the antagonist together for the first time.  You have mystery and excitement.  You have sorcery and danger.  Not all novels lend themselves to such luscious and powerful initial scenes, but if you use this technique, you can build the initial scene and begin the plot of the novel on a strong footing.

Note that I still haven't written about the plot or outlining the plot or anything like that at all.  We only have an amorphous theme, major characters, a setting, and a beginning.  I'll get to the plot eventually, but plot ain't everything.  If you notice, we've put together the main focus of a novel without touching the plot at all.

I'll write more about this tomorrow, but the theme should define the major characters which defines the potential settings of the novel. That is especially evident from the examples of my science fiction novels.

My Notes: once you have a theme, you need to begin to visualize your plot, focus your theme, and define your characters. More tomorrow.

I'll move on to basic writing exercises and creativity in the near future.

The following is a question asked by one of my readers. I'm going to address this over time: Please elaborate on scene, theme, plot, character development in a new novel creation....ie, the framework, the development, order if operation, the level of detail, guidelines, rule of thumb, tricks, traps and techniques.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor, http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Character Development in the Picture of the Creative Process

4 March 2012, Development - Character Development in the Picture of the Creative Process

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little. I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel. Over the last year, 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.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

As you might have surmised from my description of the development of Aksinya as a character, the demon also must have a developed character before the novel starts.  A novel is not really a place to develop a character but rather to reveal a character.  The main character might show a change in character--that is true character development, but there always exists at the beginning a character that the author reveals.  I am using the language very specifically here--if it sounds strange to you, think about it.  A character already has a developed character before the novel begins.  Within the novel, the author reveals the character of the characters.  The main character might have a change in character.  We usually call the revelation of the character character development.  As I pointed out, this is sloppy use of language.

I showed you parts of the character of Aksinya.  Within the novel, I reveal the depth of Aksinya's character to you.  I also do this with the demon.  I don't wish to say the demon is a simpler character, but the reality is that he is more simple than a human.  That doesn't mean his actions as less complex--the demon always acts in a singular fashion.  A great deal of the novel is to reveal this to Aksinya.  As it is revealed to Aksinya, it is also revealed to the reader.

Asmodeus has the character of a demon--we'll look at that tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Developing Picture of the Creative Process

24 February 2012, Development - Developing Picture of the Creative Process

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little. I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel. Over the last year, 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.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

We have a picture of a demon and a person who called the demon.  The place is Russia at the end of the Great War (WWI).  The occasion was to save a family.  There is a choice here.  To save a common family (or a Bolshevik family) from the Russians or to save an aristocratic family from the Bolsheviks.  The choice was easy for me.  The Bolsheviks (Communists) are the most evil force in the modern world.  The person therefore became someone who needed to save a family (their family) from the actions of the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution.  This is a very historically accurate position since there are many records of the Russian Communists murdering the aristocracy for no other reason then they were part of the Russian aristocracy.  The Communists literally murdered men, women, and children who were aristocrats.  The most famous was the murder of the Tzar's family.

Part of the reason for this choice is to produce a pathetic character.  A pathetic character is one who evokes emotions.   

We'll continue to explore the concept of the main character for the novel Aksinya, tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Beginning of the Creative Process

20 February 2012, Development - Beginning of the Creative Process

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little. I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel. Over the last year, 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.

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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

So, what does the beginning of the creative process look like?  For me it begins with a scene or more precisely, the setting of a scene.  Does that seem too simple?  Is it so odd that a novel might begin with a picture?  There is much more than that, of course.  The basis for the picture is a critical piece of the process.  The question is where did the picture and the components of the picture come from and how did they come together to form an idea.  Or which element came first, that is, was it the idea, the theme or the scene.

The scene I'm writing about is that beginning first scene that defines the novel.  I'll have to confess, in all my novels, the first scene drove the development of the novel.  The first scene was the catalyst that focused the character development.  In every case, the theme followed almost immediately based solely on the first scene.

The first scene isn't the only way to conceive of a novel, but it is definitely the cleanest.  If you realize that the initial scene is the power of the novel, the point that excites the reader to read, and the ideas that blossom to become the novel itself, then it should not be so surprising that this scene would also propel the writer to create a novel.

I'll continue to write about the reasons I wrote and conceived of the novel Aksinya, tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Publication - TV Interviews

5 January 2012, Publication - TV Interviews

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little. I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel. Over the last year, 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.

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, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here is the list of ideas for advertising--there are more and I'll add to the list as we go along.  I'm certainly not an expert in all these, but I've dabbled in all of them.  I'll try to relate my experience and the degree of that experience to you.

1.  Have a website for your novel.
2.  Write a blog.
3.  Advertise.
4.  Literary awards.
5.  Book cards.
6.  Contests.
7.  Interviews.
8.  Blog tours.
9.  Press releases.
10.  Speaking and teaching.
11.  e-mailing.
12.  Gifts.
13.  Book signings.
14.  ...

You can be interviewed for print media, for radio, for TV, on blogs, Internet general, character interviews, trailers just to name a few. 

Television interviews are similar to radio interviews.  They are, however, more difficult to get.  As always, and especially with television, you will not usually be interviewed because of your novel--it will be the topic of your novel that is the focus.  You do have to worry with a television interview about how you appear.  So although this information applies mainly to television interviews, it also applies any time you interact with the public.

Appearance matters, and it matters more to authors than to many other fields.  You want to portray yourself to fit in the genre and your area of expertise.  This also applies to your pictures.  If your topic is studious and intellectual, you want to portray that.  When I speak and interview for my historical fiction, I try to give an appearance of a professor.  This is easy because I have been a professor and instructor for a long time.  When I interview or speak about these books, I wear a coat and gussy up a bit.  Not too much, I wouldn't wear a coat and tie, but enough so the audience sees me as an academician. 

If you are a YA (young adult) writer, you want to have the appearance that you are somewhat connected to YA.  You should wear something stylish that fits with that crowd.  A suit and tie would be out of place. 

A suit and tie would be very appropriate if you are a business writer or if you are writing about a business subject.  If you are a preacher or a priest and your writing is topical on these subjects, you might want to wear a collar or a suit.  You get the idea--you should portray your focus topic in your dress and your demeanor.

I'll get into more details on dress and demeanor, tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Publication - Seller Connections, Sales

28 November 2011, Publication - Seller Connections, Sales

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little.  I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.  The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel.  Over the last year, 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.

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.  At this moment, I'm showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.

Today's Blog:  To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Author Central will also give you information on your book sales.  This is its own tab.  I'm certain that over time, this section information will improve and increase.  Generally, you can see where your books are selling and how well they are selling.  I'm not sure how this information can help you develop your sales, but it does give you feedback on the sales themselves.  In other words, it is metrics for how well your advertisements and promotional work are doing.

I'll give you more about Author Central tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Publication - Manuscript editing

7 November 2011, Publication - Manuscript editing

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little.  I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.  The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel.  Over the last year, 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.

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.  At this moment, I'm showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.

Today's Blog:  To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

When you are editing the final manuscript from your publisher, your editing at this level needs to be focused on the plot, theme, and story.  When doesn't it?  The grammar, spelling, and structure in English should be very good.  Your point is readability.  That's why I read it out loud.  If something sounds strange or the reading isn't smooth, you need to correct it.  You can make this kind of edit at any time, but this is the key time to make certain of this characteristic of readability of your novel.

I've read many novels and manuscripts that are not very readable.  You can tell right at the beginning.  Remember how I harped on the quality of the beginning.  It is really too late to fix that (the fact a publisher will take a risk on your novel ensures to a degree you have discovered this truth).  It is not too late to make certain the words you use drag in your readers and that the words don't kick your readers out of their suspension of reality.  There are other ways to say this.  I'll try to be clear.  When you read a novel, you expect to be immersed in the world of the novel.  As a reader and as a writer, you don't want anything to kick the reader out of this suspension of reality.  That's why readability is critical.  This is why all those irritating ways of writing (too many adverbs, to use of weak verbs, too many adjectives, present participle constructions, misuse of words, repetition of words)--all of these need to be taken care of and this is your last chance.

Note especially, that most readers today will have an opportunity to read the first chapter of your work before they purchase your novel.  The whole novel should be well constructed along these principles, but you must make the first chapter sing.  Your prepublication readers are one means to ensure the strength of your writing.
 
Tomorrow, more editing in depth.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Marketing - to Publishers Electronic Press Dingbats

19 October 2011, Marketing - to Publishers Electronic Press Dingbats
Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little.  I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.  The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel.  Over the last year, 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.

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.  At this moment, I'm showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.

Today's Blog:  Let's talk about illustrations and dingbats.  First, dingbats are not your mother-in-law but they are similar to the stuff you find in fonts called variously, dingbats, wingdings, etc.  Not that long ago, a scene demarcation in a novel, was indicated by a double break.  This is commonly used in manuscripts and can be found in some published works.  In general, to save space and to make a stronger demarcation, publishers began using three asterisks to note a double break.  Today, most publishers use a dingbat to denote a double break.  What is a dingbat?  If you look at my novels, you will see examples.  My publisher is very up on these things, they provided specially designed and chosen dingbats for each of my novels.  I proposed and provided the dingbats for my Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox series--my daughter designed them (she is an excellent artist).

The main point here is that for double space breaks, you need a dingbat.  The dingbat should be the same through a chapter or a novel--there is a lot of latitude here.  I recommend only one per novel.  The trick is that you can and should design your own.  Illustrations are similar.  By the way, if you don't know what a double space break is all about--keep reading this blog, I'll get to it. 

What kind of dingbat will I want to use in Aksinya?  That is a great question.  Perhaps a scroll or a small demon.  A pentegram might be the right touch.  I want my daughter to make a series of about five to seven drawing for the novel.  Perhaps she might draw a dingbat that really reflects the story.

More tomorrow about illustrations in published and electronically published books.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/. 

Marketing - to Publishers Electronic Press more Formatting

18 October 2011, Marketing - to Publishers Electronic Press more Formatting

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little.  I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.  The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel.  Over the last year, 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.

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.  At this moment, I'm showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.

Today's Blog:  Okay, about formatting.  A book is normally formatted like this:

1.  Frontispiece: page with the title on it and that is all.  Opposite of the frontispiece is blank.
2.  Title page: page with the title, author, and publisher on it.
3.  Opposite the title page is the copyright page.
4.  Dedication page.  Opposite the dedication page is blank.
5.  Preface or prologue.
6.  Opposite the prologue is blank (or the prologue/preface continues).
7.  The first paginated page follows on the right side.  This is the beginning of the novel.

This is general and you can have more pieces in the beginning--if you are wise, you won't have many more than this.  You also need to look at a professionally published electronic book and see how the publisher did it.  If you go to my sites, you can see how my publisher put together my novels.  You need to make yours a similar quality.

More tomorrow about formatting electronically published books.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/. 

Setting a Title on Daemon (working title)

25 August 2011, Setting a Title on Daemon (working title)

Okay, now that I've finished the first draft of Daemon (working title), I need to find a title for it.  The following is information I've given about setting a title:

Unless you get a bolt from the blue while you are writing your novel, a title is best affixed when you finish the first draft.  Sometimes it takes a long while to match the right title to a book, and sometimes the marketing savvy of your editor/publisher helps fix the title.  Here are some ideas on how not to put together a bad title.  Once you have a potential title or titles in mind:

Check it on Amazon, B&N, or any other book seller site.  You want your title to be nearly or absolutely unique.  This means no one else has used it in common practice or knowledge.  If you have a great title, but everyone and his brother is using it already, how will you separate yourself from the crowd?  Just take a look at some common titles on Amazon and see how many hits they generate--sometimes thousands.  If your title gets confused with a thousand other titles, no one will find your book.  On the other hand, if your book has a strange title, you might get no hits at all.

Make sure your title reflects your work.  Roz Young recommended my book Aegypt be called, In the Tomb of the Goddess of Darkness and Light.  That's catchy, but too long.  There are some other works with Aegypt in the title and another work named Aegypt.  Just one.  I felt that that was great probability.  Someone looking for Aegypt (either novel) would find mine.  This is a positive.

Don't hold on to your working title if it doesn't work.  For example, I gave a working title of Seeds for The Seeds of Rebellion to the work The End of Honor.  The working title of The Fox's Honor was Duel.  The title of A Season of Honor was Desert.  These titles simply stood in place for the final titles.  Eventually, the Honor theme became the focus of each of the titles, and finally, I gave the series the title The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox.  This was a request from my publisher and made sense from the context of the books.

So to recap, make sure you have a somewhat unique title, that can't be confused with too many works.  Check it out before you go to print.

So, taking my own advice, I checked the title Daemon using the Internet and found that by itself, Daemon isn't the worst or the best title.  I also determined that Daemon doesn't really fit the work that well.  What to do?  I decided to start with the form of the titles of my other non-related works.  I've been writing some fun works that all have a major character or main character who is a woman.  Those works, I've named for the major/main character for example: Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth and  Dana-ana: Enchantment of the Maiden.  Because of this, I'm naming this novel, for now, Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.

This title checks out, but it may not meet the test of time or a publisher.  Likely, a publisher will want a simpler title.  If my regular publisher or the same publisher wants to publish all my unrelated novels, they might like the set of titles for the works.  This is just an idea, but the most important point of publishing and your publisher is to sell your books.  The title is a critical part of the work and marketing the work.

Tomorrow, the marketing materials and setting up the work.

A New Novel, Part 18 More Answers

Some more questions and comments from a reader of this blog.

Interesting discussion on 'setting the scene'. A few question some to mind:

1. How do you know when you've got 'just enough' vs too much info to set the stage and pique the reader's interest...ie, get the milieu (world) of the scene's story?
I don't.  I rely on two things: 1. does it entertain me, 2. Does it entertain my prepub readers.  I think I'm harder than anyone else on my own writing.  If I don't feel that it is entertaining, I write it over and over again until it feels right.  In terms of setting the scene, as opposed to the interest of the reader, I do know what to do for that, and I am constantly tweaking the writing to improve it.  The first is this: the scene must be set in terms of time (date and time of day), place (environment, weather, all the details), characters (appearance, clothing, equipment), and reason.  This information doesn't have to be recited right at the beginning, but it has to be put right up front and focus the reader.  It is like a stage play.  The play can't go one until the stage is set (not an empty stage here).  The scene like a stage must be set.  The writer has powerful tools that can allow the reader to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste everything that is going on in the scene.  You have written enough when your readers can experience the scene through all of their senses. 

2. Just as a novel has a whole structure, prume,so does each individual scene. So wondering, do you have a general rule of thumb which stipulates how much attention, to spend on developing a given scene?
(I'm not talking about short transitional scenes, which simply bridge, and don't require special treatment...I'm talking about substantial scenes.)
To me all scenes are substantial.  In other words, if the novel is unchanged when the scene is left out, then the scene is unnecessary and should be left out.  Even a "bridging" scene must be important.  I try to make them important or I try to fit them at the end or beginning of an important event.  So each scene theoretically gets the same attention as every other one.  That doesn't happen.  Pivotal scenes are just that, they are so important that I can't help but think about them for days until they are written.  Sometimes I find that unprogressive.  I make lots of notes and hope I don't lose the strength of the writing before the scene comes together.  The trick it to try to give as much attention to those scene leading and following a pivotal scene to ensure they are strong in themselves.

Also, I presume, you've got an objective or need for each character in a scene...and, you're trying to create rising tension..(to satisfy the need) throughout the scene's progression....
This is a great point.  Like the purpose of the scene itself in the novel, every word is carefully chosen, each bit of punctuation is placed to make the most of the entire scene.  Likewise the characters are each necessary, their entry is specific and their descriptions are critical.  I use the Arlo Guthrie method of introducing a character (and place) with at least 100 to 300 words of description.  This ensures the placement of the character and the theme.  After the place and the character is introduced the first time, you may then use defining characteristics to set the character or the scene the next time you bring them on stage.  For example, if a character has a big nose, you can easily wax eloquent about the nose in the first introduction.  You then just make the point about Lou's big nose when you bring him back again.  That allows your readers to immediately see the character in their mind again.  For a place the description might be the smell of the mold from the old furniture.  When you go back to the house, a reminder about the smell sets the scene again.  One thing I dislike in some authors is that they fail to introduce or reintroduce their characters properly.  I get confused when confronted with just a name without any description.  Writing without sufficient description is like a blank mask on your characters or an empty stage. 

3. Do you primarily use dialogue or actions of the characters to create a compelling scene? Rule of thumb, or ratio?
I try to make all the writing dialog or action narrative.  In other words, if the story isn't going through with dialog, it's because it is moving with action (showing you what is happening).  I prefer dialog.  To me, dialog is truly life.  This is how the world really runs.  Who cares what a person did. What is more compelling is when that person tells why they did it to another person--or lies about it.  That's when you begin to understand about the characters.  There is no ratio, but I find that 80 percent of my writing or more is dialog.

4. Do you give alot of thought, to the "point of attack" ...the point at which you have the character enter the scene? Is it usually at an entry point, mid point or exit point of a scene? Any rule of thumb?
Ah, these are screenplay terms.  In general, the setup for a scene is at least one character.  The other characters enter based solely on the storyline for the scene.  So, in my way of looking at scenes, I have a scene input and a scene output.  The point is the input and the output.  The stuff in between is the storyline.  That storyline must fit into the plot, and that plot must fit into the theme.  So they enter and exit just based on these points.  I'm not sure I can be more general than that.  Let me use the example of the very first chapter and scene of Daemon.  We have Aksinya conjuring a demon.  The scene is set.  Aksinya goes about her business and you have a demon.  The input of the scene is Aksinya's sorcery.  The output is the contract with the demon.  The demon appears at just the important point in the scene.  His appearance supports the storyline, plot, and theme. 

5. How much attention to you give to the "back story" or exposition? that is... elements of the character's biography that are crucial to the story developing?
Obviously, good (believable) novel & screenplays contains back story because every believable character brings a certain amount of baggage to a drama.
I want to give these details through mostly dialog with other characters.  In other words, you get it when the other characters in the novel get it.  This goes back to my point that I want my readers to know as much as the characters in the story know.  I don't like omniscient storylines.  In Daemon, at the beginning, I do give you some information about Aksinya's back story as description--that's because the reader needs some tangible info to set the scene.  Note, I don't give you anything about he demon except external description.  And all you get from that point is almost 100% external description and dialog.  Thus in dialog, you learn so much more about Aksinya.  That's the trick, every time she opens her mouth, you learn a little more about her.  Some of it is back story.  Some is mundane, but you find out what moves her soul.

6. What are some effective ways of weaving different scenes and storylines together?
Wow, this is a very hard question to answer.  The primary means is through the characters themselves.  The last time I addressed comments, there were some wonderful points about items--things.  I said watch for them in the development of the novel.  Items, like those mentioned before--we will see a bookstand becomes an item that weaves the scenes and storylines together.  A crucifix will do the same.  Aksinya's mother's dresses.  Sorcery weaves together the overall scenes and storyline.  The idea of temptation.  Like the multiple levels of the plot that I am trying to write into this novel, the multiple characters, items, and ideas provide the glue that holds the scenes and storyline together.

7. Do you have a preferred technique for revealing facts about a person...ie, props, clothing, makeup, language (accent), behavior, musing, dialogue?.
I love to use language differences to bring out compelling things about a person.  The wrapper is important to me, but not as important as the words.  When Aksinya tells the demon to "shut up," you know he has touched a nerve.  I don't have to have her say anything else.
I suspect most back story, however, is conveyed through dialogue. After all, good exposition doesn't stick out...it is presented in a believable context.
Yes, great observation.  Mostly through dialog, some through description.
(Suspect it's easy to overload the reader with too much information.)
I'm not sure that is possible with dialog.  It is certainly possible with description.  The point of dialog is that it is ultimately entertaining.  Just as we like to discuss subjects, readers like to eavesdrop on the character's discussions.  If the dialog is entertaining, the reader won't care how much information you are pumping out.  In fact, the information flow can be enormous and as long as the reader is entertained with the repartee, they won't get tired of it.  For example, in the last bit of dialog between Aksinya and the demon, I laid a bunch of heavy stuff on the reader. 

“No! I haven’t rejected Him. I believe in Him. How could I not believe—I’ve seen demons. If there are demons, there is God.” She glanced down, “I don’t trust Him. I knew He would fail me. I didn’t expect you to fail me or my own strength to fail me.”
Asmodeus picked his teeth with a claw, “I didn’t fail you—you called me too late. You failed, Countess Aksinya Andreiovna Golitsyna. I didn’t fail and that guy didn’t fail—you failed. Come, you’ve seen her. Now is the time to go.”

You have to admit, this is some really deep dodo.  The reader may or may not take the time to think about these statements.  I do believe they are entertaining in themselves, so most readers will just keep reading, entertained and yet musing about the astounding things the demon and Aksinya just said to one another.

8. Do you tend to reveal background info early in the story, but, withhold certain facts for dramatic effect. I've heard come writers say secrets are the most powerful form of back story, and whole dramas can revolve around them. Do you employ it, often?
I suspect, knowing how and when to expose details about a character's past is a real art form.
I don't call them secrets (although that is a perfect characterization of it).  As I mentioned, I don't want my readers to know more than the characters in the story.  Now, we know there are things the characters haven't shared with us--like Aksinya's real father.  You might have guessed there is an issue here.  I may not have laid enough clues.  That's what further run throughs do is allow the writer to improve the foreshadowing and the proper revelation of these points.  Indeed a secretive character might have secrets and a nonsecretive character might have secrets.  The point is that we never know all of anyone's "secrets" even if we know them well.  The same is true for characters in a novel--we don't know everything about them and, indeed, those things of importance to the plot are revealed in their proper time.  Just like the observation of the servant in the last installment.  I've tried to excite the readers about who this servant is and the proper revelation of these points.  Indeed a secretive character might have secrets and a nonsecretive character might have secrets.  The point is that we never know all of anyone's "secrets" even if we know them well.  The same is true for characters in a novel--we don't know everything about them and, indeed, those things of importance to the plot are revealed in their proper time.  Just like the observation of the servant in the last installment.  I've tried to excite the readers about who this servant might be.  I didn't give any clues at all.  The demon didn't drop hardly any.  When you finally see her, what is your response?  Relief? Fear? Wonder? Excitement?  Does it make you wonder more, like Aksinya, just who is this servant?

9. Do you employ set-ups & pay offs; like screen writers do? That is, a set up introduces a bit of action, that will become significant later on and lead to a pay-off.
Yes, big time.  I just don't refer to them as setups and pay offs.  Generally, the foreshadowing, items, characters, settings in a scene are all setups for further scenes.  Just as the dresses and the jewelry boxes mentioned in chapter two, the sorcery books and items in chapter one, the hunger, cold, and tiredness of Aksinya in chapter three everything is a setup.  Each will bring some large or small pay off.  Otherwise, what's the point of mentioning it.
.
10. Do you usually close out a scene on a button? You know, something to seal off the scene with a punch....maybe, some type of narrative tool to make the scene stand out, and alone.
More screenplay terms.  Yes, I attempt to close out every scene with a specific punch.  No scene should just peter out.  They have to have some tight ending to wrap them up and push the reader into the next scene.
The true end of the last scene I gave you:
“Close your mouth, Countess Aksinya Andreiovna Golitsyna, now is the time for us to act.”

“I don’t understand you at all.”
“You will.” - there is your "button"

The one prior:
Aksinya watched him move toward the back of the house.  When he was out of sight, she sat on the chest.  After a bit, she curled up on the top of it and pulled the coat close.  Her breath came in white clouds.  She closed her eyes. - there is the "button"  She closes her eyes and that closes the scene.

Prior to that:
The streetcar came up, and they boarded.  Asmodeus paid the fare.  They rode the streetcar past the city center and out toward the west side.  Aksinya sat and Asmodeus stood.  Certainly the world changed to accommodate a nearly seven foot tall demon who carried a gigantic chest on his shoulders.  He seemed to fit on the streetcar without trouble.  The entire world suddenly seemed less solid to Aksinya than ever before. - the "button"
The end of each scene is unique.  It leaves a thought in the mind of the reader, or it closes the scene like a curtian on a stage.

That's it until tomorrow.  I'm trying to decide how to break up the next very important (pivotal) scene.  This is where Aksinya calls her servant.

Writing Science Fiction, part 1 Introduction

I'm back!  The first couple of days of my week are packed, and I don't have time or inclination to do any more writing.  I'm wiped right now from writing technical stuff all day.  But that might be the proper frame of mind to begin to approach science fiction.  In fact, it is exactly the frame of mind to wander into the realm of science fiction.  If you remember my personal rules of 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.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing - colliery: immerse your readers in the world of your writing.
If you haven't been paying attention, I've spent almost a month developing these rules for you.  Since I am a scientist and an engineer by trade, I have built up my understanding of writing like the engineering community solves problems.  First you bound the problem, then you solve it.  As long as you can properly bound the problem, you can usually solve it.  The same is true of writing and this is especially true in writing science fiction.  Perhaps the first bounding question should be just what is science fiction?  Let me give my own answer.  Science fiction is writing that presumes and interacts with a future.  Writing, broadly focuses on three general periods of interest: writing that interacts with the past (historical fiction), writing that interacts with the present (fiction), writing that interacts with the future (science fiction).  There you have past, present, and future.  Really simple, right?  The complexity becomes developing the worlds that you will immerse your readers within.  In every case of each period of interest, the overall point must be to immerse the reader into the world of your writing--rule number five.  I wrote at length about developing this world in historical fiction.  In engineering terms what we were talking about there is interpolation.  We were taking data from the past and interpolating, that is building the world from the data we had.  Interpolation is relatively easy and it is really very accurate.  The world a writer of historical fiction can build is easy to get right as long as the writer's data is good and plentiful.  In looking at the future, you can't interpolate, you must extrapolate.  Extrapolation means to take your data points outside the maximum bounds of your equations or data.  It means to move beyond current knowledge.  Notice, I didn't say you toss out current knowledge--that's fantasy, and I'm not writing about fantasy here.  In science fiction, we move beyond the knowledge we have now.  We extrapolate beyond our solution sets and equations, but we can never lose our grounding in those bounds.  If we do, we aren't writing science fiction, but rather fantasy.  There is more to come.  Tomorrow, I'll expand on this idea of extrapolation and begin to explain how you do it.

Editing and Proofing

I just completed my 20th novel, and I've been putting together novels in the 100K range pretty quickly lately. I can write a novel of this size in about 1 month. This is working from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm a day.

Step one is getting the words on the page. As each chapter is finished, I review it and rewrite. I make notes at the bottom of the chapter about the next steps in the plot/story line. This means when the novel is first completed, it has been through a first draft and a full rewrite. I always use spelling and grammar checking in Word, and I note every suggestion--even if I don't take it! (This is true of readers too. If you don't like their suggestion don't take it, or better yet, fix the passage, sentence, paragraph using your own style--never ignore your reader's comments. You are free to ignore computer grammar checker comments--they usually can't handle most dialog etc.)

Step two is a full rewrite. This is the big fix it stage.

Step three is to hand the manuscript to my readers. I usually have two at this stage. They give me lots of help with punctuation, words, etc. and that is great--what I really want is continuity in plot and theme. I want to know where the work needs tightening and where it doesn't make sense. I usually get these comments/ideas from discussions with my readers.

Step four is incorporating readers' comments and fixes and a total rewrite. I usually have had a while to think about the work and recognize where it might need help. Look especially for missing descriptions and incomplete or illogical incidents or inappropriately foreshadowed events etc.

Every time I go over the work from that point on, I will make changes. Key things to look for are overused words, expressions, trite constructions, spelling, grammar, punctuation, cohesive forms of words (spelling of numbers, etc.).

Step five is getting ready for publication. When the work first comes to me as a formatted pdf, I read it quickly hunting for errors and checking the editor's comments. This is the first go through.

Step six is the long lingering review of the first formatted pdf. This is when I send it to my readers. I use three readers for review prior to publication. I know there will be more than one go around, so I send the results of my long review back to the publisher before I hear from my readers.

Step seven is the second formatted pdf review. This is when I incorporate my reader's comments and corrections, and then I complete a "read out loud review." Always accomplish a read out loud review prior to the final. You will be glad you did.

Step eight is to go around again--if necessary.

Step nine is accomplished with the final document. Pull the pdf into Word and let it check for spelling a final time. You can do this by opening it, or by copy and pasting it into Word. This is the last chance. At this point, you probably won't be able to find any more errors.

Step ten: don't read your own books--you'll find errors. I guarantee it. At this point, you probably don't want to ever read the novel again.

Writing Historical Fiction, part 4 Historical Immersion

The point I keep trying to make is that to write effective historical fiction, you must immerse yourself in the culture of the times.  I would also advise becoming familiar in some degree with the language and writing, but we'll get to that.  My primary expertise in with classical Greek and Anglo-Saxon languages.  I feel that I have been able to immerse myself well in those cultures at least to the ability to write about them.  Since they are the most familiar to me, I am especially concerned that other writers get those periods right in their writing.  Plus, my best and most powerful examples are from those times.  As I mentioned yesterday, you have to realise your moral or social prejudices must fall to the culture you intend to write about.  That doesn't mean you have to give up you morals or ideas, but you have to be able to subjugate them in order to understand the culture you are studying.  Yesterday, I put up the example of slavery.  Slavery was ubiquitous and considered moral in the ancient world.  In an historical novel, that view must come to your readers.  You have to be able to dispassionately approach subjects like this to give them reality and historical authenticity.  That doesn't mean you have to accept slavery, you just need to understand the culture and its underpinnings.  The same is true of every other subject important to human life and interaction.  One of the most misunderstood areas in ancient cultures is food and eating.  We tend to imagine that people in other cultures and other times ate similarly to us.  A simple trip to a foreign country or to a Japanese restaurant will show you otherwise, but it is more than that.  Most ancient cultures were survival cultures.  Few of the inhabitants ate as many calories as they wanted or needed.  In many cultures people only ate one meal a day, at the most two.  Meat was a commodity that was eaten very rarely.  Meat, in most ancient cultures was only eaten as a result of religious worship--following a sacrifice.  This is true of the Greeks.  They had meat only from sacrifices.  That means the wealthy ate meat perhaps once every other month at a festival or when they provided the sacrifice at a temple.  The temple precincts were next to the marketplace and extra meat was sold in the market.  The cost made it very dear.  Greeks would get most of their protein from fish, a non sacrificial animal, and dairy (cheese).  Can you imagine a world were meat is that precious.  I tell my classes that when momma (actually a slave or the father, momma was in the gynacium--next note) took her children to the market, they cried not for toys but for meat.

About women in Greek society.  I think in The Second Mission http://www.thesecondmission.com/ I gave the proper latitude of freedom to lower middle class women.  Upper class and upper middle class women were kept in a gynacium at home.  They were not allowed out of the gynacium when free men, other than those of their household, were in the house.  A gynacium was an isolated portion of the house.  Women were kept in a gynicium for their protection because in a near lawless culture, wealthy women were prey for many reasons.  In many regards, it is better to be a captive in your own home than to be dead, kidnapped, or raped.  Greek homes were built like miniature fortresses because of the problem of a lack of law or ability to keep laws except through "might makes right."  In spite of this, the social contract of the Greeks kept a relatively lawful society, but there were no police to keep the peace.  Your Demi (loosely, your familial group but of political and tribal dimensions as well) kept the peace and meted out judgement within the Demi.  Already, you should be able to see that the ancient Greeks are nothing like our culture.  They are nothing like the modern Greek culture.  If we decouple the fact that they are so different from our expectations, we may be able to start to understand them.  As you can see with food, religion is intertwined in the Greek culture.  This is true of all cultures in antiquity and many today.  Tomorrow, I'll write about this very important and much misunderstood dynamic of religion and life.

Inspiration

Inspiration!  Just how do you get it, and what about "good" inspiration.  If you want to be inspired--write.  That's it.  Inspiration is enveloped in the process or writing.  I see writing as cathartic.  You fill up your brain with good things and out comes great writing.  This means you can't write well unless you are steeped in good stuff.  Your mind needs to be filled with positive and powerful words, music, images, and energy so when you get in front of a piece of paper, what flows onto the paper is rich and luscious.  Let's put it this way, if you spend your time reading Dick and Jane, you will write Dick and Jane.  If you spend your time reading Hawthorn and Dickens, you will write Hawthorn and Dickens.  We haven't begun to speak about your individual voice as an author.  So I want to fill up my mind with powerful stuff that then becomes powerful words on a page.  So what were those initial words about "just write?"  I was speaking about inspiration.  If you wait around for inspiration to hit you in the head, and then you write, you'll never write anything (or very little).  I find inspiration comes from the experience of writing.  Since I write in scenes, I do try to imagine the scenes as a focus to the writing and that provides much of the inspiration.  You might ask, where did the original inspiration for the overall novel or writing come from?  Generally, it comes out of the process of writing.  In other words, I imagine a scene I would like to write, I write to develop the scene, and that provides the inspiration.  Sometimes the scene I write has nothing to do with anything else in the future (like a novel), sometimes it does.  Sometimes the scene develops into a short story.  The point is, I don't wait around for inspiration, I just start writing and see what comes.  If you need some guidance in your writing, use a text book or figure some template.  Write about descriptive scenes or simply describe the room you are in right now.  If you can't get anything going from any of that--then writing may not be your thing.  Or just wait for some inspiration.

Writing a Novel, How I Start part 10

This topic is by no means complete.  There is so much more to delve into just about starting a novel, but I think it is time to clean this topic up a little and move on to another.  So I'll finish with this.  First, the four 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.
The last rule has a double implication--it implies "show don't tell."  This is, of course, the basic rule of writing--show don't tell.  Arlo Guthrie's book, A Field Guide to Fiction Writing, is easily the writer's manual on this topic.  I won't go into anymore details today.

The second point that I haven't touched on yet is the idea itself.  If you want to write a novel, you need a novel length idea--an inspiration.  No cheating.  Although it can be a good exercise, it doesn't do to take your favorite author, movie, program, novel, or anything else and write a similar novel.  It is silly to think you can be successful by copying any work and producing something similar.  To be your novel, the ideas have to be novel.  The problems with many works today is they are too similar to other works, they have a voice that is too like other works, or they are so trivial, they are meaningless.  That's the other side of the coin.  A work that has a trivial theme, plot, or storyline is not going to be successful and will likely not get published in the first place.  The question of what is "trivial" is a difficult one.  I can tell you that if you have more than one unique miraculous incident in your novel, it is likely trivial.  We call these a deus ex machina, a god machine.  A novel can spin from a singular unique setting or event, but when they keep happening, the work's credibility becomes a question.  For example, although I don't buy it and few readers will (unless you absolutely build it properly) love at first sight is a cliched and deus ex moment.  A novel based on "love at first sight" might have a chance in the hands of an absolute expert writer, but the theme is so old and has been used so much that no one will believe it today.  Further, if the theme and plot of such a novel isn't "love at first sight," any other unique event that propels the novel will become trite and unbelievable.  Your novel can't become trite.  Unique events can flow from one another in the novel based on the singular circumstances developed in the novel, but those must come logically from the others.

Example from Dana-ana http://www.goddessnovel.com/.  Dana-ana is about a girl who acts like an Anglo-Saxon maiden although she lives in the modern world.  The plot is basically wrapped in a question:  who really is Dana-ana?  It is a revelation novel.  That is, it reveals more and more through the characters to the point where everyone, at the end, finally gets just who is Dana-ana.  The storyline develops around this revelation.  The unique point of the book is Dana-ana herself--everything in the novel flows from this simple evidence.  Everything becomes explicitly concrete because of who Dana-ana is.  The reader is grounded and funnelled into the story because of this singular point.  Further, the theme is about redemption.  It is the redemption of Dana-ana herself and the redemption of those around her.  Why does Dana-ana need redemption?  That is bound up in who Dana-ana really is.  So, you can see, a single unique existence propels the novel.  There are magic and somewhat miraculous happenings in Dana-ana, but it is a fantasy-like novel with a fantastic plot.  Those magic and miraculous happenings are not unique in the structure of the novel--just as future technology is not unique in a science fiction novel.  When the basis is future technology or magic, the events are no longer unique, they are common, but that is a topic worth more discussion.

I hope this short 10 part explanation of how I start to write a novel was helpful.  I think I'll talk more about inspiration tomorrow.  Until then...

Excitement in Scenes, How I Start part 9

I wrote before, a scene must center around some event that is exciting.  Excitement is how you entertain and hold your reader's attention.  To build a scene that is exciting, you must imagine your characters involved in some event that drives the storyline, plot, and theme.  The scenes cannot be out of place to the storyline, plot, or theme, and they must fit your characters.  No scene, event within a scene, or piece of a scene can be extraneous or out of place.  Each bit, piece, and description must further the novel.  If, when you edit your writing, you find any piece that you can remove that will not affect the storyline, plot, or theme, then remove it.  This is something that is always interesting to me.  Many writers tell me when they edit, their writing length decreases.  Whenever I edit, the length of my manuscripts increase.  I always discover places I can improve and explain better.  I find places where I didn't provide sufficient description.  I rarely find scenes or events that are extraneous.  The reason for this is that I outline in scenes, and I center each scene in an event that propels the storyline. 

The main question is, how do you invent or develop exciting events?  Much of that is a writer's experience.  Just as writing well comes from much writing, event or idea development comes from both writing and life experience.  I would add that reading can provide many ideas for exciting events.  Let me show you the outline of scenes for the first chapter of Dana-ana www.GoddessNovel.com:
1.  Dana gets beat up: input, stealing lunches; output, she's knocked out.  You should be able to see the explicit excitement and action in this scene.  The pathetic character of Dana will not fight back (we find later that she can't fight back).
2.  Dana in the infirmary: input, Dana knocked out; output, Byron escorts her home.  Here the specific pieces driving the scene are Byron carrying her to the infirmary, the confrontation with the school nurse (we find out more about Dana; Dana broke into the infirmary safe before), Dana gains and loses consciousness a couple of times, Dana tries to get out of the infirmary on her own, Byron has to help her, she doesn't want his help...
3.  Dana's tarpaper house: input, Byron escorts her home; output, Byron goes home.  The action here is the walk to her house (lots of description), seeing the tarpaper house, describing the tarpaper house, realization that Dana has nothing, Dana washes Byron's feet to welcome him to her house (okay, here is where the storyline, plot, and theme really kick off.  If you didn't think Dana was odd to begin with, the moment she welcomes Byron to her house by washing his feet, your alarm bells should be going off.  She is obviously showing an action that is outside of a modern norm--yet this fits in the perspective of the novel and the action), Dana is hungry, Byron shares his lunch with her, Dana won't eat the food unless it is gifted to her in her real name (another cultural indicator), Byron discovers her heal name, she eats the food he gives her, Byron goes back to school.
Three scenes, three exciting events to develop one chapter.  That isn't too hard.  In this context the scenes flow one from the other.  You can read the entire chapter at www.GoddessNovel.com.  You can also see other examples of my writing at www.ldalford.com or read my books.

Don't Show (or Tell) Us Everything, How I Start part 8

I gave three of my dictums yesterday in one post.  Don't confuse your readers.  Entertain your readers.  Ground your readers in the writing.  Today, I want to give you another one: don't show your readers everything.  People ask me all the time from my books, "What really happened to x." or "Did x do this to y." I try to not let my readers know anything more than the characters understand themselves. I don't like to explain anything. I want the interaction of the characters to show everything. I don't want my readers to predict what will happen in the story. I want them guessing all the time. Guessing as much as the characters are themselves. In the real world, people's motivations are ultimately unknown. People's thoughts are unknown. There are always mysteries. Most of which we simply ignore. You can always leave your readers hanging, but don't leave them confused. Make sure your writing is clear and you are getting across what you want. This is where good editing and lots of it can help you. Find as many readers as possible and beg them for feedback. Once the novel is published, it's just too late to fix it.  So what does it look like to not reveal everything?  Let me show you.  In Children of Light and Darkness http://www.childrenoflightanddarkness.com/, it is quite obvious from the beginning that Kathrin and James have a romantic and sexual relationship. At the beginning of the novel their relationship is estranged. We know this by the way they interact and speak to one another. Here is an example from the novel:

James stepped out on the veranda, “Heat still bothering you, Kathrin?”

Kathrin didn’t say a word. She pursed her lips and clenched her jaw.

James turned around at the rail and leaned against it. He was tall and handsome, clean shaven. His hair was slightly tousled—always slightly tousled. It was brown and nondescript. His face, though handsome was still nondescript. MI, Military Intelligence, liked their agents and operatives to look good, but not to draw too much attention. It was easier that way. James was strong and well trained. He always treated her like a lady, even when he didn’t have to and when she didn’t deserve it.

Kathrin knew she was pretty—perhaps bordering on beautiful. Her face was freckled and sported blazing green eyes. She had heart shaped lips in a heart shaped face. Her hair was red, and she was thin, perhaps too thin. She wasn’t very tall either. None of those characteristics ever seemed to affect her negatively. She spoke with a thick, but improving Scottish brogue that made her a little difficult to understand at times. She knew she always showed a slightly harried look, and that was backed by an overly brisk personality. She did have a raging temper. It was a prideful secret that she kept it in check almost all of the time. When she let it out, it scared her. She didn’t let it out often, not at all since she had been working for the organization.

James checked his sidearm, “You still mad at me about last night?”

Kathrin’s eyes flashed at him. James tucked away his weapon and raised his hands.

All the fight drained out of her. She looked out on the jungle, “It was my fault.”

“Then come on. It will only get hotter the longer we delay.”

... After dinner, they took a nightcap with them to their room. James made a short foray to the veranda and smoked a cigar. Kathrin rearranged the fresh flowers in an old silver pot on her nightstand. For a while, through their window, she watched James as he scouted out the edge of the jungle. Kathrin undressed in the small bathroom. She wore as little as possible to bed. If she were by herself, she would have gone to bed naked. She hadn’t done that with James for weeks—well, except last night. He wore his briefs. That wasn’t an accommodation for her, it was service policy. Funny, the rules that governed spies. She hadn’t let him touch her for a long time. He hadn’t tried for a long time. She was a little ashamed at herself for getting involved with him that way. They weren’t married, and she almost felt like an old married woman.

Here, in this example, the characters show no outward affection for one another. You don't know anything directly about their relationship, but you know quite a lot. You know they are sharing a room, you guess that something happened the night before. I never tell you what happened--I leave it to your imagination, but you know something happened. I could have described everything in its gory glory. I could tell you what they think about each other--I never do. I show you what is going on and leave the rest to your imagination. This is the power of showing and not telling. It is also the power of not letting your readers know everything. The characters and their descriptions build themselves within the context of the novel.  So in building your scenes--aim to entertain, but plan not to let your readers know everything.  That keeps them looking for more.

Sequence of and in Scenes, How I Start part 7

Sequence within and of scenes is an interesting question.  What I mean by sequence is the time based formation of the action and of the scenes.  This applies to time within the context of the novel as well as your writing.  Let's take them separately.  First, time sequence in and of scenes.  You could experiment with non-sequential based time flow in a scene, but I don't do that.  I do like to use scenes in some novels to go back into the past (potentially into the future), but I like to keep these separated as scenes.  You don't have to, but one of my main concerns in writing is to not confuse my readers.  As an aside, here are two of my main rules of writing: entertain your readers and don't confuse them.  Scenes where the time or time sequence moves around will confuse your readers, so unless you really know what you are doing--don't  Likewise, you can take the reader to the past or future with a scene.  You can have overlapping time between scenes, but use caution.  This is where clear description is necessary.  You have to ground your readers in the scene.  Put that down as a basic rule too: ground your reader in each scene.  For example, I do like to intersperse scenes that take the reader out of the main storyline into another storyline that parallels the plot.  In Dana-ana, http://www.goddessnovel.com/, this means following the action of other characters for a scene and then jumping back to the original storyline.  Everything still supports the plot and the theme, it is just showing the reader new information from a different point of view (POV, point of view, is a whole other topic).  As long as you don't confuse your reader, these segues are great for them.  They build a level of excitement and at the same time make your readers long to get back to the main storyline.  Here's an example:

[end of scene with Macintyres (Dana's adopted family) after she left--Dana is the she]“She left of her own free will. I don’t think she’s coming back.”



[Beginning of the next scene--double break to set it off.  The first step is the setting]
Mata Hainsworth [already introduced in the novel earlier] leaned against the wall at the back of the Wellington Hotel. The fog was thick that evening. At his side stood two other men dressed in suits. One of them also carried a pouch at his side. He was short and had foxy features. The man with the pouch glanced around the corner of the building, “So Dana-ana made a blood vow to this boy.”

Mata laughed, “Yes she did. I heard every word. It seems her young man was already half convinced to dump her. My little confession just pushed him over the top.”

“She took it hard.”

“She’s in love, the little slut. It’s just as we hoped, she cast her blood when he released her and swore a blood oath.”

“So all we need to do now is tempt her little master to an accident, and she’ll do a death dance.”

The other man in the suit spoke up. He was very tall and broad shouldered. He seemed almost too large to be a normal person. His face and every other part of him that showed outside his clothing was very hairy, “You know it’s not as easy as that, Ailean. There are precautions we must take. Plus we need to lure them to a place she was restricted from—one of her ancient places of power. We must insure no interference from Ceridwen or the rest of the courts.”

“You are a spoilsport, Mahon.”

He held his nose and growled. The growl sounded distinctively animal-like, “And you two both stink so much of magic, you’re lucky I stick around to help you. I want to gag right now.”

“We all serve the same master, Mahon. You don’t have to get snotty.”

“Where is the girl anyway?”

Mata replied, “She’s searching for food in the bin on the other side of the building. That’s why I had us meet here.”

“Good, I don’t want her to ever detect us. She’ll smell you two a mile away. We have to prevent any interference from Ceridwen. She swore to protect Dana-ana’s life. Dana-ana must give up her life willingly, otherwise, Ceridwen becomes involved.”

Ailean nodded, “That’s been the plan all along. Tell us something we don’t know.”

Mahon stared at him and lifted a thick lip, “If our master allowed me, I’d crush you puny human.”

Ailean started to sweat, “Well he hasn’t, so tell us what the plans are.”

“We are arranging a conflagration. We only want to target Dana-ana through the boy. That’s the difficult part. The details are still being attended to.”

“Will there be a place for magic?”

“Yes, very much. It will be a necessary part of the planning.”

“Good. When we get our revenge, Dana-ana needs to know just who pulled the trigger. That’s what will make it sweet. She must die slowly, very slowly. It would be best if while she did, the stink of magic would gag her, and she would drown in her own vomit.”

“Our master would like that very much. Perhaps it can be arranged.”

“It might be pleasant for her to be ravished just prior to the event.”

“You ask for too much, Mata. If she were ravished, that would surely bring Ceridwen and Dana-ana’s sisters down on our heads. You do not want that, I assure you.”

“Perhaps we could get the boy to do it. Ailaen’s skill is seduction magic.”

“That might be useful, but don’t plan too much. We are just putting the details together now. The most important part was her blood oath.”

“You figure out how to get them alone together, and we’ll ensure the boy rapes her.”

“I’ll warn you only once. Whatever you do, do not let it cause a failure of our plans. Our master wants her dead. That will roil the courts and Ceridwen. You want revenge. All our goals align with her death. If she doesn’t die, no one will be happy, especially our master.”
[End of scene-double break]

[Return to the main plot line]
On Wednesday, as Gwen left the hotel, she caught a glimpse of Dana. She grabbed her mother’s arm, “Mom, Dana’s following us.”

The above is an example of somewhat parallel storyline scenes.  The the scene is separate and gives the reader a glimpse of what is happening outside of the knowledge of the major characters.  This is a very effective method to build tension and excitement.  Note the beginning of both scenes, the main one I show you and the beginning of the next, firmly ground the reader right away.  A single sentence or paragraph is all that is necessary, but it is necessary.
 
Now the second part, about writing your scenes non-sequentially.  Sometimes you might be tempted to write one of the most exciting scenes that you envisioned in your scene outline before you get to it in your writing.  In other words as you are writing your novel, you might want to write some of the more exciting parts of it first and get to the rest later.  That might work for some, but I advise you--don't do it.  Don't do it for two reasons.  First, if certain scenes aren't exciting to you, they won't be exciting to your readers.  Second, I've found that the few times I've done this, I had to completely dump or revise the whole chapter or scene.  The reason is that writing a novel is a process, the characters and your understanding of the plot grows with the writing.  Usually when I finally write up to the point I already wrote, the circumstances of the input and sometimes the scene output have changed and the characters and plot have subtly changed.  The previous writing of the scene is stale or out of place, and I have to completely write it again.  This is what I explained about on Centurion www.CenturionNovel.com.  The short story I originally wrote that to a degree spurred the novel could not fit at all into the novel.  The characters were different and the circumstances (inputs and outputs) were different.  So my advice is to not write out of sequence, but this is not a rule for everyone.  Plus, if you do write in time sequence, you can later move the scenes around, if necessary, to fit the way the plot demands--if you need to.  Tomorrow, I'll talk about more subtle means to work with your characters in scenes.