Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 904, Publishing, Learning to Write, Entertainment

2 October 2016, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 904, Publishing, Learning to Write, Entertainment  

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  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 website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:

1.  The initial scene (the beginning)

2.  The rising action

3.  The climax

4.  The falling action

5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 26th novel, working title, Shape, proposed title, Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si, is this: Mrs. Lyons captures a shape-shifting girl in her pantry and rehabilitates her.

I finished writing my 27^th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  This might need some tweaking.  The theme statement is: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.  

Here is the cover proposal for Essie: Enchantment and the Aos Si.  Essie is my 26th novel.

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I started writing my 28^th novel, working title Red Sonja. 

I'm an advocate of using the/a scene input/output method to drive the rising action--in fact, to write any novel. 

Scene development:

1.  Scene input (easy)

2.  Scene output (a little harder)

3.  Scene setting (basic stuff)

4.  Creativity (creative elements of the scene)

5.  Tension (development of creative elements to build excitement)

6.  Release (climax of creative elements)

 

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.

 

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.

 

These are the steps I use to write 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

 

What is your strategy as a writer?  What are your goals as a writer?  I’ve heard from some that they write for themselves.  I’ve heard from others that they write for therapy.  That’s sweet.  As long as these types of people stay out of the marketplace of writing and ideas—all is well.  They hopefully won’t self-publish.  I don’t want to disparage anyone’s goals that don’t interfere with mine. 

 

Let’s look at writing from a philosophical standpoint.  The only purpose for writing is to communicate.  This should be obvious, but sometimes obvious doesn’t resonate with the modernly educated.  Writing is a means of communication.  Writing is also a much poorer means of communication than conversation.  However, the study of language shows us that a written language allows the development of words and ideas outside the normal sphere of human conception.  In other words, human thinking expands with the invention of the written word. As the Greeks noted, writing allows the concept of forms.  For example, the word “chair” stands as a conceptual form for all chairs.  A literate person sees the word chair (a form) and not an individual chair.  A preliterate person can only imagine a specific chair—they have no word concept for “chair.”  Chair can’t be a form to them.  This also means the preliterate can’t imagine concepts that are only forms (don’t have analogues in the real world).  Love is a form.  It can’t be described by a physical action or a physical thing.  Sex is an action.  Kissing is an action.  Love is a form.  A preliterate person can’t imagine the concept of love.  That is why most early languages have no world or love or very specific words that migrated to mean love.  Note, Hebrew has no world for love.  Greek delineates the specific type of love with ten separate words.  Very euphemistic modern languages like Japanese have developed a word for love that can mean many different relationships based on context.  Likewise English, also euphemistic, has a word “love” that can mean a host of ideas.

 

Writing is about communication.  It allows us to communicate ideas that can’t be verbalized directly from our experience.  If you realize this concept about writing, then you must understand writing can be accomplished for yourself or for therapy, but that is a completely untenable use of writing.  Writing is for communication, and if it is not used for communication, it is not used for its ultimate purpose.  It is like looking at a wonderful dinner and smearing it all over yourself for therapy or yourself.  It may feel good when you are a baby, but it doesn’t achieve the purpose of dinner at any age or in any context.  Writing is about communication.  Next entertainment.

      

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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