Writing Ideas – New Novel, part 388, the True Creativity and Entertainment in Scenes Developing the Rising Action

27 July 2015, Writing Ideas – New Novel, part 388, the True Creativity and Entertainment in Scenes Developing the Rising Action

Announcement:  Ancient Light is delayed due to the economy.  You can read more about it at http://www.ancientlight.com.  Ancient Light includes the second edition of Aegypt plus Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness.  I’ll keep you updated.

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.
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 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape–a young cargo shuttle pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer.  Lilly is my 24th 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’ve just started on the next major run-through of my novel, Escape.

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)

I can immediately discern three ways to invoke creativity:

1.  History extrapolation
2.  Technological extrapolation
3.  Intellectual extrapolation

Creativity is like an extrapolation of what has been.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  I mentioned yesterday that creativity requires true study and true reading.  I’ll explain.

In the modern world children in the USA get awards, good grades, and prizes for just showing up.  The self-esteem movement has become the greatest killer of human creativity and initiative the world has ever seen.  The reason is simple, creativity demands true study and true reading.  Study doesn’t mean you made a Google search or skimmed a potentially false article in a certain online encyclopedia.  Study means you dedicate hours and hours and hours to the understanding and knowledge of an idea or a subject.  True study means you dedicated an entire part of your life to learning an idea.

For example, to write my novel The Second Mission, I learned classical Greek.  At the time, I didn’t have the opportunity or the free time to go to university, I had to study it on my own.  I learned it like scholars learn most dead languages, using a pony to understand the basics and translate the text.  While I was studying the language, I was digging deeply into Plato’s records of Socrates’ dialogs.  That was my point, after all.  In The Second Mission, I give my translations and rewriting of the last five Socratic dialogs in the context of the novel.  Additionally, I studied the Greek culture (of 399 BC) and Greek history.

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