21 June 2016, Writing Ideas – New Novel, part 717, Scene Based Style, Tension and Release Development, Style Q and A
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 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 just started writing my 27th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Trainee. This might need some tweaking. The theme statement is something like this: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, the 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.
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| Cover Proposal |
The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I’m editing many of my novels using comments from my primary reader. I finished editing Children of Light and Darkness and am now writing on my 27th novel, working title Claire.
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:
- Scene input (easy)
- Scene output (a little harder)
- Scene setting (basic stuff)
- Creativity (creative elements of the scene)
- Tension (development of creative elements to build excitement)
- Release (climax of creative elements)
One of my blog readers posed these questions. I’ll use the next few weeks to answer them.
- Conflict/tension between characters
- Character presentation (appearance, speech, behavior, gestures, actions)
- Change, complexity of relationship, and relation to issues/theme
- Evolving vs static character
- Language and style
- Verbal, gesture, action
- Words employed
- Sentence length
- Complexity
- Type of grammar
- Diction
- Field of reference or allusion
- Tone – how tone is created through diction, rhythm, sentence construction, sound effects, images created by similes, syntax/re-arrangement of words in sentence, the inflections of the silent or spoken voice, etc.
- Mannerism suggested by speech
- Style
- Distinct manner of writing or speaking you employ, and why (like Pinter’s style includes gaps, silences, non-sequitors, and fragments while Chekhov’s includes ‘apparent’ inconclusiveness).
Moving on to 15. 15. Style
Woah—style is huge. I just spent more than six months defining style from almost every angle I could imagine. Here are the elements I found for an author’s style.
1. Novel based style
a. Writing focus
b. Conversations
c. Scene development
d. Word use
e. Foreshadowing
f. Analogies
g. Use of figures of speech
h. Subthemes
i. Character revelation
j. Historicity
k. Real world ties
l. Punctuation
m. Character interaction
2. Scene based style
a. Time
b. Setting
c. Tension and release development
d. Revelation
e. Theme development
f. POV
Quick digression: Back on the tarmac at home.
Scene based style is moving down into the weeds of the novel. So far, I’ve looked at the higher level style of the novel itself. Now let’s look at the elements of style in the writing itself.
How an author develops tension and release in a scene is completely an element of style. There are better and worse ways to accomplish tension and release, but the approach is a very powerful indicator of style.
If you are new to this blog, you might be asking, what is tension and release? Tension and release is how an author writes an exciting and entertaining scene. From a very simple standpoint, tension and release is similar to the rising action, climax, and falling action in a novel. Every scene must be developed with a building tension and a release. If you didn’t know this, then perhaps that is something you need to fix in your writing.
Every scene doesn’t need a climax, but every scene must have a tension and release development. Most specifically, you must write every scene with the idea that there is an exciting and entertaining tension and release in the scene—every scene. Every scene in your novel should have some tension and release development. Think of a movie. Every scene in a movie has not only a purpose in the larger scheme of the movie, but every scene also has some type of exciting development that builds in the scene—this is the tension. That tension builds up until the climax of the scene where there is a release. If you think of each scene this way, you will begin to write well. If you haven’t learned this crucial lesson about writing, now is the time.
When I begin a scene, I see the scene in my mind, and I write to the tension and release in the scene. I usually have a very special creative element I intend for that scene that will produce tension and then release in the scene. For most action oriented scenes, this tension and release development is obvious. In conversational or other types of scenes, the tension and release may not be as obvious, but it needs to be designed into the scene. Perhaps the best way to show this is with an example or examples.
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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