Before we get into the meat and bones of this update, let me first say that this novel will take me out of my comfort zone, something that truly excites me. I am writing about the life of an African-American female starting when she is struck by lightning at the tender age of nine. The story will cover her life until she is eighty years old. Perhaps the inspiration and excitement come from having adopted daughters, both of whom are African-American.
On to the meat and bones.
Christmastime is the most important time of year for me for writing production. (Memorial Week is second.) In recent weeks, my muse awakened me numerous times in the middle of the night to notate the ideas sent streaming into my consciousness. I've made positive progress in giving this novel breath.
I needed a concrete way to tell a story covering seventy-one years. Yanking notes from a notebook was not exactly ideal, so I revisited an old pal of mine: James Patterson. Okay, we don't have each other's number in our respective contact lists, but I attended his Master Class for writers a few years ago. It provided excellent content for aspiring authors, and, in closing, he shared an outline from his novel, "Honeymoon" (2002). I studied it over the past week and, feeling a tinge of excitement, knew this "James Patterson outline" method was the perfect solution.
Outlines are similar to having your map app provide directions from point A to B. There are few details along the way—just a way to get you from the beginning to the end. I'll develop character sheets along the way to build strong, consistent characters. After that, I will begin drafting the novel.
Progress is being made in the Karma outline. I'm outlining the novel's seventeenth chapter. The outline, itself, has already blossomed to 17 pages, 7715 words.
- Here are a few other items of interest:
- To get a female perspective, I shared the outline's first four chapters with a few female family members and friends.
- The cinematic trailer for Karma is in early production. A big part of any good trailer is the thematic music, which I am proud to announce we've found.
- As with Bloodshed, hoping for a late 2023 release date.
