The Great Adventure

This week is one of transitions. I am proctoring final exams for my students, grading them as soon as they are finished, and moving ahead with working out final grades. Sunday is commencement.

At the same time, I am working on my own mental organization of my upcoming writing project. With much deliberation and some trepidation, I am going ahead with my story of David and Jonathan, although I was unhappy with the scope of the original concept. Because of that, I have added characters and plan to tell the story from the perspective of several people, fleshing out interrelational scenes that are not in the Bible but are consistent with it. I am hoping that my plan of attack give the story a little more substance.

Yesterday and today, I spent time listing characters and fleshing out who they are. Today, I did some research on the myriad geographical sites in Palestine where the story will take place. Now I have maps lining the wall above my computer in my office. The latest thing I have been doing–what I consider an absolute essential part of my approach to novel writing–is that I am developing the storyline. It is still a mess, and with my plan to tell the story from several person’s viewpoints, it’s important that I get this straight.

But this isn’t my first rodeo, and I am confident that if I give due diligence at the planning stage, eventually I will begin seeing the story–another important step. Because I believe it is essential that I must visualize the opening scene of the story before I begin writing. That scene is critical to the whole book.

I hope to begin writing next week. Monday I will be tied up with board meeting all day, but on Tuesday I will begin–I hope. Again, I want to make sure all the planning is done by that point. If it is, I plan on spending two hours a day writing this project, with the rest of the day spent either working on my home to-do list (flooring, plumbing, that sort of thing) or here at the office learning new software for my fall classes.

But it is summer, and I am glad. I am also determined to have some proper writing done when fall comes.