Update on Beneath a Smuggler's Moon

     So far, this summer, I've been diligently working on Beneath a Smuggler's Moon. I've got enough for a novellete so far. My goal is to have enough words for a novella before the school year begins.
     As I continue to pound it out, I've learned that the novel writing process is a lot like painting. At first, I look for shapes in the language, just getting down the story without getting bogged down with details. Similarly, a painter just gets his scene captured by sketching out general shapes on the canvas. Once a definitive picture is in place, the painter switches tools and starts refining details.
     I like separating each scene with a horizontal line within the document in order to create a strict demarcation between sequences. This is much like the way dreams work, except there is often no diving line between scenes. They just seem to blend together like a montage.
     I also use titles for each scene. Each scene has its own plot-line and definite beginning, middle and end. They are short stories in and of themselves, but they must relate to the overall story as a whole. I've found that by making each scene contain all the elements of plot, based on Freytag's pyramid, it becomes much more interesting for the reader. That means each scene must have a complication and crisis, no matter how minuscule, in order for it to remain interesting for the reader.
     As a fan of the mystery genres, I've been re-reading Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code as a guide. Brown enhances suspense by leaving readers with partial clues to a bigger picture that he answers after intermittent chapters. Not only are his plot devices effective in keeping readers interested, he also uses classical images embedded in contemporary myth to create a mood of beauty.
     I've been inspired to write a series of stories having to do with the Vatican. These stories have been rushing forth from the unconscious (my Muse), and it often feels like I'm not able to get to them in time, before they dissipate. I need to hurry and finish Smuggler's Moon and begin anew.
     Anyway, I made a goal of getting the novella completed by the end of August, at least the first draft. I'll go back in and refine the prose during the second draft, deeping character, enhancing mood, etc. If I can't get enough words for a novella, I'll extend my deadline to Christmas, but I should have enough for the entire novel completed by then. It all depends on the characters and what they want me to say.
     So far, because of the types of characters being born, the story is morphing into a pretty exciting and suspenseful narrative. The pastiche of images are dreamy, and the characters just keep pouring forth depths that give dimension to the overall story. What makes me most interested in keeping going is the magical elements that crop up here and there. There is a certain type of amulet that keeps popping up in the story, and I'm curious to find out what it means. More about that in a future post.