Halfway there
A quick update on the status of Seeing the Crooked Lines:
The novel manuscript is coming along nicely now. Once I wrestled the timeline issues to the ground, the prose is flowing more effortlessly. 47,222 words composed so far, with another 35,000, more or less, to go. I am hoping the final length will be a bit longer than Great Purpose, and come in at about 80,000 words, but we shall see.
As is common with writing a novel, the story tends to take dips and turns as you compose it. I’ve had to move things around so they make more sense, but that is normal. In my original outline, the chapter at the midpoint was going to be a huge emotional hinge, leading in to the second half of the book. I had envisioned a long 9,000-word chapter describing a torturous “dark night of the soul” for Father Karl Becker. But it didn’t work out that way. Instead, that chapter is now a neat 3,800 words of introspective reflection, much better aligned with Becker’s character. Balancing efficiency and effectiveness is always a delicate task when writing. I don’t want to be Hemingway and distill everything down to its bare essence. But I don’t want to be guilty of overwriting and bogging down the momentum of the plot, either. It took me a week to write that chapter. I’m sure I’ll refine it a bit more. It’s a pivotal turning point in the story.
What remains now is the last half, which I am eager to tackle. It will explore a central theme fully: how God really operates in the ordinary world. And it will set up this novel as the logical prequel to events in Great Purpose. I’ve written 20 chapters so far — the current outline plans for 36, in total. In a way, these chapters will be both easier and harder to write. Easier because they are more event-driven, rather than introspective to Becker’s character. Harder because they will be emotional for a character who controls his emotions carefully. If I maintain the right balance, it should result in a satisfying resolution, and a strong character arc that readers will enjoy.
To give you an idea of what kind of mad scribbles an author uses when writing a novel, here’s a picture showing key dates and events in the story. Don’t look too closely, as there are a few spoilers in here!
SPOILER ALERT!
A rough timeline of key events used in writing Seeing the Crooked Lines
Anyway, that’s the shape of things on the new novel, so far. At the rate I’m going, I should have the manuscript finished in October, and ready for publication by November, unless I hit any unforseen snags.
I’m excited about this book. It will be a strong first volume in The Modern Miracles Series. Once it’s completed, I can turn my full attention to volumes 3 and 4 — tentatively titled The Fire We Carry and Twice Present. But more on those later…
