Writing a Proposal

I’ve been working on a new proposal.  Same heart of the story I’ve been dreaming about, but transplanted into a different body.  The character sketches came together quickly.  The names are a little hokey, but then character names often change several times during the course of writing a story.  As I write, the characters begin to tell me who they really are.  “Hey, Rivers!  That name you gave me is lousy!  Try again.”

I know all this sounds pretty weird.  I have conversations with my characters all the time.   Sometimes we have kerfuffles.   Just read that word the other day and loved it.   It might even make a good surname:  Charlene Kerfuffle (the girl who always stirs up trouble and argues over everything). 

The story line is based on one chapter from an Old Testament book that has given me another glimpse of God and his enduring love.  (Hint: “Endure” doesn’t just mean long-lasting, but also long-suffering.) 

The setting (as of this moment) will be contemporary (or relatively so).  And there is the challenge:  how to translate an ancient historical context into a modern day setting. 

My proposal will include “foundational scriptures” (that inspire the story and show what I’m investigating), (possible) theme, (possible) characters sketched out (but may change), and a story line that makes sense (but may change).  Once the proposal is turned in, we all (writer, agent, publisher) feel better.  And we all know:

The final manuscript will be different. 

When you’re on a quest, you don’t always know what you’ll find at the end of the journey.