The Day of - NaNoPrep Assignments

Plot: Premise Revision

1. Setting: My story takes place on Earth. It starts in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and journeys long to both Hudson Bay, Canada, and Rovaniemi, Finland.

2. Protagonist: Solomon Carl Plain is a flawed man, who needs God's help to become the man, he was created to be.
---A. Solomon deals with deep levels and layers of depression and shame. He can't imagine how he could ever be successful.
---B. Solomon's one goal is to become a Christlike believer by the end of his days, but he has to overcome the temptation to believe (as he does at the first,) that he is virtually hopeless, and "too far gone."

3. Conflict: Solomon can't seem to reach his goal of Christlikeness because he spends so much of his life, trying to reach his goal in his own human strength. The moment he gives up, thinking that he is hopeless, is the moment, that Christlikeness becomes a reality in him.

4. Antagonist: Both Dodgy Whispers and Murray Fester Lacaste cause Solomon no end of grief. Dodgy Whispers does occasionally show up in corporeal form, but most of the time he (or "it") provides temptations to sin, to give in to depression and hopelessness, and to get far off the path of God's Will by inserting negative thoughts into Solomon's mind, especially in times of weakness. Murray Fester Lacaste is that very human enemy, who befriends Solomon with the intention of breaking him down at every turn. Murray never brings a frontal assault. He always seems to use the tactic of sidelong trippings and pricks punctuated by the occasional "stabs in the back."

5. Resolution: Solomon spends many years learning about himself, and how futile it is to try to fix himself, ridding himself of his many problems in his own strength. The Lord is so patient. He allows Solomon to become hopeless in his pursuits on his own terms in order to give up striving, falling into the Arms of the One, Who Alone can Save him.

6. Theme: Human effort can go only so far. Success in life is found when we dethrone Self as king, and crown Jesus, the Christ as the Only God and King.

7. Outline:

I. Life in Chattanooga, Tennessee
II. The Trip to Hudson Bay, Canada
III. Salvation and Return Home to Chattanooga
IV. Sanctification and Renewal in Rovaniemi, Finland (Learning from Santa Claus, who is the Earthly figure of Jesus Christ)

by Jay O'Toole
on October 26th, 2022