An Update on my current work

Update on Current Work

The Premise:

    For those that don't know, I'm currently working on writing a manuscript for a historical fiction tragedy novel set in my hometown of Gig Harbor from the year 2000-2018. The main thesis for the Novel is How does goodness die? I believe that when writing you have to answer a question. That question shouldn't be elaborate it should be simple. However, the ideas that stem from that question should not be simple and that is exactly what I'm doing. I am writing about how does goodness die in a society that loses its culture, heritage and virtue set in my hometown. I witnessed it firsthand and I thought what better way to write about it than to tell a story. Instead of showing purity as I did with To Love Perfectly. I wanted to show debauchery and how it corrupts goodness, how the environment we lives in shapes us and how we act with it. I like stories where bad things happen but people still choose to do good. I have personally dealt with some instances with this. Now I am no saint by any means. There have been other times where when bad has happened to me I have retaliated on my own accord seeking justice. Justice is a nice thing when it happens in its own time and sometimes its best to let it unfold. That is definitely a part of the tragedy in the novel. I want treachery and I want to show how it falls by its own ignorance. I also just want to trash on developers. They ruin everything. They get rid of beauty and put in what is supposed to be cheap and affordable. 

    However, it is often unaffordable and made cheaply and lacks beauty. Also, the development companies often don't plant native floral and fauna in the neighborhoods which means one of two things. A) they plant invasive species with a lack of bio-diversity that takes over the place. B) They end up dieing since they aren't native to the environment. Anyways the point I'm trying to make is that developers are clueless and ruin society with it. They also, just don't make beautiful buildings (I've already written an article on this). So with a culmination of these ideas, I've been cooking up so I've put it to word on a document. 

The Process of writing it:

    I instantly knew how I wanted to end it so I have written out the epilogue already, and most of Chapter XXXIII and a complete epilogue. I knew that there were a few contemporary topics I wanted to cover which I've gotten to somewhat such as homosexual relations, affairs, drug addiction, pride, greed, lust etc. Basically, if it's negatively viewed in some aspect socially, I try touching on it. These things often occur in our society and can't be ignored. I'm not like most Catholics. I'm not a prude and I'm concerned with what's real. What is real is what we can observe in our society, and I so just wanted to write a book with a bunch of debauchery. Now obviously, I'm not writing it for the sake of debauchery, but I use it as a way to show the deterioration of society over the past 2 decades. I thought what better place than my hometown of Gig Harbor. I know the history of it pretty well from the past 2 decades since I lived through some of it and know the culture and society well. It's really sad to see its deterioration. Now initially, when I started writing it I was set on the title: The Last Gentleman, I might keep it I might not. There's just so much that goes own within and between families in the book that I'm not sure if the title fits. This is because, the character who could be observed as "the last gentleman" is not inherently present throughout the work always. I basically just use him as a symbol for goodness which is the purpose of the book. I do everything intentionally when I write. There is an intent for everything. 

    I started writing it after I had published To Love Perfectly and Poetry and Sayings. I use on of the poems which is titled "The Last Gentleman" as the prologue to the book and I expand upon it. From there I wrote the first 15 chapters over the past several months. I was also told by one of my friends who had purchased To Love Perfectly that he believes I'm "allergic or have a fear of commas" so I have been making sure to use commas this time, in The Last Gentleman. I believe that I should try pursuing a proper publisher rather than self publishing. I think the topics and the themes are just too great to be left unoticed as an indie book. To Love Perfectly can get away since it's honestly pretty niche and really a book meant for men. It's meant for men who struggle with obsession as I did in High School, I had noticed that many of my friends and peers my freshmen year of college struggled with this. So that's part of the purpose of To Love Perfectly. However, The Last Gentleman covers a variety of things and is intended for a mass audience. I want it to be big since it touches on so many vital things. That's why I write everything with my exposition and reflection at times. Which hopefully the readers will see this when it is finished and published. I also try reaching for the readers mind when I write it. I want to reader to really think is this really how this happens. I then want them to see and come to the conclusion that yes, this in fact how reality often times works. 

    Now, oftentimes there does seem to be a plastic aspect to some of the characters. Like there are characters that are 2 dimensional and don't have much depth. I do this because they're meant to represent a virtue or a vice. Like at times it should seem comical. However, I believe that comical aspect as fantastical as it can seem at times ads to the realism. Also, there are many dense and dark topics within the novel. So I do want to let the reader breath at moments. So there are definitely a couple chapters that do exactly that.

Setting, Plot and Theme

Gig Harbor

    I chose my hometown of Gig Harbor as the setting since some of the things I have discussed already have occurred in my beloved hometown. I lament for its loss. That is exactly why I chose Gig Harbor. I don't currently know of any books that take place in Gig Harbor or movies that explicitly take place in Gig Harbor so I thought I would pay homage and honor to my hometown. I also specifically chose the neighborhood I lived in from when I was born to a little after I turned 4. I remember it clearly and well how beautiful my hometown was before its gentrification. I'm not saying that all development is a bad thing. However, Gig Harbor is a great example of development done wrong and out of ignorance of culture and heritage. I really wanted to play on the ignorance part so often times the setting reflects the theme of whatever scene is going on. I also let the natural weather of Washington state play into this as well. 

How Does Goodness Die

    The Last Gentleman is a historical fiction tragedy. It's meant to be sad but at times it seems hopeful I want the reader to feel emotion. To see that Washington is not some dreary depressing place. Rather its turbulence can be felt in a multitude of emotions. It's culmination of tones can be epic at times. The environment can really reflect a profound attitude. I let the actions and words of characters come to shape their perception of reality, truth and how things ought to be. I want to show how by creating our own truth and seeking our own benefit without the benefit of others in our society we become convoluted with greed and seek power. I want to show power toppling like a mudslide and goodness die like a martyr when it shot by the ill deeds of others. 

    So, the plot follows many families who have their own flaws and how they come to their conclusions of reality. They create their own goodness at times which causes them to fail. They seek false joy in life and aren't concerned with the things that really matter. I also show the effects of the 2008 Great Recession and how it took a toll on families but through story telling. This is the purpose of The Last Gentleman an alternative thesis could be: The developments before and after the 2008 market crash changed the way society functions and these are its outcomes. The plot is like an essay it's very much so mapped out. Now I didn't create an outline nor am I going to spoil what happens. However, it is grand on scale and it involves Goodness and how outward forces change it.

Theme

    I'm not sure how to exactly categorize it. It could be seen as a regional epic but it could also be seen as a historical fiction drama which is what I've been primarily calling it. Another way to view it is a coming-of-age novel about the new age and its consequences. There is a lot of religious themes throughout the book. It's kind of hard to ignore them when Gig Harbor was a devoutly Catholic town and I was embraced in that parish life for quite a time. I also use environmentalism heavily throughout the work. Like if you do not see any environmentalist imagery when it is published in read you'll need to re-read it for sure or did not read it well enough. I also choose to let Cascadian Bioregionalism have an influence. I believe the term Cascadia is proper for the "pacific northwest" I believe the term Pacific Northwest is too broad and can include a variety of things that would not be essential. However, Cascadia sums everything up perfectly. I use a lot of Cascadian imagery too. Now the book is not a political work and it should not be viewed as such. It is a cultural work and a response to the changes in society that have been detrimental to it. It's not meant to look at the positives of development since the scale is often tipped towards the negative. 

Concluding Thoughts:

    I'm not settled on the idea of calling it The Last Gentleman however, that is the title that has been sticking with me. I have thought of other titles such as The Great Affairs of Gig Harbor or something along the lines of that. I have also been thinking about writing other books too. Like I'm thinking of writing a book about meritocracy verses nepotism and how meritocracy beats it. Anyways, that's beside the point. I believe this work will have a great impact on those that read it. I really hope that it can be viewed in the light it should have. I have spent a lot of time on it and I do everything intentionally. Like it is a historical fiction because I do make reference to events and things that occured at the time throughout the book. Some of these events in Washington state contemporary history have a profound impact on many of the characters apart from the 2008 great recession. Now it's not your standard historical fiction where important figures from history are in it. Nor, is it something that has completely fictional characters. Like some of the people in the book were real people that lived in Gig Harbor specifically people from Saint Nicholas Church. However, I include them since I believe that they would bring great insight to Gig Harbor's history and were very much essential to parish life in Gig Harbor. Like Saint Nicholas was not Saint Nicholas without them. Historically, Saint Nicholas played a key role for the Croation fishermen families since they were Catholic, they needed a place to attend mass and hence in 1913 the first Church was built in Gig Harbor. That church being Saint Nicholas. Gig Harbor is a Catholic town and should be viewed as such from a historical perspective and that is part of the argument I make with the book.