Progress Report
I spent most of Monday researching and writing background material for Perfection. I wrote about 1300 words on mythos, religion, and cosmology - a complicated subject for Elena, my main character, who is living at a time when cultures are coming together and clashing.The novel takes place between 1850 and 1860 on the California coast between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Elena is surrounded and/or influenced by a lot of different belief systems - at least five I've counted so far: Catholic, Protestant, fortune telling, a Bible-based cult, and the beliefs of her mother's native Ohlone family. Then there's her own personal philosophy that forms as she gains strength and gets closer to nature.
By the end of the day I realized I'll have to do more background on her mentor's goals and personality. His goals are so much different than hers. I haven't named him yet but he will be of Irish descent - unless I change my mind before now and the time I start writing. I must think of a name for him soon. He's taking on a bigger role in the novel than I expected.
Elena's goals are first to get back to her children, and later she wants to reunite with other family members - her father and her mother's relatives.
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