Development Notebook

Scratch Pad

navy will perform air cavalry and troop transport role with gunships. I need to flesh out the marine recon role.

Increase the length of the prologue, to have more fleeing, near death experiences, etc.,
Here is a list of characters

Here is a list of warships

Here are the Races and Professions.

http://robertplewis.com/index.php/Category:Naval_Weapons

• need a page to promote artists.

http://robertplewis.com/index.php/System_Titles

The Blessed Son Outline

Act 1 – Setup / Descent (≈ 0–25%)

Ordinary World → Inciting Incident → Plot Point 1 (Forced withdrawal into isolation/risk)

Descent Phase – Broken Network & Abdication

Familial/Social Network Breaks / Pleas Ignored, Power Abdicated

 Open with core community, then a shattering of that network via crisis. Conor desperately tries to salvage the situation, but his efforts fail.

• Prologue: Conor witnesses the beginning of the apocalypse while riding a bus cross country. Katy, Kaylee, and McKenna follow him into a sporting goods store, then accompany him as they flee outside of cities in an attempt to stay away from the monsters. They're eventually surrounded and killed.
  • Bus Ride
  • Portals open, tentacles and smaller beings pour from the sky
  • Abandon the bus, get supplies, begin heading North
  • fights, wolves, near-drowning and hypothermia
  • heroic last stand

Plot Point 1 (End of Act 1):

• Conor and his found family find themselves in a deity's lobby where they're introduced to their new lives.

Act 1 Summary

The act establishes the protagonist's familiar world, then shatters it through a network break. Emotional arc: From superficial security to forced vulnerability and loss of agency. Key shift: Involuntary isolation launches the journey.

Act 2 – Confrontation / Search (≈ 25–75%)

Rising action, gathering allies, trials → Midpoint shift → Dark Night low

Search Phase – Isolation, Risk, Rebuilding Attempts

• Isolation, Danger, Risk

 Immediate and ongoing threats, dodging dangers, reacting to the environment, dealing with consequences of a new life. Fear, disorientation, and grief over broken network and a growing realization that going it alone isn't sustainable.

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2

Search & Disguise/Subversion

 Conor actively searches for answers, tools, and people who can help. Allies appear, sometimes reluctantly, and begin forming connections. Midpoint (~50%): Key ally or realization shifts focus from solo struggle to networked progress. 

• Chapter X
• Chapter X

Attempt to Rebuild Community

 With allies in place, Conor actively works to unify and strengthen the new network: delegating tasks, negotiating compromises, prodding people forward, resolving internal conflicts, and building shared goals. Conor and allies are learning to trust, communicate, and leverage others' strengths. Seeds for the Dark Knight are planted here: hints of betrayal, a weak link, or an overwhelming threat that could shatter everything.

• Chapter X
• Chapter X

Plot Point 2 / Dark Night (End of Act 2): Lowest point. The new network falters, old wounds reopen, or a major compromise appears impossible. The protagonist faces the threat of total isolation or collective failure. The fear isn't "I can't do this alone"—it's "We can't do this together, or everyone I care about will suffer because of it." In Carriger's relational framework, the Dark Night is collective and connection-based: everything the protagonist has gained through compromise, delegation, trust, and building bonds seems doomed. The stakes feel insurmountable because the problem threatens not just the protagonist, but the entire group they've come to rely on and care for.

• Chapter X
• Chapter X

Act 2 Summary

The act centers on searching and fragile alliance-building amid escalating stakes. Emotional arc: From reactive isolation to proactive connection-building, peaking at hope then crashing into despair. Key shift: The dark night tests trust and reliance on others.

Act 3 – Resolution / Ascent (≈ 75–100%)

Climax → Negotiated Victory → New Equilibrium

Ascent Phase – Success, Negotiation, New Network

Success in the Search

 Conor and allies finally achieve the core goal of their long search from Act 2. The success comes from the combined strength of the network: not one person carries the win alone. 

• Chapter X
• Chapter X

Negotiations & Compromises That Benefit All

 Final deals or agreements bridge remaining divides. Lingering internal/external conflicts are resolved. Tone: Relief, maturity, quiet triumph.

• Chapter X
• Chapter X

New Network Re-Established (Altered Form)

 The community/found family is reborn stronger and more deeply connected than ever. The wider world benefits.

• Chapter X
• Chapter X

Final Image / Return: The protagonist exists within a renewed, thriving network, viewing the world through the lens of connection. Peace is achieved through unity.

Act 3 Summary

The act delivers collective triumph and restoration. Emotional arc: From despair to empowered unity and hope. Key shift: Victory reinforces that true strength lies in interdependence; the community is transformed.