You may not realize this, but there is a plan. But it’s a secret plan. We don’t know the secret plan—after all, it’s a secret—but seeking it is what life is really about. Your role in the plan is this: when things happen, you decide how to react.
Jobs come and go. Relationships ebb and flow. Family problems emerge. Health concerns appear. Before deciding how to respond to these changes, it is wise to speak with the planner: God.
Be warned, God is not going to tell us everything that is going to happen. That’s all part of the plan. The surprise, the unforeseen events that come is what forms us, stretching us into exactly what God wants us to grow into the starring role created for us.
My experience in writing a novel is a good example.
Update on My Novel
Though it came three months later than planned, I’ve completed the second—and most comprehensive—redraft of my novel, incorporating generous feedback from my beta readers. The manuscript is slimmer and tells the story much better.
There will be other things that come up requiring editing, so the process isn’t done by any means. But the long, endless slog over the past six months is complete. I’m happy to move onto the next phase of publishing. But it has been a process that only God could have planned.
In 2011, I began toying with an idea for a story while jotting down observations and questions. For years I did this and in 2019, I decided to learn how to write a novel. I had to research elements of the plot and soon had pages and pages of bulleted lists with notes and links to obscure sites.
Then my wife bought me a book on how to write a novel. So, I read and wrote an outline of the book. It felt like I was in college again. I was quickly consuming large amounts of information, except not for a test, but to use. I built spreadsheets mapping outlines, character arcs, and the intricate web of their connections.
I learned of the importance of reading novels to hone your skills. I had not read novels regularly but now novels were opportunities to learn. So, I read The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins and watched the movies.
At the same time, I joined writing groups. One was more structural, focused on rigid self-editing. The other writing group was on how to create content for the culture while incorporating elements of Christianity (think of J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis) and providing a community to support one another.
Then I discovered a video about The Hero’s Journey and how it applies today. The Hero’s Journey contains the essential elements of just about every story ever written whether it be a book, movie or a play. The structure was a path for me to follow. This structure came from Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces. I read the book and it seems that we are the hero of our own journey! I was inspired to incorporate these elements in my novel. The final paragraph of the book is just fantastic. Here it is:
The modern hero, the modern individual who dares to heed the call and seek the mansion of that presence with whom it is our whole destiny to be atoned, cannot, indeed must not, wait for his community to cast off its slough of pride, fear, rationalized avarice, and sanctified misunderstanding. “Live,” Nietzsche says, “as though the day were here.” It is not society that is to guide and save the creative hero, but precisely the reverse. And so, every one of us shares the supreme ordeal—carries the cross of the redeemer—not in the bright moments of his tribe’s great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair.
Soon after, in 2020, I began writing my novel in earnest. But I needed to read more to learn from novelists on how to tell compelling stories. I wanted to see The Hero’s Journey in practice. I stumbled across the Foundation series on Apple TV (not so good) and learned about the entire book series by Isaac Asimov (fantastic!). My wife bought me the series and here they are:
Foundation (1951)
Foundation and Empire (1952)
Second Foundation (1953)
Foundation's Edge (1982)
Foundation and Earth (1986)
Prelude to Foundation (1988)
Forward the Foundation (1993)
I moved onto Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World that my wife bought for me. After that, was The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury that (you guessed it) my wife bought for me.
I came across two titles from Word on Fire, a Catholic ministry that creates high quality modern media content of all forms. They sent an email promoting The Shadow of His Wings by Fr. Gereon Karl Goldmann. The message was clear; I had to read his own account as to how he survived being forced to enlist as an officer in Nazi Germany while becoming a Catholic priest. I could not put the book down. My faith strengthened because of this book.
In their magazine, Word on Fire published an article that mentioned Love in the Ruins: The Adventures of a Bad Catholic at a Time Near the End of the World by Walker Percy. I had no idea what that title meant, but it spoke to me. I not only enjoyed the satirical and dark comedic read, but I learned from it.
I then went back to Asimov with his “Robot” series that (once again) I received as a gift from my wife. But in between one of the Robot books (I’ve completed 4 of the 7), I read the modern novel, Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir that my daughter got for me (with the help of you know who). It is an excellent first-person perspective book, like mine, that was very helpful.
I also re-watched The Lord of the Rings movies during this time. I wasn’t daring enough to try to read the novels again but watched the movies on my phone in the moments that life allowed. I hadn’t seen them since their original release and in light of all that I have learned about writing it felt like I was watching a masterclass. Dozens of times I had to pause the movie and jot down ideas for my novel.
In fact, watching movies and reading stories has never been the same since I started writing a novel. I know that I could not have gotten this far without the support of my wife. She is a wonderful part of my journey. But God has provided me with exactly what I needed at the right time.
I’m still on that journey. To what end and what for, only God knows. How about you? Where are you at in your journey? Have you heeded the call? Speak with the Planner, carry the cross and hit the road.
Peace.
Updated June 29, 2025: This article was updated to include to include The Shadow of His Wings by Father Gereon Goldmann and Love in the Ruins: The Adventures of a Bad Catholic at a Time Near the End of the World by Walker Percy
This is a fascinating journey. I look forward to reading your novel!