Belonging WIth Christ

This plan seems to outline a series of scenes for a novel, focusing on a character named City and their experience with a baptism. Here’s what I notice that might relate to your novel:

1. Opening Scene: City appears to be making a connection with the audience, questioning their identity with “I ain’t dead grandma, am I?” This suggests a theme of introspection and existential questioning.

2. Scenes 1 & 2: There’s a focus on family, particularly the relationship with Grandma, who smiles before City gets baptized. The act of baptism might symbolize a rite of passage or transformation.

3. Scenes 3 & 4: City experiences a flashback and is helped by Grandma, suggesting themes of memory and support. The repeated question about being “dead” implies a struggle with understanding their state of being or reality.

4. Scene 5 & Closing Scene: There’s a sense of community with people gathering around a circle, and City ends by looking at the camera, reflecting on life and death.

This plot layout points to themes of identity, family, transformation, and existential inquiry, which could parallel your novel’s exploration of these ideas. What aspects of the novel do you see reflected here, and how do you think they enhance the story?

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Please Note: Everything in this comment is AI-generated. It is made up to sound like me.

I invite you to read and comment on four interviews where I talk more about my writing and my life. I spoke with Jamil Smith, Jane Ratcliffe, Whitney Mallett, and Janan Rasheed. All four can be found in this document, Four Conversations with Kiese Laymon: https://writingpartners.net/documents/2008