I’m writing Rolo: In the Wake right now. Of all the stories I’ve written, I really struggled with finding his story arc. After all, what does one do with someone who knows everything?

As his daughter, Cam, said in contrast to him in her story, “She hadn’t gotten that far into the day, hadn’t received all of the knowledge of herself for all of history that could occupy her time until nightfall.”

As in life, there are people who do seem to know all of the answers. They are in their zone of life. Yet Rolo had been a scientist embedded into the evils of a biotech corporation on the planet Danu. He’s questioning his intentions.

Rolo is now chief scientist on Danu. His life’s work has been spent in the labs in the cloud scraper structures, away from the streets. He is also the widower father of a young woman who is finding her way through the downfall of society, on those streets.

He holds the answers. But…but what is that?

As an author, I must find his story logline, a crucible of character. I’m a plotter, not a pantser. But Rolo’s story line made me a pantser. The story process was a discovery of him, word by word. Painful. I had dread I may need to cancel my deadlines for my next two books this year for fear that I may be in the weeds.

Some characters’ loglines are the result of one discovering a part of life anew or by one’s misdeeds—a lesson is learned. With Rolo, he already had the answers. He’s supposed to anyway. I just needed to unlock it from him and with it, his driving force for living at the level of his knowledge.

That one driving force must be so pervasive and so conclusive that he, his daughter, and all of Danu’s citizens would bring about the dawn of a new age. Not only for Danu but will affect Earth and eventually Meno—subject of the Sci-Fi action and adventure series I’ll write after The Danu Series is complete.

Holy moly. That’s a lot for a novella that sets up every story arc for the rest of these worlds.

Good news. I found the logline for Rolo’s story.

Rolo has always strived for society’s future in an abstract way, yet never arriving. He had a failure in his purpose and went through the motions of furthering the corporation’s evils meanwhile.

When he hears of Cam coming to harm on the streets of Danu, he has clarity of thought of what is needed after such loss of loved ones and the civilization as they knew it. Tomorrow is the gift for idle minds. Bam. And with that, the story arcs of my sequels are unleashed with subtext that Rolo, who has all the answers of the universe (according to Cam), allows others to know their own answers too. It’s personal. I think that story arc is the most basic of our interaction with others in life. I’ll publish Rolo’s story in August.

Now…back to writing.