Sometimes people ask if, when working a novel, the plot comes first, or the characters. Really, it is everything at once. I've started into outlining which means breaking down somewhat of what happens when in the novel and what the key scenes are. It's a bit like keyframing, really; you work out the things you really need to tell the story, then you fill in the space between them with something that seems to belong.
Anyhow, I knew the first chapters would take place in Montmartre so I kept working at finding locations. Found a nifty old church right behind the better-known Sacre Coeur. It isn't the church of St. Denis but there is a (modern) statue of that most famous of the cephalophores. But that led me to a couple of scenes, which between them told me not just more about the big structure of the book but also about the focus of some of the thematics. Which leads me to different directions for some of the characters.
Which is, once again, why I don't waste time early in the process writing down every detail of mother's maiden name and favorite root vegetable.
So as of this moment my actual semi-planned scenes are Eglise St. Pierre de Montmartre, the steps below Sacre Coeur, the Place du Tertre, and some cafe or other. Which I still haven't chosen. There's a le Saint Jean on Rue Abbesses within eyeshot of the Metro station. Or possibly it will be Café des 2 Moulins which is on a corner of Rue Lepic (and has no moulins, despite the number of them still surviving in the 18th arrondissement.)
I have big set-piece chapters planned for Notre-Dame de Paris and the Palais Garnier (despite the reference book I really want to consult being only in hardback at $75 used). And the Van Gogh Experience -- not sure where it was in 2019 (I caught it in San Francisco). And Musee d'Orsay. And the Crypt of the Sphinx at the Louvre, although I need to do some deep searching to see if I can find any of the items brought back from Susa by Jane Dieulafoy.
I'm not sure if Penny will make it up to the Jules Verne Cafe on the second floor of the Eiffel, or past the front door of the Moulin Rouge. I also haven't decided if the Tintin exhibit will be at the correct Petit Palais location or will be the version I saw at the Pompidou some years earlier. I did like the giant moon rocket banner on the outside of the building, and the floor painted with colorful curses from Captain Haddock.
In any case, I'm still at it; doing virtual travel around Montmartre, learning about Napoleon, and reading a fascinating biography of "Colette."
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