National Novel Writing Month: The Setting, The Structure

Part of what I want to do with my novel (aside: for the title, I liked "Why Is Johnny Pope" at first, but now I'm souring on it. I can't decide whether to go more paperback - "The Ice Desert of Kalahari," say - or more macro-sized superthematic - "Beyond The Infinite," or "Infinity's Ascension" or "Ultimate Infinity" or something) is explore a quality fantasy world.

I dig science fiction/fantasy, always have, always will. Right now the genre is having its moment in the pop culture sun. Comic books are cool. Tolkien is cool. Batman, by way of Christian Bale and his tanker-truck batmobile, is the Dirty Harry icon of our generation. It's not going to last. I can sense an oncoming wave of realism approaching on the horizon. Raymond Carver is plotting his eternal revenge. We will look back on this era someday as shallow, full of empty spectacle. I need to strike while the iron is hot.

I think I'm going to divide the story up into four or five segments - taking a bit off of "The Gunslinger," I know, but I like the structure - individual parts building to a climax, while they all build to a larger climax. I need a goal, though, and I think it's going to be, simply, to see the face of God.

The problem is that I already know what I want to do with the third part, but not how to get there.