1. Story Statement
A young man fabricates an identity to pursue country stardom in 70's Nashville.
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2. Antagonist
The primary antagonist is his producer / manager, Jerry. He's uniquely able to see through Jackson's fabricated identity; in fact, this is what draws him to Jackson in the first place. He sees somebody who's willing to build a story with him, which is his ultimate goal.
While his stated goal is just to make money, he enjoys telling stories as much as any artist; but instead of cultivating deeper truth through storytelling, his mind is ruled by the market. He likes the challenge of creating and cultivating artists that fit into a mold, which he, as a seasoned professional, believes he is the best in the world at.
Another antagonist is the love interest, Lawrence. Lawrence is the antithesis of Jackson when it comes to cultivating story and identity; Jackson believes it is something that can be cultivated and created (as Jerry does), while Lawrence sees it as arising from the unconscious spirit, and it cannot be changed.
After their first encounter, Lawrence and Jackson head in two completely different directions; Lawrence, towards openness, trying to balance his previous identity and the new one he's exploring as a newly queer person, and Jackson, towards repression, wanting his love to be a private, secret thing. This creates conflicts in the relationship that mean the two are not destined to be together.
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3. Title
The Groton Sound -- referencing a town in New England where Jackson grew up; the sounds, the scents of your past can never really escape you, as hard as he tries. as opposed to The Nashville Sound, the genre he's working in.
The Sound of Steel -- referencing pedal steel, an instrument that has a lot of symbolic weight in the story
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4. Comparables
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - first person romance novel, told from a somewhat disconnected narrator. includes details of secret queer love affairs being navigated by a very public figure. Steeped in a very specific place and time, old Hollywood for this book and countrypolitan Nashville for mine.
Brokeback Mountain - originally a short story, deals with themes of emotional repression as it relates to homosexuality, especially being set against a hypermasculine, conservative backdrop -- Wyoming ranching industry for Brokeback Mountain, and 70s Nashville country industry for my book.
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5. Core Wound and Primary Conflict
Afraid and ashamed of his sexuality, and a target for bullying at his rich private school, Jackson flees after graduating, fabricating an identity to become a country singer in the rapidly-fading Nashville countrypolitan scene. However, after he scores a fluke hit, he falls in love with a member of his band and must navigate a hidden relationship as the band goes on tour across the South. Ultimately, he must choose either living his truth or living in the persona that made him a star.
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6. Other Conflict
Inner Conflict: Jackson is ashamed of his identity and feels that he can't reveal any part of himself to the world; given that he's in 70's Nashville with a fledgling career in the entertainment industry, revealing his sexuality would lead to an immediate blacklisting. His two most important priorities are advancing his career to achieve fame and finally have a story he's proud of, and keeping his secret relationship with his bandmate going. Oftentimes these come into conflict. Throughout the book, his anxiety steadily increases as he tries to have both of them and finds them mutually exclusive.
Outer Conflict: Band members start noticing the relationship between Jackson and Lawrence. They start treating them differently, making veiled references to the relationship.
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7. Setting
70's Nashville; a dusty industrial city, plenty of drugs and alcohol and seedy dive bars, contrasted with the rich suburbs where many wealthy country artists and executives live in sprawling mansions with emerald-green lawns.
The tour; rotating between a large, dusty bus, run-down motels, and seedy venues, sharing every waking hour with a group of men, it creates a pressure-chamber environment.
