I'll Write My Way Out

 A few excerpts from today's wrap-up. First... Piquette, Taylor Kitsch, and David Boreanaz save the day! “Mr. Bauer,” the one named Toots was saying, with the barely controlled rage of thwarted neighbourhood historians everywhere. “Every other storefront has adopted this delightful item at its entrance. Surely, you are not above the suggestions of the Neighbourhood Historical Society,” she said with hauteur. The communitas had bravely been attempting to hold off the Society for some time now, but they were relentless, and many of the celebrities were simply at a loss. Their usual skill set just wasn’t appropriate for this sort of fight. The Rock had nothing to tear apart with his bare hands, although he was eyeing the clown lamppost up as though he would like to. Sylvester Stallone couldn’t box or shoot his way out of this one, he couldn’t even become a loving mentor to a younger boxer so that he could overcome his personal demons and battle the Neighbourhood Historical Society on ...

 One way or another, this story will end tomorrow. There is still a lot to happen, but I am confident I can wrap it up! Today a couple of short excerpts... First, a bit about the Neighbourhood Historical Society “James! Josh! Eyes on me!” they both turned toward him, but he could see his grasp on their attention was tenuous. It would have to be quick. “Remember when I explained that liminality is a temporary state?” they nodded. “Well, we are inside the liminal space, and it has been in a state of chaos for some time. Eventually, the system will start to make attempts to stabilize and impose order. This can happen in many ways… a corrupt mayor can turn a city into a tyrannical police state, with forced clapping and liquor sold in corner stores, for example. But the most terrifying imposition of order comes from the Neighbourhood Historical Society. They come in with their suggestions for beautifying the neighbourhood, for uniformity in storefronts and outer home décor, but before y...

 So close to the finish line I can already taste the champagne... Here was have the final view of Jackie's Place through the eyes of Josh, who along with the other celebrities has arrived. Will they be able to rescue Danae? They will need more than Piquette to accomplish this quest! Josh had thought that he was prepared for anything- he had already been through so much! The Toodie-Loo Detective Agency, the Romance Inn, the Jack Kerouac School for Experimental Vineyardery, drunk teenagers, a celebrity feud support group (which dredged up his own considerable shortcomings), the Gin Fizz-Tival, Piquette!? How much weirder could things get? he had thought. How very naïve the Josh of five minutes ago had been. How hopelessly, desperately naïve. But then, Jackie’s Place had a way of making everyone feel that way. To describe Jackie’s Place as absolute mayhem would have been an insult to absolute mayhems everywhere. It could only be described as an utter carnival of madness. He noticed ...

Only 5,000 words to go! The group of heroes at the Romance Inn are about to enter Jackie's Place. I got my writing done early, so I can go visit the real Jackie's Place. I hope you enjoy! I am getting so excited about finishing.   “I don’t know what will greet us on the other side of that door, but there is a good chance that we will lose our wits, or become separated, likely some combination of the two… it will serve us well to have some sort of material reminder of the here and now- something to ground us in our identities- a physical reminder of who we are and what we are doing.” Sylvester Stallone, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, tentatively raised his hand. “Yes, Sylvester Stallone, do you have an idea?” Sylvester Stallone hesitated, then spoke. “This might be a dumb idea,” he said, looking around shyly. “There are no dumb ideas here,” Gordon said, “Only dumb people!” “Well,” Sylvester Stallone began, somehow encouraged by Gordon’s pronouncement. “I don’...

 In the home stretch now, with still a lot of story left to go... but introduced another foe- the Neighbourhood Historical Society.  “Well, Mr. Bauer, I can see you have made none of the changes that the Neighbourhood Historical Society suggested,” the woman said, and Jackie glared at her balefully. “First of all, Toots, you know the rules,” he said, pointing wildly in the direction of the bar, but not steering her toward it. “No cops.” She looked chagrined. “I am not a police officer,” she corrected, her voice coiled with anger. “You are from the Neighbourhood Historical Society, which we both know amounts to the same thing,” he said, cutting her off. “And furthermore,” he continued, “the changes were, as you said, suggestions.” Toots gritted her teeth in frustration. “You know as well as I do, Mr. Bauer, that if all of the neighbourhood establishments do not act according to the suggestions, then the suggestions quickly become meaningless!”  The Jackie Bauer t...

Since I still have no idea what is happening in my novel, I wasted a whole lot of words describing liminality, and stumbled upon the concept of communitas which seemed pretty helpful. Thank you Wikipedia!  “We have entered into spontaneous communitas. I have found Turner’s conception to be quite useful in situations such as these,” he intoned as he flung his cape over his shoulder dramatically. Gordon flipped through the pages of his dissertation until he found the passage he was searching for.  “Communitas,” he said, raising his finger didactically, “refers to the feeling of camaraderie associated among a group experiencing the same liminal experience or rite. In spontaneous communitas, we collectively go through a direct, immediate, and total confrontation of human identities.” He looked up from the dissertation and looked around the room at the celebrities, who were nodding vigorously. “Yes, yes my friends. I think we can all agree that we have gone through this together....

 Nothing much of interest today... but I am ready for the home stretch and some outrageousness that is sure to ensue once all my characters end up in the same place at the same time. James, Josh, and Lizzy have entered into the healing circle and are discussing the ways in which they dehumanized Lizzy- which is causing all of the celebrities to think about the role they have played in dehumanizing co-stars.  Meanwhile, at Jackie's Place, we are preparing for the big finale. Jackie lets Dylann know about the Every Dog Has Its Day Festival: Battle of the Labs, 2021, which is set to take place that day. Dylann finally asks the question that has been on everyone's mind all EsNoWriMo season: “Why the lab-themed bands?” she asked, prepared for a brush off, or a curt, nonsensical response- she had observed both many times. She received neither. A gentle look crossed Jackie’s face, and he began to speak. “I had a lab once. He had been left here in the bar. People leave all sorts of th...

I have been dipping into back story to try to get to know my characters a little bit better, and I feel like I am getting somewhere! Today I included a family of 5 siblings you might recognize and finally included the Alan mug. I hope you enjoy these excerpts- I am sending them to you with love. He had only known her a short while when he heard about the passing of her mother, his assistant placing a note on his desk along with details about the memorial service, asking if he wanted to send flowers. Despite the fact that he had grown up as a celebrated child actor, Josh’s own parents had had humbler beginnings, and he was raised with a strong working class ethos- and when someone died, you showed up. It was about showing respect, but it was also about the importance of community. We come together to celebrate and we come together to grieve. So when Josh saw the note, he booked a flight and attended the funeral.             ...

My story is going nowhere fast, but the celebrities have almost completed their healing. I also keep going back and writing back story. Here is an excerpt from today's instalment of what is happening at the Romance Inn, where Maeve is now leading the celebrity support group. Maeve raised a hand, and the noise ceased. “Let’s not get too carried away with looking down our noses at Vin Diesel for telling such an obvious, easily disproved lie. For who among us is not guilty of the same crime? Who among us is not lying to themselves this very moment?” The muttering began anew, as each celebrity looked around the room, seeing each other in a new light.                “Vin. You know the Rock is a better actor than you could ever dream of being. Let go of the lie.” Vin Diesel opened his mouth to protest, and then slumped in his chair, accepting the truth of her words. The Rock, no longer seething with quiet rage, began to l...

 I still have more writing to do today, but I thought I would post something from yesterday's writing. As expected, Gordon's dissertation is proving more useful than anyone ever anticipated. I have been doing some writing about the Donnie's River Reunion special- trying to get to know the relationships between Danae, Josh, and James. James and Danae are friends and I needed to establish that. And I am super unclear about what happens between Danae and Josh- so I am gradually trying to uncover that. Later today, I will pick up from this spot, where Maeve begins to take control over what is happening at the Inn: “Stop drinking that cocktail themed wine!” she whispered harshly, which unfortunately drew the attention of one of the drunk teenage employees. He made a beeline for them, a bottle of wine raised in his hands and a sharkish grin on his face.                “Can I offer you more wine?” he asked, speaking thr...

 I only wrote about 500 words today, since it was a busy day packing and traveling to the cottage. I hope to get a lot written this week! I am back at the Romance Inn, where things are really heating up. Someone is going to have to take charge soon- my money is on Maeve. Maeve, who had assumed control of the room, then promptly lost control, approached Gordon with a look of panic on her face.                “What is happening? What am I supposed to do? I’ve never led a celebrity feud support group before!” she asked, desperation in her voice.                “Just look at that smug son of a bitch,” Gordon replied. “I bet he’s working on a twenty year anniversary edition of his dissertation!” Gordon scoffed.                “What kind of a celebrity are you?” Vin Diesel asked, a...

 Today I felt like I needed to go back to the story of Danae/Dylann- a main character who I really don't have a handle on. I can and likely will write about the unfolding events of the Romance Inn for days- there is a lot to unpack- but I really felt like I needed to get to know Danae better because I really have no idea what led to her leaving. Why has she forgotten who she is and why is she at Jackie's Place? I don't really know. I decided I would stay at the Romance Inn, but go back in time to when Danae and Josh were there with the cast of Donnie's River. This is where they have their first kiss! So here is an excerpt from that!  Danae had not wanted to come on this retreat, the events of the last year having left her feeling raw, like an exposed nerve. Sometimes she felt so overwhelmed by the maelstrom of emotion within, all she could do was stay very, very still and quiet, waiting for the storm to pass. Being around other people, particularly actors- who can be pa...

There is so much happening at the Romance Inn... it is going to take days to tease it apart. I had to keep switching point of view to keep up with it all. I will share a few glimpses. First.... from James:   “Lenny Porter!” he heard a voice squeal from behind him, and his heart sunk as he looked through the open conference room door and took in his former love, Lizzy Hughes, the woman who had broken both his heart and that of his good friend, Josh. Was he his good friend, though? Was he really? James wondered. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Lizzy Hughes just happened to be there…. Had Josh orchestrated this whole thing just to throw Lizzy in his face once again? It would be just like him. He watched, his stomach churning, as Josh walked through the door and offered Lizzy a hug and a kiss on the cheek, turning to leer at James. That jerk. He had been laughing behind his back this whole time. Well Josh had a hard lesson coming to him. He had messed with the wrong guy. James would ...

  It looks like James, Josh, Gordon, and Maeve are going to be at the Romance Inn for a while. The Jack Kerouac School for Experimental Vinyardery is hosting an event there called ‘Remix Tes Classiques’ and I think they are about to discover a meeting of feuding celebrities taking place in one of the conference rooms. I think each one of them is going to have to face their demons. FIrst, I am re-upping this terrifying photo, because it is on the cover of the pamphlet for the Jack Kerouac School of Experimental Vineyardery. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions, guys,” James said, “But I don’t think that the Jack Kerouac School of Experimental Vineyardery is accredited.” “You are almost certainly correct, James,” Gordon said, glancing around skittishly. Just then, another drunk teenager approached, with a bottle of wine perched precariously on a tray. She grabbed the bottle just as it was about to topple over and raised her eyebrows as she held the bottle out toward them. “May I offe...

 Today Josh, James, Gordon, and Maeve arrived at the Romance Inn:  It was a destination well known to both James and Josh. And Danae. The producers of the ten year Donnie’s River reunion show had hosted a retreat there for the director, cast members, and writers. Their host, Isla Martin, a local Bed and Breakfast proprietor, had created an itinerary of fun Niagara-on-the-Lake activities, interspersed with intense facilitated talking sessions and trust exercises, intended to reconnect the cast members, some of whom had held on to petty grievances for years. James and Josh were both relieved to learn that the cast members from the College Years, which they had nicknamed “The Irrelevant Years” would be left behind for the retreat and the reunion show. They both agreed that some things, like ‘the College Years’ were best left behind. I also took the opportunity to include a description of Gordon's academic nemesis, whom I think you will recognize. “Yes, it would be familiar to you...