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Young Writers Society


The Castle [NaNo 2020]



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Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:49 pm
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Elinor says...



Add me on the NaNo website!

In the fall of 1985, a mysterious billionaire named James Keene with claims of aristocratic descent invites seven college students to a two week stay at a newly renovated castle in the Scottish Highlands. Thousands of applications are submitted, but only seven are selected.

Some question Keene's motives, but not the seven young people that are selected. Even though many come from privileged families and have had extraordinary opportunities, this is exciting. So much so that red flags are ignored. Is Keene, and this trip, everything it claims to be?

The Characters

These seven college students were selected from thousands of applications. They had to answer the question, "how would being selected for this trip further your goals in life? To Mr. James Keene, the mysterious billionaire organizing this all, their essays stood out.

Dorothy Gardiner, age 19, Atlanta, Georgia, USA: studying world literature at community college in Atlanta
Lucy Ellington, age 18, from Liverpool, England: Studying art history at the Liverpool College of Art
Marta Vasquez, age 21, from Tijuana, Mexico: studying acting and theater at UT-Austin
Gavin Wolfe, age 20, from Superior, Wisconsin, USA: studying business at UW-Superior
Sylvie Crockett, age 21, from Toronto, Ontario, CA: Studying pre-med at McGill University
Takumi Hall, age 18, from Tokyo, Japan: studying music at Julliard
Karla Martin, age 22, from Skagen, Denmark: Studying culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris

More to come...

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney
  





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Wed Oct 28, 2020 9:02 pm
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Riverlight says...



Ooo... I'm getting a mix of Willy Wonka and Mr. Lemoncello vibes here...
The politics of the world may be corrupt, but that does not mean that we must be corrupted ourselves.
  





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Wed Oct 28, 2020 11:17 pm
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looseleaf says...



This sounds so cool! I will definitely be keeping up with it!
  





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Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:27 am
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Elinor says...



I'm going to introduce the central characters by sharing their winning essays. Here are Dorothy and Gavin. I'm oscillating between telling this story entirely in Dorothy's point of view or switching between Dorothy and Gavin, but think of them as the leads. There may or may not be romance involved.

Either way, stay tuned for the rest of 'em. ;)

Dorothy Gardiner

I am only nineteen years old, and truthfully, I still do not know what I want out of life. I have never traveled outside of the United States and never lived on my own. I was an average student in school, but I’ve always liked history. And my coworkers and our customers say I’m an empathetic person. We live in a suburb of Atlanta so most of our customers are regulars. They ask for me. I heard my boss saying they might promote me. That’s good, isn’t it? But I don’t know if I want to be a manager of a grocery store. At least not forever. Being able to travel to Scotland would allow me to experience the world outside of my bubble. The world doesn’t begin and end with the United States and I want to experience a piece of it firsthand.

Gavin Wolfe

Dear Mr. Keene, the papers said that you would be reading each and everyone of these applications, so I would like to address you directly. You’re probably wondering why you would pick me, a poor black kid from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to be one of the seven to stay for two weeks at your castle. I have a valid passport! Just kidding. I’m currently a sophomore at UW-Superior. If you’ve never been to Wisconsin, it’s a small town on the lake. I would say it’s the most...SUPERIOR place to live. I don’t mind the winter, but I love the passage of seasons here. I love going out on the lake. My dream is to one day own my own campground. Maybe not in Wisconsin. Somewhere in the woods. My family has always had to work twice as hard for everything they’ve got in life. And if you pick me for this honor, I can’t imagine what it will mean to my family. It will tell them that anything’s possible.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney
  





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Fri Nov 13, 2020 6:15 pm
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Elinor says...



I guess I should be updating this regularly.

WC: 22,644 words.

I skipped to the end and am working on the ending segment ever since it all came together for me and will work back.

An excerpt:

Spoiler! :

“You know, you look like, what’s her name. Judy Garland,” said Veronica.

Dorothy laughed. She did resemble Judy Garland to a degree, and had gotten the comment a lot before. The same long dark hair. The wide brown eyes. But she didn’t think she was her twin, and wondered if people only said that because her name was Dorothy. “Been waiting for the cyclone to take me over the rainbow.”

Veronica smiled widely. “That’s really clever. You should say that in the interview.”

“What? About going over the rainbow?”

“Yes,” she said.

“When should I say it?” Dorothy had just been making a joke in the spur of the moment. But whatever they wanted.

“I’ll guide you.”

Then, the cameras started to roll.

“Tell us, who you are,” said Veronica.

“My name is Dorothy Gardiner. I’m nineteen years old.”

“And where are we, Dorothy?”

“We’re in the break room of my job at the Rosewood Grocery in Atlanta, Georgia,” she said.

“And what do you do at work?”

“I’m a cashier. Nothing exciting. I count the register at the beginning and end of every day. I ring customers up. I replace stock.”

Veronica smiled again. She came across as genuine, but maybe was trying a little too hard to be so bubbly. Either way, Dorothy wasn’t sure how she felt about her face being on TV all over the world. But she’d signed the release, and she wasn’t about to give up the trip, so she supposed this was a part of the deal.

“And you go to school, right?” Veronica asked.

“Yeah, I’m a part time student at Atlanta City College,” Dorothy said. “Nothing fancy. I live with my mom.” Then, Veronica raised her eyebrows, and Dorothy supposed this was when she was supposed to bring up to the comparison to the lead character of the Wizard of Oz. “I suppose you could say I’ve been looking for a cyclone to take me over the rainbow.”

“I think you’ve found it in winning this trip,” Veronica said with a smile. Then, the cameras shut off. “Great job, honey.” Honey? Dorothy thought. At most, Veronica was ten years older than her. But there was no way she was older than thirty. “They’re going to love you.”

“Who?” Dorothy asked innocently.

“Everyone. And obviously, Mr. Keene selected you.” Dorothy said nothing, and Veronica smiled again. “We’ve got to go now, but it was great talking to you. And have fun on your trip.”

“Thank you,” Dorothy said, still barely able to believe it.

“I was also told to mention that you’ll be getting more information in the mail in the next week,” Veronica said. “Well, have a good rest of your shift, if you’ll be able to focus.”

“I’ll try,” Dorothy said with a laugh.

The camera crew left, leaving Dorothy alone in the break room, in stunned silence. Just as she felt like she could regain her balance, Lisa entered the break room.

“So, wow,” Lisa said. “How’d you pull it off?”

“I really don’t know,” Dorothy said quietly. “I just answered the application questions honestly.”

“You didn’t even tell me you made it to the second round,” Lisa replied. Dorothy thought she heard contempt, even jealousy in her boss’s voice, but she chose not to push it.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney
  





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Sat Nov 14, 2020 6:27 pm
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Elinor says...



My progress graphs on the NaNo site as of today (November 14th)!

WC: 25,194 words
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All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney
  








The important thing is never to stop questioning.
— Albert Einstein