Random Notes & Outrageous Spoilers on “The Gondolier”

Notes on writing "The Gondolier," from the original scribbled brainstorm to reflections on the last line: the physics, Carl Sagan, a cruise ship couch, ticking clocks, and the 5 Stages of Grief. Pics!

Ben Wakeman was extremely generous to send me this picture. It’s perfect.

Massive spoilers top to bottom here. If you haven’t read The Gondolier, last chance pre-spoilers…

"The Gondolier" – May, 2024 – Part I

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Evernote Archaeology

I keep an Evernote file “100 Stories” with a Bayeux tapestry pane of brainstormed ideas for these stories. They can be scattered story ideas I wake up in the night to scribble down or ones where I’m lagging behind Melanie, typing into my phone, and asking her to “wait up, I need to write something.”

Some of the Evernote entries are compressed miniature stories with key dramatic elements, but mostly I scribble random images or very simple – often very bad ideas – but when I have even a popcorn kernel of an idea I drop it in there expectantly.

Five True Examples:

“A guy who is a professor on the History of Torture struggles to meet women at a cocktail party.”

“Pitcher who can’t get the ball over the plate.”

“Story about lost airline baggage from the point of view of the lost baggage”