A/N: So we've reached the last page! If you made it this far, I want to say thank you for giving your local amateur teen writer some time out of your day. This project was the shortest I've ever set my mind to—since I normally attempt to write novels—but it's also the first book I've ever finished, so you're witnessing a pretty big milestone in my life.
I had a vague idea for a patchwork family that owned a hotel with some oddities and possibly magic involved, which was even called The Quimby Hotel, in fact, for a little while, but I didn't really have a plot or a solid protagonist, so I wasn't sure what to do with the concept. I just sort of let it fester and forgot about it for a while—until the Open Novella Contest rolled around, which was something I had never heard of until I stumbled into someone else doing it and decided to search it up (because why not). Despite having several other WIPs in progress and having just gotten myself into a good routine of writing and posting Class Freak chapters once a week, it was too late. Once I scrolled through the prompts, the ideas were stirring, and I couldn't resist. I thought about it for a good several days, or maybe something more akin to a week, trying to convince myself not to do it, but in that time the idea had fully formed in my head. Being new to the ONC, I didn't know it wasn't commonplace to use a crapton of prompts, so I ended up with I believe nine (I have a hard time narrowing my ideas down, if you couldn't tell).
I really wanted to portray sibling and familial relationships that were partially realistic but also... wrong, like they'd gone just a little too far, become a little bit too resentful and violent. The dynamics between the Quimby siblings and how they never treat each other quite like they should but still ultimately have a bond that's difficult to break was probably my favorite element of this story to explore, especially as someone who has experienced firsthand the feeling of living with a large number of siblings. I also know what it feels like for none of your siblings to be fully related to you, so there was a lot of reflection on the mixed feelings that might result from that. I almost wish I'd gotten even more time to ruminate on the family aspect.
At first, Cairo, who I came up with just as fast as I'd come up with the book's premise and did not exist whatsoever in my mind before I wrote the first chapter, was a strange protagonist. Unlike many of the extras and side characters that filled out the rest of the cast, he didn't really have hobbies or interests or passions whatsoever. I was trying to think of something to give him when I realized that some people are just... like that. No purpose, no direction in life. Suddenly that became the core of Cairo's personality; that he had none. He was directionless and empty, a hollow shell of a person that had never remembered to develop much of anything on the inside. That's where the ghost metaphor came from, partially inspired by Prompt #96. It became very interesting to explore as the story went on, because I don't think I've ever followed a protagonist with so little charisma and passion. I think it made me think deeper when I was writing about him, because I was trying to do a character study with this zombie of a character. He's been a very fascinating person for me to work with and to parallel and contrast with other characters like Lucille and Clancy.
When I first signed up for Round 1 (that was after the first chapter) I had no idea where the story was going to be going other than a vague series of out-of-order plot points, and it's kind of funny that I signed up for the Mystery/Thriller category, because at the time, I didn't think fantasy would play a large role in the storyline... boy, was that assumption wrong lmao. As I developed an outline, I started to regret that decision, mostly because I've never even attempted to write a mystery before so I probably didn't do such a great job in that department. Oh well. At this point, I don't even know what genre this is. Mystery? Fantasy? Action? I feel like it doesn't have enough of any of those elements to categorize it either way, but whatever. I guess it's a little bit in-between ;)
I also agonized over the ending for a looooonnnggg time. I was hoping the perfect, satisfying conclusion would just come to me, and as the deadline crept closer and I wrote more chapters, I got more nervous about it. But it did, in fact, come to me. I considered a lot of endings, a few of which included Cairo staying at the hotel indefinitely—which I ultimately decided wouldn't work after I'd already established that he really had no discernable future there—or killing off the Quimby parents and exploring the aftermath—but I realized then Vienna wouldn't really face consequences for her actions, and that wasn't the message I wanted to send. So now here we are. I left things just open-ended enough to leave possibilities for more, because I really enjoyed writing in this universe and writing about the Quimby family in particular, and I would love to potentially write more here in the future.
All the comments and votes I received were really encouraging while I was getting through this, especially during times when I doubted myself and didn't believe that I'd make it to the deadline. When I tell you I listened to that soundtrack on repeat, I seriously mean it. I had that sucker playing over and over for two and a half months straight for inspiration because I absolutely needed it. I hardly listened to anything else. I'm amazed that I don't have the lyrics to every single song memorized by now, because I listened to it while I wrote, while I did schoolwork, while I worked out, while I cleaned house, while I took naps, you name it. Anyway, I don't think The Quimby Hotel is necessarily going to win any awards, but I had a lot of fun with it, and I look forward to gaining feedback so that I can move forward with writing improved drafts of the story and hopefully getting it somewhere even bigger than Wattpad. I want to thank you again for spending your time with me and my characters! Godspeed.
— Ginger ❤️