Containment

I’m excited to be writing the follow-up story to THE KILLER TRAIL. I’ve considered several working titles but for now I’m simply referring to it as FIGHTING DARKNESS.

FD picks up three months after the ending of KT. Chris Ryder begins working with a new patient at the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry who’s been admitted under bizarre circumstances. Chris encounters waves of resistance the closer he gets to solving the mystery surrounding his unique patient. The resistance comes from a variety of sources but with a similar goal: containment. They don’t want Chris to uncover the truth and they’ll use any means necessary to keep him in the dark.

I find that when I’m writing it’s easy for me to become fully immersed in the world of fiction and therefore it’s important for me to occasionally pause and get re-acquainted with the real world. Case in point, I took a break today by checking out various online news sites. I was intrigued, among other things, to read the ongoing saga of the Canadian Senate Scandal and the federal government’s attempts to contain the situation from creating further damage. Next, I read an interview with British comedian Russell Brand where he gave voice to the growing apathy and mistrust of today’s younger generation towards the political process and essentially called for revolution. It was interesting to see the reaction to his interview as attempts were made to discredit him and distract from the basic message he was conveying. Again, containment.

I followed this rather light reading by checking out the PVR recording of one of my favourite bands, Pearl Jam, who performed on one of my favourite shows, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Front man Eddie Vedder was interviewed briefly for a humourous piece, but the minute he went ‘off script’ and started talking about the environmental impact of recent oil spills, he was deftly redirected to less worldly matters. This is, after all, entertainment.

The linking point for me with these otherwise random events was that it reinforced in subtle ways how we live in a world where there is a certain narrative that rules the day. It’s when we stray from the script that we may experience containment and attempts to bring us back on message.

Thinking back to FD, I’m finding interesting similarities between the real world and Chris Ryder’s world of fiction. It’s a world I’m excited to be writing about. In fact, I can hardly contain myself.