Treasure hunt part II
The tree accepts your code word and points with its giant pupils towards a vaguely glowing cave. Indeed, as you approach the cave mouth, you notice in the soil the tracks of an unusually weighed-down ferret, with precisely the extra depth and firmness you would expect if the ferret was holding a disk drive.
You descend into the cave and emerge into a subterranean party. Giant bears sip frothy drinks. A brass band of bats in tuxedos play delightful music.
But there is no sign of your ferret.
You go onwards until the path splits in two. A normal-looking mouse greets you with a quiet voice.
"This," he or she says, "is the path to the garden of surrender. All writers pass this way."
"How do I get my scene back?" you ask. "I need to catch that ferret."
"First," says the mouse, "let me give you the reward for getting this far. Here is a coupon code to get 10% off Daniel's next summit, in March 2026: Perfect your Process:
MOUSE10
[Note from Daniel: you can either write that code down somewhere or subscribe to my summit calendar -- the code will appear for you automatically in March:
You thank the mouse and collect the coupon code. It's good to accumulate treasure on a treasure hunt. But you do need to get out of here.
You ask again for directions.
The mouse seems to be feeling very clever about something. "If you wish to pass through the garden of surrender, simply turn right. The ferret took that way." The path that way seem dry and bright.
This seems too easy, you feel. You look at the mouse, waiting for the twist.
Finally, the mouse says, "Most writers walk right, towards the garden of surrender. It is risky, but you should survive. And yet the true writer turns left, taking the higher path -- into The Garden of Total Surrender."
"Why," you ask, "would anyone go there? That makes no sense."
The mouse nods. "They say that the true writer is one who is open to new discoveries, fresh insights. Unless you are willing to surrender your preconceived notions of your story, and are willing to give up all your current work in order to reach the true version of your tale, you may remain stuck in the plot forest."
This is a surprisingly deep statement for a talking mouse, so you decide to take the more risky route. You head for The Garden of Total Surrender, wondering if you have made a mistake. You go on for some time, the path winding higher and higher.
The Garden is lush with menacing, bright flowers. Tall statues loom through the bushes, and their silent faces seem to yell unhelpful comments about your writing.
"That was a terrible plot decision!"
"Don't listen to feedback. You're almost done."
"With all my ground-breaking surgical work this year, I've only had time to publish four bestselling novels."
These voices are overwhelming. You try to remember the mouse's oddly inspiring maxim, but you can't recall the words. It all feels hopeless.
Then you see, at the far end of the garden, a gleaming metal gate. You feel like this has got to be a way out of the graden. And indeed, when you get to the gate and look through, you see in the distance a house with a welcoming air -- and a brightly-lit path heading out of the garden.
An inscription on the gate reads, "To reach the house of many treasures, think of a friend who shares your love of writing."
Could it be that simple? You can hardly believe it... and yet you start to think of a friend who is also a writing type...
Now. If you click the blue button, you'll be able to email that friend and invite them to join you in the summit... and this will deliver to you a bundle of past summit presentation and writing bonuses.
To reach the next stage of the treasure hunt, and unlock the room of treasures, click the button. It will generate a pre-written email that you can send to a friend.
[Note from Daniel, the host of Escape the Plot Forest: THANK YOU!! I really appreciate it. If the button doesn't work, please just share the event link: https://forest.plotsummit.com.]
[second note from Daniel - this summit believes in your freedom to enjoy the event as you please. This is entirely your call: if you choose not to email someone, or you prefer to instead share it on social media, you can still unlock the next stage of the treasure hunt and get all the rewards. We are not forcing you to do anything!]
