LT NaNo Dare 2009

Hey all.

Figured I'd start the thread to see what we wanted to try as a dare this year.

For those new to NaNo, a dare is something that a group agrees to that everyone tries to work into their novel in some way.

As an example, Maryland challenged its writers last year to try to fit as many state counties as they could into their novel, the year before that, was Jousting, and before that we had a challenge of fitting anything Poe, Ravens, etc.

(I can't remember what the LT challenge was last year.) Thought it might be nice for us to make a challenge to those writing.

Wasn't last year's challenge about libraries?

I believe it was about libraries.

Ah! Right. Try to work a library of some form into the story.

Double points if a major plot points takes place in a library

*waves around candlestick and eyes Gilroy*

Double points?! Cool, I'm in!

BTW...where do I get to spend my points?

Library. Check. Can do.

Dang. How do I fit in a library into a story set in a Buddhist monastery deep in a high mountain pass in Tibet (or China)?

Note to Self: MORE RESEARCH!

Wait, the library scene was last year's challenge - are we going with the same one or something new??

The intention was to get a new dare, something librarything related.
Based on the reading, I think people may want to try libraries again.

We could put rhinos in somewhere, seeing as we are so fond of them here on LT. There's a real dare for you!

Rhinos! Wow...that would be creative...

Other library type ideas:
- One character giving a book to another
- A librarian as a character
- Knowledge from a book a character reads becoming essential to the plot
- A scene with overflowing bookshelves (since we all seem to have them)

Just some thoughts to make things a little different. Of course, now I may have just thought up a way to fit a rhino in....

A scene in a library was bad enough; how in the world can I fit a rhino in a novel set in a Buddhist monastery in China in the 1800s? I may have to rethink my story. *mutter mutter*

Hey Mary! Two words... dream sequence.

Well with the rhino thing, you could always use a simile:

"They were as loud/furious/determined as a herd of rhinos..."

Or would that not really count?

Well, if we go the rhino route, and I was only half joking, I think we should be as lenient as possible. Especially so that buddhist monks and aliens from Centauri can all participate.

I've been thinking about those monks. They're in China, correct? Do they partake of opium?

>13 Storeetllr: Buddhist monasteries in Tibet were/are famous repositories of learning, with extraordinary libraries. Since quite a lot of Tibetan Buddhism came up from India, you can do a double whammy and have a character go to the monastery library and run across a mention of a rhino, with a picture since many Buddhist codexes (improper plural, yeah I know, but I'd rather be understood than correct) were illuminated, and even make that piece of learning the resolution of a plot point and *wham* you have a hat trick!

I'm going with the library dare for this year, even if it was for last year... because I like it. :D

Hey, thanks for the great ideas, you all! You've really got me motivated now!

So, how many extra points for writing ALL of the possible dares mentioned on this thread so far (rhino, library, the ones mentioned in #12)?

#16 Hi, Victoria! From my research so far, Buddhist monks were vehemently against taking drugs or anything that impaired their intellect or physical abilities. So, no, no opium. Howeversome, my story's probably going to be set during the Opium Wars; if so, there'll be a lot about opium.

Hmm, a rhino... I guess my MC could always visit a zoo.