Tuesday, October 30

Help! A NaNoWriMo Plea

In just a few short days it will be November. A time when wanna be novelists the world over throw caution into the wind and embark on a crazy adventure and attempt to write fifty thousand words (or more) in only thirty days.


And you guessed it, I intend on being one of those sleep deprived crazed wanna be novelists. Which kinda works out well for me because some would say I am already on the side of crazy and thanks to my recent aversion to sleep I am already deprived there as well.

Way back in 2008, when for some reason life seemed somewhat simpler, I heard about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) just a few short days before the start date. To say I was keen was an understatement. I couldn't wait to get started, sitting up till midnight so I could start writing the moment it was the first. Come the end of the month when I had reached the goal I was beside myself with joy. Perhaps even over the moon.

It was one of the first times ever I really thought that I might have what it takes to crack this writing gig dream. Sadly though I no longer have a copy of that manuscript. Which kinda sucks. Actually it bites big hairy balls but what can you do?

Yes I know you can back up.

Well guess what smarty pants, I did. I even had a back up of my back up and today I am still left with sweet FA. But that's ok.

Well actually I have to make it ok because I can't do anything else about it. The story is still inside me, I think, perhaps even deep down know, that when the time is right the story will just write itself. Oh how I hope that time is now.

While I may have passed the required word count my story wasn't actually finished. I couldn't end it. The main character (Rayisa) had to deal with the death of her father (Grayson) only I just couldn't write it.

Naturally I felt rather close to Rayisa and she may or may not have been loosely based on myself, just as Grayson may have  resembled my own father in a few ways. At the time Dad was still alive and killing off Grayson felt like I was writing my father's yet to happen death.

Fast forward to November 2009 and I coming to terms with the fact that Dad is no longer with me. It seemed like the perfect time to write the rest of the story or perhaps even a new one. It wasn't. Neither was 2010 or 2011. Fingers and toes are crossed for 2012.

Only this year I don't think I am going to try and write THAT story. This year I am going to do things a little different.

This year I am going to go for


Thirty stories in thirty days.

Brilliant hey?

Rather than one long story I am going to try and write 30 pieces of flash fiction in 30 days and still reach the fifty thousand words. But I am going to need your help.

Now you probably don't know this, but I have another blog. One that is specifically for my fiction work. It is a little on the small side at the moment but that is all about to change. It is where I plan to post each of my thirty stories.

As you can imagine coming up with that many different ideas is not going to be easy and this is where you come into it. I want you to give me prompts for each day. On Friday when I was Flogging with Grace, I put a call out on Making it Matter for some suggestions.

The response was awesome and I have a few ideas to get me started but I need more. And what better place to ask for help than the #IBOT community?

So hit me a location, genre or theme, and an object or any other details you think should be included. Here is what I have been given so far


As you can see I still have a way to go before I get to 30. Thank you to to those who have already helped. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below or on my Facebook page and make sure you swing by Fly By Fiction after the first to see how it all unfolds.



40 comments:

  1. What a brilliant take on Na No Wri Mo! I'm thinking of doing it too - but as I have very limited time I plan to dedicate an hour a day and see where I get. I love your short story idea.
    When I was taking part in short tale Tuesday I found you can make a story out of ANYTHING! so please add to your list... a coffee grinder, an iorning board and a watering can.
    Can't wait to read your stories xx

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    1. Wishing you all the best Catherine, it really is such a great experience, I am sure you will love it. Thank for the suggestions

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  2. This is great! My sugggestions:

    Place: Theme park
    Object: ceramic clown face
    Genre: Horror

    I cant wait to read these!!

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    1. Thanks Sophie! I love your suggestions, though horror is not my strong point I am keen to give it a go

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  3. Iceberg, kettle, little old lady...
    I'm not doing NaNoWriMo but I have suggested it to friends. I think it's a brilliant motivator. Good for you!

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    1. Thanks Lydia, it really is a great experience and if you win it is a fantastic feeling

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  4. Ooh NaNoWrMo. I forgot. I wanted to do it last year but I had a one month old baby... This year.. Well... Maybe!?

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    1. Go on give it a go, it really is such a great experience

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  5. Oh excellent, I can't wait to see what you write. Ok, here goes:

    A small country town, a snowboard, drama
    The beach, a message in a bottle, romance
    An aeroplane, an odd passenger, suspense
    The breakfast table, nutella, comedy

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    1. Awesome suggestions thanks! Make sure you follow flybyfiction.blogspot or join my facebook page (AParentingLife) so you don't miss any of the stories

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  6. All the best. Look forward to reading some of your stories x

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  7. wow!! Good luck!! Looking forward to reading ur posts!! xx

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    1. Cheers Yvette, I am so excited about it all

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  8. this sounds fab i can't wait to read... I'm all for suggestions here we go
    a race track, a cold cider, humour
    the bedroom, a margarita, humour
    the kitchen, a mango, suspense

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  9. I was going to try this one year, but I have zero imagination. I'm not even lying. I can't even come up with suggestions for you. But I did want to wish you all the best and I know you will come up with 30 awesome stories! I hope you'll share them all with us!?

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    1. I sure will be sharing them, like my facebook page (AParentingLife) or follow along at flybyfiction.blogspot

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  10. Thanks for stopping by - good luck with the 30/30 challenge - let's see if we can both stick to it and smash it by 30/11/12 !!!!
    Suggestions :
    baseball field - bat - humour
    office - computer - mystery
    house - ghost - humour
    Good luck !
    Me

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    1. Thanks You! And good luck with the 30 minute challenge as well. November is such a busy month!

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  11. Oh Rhianna this is great! I was actually thinking of doing the challenge too... Good luck! And here's an idea for you: a bottle in the sea.

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    1. Oooh nice one, thanks, I hope you decide to take the challenge

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  12. You had me at "bites big hairy balls" LOL.
    What an awesome idea, a great way to work that creative muscle.
    How about some erotica set on an army barracks?

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  13. Oh I desperately want to do this this year but I no I just don't have the time to blog and write at the same time :( Too much stress. My genre for you is appropriate then: Have some stress in your protagonists life to resolve - because that's unusual, hahaha. x

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    1. lol thanks for the suggestion Lauren, I get what you mean about the time factor, there just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes is there?

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  14. Oh, go you! I definitely won't be able to do it this year but I will live vicariously through your stories! Can't wait! x

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  15. How exciting - good luck - let's see if i can come up with some suggestions

    Beach - coconut - comedy
    train platform - bird cage - mystery
    long distance/ greyhound etc bus - an orange - coming of age
    Forest - basket - romance

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  16. Good luck with it Rihanna - 30 stories in 30 days sounds like a very ambitious venture! I have no interest in writing fiction myself but my husband is a NaNoWriMo veteran and has even organised an off shoot for game designers this year called NaGaDeMon (National Game Design Month). Looks like November is going to be a busy month for a lot of people...good luck with it!

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    1. Yes Novemeber is a busy month, I hope it is going well for your husband

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  17. Oh this is gonna be awesome!
    Ok my suggestion is a camp ground, with a broken sneaker, and the genre is humour. I think you can do that easy. :)

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  18. Hmm

    Location: India
    Object: a nine year old boy, son of a Saddhu, who can play the flute.
    Genre: drama
    Other: It's set in 1944.

    Good luck and have fun x

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  19. Good luck.
    My contribution is Bank, Rubber chicken, mystery.
    Looking forward to reading the stories.

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  20. Such a fun idea, opening it up for ideas! Here's my suggestion:
    Public toilets, tin whistle , mystery/detective

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  21. What a brilliant idea - we will be backing you each day!!!!!! My suggestion is Everest Base Camp, a flashlight and horror. Enjoy xxxx

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Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses to you, thanks for stopping by, it really means a lot, you taking the time so say hi. I try as much as I can to write a reply but if for some chance I don't get to it please know that I always read them.