The challenge thread!!

some more things to include. These are pretty cliche, I'll see if i can come up with anything better today at work.

1. Bunny slippers
2. A hedgehog
3. billowing clouds of cherry blossoms

Annnnnd

4. A foreigner reacting (either well or badly) to natto. Or just natto in general.

not entirely related, but a foreigner/natto story nonetheless. 18 months ago, I directed a musical to raise money for various charities. The media showed up on the day of the show, which was awesome, I though. More publicity for our charities and for our fundraising efforts, sweet!

Nope! They heard that there were a bunch of foreigners about, and, not caring at all what we were actually DOING there, they made us eat natto on camera, for the amusement of all.

... someone can use that in their story if they want. I won't be. :)

Hm...

1. Someone who can't use chopsticks pretending that they can
2. Someone who only wears one color at a time (all red today, all blue tomorrow, etc.)
3. Suddenly, ninjas spring in from every side. [This one stolen from my google search of "plot ninjas". ^_^]
4. A talking kangaroo

I accept!

This should be doable. Done!

To offer a contribution...hmmm...

1. Engrish of any kind
2. A lost Nihonjin trying to do something in an English speaking nation using their broken English
3. Someone confusing Tako(octopus) for Taco(Mexican Food)
4. Tokyo Tower...for no apparent reason

Well.

I challenge someone to include a seemingly random chapter in their story that discusses the differences between Japanese philosophy and Occidental philosophy--from the viewpoint of some inanimate object. And then successfully contextualize that chapter in the rest of your story.

I plan to do something of the sort, and I'm interested in seeing how many different stories can come from the same idea. Gambate.

Oh! I did this! I don't think I can accept this, but yes. I did do this. One of my friends asked me if I wanted a tako ball, and I was like "I love tacos!" Whoops. It wasn't bad, in any case.

Some very good things here that will work well in my novel, ninja ones aside. I look forward to reading all the zany things everyone comes up with.

I dare people to include the following three things in a relevant manner:

1) a tea ceremony of some kind (bonus points for throwing in a twist, e.g. how aliens would adapt this custom)
2) a reference to a plot point in Genji or Heike Monogatari
3) a character who works in the J-pop or meido kissa business, which only counts if we get to see them both on & off the job

I challenge you to stop being so annoyingly peppy I could hurl.

Bizarro Serial Science Fiction and Cyberpunk
http://www.lulu.com/dnafiction

"I challenge you to stop being so annoyingly peppy I could hurl."

I challenge all of you to be rude in an entertaining and/or insightful way, unlike Made in DNA.

I challenge someone to reference Patalliro in their story. I have been addicted to that show lately.
Bonus if it's a boy-love scene between Bancoran and Maraich.
More bonus if you also reference Patalliro Saiyuki (Saiyuki with Patalliro characters).

I have yet to find one that I want to/can use, but maybe I'll write some down for later use.

PS If you want to see it, you can look on YouTube. I think they have some. The Cock Robin or Kukku Ro-bin ending is really catchy.

Some challenges are so obscure that I think they're beyond the reach of any practical narratives, you know?

"Plz includes a monkey with a flamethrowerr that shootss gravity guns. Zomg roflcopter lulz"

Sorry, sorry, I know ridiculous challenges can be fun, but with the difficulty level in mind, I have a serious challenge for everyone:

Include in your story at least one or two shower scenes for one of your characters. The scenes don't have to be sexual, just time for your characters to unwind, wash, think, vent, sing ridiculous songs, daydream, slip and break his / her neck, etc. I'm trying to put one in my novel for every character, although it might be a challenge for some of them (the ultra-violent government agent, for instance. I don't really want to know what he thinks about in the shower).

Whether you accept or not, godspeed and happy noveling!

No writer worth their salt would introduce insipid little challenges into their work from other writers just for the fun of it. It forces the natural flow of a piece to a grind to a nasty halt. Get moving on your own work and worry about what what everyone else is doing once they have finished. THEN offer up critiques based on the finished product. If Occam's Razor would help make the story happen, then offering it up would be the smart thing to do. Suddenly 'challenging' people to introduce it would only invite disaster. Readers are a smart bunch, they know immediately when something has been forced into a story.

This is a counterproductive thread.

Perhaps if you spent more time writing, instead of reading these threads, you'd have something in your profile there Bub.

I've heard that Japanese trolls appreciate it if you honk before you drive over a cattleguard so that they can avoid getting their fingers run over.

I've only seen two cattleguards in the two years I've been in Japan, so this is a very strange and suspect legend.
Japanese trolls are likely courteous, as they are probably related to the famously etiquette-conscious Kappa, so they are worthy of this politeness just in case.

Kappa like cucumbers, so cucumber sushi is named for them.

Horsemeat sashimi (Basashi) is sometimes referred to as "Sakura" because it's red and thinly sliced. It doesn't look at all like cherry blossoms, though. It's chewy, though, and not particularly good whether raw or part of a hot pot.

In the early spring, a local sushi bar will offer certain customers a sake cup with eight or so thrashing two-inch baby freshwater eels. You're not supposed to chew, of course.

If it stimulates your muse to include any of these oddments in your novel, you win.

Peace,

Feylias

My boyfriend is nuts. When I started talking about nanowrimo he said I should write a fantasy novel about a bunch of time-travelling samurai who somehow ended up in medieval England along with Robin Hood.

He also proclaimed that it HAD to have a climactic battle scene between a samurai warrior and... Terence Trent D'Arby!

I already had my outline so no can do, but I'm throwing that one out there ;)

1. Not everyone is writing a novel they intend to actually publish, so some people enjoy throwing in something random for their own entertainment.
2. We all have different ways of being creative. Sometimes reading a seemingly "counterproductive" thread is a good way to get ideas of your own, whether you use challenges or not.
3. Most of the threads on nano are counterproductive. If you don't like them, you don't have to read them.

Good advice. I think these threads are pretty crazy too, but sometimes I see the most creative and interesting ideas and it inspires me. Like, samurai's in Robin Hood - amazing!

/begin rant

Also, whether you want to get published or not, I don't think the writing process can be condensed down to some 'purely professional standard of work.' I doubt novels like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" would wouldn't exist if everyone followed the advice of our wonderfully professional, published NaNoWriMo'ers.

Besides, any writer who's worth a cent knows that one of the most important parts of the writing process is turning off your internal editor. Editing can come after writing, followed by more writing, followed by more editing, ad infinitum. Turning off your internal editor doesn't always mean turning off your discretion, but hey, whatever works right?

NaNoWriMo is about having fun and giving noveling a shot. I think that established authors are in denial because they feel threatened by the new technology. :)

/end rant

So, with all that in mind, here's a tenable challenge:

include in your story giant Japanese sea crabs that climb out of the sea and eat from garbage cans. I love those giant crabs!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4775155.stm

...and attack their weak point for Massive Damage! <.< I felt it needed to be said, but I'm not sure why.

...how did this post twice?

::kicks keyboard back into English mode:: ...I think I can do that, actually. ^^ Giant crabs, accepted!

...annnnnd my SIC has informed me he has fear of crabs. That was completely arbitrary. This should be fun.

Random challenge~: I wanted to have coffee melting zombies, but I don't think I can actually work that in. See if you can make it go! ^^

On a more mundane note - mention of the damnable lack of central heat in this country makes challenge number two. Ganbarimashou~!

JE ate my SOUL.