The Dare Thread

Dare: Have a character whose greatest ambition is to perfect a recipe for lima beans
+BP If he/she makes all your other characters try each batch
+DBP If one of said characters has an alergic reaction to the beans
+TBP If one of the recipes, or the character with the allergy, explodes

Okay. I'm done. XD

im using this one but i thought i'd share :D

have a character whose sole purpose is to give away the plans of the other characters to the bad guy.
- DP if the character doesnt realise he/she is doing it
- TP if its something only one other character can see, and when he confronts it, or tells his fellow characters, they dont believe him
-TP and a cookie if the other characters then suspect the character who can see the real culprit of selling their secrets

not sure if that makes sense but i know what i mean :D

This is the thing I missed most, apart from the fun of writing. Random dares, most of them were from last year. X3

-Reference the Ebola virus. Cookies if it's in a positive light.
-Have your characters go on a plane. Let there be snakes.
-Have one of your own character write a NaNo that exactly mirrors your own novel. xD Word padding, lawl.
-Have a character begin misquoting literary classics at every occasion... Points if it's in another language. Extra points if it's been put through Babelfish so many times it'd make a speaker of that language weep.
-Have the writers of the classics then appear and beat the character up.
-Make your characters whine about the plot and then have 'accidents'.
-Have your character fall in love with a lemming. Points if the character isn't actually a lemming.
-Talk to yourself all through the novel. More word padding!
-Have your character die and then continue on as normal with NO other mention of the death. Points if no one actually noticed. Extra points if it was a ridiculous death and STILL nobody noticed.
-Have a character spend the whole novel searching for something that was already there, like glasses on a face. [I do that all the time.] Points if they still haven't found it at the end of the novel.
-Gender swap scene. Enough said.
-Have an epic fight scene of your character and a) the Teletubbies b) the Wiggles c) Figments of their imagination. Double points if the Teletubbies/Wiggles/figments of imagination win. If it's the latter, triple points if they actually bear marks from the fight and people comment on it.
-Have a character so badly in denial that -- assuming they're male, for instance -- if asked if they are a boy, they will fiercely deny it, etc. just for the sake of denial, not for any other reasons.
-Have a character frequently ask a person how their [insert condition] is when the person doesn't have it and reminds them so.

Dare: if you know more than one language, divide your 50k up equally between them. And if you need to switch language in the middle of a sentence... so be it :-D

Dare: Have a character with a passion for an interesting animal e.g. an anteater, a hippo, a hyena

+BP If he/she has one as a pet
+DBP if he/she lives in a city/housing area in a country where the animal doesnt usually live
+TBP he/she takes it on "dog walks" & its with her/him for the entire length of the story.

kind of like Pikachu is pokemon yellow for gameboy...

Here's a kind of serious dare for you, cos I'd like to see it more in books:

- Include a character with a disability
- BP if the story does not revolve around it
- double BP if the disability has absolutely no relavance to the story line
- triple BP if nobody bats an eyelid at your character's disability
- cookie if it's not explicitly mentioned / commented on in the whole book

On the less serious front:

- Your main character does not leave his / her chair for the whole book
- BP if the chair does not move from the office / bedroom / kitchen / wherever nor through time
- DBP if no character comments on this through the whole of the book
- TBP if it's a kiddies' high chair and the character isn't a child
- cookie if you character does things while in his/her non-moving chair which would usually require one to leave a chair, e.g. cook, go to the bathroom....

Okay, here is one:

Have a minor character follow your main character around constantly without anyone every taking any notice or comment on him/her. Bonus point if said minor character quotes poetry at random. Extra bonus point if it's indecent poetry.

I will take two of your dares, delicatelyspirals!

(“Have your character die and then continue on as normal with NO other mention of the death. Points if no one actually noticed. Extra points if it was a ridiculous death and STILL nobody noticed.” & ”Have a character spend the whole novel searching for something that was already there, like glasses on a face. [I do that all the time.] Points if they still haven't found it at the end of the novel.”)

Include a talking banana in your novel.
* Bonus points if the banana has an irrational fear (of flying, heights, spiders, etc.).
* Triple points if the banana's fear is central to the plot.

-Have a character who listens to nothing but Kenyan polka. Bonus points if they hold a dance party. Triple points if people attend. Quadruple points if it cues an awesome dance scene in an inappropriate place.

-Have a character who listens nothing to Kenyan polka. Bonus points if they hold a dance party. Triple points if people attend. Quadruple points if it cues an awesome dance scene in an inappropriate place.

...>_>; Somehow it's triple posted. Sorry!

Dare:

Have a character whose eye colour (or hair colour, or skin colour) changes every time you mention it.

+ DP if nobody mentions it
+ TP if it's got massive importance to the plot
+ TP and COOKIE (yum) if the character who does the changing notices it, realises its massive importance to the plot, and tells everyone. And they think she's joking.

...actually, I may do that ^_^

Hee...I've been saving up my dares. <3

-Randomly insert a talking manatee in your story. It can't be in water or anything--it just has to be there.
--BP if a cow joins it.
---DBP if they demonstrate/reveal a crucial plot point.
----TBP if they start traveling with your MCs
-----QBP if they BECOME MCs

-Include a character whose sole goal is to pop up in random scenes and say "The thot plickens!"
--BP if at least one of those scenes is plot-irrelevant, but the character pops up anyway.
---DBP if the scene takes place in a gender-specific area, and the character is the opposite gender.
----TBP if the character hides in the MC's house (like, in a closet or something) just to pop up and say "The thot plickens!"

-"But YOU said it was made of PEANUT BUTTER!"
--BP if they're not talking about food.
---DBP if the character is at least 17 years old.
----TBP if they're talking to a Physics teacher, and the original topic was a capacitor used in electricity.
-----QBP if "Chunky or plain?" gets worked in too.

-Include a really long bus trip -- 1 or 2 MCs surrounded by at least 8 girls.
--BP if the girls sing dirty songs the whole way
---DBP if they sing "Pretty Fly for a White Guy"
----TBP if a pirate song makes its way in too.
-----QBP if the boys cry.

-"I'll be right back -- I've got to go prove that I live here."
--BP if they DON"T live "here"

I've got more...somewhere...

Dare: Insert Napoleon Bonaparte, Mick Jagger or Queen Elizabeth I into your novel.
--BP if you use some other means than time travel.
---DBP if you insert them into the wrong time period.
-----TBP if you insert all three of them.
------QBP if you make at least two of them fall in love.
-------Major BP and a cookie if they are absolutely crucial to the plot.

Dare: Insert the transcript of an IM conversation.
--BP if you make it an important plot point.
---DBP if neither IMer is an MC.
----TBP if you make it an entire chapter.
-----QBP if your whole novel is made up of IM conversations.
------Major BP and a cookie if your whole novel is one very long IM conversation between the same two people.

This hardly feels like a dare anymore, but since I've issued it pretty much every year:

-Write your novel in the second person. All of it. This means "you." You, you, you, you, you. Bonus points if you pull it off without making it a "choose your adventure" kind of novel.

I did my second novel like this and it's my favorite one out of all of them. It's totally doable. A tip: the "you" doesn't have to be the reader.

Taking: "'I'll be right back -- I've got to go prove that I live here,'" and "BP if they DON'T live 'here'"

I'm still trying to decide if I want to take the peanut butter one . . .

Dare: Insert the transcript of an IM conversation.
--BP if you make it an important plot point.
---DBP if neither IMer is an MC.
----TBP if you make it an entire chapter.

I'll take those dares!

from an old thread....

Have a hero who's main motivation is to avenge the death of his pet goldfish which the villain drowned years ago. Bonus points if this actually makes sense. Double bonus points if the hero is not insane Triple bonus points if this is somehow crucial to the plot

"-Have your characters go on a plane. Let there be snakes."

I'll take this one. But I'm being tricky and bending the definition of 'plane'.

"-Have a character begin misquoting literary classics at every occasion... Points if it's in another language. Extra points if it's been put through Babelfish so many times it'd make a speaker of that language weep.
-Have the writers of the classics then appear and beat the character up."
Both of these two. XP

"-Have a character frequently ask a person how their [insert condition] is when the person doesn't have it and reminds them so."
This one would so fit in.

"Have a minor character follow your main character around constantly without anyone every taking any notice or comment on him/her. Bonus point if said minor character quotes poetry at random. Extra bonus point if it's indecent poetry."
This one too.

"-Include a character whose sole goal is to pop up in random scenes and say "The thot plickens!"
--BP if at least one of those scenes is plot-irrelevant, but the character pops up anyway.
---DBP if the scene takes place in a gender-specific area, and the character is the opposite gender.
----TBP if the character hides in the MC's house (like, in a closet or something) just to pop up and say "The thot plickens!""
This gets merged with the poetry quoting stalker. XD

Now, it's only right I put back some of my own:

Have a character whose name has no vowel in it ((no 'y' either)).
-- BP if it's a common name
-- DBP if the character can't pronounce their own name

Kill off the hero right at the beginning of the story
-- BP if he stays dead

Include the bad guys' parents in the novel
-- BP if try to get him/her to bed by 9
-- DBP if they do this successfully
-- TBP if they're the heroes of the story

Have a great literary figure misquote their own work
-- BP if they do this more than once
-- DBP if no one notices
-- TBP if no one notices despite the quote being famous
-- QBP if the misquote becomes the famous one
-- My Soul if the literary figure is Shakespeare

I’m still making my way through the dare threads from past years, so sorry if I repeat anything.

-Have a talking burger patty as one of your characters. Bonus points if it’s a main character. Double bonus points if there’s no other sentient inanimate objects in the story. Triple bonus points if its name is Patty.

-Have a main character who’s a ghost, but have this fact not affect the story at all, other than maybe a few comments from the other characters.
Bonus points if it’s in a world where no one believes in ghosts.

-Have one character do a tarot reading and then, while all the other characters are pondering the symbolic meaning of a particular card that came up, the literal subject of that card (whatever the picture on the card was of) actually appears

-Have your character eat something, then decide that it was sentient and hold a funeral for it.

-Have one of your MCs be in an accident and become wheelchair-bound in the first chapter.
Bonus points if they don’t recover until the last page.

-Name all your characters after NYC subway stations. Bonus points if you use consecutive subway stations, e.g. Shepherd Van Siclen, Graham Lorimer, etc. Double bonus points if you end up using ridiculous ones, like Rockaway Aqueduct or Lower East Side Delancey.
For reference: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm
(Someone did this with London underground stations in 2005 and I thought it was a good idea.)

-Use magnet poetry to construct your plot and/or the happenings in each chapter.
Bonus points if every day/chapter you pick 7 of the magnets randomly out of a bag and make them into a sentence, then base your plot for that day/chapter off of it.
OR if you pick one magnet on the first day/chapter, two for the second, etc.
DBP if you also use this method to name your chapters.
TBP if you use it to title your book.

-Include a character with a pet turtle named Awkward.

-Have something a character reads or writes on the inside of a bathroom stall turn into a major plot point.

-Have a character that doesn’t know really obvious food-related things, i.e., that ketchup is made out of tomatoes, or that granola bars are made out of granola, and when another character tells them, they respond with amazement. Every time.

-Have a character who speaks in a bizarre “dialect” that’s actually the result of putting whatever they’re saying through various different languages in Babelfish and then back to English.

-Have a time machine that only works underwater.

"-Have a character that doesn’t know really obvious food-related things, i.e., that ketchup is made out of tomatoes, or that granola bars are made out of granola, and when another character tells them, they respond with amazement. Every time."

Taking that one.

Also taking the peanut butter one!!!!

Oh and the one about character with a disability not connected to the plot, I'll take that one, I've been meaning to write one like that for ages.

My Dare:

Have a character who will not walk on grass
BP if no one notices
DBP if everyone else spends 90% of their time walking on grass
TBP if this is a main character

Have a character who runs with scissors
BP if he/she won't run without them

I accept! XD ...

"-Have your character eat something, then decide that it was sentient and hold a funeral for it."
... Just because, and if only to have a running gag. :)

"-Name all your characters after NYC subway stations. Bonus points if you use consecutive subway stations, e.g. Shepherd Van Siclen, Graham Lorimer, etc. Double bonus points if you end up using ridiculous ones, like Rockaway Aqueduct or Lower East Side Delancey."
... Only I'm gonna use something more local (For me, the Septa Orange Line). I dunno. Just something that never occurred to me until now.

-=-=-

As for dares...

-Let your quietest character (main or not) have the biggest secret. BP if it's a dangerous secret. TBP if they've been hiding it since WAY before the novel started.

-Give a character a non-verbal way of talking. A honking horn, recording things and playing them back; so long as they aren't talking themselves. (Oh, and NO sign language.) BP if only one character understands them and everyone else is clueless. TBP and a COOKIE if they don't use a sound maker.

-Have a antagonist with a liking for an odd food. BP if it's a French food. TBP if it's an alien food.

... Whee, random.

Have a character who speaks entirely in rhymes
BP if another character points this out
DBP if they claim that it is a speech impediment

Include a random song and dance sequence
BP if this happens at a serious moment
DBP if the antagonist is included and their singing voice is the only one on-key
TBP if this scene is somehow vital to the plot

Have a character who consults their magic eight ball before answering any questions
BP if this results in their death

Include the word 'pomegranate' in every chapter of your story
BP if it's the same pomegranate every time
DBP if this pomegranate saves the day
TBP if your character is allergic to pomegranates
QBP if their death is caused by the pomegranate

Have a character who is described as constantly "angst"ing
BP if they say "My life is like a black abyss, spiralling down words."

Have a character who's only purpose is to say "Your Mom" in response to everything.

Have the entire story occur in the span of one second

Taking: "-Include a character with a pet turtle named Awkward."

I must accept this dare - I must!

-Give a character a non-verbal way of talking. A honking horn, recording things and playing them back; so long as they aren't talking themselves. (Oh, and NO sign language.) BP if only one character understands them and everyone else is clueless. TBP and a COOKIE if they don't use a sound maker.

Taking this:
Have a character who speaks entirely in rhymes
BP if another character points this out
DBP if they claim that it is a speech impediment

As I was going to anyway I take this as well:
Have the entire story occur in the span of one second.

This is just a modification of another dare on here.

Have a character that only speaks in rhymes.
-BP if nobody notices or comments.
--DBP if the only one that notices is the bad guy, and it really ticks him off
---TBP if the rhyming character is the MC
----QBP if the bad guy kills/maims the MC purely because of the rhyming

Looks like my whole novel's going to be made of dares practically. XD Well, I'll respond to those I'm taking individually, since the new forum will let me do that.

Here's what I'm leaving:

-Your character pretends to be a superhero for the whole novel
--Bonus points if it's a main or supporting main character
---Double BP if the superhero is so unpopular that virtually no one else has heard of the superhero
----Triple BP if the character does a good job at it.

-Hold an entire conversation in another language, but leave the narration in English.
--BP if the language doesn't use a romantic/European alphabet--i.e., Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, etc.
---DBP if this happens totally at random, and the characters are unable to speak the language both before and after the scene.
----TBP if the conversation is important to the plot
-----Quadruple BP if it's a love scene
-------A bonus Tollhouse cookie if there's one character who points out in English how odd it all is, only to get told to shut up in the language the others are using.

Have your narration be third person omnicient for half the novel, and then have the narrator show up as a central character for the second half, turning the novel into first person.

I'm sure there will be more from me; I'm actually using the second two. =P

I'm totally doing the funeral for the food; I found on a past dare thread one that suggested that your character decide he's an omlette randomly, so this works for him.

Also pondering usage of the bathroom stall and the Babelfish "dialect", too. :)