Canada :: Alberta :: Elsewhere

What's your novel about?

Aquadeo — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 09:59:33 -0700

Sometimes it's nice to hear what other people think about your idea, sometimes you get some ideas from listening to them, and sometimes, you figure out what you're going to write when you're in the middle of describing it.

So share your ideas here! We're all curious about what other people are thinking, after all.

Personally, I hit a personal milestone this year: I've now visited every province and territory in Canada. The trip to Nunavut was breath-taking, and I certainly want to incorporate that.

But, I thought, there's a surplus of stories about people going coast-to-coast. How can I make it original?

I decided that instead of going everywhere, I'll let everywhere come to me! The novel's going to be called Qallunaaq, which is the Inuktitut word for "non-Inuit". It'll be split up into twelve chapters. In each one, a different person from a different province/territory will describe their journey to Iqaluit. I don't know who these characters are, or why they're going, or what happens to them... but I'm sure I'll come up with something by November. That's the whole point of Nanowrimo, after all!

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Denton (a.k.a. Aquadeo)
ML for Alberta::Elsewhere
e-mail: south_alberta@nanowrimo.org
website: http://labville.blogspot.com

Canada :: Alberta :: Elsewhere

Welcome to Alberta::Elsewhere!

Aquadeo — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 19:11:33 -0700

It's National Novel Writing Month, Alberta!

One of the joys of NaNoWriMo is the fact that there are so many writers involved, just like you. They're nervous and not really sure if they can do this -- just like you.
They're ready to commit to the big idea they've been talking about for years -- just like you.
They can't wait to share their stories with everyone else -- just like you.

No matter what sort of writer you are, there's a forum on this site where you'll meet hundreds of people ready to support you... and that includes over a hundred writers here in Alberta::Elsewhere (as well as the multitudes in Edmonton and Calgary, who wish us well, I'm sure).

So once again, welcome! I'm your regional ML, Aquadeo, and along with your other ML, Diane, we both hope that you have a great November, and we'll do our best to make sure you enjoy being a part of the community here. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask away! And if you want to look for some writers from your neighbourhood, this is the best place to do that, and your MLs will be happy to enter any of your meeting times into the NaNoWriMo calendar, where everyone can see it.

Let the countdown to November begin!
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Denton (a.k.a. Aquadeo)
ML for Alberta::Elsewhere
e-mail: south_alberta@nanowrimo.org
website: http://labville.blogspot.com

Canada :: Alberta :: Elsewhere

Ideas? Does anyone have ideas?

Aquadeo — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 17:58:35 -0700

Kuro Ketsukei wrote:

Any ideas are greatly appreciated please and thanks!

Just going through the news today, I found some great story ideas. First, for the darkly humourous... a moose died in Nova Scotia today, when it fell out of a helicopter. Tragic though it may be, the very act of putting a moose in a helicopter brings up a lot of strange and unusual questions:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/10/06/moose-death.html

Secondly, a medical study estimates that 53% of all homeless in Toronto have suffered some sort of head injury that caused lasting damage (as opposed to 8% of non-homeless). What's more, 70% of those suffered this damage before becoming homeless. Is the reason behind the "crazy old man" that shouts angrily at the birds? It's a bit more somber, but certainly the starting point for a number of stories:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/10/06/homeless-head-injury.html

And, a little thought that occurred to me at work today. In the comic books, people always get superpowers from freak accidents. Well, what about houseflies and rats? Surely they get electrocuted, irradiated, toxic wasted, and accidentally magicked far more than humans... are there super-strong flies? Teleporting rats? Seagulls with heat vision? Don't forget, unless they're super-smart, they wouldn't know how to use these powers... you'd have rats falling from the sky and getting stuck half-way through concrete walls everywhere you looked!

If anybody else has a crazy idea they want to share, or a story they heard about, share them here!
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Denton (a.k.a. Aquadeo)
ML for Alberta::Elsewhere
e-mail: south_alberta@nanowrimo.org
website: http://labville.blogspot.com

Canada :: Alberta :: Elsewhere

Grande Prairie NaNo's

Diz00 — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 19:53:38 -0700

Hey guys! What's the word? It's getting closer and closer! Who wants to have a NaNo kick off party?!
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Canada :: Alberta :: Elsewhere

Getting into the writing spirit

Aquadeo — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 14:58:50 -0700

Well, we've still got a month to get ready. That'll involve the usual things, of course: buying groceries in advance, notifying family and co-workers that you're going to be busy/stressed/awesome, and possibly scratching out a few outlines.

But also, don't forget that this November, you'll be too busy writing to read.

So, if there's any particular voice you want your novel to have, now's the time to steep yourself in the words of your favourite authours. And if you want to share any recommendations, or perhaps a few choice turns of phrase in this thread, we'll all benefit from your ~~stolen~~ wisdom.

For instance, here's a line or two from a slam poetry trio known as Tons Of Fun University:

"We've turned classrooms into wombs
birthing fools strung into complacency by spools
of red tape so strong --
they must have been cut from the cape
of some long-dead defender."

I really love the term "long-dead defender" there. It evokes images both tragic and heroic, and he's obviously talking about you-know-who without mentioning his name. It puts the whole phrase into a lens, that makes you feel like the role models you used to know are far, far away. Powerful stuff.
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Denton (a.k.a. Aquadeo)
ML for Alberta::Elsewhere
e-mail: south_alberta@nanowrimo.org
website: http://labville.blogspot.com