Because we always have a few local things that get thrown into the fray or linger from year to year...
At the last write in...
"so I walk in and he's cleaning the toilet with an electric eel"
Also, our ongoing 'inside joke'... (well, beyond the random and inexplicable appearance of bison in your story)
"The Agents of Darwin" - a secret society dedicated to keeping the gene pool chlorinated (this doesn't necessarily mean killing), which gre out of a conversation with ChaosHippy in my second year as ML and just stuck as a rather silly sort of secret society to have. :)
Anyone have anything else they want to suggest people work into their stories with a crowbar and a wad of chewing gum? Remember, dares are intended to be somewhat silly for the most part - they're a way of desticking jammed blots or working around writer's block, and a certain degree of the ridiculous does seem to work better.
Seriousness can be effective too though... only son of a successful politician finds out his mother had a sex change at sixteen and has hidden it from everyone... including him. (for example)
Go for it, folks!
=Bets=
----------
Participant / Winner: 03, 04, 05, 06, 07... 08
Winnipeg, MB Municipal Liaison: 04, 05, 06*, 07* ...08*
* with help
Forum Co-Mod: Nano Technology
-=-=-=-
Reach the Winnipeg co-MLs at
http://www.nanowrimo.org/mlcontact
0 / 50,000
oct. 12, 2008 - 05 10
Whoo! First Dare, so it better be a doozy. Ok.. hmm.. Oh I know at about the halfway point have your main character suddenly realize they've been walking around this entire time with a 6 foot long peice of toilet paper sticking to their foot. Actually thats not all that great. hmm... How about during a conversation on the street there is a major traffic accident complete with ambulances, fire trucks, but only make it a side note and none of the main characters notice.
Oh man, I'm not doing so well. I reserve my rights to takey-backs when I'm not so rusty and can come up with something more creative.
----------This years novel: "42: An Autobiography"
53,395 / 50,000
oct. 13, 2008 - 10 04
I dare you to read this http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3025826 and put Tim in your novel!!! :)
Spread the word on the Book of Tim!
----------53,478 / 50,000
oct. 14, 2008 - 14 20
Slightly modified from an unused dare of previous years: Have a talking chameleon follow your main character around telling him/her to get lost and stop walking in front of it. Bonus points if the character has no idea where the voice is coming from for a while because the chameleon is camouflaged.
Include the sentence: "That's when he pulled out a locust sandwich."
One of the prominent characters develops an unhealthy obsession with shoelaces.
----------Le Novel
55,423 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2008 - 05 45
One of your characters develops the ability to fly however he is unable to slow down or stop without crashing.
----------Blog - http://betweentheticks.blogspot.com/
50,156 / 50,000
oct. 27, 2008 - 22 24
In the heat of an argument between two of your regular characters, a cloud of (approximately) one hundred Chinese tea dragons -- Each approximately 12 inches tall -- comes rushing into the room. These are the Hundred Uncles. Among them is the irascible Aunt Tata, who wields a very sharp parasol.
Bonus points if your characters end up arguing with the dragons instead of each other. Double bonus points if neither of your characters gets poked in the nose with Aunt Tata's parasol during this argument. (Spectacularly gymnastic evasive manoeuvres are an acceptable way of achieving this goal)
71,100 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2008 - 16 09
Include a conversation with your pet, who just returned from being stolen by aliens - they gave him/her the ability to speak!
6,294 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2008 - 09 20
Love the dares, keep them coming! I've always written fairly serious stuff with minimal fluff for NaNo, and I love incorporating silly and ridiculous dares in ways that (somewhat) make sense.
7,486 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2008 - 17 30
Daen Wiser dared me to put a goat into my novel. I was able to comply within 3 paragraphs of when I received the dare. I challenge you to do the same.
51,009 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2008 - 01 23
Incorporate the kitchen skink--a wee lizard with a great fondness for home economics.
50,050 / 50,000
nov. 6, 2008 - 20 54
Put some music into your story...Like me I keep hearing the "Typewriter Song"...'ding'...
Really though, I had two of my main characters, while they were in a diner, sing along to a juke boxed Jim Croce song, "Bad Bad Leroy Brown". The police were eventually involved...
----------Spinach is a girl's best friend.
50,050 / 50,000
nov. 6, 2008 - 20 55
Oh, Darchala...
----------I think I'll use everything, but the kitchen skink in my story...
Spinach is a girl's best friend.
50,156 / 50,000
nov. 6, 2008 - 21 08
*meep* (erects large wall of prepositions and adverbs in vain attempt to protect herself from housemates Redd and Darchala)
Okay, here's another one: Expound on the virtues of that Québecois delicacy, poutine... Cheese curds and gravy on french fries.
50,050 / 50,000
nov. 8, 2008 - 23 03
I used poutine in my story. Two of my characters declined the fries with poutine, even though the diner was famous for their poutine made with real cheese curds.
Anybody else?
----------Spinach is a girl's best friend.
50,156 / 50,000
nov. 9, 2008 - 00 22
I managed to get two goats into the story. They arrived with Thor and Loki, who were delivering a restraining order.
And I used the music dare, too. The woman who's trying to get in touch with her Inner Chicken had a CD of chicken-related music and was dancing to it.
16,283 / 50,000
nov. 9, 2008 - 12 15
Okay: I've actually decided to incorporate the kitchen skink!! He is a Southeastern Five Lined Skink, to be exact, and he is a magical creature who lives in the kitchen of a neighborhood cafe frequented by my protagonist. He speaks Spanish and helps control the cockroach population! Here is a picture of him: http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/reptiles/lizards/southeastern-five-lined-skink/Southeastern%20Five-lined%20Skink%20(Eumeces%20inexpectatus).JPG
Don't know how he feels about poutine....