Nano-Boost Challenge
Edited for Clarification
We are quickly approaching the midway point of Nano. Hopefully it is going well for those who are participating this year. 50,000 words in one month can be quite an event to be sure. With that in mind, I want to offer up what I am calling, the Nano-Boost Challenge. What this is is basically a potential boost for your writing by giving a bit of incentive to see it through and get as many words written as possible on your journey toward 50k.
On Mizahar, Nano ends on the last day of November at midnight Pacific Time. In the meantime, know that there will be some possible fun rewards for completing Nano in full. Even if you are unable to make it to 50k, there will be a number of rewards granted based on your the progress you do make with the more progress made, the better the rewards. This however is separate from this particular challenge. Nano on Mizahar as a whole brings it's own rewards.
Now, I had toyed with the idea of an actual theme for this challenge however I quickly realized that nearly halfway through Nano, a theme may be difficult to jump into. That said, I will offer a theme that you may use in your writing. The idea is that this challenge shouldn't interfere with your broader writing for the month long challenge. This particular challenge will run from now until the end of Nano.
The theme, if you choose to accept it, goes like this:
You find yourself in the middle of a large body of water; lake, river, sea, etc. You are aboard a small boat such as a canoe or equivalent boat. For some unknown reason, you drift off and lose your oars or your limited sails have become mysteriously tattered. Basically you are stranded. Adding to the problem you find yourself in, there is a particularly aggressive form of aquatic life that is stalking the waters surrounding your disabled boat; its form depends on the environment. It could be a massive snake, a shark, a crocodile or some other deadly aquatic life. Not long after discovering all of this, your boat suddenly springs a leak. It is small but the boat is in danger of sinking. You can try to fix the leak but inevitably, another leak will appear. How do you escape the situation? You only have what you would reasonably be carrying at the onset of the scenario. Get creative, don't cheese it up or speed through it. Use the opportunity to really get into your character's head and play up the danger of the situation. Make your character work for it. If your character has some way of otherwise making the situation simple, throw a wrench in there to spice things up.
Alternatively, you find yourself in an otherwise familiar locale...or maybe its unfamiliar, you choose. Either way, you discover an otherwise hidden cave or maybe just an odd hole in the ground. Something draws you to that opening. A strange glimmer in the darkness. The opening, upon initial investigation, reveals a tunnel of some sort, be it vertical or horizontal depending on the nature of the opening. The glimmer you notice seems to come from deeper inside. As soon as you enter and make your way a few yards past the entrance, there is a great shaking of the land around you and the opening collapses. You are suddenly trapped in total darkness and the entrance cannot be accessed due to literally tons of rock and earth. You have only what you normally carry on you at the onset of the scenario. You don't know how much air you might have, light may or may not be an issue and you have this strange feeling that something is stalking you just outside of whatever light source you may have. At times, you think you can still see the glimmer somewhere off in the darkness but after many attempts at moving toward it, you find you are only getting more lost. Again, if your character has ways of overcoming such challenges, throw a wrench in it and make it difficult for them. Dig in to the desperation of the scenario. How would you feel, in real life, if you were trapped in a collapsed cave, surrounded by darkness with no idea how to get out? How would you figure it out?
One more option, you are in an urban setting; going about your normal routines, whatever those may be. You hear something coming from somewhere off the main road or path which draws your attention. It's the sound of someone crying for help. You decide to investigate; your intentions being whatever is fitting. Upon making your way toward what you think is the source of the sound, you find yourself coming to a dead-end. There is nothing else around you other than the nearby buildings and the sound you heard goes silent. Within a brief moment or two, you hear movement coming toward you and quickly realize that you are in danger of being attacked by a large group of thugs. They are strangely well armed, armored and move with more than a hint of capability. They are coming from all available directions. It appears that there is at least 10 of them. As they get dangerously close, you notice a door on a wall next to you that wasn't there before. It looks very sturdy and is unlocked. You have just enough time to get in and close it before the angry group of thugs get to you. Once through the door, there is a very thick board that you can drop down to bar the door from being opened. The room you find yourself in is dark. You only have what you would normally carry on you during a routine day. If you don't have a source of light, some feeling around the wall next to the door will reveal a torch mounted on the wall and a bit of flint and steel held in a tiny metal basket attached to the base of the torch mount. Lighting the room will reveal an empty stone chamber about the size of a large, modern day bathroom. Other than for the torch, the room is empty save for a thick metal grate on the wall opposite of the door that is about 2 feet wide and 2 feet tall. There is also a metal grate on the ceiling that is slightly larger but the ceiling is 10 feet tall. The thugs outside are attempting to bash their way through the door and the board barring it will only last so long. The grates look like they are embedded in the stone of the walls. Peeking through them, you can see a bit of light coming from further inside; a way out? How do you escape? Do you try to take on the dangerous group of skilled thugs? Not advised. Do you try to find a way through the grates? You don't have much time as the thugs will get through the door relatively soon.
Again, these themes are not required for completing Nano, however they will add to the potential rewards in the end. Remember, 50k+ is the goal of Nano but we want you to have fun and get as far as you can. Enjoy and I look forward to what you all have to offer.
This particular challenge has the requirement of 5,000 words but you can do more especially if it helps further develop the story.
In this thread, please post links to your various threads along with word counts.
