A Novel Idea

OK, kids, so here's the skinny:  November is National Novel Writing Month.  I have NO idea why a) they picked a month with 30 days instead of 31 to do this, or b) why we need a month for this at all.  BUT, there's this organization out there that does what they call NaNoWriMo - the challenge is to write a novel in a month - or, at least 50,000 words of a novel.  It's a mighty challenge.  I've tried it before, and didn't quite succeed.  In fact, given the stuff I do in my workshop for the holidays, it's rather foolish of me to do it at all.  So, how to best participate in this, then, if it isn't conducive to my schedule??  Thus, a new plan was formed, and I invite you all to join me.

THE NOVEL IDEA

Much like my forays into National Poetry Month, where I challenge myself to create a new poem each day, the Novel Idea pays an homage to Nat'l Novel Writing Month - only the goal isn't to write a novel.  The goal is simply to create a one-page scene, starting from a writing prompt.  Challenging??  Not yet.  The challenge comes in creating not just ANY scene....but the OPENING SCENE for a novel.  That first page of a novel, where you grip your reader, and set the whole tone for your world.  That's what I'm looking for.  By the end of it, the goal is to have 30 novel-ready ideas to explore.  Genre is totally flexible.  Horror, Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Period-specific, Mystery....the list goes on.

Why?  Because writing fiction is good for us all.  Fiction allows us to explore ideas and concepts in a way that is safe, to encounter the problems with those ideas, and where they fall short, and also where they can succeed.  It allows us to think creatively, and find solutions - in short, fiction allows us the chance to expand our world by expanding our vision.  It is a vital resource for us and for future generations.

What is a novel-ready idea?  It's a notion, really.  The prompts might be questions like "What would life be like if dinosaurs were still around?"  or "What if we never created the automobile?"   They might be random topics: "Imagine an apartment building where all the residents had only one arm" or "Imagine your favorite vacation place - only something has gone terribly wrong."  Here's the great part: you only have to write one page for each topic!!  It's harder than it sounds - particularly on limiting it to one page!!!

Why only one page?  Remember, this is an exercise.  There are several ideas at play: stimulating the imagination, honing the ability to write and communicate clearly, practicing brevity, character-creating, world-building.....really, the list goes on.

I know you want an example though, so here you go:  I was having a conversation with someone within the past year, and a phrase came up that someone was stealing someone else's sunshine.  The comment was made, specifically, "They are sun-thieves!"  I couldn't get the idea out of my head, and a few days later, I sat down and jotted down some words - the idea was to let them go, but save them for another time.  Here is the product of my jotting:

The Sun Thieves

     The corn was stunted.  There was nothing wrong with the soil.  Krev knew this.  He had it studied at the university, and the tests came back saying that his soil was perfectly suited to grow just about anything.  Nutrient-rich, holding the right amount of water, with just the right mixtures of sand, clay, and topsoil, the tests didn’t lie.  The weather cooperated to produce one of the best growing seasons he ever knew, and still, even though everything seemed in perfect order to produce the best crop possible, the corn was stunted, the stalks only barely reaching his knees.  It should have been that tall over a month ago.

     Krev would normally not be too concerned at this.  He was a farmer, and the one thing farmers knew with certainty was that bad years happen.  Sometimes there was too much rain, or not enough, or a blight moved in, or insects destroyed a crop.  These things happened, and every farmer knew it.  You did the best you could.  That was all.  Except, of course, that Krev wasn’t the only one facing this problem this year.  Every farm in the province was facing it, and there were rumors that it was even more widespread.  Something was dreadfully wrong.

     Krev thought it was the seeds.  Something must have gotten into the seeds and done something to them.  Maybe it was an infestation, or something faulty with the formula the Corporation was using.  By law, the Corporation supplied everyone their seeds, thus ensuring that there would be plenty of each crop to feed everyone.  Some farms would grow tomatoes, some would grow wheat, and Krev grew corn, most years.  The Corporation managed it all, rotating the crops as necessary, issuing permits and contracts as it deemed necessary in order to keep everything balanced. 

     It was not a perfect system.  Most farmers got away with growing and experimenting a little on the side, and the Corporation looked the other way, for the most part.  Unless, of course, you did something really good, and then it was confiscated by the Corporation in an attempt to replicate the crop, and see if it belonged in the system.  You had to be careful to not get noticed.  Some farmers experimented with hydroponic growing, but they had to be careful how much energy they used.  The Corporation monitored that, too.  They had to make certain the mistakes of the past were never repeated.  That was the sole point of the Corporation.

     Krev recognized it for what it was: a rebuttal to the mistakes made generations ago, when farmers polluted the land with fertilizers, and began to destroy the environment.  What followed was a century of abuse, eventually resulting in the Great Wars.  The wars raged on for almost a quarter century, and almost destroyed the planet.  That was when the Corporation stepped in and changed the world for the better.  It was a coup to all the warring governments, really, built on one great promise made by the head of InterScience Industries, Ms. Tam Carrera.  Ms. Carrera promised that she could feed and supply power to the world, and that no one would have to pay for anything, but the cost was that all armaments would have to be destroyed, and an immediate peace installed in all governments.  No more standing armies.  No more wars.  No more missiles or bombs, no more forgotten souls slipping through the cracks of society.  Everyone would benefit or no one would.

     The outcry was incredible, from all sides, but in the end, it was the religions of the world coming together that brought the world’s governments to their knees.  It became known as the Great Purge as the world was brought forcibly to accept the ultimatum.  The Purge promised utopia, and at the head of it all, Ms. Carrera delivered.  The last holdouts were the tribal warlords, those militant dictators who tried to hold on to their power, but they were soon eliminated.  InterScience stood tall at the end, the sole proprietor of the fusion system that made solar power efficient and available to everyone, free of charge.  

SO - who's up for joining me in this challenge????