The Challenge Factory discussion

National Novel Writing Month (often shortened to NaNoWriMo) is an organization that promotes creative writing around the world. Its flagship program is an event in which participants attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript during the month of November.

We should encourage these potential authors and read 50,000 'words' during the month of November. Each book you report equals 250 'words'.

Each Saturday during the month of November, I will post seven writing assignments with an associated reading task. (The first set of tasks will be posted Oct. 31.) You can use any task that has been posted as many times as you'd like.

In other words, you will have seven tasks to choose from the 1st week, fourteen the 2nd week, twenty-one the 3rd week, and twenty-eight tasks the 4th week.

Rules:
* Re-reads are allowed.
* Graphic novels and poetry books are allowed, but they must be 200+ pages.
* Books must be at least 140 pages. Audio book page length is determined by the first paper version.
* Books cannot be started before November 1, and must be finished by midnight November 30.

Use this Completion Post, please.
Book:
Date Read:
Rating:
Pages:
Assignment #:
How It Fits:

Week One Writing Assignments

1: Ready, Set, Go (With What You Know) You've always wanted to write a novel, but perhaps you don't even know where to begin. Ideas for your novel are all around you. - read a book set near where you live

2: Writing With Your Senses Yesterday you spent some time recalling your own memories. Hopefully you came up with some good ideas. - read a biography, memoir, or a book where memories (or lack thereof) are essential to the plot

3: Letting Your Old Ladies Scream Mark Twain explains to us: "Don't tell us that the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream. In other words, show, don't tell. - read a book with an older main character (your definition)

4: Plot Happens Fiction writer Flannery O'Connor wrote, "If nothing happens, it's not a story." - read a non-fiction book

5: Set the Setting Famed poet and writer Marianne Moore once described poetry as "the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads". This can easily be applied to fiction writing. - read a book set in an imaginary place (not a real location)

6: The Heart of the Heart of Your Novel An emotional core is absolutely necessary to any good novel - otherwise, why would your readers even care? - read a book that has been tagged "Romance"

7: Say What?! Some Tips on Dialogue Don't confine your characters to their own heads. Let them walk, talk, and interact with other characters. - read a book with more than one person on the cover

Week Two Writing Assignments

8: Choose Your Eyeballs Who is actually going to tell your story? Which point of view (POV) will you use? Whose head will you allow your reader to access? - read a book written in the First Person POV (narrated from the perspective of 'I')

9: Point of View and Voice After selecting your POV character, you must then decide which POV type is best and adjust your narrative voice accordingly. - listen to an audio book

10: Packing Enough Baggage Don't forget to pack! Your character's baggage, that is. Just as we are the sum of our histories, so are your characters. Complex characters will carry a novel much further than a simple, one-dimensional one. - read a book with exactly 3 of a letter in the title (baggage has 3 Gs; Pride and Prejudice has 3 Es)

11: The Art of Conflict Human beings are complex creatures. Conflict arises from two competing desires at war within an individual. - read a book where the MC faces a serious decision

12: Making the Most of Minor Characters It's not too early to begin thinking about some of the finer details of your novel. Some of the these may come in the form as minor characters. - read a book with a MC that is younger than 18 years

13: Act One: The First Cluster of Scenes Today is the first day of the rest of your novel. Now is the time to focus on shaping your novel's outline. - read a book by an author that is new to you

14: Act Two: The Second Cluster of Scenes The "middle" episodes are really the heart and backbone of a series. The episodes generally include the conflict. - read a book set during a war, battle, or conflict

Week Three Writing Assignments

15: Act Three: The Final Cluster of Scenes In this portion of your novel, you should be working toward resolving the conflicts and problems your characters faced in Act Two. You will also need to tie up any loose ends. - read the last book of a trilogy or series

16: Flashing Backward, Looking Forward Most novels will likely find themselves flashing back to an earlier time to reveal aspects of a character's history or experiences. - read a book tagged "History", "Historical", or "Historical Fiction"

17: Don't Be Tone-Deaf The tone of your novel describes the mood it invokes, or the overall feel. Tone is also determined by your word choice, imagery, and setting. - read a book where music is played or listened to

18: Ladies and Gentlemen... the OUTLINE! Today will be dedicated to constructing your outline, scene by scene. Luckily, you've accomplished much of the work already. - read a book with two or more authors

19: Assessing Scene Worth Each scene must have a specific purpose within the context of your novel. Don't be afraid to cut scenes that may not contribute to the vision of your novel. - read a book that fills a specific purpose other than this challenge (a buddy read, a book club selection, school assigned reading, a different reading challenge)

20: Researching Your Fictional World Spend a minimum of two hours conducting cursory research on the various elements of your story, and takes notes. - read a book with a '2' in the page count (must be the version you read)

21: You Are How You Look Does your character's overall presentation - body language, dress, physique, speech - tell a story about who that individual is? Avoid dumping too much data at once. Just first impressions for now. - read a book where the MC shares a physical attribute with you (curly hair, poor eyesight, similar height)

Week Four Writing Assignments

22: Conducting Background Checks Tally the number of characters who populate your novel. Is the cast large enough to hold the weight of 200+ pages? - read a book with a significant character that is or has been policeman or private detective

23: Becoming a Mind Reader For this assignment, try to get inside the mind of your main character. How your main character thinks and rationalizes will profoundly influence the voice of your work. - read a book that is tagged 'Paranormal'

24: Scene One, Take One Introduce your reader to your character(s) in such a way that your reader feels immediately invested. - read a book published in a year ending in 1 (2021, 2011, 2001, 1991, and so on; must be the version you read)

25: Set the Mood Lighting Setting is not an arbitrary aspect of your novel. Be intentional in your choice of setting and use it as a tool to help render character, mood, or tone. - read a book with a source of light on the cover (the sun, a moon, a lamp, etc.)

26: Lights, Camera, Action! An action scene is a common type of external scene that engages your character with the world that surrounds him. - read a book that has an action word in the title

27: Mountaintop Messages The tension you've been building needs to come to a head. The crisis moment, or climax, is the key scene in your novel. - read a book where a specific mountain is mentioned (can be real or fictional, but it must have a name)

28: Bump, Set, Spike... Then What? A novel that ends too abruptly is dissatisfying. If your reader has hiked up that mountain of exposition and rising action with you, don't leave them stuck at the apex. - read a book with a significant character that is or has been an athlete