(So, when I said in my previous post that, later this week, I would explain the additional rules I would be following for the A to Z Challenge, I had not yet properly grasped that, uh, it’s Thursday. The lateness of the week is pretty severe at this point.)
Because I like making life difficult for myself, I have devised a complex process by which I will determine what I’m going to write about on each day of the challenge. Here’s the concept: each day of the challenge, I will be writing the opening scene of a novel that doesn’t really exist. To pick a topic, the first thing I will do is decide on the word to focus on, one which starts with the letter of the day. I’m going to be using sites like this one to get long list of words, then I’m going to feed those into Wordle, which can winnow the list down to a few words if I want it to. For additional inspiration, I’ll be incorporating random entries from TV Tropes.
This will not be properly random. I will still use my discretion in choosing words and I reserve the right to press the random button more than once before settling on something. But I will list both word and trope at the start of each entry, so you can see what my prompt was.
Oh, did I mention that I only have 24 hours in which to write each entry? One scene, roughly one thousand words, the start of something great. This will be a combination of loose and rigid, panicked and fun. I’ll write the entries the day before they’re due; that way, they’ll be available to read first thing on the day they correspond with.
That’s the plan. On the plus side, there’s no need to worry in advance about any given entry. On the other hand, I’m hoping I don’t accidentally get myself in a corner where I have to write about murderous girlfriends and the word “Xerox.” Wish me luck.
JOYCE SULLY :: Why Not Wonder 