Rules for keeping fans involved in your sf movie, book, comic, etc

c/o BoingBoing comes this great list of ideas for keeping fans involved in your work

Write a 100 word novel in a week!

Launched a competition at work today: Write a 100 word novel in a week. I was going to whip a frenzy for a group NaNoWriMo effort, but the consensus was that turnout might be a bit low, so:

In November there is a competition to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. But that's November.

What we would like you to do now is write a 100 word novel in a week. Entries in by Friday 12th October.

So dig out your hundred favouritest words, and bash them out.

There's a prize, obviously, and while we can't tell you what it is, think a weeks holiday in Ibiza, then scale back a bit (massively).

Start writing. 100 words - it's less than this email (101 words)!


Funt - we love you like your mother, and your mother too!


small print (that doesn't count in the word count of the email above because I've only just thought to mention it):
We might stick the novels up on a website (if we get more than none), so sending your plot synopsis for a TV series you plan to sell to TV and retire on might not be the cleverest thing in the world. But then again, maybe you're cool with that :)

Tomorrow: my first inspirational email to keep things moving.

Macbeth in Space jumping off point

After watching Akira Kurosawa's 'Throne Of Blood' I considered reworking Macbeth, but set in space. People suggest shamelessly ripping off something is a good way of ending up with something of your own. One of the possibilities was a huge ship on which a battle raged (a gritty version of the great Startopia PC game, sadly ignored despite appearing on many a review top ten).

Obviously I've not written it yet, but it's an idea I chew on from time to time. From that has come a smaller idea: a squad/platoon of soldiers sent to penetrate enemy lines on the space ship, which is then cut off, perhaps knowingly, perhaps accidently. No chance of returning to their side. This could be something they were aware of beforehand, or something that just happens. Now I'm thinking it could almost be a starting point for a story.

The soldiers are sent to remove the the enemies ability to destroy the whole ship by disabling a self destruct device (or whatever) that resides behind enemy lines. Then their mission changes: the ship has separated in two, and they are ordered to set the bomb off to wipe the enemy out, possibly dying as a result. Can they do it in time? Can they escape if they do? Will they do it?

There are obvious possibilties for characters to rebel against the order, to try to sabotage the mission, etc etc. With loads of action, which I love writing. Ammo running dry, desperate escapes, a car chase. I'm not sure how I would work in a car chase, but I think there's mileage of one in a novel, a device long since run dry in the movies. I heard a spoken poem version of what I think was a Jack Kerouac short as a kid on the radio about a (late night?) drive, and it was incredible. Would love to hear that again...

Intro

I wrote a novel for Nanowrimo a few years back, and I've been meaning to do it again each year since. But waiting for it to start and then scabbling around for an idea isn't ideal, so this blog is for me to jot down ideas, maybe roll them around a bit and see where the go, and hopefully end up with a pool of ideas to drawn upon when November rolls around.

Yes, throwing them out for public view might not seem the best idea, and I guess anyone could run with one before I do and claim it as their own, but ideas are just that and sitting on them is pointless.

So here goes.