NaNoWriMo in the Playground 2017: I Still Can't Name Things

[Duck999]

The NaNoWriMo season has begun, so I figured we could use a thread so we can come here for help and discussions and sanity-saving sessions (that was some good alliteration).

NaNoWriMo 20167

For those who don't know what NaNoWriMo is, here's a link. In essence, writers challenge themselves to write a 50,000 word story, or 50,000 words of a story, in the month of November. However, it is important to remember that 50,000 is not a special number. If you are feeling very creative and have a lot of spare time, write more. If you are busy or just can't come up with enough content, a lower goal, say 25,000, or even 10,000, is perfectly fine. The whole point is just to get writing, be creative, etc.

Anyway, this thread is here to help each other and work together to avoid falling into the depths of insanity. I made that joke last year. It's still funny (This line was literally copy-pasted from last year, as was most of this post). You should still laugh.
And I'm supposed to come up with 50,000 words of material... (Same as last year...)
This year, I decided that I would be participating this evening, which was only a little late. On the bright side, I have a story from last year to finish, so not too much planning needed.
So come, post your stories, ideas, questions, requests for names, and tales of writing too late into the night to be considered healthy.

[Doorhandle]

I had this month mostly free, so I decided to take this opportunity to compete.

Anyone ever used real artifacts in their novels? I'm using Damien Hirst's "For the love of god" as a the target of a heist. I've gotten at least 3 good jokes out of it so far.

[Alent]

I've been smashing away at a massive writing project for a few months now and need all the time I can get on it, so I'll cheer folks on instead of participating this year.

@Doorhandle: Oh the Pun. I like to use real world artifacts/historic sites when it makes sense, definitely. Something I enjoy is to take mythologies and try to figure out a "original mythology" that over time mutated into the popular understandings of the myth. Lots of really fun ideas in mythology that can be twisted into something different quite easily. (An example I've seen done a few times is that the story of the Tuatha De Danann is really a sci-fi epic, and Nuada Airgetlam's silver arm was a cybernetic prosthetic.)

[akma]

I started nanowrimo and chose to work on a story about an epic fantasy journey. It's an idea I have been developing for a while, and even though I feel the plot is pointless and I should leave it, I keep coming back to it (I do love the rest, but plot in stories is generally the most important thing to me). While deciding to focus on this one for nanowrimo I considered that it might break me and make me stop working on it, which I consider as the second best option, the best being actually finishing it. So far I hadn't reached 1500 words, but I'm not ready to quit yet, and I hope I could close most of the gap tommorow.
And befitting the title of this thread, I haven't names ANY of the characters (but some have titles).

Anyone ever used real artifacts in their novels?

I generally avoid using things from the real world and I'm pretty sure I never used a real world artifact.

[Duck999]

I'd love some writing advice:

My novel is set in the distant future, and there are some things I feel are necessary to mention (such as the TVs being small hologram projectors). How do I mention these things without just outright stating them. Keep in mind that this is written from a first person perspective of the characters, so none of the futuristic technology would seem strange or explanation-worthy to them.

[Doorhandle]

I've found I just say it outright, and don't explain anything more unless it's necessary to the plot: maybe a short line of description for the item. You readers will probably catch on fast.

[Durkoala]

I started, but I got a paragraph in and I realised my protagonist is really dull. Does anybody have any tips for spicing up main characters? The general plot is that he's going to be drawn away from his home into a strange land, so I can't give him much of a connection to other characters or places.

EDIT: @Duck999: if you are OK with stretching disbelief a bit, you could include the important exposition as footnotes.

Or, the thought strikes me, have one of the characters be a tinkerer or tech nerd who is messing around with the innards and programmes of the tech, or annoucing news of upcoming gadgets and how they compare to the current models in the house, e.g: 'The new sony Tramstation is being tested RIGHT NOW! They say their navigator AIs are better than anything on the current market and they're using wheels instead of levitation engines! They say they give better control, but a lot of critics are saying that it won't move fast enough for normal road traffic.'

[Duck999]

I started, but I got a paragraph in and I realised my protagonist is really dull. Does anybody have any tips for spicing up main characters? The general plot is that he's going to be drawn away from his home into a strange land, so I can't give him much of a connection to other characters or places.

Does he have any hobbies? Anyone he knows or is close to that he's about to be drawn away from? Creating connections between characters evokes a lot more feeling when they're forced apart.
Maybe he just has a horrific past which has made him into a the most apathetic person ever, and the real story is in his backstory.

EDIT: @Duck999: if you are OK with stretching disbelief a bit, you could include the important exposition as footnotes.

Or, the thought strikes me, have one of the characters be a tinkerer or tech nerd who is messing around with the innards and programmes of the tech, or annoucing news of upcoming gadgets and how they compare to the current models in the house, e.g: 'The new sony Tramstation is being tested RIGHT NOW! They say their navigator AIs are better than anything on the current market and they're using wheels instead of levitation engines! They say they give better control, but a lot of critics are saying that it won't move fast enough for normal road traffic.'

Actually, it came up because one of my characters was tinkering with a TV (hologram projected) and I realized calling it a TV doesn't do it justice. I could use her background to describe the tech she's messed with before.

Thanks for the advice guys!

[akma]

My novel is set in the distant future, and there are some things I feel are necessary to mention (such as the TVs being small hologram projectors). How do I mention these things without just outright stating them. Keep in mind that this is written from a first person perspective of the characters, so none of the futuristic technology would seem strange or explanation-worthy to them.

I guess you could try to make it apparent by context or interaction. "He stood a feet away from the television screen, doing a frowning face behind the hologram of the vicious villain" or something like that. Maybe someone could try to block the television view and the hologram will be in front of him, or a character will confuse a real life object as part of the scene for a few moments.

I started, but I got a paragraph in and I realised my protagonist is really dull. Does anybody have any tips for spicing up main characters? The general plot is that he's going to be drawn away from his home into a strange land, so I can't give him much of a connection to other characters or places.

He could have unusual beliefs that will interact with the environment in strange ways. Something I noticed about those kinds of stories is that in every example I saw, the hero was atheist (honorary mention to Youjo Senki, in which it's kind of the point). A real or imaginary religion would definitely shape how he interprets what he sees, and how he will treat local religions. I guess anything that will cause the hero to have unusual / strong reactions will work, which depends on the world (if the world has superhuman humanoids, it will drive a racist crazy if they'll look like the races he hates and feels superior too, for another example).

[Doorhandle]

I started, but I got a paragraph in and I realised my protagonist is really dull. Does anybody have any tips for spicing up main characters? The general plot is that he's going to be drawn away from his home into a strange land, so I can't give him much of a connection to other characters or places.

EDIT: @Duck999: if you are OK with stretching disbelief a bit, you could include the important exposition as footnotes.

Or, the thought strikes me, have one of the characters be a tinkerer or tech nerd who is messing around with the innards and programmes of the tech, or annoucing news of upcoming gadgets and how they compare to the current models in the house, e.g: 'The new sony Tramstation is being tested RIGHT NOW! They say their navigator AIs are better than anything on the current market and they're using wheels instead of levitation engines! They say they give better control, but a lot of critics are saying that it won't move fast enough for normal road traffic.'

I generally have a pretty clear idea of what a character is like in my head, but here are a few things you could add:

A)An interesting concept I saw was the emotional wound: a traumatic pattern or event in a character's backstory that leads them to having a major delusion about how the world works.
ex. Parently favoritism, leading to a character who does everything to please their parents...or alternate, one who rejects all parenty figures, seeing them a fair-weather friends.

B) Give them a fear. Ideally it's a core, innate, often freudian fear like the fear of death, abandonments, or even success, but even a bog-standard phobia of spiders can be fun to write.
Why do they have this fear? how do they try to avoid their fear? it's closely related to the above.

C) What are their goals? Okay, why does he want that goal? why does he want what he wants? Desires can be layered(I want to kill the dark lord to avenge my family, Then maybe I won't feel so lonely) and multifaceted(If I kill the dark lord, I can take his job!...and make mordor into a nice place as the other guy was kind of a jerk. Plus, it'll put my name on people's lips.)

D)Adding a quirk in of itself doesn't help much, but giving that quirk meaning does. Perhaps your protagonist always use an axe because they feel it connect them to their woodcutter ancestors...or to the royal executioner. Perhaps they find swords require too much dexterity or by the time they could afford one they were already used to axes.

E) I personally prefer writing snarky characters, but if they're the quiet, straight laced type you can still get a lot of amusement by putting them in an absurd situation and watching them try to keep a straight face. Sort of like this.

Spoiler

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E, May be the best option for you simply because everything there is going to be strange to both him and the readers. Another option is to make his homeland really strange and make the world relatively normal, so there a major contrast there.

Generally, follow a pattern of a) give them a trait b) explain why they have it and c) how it affects their behavior.

[Duck999]

Today, I wrote a speech and would love some feedback. For context, humans in the future's Switzerland, the last standing country of earth, are making a last stand against an alien threat. MC is convincing some citizens to arm themselves and fight for the survival of the human race.

“Friends, humans, countrymen, lend me your ears! Three decades ago, our brothers brought forth on this planet a new nation, conceived in unity, and dedicated to preserving the human race. We did not join them, and when the aliens attacked, we did not help, for we were not the target. Now they come for us, and there’s no one left to fight beside us. But we shall fight. For upon this battle depends the survival of human civilization.
“We shall fight in the wreckage of earth, we shall fight with growing confidence and strength. We shall defend our country, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight in the skies, we shall fight on the ground and in the cities. We shall never surrender. We have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. But we will offer all we have. May fourth, 2939 is a date which will live on in fame as the date that humanity declared, ‘We will not go quietly into the night!’
“I know not what course you may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

[akma]

If you change the date and the word aliens, it would fit pretty well as a medieval speech. It would feel off as a modern speech, and more off as a speech more then 900 years in the future. I think you should cut off some terms like "lend me your ears" and add metaphors or phrases that relate to the technology or the local futuristic culture.

[Duck999]

It is composed in its entirety of parts of modern speeches. The first line is from Julius Caesar (Shakespeare's Play). I could adapt it a little more than I did, though. Thanks!

[An Enemy Spy]

I started, but I got a paragraph in and I realised my protagonist is really dull. Does anybody have any tips for spicing up main characters? The general plot is that he's going to be drawn away from his home into a strange land, so I can't give him much of a connection to other characters or places.

His relationship to his home should be contrasted to his relationship with his new world. Does he want to get back, or is he happy to be gone? If either, how does the new place differ from home? Does he thrive in anew environment, or is he a hopeless fish out of water in a land that makes no sense?