See, the human mind is kind of like... a piñata.*
Meme: 30-Day Original Story Development Challenge
Here is a 30 day original story development challenge. It can be filled by prose or illustration or comic or even just script, whatever works for you and how you’ll be displaying the setting. Feel free to reveal as much or as little as you want.
Day 10 - Your character when they were young(er)
Chip stood on his tip toes to slip the quarters into the slot and hestitated, not sure what he wanted. He stared into the vending machine, his nose pressed up against the glass, until the machine gave a beep and dropped his quarters back out through the change slot. He reached up again, fed the coins back into the machine, and pressed two buttons at random.
Dad had told him to go get something from the machine, after all. Chip didn't know why - he wasn't hungry or thirsty or anything. What he was was tired and homesick. He didn't like this place - the sharp too-clean smell that never faded, the strange people waiting in the hard, bright orange chairs or rushing down the halls lined with door upon door, the fact that no matter how late it was the flourescent lights were always on, always bright and humming.
Chip reached into the vending machine for his purchase - it was rootbeer, which he hated - and pressed the cold metal can against his cheek. The clock on the wall said it was almost eleven-thirty at night. Chip wondered what happened at midnight - he'd never been allowed to stay up so late.
Picking a chair - hard, orange, ugly - that faced the clock, Chip settled down cross-legged and opened the can. He didn't drink any, just sat there playing with the tab until it snapped off, and sloshing the liquid around to hear it fizz.
At a quarter to midnight, almost the witching hour and almost tomorrow and way past Chip's bedtime, Dad came to get him.
"Hey there, buddy," he said, trying to smile. "How are you holding up?"
"'M sleepy," mumbled Chip, rubbing his eyes with heel of his hand.
"Come on," said Dad, scooping his son in his arms, mindful of the open can of rootbeer, "Mom wants to talk to her little Chip'n'Dale chipmunk."
He didn't add that it was to say goodbye.
Day 11 - What kind of people show up in the background in your world?
Day 12 - How does a character comfort themself?
Day 13 - What kind of foods are popular in the setting?
Day 14 - What is a character’s biggest regret?
Day 15 - What are a character’s bad habits?
Day 16 - What was a character’s first romantic and/or sexual encounter like?
Day 17 - What are popular sports and hobbies in your setting?
Day 18 - What would your protagonist do if they saw your antagonist on the street?
Day 19 - What would your antagonist do if they saw your protagonist on the street?
Day 20 - Demonstrate a character and their best friend and/or love interest interacting as they most commonly do.
Day 21 - What is a character’s deepest desire?
Day 22 - What animals appear in your setting?
Day 23 - A unique place in your setting.
Day 24 - Where did you draw inspiration for the setting/story from?
Day 25 - A character’s proudest moment.
Day 26 - What special talents or abilities does a character have?
Day 27 - An average day to a character.
Day 28 - A character’s most embrassing moment.
Day 29 - An important thematic element.
Day 30 - A major event in the setting’s history.
Quote of the Day: Joss Whedon
Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.
Links of the Day:
Supernatural:
yahnknshadows' Fic Ripples in the Water - Body- and universe-swap with RPF. LE WIN
ash48's Fanvid Worls Spins Madly On
greenelysium's Fanvid Love Actualized
secretlytodream's Fanvid Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave
museoftheweird's Fanvid For the Kill
mishamiga's Fanart Sandcastles in the Sand
callowyn's Fanart Dr Phil Would Be Proud
wishflthinker's Picspam Best Dean Eatins Scenes
yaya_wr8t3r's Video Boston Con: Jared, Part 1
missyjack's Links Danneel's sitcom
Doctor Who:
doctorwho's Meta Spoilers: Foreshadowing to the revelation of River's identity
DoctorWhoNews' Video "Best Of" Specials
Sherlock:
True Blood:
trueblood_lj's flocked Episode Discussion: Cold Grey Light of Dawn ; Meta Jason Stackhouse doesn't deserve this!
Other Fandom:
soaked's Lord of the Rings Picpsma Eowyn
Multifandom:
thevividimagery's Icons - Angel, BtVS, Doctor Who, Firefly, Fringe, Lost, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural, Torchwood, The X-Files, Dollhouse, Veronica Mars, The Vampire Diaries
Random:
cleolinda's Review Rise of the Planet of the Apes
qthewetsprocket's London rioters shut down Sherlock filming & Video of woman vs. rioters
greygirlbeast's Reply to Why is the term "horror writer" a stigma? ; On Mary Sue
theweaselking's Photo The shirt you got at the neo-nazi rally, and the shirt the way it looked after you washed it. - Brilliant! ; History ain't what it used to be - "I'd give quite a bit to read the conclusions future archaeologists make about us from excavating our cities."
Lettersofnote's It will be sunny one day - "A beautiful letter from Stephen Fry to a lady by the name of Crystal Nunn, in response to a desperate letter she wrote to him during a bout of depression, early 2006." ♥ ; I can't fight any longer - "In the days preceding her death, Virginia Woolf wrote three letters; one of which was addressed to her sister, Vanessa, the other two to her husband, Leonard."
Neil Gaiman's Three Weddings and a Fringe
WMUR's Milton police find shark in woods - RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
Working Title's Trailer Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
BBC News UK's London Riots: Timeline and Map of Violence
BBC Nature News' Abused baby boobies grow up to abuse other chicks - Of topic, but isn't "baby boobies" a most glorious set of sounds?
Hartmanncara's Video eHarmony Video Bio - "I can't hug every cat!" - The origin of the meme :D
* Jane Wagner
Here is a 30 day original story development challenge. It can be filled by prose or illustration or comic or even just script, whatever works for you and how you’ll be displaying the setting. Feel free to reveal as much or as little as you want.
Day 10 - Your character when they were young(er)
Chip stood on his tip toes to slip the quarters into the slot and hestitated, not sure what he wanted. He stared into the vending machine, his nose pressed up against the glass, until the machine gave a beep and dropped his quarters back out through the change slot. He reached up again, fed the coins back into the machine, and pressed two buttons at random.
Dad had told him to go get something from the machine, after all. Chip didn't know why - he wasn't hungry or thirsty or anything. What he was was tired and homesick. He didn't like this place - the sharp too-clean smell that never faded, the strange people waiting in the hard, bright orange chairs or rushing down the halls lined with door upon door, the fact that no matter how late it was the flourescent lights were always on, always bright and humming.
Chip reached into the vending machine for his purchase - it was rootbeer, which he hated - and pressed the cold metal can against his cheek. The clock on the wall said it was almost eleven-thirty at night. Chip wondered what happened at midnight - he'd never been allowed to stay up so late.
Picking a chair - hard, orange, ugly - that faced the clock, Chip settled down cross-legged and opened the can. He didn't drink any, just sat there playing with the tab until it snapped off, and sloshing the liquid around to hear it fizz.
At a quarter to midnight, almost the witching hour and almost tomorrow and way past Chip's bedtime, Dad came to get him.
"Hey there, buddy," he said, trying to smile. "How are you holding up?"
"'M sleepy," mumbled Chip, rubbing his eyes with heel of his hand.
"Come on," said Dad, scooping his son in his arms, mindful of the open can of rootbeer, "Mom wants to talk to her little Chip'n'Dale chipmunk."
He didn't add that it was to say goodbye.
Day 11 - What kind of people show up in the background in your world?
Day 12 - How does a character comfort themself?
Day 13 - What kind of foods are popular in the setting?
Day 14 - What is a character’s biggest regret?
Day 15 - What are a character’s bad habits?
Day 16 - What was a character’s first romantic and/or sexual encounter like?
Day 17 - What are popular sports and hobbies in your setting?
Day 18 - What would your protagonist do if they saw your antagonist on the street?
Day 19 - What would your antagonist do if they saw your protagonist on the street?
Day 20 - Demonstrate a character and their best friend and/or love interest interacting as they most commonly do.
Day 21 - What is a character’s deepest desire?
Day 22 - What animals appear in your setting?
Day 23 - A unique place in your setting.
Day 24 - Where did you draw inspiration for the setting/story from?
Day 25 - A character’s proudest moment.
Day 26 - What special talents or abilities does a character have?
Day 27 - An average day to a character.
Day 28 - A character’s most embrassing moment.
Day 29 - An important thematic element.
Day 30 - A major event in the setting’s history.
Quote of the Day: Joss Whedon
Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.
Links of the Day:
Supernatural:
yahnknshadows' Fic Ripples in the Water - Body- and universe-swap with RPF. LE WIN
ash48's Fanvid Worls Spins Madly On
greenelysium's Fanvid Love Actualized
secretlytodream's Fanvid Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave
museoftheweird's Fanvid For the Kill
mishamiga's Fanart Sandcastles in the Sand
callowyn's Fanart Dr Phil Would Be Proud
wishflthinker's Picspam Best Dean Eatins Scenes
yaya_wr8t3r's Video Boston Con: Jared, Part 1
missyjack's Links Danneel's sitcom
- Eastcollins' Photo Misha with a hellhound-fetus-inna-jar - note his name tag ♥ ; Ten Inch Hero Criticism - Me too! Ugh. ; GIFs Misha on SPN fans ; GIF You know which line gets me the most? The line that, every time I hear it or read it, makes my heart hurt... - Trufax. And great, now my heart hurts too. ; GIFs Dean vs. Rock (and it wasn't even in the script) - Jensen, you awesome ; GIFs Comparison Foreshadowing (and original intent) ; GIFs Misha on the cast - ♥ ; GIFs Con: Jared takes Misha's microphone ; GIFs Con: Misha is a cat - But, wait, Mark is also a cat. There can only be one! ; GIFs Con: Misha and Jared on Sam's death-curse on his partners ; GIFs Con: Misha is Jared's hair product ; GIFs Con: Jared and the worst outfit he's had to wear ; Photo Misha flicks Jared's hair ; GIFs Con: Misha vs. 2nd degree black belt fan ; GIFs Con: Misha and Jared flicking each other's hair ; GIFs and Quote Jared: Funniest experience on set ; GIFs Con: Jared and Misha annoy a fan and irony ensues ; GIFs Con: Jensen and Jared smacks Misha's ass ; Photo Con: Misha, dishevelled, or with a rag on his head? Still adorable. ; Audio Chad, Jared, Misha and Richard saying "moist" ; GIFs Con: Jared, on letting the air out of Misha's car ; GIFs Con: Misha, on how you convince someone to have more kids ; Text I was always under the impression that Castiel was bullshitting about the amulet and just wanted to take something of Dean’s to remind him of Dean whilst he went looking for his Father, because he was scared and wanted a reminder of what he was fighting for - Hello headcannon ; GIFs Dean cares about Cas ; Picspam Con: The Wonderful Duo of Jared and Misha ; GIFs Con: Jared and Misha on Jared's shirts being ripped - And then Misha conjurs up a brilliant image.
- Precioussasquatbean's Tag Alphabet
- Newton_pulsifer's Secret I want Cas to be made human ; Macros I still have your underwear ; Meta Here's why I can't forgive John
- Crowleyismyco-pilot's Twittercap Jim Beaver adds to the shirtless list ; Fanart Is anyone else concerned by the fact... ; Fanvid Everybody Loves Me ; Text Mark shepard's reaction to Jared's story of him stopping the train in London ; Secret I'm incredibly scared for the day crowley dies or leaves the show permanently - *cries at the thought* ; Photo Mark, when he was a drummer for Light a Fire ; Picspam Mark Sheppard laughing - Lower left! Lower middle! ♥ ; Video Richard and Mark in the audience ; Observation Crowley bests the Winchesters and co. because they see him as "just a demon" - Now who's underestimating whom, eh? ; RP Drabble I think he's trying to tell me something ; Secret I hate that Ruby wasn't really on their side - YES
- Dumtweedledee's Meta Sera Gamble: Writer or ruiner?
- Superwho's Doctor Who Crossover GIF Emergency zap to the TARDIS
Doctor Who:
doctorwho's Meta Spoilers: Foreshadowing to the revelation of River's identity
DoctorWhoNews' Video "Best Of" Specials
- Newton_pulsifer's Art Doctor Who, 2011 ; Supernatural Crossover Fanmix I Need a Doctor
- Tacoface's Photo Matt has eyebrows! ; Fanart Minimalist Poster: A Good Man Goes to War
- Crowleyismyco-pilot's Text Dear Doctor [...] / Dear Girl who dreamed [...]
- Lameassmadeupmaidenname's Fanart Some men...
- Virginachance's Much Ado About Nothing Story But, the fourth wall is still up!
- It's Sorcery's Photo Comparison Ten is an Owl ; The Hour Masterpost ; Photos Now come the days of the Queen: Sir Ian McKellan being awesome
Sherlock:
- Newton_pulsifer's Textart John and Sherlock write their birthdates
- Crowleyismyco-pilot's GIF I will burn the heart out of you ; GIF and Meta That clenching jaw: Martin's performance ; Video ComicCon Interview: Mark Sheppard wants to be on Sherlock - WAAAAAAANT ; GIF Kissogram for John Watson ; Photos Benedict Cumberbatch
- Lameassmadeupmaidenname's Macro Collection Misleading Moriarty - *cackles*
- Oxymoronish's Doctor Who Crossover GIF Explosions! & Fanart That paper is blank
- Seschat's GIF and Tags The worst things about Sherlock, continued
True Blood:
trueblood_lj's flocked Episode Discussion: Cold Grey Light of Dawn ; Meta Jason Stackhouse doesn't deserve this!
- Eastcollins' Macros Ridiculous names for TB characters
- Newton_pulsifer's Text Fandom reaction to announcement: "a variation on the infamous "shower scene" is in episode 408" - Emphasis added. Don't you be messin' with mah showah scene!
Other Fandom:
soaked's Lord of the Rings Picpsma Eowyn
- Eastcollins' Lord of the Rings Shirt Mordor University - WANT ; Harry Potter GIFs How the different houses make chicken - I have no idea what is going on but it's hilarious ; GIFs Interview: Jason, on Dobby
- Newton_pulsifer's Robin Hood GIF #ugh i wanted to marry you when i was a kid #we all did let’s be honest - TRUFAX ; Harry Potter Photo Quidditch Shirts (and more) ; Secret I wish Neville was the one who killed Bellatrix ; Quote House rules of life - ♥ ; How to Train Your Dragon Video Upcoming arena show in Melbourne and Sydney ; Constantine GIFs and Quote Demons and angels - If I ever make a fanvid for the Time series, I'll be needing some of these images. Likewise Legion. Just sayin'.
- Lameassmadeupmaidenname's Angel GIFs Cordelia: The bitch is back - And she is fierce ; Buffy GIFs and Meta Buffy's gift ; Meta Amy ; Meta It completely baffles me how anyone could think Buffy didn't mean it when she told Spike she loved him ; Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Masterpost - \o/
- Seschat's Harry Potter Fanart Hogwarts Express Ticket
- It's Sorcery's Fanart Not all Slytherins are evil - PREACH IT ; New Moon GIF Before and after the CGI - *sporfle* ; Audio Tom Felton reads passages from HP and the Deathly Hallows
Multifandom:
thevividimagery's Icons - Angel, BtVS, Doctor Who, Firefly, Fringe, Lost, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural, Torchwood, The X-Files, Dollhouse, Veronica Mars, The Vampire Diaries
- Tumblr's Quick Summary
Random:
cleolinda's Review Rise of the Planet of the Apes
qthewetsprocket's London rioters shut down Sherlock filming & Video of woman vs. rioters
greygirlbeast's Reply to Why is the term "horror writer" a stigma? ; On Mary Sue
theweaselking's Photo The shirt you got at the neo-nazi rally, and the shirt the way it looked after you washed it. - Brilliant! ; History ain't what it used to be - "I'd give quite a bit to read the conclusions future archaeologists make about us from excavating our cities."
Lettersofnote's It will be sunny one day - "A beautiful letter from Stephen Fry to a lady by the name of Crystal Nunn, in response to a desperate letter she wrote to him during a bout of depression, early 2006." ♥ ; I can't fight any longer - "In the days preceding her death, Virginia Woolf wrote three letters; one of which was addressed to her sister, Vanessa, the other two to her husband, Leonard."
Neil Gaiman's Three Weddings and a Fringe
WMUR's Milton police find shark in woods - RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
Working Title's Trailer Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
BBC News UK's London Riots: Timeline and Map of Violence
BBC Nature News' Abused baby boobies grow up to abuse other chicks - Of topic, but isn't "baby boobies" a most glorious set of sounds?
Hartmanncara's Video eHarmony Video Bio - "I can't hug every cat!" - The origin of the meme :D
- Newton_pulsifer's Text Tottenham Riots News Round-Up ; Photos London Riots ; Photos Tottenham, north London: Before, during, and after ; Text The London Riots ; Text How to write the end of a novel - OMG HAVE I EVER DONE THIS?!? *all the selfdoubt* ; Text What I picture when people say "I don't swing that way" ; Photo Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft captured over Southern Australia during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere by Kouji Ohnishi ; Art Self Loooooaaaaathiiiiing ; Audio Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smtihs - ♥ ; Audio Addicted to Love - Florence and the Machine - ♥
- Tacoface's Manips Art is Better With Cats ; Text How to deal when the world goes to hell ; Quote Nobody tells this to people who are beginners. [...] All of us who do creative work ; text Podcast pimping ; Text PSA: facebook have changed their security settings without notification. Again. ; Text USC Professor has invented a virus that hunts down HIV-infected cells - Aslkdjlaskjdlsad! ; Art if male superheroes posed like Wonder Woman - Not so awesome now, huh, guys?!
- Eastcollins' Screencap Most awesome chat log ever
- Crowleyismyco-pilot's Text Injured people in Scotland riots ; Photo This "slutty" outfit is almost identical to the one I wore when my neighbour sexually assaulted me. I was five. ; Photo Hermes shoes. - The god. Also, WANT ; Photo Apparently if you want to be on MTV’s The Real World, you have to sign a contract that says you understand you may be raped
- Lameassmadeupmaidenname's Diagram What my shower says / what it actually means ; Text That awkward moment when you realize you've broken every rule you've been told about the internet ; Text What if your pillow could collect your dreams and [...] you could watch them over again - I NEED THIS ; Text Basically I just don’t understand what the point is in dwelling on things that you “hate”. - On ship-bashing
- Oxymoronish' Quote Occasionally, late at night, while trying to sleep and failing... ; Twittercap A heartwarming picture from closer to home - Sweeping London clean ; Text Addendum to "Fandom is" ; Tutorial 5 Easy ways to improve your colouring ; audio Singin "Chasing Pavements"
- Seschat's Quote I'm not going to let my insecurities keep me from having a good time ; Graph The most depressing pay gap statistic you've seen today ; Antisocial Sloth My mom said no - Sadly, I never even got to use this because I never got invited to shit.
- Atomicblonde's Audio Nyan cat played by an orchestra
- It's Sorcery's Photo UK Riots: Double-decker on fire
- Fuck yeah socially lazy sloth's Video What a baby sloth sounds like - Too cute for words
* Jane Wagner