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 |   A month-long novel-planning challenge with prizes galore. |
| Okay, I'm still behind on my novel prepping and now behind on my homework, too. Ugh! Me and my life decisions! Anyway, school aside, I have a NaNo question. I'm prepping a horror story story where a kid is interested in science and genetics. They have pet lizards and they feed them this special type of roach that can't climb or fly so people often keep them in tanks with no lids. (True statement.) The kid ends up breeding the feeder roaches to become more aggressive and they end up mating with flying, climbing roaches (which probably can't happen) and becoming this horrible flying, climbing, aggressive roach. So, the question is, how does this come about. I had an idea, but then changed it during the What If's. But now I'm worried that the change might be too passe. Thoughts? A boy decides to breed aggressive roaches because the idea of breeding in/out traits is interesting to him and he wants his lizards to be more entertained and to work for their food more like they would in the wild. Flying, climbing roaches get into his tank and eventually manage to successfully breed, then the offspring escape, since there's no lid. They reproduce in the walls of his house and his mom is likely the first one killed. They kill you by suffocating you by crawling down your throat when you go to scream about all the roaches on you. His leading to the horror that follows is purely accidental. A girl decides to breed aggressive roaches because she's bullied at school and begins feeling sorry for the roaches she's feeding to her lizards and wants them to at least have a fighting chance. She discovers there are flying, climbing roaches trying to mate or maybe she even puts them in to try to mate them with the aggressive roaches and after several unsuccessful attempts (partly due to the aggressiveness of her new roaches), she finally breeds some and lets them go in the school or perhaps in her nemesis's house where they continue breeding and eventually become quite abundant and start swarming and end up killing people in the same way as mentioned above. She plays an active role in the horror that befalls her town and is quite pleased with herself. He's a curious, scientifically-minded teen who makes mistakes. She's an angry psychopath who does this on purpose. I think the 2nd one seems more "horror," but it also seems too predictable and a bit overdone, IMO. Of course, she's bullied. Of course, she breeds killer roaches on purpose. Blah, blah, heard it all before, just not with roaches. Thoughts? Or maybe you have a 3rd option? |
Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo?   When you get a chance after you post entry make a Pro/Con list. What are the Pros & Cons of your MC being Female or Male ? Also just a thought how about a Unisex? You can do this and Your HW as well my friend.Co-Cheerleader Sig |
| A third option would be if the person who genetically engineered the roaches did it for positive reasons, then someone stole their research and the person unleashed the dangerous roaches on their enemy who stole their research. The hard part is figuring out what the positive reasons for genetically engineering roaches would be. I think the scenario with the girl seems more plausible to me, the motivation of the first kid doesnāt seem as plausible or interesting. Preferred Author ![Merit Badge in Nano Winner
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| I didn't think about a pros and cons list. I hate doing them, but it is an option. lol Thanks. It's not so much about if it should specifically be a boy or girl or other option. (Though I barely feel comfortable writing from a boy's perspective; I'm sure I couldn't write authentically from another option.) It's more about their motivation that I'm unsure of. I just happened to attached the innocent motivation to the boy and the vengeful motivation to the girl in my brainstorming. Interesting idea, Riverd0g. Thank you. I'd not thought of an adult doing so for good reasons (whatever those could possibly be lol). Though you can accidentally trigger certain genes when breeding for other genes and so someone had suggested they accidentally triggered some genes that turned them into this horrid giant roach thing that's been long extinct, thankfully! lol Breeding for specific genes doesn't really turn the animal into something else entirely, at least not in a couple of generations, though looking at dogs, you can see how specific breeding can make a dachshund look entirely different from a St. Bernard. lol I think the discovery of certain genes being linked to others was with the foxes being bred in Russia. They took wild foxes and over time (it's been a 40+ year experiment) started breeding to make them more and more tame. As they did, other genes seemed to come along with them and they are looking more and more like regular dogs and losing their fox-like qualities. Anyway, I agree that the girl's seems more authentic, but it also seems so overdone to me. Ideally, I was hoping for a new motivation, like your scientist one, unless you all seemed to think it wasn't overdone. lol I'll ponder the scientist and await other ideas, too.  Thanks for the thoughts, both of you! |
| When it comes to creature horror, this sounds like the slew if bee movies of the 60s/70s. In most cases it was aggressive queen bees attacking a working bee hive so she'd mate with the drones It was nature and an accident. In the one I remember with a human involved, he ended up being one of the last victims. In this case, why not an accident? The wrong roaches are bought and put in with the ones already there. Your first victim can be the school lizards, killed as you described. They breed rapidly and get out when some kids decide to take some to play a prank. There is no knowing where they will attack next and the race is one to find a killing agent as the swarm gets bigger and more are killed... |
| The girl sounds authentic. Less so with the boy. But it can still work out. I don't think roaches is overused. Then again I don't read horror much to know. It sounds like a unique idea. GoT House Florent Preferred Author |
| I'm going to quote a line from the play I was just in. "Why can't you write happy stories about pink petunias, bunny rabbits or snowflakes?" Oh my, a horror story in my mind is roaches. I hate them. I hate any bug that crunches when you step on them. And en masse, ick, ooh. And the going down your throat, well, that is just evil. It is a unique idea, as most of yours are. Perhaps somehow the girl weaponizes the roaches? With a virus or perhaps they grow in size? Really think beyond the normal for this. I love living in Montana for the fact we have no creepy crawly creatures like roaches. A few bugs, yes. But so far none like them. 2023 Quill Finalist. 2023 Quill Nominee. Image #2273455 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273457 over display limit. -?- Preferred Author |
| Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? and other interested WdC'ers, I breed feeder bugs. Some can climb smooth surfaces and some can not. A mutation intended or not might work in this story. There are additives like vitamins that reptile keepers apply to their feeder bugs just before feeding the reptiles. I usually feed my bugs veggies and cereal which can be a cause for changes if the foodstuff is contaminated by something. Another consideration is that whatever the reptiles eat will affect their health. If they are not fed properly and have the right environment they will not thrive. Food and environment can have a direct effect on what happens to the reptiles as well as the feeder bugs. Humans can not resist trying to make things better. Humans also seek revenge. Either or both can play a part in a story. Are you going to focus on the bugs, reptiles, or humans in your story? If the humans you could make their emotions and responses to events the focal point and the bugs and reptiles the catalyst for certain events. Is a special food concoction created for whatever purpose going to be the reason for the dramatic changes? This is plausible and can add interest to the story because scientists do make mistakes because they are human. Another option is a person programming a computer that causes a mistake in the food formula which then causes animal changes, or if the reptiles are human food this can change the humans. Any age of character can cause problems. Maybe this can be a friendship between the younger people who meet a scientist or a few and things gradually go wrong. Some animals shipped from a war-torn country could be altered by the weapon especially chemical weapons and cause a transformation of animals or the foodstuff. When formulating the safe food additive another open container can be accidentally knocked over and this causes the problem. I like the idea of your story because there is room for a lot of possibilities. let your creativity free to create and take the gems into your story and see what the characters do with them. Viv (dogpack) & Bella (service dog) RIP https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=18522449&enrollerid=... "disABILITY WRITERS GROUP"  Everyone is welcome to join our family."ONE SIZE FITS ALL RAFFLE IS OPEN!" Give a no-hassle gift for any occasion."disABILITY WRITERS MOUNTAIN LOG CABIN" Join our gab cabin activities. |
Good ideas - I like the open container contaminating the food idea. There was a movie that took place in a jungle. Wish I could remember the title. Anyway. They found a cure for a disease, and tried to retrace the steps as to the ingredients. There was a stalemate. UNTIL they saw ants walking across the ingredients. Formic acid from the ants. Huh. Isn't nature fun. formic acid (HCO2H), the simplest of the carboxylic acids, used in processing textiles and leather. Formic acid was first isolated from certain ants and was named after the Latin formica, meaning āant.ā It is made by the action of sulfuric acid upon sodium formate, which is produced from carbon monoxide and sodium hydroxide. Image #2291665 over display limit. -?- . Image #2291664 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273455 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273457 over display limit. -?- Preferred Author |
| This should be helpful to Jody in developing the story in some way I hope. I didn't know about this, thanks for the information. Viv (dogpack) & Bella (service dog) RIP https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=18522449&enrollerid=... "disABILITY WRITERS GROUP" Everyone is welcome to join our family."ONE SIZE FITS ALL RAFFLE IS OPEN!" Give a no-hassle gift for any occasion."disABILITY WRITERS MOUNTAIN LOG CABIN" Join our gab cabin activities. |
I love knowledge. Sometimes useless, but you never know when it might come in handy. Like today. I pulled that little bit of a movie trivia out of the file tucked way back in my brain. Image #2291665 over display limit. -?- . Image #2291664 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273455 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273457 over display limit. -?- Preferred Author |
| Knowledge even trivial can be useful in a story. Viv (dogpack) & Bella (service dog) RIP https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=18522449&enrollerid=... "disABILITY WRITERS GROUP" Everyone is welcome to join our family."ONE SIZE FITS ALL RAFFLE IS OPEN!" Give a no-hassle gift for any occasion."disABILITY WRITERS MOUNTAIN LOG CABIN" Join our gab cabin activities. |
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1,000 GPs were sent to Riverd0g  with this post.The Cheerleading Fairies caught you BEING HELPFUL and ENCOURAGING OTHERS! You get a prize: Fairy Dust Cheers, Michelle Image #1958063 over display limit. -?- |
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| Thank you very, very much. "disABILITY WRITERS GROUP" Viv (dogpack) & Bella (service dog) RIP https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=18522449&enrollerid=... "disABILITY WRITERS GROUP" Everyone is welcome to join our family."ONE SIZE FITS ALL RAFFLE IS OPEN!" Give a no-hassle gift for any occasion."disABILITY WRITERS MOUNTAIN LOG CABIN" Join our gab cabin activities. |
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