Writing: The Nine Day Novel Challenge**

Luckily, it is not a reality TV show (yet?!).

My friend, "I never actually do anything I say I'm going to do," has challenged me to a nine day novel challenge, in part as an attempt to save face over the screenplay debacle.*

The challenge is inspired by his airline reading of "one of those mickey spillane novels, which are fun but unbelievably lazy--at one point he describes a roomful of commies as 'they looked like commies from a cartoon, you know'."

No; I don't know. I don't know what commies in a cartoon look like (doesn't it depend on the animator?) and I don't know who Mickey Spillane is.

My friend goes on to explain, "of course, the reason why he was lazy is that he took about 9 days to do one of these....so, should we do a nine day novel challenge? it can be something pulpy (not of course some sort of crime novel or anything, as we can't do those)"

Hmm.

We actually are now talking about taking two weeks to do it (although Nine Day Novel Challenge is a more marketable title for the reality TV show), with a 100-150 page count. The loser is the one who doesn't do it (gee, I wonder who that will be?) and the punishment is that the loser buys the winner a pricey dinner (I don't think he and I have the same concept of "pricey dinner," considering all those $4 curries, but whatever). In the (unlikely) case that both parties presents a manuscript on the due date, a disinterested third party (who works at a big publishing house!) will be the judge, and the loser buys dinner for all three.

Hmm.

I am concerned. Two weeks for 100 pages is about 10 pages a day. That's a lot. That will cut seriously into my reading time, which will in turn cut seriously into my blogging time. Do I really want to do this? Also, the prize isn't that great. It's actually more about gloating power, and I'm not so big on gloating.

And how am I to write a novel in the style of Mickey Spillane when I have no idea who he is? Now I need to dedicate research time as well?! I don't know about this. . .


*Six or so months ago, "I never actually do anything I say I'm going to do" and I were having a chat over some godawful $4 curry or something, and he was describing his new get-rich-quick scheme. I actually adore "I never actually do anything I say I'm going to do," because even though he always has new get-rich-quick schemes, they are never ugly capitalist pyramid scenarios, or duplicitous web sites, or dealings with drugs and hos. They are always semi-intellectual/semi-artistic pursuits. This time, it went thusly:

INADA. . .: Did you know that you can get like $20,000 just for writing a screenplay?
me: "Just" writing a screenplay? Is it really so easy?
INADA. . .: For $20,000, yeah, it can't be that hard.
me: Well, why don't you do it, then.
INADA. . .: I think I'm going to.
me: I challenge you to do it. As incentive, if you do it, I will do my utmost to get it filmed (I have connections, and anyway, I know he'll never do it anyway).
INADA. . .: Excellent. I'll do it then.
me: You'd better. How long do you need?
INADA. . .: I don't know. . . three months?
me: I'm putting it in my blackberry. I'll give you a one-month warning.

Well, at the one month warning, he asked for a one-month extension, because his great Viking idea was taken already, but he had a new great Nazi idea or some such rot. Of course, he never did it, and thereby earned his INADA. . . moniker.

**Update: We are indeed doing the challenge, and I am publishing excerpts as I go along. See all blog entries titled "Excerpt: . . . "