This year I've decided to give Camp NaNoWriMo a try.
For those unfamiliar with the camp concept, it works a lot like the novel version that happens every November. However, the camp challenge is more flexible. Writers can set whatever word count they wish or even use some other standard (such as writing time) to measure their success. And more to the point in my case, they can work on something other than a novel.
Several years ago I read the Bible all the way from "in the beginning" to "amen." It was an interesting experience for several reasons. For starters, it left me wondering if many people who profess Christianity as their faith have ever bothered reading their own scripture. That's a discussion for another time (and probably a different venue).
One thing I noticed was that the book was full of odd bits here and there, the fragmentary beginnings of thoughts that blossomed into story ideas. None of the stories born from the experience were actually about their source materials (at least not directly). Of the five that stuck with me from my reading notes and actually wound themselves up into stories, one is a consideration of one of the possible side consequences of a well-known Bible story. Two of them put a new spin on somewhat familiar verses, and the final two are likely to have been noticed only by the most astute of Bible students.
I know that's teasingly vague, but at the moment that's where it must stand. I'm half likely to write an afterword explaining my thoughts, and if I don't I promise I'll create a much more complete blog entry on the subject at the end of the process.
The goal will still be 50,000 words, though of course this time it's divided across five plots rather than just one. I'm curious to see if that makes a difference. I'm also curious to see how writing in July – when I'm a gentleman of leisure – differs from the frenzy of November.
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