Stolen from a chat with a friend….
According to nanowrimo.com tips: Start writing down, now, every single thing you hear every single person say. Write down every dumb thought that enters your head. You will need it. Also under tips: “Try to dream about your novel, so you won’t lose those hours merely sleeping…”
Miche thinks I’m crazy. I say “Yes, I know”
Remains to be seen whether I can write 2000 words in a row. Never mind doing it day after day. A Wish for Peace was 1917 words apparently. Christie was 2300 words. So, do that 25 times in 30 days and I’m set.
Statistically I’m more likely to write for a while and get discouraged and forget it by the 15th. But I’ve got a couple things going for me… I have been envious of writers for a long time, and I haven’t been doing enough “stupid fun” things lately and need to.
Setting. There’s sci fi, there’s traditional medieval fantasy, there’s modern, there’s historical. Then there’s the silly, like the story told from the point of view of a white blood cell. I’m thinking of contemporary fantasy, like our world only with a little magic swirled in (or psychic powers or something). Contemporary would definitely be fastest in terms of amount of research needed. I’m not a historian, but I have some years experience living in the contemporary world
For plot you have murder mysteries or crime dramas, might be a bit too violent unless we stick to the level of the civilized art thief :) Then there is the romance. Torrid, but boy could one burn through pages. I seem to remember that dialog takes up very few words, but elegant and lengthy descriptions take up a lot. Books where you stop and explain what someone is thinking and feeling every few pages are probably great for word count
Regarding “O Brother Where Art Thou?” About three escaped convicts in depression-era. It was based rather loosely on Homer’s Oddessey. Something like that could be a cheap way to provide an outline. Like instead of an oracle they got a blind man pumping the lever of a railway cart, and instead of a cyclops they had John Goodman with an eyepatch. But it would have to be a story I know well, have to think about that…