Author: Douglas

Inal’s family had a tree which they had decorated with plastic lights on a green twisted wire. When I was ten I crept out my window a week before soltice, doused it with petrol, and set it ablaze.

Nou—where I live—is stamped into the clay and sand of the west coast of Maur like a boot print. Two kilometers of salty sand lie between the city and the ocean. An ancient warf of stone jetties rests fifty or more meters back from the water at high tide; I don’t know why. Those jetties are made of rock either not of Nou or anywhere in Maur or made from so much of the stuff that all of it was used in their construction. I’ve been digging for treasure in the sand there for fourteen weeks and I’ve found nothing. My brothers believe I’m wind-headed, and except for the [mcguffin] I’d agree with them.

151 words on day 807

In yesterday’s post I suggested that I ought to write down a list of bad things which could occur to a character and then roll dice every 500 words to pick which would happen next. Today I will start that list.

Caught in a lie.
Captured by authorities.
Sprain an ankle.
Shot.
Abandoned by friends.
Hit by a car.
Nearly hit by a car.
Thrown from a bike.
Spotted while eavesdropping.
Interupted sex.
Another character killed.
Arrested.
Detained by officials.
Break a bone.
Skin a knee.
Blocked by a train.
Lose a choice parking spot.
Run out of gas.
Misplace your phone.
Miss a call.
Flat tire.
Have a battery go dead.
Bit by a dog.
Arrive too late.
Rained on.
Lose your wallet.
Have your identity stolen.
Get lost.
Fall from a height.
Riptide.
Boat wreck.
Have a tree fall across your path.
Beset by dragons.
Knocked unconcious.
Snake bit.
Get pregnant.
Get sick.
Discover a locked door.
Burnt by a match.
Run out of food.
Have your horse bolt.
Get wounded.
Fall in love.
Lose a pen.
Spill your milk.
Throw up.
Be splashed upon.
Fall into a well.
Get abducted.
Pull a muscle.
Lose a bet.
Face a fear.
Bit by a spider.
Swarmed by bees.
Mosquito bite.
Go to the doctor.
Have to speak in public.
Fired from a job.
Drug to a bar.
Miss the trash truck.
Find your witness dead.
Lose the trail.
Blanket party.
Work a dead end job.
Be rejected by a crush.
Hit in the head with a sufboard.
Sunburned.
Grounded for life.
Trapped in a closet.
Poisoned.
Become deathly ill.
Watch a child suffer.
Mothballed.
Wake up in a strange place.
Fall down some stairs.
Be recognized.
Raped.
Bullied.
Forget your homework.
Raised by wolves.
Orphaned.
Lost at sea.
Heckled by a crowd.
Wander away from your parents at the department store.
Fall from a swing.
Quicksand.
Drop a hammer on your foot.
Have to replace a lightbulb.
Drafted.
Conscripted.
Shanghied.
Sold into slavery.
Conquered by invading hordes.
Excommunicated.
Opressed by mainstream society.
Goaded.
Branded by circumstance.

On the surface many of these read rather ordinary, but I think that with the correct context and scaling even something as mundane as losing your pencil might become the crux of a world altering threat. Plus many of these can be linked to compound the conflict.

xxx words on day 801