National Novel Writing Month Dares!

1. Include the phrase, "Sleep is for the weak and the dead!"
BP if it's someone's motto.
DP if someone comes up with a sarcastic comeback to it.
TP if the person who says it is doing NaNoWriMo.

2. ~Have a character with a theme song. Every time that character turns up, have the song play. It can be from a nearby car, someone's headphones turned up too loud, the elevator music gone horribly wrong, whatever.
~~bonus points if people are aware of this, and actually use the song to predict that character's arrival. "Oh, so-and-so must be almost here; I can already hear [song]."
~~You are a truly awful person if you use Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". A terrible, horrible person. And you get bonus points for how entirely twisted you are.


3. A character constantly makes guesses of the future based on cloud shape.
BP: If this guesses are as idiotic as "a family of grizzly bears will be joining us for tea in eight days" or "frogs are grumpy today".
DBP: If one of those crazy guesses turns out being right.
TBP: If that turns out to be important to the plot.

4. Use the phrase "It's only a wombat." somewhere in your novel.
+ If it isn't a wombat.

5. I dare your characters to make random references to various other things like Harry Potter or Doctor Who.
a. BP if no one tells what it is
b. DBP if there is four in one page.
c. TBP if whatever the references are from is never mentioned

6. Include a character with a social networking addiction.
+ If they stop at crucial points in the plot to update Facebook/twitter/tumblr/whatever.
++ If they do this at the most inopportune moments possible.
+++ If, while doing this, they say things like “wait! My Facebook friends/followers/etc. would think this is HILARIOUS.”
++++ If they say this in the middle of a beheading.

7. ~have someone point out that it's not possible to slam a revolving door. Bonus points if s/he is telling someone who is trying to do just that

8.) Have someone or a group of people that drive around a golf cart.
~BP if it's not on a golf course.
~~DBP if they're somewhat wild drivers
~~~TBP if they're middle-aged
~~~~QBP if they're known as the crazy golf-cart people

9.) Start your novel with:
"Where the hell are your pants?!"
Bonus points if that's also/instead your closing sentence.
More points if it's "Where the hell are my pants?!"
Alternately, the first and/or last word in your novel is "pants".

10.) Have your characters play the fortune cookie game.
~BP if you use real fortunes
~~DPB if you can make the fortunes relevant to the story in some manner
Additional Fun: have a spy in the restaurant that was going to get a secret message by fortune cookie. Have his/her cookie get swapped with a random cookie, and your MC end up with the secret message.
~BP if it's still funny if you add "in bed" to the note.
~~DBP if you make the spy play the fortune cookie game, too
~~TBP if s/he thinks that his/her fortune is the actual note.

11.) Include Weebles in your story.
BP if you use the line "Weebles -- they wobble, but they DON'T FALL DOWN."
DBP if one of your characters is deathly afraid of Weebles for this very reason.
TBP if s/he claims a Weeble killed his/her friend
QBP if it's true

12.) Refer to one of your main male characters a "dazzling", "pale white", and "mysterious".
BP if he's a vampire.
DBP if he's a werewolf.
TBP if you do this mockingly.
QBP, a pancake, and a fail stamp if you're serious.

13.) Have characters quarrel over "pop vs. soda"
BP if it's the hero and the villain.
DBP if that's what started their rivalry.
TBP if it turns into an all-out war.

14.) Include a ghost that isn't unfriendly, isn't particularly friendly either, doesn't communicate much with the living, and just generally tolerates the people living in his house.
BP if he turns on the radio, just because he likes music
DBP if he takes occasional showers
TBP if the people living in his house (or place or whatever) know about him, and just say "Oh yeah, that was the ghost" like it's nothing weird
Include a ghost who lives in someone's house and communicates with the current residents by rearranging refrigerator magnets.
BP if the ghost regularly reminds them when they are out of milk
DBP if the residents of the house find this perfectly normal

15.) TBP: Include the phrase BAD WOLF somewhere... anywhere... everywhere... in your novel.
CAKE: have MC's not notice the words everywhere.
QBP + COOKIES: have MC's notice the words and freak out about it, knowing what they mean.

16.) Dare: A character is a competitive facial-hair grower.

17.) Dare: a character always carries around a foam pool noodle.
+: If the noodle is actually a useful piece of equipment.
++: If the noodle is named "Excalibur".
+++: If the noodle's owner has a memorized list of 1,001 Uses for a Foam Pool Noodle.
++++: If the noodle's owner quotes from this list each time s/he uses the noodle for something.
+++++: If the noodle never gets used the same way twice.
++++++: If all 1,001 Uses for a Foam Pool Noodle get mentioned.
Cookies: If the noodle saves the day.
The internet: If the noodle talks.
The universe: If the noodle only talks to its owner.

18.) Use the line: "Once more, with feeling!"

19.) Use the line: "Ferrets were involved."

20.) Have a character who carries around a "lucky cat's foot" and explains that it's the foot of the cat who ate the lucky rabbit -- twice the luck!

21.) Feature a scene containing jelly in your novel
BP if the jelly makes reoccurring appearances
DBP if the jelly turns out to be important to the plot
TBP if the jelly features in your climatic scene

22.) I read this on a T-shirt "I have CDO. It's like OCD, but the letters are in the right order." New favorite quote. So:
TBP if someone asks about their compulsiveness, and said char. says they have CDO.
QBP if no one understands CDO until the end of the story, or in the middle of an intense scene they randomly blurt out, "OH! I get it now! It’s OCD but with the letters in ABC order!" or something like that

23.) Have one of your female characters start PMS-ing at some point.
Bonus points if she’s previously been really sweet and nice.
DBP if she yells at the villain.
TBP if it makes the villain cry.

24.) Have two characters get into a completely serious duel with food items as weapons.

25.) A sparkling vampire and a shirtless werewolf get into a fight in the background of the story
BP - No one notices
TBP - They are still fighting at the end of the story

26.) Have your setting be plagued by unusual weather occurrences.
BP: if one of these phenomena is a microburst.
DBP: if talking about the weather becomes Incredibly Important to the plot because of this.

27.) Cake- If they search for pots to break
Internets- If the pots actually contain hidden coins

28.) Throughout the novel, have your characters refer and mention someone named Tim. Tim never actually makes an appearance,
but the characters constantly say things like "I ran into Tim at the grocery store and that's why I'm late" or "Oh yeah I heard from Tim all about [important plot point]". The characters respond with things like, "How is Tim doing?" or "Tim. What an interesting guy" but you never actually find out anything concrete about Tim or how everyone in the novel knows him.
BP: The villain and the protagonist are both friends with Tim and when he is mentioned they stop fighting and have a nice conversation about Tim
TP: Tim finally makes an appearance during the climax. He just wanders by.


29.) Dare: Your characters go on a road trip that basically includes the passengers shouting "LEFT!" or "RIGHT" at the turns.
BP: If your characters end up in the middle of a field.
DBP: If your characters manage to take a whole chapter finding their way home.
TBP: If they end up at the villain's hideout by accident, therefore capturing the evil one.

30.) Let your quietest character (main or not) have the biggest secret.
BP if it's a dangerous secret.
TBP if they've been hiding it since WAY before the novel started.

31.) Have your point of view start "panning away" from the scene that's taking place.
-BP if your MC notices, breaks the fourth wall to move a video camera back into place, and then resumes the scene.
-TBP if he resumes the scene with the line "Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah..."
-QBP if this is during a serious scene/plot point

32.) Have a main character who has an unusual nick name that EVERYONE calls them by, even when it's not appropriate to be using nicknames (like school registers, doctor's appointments, etc.)
BP if their real name incredibly plain and kind of forgettable.
DBP if no one can seem to remember that name off hand.
TBP if all instances of that name written down are smudged, erased, or rendered illegible for no explainable reason.
QBP if anyone who knows their normal name and tries to said it is constantly cut off, silenced, faints dramatically or is horribly killed when they're about to utter it.
SBP if the name is integral to the plot somehow.
A cookie if the name is revealed in the final paragraph.
A chocolate fish if no one knows where the nickname came from ANYWAY.

33.) A character that greets people with "you smell happy/sad/enthusiastic/cynical/etc.!"
Bonus points if it's a MC.
Double BP if the character is speaking literally.

34.) Have a character that is notorious for not cleaning his/her room/house.
+bp if it gets worse and worse throughout the story
++dbp if he/she loses something living (a pet or something) in the clutter

35.) Include a character who never speaks, but just watches from the sidelines of the story...

36.) Have some horrible legendary monster your hero has to face be pink and fluffy.
+ If it's a bunny or other such cute animal.
++if it's still its ordinary size.
+++if the hero dies laughing when he sees it.
++++if that's why it's so legendarily horrible.

37.) Have the epic battle of the story be something silly, like a snowball fight.
+ If it's REALLY epic
++ if someone's mortally wounded
+++ If it's the MC's and villain's last battle

38.) I dare you to have a food fight in your novel.
Bonus points if it's essential to the plot.
Extra bonus points if it takes place somewhere unusual for a food fight -- the royal banquet hall, a 5-star restaurant, a wedding reception, etc.
A cookie if you top 2k with a detailed description of the food fight.
39.) Have one of your characters always says “Thank you for calling Dominoes, how may I help you?” every time they pick up the phone (instead of Hello).

40.) Have the title of every chapter be a song title from a band of your choosing. The fun part is making what happens in the chapter relevant to the chapter title!

41.) Have a side character that is always "running from the government" whenever he/she crosses paths with your MC.
+BP - if at one point, your MC is really running from the government when he crosses paths with the side character.
++DBP - if you actually see the side character being chased by agents at one point toward the end, revealing that he/she was telling the truth all along.

42.) Have your novel 'sponsored'. Be sure to have a 'commercial break' right before something really important happens.
BP if the characters say "After the break."


43.) Have a character who is always somehow losing their shirt (i.e. they take it off, someone else does it for them, it just magically disappears, ninjas steal it, etc.)
BP if they manage to lose it every chapter
2BP if it is your MC
3BP if no one ever mentions it or notices
4BP if your narrator notices but no one else does
5BP if it is purely fan service
a cookie if it is still relevant to your plot

44.) Dare: Have a male character fall off a building, tree, or mountain.
BP: If Tarzan catches him.
DBP: If Tarzan refers to him as Jane
TBP: If through the entire novel after this event, all the characters call the character Jane.
QBP: If every time this character trips, Tarzan shows up.

45.) Have a character yell “You can’t do that, it doesn't fit with the novels genre”
bp--If everyone nods understandingly
dbp--If someone else replies something along the lines of “Dude, this is NaNoWriMo--anything can happen.”

46.) Include a soul stuck inside an inanimate object.
bp--If the inanimate object is a pineapple.
dbp--If the soul is of a bloodthirsty, battle-hardened warrior.
Tbp--If this is your MC.
qbp--If this is your villain.


47.) Have your omniscient narrator suddenly decides that he/she hates. Every. Single. Character.

48.) Have one of your characters shriek to the sky, "Nothing makes sense anymore!"
Bonus points if they actually fall to their knees whilst doing so.
Double bonus points if it's during an incredibly intense scene.

49.) Include the line: “I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there."

50.) Have your characters refer to something embarrassing that happened to another character but never explain what happened
ex. Ch. 1: I like llamas.
Ch. 2: I know someone else who likes llamas.
Ch. 3: SHUT UP! THAT WAS ONE TIME!
Bp- if the embarrassing thing happened to an MC
dbp- if it happened to the villain
tbp- if it happened to the villain and the hero is the one that brings it up.

51.) Include a Character named Dobby. He says: "Dobby did not mean to kill! Just maim, or seriously injure."


52.) Make a list of Disney songs and include the titles and/or particular lyrics all in your novel
BP: if none of them are sung
DBP: if Disney doesn't exist in your novel's universe
TBP: if one character always says "Hey! That's from [movie]!" and none of the other characters know what they're talking about.
QBP: if one of the songs is Be A Man
+ a cookie: if it's said to a female
++ a cookie and a cake: if it's said by a female to a non-human entity (like a robot)
+++ the world: if the entity says "Challenge accepted" and its quest to Be A Man becomes a subplot.

53.) Make one of your characters give a lengthy speech about and entity called Writer or Decider, who decides on everyone's lives, taking away their free will.
BP: If people call him/her insane for that.

54.) Have a character that never answers questions directly and always avoids answering questions about her/him. (i.e. "What's your name?" "Your pants are unzipped." "Uh, okay. Anyway, what's your name?" *wanders off*.)
BP: If she/he is hilarious when avoiding questions.
TBP If it's your main character.
QBP If this is a crucial plot point.
FBP: If he/she kills the villain by using this characteristic.
55.) Have a supporting character whose name is never mentioned.
+ If the main character thinks only he doesn't know the name and is too embarrassed to ask.
+ If, at the very end of the novel, all the characters come together and realize that nobody knows this person's name.

56.) During a tense, suspenseful scene, have a character say, "Let's get down to business." Have another character continue: "TO DEFEAT...THE HUNS" and start singing the song from Mulan.
++ If they sing the whole song.
+++ if everyone present including random people nearby join in and sing enthusiastically and in perfect harmony
+++ + if at the end, everyone goes back to business as usual as though that was completely normal.

57.) "Fan girls are like squirrels, deadly if they go rabid."

58.) Dare: Have your MC be chased into an elevator with a bunch of the villain’s henchmen and when in the lift, they stop all forms of chasing and resume once the elevator stops.
BP: Mention that "Top of the World" by the Carpenters is being played as elevator music.
DBP: Have someone hum along to the song
TBP: Your MC is the one humming.

59.) Include a Harry Potter spell
BP if a character actually responds to it (I.E. throws whatever they're holding when someone says Expelliarmus)
TBP if no one ever explains why

60.) Dare: the villain in your novel is constantly playing dead
BP: if they convincingly fall to the ground, tongue sticking out, and stay still until they're left alone
TBP: if their acting skills are equivalent to those of an earthworm
4x: if your MC believes that they've actually died. Every. Time.

61.) Have a character that fights with a frying pan. And wins, every single time.
2X- They refuse to let anyone use the frying pan to cook, and take care of it as if it’s a child.
3X- They have named the frying pan.
4X- It has an insane power that makes no logical sense (I.E. Can deflect bullets or open time portals)
5X- It plays the person’s theme song whenever they start fighting or appear in the novel.
6X- It can talk to the wielder, and tells him/her ways to beat opponents or says witty comebacks that everyone blames the wielder for because no one believes the frying pan talks.
7X- The frying pan is secretly evil and slowly takes over the mind of the wielder making him/her evil as well and becomes the main villain in the story after killing the previous villain so he/she didn't have any competition.

62.) Have a character that does not use contractions. EVER.
BP: If they secretly aren't human
DBP: If another character makes reference to the fact that they are incapable of using contractions.

63.) Have a character (or more than one) that whenever someone asks them a question, they spew off "search engine overload." Basically, take the basic subject of the sentence, type it into Google and hit "I'm feeling lucky" and the first sentence (or paragraph) is the response.
BP if people think this is normal.
DBP if this is important to the plot.
TBP and a cookie if this random nonsense somehow gives the main character what he needs to save the world.

64.) Make one of your characters have DID (multiple personalities)
BP if no one notices this until the end of the story
TBP if it is never explained why your character has DID
QBP if it is explained, and it’s for some silly reason like they went to the store to get cupcakes, and the store didn't have any
x5BP if it’s your main character
x6BP if it’s vital to your plot
Cookies if it’s your FMC and her other personality is a male (or the MMC) or vice versa

65.) Dare: have a character that does random unnecessary backflips/summersaults while performing everyday tasks.
BP: they do it during a major fight scene
DBP: it's actually how they win
TBP: it's because the enemy was too distracted admiring their back flipping skills

66.) Have one of your characters tie someone up or get tied up with iPod ear buds
BP if whoever was tied up is rendered completely helpless because of how impossibly knotted the ear buds are.

67.) Dare: Introduce a mysterious character who seems to be an antagonist until the end.
BP: If the newly introduced character turns out to be a long lost friend/relative.
DBP: If the newly introduced character turns out to be the opposite of the expected sex.
TBP: If the main character falls in love with the newly introduced character.

68.) Dare: Involve a Character with a Deathly Fear of Dirt /and or/ uncleanliness
BP: If it is your main character
DBP: If that character spazes out at least once because he/she is dirty
TBP: If a different character keeps throwing dirt at the cleanaholic to see him/her freak out
BP and Liquid Chocolate: If the character's fear/reaction to fear plays a pivotal point in story

69.) Dare: somehow include a shape-shifting kitten
BP if the kitten is secretly a dragon
DBP if the kitten actually ends up helping the hero
TBP if the kitten kills someone

70.) Give two of your characters a secret handshake.
BP if it involves sound effects and takes up at least 100 words.
DBP if the villain impersonates one of your characters and fails, only due to the secret handshake.
Cookies if it is the catalyst for any number of major plot points.

71.) Dare: Have a character that only jumps out of windows to exit buildings.
BP: If the character smashes the window each time, instead of opening it.
DBP: If the door next to it is already open.

72.) Make your character's left shoe constantly coming untied.
BP If they fall on their face and make a friend.
DBP If they discover something important while tying their shoe.
TBP If they beat the villain by tripping on their shoe-lace and tackling him/her to the ground accidently tripping him.

73.) Dare: A character has adendrocacophonophobia: the crippling fear that if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, it doesn't make a sound.
1X: If this character constantly thinks s/he is hearing trees falling.
2X: If this character constantly thinks s/he isn't hearing trees falling but should be.
3X: If this character finds a downed tree somewhere and spends 1,667 words obsessing over it.
4X: If this character finds a whole forest blown down by a hurricane and has a psychotic episode.

74.) Have one character who never speaks.
BP If it's because they are always interrupted.
DBP If no one seems to notice but said character
TBP If at the climax this character finally gets fed up and goes on a rant
Cookies with extra vanilla if someone responds to their rant with "Well why didn't you just say so?"

75.) Have a scene that involves a trained squirrel.
BP if the squirrel is a trained terrorist squirrel.
DBP is the trained terrorist squirrel is a vital part of the plot.
TBP if the trained terrorist squirrel is won over to the side of good by delicious acorns.
Cookies if the former terrorist squirrel becomes the protagonist's boon companion.

76.) I dare you to have a character who names all of their furniture.
BP if they talk to their furniture, and have given each piece an individual personality and backstory, and birthday's, and each birthday they do something for the furniture, such as get a new cushion for a sofa or give a door a new paint over.
DBP if everyone but one character (possibly the MC) takes no notice of this and thinks it's completely normal.
TBP if their furniture does actually talk (Okay, kind of fantasy but the first part of this dare still works without it) but either
i. only sometimes
ii. only to the owner of the furniture
or c) only to everyone but the MC/whoever can't hear it.

77.) Include something from this site (www.timecube.com) in your novel.
BP: If it's a valid belief system in your world.
DBP: If one or more of your main characters believes it.
Trillions of BP: If you can actually make it make sense

78.) Include the phrase "dragons make everything better" somewhere in your novel. As well as “Do not anger dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.”
BP: If one of your not main characters says it.
DBP: If one of your main characters says it.
TBP: If one of your main characters says it every time right before or after seeing a dragon.

79.) Have your villain’s parents come for a visit to his laboratory/ headquarters/ house/etc.
BP: If they tell him off for having hideous decorations or not keeping the place neat enough.
DPB: If they redecorate the whole place to make it look like a five year-old occupies it.
TPB: If the villain LIKES the new decorations.
BP and a cookie: If they are still there when the MC drops by to bring down the villain.
BP and an ice cream sundae: If they are absolutely charmed by the MC and think that their dear son/daughter is being silly about not liking them.
BP and a giant pie: If they invite the MC to join them for a family lunch.
BP and a seven layer cake: If all four actually go out to lunch and the villain and MC spend the whole time trying to subtly knock each other off.
BP and TWO seven layer cakes: If the villain’s parents mistake the murder attempts as gestures of friendship.
The World: If your villain originally turned evil because his parents liked the MC better.

80.) “Some people are attracted to the crazy. Others have the crazy come to them. I'll let you be the judge of which I am.”

81.) Insert the "Closet of Doom" -- throw your main character into a closet.
BP: He spends the entire day in the closet.
DBP: There's a secret passageway that your main character can use to escape the closet.
TBP: If while in the closet, your main character has a sudden realization that ends up solving the problem or achieving the goal.
TDBP: He finds a stuffed turtle and names it Kelly

82.) Include a villain with a stuffed animal
+if (s)he has a cute nickname for it
++if (s)he becomes a blubbering wreck without it
+++if (s)he tries to keep it a secret
+++ and cookies if everyone and their uncle already knows
+++, cookies and cake if the villain doesn't know that everyone and their uncle already knows

83.) Have a character use popular song titles/lyrics in dialogue
BP: someone replies with the next line or a song title by the same artist
TBP: the title/lyrics have an impact on the plot
QBP: this action causes the villain to rethink their course (whether they become good or puts a chink in their armor [literally or figuratively] is up to you)
Banana split: these words are part of an unknown spell and causes the roof to cave in and kill the MC
Double fudge brownies: the MC finishes the book as a ghost
Triple fudge brownies in a banana split: all the characters in the book are ghosts because of this action



84.) Have a character that comes prepared (batteries not included)! S/he should have, at all times, on or around his/her person: pencils, pens, eraser, rubber bands, paperclips, calculator, Sharpie, pencil sharpener, tape, string, scrap paper, Kleenex, hand sanitizer (and/or moist towelettes), Band-Aids, scissors, small but bright light, Post-its (in several colors!), highlighters, hole punch, ruler. Add additional items as you see fit. The character is allowed to have things not actually listed, particularly if it's an especially important item, a plot point, or rather obscure. However, everything listed above ought to be included and you may not, for ANY REASON, include batteries or allow batteries to be obtained from this character.
•Word points if you repeatedly list the entire selection of items every time this character is asked if s/he has a certain something.
•Bonus points if the character uses the line "I come prepared!" in conjunction with listing all of the items on the list.
•Extra BP if the line is "I come prepared! -- batteries not included."
•DBP if batteries are needed at some point and extra points if it is for something important.
•TBP if the characters must go on a search for batteries, or if you make it a significant plot

85.) Incorporate the line "Sorry about your coffee, I had to throw it at someone."
•Bonus points if it's said to the main character
•Double bonus points if it's said BY the main character
•Triple bonus points if it was thrown at the love interest
•Quadruple bonus points if they didn't miss
•Quintuple bonus points if the main character later gets a coffee in the face

86.) Flower meanings for random things- www.800florals.com/care/meanin…

87.) Go to www.postsecret.com and read the secrets. Pick 3 and give them all to one character.
--BP Pick 5 for one character
--DBP Randomly select 10 for one character.

88.) Have one character that is genderless. Never use gender-specific pronouns. Use a name that's completely non-specific. Your readers can't have a clue what gender this person is.
Bonus if whoever reads you’re NaNovel get into fights over what gender the character is.
Double if you make it through the entire novel by circumventing the gender pronouns somehow.
Triple if you name him/her Alex.
Quadruple if YOU don't know if your character's male or female!!

89.) I dare you to have a character beaten to death with a frozen salmon!

90.) One of your characters spoils the ending on the first page.
1x: Another character yells at them about it.
2x: The guilty party attempts to apply a retroactive "spoiler alert".
3x: The spoiler ends up being inaccurate.
4x: This is because the author intervenes and changes the ending.
5x: The author's interference annoys all the characters and they rebel.
6x: The characters rise up, kill the author, and try to write their own story about themselves.
7x: This turns out to be a lot harder than they expected.

91.) Dare: Give one of your characters a nigh-unpronounceable name. They get angry every time someone doesn't say it right.
BP if the character causes a scene every time
DBP if they get called to come and receive their prize in a contest--and they still throw a fit.
TBP if one of your other characters actually pronounces it
4xBP if unpronounceable name falls in love with that character
50xBP if that character is the antagonist.
92.) Include a ruler-wielding teacher.

93.) Dare: A dystopia in which Earth has run out of every conceivable natural resource.
1X: We have run out of money.
2X: We have run out of oxygen.
3X: We have run out of ideas.
4X: The supply of stupidity still proves inexhaustible.

94.) Have a mute character
X2: The character doesn’t know sign language/there is no sign language in your world
X3: The character doesn’t know how to write
X4: The only method of communication they have with others is something time consuming/confusing like drawing or interpretive dancing
X5: This character knows how to defeat the bad guy/resolve the plot from the beginning but the other characters are never able to figure out what s/he’s trying to say

95.) Have one character say, “I'm hungry" and have another character reply, "You know, I think they made a cure for that. It was called food, last time I checked." Bonus points if it happens in a totally serious scene. Double bonus points if you manage to pull it off without ruining the serious mood.
96.) Your character that lives with their parents receives a letter from Social Security announcing the death of their mother, including paperwork to fill out to begin receiving her benefits -- with mom reading said letter over their shoulder and laughing hysterically at being thusly informed that she is dead.

97.) Three words: fire breathing butterflies.

98.) Include the phrase, "I'm far too British for a proper breakdown. I'd just have a sip of tea and throw myself off a cliff."
1. BP if the next time the character tries to drink tea, others around them start acting really worried about their mental state
2. DBP if someone takes the tea away from the character "as a suicide prevention measure"
3. TBP if this happens every time the character tries to drink tea
4. QBP if the character eventually does have a breakdown and it's caused by their inability to drink an uninterrupted cup of tea.

99.) Use the line: "When you blaze your own trail you may look down one day and find your shoes on fire."

100.) Open your novel with your MC looking into a mirror -- but refusing to describe themselves.

101.) Go to thinkexist.com/ and sign up for the daily quotation. Include the quotations in your novel, one for each day of November. (2x: they claims it's theirs, even though everyone knows it was 'so-and-so' that said it) (5x: it's the same character doing this throughout your novel) (10x: it's your MC)

102.) Have a character that possesses at least three of the following quirks and random inabilities: - the inability to shuffle cards - the inability to snap their fingers - "DOOR. MUST. BE. CLOSED." -  "WORDS. MUST. BE. SPELLED. CORRECTLY." - a pathological hatred of people whose names begin with the letter M or L - severe alektorophobia (fear of chickens) - severe triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) - severe caffeine addiction

103.) Have a character break the fourth wall.
1x BP if the character breaks the fourth wall repeatedly throughout the novel
2x BP if the other characters don't notice
3x BP if another character notices and gets incredibly confused
4x BP if the character who notices tells the other character off for talking to the reader
5x BP if the character who breaks the fourth wall is unaware that he/she is doing it

104.) Two characters build a pillow fort.
x2 if both characters are over 18.
x3 if it's a serious scene.
x4 if it's a pivotal, earth-shattering moment in your novel

105.) "The family that slays together, stays together."

106.) Include the quote “You're looking remarkably sheveled today." "'Sheveled'?" "Yeah, as opposed to 'dis'"

107.) If you have siblings in your story, have their first initials spell a word, preferably in birth order.
2x: you don't actually tell the reader this until the end, if at all.
5x: it later turns out to be important. (Maybe there's a missing sibling, and so a missing letter in the word?)  
10x: the word that is made from their names is never actually used in the novel in any other context, only as the word made from the letters of the names.

108.) Have one of your characters know that the novel is entirely fiction. Every once in a while, he makes a reference to this. None of the other characters have a clue what he is talking about. IE: Char1: *upset* Oh, why did he have to die in such a horrible manner? Char 2: Something had to happen, we needed a plot twist. Or Char1: Are you sure this will work? Char2: It won't, because we're only halfway through the story. We will fail miserably and make many more chapters' worth of attempts before any plan we come up with will work. Char1: ...huh? That sort of thing, and have that character make a similar reference once every 1000 words or once every chapter, your choice.

109.) Have your main character squeeze a blue stress ball at every minor inconvenience. Keep a running tally of how many stress balls have been worn out over the course of the story.  100x: Your villain has a weakness that can be defeated by a super strength hand grip.

110.) Include a character with strangely colored eyes
BP if they're described once and never mentioned again
DBP if it has nothing to do with magic or the plot, and they just look cool
TBP if they turn out to be contacts at the end of the book
QBP if the character has no idea that their eyes are strangely colored, because they're colorblind
The universe: if this character being colorblind is what saves the day

111.) Include a character who always has to wear striped knee length socks
BP if they always wear outfits that allow the socks to be visible (skirts, kilts, shorts, rolled up pants, etc)
DBP if every day they are described as wearing different colored socks, implying they have a plethora of pairs
TBP if this character does not carry a backpack or a large coat where they might hide all these socks
QBP if the character is naked all the time (or at least when the other characters meet them) EXCEPT for the socks
QBP and cake if the socks are part of the character's religion

112.) A character who was adopted into a Hispanic family at the age of three. He speaks a mixture of Spanish and English that neither Hispanics nor English-speakers understand and refers to himself as a backwards Oreo: brown on the inside, white on the outside.
BP: The family has a knack for picking up orphans from a bunch of different cultural backgrounds. As a result, the character has three sisters (triplets) who are French, a brother who speaks Mandarin, another brother who speaks Japanese, two sisters who speak Hindi and Telugu, a brother who speaks Swahili and French and of course, a sister who speaks with such a thick country slang, it's almost offensive. There are more - he has four from his original adopted family who speak Spanish (including him), and all the extended family (grandmas, uncles, cousins).
TBP: Random people come live with the family because no one remembers who actually is a part of it. As a result, a Russian prostitute lives with them on weekends and there's a rotation of German bartenders on Fridays. Business men have boarded in the attic and the family's main income comes from all the teenagers that pay to live there so their parents can't boss them around.
QBP: There's a hobo who sneaks in every Monday (it's like a schedule for him) and gets kicked out by the mom on Wednesday. This happens without fail. The hobo has never missed a week. Eventually, the original hobo moves to a different country and a new hobo takes his place. No one notices.
Brownie points: The character's bedroom is really a bathroom he shares with the Russian prostitute who ends up being the villain.

113.) Have a door hidden behind bookcases.
BP if the door is a bookcase
DBP if someone comments that it's like the spy films
TBP if there are no spy films in your universe
QdBP if no one comments on the door and this is completely normal
QnBP if all the doors are bookcases

114.) Have one character's (not necessarily MC but not an extra) head explode, at complete random, and without explanation.

115.) Have a character that needs to use a Magic 8 ball to make each and every decision. Bonus points - include some serious moments such as a marriage proposal and then the character shaking the Magic 8 ball for the answer. Major bonus points if you use a magic 8 ball app for the decision and end up changing the plot.

116.) Have a character that obsesses over the old glass Dr. Pepper bottles. Bonus points if they have an entire room devoted to Dr. Pepper.

117.) Have a character that goes fishing with gummy worms
+if it works
++if everyone else gets convinced to also go fishing with gummy worms
+++if someone rebels by fishing with Swedish Fish
++++if the Swedish Fish work even better than the gummy worms
118.) Have a character with a thick accent that another character needs to translate.
BP: If that character sticks around for a while
DBP: If that character has lots of lines
TBP: If this becomes a major plot point
A glass of sweet tea: If the accent is Southern. (Shameless Dixie love)

119.) One character is pessimistic.
BP if the character claims not to care about anything.
DBP if the character ends up caring, or at least seeming to care, about someone else.
TBP if the character's pessimism even shocks the antagonist.
TBP + apple pie if the character's pessimism saves the day somehow.

120.) One character is optimistic.
BP if no one really likes this character.
DBP if the character's best friend is a pessimist.
TBP if the pessimist is from the first dare(see above).
TBP + apple pie if the character's optimism makes someone literally sick

121.) One character is optimistic.

122.) BP if no one really likes this character.

123.) DBP if the character's best friend is a pessimist.

124.) TBP if the pessimist is from the first dare(see above).

125.) TBP + apple pie if the character's optimism makes someone literally sick

126.) Dare: Include one or more ghosts in your story.
Bonus points: If they're not evil at all, and are content to simply play pranks on people they dislike.
Double bonus points: If they're pets of one of the characters.
Triple bonus points: If they're not human ghosts. (animal ghosts, robot ghosts, etc.)
A virtual cookie: If they all have ridiculously mundane names like Steve, Jeff, and/or Joe.

127.) Have a character that communicates only in morse code
+if there's also a character that communicates only in semaphore
++if they meet
+++if the two of them can understand each other

128.) Dare: Your character's spirit animal bites them
BP: The character responds, "Yes, yes, I deserved that," or something similar
TBP: If the character doesn't find this odd at all, though everyone around them does
A Cantelope (don't ask): if the others find it strange because they can't see the spirit animal

129.) Dare: Your main character likes to drink strange stuff.
BP: if he gulps down ketchup like he drinks water
DBP: if he drinks gasoline like it's nothing
TBP if he dislikes milk, lemonade, soda, water, etc(anything that we regularly drink)
Cookie: if he drinks mayonnaise and gets tipsy from it.

130.) Dare: Have some one yell "This is SPARTA!" and then have someone yell back. "No! This is PATRICK!"
BP: If the guy is actually named Patrick.
DBP: If the guy isn't named Patrick.
TBP: If the people talking are on the telephone.
Brownies: If Sparta is a Pizza Place.
Cake: If someone walks in and says "This is madness."
Cake and Ice cream: If someone replies with "This is politics."

131.) * Use the line "This is a disaster." at least five times.

132.) * Use the line: "If I can't go out in a blaze of glory I'll settle for the dim glow of moderate success."

133.) Find a way to slide the following phrase into your novel -- "Don't whatever my burrito."

134.) Dare: Have a tornado warning.
DP: If the power goes out and the characters get stranded for awhile.
TP: If the storm actually hits and it plays a big role in the plot.

135.) Dare:  Turn on the TV.  Listen for the next five words.  Turn off the TV again and use those five words in the next paragraph you write.

136.) Dare:  Open a dictionary to a random page.  Find the first noun and incorporate one of whatever it is into the scene you're writing.

137.) Character A calls Character B the spawn of Satan.
BP: B takes it as a compliment
DBP: B asks, "What exactly are you saying about my mother?"
TBP: B's sibling (if B has one) asks, "So what does that make me?"

138.) Dare: use the exchange "You can't divide by zero." "You can try."
Bonus: If they actually try it.
Double bonus: If they succeed.
Cookie: If it explodes something totally random
More Cookies: If it takes the plot somewhere it wasn't supposed to go and you can't get back to the plot and have to change it completely.

139.) Dare: A character always talks like Yoda.
BP:  The character has never heard of Yoda or Star Wars or anything related.
DBP:  The character strongly resembles a different character from the Star Wars series.

140.) Dare:  X has the same name as an infamous person.  Like a serial killer or something.
BP:  X is constantly avoiding having to use both first and last name because of the connection.
DBP:  It is revealed that X changed his / her name to this name from something totally normal and harmless.  

141.) Have a character use a can of air freshener as a weapon
BP if they use it more than once
DBP if it becomes their weapon of choice
TBP if it's the only weapon they use
A cookie - the character is the MC
A cupcake (of evil) - the character is the vilian
Cake: They don't spray their opponents with the air freshener spray, they just whack people with the bottle.