NaNoWriMo 2007

Guess what? Is that time again, where I get to pretend like I am an author. I'm writing a book called "Playing the Game". At least, thats what it is called right now. It could change. We will see.

I'm going to post the first part, feel free to give me feedback. If you think its boring, let me know. If you have any ideas comment. I am open to suggestion. Since I am a "pantser" (No outline, no planning, writing by the seat of my pants). The characters themselves are telling me whats going to happen as I write.

Ben

As he signed his name to the paper, he had no idea how much this was going to change him. When he first ran across this website, he was a bit skeptical. But the idea intrigued him. He spent some time on the message boards, getting to know other people in the game. They told him of their adventures of how much fun it was. He was hooked.

As a little boy Ben loved adventure movies. You would always see him out in the back yard playing. After he saw his first John Wayne movie he was a cowboy. He chased Indians, he chased bank robbers and he always rescued the lady. When his class studied the civil war at school he decided he would be a soldier. He would dash through the confederate lines to capture the fort or sneak people into his house as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Men like Indian Jones, John Wayne, and even Jason Bourne were his heroes. Ben loved adventure and he loved his adventure moves. He could quote them forward and backward. His dream job was to be an undercover agent for whatever three letter organization would hire him. Unfortunately, he felt trapped in an average life, working an average job in an average town. All his fierce fantasies of being manly and stopping the bad guys were only in his head.

This was his motivation for signing up. This Game allowed people to become something more than Joe Ordinary. They gave you a chance to be something special. Ben wanted to find the treasure and go undercover to save the princess. He wasn’t entirely sure how this game would work. Even after talking to others that participated, no one gave him an exact answer. He knew he would get assignments, with instructions on how to complete them. What these assignments were he had yet to figure out. One person compared it to geo-catching. Another said it was more like a murder mystery weekend. You never know what kind of game you will be given.

While at the main office, they took his fingerprints, mug shots, and had him answer many questions about his personal life. He had to give them his weekly schedule. They wanted to know his best friends, his favorite movies, his fears. He felt almost like a criminal. Why did they need to know whether he liked dogs or cats? When they asked if he had a girlfriend or any crushes, he almost left. He’s had feelings for Megan for years, but no way did he want to tell them. It was not any of their business, but of course he told them. They said, none of his personal information would be given out, but they needed to know him. How else could they make his game the best it could be?

He was issued an ID card and told that, he would be contacted soon with instructions. After such an intense session with the group, he expected more definite instructions. On the drive home, he started imagining what his first assignment would be. Maybe he would get to wander through the forest hunting for clues to the hideout of the criminal Robby Robber. First, he’d get some good hiking boots. Then he would read up on Indian trail secrets. Next, he would plan his attack…