I will be participating in — and completing — NaNoWriMo the month after next. This year, I have two themes in mind. With your help, either one could amass enough ideas to blow out 50,000 words.
Fairy tales from different perspectives and venues. For example, suppose the “Three Little Pigs” was related by an eyewitness being interviewed by a television field reporter. The story might initially be reported as “an arson,” but as the news evolves, so does the story. Another example would be setting “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” on a reality-based TV show. I’m thinking in the spirit of PBS’ “Frontier House.” Of course, each character will make an appearance in the “confessional” booth.
Corporate lunacy Surely someone willfully comes up with inane — and possibly insane — policies then applies them to employees with a straight face. Why? For example, an employer might use the term “job-leveling” as an euphemism for their annual review process. In the explanation meetings, they imply “level” as meaning “fairness.” However, the word has over thirty other meanings, including many that aren’t benign, especially to the one being “job-leveled.”
Another example is an IT policy like excessive virus scanning done to render a machine unusable, effectively making it appear effective at thwarting viruses.
Here’s where I could use your help: I need more examples of corporate nuttiness to draw from. Dots to connect, so to speak. If you have a tale, please email me at:
.
Since this is a work of (cough) fiction, I won’t mention your organization’s name. If I can do something funny with it, I’ll send you an excerpt after NaNoWriMo is over. (I don’t want to think about editing right now.) And, if this ever turns into an actual published book, I’ll send you a copy and mention you in the dedication.