Stretch Goals

There's a "stretch goal" for everything these days, so why not a writing club? Here at HMS we have started using incentives called "Spirit Sticks". There are a number of different kinds, for all kinds of groups. And I've got one for NaNoWriMo.

I've tried to think of an interesting way to earn these. Students already get the official NaNo button, just for taking on the writing challenge, so I wanted to make this prize something they had to work for. And I finally figured out the challenge.

Phobias. Yup, your character (protagonist, antagonist, or secondary) has to have a phobia, and it has to actually play a part in the story. It doesn't have to be a major part, but it shouldn't just be mentioned, either. And to make things more challenging, let's say it needs to be somewhat obscure, and it cannot be duplicated within the group.

Check out The Phobia List for a rather exhaustive listing of phobias. My secondary character, Jason Knight, has "daemonophobia", the fear of demons. And seeing as how my novel is a Supernatural Thriller, with demons, things could get interesting...