See a Penny...

TUESDAY: The Fat Orange Cat

When I was first did Nano, I did it with a group of people I’m still friends with. Every night, we’d gather, and write together. That was the Nano that produced my first book, Time Off for Good Behavior.

One day, I didn't know what to write, and someone from the group was talking about her fat orange cat—that’s all I remember about the cat, he was fat and he was orange—and I just randomly put it in the book, a fat orange cat named Toby. When my editor saw the book, she was like, “What is this cat doing here suddenly?” We removed the cat, but I kept the scene, a scene I might not have written if it wasn’t for the cat.

Fat Orange Cat days are the days I give you something random to put into your story, just to get you going.

So, today’s Fat Orange Cat: A coin. It can be a rare coin, or a common penny. Maybe your character thinks pennies are useless; maybe it relates to something or someone else that character thinks is useless. Maybe it’s something where the value is in the meaning, like a challenge coin. A magic coin? Maybe it’s bitcoin. Whatever. Work a coin into your WIP, and then tell me about it!