posted
I've been mulling over this form of writing off and on for a few years now, but am just barely going to be getting the time, and net access to take action on it.
Tell me what you think. I'm sure it has it's major drawbacks in some peoples eyes, but bear with me.
Two to four people are working together on a literary work that is the brainchild of usually one individual. A plot is first passed around and trimmed to the point where the lead author feels that it is ready. Then drafts of chapters are passed around, critiqued, edited, and such. This is where it gets a bit weird, at least I've never seen it.
The drafts for the different chapters are not nessicarily written by the lead author. Any of the other writers can take the reigns and hammer out a chapter. For consistancy sake it would have to be rewritten by the lead author, but a good portion on the framwork could be done already.
The reason I've thought this might be a viable way to write is this. I have only small publications, and nothing serious for the last few years. I do however come from a PBEM gaming background and find that with the right group of people I am MUCH more motivated to write, even if it's in a secondary role. This may aleviate some of the writing blocks in the process of writing a novel, and I think be more fun overall.
Downsides being that an agreement of rights to the publishing would have to be agreed upon before the project started. And then while one persons story is getting a brain boost as it were, the other people are not focusing on any of their own projects directly.
Am I crazy for thinking that this has some potential given the right group of people?
posted
If this is something serious you are planning to do, specifically with the intent to publish and make a profit, keep in mind that creative personalities aren't all that different from art to art. A writing group would have to be as clear about profit percentage at the outset as a music group would have to be, otherwise, discord DOES set in.
From a purely artistic standpoint, the right group of people can create some neat things, but never as a pure democracy. Without a guiding vision, a person at whom the proverbial buck stops, all you'll end up with is nice parts of an incomplete or at best inconsistent thing.
Just my own opinion, which is definately in the minority here.
posted
I think it would have to be THE perfect group of people to succeed. It is hard enough for two people to agree on things, let alone four.
If you were working on a gaming idea, I could see where the collaboration would come in handy.
If it is intended to be a novel, then God bless you for humbling yourself enough to allow three other people help you to write a story. I can't imagine the level of compromise it would take to get this done without killing one of the group.
I had asked a similar question a while back on co-writing with someone. The general reply was NO. That was just with one other person, which isn't totally unheard of. I myself haven't heard of a writing quad before, unless it was in a gaming situation.
I was in a few rock bands years ago and it was hard for four or five guys to agree on anything. If there are any other musicians out there, they can attest to how hard it is to get a group to come to a compromise.
Ultimately you will have to decide, but I would have a hard time doing this, even with a group of my best friends or even family.
It is very hard for a group to all agree on something YOU feel passionate about.
posted
I'll agree that four authors would kill a story, two would be diffucult, but possible.
The way in which I had it layed out was with one lead author that was making some form of final call. One other one that may or may not be co-authoring, and then two other ones that would be critiquing or throwing draft chapters out.
While it seems like all four are actually writing, I'm sure a lot of you would agree that your first draft chapters are often times pure crap. The only thing helpful is the framework that is layed out, and perhaps a few ideas that spur you into a new direction.
posted
You might check out the afterward for _1633_, by Eric Flint and Dave Weber. It contains the opinions of a majorauthor who regularly collaborates.
IME collaboration works best in complex universes with multiple threads, so that each writer can, to some extent, own a set of characters. If you have a highly plot-driven story, you should probably stick to one person, but otherwise you might try it.
posted
I don't know, if one author had definate final control, or if the group had a good cohesion, it could work. Alexandre Dumas employed a method similar to this, actually. (In his later works) He got together groups of writers who would work out setting, storyline, and exposition, while he focused primarily on dialogue and would rewrite any sections he found necessary.
I have also been toying with a "somewhat" similar idea. I am working a novel within a set universe, and I have several literary-minded friends. One of them only writes shorts, one of them is a comic artist. I am trying to get published with my storyline world, and have the two of them work toward comics and anthologies (possibly screenplays) that are character and world-driven by my novels. *shrugs* Who knows?
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