Collaboration

[MafiaNoble]

Does anyone want to work on a story together? I enjoy hobby writing from time to time but think it'd be more enjoyable to partner up.

I can do the writing part, assist with it or just do general brainstorming.

I'm open for a variety of themes as long as they take my interest. We can go from typical fantasy, to scifi to smut stories.

Just let me know what you think, whether or not you only want to help with brainstorming/chapter outlines or if you want to write chapters together with me?

This is purely for hobby purposes, I have no interest in working with deadlines, obligations etc.

 

[Playerkartik]

Does anyone want to work on a story together? I enjoy hobby writing from time to time but think it'd be more enjoyable to partner up.

I can do the writing part, assist with it or just do general brainstorming.

I'm open for a variety of themes as long as they take my interest. We can go from typical fantasy, to scifi to smut stories.

Just let me know what you think, whether or not you only want to help with brainstorming/chapter outlines or if you want to write chapters together with me?

This is purely for hobby purposes, I have no interest in working with deadlines, obligations etc.

Brother I am here

 

[Paul__Michaels]

I tried collabbing once. I didn't like how the lead was going to ignore everyone elses chapters to make a depressing ending. So, I peaced out before writing a single word for his project.

 

[MafiaNoble]

I tried collabbing once. I didn't like how the lead was going to ignore everyone elses chapters to make a depressing ending. So, I peaced out before writing a single word for his project.

I mean, I have no experience working in groups and think that's tricky enough as is. So it'd prefer to have only 2 people max working together on the actual writing if anyone else gets added beyond that it'd have to be for brainstorming, proofreading, suggesting stuff or maybe another task.

Either that or as a fill in/replacement if I or the guy I'm working with gets inactive.

Beside that, when working with others it's important to establish how you're going to want to do it, what expectations everyone has of each other and probably a vague chapter outline rather then writing and making it up as it goes.

All in all I think working with one partner is easiest and least complex, if one of us then gets inactive we can talk about pausing it or finding a third.

All in all I'm not to worried since it's just hobby writing. I'm not looking for deadlines, obligations or forcing my way and vica versa. It's just writing for fun.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

In my limited experience, collaborations generally only work in three cases:

1) The authors meet up regularly to discuss events and plan out arcs together before writing.

2) One person involved is an editor/wrangler who either does not do any writing or only writes when one of the true collaborators is unable to (I've been both the wrangler and a writer in these cases - terrible as a wrangler, for the record) and mostly just reminds the writers their section is due and cleans up inconsistencies. Found a novel back in the 90s called The Red Tape War which was done "round-robin" by Jack L. Chalker, Mike Resnick, and George Alec Effinger with a fourth "name" acting as the driver behind it all. One of the funniest parts had either George or Mike criticize the previous section for 'So now you let Jack go and do that silly body swapping thing again..." ... but Jack did not write that chapter, according to the endnotes.

3) A strict deadline, either time, word-count, or both is involved. Back between 1980 and 2000, there was a series of novels called "The Destroyer" (the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was based on two of them, jammed together into one mostly-coherent story). For the first 60 or so the two guys, Sapir and Murphy used the following system: They would meet, in person when they cold or have a long phone call otherwise to discuss the next two or three planned novels. Each of them would pick one novel and write the first half, with a specified deadline, and then they would meet and exchange what they'd written and the other would finish the novel, again with a strict deadline, and return it to the one who started it, who would spend a few days looking it over before turning it over to their editor. This system worked well for about 50 books, but then one of the two guys decided to take his page/word count quotas STRICTLY and turned over a few first "halves" that ended mid-sentence and once mid-word. At that point he was kicked off the project and the other guy hired a team, acted as editor, and kept his name on it solo.

 

[MafiaNoble]

In my limited experience, collaborations generally only work in three cases:

1) The authors meet up regularly to discuss events and plan out arcs together before writing.

2) One person involved is an editor/wrangler who either does not do any writing or only writes when one of the true collaborators is unable to (I've been both the wrangler and a writer in these cases - terrible as a wrangler, for the record) and mostly just reminds the writers their section is due and cleans up inconsistencies. Found a novel back in the 90s called The Red Tape War which was done "round-robin" by Jack L. Chalker, Mike Resnick, and George Alec Effinger with a fourth "name" acting as the driver behind it all. One of the funniest parts had either George or Mike criticize the previous section for 'So now you let Jack go and do that silly body swapping thing again..." ... but Jack did not write that chapter, according to the endnotes.

3) A strict deadline, either time, word-count, or both is involved. Back between 1980 and 2000, there was a series of novels called "The Destroyer" (the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was based on two of them, jammed together into one mostly-coherent story). For the first 60 or so the two guys, Sapir and Murphy used the following system: They would meet, in person when they cold or have a long phone call otherwise to discuss the next two or three planned novels. Each of them would pick one novel and write the first half, with a specified deadline, and then they would meet and exchange what they'd written and the other would finish the novel, again with a strict deadline, and return it to the one who started it, who would spend a few days looking it over before turning it over to their editor. This system worked well for about 50 books, but then one of the two guys decided to take his page/word count quotas STRICTLY and turned over a few first "halves" that ended mid-sentence and once mid-word. At that point he was kicked off the project and the other guy hired a team, acted as editor, and kept his name on it solo.

I like the second option, the most.

Also, although your answer is correct the examples are really professional. I'm not looking to publish a book, I'm just looking to have fun creating something with someone whether that's me assisting in the process or doing the majority of the writing while being assisted doesn't matter for me.

It's just about having a good time and sharing that experience.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

Back between 1980 and 2000, there was a series of novels called "The Destroyer" (the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was based on two of them, jammed together into one mostly-coherent story).

I have actually seen this movie when I was little. My dad saw it as a kid and it came on late night television. Watched it with him. Seemed like a typical low budget TV action movie, of the era. Never knew it came from a series of books, don't think dad did either even though he was a reader.

I like the second option, the most.
It's just about having a good time and sharing that experience.

I've never really thought abut collab seriously. For WN though, I could see it maybe under this circumstance. The planned novel is to be part romance, part action pulp. One writer who's good with laid back romance, the other experienced at pulp action. They agree on outline, and split up chapters based on which one is covering that type of chapter.

the other scenario I could imagine, is one acting as the editor and the other acting as the writer. it would take a writer that wanted a guiding hand. help with planning. "we could put a plot twist here, a reveal in this chapter". The writer proofs it and tidies it up when done, but the more experienced hand does the final editing, maybe. something like that.

or, just another example. In movies, a big director with a big budget movie. The director will have an assistant director hired. For instance, to direct the B location. Or, the assistant director is hired for experience with action films, so they handle the action segments. For example, other slater is writing a vigilante action novel. Slater might decide another writer can cut out the cartoon violence, and they write the action in a gritty realistic style, letting slater do the plot and everything else.

I could also see this not working. maybe there's a reason most writers work alone.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I like the second option, the most.

Also, although your answer is correct the examples are really professional. I'm not looking to publish a book, I'm just looking to have fun creating something with someone whether that's me assisting in the process or doing the majority of the writing while being assisted doesn't matter for me.

It's just about having a good time and sharing that experience.

Well, it was just easier to give professional examples than to try and explain the times I was involved with amateur ones (two of which were supposed to be published but one fell through for external reasons, and the other we each kept expecting the other to get started so neither one of us did beyond brainstorming, a lot)

 

[Dawnathon]

In my limited experience, collaborations generally only work in three cases:

1) The authors meet up regularly to discuss events and plan out arcs together before writing.

2) One person involved is an editor/wrangler who either does not do any writing or only writes when one of the true collaborators is unable to (I've been both the wrangler and a writer in these cases - terrible as a wrangler, for the record) and mostly just reminds the writers their section is due and cleans up inconsistencies. Found a novel back in the 90s called The Red Tape War which was done "round-robin" by Jack L. Chalker, Mike Resnick, and George Alec Effinger with a fourth "name" acting as the driver behind it all. One of the funniest parts had either George or Mike criticize the previous section for 'So now you let Jack go and do that silly body swapping thing again..." ... but Jack did not write that chapter, according to the endnotes.

3) A strict deadline, either time, word-count, or both is involved. Back between 1980 and 2000, there was a series of novels called "The Destroyer" (the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was based on two of them, jammed together into one mostly-coherent story). For the first 60 or so the two guys, Sapir and Murphy used the following system: They would meet, in person when they cold or have a long phone call otherwise to discuss the next two or three planned novels. Each of them would pick one novel and write the first half, with a specified deadline, and then they would meet and exchange what they'd written and the other would finish the novel, again with a strict deadline, and return it to the one who started it, who would spend a few days looking it over before turning it over to their editor. This system worked well for about 50 books, but then one of the two guys decided to take his page/word count quotas STRICTLY and turned over a few first "halves" that ended mid-sentence and once mid-word. At that point he was kicked off the project and the other guy hired a team, acted as editor, and kept his name on it solo.

I've also seen it work when it comes to close friends who are basically making related stories in the same setting, but it doesn't quite work with strangers unless you're very lucky or very flexible with each other. In my own collaborative works, it tended to be analogous to someone writing the "main quest" of the novel while one or two fellow collaborators wrote "side quest" styles of content. I was usually good at threading the needle to make them cohesive narratively, but it was absolutely impossible for it to come off as a singular work rather than different people's writing styles hopping between each other. The quick and dirty fix was just making everyone have a focused POV for their chapters so the differing writing styles came off as thematically fitting for their characters instead of the literary equivalent of collage art.

There's probably some ways to wrangle the writing style differences, whether by having some poor soul rewrite everything in their own voice or nowadays probably getting an AI to do it. I think it's missing the forest for the trees in collab works. Embrace the seams instead of trying to hide them, you know?

 

[MasterY001]

I am here too. I prefer to work over Discord though.

 

[MafiaNoble]

I am here too. I prefer to work over Discord though.

I have discord if you'd like to discuss a potential collaboration ^_^

Well, it was just easier to give professional examples than to try and explain the times I was involved with amateur ones (two of which were supposed to be published but one fell through for external reasons, and the other we each kept expecting the other to get started so neither one of us did beyond brainstorming, a lot)

I mean, if you happen to have the same interests as me and brainstorming goes nicely together, then it'd be happy to pick up the writing part (or vica versa depending on your preferences)

I just don't want any deadlines, obligations etc. it'll purely be hobby and fun for me.

 

[MasterY001]

I have discord if you'd like to discuss a potential collaboration ^_^

I mean, if you happen to have the same interests as me and brainstorming goes nicely together, then it'd be happy to pick up the writing part (or vica versa depending on your preferences)

I just don't want any deadlines, obligations etc. it'll purely be hobby and fun for me.

I suggest DM-ing everyone who may be interested to gather their Discords and make a dedicated chat. It will also be fun for me and may help me become a better writer.