Collaborative Efforts

[lucky-E-leven]

I've written one story that was a collaboration between two authors and was wondering how many of you have attempted this. Going to do it again, I think, and was wondering how some of you have tackled it.

or

If you've seen it done well, what was it like? Was it seamless? Did each person write a distinctly different half? How about a planned story line, written from two different accounts?

Anyone, anyone? Buehler? Buehler?

~lucky

 

[doormouse]

I haven't done one, but started reading one.

It felt weird like I was looking in on a private message. Can't say I'd read another.

That's just me. Others might enjoy them.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I haven't done one, but started reading one.

It felt weird like I was looking in on a private message. Can't say I'd read another.

That's just me. Others might enjoy them.

That's what I'm trying to find out. How was it written that made you feel that way?

p.s. You have read another. Day 07 Lit Olympics was a joint effort, but I don't think there's anything violating about it.

Please elaborate?

~lucky

 

[doormouse]

I sent you the link in PM.

Like I said, maybe it's just me.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I sent you the link in PM.

Like I said, maybe it's just me.

Thanks, sweetie. I'll check it out.

 

[Belegon]

The link is in my sig

Part two is in process...

 

[Guest]

I've written one story that was a collaboration between two authors and was wondering how many of you have attempted this. Going to do it again, I think, and was wondering how some of you have tackled it.

or

If you've seen it done well, what was it like? Was it seamless? Did each person write a distinctly different half? How about a planned story line, written from two different accounts?

Anyone, anyone? Buehler? Buehler?

~lucky

This isn't here at Lit, but I have written a few collaborations with another writer. He's a fellow erotic horror writer and is the same guy who introduced me to NaNoWriMo. We've found, over time, that our writing styles blend well together.

The way we do it is by one of us starting off a story, writing a section of maybe 200 - 500 words, then passing it over to the other, who then writes a similar size section, passing it back and so on. We don't discuss beforehand where we invisage the story going or how we want it to end, even. We just write it on the fly, between us. So far it has worked very well. We both have pretty wild imaginations and think along the same wavelengths, so neither of us is ever very shocked or surprised by the weird and wonderful twists these stories sometimes take.

It is great fun and in no way reads like a PM (as Doormouse said some do), because it just isn't written like that - most collaborations aren't. If anyone ever read these stories (which we might be brave enough to showcase one day) they wouldn't know they were written by two people, unless they were told beforehand.

It does take a special kind of writing relationship to be able to collaborate like this and, so far, Mike is the only guy I've been able to write with. However, there is one other person I know who I would love to write a story (or ten) with.

Edited to add that I have written a kind of collaboration with the other person I mentioned. We didn't write a story together, but we did write the same story, but from different perspectives. That was a lot of fun! Again, they aren't published here at Lit, and I doubt they ever will be. Just too personal.

Lou

 

[Guest]

My original novel attempt started as a collaboration. There were two main characters, A dragon (of course) and a doppelganger. We wrote in a sort of leap frog fashion, with me writing a chapter as the dragon, then he would write a chapter as the doppelganger. it was done totally ad-lib, neither knowing where the other was going until their chapter waswas complete.

He dropped out at chapter 5.

I continued and wrote another 150 or so pages. Then Paul wanted back in. I scapped everything I wrote and let him pick back up at chapter 6. At chapter 15 he dropped out again. I rewrote most of it, then scrapped the entire project for a better idea.

The story was good, I think, but the problem we ran into was trying to out do each other with plot twists.

I do have an outline for an erotic comedy that is intended to be a collaboration (if she's still interested) that is a mordern twist on Little Red Riding Hood. I'm dying to get it started, but I have other projects that have deadlines. So it is sort of on a side burner, gathering ideas.

 

[Sabledrake]

I admire the heck out of people who can write collaboratively. It's not something I've ever been any good at, being far too much of a pushy control freak.

Sabledrake

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I have writtenone work with a collaborator. She took one character and I took one. Each segment was written from the character's POV. only rule we had was anytime we made the other character act or react in outr segment the "owner" of the caharacter could as for a re write, giving a better explanation of how the character would have reacted.

It was a pretty successful venture. One I was proud of at the time, since the person working with me was not only published, but made her living writing. Our styles were different, but that only seemed to enhance the different POV's of the characters.

-Colly

 

[cloudy]

I had an auther here (on Lit, not the AH) PM me about wanting to do a collaberation. We talked about ideas, he said he would start it, and send it to me, and I never heard another word.

The story I'm working on now is almost a collaberation - someone is helping me tremendously by giving me detailed feedback as I go, and we've bounced ideas off each other in IM. Long and short, I suppose, is I'm open to the idea.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

Re: Re: Collaborative Efforts

The way we do it is by one of us starting off a story, writing a section of maybe 200 - 500 words, then passing it over to the other, who then writes a similar size section, passing it back and so on. We don't discuss beforehand where we invisage the story going or how we want it to end, even. We just write it on the fly, between us.

<snip...> they wouldn't know they were written by two people, unless they were told beforehand.

<snip...>we did write the same story, but from different perspectives. That was a lot of fun!

Lou

I like that first idea and will definitely have to try it. Neat to see how someone's mind works over time as the story comes together.

I really like a seamless story and usually find that I'm trying to figure out who wrote what. *grin*

This is something I'll do in future. How'd it work out? I tend to think it'd be a very sharing experience.



Thanks.

~lucky

 

[lucky-E-leven]

<snip...>We wrote in a sort of leap frog fashion, with me writing a chapter as the dragon, then he would write a chapter as the doppelganger. it was done totally ad-lib, neither knowing where the other was going until their chapter waswas complete.

The story was good, I think, but the problem we ran into was trying to out do each other with plot twists.

I like the idea of ping-ponging back and forth. It can be as individual as each person writing a different character or as inclusive as a single story-line being created one page at a time by two authors. I think there's huge potential for versatility when two folks put their heads together.



I can see how that'd be a problem. Thanks for the advice on what to watch for. I really appreciate it. Good luck in future endeavors.

~lucky

 

[McKenna]

Edited to add that I have written a kind of collaboration with the other person I mentioned. We didn't write a story together, but we did write the same story, but from different perspectives.

There are folks who write like this over on the SRP. In that sense, it isn't role-playing, but collaborating on writing the same story.

I like writing this way because:

1. It gives me a sense of discipline; someone else is waiting on my words in order to add his/her part to the story.

2. I feed off of another's imagination, and vice versa. Sometimes two heads are better than one.

3. My writing partner can often-times fill in details I wouldn't have thought of or had any idea how to verbalize.

4. It's a little less "lonely" than writing by yourself.

I've written many stories this way; it takes time to find the "right" person with whom to collaborate, but when you do, it's magical. I've had the good fortune of writing with many such people over the past year, and feel it's added a new quality to my writing that was impossible to accomplish otherwise.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I admire the heck out of people who can write collaboratively. It's not something I've ever been any good at, being far too much of a pushy control freak.

Sabledrake

You too?

Well my first jointly written story went very well, I think. We did it quite differently than I've ever heard anyone else go about it. I wrote the body of the story from beginning to end, leaving large holes here and there where I thought they would have more to offer the story. Sent the body to them and they altered/added/deleted certain parts of what I'd written and the finished product worked for me.



~lucky

 

[lucky-E-leven]

<snip...>She took one character and I took one. Each segment was written from the character's POV. only rule we had was anytime we made the other character act or react in outr segment the "owner" of the caharacter could as for a re write, giving a better explanation of how the character would have reacted.

-Colly

I really like this idea. Is there any possibility of me peeking at said story? I'd like to see how the interchange went. (Okay, the truth is I love your writing and always want more...)



~lucky

 

[lucky-E-leven]

There are folks who write like this over on the SRP. In that sense, it isn't role-playing, but collaborating on writing the same story.

I like writing this way because:

1. It gives me a sense of discipline; someone else is waiting on my words in order to add his/her part to the story.

2. I feed off of another's imagination, and vice versa. Sometimes two heads are better than one.

3. My writing partner can often-times fill in details I wouldn't have thought of or had any idea how to verbalize.

4. It's a little less "lonely" than writing by yourself.

I've written many stories this way; it takes time to find the "right" person with whom to collaborate, but when you do, it's magical. I've had the good fortune of writing with many such people over the past year, and feel it's added a new quality to my writing that was impossible to accomplish otherwise.

Thank you so much, McK.

I do like the ideas you listed. I'm excited to see a different writing style up close and personal. I think it can only help your writing to watch someone else's methods in action and find tools they use that grab you.

The inspiration/motivation part is actually the part that's startled me the most. Just discussing basic story lines has given me a ton of new ideas and they just get bigger and better when my co-author puts their spin on them.

Cool stuff.

It's also a great way to get un-blocked. Sometimes you just hit that writer's block wall so hard that you go flat against it and no ideas will come at all. This is bad for me because my normal habit is to begin deleting several pages at a time from the end of a story until I get inspired again.

~lucky

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I had an auther here (on Lit, not the AH) PM me about wanting to do a collaberation. We talked about ideas, he said he would start it, and send it to me, and I never heard another word.

The story I'm working on now is almost a collaberation - someone is helping me tremendously by giving me detailed feedback as I go, and we've bounced ideas off each other in IM. Long and short, I suppose, is I'm open to the idea.

Bummer about the first guy.

I really like this idea too. Sharing info and ideas even though you're the only one writing. I'd like to do this with a group of people sometime. Try to get an idea of the general readership's ideas on specific story characteristics.

Good luck if you ever try it.



~lucky

 

[Duel Citizen]

ALL WORKED UP

This is the first collaborative story posted between myself, Charley, and another Lit. member, Jonathan. We decided to create a joint account for the endeavor.

I was a bit hesitant at first, (having had a not so great experience previously) yet in this experience, our styles and personalities complement one another, and our first effort together has been fun, and apparently successful according to Lit standards.

We may find different ways of writing together, and we definately will start another story, but first time around the process went something along the lines of my generating an idea, which we discussed back and forth, and then he took the idea and fashioned a story around it. I went through adding detail and furthering the story and if you know my style at all, then it's fairly obvious where I refashion.

In the process we are learning more and more about eachother, and I know this will enhance our future stories. What fascinates me about writing collaboratively is watching each of our perspectives toward the same scenario unfold. Without him, without me - the story would take a completely different turn.

 

[Liar]

Well...

The Girl Next Door was never even intended to be a story, just a fun excersise bounced back and forth in PMs between Honey123 and me.

But after reading the whole thing and patting each other's backs for a job well done, we decided to post it as a story. Unedited (spell checked and nothing more), and as-is. So it's all sex and no plot.

#L

 

[Guest]

Does it count as a collaboration if you just a fillament of someones imagined nation cause thats what I am but I feel real sometime I guess he just has a really good nation.

Debbie