There are really only two kinds of story-by-committee that I'm aware of:
the round robin and the shared world. Round robins always turn into an
exercise in writing the next guy into a corner, which can be funny but
rarely makes for good fiction. Shared worlds are usually more
interesting, but they're also kaleidoscopic by nature, lacking a single
unified storyline. In the absence of a firm editorial hand, it's also
still possible for one writer to box the others in.

So, I'm trying something different.

A wiki interface has the potential to eliminate the problems of other
mass collaborations by allowing everyone to edit what anyone else has
done, including rolling the whole thing back to an earlier version. This
may turn out to be a terrible idea, but there doesn't seem to be much to
lose by experimenting with it.

If anyone is interested, check out:

< http://sciencewiktion.wikidot.com/ >

The text is all publicly readable, but to edit you need to join the wiki
as a member. There is also a link from the front page of my website.

--
Wil McCarthy < http://www.wilmccarthy.com >
Engineer, Columnist, Author, etc.
"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" -- Francis Bacon

Wil McCarthy <wmccarth@sff.net> wrote:

> There are really only two kinds of story-by-committee that I'm aware of:
> the round robin and the shared world. Round robins always turn into an
> exercise in writing the next guy into a corner, which can be funny but
> rarely makes for good fiction.

Not always; the only one I've participated in worked out just fine. The
styles came out a bit hodgepodge, but that could have been editable if
we'd cared to.

(Oh, wait, I participated in another one that never got finished, but
that was due to Real Life interfering, not people being written into a
corner. We managed the style issue in that one with each of us three
authors taking a different point of view character.)

I presume you're restricting 'by committee' to 3+ writers; there are
many more ways that 2 writers can manage it. One I've used with my
sister is to sit down on the couch, get in a really silly mood, and...
well, it involves someone tossing out sentences and someone rephrasing
them and both agreeing and one typing, but it's a seamless enough
process that if one may count verbal communication as telepathy that
it's almost a hivemind approach.

Doing that with 3+ people would require some very compatible people, but
it ought to be possible.

<snip>
> So, I'm trying something different.
>
> A wiki interface has the potential to eliminate the problems of other
> mass collaborations by allowing everyone to edit what anyone else has
> done, including rolling the whole thing back to an earlier version. This
> may turn out to be a terrible idea, but there doesn't seem to be much to
> lose by experimenting with it.
>
> If anyone is interested, check out:
>
> < http://sciencewiktion.wikidot.com/ >
>
> The text is all publicly readable, but to edit you need to join the wiki
> as a member. There is also a link from the front page of my website.

I'd consider participating if it were Creative Commons or similar, but
if I'm giving up my work for free there'd have to be something really
special about it for me to be willing to give my copyright over to
someone in particular.

Also, "providing only your best work" is offputting to me. I wouldn't
consider going in and writing "aslfjaskldf;" -- and I'm happy with
registration in order to prevent people doing that sort of thing -- but
just as in brainstorming groups are told "No idea is too stupid to put
out there," so I think wikis work best with no restrictions: even if
you're adding crap, it can be fixed later (by you or someone else), and
even if the best way to fix it turns out to be to delete it, that crap
might fertilise someone else's brilliant idea. --This is aside from the
fact that the instant I've got "providing only my best work" in my mind
I can't write a word of anything.

Good luck with it though; hopefully you'll find enough people suited to
the way you want to run things to make it a worthwhile experiment.

(And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons wiki
or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things have
worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)

Zeborah
--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
rasfc FAQ: http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.html

Zeborah wrote:

> (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons wiki
> or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things have
> worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
> whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)

I'd gladly contribute Linda and Marty to have Continuing Adventures, but I
first have to get them out of this zoo they're stuck in with a model
called Bambi!

Irina
--
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth
should that mean that it is not real?" --Albus Dumbledore
http://www.valdyas.org/foundobjects/index.cgi Latest: 31-Dec-2007
Purplish Cooking Pages http://www.valdyas.org/irina/purplishcookingpages/

Irina Rempt <irina@valdyas.org> wrote:
> Zeborah wrote:

>> (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons
>> wiki or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things
>> have worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
>> whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)

How does that work?

> I'd gladly contribute Linda and Marty to have Continuing Adventures,
> but I first have to get them out of this zoo they're stuck in with a
> model called Bambi!

I had an odd sense of 'this character is <sense of other poster>'s
character', so I went and looked, and was right, it turned up in a first
line from Michelle (and was then discussed).

So, is this the same character, and if yes, did you borrow her, or did
you just grab the name and run with it, or did you have it all along, or
what? :)

--
Tina
Reading: Seasons&Elements 1, Controlled by Magic: 196613 words, at 32.38%
WISuspension: Magic Earth series
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.

Zeborah wrote:
> I'd consider participating if it were Creative Commons or similar, but
> if I'm giving up my work for free there'd have to be something really
> special about it for me to be willing to give my copyright over to
> someone in particular.

The "for free" part is inaccurate; as I say in the introduction, in the
unlikely event that any revenues are generated, they'll be shared among
the participants.

I'm a big fan of Creative Commons, but traditional publishers won't
touch it. Similarly, on a personal level I'd be very happy to split the
copyright among everyone who participates at any level. But again, that
kind of arrangement would send publishers screaming for the bomb
shelter. Still, I'm curious: is it possible to crowdsource something
that's actually publishable, in both artistic and licensing terms, while
also rewarding the contributors in a rational way? Hence this experiment.

<shrug>

No harm done if it doesn't work, but it seems worth a try.

< http://sciencewiktion.wikidot.com >

--
Wil McCarthy < http://www.wilmccarthy.com >
Engineer, Columnist, Author, etc.
"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" -- Francis Bacon

In article <13nl30u28aqtg3d@corp.supernews.com>
wmccarth@sff.net "Wil McCarthy" writes:

> I'm a big fan of Creative Commons, but traditional publishers won't
> touch it. Similarly, on a personal level I'd be very happy to split the
> copyright among everyone who participates at any level. But again, that
> kind of arrangement would send publishers screaming for the bomb
> shelter. Still, I'm curious: is it possible to crowdsource something
> that's actually publishable, in both artistic and licensing terms, while
> also rewarding the contributors in a rational way? Hence this experiment.

My instinct says to organise it as a kind of anthology: it has an
"editor" (it probably will anyhow) who is the publisher's contact
point with the project; this legal entity (who could be more than
one person, in fact) signs an agreement with the contributors who
work through him/her/it/them, as with an anthology; and meanwhile
the publisher can use its standard anthology mechanisms, although
appropriate credits should be specified in its agreement with the
editor -- I suspect there'd also be a preface which discussed the
project's genesis and execution.
--
Andrew Stephenson

Tina Hall wrote:

> Irina Rempt <irina@valdyas.org> wrote:

>> with a
>> model called Bambi!
>
> I had an odd sense of 'this character is <sense of other poster>'s
> character', so I went and looked, and was right, it turned up in a first
> line from Michelle (and was then discussed).
>
> So, is this the same character, and if yes, did you borrow her, or did
> you just grab the name and run with it, or did you have it all along, or
> what? :)

She came up out of the blue, and I don't remember whether or not I'd read
Michelle's WIP before she got her name, but no, it's not the same
character at all.

Bambi Hadfield, in fact, engineer-scaring gorgeous and aggressively
heterosexual. Linda and Marty are both women (and a couple), but perhaps
the aliens think Marty is male because she's a lot smaller, less
flamboyant and less well endowed.

Irina

--
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth
should that mean that it is not real?" --Albus Dumbledore
http://www.valdyas.org/foundobjects/index.cgi Latest: 01-Jan-2008
Purplish Cooking Pages http://www.valdyas.org/irina/purplishcookingpages/

Irina Rempt <irina@valdyas.org> wrote:
> Tina Hall wrote:
>> Irina Rempt <irina@valdyas.org> wrote:

>>> with a model called Bambi!
>>
>> I had an odd sense of 'this character is <sense of other poster>'s
>> character', so I went and looked, and was right, it turned up in a
>> first line from Michelle (and was then discussed).
>>
>> So, is this the same character, and if yes, did you borrow her, or
>> did you just grab the name and run with it, or did you have it all
>> along, or what? :)

> She came up out of the blue, and I don't remember whether or not I'd
> read Michelle's WIP before she got her name, but no, it's not the
> same character at all.

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

> Bambi Hadfield, in fact, engineer-scaring gorgeous and aggressively
> heterosexual. Linda and Marty are both women (and a couple), but
> perhaps the aliens think Marty is male because she's a lot smaller,
> less flamboyant and less well endowed.

:) Sounds interesting.

--
Tina
Reading: Seasons&Elements 1, Controlled by Magic: 196613 words, at 32.38%
WISuspension: Magic Earth series
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.

Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:

> > Zeborah wrote:
>
> >> (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons
> >> wiki or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things
> >> have worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
> >> whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)
>
> How does that work?

"I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" is a story that came out
of the process my sister and I used. Any process would do, though. The
main thing is that the premise was insane and so was the rest of the
story; we didn't go into the thing thinking "We must only provide our
best work here," we just went in to have fun, and fun we had; and,
having fun, we produced some of our best work.

Zeborah
--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
rasfc FAQ: http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.html

Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:
>>> Zeborah wrote:

>>>> (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons
>>>> wiki or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things
>>>> have worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
>>>> whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)
>>
>> How does that work?

> "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" is a story that came
> out of the process my sister and I used. Any process would do,
> though. The main thing is that the premise was insane and so was the
> rest of the story; we didn't go into the thing thinking "We must only
> provide our best work here," we just went in to have fun, and fun we
> had; and, having fun, we produced some of our best work.

What did you do though? What was the premise?

--
Tina
Reading: Seasons&Elements 1, Controlled by Magic: 196613 words, at 32.38%
WISuspension: Magic Earth series
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.

Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:

> Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:
> >>> Zeborah wrote:
>
> >>>> (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons
> >>>> wiki or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things
> >>>> have worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
> >>>> whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)
> >>
> >> How does that work?
>
> > "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" is a story that came
> > out of the process my sister and I used. Any process would do,
> > though. The main thing is that the premise was insane and so was the
> > rest of the story; we didn't go into the thing thinking "We must only
> > provide our best work here," we just went in to have fun, and fun we
> > had; and, having fun, we produced some of our best work.
>
> What did you do though?

I don't get the question. We got a crazy idea and then we wrote a crazy
story about it. That's all there was to it.

>What was the premise?

It's all there in the title. It was fan-fiction, riffing off the fact
that the Love of Our Hero's Life is a murderer(1), and the premise of
our story is that he gives birth to her child.

(He does this by retrieving her DNA from the gun she used to frame him
and then, as he explains:

"It was relatively simple to elicit meiosis in her deoxyribonucleic
acid, and to implant the result into an ovine template (this was clearly
a very minor extension of what is now common cloning technique) which
could be fertilised by the handy addition of a sample of my own genetic
material. The resulting zygote I introduced into my new womb, which I
had grown specifically for this purpose."

Bear in mind that the show this was a fanfic of was not science-fiction.
Anyway, nine months later he performs a caesarean section on himself and
thus he has his homicidal ex-girlfriend's lovechild. The story
continues, but that's not important right now; what is important is that
it was all utterly, utterly mad.)

Zeborah
(1) I simplify. Victoria Metcalfe is a very controversial figure in Due
South fandom: "Victoria: villain or victim?" is right up there with
"Ray V or Ray K?"
--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
rasfc FAQ: http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.html

Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:
>> Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:
>>>>> Zeborah wrote:

>>>>>> (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative
>>>>>> commons wiki or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME
>>>>>> such things have worked best -- experience and product both --
>>>>>> when it's utter whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's
>>>>>> Lovechild" fun.)
>>>>
>>>> How does that work?
>>
>>> "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" is a story that came
>>> out of the process my sister and I used. Any process would do,
>>> though. The main thing is that the premise was insane and so was
>>> the rest of the story; we didn't go into the thing thinking "We
>>> must only provide our best work here," we just went in to have fun,
>>> and fun we had; and, having fun, we produced some of our best work.
>>
>> What did you do though?

> I don't get the question. We got a crazy idea and then we wrote a
> crazy story about it. That's all there was to it.

What was the crazy idea? Where's the difference between this and
the usual way to write? You keep saying there's some insane new
idea involved, as if you had made a new invention that worked
really well and was a lot of fun, but you never say what it is
that's insane, utter whacktastic,...

The title sounds as if you each wrote down random words, hidden
from sight, then arranged them so they make at least some sense,
so I thought it might have been something like that.

>> What was the premise?

> It's all there in the title. It was fan-fiction, riffing off the
> fact that the Love of Our Hero's Life is a murderer(1), and the
> premise of our story is that he gives birth to her child.

> (He does this by retrieving her DNA from the gun she used to
> frame him and then, as he explains:

> "It was relatively simple to elicit meiosis in her deoxyribonucleic
> acid, and to implant the result into an ovine template (this was
> clearly a very minor extension of what is now common cloning
> technique) which could be fertilised by the handy addition of a
> sample of my own genetic material. The resulting zygote I introduced
> into my new womb, which I had grown specifically for this purpose."

> Bear in mind that the show this was a fanfic of was not
> science-fiction. Anyway, nine months later he performs a caesarean
> section on himself and thus he has his homicidal ex-girlfriend's
> lovechild. The story continues, but that's not important right now;
> what is important is that it was all utterly, utterly mad.)

Thanks for explaining. It's not what I had thought when reading
your words above.

> Zeborah
> (1) I simplify. Victoria Metcalfe is a very controversial figure in
> Due South fandom: "Victoria: villain or victim?" is right up there
> with "Ray V or Ray K?"

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with that series.

--
Tina
Reading: Seasons&Elements 1, Controlled by Magic: 196613 words, at 32.38%
WISuspension: Magic Earth series
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.

Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:

> Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:
<snip context>
> > I don't get the question. We got a crazy idea and then we wrote a
> > crazy story about it. That's all there was to it.
>
> What was the crazy idea? Where's the difference between this and
> the usual way to write? You keep saying there's some insane new
> idea involved, as if you had made a new invention that worked
> really well and was a lot of fun, but you never say what it is
> that's insane, utter whacktastic,...

Oh. There's confusion between story idea and process idea. The process
idea (not decided upon explicitly, it just happened) was simply that we
would write crazy/insane/whacktastic stuff in order to have fun, instead
of sitting down in sober determination to provide only our best work.
What precisely the crazy stuff was is utterly irrelevant; our crazy idea
was appropriate for our story, but other writers would need their own
crazy story idea. Or might do perfectly fine sitting down in sober
determination etc.

Zeborah
--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
rasfc FAQ: http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.html

Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@kruemel.org> wrote:
>> Zeborah <zeborah@gmail.com> wrote:

> <snip context>

>>> I don't get the question. We got a crazy idea and then we
>>> wrote a crazy story about it. That's all there was to it.
>>
>> What was the crazy idea? Where's the difference between this
>> and the usual way to write? You keep saying there's some
>> insane new idea involved, as if you had made a new invention
>> that worked really well and was a lot of fun, but you never
>> say what it is that's insane, utter whacktastic,...

> Oh. There's confusion between story idea and process idea.
> [...]

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

--
Tina
Reading: Seasons&Elements 1, Controlled by Magic: 196613 words, at 32.38%
WISuspension: Magic Earth series
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.

Irina Rempt <irina@valdyas.org> wrote:

> Zeborah wrote:
>
> > (And if anyone on rasfc wants to try some kind of creative commons wiki
> > or instant messaging thing, count me in. But IME such things have
> > worked best -- experience and product both -- when it's utter
> > whacktastic "I Had My Homicidal Ex-Girlfriend's Lovechild" fun.)
>
> I'd gladly contribute Linda and Marty to have Continuing Adventures, but I
> first have to get them out of this zoo they're stuck in with a model
> called Bambi!

Mileage likely varies, but I think I'd find it more fun to start from
utter scratch - that way anyone who wants gets input into the very
premise of the universe, and there's no worry about treading on toes
over whether something contradicts something the universe-originator had
known but not made explicit about the universe. Not that I think
trodden toes would bother you, but knowing myself I can imagine I might
feel inhibitions anyway.

Zeborah
--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
rasfc FAQ: http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.html