Interest in a Group Story?

[TGRF]

All the way back in 2010 (man I've been here a long time) the current writers in this forum started Prison Faction, a story that was told by a group of writers. I never got involved in it for some reason, but it was quite successful, spawning a second attempt the following year - which sadly was never completed, I believe - and several fan fictions, one of which was The Wind in the Trees, commonly considered the best fan fiction ever written.

There are a lot of inherent problems with a group-written fan fiction, but as Prison Faction showed, the idea is do-able. And I've seen several times recently that there is interest in doing it again.

So now comes the question: just how much interest is there? And I don't just mean interest in reading it, I mean interest in writing it. By saying you are interested above, you are saying that you would be willing to be one of the writers. Vote in the poll above, and we'll see where we stand.

Timing

The issue of timing is another matter. Some of the writers here have school, and others have jobs that hinder their time. It is my belief that the summer months would be the best time to launch this project (due to the school theory), but I could be wrong. Give me your opinions below on when would be the best time to do this, if we were to do so.

Method

Like I said, there are some inherent problems with the concept of a group-written story. The group needs direction, otherwise it's not so much a story as it is a bunch of people running around (which might be fun at the time, but won't mean much to anyone else).

We also need some form of rules in place, so that people can't mess inadvertently with someone else's character. I believe the game of CoN would be a good place to look at for rules here.

Additionally, there's the whole format of the thing. Does everyone get a character and we all try to solve some puzzle? Is there a single narrator and every character is someone else, who generates their own dialogue? How does it work? Give me your thoughts below.

~TGRF.

[TheAverageFan]

I'd be interested and could probably find time to participate consistently. Of course, I've never done something like this before, so I'm not overtly familiar with the concept.

~TAF

[TGRF]

So for me, I would be willing to moderate/narrate/come up with the rules for this thing, but I don't think I can promise any writing. You never know though, situations change.

Like I mentioned, I think the summer months are best. If that's the general consensus, I would prefer to do this next summer. The reason is that August is already half over, and it will likely take us some time to figure out how to work this thing, at which point school might have already started back up. Doing it next year just gives us more time.

As for how to do it... I'm not sure. I like the idea of one person narrating it with other people being specific characters (kind of like CoN), but that kind of takes away from the whole group-story feel. Believe me though, maintaining direction with a lot of writers is way harder than it sounds. I tried it once with only two writers (including myself), and it was extremely difficult.

One thing to note: The closer this is to CoN, the better chance we stand of roping random CoN players into this and increasing our numbers, both in the group-story and in this forum.

~TGRF.

[TheAverageFan]

Yeah, a lot of my best works (not on this site) were actually co-written, so I know there's potential. If you can get some people who've done a group story before, it'd help though.

~TAF

[TGRF]

Well @Dysole and @ABOMINATION were in Prison Faction, I believe.

~TGRF, noting that Dysole's input is always invaluable in these kinds of things.

[TGRF]

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

Yeah, a lot of my best works (not on this site) were actually co-written, so I know there's potential. If you can get some people who've done a group story before, it'd help though.

~TAF

You don't say? Where might these works be located?

~TGRF.

[Tornado]

I am in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love the format even though it can be frustrating at times, I believe it can produce incredible collaboration.

Expect my full support.

[Marro_Warlord]

I might be on the sidelines, possibly chiming in at times. I can't guarantee I'll produce anything, but I'd at least try to be a part of it.

[TGRF]

Originally Posted by Tornado

I am in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love the format even though it can be frustrating at times, I believe it can produce incredible collaboration.

Expect my full support.

Are you in as a writer, moderator, or both? I think tallying the votes would help provide a good look at where we stand.

~TGRF.

[TheAverageFan]

Originally Posted by The Grim Reaper's Friend

You don't say? Where might these works be located?

~TGRF.

I'm afraid you won't find them anywhere on the internet. Like Thunderstorm I and II, they need to be rewritten to be retold as such, and that ain't gonna happen any time soon. If I ever make it big in the world of writing, you might one day see them.

A little off-subject, but I just finished Quest for Valhalla. Any other stories I'll need to read to familiarize myself with the subject matter of Code 4114? I think you said there were two sequels, but Dan was only in one of them, or something to that effect.

~TAF

[TGRF]

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

I'm afraid you won't find them anywhere on the internet. Like Thunderstorm I and II, they need to be rewritten to be retold as such, and that ain't gonna happen any time soon. If I ever make it big in the world of writing, you might one day see them.

A little off-subject, but I just finished Quest for Valhalla. Any other stories I'll need to read to familiarize myself with the subject matter of Code 4114? I think you said there were two sequels, but Dan was only in one of them, or something to that effect.

~TAF

Dan was in the direct sequel to the Quest, but that fiction got a little... strange. In all honesty I'm not too proud of my writing skill at the time, save for a few select passages. That one you really don't need to read. More than half of it doesn't concern Dan, and the parts that do are likely to be the parts that will be the most rewritten (aka, removed or completely changed). That being said, the parts that don't concern Dan will be more or less unchanged, so those parts might be of use to you. I'll provide a link once I track it down.

~TGRF.

[Dysole]

Need. More. Time. To. Process. Can't. Guarantee. Quick. Response.

~Dysole, putting out some real life fires