Saturday, September 11, 2010

Co-oP Writing... why can't we all just get along

Co-op writing.
Readers understand this concept. They read a good book and they immediately share it with friends. But what about writers, we write a good book and it’s like, the biggest faux pas to ‘share it’ with anyone until its ‘locked and loaded’ at the publishing house.
How I wish I had been part of those Bohemian days when writer's and poets  sat around drinking and laughing, eating finger foods (probably something sweet), and writing—together! Together! What a concept! Sharing their arts and the crafts and the talents and often, such as in the case of Frankenstein, coming up with a classic masterpiece – when in fact that story was probably nothing more than the result of a drunken giggle fest…
I can almost hear them now “and then… haha… and then he has like bolts coming out of his neck”
“ohhh and the parts offa dead people.”
“You’re so dark… always talking about dead people.”
“How come my ideas never get in the story?”
“Fine fine… put it in… parts of dead people”
“Sewn on!”
“Ha! This story is so crazy, nobody will read it!”
But still they wrote it… together they wrote it and I believe, everyone has read it, if not twice. Movie makers have filmed it, more than thrice! Frankenstein still lives…
But no. For the modern writer there is no commonly accepted comradeship or communal atmosphere while writing. It’s even romanticized in movies (Misery, As good as it Gets) how much writer’s treasure their solitude. Nonetheless, for just a moment picture this – team writing. Co-writing—
Not co-authorship but group writing, helping one another sharing characters. Ever have a favorite character that is so real to you that you wish they had more of a life than you have time to give them—lend them out! What’s wrong with that idea?
As long as the hosting author agrees not to abuse them, let your character visit… heck, their doing it on FARMVILLE now… I see little farmers all over the place on my farm.. I was thinking “What are you doing here? Does your parents know where you are?”
Wii has it… visiting Mii’s… why not 'book' characters… what is so wrong with my character visiting another author's book? I think it would help with marketing, promoting and keeping us as writers ALIVE while we are doing other things between books to pay our bills.
It would also create some cross promotion contests like, ‘which character in this book appears in a book by ‘name the author’.
It would make readers go look for books containing that interesting character. It’s just a thought but I think a good one. It breaks down the barriers and creates TEAMwork. There is enough stories out there for everyone, and enough characters to go around and around.

©Michelle McGriff – 2010 PDX