One may wonder why team writing endeavors are undertaken. It seems contrary to the benefit of being an independent author and presenting a unique book without suffering the influence of others. However, there are various benefits that can be found in collaboration fiction. Sharing creative control almost harks back to oral tradition where individuals all contributed to stories.
Academics often have to collaborate with one another in the writing of academic articles and papers. However, it is in the field of fiction where this type of writing as particular challenges. Such a collaboration may be attempted by a writing group as a way of developing the skills of participants and this can help them a great deal. Many collaborations are attempted for commercial purposes too, where experienced authors decide to work with one another.
When working together in this way, as with any other project requiring people to work together, everyone has to relinquish total control. The unique skills and ways in which each individual works have to be taken into account. Each individual has to be open to encouragement as well as criticism. This can only happen if there is mutual respect. If there is a creative synergy between authors, this can speed the process of writing and increase the motivation of each person.
A major difficulty when collaborating is to integrate all the efforts in such a way as to produce a consistent style. In order to do this there must be a level of mutual respect and egos have to be put to one side. One author may have stronger skills in one area than another and it makes sense when collaborating to use the particular talents of each author. One author may be better at driving a story along whereas another may be better at working on finer details like fine tuning dialogue and settings.
The way the work is divided between the authors should be done as evenly as possible. Problems can result if one author ends up doing most of the work or another feels that his work is not appreciated. Sometimes a plot is created at the beginning but other authors may work individually on chapters, characters or sub plots and only then decide how to put them together.
Various problems can arise when a group of authors collaborate on a story. One person may feel that the workload has not been evenly distributed or that his or her suggestions are consistently ignored. Another may want to take over and tell everyone else what to do. A clash of egos can result in disaster.
There have been projects attempted online where any visitors to a site can contribute to a story. Attempts like this push the boundaries of publishing but the results have often been spectacularly bad. Other forms of this type of fiction have emerged from the world of game playing, particularly role-playing games. In these games characters interact and narratives can be generated as a result.
When people co-operate with another to produce books, the efforts can be disappointing but they can also be rich and complex. This type of work definitely has a place, especially when accomplished authors succeed in working together. They can produce books that reach greater heights than they could possibly have accomplished on their own.
Academics often have to collaborate with one another in the writing of academic articles and papers. However, it is in the field of fiction where this type of writing as particular challenges. Such a collaboration may be attempted by a writing group as a way of developing the skills of participants and this can help them a great deal. Many collaborations are attempted for commercial purposes too, where experienced authors decide to work with one another.
When working together in this way, as with any other project requiring people to work together, everyone has to relinquish total control. The unique skills and ways in which each individual works have to be taken into account. Each individual has to be open to encouragement as well as criticism. This can only happen if there is mutual respect. If there is a creative synergy between authors, this can speed the process of writing and increase the motivation of each person.
A major difficulty when collaborating is to integrate all the efforts in such a way as to produce a consistent style. In order to do this there must be a level of mutual respect and egos have to be put to one side. One author may have stronger skills in one area than another and it makes sense when collaborating to use the particular talents of each author. One author may be better at driving a story along whereas another may be better at working on finer details like fine tuning dialogue and settings.
The way the work is divided between the authors should be done as evenly as possible. Problems can result if one author ends up doing most of the work or another feels that his work is not appreciated. Sometimes a plot is created at the beginning but other authors may work individually on chapters, characters or sub plots and only then decide how to put them together.
Various problems can arise when a group of authors collaborate on a story. One person may feel that the workload has not been evenly distributed or that his or her suggestions are consistently ignored. Another may want to take over and tell everyone else what to do. A clash of egos can result in disaster.
There have been projects attempted online where any visitors to a site can contribute to a story. Attempts like this push the boundaries of publishing but the results have often been spectacularly bad. Other forms of this type of fiction have emerged from the world of game playing, particularly role-playing games. In these games characters interact and narratives can be generated as a result.
When people co-operate with another to produce books, the efforts can be disappointing but they can also be rich and complex. This type of work definitely has a place, especially when accomplished authors succeed in working together. They can produce books that reach greater heights than they could possibly have accomplished on their own.
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