Collaboration in Fiction and Fact

I’m quite the ostrich with my head in the sand at times. And so when I began hearing about writing circles, post World Wide Web, I thought it was a new phenomena centered around new technology.  Writing circles are no newer than any group of people getting together to further a common cause – in this case a story. The difference in technology is the twist. Letter writing, essay composing, even story telling, requires some contemplation time. There is a balance between thought and the act of writing, sometimes more thought than writing. I only have to look at poetry to see the amount of work behind each carefully placed word. Since my college career was in computers and mathematics I never had the opportunity to participate in a writers group. I had plenty of opportunity for collaborative writing, centering around the computer topic at hand. Creative writing was not encouraged. Only the facts, ma’am.

Technology has changed this the way it has changed all communication. Everything is instant – instant messaging, instant answers, instant stand on one foot contemplation (an oxymoron if ever I heard one).  To collaborate on a writing piece today is a fast affair. For good or better, stories can be composed quickly, reviewed quickly, and published quickly.

One of my employees recently told me about a writing circle that she belongs to. The people rarely see each other, and that’s only because they were friends before marriage and kids sucked up all their times. Now they chat and work together online. The writing circle they formed was for a short duration. Its purpose was to create a story, each participant writing a chapter. They finished the book. But now what? It needs a deep edit. The foremost question, though, is the edit to consolidate and give the piece one voice? Or is the edit to refine each individual voice to harmonize with its companions? And then what do they do with the story?

Unlimited hosting is a great boon. I said, why not host the groups on the French Creek Press site? A writer’s club can make matches between authors and provide a forum for this kind of collaboration. Each group forms around a story, book, theme, whatever the group decides. The groups sets the schedule and out comes a product at the other end. French Creek Press then steps in and creates a free eBook, free for download. Writers maintain their “byline” so to speak and are acknowledged in the front of the book. Instant publishing.

Look for more on this as I develop this idea with up and coming writers. Once the mechanism is in place French Creek Press will open it to all who aspire to write and need a forum.

Watch this space for the Writer’s Circle. And sharpen your pencils to write.

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