# Pass the story



## Ð˜Ð²Ð°Ð½ (Mar 24, 2008)

Writing prompts are a great tool to help writers dealing with writer's block, but what if it was carried a step further? There's a Facebook group that resembles pass the story. It works kind of like a writing prompt, I guess. Someone posts a prompt, and from there people continue the story by picking up where the last post left off.
I'm putting this on the forums because I thought it might be good for writers. You can observe and learn from other people's writing styles, and further down the road, less experienced writers might learn by observing more talented ones.
I'll put up the URL only if people show interest. I don't want to be accused of spamming.


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## AnthroHorse (Mar 25, 2008)

Sounds cool, I'd like to take a look.


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## Ð˜Ð²Ð°Ð½ (Mar 25, 2008)

I shall take that as interest 
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12251676179


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## Poetigress (Mar 25, 2008)

I have to admit, I'd be slightly more interested in this if it weren't on Facebook, as I have no presence there and don't particularly want to sign up...


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## Ð˜Ð²Ð°Ð½ (Mar 25, 2008)

Hmmm, yea, I don't really like the idea of this being limited to Facebook users...
Could we conceivably find a way to duplicate it on FA? Maybe through threads or journals or something?


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## Poetigress (Mar 25, 2008)

I think there was a very casual thread like that here on the forums a while back, but I don't think the emphasis was on ending up with a coherent story.  >^_^<  (EDIT: Here's the thread -- "The Story Game")

That's the issue with doing this via a thread -- anyone can randomly wander by and add something in, which might be a good thing or might not, depending on what you want to end up with.  If it's really supposed to be a learning experience and amusement for writers (and if the goal is to end up with a complete story that readers can enjoy, rather than just people throwing crazy stuff in for fun), you might not want it open to everybody on the site.

There was a collaborative Pokemon project done recently (first part at http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1171346/) that involved several authors; maybe you could find out how they went about setting that up.


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## Ð˜Ð²Ð°Ð½ (Mar 25, 2008)

Wow... that thread is...interesting. I think I can forget doing it as a thread
I'm also considering setting something up through my FA journal, kinda resembling the Thursday prompt, I guess.
Thanks for the Pokemon project, by the way! I'll definitely look into it


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## TakeWalker (Mar 25, 2008)

Poetigress said:
			
		

> There was a collaborative Pokemon project done recently (first part at http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1171346/) that involved several authors; maybe you could find out how they went about setting that up.



*ahem* VJohnson said "Everybody who wants into Spring Break write up to two pages by the 20th and send it to me!" And we did. ;P

However, the PCA is an interactive story/art project, and not exactly the same as what's been proposed here. The only way to keep something like that away from the influences of disinterested passers-by (at least on a site like this) is to form a list beforehand of people who want to participate and then send the story via notes or some other private messaging service. It might be a good idea to limit how many get into each story, too, and do multiples.


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## Poetigress (Mar 26, 2008)

TakeWalker said:
			
		

> The only way to keep something like that away from the influences of disinterested passers-by (at least on a site like this) is to form a list beforehand of people who want to participate and then send the story via notes or some other private messaging service. It might be a good idea to limit how many get into each story, too, and do multiples.



Makes sense.  I'd suggest maybe limiting it to no more than 6 authors, especially if you want each one to have a chance at writing more than one portion of the story.  

Also, Nameless, I'd suggest writing the first portion of the story yourself so that you could set the concept/setting, and then people could decide whether they wanted to come on board based on that.  Whether you run more than one story at once, or start a new one once the old one's reached a conclusion, you could vary the themes and have, for example, a science fiction story, a slice-of-life story, and a fantasy story, and writers could sign up based on their strengths and interests.


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## Ð˜Ð²Ð°Ð½ (Mar 26, 2008)

Hmmm, I think I need a new forum username...
Interesting idea. To set this up, I think I might do the first portion in my journal, and have people reply if they're interested. Then maybe I could set up the project through email, sort of like what TakeWalker was proposing.
Thanks both of you, this has been helpful


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## Rhainor (Mar 27, 2008)

nameless_ermine said:
			
		

> Hmmm, I think I need a new forum username...



Unless you simply wish to keep one forum profile that matches your mainsite account, and create a second one which does not, it *is* possible for the admins to change a user's screenname here on the forums.  Just FYI.


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## Poetigress (Mar 28, 2008)

Some other thoughts, after reading your journal entry about it and seeing the comments there...

I think it'll be easier to get people on board once you have a definite concept and some ground rules -- that way, people can see it's something that's actually been thought out and is going to happen, instead of a hypothetical.  Personally, I'd have to see the opening scene or idea to know whether I'd want to join in, to see if it's something that piques my interest.

A few things to consider -- 

1) can writers kill off characters? any characters, or just ones they originally introduced?

2) do you want a ratings/content limit, or does anything go?

3) any limits to the number of characters a writer can introduce?  Or will they be limited to a set "cast" and unnamed 'extras'?

I don't know that I'd suggest doing any kind of plot outline, as to me that defeats the purpose of letting the individual writers guide the action -- you'd lose some of the spontaneity and the fun, IMO.  You could provide the main setup -- the main story goal for the protagonist -- and the setting, and let people go from there.  

So, for right now, personally I'd focus on developing a setting and a starting/main character (keeping things sketchy enough to allow the writers room to play and develop things further themselves), and once you have all that figured out, it should be easier to get people involved...


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