All ideas are welcome!

Dear readers and visitors,

Some people have questions about the sort of comments I'm looking for and who is welcome to post. Everyone is welcome to post! All comments and suggestions are welcome, whether you want to get involved long-term, are just passing through, or simply want to read along and see how we design and write a novel.

As for comments, please say whatever you would like. Suggestions, half-formed ideas, your reading preferences, whatever intrigues you at the moment, what you'd like to read but haven't seen out there, feedback on what we're doing - anything really. This is a completely organic process. Your thoughts and ideas are valuable, no matter what they are.

You also don't need to wait for me to bring up a subject. I may be talking about designing the setting, but if you have a character idea, please add the comment. Likewise, later on when we're writing the narrative, post your ideas for the climax even if we're still back on chapter one.

Keep in mind that no aspect of a novel is independent of the others. You don't just sit down and develop a setting. You toss around some ideas for setting and write down the broad strokes, but then you have a great idea for a character and he helps you nail down some setting details, and then--oh, look at that! A conflict popped up and suddenly you're blindsided by plot...

Basically, the writing process is a chaotic mess that somehow coalesces into an amazing story. And that's with only one person involved. Make it a social process, and any hope for organization flies out the window. I'm totally okay with that. Having run Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games, I'm even used to it.

So just have fun, okay? That's all I ask.

About social novel writing

This is a social experiment that allows a community of creative people to collaborate on the creation of a new novel. You tell me what you want to have happen. I bring your ideas to life through the written word.

Why I'm doing this:

I started writing as a teenager because the stories I wanted to read didn't exist yet. Since then, I've met so many creative people who are burning with ideas for stories, characters, and settings, but who lack the time or writing skills to bring their ideas to life. This blog is for you. Let's create the stories you want to read.

The mechanics of social novel writing:

To start a novel, we need a basic premise, a setting, and a few characters. From there, the process will be very organic with all aspects of the story evolving as you give me suggestions and feedback after each scene.

On your end, this is simple: post comments with your ideas about characters, setting, and plot line, what you think should happen next, how you think the novel should end, etc.

My end is far more complex. Based on your initial suggestions, I'll create a bare-bones skeleton of how I think the novel will progress. Naturally, this outline will change over time, but a writer needs at least an idea of where a novel is headed in order to create intrigue, incorporate important elements for later use, and to keep the story from meandering off into nonsensical tangents. I'll also be incorporating many different ideas into one novel. By necessity, I am always the final arbitrator of what goes into the story. Please don't be offended if I don't use something - some ideas simply won't fit into the story. Hopefully we'll be able to use them in the next novel.

Let the experiment begin.