I am just starting my first book. I've been wanting to do a family history book but can's seem to get started. So, I decided about a month ago to write a novel and have my sister collaborate with me. I started it and she added a few pages. our theme is about fullfilling our life long dream. Since we may not get to do it for real, we thought we would put it into words like a story of 4 mature women following their common dream. So far I'm loaded with ideas and have typed in 55 pages. I feel like I'm on a roll, so I am hoping to gain some techinal pointers here. Looks like I came to the right place. :redface:
Hello Color Girl, Welcome to the Writing Forums. One piece of advice right off the top: Before you write a single word in a collaborative project, draw up a written collaboration contract. This may sound overcautious. After all, it's your sister! But collaboration projects can and do destroy friendships and divide families. Make it absolutely clear in writing what each partner's rights and responsibilities are, and what will become of the project if, God forbid, there is a disagreement over the direction of the project or if one of you doesn't bear up under the workload. A little preparation may avert the potential disasters. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Hello and welcome. Sounds like a sweet little project you have going there. Sweet as in... cookies and candy sweet, not the way it gets used in American slang. And yes I did just say two other sweet things that sound really American as my example... I'm a bit mixed up about which country I come from.
welcome! i have to ditto cog's advice about not co-writing without a collaboration agreement in place, as it's my standard advice for all who take that path... here's a good contract that you can adapt to a book with just a few word changes: http://wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/collaboration.pdf love and hugs, maia [cog... can you please put this up as a sticky in appropriate sections?... it'd save me having to look it up every time]
Our story is going to be about places we remember from our youth and combine it with our wishes for our future life. We love the beauty of our home state and the characters we meet. That's all I can give away right now, but it will be light reading, no profanity or sex.. Sounds boring but I like it. I love books by Debbie Mcomber and Rita May Brown, among others like Evonovich. It will have some humor.
