Collaboration

[Josh2Write]

You dont need collaboration. You just need to write something and put it in the critique section.

I hate to say so, but when I see something asking for collaboration, what I hear is, 'I need someone who can do the work for something I want credit for'. It isn't gonna happen with me. I put in the work so I could write my own stories. You need to do the same. There are no shortcuts. It either a passion or it not. It okay if its not, maybe something else is really your thing.

I don't take credit for things I didn't do. I want a collaboration so me and the partner(s) can bounce ideas off each other, see how it sounds, help each other to make it better. You are very arrogant, and in that arrogance I assume you have yet to actually publish, (maybe even finish a novel? People like you are why collaboration is so hard to find because people like you are why no one can truly trust each other. You have the right to voice your opinions, but that's all they are.

I'm with skip.knox here. Story ideas are ten a penny. That doesn't mean all story ideas are appropriate for what I'm writing now, but they might be useful later... I've had quite a few story ideas over the years, and these days I write them down in the random text file. Like everything else in that file they will eventually get used somewhere in my writing. Some are used as the core of a story arc, others become parts of sub-plots and so on. The way I develop those ideas won't be the same as the way others would do, and that is in my view where our originality as authors comes in. It's what we do with those ideas that makes our writing unique to

Hold on. There may be a communication issue here.

In writing terms, collaboration usually means two or more people writing one story together. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about that.)

But what Josh2Write is describing sounds more like a workshopping group, or a discussion group.

Is it one of these two things?

I always saw ALL of it as collaboration. If for some strange reason I'm wrong, various others could have easily pointed that out to me much earlier instead of flying off the handle half-cocked.

In my mind: I have an idea. They also have an idea. I don't usually think of "there's an idea between us" because nowadays no one trusts each other so no one creates ideas together (because if one thinks of an idea the rest help but can claim credit and it can, but not always, create animosity from the one who originally came up with the idea). I don't want that. I want to help them. I want them to help me. We help each other. Whatever the project is, is a collaboration. I've never thought of it any other way, too trusting I guess.

With Pmmg's earlier comment about all I want is credit while others work, I have NEVER for once thought that. I simply want help to organize my chaos, and I figure if they're also working on a story I'll return the favor because it's the right honorable thing to do.

I tried workshops and some narcissistic jackass always takes the lead and tries to high jack the other stories, tries to directly influence the story in their wording and dialog it's not worth the stress of the probability that my idea going being morphed into what they want it to be, just so they can later say they helped when all they did was talk fancy yet say nothing.

 

[Josh2Write]

Yes, that is what it is. Two or more people writing a story together (and hopefully proving equal value to the project).

Why couldn't you just say that earlier?

 

[skip.knox]

This thread will simmer down when everyone talks about the question and leaves off talking about individuals.

If there's a question about terminology, why not do a little research first? Locate some definitions (there are always more than one) and offer those up. That way, everyone on the thread more readily sees what is meant. I look at the original post and see that while collaboration is in the subject line, the brief comment is more specific.

The post says the author wants someone they can tell their ideas to, to help critique. So that's a specific request for critiquing--not of actual writing but of ideas. That is followed by an offer for reciprocation, which is always welcome. Perhaps we can return to that point.

I can add this: Mythic Scribes offers an area for posting pieces of a story and requesting critiques from the community. There are some prerequisites to that, stated in a pinned post on that forum. There's also a forum that is specifically for brainstorming. If trust is an issue, you could perhaps pick a single idea, or even ideas from an unrelated project, and see what sort of responses you get. It may be that this is not the community for you; the only way to find out, imo, is to try it out. I get it that you're worried about your main project, but you could try something unrelated. Or even just read the many threads in that forum, to get a sense of how that would work.