The six founders of our group, Crowdsourcing Collaborative Creativity, wanted to create a novel online. Our goal was to have a solid and coherent plot, copy edited, and published on Amazon.com. We didn't get that far, but we discovered and learned a lot in the process of the making. We started by choosing a plot and assigning characters to each co-author.
Overview (Christina)
Our goal was to have a full-length, coherent, novel published on Amazon by the end of the semester. We started by choosing a plot and creating characters but the big idea of the project was to have as many collaborators as possible to help write the sections. We also included a virtual world in our plot, to bring the digital culture home. We obtained social proof from friends, professors, and other writers.
Story of the Project (Jason)
The project started out as just a few of us with a passion for creative writing who wanted to simplify the novel writing process so that it didn't place so much work on one author, making it easier to write a cohesive novel. The challenge was to include as many people as possible while still maintaining a cohesiveness to it. We set out to do it, and found it challenging but possible. Six of us were able to come up with the characters and the outline (already a collaborative effort). The actual writing was done by 20+ authors. We were able to get about 30,000 words completed in just a few weeks. This was a huge accomplishment. With a few minor exceptions, it was pretty cohesive too. Although we didn't manage to completely finish the novel we were able to get close enough to finish it in the near future.
Group Collaboration (Ashley)
Before we could send out invitations or advertise for collaboration on the novel, we had to do some collaboration of our own within the group. We needed to decide on a plot and characters, develop the chapters, and then split those chapters into more detailed segments. In order to accomplish all this, we used three main points of contact between our group members: Google Plus, our blog, and group meetings.
Our initial point of contact was Google Plus. We used this as a tool to field ideas to one another, and it also a useful way to get immediate feedback from our peers. As we moved deeper into the project we developed a blog to use as a base for our more developed ideas, such as our character and plot ideas. Finally, to make final decisions and to settle on things such as a final plot and a timeline we had group meetings where we met face-to-face.
Public Collaboration (Rebecca)
We tried various ways of gathering participants. Early on Jason made a Youtube video trailer for the project and created a Facebook page which we invited people to join. We sent out emails to creative writing professors, writing groups and clubs, friends, and family. We had our project mentioned in the BYU English Department (I believe) newsletter. We visited classes and meetings to present our project and invite collaborators. We bothered our classmates and others we hoped to have join. At least one of the professors we contacted offered extra credit to the students who participated.
Tools (Heather)
We used multiple tools in the process of our project as we developed our ideas and created our product, Chaotic Connections. We began with a few google docs to get input and decide our story. Afterwards, we used a facebook page and blog, but that was still confusing. Finally, we created a website/wiki where we could inform the public as well as allow for submissions. We couldn’t do any of it without the tools offered by digital culture.
Feedback and Outcomes (Hillary)
One of our greatest challenges was creating a user-friendly site. Many commented that our initial blog was a little confusing and too much was going on. We then created a website with everything in one place. We received more feedback, and learned that while the site was more helpful to those already committed to the project, it didn’t draw in newcomers. This became one of our highest priorities; with the help of Dr. Gideon Burton, we added prezis that explained our basic ideas, plot, and characters.
Another problem was finding enough collaborators. Although we tried to attract online writers through Facebook, our blog, and the site itself, most of our collaborators were people we personally contacted. By the end of the semester, we had a large portion of the novel finished, but not enough to publish. We will leave the site open, however, and we hope to publish it next semester.
Digital Culture
Our project was based on the ideas of online collaboration and open sourcing. We attempted to connect to our collaborators through different media - as mentioned above - and attempted to draw them in further through transmedia by creating profiles for characters and different ways to interact. We used social proof in every step as we tried to get popular votes for how our project would continue. Also, due to the collaboration, our entire project was user-generated content.
Overview (Christina)
Our goal was to have a full-length, coherent, novel published on Amazon by the end of the semester. We started by choosing a plot and creating characters but the big idea of the project was to have as many collaborators as possible to help write the sections. We also included a virtual world in our plot, to bring the digital culture home. We obtained social proof from friends, professors, and other writers.
Story of the Project (Jason)
The project started out as just a few of us with a passion for creative writing who wanted to simplify the novel writing process so that it didn't place so much work on one author, making it easier to write a cohesive novel. The challenge was to include as many people as possible while still maintaining a cohesiveness to it. We set out to do it, and found it challenging but possible. Six of us were able to come up with the characters and the outline (already a collaborative effort). The actual writing was done by 20+ authors. We were able to get about 30,000 words completed in just a few weeks. This was a huge accomplishment. With a few minor exceptions, it was pretty cohesive too. Although we didn't manage to completely finish the novel we were able to get close enough to finish it in the near future.
Group Collaboration (Ashley)
Before we could send out invitations or advertise for collaboration on the novel, we had to do some collaboration of our own within the group. We needed to decide on a plot and characters, develop the chapters, and then split those chapters into more detailed segments. In order to accomplish all this, we used three main points of contact between our group members: Google Plus, our blog, and group meetings.
Our initial point of contact was Google Plus. We used this as a tool to field ideas to one another, and it also a useful way to get immediate feedback from our peers. As we moved deeper into the project we developed a blog to use as a base for our more developed ideas, such as our character and plot ideas. Finally, to make final decisions and to settle on things such as a final plot and a timeline we had group meetings where we met face-to-face.
Public Collaboration (Rebecca)
We tried various ways of gathering participants. Early on Jason made a Youtube video trailer for the project and created a Facebook page which we invited people to join. We sent out emails to creative writing professors, writing groups and clubs, friends, and family. We had our project mentioned in the BYU English Department (I believe) newsletter. We visited classes and meetings to present our project and invite collaborators. We bothered our classmates and others we hoped to have join. At least one of the professors we contacted offered extra credit to the students who participated.
Tools (Heather)
We used multiple tools in the process of our project as we developed our ideas and created our product, Chaotic Connections. We began with a few google docs to get input and decide our story. Afterwards, we used a facebook page and blog, but that was still confusing. Finally, we created a website/wiki where we could inform the public as well as allow for submissions. We couldn’t do any of it without the tools offered by digital culture.
Feedback and Outcomes (Hillary)
One of our greatest challenges was creating a user-friendly site. Many commented that our initial blog was a little confusing and too much was going on. We then created a website with everything in one place. We received more feedback, and learned that while the site was more helpful to those already committed to the project, it didn’t draw in newcomers. This became one of our highest priorities; with the help of Dr. Gideon Burton, we added prezis that explained our basic ideas, plot, and characters.
Another problem was finding enough collaborators. Although we tried to attract online writers through Facebook, our blog, and the site itself, most of our collaborators were people we personally contacted. By the end of the semester, we had a large portion of the novel finished, but not enough to publish. We will leave the site open, however, and we hope to publish it next semester.
Digital Culture
Our project was based on the ideas of online collaboration and open sourcing. We attempted to connect to our collaborators through different media - as mentioned above - and attempted to draw them in further through transmedia by creating profiles for characters and different ways to interact. We used social proof in every step as we tried to get popular votes for how our project would continue. Also, due to the collaboration, our entire project was user-generated content.
