And mission successful.

For those of you new readers who didn’t catch my post the first time around about my initial experiences participating in a fantastic creative writing project that was sponsored by The Columbus Dispatch (my city’s proud paper) titled Create-A-Classic Novel; the project was seven novels to be written chapter by chapter in sequential order. The author writing the next chapter would have about five days to complete their 1,500 words. This meant that you didn’t even know where the story was going until five days before your chapter was due.

It was harrowing for the editing staff and it was damn near impossible as a writer who likes to plan his stuff out. But somehow, we all made it on time and on the money.

I was pissed off that the guy after me went back and rewrote over my chapter, leading us to a schism of plot and character that couldn’t be resolved except by nixing one of our chapters.

The editor and staff writer who started the piece elected to write a concluding chapter that vaguely seemed to wrap things up without addressing the discrepancy in plot directly.

It worked, but it could have been a hell of a lot better.

Discrepancies and all, our book won the reader poll for the best online novel which means that people care far more about enthusiasm than they do about plot and character (something any good writer knows instinctively).

We had some good enthusiasm on my team. In fact, the guy who wrote my favorite chapter won the editor’s choice award for best author and boy did he deserve it!

I had a great time and I was very impressed with the results and the camaraderie. The editing staff even asked us our opinion on how it could go smoother next time around.

I had some suggestions like adding audio readings of the chapters as podcasts that people could download to their PDAs or iPods and listen to the chapters on their way to work, at work, or laying in bed.

I suggested each team have its own blog that is subscription-based and use it to post their rough draft and get the other authors’ feedback.

The guy next to me didn’t like the idea of knowing who was writing on his team which led me to believe that he was still at that I’m more talented than you are stage of writing before you’ve been knocked on your ass by a writer you know whose stuff makes you want to write better.

With the right person leading that project, it could turn into a major marketing boon for The Dispatch.

I would attack it from all sides with:

  • Readings in local bookstores
  • Interviews on Korby (our local Limbaugh of common sense)
  • Internet courses at public libraries to teach the elderly how to use the Internet to receive their news.
  • I would have RSS feeds and an opt-in e-mail newsletter.
  • I would build a brand around this event that would set the literary community on fire in this area and have people looking forward to the Create A Classic season which should be in the colder months when more people spend time inside surfing the web.

It would start when Buckeye season closed and close when the golf season began.

I had a hell of a time and I hope it shows in the writing. Here is a quick photo journal of the awards ceremony where you can see my ugly mug in true color.

Tags: , , , , ,

[Post to Twitter] Tweet This

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

You Should Also Check Out This Post:

More Active Posts: