Mecha Talk

Here's a concept i thought of while walking to school. An Open source editable fanfic. It would go Some thing like this, I would write a chapter, then some one else in would write in their chapter continuing from mine, and so forth. Each post would be a Phase in a similar fashion to SEED What do you think? Her is an example:

My Post:

PHASE 58:

The Gundam raised it's remaining arm and blasted at the plummeting head of the Zeonic Monster. The Beam Hit Zeong's head....

PHASE END

RandomGuy555's Post:

PHASE 59:
But not before Zeong blasted at the Gundam destroying half it's leg...

PHASE END

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Weither something like this works or not depends on the quality of the author's writeings and making sure that the flow from one chapter, and thus author is smooth and that no one author hijacks the story to their own whims, at least not too much.
It would also help if all the authors were, shall we say credible and compatant writers themselves and not random joe off the street.
If done correctly, this sort of thing can bring out a great fanfic. However the potential for failure is also high and you must be careful about who you select for your circle of writers here.

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That's pretty close to an RPG, don't you think?

Yeah... this sounds alot like an RPG, and to another extent it sounds exactly like Heretic's Gundam Character Party threads.

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(I thought RPGs were like, visual ) The thing would probably have a set of rules preventing it from becoming RPGish (which is some how *Insert word* as RPGs have lots of rules).

Of course it is only a concept and i'll need to solve any problems or flaws at some point.

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By RPG they're referring to message board RPGs, such as the ones we have here on this very board.

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Getting one person to finish a fanfic they've started is hard enough. Getting a bunch of people to pay attention, stay interested, and work long enough to make work out? If you can create and sustain interest and effort, go for it, but that's easier said than done.

That was the issue with the Character Party Threads... people soon lost interest and it died a slow death when people werent posting anymore.

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Referring to the actual topic which would be to write a fanfic by collaborating with several writers, well... If you want a consistent story, all writers have to be pretty much on the ball and know at least the Mahq -basics of Gundam in said era. Personally I wouldn't want to write with anyone else in the same project; I could work with spinoffs from another's (or would allow vice versa). Many people are quite self-aware of the text the create, and not everyone is willing to let every Tom, Dick and Harry put their two cents in. Let them write their own interpretations.

That said, it is never a dumb idea to ask. Brainstorming together may not lead to a common project, but it can give several ideas for all to use. Just be prepared that fanficcing with several people (as well as RPGing), and most likely people you don't know that well even, can lead to interesting and/or mentally draining exercises of futility.

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I friend of mine, once one of MAHQ's Mods said this while explaining what exactly an RPG is:

"An RPG is like a Group Writen Story."

Which is true, especially when it has a driving plot instead of just a bunch of events strung together. Take the short-lived Andorra Under OZ RPG or the Tales from the Frontline: Zeta RPG, which are highly plot drive. I would dare to say the former moreso than the latter, but both were/are great RPGs. The Corsair's Gambit RPG, while having an underlying plot, is more action based, in my opinion, which is one of its main draws.

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If Love is the answer, could you please rephrase the question?

I actually participated in something like this before. The main difference between this type of thing an an RP is that the writers act as one here, controlling the actions of all the characters as events unfold. This has both positives and negatives, but it is fairly different from straight RPing as far as development goes.

One of the most important things to bring to this type of writing is the ability to think on your toes -- if someone takes the story away from where you wanted it to go, you can't fight back and forth over it or the plot won't go anywhere. You have to work around the changes everyone else makes.

I think I should also mention that when I did things like this, we didn't stop mid-sentance. Normally they're done by paragraph, but I've also seen one-sentance progressions as well.

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