Co-writing stories

If I write a story and want a member to contribute, add to, amend, have joint ideas, how do you share the unpublished work on Lush before submitting to post? Can it be done within Lush or do you have to take it outside to a different app/word programme and copy/paste back when done?

If you mean while it is still work in progress.

I have a few people I edit for.

Some have my email address and send me a word document (I use Libre Office in case you don't want to pay for a word processor). I make the changes and note them in the document and add further notes separately if needed.

One uses Google docs and sends me a link. I make changes online and there are notes you can add directly to the change if needed.

Both work equally well, especially as I'm pretty established with all my authors. Google docs is probably the easier from the get go.

I've not done any joint work since Lush 1, so I'm not sure about the submission process, but you used to add the other member's name as part of submitting it for publishing.

HTH

thank you for the advice and update. I’ll let you know as I progress my stories.

I have sincerely no idea, but I was reading this section to see how to start about writing a story, so if you need someone to cooperate just with ideas, add etc., I'm ok with it Maybe it could be easier to start on something already written and later write a story completely on my own.

If you're looking for someone with more experience, it's completely understandable. :) Have a nice day!

Google docs is probably easier than sending docs back and forth via email.

As a tangentially related aside, does anyone know which of the forums that one would need to go to to look for someone to collaborate with in order to co-write/co-author?

Quote by SurvileSupplicant

As a tangentially related aside, does anyone know which of the forums that one would need to go to to look for someone to collaborate with in order to co-write/co-author?

Actually, this one (Writing Resources) is probably the one. Ask The Author might work, too. Or find an author you like and whose style seems like a fit with yours and ask. I am too busy these days but did help out a new author many years ago (she wrote the stories, then I polished and fixed them for publication) under my old profile so not totally averse to it.

I would like tips on co-writing stories.

Where do people find co-writers and are there platforms outside of Lush Stories where you can do that?

I find co-writing difficult. There are people I like and authors whose work I admire, but there's no way we'd be a good fit, creatively, because both our writing and working styles are different and not necessarily compatible. Before you even start a project, it's a good idea to have a conversation with your collaborator on how you envision it going and working out a system of collaboration while assigning 'territory' in the writing process. Maybe one person works on the narrative while the other punches up the sex scenes, and then both take turns at polishing and editing until it's done, for example. That's how I did it for my only collaborative project, Windows. We just e-mailed drafts back and forth. It worked out okay, I think. But it was an arrangement I was trying out for experience, not something I'd do regularly.

Quote by spicylove
I would like tips on co-writing stories.

Golden tip for me: leave your ego at the door and insist that your co-writer does the same. That ensures you don't get into situations like Just_A_Guy_You_Know mentions of not being a good fit.

If either party is too precious about a particular line, word, sentence, concept or whatever, and is not willing to have their words altered or concepts challenged for the good of the story and characters, then it won't work. By all means stand your ground, but be prepared to listen and accede if the character or storytelling arcs would benefit from not being as you wrote them.

Second tip: if you're using an online collaboration tool like Google Docs and don't feel strongly about an edit you think would work better, highlight it and use the comment feature. Have a powow with the other author in the comments, bounce ideas around and come to a consensus. Then one of you make the change and resolve the comment. It works superbly well.

Tip three: when making edits in online collaboration tools, each author writes in different colour text so it's easy to spot who added/edited what as you scan through the doc. It's not always easy to see who made a change when you're both working at different times. Then, just before you copy n paste into Lush, Select All and choose the automatic font colour to clear the colours.

Tip four: take regular backups. Download a copy every day at least after someone has worked on it. Sometimes you want to go back to a previous edit you axed and the Edit History isn't so easy to navigate.

Tip five: take your time. Refine until the story rocks, then publish it here.

I’m adding one thing to WW’s great tips. To ensure the story reads seamlessly take turns going over the entire story making adjustments that seem out of place to each author. Or, like in my vampire collab with British author, TheShyThespian, I wanted the story to have a British feel with British language. We divided up writing parts in the stories, then he was last one to edit to make sure the entire thing had the same British feel.

Collabs can bring out the best of both authors only if (like WW said) egos are checked at the door! I am a simple Ky gal who has done my best writing (in my opinion) with authors here who are from different countries, different backgrounds, different writing styles, and it can work if personalities and goals in writing match.