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COMMUNAL STORYTELLING
It's that time of year, again. The Writing.com Birthday festivities are only a few short weeks away!   Of course, that also means it's almost time for my favorite WDC event of the year, the "Wdc 18th Birthday Masquerade Party" that Brooke  always does a fantastic job of organizing. Between that event, my taking up tabletop roleplaying games again in recent years, and the slew of community storytelling opportunities here on Writing.com (campfire creatives, interactive stories, etc.), I thought it might be a good time to look at the topic of communal storytelling as a whole.
Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) that's been around since the 1970s. For those who aren't familiar with tabletop RPGs, the idea is that a group of people get together, each individual playing a particular character they've created, with one individual acting as the Game Master (GM) or Dungeon Master (DM) who is responsible for running the adventure the characters find themselves on. What you end up with is a general story that the GM tells, which is informed and influenced by the actions the individual players take. For example, the GM might set up a story where the players run into a wealthy nobleman who wants to hire them to rid his manor of pesky squatters. But the GM will have to help guide the story depending on the players' actions. Do they burst into the house through the front door, weapons drawn and ready to fight? Do they sneak in through the cellar? Do they even take up the quest at all, or do they decide to do something else instead? Depending on what the players decide to do, the GM has to adjust the narrative accordingly and, in that way, the group collectively tells a story that they all have a part in crafting.
Campfire Creatives and Interactive Stories are the WDC formats for communal storytelling. Campfire Creatives involve listing a number of contributors to a story so that each individual completes a segment of the story and then passes it on to the next individual on the list. Interactive Stories are like the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories where readers can navigate through a branching story where each section offers options on how the reader would like the story to proceed. Once you reach the end of a branch of an interactive story, you can add your own continuation. Both of these formats encourage participation from multiple contributors, who all lend their creativity and writing skills to the finished product. In some cases, the product may continue to evolve for weeks, months, or even years as others continue to add to it!
There's also a party game called Fiasco where players act out characters committing crimes based on provided situations and input from the random dice rolls of other players. As you go around and take turns deciding what to do next, the dice rolls of the other players determine what choices you can make. Thus, you all collaboratively tell a story of trying to get away with a crime that grows increasingly out of control depending on what the other players influence you to do.
And finally, we get to the "Wdc 18th Birthday Masquerade Party" . The reason I enjoy this event so much every year is that it's a little bit like a Campfire Creative in that all the suspects take turns contributing to a collaborative story, but it's more like Dungeons & Dragons in its freedom to jostle things around. Brooke will sometimes post bonus entries or guest appearances to keep everyone on their toes and it becomes a really fun and crazy event where you're challenged to keep the story moving forward while accounting for all the madness going on around you.
Regardless of the format, I'd recommend trying out a communal storytelling environment for yourself if you haven't already. Not only is a great way to meet people and make friends with other writers, but it's an excellent way to break up the isolation of the writing experience. There have even been more than a few times where it's gotten me out of a writing funk and inspired me to write new stuff on my own again!
For anyone who wants to dip a toe in without actually getting all the way in the pool, consider checking out the "Wdc 18th Birthday Masquerade Party" this year. You can be a participant in the forum, or just follow along if observing is more your thing. 
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: You're invited ... to a murder. Okay, it started out innocently enough. You're invited to attend one of the most sought-after events around, The Writing.com Birthday Masquerade Party and although you know it's just a game, you're also a little nervous. Every year, you know someone gets murdered. How will it happen? Will it be scary? Who will the victim be? Will you be someone you know?
EXCERPT: We are bovines from the planet earth. Our assignment is a daunting one. Now that Mars is open for business we are assigned to establish the first Wal*Mart on Mars. But this isn't just any Wal*Mart. It's a Supercenter and I need all my friends to help me on this perilous journey so that we remember all the features of Wal*Mart to give to the Martians.
EXCERPT: The ship floated, silent, in deep space. The painted name on the hull is partly obscured by the scorch marks radiating from the nose of the cigar-shaped craft. "And" is all it reads. The ship sits in darkness, for no outer protrusions remain; no antennas, and no lights. It is noticed only by its contrast to the bright sun it orbits in the distance, just one more object trapped by the gas giant's gravitational pull in the loneliness of space.
EXCERPT: Realm Drifter is a fan-fiction within a original fantasy world of my own making. Basically, this is a tribute of my favorite fantasy novels, and I find pleasure in altering them. What could happen to the overall stories if a character was added, or an aspect of it were changed? Who knows what sort of anamolies might occur in the pages to come?
EXCERPT: Be prepared to begin a journey never like none other. You are about to be thrown into the life of Trent Godfrey, A young wizard in training on a journey unbeknown to him to become a Dragon Rider. Every choice you make will effect the outcome of the story, be it good or bad. One man may be a friend with one choice and an enemy with the other. Good, Evil, none of this matters when the choice is before you. No choice is right or wrong. Only the outcome matters and the only way to find out is to plunge inside and take the risk. Only one moment will remain the same, the beginning. And the rest is all up to a fate you yourself will create.
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Feedback from "For Authors Newsletter (June 6, 2018)" about min-maxing:
BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  writes: "I have no problems making characters strong enough to knock down walls, and know "everything about everything" that their world needs to know.... but having me make them do something softer, like, um, cooking, or giving that small frail-looking woman a good backrub..... that's where I have issues - making a big strong person show their softer side."
The nuances can be really challenging to write, especially when you're trying to show complexity beyond just a one-note character trait... but that's also where some of the best stories come from. In the world of comics, some of the best stories are the ones where powerful superheroes are shown struggling with something, be it an actual weakness or the everyday kind of stuff all of us have to deal with in our lives.
Quick-Quill  writes: "I don't know what my strengths and weaknesses as a writer are. I love to write, I'm also a procrastinator. Ouch! What a combo. Everything I've learned as a writer, has been learned here on Wdc. If I write strong characters, it's because my reviewers have told me how to do it. The same with setting and dialogue. It may be a bit of talent thrown in, but you learn best when you rewrite and the result connects with your readers so they feel what you're trying to say."
I would definitely recommend doing a little more research into what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you're getting regular feedback here on WDC, that in and of itself can be telling. Is there a particular aspect of the work that people are constantly telling you needs to be improved? If reviewers, for example, repeatedly point out that your work has a lot of technical errors, or plot holes, or that the characters aren't sympathetic, that can tell you a lot about what your weaknesses might be. Similarly, pay attention to what they say they love about your work... chances are those will be your strengths! 
ladeecaid writes: "I took the Strengths Finder test for a Leadership class my boss wanted me to have in 2011. Somewhere, I'd written my strengths down, but I couldn't locate the list when I searched for it. I only remember four of the strengths. Your newsletter spurred me to dig out my little red and white book and take another gander at what my strengths said about me. Coupling my strengths with your question, I got a picture of what my best writing would look like. Now, I don't need to take the Weaknesses Rooter test to know I seriously lack self-discipline. That weakness is why I work for someone other than myself. My strengths are Positivity, Connectedness, Adaptability, and Strategic. If I could master self-discipline, just imagine the awesome things I could accomplish. Just think of the writer I could become. Thanks for the newsletter, Jeff."
If you're looking for ways to improve self-discipline, I'd highly recommend finding ways to increase your accountability. I struggle with this myself, as have quite a few of my friends. Over the years we've all tried a variety of ways to impose that discipline even when it's not particularly required. For example, two of my friends set deadlines with consequences (one rewards himself for succeeding, and one punishes himself for failure). The first one will hold off on, say, buying a video game he really wants to play until he's finished a draft of his story and will then buy the game for himself as a reward for finishing. The other one picks an monetary amount that's large enough to be noticed, and will donate it to charity if he fails to meet his deadline. So if he doesn't finish his story on time, he has to pay $100, $1,000 or whatever, so there's a real material cost to not finishing. I'd recommend experimenting with different ways of keeping yourself accountable because, you're right... with those strengths and a disciplined approach to writing, I think you can accomplish amazing things!
DB Cooper  writes: "You made my day."
Ditto!
Tinker  writes: "Great newsletter, something to think about. Thanks Jeff ~~Tink"
You're welcome! Thank you for writing in!
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For Authors: August 01, 2018 Issue [#9033]
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