Writing Fiction is a (small) Group Effort
I set out this Sunday to write in support of smaller writers’ rooms. I’ve watched a view films (Alien 3, The Thing (2011)) and played a few games (Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC, Borderlands 3) in the past year where the smell of executive interference and writing/design by committee came through the actual work.
Alien 3 went through a reported 20+ potential scripts, and even the script that 20th Century Fox moved forward with was changed drastically from pre-production to end. The crew behind the The Thing’s prequel did their best to do as many of the creature effects practically where possible. Universal Pictures demanded reshoots and for CGI to be put over most of the practical work.
The tone of Mass Effect 3’s base game was somber, desperate, with glimmers of optimism. The Citadel DLC for the game, while fun, sounded like it was written by a local college’s Joss Whedon fan club. Everyone has a bit. Everyone has to explain the joke. Borderlands 3 on the other hand has that same writing problem throughout. Dramatic characters moments shattered by some goon’s ‘2008 LOL so random xD’ humor.
That all being said, I don’t participate in writer’s rooms regularly. The writing I generally do is assigned to me by a client or employer. The client/employer has final say on the work, but it is left to me to be mindful of the requested goals, audience, sensitivities, clarity and the best possible choice of words for the job. I’ve found that further edits on written work by additional people ends up scarring or maiming the original writer’s formatting, or carefully chosen words.
‘The Three Fates’ by Austrian Painter Alexander Rothaug ~1910.
That being said, it did get me thinking that writing a novel is not solitary work, not if you’re aiming for publication and quality. In this example, let’s say I write a novel that’s 70,000 words, about 275 pages, double-spaced. I am the creator of the story and I wrote it out in its entirety. But from there, I have to find someone to publish it, unless I choose to self-publish in which case I am still collaborating with a third party platform. Sure, self-publishing gives me the tools to do everything myself, but my skills and knowledge are limited so I seek the help of, or hire other people to help me. I send the book off to somewhere between six and twelves beta readers to get their respective feedback. Afterwards there’s the possibility of hiring an editor through a freelancing sight to ensure professional quality. The cover of the book could just be a title on a blue background, but that doesn’t grab the eye. So I think about a proper cover for the book, then seek out and commission an artist for the cover art. After all of that, interwoven with my own consistent fixes and edits, I can self-publish.
But wait! The book won’t move without appropriate marketing. You can set up your own ad campaigns, or you can hire a marketing person. And even with those ads, if your measuring success by sales, you need to have other people buy the story. (“One day I will sell dozens of books. Dozens, I tell you, dozens!” My brain screams at me in a Tobias Fünke voice)
And let’s go back to the art/craft/bullshit-art of writing in the first place. I learn the language from people who learned it before me. I learn my own style first by reading and imitating (consciously or unconsciously) the writers whose work resonates with me best. I read other writers whose work I don’t like. I write stories I don’t like and stories I wish I could write better. I read stories whose style is so markedly different from my own that I should be appalled, but instead I fall in love with the differences. None of what I create came out of a void. None of what I do professionally is done best in a vacuum.
When we write by committee, when we do our best to appeal to the lowest common denominator instead of trying to make something personally or artistically significant, I think writers start to matter less. We give up on the vision for the sake of just getting the task finished. I think it is important in collaborative work to establish expectations, see either party’s vision and communicate consistently. Share the knowledge, get feedback, but divide responsibilities, make sure it’s understood who has the final say in the work. Even in writing to publish your own stories, it is best done through working, to some degree, with others.
