Temptation waits.
APK | January 21, 2010 | 10:48 amI know I am taking on too many projects but I keep wondering about doing some sort of crowd sourced novel. Or at least a public novel. Writing for the crowd, in front of the crowd, sort of thing. I don’t have time for this, of course. I know I don’t.
So of course I really want to do it.
That’s the thing about writing. You do it in private. I’ve seen artists draw in public, and people watch them, fascinated. I’ve watched painters hold entire rooms enraptured for hours at a time. Dancers, singers, musicians all do it on a regular basis. Artists do. They interact, live, if they choose, with their audience. It is, frankly, quite awesome.
Writers – not so much. Ever watched someone write? Yeah, fascinating stuff, that.
Watch the amazing hunched over pose!
See fingers type!
Listen to muttered curses!
Tangible excitement, I tell you. For seriously. And so performing in front of a crowd is an exciting idea, to me. The closest I get is writing “live,” doing a serial novel online with feedback.
Of course, there never is feedback and doing it for random donations ends up with no money. That’s not bitching, just stating the facts. You can make it work if you have a wide audience and get linked to by half of creation. And if you do? That’s fucking awesome. That ain’t me. So it would be a waste of time, resources, energy and a lesson in ever-increasing disappointment.
And yet.
I’m tempted.
I’m reminded of the ridiculous award show in the last year or so who wanted to skip televising writers’ awards. Same problem – they don’t think writers are entertaining. Boo, I say! Boo!
One thing that you could do that I think I’d enjoy would be to take a cue from Neil Gaiman and read a short novel aloud and tape it to put on the intarwebs. He did that with the Graveyard Book, a chapter at a time, at different appearances, and then they posted each one online.
Maybe that could be a feature you add to a project you’re already working on, and might give you the thrill of performance…
I just started my next one a while back and I keep getting in trouble for posting about it and sharing sketchy excerpts online. I can’t help myself. So… I get that.
My solution is that I’m going to start an anonymous space that my Mommy doesn’t know about so that I can write about this new, incredible idea I have: SEXY VAMPIRES and their SEXY WAYS.
Writing – not great entertainment to watch. Sorry.
I’ve done some audiobook type stuff and, eh. It isn’t what I’m talking about at all. Not my bag, generally.
Kate: Hahahah! Yeah I haven’t posted at all about the novel I’m working on right now. And I so want to. I really do. Past books I would get permission to share stuff, but this one isn’t sold and so…
SEXY VAMPIRES huh? Do they change color like lava lamps, in the sun?
Do it! Sounds like a good idea to me, although, I have a sadistical streak, so follow all advice from me on your own responsibillity.
I can actually picture a fun event where there’s a panel of writers on stage, with a screen behind them, and one at a time they do one of those “Add a line to the story” things… that could actually be highly amusing.
It could be but I don’t think you’d get a coherent story out of it.