Photo: Opposing flightpaths by Jerry Cooke
The Institute for the Future of the Book is partnering with a host of other literary innovators for a new project: Flight Paths, a networked novel.
This work's creation will require the participation of writers and other creatives worldwide. If you're a regular of this blog, you may have read the Assignment Zero article I wrote which was featured on Wired.com, "Creative Crowdwriting: The Open Book", about crowdsourced books. If writing adventures like A Million Penguins and Gamer Theory sound like fun to you, here's your chance to get involved in a similar endeavor. An excerpt from the Flight Paths blog:
The initial goal of this project is to create a work of digital
fiction, a ‘networked book’, created on and through the internet. The
first stage of the project will include a web iteration with, at its
heart, this blog, opening up the research process to the outside world,
inviting discussion of the large array of issues the project touches
on. As well as this, [co-authors] Chris Joseph and Kate Pullinger will create a
series of multimedia elements that will illuminate various aspects of
the story. This will allow us to invite and encourage user-generated
content on this website and any associated sites; we would like to open
the project up to allow other writers and artists to contribute texts -
both multimedia and more traditional – as well as images, sounds,
memories, ideas. At the same time, Kate Pullinger will be writing a
print novel that will be a companion piece to the project overall.
Read more about how to participate.
I'm excited to see another crowdsourced novel starting. From the interviews and research that I did for the "creative crowdwriting" article, many participants in crowdsourced-writing projects had positive, one-of-a-kind creative experiences. They felt invigorated and intellectually challenged, and enjoyed being a part of an online community. Whether you're looking for a serious writing outlet or just want to "play" and contribute on any level, this kind of structure — enabled by Internet technology, blogs and wikis — is ripe for it.
If you decide to contribute to Flight Paths, drop a comment and let me know. I'll be following its progress and process with great interest.
