I’m confused about exactly how using ‘assistants’ would stray terribly from the way many authors currently write novels. The only difference I can see is that these ‘assistants’ are on the writer’s payroll and frankly, why pay someone when you can get the same information for free. For instance, in Neil Gaiman’s book American Gods he acknowledges Dan Johnson, M.D., who gave him medical information whenever he needed it. This is just one of many. I have done a great deal of research for my novel, relying heavily upon the expertise of others. However, these experts don’t actually write any part of the novel, they just give the writer the information and the writer then uses that information as he or she sees fit.
If you’re talking about using a group or committee to write a novel, I just can’t see it working. And frankly I’m not sure why a novel written by a group of people would mean that novel would be superior to novels written in the traditional method. Quite the contrary. If you had one person who excels at plot, another at deep and engaging characters, and another at say dialogue, then that is a recipe for disaster. It is exceedingly difficult to find two people, let alone a committee of people, who can agree.
It’s easy to say that people aren’t great at all aspects of writing. But all of the aspects of writing are interwoven and interconnected. What a character says helps define who that character is, therefore, the dialogue impacts the character development. The same is true for all aspects of writing.
That’s not to say that collaborations haven’t worked in the past. However, according to authors who partook in successful collaborations, the responsibilities of each participant was clearly defined. And the successful collaboration is the exception and not the rule. I should also note that the vast majority of these authors are successful authors before they collaborate with each other.
In my opinion, using a team to write a novel sounds like a way to avoid the work necessary to developing the writing skills yourself.
If you’re talking about using a group or committee to write a novel, I just can’t see it working. And frankly I’m not sure why a novel written by a group of people would mean that novel would be superior to novels written in the traditional method. Quite the contrary. If you had one person who excels at plot, another at deep and engaging characters, and another at say dialogue, then that is a recipe for disaster. It is exceedingly difficult to find two people, let alone a committee of people, who can agree.
It’s easy to say that people aren’t great at all aspects of writing. But all of the aspects of writing are interwoven and interconnected. What a character says helps define who that character is, therefore, the dialogue impacts the character development. The same is true for all aspects of writing.
That’s not to say that collaborations haven’t worked in the past. However, according to authors who partook in successful collaborations, the responsibilities of each participant was clearly defined. And the successful collaboration is the exception and not the rule. I should also note that the vast majority of these authors are successful authors before they collaborate with each other.
In my opinion, using a team to write a novel sounds like a way to avoid the work necessary to developing the writing skills yourself.
