Collaborative Writing

This week, my Creative Writing students are continuing their shared story writing unit by beginning our online writing game, Survive! In this assignment, students anonymously write about one character each, adding a new chapter every other day. On the off days, the class reads each story and votes for the strongest character. That night, writer of the strongest character gets to "kill off" the weakest character. The goal is to be the last one still alive at the end of the contest.

Once a student has been eliminated, in order to complete the assignment, he or she must still continue to write every other day. Sometimes students have their characters return as ghosts. Other times they give us a glimpse into the back-stories of their characters.

One of the best parts of this collaborative story assignment is that all the characters are involved in the same plot and setting. In this case, it is a shipwreck on an island. In a previous year, it took place in a Detroit hotel. The writers begin to incorporate the other characters and the events of their stories into their own chapters, making the stories overlap and connecting threads between all the fragmented parts into one cohesive narrative.

I am looking forward to seeing what this year's group of creative writers can do as they put their own stamp on this classic assignment!