LitTAP Blog

Here are comments by a LitTAP participant:

“As the day progressed I noticed the trend more and more toward collaborative writing & discussion of writing.  The idea which disturbed me was others PARTICIPATING in the creation of a piece of writing.  Several times during the day the discussion included references to a trend which I don’t believe we can stop, which is the constant communication via cell/computer/texting/blogging, etc. which I have noticed includes communicating about your breakfast, bathroom/bedroom/kitchen habits, etc.  We seem to be without the ability to critique ourselves.  As in a hive or ant hill, we want to be constantly communicating.  However, that hive communication seems often more purposeful. Have you noticed how banal most overheard cell phone conversations are?  I’m not so sure inviting one & all to chime in as a writer works would be good.

Having some experience looking at copies of old manuscripts which had editing marks by the author[s] I agree it is invaluable to be able to see what happened in an author’s mind during the creative process.  But to participate DURING the process – ?  The voices that keep popping into my head are these: “Yeah, but – Mr. Poe – WHY a raven? – An eagle: now that’s a much more impressive bird, don’t you think?  Why not make it an eagle, Edgar?” and “C’mon, Bobbie – ‘whose woods these are I think I know?’  I mean – you’re only doing it for the rhyme, aren’t you?  Nobody would say it that way.  It’s ‘I know whose woods these are!’ and then you’ve only gotta rhyme with ‘are’.  Get with the program, Bobbie!”

I do not believe any writer working seriously would want collaboration of others unless s/he was familiar with their work and wanted to do a collaborative piece.  I think most writers know writing is hard, solitary and private.  LATER you want feedback – NOT during the creative process.  I SEEMED to me, and perhaps I’m being unfair, that the folks who were so fervently behind this concept were NOT writers, but publishers, editors, agents & so on.  I would be very interested in what other writers think.  I did hear similar grumbling around me from those who were writers.  The others seemed blithely confident that it was a good idea.

I hope I haven’t insulted anyone.  Perhaps I’m just crotchety in my declining years.”