Maybe it was just me, but I always found the old Mudcat story threads both fascinating (as a reader) and sometimes, frustrating (as a writer).

How did they WORK??? Were there rules?

So I went to the greatest of the Mudcat writers (IMO) and asked her for an interview I could share with others. Below is the result. I hope the other veterans of the great Mudcat stories will share their thoughts as well.

~Susan

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JenEllen,

It would be a great service to Mudcat if you wrote up-- for me in PMs-- a description of how a group writes a Mudcat-style story-- what's considered fair in terms of flowing between writers, etc. Care to participate in a sort of rolling interview via PM-- you draft and I ask questions for further development or clarification?

~Susan
2 Sep 2004



Susan,

Sure! No problemo. What kind of things were you thinking about?

~Jen
3 Sep 2004



Jen,

Well, something that could help inspire newer Mudcatters to creativity, and orient a new writer if they got involved in one of the running stories... I think I saw something like this once online but I didn't save it. Not wanting RULES, just "how we did it was" type stuff.

So, first interview question:

I notice in the old Mudcat Story threads that a group of people seem to be working together to advance a story. Does the whole thing happen in the thread, or do y'all use PMs to plan characters and plots?

Say you see someone has started one-- if YOU want to get in on it, what do you do next?

~Susan
3 Sep 2004



Susan,

For the first thing, I don't think anyone ever talked to one another about stories [topics]. Usually what happened was that someone had an idea, posted a beginning, and if after a while didn't see someone they expected, they sent a "ComePlay" PM. But it was unspoken taboo to work out story lines in private. That was part of the fun--to come in and find out where you had to go next. Really made you grow as a writer to have to be able to change directions and spin on a dime.

I got a couple of "Way to go" PMs, and occasionally a joking "What are you up to now?" PM, but that was the extent.

I was also the unofficial welcome wagon for the lit threads. If I saw someone new, I'd drop a PM welcoming them, and kind of going over the 'rules' so no one got hurt feelings. You know, no killing off other people, no doing weird things.... Everyone was usually accepting.

The only time I ever got pissed was during the Unicorn thread, and that was just because everyone got so winged out. I just gave my character to Leej and wrote her off.

Something to remember is that for every good thread, there were some real stinkers. Sure, there were Shangri-La's and Drinking Gourds, but there were also St. Louis Blues and Incredible Journeys that really stunk it up. You gotta take the good with the bad and not get too upset about it.

I'd say get a good idea that everyone can play with, make sure that everyone wants to play by character rules, and have fun with it.

~Jen
3 Sep 2004



Jen,

Thanks, that's VERY helpful. Do you think it would make sense to have an opening post that lays out the "how it works" part, or are people here too quick on the draw now to bother reading even that? Would such an opening post wreck the story by getting in the way of the surprise-feeling of the first
installment?

Many of these questions I'm asking you will be stuff I think other people would want to know-- don't worry about it being me asking, I'm just interviewing. :~) There's a lot I could assume, for instance, but what I am looking for is your words fleshing it out.

~Susan
3 Sep 2004



Susan,

I think the opening-post idea is too structured for this bunch. I think for the most part, people know what you are trying to do when you start a story. I think if a person starts a thread, maybe they should be in charge of keeping an eye on content and continuity, and for welcoming newcomers with a brief overlay of the rules.

I also think BRIEF is the key to that.

If all of the sudden everyone in the thread starts sending RULES PMs, people will freak out and not go back. We like to make our own rules.

The only real rules I ever knew of came from Peter T. And that was only because X blew us all up on a train and wrote "THE END". It pissed a lot of people off, and had it been the final say, none of the Shangri-La stuff would have happened.

As a sort of group decision, we allowed that:

1. An introduced character must fit into the story (no aliens in an Old West tale, etc.)

2. Your character is your responsibility. Play nice with others and ask (PM) if you think someone might be offended if you use their character in your scene.

3. Be flexible and patient. When the story unfolds is when it unfolds. If you rush things or upset people, you'll kill it.


Whenever I saw a new person, I'd just PM something like this: "Welcome, have fun, and here's what you might need to know to keep playing. If you have any questions, ask." Some people did, some didn't.

~Jen
3 Sep 2004