When I've written collaboratively, it's mostly been that I have one character and they have the other. Sometimes strictly so -- we decide on an outline and then RPG it out. That mostly works in IRC or some such. In person, it's usually more fluid, with us suggesting lines for each other's guys and feeling free to say what doesn't work for us of their suggestions, but still, basically custody was established by character.
One exception has been writing collaboratively for a virtual season, in which case custody was by scene, with each of us writing assigned scenes according to a general outline and then submitting them to be edited together. However even there, I tended to pick scenes for who was the main character(s) in them.
I really like collaborative writing, especially for the ability to be honestly surprised by what the other person says -- not as possible when everyone lives in my head. But I can get self-indulgent and repetitive for the sheer joy of RPing, so if it's meant as a story and not a game, I think ruthless pre-brainstorming (what do we need to accomplish in this scene) and post-pruning are necessary.
I do know of successes at other forms of collaboration, including a successful mystery writing duo who alternated chapters, but I don't know if that would work for me. I think it might take away a lot of the rewards of collaboration for me -- back and forth flow, sparking ideas off each other, relying on the other person where my skills are weak -- without giving me the creative control you get in a solo piece.
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One exception has been writing collaboratively for a virtual season, in which case custody was by scene, with each of us writing assigned scenes according to a general outline and then submitting them to be edited together. However even there, I tended to pick scenes for who was the main character(s) in them.
I really like collaborative writing, especially for the ability to be honestly surprised by what the other person says -- not as possible when everyone lives in my head. But I can get self-indulgent and repetitive for the sheer joy of RPing, so if it's meant as a story and not a game, I think ruthless pre-brainstorming (what do we need to accomplish in this scene) and post-pruning are necessary.
I do know of successes at other forms of collaboration, including a successful mystery writing duo who alternated chapters, but I don't know if that would work for me. I think it might take away a lot of the rewards of collaboration for me -- back and forth flow, sparking ideas off each other, relying on the other person where my skills are weak -- without giving me the creative control you get in a solo piece.