No, not a weavil. A wovel. Apparently, it’s the latest new word in the trend of blog, vlog, podcast, and whatever other cyberspace vocabulary mashups have occured in the last ten years. Now we’re referring to a web novel.
Every week, the author posts an installment. Installment length hits the sweet-spot of online reading—long enough to get interested, short enough to read in the cubicle at work. At the end of every installment, the author writes in a plot branch point. Does the heroine kill her lover? Will the zombies catch the soldier? Is the box empty, or is it filled with bees?
THE READERS DECIDE.
On Monday, the post goes up. Voting is open through Thursday. The author writes Thursday and Friday. The editors edit Friday and Saturday. The post goes back up on Monday. Part literature, part exquisite corpse. The pace of print journalism, the imagination of fiction, the spark of reader participation.
Sounds like a fun thing to try out. Will it work? Let’s hope so, since everyone likes discovering a new, enjoyable method of storytelling.
Though at the same time, how comfortable would you be taking writing direction from someone other than yourself? Not that the author knows everything and writes in a bubble of their own genius, but has anyone ever told you they have a great idea for a story and how you should write it? They’ll be so kind as splitting the profits with you for coming up with the concept while you do all the easy…you know…writing stuff. I admire the guy willing to go through this trial run, and it will be fascinating to see what the end result is. Is this the beginning of a trend? Now that ebooks are on the rise, will novels-in-progress become subject to reader votes and current trends? Would you enjoy taking part in this kind of project?
I see that smile.