Imagine this: someone crafts the outline for a new novel -- characters and a detailed series of plot elements -- and then invites a bunch of people (hopefully writers with a modicum of talent) to craft the actual content using some of the same collaborative techniques that have been honed in the open source software community. Then, the novel continues to evolve as future contributors come up with better writing to replace, or enhance, existing text.
Is this possible? I think it is. Imagine running it like a software project. The main architect sets up the parameters (key characters and their important attributes, signature plot devices, milestones for each chapter, etc.) and the coders (writers) fill in the details. There'd need to be checkers for consistency and continuity, and that's where the user community (readers) could hopefully help a lot ("hey, here in chapter 2 on page 32, you said Bob is wearing a Yankees hat when we know he's a National League fan.")
Perhaps a more important question is whether or not this approach would be desirable. I think it could be a unique way to construct a novel, or, perhaps even the foundation for a completely open source (i.e., copyright-free) foundation for fan fiction and amateur writers. Who knows...if it were successful enough, maybe even professionals would enjoy using some of its elements in their own writings.
Does anybody know if something like this already exists?
Maybe...
http://en.wikibooks.org
Weaszel, thanks for that URL. I'd not seen the wikibooks site before. It's interesting that most of those works are non-fiction...reference mostly. I was more interested in whether or not a fiction novel could be done in the same vein. There are some short stories on there, but those seem to be the work of just one person. Thanks again.
www.noveltwists.com
I mentored six teenagers in the writing of a collaborative novel. We titled it Shades of Prey. It is available on Amazon.com. Do check it out!
Best,
Saulat Pervez.
www.shadesofprey.com