Board Thread:General Wiki Discussion/@comment-26525489-20170104064542

I’m a little concerned that this might be breaking the rules of this forum, as this pertains to an individual story and is not necessarily a site matter, so I apologize in advance if a moderator needs to waste their time deleting this. I’m not sure where else to post this, though, and it seems to fit it with a lot of the other threads here.

I have an idea for a collaborative project for myself and three other authors. I have outlined the basics of the project below if anyone is interested in contributing.

The Premise

A team of ghost hunters has investigated an old plantation home for a television program and, though the production team has the footage required for the show and is ready to leave, the team leader wants to stay and investigate further. The show’s producer relents and tells the team they can stay a few extra days with some of the equipment to do some additional investigating.

The story would be told in five parts starting with an introduction from the team leader’s perspective. The next three parts are the other team member’s experiences in the additional investigation with the final part being the team leader’s account.

I would like to write as the team leader, but I think it would be fun to have three additional co-writers to chronicle the experiences of the other team members. That way we have four different perspectives weaving the lore of the home and its mysteries to hopefully give us a rich overall story as well as intelligent individual plots and character development.

History of the Team

The team originated as ghost hunters who operated more for their own edification than for monetary gain. Sam, the team leader and a ghost enthusiast, recruited Eliza and Theodore to help her not only to discover ghosts, but also to understand their stories. They experienced mild success in their endeavors, which generated interest from a television producer, Terrance.

Terrance pitched the show idea to one of his backers and got the funding on the condition that the backer’s daughter, Brianne, can be on the show as well. This story takes place right after they wrap up shooting for the finale of the show’s first season.

The Team

Sam – The team leader. A young woman in her mid-twenties and a longtime ghost enthusiast. She agreed to work for the producer in order to get funding to better investigate haunted places, but has been dissatisfied with the show ever since. Her goal is to actually investigate paranormal happenings and is continually frustrated with the show forcing her to leave early or fake findings for better television.

Eliza – An empath in her late thirties. Though she is more than a decade older than Sam, they have bonded like sisters. Eliza can easily sense the presence of ghosts and is a valuable asset in the team’s communication with paranormal beings. She feels she is betraying her gift by faking her feelings on television.

Dr. Theodore Brown – A history professor at a small Midwestern college in his early sixties. Though he mostly used to do research for the team remotely when school was in session, he often joined them on site during his summers. He took a semester off from teaching in order to film the show. The history around paranormal locations fascinates him and he used to spend weeks delving into the stories behind these places. During the show’s filming, he had almost no time for actual research and mostly just recounted on camera rumors told by locals.

Brianne – The daughter of the television producer’s backer in her early twenties. Her father’s wealth and fame earned her notoriety and a minor celebrity status (think a Hilton or Kardashian). She is terrified of ghosts, but stays on the show for the exposure and at the behest of her father. Despite her outward disdain for the team, she secretly harbors a genuine interest in the work.

Guidelines

For the most part, I would like to leave as much up to the authors as possible.

Each author will pick a character they want to write for, and the slot in which they would like to write.

1.	Intro – Sam (firsttoleave) 2.	 3.	 4.	 5.	Sam’s Story (firsttoleave)

Though the stories are happening at the same time for the most part, I would like them to be written one at a time so each author can build off the lore in the story before theirs.

You can add anything you’d like to the lore (preferably keeping to the tone of the previous stories) as long as it doesn’t negate the lore already established.

You can add any character back stories or character traits you’d like to your character. Please, develop them to your heart’s content.

You can include interactions with any other character as long as it doesn’t interfere with the plot of a previous section (that means whoever goes first has free reign and the power to influence the stories of others). Once that character’s story has been written (assuming they’re still alive), you can even include them in your story as a driving force once the events of their story have concluded.

Each writer gets to decide the plot of their character’s story. As each character delves into the story of the property in their own ways, the author can decide if their story will tie into previous stories, or diverge off on its own. The author can develop their own antagonists and even kill off their character if they so choose. They have as much freedom as they would like.

For fairness, authors will be selected and can choose their character/slot on a first come first serve basis. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments regardless of whether or not you plan to contribute as an author, don’t hesitate to let me know. This is still in the very rough, early stages and I’m very flexible with ideas. Additionally, this will truly be a collaborative project. All the authors will have a say in how things play out, I don’t want to control this too much.

I’m currently working on the intro and I will post it on completion if that helps anyone in their decision process. 