Collaborative Writing in the Epistolary Form

       With the emergence of the internet came a greater sense of connectivity as people from around the world were now able to interact with one another at the mere click of a button. For me, this entailed finding others who shared my interests, particularly in creative writing, of both fictional and non-fictional nature. Having been inspired by Kierkegaard's works such as Either/Or, which documents a series of alternating sentiments between Judge Vilhelm, Johannes the Seducer, and an elusive editor who compiles them, I wanted to attempt to recreate this style and the antiquated romanticism it offered. What began as a simple exchange of electronic missives with a friend of mine containing our daily musings but growing increasingly saturated with philosophical banter eventually found its way to the public sphere when I decided to save the exchanges and post them. We had both agreed that there was a certain magic in revealing the personal exchanges as many great writers did in the past and it was interesting to see the responses of others, as well as feel a slight sense of vulnerability knowing that people were reading some of our most inner-thoughts.

       It is on this concept that collaborative writing is founded. Collaborative writing can be thought of as an epistolary form because it requires one body of thought written by a first party, that is then read and interpreted by a second party, who goes on to add their own thoughts to the piece. The fan fiction genre is well known for this, and there are many online forums where people take turns writing the same story, the results of which can be quite fascinating and versatile. The process is interactive and encompassing; anyone can join in to contribute, and everyone works together to ultimately complete the project. Best of all, collaboration is not limited to written text alone. As a Lovecraft enthusiast, I have stumbled upon dozens of collaborative eZines and radio broadcasts, inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, who also tended to offer powerful glimpses into the minds of his characters through the mediums of letters and documents. Bierce also employed this technique, such as in his short story "The Damned Thing" which ends in eerie diary entries!

I do not find the epistolary forms of today to be drastically different than those of yesteryears, save for the technology involved. Without the technological platform of the internet, I would likely not have found other people to carry out these exchanges with, nor any community forums where writers could collaborate, considering my somewhat reclusive nature. In the past, it was common for writers to either send letters (today's equivalent: emails) or to physically congregate at taverns, houses, etc. to converse (today's equivalent: online writers' forums). It was here that they cultivated a plethora of ideas, made suggestions and critiques, collaborated on works, or responded to the works of others with works of their own. In many instances, the works of writers reflected, supported, or disputed the works of other writers - a notable example of such being Kierkegaard's fierce criticism of Hegel, whose polarity in philosophical ideology spurred a series of epistolary-like works. It would, however, seem as though a certain degree of sophistication has been lost amidst modern forms of mass media; surely there is less intimacy and intrigue in scrolling a screen than there is in perhaps, receiving a tangible letter. Nevertheless, the concept behind it is the same and the "magic" can indeed be sustained when two or more people are able to produce something of substance with their exchanges alone. It seems that the epistolary form is still prevalent in today's society, continuing to offer a remarkable first person perspective that allows us to truly get inside the minds of others and learn to relate our own selves to their thoughts and ideas.

The following quote by H.P. Lovecraft summarizes why it is important, and natural, for an individual, particularly one of a solitary nature, to engage in correspondences. "An isolated person requires correspondence as a means of seeing his ideas as others see them, and thus guarding against the dogmatisms and extravagances of solitary and uncorrected speculation. No man can learn to reason and appraise from a mere perusal of the writing of others. If he live not in the world, where he can observe the public at first hand and be directed toward solid reality by the force of conversation and spoken debate, then he must sharpen his discrimination and regulate his perceptive balance by an equivalent exchange of ideas in epistolary form." -H.P. Lovecraft