Joint logs

[Rhean t'Valae 0]

Something random I was wondering about -- Joint logs.

 

Do you write them? If so, how? Do you plan it out in advance with your partner, or start from a scenario and improvise? Sim it out and translate the ::actions:: later, or write in prose from the get-go? Pass pieces back and forth by email or arrange a chat?

 

I said it was random. :)

 

Personally, I prefer to work in prose, live. But I do planned logs and improvised logs about the same amount.

[Dielle 0]

I love writing joint logs because I think it often improves my writing. I prefer to alternate writing in prose over AIM, and then cleaning it up later in edits. If using IM isn't possible, I like emailing pieces back and forth.

 

As for planning it out ahead of time, it really just depends. Sometimes it's fun to just do something spur of the moment, and other times I like to have a lot of background going in, so we can develop something more detailed.

[LoAmi 0]

I find it hard to write JL's over email, unless the other character(s) is(are) not very extensively involved. Usually, we'll have some time to meet over IM. As for whether it's all planned out from the beginning or not, it really depends on the circumstances.

 

Usually, I write JLs in prose, describing actions instead of playing them. It then becomes easier for whoever is editing to translate into a log.

 

At the end, it's imperative that someone edit the log and clean up spelling, grammar, and usage.

[Kallah Ramson 0]

It does all depend on the situation and who you're doing the log with. There are those whom I feel I know what their characters would think and do so I feel comfortable writing the whole thing and letting them edit. Those same people I'm usually comfortable letting them write the entire thing and I'll edit.

 

Others I'll leave places blank for comments and adjust anything that's needed.

 

The worst are with those who you've not known for long. Then it's usually best to do it in a chatroom or AIM. But it always seems hard to edit those into proper looking logs. They always have a "chatroom" look to them for some reason.

[KhreRiovtRex 0]

Hehhhhh....

 

Funny that you should ask that. I just spent a good part of the weekend editing a joint log I did with my 2XO , Daise Erei'Riov t'Ksa on Friday night. Stand by for an incoming joint log the likes you've never seen! lol

 

The way we do them, is we'll start in a chat log. Then take that chat log and expand it into full sentances and actions, until it is full prose. Usually one person will start this. Then, as you get a part done, send to the other for edits. We'll bounce it back and forth, until we're happy with how each others edits flow with the other.

 

We've been editing ours for a few days now, it should be going up tonight. I tend to be careful doing joint logs, as I tend to get a bit carried away. They look like something the Energizer Bunny was involved with.

I kept trying to add to this one today, and then stopped and edited it back downto..well, less pages....it's a bit....long. Well, you'll see how we did it when I post it. Due to length, I'll be having to post it in several sections. So that they are consecutive, I'll be posting it late.

 

t'Rexan

[Kansas_Jones 0]

Do you plan it out in advance with your partner, or start from a scenario and improvise? Sim it out and translate the ::actions:: later, or write in prose from the get-go? Pass pieces back and forth by email or arrange a chat?

 

Personally, I prefer to work in prose, live. But I do planned logs and improvised logs about the same amount.

 

Mostly all of my joint logging has been in prose / live. Usually, myself and my partner in crime...I mean..writing...start with some sort of scenario and improvise as we go. It is very easy to play off of the other person, and the log just moves along. I had my first experience the other day with by email logging; liked it, it was okay, definitely possibilities there. Overall, I still lean toward live logging on a chat.

Edited August 9, 2006 by Kansas_Jones

[will_marx 0]

I've done quite a bit of joint logs in my eight years in SFOL/STSF. The nice thing about email logging is if you don't have a deadline (i.e. by next week's sim) you can take your time, do a really nice log, edited and sent off, especially if it's just a background piece. On a deadline, it gets a little more hectic, since not everyone lives glued to their email like me.

[Nicolas Lepage 0]

I actually prefer writing joint logs to doing them alone because you get input from other people and that always helps develop your ideas. It has happened quite a lot that I had a pretty good idea what the log should look like and then we just started writing and the whole thing was taken into a new direction altogether. That's what I like about joint logs.

The way I write them always depends on the other person's preferences. Usually we meet on some IM system or even the chatrooms but I've also done some via e-mail. I've experimented a bit and I've found that while simming out the logs and editing them later is more fun during the writing itself it's just way too much work to edit. So I usually write them in prose and then just do a quick spellcheck and edit a few minor things.

I never plan out joint logs in advance because I like it when things develop spontanously and kinda 'naturally'. Besides planning things like that usually gets me frustrated because I usually find out that my plans just don't work out. So, what I usually do with my log partner is invent a scenario and improvise as we go.