The Future of Collaborative Fiction
StoryMash, the future of collaborative fiction. A creative writing community for authors, amateur writers, readers and anyone interested in collaborative fiction and collaborative creative writing.
General FAQ
Can I earn money with StoryMash?
Absolutely! We created StoryMash so authors like you could get paid for writing. The ads on every page earn money for our authors' great creative writing. At least 50% of all advertisement revenue is paid out to the authors of StoryMash's collaborative writing community. The more popular and read a chapter is, the more money the author earns. Remember you must publish a chapter before you can start getting paid for your writing.
In addition to advertisement revenue we have regular creative writing contests with large cash prizes you could win money by entering your chapters into the current contest.
What is the best way to make money writing on StoryMash?
First, make sure you publish your chapter once you are satisfied it is the best creative writing you can muster. Draft chapters do not earn money.
Second, the amount of money a chapter earns is related to how popular and how many people read it. Popularity depends somewhat on how good or interesting your writing is. But, even the most awesometastic story won't get read unless people know about it.
So, tell them!
- Send your friends, relatives and coworkers a link to your chapter.
- Write about your chapter in a blog, newsletter or anywhere else. Be sure and include a link.
- Reply to comments left by other community members in your chapter's discussion.
- Collaborate with other community members, discuss their chapters and writings, work together and mash a new story!
Also, use accurate tags and write a preview for your chapters. Tags are used by search engines (such as The Google) to help readers find what they're for. Previews are often the first look a reader has of your chapter on StoryMash and with search engines. Make it short and intriguing.
Finally, consider writing a chapter for our regular creative writing contest. Not only is it great exposure for your creative writing but you might win $300!
Your Payment Method is how you would like StoryMash to pay you the money your chapters have earned. The current Payment Methods supported are PayPal and check in U.S. dollars.
To select a Payment Method visit your preferences page. Must login to view your profile page.
What is the Payment Threshold?
Due to the costs involved StoryMash will only distribute payments when an author's current earnings exceed a certain amount. The Payment Threshold can be found in the License Agreement. Current earnings and other payment information may be found on your profile page. Must login to view your profile page.
Can I write about anything?
You can write about almost anthing as long as it isn't illegal. In addition you must always follow the Code of Conduct and Terms of Service and Use. Which amoung other things means you can not post anything that violates US copyright or trademark laws.
How is the Rank Calculated
The rank is calculated by star votes from users. The exact calculation method and fraud screening is classified but basically it is essentially an average of the number of votes and the rating level. By keeping this information classified we can keep the system fair for everyone and help to give the most accurate rating.
Can I link to chapters or my StoryMash profile on my blog, Myspace page or other websites?
Absolutely, it would be awesome if you linked to our writing community. If you write or read a chapter you enjoyed, by all means spread the word. We want everyone to know about StoryMash and read the great creative writing of our collaborative community.
On StoryMash a story is ... well if you know graph theory a story is a rooted tree of chapters, if you don't it's easy to explain... Regular stories have chapters 1,2,3,... that come one after another. A story on StoryMash starts off with chapter 1, but after that there can be four chapter 2's. Each taking the plot started in chapter 1 in a different direction. Each of those chapter 2's might be written by different authors.
Starting your own story is easy, just submit a new chapter(don't forget to publish it so others can continue your story). A list of recent stories can be found here.
A chapter is a short(or long) bit of fiction telling part of a story. It is the basic unit of "authorship" on StoryMash. A chapter may start a new story or continue an existing fiction story.
Each chapter has its own comment area where readers and authors can discuss the chapter, what the next plot twist might be, or anything else that catches their fancy. Each chapter also has a rank or score of popularity. Based on reader's votes and other factors.
A list of an author's chapters may be found on their profile page.
What does "draft" mean? What does "publish" mean?
Every chapter starts out as a "draft". A draft chapter can be edited by the author(only), commented on by readers, but it can NOT be voted on. It also does not earn the author their share of the advertisement revenue.
The author of a chapter publishes it by clicking the "Publish" button on the chapter page. A published chapter can no longer be edited, but it can be commented on, and voted on. It also immeadiately starts earning the author money.
What are chapter "previews" for?
They are like the blurbs on book back covers that lure the author into wanting to read more. They should be short but intriguing. They are often the first look a reader has of your chapter and help them decide if they will read it or not. They shouldn't contain spoilers or a synopsis of the plot.
Previews are used in various places on StoryMash to provide readers with a, well preview, of your chapter. They also show up in the results of search engines such as Google
Currently the main use is to help readers find your creative writing. You want people to read your chapters, why else are you publishing them on StoryMash? Also, the more people who read your chapter the more money you will earn.
Well both StoryMash's search and search engines use the tags on your chapters for indexing. That means if someone searches The Google for mystery your chapter is more likely to be in the results if you've added the 'mystery' tag to it.
Don't put in a bunch of random tags that have nothing to do with your writing. Search engines are smart enough to check for this and your chapter will be less likely to show up in any the results for any search.
By default we filter certain words that are offensive to some readers. You may turn off this filter, login or register and uncheck the Filter Words option on your preferences page.
How do I get rid of writer's block?
See the Overcoming Writer's Block.
Technical Support FAQ
What is the funny word after author's name in chapter urls?
That is a "string" of 8 charactes that uniquely identify each chapter. Each chapter must have its own url and we wanted to allow chapters with the same name. Creating our own "id" for each chapter met both requirements. We hope it doesn't look too strange, at least it's not some long jumble of numbers.
Why can I not login or why do I have to login each time?
You must set your browser to accept cookies. Passwords are case sensitive. Have you forgotten your password? See lost password question.
How do I change my password?
There is a link under My Preferences to change your password.
I lost my password?
This form will allow you to reset your password.
Internet Explorer 6 crashes while publishing chapter
This is a recent bug in Intnernet Explorer. There is a patch and more information that might help here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834273/en-us
We don't yet have a permanent solution, but my favorite fix is to use a better browser, such as FireFox, which is free from here: http://mozilla.org
Writing Your Chapter
Getting started is the hardest part when writing any chapter. Just coming up with the idea on what to write can be difficult at times. Here are some tips to help you along in the process.
Memories & Historic Information
Memories are the basis for many excellent stories. Important memories such as weddings, good days, bad days, victories, birthdays, and childbirths can get you started writing a great chapter.
Historic events are interesting and easy to write about. Many stories are about famous or not so famous historic events. For ideas try looking up a specific year on Wikipedia. Such as 1970. Wikipedia or your local library are excellent sources for researching historic events and personages.
But don't let history get in the way of a good story. The movie Titanic, for instance was based on actual historic events, but the characters were fictional. The historic facts provided a realistic and interesting backdrop but the drama between the fictional characters is what made it great.
Current Events and Trends:
Current events and trends allow you to take a peak into the future. Your local newspaper, TV station, or just the neigborhood gossip are all rich sources of inspiration. The rise in technology and what it means for the future of our culture and planet are popular themes in science fiction.
Conflict:
Conflict and tension is often what makes a story great fun to read.
Many murder mysteries start with a murder and the killer is unknown. The reader gets to figure out who the bad guys are. Someone's life being threatened creates a great deal of tension and excitement for the reader.
Sometimes the struggle between characters is internal such as in the book, Fight Club. The main character in this movie has an alter ago side which does all sorts of strange things. He is in struggle with his alter side and eventually realizes that his alter side is part of himself.
The uniqueness of the story also contributes to the overall readability of it. Keeping your readers surprised, keeps your readers interested. If the reader can predict what will happen next, they won't be as interested in reading more.
Tips for Success
Write unique and interesting stories. The best way to do this is write what you know about and write a chapter you'd like to read.
A good chapter without readers is a dead chapter. To avoid this, continue chapters that are popular, use appropriate tags, invite your friends to read your chapter, link to your chapter from other sites.
Communicate with other authors to get feedback and new ideas. Working with other authors is a great way to learn and make others aware of your chapter.
Overcoming Writer's Block
This is something that happens to many authors from time to time. Writers Block info.
Organizing your ideas or outlining your chapter can often help to reduce writer's block. Listing what you want to write about starting from the broadest scope and then narrow down. So, you might write, "fiction, murder mystery, killer unknown to audience". Then just fill in the blanks as you go along.
