Sometimes I wonder how certain writers do joint projects. I see books written by two (or more) people, and it kind of blows my mind. I couldn't do it. Sometimes, I want to try as a sort of challenge, but then I decide that it's just asking for trouble. I'm too much of a control freak about certain things, and my writing is one of those things. Sure, I can have people read it and critique it. I've gotten good at taking in people's opinions and trying to decide what's best based on them. But I still have ultimate control. It's still my work.
I haven't been published, so I can't talk about how I'd feel about edits in that sort of setting. Either way, I don't think anything like that comes close to how I'd feel giving 50% of a book to someone else and trying to make that work. I couldn't do it.
In a similar vein, I've thought about doing text-based roleplaying many times before. I've even tried it for short periods of time. I have some friends who do it and love it. I love the idea of it; it just never works well for me in practice. I get frustrated having to rely on other people.
I don't just get frustrated over a lack of control of the story. That's minor compared to other irritation I feel. You have to wait on other people, go at their pace, and if they decide they're done then that's it. That frustrates me more than what goes on with the story itself.
None of this is an insult towards collaborative works or role-playing. If anything, it's a compliment. I think it's amazing that there are people out there who do that sort of thing, and I wish I could to. There are still times where I tell myself I'm going to try out role-playing again, but that never pans out. Someday, maybe, it'll actually become a thing, but I really can't see it.
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