A round-robin story, or simply "round robin," is a type of
collaborative fiction
Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story.
Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally – many collaboratively written works have bee ...
or
storytelling
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pr ...
in which a number of authors write chapters of a novel or pieces of a story, in rounds. Round-robin novels were invented in the 19th century, and later became a tradition particularly in
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
. In modern usage, the term often applies to collaborative
fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, setti ...
, particularly on the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
, though it can also refer to friends or family telling stories at a
sleepover
A sleepover is a social occasion where a young person stays at the home of a friend. Multiple people and/or friends may sleepover at the friend's home, typically a younger person will partake in a sleepover, however an adult or older person may s ...
, around a
campfire
A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campf ...
, etc.
See also
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Addventure
An ''addventure'', also known as a collaborative gamebook, is a type of online interactive fiction that combines aspects of round-robin stories and Choose Your Own Adventure-style tales. Like a round-robin story, an addventure is a form of collab ...
, which combines the round robin method with
gamebook
A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...
narrative form
*
Exquisite Corpse
External links
The Internet Story TaleFoldingStory , The Group Storytelling GameEnsemble Press - an online game of round-robinAskOuija - A subreddit where answers are generated one letter at a time
Collaborative fiction
Literary concepts
19th-century introductions
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