Now that all of my worldly belongings have been shoulder checked into a storage locker, never to be seen again, I can officially get back to work (fun?) and do a little writing. After talking about webisodes the other day, a couple of people asked me if I had any strategy for writing a full on episodic web series. Fortunately, I do and it comes from the magical world of Wiki.
What is Wiki, you ask? Well, a wiki is a medium which can be edited by anyone with access to it, and provides an easy method for linking from one page to another. Wikis are typically collaborative websites, though there are now also single-user offline implementations. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as “the simplest online database that could possibly work”. One of the best-known wikis is Wikipedia. You can allow access to as many or as few people as you like, which not only makes it a great tool for mass collaboration, but also works well in small groups.
In my case, my writing partner, Zander and I set up a wiki so that we could easily upload ideas, thoughts, dialogue, etc. whenever we thought of it. The need to meetup and talk about new ideas no longer exists, because a wiki allows us to update scripts, story archs and character traits in real time. It has made our writing much more efficient and due to the constant updating, we’re both a little more motivated to always be writing. Our wiki has made wading through writing slumps a lot easier, as well. If one of us isn’t feeling creative the other can pick up the slack and usually coax the slumping writer into a creative fit, once again. Over the next month, we’ll be finishing a 5-episode comedy series for the web, which my company, Suited Productions, will produce. The entire project is being handled through our private wiki. Be sure to stay tuned to see how it turns out. If it sucks, then maybe this post is null and void. But, I think you’re going to like it and see how powerful a wiki can be in forming creative thoughts with others.
At first, I was having trouble setting up a wiki, which bothered me because I am a pretty advanced techno geek. I was getting all kinds of errors when trying to install MediWiki to my web server, so I decided to try and find something that was a little bit more user friendly. After all, I wanted to show you all how to do this yourself. After a little bit of searching, I found a wiki service called WikiDot. Setting up an account was free and easy. Then, it was just a matter of playing around with the site a bit and getting used to the new markup language. All of these things are easier than they sound. Once I had the hang of it, Zander and I started updating ideas and the process began. We’ve been able to get some really solid, funny things out on the wiki and it has kept us surprisingly structured. Something that in the past, was not really our strong suit.
If you’re a writer, a wiki can be a great tool to collaborate with a partner or team of other writers. But, writing is not the only thing a wiki is good for, it can provide infinite potential from organizing your softball league to starting a political rally. Try a wiki out and see if you can find any added value from it. How are you using your wiki? What other software or websites are out there that make setting up a wiki even easier? What am I missing here that you think people should know about using a wiki?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Wiki rules. Had no clue it had any applications outside of wikipedia, but leave it to Jon to clue in the masses. Episode 2 content added wiki-style holla!
People listen. Stay tuned for the upcoming premier of Red Light District 2: Even Dimmer - starring Dusty Doering of upcoming megahit “Sno Cone Stand” fame.
Confused? Intrigued? Get a wiki and life becomes easy. All that was blurred is now crystal clear.
Winning lottery numbers - we got’em. Who needs some cash? Just call Jon, he’ll lend you some.
Fantasy football is ruining my life by the way.