These Wicked Games

In August of 2006, Avon Books, in collaboration with FanLib, embarked on an ambitious venture. The idea was simple: set up a contest wherein any number of participants could contribute chapters to a romance novella, creating a mass collaboration and marketable end product. By the end of the contest, 1,705 chapters had been submitted by contestants, and more than 147,000 votes had been cast to determine the best efforts, which were then submitted to a final judging panel of editors and romance authors to determine which six chapters would comprise the final work. Two of the six authors of these entries were awarded "Grand Prize" status, with one (editorially chosen) receiving $5,000 and a one year development contract with Fox Television Studios, and another (randomly chosen) receiving a trip to New York City to meet with Avon editors and artists to learn about book marketing and promotion. The novella itself, appropriately titled "These Wicked Games" was sold in ebook format starting in December, 2006.

The book itself followed a standard mold. A Regency format was chosen by participants in advance of the actual contest, and useful tips for writing in this style were included on the website (e.g. "Scandals — A juicy bit of gossip is often the centerpiece in a Regency romance. An unchaperoned meeting, a compromising situation, running from an arranged marriage, or simply falling in love with the wrong person. If society turns up its nose at the idea, you have a winner of a plot line."). The novella itself is replete with the usual Regency devices: mistaken identity, witty reparte, and awkward situations created by the social mores of the times. A marriage of convenience is slowly subverted by the machinations of its victims into an actual romance over a bumpy road of misunderstandings and farcical entrapments. True to form, the would-be lovers struggle through the various self-imposed complications of their relationship and eventually find true love and the promise of happily ever after.

"These Wicked Games" is not a literary masterpiece, but reaching the pinnacle of Regency romance fiction was never the point of the project. What is more important is the process undertaken. Along with the process of writing, submitting, and voting on chapters, Avon Fanlit also set up forums which were used extensively by participants to communicate about the project. Through the community formed there, writers were able to give valuable feedback and criticism to each other and collaboratively direct the project. Most participants seemed pleased with what they took away from the project:

What are we ever going to do when this is done... Since this contest is about done and I feel I've made a few friends... is anyone interested in keeping in touch via yahoo/msn/aim afterwards?

--Cynthia Falcon, Avon FanLit forum

I hope to see everyone over at NaNo...If we can handle this, I think we can all handle 50K words in 30 days. The best part is, no one will be rating you.

--daisypappe, Avon FanLit forum

Despite some allegations of unfairness in the writing process (with the creation of "shill" or duplicate, accounts) and voting procedure, most contestants seemed to come away from the process inspired to try their hand at further writing efforts and, possibly, future collaborations. Perhaps the sense of community will aid in the creation of new forms of fiction which cater specifically to the needs of its audience. Perhaps, in fact, the end result matters not nearly as much as the path taken to get there.