too many cooks...

Being in a collaborative group is a really cool gig.

It frees each writer up to conentrate and do their best writing on their own, individual piece of the work. It allows not only the accolades, but the blame, to be spread around evenly, thus taking most of the pressure off of the individual. And it allows for amazing ideas to flow not from one, but from many, brilliantly creative minds.

But there is a part of the puzzle where more than one or two minds will ruin the recipe: when it comes time to make a decision on procedure. In other words, the decision on how the process will proceed with multiple writers is BEST LEFT UP TO ONE PERSON.

You're at the point where you've gathered the group of writers, you've voiced and voted on your theme to write about, and everyone's chompin' at the bit to "git 'er done." This is the crucial point where you do not want to stall out, because you'll find that everyone could have an opinion, and those opinions could leave behind a trail of bruised and bloodied egos.

This is when your group needs a leader, a hero. One person who is the designated "in-charge" guy who can make these decisions. And guess what...these decisions aren't all that hard, but they are important.

And here's the real secret: most in your group would rather be led than try to lead. Most writers want to be told their parameters instead of make them up. You are doing them a favor by creating the guidelines by which they will birth genious!

So, do not fear being the leader, and if someone else is the leader, respect their decisions. Perhaps your group can switch leaders on each project, which is exactly what we (The G10Writers) have done on our current project.

From whichever vantage point you sit, I ask this one thing of you...write well.