#horizontal writing

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Variant No. 1: "The Diagonalization Argument"

A multiplayer variant of my original horizontal writing method, inspired by the method that Georg Cantor published in 1891 for his proof of the existence of infinite sets that cannot be put into 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of natural numbers .

This writing method takes the form of a 2-dimensional exquisite-corpse game for 2 or more writers.  The rules are extremely simple:

Diagonalisation of Horizontals: For 2-to-N players, sequentially assign each player the set of cells along each successive diagonal in the spreadsheet template (see above image).  

1st Move: Player 1 writes one paragraph in the upper-left cell of the spreadsheet to begin the first chapter of the novel.  

2nd Move & Onward: Player 2 may now write either the paragraph that's one cell to the right of the first paragraph (the 1st paragraph of Ch. 2) or the paragraph one cell below (the 2nd paragraph of Ch. 1).  

No Illegal Moves: Players may fill only those empty cells that are adjacent to completed cells—either directly below a completed cell (to continue an existing chapter) or to the right of a completed cell in the first row (to start a new chapter).  

No "Turns" / Simultaneity Encouraged: "Turns" exist only as assigned squares in the spreadsheet.  Players are encouraged to add content simultaneously if spreadsheet software (e.g. Google Drive) allows for real-time collaboration.  (The number of cells available for each player will increase steadily as the game progresses horizontally.)  

No Backediting: Players may edit their completed cells until another player in the game begins to write a neighboring cell.  Once a cell has been "buried", it may not be altered until the draft is complete (exception:  unanimous agreement among all players.  

2+ Paragraphs/Cell is OK: A "paragraph" in the game is defined as the contents of single cell, and not by any grammatical construct.  If players wish to write more than one paragraph in a cell, a suitably unique line-break designator must be used (e.g. "[[BR]]") to ensure that proper line breaks may be inserted once the novel is transferred to a linear format (i.e. plain text rather than spreadsheet document) for reading and editing.  

The Only Competition = Race to Complete Available Assigned Cells:  This writing game was designed for cooperative/collaborative writing—not to produce a nightmarishly paced, unreadable work of fiction (though such an outcome remains a distinct possibility for undisciplined players).  Before the game begins, standards (and penalties) must be established to combat subversion and sabotage w/r/t individual players' plot ideas—else, the project will descend quickly into formless chaos.    

No Intentional Misdirection: Intentionally misleading one's collaborators is forbidden implicitly w/r/t the game's collaborative-creative goals.  

Why So Serious?: Either (or both) of the two prior rules (8 &/or 9) may be ignored if all players agree at start of game.  

Write Now, Edit Later: Once draft is completed, players may edit as a group, divide up chapters to edit individually, designate one player to serve as editor, or delete the file and start again.

    ProTip: Add cleverbot as a player.

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Horizontal Writing 

A method I developed for myself, originally to maximize productivity while ghostwriting letters.  By writing one letter down each column of a spreadsheet, moving horizontally across each row (writing all the 1st paragraphs, then all the 2nd paragraphs, and so forth—rather than completing each letter one-by-one), I found I could double my productivity.

I applied a variation of this technique to write an exquisite-corpse novel with my friend & writing partner, Jack Hatchett.