• So what do I mean by ‘soft fork,’ anyway?
• The pitch
• The crux of the biscuit
• What would it take to get started?
• Summing it up

Based on the title, you would be forgiven for thinking that this article has something to do with bitcoin or cryptocurrency or open-source software of one sort or another. Well, It doesn’t.

Instead, this article is an attempt to describe a concept of collective authorship and storytelling that I have been mulling over for some time. While I believe this concept to be original, it is quite possible that it has been explored before (it may even be currently practiced) and I am just unaware of its existence. In that case, please feel free to inform me of my oversight. If you agree, however, that the ideas expressed here are unique, I implore you to contribute to the development of this idea.

§So what do I mean by ‘soft fork,’ anyway?

The use of the term ‘soft fork’ was first suggested in a note:

A commentor to the above note first suggested the term ‘Soft Fork’ for the title of a conceptual work of fiction, but after considering it, I felt the words might work better to describe the over-arching concept of how this ‘book’ would be devised.

The creation of a soft-forked story is what I will now attempt to describe (hopefully in better detail than can be found within the above note).

§The pitch

OK. I’ll try to get to the point. Stay with me here.

Imagine, if you will, a story — not a complete story, mind you, but a solid start to one. Let’s call this start Chapter One.

Personally, i love writing the first chapter in a work of original fiction because this is where the stage is set for the rest of the story; The main characters are introduced, a plot is developed, and a twist is revealed that (hopefully) grabs the reader’s attention and convinces them to commit their time toward the next chapter.

This next chapter, however, would be out of the original author’s hands. Instead, it would be left to the universe to finish.

Before I go any further, let me express an understanding of the fact that many collective pieces of fiction have been created already. Several authors collaborating together on a story, whether chapter by chapter in a book, or scene by scene in a movie, is not, by itself, a unique concept.

This is where I propose a change in protocol.

§The crux of the biscuit

Imagine then, that as an author, you’ve come across an unfinished fictional masterpiece. Perhaps, as discussed above, this creative work has nothing more than a single chapter and an open invitation to collaborate.

You’re intrigued. The setting was compelling and the characters spoke to your personal experience. You feel you have something to contribute.

Without the need for permission, you set out to complete Chapter Two. At the same time, however, several other authors felt the same drive to contribute and also began writing the next chapter.

No need to worry. This isn’t a competition!

In this example, let’s pretend that three authors were so inclined to contribute their own versions of Chapter Two. A single Chapter One has now been soft-forked into three Chapter Twos! How exciting.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that these three ‘Chapter Twos’ are not of equal strength. The first was able to attract an author to contribute a ‘Chapter Three,’ but another of the ‘Chapter Two’ entries attracted five more authors willing to pick up the pen. The final ‘Chapter Two’ never attracted any authors and simply withered on the vine.

Now we’re getting somewhere. We have a single Chapter One, three Chapter Twos, and six Chapter Threes, stemming for two of the previous Chapter Two contributions.

Hopefully you’re not too confused by my proposal yet, because this is where it potentially gets interesting:

Readers have begun to weigh in. They have preferences, you see, for differing versions as they develop, and have begun dividing themselves into separate camps. By the time one version of the story concludes, other versions are just getting started, collecting new fans as they progress.

While there is some potential for an infinite progression of ideas, the reality is probably more likely that each branch of the tree would eventually conclude, or lose reader and/or author interest. In some cases, no one would contribute at all, and the first chapter itself would linger forever, unrealized and unfinished, like the digital scaffolding of a poorly planned condo begun in earnest at the top of a speculative real estate market.

Others however, could flourish into several very different completed books, each with its own set of fans and critics.

§What would it take to get started?

First of all, starting such an endeavor would take an author willing to sacrifice their original concept to the collective. Take it from me, it’s not easy for an artist to give up control of their creations, but I know that these individuals do in fact exist. I know because I’m one of them. As a matter of fact, as soon as the infrastructure for this design is figured out, I have a few chapter ones already available to contribute.

In order for other authors to track the progress of their creation(s), each story and subsequent chapter would need a unique identifier, perhaps a hashtag that could be searched by the collective. This may be as simple as the story title, but would probably work better with a unique string of characters added to the end… e.g., #softforks12345 .

This identifier would limit authors to work within a protocol, such as Nostr, but authors could theoretically start the same trend on outside apps or protocols that similarly allow for long-form contributions.

For now, let’s focus on making this a Nostr-based idea. The fact that long-form clients like Yakihionne are available to us makes Nostr especially useful.

So, every author contributing to the story would need to use a hashtag, developed by the original author, somewhere in the story (preferably at the end). They should also add the chapter number within the title of their piece, to lessen confusion.

§Summing it up

So, that’s about as clearly as I can conceptualize this idea. I worte this out really quickly, but I am really, really, really, hoping that this idea can be flushed out further, and I am very, very, very open to ideas, suggestions, changes and the like. Please comment, tear this proposal to shreds, or show some love if you think it has potential.

In the coming days, I will introduce my first contribution, a unique Chapter 1 identified with a unique hashtag. From there, it will be up to the community to take further, or let die.

Thanks guys, whether this works or not, I needed to get this concept off of my chest. Also, this is my first article on Yakihonne, so hi! 👋

@micahcmiracle

Photo by Ursula Gamez on Unsplash