Ars Collaboratorium Improvisorium

I have recently been involved in a courageous "live" online exercise in improvised collaborative story-telling instigated by Chris Adams from Bits'n'Bobs/Show'n'Tell I first came across this particularly fascinating and delightful blog when "popps" first popped up in one of my comments' boxes with a comment. I was intrigued and as one does, I visited the profile page and then had a look at the blog. What struck me immediately was the fact that this blog was different, out of the ordinary and very honestly written. From the heart. I began to follow the posts and so began an online dialogue which has developed over the past few months.

Rising to the Challenge
Vicki in America, Anne in Germany, Dave in Ireland and myself in Italy took part in the 7-Day Improvisation Challenge. We suggested various challenges, some far more complicated than others! One of the biggest challenges for Chris in France was when he invited his readers to feed him lines to incorporate into the story which would be written "live" and totally improvised on Day 6. Please read how it all evolved imaginatively here. I thought Chris as the principal omniscient narrator, rose to this difficult goal admirably. The story is multi-faceted, certainly far-fetched, at times amusing, in some parts risque, in other parts, madcap, overall cohesive (apart from one tiny little bit, which I think stands out because it doesn't somehow "go with the flow" - you'll have to read it and find out for yourself) and in the reflective finale, rather poignant.

MOGification
This for me was something which echoed through my brain long after the story had come to its conclusion at 9am Central Eastern European Time. The feline element in the guise of Victoria had been subtly introduced (by myself) and then successfully disposed of (by I think Chris). This cat had played a major part in the enfolding high drama in the boardroom... The writing had flowed and creativity was taken to new heights with the inclusion of this strange-sounding word. If you are asking yourself "what on earth does MOGification mean?", well, I have an idea. It must be a neologism(unless I stand corrected), created especially for dramatic effect so in this case, it must be something to do with the process of being changed into a cat?? That is my guess, anyway.

Feedback
Writing ad hoc was not an easy thing to achieve and of course, not knowing when sections of the story was going to be included in different countries, was quite tricky, but despite this, I think the idea was an ingenious one and from a participant's point of view, I felt it was a challenging and imaginative creative writing activity and it worked, despite Chris' misgivings. As an experiment, it was innovative and daringly courageous. It could have been disastrous but in my view, it wasn't at all. It probably pushed Chris to the limits of his improvisation skills but he managed it skillfully, whatever he may say and think to the contrary. Bravo! Bravissimo!

I recommend you have a look at Bits'n'Bobs/Show and Tell blog. It's a good'un!