Love is wonderful, the way you fairly skip with giddy excitement, the way your heart rushes when you’ve discovered a mutual understanding with a like mind. I’m not talking about a polyamorous relationship as most of us know it, but multiple lovers, in a sense, are involved, allowing a beautiful union, a ripe time for co-creation. Sound a little steamy? This experience has a rush on it’s own, from wooing, to courting, to the final proposal–and then the marriage!
What I’m talking about is the coming together of a group of authors who’s minds, creativity, and general good-heartedness all contribute to a unique way of publishing: literally co-creating a universe and writing the stories that intersect, meeting in the middle–of that universe. Basically: Multiple authors, multiple stories, ONE universe. I know a group of authors who had this experience. No, created it! And the results were eye-opening, mind-blowing, and fun. I was among them, in the frenzy, in the eye of the storm.
And out of this union, a concept was born: Kosalogy
Kosalogy means a collection of stories that all intersect at one universe. What you have is an anthology or a collection of stories that could be viewed as episodes in a novel, so that by the time you’re finished reading, you pretty much have a solid world-view of that universe, what it is, it’s history, and the characters involved. Each kosalogy is different, with unique characteristics, and so is the next one, and the next one.
Anthologies, on the other hand, are a collection of stories expressed toward a certain theme. Each author alone spends time creating the elements of their story as it focuses on the theme. There is no joint collaboration, no melding of minds, no having a companion to travel the twists and turns in the road. You are a lone wolf, going it in your own way. You share your anguish and happy moments alone. Quite the opposite of the kosalogy, where collaboration is king, and content is queen, if not the next king.
When a group of authors create a kosalogy, they brainstorm on the world, the theme, and the types of inhabitants who will make up that world. They create the backstory and discover new ways aliens or humans can interact. The characters battle the elements, fall in love, fall out of love, make war, make peace, make haste. Each story can nicely fit into another one.
During the creation of a kosology, it’s a time for discarding egos and time for stirring up creative juices. Likewise, it’s a ripe time for uncertainty, fear, frustration, and triumph. It’s a cosmic experience that allows creation at the highest levels, from the heart and from the head. When the authors work in harmony, blending creativity, creating new characters and new elements, they end up producing the “whole.” From the many to the “one.”
Creating kosalogies teaches you a whole different way of looking at writing and how stories can be written. If you’re squeamish about a certain genre, the group helps you along, hand-holding when it gets tough, gently pointing out how you can make your story stronger, more compelling, better. Most of all, it teaches the beauty of stepping outside yourself and sharing ideas and critiques with others, creating new worlds, and if the fit is just right, the possibilities are beautiful and endless.
If the concept of Kosalogy intrigues you, you can find out more about it at Kosa Press.
