open_stories

Open Stories is a community-driven hub where writers collaborate on creative prompts from across the web. Our mission is to foster an inclusive and diverse space, encouraging collaborative storytelling through the lens of shared ideas.

Open Prompts and Manuscripts

(I) craft a short story based on a prompt.

The writing sessions are recorded without voice and shared on YouTube, while the manuscript (in markdown, LaTeX, PDF and HTML formats) is made available here.

Have a look at the Prompts page! We are just getting started.

Why Open Stories?

This project serves two purposes:

• Pragmatic: Just as artists and coders have accessible resources, we believe writers should have open starter material.
• Philosophical: We challenge the conventional approach to intellectual property in publishing. Our aim is to explore alternative ownership concepts for written works.

Who’s Invited?

This project is designed for:

• New writers starting their creative journeys
• Avid readers transitioning into writing
• Fans of fan fiction seeking a space to shape stories without limitations
• Storytellers working in other disciplines (illustrators, comic book artists, animators, etc.,) seeking inspiration and collaboration
• Everyone, really. Stories and story-telling are deeply engrained into the tapestry of human existence. It has always been so - and always will be. Even if you’ve never imagined writing or thought yourself as a creative person, there is something here for you.

How to Contribute

Whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith or just starting out, you can join as a Writer or an Editor. Utilize Git for version control or learn through simple pull requests. Check out this tutorial for guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Legalities? All content in this repository falls under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You’re free to use, modify, and share these stories with proper attribution, but not for commercial purposes.

2. Who’s Behind This? Theena Kumaragurunathan is a novelist-filmmaker, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is the recipient of the Sri Lankan National Literary Award (2016) for his debut First Utterance. His first film Pala is currently being shown in film festivals.

3. What do I need? You need a computer, an internet connection, a GitHub account (free), GitHub desktop app, a text-editor for Markdown (VSCode, Typora, Atom, Vim/NeoVim are all free and perfectly suited for the job - I personally use NeoVim. If you come from a non techy/Computer Science background, I recommend you start off with VSCode. Or you can go really hardcore and do this on Emacs - you do you, you hipster weirdo). Go to the Toolkit for a more in-depth tutorial on using Github desktop and using VSCode.