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Comment by stakhanov | Hacker News Reader

Why would anyone want to do that?

It seems to me like humans have a basic desire/need to see their own creativity come to life and to truly take ownership over that creation without other people meddling. This human need largely goes unserved in our economic system which, in my mind, explains why someone would opt to work on open source software on a weekend writing more code, after having spent a 40-hour-workweek having written code, or to write a book about marketing, after having spent a 40-hour-workweek having worked in marketing, etc.

So, if you are going to go to the trouble of writing a novel, how on earth would it occur to you to not avail yourself of the opportunity to satisfy that need?

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> Why would anyone want to do that?

Funny -- I had the opposite response when reading the headline: I can't understand why collaborative authoring isn't ubiquitous in the industry. One of my favorite parts of watching a blockbuster movie is the credits: I sit there as all those names scroll by just marveling at the accomplishment that this huge group of people collaborated on. ("What a privilege", I often think, "to be able to work on that team.") I am writing a novel now (mostly solo, sadly), but the best chapter in the book was co-written with my daughter. My creative juices run deepest when they are mixed with someone else's.

Writing plays is the counter-example that comes to mind first. Say "Beaumont" to an English major and he will respond "Fletcher", whether or not he has read their plays. Shakespeare collaborated on at least one play. (Two Noble Kinsmen?)

The Goncourt brothers wrote novels together until the one's decline and death--the linked piece mentions duos as more common.

Why would writing with someone else necessarily leave the need unsatisfied?

Because humans are social animals, and far more people seem to have a need for social contact than to see their own creativity come to life, as evidenced by what most people spend their free time doing (not writing code or books, but enjoying time with family and friends). A creative social activity viewed as an enhanced social activity instead of a degraded creative one is perhaps the perspective you're looking for?

No, not particularly what I'm looking for, but it's probably to do with my own personality traits rather than any universal truth... You make a valid point.

But the thing about human desires is that, typically, you want to fulfill all of them, and you can easily satisfy the need for creativeness by working on a book solo for a couple of hours, then satisfy the need to socialize by helping your significant other out cooking a meal and raising a child.

To speculate a bit further: I would suppose that lack-of-creative-outlet is more likely to be unmet as a basic human desire in most people than lack-of-socializing, although I do grant that loneliness is on the rise.

And, last but not least, if the goal of writing the novel is to write a good novel, there's an argument to be made that creative endeavor is what it's actually about.

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