One of the greatest things about Ficlets, in my opinion, is the capacity for multiple prequels and sequels. You don’t have to let a story go any one direction if you think you have a better way you could take it. Or, if someone stops writing a story you liked, you could continue it yourself.

It bugs me that more people aren’t doing this. There have been some great collaborative ficlet chains in the past, but it seems like most chains these days are by people writing their own monolithic stories. There’s nothing wrong with this; I do it myself—but only because nobody else ever seems to continue my stories.

I think there’s a perception that people writing their own long stories don’t want other people to “contaminate” them. But it really doesn’t matter. The worst the original author can do is ignore your addition—and it’s possible other people might want to continue it. (See “Digital Dawn” for an example of this.)

Try adding onto someone else’s story. You never know, it might turn into a lot of fun.