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February 13, 2009

Glypho – Start a Story and Let Someone Else Finish It

ss-glypho

Writers block. It can be devastating to develop a great story only to find yourself with no ideas for it to continue. Glypho is small website that leverages a network of writing fans to assist in editing and even completing any given story.

Stories start out with at least 150 words before feedback and revisions can be solicited from other Glypho users. Contributors can provide suggestions for character ideas, plot ideas, and offer edits to the original work. Edits are moderated by the community similar to a wiki and users can vote for their favorite work. Authors always retain the right to reject user contributions and can opt to invite friends to collaborate on any given project.

While the site is modest in nature, it offers writers a unique tool to expand creative thinking and hopefully produce a brilliant literary piece.

Practical Uses:

  • Seek out new literary works by people like yourself
  • Practice your writing skills by editing other people’s work or starting a story of your own
  • Use Glypho to find inspiration for your own writing projects

Insider Tips:

  • Upon creating an account, consider reviewing and editing other writers’ work before venturing out on your own
  • Use the “Invite a Friend” link to engage your peers on the project
  • If you’ve found an intriguing story you can track the progress by subscribing to its RSS feed (orange XML link)

What we liked:

  • The singular focus on writing means you won’t have many distractions
  • Stories found on Glypho range from bizarre to captivating
  • Built-in dictionary and thesaurus eases the writing process

What we didn’t like:

  • It’s unfortunate that such a great idea is hampered by a lackluster design and quirky navigation
  • Users must create an account simply to rate a story idea
  • There does not appear to be any lengthy stories in progress (two chapters seems to be the longest)
  • The text editor has no ability to offer rich text (italics, underline, etc.)
  • Stories require 150 words to publish but there is no word counting tool

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: 2005
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Edison, NJ
  • Founded by: Ambika Sukla
  • Web site: http://glypho.com

Costs:

  • Free

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