How To Find Material For Your Next Novel

Ada Palmer, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Chicago and a published science fiction writer, has launched ExoTerra, “an online collaborative research role-playing game community, in which students from all disciplines, from physics to literature, pool their expertise to design a new world.” The game encourages students, including literature students, to engage in collective storytelling. Writing in the Chicago Maroon, a fellow faculty member and game designer tells of her reservations about ExoTerra, including a requirement that all participants sign a release that addresses intellectual property rights, to wit: “By signing below, you acknowledge that Ada Palmer is the creator and owner of all rights in and to ExoTerra. All rights to any material you may create while engaged in playing ExoTerra are hereby exclusively granted Ada Palmer for her sole use during the full term of copyright. Such material shall include but not be limited to all words, proposals, research documents, writings, ideas, dialogue, and characters submitted or expressed by you during all ExoTerra activities.”