A collaborative creative writing app where stories are built line by line.

Contribute to multiplayer stories, seeing only what the previous author wrote. Modeled on the game exquisite corpse, each creation is gloriously unique!
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Stories in need of a line

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It took the aliens several days to decipher the first paragraph of the only undamaged book they could find on the forgotten planet. Currently, their thesis was that 'Tuggeranong' was the Capital of the World before the Great Filter wiped out whatever species had lived there.
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Then, a breath ghosted his neck from behind. "Yet an idea can stay a hand before it ever forms a fist. There is no worse purgatory than to be utterly alone with your thoughts. Without words, without empathy, we are mere beasts." Filo's doppelgänger had finally pierced the veil.
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The sun had long since faded into the night as Jack finally stumbled upon theshaman’s home. “Hello? Help me, please!”, Jack begged with little breath left in his lungs. He knocked frantically until the door slightly nudged open and the smell of sage overtook him.
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allthecrepes we possibly can. We have 52 hours. We’ll have crepes for every meal. Sweet crepes, savory crepes, traditional crepes, experimental crepes, fusion crepes, deconstructed crepes. We’ll drink juiced crepes and wear eau de crepe perfume. We’ll savor every bite, because
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Die Trauung startet in 3, 2, 1… Liebe Sab
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Previous line by
 
“Six for dilver”? That’s where you lose me, hon. You can makeupaword for the rhyme, but I can’t know what that means. Does it have to do with dill? Is the next clue a pickle? I have no idea.
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The phone clicks, and I hear the heavy breathing on the other side. “Have you decided?” The man whispers. “Yes.” I wait for a moment, listening to the man shuffle. Then, I hear a car start. “Check your mailbox. You will find a bulletproof vest and gun. Be at the bank by 5:07.”
Previous line by
 
She needed a dry spot and fuel. She swam in ever-widening circles and slept floating on her back. One day she found it: a shelf of rock, above the water’s surface. It had a tinytreegrowing out of a crack. Her new problem: she didn’t want to burn the only tree she’d ever seen.

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What is Byline?

A multiplayer creative writing experience where a group of authors creates a story, one line at a time.

How does it work?

Loosely based on exquisite corpse, each author writes a line having only seen the line directly before theirs. Once complete, the creator titles the story and shares it with the group.

Is this a game?

Yes! Get started by creating a story and sharing it with friends. Don't know any writers? No problem. Post your story to Byline and you'll meet some!

Who does the writing?

Public Stories

If you create a story (by clicking the new story button New Story Icon) and don’t invite other authors, then it posts publicly to Byline and can be contributed to by any author on the platform.

Private Stories

If you invite individual people (by username, email, or phone number) and make sure Plus others on Byline is deselected then your story becomes private and only those invited can contribute.

What's a breadcrumb?

Breadcrumbs give authors an opportunity to select a key word/phrase from their line that they think is important. Breadcrumbs are visible for the life a the story and can act as clues that offer additional context.

They are optional, but fun to add!

What's a sequel?

Sequels are stories spawned from the last line of other stories. To create a sequel go to the bottom of a finished story and select Write More → Create sequel based on this story.

What if I see something offensive?

If you see something that doesn't live up to our standards report it by clicking the next to any line.