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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As he reached for it his hand collided with another's. "Um, if you don't mind, I really need this, restocking my restaurants kitchen, and this is the last big bottle, so..." He stared at her. He had never seen a more beautifulcreature in his entire life...
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"What is it?" she asked, leaning forward. He swallowed & took her hands in his. "Promise me, you will never sing 'Love Shack' at a karaoke parlor. Sing any other song you like, but never that one." Tears filled her big brown eyes. "But," she stammered, "the whole shack shimmies."
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She told herself that there was no way the sound of her shoe could be heard over the din of the storm, yet... "You're not trying to leave now, are you ma'am?" said Dr. Zino. "The machine is almost complete." "Why do you keep calling my 1994AcuraIntegra 'the machine'?" she said.
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How does one fight seawater? The beast consisted entirely of water, salt, and thought. Did it understand language? Could words, concepts, or memes change its behavior? As he swam, he began to shout thoughtbombs, hoping one would wound.
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The food tray rattles as it makes its way down the aisle, the flight attendant asks the row with the two past non-lovers, "Pretzels or nuts?"
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A spray of mucus and saliva propelled from her face then similar to the glass paused, hanging impossibly in the air for a moment before reversing back into her nostrils and mouth. "Âżgnineppahs'tahW" she asked, standing up and walking unnaturally backwards through an open doorway
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There was a sharp sulfur smell in the air afterwards and a pile of ashes on the floor. “Oh no”, she said, “not again.” Her armor was making a high whine as it discharged extra heat and powered down to standby mode. “They weren’tathreat at all”, she said into her throat mic.
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I was one of the best puppeteers in the entire Florida panhandle! That had to count for something, right? After being escorted off the premises of the Croc-o-Clown show, I felt a flash of inspiration. That’s how I founded my adults only puppet cabaret: Les RisquĂ©Marionettes!

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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.