About
McKinley, Montana, a city of about 20,000, has a history stretching back at least two hundred years. The thing is, McKinley doesn’t exist. All that history needs to be written, and you’re invited to take part in the adventure of filling the gaps. Think of this site as a Michener novel where each chapter is written by a different author. With a little Faulkner mixed in, if we’re lucky.
Imagine the fun you can have, reading about a character someone else invented and then writing the story of that character’s grandson, all wrapped loosely around a framework of a town history –which you can also help construct!
To help you get started, we’ve built a timeline with the most basic significant dates and facts of McKinley’s history. We’ve not gotten too detailed, because the whole point is for you to fill the timeline in.
Creative guidelines are simple enough. Come up with a story that takes place in the McKinley area anytime in history, right up until last week. Send it in, and we’ll review it. Pretty much anything is acceptable –straightforward fiction prose will likely be the most popular choice, but feel free to liven up the mix with poetry, faux journalism/textbook writing or letters from residents and visitors. We’ll even take graphic arts and video or audio files. Obviously, as with any collaborative site, we must reserve the right of rejection, but we’ll consider anything you send. Check this page for more details.
Now let’s see who these people were! Have fun learning the history of this town that never was. Have more fun creating it!
