Help Wanted!

[Chessie2]

Also, writing books is about telling stories not having perfect prose. Readers buy books for the material/experience. While writing good prose is a boon, it's not the be all end all. What really counts is whether you're able to weave a good story. Make learning story a primary focus.

 

[WooHooMan]

I might be willing to co-author with this. Send me a pm and we'll brainstorm.

I mean, it's not that I don't have my own projects. It's just that I like working with others and writing can be a lonely hobby.

Also, writing books is about telling stories not having perfect prose. Readers buy books for the material/experience.

Speak for yourself. I almost only read for the prose.

 

[skip.knox]

It's harsh, but I believe wholeheartedly it is true.
https://dianedrake.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Hemingway-Monologue-to-the-Maestro1.pdf

 

[Chessie2]

Speak for yourself. I almost only read for the prose.

That's too bad. I was under the impression most readers read for enjoyment.

 

[skip.knox]

I read for the same reason I write: because I can't help it.

 

[Chessie2]

I read for the same reason I write: because I can't help it.

Isn't that called enjoyment? Oh, bother. There's no point in splitting hairs. I only wanted to say that the article you posted was quite enjoyable.

 

[WooHooMan]

That's too bad. I was under the impression most readers read for enjoyment.

I do. I enjoy good prose. Reading good prose is like listening to good music: you enjoy every second of it.

 

[Daelhar]

I apologize to people who might become offended, but most people who have replied to this have a fundamental misunderstanding about me and what I'm asking. I DO NOT want someone to take my ideas and write it for me. A co author would be just that, a CO author, a person contributing to the project not doing all of the actual work. Writing a book is a daunting task, and something I would not like to do alone for reasons I have stated. I am willing to put in as much and more effort into the actual writing than a coauthor. To the people encouraging me and offering moral support for my writing, thank you!

 

[Annoyingkid]

I don't think I misunderstood. You have a bunch of storytelling weaknesses by your own admission, that you are hoping co authorship will overcome. You are hoping someone will integrate their ideas with yours, that you'll have a complementary artistic vision and thus can divide the work of a very long project and both share the rights and any profits, 50/50. You intend to divide the work equally, and seamlessly integrate the two halves through intensive discussion using instant message or email communication with somebody you met online on a writing forum. Does that accurately cover it?

 

[Steerpike]

I do. I enjoy good prose. Reading good prose is like listening to good music: you enjoy every second of it.

For me, it depends on why I’m reading. Most genre stuff is for sheer entertainment only (though not all of it). Other works I read equally for the quality of prose, and in fact the works wouldn’t be what they are without the brilliant prose itself. I know a lot of readers who read for the quality and character of the writing itself, including one of the secretaries who sits outside of my office. We talk about books a lot and it is always about the writing itself as much as anything. Of course, there are fewer authors one can discuss when that is the focus.

 

[Malik]

Mark me down for prose, too. I'm all about the turn of phrase. Heck, I'll stick with a story that's not really grabbing me if the writer is making music with words. I read a lot of lit-fic for that reason; I find myself buried in books about characters that I don't give a crap about, but telling the author, "Man, talk to me. Make music. More." Flat prose--not taut prose, but unengaging writing--will lose me pretty quick.

As for pacing, structure, thematic lapses, voice glitches, plot holes . . . okay. I'll keep going if the story is good and the writing is strong, and if none of these things are so egregious that they throw me out of the book completely. I should probably be a developmental editor; I am like a mongoose when it comes to catching this stuff in someone else's work. I can't see it in my own, though, which is why editors exist.

However, when I stumble onto poor writing mechanics--I'm not talking about pedestrian writing, or Palahniuk/Pynchon-esque deviant stylism; I'm talking "there cat sat over their," "could of," and even things like dangling modifiers or murky pronoun reference when it happens so often that the author clearly can't be trusted--we're done. I just quit at that point.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I probably read mainly for enjoyment of the story, but good writing will captivate me. I find that the "Ooo. Prettyyyyyyy!" isn't enough to keep me invested in the story if i don't care about the characters. Then again, I sometimes feel i read books with characters I don't care for just because I enjoy visiting the world.

But scratch that--I read for the same reason I breathe: There's not much of an option not to.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

Trying to integrate the writing of two people won't solve your weaknesses in writing. It also is going to be very very hard and frustrating.

I've tried to co-author fanfic before. I almost feel true co-authorship can't be done.

 

[Devor]

I want to take a step back for a moment, rather than talk about whether or not a co-project works.

If I were to think about a co-authorship, for myself, I would want to see and provide evidence of the following:

1 - What each person brings to the project; writing strengths and weaknesses of each partner, including experience working on collaborations before.

2 - Amount of time (say, hours per week) each partner is willing to commit to working on the project. A novel, especially, requires a ton of time.

3 - A project concept that's worth investing all the effort in.

4 - A reason that the project warrants the partnership.

I would also be looking for red flags, including some of the following:

A - Inflexibility, unwillingness to change or bend when good ideas come up.

B - Ambivalence or wishy-washiness about the project, including the concept, the work, and so on.

C - Low standards for the idea, for the prose and structure, or for the contributions of others involved.

 

[Steerpike]

Mark me down for prose, too. I'm all about the turn of phrase. Heck, I'll stick with a story that's not really grabbing me if the writer is making music with words. I read a lot of lit-fic for that reason; I find myself buried in books about characters that I don't give a crap about, but telling the author, "Man, talk to me. Make music. More." Flat prose--not taut prose, but unengaging writing--will lose me pretty quick.

.

Absolutely. One thing I don’t like about a lot of writing advice/critiques is that it tends to push new writers toward generic prose.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Perhaps A.E Lowan can chime in here on what it's like writing with co-authors and how she found them?

Well, the first one I married out of high school, much to my excellent fortune. The second one I met here on Scribes, again to my excellent fortune. Working with co-authors is always a high-wire act, and I found it best to know each other well before getting started on collaborative works. You want to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, what each other most enjoys about the writing process and what each other enjoys the least.

The way we have things divided up, our responsibilities look like a card trick quilt, with aspects overlapping at the edges. I am the drafter, so that we maintain one cohesive voice. My wife is our plotting mastermind. And our third partner is a character generating machine and development powerhouse.

So, going into a potential partnership, Daelhar, think about your strengths, not just your weaknesses. It may also serve to help you build a little confidence in your own writing.

Remember, if this was easy, everyone would do it, and chicks dig scars.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

Absolutely. One thing I don’t like about a lot of writing advice/critiques is that it tends to push new writers toward generic prose.

Some writing advice makes new writers so afraid of writing "purple prose" that they are too afraid to explore their own voice or do anything the least bit unconventional. It's sad.

 

[Russ]

Some writing advice makes new writers so afraid of writing "purple prose" that they are too afraid to explore their own voice or do anything the least bit unconventional. It's sad.

While I empathize with your and Steerpike's opinion on this, there is a reason behind that advice. The belief is that it is unwise for the novice to attempt advanced or experimental techniques until they have a sound mastery of the fundamentals or basics. I think this idea is pretty universal in the coaching/teaching world, including music, sports, science etc.

It may not be particularly applicable for the enthusiastic hobbyist, but I think that is the rationale behind it.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Some writing advice makes new writers so afraid of writing "purple prose" that they are too afraid to explore their own voice or do anything the least bit unconventional. It's sad.

Agreed. I'm here for the literary gymnastics, personally. I'm here for the lines that drop the mic, that gut the reader, that evoke emotion. I'm here for the love of the written word. But, as Russ points out, I'm also not a novice and (hopefully) mastered the fundamentals a long time ago.

 

[Devor]

While I empathize with your and Steerpike's opinion on this, there is a reason behind that advice. The belief is that it is unwise for the novice to attempt advanced or experimental techniques until they have a sound mastery of the fundamentals or basics. I think this idea is pretty universal in the coaching/teaching world, including music, sports, science etc.

It may not be particularly applicable for the enthusiastic hobbyist, but I think that is the rationale behind it.

I think there's also a counter-point to that argument, however. It's easier to pull back on creative endeavors than it is to push forward. If your prose is a heavy on the purple, you and your editor can pull it back. But if your prose is stale, and it doesn't deliver when it needs to, it's much harder to push and draw out something that isn't yet there.