Collaborating with a Writing Partner?

[Black Dragon]

Have you ever collaborated on a novel or story with a writing partner? How did you coordinate your efforts? And did it help or ultimately hinder your creative process?

 

[Kelise]

I have, a good writing friend who's online username was fittingly Muse.

We each created half the characters and had rights to be in charge of how they would act. We wrote up a looot of information and swapped it, then planned out the story as a very loose overall basis, then a few characters at a time as we came to writing them, which we did one chapter each then swapped.

It really went fantastically - but it all depends on matching with the right person, who either writes like you do or has differing strengths and weaknesses (one may be good at fight scenes, one at dialogue).

I really miss writing with her - she got too busy with uni and such, and couldn't get online enough to write together, as it does take quite a bit of extra time to make it work together. You can't just write, a lot of time is spent talking things through - at least, the way we did it.

 

[Kate]

I tried this a long time ago for an epic fantasy thing that never eventuated much beyond the planning stage. The planning was kind of fun, there was lots of back and forth, a lot of ideas I might not have gotten to on my own. Very little was actually written though because we couldn't get the plot straight.
Problem was the communication. If it's going to work, communication needs to be crystal clear, I think. There were a few plot developments misinterpreted that caused some difficulty, neither of us agreeing with the other and it all boiled over until neither of us could agree on anything and the whole thing fell apart.

Obviously it works for a lot of people, otherwise there'd be no such thing as co-authoring. Starconstant is right though, it takes the right blend of personalities. And I'm not known to play nicely with others at the best of times!

 

[J. Rosemary Moss]

I really miss writing with her - she got too busy with uni and such, and couldn't get online enough to write together, as it does take quite a bit of extra time to make it work together. You can't just write, a lot of time is spent talking things through - at least, the way we did it

Absolutely!


My experience of collaboration has been entirely positive: I think I've found the ideal writing partner. Alexandra and I have a lot in common--we're both nice Jewish girls living in the greater New York City area, we both have the same tastes in books and TV, and we're both comfortable writing about a culture that significantly more bisexual than ours. But where I like to keep things light, she likes to twist the knife. She brings emotional depth to our story while I keep it from plunging into melodrama.

The story we're working on now (we have more planned) was originally my solo effort. I sent her a scene that was pretty bare-bones--it read like a screenplay. She added the emotional reaction of the POV character. I got it back, and realized that she knows that character better than I do! I still edited out some of what she added, because I thought it was too much. But the result, I think, struck just the right balance and was much more powerful than what I could have written on my own.

Alexandra is also a more sensual writer than I am. She can breathe life into my scenes by adding sensory input--showing us what the characters are tasting or smelling. I too often ignore those senses.

We have another story planned that we brainstormed together. Even in that brainstorming process, I could see how our differing strengths played well together. Now I'm looking forward to finding out how things will work when we hammer out an outline and each work on different scenes. The trick will be to come up with a unified voice. That was easy for the present story, since I had written the majority of it. I think it will be trickier next time, when we're equally responsible for finished project. But I have faith in us!

 

[Map the Dragon]

I did this to great success. My favorite and best short is one I co-wrote with another published fantasy novelist. He actually published a YA Fantasy, and I was a bit more scholary, but we found our co-voice in the piece, a short called "Battle of the Ageless".

While working on our novels, we would share a story over email (we did several); we only briefly dicussed the story direction. Later, we were allowed to write one single-spaced word page before passing on the short. After we concluded and realized a rough draft, we sat down together and edited, made it seamless, and had a ton of fun in the process.

I am not sure I an work like that with others though. He and I worked extensively on each other's novels and knew each other's voices and styles. When we finish our seperate series, we plan to co-write a new one.

 

[At Dusk I Reign]

I can't think of anything worse, to be honest. I tried writing something with my brother many, many years ago but the result was quite terrible. Differences in style were a problem, but my complete inability to accept criticism was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. That's probably why I seldom submit anything I write.

 

[Telcontar]

Tried it once, a long while ago. It was just for some fan fiction, but it ended up a disaster. Turns out that we didn't have similar tastes after all, though our previously shown work seemed to say we did. Needless to say, nothing of that partnership survived very long. I would try to pinpoint what went wrong, but it would be easier to just call it a train wreck and move on. Personality clash, lack of communication from both of us, both wanting to be the one doing the real steering of the plot...

 

[Chilari]

I don't think I could do that. I like to be in control. A few times I've tried collaborating on a webcomic, and one particular time I was the writer and the guy I was working with was the artist, but he wanted to have some input in the story too. We brainstormed for a bit and then I drafted a rough plot, and we made a few changes, until eventually we ended up with a version neither of us were really happy with, and it never got further than that and a few (very good) character drawings. I also was going to collaborate with a writing friend on a Heroes fanfic* at one point, and we discussed the overall plot, but never actually got to writing it, partly because we didn't really have the time and partly because I find it difficult to get motivated about something I am not completely invested in (this becomes a problem when I write essays where I haven't chosen the topic too, and it shows up in my marks).

*We were going to do an alternate season 2, because the real season 2 was rubbish. Among our plans were: Sylar going nuclear on Adam, killing him and in the process destroying most of New Jersey, because nobody likes New Jersey (and this was before we'd heard of Jersey Shore); an epic finale battle with Sylar and some random followers he's convinced to side with him and plans to double cross later, vs Peter, Nathan, Claire, and all the other good guys, in Manhattan, basically destroying that too; and then Sylar, immortal because of Adam, is dropped into an active volcano and buried under lava.

 

[balthore]

I co-wrote a fanfic for Valentines day. I wrote the male side and their quest for the "perfect" gift, and she wrote the women's side. The final part was her writing the aftermath of the gift giving. She wrote the romantic aspect better, and my side was full of angst and conflict (my gift was protected by a nasty swamp, spider, and a shape changing succubus).

It turned out great and was a lot of fun to write. We posted ever other day and alternated postings, so we had about 4 days for each installment.

I haven't tried to write with someone through a mixed plot yet. Not sure how that would work out. I'm an angsty writer and really struggle with any form of romance most times. So if I found someone that could write that part, and still keep the chars running properly, then it might work.

Overall, I prefer to write on my own, but will help others if needed.

 

[TWErvin2]

If I were to co-write a piece intended for publication, whether with a family member, friend or fellow author I met online, I would begin with a contract between us, setting out responsibilities, touching on the submission process/representation, division of royalties and advances, determination as to how rights would be sold/agreed upon, who would 'own the work' if one member should decide to bow out, etc.

It can be a fun and exciting process working with another writer, but it can turn into a long and frustrating process (or worse) if things don't run as smoothly as anticipated or hoped for.

 

[Mythos]

If I were to co-write a piece intended for publication, whether with a family member, friend or fellow author I met online, I would begin with a contract between us, setting out responsibilities, touching on the submission process/representation, division of royalties and advances, determination as to how rights would be sold/agreed upon, who would 'own the work' if one member should decide to bow out, etc.

Orson Scott Card recommends this in his How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy book.

 

[CicadaGrrl]

My first novel was a collaborative effort. I was ten. My best friend and I each made up characters. We actually play acted scenes out each controlling our own characters. She wrote the prequel that I put into into. I wrote the next, which was actually more collaborative. Eventually, the effort broke down. The two books needed to be separated. Even more, we did. I moved towards gut level emotion and detail. She maintains a more classic tone. Our writing just didn't sound right together. But we still write together as writer buddies every week.