Joys and Wails of Co-Writing You want to write a story and decide that two minds would be better than one. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Huddling with a fellow author over the basic premise, trying to determine genre, theme, plot, character names and description? The collaboration is indeed fun, and also, packed with challenge.
What, for example, if both of you are enamored with history, or science fiction or the idea of saving the world from disaster? Countless issues remain. The history of which era and which country? is it SciFi with robots, or outer space and life on another planet? Does disaster mean the death of a president or, or of a marriage, or perhaps total apocalypse? And who is the target audience, the ones who will be intrigued enough to actually purchase? After all, we write to be read, don't we? Or do we?
The writers agree on a genre. Fine, first hurdle already jumped. (And it's biggie, one that Rick and I had to face.) Let's presume both writers understand story structure, plot points, the ebb and flow of conflict, action and reaction. A major benefit, right? Life is good... especially if other positives include a facility with words, the ability to use correct grammar and reasonably accurate punctuation.
What's left to decide? The core story, of course. Hooks, plot points, the final outcome. More difficult than you'd believe for two individuals to agree on these crucial concerns So what next?
Suppose one of you is a pantser and the other dotes on detailed outlines. (A little weed pokes up it's head and glowers.) Then, say one prefers the emotional intensity of 1st person, while the other glories in the freedom of 3rd. (A second wiggly weed). One writer lives for elegant description, the other prefers tight and succinct. One is verbose and philosophical, the other terse and to the point. One uses proper English, the other loves slang. Yeeks, the garden of co-creation is suddenly choking with weeds.
Let's say that one writer enjoys quirky humor, the other craves intensity. One writes hard and fast, the other more slowly, editing as she goes. One writes to deadline, the other waits for the spirits to move. Serious incompatibilities, right?
Who survives in your story, and who does not? Who gets the money or the girl, who remains poor and alone? Who saves the world and himself, who saves the world and loses himself? Sex scenes – yes or no? Written primarily for male readers, or female? Are there physical confrontations? Any actual fights? Is there violent death and if so, how will you write it? In fact, which of you will write it?
Is it possible for co-authors to sit together at the keyboard, literally writing in concert? Do you even want to? Maybe scenes are written in solitude and shared in dropbox. Or maybe you meet for coffee and sessions of reading aloud.
No right answers. So what to do? Compromise, obviously, which easier said than done. Face it, a character is either in first person, or not. Speaks with an educated vocabulary, or not. Is either snarky, or not. Wins or fails. Survives or dies. Is part of series, or is a one off, no sequel intended . As co-authors, whose name comes first on the cover? How do you choose that cover and, indeed, the title itself? Has one writer done more marketing than the other, and thus brought in more sales? And then there's the money from those sales. Do you share fifty-fifty, or does one writer believe he has contributed more to the writing and editing process? Yet, the other may have contributed abstract value, dominated as you moved from premise to concept, from vague outline to delineated scenes. Or not.
I finish with this. Editing with a co-writer vs. editing alone is like leaf blower vs. rake. Use help, or power it alone. Care to comment?
Dixie P.
All Dolled Up and Ready to Read.
Studies have shown the importance of reading to our children.
What happened to cowriter Jamie Brownlee?
All good things, actually. For one, she fell madly in love and got married. I attended the wedding. Good guy, right guy for her. Good fit, good body, too, which never hurts. But living with a mate most certainly realigns priorities.
Then, too Jamie took on new jobs with powerful responsibilities. She's also the family guru who leans in to solve all familial concerns, or to soothe feelings when she cannot.
Oh, yeah – she added in the little matter of her doctorate to complete within X number of years. I'm overjoyed to announce the years have passed and that PhD is in her hands. All good, and she has turned her glance back towards the stories she so loves to write.
Last we talked, she was working out the plot and characters for a new novel. I'll report more as it comes. But hey guys, Jamie's around. And I love her to pieces. Same as my new coauthor, Rick Lance, who inspires me by a uniqueness I hadn't expected.
I mean really. Who could have ever anticipated Hawkeye Spotter?