Collaborative Efforts

[Paradox 99]

A few months ago, I got quite excited about an idea for a novel and so, like I usually do, I sat down to work out the structure for the storyline.
Having come up with the outline, I shared the basic plot with my wife (Ruth)and my ideas on what some of the characters would be like. She really liked the idea.
In fact, she liked it enough to ask if she could help me write it.

I'm really excited about the thought of writing this book with her. I know she's got talent that she's never really explored thoroughly where writing is concerned.

So, on to my point - We've worked out a rough strategy on how we're going to do this, but I wondered how many of you here have done this sort of thing before. How many of you have written a book alongside someone else? And if you have, are there any major pitfalls we should be looking out for? Is there any advice you can offer?

p.s. the first 2 chapters are already written, and I'll be posting them in bits for critiquing here in the not too distant future.

 

[j d worthington]

Have only done this sort of thing as a lark, many years ago. I've come across different writers on the subject, and in some cases it's a wonderful partnership that lasts, in others it's a pain in the neck. A good way to see both is -- I know I mention the name a lot, but his work is really informative for writers in a lot of ways -- Harlan Ellison's Partners in Wonder, which is a book of stories written in collaboration with several other writers (14, if I recall correctly), including information on how the story came to be written, who put in what, how it affected the relationship between them, etc. It's had several printings, and may not be very difficult to find on the 'net. A lot of writers' handbooks also address collaboration, though usually from a technical standpoint; sometimes they also include good insights on what to watch for, what to avoid, and what seems to work really well when collaborating with others, both close-up and long-distance.

 

[CarlottaVonUberwald]

my only advice is..if dissagreements accurr and neither of you want to budge take a short break...

rubbish but it will stop you killing each other

 

[jenna]

i've not done a collaboration on a story, but i did do one on a teleplay with my sister. it actually worked really well (even though we didn't win the comp we entered, but pffft they just didn't know genius when they saw it lol!!). we came up with the vague idea together, then i went away and came up with a really detailed idea for the plot, and wrote out a treatment (ideas are my speciality - my story idea folder is chocka-block). then my sister wrote the actual script off that and emailed it to me, and we sent it back and forth for a while with different edits and ideas.

i think it can be interesting collaborating, but you have to make sure you're not afraid to hurt each others feelings by saying that the other person's ideas are crap or won't work. because if you're too scared to do that, i don't think you're going to get very far!

 

[Paradox 99]

Thanks for the advice, all.
As I suspected, it sounds as though the hardest hurdle is how we respond to each others' criticism. She's been checking over my stuff for a while - she's not afraid to let me know if she thinks something is rubbish and I agree with what she comes up with 90% of the time.
It'll be interesting to see if she responds the same way to her own writing.
We'll have to wait and see.
And thanks j.d., I'll go check those out too.

 

[bendoran]

never been involved in something like that to the same extent you are talking about. But i try to get me GF to be involved in my writing by bouncing ideas off of her and getting grammar checks when she has the time. It works really well most of the time.

All i wanted to say was, good luck