Co-writing

Co-writing can be difficult if you and your cohorts aren't in sync.  I'm currently co-writing two projects; one has proven difficult while the other not so much.

I talked about this anthology I've written with my wife.  It's currently finished and we're going through the editing process; which, when co-writing, takes a bit longer than if you were doing it solo.  This book was started because we thought it'd be a fun thing to do together.  Although I'm proud of the stories within the book, the process of writing it all was far from fun for me.  Like people who build together, we haven't exactly seen eye to eye on what should happen when and why along with what should stay and what should go.  There was more of a rush in writing this book, as opposed to a blueprint we agreed on and worked for.  She did a pass through the book, now I'm currently doing my pass, and then we'll sit together and do the final edit before we figure out our publishing route.  There were stories I felt would be better taken out and fleshed out into its own thing while she wanted them to stay.  It's been a real head-butter but when you read the book, it won't even be apparent; but, then again, you rarely see the trouble gone through to get a project done.  Our real struggle had come from idea vs execution; I'm at home writing full time while she has a full time job.

The other project I'm currently co-writing is with a friend of mine and it's flowing just fine.  We throw ideas at each other and some stick, some don't.  Something that turns out to be a BIG thing in our story was something she pitched to me kinda halfheartedly, thinking I'd brush it off, but I loved it and we've been working with it.  It's kind of a real genre mashup in ways and her suggestion weaved in another genre seamlessly.  Usually when we throw ideas at each other, we include several choices and then it goes from there.  When something's rejected, it comes with a reason; "Eh, I don't think that would work because of *this*."

Now, these two projects are far apart in what they are and the processes involved so I can't compare them beyond the fact that they're both co-written.  I'm proud of both, the one completed and the one still in progress, regardless of what the process entails.  I think the process of co-writing will change from project to project and from co-writer to co-writer.

Because I'm home all the time writing and my wife isn't, I grew pissy pretty quick with having to do what I felt was "the bulk of the work" because my wife didn't have the time to devote to it.  Again, she has a full time draining job.  That was the idea vs execution argument as she argued that she was coming up with a lot of ideas and I would say "Yes, but I'm doing the actual writing".  She did sit down and put in the work though; it was just odd timing to what I was doing.  BUT the book is done and I think whatever we come to a decision on the final edit will look great and I'm very excited for you guys to see it.

My other co-writer and I live cities away and we can't ever get together, so everything is done through email, Facebook, and phone calls.  She has a job and children so she has a full life she's trying to weave around to work on the project.  We're not rushing the project, we just want it to be perfect and do what we want it to do. 

With both of these projects, one thing is constant and that's the fact that I have a mountain of other things I'm working on and my co-writers have their own responsibilities to deal with so it's always a juggling act.  I'm always learning and I love that.  I don't think I ever want to get to a point some day when my career is in actual full swing where I feel like I can't learn anymore and I'm just writing by route.  I always want to learn something new and improve.  Right now, among other things, I'm learning the co-writing process and realizing that just because I can sit here and hammer things out doesn't mean they have that same luxury, with everyone's lives being different. 

There are boundaries and limits and others' aren't the same as yours.  I'm learning the same thing in my personal life as well.

In hindsight, I should've set aside designated time between my solo projects and projects with others so I'm not being pulled this way and that.  Another thing learned to keep in mind for the future.