My husband and I, Tee Morris have been collaborating together many years. First in podcasts, and then in writing. We’ve written 4 novels together (embarking on our 5th) and done countless podcasts together over ten years of knowing each other.
Back then he was just a fellow writer who also loved to podcast, it was only later it became something more…
Naturally, I’m not suggesting you marry your collaborator, but there are some tips that can be useful if your collaborator is your spouse, your friend, or a even a stranger you’ve been teamed up with on a writing project.
- Set a goal. When Tee and I set out to write the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, it was going to a be a podcast that we were going to charge for. Though it changed along they way, when we set out we knew what we were aiming for.
- Set roles. In the Ministry series Tee and I chose to divide the work up, with me writing the female Point of View character, and he writing the male. This was great for when we were initially starting off, and also to tell who had the final say in the chapter. We always switched to edit each others, but the person who wrote the scene had the final say on the piece.
- Be flexible. Things change. Though our initial ‘you write him, and I write her’ scheme worked for the first book, as a ‘Ministry style’ began to evolve we began to become a little more sure of writing in the opposite characters head. Even primitive fish evolved, so can you and your collaborator. Just make sure to talk to out this new direction.
- Be aware of your hard lines. In writing you get very attached to characters, sometimes to the point of obcession. If you have an idea of a character, and you know the things they will and won’t do, then communicate with your collaborator. Getting these laid out in the start of the project is best of all.
- Know how to argue without losing your mind. This might be the hardest to pull off. Trying to keep personal feelings out of writing, which feels like an intensely personal thing, is quite a skill. When you get into an argument, try and think like a professional, and add a dollop of objectivity. By standing outside like this, look in and listen to what your collaborator is saying. Does it advance the plot? Does it make sense in terms of the characters? Is it going to break the suspension of disbelief? Is it necessary? If the answer is ‘no’ then you are free to argue your side from the point of reason rather than feeling, and hopefully your collaborator will be able to put themselves into that ‘outside’ point of view like you just did.
If you have any suggestions for how you’ve learned how to collaborate successfully then please leave them in the comments section!
