Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Co-writing Pro or Con

This is topic Co-writing Pro or Con in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by TruHero (Member # 1766) on :

I had a friend ask me the other day, to work on a story with him. I didn't turn him down, but I didn't say yes either. I am unsure about teaming up with someone to write story. Anybody have any experience with this? Good or bad? I would like some input.

Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :

I just read a section in one of OSC's writing books. He said that colaborations were usually more work than most people realize. The idea is a bit interesting, but I wouldn't want to try it at this point.

Posted by ccwbass (Member # 1850) on :

Gosh - I don't think I would ever want to try it unless the roles were clearly defined, and never shared. Two writers, bad. One writer, one editor, good. It takes, I assume, a heck of a lot of trust, and that comes through just giving it a shot.

Just be sure to be specific about what you won't put up with, work-wise.

Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :

I am currently working on a project with another person. So far we have been at it for about 5 years now, so that may give you something of a clue. There is a great need to be versatile in such a situation i.e. don't be too stubborn about your own ideas - give and take.

Ideally what would happen is the basic outline of the story goes down on paper, and then you decide which bits you each can write. Then once the first draft is up I would suggest one person takes the responsibility for an overall rewrite, after you have both decided what is working and not working.

Anyway enough from me... have fun

Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :

Authors David Weber and Eric Flint collaborated on the novel 1633. In the afterword, Eric Flint talked about collaboration.

You can read the afterword here (The whole novel is actually online for free): http://www.webscription.net/10.1125/Baen/0743435427/0743435427__53.htm

Some excerpts:

quote:
It is one of the pieces of accepted wisdom in fiction writing that stories written in collaboration are almost invariably weaker than stories written by authors working alone. Since I enjoy sticking my thumb in the eye of accepted wisdom, I like to think I've done it again with this book—as well as a number of others I've written in collaboration with several different authors.
I've never really understood the logic of this piece of "wisdom," beyond the obvious technical reality: until the advent of computer word-processing and online communication, collaboration between authors was simply very difficult. I can remember the days when I used to write on a typewriter, and had to spend as much time painfully retyping entire manuscripts just to incorporate a few small changes in the text, as I did writing the story in the first place. (And I'll leave aside the joys of using carbon paper and white-out.) Working under those circumstances is trying enough for an author working alone. Adding a collaborator increases the problems by an order of magnitude.

quote:
I think there are three key ingredients to the skill. The first, and most important, is that the author himself has to want to do it. ...
The second is that you have to choose your partner (or partners) carefully. This has both a personal and a professional side to it. ... [T]hey should be someone whose particular strengths and weaknesses as a writer match up well against your own. ...
Finally, you have to pick the right story. Not all stories lend themselves well to collaboration.

Posted by Jules (Member # 1658) on :

I'd suggest reading this before embarking on a collaboration:

http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc3-1.html

It might put you off the idea, or it might help you make it work. It could go either way...

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

If I did a book with someone--I'D BE IN JAIL. I seriously think I would knock their teeth out.

I have a very distinct voice to my writing, and it drives me bonkers to have someone mess with it.

Shawn

Posted by TruHero (Member # 1766) on :

Thank you to everyone for the input, It is greatly appreciated. EJS & Jules, Thanks for the links.