{"id":2372,"date":"2012-04-20T09:28:09","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T13:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/?p=2372"},"modified":"2012-05-31T14:16:16","modified_gmt":"2012-05-31T18:16:16","slug":"stop-collaborate-listen-five-points-about-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/2012\/04\/stop-collaborate-listen-five-points-about-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop, Collaborate & Listen: Five Points about Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lisa L. Hannett<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Angela Slatter<\/a>\u00a0are both Australia-based speculative fiction writers.\u00a0Hannett is the author the short story collection\u00a0Bluegrass Symphony<\/span>\u00a0and Slatter is the authorof Sourdough and Other Stories<\/span>,\u00a0The Girl with No Hands & Other<\/span>, and\u00a0Black-Winged Angels<\/span>.\u00a0They are currently collaborating on\u00a0Midnight and Moonshine<\/span>, a collection of stories due out in November 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

For the most part, writing is a solitary activity. An idea strikes and you mull it over, jot notes, think about character and setting and plot. You may surround yourself with the company of other people, other writers \u2014 go to workshops and critique groups, to coffee shops with your laptop, or travel with notebook in hand \u2014 but when it comes to turning vague ideas into a story, when it comes to actually writing<\/em>, it\u2019s all about you and the blank page. No net.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Writers often prefer it this way. Some of us are natural introverts; we like solitude and the quiet processes of creating narratives, well-turned phrases, and engaging characters. Many of us squeeze writing in between jobs, family life, friends \u2014 so we steal a few moments out of our days to retreat into our imagined worlds. Others simply like to keep their work to themselves until it\u2019s completely polished, until all the embarrassing plot-holes are filled and the clunky writing all tightened up. Also, the majority of writers are control freaks \u2014 we are gods in our own little cosmos.<\/p>\n

When we think of writers, the image is of someone hunched over a typewriter or laptop, maybe in a garret, or a lavish library, but always alone \u2014 and always churning out a bestseller, of course!<\/p>\n

So people are always curious to find out how the collaboration process works for us. How do we work together to create a cohesive narrative? How do we blend our styles and voices? How do we decide what stays and what goes? What happens if there\u2019s a disagreement? Is it quills at twenty paces? We\u2019ve talked a lot about why this works for us and for today, we\u2019ve narrowed the collaboration process down to five points\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>How does the process actually work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We usually start with an idea sparking an excited What if?<\/em> discussion; an image or concept that leads to a flurry of questions like, \u201cwhat if this<\/em> happened\u201d and \u201cwhat if she does this<\/em>\u201d and \u201cwhat if they do this<\/em> because of that<\/em> \u2014 oooh, and then that<\/em>\u2026\u201d This ultimately shapes the story\u2019s plot. Since we live on opposite sides of the country, this is done via email, text messages, Skype or phone. Next, notes are compiled and shared so we\u2019re both on the same page. From there, one of us will start a draft of the story \u2014 and how far we go with each draft changes from story to story. If we\u2019re feeling inspired, we might scribble down a whole draft before we send it on; if not, we write until the words run out. Sometimes the story comes out chronologically, but sometimes we\u2019ll build it all out of sequence, jumping between early scenes and later ones, until the whole thing comes together. The story flies back and forth until it\u2019s done.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Brainstorming<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coming up with ideas doesn\u2019t necessarily stop after the initial session. One of the best parts about collaborating is that you have someone to bounce ideas off of, which is fantastic when you can\u2019t figure out what happens next. Both of you have a vested interest in the story, so mid-writing brainstorming can be really productive. When the story starts to take on a life of its own, no amount of planning can prevent the tale going where it needs to go, so it\u2019s great to have someone to talk to about where it goes from here<\/em>\u2026 The excitement of starting a new story is multiplied when you work with someone else \u2014 and even better, when you hit a snag, your writing partner is there to cheer you on.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Not being precious<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing with someone else means that you can\u2019t be precious about what you\u2019ve written. You have to be willing to let them change words, phrases, paragraphs and even whole scenes. Darlings may be killed and details added or deleted. The wonderful metaphor you spent hours polishing simply might not work once they\u2019ve tweaked the context. The story belongs to both of you, and any changes are not personal insults \u2014 they are making the tale the best it can be in and of itself. So before you embark on a collaborative project, you should have established one important thing:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

You will never be able to let someone else \u201ckill your darlings\u201d if you don\u2019t trust their writing and editing skills. We forged this in a Clarion crit-pit and built upon an initial respect for each other\u2019s writing, then learned to be better editors from being first readers and editing for each other. The fact that we\u2019re friends helps, and the fact that we know we\u2019re both really serious about good editing and good writing. Our separate works are very different \u2014 Bluegrass Symphony<\/em> is not Sourdough<\/em> and the two could never be mistaken for each other \u2014 but when we write together the effect is a seamlessly blended third voice.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like all good relationships, the secret is communication: talk about the process beforehand but also while it\u2019s happening, so there\u2019s an ongoing dialogue. In addition to chatting and emailing, we use track changes and comment bubbles \u2014 the best invention ever \u2014 to explain why we\u2019re changing something, to make sure we each know the overarching concepts and can maintain the same goals for the story. Be flexible; there needs to be \u201cgive and take\u201d to collaboration, and if you feel strongly about something then be prepared to compromise on another aspect of the story. Trust your co-author and think carefully about whether it\u2019s worth fighting over the placement of a semi-colon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lisa L. Hannett\u00a0and\u00a0Angela Slatter\u00a0are both Australia-based speculative fiction writers.\u00a0Hannett is the author the short story collection\u00a0Bluegrass Symphony\u00a0and Slatter is the authorof Sourdough and Other Stories,\u00a0The Girl with No Hands & Other, and\u00a0Black-Winged Angels.\u00a0They are currently collaborating on\u00a0Midnight and Moonshine, a collection of stories due out in November 2012. For the most part, writing is a solitary activity. An idea strikes and you mull it over, jot notes, think about character and setting and plot. You may surround yourself with the company of other people, other writers \u2014 go to workshops and critique groups, to coffee shops with your laptop, or travel with notebook in hand \u2014 but when it comes to turning vague ideas into a story, when it comes to actually writing, it\u2019s all about you and the blank page. No net. Writers often prefer it this way. Some of us are natural introverts; we like solitude and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[87,92,91],"tags":[135,129,8,134,6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2372"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2678,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2372\/revisions\/2678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}