Ten Tips for Successful Collaboration

Other than parenting, I can’t think of anything else that is more difficult for two people to share than one writing project.  But when it’s done right, when everything works, the results are amazing. I've had the pleasure of collaborating with several other writers over the years, mostly on screenplays but also on a couple of books, and they have all been satisfying experiences.

Craig Wargo was the first writer I worked with on screenplays, and we wrote several during the years we worked together. In the course of our writing partnership, we came up with these tips for a successful collaborative effort as a handout for a workshop we presented at a film conference.

• While writing fiction, both writers must have an equal understanding of the plot, the characters, and the character arc. That will avoid costly mistakes later. 
• Both writers must have the same vision for the direction of the story. Otherwise it would be like two people trying to get to a destination while following two different maps.  
• One writer should not object to a scene, character, or the way something is written without first being able to clarify why they object, and secondly having an alternative ready to offer. This ensures careful, well thought out criticism. 
• Don't count words or pages, or try to measure individual input in concrete terms. You could destroy the partnership by trying to keep all things equal. 
• Be flexible, frank, yet kind. Respect each other's talents and feelings. 
• To get the most out of brainstorming sessions, don't stop to evaluate as you go along  - just keep the ideas flowing.   
• Decide with each new project who is going to have the final say if you reach an impasse on a major decision. 
• Have periodic reviews of the state of the project, as well as the partnership in general. 
• Always let your partner know if something is coming up in your personal or business life that is going to affect the partnership. 
• Relax, laugh a lot, and have a good time.

I continued to keep those in mind as I worked on a few screenplays, "Holding Point," "Bunker Knows," and "Broadway's Finest" with Stephen Marro, a producer/director in New York, and again when I collaborated with Gary Martin on "The Benign," a ghost story set in East Texas. The guidelines served us well, as all of those efforts were mutually pleasant and creatively satisfying.

Going into my first collaboration on a novel, the guidelines were again most helpful. When I first met Margaret Sutton and we decided to write a book together, all I could think of was “The Odd Couple.” Not that either of us matched the personality types of Felix and Oscar, but we certainly were as opposite as opposite could get. How could a humor columnist, who was known as the Erma Bombeck of Plano, Texas, and an entrepreneur whose writing credentials included invoices, business letters, and a single sale to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine turn out anything even remotely appealing to fans of hard-boiled crime fiction?

Finding our way from that awkward beginning to the publication of Doubletake, a police procedural featuring a female homicide detective, was a most interesting journey. I juggled five young children and a weekly deadline at a newspaper, as well as numerous freelance writing gigs. Margaret juggled a manufacturing business and a busy social life.

I had no social life. I had five kids. :-)

But somehow we made it, mainly because we were able to put ego aside and focus on the story.

A writing partnership that is a complement of talents is a real gift. In the two years we worked on Doubletake, I noticed that Margaret’s strengths bolstered my weaknesses and my strengths bolstered hers. Each of us brought something unique and special to the process and, now, reading through the book, I’m never sure where one of us left off writing and the other began. I couldn’t look at a chapter and tell you specifically who wrote which section. I may know who started a chapter. Margaret does have a wonderful way of setting up memorable secondary characters - the introduction of the irascible Dr. Davis is uniquely hers - but beyond that, the lines blur; which is a very good thing. Even though quilts play a central part in the plot, I’d hate to think the book resembled one.

That balance/blend of writing strengths was very evident in my other partnerships, as well. Craig was a master of characterization. Stephen was a master at unique storylines, and Gary was a master at setting a scene. One of my greatest strengths as a writer is writing good dialogue, followed closely by my ability to set up good pacing. All of these strengths coming together to create a story was an awesome experience.

I've worked on two other books with another writer, the nonfiction history books about Winnsboro, TX that I wrote with the Winnsboro Historian, Bill Jones; Images of America: Winnsboro and Reflections of Winnsboro. That process was much different from writing fiction, so we didn't need all those guidelines, but we did establish early on that we should have mutual respect. Not that it needed to be said or put on paper.

It was a given.

I've had the greatest respect for Bill and his long career as a historian and journalist, and he has had the same kind of respect for my somewhat shorter career as a journalist. Plus we can laugh a lot when working together. He does like to tell a good joke.

What about you? Have you collaborated with another writer? Was is a good or not-so-good experience? If you haven't worked with another, would you consider doing so?

Posted by Maryann Miller  You can find out more about Maryann, her books, and her editing services on her Website and her Amazon Author Page, read her Blog, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. Her online workshop on self-editing, part of a series of online writing workshops from Short And Helpful, can be found HERE