Writing with a partner

[Frank]

I'm new here so I hope this post is in the right play and some of the group members may find it of interest. I have a guest post over at The Cellophane Queen about writing Duck Blood Soup where I talk about solving the problem of writing with a partner 1500 miles and two time zones apart by using techniques we learned as engineers.
http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/2013/01/...

[William]

Nice post Frank.

I've only really done one collaboration, on a novella, and that involved synchronizing 4 of us... me in Canada, Steve Lockley in England, Scott Nicholson in the USA and Steven Savile in Sweden.

Getting the writing itself done was relatively simple as we each wrote until we felt "done" and passed it on to the next in line. The hardest bit was in the editing, to smooth out each of our 'voices' to make a single smooth reading experience.

Willie

[DavidO]

Sounds like the kind of thing that would drive people crazy!

[Frank]

Not really. We tended to stick to the same plot lines so the character's voices didn't really change. We also passed the chapters back and forth so many times that now when I reread the book, I have a hard time remembering who originally wrote what pieces.

[Jeremiah]

I have very much the same experience rereading the book I wrote with a partner.

We didn't have the same hurdles you are describing. We lived close at the time and there were only two of us.

Partners are great for

[Jeremiah]

... fact-checking and motivation.

After working with a partner, are you more or less likely to do it again?

[Frank]

We've started the plotting on a sequel. Right now it's all just for fun. We've gotten some good feedback on Duck Blood Soup but the actual sales have yet to explode.

[Jeremiah]

That's pretty much where we're at with our book, too. We just started talking about a sequel yesterday. Books sell books.

Congrats on the Duck Blood Soup. I always liked the blend of science and magick.

[Frank]

If you know anyone who might be interested in it and doesn't mind risking $3.99 on an unknown, feel free to pass on DBS to them.

[Jeremiah]

Will do.

@William - I'm impressed that you could organize that many partners from such a distance. Would you do that again? Did you Skype or some other conferencing software?