Guest Post: How to Co-Write a Novel
By Sarah Anderson and Ashley Lindsay
Our co-writing journey began almost by accident—a joint story written for a school assignment over a decade ago that morphed into an entire series of collaboratively written novels. While co-authoring might not work for everyone, we are here to tell you that the experience can be rewarding, productive, and even make you a better writer. Here are our tips for writing a collaborative novel.
The Co-Author: Finding the right collaborator
Picking the correct writing partner can make or break a collaborative project. After all, you will have to pen thousands of words together, criticize each other’s work, and make a lot of creative decisions as a team, so choose wisely. There’s no sure-fire way to choose a co-writer but make sure you both know how the writing arrangement is going to work and that you have the same goals—set out these expectations from the beginning.
Planning and Plotting: A shared novel requires a shared vision
I know a lot of writers don’t necessarily plan out their novels. And that’s fine when you’re working on a solo project. But, for a collaborative project, the planning phase is crucial. It’s when you meld all your ideas together to form a joint vision. We do this in two phases. Firstly, we set out the overall story with the major plot points and character arcs. Secondly, we set out a more detailed chapter-by-chapter plan. Without a plan, it’s easy to accidently write plot holes, create inconsistencies, and cause unintentional disagreements about the direction of the project.
Getting it Down: Writing the first draft
Once you have a plan, it’s time to put it into action. There may be adjustments you have to make along the way, and that’s okay. When we write, we allow for flexibility because we know that not everything goes exactly as planned. But how do you do that as collaborative partners? We give each other time to write, even if that means waiting a week or two before you can start a subsequent chapter. And, during the writing phase, if an idea springs to mind and the chapter takes an unexpected turn, we let our partner know and discuss any implications this might have for the greater storyline.
Smoothing it Over: Revising your work
The editing process is crucial when you’re cowriting. Editing each other’s work helps to blend your styles and work out any kinks or flaws. We take turns to edit—one person does the first round of edits, and then the next person takes over, and so on and so forth until you find neither of you are making substantial changes anymore. If there’s a piece that’s going to require a significant amount of rewriting, we usually discuss this and attempt to identify why we feel it’s not working for us. Talking it over with your partner can give you extra insight before attempting to rewrite a large portion of your work.
Troubleshooting Disagreements: What to do if you’re not on the same page
Hopefully, if you’ve been open and communicative during the process, this won’t happen very often. But every relationship has its ups and downs, and it’s not always smooth sailing. Remember what we said about shared vision? This means negotiating with your partner until you arrive at a solution where everyone is happy. Sticking to your guns never works and is ultimately detrimental to the quality of the book. If someone is bringing something up, there’s usually a reason for it. Maybe their solution to fixing the issue isn’t gelling with you. In this case, see if you can think of a range of options, and maybe consider combining elements of each until you settle on something you both agree with.
Our Final Word on Cowriting
Cowriting a novel can be hard—letting go of control and sharing a creative work comes with challenges. But with the right amount of planning, and ensuring you have a process in place will help you navigate any troubles along the way. We find cowriting to be fun and enjoyable, and we hope with these tips, you will too.