Collaboration

[faith_king]

I realized yesterday I haven't updated in almost a month. Bad LJer! Ah well, such is life

Comments

Appropriate icon is appropriate.

[laura_josephsen]

I laughed so hard at your blah blah "exposition." I loved that editing time of book 3, too--it was the first time where we saw each other write our series in person. Like, we'd go, "We need a scene here," and take turns writing them--or work on two computers--and I remember one scene, you were like, "I've got it," and I opened my mouth to make a suggestion, but you were typing away and what you were writing was brilliant, and it was the moment I realized that I trusted you with the story a million percent, no questions--whereas with other stories that were just mine, I might be like 'no, no, this is exactly how it needs to go.' Not sure if that makes sense, but it was the realization that we read each other's minds, more or less, on a lot of things with our series. :p

Oh, also, I'm still the same way about "wry." I wrote it a couple of times in my last books and each time made me kind of squirm internally. ;)

Re: Appropriate icon is appropriate.

[faith_king]

We've had something special, and no mistake. :-)

(I kinda think both the "blah blah" and the wry stories would make great cartoons for your blog. In which depiction I would probably be sprawled on the floor playing with one of your kids' toys while I listened to you read) ;-)

[melyanna]

I do hope I can get to the point where I'm actively writing more for this - I occasionally feel guilty that you're doing so much of the lifting. But like you said, I'm trying to get through a complicated solo project before summer hits (new goal!). I'm a third through the outline and coming up to parts that are either well-planned or largely written already, so fingers crossed.

As for being willing to give things up, one thing I definitely learned with Ren is to tell your cowriter(s) when you're feeling dogmatic about something and when you're not. And when you are, to be ready to back it up with logic. Lots of logic. ;) And sometimes, when there are conflicting opinions, it can be useful to try finding a third option that everyone can agree with.

Lesson #2 was if something sounds odd, ask for elaboration. Most of the conflicts we had in Ren could probably be traced to someone not understanding what someone else had said.

My very favorite is the combining of two of our starting characters into one character.I just remembered

[faith_king]

I just remembered your new name for him and started laughing so hard I cried. Again. ;)

It's kind of sad that neither of us has come up with it before. ;-)

[melyanna]

Normally I can't support portmanteaus, but apparently I'm good with anything with this particular character. ;)

[shadow2serenity]

Eh, don't feel bad, LJ has been dead on arrival for months now. Just think, come a day you and every co-author you've ever had will be co-writing your autobiography, "The Thing Thing." Teehee. Okay, maybe not for reals.