Once upon a time two authors decided to write a novel together. It wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be, but they learned alot along the way and remained friends.
This is their ongoing story–their struggles and triumphs as they work together to create a Young Adult Novel.
Join us for a frank discussion of the ins and outs of collaborating and marketing a novel.
Kathleen writes:
We wouldn’t be writing Glitter and Gillyflowers, Memoirs of a Teenage Faerie Godmother (in Training)© if it weren’t for Andrea. It saddens me to think this delightful story might never have been born without her persistence.
How Andrea started it all.
Andi and I have been friends for years. Not only is she a writer, but she’s a fabulous book reviewer. If you haven’t visited her website you should check it out. (See her link in Blogroll) Along with reviews, there are great resources for writers. One morning, out of the blue, she called, worried about me. (She gets some pretty amazing premonitions, intuitions and stuff.) Anyway, it turned out I was fine, so we chatted about a book of mine she’d just reviewed, and then she mentioned that she thought I ought to write a young adult novel.
My sister, Elizabeth Crowe, (english professor and also an author) has been after me for years to write a YA. According to her, even my regular novels have a young adult flavor, and YA style plots. Who knew? Does that mean I haven’t grown up yet, or what?!? Apparently, I was an unbaptized YA writer. I just didn’t know it yet.
So, I said to Andi. “I don’t think I can plot a YA.”
The other end of the telephone line remained unusually quiet for a moment. “What if I plot it and you write it?” And that’s how the idea of writing a book together got started.
She made it sound easy, didn’t she?
It isn’t.
But it is tremendously fun. Once again, that’s thanks to Andrea. So what did we learn today authors and authorettes?
Lesson 1 in successfully collaborating on a novel: pick the right co-author!!!
Did I say that loud enough…maybe not. Pick the right co-author! Otherwise this would be torture. Picking the right co-author is tricky. Andrea and I do not write alike at all. Except for the fact that both of us are visually oriented, our writing styles are very different. That’s part of what makes this partnership work so well. Andi is a diamond mine of ideas and a speedy fast drafter. I am obsessive compulsive about words and how images move on the page.
In every team there must be one member with the final say. Andrea, very graciously, allows me that responsibility. Thank goodness! Otherwise, with my obsessive nature, I would go berserk. I admire her soooo much for being able to turn final control over to me. I simply could not do it.
You’ll hear more later about how well this arrangement works for fast-drafting; how we purposely give Andi’s muse total freedom to dance wherever the music takes her, on top of tables, off stage, in the clouds. We just want her to dance. I play the part of the big bad critic/editor who chisels her delightful raw materials into a functional shape.
In the beginning, we met in Dallas for a two day plotting session. That’s where we figured out how our process would work. It was a total hoot watching Andrea act out potential scenes. I think at various points she got so caught up in it she was jumping on the couch and hiding in the curtains. Oh, it was fun. We had an elephant on a fashion runway and newborn lambs nursing from bottles.
As editor I weigh her ideas, see if they will move the plot along, how they will impact the emotional arc of the characters. I make the fun stuff serve a purpose. Sometimes I have to discard ideas. I imagine that must be very hard for her. But she never complains. I have the best writing partner ever, the RIGHT writing partner. She makes it work.
And my version is the more accurate! Right, Kat?
I’ve long admired Kathleen (Kat to me) and her flair for words. Her word choices are right on, scrumptious and oh, so visual. No reading the next sentence, Kat. The compliment is my version of sucking up so I can get some of my favorite scenes included in the final manuscript.
It’s true, I suggested that Kat write a YA. I love the YA genre and was becoming increasingly upset at the YA’s that crossed my desk for review.
Hey, it’s a harsh and cruel world out there, but why must kids live it in books all the time too? I was reading books that I believed reflected and encouraged behaviors that didn’t jibe with my values (or most people’s values).
Now, my values are not always right, the best, etc. But going to prom and having sex in the back seat of your new date’s car, or watching porn (you know, for research) or perhaps thinking it’s cool to rape your date or maybe have nothing better to do than to treat other girls in a mean-spirited manner, feel that your very existence guarantees you success and entitles you to anything and everything and the ‘parental units’ better cough it up, or else, is not my idea of positive values. Oh they also buy expensive clothes (anything that’s in) and shoes (well, shoes might be off limit here as it took a really big load off me when they found Imelda Marcos’ closet. Suddenly my 110 plus pairs of shoes looked like small potatoes). Anyway, I digress. Shoes do that to me.
But you get the picture. Not fun books. No real entertainment, just a lot of encouragement and positive reinforcement to be a ‘mean’ girl. An ‘it’ girl at everyone else’s expense.
I wanted to read something fun, hopeful, quirky and positive. So I suggested Kat write the YA and somehow I got into the picture. I have to agree with her on her version because I don’t actually remember how that part happened.
My lesson one: It’s not about me! Please repeat. It’s not about me!
I want Glitter and Gillyflowers to be a wonderful and exciting adventure for kids. If I have to have the last word about everything, or have all of my ideas used, and can’t or won’t negotiate, then it’s all about me. And it’s not. It’s about the friendship first and the readers second. Yeah, you heard right. Friendship first, readers second. Because without the friendship, there would be no book and no readers.
This is what I believe: There is nothing more important than my friendship with Kat. Therefore, I might push back in rooting for a scene, or something else, and if it works, she’ll come around. If it doesn’t she won’t. Ultimately, I trust her judgment.
Oh, and yes, while plotting I did jump on the sofa (I really apologize to the hotel we stayed in and refuse to name it because they’re not paying us for advertising for them and I travel a lot and don’t want to find my name on some rowdy person list they may keep).
I acted out scenes and the more Kat laughed, the more outrageous I became. She fueled my thoughts and fired me up. The energy in the room sizzled. My already active imagination revved up and took off down the track and it hasn’t stopped yet.
There’s about 50 pages of fast-tracking left to do and I’m on a forced hiatus (due to a move between my AZ home and MN home) and I am not happy about it.
When next we meet, I will discuss (and answer any questions you might have) fast-drafting. She (Andrea) lifts her hand, her wrist gently breaks and colorful particles fill the air… Glitter folks, glitter. It’s all about the Glitter. (Kat’s about the Gillyflowers).
I promised an entry about fast-drafting, so here it is.
Kat and I plotted Glitter & Gillyflowers over the course of two days. The plot points were specific and all I had to do was study them, let my mind and muse explode and start writing.
Each plot point was written separately. Once I had the plot firmly in my mind (and my cheat sheet handy, because my memory is failing and I dearly hope old age is not setting in prematurely) I wrote and wrote and wrote. I didn’t check for spelling, grammar or anything else. I just wrote.
When each plot point was completed, I set it aside and went on to the next point. And when that was done, I set it aside and reread the first. I added some things, but rarely removed anything because it might help Kat’s imagination and that’s the important thing.
After I had several chapters (two or three fast-drafted) I sent them on to Kat. Then we talked about them. If we came up with additions or changes, she made notes and added or deleted.
I saw her product when she put the ‘meat’ on the bones of my version. I do a quick edit and send it back to her and it sits until we’re done and begin editing from the beginning.
It’s really a simple process that requires good plotting and the freedom to write anything and everything. After all, it can be deleted, expanded upon or moved.
Kat and I are fortunate to love working on different parts of a novel. My imagination is fertile and sometimes over the top. She reigns me in, but my ideas also spur her on.
If we didn’t have the strengths that we do (which are different for each of us) this process would never work.
Sometimes, the product that is returned to me is vastly different from what I sent to her. I have to be able to accept that. I know what I do is of value and spurs her on.
For us, the process is exciting and oh so much fun. I’d love to hear from anyone who uses this process or has any questions.
Andrea answers:
How exciting to see the comments posted and to be able to respond to them. It’s so much fun!
Response to Jamie: Yes, I love shoes! But I also love a bargain, so the two together makes the sun shine for me. You talked about checking out a critique group for a writing partner. I think that’s a great place to start. Actually, Kat and I were in a critique group together when she lived in MN. We remained friends when she moved to Dallas and became a published author. Check out her website: www.kathleenbaldwin.com for her Romantic comedies. They’re so much fun and still available…
Since Kat and I knew each other and had similar interests, values and goals we thought we could write together. After we started our journey we learned (an added bonus) that we each loved a different part of the writing process. And our personalities are such, that we really believe this is a collaboration, so we’re not owning it alone. It’s our bitty baby.
Elysabeth: We had an idea. We hashed it out. Then we plotted and plotted and plotted some more. I’ll write a blog entry to tell you the story about how we started writing one novel and it became a completely different one in the end. So, we both develop the storyline and I write the story from point A to Z. Kat puts the meat on the bones. But oh so much more; she adds, deletes, moves around, pretties it up and makes sure all the elements we need/want are there. Sometimes I don’t even recogonize what I wrote.
David and Lisa: We’re talking about posting little items, but this is a question for our agent. It may be a good thing, but it may not and we’ll defer to the agent’s wishes.
Amanda: Our idea for Glitter and Gillyflowers was a result of the YA novels I was reading for review. See my post about that. We wanted something fun, hopeful, quirky (with a subtle message and overt permission for young girls to be who they are) and G rated.
We began chatting about ideas over the phone. We’d pretty much decided on three girls who’d been friends since kindergarten. And then we threw in the new girl in town. A little romance, a bigger mystery and a whole lot of fantasy.
I winged my way to Dallas (my husband was speaking there) and Kat and I locked ourselves in a hotel room and pounded out the plot, point by point. There were times we didn’t agree. We negotiated. We were not like warring countries. Because we wanted the best for the story.
Next blog: The changing story and what that did to the process and our time line for completion. Andrea sighs.
And that story is for a separate blog.
Kathleen writes:
Isn’t Andrea fun! That’s part of why I enjoy collaborating with her. She’s so vivacious, a whirlwind of energy and ideas. I’m the slow methodical type. We have alot in common with the tortoise and the hare. Except we aren’t racing one another–we utilize our individual strengths. If it were a race she’d win hands down. I’m the slowest writer on the planet.
Some of you have asked if we can post excerpts. Unfortunately, no, I’m sorry, not until we get permission from our future publisher. It would create all kinds of problems when selling our First Rights. Those of you who are writing and posting portions of your stories online, be aware that doing so may cause serious hesitancy in future publishers. However, we may discuss some of the elements in Glitter and Gillyflowers, just not use actual text.
Plotting, well, hhhm, how can I say this… plotting is fun! But it is also extremely hard work. There are two levels of plotting: overview plotting and analytical plotting. It is important to note that there are as many styles of managing plot as there are writers.
People tend to divide writers into two categories: Pants-ers and Plotters. This can be misleading. A Pantser is someone who flies by the seat of their pants when it comes to plot. A plotter lays it all out ahead of time. But there are varying degrees of both of these traits.
None of you will be surprised to learn that Andrea is a pantser. Spontaneous and wildly imaginative, she can take a lose idea, sit down and zoom over the keyboard. What may surprise you is that I consider myself a pantser as well. Pre-plotting too much of the story kills the creative juices for me.
For our book, however, we had to do some plotting or we would have been lost as writing partners. We went at it from different points of view. Andi has a knack for plotting the external action and events of the story. How she just comes up with this fun stuff is something only she can explain. Ask her! I know she’d love to explain.
I’m all about the emotion in a story. I generally use a very powerful tool called the character arc. If you aren’t familiar with character arcs you might want to read Robert McKee’s book, Story, a comprehensive post-grad level manual on plotting. [McKee is a screenplay doctor who really knows his stuff.]
In Glitter and Gillyflowers we have a very complicated set-up and my character arc technique alone wasn’t going to do the job. So, I also use my own version of Scene and Sequel [similar to Dwight Swain’s famous method] to manage the dilemmas and reactions. Plot, for me, is all about the emotional shifts of the characters. Essentially, IMHO, a good story shows the reader how events changed a character’s emotions and outlook.
I analyze each of our scenes as I’m coming up on it to see where the characters are going emotionally. With five main characters it’s alot to keep track of. So, yes, I use a spreadsheet to analyze the development of our characters. Doing all this analysis is hard for a pantser like me, but it’s necessary for the book.
We can discuss more about scene analysis later if anyone is interested. If you are, say so, because I figure most writers aren’t that interested in it, even though it can really boost your writing to a higher level. The main thing to understand is that plotting has two aspects: Action/Event overview and Emotional Analysis.
You see how Andrea and I having different plotting styles is another beneficial difference that works well for our writing relationship. Hhhmm… do you smell a theme here? Our differences are as important as our similarities.
When collaborating we don’t want Andrea, our creative drafter, to do analytical plotting. We want her free to twirl with joy and plot wild action. I’m constantly amazed at what she comes up with.
Later, even if some elements don’t seem to fit right where they are in the plot, I might find a way to use her exciting innovations later in the story. Or, we’ll save them for book 2. Sometimes her ideas simply need altered to make them work. If you are writing alone, give yourself the freedom to plot wild when you are drafting. Sometimes magic happens when you take a way-out idea and make it work in the plot.
Occasionally I get stumped for fresh ideas when I’m in analytical-editor mode. Then I use my handy-dandy Write-fresh tool. You’ll find it explained on my website under the articles for writers: Write_fresh.pdf
For you brave and loyal bloggers, if you’ll email me through my contact page I’ll be happy to send you a free word doc of the worksheet I use for My Magic Idea Jump-starter. Just put Idea Jumpstarter in the text so I’ll know what you want.
I’m in a bad, bad place for a writer. I’ve allowed life to get in the way, especially those pesky emotions of mine, and I haven’t been spending the time I should and want to at the computer writing.
This morning I started out really strong and wrote for a couple of hours. Then nothing. The muse that earlier exploded, fizzled like a spent rocket on the fourth of July.
But writing is my job and I set aside the entire day to write. And I was determined to sit there. And write. Even if it killed me (and it almost did). I sat, and sat and sat. Nothing. No muse, no energy, no excitement.
After about an hour I began considering ways I could successfully blow up the computer. Then I’d call Kat and say, “Can’t work. Computer blew up. Wierdest thing. Have no idea what happened. Going shopping. There are shoes that need a good home. Update at eleven. If the shoes are really cool, there will be film.”
I really beat myself up. Until I decided it was okay to shut down the computer and my mind. I would write later. It’s not going to help the process if I fight myself, get upset and then shop. It’s only going to give me an upset stomach, more shoes than I need (and that’s already my reality) and it will definitely deplete the checkbook. You’d understand if you could see my closet.
So I took a walk. And I thought about nature and people and situations and you know what? A couple of problems in the book were solved. And all it took was giving myself permission to get up and walk away. Do something else. And while I wasn’t at the computer, I was writing… In my mind.
I’m refreshed. So, now I can physically write. And I’m looking forward to it. But first I’m going to show off the open-toed heels I bought (black and white and so classy), then I’ll celebrate further with chocolate. Whoops! Is this a sign that I’m still procrastinating?
What do you do when you want and need to write, but just can’t?
I discovered something really important yesterday. Well, it was my husband who pointed it out, but if I hadn’t supplied the clues, he wouldn’t have come to the conclusion he did.
My part of writing Glitter and Gillyflowers is the fast-drafting (and the quirky, over-the-top situations). I’m about 30 pages from the end and I CAN NOT FINISH IT.
I’ve been at the computer, but mostly I’ve been answering emails, checking out our Armchair Interviews reviewers blogs, other fun blogs and playing games.
After supplying my husband (aka BP) with enough clues, he announced that he thought I was avoiding finishing the project. I’ve had such a wonderful time, and I don’t want it to end. I’m grieving.
I hate to admit it, but he’s right. Kat and I have had a blast figuring this book out. It’s changed so much from it’s beginning. Our friendship has grown, my excitment level and imagination have been at full tilt and it will soon be over. And I Don’t Like That.
I thought about it today (went to a movie with BP and it was not a fun movie - Georgia Rules) and decided; The sooner I finish the book, the sooner we can start the next.
Now how simple is that? Let’s see what happens when I sit down to write on Monday (this weekend is family time).
Oh, on a personal note; today we learned our daughter Alia is having a baby girl. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to go shopping. All those clothes and baby shoes! Hey, even a baby needs shoes. And I know where there are some pretty good deals.
Andrea mentioned writer’s block. And it was great that Bob helped her diagnose it. If you’re a writer, (unless you’re Dean Koontz who evidently is immune to this disease,) you’ve experienced “Writer’s Block.”
How do you deal with yours?
I spend too long trying to convince myself I don’t have it. Oh, I’ll write–I force myself to write even when I have it. BUT, (did I mention how slow I am) instead of writing with the speed of a box turtle, I’ll plod along like a garden snail. (Yeah, one of those teeny tiny varieties.)
For me, the first clue that I have writer’s block is pain.
Instead of feeling joy when I write, I feel pain, a feeling of drudgery, or a lack of enthusiasm. If I’m smart I stop right then and deal with the block. My most effective cure: Morning Pages. I learned about morning pages through a class I took on “The Artist’s Way.” The point of morning pages is to write a minimum of 3 handwritten pages in a notebook. These are supposed to be honest free flowing thoughts. Ideally, these pages are about whatever thoughts are occupying your mind at the time.
I find three pages aren’t quite enough, but I have large handwriting. By the fourth or fifth page the problem is rolling onto the paper. Usually my problem is something I didn’t suspect. I’ll be honest here–blocks can be caused by worries with the kids, money problems, marriage, professional envy, fear of failure, uncertainty, fear of success…the list is long.
Toward the end of writing my morning pages, I find it turning into something akin to a prayer journal, or a conversation with God. In those pages I’ve often received life-changing counsel. And my writer’s block is dissolved. I had a wonderful moment like this just last week.
Okay, that’s my solution. Now, it’s only fair that y’all share yours…
we’d love to hear how you resolve your writer’s block.
I wonder how much sleep affects writer’s block? I slept in this morning and experienced a very productive writing day. I wrote six strong usable pages where I can normally only get three or four. Yes, Yes, I know some of you write ten or twenty pages everyday. I admit it–I’m jealous of you prolific folks. And no, I’ll never be as fast as you are.
Here’s the thing: whether you write twenty pages or three, I bet it comes easier to a rested mind. Granted sometimes when I’m tired I’ve written some wildly free-flowing stuff. Evidently neural synapses fire past normal pathways when tired. But on rested days I get far more solid consistent production.
So let’s recap Cures for Writer’s Block:
Still open to more ideas…blog us yours