Committment and Co-Authoring

I am famous for not following through with the millions of projects that I start (as you can probably tell by the fact that I haven’t posted in so long). It is not something I am proud of, but rather something I have been working on fixing.

One of the most frustrating experiences I can imagine is trying to write a book. Fun, yes – exhilarating at times. But often frustrating. The reason is that writing a book represents a huge commitment. Authors have to push through each and every chapter no matter how good their writing is, because if it is not complete, it won’t sell. A story without an ending is not a story.

All but a couple of my stories do not have endings. They start well, they have good parts and bad parts, but they don’t end, they just fade away. As I read my old material, I can see myself behind the words, growing more and more exhausted, getting bored of a great story.

In the past, I haven’t tried to find a solution to the problem, I have simply kept writing half-stories. Recently, though, I learned that a good friend of mine is also a writer, and so we both decided to do something a little different. We decided to co-author a novel. It has been a huge help. Now I’m tied to the story, I have made a commitment, and not just one to myself.

 

(Check out my awesome cover :D) 

 

That being said, not everything is hunky-dory. Putting two teens together and telling them to write a complete, intricate, and believable story (which involves agreeing on everything - literally!) is not an easy task. It is more like a psychological lab experiment. For the most part, we have kept the peace, but there have been disagreements here and there that divide us. And DIVISION IS NOT GOOD. I am constantly paranoid that she will lose interest or disagree with one of my ideas so fundamentally that she refuses to help anymore. She is my lifeline for this project – a lifeline with its own will and opinions and ego. The same thing goes for me. Sometimes I don’t even trust myself to do my fair share (but maybe that’s a good thing – it persuades me to work more and to have better ideas).

The point is, writing a book is already a complex process. Throwing feelings and chemistry and communication into the mix brings it to a whole new level of difficulty. If your biggest struggle as a writer is perseverance, you may benefit from partnering up; however, if you have a hard time keeping your temper under control or you have an ego thing where you only like your own ideas (I wouldn’t blame you), then maybe your best option is to walk the path alone.

 

QUESTION: What do you think about co-authoring? Would you ever try it?