Kim Bowman

Who’s on First—Writing with a Partner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfmvkO5x6Ng

Do you know why Abbott and Costello were such a hit? And why, even now, some seventy-plus years later, their “Who’s on First?” routine is still so popular?

Simple—it played on their individual strengths. Abbott’s character tended to be carefree, happy-go-lucky, “easy to get confused,” while Costello’s alter-ego, was level-headed, tried to sooth Abbott’s every-growing frustration, and, secretly, loved to push Abbott’s buttons to get a rise out of him. When the two combined, those around them were entertained.

And that’s what you should strive for when you write with a partner. Find someone whose strengths are your weaknesses and vice versa. Then, let the magic begin. Although, I will warn you, there will be a few bumps along the way even in the best of circumstances. As is evident by the following “skit” Kay composed.

I will say that while what you are about to read isn’t far from the truth, we still had A LOT of fun and wrote an AMAZING story! But, I do believe Kay was ready to take a bat to me before we were finished! And…it might have something to do with things like…this:

Kay: Okay, we need an outline.

Kim: I just wrote the end.

Kay: We haven't even started the beginning yet.

Kim: Can you handle the scene where—

Kay: Wait, wait, WAIT! What scene? Where? They have no chemistry for that yet. Chemistry has to build.

Kim: The chemistry is building.

Kay: WHERE?

Kim: In the scene before this one.

Kay: What scene is that?

Kim: The one you have to write still.

Kay: Why can't YOU write it?

Kim: I'm working on the beginning now. They don't have chemistry in the beginning.

Kay: WHAT beginning?

Kim: Exactly.

Kay: Exactly what? We need an outline.

Kim (heavy sigh): Fine. (scribbles furiously). Here.

Kay: There's nothing here but numbers and letters.

Kim: We'll fill it in as we go.

Kay (picks up a gun): O-U-T-L-I-N-E.

(He He He – I do have to admit, it was fun driving Kay nuts…until she threatened bodily harm;)

Yes, Kay the plotter had to have nightmares every night because of Kim the pantser. And yet, we muddled through to finish A Lot Like a Lady and I am so proud of it and honored to have worked with Kay on it. But, collaborating is difficult in the best situations, let alone when you combine a plotter with a pantser. Finding a happy medium was difficult at times, but when we hit our stride – we both wrote some of our best lines.

So, the big money question is – would we do it again? HECK YES! And, we are doing it again, have already starting working on the sequel to A Lot Like a Lady. I for one would recommend teaming up with a writing partner, but it is a more difficult way to write. Kay and I thought we’d list our personal pros and cons of our experience (and that’s a biggie – being able to be totally honest with your partner!)

Kim’s pros for collaborating:

·         Besides getting to work with an extremely talented writer (who taught me A LOT!), it motivated me to write because someone depended on me to pull my weight and to write my part.

·         Kay and I combined our individual strengths to build believable characters, scenes that dropped you right into the location, and emotion that had us laughing, crying, sad, and mad!

Kay’s pro for collaborating:

·         I ADORE brainstorming stories and when you collaborate, you have a ready-made brainstorming partner. Writer's block quails in the face of two strong collaborators. Anyone who has lost momentum to the clutches of writer's block will surely understand the frustration of having this happen. But when you collaborate, you have someone who is always ready to say "What if..." And that often sparks the flame back up again. The pace is faster working with a partner because the work is cut in half.

Kim’s cons for collaborating:

·         While I am a pantser and I HAVE to write the scene that comes to mind or I’ll lose it, this was a problem for Kay because she is A LOT more organized and outlines her stories, and then goes from the start to the finish. And honestly, I’m not sure this is as much a con for me as Kay because I definitely would like my writing partner to always be a plotter.

·         Kay worked with me (as best as she could given her partner was a pantser) and we pulled it off, BUT, then we had created plot holes, conflicts, repeated information, etc. because we didn’t make an outline so it wasn’t clear “who was on first” and this was frustrating to both of us. Case in point, Kay wrote a lovely descriptive scene of the library/study in the townhouse. Then comes Kim the pantser who added a scene BEFORE Kay’s. So, as we were reading through, editing, etc. we discovered that Kay’s description wouldn’t work anymore where it was because the girl had already SEEN the study, so we had to rearrange, reword, and move the setting detail to my scene. Which might not seem like a big deal, but it took time and back- tracking to fix it. (BTW, I did not know Kay was using this as an example in her list of pros/cons/advise until AFTER I wrote this.)

Kay’s con for collaborating:

·         Kim is a pantserish personality who write scenes out of order, and I am the outliner who writes in order - for me the story builds the chemistry not the other way around. We had a rough patch when I realized something I'd spent an afternoon writing no longer fit with the story. But on taking a step back, we actually found we could keep the majority of what was written - it just needed to be moved to an earlier section of the book.

Kim’s advice for having a successful partnership:

·         OUTLINE! (I know Kay nearly fell over when she saw that). Yes, the pantser is telling you to outline. Brainstorm your ideas and come up with at least a general direction the story will take and try to list the scenes you foresee developing. Then divide those scenes evenly between the two of you. Now, this isn’t to say you might not have to tweak or change parts of the outline, but you have to have at least a general idea of WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE to be successful and not come to the end only to learn your work has just begun!

·         COMMUNICATION! You HAVE to discuss/decide everything together from the major conflict in the story to the hero’s eye color. It’s a MUST or one partner will feel left out. Pick someone you can spend a great deal of time with (even if only via email). By the time Kay and I finished, I had almost 2000 emails in my inbox (and mind you I had deleted a lot at this point), and 95% of those were between the two of us.

·         LISTEN! This is a combined effort, so you have to take your partners ideas, problems, and feelings into consideration. There is no room for hurt feelings, anger, or resentment in a collaboration. It will only succeed if you work together. And listening is the biggest consideration you can give to your partner.

·         PARTNERS! You are going to disagree – two different people with different styles is going to cause problems at times, but in the end remember you both want the same thing-to write the best darn story you can.

·         HAVE FUN! If you aren’t having fun, don’t do it. Period.

Kay’s advice for having a successful partnership:

·         You have to realize that this story is not yours personally. You can't fall in love with a plot twist unless the writing partner also falls for it. You have to be prepared for your partner to change sections you've written, and to change sections she's written. And just as it's important to accept what the other person says, it's equally important to stand up for yourself when you believe you're right about something. There was a point in the story where I took hostages. And there was another part where after about 50 emails, Kim proved HER point. We both were correct because those sections turned out to be pivotal points in the story.

Thank you for stopping by. And, we hope you will check out A Lot Like a Lady!

Happy reading (and writing!)

~Kim Bowman

~Kay Springsteen