Is a Writing Partner for You?

Is writing with a partner something you've given thought to? Does it sound attractive or horrifying? Helpful or strangulating? The Wave-inatrix has actually written three feature scripts with a partner and for me, the experience has been wonderful.

Let me describe my partnership a bit:

My partner and I live on opposite coasts. So we spend a lot of time on the phone. We have different hours (by dint of time zone and habit)and we have different styles (I work in short bursts, he works for longer chunks of time) we have an age difference (all right, I'm older) and naturally we have differences in our collective experiences. But despite all that, we write very, very well together.

Here is what we do:

When we're developing an idea for a script, we brainstorm on the phone and via email. A lot. We make notes, we jot things down. We listen to each other and at this point, we finish each other's sentences. We work together in this way until we beat out the story in the form of a 12-sequence narrative. For my partner, having been a novelist, this was at first a strange idea. But now he's quite expert at it and in fact worked out our last sequential in about an afternoon - by himself. We're like evil twins; we're unstoppable. We never sleep. Not a day goes by that something isn't happening with our work.

Once we have our 12-sequence narrative beat out, it's somebody's turn to start pages. Doesn't matter who it is; we feel joint ownership over the project. We collaborate intensely, we divest ourselves of ego, we don't write anything we aren't both excited about and man, do we crank out pages. If my partner has more time to work on it then he produces more pages that day or that week. He understands that because of my lifestyle, I often have to work catch-as-catch-can, late at night or early morning. It all works out in the end.

Once either of us writes some pages, we date and save the script and send it on to the other. The first thing either of us does is review the pages already done, go through and make amendments and tweaks, then look at our 12-sequence narrative outline and write the next set of pages. And so forth. We leave each other a lot of script notes. They have become more and more entertaining. Often they are funny or frustrated or a cry for help:

*I have no stupid idea how this stupid stupid moment should work.
*There is NO way they'd serve corndogs at this restaurant.
*LOL! Coffeemate!!
*I disagree. Basqiat sounds like "basket". They'll never get it.
*Be funny if she shot him right in the ass. Too bloody?

Our script notes are mini-conversations that pepper the script. We delete them and create new ones. But the beauty part is that when one of us is stuck on something? Too tired to describe it or at a loss for any reason? We don't do it. We just leave a note.

Because we've worked together pretty intensely for some time now, we don't make committee meetings out of small tweaks. We trust each other. Though our writing styles are different, they compliment each other very well. Often, when we review pages, we can no longer tell who wrote which line. They start to blur.

For me, this partnership has been amazing. My writing time is limited but I have someone to cheer me on, kick my behind and I have someone to pass the baton to when I'm just out of juice on a given day. Working with a partner, like any relationship is not a completely easy, carefree thing. But imagine how much more material a well-oiled partnership can produce. We scare ourselves. And yes, we have a partnership agreement through our attorney.

The commiseration factor is worth its weight in gold. We worry together, we strategize together and we keep our collective spirits up. When something doesn't go our way we have each other to talk it over with. When something wonderful happens, we are proud of each other and of our partnership as a whole; having a writing partner means not feeling quite so alone in this whole rag and bone shop business.

Here are some things to consider if you're looking for a partner:

Choose someone:

• who is your intellectual and writerly equal.


• who you can argue with and not stay mad


• who is committed to the project and to a career


• who acts professional and takes this damn seriously


• who has a nimble and flexible mind; compromise is necessary for the greater good of the project


• whose judgement you trust. You might not always agree - but you trust the intention
  

Your writing partner doesn't have to live nearby, they don't have to share your writing style (exactly) but they do have to be someone who adds to the sum of your own writing in a positive way. It's not always easy - we've had our moments - but we share something crucial: a dead-ahead determination and lucky us, personalities and writing styles that blend very well.

Do NOT work with a writing partner if:

• it's a short-term solution to get a project done quickly


• you don't admire and respect their writing ability; you must be a mutual fan club


• you don't take criticism well and get defensive; this is very collaborative


• you don't share the same goals for the project

If you're considering partnering or already are, make it legal, make it professional and let 'er rip. Writing is usually a solitary endeavor; having a partner breathes air into what can be a lonely experience. If you work alone and always have and cannot imagine sharing the experience, don't do it. But when you get to the point of taking meetings and developing your material with executives, the ability to be articulate, collaborative and social will serve you very, very well.

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