On Writing: Writing with others and how to stop it all going wrong

I’ve been writing, which means that I haven’t been reading or blogging or being very sociable, but I sort of think that’s how it should be every now and then.

As many of you know I’m collaborating with others in lots of different ways at the moment, two of the projects reaching an end and one just beginning. My head’s been a bit full of ends and beginnings but I’ve realised that creating words with someone else is a bit special, it’s a different kind of intimacy and trust.

This week I met with Mr Perring (Mr Craske was off on one of his secret missions) to go through the 50 short stories for ‘FREAKS!’ and to look at how it was all going to fit together. This involved Nik throwing all 50 stories on the floor and me panicking (in a very OCD way) about the lack of order and straightness to his method. It was a long and very brilliant day, which passed with many a giggle and somehow managed to end in a short story collection.

Stepping back from it all, it’s a bit mind-blowing knowing that something that started as a bit of fun has ended in such a massive achievement (for me, anyway). The truth is that Nik kicked me up the rear last July because I had stopped writing (that’s a different blog post) and that the stories were initially just for fun, to help me to realise why I loved writing. And it has, all of it, even the bit where I was sitting on the floor on Tuesday afternoon surrounded by stories and wondering how the heck it’d all get done.

Of course, collaborating isn’t easy and I think that there are few people I could work this closely with. At the moment I’m juggling three projects with four very different (and very ace) people yet, somehow, with each of them there’s an understanding of how it should all work out. I think I’ve been lucky, so far, connecting with people who get me and who I would choose to be friendly with in ‘real’ life too. But I can see just how easily it could all go very wrong.

Thus and therefore, here’s some of the wisdom (most of it obvious), that I’ve gained from my time collaborating:

• The project needs to be more than the sum of its parts - this means that the goals need to be the focus, rather than personal egos.
• Each person needs to fully commit – lack of commitment and lack of communication go hand in hand. The timing needs to be right and all those involved need to be able to fully commit for the given time of the project.
• There needs to be clear and established goals – a simple one, but everyone needs to be heading towards the same outcome. Agreeing deadlines and responsibilities early on and reassessing them regularly is key (and all links to being able to communicate with each other).
• Being respectful of each other’s circumstances is fundamental – respect, awareness and professionalism all come under this one.
• When it goes wrong, it can go wrong very quickly and possibly over something utterly trivial – whether or not it can be fixed perhaps links to commitment and communication.
• But the most important is the ability to communicate with each other openly – being able to phone or email and say ‘Life’s a bit shitty at the moment, give me a week to catch my breath’ without it being the end of the collaboration is a must. Being in regular contact, giving each other a kick or a stroke (!) or a ‘you’re ace’ doesn’t do any harm either. The truth of the matter is that if you don’t communicate then the collaboration will fall apart.

I’m sure that I’ve learned much more and will continue to, as I step into a new and very different kind of collaboration (more on that soon), but I think that all of this ‘working with someone else’ has made me realise that writing doesn’t need to be such an insular and lonely experience. And, when you find the right people to collaborate with then magic can happen. Here’s hoping that the end products show just how much fun has been had…

(More photos from my ‘FREAKS!’ day can be found here)