Collaboration involves some new skill sets. And some are harder than others to learn: orchestration being the toughest of the bunch for me. I work on something according to my schedule, then send it off to Brad Strickland who edits or rewrites on a schedule of his own. Meanwhile, I need to keep working if we're to stay on schedule...I've been helped by a vision that's grown stronger by the day:
A creative prison break with one man working on the roof--say, trying to break through an air vent--the other working in his cell, stitching their life vests or making an oar. There's always something to do.
Within the week, Brad will send back his rewrite of a major chunk and I'll send him the last pages I write, leaving him to write the long, action-packed closing section. While he writes that, I'll go through his last rewrite, etc.
Tonight I've spent a couple of hours trying to find or make a place where a doomed character could pass on a critical clue. And when I sign off this blog, I'll try to draft a one-paragraph speech in Scottish accent...using Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting for guidance.
Soon, when it's all down on paper, the real fun in our game, Beat the Clock, will begin.
Alternating chapters--the usual approach, I'd guess--is a good way to fly the collaborative sky. Then again, certain books require their own strategies. And when the Muse calls out 'Hey, baby!' I always lend an ear.
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