Collaboration

I really enjoy collaborative writing, although I don't get to do it very often these days. Whether that collaboration means crafting a story from beginning to end with a co-author or trading it back and forth round-robin style without a communal clue as to where it's going, I like it. I started doing it back in grade school, in fact. Of course, then it took the form of "I wrote myself into a corner. Here. Write me out of it" along with the handing over of pencil-scribble-covered pages. Usually, it worked. Fresh eyes and a fresh imagination can always see something new. And I would naturally return the favour upon request. That's what partners are for. Writing is so often a solo gig, and sometimes it can get lonely. Sure, all those voices in your head can keep you hopping, but sometimes they clam up, and sometimes you need a break from those fictional people. Having a co-author to turn to, whether it's a means of getting you unstuck when you can't figure out how to get out of the mess you've gotten your characters into, or it's someone to bounce ideas around with until you collectively decide what happens next, can be an invaluable thing. I'm hoping I have the chance to do a bit of co-writing soon. It's going to take an alignment of the stars to make it happen, I fear, but I've got this really big magnet I've been dying to try out, so I'll see if I can't do something about that and the laws of physics be damned.

Getting to "The End"

One of the hardest parts of writing, for me, is finishing a book. It's not so bad with short stories, but novels and novellas? That's another story (so to speak). Starting a story, staring at a blank screen and wondering what to write, is not my problem. Getting through the middle to the climax of a book can be challenging, but is rarely insurmountable. Finishing a manuscript, writing that wrap-up that comes after you've had so much fun writing the climax, which is (let's be honest) the fun part, is the tough bit for me. Sure there are things that need to be tied up, sorted out, and whatnot, but *sigh* I was having so much fun before. The only thing that keeps me pressing forward in that moment where I just want to revert to my lazy nature and say in the words of Maxine the Scottish Tart "Och, I can't be bothered" is knowing that once it's done, I can walk away for a while and do my superiority dance. It looks something like this [dancing] I finished! I finished! I finished! [/dancing] That's what I was doing late last week when I completed the first draft of last year's NaNoWriMo novel. (Don't judge me. It's not November yet. ;-P ) I know I still need to do serious work on the last chapter before I even go back to the beginning to edit it into draft #2, but IT'S DONE, and this makes me happy.

How about you? Whether you write professionally, or you write fanfic on LiveJournal, or you write for yourself and don't share it with anyone else, what's the toughest part of the writing process for you?


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