Co-authoring

[scheherazade]

A friend whose writing I really, really admire has suggested we write a screenplay together. This sounds like a fantastic idea to pool our talents, build on one another's creativity, and maybe create something awesome to share, but I'm wondering if there are any potential dangers to co-writing with friends? The whole idea calls to mind episodes of Seinfeld and Frasier that make me think it's a recipe for disaster.

Have you ever co-written something with a friend or family member? How did it work out? What were the unexpected hazards - or benefits - of working together?

[veinglory]

I have tried it several times, never with success. Each time the co-author lost enthusiasm and didn't see the project through to the end. On one case I finished the work anyway but had to remove any part they wrote and re-do it myself. I know others have great experiences co-authoring, but it has yet to work out for me.

[icerose]

Each time I've co-authored anything has made me feel like science projects back in school. One party always ends up doing more of the work if not most of it and the other person still gets equal credit. I have always ended up shouldering most of the burden as my writing has been further along and they're more than happy to let me carry it. Also if you don't see the story the same way that's a recipe for disaster. If they have ideas that they think are really awesome and you think are stupid it's going to be a lot of teeth gritting.

If you do go ahead with this, my suggestions are:

1. Sort out who is going to do what.

2. Agree that if someone ends up not being all the way into the project and offering equal time they are to back out, or you if it's you who's doing it and it belongs to whoever is carrying the project.

3. Compose a full on outline and character sheets for each before either of you write a word so you're both in full agreement on the story and characters before it ever gets going.

4. Know that you could possibly risk your friendship by doing this.

Hope it helps.

[Raghu]

In one of Syd Field’s books, I don’t remember which, he narrates the story of a very loving, devoted couple, writers both of them who decide to collaborate and write a screenplay. Guess what? Six months down the line they almost ended up divorcing each other. So much for collaborative work!

Besides beauty they say, lies in the eyes of a beholder. A woman might seem devastatingly attractive to me but my friend might find her looks just about average. All of us look at this universe in different light with varied amounts of bias and prejudice and these inner qualities almost invariably get reflected in our writing. If I were to hand over a detailed synopsis to ten screenwriters and ask them to write screenplays based on this synopsis, I’d bet my bottom Dollar that I will get ten completely different versions.

I’ve always felt that analysing a creative person’s work, be it writing, painting, or music, one can well and truly understand the creator’s personality and mindset. Just like the way it would be absurd to believe that a child has two biological fathers so too it is illogical and irrational to assume that two people with dissimilar personalities can fabricate one work of art.

My humble suggestion to you is this. You write a screenplay and then let this brilliant writer friend of yours analyse it and give you feedback. Use his suggestions if you want to, or discard them. Or let him write a screenplay and you crit it.

This approach will work. Collaboration will not!

All the best.

Raghu.

[Billingsgate]

I had a very successful script collaboration earlier this year, which involved passing back and forth a script for a 30-minute TV pilot. I wrote the outline and a multi-page treatment. He rearranged bits, changed one character and wrote the first draft. I went through and threw out around a third of what he wrote and inserted my own, then tweaked the rest. He then threw out around a fourth of what I wrote, and so on. After passing it back and forth several times, we were both delighted with the result, which we both agreed was far better than either of us could have accomplished alone. We plan to work together again right after the new year.

[icerose]

I had a very successful script collaboration earlier this year, which involved passing back and forth a script for a 30-minute TV pilot. I wrote the outline and a multi-page treatment. He rearranged bits, changed one character and wrote the first draft. I went through and threw out around a third of what he wrote and inserted my own, then tweaked the rest. He then threw out around a fourth of what I wrote, and so on. After passing it back and forth several times, we were both delighted with the result, which we both agreed was far better than either of us could have accomplished alone. We plan to work together again right after the new year.

That's absolutely great that it worked out for you...however, most writers cannot handle that much of their hardwork thrown out. Then there's the issue of pride. If you can find someone who can truly compromise like that and you're willing as well and you both have ideas for it that make it better and you both agree it's better then the collaboration can really work. Afterall they do it all the time for television series.

[Ucla_sb]

My experience co-authoring has been very positive. Basically until we decided to co-write everything i had written was short, or written as scenes with no connective tissue. There was a sense of something happening that changed the char either slightly or majorly but it was not seen what happened. My partner basically plays clean up lol, i write a lot of craziness action scenes and major character beats and he comes in and makes it make sense. We describe it as i am A and B and he acts as the - to connect the two. We have our disagreement on stuff we each like at times, mostly in the editing stage because we just get things out on paper before we start cutting. But basically we both have the things were willing to fight for and the story is paramount, not how hard we worked on a certain scene or piece. So when were editing we basically both go through it and make a "list" of thing we each think could go with out damaging the story, and then it either yay nay or we'll discuss it after this draft. Neither of us take anything personally because we entered into knowing that it was essentially a business partnership. We also both don't really focus on how much work one or the other put into it because if it weren't for the other persons whether they contributed 60% or 1% the script wouldn't exist in it current form, therefore its always 50/50.

I suppose the point is to think of it as business from the start and being that we're both writing stuff WE want to see on screen, then we respect each others opinions on the work we write.

That is the other part i think is important is to make sure you and the other persons tastes are in the right place. I've collaborated with another friend a few times and our ideas on what we were trying to accomplish were completely different. It strained us working but not as friends and basically realized we want the same things but want to do it differently. We still collaborate in other ways but not creatively. I still respect his ability and talents but they are just different from mine. So that is the other part make sure you are working with someone who wants what you want.

I dunno if it says this approach works or not but since the first script, we've collaborated on everything and are building a very decent portfolio of work for that day when we are able to get a meeting. There are 3 in completed various draft stages and about 8 more that are percolating. that is all for now lol.

[Joe Calabrese]

My last project I had very little time to work on it and I needed to get it done since I had a producer interested in picking it up.

So I brought in a good writer friend who was great with the genre and I knew he could lighten the work load but also contribute a lot of great stuff.

For now I will say that the script turned out great, but you have to be careful not to let egos get in the way of what is best for the story.

We would pitch each other ideas for scenes and the tendency was to like our own over the other which is natural I guess. They could have turned into fights, but luckily we had a producer to bounce those ideas off of and he picked stuff that lickily turned out top be from both of us pretty equally.

The important thing is to not to get defensive and jealous of the other writer.

[Gillhoughly]

What the others have said.

It is a good idea to get things in writing.

Recently an AW writer tried collaboration with an on-line writing partner. The partner--once their story got the attention of a small e-publisher--cut her collaborator out of the communication loop and presented herself as the sole writer of the story. This done and being batshit insane, she then tried to re-establish herself with the collaborator as her "friend." (Yikes.) There being nothing in writing, the AW member was flat out of luck.

I've co-authored three novels with a non-writer (he was a fast learner) and what made it work was mutual respect for each other's work and tossing the word "no" out of the room.

I went in with no idea if he could write (he pleasantly surprised me) and with a great respect for his acting talent.

He came in with respect for the fact that I'd (then) sold a dozen novels and had a clue about this craft.

And it helped that we liked each other and were able to communicate ideas rather well. I'd had some drama experience, so that helped.

But most important-- we left the word "no" out of the room.

It's something I learned from Chuck Jones.

When you know that none of your ideas will be arbitrarily shot down by the other saying "no, that won't work", it really frees you up to toss out ideas.

Not every idea is going to be good, but you never know that it might spark something for the other guy. I can't count the times when my partner tossed out something that my gut told me wouldn't fly, but then I'd put a spin on it and suddenly we had something to keep.

And vise versa!

On one occasion he came up with a scene that was very important to him, but I couldn't think how it could possibly fit into the book. It just sat there. I didn't say no, but I was discouraging, which upset him a bit. That in mind, I promised to see what I could do. Much to my surprise, the character took over and eased right into the scene and we all got away with it! THAT taught me the importance of not being negative.

Of course, careful about going in the other direction and saying "yes" to everything or you'll have a mess on your hands!

After banishing "no," the single most important way to stay friends is BE PROFESSIONAL.

I'm not sure how to explain that quality, but trust that you'll both have figured it out by the time you get together.

Good luck! http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

[MazingaSpidey]

I would have to say that co-writing has been a very positive experience for me. My partner in crime, so to say already posted earlier (UCLA_SB). I think he described his part as writing points A&B while I"m the connective tissue, I've seen it more as he's A&C while I'm B&D, either way it gets the job done.

I think that highlights the major advantage to co-authoring. While my co-writer and I often have disagreements on how character arcs should play out, which direction we should take the script, etc., I have found that having two heads on the script often leads to taking a script idea into a place that neither of us thought it could go.

Some pointers for you:

1. OUTLINE OUTLINE OUTLINE

One of the biggest trial by fire experiences that I've had as a co-writer is that without a solid outline you will run into more head buts and battles of the will than need be. Granted, you are likely not going to agree completely on the outline, but the more detailed you make the outline, the less likely you'll run into trouble later on.

2. Play on each other's strengths, know their weaknesses

Admittedly I'm a bit more of an analyst of human behavior than my co-writer, I also happen to have a Master's in Psychology. On the flip side, my writing partner seems to have a crazy story to chime in with whatever example of behavior I may throw out.

3. Be willing to accept doing more or less work than you intended.

You would think this would change with the writers, but having three completed and close to eight projects in the brainstorming stage, I will definitely say that each and every script has brought a new life to it. Earlier on I found myself correcting more spelling and formatting issues while my co-writer did a lot of writing until I got into my groove and started writing a bit more than my co-writer did for a little while and then things evened out. Currently we're both tackling rewrites on two different stories. The only thing I can say to this is, don't be upset if you find yourself doing a bit more work, if you have someone devoted to the project you will likely wind up breaking even in the end. Using the idea of my co-writer writing major beats and me filling in the blanks, some of those blanks were upwards of 10-15 pages and covered several new plot points.

4. Be open to criticism.

Luckily my co-writer and I are old friends and can dish and take criticism of each other as well as we can take a well placed "your mom" joke. It's very easy to take offense to someone telling you that they don't like your idea or direction for a story. Hopefully most of this will be worked out during your initial outline, but as I'm sure you are already well aware of, sometimes a story will take on a line of it's own. If it's any consolation, there have been several idea's that I've tossed out and my co-writer didn't like at first so we tabled them, only to revisit the idea during a re-write. Ultimately you have to decide what is best for the story, even if that means killing an idea you liked initially.

Best of luck! I'd love to hear how your co-write goes!

Anthony

[hitchcockfan]

Hi,

I've always been interested in co-writing a script. However, you have to find the right partner -- who I haven't found yet. I did, however, come across a terrific book about writing as a team (see link below). The book is Script Partners and it focuses solely on writing successfully with a partner.

www.amazon.com/Script-Partners-Makes-Writing-Teams/dp/0941188752/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231048211&sr=1-1

Good luck!

[LucidImage]

In my experience, co-authoring a script can be very good. But it is difficult and the key to success is simply how well you connect with your writing partner.

I approached a friend of mine who was also a writer with the idea for a script which he absolutely loved. We spent two days straight drinking coffee and sitting on the floor, filling notebooks with notes non-stop before compiling an outline for the entire script. We separated the massive script up and gave input on particular sections we each felt we would be best at writing at (i.e. a scene that we had thought up that we felt we had down).

As we began writing, we were surprised to see how well our writing fused and how little rewriting we had to do to smooth things over. We finished the script in record time.

Again, the key though was that the two of us remained on the same page the whole time, our writing styles merged extremely well, and we both stuck to the project.

So IMO, the key is the partner.

[Joe270]

I agree with lots that has been said already, but I'd like to point out something which might help with a partnership in writing.

There must be a lead writer at some point.

If you're banging ideas around or bringing ideas in, sometime it must be one person's lead. Over time, if you continue to collaborate, that lead will go back and forth. It depends upon 'who owns' the story.

This means you, as a collaborating writer, must be either the leader or the follower in every story you write. It is great to be a good leader, but I find it very rewarding to be a good follower, too. Hell, ya still get second credit.

But someone has to take the lead to move the story forward in a cohesive manner. I don't think a compromise story ever gets anywhere.

[Hillgate]

Co-writing with a friend, even with a solid written agreement, can be a disaster for your friendship. Do it at your peril.

Why do you think I drink red wine and smoke ciggies??? ;)

[Bluegate]

I can't help but be reminded of the play-movie Death Trap. Now there's a partnership to scare you back into isolation.:D