One and One Makes Two: The Art of Co-writing, by Ashley Holloway

A craft article

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

The mental image of a lone writer sitting hunched at their desk in a darkened room, toiling away underneath a small pool of light emitted from the single banker’s lamp is an easy one to conjure. Writing is, after all, a rather solitary activity. It’s you putting your ideas to paper according to your schedule. Likewise, finding your own voice as a writer takes a great deal of time, practice, and consistent, focused feedback. And really, as a culture we are conditioned to think of writing as a solitary act. How might co-writing a story change that?

Co-writing offers readers two sets of experiences, which can result in multifaceted stories that resonate on a deeper level. And let’s face it: co-writing reaches more audiences. Further, co-writing can also be great for motivation; not wanting to let your writing partner down, staying on track becomes a priority. However, like an only child learning how to share, co-writing is an intentional process that has its challenges.

Will and Ian Ferguson’s recent release Mystery in the Title show us that siblings can actually get along, and Janie Chang and Kate Quinn’s The Phoenix Crown demonstrates beautifully the weaving together of two disparate narratives. Three Holidays and a Wedding, by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley, infuses culture into the romance trope, promoting the magic of difference. While these authors make co-writing look easy, there are a few tips that can help you get started.

Firstly, plan ahead. Plan everything from what your end goal is (project completion, or award-winner?), to the schedule (write every spare moment, versus only on weekends), whether vetoing edits is acceptable (can you kill off each other’s darlings?), to the story outline itself (how will you knit this together?). Deciding ahead of time how the workload will be split, such as 50:50 or otherwise, is also something that needs to be discussed from the start.

Photo by Gowtham AGM on Unsplash

With that said, flexibility is also important when co-writing. As the story evolves, workloads may change, or timelines may need to be adjusted. Meeting regularly, whether by Zoom, WhatsApp, or in person (if geography allows) can be helpful, also serving as opportunities to celebrate your creative process and have some fun. 

Creating a communication plan is important. In addition to open, honest feedback delivered respectfully and constructively, choosing how, when, and through which channels you will communicate is integral. Whether you create a shared Google Doc or write via exchanging emails, the process itself will likely be trial and error; however, establishing these parameters at the outset helps ensure you are both on the same page with your expectations.

Finally, finding a cohesive, consistent voice can be another challenge. The aim is to create a solution, where one author is a solute, and the other a solvent. When combined together, the solute is dissolved in the solvent, creating a solution. In other words, co-writing is a bit like making Kool Aid; you take two disparate ingredients together to create a summertime essential. And who doesn’t like Kool Aid?

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Self-proclaimed logophile and devourer of books, Ashley Holloway is a nurse, writer, and editor who teaches writing classes and healthcare leadership in Calgary, AB. She writes in a variety of genres with work appearing across Canada and the US and has co-authored three books. Ashley serves as Editorial Director at Unleash Creatives and her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.