The Blessing of Co-Authoring

It’s hard to write a novel, isn’t it? Characters with little development, plot holes, writer’s block, and many other struggles face writers every day. We search unendingly for solutions to these problems. Some seem to work, some fail, some work part of the time. But one is a great benefit and blessing, and that is co-authoring.

The ways that co-authoring benefits my writing simplify to four main categories: writing style, development, discussion, and experiences. When I compare the books that I write on my own to the books that I co-author, I see a drastic difference.

The writing style and strengths make up part of this difference. Each author voices a unique style of writing. Mixing these styles together creates an incredible result. The authors’ differing strengths complement each other. Perhaps one author describes places and events better than her co-author, while the other author makes the characters seem like real people in a special way. When these strengths mingle together, the story comes alive. For example, I write with my cousin. In our books, she adds nearly all the humor. I tend to describe the people and places in the story. We each understand different characters better than the other, and write about these characters more often.

Another strength of co-authoring lies in the development of the story. I find that the characters become unique, more complex. The more effectively developed plot takes surprising twists I never dreamed of creating. All because each author is an individual with her own ideas, which she adds to the story, making it a thousand times better than if written by one author alone.

A crucial aspect of co-authoring is the discussion between the two authors. I find that this discussion helps us avoid writer’s block. Naturally, we sometimes are unable to write what happens next (it happens to every writer as far as I know; if you never struggle with writer’s block, please give me advice). But many times, we consider our random (and sometimes utterly strange) ideas and find something that works. We can also discuss things like word choice and actions of the characters. Would a character really act this way or say that? It helps to voice the question out loud to someone who knows that character’s motives as well as myself, and can confirm whether or not she would act in such a way or say such a thing.

Certainly my favorite of all the benefits of co-authoring is the blessing of experiences shared with your co-author. Writing is a process. When the task grows hard, an author often feels like giving up. Commitment to your co-author helps you press on and finish the story. When you look back on everything you wrote together, you discover the extent of its worth. Each story is a new adventure together. Even if you do not write fantasy, you step into a treasured world that no one can know in the same way as you do. Those little inside jokes and special memories are like diamonds in the sunshine. They are a treasure.

I find co-authoring to be an extreme blessing. I can no longer imagine my life without the hours I spend writing the stories we share. Perhaps this may solve your problem. Would co-authoring make a good fit for your writing?

- Auriel