Another Road Trip

Kent and Jen spent another few hours on the highway recently, and as we often do we made use of the time to converse about a writing project. In this case, it was As-Yet Untitled Ghost Novel #1, and the feedback we’ve been getting about it.

We tossed around various proposals for addressing the comments. For each idea, we rated it as “radical” or “reasonable.” For example, some of the suggestions would entail not only rewrites for Book 1 but replotting the whole series. Too radical. On the other hand, just changing whose POV certain scenes come from? That’s eminently reasonable, perhaps too much so. It might not go far enough. After all, we do want to successfully remedy the issues. At this point, we’ve narrowed it down to three options, and will probably implement two of them in combination. The third one’s more of a departure from our usual style, but it has us fascinated. We’ll experiment with it before we decide whether to use it for real.

Having a partner makes these brainstorming situations so much more productive. You get twice as many ideas to work with, and you have someone who understands your process to help you analyze them. Someone whose investment in your voice and in the quality of the final product is in tune with your own.

A writing partner is someone to keep you company on the road of life.