Category: Writing as a Team

Two people writing as a team can have advantages over soloist authors. But to have a fruitful writing partnership we must adopt a process that utilizes our strengths, and we need a relationship that’s strong enough to support the endeavor. Here’s where we explore the matter from various angles.

Slow and Stubby Wins the Race

Jen writes most of the stubs. It’s not like there’s a union rule or anything, it just sorta feels like it. But it works out better that way for everybody most of the time, partly because Kent is prone to getting too wrapped up in the details. Stubs aren’t supposed to be all that detailed.

This week, there was a bit of a role reversal because Kent wrote some stubs. (And Jen wrote some epigraphs, which are usually in Kent’s wheelhouse.) He was supposed to just write a scene, but it’s an actiony scene and the stub Jen handed him said little beyond “they fight.” So, he decided to flesh out the stub first. Then he decided to make it into three stubs.

As he worked, he commented to Jen several times that he was reining himself in on the details. Which made her wonder why he didn’t just get into the flow and write the scene itself. He had his reasons. Basically, the same reason that it ended up being three stubs. They still came out a little too detailed for the Rune Skelley stub specification.

Jen wonders if we shouldn’t just call the stubs the scenes. This could be an elegant way of avoiding Kent’s tendency to overwrite action scenes, and save us the trouble of sanding off all the baroque curlicues during revision. But Kent is pretty sure he can punch them up a great deal and still hand in something relatively aerodynamic.

Having a writing partner means being able to rely on somebody to handle the tasks you’re less proficient at. And when you stray outside your comfort zone, it means there’s someone to coach you.

Fear of Details

Rune Skelley’s process is pretty intensive with the supporting materials, as regular readers here are well aware. It’s a system that has evolved as Jen and Kent have worked together on numerous novels over the years. We talk a lot here about the textual elements: rainbows, outlines, and stubs. What we don’t mention so often are the visual aids, but it turns out those can be just as important.

In addition to seeking inspiration on Pinterest and stock photo sites, and “casting” our main characters by including a pic in their bio, we like to create maps and diagrams. Cities, buildings, ships, underground complexes — you name it, we draw maps of it.

Usually.

It might be because we’re so eager to get the current WIP wrapped up, or maybe we’ve just become a little too comfortable with ourselves, but we neglected to draw any pictures of a key locale that figures in the finale. We talked about the place a lot, made good notes. But Kent noticed something about the first draft that he thinks is due to skipping the actual floor plan: he’s hesitant to enrich the scenes with sensory details.

This is a first draft, and of course we’ll address any such deficiencies during revisions. It’s not a disaster, although it might end up being more work than if we’d prepared the visuals up front. (We’re big on up-front preparation.)

Kent’s theory is that this “fear” of details arises from there being two of us working together without concrete documentation of the locale. We’re each making things up as we go, and we might not make them up exactly alike. Mentioning anything specific, like saying the door is on the right or the table is black, creates a potential continuity issue. The logical conclusion then? Don’t mention any details! That way we can’t contradict each other. We can literally keep our story straight. Straight, and devoid of texture or context.

It’s too vague, too loosey-goosey. If only we had a tool to fix that problem…

Wait a minute, we do! The Rune Skelley Writing Toolbox contains numerous strange implements, among them a pair of wrenches. There’s the familiar monkey wrench, meant to be thrown into the gears when everything feels like it’s running a smidge too neatly, and then there’s the goose wrench. That one’s more subtle, and its job is reduce chaos without making everything too rigid. It’s usually deployed during the outlining stage, keeping the plot from losing its shape, but it can also manifest as visual aids that keep the setting (and characters, and props, and so on) in focus.

Remember, Kent: righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.

Double Double Toil and Trouble

You know how much fun it is to set up a new computer? Well, multiply that by two and you’ll get an idea of how last weekend was for us.

Our old computers were still running fairly well, but they’re eight years old and we were concerned about them suddenly dying on us. To avoid being computer-less and bereft we splurged on replacements and spent several days loading files and updating programs and creating a new backup and all that awesome technical stuff. It was almost too exciting. Even Kent, who is a big ol’ nerd, was getting sick of all the techno-funtimes. We’re still catching our breath.

But now that we’ve come out the other side, we’re quite pleased. The new machines are faster, and since we’ve hooked the old ones up as secondary monitors we have acres of screen space. It’s quite something to behold.

The upgrade process derailed our writing progress temporarily, but we’re now back up and running. Both Son and Grandson of Science Novel have passed 110,000 words, which feels pretty amazing.

Having a writing partner might mean doubling your computer budget, but it also means doubling your successes and having someone to celebrate them with.

A Cast of Millions

Last week we updated the cast list for our chain story, Tune in Next Time, with new information about our unnamed protagonist, and entries for the new members of his family that we’ve encountered. This week we’re rounding out the long, long list of his friends and enemies. It’s often hard to tell whether someone is a friend or foe, or both. This cheat sheet probably won’t make that much clearer. Sorry. Such is the nature of this story.

New Friends and Enemies:

  • Esmerelda: UnderDuchess of Svenborgia.  Sister of Cleopatra. Married to our protagonist’s brother Jim. According to Jack (protagonist’s father), she demands unblinking eye contact during a fingerbang. She stopped wearing red after “the incident” – but will make an exception for passing messages using the washerwoman’s code. Wanted our protagonist to dissuade his father from wasting so much money on prostitutes. Has mastered spoken morse code. Last seen engaging in group sex with Jack, Cleopatra, and Darlene in a black velvet room in an unnamed country.
  • Cleopatra: Sister of Esmerelda. UnderDuchess of Svenborgia, or possibly an UnderDuchess once removed – it’s so hard to remember all the rules. Sometimes passes herself as a bartender nicknamed Isaac, and has some fire eating skills, but whether she’s really a member of the Guild of Fire Eaters is unknown. Has a messenger-goose named Gordon. She wears a prosthetic butt over her real butt, per old Svenborgian tradition. Used sex to recruit our hero to her cause, which turned out to involve his father so he bailed. Last seen engaged in group sex with Jack, Esmerelda, and Darlene in a black velvet room in an unnamed country.
  • Viscount Arlo of Svenborgia: everyone is in agreement – this guy is such a dick. Being Svenborgian royalty, he’s probably related to Esmerelda and Cleopatra. He is bald, and wears an eye patch, and his genitals are apparently fantastically gilded and filagreed. He had a relationship with our protagonist’s mother sometime in the past, and is currently sleeping with Fleur (who is rumored to have hired a fitness coach for him because he chunked up recently). Had a magnificent white crystalline lair until Tessa blew it up. Last seen berating his henchmen for only bringing him our protagonist and not Jason as well, then being incapacitated by Tessa.
  • Jenkins: a dark-skinned, dark-eyed, and deadly woman. Is quick enough to take out ninjas. She’s always been vixenish, ill-tempered, and impulsive. She’s in league with Svetlana and Heinrich in a scheme with an undefined goal. Dropped the Tessa-Bot off the roof, thinking it was the real Tessa, and was not happy when she discovered the substitution. Last seen unconscious from electrocution on the street in Valentine Village.
  • Joan: another Academy alum. Currently employed at Valentine Village, where she dresses as Aphrodite. An expert in the use of weaponized cosmetics. Last seen in her dressing room at Valentine Village.
  • Setsuko: a rogue mime whom our protagonist has had a crush on forever. She is an Asian woman with green hair and the same unicorn tattoo on her butt as Tessa. She was educated in English and Swiss boarding schools, as well as the Academy, which makes her tongue action during licking codes very crisp and meticulous. She has pretty feet and unexceptional ankles, and is perhaps not exactly female. Last seen in an alley in Valentine Village, naked.
  • Dr Absinthia Belladonna: former headmistress of the Academy, where she murdered her predecessor to get the position. Turned to rocket surgery after leaving education, and was in the process of developing an amazing new technique for using rockets to operate on people instead of operating on rockets. Last seen dead by her own surgical rockets in her underground apartment/laboratory in Harmonia.
  • Hipster Jane: has been involved in the music business forever, first as half of Jane and Able, then in promotions after Able disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Also taught Suspicious Circumstances 101 at the Academy. Dresses like a cheap 70s streetwalker. Smokes. Has red hair and a foot fetish. Last seen heading into the Academy’s root cellar with a barefoot John.
  • Betsy Murgatroid: attended a rival Academy. Developed “darts of insanity” that make everything feel and smell exactly like fried chicken. Her partner is Fernando. Uses insect noises as flirtation and enjoys convoluted role playing during sex. Is on a quest to collect some of the “exotic compound” in our protagonist’s semen. Last seen in the subbasement below the Academy’s root cellar, failing at the last possible second to get a sample of that exotic compound.
  • Fernando Heavens: Betsy’s partner. He has a nose like a snail shell and a chin like the toe of a boot. Is married to a woman who seems disapproving of his dangerous profession. Likes to use his walkie-talkie in unnecessary circumstances. Has an odd affection for ferret leather shoes. Last seen in the subbasement under the Academy’s root cellar, stymied in his attempt to give chase by a tangle of debris.
  • Darlene: an Asian woman with a cough who spends time with our protagonist’s father Jack. Probably a prostitute. Probably involved in Jack’s bid to regain power. Last seen engaging in group sex with Jack, Esmerelda, and Cleopatra in a black velvet room in an unnamed country.
  • Taylor, Tara, Tanya: sisters of Tessa and Tallulah. They are younger than Tallulah, and follow her orders to a T, which implies that they are evil. All four of them have a master whom they obey. Last seen along with Tallulah entering Jason’s lair upstairs from Dr Absinthia Belladonna’s apartment/laboratory.
  • Tesla: yet another sister of Tessa’s, with whom she used to pair up against the rest of the brood. She has fair skin and red hair, and spent some time married and living in France but that ended poorly. She vanished when her marriage fell apart, but resurfaced (as it were) aboard the submarine at the Academy’s secret submarine dock. Last seen setting the vessel in motion.
  • Nathaniel: we haven’t met Nathaniel yet, but he sounds dangerous. He lived with Tallulah at one point. He has four brothers, all mortal enemies of Tessa.
  • Aimeloxym: Myxolemia’s identical cousin, also with metal stud eyelashes. Got her training at the same ranch in the high desert as Freya. Was posing as a mermaid at the Contrarian National Aquarium to pass along secret messages using a bubble code. Is pretty vicious with a harpoon gun. Last seen unconscious outside the aquarium.
  • Hildegard: John’s ex-wife, except she calls him Maurice. She wears a red coat and gloves, and a tinsel boa. Last seen fleeing the Rainbow Connection train in Harmonia after trying to strangle Uncle Jinx.
  • Yoda: a dumpy person in a Yoda mask, true identity unknown. Gave our protagonist a coded message and a pair of Crocs. Last seen sleeping in a dumpster full of scorched bikinis behind a strip club in Harmonia.
  • Gordon: a messenger goose belonging to Cleopatra. Delivered a Tibetan candy bar as part of the confectioner’s code. Last seen at Cleopatra’s apartment.
  • The Professor: mentioned in passing after he was kidnapped by squirrels.
  • The Professor’s Girlfriend: unnamed woman with one leg. Last seen making out with Jim in Dr Absinthia Belladonna’s underground apartment/laboratory in Harmonia.
  • Great Hammer: a retired professional wrester and sometime lover of Thor. He’s probably the one who betrayed Jack. Has a fatal weakness for soup, which will make it easy for Thor to poison him if they ever meet again.
  • The Donut Man: has a transplanted hand that does not match the rest of his complexion. Enjoys making people eat donuts at gunpoint. Uses a licking code to pass messages. Seems to know Tessa. Last seen on the crowded streets of Valentine Village.
  • Transylvania Homicide Detective Regis St Oink Oink: a famous Harmonious cartoon.

Organizations:

  • The Academy:  official name – The Hopscotch Academy. Seemingly located somewhere in Europe, this elite, private academic institution educates young people in the arts of spycraft and espionage. It boasts a secret submarine dock, and a root cellar with a subbasement. The Academy’s students wear scarlet uniforms; skirts for the girls, kilts for the boys, unless they are wearing wetsuits. Extracurriculars include the Ninja Defense League and rugby. The chess team is called the Anacondas. There has never been a prom. There are several rival schools, and their competitions can be deadly. Many obscure kinds of codes are taught, and training exercises can be both x-rated and grueling. Former staff includes Headmistress Dr Absinthia Belladonna, and Hipster Jane. Alumni include our protagonist and his numerous siblings, Tessa and her sisters, John, Joan, and Setsuko.
  • Pirates: the literal, seafaring variety. Little is known about them except that they have a powerful union, and women are grossly underrepresented among their ranks. They seem to be falling on hard times, which perhaps explains their willingness to form the Pirate-Ninja alliance. The two pirates we’ve met are Captain Jorgensen and Aphrodite Hunter. Jorgensen captains a three-masted frigate, but due to his insolvency flies a cellphone ad in place of the Jolly Roger, and his ship is crewed by cheap mime labor.
  • Ninjas: due to their near total silence, they have incredibly sensitive ears. Like pirates, ninjas lose all honor when they’re angry. Also like pirates, they have a strong union and a dearth of female members. Sometimes ninjas go feral. Ninja camouflage is the best camouflage, and when it falters it’s usually because they want it to. They sometimes treat themselves with contact hallucinogens, so be careful about engaging in hand-to-hand combat with any that are visible because it’s probably a trap. There are several factions of ninjas, including NSFW, the Ninja Society or Furtive Warfare (one of the mercenary dojos) and Ninja-Vision, an especially dangerous and deadly faction that have a giant hollow television on wheels as their mobile HQ. Michiko is the daughter of Ninja-Vision’s leader. If he’s not actually a ninja, Heinrich is heavily involved with them. Tessa has deep yet mysterious connections to the ninjas.
  • The Pirate-Ninja Alliance: this unlikely alliance is in its infancy, and there is distrust on both sides. At least one faction is in formation in the Sea of Imbroglio, off the South Dakota coast on the orders of Aunt Züg posing as Mother. Jason is involved with a ninja-pirate splinter cell, and Aphrodite has an ambition to rule the alliance.
  • Mimes: the best known mime cartel is the White Faces. They are so far-reaching that Venezuela is part of their territory. They once held Tessa captive. One of their spies infiltrated the ninjas, but that didn’t go well for him. When their missions require them to speak, it is called “walking against the wind.” Setsuko was once the world’s most celebrated mime, but she has gone rogue.
  • Pinkie Swears: a mysterious organization, the high-ranking members of which tattoo their pinkies fluorescent colors. They all have terrible halitosis. Jason may have been inducted as a member. Cleopatra was tending bar at his tattooing ceremony.
  • The Guild of Fire Eaters: Little is known about them except that they lay claim to Jemma, being the youngest female in our protagonist’s family. She has tattoos marking their claim. Cleopatra has fire eating skills, but it’s unknown whether she’s a member of the Guild.
  • Vegetable Militants: also known as vegerebels and vegan separatists. They wear vegetable masks and use blowguns. They call Thor the Hamburger Heathen and are strongly opposed to his Presidential Decree of Universal Carnivorousness.
  • Valentine Village: located in Harmonia. When it was owned by Uncle Jinx it was a Christmas-themed amusement park named TinselTown. Upon Jinx’s assumed death it was inherited by our protagonist. By the time he visits it has been rebranded as Valentine Village and is, obviously, love-themed. And sex-themed. Can’t forget the sex. It is staffed by people in Cupid and Aphrodite costumes. Everything is pink and lavender and frilly. There is a donut shop that sells Scorpion Angel Cremes, which have hallucinogenic properties. There are bachelor auctions and raffles. A network of tunnels sprawling beneath the park retains its Christmassy color scheme. Some tunnels are full of tinsel, but you can still see signs of the wild fishermen who lived in the region years ago.

Countries:

  • Contraria: the home country of our protagonist’s wife, Fleur. It is ruled by warlords, of which her father is the main one. The capital is Funkistan, but their sanitation is woeful, so the royal hospital is in Pittsburghistan. The warlords of Contraria are heavily into calligraphy. And rituals. So many rituals. They also have a prophesy for every occasion.
  • Harmonia: Contraria’s ancient enemy,  the country next door. The capital is Fore-Apart, which is where you can catch the train called the Rainbow Connection. It will take you to Barbershoppe, home of Valentine Village. The country is full of happy, contented people. Their nasty reputation seems to be entirely Contrarian propaganda.
  • Svenborgia: our story has not taken us to Svenborgia yet, but members of its royal family have made appearances. Viscount Arlo, and UnderDuchesses Esmerelda and Cleopatra. They are tangled up in many plots involving the protagonist’s family and events in Contraria.

A Cast of Thousands

It’s been quite a while since we updated the Dramatis Personae for our ongoing chain story. Let’s remedy that, shall we?

Due to the sprawling nature of the chain story, this update turned out to be quite the project. We had to read the whole thing, and take notes in between bouts of laughter. In order to get something up today, we’re going to start with the new information about our unnamed protagonist and his family. Next week we’ll have the entries for all of his new friends and enemies, as well as an introduction to the various nefarious organizations that inhabit his weird and overcomplicated world.

New facts about our protagonist:

His name is five syllables long, but we still don’t know what it is. As per family tradition, he was born at the North Pole. He learned everything he knows about stealth during his time as a stowaway on a tramp steamer in the South China Sea. Unlike his twin, he can sleep anywhere. He has blue-gray eyes and a super hairy chest. There is a tattoo hidden under his chest hair, given to him by Tessa. It contains, of course, a hidden message. While at the Academy he learned how to control the minds of others through an odd vocal technique he calls “hypnotoading,” and also how to break through most hypnotic trances. He is not English. He refers to his intuition as “The Ladies.”

His family:

Our hero’s family owns an inflatable woman factory, and it is rumored that all the men in the family have a certain exotic compound in their semen.

  • Jim: Our protagonist’s younger brother, and the only twinless sibling in the family. He is a triplet, along with Jemima and Jemma. He has a southern drawl, small feet, and lots of theories about twins. Like most of the family he has a grudge against Mother. He claims to never use sex as a distraction while using sex as a distraction. Last seen in Dr Absinthia Belladonna’s subterranean apartment/laboratory, making out with the Professor’s unnamed girlfriend. Once worked in a bank with Kelly, the love of Jason’s life, and slept with her. Has a wife named Esmerelda.
  • Jemima: One of the triplets. Wears a dashing green and blue cardigan. Is currently drugged by Jim and under his control. Last seen locked in Dr Absinthia Belladonna’s bedroom with Jemma.
  • Jemma: One of the triplets. As the youngest female in the family she is promised to the Guild of Fire Eaters, and has the tattoos on her spine and ribcage to prove it. Wears a dashing green and blue cardigan. Is currently drugged by Jim and under his control. Last seen locked in Dr Absinthia Belladonna’s bedroom with Jemima.
  • Jack: Turns out our hero’s father isn’t dead after all. He’s mixed up with the Contrarians in a bid to either become President of the United States (of Australia), or found his own rogue nation. Whatever his plans, he’s blowing through his whole treasury to pay for prostitutes. Jack spent his youth in the rural lava fields of Iceland. He has never been convicted of anything, or even charged, but many people call him The Devil. At one point in time he dated his ex-girlfriend’s sister, daughter, and niece at the same time. His faked death involved being run over by a backhoe. He signals his cohorts through the use of a linen pocket square because he is allergic to silk. Wants the protagonist’s help to defeat John and Tessa, but is refused. Last seen engaged in group sex with Esmerelda, Cleopatra, and Darlene in a black velvet room in an unnamed country.

Level Up!

Last night we (finally) passed the 100,000 word mark in Grandson of Science Novel. It feels great, even though we aren’t quite finished. As we mentioned many times, Jen had it in her head that we’d reach this milestone by the end of 2017, which puts us a month and a half behind her (totally arbitrary) deadline. She went into a bit of a tailspin when it became clear we wouldn’t hit the target, and Kent had to step in and take over as head cheerleader and whip-cracker. It’s a good thing he did. It kept us moving forward, and we’ve made a lot of progress.

But we’re still not done. Son of Science Novel came in a bit short for our tastes, but this one is on track to be about 120,000 words, which is a very comfortable place to be. We still have about 20 scenes to write. They’re stubbed and ready to go. We should get to the end pretty soon.

“Pretty soon” is a hard concept for Jen to deal with. She craves a yardstick by which to measure our progress. We do our writing in a program called Scrivener, which has a cool tool that lets you set your word count target and deadline. It then calculates how many words you need to produce per work session to meet your goal. While Jen needed a target, we knew she would be some combination of depressed, frustrated, and furious if we missed another one on this project. Our solution was to set the bar comically low. We chose a deadline way, way too far in the future, which puts the bar we have to clear each night so low that we basically can’t help but trip over it. There have been a few days where we bruised our ankles, but in general we’ve been pole-vaulting way over it.

Having a writing partner means having someone to share the load so that you don’t always have to be the one in the driver’s seat.

Where’d That Come From?

Jen cleaned off her desk on Thursday, and in addition to shaming Kent into promising to tackle his this weekend, it’s made the Writing Cave look really fucking weird, man. We aren’t hoarders or anything, but we are both nesters. Our desks are clutter magnets. When Kent left for work the Cave was its usual comfortably chaotic self. When he got home, he flipped the light switch and a gave a little (very masculine) scream that Jen found very satisfying.

In the course of cleaning, Jen came across several steno pads of notes for upcoming projects. Skimming through them brought a little thrill. She also found some nuggets of gold scrawled on loose papers and transcribed them into the proper steno pads. In the spirit of organization, mind you. Not because she wanted to sit down for a while and the ideas were really good and reading them sparked all kinds of creative juices. That was just a happy side effect.

We’re almost to the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with the first draft of Grandson of Science Novel. It doesn’t feel ridiculous to start looking ahead a bit, and it doesn’t feel like torture either. Those new characters and ideas can come off the bench and do a few warm-up laps. It’ll be their turn very soon.

The piles on Kent’s desk are a bit taller than Jen’s were, a bit more precarious. We’re not in danger of him being squished or getting lost, but if he doesn’t take steps soon he won’t have room for his coffee mug beside his keyboard. And you do not want to know what that would be like. None of us do. Shudder.

It will be exciting to see what gems his excavations uncover.

There’s a metaphor in here somewhere about keeping your mind organized so that you don’t lose your ideas, but it seems a little obvious, no?

Having a writing partner means having someone around who occasionally makes you organize your shit, but it’s totally worth it.

Plot-Stricken

Our regular readers know by now that we’re obsessive plotters. Our process includes multiple stages of outlining in an assortment of often colorful formats. Saves a lot of wear and tear on the seats of our pants.

And yet. Sometimes plot-related issues try to slip past us. Most commonly, for us, it’s some form of magical knowledge on the part of a character: the author knows that Chadwick Q Badguy, esq, didn’t commit the kidnapping, thus Detective Main C Haracter never thinks to ask for his alibi.

A form of this cropped up in our WIP (Grandson of Science Novel). Or, at least Jen thought so for a few minutes. Without getting spoilery about it, there’s an event that depends on there being no one home. No one was, of course, but how would the perpetrators know? The worry was that they seemed to take it for granted, as if the author had tipped them off.

Thinking it through in light of all the details we’re withholding from you, Jen determined that the nefarious deeds made sense as we had them after all. But she brought the matter up with Kent all the same. Because that’s what you do when you have a writing partner: you share your concerns. And your partner sets you straight if necessary, making the work stronger. In this case, Kent confirmed his partner’s reasoning. But it still makes the work stronger, because it deepens both of our understanding of the story.

There’s no substitute for talking story issues through with a partner.

 

Progress Update II: The Progressening

We’re still rolling forward on Grandson of Science Novel. Well, Jen is. Her current scene, and the next couple after that, are our current bottleneck. So Kent’s occupied with comments from earlier in the story.

Eagle-eyed readers will note that we didn’t say “earlier in this book,” and in fact the comments in question apply to Son of Science Novel. The three Science Novels are all one massive story, collectively, and because we embarked on the writing of books two and three back-to-back it has really felt like we’re writing a single 200-kiloword tome. It’s interesting to revisit stuff from the middle book, now that we’ve gotten to know the characters that much better. The ability to do that is one of the reasons we structured the project as we did, so that we could take advantage of opportunities to tie all three books together more tightly.

That’s just one of the ways we try to go the extra mile. We do it for you, to give you a story world that extends beyond the edge of the page.

Keeping Up the Momentum

Spoiler: we missed our deadline.

But, things are moving forward. Our productivity has been decent, even if it never approached the rarified levels we would have needed in order to hit that mark we set for ourselves.

With a writing partner, you can get double the bandwidth. The thing is, it takes some careful planning to get your work set up to take advantage of it. If you’re each going to work on certain scenes, you have consider what order things need to be written in. Scenes don’t always need to be done chronologically, but it’s easier to avoid continuity gaffes when they are.

This can lead to bottlenecks, such as when Kent hits a cluster of tightly interconnected scenes that will have a big impact on the next cluster, which Jen will write. How do you both keep working when you run into this situation?

Here in the Writing Cave, we have a couple of different strategies. Sometimes one of us will grab a scene that’s far removed from the current bottleneck zone. Sometimes there are tasks that make up our process (such as writing stubs) that advance the project even if they’re not adding to the manuscript’s word count. And we always have tons of placeholders and margin notes from earlier in the story, and it’s good to get some of those picked off. That goes against the “never look back until it’s finished” advice you often hear. And if you feel like it could get you bogged down and you’d never make it back to the leading edge of your WIP, then don’t put yourself at risk. All we can say is it works for us, at this point.

Writing with a partner means you need a process that treats the project as a team endeavor.