Choosing a Writing Partner, Part II: Compatibility

In the previous post, How to Choose a Writing Partner, we talked about why it’s critical to have shared areas of interest, and to generally agree on matters of taste. There were some other items on the list, so Part II will address the importance of compatibility in your approaches to writing.

Compatibility doesn’t have to mean sameness. If you like to write in the morning, you could still have a fruitful partnership with someone who doesn’t even get up until noon. But if your work schedules don’t coincide, you’ll need to set up a way of communicating about the project. There’s nearly always a way of working around mechanical and logistical issues. Just bear in mind that every complication in your working arrangements represents that much more drag on your system, and it saps energy that should go into your writing.

What’s harder to work around is conflicting attitudes about writing. You must both take it equally seriously, however light or heavy you make it. If you’re not aligned on that point, working together is nearly impossible. It’s important to know that “attitude” here doesn’t refer to someone’s general outlook or personality (although compatibility there helps, too).  In this context, we’re talking about the place writing holds in your life.

Two people don’t need identical writing attitudes in order to work well together; it’s all about compatibility. Similarity plays a big part in making us compatible, but differences are good. If you found a partner who was basically your clone, you couldn’t give each other any new ideas. Many of us wouldn’t get along with our clones, anyway.

To close, it’s worth stressing again that a writing partnership is not static, no more than any other type of relationship. Some partners get off to a rocky start, only to flourish once they learn each other’s styles. Of course, sometimes a rocky start means more bumps ahead. If you produce work that you both feel proud of, everything else will probably fall into place. But if the work doesn’t come out like you want it to, then it’s certainly not worth struggling with an awkward partnership. Even if you and your partner get along fantastically, if the work doesn’t make you proud, then you should reconsider the writing partnership.