Constraints and Limits Spark Creativity

When two people write together, there are twice as many heads coming up with ideas. Perhaps more importantly though, there are also twice as many critics of every impulsive, creative act. This is a good thing. Ideas are sold by weight, not volume. You don’t improve your fiction via more ideas; you do so with better ideas.

A good partner makes sure your work meets the required standard. Sometimes there can be some friction if the two of you don’t immediately swoon for the same imagery and concepts. It’s natural to want unrestrained license to explore any wild notion that springs to your cortex, but that doesn’t mean it’s the path toward achieving your best work. When everything goes on the page, unfiltered, your truly great ideas are tangled up with, well, the other ones. A partner’s critique helps you filter things. Later, you can return the favor when your partner wants to wear plaid with stripes.

It feels like a paradox, but working within constraints actually increases your creativity. Cutting back on the effects budget drives you to focus on character and story. Avoiding tangents keeps your prose tight. Working by yourself, it’s often difficult to gauge when you’re going astray. In a collaboration, someone has your back.