SHE WROTE: Collaborating

Bob's right, this is the hard part of collaborating. Unfortunately, it lasts until we finish the book.

I know I must have said this a million times already, but the stuff that makes the collaboration so strong, the two different worlds thing, is also the stuff that makes us so frustrated with each other that we want to scream. It's an odd kind of frustration, though. I know he's working incredibly hard, Bob always does. And I know he wants what's best for the book. And he knows the same about me. Well, I think he may have doubts about the 'working incredibly hard' part because he's not seeing any pages. But the point is, we both know the other is completely committed to the book and wants only what's best for the story, no egos involved, truly. And we both know that the clashing we do will result in a better, stronger book. And there's no real fear or worry involved because we both know after DLD that neither one of us is going to walk away because of a fight about the book. So we're frustrated, but we both know it's temporary, that we'll work it out, that neither one of us is going to be forced to do something with the book that he or she doesn't want to.

But we still stare across six hundred miles of empty space and e-mail "Jane, you ignorant slut" messages to each other because the other person is so damn MADDENING. And I'd guess that 90% of it is process, really. Bob makes a plan and sticks to it. I make a plan, write something, discover new things, make a new plan, stare into space thinking hard, discover new things, make a new plan . . .

Sometimes Bob is a couple of plans behind me. Sometimes I don't write anything before I make a new plan. I'm feeling my way in the dark, but Bob's got flares set out and he's painting a white stripe down the middle of the runway. Which makes him really annoyed when I e-mail and say, "I moved the runway over here," especially if he liked where the runway was. Especially when I say, "Well, I had to move it, all your female characters are extensions of the men in their lives and that DOESN"T WORK FOR ME." And then he says, well, never mind what he says. What he says is perfectly legitimate under the circumstances.

The point is, we've been here before. So even while I'm e-mailing him and saying, "Why do you DO THAT? It makes me CRAZY!!!" he's on the other end thinking, "Why does she do that? It makes me crazy." And we're both thinking, "This too shall pass."

You'd think after writing an entire novel we'd have the kinks worked out of this, but nope, same argument, different day.

I'd discuss this further but I need to finish this scene because Bob needs to see this rewrite so he knows where to move the runway. Really, it's much better over HERE.