Collaboration
By Bette Golden Lamb &
J. J. Lamb
Collaboration.
Nice word. Solid sound.
Good potential.
You know how it goes –
spouse, sibling, parent, child, aunt, uncle, grandparent, significant other,
friend, or acquaintance says the brain-freeze words, "I have this great
idea; all you have to do is write it."
Remember that old song,
"Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover?" Well, substitute collaborator for
lover and you have an inkling of all the things that could go wrong. If you're
not familiar with the lyrics, trust us – have an escape plan.
If you decide to try
collaboration, first find a mutually suitable approach to the mechanics of
writing a novel, or anything else. We tried writing every other chapter,
writing about certain characters, doing individual scenes, and writing
virtually every word together. None of these worked particularly well.
Final answer? One of us
comes up with a mutually agreeable story idea; that partner writes the first
draft, with input from the other with respect to plotting and character
development.
We switch off for the
second draft and then actually sit down at the keyboard, side by side, to
create the final draft(s).
We also belong to a
serious and dedicated critique group that provides invaluable assistance.
From out first brave
start with Bone Dry (Five Star Mysteries, 2003) we've
now written and published six novels, the latest being Bone of Contention, the fourth in our “Bone” series of medical thrillers.
We would suggest that
one of the first things collaborators should agree on is a mutual goal, beyond
sharing in all the fame and fortune, of course.
Perhaps collaboration simply
sounds like a fun thing to do.
Maybe there's something
going on in the world that you both feel strongly about and want to comment on
through fiction.
Maybe there are certain
genres of fiction you both enjoy reading and would like to try your hand at writing
– mystery, sci-fi, horror, romance, humor, or whatever.
Our literary
collaboration started by merging a career writer ‒ fiction and non-fiction ‒
with a practicing registered nurse and artist. While our reading tastes were
quite similar, there was initial disagreement about what genre we wanted to
write in ‒ sci-fi, mysteries, thrillers. Plus, should the stories have medical-
or journalism-related backgrounds?
Out of this
consternation came Bone Dry, the first of our Gina Mazzio medical
thriller series, followed by Heir Today...,a suspense adventure
about a husband-wife team of investigative journalists. Compromise?
Absolutely!
While we've found
soaring together exhilarating, every now and then we do like to fly solo. Bette
has an award-winning sci-fi novel, Rx Denied, coming from
Assent Publishing later this year; J.J. recently published No Pat Hands, a 2014 nominee for a Shamus Award from Private Eye Writers of
America.
First, if you're part of
a writing team, regardless of whether you're writing together or individually,
we think there's an implicit responsibility needed to keep each other from
crashing and burning.
That's collaboration.
_____________________________________________________________________
Bette Golden Lamb, a feisty ex-Bronxite, writes crime novels and
plays with clay. Her sculptures and other artistic creations appear in
exhibitions, galleries, and stores. She also hangs out with her 50+ rose
bushes, or sneaks out to movies when she should be writing. Being an RN is a
huge clue as to why she writes medical thrillers and Sci-Fi novels.
Award-winning Rx Denied, is due out from Assent Publishing
later this year. J. J. Lamb intended to become an aeronautical
engineer/pilot, but was seduced by journalism. An AP career was interrupted by
the Army, which gave him a Top Secret clearance; a locked room
with table, chair, and typewriter; and the time to write short stories. A
paperback PI series followed, the most recent of which, No Pat Hands, a 2014 Shamus Award
nominee from Private Eye Writers of America. The Lambs, who live in
Northern California, have co-authored five medical thrillers - Bone Dry, Sisters in Silence, Sin & Bone, Bone Pit and Bone of Contention - and a
suspense-adventure-romance novel, Heir Today. Website: www.twobacksheep.us Blog: www.bettelamb,wordpress.com
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