Wodke Hawkinson Guest Blog Part II

This week, I am featuring Part II of Wodke Hawkinson's first guest post, "The 3 C's of Collaboration." It will further discuss their co-writing. 

How we do it.

There are four main steps in our process.

Planning comes first. We take an idea and toss it around. Sometimes one of us will have a clearer vision than the other. In those cases, communication plays a very important role. Through many hours of discussion, we lay out the gist of the story, work with outlines, photos for inspiration, maps, and diagrams.

Next, one of us will begin the book with a chapter or two. When completed, it is then sent to the other for editing, revision, and addition of material. We pass it back and forth. Sometimes we assign certain parts. For instance, if we know a fight scene and a love scene are both approaching, we assign one scene to each of us. However, ultimately we both work on all scenes, making our own contributions and suggesting changes. This step is the actual writing of the book.

The third step is editing. When we have finished a book, each of us will go through the entire thing, make comments, and send it back to the other. She will then consider the comments, accept or reject the suggested changes, and read through the entire book to make her own suggestions for revision. This back-and-forth continues until both of us feel there is nothing left to add or subtract from the manuscript. This way, the book is gone through multiple times by each of us until we are satisfied with the result.

The final step is proofreading. It’s important to note that even with multiple proofreading efforts, errors can sneak in. After publishing the book, we each re-read it in its published form to ferret out any mistakes that slipped past the pre-publication proofreading stage.

 Advantages to co-writing

There are many advantages to the co-writing experience. For purposes of brevity, we will mention only three.

An expanded supply of ideas. Co-writing gives you access to another person’s brain, their perspective, their entire history of experiences, and their creative ideas. This can add dimension to the story that had not occurred to you.

Two sets of eyes. It is a huge advantage to have two sets of eyes as far as editing and proofing are concerned. What you miss, hopefully your co-author will catch, and vice versa.

A division of labor. Splitting the work load can be a relief. It can also mean getting twice as much accomplished or finishing twice as fast.

*Thanks again to Karen and PJ.  Please support them by checking out their links below and leaving a comment. 

Website: http://wodke-hawkinson.com/

Reader & Fellow Indie Authors site: http://findagoodbooktoread.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Wodke-Hawkinson/e/B00572KLX2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Smashwords author page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/wodkehawkinson

Barnes & Noble page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/wodke-hawkinson

Twitter ID:@WodkeHawkinson

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wodke.hawkinson

Tangerine - Romance and intrigue in a future where space travel is commonplace and aliens a part of everyday life.

Betrayed - Brooklyn is taken captive during a botched carjacking. And so her nightmare begins.

Betrayed - Alternate Ending - Written especially for readers of Betrayed, this publication begins at chapter 49 of the original novel and takes the story in a completely different direction.