Collaborative novel writing at its best
The entries on this section of the website are going to be part objective reflection, part personal diary, part how-to/what-not-to-do/don't-for-the-love-of-God-do-it-that-way, and part rant (who? ME??!! Mrs Mellow?) So, let's kick this off...
It is a genuine desire of mine to document a lot of the ups and downs of this process - after all, I'm going to be spending a goodly amount of my time, energy, money and brain-power as my contribution to the finished project, so why not capture it here for posterity alongside creating what might be some decent-ish guidance for others to copy in their pursuit of the perfect collaborative wangdangdoodle.
OK, so quick whistle stop reminder of what the actual blimmin' flip is going on here.
Kev (he's the incognito one in this photo) has always wanted to write a novel based on some of the real life experiences he had as a young man back in the 1990s. I know! It's hard to believe he's that old but, yes, that does put him in his late forties. Doesn't look it though, does he? Good genes.
Anyhow, he knew I could bash out a few words on a good day (I'm Debs btw, I'm the one writing this, on the left here, older than Kev by some considerable gap and therefore the boss as opposed to just bossy - tho' I'm probably that too) so he proposed the idea of creating the novel between us, with him giving me stories and pointers from way back when, and me pulling it all into a readable, coherent bunch-of-sentences.
We had a few wobbles at the start. How the heck were we going to do this? Could we really pull it all together? What about the actual real life people involved? Is it going to hurt our eyeballs and brains (hint: yes)? Which bits of the 'real life story' should we use? What if people doubt us or laugh at the idea? How will we publish the finished thing? Who will play Kev's character when Hollywood turns the book into a blockbuster film?
To all these questions there are only three answers: dunno, yes or so what. (And Keanu Reeves obvs.)
So we launched ourselves into starting this shindig and although we're barely six months into the project, and we're both busy with bills to pay, jobs to go to and other responsibilities that we have to deal with (I'm looking at you, KIDS) we are already a third of the way through the messy first draft. And going strong.
This book will get finished and this creative project will be a success, of that I have absolutely no doubt. We're bringing little nuggets of value into the world, through the retelling of the story, through sharing the highs and lows of the collaborative process, and through the daft, entertaining and sometimes bittersweet stuff we post here and on our social media do-dahs (please go and follow us!)
