Writing Partners - Pros and Cons?

thartley

thartley

Veteran
I have lots of questions about this.

How and why do people do it?

What are the benefits to writing with a partner and when is it a better choice than writing alone?

How do you find a writing partner?

What are the legal pros and cons of having a writing partner?

Does it help or hinder the shopping process?
 
Well, some of the obvious benefits would be having someone to bounce ideas off of, getting a fresh perspective on the story, getting new ideas, etc.
 
Legal issues - You would have to sort that all out ahead of time. I have "hired" people to write with me, the understanding being that I own all the rights to the script.

I love having writing partners, I find it is a lot easier to get something done with them. I am more of a "re-writer" than a writer, if that makes any sense.

Obviously, you do need to find someone who you are on the same page with, but even still, sometimes someone else's bad idea can spark a good idea of your own.
 
thartley said:
Why do people do it...and when is it a better choice than writing alone?
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For a number of reasons. While I like working alone because I am the independent type, there are pros to working with someone else:

1) Two minds thinking about plot instead of one means that you will possibly get a better idea than if you were by yourself.

2) Sometimes makes it easier if you hit a block or if you don't have a lot of time, etc...

3) If you have a very complex script they can help you keep it together

How do you find a writing partner?
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There is a very simple two-step process I have developed for this:

1) Send me a PM asking if I would like to help, be sure to include as much details as possible.

2) I reply saying "yes" or maybe "no" but for you that would be a very rare thing.

:)
 
it has very little to do with talent or whether you particularly like each other (although both help) - the biggest issue is whether you can actually write together, i.e. can you both work towards a common goal (which may change during the writing process), constructively arguing and changing and rewriting and throwing ideas around, without anyone trying to take over or bursting into tears or hitting each other.

When it works, it's immensely more fun and productive than working by yourself - but when it doesn't work, it's a waste of everyone's time and can be personally and creatively destructive.

And the only way to find out is to try... :(
 
Another reason for doing it is to work with a writer more experienced than yourself. This is good for first-timers who have a great story idea, but don't have the ability on their own to bring it to its fullest fruition. They need a guiding hand. But they need that guide to help them bring out THEIR story, and not try to turn it into his own.
 
I guess the best place to field this out is to get into some writer's groups locally and scope it out.

Thanks....
 
The thing you have to be careful of is that doctors don't make good patients, and not all writers make good critics. Sometimes it's hard for a writer not to look at someone else's work and say, "Oh, I would've done it THIS way." I'm bad about that, and I've noticed it in others from time to time. Just like it doesn't matter what other filmmakers think of your movie -- it matters what the audience thinks. Those poor untrained, unenlightened masses. It's their opinion that matters in the end.

Which is not to say that writers can't be good critics. Just weigh carefully what they say. People aren't perfect.
 
all my writing partners have come from my writers group, where we regularly constructively criticise each others' writing. Yiou soon spot who provides useful comments and whose comments you agree with - those are the people likely to make good writing partners for you
 
baquajim said:
I am more of a "re-writer" than a writer, if that makes any sense.
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makes total sense. my co-writer is very much like that. i busted out a draft of our latest script in about 2 months, knowing he'd be there to catch all the mistakes and question everything. and he did. it took about 4 months to get his draft back but he caught everything and changed a lot of things. he has said he is a "re-writer" at least on on our collaborations. but he definitely brings as much origininality into the script as i do when it's my idea.

i love bouncing ideas back and forth. at one point i was making our main character an alcoholic then a schizophrenic and he made him a slightly off-kilter guy with a drinking problem. he took my extremes and made them believable.

as for where we met? he was a copywriter and i am an art director at a vegas ad agency. not as cool as it sounds. we both love films. and i just asked him to help write a script.

legally, we both hold the copyright to the script. i own the rights to the film (at least the short we did).

but i can't stress how much it's beneficial to have someone to bounce ideas off of. i was dead-set this script would be horror. but after his input, and my realisation he was right, it has become more of a drama with horrific overtones. i was dead-set on a decapitation. and when that went away, i didn't miss it, because what replaced it was soooo much more satisfying.

it's like having a script spouse - someone whom you trust and nags you to work, and never judges and isn't afraid to say something's not right. there's respect. there's friendly competition (my line or yours?). there's someone to answer to and someone who knows as much about the script and story and characters as you do, with a different point of view, who can call your bluff or keep the illusion alive.
 
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