I know I promised you tidbits about my upcoming novel, An Irresistible Shadow.  For those of you who are dying to know, it will be released on September 13th from Breathless Press!

Now, onto today’s topic.  Collaboration.

Writers by nature are solitary creatures.  Most of us are introverts and prefer to be left alone to pursue their craft.  While this is true for me, I love having fellow writers nearby, in case I need some moral support or a shot of creativity.

Robyn is one such writer.  I keep her close.  She is a fount of invaluable information and creative inspiration.  There have been many times where we discussed our works and were able to push through the blocks hindering our progress.  We began a project together, kind of a fun project just after the insanity of NaNo last year.  We call it Bedroom Four.  It has four main characters.  She took two, and I took two.  Robyn and I have very different writing styles, but for this story, we chose the direction of our characters and then found a way to blend them together with a common theme.

Unfortunately, due to both our schedules, we are unable to work on Bedroom Four at the moment. But, we will return to it at some point in the near future.  This delightful taste of collaboration made me want to do it again.

This time, I found a partner in the most interesting of places.  My best friend’s husband is an avid reader, but not a writer.  While we chatted about writing one day, I told him about a new story idea I had.  Before I knew it, we had all the characters, setting, and most of the plot lined out.  Now, it’s a collaboration.  I couldn’t have gotten this far, this fast, without his help.  The story is taking on a life of its own and I love it.  You can have one hint….Twisted Fairy Tale.  Have I sufficiently teased you?  Good.

It seems that this moment in my writing career is about collaboration.  And I’m okay with that.  I like seeing someone as passionate as I am about the same project!

I’m still learning…how to share, how to not take criticism personally, how to negotiate, and how to resolve conflict.  And I believe collaboration is a great way to teach me these things.  To be a well rounded writer, I must be open to all things.

So how do you feel about collaborations?  Would you try it?