The Power of Author Collaboration

We are a group of speculative fiction authors from Britain and Ireland and we call ourselves the Creative Commune. We came together out of that need so many writers experience – isolation. Writing can be a lonely business. It helps if you can unload those worries, problems and minor successes on others, knowing they will understand because they’ve shared them too. We meet online, on a regular basis. Beyond that, we help to promote one another too, sharing posts on social media and the like. After all, competition isn’t a concept recognised in the writing community, collaboration is. The Fellowship of the Odyssey Our group set out on an odyssey which, while not as epic as Homer’s, is proving to be a lot of fun. The original challenge may have included some of Don Quixote’s naiveté in its goals, but we set off to tilt at our respective windmills all the same. Our collaboration could have taken the form of an anthology of short stories but, like it says in another quest story, The Road to Oz, ‘It is not where you are but who you are with, that is important.’  In other words, an anthology didn’t offer real collaboration, it was more like mutual cooperation. We wanted something to challenge us, as writers. This led to the nativity of what would become Realm Raiders. A serialised web story, novella in size, written by nine different authors. Our tag line: One story. Nine authors. Our endeavours began with a fellowship; a collection of individuals whose differing talents had the potential to bring about our particular zeitgeist. We wanted to celebrate our differences, not create a homogenised story. Chapters would vary in tone and style as new perspectives, new narrators, were introduced. It became my job to edit the project, to ensure consistency. Who are our nine authors? Alex S Bradshaw  describes himself as ‘a fantasy writer who loves epic stories with unforgettable characters.’ His body of work focuses on Norse myth and Viking settings. Ed Crocker  is an editor, reviewer and author of epic fantasy, his trilogy The Everlands, is set in a dystopian world of immortals: vampires, werewolves and sorcerers. Frank Dorrian ’s first novel, The Shadow of the High King, provides an accurate insight into his grimdark writing style Rachel V Green   writes a mixture of Young Adult and Adult Fantasy, always with romance at the heart and prizes strong female characters who write their own destinies. Simon Kewin  is an award-winning fantasy and sci/fi writer with over a hundred published short stories and numerous novels to his name. Damien Larkin  is an Irish science fiction and fantasy author, his Big Red military science fiction stories reflect his experiences in the armed forces. Derek Power  predominately focuses on comedy-fantasy works, primarily his Filthy Henry stories about an Irish fairy detective but he’s also dabbled in sci-fi noir with 'Duplex Tempus'. Patrick Samphire  is a freelance editor and author of fantasy novels for adults and children, he’s the creator of the highly successful Nik Thorne series. Phil Williams  is an author of fantasy, horror and dystopian fiction, an editor, cover designer and author of English reference books for foreign learners. Our merry band set off on their quest with a wide-ranging discussion which allowed our differences to be made manifest. Ideas soon led to a story which spanned different worlds, using portal fantasy to enable our styles to exist in parallel. Our nine authors divided into three teams, one chapter per writer in the first half of the book, slightly different teams in the second half. The teams coordinate their part of the story before then sharing it with the rest of the group for their feedback. Collaboration: Listening and Growing Throughout this process, we’ve continued to meet online to provide updates and project manage the plot. It’s proved to be an exciting challenge, one everyone enjoys. It’s perhaps down to having the right chemistry in the group, that our planning sessions lead to so much laughter. No one is “precious” about their work, if something needs changing, we change it. Ideas are offered but not with the sense of ownership that leads to heated debate. We chat on Discord all the time, adding to threads that pursue an idea, until we reach decisions on which we agree. Though he’s not a writer but an actor, Joel Grey once said, ‘Collaboration is about listening to someone else and adding your own feelings about that thought.’  That is the basis of good collaboration we’ve found. The musician Dave Koz agrees, ‘if you're a good listener and you have your ears open, and to be a good collaborator you have to be able to listen, you can learn something from somebody else.’  Notes are taken in our discussions and decisions shared, so there is always a definitive answer, stored on Discord. We do this because, in any discussion of a dozen people, it’s easy to miss things, no matter how well you listen! One of the benefits from this collaborative process comes in the form of personal development . It’s fascinating seeing how another writer addresses any challenge. When one author finishes their chapter, like passing a baton in a relay race, the next writer must continue from that point. It’s similar to the way script writers work in television, where each episode might have different contributors but the story needs to remain cohesive. The multi-award winning and prolific author James Patterson agrees, ‘There is a lot to be said for collaboration, and it should be seen as just another way to do things as it is in other forms of writing, such as for television, where it is standard practice.’  It works in the music business too, Brian Eno offers an example here, ‘Every collaboration helps you grow. With Bowie, it's different every time. I know how to create settings, unusual aural environments. That inspires him.’ Growth comes from needing to think differently, to engage on a different level to the one housing your comfort zone. It would have been natural for our three teams to be comprised of like-minded individuals but that didn’t happen. One subplot involved a bitter and demoralised character forced to team up with an ineffectual mage and a necromancer who could only resurrect the dead. How do you weave a story with that combination? The answer – very successfully! Pharrell Williams talks about this growth mindset too. ‘I learn a lot from my experiences and collaborations. Most of my collaborations are meant for me to learn.’  If you approach a collaborative project with that goal, to learn and develop from it, the outcome can be not only rewarding, but hugely enjoyable. Collaboration: Promotion and Friendships The final part of this project, centres around marketing and promotion. As authors, (both traditionally and independently published), we knew this project allowed us to increase our public profile. The outcome has been interviews (written and on video), and promotion of Realm Raiders across all social media platforms, as each chapter becomes available each week. For this to happen, we’re grateful to everyone at Spotlight Indie  who host our serialised web story and the promotional materials that accompany it. It’s an extension of our collaboration, realising that friendships are mutual things. This concept is probably best summed up by that famous quote from Mark Twain, ‘Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that. But the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.’   The Takeaway The idea of writers collaborating might remind you of that famous quote from Evelyn Waugh , ‘I never can understand how two men can write a book together. To me, that’s like three people getting together to have a baby.’  It’s actually a misquote from the great man, who was talking about how he’d been confounded in his beliefs, when it came to co-authoring with a writer he didn’t think he could work with. Realm Raiders illustrates how collaboration can produce something special, because of the chemistry involved in the creative process. Where chain reactions are ignited by ideas from others, that fuse together into something unique and unpredictable. I started this post by referencing various literary quests, which all share one common feature. Those who complete the quest do so, having changed, having grown. Frodo is no longer the complacent little hobbit, satisfied with his life in the Shire. His experiences turn him into someone stronger, wiser, braver. Collaborating with other writers might not involve battling orcs, gigantic spiders and evil wizards, but achieving something cohesive, that is enjoyed by readers, proves growth happens. Furthermore, by working together, it’s produced something that attracts the reading public and that’s a real boon too. To find out about my own fantasy novels, click this image: