Collab!

Do you ever have AMAZING ideas for a story that you just don’t think you can accomplish on your own? Ever come across someone with whom you can bounce ideas back and forth like pro tennis players?

Here’s a thought for you: Collab! It may be the answer to your problems as a writer trying to tackle a seemingly impossible story. There have been some amazing collaborations in history: Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, to name a few. Let’s go over some points of consideration before you dive into the world of collaboration.

1- Someone you can trust

As mentioned above, sometimes you just come across someone (another writer, dreamer, artist, etc.) that just gets you! They may have similar ideas or just make it easier for you to jump from point A to point B by helping you find a bridge you didn’t know existed.

2- Find your common goal

It may start as a little idea in your head or a friend’s head, but once discussed between the two of you it develops and grows like a weed. That’s a great start! You’ll want to figure out where you want this idea to lead you early on, otherwise your project may become a tangled mess.

Here’s an example of how friends finding a common goal can turn into something amazing. Director Mel Brooks helped his friend, Gene Wilder, to create the iconic film, Young Frankenstein. Below you’ll find a description of their encounter, copied from the New York Post’s site. It reads:

While shooting “Blazing Saddles,” Brooks noticed Wilder doodling on a yellow legal pad between takes. He saw the title “Young Frankenstein” and said, “Gene, what the hell is that?”

Wilder told him his idea for a movie about Baron Frankenstein’s grandson who, though he seems to be a rational man, is in fact as crazy as any Frankenstein.

“What’s your dream for this movie?” Brooks asked.

“My dream is for you to write it with me and direct it,” Wilder said.

“You got any money on you?”

“I have $57,” Wilder said.

“It’s a beginning,” Brooks said. “I’ll take it as a down payment.”

Source

We all know how that project turned out. And if you don’t, shame on you! Go watch it! Geez. Now, we can’t all hope to be part of such a dynamic duo as Wilder and Brooks, but if you have friends with common ideas, try to turn it into something tangible!

3- Strengths and Weaknesses

Just as Wilder and Brooks split up jobs for the project of Young Frankenstein, it may be best to discuss strengths between you and your buddy (or two, or three buddies). That way, your project will have the best possible chance of succeeding when all that you put into it is your best effort.

4- Split up the work

Once you’ve discussed the different strengths and weaknesses between you two, split up the duties that, once completed, will help you have a completed draft of your project. Then you can celebrate! You gave it all you got and did your part. That’s more than enough reason to congratulate yourself. Plus, it’s always easier to fix a piece of writing that exists than to stare at a blank page and wonder what to do. I’ve done that last bit all too often, and it’s not fun.

5- Evaluate!

So, once you have your part done, hopefully your partner will be finished as well! You’ll want to keep in touch throughout the whole process, but once you have something to share with each other you’ll want to begin evaluation.

This can be a delicate process, especially since writers are a bit defensive about their work (or a lot). Just a tip I’ve learned from writing classes: be open to criticism. This doesn’t mean that you need to agree with everything that is said. But you need to be aware that when it comes to your own work, your judgement may be a bit biased. So if your partner points something out, you may need a third set of eyes to help tip the balance. When you are the one giving feedback, I suggest giving constructive criticism, as that will help maintain a healthy relationship between you and your creative partner as you continue work on your project.

All in all, I hope this blog sparks some ideas in you. If there’s something you’ve been dying to work on that just seems to big to ever complete, find someone you can trust and share this dream with. Even if you don’t end up writing a story with someone, I highly recommend still finding someone you can share your work with, and with whom you can bounce ideas off of. Just as finding a running partner can help get you into shape, finding someone you can share your writing with can make a tremendous difference.

So get out there, find someone with similar ideas and dreams as you, and get to work creating something you never thought you could before! With the right help, we can all accomplish things we never dreamed of, and by doing so, share something with the world that was sorely needed by someone. Happy writing!

The Outlet

When I started school at BYU-Idaho, I made up my mind to be an English Major.  I knew it would be a lot of work; reading, writing, researching, yet I knew it would be worth it.  One of my first English classes up there was a fiction writing class.  Very similar to the creative writing class I took at Clark, it focused on writing several short stories or poems and peer evaluation by our classmates.  We then edited them and turned in both the draft and final at the end of the semester.  It was a lot of work, but I learned a lot from our class discussions and from the experiences shared by other classmates and even the teacher. 

As I had had luck before with submitting a piece to the literary magazine at Clark, I felt compelled to try my luck with the BYU-I literary magazine, The Outlet.  The wait was much longer, yet I was pleasantly surprised when a member of The Outlet staff contacted me to say they had accepted my piece, Fireflies, for their 2011 edition.  I was very happy with this new development, and felt even more confident with my writing abilities. 

I have to remind myself though, that this is only a beginning.  Yes, I have been lucky enough to have had two of my pieces accepted by literary magazines, albeit college ones.  Yet the journey to becoming a novelist is only beginning.  I must submit myself to daily writing, editing, research, and humility if I want to someday have a novel published.  It may take a long time, but hopefully someday I will see this dream fulfilled.

New Beginnings

When I finally decided to pursue writing I signed up for a creative writing class at Clark College in Vancouver, WA.  The teacher was less than tolerable, yet my sister Afton and I enjoyed the opportunity to stretch our creative minds.

The course was simple: write 5 short creative works between 8-10 pages each.  We had a list of ideas in which we could stem our stories from, but other than that we were free to write whatever we wanted.  At first I hated the pressure, but over time I realized it was the pressure that helped push me into getting stuff done.

Towards the middle of that semester our lovely teacher told the class of a minor publication opportunity at the college.  The Phoenix was a literary magazine in which students submitted their work.  I jumped at the opportunity, relishing the idea of being able to say I was "published".  Of course, a community college magazine was not a huge accomplishment, but for me it was a start.

I was quite happy when several months passed and I was contacted by the magazine, asking to feature my story Ben in their 2010 edition of The Phoenix.  To me it was more than knowing I had accomplished something; it was knowing that I might actually be good at writing.

To the reader: Even a humble start is a start.  Send in your work to magazines, whether local or national, and see what you get.  Look for magazines that draw in the type of audience your own story would receive.  Also, it's not a bad idea to get some feedback from friends, family, teachers, etc. on how your story is.  Criticism can be hard to take, yet when constructive it can help you polish your piece. 

~Stevie

To Become a Writer

I am beginning this blog with the sole purpose of giving myself motivation to write, and hopefully others out there a reason to keep writing.  It is my goal to become a published author someday.  That may not happen for quite some time, yet the more I write the closer I will become to living the dream.

This journey began back in 2009 when a friend sent me a short portion of a book he had been writing.  It had its flaws, yet even with the rough edges I could see potential.  I had always loved writing, yet had never imagined myself writing a full-length novel.  But you know what I did?  I started one.  It felt so refreshing to begin something where I could see growth.

So here I am, several years later, trying to keep myself motivated. I love writing, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's hard to keep yourself on track.  I've convinced myself that all you need are strangely beautiful ideas and the proper writing skills. The hardest part to that is making yourself sit down and write.

 As I continue with this blog, I will share the experiences I have had with writing in the past, and hopefully continue to share more experiences to come.  There may also be some random blogs thrown in here, maybe even some book reviews. 

~Stevie