Co-Authors Are the Best!

(Reposted from 01/30/09)

I thought I should update with something more substantial since my last post was an incredibly short post on how pretty my book is and also since KL's faithful blogging has shamed my lack of such.

I've entitled this blog 'Co-Authors Are The Best' because I have KL, and KL really is great.I don't think I would've published anything without my co-author. Plus, the question I've gotten most frequently so far from the fans who know me in person (read: my family) is: How do you and KL write together?

And the answer to that is: 'very carefully'.

Mainly, I set up my computer next to hers in what we like to call our office, and we furiously type at each other's sides while debating the merits of doing one scene instead of another or having this bit of dialogue over that bit of action, etc. This all usually happens over a stout hot chocolate and a turkey sandwich, and after about four hours of typing for three or four times a week, we have some scene or other to show for our efforts.

For anyone who thinks of co-authoring, make sure you get along together (well, perhaps this is obvious) because you will probably be spending a lot of time with that person.

KL and I write quite well together and continue to do so for about 12-16 hours every week. It might have something to do with the fact that we've been writing for 10 years together and are quite familiar with the other's writing style. It might also have to do that we complement each other, as KL enjoys writing our fighting and action scenes and I enjoy too much our social scenes and world details.

But, I actually think our writing well together also has plenty to do with the fact that we're on the same wavelength for the most part, and if we're not, we happily and comfortably discuss what our options are and what we should do. Our best scenes come from both of us, in the discussions where one of us presents a scene or an instance we'd like to write about and we think about how best to substantiate it. That's what writing SFA is after all--writing about something we really enjoy, or, barring that, something we think would be really funny to do to our characters...

Speaking of writing SFA, I wanted to thank everyone who's been requesting and sending us their applications! KL and I are enjoying meeting all your new characters, and we look forward to see how they develop!

Best,

JLY

Note: Having SFA on Amazon.com has been a real adventure (hah) in and of itself. For some reason, they have us posted as "Eastridge Academy: School for Adventures" rather than "Adventurers" and have listed KL as a "Contributor" rather than as an "Author". *shakes head* Silly Amazon.

Quotation of the Week--on figuring out the symbols on Easden's coins:

KL: "Maybe he should toss a coin to see who goes first. It can't be heads or tails. Should it be, like, fireworks or wheat-shafts?"

Quotation #2--KL being helpful

JLY: "What should I end my post with?
KL: "Hm...with something clever?"
JLY: "-_-*"