Collaboration Is the Way to Go by Michael Stanley

Today the Reds are so pleased to have Michael Stanley, aka the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, talking about the art of collaboration. Take it away, Michael...er...Stanley...um Michael Stanley!

Michael Stanley: The question we are asked most often at book events by both authors and readers is ‘How can two people write fiction together?’

At first, we were puzzled by the question because both of us, in our professional lives as university professors, had been collaborators. Stanley had co-authored multiple non-fiction books and Michael many academic papers. So, when we decided to write our first mystery, A Carrion Death, we never even discussed whether it was a good idea. It seemed the natural thing to do. It was only later that we realized that it was quite uncommon.

So why do we like collaboration so much? 

First, we have the benefit of having a totally involved person to brainstorm with, to bounce ideas off, and to give truly critical feedback. A single writer has only himself or herself to interact with. How depressing! How lonely! Second, we have the benefit of having someone to share a glass of wine with while discussing the intricacies of plot or character – a solo writer can’t do that, because no one else would be totally involved.

Unlike some collaborations where responsibilities are split up, we both do everything. We brainstorm together, follow up on research, travel to little known parts of Botswana, write, and edit. 

Our process is that one of us does the first draft of a piece. Sometimes that is part of a chapter; other times a chapter or two. He then sends it by email to the other, and receives a response, which is often a highly commented and edited version. The originator responds, then back and forth in that way, as many as twenty times or even more. What we have both learned from this is that there is no one, perfect way to write something, much as each of us likes to believe we have done just that. It turns out that words, sentences, and even plots are flexible.

Eventually the piece is not written by Michael or by Stanley, but rather by some gestalt, called Michael Stanley, who sits in cyberspace somewhere between the United States and South Africa. Readers tell us the product is seamless; our friends tell us they can identify who wrote what, but they are wrong about half the time!

There are many benefits to collaboration. We can brainstorm plot and character, which we think results in a more cohesive final product. When one of us flags, the other is there to nag and take up the slack. Best of all we get immediate and interested feedback on anything we write. But there are some caveats. One must be willing to take harsh criticism, knowing that it’s directed at the product rather than the person and that the only aim is to improve the work. There must be trust and an ability to see the other person’s point of view. It helps if you have similar writing styles. And it probably takes longer than writing alone. But all that is outweighed by the biggest advantage: it is great fun! And, after all, almost all people who write do it for the enjoyment.

So now, when we are asked ‘How can two people write fiction together?’, we respond that this is the wrong question! A better question is ‘How can a person write alone?’ 

What about you, Reds and Readers, do you think it is easier to work together or alone? 

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FACETS OF DEATH

Diamonds can be deadly…

David Bengu has always stood out from the crowd. His personality and his physique match his nickname, Kubu—Setswana for “hippopotamus”—a seemingly docile creature, but one of the deadliest in Africa. His keen mind and famous persistence have seen him rise in the Botswana CID. But how did he get his start?

Inauspiciously. His resentful new colleagues are suspicious of a detective who has entered the CID straight from university, skipping the usual beat cop phase. Nearly broke, with no car or wife, Kubu has the support of his parents, but success will depend on self-reliance. He is immediately plunged into investigations at two airports.

One takes him to the airport near Gaborone where something criminal is going on in baggage claim.

The other begins at Jwaneng Airport, where a plane bursts into flames. It’s the opening move in a brutal heist of stones from the world’s richest diamond mine. The robbers die in a shoot-out, but the diamonds remain missing. So who masterminded the crime? Rumors of a witch doctor’s involvement send the detectives down a dark path. Ultimately, new recruit Kubu finds himself engineering a risky trap. Will his first major case prove his worth—or kill his career?

About the Author:

Michael Stanley is the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip.

Both are retired professors who have worked in academia and business. Sears is a mathematician, specializing in geological remote sensing. Trollip is an educational psychologist, specializing in the application of computers to teaching and learning, and a pilot. They were both born in South Africa.