h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Tell me if this is a stupid idea. (Had a few beers infront of the football so it could well be.)

If you keep being accused of being too laddy and I keep being accused of girly fluffiness maybe, at some point, when there isn't anything else pressing, we should get together and do something collaboratively.

Think of the advantages. We'd only have to write half each then and we'd get things rattled off in half the time. Could do one of those double VP things that are becoming more common these days. Waddya think?

Warning: I am a total bitch to work with though. Last time I wrote collaboratively my partner didn't spek to me for a month afterwards.

MegXXX

Hi Meg,

Just got back from a teetotal dinner and am knackered but wanted to see what had been going on. Funny how not drinking is tiring...

DVP sounds like a good idea. I'm interested. We could even go for a four view pointed novel and get some more folks involved, or we could do two main characters each.
Think the best idea would be for you to write the men, me the women. Then we can correct each other as we go, and hopefully our styles should meet somewhere in the middle.
Plus we should learn a lot more that way...

If we can come up with any decent ideas, I might run them past my agent for approval.

We don't want to fart about for the sake of it, do we?

Have loads of stuff to say on this, but too tired now...

Give me some more details/ideas/etc when you next pop in.

I'll be around tomoz a.m.

Toodles

Hi there,

Ok. I'm still up for the idea now sober.

Haven't got the any firm ideas yet. Maybe something along the lines of a couple who have spilt up for some reason. Jitlted at the altar, running away from unplanned parenthood or something.
Could we go for the reverse angle of the woman who does the running away from responsibility? She could flee to another county, go travelling or something. Leaving bloke behind to pick up pieces.
Could have lots of will they won't they get back together stuff. Lots of e-mails, seem to be the in thing in novels these days.
I'm sure you've got loads of ideas about how to spice up a romance on the rocks story with lots of laddish action.

MegXXX

Have just got up and need some breakfast...

So far we seem to have The Runaway Bride mixed with Tony Parsons Man and Boy...

Course I'd hope we could do it better!

Aside from plot, something I've had drummed in to me the last six years is make the characters as likeable as possible and have tremendous pace. Events have to move fast.

I was going to suggest we wrote a 1,000 words each, alternating, but maybe 500 hundred would be better?

This way we're under pressure to be quick. Something has got to 'happen' in ever 500 words.


Whether it be a plot point, comedy scene, revelation about a character, introduction of a new character, etc...

I also reckon we should keep it short and sweet. Around 75,000.


Any thoughts on that?

What did you think about you writing the guy and me the girl?
I think this would give us more creative freedom, and might give us a better quirkier, more original! novel.

One other thing: This might well not work that well, but I think it is worth a shot!

And the will they/won't they is great. Always. Check Ross and Rachel in Friends. Moonlighting, etc.

We'll need the reader to sympathise with both parties to make it work, methinks.

Hang on. Just done some maths. This won't be quick to write. If we write 500 words each, every other day it'll take 10 months! I usually try a novel in two to three!

Still, I think it'd be interesting to do and if it turns in to a nightmare we'll just stop.

Am going for brekko. Back in half an hour

Would definitely like to have a go at being the guy. I assume we're going for first person narrative here.

Maybe we could have a more flexible chunk limit. maybe 500-2000 words depending on the job in hand. Probably smaller chunks at beginning and end with a few more meaty ones when we're really developing the characters.

You're right though. I think we need to set out some sacred groun rules before we start about deadlines for sections and crits. I think we also need to agree to be brutally honest with each other (not that we usually have a prob with that) and I think we need to have a sort of vito system for anything we don't like that the other writes.
I think an understanding that either of us can bail if its not working out might help. At the same time, because we're working as a team with lots of little deadlines it might help to keep us on track.

To fit round the day job I have a rather erratic work pattern. I tend to get the big chunks done in the school hols (7weeks coming up soon so might be a good time to start)and then do tidying up and editing evenings and weekends. If we're going for small chunks though it shouldn't be a problem. I can easily turn out 500-1000 word sections. I try and make myself write that much in a day anyway.

Anyhow, mull it over and get back to me. There's no rush and we've both got solo projects to keep us going for the moment. it just struck me that our writing styles might just be the perfect compliment for each other. Even if we never get the thing finished I think it should be an interesting learning experience.

MegXXX

More thought (forgive me I do tend to ramble when I'm mulling over an idea)

I think you're right about the 75000 word aim. I usually tend to write more than i need and slash it down. Going in with the chainsaw should be easier with two of us on the job anyway.

I know you're a bit anxious about the long time span but with 500 word chunks there might be times, especially over the summer, where we could knock out more than one a day.

I think plotwise I'm prepared to be guided by you to a certain extent. Originality on that front has never been my strongpoint.

I agree about making the characters likeable. But I think they've got to be likeable for different reasons and have very distinct voices. That should come quite easily though with the dual authorship.

Anyway, stop rambling now.

Speak soon,

MegXXX

Right, just popped in as seem to have gone rather red in the sun (nothing fatal, I hope)

Agree with everything you've said, basically.
Good start!
I write in an 'everything's an experiment' way. I'm not afraid of making cock ups or writing badly, because I know I can fix it later if need be.
You should hopefully feel the same. It gives you ultimate freedom, and will give this project a far better chance of success.
Unless something is really bad I think we should just crack on. Don't worry about repeating words, spelling, punctuation, etc...We can solve all that later.

I respect your writing and am not precious about mine, so I shouldn't be too bad to work with, but we should keep moving forward, unless major brain waves strike.

My approach to this will be: fun experiment, but I'd like to do it as well as we can...improve our writing, possibly try and get it published.

I think we'll find out super quickly if this is going to work or not. If it ain't working, we'll just quit and go back to Hellfire and critting, okay? I'm sure neither of us will take offense.

So far we're agreed on;

I'll write the girl (can she be, say, single, 25ish, called Cassie, with a 3 year old daugher? very cute. If not substitute name, or anything else.
You'll write the guy, yeah? And I'd recommend he has nothing to do with Cassie to begin with, for at least the first 10,000 words.
So basically you create his world, his character, his life, I do the same, and then...Well they could have been linked in the past, or they could just meet. We don't know yet. That's what will make it fun.
I think if we start off integrating the characters straight off this project will fail. Doomed! (Also if the partnership does fail, we've got two separate projects started!)
If we give ourselves time to see what we're both doing, get an idea of the characters we're creating, etc, it'll work much better.

Probably at this stage we can advise each other on thoughts we're having...

500-2,000 word sections. Great. Like you said, nearer to 500 to start with.

75,000 word finished product! ish.

1st or 3rd person: you choose

Present/past tense: you choose (past would be easier, I think)

Plot: I'd like to make one rule. Something has to 'happen' in every section, like I said.
This means no rambling conversations, no long descriptive passages.
Doesn't matter if you have no clue how it will come out later in the novel. If it's in, it might be useful. If it's not, we have nothing to work with. And if it becomes obsolete, we just delete it later.
If we're any good, plot points we stuff in randomly at the start will come in handy. (I make notes of important stuff, so I can keep an eye on when I can re-introduce them to the narrative)

Suggestions:

Can it be a super fast paced summer read? Frothy, bouncy and funny?
I'd rather it stayed in this country, and it might be a good idea for my character to be Southern, yours to be Northern. Perhaps have them meet in London. Sounds commercial to me...But feel free to change that too.

I have an idea for my opening scene...

What we could do is both write a bit, then see who we want to start with.

Yeah?

Okay. Ready, steady, go!

Oh no. You have to tell me 1st or 3rd person and tense first.

Then I'm going to write my first 500-1000 words today. If it's any good, I'll show you. If it's crap, I'll wait till next week!

Going bike riding now. Oh, it's so Famous Five. Where's my lashings of Ginger Beer?!!

Ok. I think 1st person might work better in terms of getting the two distinct voices going but i am prepared to be persuaded on that one.
I'm also quite keen to get a bit of second person in there when the two characters are apart. Thoughts and memories spoken aloud that kind of thing. Would prefer past tense for the most part. Present scares me to death.

I'll warn you I am very prone to descriptive rambling but that's one on the reasons i think you'll make a good writing partner. You'll tell me, sledgehammer style, when I'm doing it.

*Unless something is really bad I think we should just crack on. Don't worry about repeating words, spelling, punctuation, etc...We can solve all that later.*

Totally agreed. My proof reading is shite for my own stuff. Much better at spotting gaffs in other people's work. partnership should solve that but as you say I think we need to keep the momentum going.

*If it ain't working, we'll just quit and go back to Hellfire and critting, okay? I'm sure neither of us will take offense.*

Again, agreed. I think the fact that we only know each other through our writing is probably a bonus. No baggage to deal with. Might even be a good publicity angle if we ever get as far as publishing, the fact that we wrote a novel together having never even met. (I am prepared to take it as seriously as needs be though. I don't do things in half measures and I'm as keen to get published as you are.)

*Can it be a super fast paced summer read? Frothy, bouncy and funny?*

Yep. I'm into froth.

*Perhaps have them meet in London. Sounds commercial to me...But feel free to change that too.*

Meeting in London is good. I'd have to get on the train down there and do lots of research, not to mention shopping. Drat.Be as commercial as you like. I'd go for money making over literary merit every time.

*I'll write the girl (can she be, say, single, 25ish, called Cassie, with a 3 year old daugher? very cute.*

Sounds ok as a starting point. Do you mind i I don't have any kids. I don't do a very good maternal or should that be paternal. Hmmm! I think we might have some kind of conflict starting already.
Yep he's starting to form in my mind and yes he is Northern. Just needs a name. I'll have one by the end of today, I promise you.

Right. Looks like we have a project on our hands.

I'll find some way of posting my e-mail for you in a discreet corner of the site somewhere.

MegXXX

Bravo Meg!
Let's start then!
1st person, past tense.
(2nd person interjections sound good. If in the final cut they seem out of place, then we can just snip)
Maybe I'll make the three year old in the first scene I've got for Cassie, daughter of a friend or something.
Could be a bit ambitious for me to have to deal with the baby in every scene, I suddenly thought!
Just need the daughter for the opening cutey gag!

And agree with it being a bonus that we don't know each other outside of the net.
Let's keep it like that, (a virtually non-existent knowledge of each other's likes and dislikes outside of Hellfire should give us even more freedom.) and if we do get a deal for it (I'm sure my agent will have it read for us) we could meet at the launch, and that, as you say would be great publicity. The Beeb might even do something promotional too. Like interviews, etc.

Oh, sod it, buy the mansion now! The money is on its way...
How cool would that be?

One other thought: Both our attempts at writing as the oppo sex will probably contain cliches to begin with, but we can advise each other about this after (ie I might bang on about hair, nails, shoes, chocolate, pmt, etc to begin with but I'm sure it will be toned down. Then again that could be spot on!)

I'm looking forward to the challenge as I usually write in a pretty full on way. This will have to be a lot gentler, methinks.

So, starting positions again please, readysteadygo!

Well after the barbecue and footie natch...

Shall we say 1-2,000 words by friday?

But we can e-mail each other stuff before, if we want?

Okay, I've just set up a new e-mail account for this caper,

it's [email protected]

Ok. Will contact you after the footie.

His name's Nick by the way. He's 28 and a conference and banqueting manager in a hotel in Sheffield.

Been sat on the back garden scribbling. It's coming out a bit present tense at the moment. (I know i said I didn't want to do that.) But I can always change a few verbs here and there if it doesn't fit with yours. I think any flashbacks would be in past tense though, don't you?

MegXXX

Good work.

Carrie is a pet portraitist: perfect for lots of misbehaving animals and paint splashes...

Will e-mail you in the morning! Too depressed to type it up now.



Think I might work it into the book though. I'm sure Nick is the sort chap who would be clutching his head disbelievingly in front of the telly and consoling himself with several crates of lager.

See you in the morning,

MegXXX

Yes, let's set the book in the 'right now'. Euro can add a bit of a back drop.

'OH NO! He's done a Hesky!' etc...

Cheer up, though. We'll beat France in the final. Better this way round.

Life is so like this.

First disaster for England, then some very good news arrives...

If you haven't already seen what I'm on about:

Peruse your e-mail now. (Either address) But I mean NOW

e-mail read and replied to

MegXXX

diddlywiddlyditto...checkit!