It Takes Two...

Is it possible for a married couple to co-write a book? For us the answer is a resounding YES! None of our books would have ever seen the light of day had we not attempted a tag-team effort. It only makes sense that we approach writing this way; magic is born when we put our heads together. It’s funny for us to see people’s reactions when they learn that we write one idea together: 50/50…most of the time.

“It takes two to tango.” So goes the saying, though we don’t tango or dance very well. Our specialty lies in two minds writing as one. Co-authors do exist, and married authors do write singly. But married co-authors? Are we weird? Is our combined passion considered an anomaly? With the divorce rate in the US well over fifty percent, I’d venture that we may be somewhat unique to the writing world. Does that make us marketable? Perhaps. Has anyone seen us on the New York Times Bestsellers’ list yet? I know I haven’t.

No matter how strange or special our writing approach is, it means nothing if we fail to produce a satisfactory product. So we’re married and write together. Big deal! Are we any good? Is there one solid writer’s voice throughout? Or does it read as though I wrote X number of pages before handing it to Stef? It is a difficult art to perfect, joining two voices into one—especially when we write so differently. Our approach is to take turns. We average five pages each, though sometimes one of us will conquer a full chapter. Who writes which scene is determined by our own respective strengths and weaknesses. I excel at action and dialogue, while Stef does well with description and introspective character scene. Together we are balanced.

But what about voice? Sure we can divvy out scenes accordingly, but whose voice stands out the strongest? The truth is that we hope you can’t tell. After we’re done writing our scenes, we discuss them at great length. By the time said scene is edited and added to the rest of the novel, we like to believe that our styles have merged. Does that constitute as one? Read our book and tell us!

When we’re not harmonizing in our writing, we are voicing our thoughts for upcoming scenes. This is an everyday process. We walk and talk a lot. While driving in the car, we discuss the story. While folding clothes—yup, talking about the story. When we hit the orange barrel of writers’ block we’ve discovered (thanks Casey Daniels, friend and author) tarot cards help answer our questions. When nothing seems to be working, we write the same scene together. If that method doesn’t work, we scrap the scene altogether.

That brings us to the “what ifs” category. We like to question certain plot elements and see if an alternative path can be taken. We NEVER set anything in stone until we go to the publisher. Last but not least: constructive arguing. What better way to bicker than to do it through fictional characters? It’s reminiscent of role playing, but our arguments are real.

At the end of the day, I’m thankful to have a partner-in-crime when it comes to writing. Both our characters and plots have both gone far and beyond anything we would have ever considered had we not bumped heads. Our marriage is all the better for having teamed up. Perhaps the world of struggling marriages can learn from a couple of weirdos like us.

-Matt