8 Tips for Co-Writing

Navigating the Weirdness of Writing with a Partner

When I first launched this newsletter, I asked you what sort of things you might be interested in hearing about. Many of you had questions about co-writing. How do you approach the personal process of writing when there’s a whole other person there? How can two people steer one script? And is there enough room for both your egos?

If you find a compatible writing partner, the benefits of co-writing can be enormous. You get the power of two minds working on the same problems, you can immediately workshop all your ideas, and you’re less likely to procrastinate if there’s someone else staring at your screen. But co-writing comes with its own challenges. Here are a few tips for facing them.

1. Say “yes” to every idea… at first.

When you write by yourself, it helps to separate the generative process from the editing process, and that remains true when there’s another person in the room. The good thing about writing with another person is that they can come up with ideas so outside your typical thinking that you can be truly surprised. The bad thing about writing with another person is that they can come up with ideas so outside your typical thinking that you can be horrified by absolutely disastrous, dog shit ideas.¹ If you stop to object to everything that feels wrong you’ll spend the whole brainstorm session arguing and everyone will leave with hurt feelings. Instead, accept that every idea has some value and bad ideas can be ignored at the end. In the beginning you just want to maintain momentum. This also gives you the freedom to pitch terrible ideas, which I promise you’ll be glad to have.

When you’re done brainstorming, you only need to choose the best ideas. This is much easier, more productive, and more positive than deciding if every idea is “good enough” in the moment.

2. Find YOUR way to split up the work

Just because you’re writing together doesn’t mean you need to be together all the time. Sometimes it’s worthwhile to have individual tasks interspersed between cooperative work. But how do you split up? I think brainstorming is generally better as a team, but after that? Maybe one person takes the first draft and the other person does the edits. Maybe you both write a draft then choose the best parts of both, Frankensteining them together into a mega-script. Maybe you pass drafts back and forth until you’re both happy with the final result. Communicate with your partner about what parts you prefer to do individually and find the system that works for you.

3. Don’t Keep Score

If you have a writing partner, you have to put your ego aside. Be a true partner. Don’t worry about whether you, personally, are getting enough jokes in, or if your ideas are “winning” more. The script is your baby for you to jointly raise right. Don’t worry about who the better parent is. Consider whether each idea is good for the script, not whether it’s good for you.

4. Manage Disagreements by Getting Specific

You and your writing partner won’t always agree. If you think a joke doesn’t belong, or a beat doesn’t work, the burden of proof is on you to explain why. Get as specific as possible. This is just like giving any other note. Something like “this isn’t funny” is not helpful, and will likely lead to hurt feelings. Something like “this beat doesn’t feel like it heightens more than the previous beat” is a problem that can be directly addressed. It also puts the focus on the joke instead of the writer, which is always a good way to protect easily bruised egos.

5. At Impasses, Default to Passion

Sometimes after healthy, detailed discussion neither you nor your partner are convinced by the other’s well-reasoned arguments. You both know your dumb joke is the best dumb joke for your dumb script, and you’ll die fighting for it! How do you resolve these moments? Default to the person who cares more. You might still be convinced you’re right, but if the other person really cares, it might be your duty as a partner to trust them.

6. When All Else Fails, Get An Outside Opinion

Even if you’re writing with a partner you can still get notes from other people. If you’re truly undecided about a moment in a script, write in both and see what your peers have to say about it. Either you’ll have a clear consensus, and thus an answer, or no consensus, in which case either version probably works equally well. In that case, see #5.

7. Use the Alts

You and your partner may have slightly different ideas about how to word a joke, or which beats are the best beats to include in the sketch. You may not even disagree; you might both be unsure on which choice is the best. Save everything. If you find that something doesn’t quite work in a table read, swap the dud out for an alternate. Saving both versions can also be a good way to delay a decision until you can both re-read it with fresh eyes.

8. Not Every Good Writer is a Good Writing Partner

Like a romantic partnership, it may be the case that you and your writing partner simply aren’t made for each other. Sometimes two wonderful, talented writers simply don’t work well together. If that happens, well, there’s no shame in a break up. You can acknowledge that your comedic philosophies, writing priorities, or work habits are just too different to be combined. And that’s okay. Hopefully you can still be friends and exchange notes on each others’ individual work.

1. In your humble opinion.