Advice on Collaboration

Share and discuss tips that can make collborative writing more enjoyable and prolific, less discordant and stressful. Collaboration can be hard. Another writer has preferences just like you. Their tastes are always at least slightly different. Communicating your ideas, coming to an agreement on a character arc or plot progression, discussing phrasing or word choices - these are conversations that take a gentle and respectful touch. And you always have to avoid taking anything personally or making anything personal. Then there's respecting your co-author's time, knowing your responsibilities in the project. Ultimately, both of you want the same thing, to tell a great story and to enjoy the process. And collaboration can be fun. It can be hilarious if you are writing a comedy together. It can be pretty satisfying when your co-author bridges that gap in the plot, or comes up with a paragraph that perfectly words out what you have been trying to convey. It's a collective effort. It's collective ownership. Discuss your lessons, practices, do's and dont's.