We Wrote 2 books. We Walked Every Day. We Stayed Friends!

12 Things We Learned During the Pandemic...

· Believe that being isolated is an opportunity to fill two heads with more imagination than one. Co-creating can be a double whammy of ideas!

· When your partner has an idea... always say "go for it" even if you think it might not work. During then pandemic, the "going" was much slower. This helped us curate ideas we might have glossed over in the rush of our non-pandemic lives.

· "Mulling" is actually a word!

· It's really important to "hold space" for your collaborator. That means to walk alongside your partner on their creative journey without becoming judgmental or controling. It means not interrupting sentences, making faces or laughing at the punch line too soon. You might grow more patient, allowing time to "mull".

· Put your worries into words. You can fix what you can name and describe.

· When you can't be together to collaborate, read aloud to one another. This is a good thing when you're writing together and might improve your craft. As a bonus, you might both became better listeners!

· Think of yourselves as a team and pass the ball before you shoot. Run ideas by one another before you commit them to a page. This is wise when writing and a better way to be a friend.

· Use google docs or something similar so you can edit back and forth as many times as needed. Discovering this made our remote work so much easier! There may be other writer's tools.

· Make rules ahead of time for editing. Can I edit your work? Do you accept calls after dinner? If you want to avoid hard feelings, never change your partner's words without permission.

· Texting was invented for collaborators. A simple text asking "Is this a good time to talk?" gives your partner a chance to avoid feeling pressured. A text gives you more time to mull if necessary or jump into a conversation if that works.

· Be able to laugh at yourself. If your favorite character suddenly sounds exactly like your Aunt Matilda and your collaborator calls you out on it, be able to laugh with her and change the dialogue. Just agree that if your partner is bored, no doubt others will be too. Besides, Aunt Matilda is dull as dirt. It's really important to focus on the work and not take criticism personally.

· If you're tossing around thoughts or strategizing, then walk and talk. It's much more productive than a sit-down meeting. Besides, you'll snack if you're meeting at the kitchen table!

· Believe that being isolated is an opportunity to fill two heads with more imagination than one. Co-creating can be a double whammy of ideas!

· When your partner has an idea... always say "go for it" even if you think it might not work. During then pandemic, the "going" was much slower. This helped us curate ideas we might have glossed over in the rush of our non-pandemic lives.

· "Mulling" is actually a word!

· It's really important to "hold space" for your collaborator. That means to walk alongside your partner on their creative journey without becoming judgmental or controling. It means not interrupting sentences, making faces or laughing at the punch line too soon. You might grow more patient, allowing time to "mull".

· Put your worries into words. You can fix what you can name and describe.

· When you can't be together to collaborate, read aloud to one another. This is a good thing when you're writing together and might improve your craft. As a bonus, you might both became better listeners!

· Think of yourselves as a team and pass the ball before you shoot. Run ideas by one another before you commit them to a page. This is wise when writing and a better way to be a friend.

· Use google docs or something similar so you can edit back and forth as many times as needed. Discovering this made our remote work so much easier! There may be other writer's tools.

· Make rules ahead of time for editing. Can I edit your work? Do you accept calls after dinner? If you want to avoid hard feelings, never change your partner's words without permission.

· Texting was invented for collaborators. A simple text asking "Is this a good time to talk?" gives your partner a chance to avoid feeling pressured. A text gives you more time to mull if necessary or jump into a conversation if that works.

· Be able to laugh at yourself. If your favorite character suddenly sounds exactly like your Aunt Matilda and your collaborator calls you out on it, be able to laugh with her and change the dialogue. Just agree that if your partner is bored, no doubt others will be too. Besides, Aunt Matilda is dull as dirt. It's really important to focus on the work and not take criticism personally.

· If you're tossing around thoughts or strategizing, then walk and talk. It's much more productive than a sit-down meeting. Besides, you'll snack if you're meeting at the kitchen table!