Writing Partners-Guest post

The following post was contributed by AM Jenner (aka Romana). She is the one who pesters me about point of view issues and overusing the word "that". And I appreciate every bit of it. She has written and published several books with her partner. You can find them, and much more, at her website. Here is what she has to say about co-authoring.

Working with a partner is very easy for me, because I've always worked with one. There are both advantages and disadvantages in having a partner to write with.
The main advantage is having a sounding board, someone to bounce ideas off, and who can help you when you're stuck. A partner is someone who will help you create a world...and then destroy it if necessary.
The main disadvantage is in having to swallow your pride, both during the editing process and when talking about your successes later. "We wrote that." just doesn't have the same ring, or feeling to it as "I wrote that."; especially if your partner is not standing near enough to physically include in the "we". Sometimes it makes me feel others think I'm being snobby, using the royal "we"...so if you catch me on my own, I'm more likely to use the singular; not because I don't value or recognize my partner's contributions, but because of the way American English is wired.

There is a lot of trust involved in a writing partnership. You have to trust your partner to tell you honestly if an idea is worth pursuing or if it's absolute rubbish. You have to trust your partner with your characters; to help you shape their lives and stories correctly.
Sometimes you have a story so perfectly in your head you can't see where it doesn't hang together. It's very hard not to get mad at your partner while they try to tell you what's wrong with the world you're so proud of creating. It's also hard to contain your frustration and anger when you can see the glaring hole in your partner's plot and you can't find the words to make them understand what you mean.
If you both can stay calm and realize this is not a personal attack; the stories you write together can end up encompassing the best qualities each of you has to give. Each person can bring their strengths and make up for the deficiencies of the other, and the stories conceived and produced by your partnership will be better than anything either of you can produce alone.
The excitement, joy, and pleasure of shared creation...that's how writing is for my partner and me.

A M Jenner