Writing Team (016)

I’ve always wanted to have a writing partner. Setting out to write a new script is daunting, so the idea of having someone else doing half the work is appealing. I want that partner to bounce ideas off, to tweak dialog with and to push me forward when I think I’ve hit a wall. And in the end, if the script sucks, at least I would have someone else to blame.


Seriously though, I think I would make a good writing partner. I’d give equal to what I take, I’d be willing to compromise and I would not be afraid to take a stand. A writing team is a relationship. I’ve always been a relationship guy (three relationships totaling ten years), so I’m surprised that it has taken me this long to find a writing partner.

I wasn’t looking for a writing partner. In fact, I didn’t realize I had a writing partner until my manager scheduled an interview for my writing partner and me. You see, I wrote a TV pilot based on my girlfriend’s one-woman show. This TV pilot impressed a development executive at a production company. This executive has a project that requires a strong female voice and she likes our project enough for an interview. Suddenly, my girlfriend (henceforth known as WriterGal) and I are going out for an interview as a writing team.

This development has left me both excited and nervous. Is it really wise to add the stresses of a work relationship to the stresses of a romantic relationship? Many people warn against mixing business with pleasure. Others, however, find comfort in working with the person they love. My inclination is that the experience will be both trying and rewarding. I might need to exercise my patience to a new extreme, but if we can transfer our compatibility as a couple to our work, then we will be in pretty good shape. Our shared sense of humor, coupled with WriterGal's training as a comedian and my training as a screenwriter, could potentially yield some highly satisfactory results.