Does anyone else work with a partner?

I wish I didn't.

In all seriousness, this makes me think of a conversation I had with a co-worker. We were discussing marriage (I'm recently married), and I said that marriage is about compromise. He countered that it's less about compromise and instead finding a new route that works for both partners. That made me think about writing with a co-author.

Oftentimes, I have an idea on how a scene should work, but you (Kranix1) have a different idea. I believe our best work tends to be when we create that third path. It could be a combination of the two ideas or something entirely new that we don't completely hate. It's tough work, but I think it's rewarding. It's like getting beta feedback in real time.

Check out the Writing with Uncle Jim thread. He and his wife write together.

I thought I would never do this but I recently started writing a collab with a friend and fellow AWer *waves*. We're about 10k in and it's going like a dream so far. We haven't planned the novel (which I do for my own projects) and it's really exciting to open up her latest chapter and see where the story's going, and then figure out what my character should do next.

I'd say we have pretty similar writing styles, and we've been critique partners for a few years since meeting here on AW, so we know each other's strengths and weaknesses and that we can give each other feedback without things getting awkward. I wouldn't even consider a collab with someone I didn't know, or with many of the writers I do know and admire. It's like the difference between wanting someone as a friend and wanting them as a lover - the chemistry has to be right.