Journal #3: Author's Writing Process

     As of right now, my favorite authors are Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  The catch, though, is they write novels together.  Naturally, this could present a problem if they went about it the wrong way.  When asked in an interview to "describe the way [they] work together", they responded:

Douglas:
First, Linc and I work out the plot. Linc sends me an outline of the chapters, I write the first draft, then Linc polishes it. As you can see, I do most of the work.
Lincoln:
(Laughs.) There are lies, damned lies, and writer's exaggerations. I take the coal Doug gives me and, using tremendous force, press it into a diamond.
Essentially, we wrote RELIC without ever seeing each other once. The first time we got together since that day we first brainstormed about the idea was to have our author photograph taken just before the book was published.

     And in the same interview, when asked "don't you ever argue?" Lincoln Child responded:

Are you kidding? We argue about every detail. That's why RELIC is so tight. Nothing gets by unless we both like it. Have you ever read a novel and said to yourself, 'How did that clunker get through?' Well, with us, it doesn't get through. That's also why we're two thousand miles apart. Less chance of inflicting bodily harm on each other. (Laughs.)

     It seems as though these two authors have really worked out their joint writing process.  They discuss how, even before computers were around, they were discussing novels over modem (prestonchild.com).  Also, on their website, they gave their advice on how to be a successful writer.  They said that one needs to "write, and write often," and to "develop the habit of ruthless self-criticism" (prestonchild.com).  They also briefly describe more details of their writing process.  They say that they "do all their own research", and offer one last piece of advice: "you must rearrange your life so that you have an uninterrupted, inviolable period of time to write every single day" (prestonchild.com).

Works Cited


"Relic -- An Interview With the Authors." Interview. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - The Official Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://www.prestonchild.com/>.

Ruelke, Claudia. "Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - The Official Web Site." Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - The Official Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://www.prestonchild.com/>.