Editing Fun

The Collab Process is so much fun...She went to bed on me so I don’t have permission to post this here...may get me skinned but I am drugged and really tired and...I’ll beg forgiveness if I gets in trouble.

I’ve been asked by a few people how we communicate to get this work done, so instead of sending you all the same IM, here goes. We write it in chunks, she does a paragraph or 3 and then I do a paragraph or three over AIM or a program like it. It’s like RPing but much more intensive.
Then I go through and set up the basic structure, set the tone, get the flow, add words take out sections rearrange...until it makes a nice well meshed section of story. I then send her the file and she makes it look like I can spell by going behind me and fixing all the places where I was blatantly an idiot. She makes alterations until she is pleased then it gets mailed back to me...and I go over the changes...we debate what we don’t like or understand and then...we post it ^.^



Here are a few IM bits into the process.

In my first run, during the meshing bit to punch it up into good story form:

[01:39] Nicks: how smart assed can you be?
[01:39] Soren: why?
[01:39] Nicks: because...there is a bit here...
[01:39] Nicks: that needs a smart assed Marcus comment
[01:39] Soren: where?
[01:39] Nicks: and it would just...sing
[01:39] Soren: lol
[01:39] Soren: where~
[01:40] Nicks: Finally Marcus managed a few steps to the side and...dropped off the trailer. Bending his knees as he hit the ground to cushion Alex against him so as not to hurt the lad, then he shifted the body in his arms to lay him down on the ground. He didn’t put the gun away, but he wasn’t going to fire either; he didn’t want them all converging on him like...well- a pack of wolves.
Yes, this was quite a predicament he had gotten himself into.
Surrounded by Breed.
And a vampire...
>Insert smart assed observation here<
Stealing another sideways glance at the strangely alluring Loupyn behind Jesse, he decided to chastise himself later if he managed to survive, instead leaving Alex and taking a few steps toward the alpha male. "All right, you have
[01:40] Nicks: insert smart assed "Why did I get out of bed this morning" sort of comment
[01:40] Nicks: but better than that
[01:40] Soren: LOL
[01:40] Nicks: needs to be...Marcus’s
[01:41] Soren: ok ok
[01:41] Soren: um
[01:41] Nicks: see..if it were Van....
[01:41] Nicks: “All they needed now was a couple of witches and a case of tequila and it was a real party”
[01:42] Soren: *dead*
[01:42] Nicks: something like that...
[01:43] Soren: ugh I'm too braindead to be witty
[01:43] Soren: *thinks*
[01:43] Soren: it comes so much more naturally to you~
[01:43] Soren: *jealous*
[01:43] Nicks: LOL
[01:43] Nicks: am a natural born smart ass
[01:44] Soren: XD
[01:44] Nicks: “werewolves and vampires and cowboys-oh my!”
[01:44] Nicks: sorry....he's not that gay
[01:44] Soren: XD!!!!
[01:46] Nicks: “so much for avoiding confrontation--good call horoscope!”
[01:47] Nicks: the well is runnin dry here XD

During my first run still, she just happens to be checking over the logs to see if there is anything she knows she wants me to change before the grammar edit:

[02:30] Soren: huh...I gave Marcus a scar over his eye...forgot about that. heh...guess it can go without correcting, but the part about his eye being almost useless can be taken out
[02:30] Soren: took a while to get the hang of what all I did to him
[02:30] Soren: XD
[02:54] Nicks: Already took it out
[02:54] Nicks: heh
[02:54] Nicks: without you even saying anything
[02:54] Nicks: ^.^
[02:54] Soren: yay
[02:54] Soren: you rock ^__^
[02:54] Nicks: we so in sync

And...while editing we are also still writing on further parts of the story...of course ^.^

[02:04] Soren: Rowan will be sleeping or...maybe experimenting in the bathroom...fascinated with the flushy thingy
[02:04] Nicks: lol
[02:04] Nicks: *Flush flush flush*
[02:04] Soren: exactly
[02:04] Nicks: "Water go down the hole...."
[02:04] Nicks: "Water come back!"
[02:04] Soren: would drop things down there
[02:05] Soren: bars of soap
[02:05] Soren: etc
[02:05] Nicks: "Soap go down the hole"
[02:05] Soren: LOL
[02:05] Nicks: "Soap not...come back!"
[02:05] Soren: XD;;;;
[02:05] Nicks: had kids....know the routine

Post Grammar edit, me questioning her authorit-ay:

[05:31] Nicks: West?
[05:31] Nicks: not East?
[05:31] Nicks: did you look that up
[05:31] Soren: Witch of the East was the good witch, I think
[05:31] Nicks: ??
[05:31] Nicks: LOL
[05:31] Nicks: Glenda?
[05:31] Nicks: was the north
[05:31] Soren: whatever
[05:31] Nicks: LOL
[05:31] Soren: I'm pretty sure it was West
[05:31] Nicks: I could ask David
[05:32] Soren: I will look it up now XD
[05:32] Nicks: he's fairy enough to know
[05:32] Soren: LOL
[05:32] Nicks: there was an argument like this in Heathers
[05:32] Nicks: which...I doubt you've seen
[05:32] Soren: nope
[05:32] Nicks: but...you SHOULD see
[05:32] Soren: ^_^
[05:32] Nicks: omg
[05:32] Nicks: omg
[05:32] Soren: XD
[05:32] Nicks: ahhhhh
[05:32] Soren: don't spaz!
[05:32] Nicks: I was hoping I was wwrrrrrong
[05:32] Nicks: ok...taking deep breaths
[05:33] Soren: google: Straight Dope Staff Report: Why does water make the Wicked Witch of the West melt?
[05:33] Soren: random mentioning: the witch of the east was the one who got squashed by the house
[05:33] Soren: *googled that too*
[05:34] Nicks: lol
[05:34] Nicks: Glenda...
[05:34] Nicks: north?
[05:34] Nicks: yes?
[05:34] Soren: *googles*
[05:35] Soren: Glenda, the good witch of the North
[05:35] Soren: yes
[05:35] Nicks: lol
[05:35] Nicks: cool
[05:35] Soren: I wonder if there was a south witch
[05:35] Soren: ...with an accent, maybe? ^__^