Looking for a New Writing Exercise? Try Co-Writing
Forget edit-as-you-go; this technique will keep the flow going
A writer friend and I regularly commented on each other’s written work:
“Wow, I so identify with this!”
“I could’ve written this!”
“Are we the same person?”
“We should do a co-write!”
We’d both seen co-written pieces before and we thought we should give it a try. We are both accomplished writers with similar-but-different approaches to our writing. She writes from bodily sensations, creating a visceral connection with the readers. I tend to add a philosophical touch to most of my writing. What would happen when the two of us came together?
What would happen if we literally co-wrote, as in, write in the same document, at the same time?
The answer is magic. And so far, we’re discovering, it’s replicable magic.
With an agreed-upon topic in mind, we opened up a Google document, dropped our cursers in, and started typing.
Seeing what she was typing inspired within me new ideas and additions, which I added in even as she was still typing. She saw my content and added to it or moved it around. We worked for an hour like this. Pretty…
