WRITING EXERCISE
Collaboration
Andy Black and Pat Milton have been writing together as a team for several years. Here are their hints, from their presentation at the November 2006 meeting, on how to make a collaboration work.

Principles for Collaboration
• Be willing to try it
• Do a lot of set up before you begin to write dialog (outlines, character arcs, key decisions)
• Network with actors/directors
• Start easy/use a pre-existing structure
• If you partner has a strong preference for something and you don't, do it her way
• Problems first, solutions second and be clear on which is which
• Leverage whoever has the most energy--the person who has the most energy on a given day has to help the other person
• Support each other through despair
• Keep each other going through rejection
• Division of labor for sending out materials/marketing
• Do some things separately (character work) (once the script is fairly flat, offline redlines)
• Weekly writing dates
• Social time is good, especially time involving theatre
• Living room readings—do your own
• Read the scripts out loud to each other, switching characters/voices
• Take a class together
• It helps to have similar values/outlook on life
• Write your vision and watch it come true

General principles
• Send it out, send it out, send it out
• Don't try to control it, but don't be don't be afraid to involve yourself
• Figure out your niche
• Use the internet to network

Principles for building agreement
• Build agreement by making a proposal, checking for understanding, checking for agreement
• Build small agreements and fall back to last agreement
• Use brainstorming and when you are listing ideas, Do Not Judge Each Others' Ideas
• Use a prioritizing tool if helpful

Activity in pairs
• Give a topic
• Brainstorm 9-10 premises for a short play
• N/3 – divide the number of premises on your list by three. Each person picks that number of premises as his or her favorites. (Example: 6 premises, divided by three, each person picks two favorites). Look at where you overlap. There's your play.
• Pick one topic to work on and identify protagonist of the play
• List two questions to ask one character; answer the questions privately
• Compare notes

Past Writing Exercises:
October 2004
January 2002
May 2001
March 2001
October 2000
July 2000
April 2000
September 1999
July 1999
May 1999
April 1999
March 1999
July 1998
June 1998
May 1998
April 1998
March 1998
February 1998
January 1998
November 1997