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Friday, April 8, 2011

Hello...it's me!

You may be asking, who "me" is because there are two of us... This me--the me talking to you now-- is Michele. This is all pretty new to us, so please bear with us. I'd like to request a sizable learning curve, please!

Let me start with an explanation. One question I get asked a great deal when I tell people that my friend and I are writing together is, "how are you doing it," followed by more specific questions regarding the logistics. I won't bore you with the details, but I will start at the beginning.

E and I have known each other since high school. Reading romance novels and writing were two of the many things we shared in common. I remember browsing over her mother's vast collection of romance books, trying to decide which would be the few (or more than few!) I would borrow. It was a great collection and so much better than the library's collection -- plus, no late fees! We often talked about what we wanted to do and writing always seemed to work its way into the conversation.

After HS, we lost touch. I moved many states away, but always remembered E fondly, wondering "what ever happened to..." Unbeknown to me (until FB), E also had moved many states away: she lives an hour away from me.

We picked up as if those years were never lost. Our conversations inevitably led back to our love of writing. This time, the conversation went something like,
         
              Elena: "I want to write a book."
              Michele: "Me too! We should write a book together!"
              Elena: "Ok!"

I took some liberties in my paraphrasing since I promised not to bore you. But it basically went something like that!

We've been writing ever since and have recently joined the Romance Writers of America (RWA) as well as Valley Forge Romance Writers (VFRW), a local chapter of RWA. Attending our first meeting was inspiring and I feel as if a fire has been lit under me. It is a bit overwhelming and I am doing this while working full, full-time (yes, the second "full" is intentional), but I am so excited and believe the excitement will help keep me motivated. That and the meetings.  :) After our first meeting, I commented to a fellow writer that I felt like a deer caught in headlights and asked if that feeling ever faded. She was reassuring but I still feel like:






Oh, I haven't answered the question, have I?

E and I take turns with the story and touch base weekly on where our time with the characters took us. At that time, we relinquish the characters to the other's imagination and also talk about the direction we see the story taking. What is really fun about co-writing this way is that when I get E's chapters from her time with our characters, our friends, I'm hearing about what happened with them during our time apart, getting to be both a reader and a writer. That feeling, along with getting to share this experience with E, is what I'm enjoying best.

Hope you have fun getting to know us! Feel free to share any comments or your own experiences any time!

M--

5 comments:

  1. Gosh, Michelle, I'm getting inspired to write myself. Your enthusiasm is catching! Loved this post, the site and both of you.

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  2. I'm glad you liked it, Sally! I'm also glad it's inspiring. I recently read something that someone wrote. It was simple, but I believe it to be true: more books = better world. I hope our blog inspires more writers out there to create more books!!
    <3
    M--

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  3. LOVE the blog, ladies!!! It's not too word or rambling; it gets right to the point and makes you want to keep reading. And you are making me want to write more! :-) I miss you girls alot. We had such a good time on our cruise. Hope we can do it again sooon....

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  4. P.S. I love your picture, too!

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  5. Thanks, Joanna! It was a really good time... I'm in for whenever!
    And I can't wait to read your stuff!
    M--

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