Working Together

Although we live in different countries with a difference of several time zones between us, it was possible to work together to produce Past Remembrance. This was mainly because of the wonders of modern technology, such as:

• Zoom
• E-mail
• WhatsApp
• A shared folder on Google Drive

In fact, the logistics of working together probably forced us to be more productive when we did actually meet live on Zoom… although we spent a good 40 minutes chatting about everything but writing at the start of each session.

We also have different lives with different personal responsibilities, but it was possible to get together on Zoom for three to four hours at least two weekends a month. At the end of every Zoom session, we set a goal to complete by the next time we met. These goals included things like:

• Write up the narrative for a particular chapter.
• Think up potential book titles for discussion.
• Research a particular topic.
• Think of potential solutions to plot problems for discussion.
• Visit a certain place and take photos and video.
• Speak to a specific person for research.
• Edit certain chapters.
• Write definitions for the back of the book glossary.
• Make comments on edited chapters for feedback.
• Search through a personal photo archive to gather visuals for the web site.
• Create maps, diagrams, plans, object drawings.

Between Zoom sessions, we regularly communicated on our progress of the various tasks using the methods mentioned above. For instance, our WhatsApp discussions often looked like this:

There were also cats...

Overall, we found working together using these methods very rewarding. It was easy to track our progress through each of the smaller tasks to our goal. We are looking forward to working together on more of Safia’s adventures. 

Writer tip: If you feel you are struggling or can’t see the light at the end of the writing tunnel, set yourself some small goals. Write them in a list, even if it is something like:

• I will write 100 words today.
• I will find three pictures related to the current research topic.
• I will look at a baby name site and find 5 potential names for a side character.
• I will organise my research files.

As you do the tasks, tick them off and congratulate yourself on completing them. It works wonders; we promise.