Two Authors = One Great Book: A Guest Post by Alli Frank & Asha Youmans
I’m on maternity leave! During this time, a few of my favorite authors offered to step up and write guest posts so that this blog would remain active while I adjust to my new role as a mother. I may also be a bit slower to respond. Thanks for understanding and for being so supportive of me, my family, and my blog. Want to donate a few dollars to keep this blog running or perhaps contribute to my diaper fund? You can do so on Venmo or Paypal.
Two Authors = One Great Book: A Guest Post by Alli Frank & Asha Youmans
Tiny Imperfections (2020) Never Meant to Meet You (2022)
Some folks might remember fartlek drills in P.E. and track practice where the team runs in a line and the last person sprints to the front to lead the group (by the way, at 50, we still giggle at the word fartlek!) That is more or less how we write together on each of our books: one of us leads and one of us follows. Because we don’t have a coach keeping us focused, we switch up the routine with a whole lot of conversation and laughter in between. And popcorn. There is always a lot of popcorn, tortilla chips, and tea (hot for Alli, cold for Asha.)
With those images to set the scene, here is how our writing days go. We aspire to have a dedicated routine, but one flexible enough to allow the priority of family to take precedence. We push ourselves to get our butts in the chair with computer screens fired up (Alli) or facing fresh legal pads and pens (Asha.)
Alli 6:15 am: Up for 45 minutes of yoga because I can’t sit at a desk and write without it. I am the stiffest person who has been dedicated to yoga for over a quarter century! My daughters make better lunches for themselves than I ever could, but I am all in for morning conversation over my first cup of tea and driving them to school. After school drop off, I go for a run with my dog Georgia, never sure who needs to burn the energy more, me or her. Asha would say, me.
Asha 7:00 am: Social media has become an important aspect of our opportunity to find and connect with readers and fellow authors since the release of our first book, so that is how I start my day. As a tech-resistant people person, reaching out digitally was a big learning curve for me but one I have come to embrace. I am fortunate to have two sons who are always willing to assist me with the mechanics of creating content. I often need the help. As a team, Alli and I get excited about supporting other writers and we make cheering for our fellow authors part of our on-line presence. One cup of coffee is all it takes to jump start my day and my senior dog, Tempo, makes sure I get out to walk and greet the world while getting some fresh air.
9:00 am – ish: When we start on the business of the day, sometimes we are showered and shiny, sometimes we aren’t. No matter, we have seen each other at our best and worst and it’s time for our check-in, mostly over FaceTime but occasionally in person. Our initial daily check in is just a warmup because we do text and call each other at least five times a day over all sorts of random things writing related (or not.) But this is our time to test the pulse of what is going on in our lives with kids, husbands, parents, friends, and the unprecedented times we are living through. It would be easy to skip this commitment and move right into work mode, but we believe these moments, sharing details of our individual lives, keeps us connected as women and close friends. This time has had a profound impact on our stories, influences our writing, and helps shape our characters as well. After about twenty minutes Alli usually starts getting anxious, Asha laughs at her fervent handwringing, and it’s time to get down to business.
9:30 am – ish: We move on to any “business of the books” we have outstanding. This is not always an author’s favorite part of the writerly life, but it is easily half of the work, needs to be tended to and we actually enjoy it. This time may include anything that ranges from our LLC finances, action items to follow up on for our PR agent if we are in book launch mode, deadlines we may have coming up with our editor if we are in editing mode, and reaching out via email for promotion possibilities we may be working on ourselves. Social media “to dos” (which really means Asha’s “to do” because Alli would rather pull weeds than post) and then calls with our literary agent who is in New York while we are in the West, and we need to catch her by mid to late day.
10:15 am – mid-afternoonish: This is our most varied time. We basically have three formats in which we work during these couple of hours. Sometimes it’s in person, sometimes it’s on FaceTime, sometimes we are working solo.
When kicking off a new book we have already brainstormed and loosely outlined together, Alli begins by emailing three rough chapters to Asha with a ton of notes attached. The storyline is there but the depth of emotion is barely an inch deep. Asha takes those chapters and brings the characters to life with more authentic dialogue, inner thoughts, emotion, and believability. Alli moves on to getting the next three chapters down on paper. We are deep in our divided work, but both committed to the deadlines we have agreed upon to constantly be passing chapters back and forth. There is crossover in all our work, but we endeavor to stay in our respective lanes and support each other’s strengths.
If we get stuck on where the story should go, we rely on FaceTime or sitting together, for hours, building the next chapter word by word. Usually when this happens Alli is freaking out that the story is impossible to rework, our past books have been a fluke, we are doomed, it’s all over. Asha tolerates the freak out, but always with a slightly raised eyebrow, and they calmly moves the chapter forward. Miraculously, words get down on paper, we survive another day as writers and Asha is always right, we can do this.
After chapters have gone through Alli’s world building and Asha’s character building, it’s time to read out loud. Asha is always the voice as her intonation brings the characters to life. Alli is the scribe and keeps all electronic files in order. We negotiate and agree upon EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. Most times this is easy, and we are on the same page. Sometimes, because we are writing about race, religion, class, privilege, love, heartache, and parenting through it all, our conversations are hard, heated and we must give our work the time and deep discussion it deserves. Neither of us gives into the other because we have committed to getting to a place of agreement on every aspect of what we create. This is our non-negotiable. We read our books, out loud, all the way through at least four times if not more. It may sound tedious, and it can be, but we have found it is our most proven method to bring our stories to a level we are proud of when submitting to our editor and ultimately when our books end up on readers’ shelves.
Alli 3:00 pm on: I rush out the door, time with Asha or writing on my own having gotten away from me. I am often the “late but not last” mom when collecting my daughters from school and their varied pursuits. No matter where I go, I always have a lined notebook to write down random ideas for our current project or future novels (I have been known to stop, mid-grocery store checkout, to write something down or call Asha) and a book in my bag. Five minutes here or there, waiting on a kid at sports practice, a chunk of time before bed, I read, I read, I read. That said, I also believe that a writer can learn a lot about story telling by watching a great streaming series. When everyone is fed, homework is done, kids are in bed and the house is quiet, it can be just as delicious to cuddle up with my laptop as it can be to cuddle up with a book (or my husband). A compelling story is a compelling story!!!
Asha 3:00 pm on: The end of the day for me includes a review of both social and news media. My sons are adults, each living on either coast, and I touch base with them often. I have family and in-laws living close by, and a few close friends who know my door is always open to them. I try to keep up with everyone and I enjoy being there if my loved ones need me. I have a paranormal fantasy book in my eBook queue at all times and if the weather cooperates, I enjoy reading outside on my deck with Mt. Rainier and Lake Washington in view. I am an enthusiastic home cook and, while singing and dancing around my kitchen, I prepare meals for my family every night. Time to retire is announced when my dog tippity-taps down the hall and whines until my husband and I go to bed.
Two Authors = One Great Book: A Guest Post by Alli Frank & Asha Youmans
