Guest Blog Post: Writing as a Team Sport

Julie and Colin Angus are the authors of Rowed Trip: A Journey by Oar from Scotland to Syria and the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year for 2007. They will talk about their trip and show a video at Village Books on Wednesday, January 27, 7:00pm.

When I told my father that I was taking a hiatus from my job and rowing across an ocean with my fiancée, he was not impressed. Besides concerns for my welfare, sanity and career, he was certain my relationship would  soon be deep-sixed. “You will never get married if you try rowing across an ocean together,” he prophesied. 

Contrary to his predictions, two years after our five-month row across the Atlantic, Colin and I were married and planning another rowing journey. This time we wanted to voyage from Scotland to Syria, a route that would connect our ancestral homelands on canals, rivers, and shorelines, as well as lengthy portages using an innovative bicycle trailer system. It took us seven months to cover the 7,200 km, and in September 2008 we finished the journey.  But it was only afterward that we embarked on what truly was the toughest test of our relationship: writing a book together. 

It is one thing to travel together, work together, and live together, but to write a book together falls into a whole new category of togetherness. Writing is an intensely personal affair. You sift through your memories and emotions and bring them to life through carefully crafted words. It is a shy and fragile process, as vulnerable to criticism as my tomatoes plants are to blight. In the end, it took all the tricks we learned on cooperation and teamwork from our travels to create this book.  

We knew from the start that we would disagree on facts, remember things differently or have incongruous views on the same situation. To allow each of us each to express his or her point of view, we chose to write alternating chapters. It also allowed our personal interests to shine through, such as Colin’s fascination with the innovative locks and variations in canal systems and my love for the delicious and diverse foods. The chapters were structured by country, which provided an underlying theme in which to place our experiences. 

Although we wrote separately, the book needed to flow smoothly from one chapter to the next and overall themes had to be developed together to provide a cohesive read. We had to figure out who would cover details that were not linked to geographical regions and avoid duplication. This meant we were constantly reading and critiquing one another’s work. I’d like to say this was a smooth process but it wasn’t. Hearing your husband saying that your two-page description of wiener schnitzel is superfluous can be hard; not quite ego shattering, but enough to cast a chill over that evening’s dinner. Our unfettered honestly with one another during the writing process may have been a tough ride for Cupid, but it made for a rich and honest read.

Comments

[Yana]

Great Blog
I'm going to bookmark this one

[Diana Flores]

What an interesting life! I am going to look for your book, it looks like a very informative and full of anecdotes. I am also trying to write a book about my father, but it is quite difficult because I have to bring to mind a lot of memories. Thank you for your story.

[Air Jordan 4]

What a great blog!There have a chance that we can have an furthur exchanges and cooperation.I will always pay attention to your blog.

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The books are the smartest way of fun, you can learn & enjoy at the same time!!!!!!!

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Books are the bridge on many things, imagination, culture, knowledge and many other things. Debrie read a book become a habit for everyone!