I’m currently working on rewrites for two novelizations. As I got to my office this morning, I deviated from my schedule and wrote a tiny bit on one of those future ideas I’d love to do down the road. Nothing out of the ordinary. But as I spent a few moments on this, it dawned on me that I was working on one of my personal projects verses one of the collaborations. After thinking it through, I realized I felt the same way about all the projects.
This has been my season for collaborations. I’m grateful for the projects that have come my way and I hope more continue to come. I wrote Letters From War with Mark Schultz and Paper Angels with Jimmy Wayne. I’m ghostwriting a novelization of a film coming out soon, and writing the novelization of Home Run scheduled to release this fall. I am also one of seven authors on a project called 7 Hours.
Along with all of those projects that have been greenlit, I’ve worked on other projects that might come to fruition. We’ll see.
None of these projects are ones that I view differently than my own personal novels I’ve worked on. Sure, the stories don’t start with me, and the process is different. Especially with writing a novelization. But I’ve tried to put as much of me in each project that I can. I’ve worked as hard on every collaboration as I’ve worked on any of my own novels.
These collaborations are an opportunity to introduce my writing to a bigger or different audience. Paper Angels certainly proved that since many Jimmy Wayne fans became Travis Thrasher fans too. It’s been fun and validating. There have been various challenges throughout the process, but it’s that way for anything.
So what about my own personal stories and ideas? I’m still working on them when I can. Some ideas I’ve shelved for the time being. Others are just waiting to be started. I continue to hone my craft while hopefully introducing myself to new readers.
As I went over several chapters of Home Run today, I found myself enjoying what I’d written, the same way I might have enjoyed something out of The Solitary Tales. Sure, the stories are dramatically different, but I’m the same writer on both of them.
Every project I work on, whether it’s a collaboration or not, has this wonderful thing called potential. The potential to introduce my writing to new readers. I love all the possibilities with every story I tell and I’m very grateful every time I’m able to do it.