Playing to our Strengths (and Other Insights on Co-Authoring a Novel): A Conversation with Nicole Melleby and A. J. Sass

Nicole:

When sitting down to decide how to write this blog post together–as there are two of us–it only made sense to me that we approached it exactly as we did while co-writing our book, Camp QUILTBAG, together. Which is to say that I’d write a chapter (in this case a question) and then tag you, who would write a chapter of your own (in this case, answer the question and ask one of your own) and fire it back at me. 

Honestly, this also thrilled me because a) you’re one of my favorite people to talk to anyway, evident by our nonstop stream of text messages, but also because it’s bringing back that joy I felt while drafting Camp QUILTBAG. I think writing can sometimes be such a lonely venture, and having someone to experience all of those highs (and lows) with was, for me anyway, really special. So my first question for you, Andrew, is: what surprised you most about co-writing a book? 

Andrew: 

You are also one of my favorite people to talk to, and I love that we’re getting to do it in the form of a blog post in conjunction with the release of a novel we wrote together!

This might sound silly, but the thing that surprised me the most about co-writing a book was how smoothly it went. I’m someone who likes to do my research before committing to anything (whether it’s co-writing a novel, trying out a new hobby, or something else entirely), so I read a good amount of articles about the co-writing process while we were considering it. Maybe it was the specific search terms I used, but so many of the articles were cautionary tales about how difficult co-writing a book can be. Authors may have different voices and writing styles, they might not agree on how to approach revisions, and so on. 

At the time, this made me nervous, but I’d also just finished the first draft of a different book that had been very difficult to write on my own. As Nicole mentioned, solo writing can sometimes feel lonely, and it can also be stressful when you have a deadline to meet. I needed a mental break from writing on my own, so starting a project with Nicole, one of my closest author friends, seemed worth any potential bumps in the road.

But surprisingly, there weren’t really any bumps. We worked from a detailed synopsis and whenever one of us got stuck, we discussed it over text messages. It was great being able to say things like, “hey, I really need this character to do X but I can’t figure out how to incorporate it into my chapter” and to have Nicole say, “I know the perfect place it can go in my next chapter!” It was wonderful having someone as invested in and as knowledgeable about the story as I was to reach out to in those moments.

So, I’m very glad I took the leap. Co-writing Camp QUILTBAG with Nicole was not only a joyful experience, it refilled my creative well and made me excited to write again. 

That said, Nicole, you and I have very different writing processes, as I understand it, so I have to ask: Was there any part of your process that you had to alter to accommodate co-writing with me? 

Nicole:
We do have a very different writing process. I tend to write faster, and I don’t plan things out so much, and you’re more diligent, I think, about plotting and working out any issues that arise as you go along. That said, I think anything I did have to alter was more us meeting each other at the middle. Which was part of the fun! We did have to plan out our story before we began, and I do think I got you to write a little faster than maybe you would have otherwise. It didn’t feel so much like an accommodation as it did us navigating what was best for the story, and I think what made us work so well together was that we were both willing to do that. Which meant that–at least for me–I got to learn and play and experiment maybe more than I would have gotten to do while writing a project alone. 

I do think the beauty of that is that one person only has so much creativity on their own. Everyone draws from their own experiences and likes and dislikes, everyone plays to their strengths. But co-writing meant that we were each bringing those things to the table–things that I maybe couldn’t do on my own. 

There’s a scene where my character Abigail talks about religion with another character–one of yours–Oren. Abigail is Catholic; Oren is Jewish. And they share this part of them with each other, and it’s a sweet moment where Abigail learns a bit about Oren’s experience and how it differs (or doesn’t) from her own, and they find comfort and understanding in each other from it. And that scene wouldn’t exist without us doing the same thing–bringing each of our selves into our work and having those conversations and each walking away having grown as writers, and friends, because of it. 

It does make me wonder how different of a book it would have been if either of us took the concept but wrote it alone. 

Which brings me to my next question for you: We worked with an outline, but, like with most manuscripts I write at least, there were a lot of times when the story took life of its own, and one of my favorite parts of co-writing was getting to be a reader whenever you sent me your chapters, too. Was there anything that went in a direction you didn’t expect? Did anything about the story itself surprise you? Did you ever get a chapter from me, for example, and think “oh, wow, I wasn’t expecting that!”

Andrew:

That scene with Abigail and Oren is exactly what I was thinking about! And yes, while we were working from a fairly detailed synopsis, there were still opportunities to take creative licenses when we drafted our respective chapters. That’s because some of the scenes in our synopsis were a bit vague, indicating that Abigail or Kai participated in a camp activity but not specifying what type of activity it was, as an example. This made the drafting process feel exciting, like we still had the opportunity to stretch our creative muscles and surprise one another, without veering too far away from the overarching plot.

One of my favorite examples of this is a scene in the middle of the book where Abigail is worried about having upset Kai and isn’t listening to the conversation between her own cabinmates that determines what activity they’ll be participating in for the day. She unknowingly agrees to attend a roller derby lesson, a choice she never would’ve intentionally made, I suspect. It’s such a fun scene for me to read because I can feel Abigail’s anxiety coming off the page in waves, in this gently humorous voice that Nicole does so well. And it’s such a joy to see Abigail gradually warming up to the idea of roller derby to having an absolute blast by the end of the scene. 

But my favorite part of this entire chapter occurs in the scene immediately after. As Abigail’s cabin prepares to go to the cafeteria to eat, Abigail realizes one of her group is still in the bathroom. She volunteers to go wait for him and … well, I don’t want to give away too much of this scene, but let me just say that I wasn’t expecting to be in tears by the end of it.

Without spoiling too much, Nicole managed to take one of our many past conversations about what it’s like for me to be a transgender man and weave it into this part of the narrative through cisgender Abigail’s perspective. It was a moment that deeply touched me because I knew exactly what Abigail’s cabinmate was feeling–so much emotional pain and embarrassment that can come with being a trans person going through puberty. It’s also a great example of allyship because Abigail helped her cabinmate, even though it pulled her out of her own comfort zone to do so.

This scene wasn’t in our synopsis. I was not expecting it when Nicole sent me her latest chapter. But I absolutely can’t imagine the novel now without it.

Since that was one of my favorite moments, I’m curious to know if you have a favorite moment, too, Nicole. What has been your favorite part of co-authoring? Has there been a scene you love above all others, a fun exchange between us during the drafting or editorial process, or something else that stands out?

Nicole: This is a great question, and you’ve perfectly captured what made passing chapters back and forth such a complete joy. I remember almost being disappointed when I finished reading one of your chapters, thinking, “Oh, no, now it’s my turn and I actually have to work and write something when really I just want to read more of Andrew’s!”

Something that made me laugh while drafting is that we have time differences between us–you’re out in California, and I’m here in Jersey–and those three hours were never a barrier, they were a delight. I’d go to sleep at night and wake up to you having sent your chapter over to me, which was an awesome surprise. Or, since I write in the mornings, you’d wake up and I’d send you texts all, “Good morning! I finished, so tag you’re it again!” 

One other thing that stands out in my mind now is the collaboration of creating characters. For the most part, I created Abigail and the Yellow cabin bunk mates, and you created Kai and the Purple cabin bunk mates. But obviously we both were writing all of the characters, so being able to say, “Here’s this character I created, here’s their voice and personality and likes and dislikes” but to trust that you’d not only respect that but then put your own creative spin on them was really great. Characters that I thought I knew, you’d show me another side of them. Or, I’d get to explore and write characters that you developed, putting myself into them, too. 

And, yes, of course sometimes we had to tweak each other’s dialogue to make sure everything read nice and consistent, but for the most part I think we both just really enjoyed this cast of characters and getting to dive into this world fully with one another.

Speaking about all of these characters we developed together, here’s a fun (hopefully!) easy question for you: Who is your favorite secondary character, and why?

Andrew:

Oof, this is not actually easy because I loved them all so much! I think it really depends on my mood on a given day, but since I’ve been getting more active at my local temple lately, I’ll go with Oren as my favorite. Oren is one of Kai’s cabinmates, a boy who identifies as gay and is also quite observant when it comes to his faith. Oren grew up in an observant Jewish household and during one of my favorite conversations in the book, he tells Abigail his parents had to switch temples when he came out and that it was a really scary time for him. 

At one point, Oren tells Abigail, “My mom told me that it’s important to honor our faith, but it’s impossible to fully do that unless you honor yourself and your identity first.”

This balance of identity and faith is very personal for me as a gay, nonbinary person who also considers himself religious (if not as strictly observant as Oren and his family). I’m so glad we got to explore that in this story and give a small nod to faith communities that support their LGBTQIA+ members. 

Then I have a tie for second (I told you this question wasn’t easy!): I adored both Juliana from the Purple cabin and Bryn from the Yellow cabin. Juliana is a budding activist, whose focus has been on getting Camp QUILTBAG to change its name to something more inclusive. QUILTBAG is an acronym for the queer community, but as Juliana notes early on in the story, it doesn’t include all queer identities, including pansexuality, an identity she’s recently embraced for herself. Juliana is also autistic, and so am I. I never got to see autistic characters in the stories I read growing up, so it means a lot to get to write them into stories now.

Then, Bryn. I love Bryn to bits. He’s a trans boy in Abigail’s cabin who’s so thoughtful and sweet. When things are going south with Kai and Abigail’s friendship, Bryn steps in and becomes this quiet supporter for Abigail. Many of the camper kids are loud and have these big personalities because they get to be themselves at camp, perhaps for the first time in their life. Then in comes Bryn and he knows who he is, but instead of being vocal about it, he’s this gentle presence throughout the book. I really appreciated Bryn as a character because I know there are kids who are like him (I was one of them) and they deserve their moments in the spotlight just as much as their more extroverted counterparts.

I’ll stop here or else I’ll just keep naming campers and defeat the purpose of this question! I think my answer here makes it clear that I really can’t wait to introduce readers to all our camper kids this year.

That brings me to my third and final question for you, Nicole: What are you most looking forward to about promoting Camp QUILTBAG’s launch this spring?

Nicole: 

That’s probably the easiest question you’ve asked me–I am absolutely most looking forward with interacting with our readers. Like Abigail and Kai finding each other, finding that community of support has been the thing that has given me more joy than anything about being queer. It’s how we became friends–how this book came to exist–and being able to have that, and the joy of this book, with our queer readers is so exciting to me.

I cannot wait to share this book with them. 

Andrew:

Neither can I! And I think that gets us back to the heart of our discussion–and of our friendship. I didn’t know any other queer people when I was a kid, and I felt really isolated. It could’ve been easy to wall myself off from the possibility of friendship as I grew up. Instead, I became an author whose stories center queer characters and this work led me to you, Nicole. Now, it’ll allow us both to connect with readers when Camp QUILTBAG releases, as well.

It can be scary to open yourself up to others because there is always a chance they won’t be accepting. But my experience co-writing this novel with Nicole–and with writing the stories I do for all young readers in general–has shown me that the benefits of being true to who I am far outweigh any of my past doubts. There are people out there–often whole communities–just waiting to embrace and celebrate you for who you are. Keep an eye open and eventually you’ll find what you’re looking for. In the interim, I hope books like Camp QUILTBAG allows readers to feel seen, whether or not they’ve found a real-life supportive community yet.

Meet the authors

Nicole Melleby, a New Jersey native, is the author of highly praised middle-grade books, including the Lambda Literary finalist Hurricane Season and ALA Notable book How to Become a Planet. She lives with her wife and their cats, whose need for attention oddly aligns with Nicole’s writing schedule. Visit her online at nicolemelleby.com.

A. J. Sass (he/they) is the author of Ana on the Edge, an ALA 2021 Rainbow Book List Top 10 title, and Ellen Outside the Lines. He grew up in the Midwest, came of age in the South, and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his husband and two cats who act like dogs. Visit him online at sassinsf.com.

About Camp QUILTBAG

From the acclaimed authors of Hurricane Season and Ana on the Edge, an unforgettable story about the importance of and joy in finding a community, for fans of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring-Blake.

Twelve-year-old Abigail (she/her/hers) is so excited to spend her summer at Camp QUILTBAG, an inclusive retreat for queer and trans kids. She can’t wait to find a community where she can be herself—and, she hopes, admit her crush on that one hot older actress to kids who will understand.

Thirteen-year-old Kai (e/em/eir) is not as excited. E just wants to hang out with eir best friend and eir parkour team. And e definitely does not want to think about the incident that left eir arm in a sling—the incident that also made Kai’s parents determined to send em somewhere e can feel like emself.

After a bit of a rocky start at camp, Abigail and Kai make a pact: If Kai helps Abigail make new friends, Abigail will help Kai’s cabin with the all-camp competition. But as they navigate a summer full of crushes, queer identity exploration, and more, they learn what’s really important. Camp QUILTBAG is a heartfelt story full of the joy that comes from being and loving yourself.

ISBN-13: 9781643752662
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Publication date: 03/21/2023
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Guest Post